Ramblings about horror movies, brief reviews of some movies I've seen lately.

Ah, horror. It's a great little genre. It's taught us how to survive zombie attacks, kill werewolves and identify vampies (no, they don't bloody sparkle). It's taught us that promiscuous kids, drug users and those who say "I'll be right back" are prime targets for serial murderers and supernatural entities of all kinds. It's taught us not to play with creepy, allegedly cursed objects, to never run upstairs when you're being chased, and above all, to never, ever go into the woods. For any reason.

Round about this time of year I usually go on something of a horror binge. Here are some movies I've seen lately with synopses and brief reviews. Long live the horror genre, and may it get ever more inventive as time goes on.

Please feel free to add your own reviews and ramblings, and recommendations

The Ruins

Sub-genre: Creature feature/monster movie (sort of)

Synopsis: a group of tourists in Mexico go to see some Ancient Mayan ruins. When they get there, they find themselves quarantined by a group of locals patrolling the ruins with guns. The local Mexicans won't let them come down, and our young friends are trapped on the ruins with little food and water. Things swiftly become far worse when they realise that SOMETHING up there is not everything it seems...is in fact, deadly...

Review: Based on a book, this film is all but flawless in my view. Our vacuous yet somehow likeable protagonists become trapped in a surreal nightmare which is still believeable enough to cut the mustard. Their predicament gets worse and worse and leaves you wondering what you would do in that situation, trapped between a rock and a hard place, or a deadly (ahem) predator and some pissed-off Mexicans with guns. The pacing is terrific, the tension is kept up throughout and the actual killer itself is pretty damned original. It's been done before, but not often and rarely this well. Add to the external threat the group's rapidly deteriorating nerves and throw the odd self-mutilation scene into the mix and you've got a hell of a thrill ride that doesn't let up. The film's emphasis is not on violence, but when the violence happens it happens in such a matter-of-fact way that it leaves your brain momentarily going "Um...did I just see that?" I also enjoyed the ending. Just when you thought you were out of the jungle...or rather, that the jungle was out of YOU...

Carriers

Sub-genre: Zombie movie

Synopsis: A small group of survivors drives through a post-apocalyptic wasteland in the wake of a zombie plague. The only way to avoid becoming a carrier is to avoid touching anyone with the virus, avoid breathing in around them, and avoid touching anything they've touched. But when the survival instinct vies with the desire to show compassion to others in the worst of circumstances, which instinct will prevail?

Review: Carriers is a bleak, morally horrifying tale of two brothers and their resepctive girlfriends trying to survive the aftermath of the zombie apocalypse. Their long, aimless roadtrip is punctuated by horrific moral dilemmas and imbued with a sense of the ultimate pointlessness of their actions. Where are they driving? They don't actually know. What will happen when they run out of gas? What has happened to the rest of their friends and family? A sense of uncertainty permeates the film and makes for a mood of uneasiness, set against a backdrop of long, dusty roads and abandoned townships. The film is very low on gore, but doesn't need gore to scare us given the ultra-realism of the script and cinematography. This is possibly the most subtle of zombie films, a refreshing change in a genre that's usually so over-the-top. The emphasis of the film is on choices, and on what happens when saving your own skin means sacrificing someone else to a fate worse than death.

The Loved Ones

Sub-genre: Torture

Synopsis: Our young male protagonist, Brent, is a kid with issues. We find out at the very beginning of the film that he feels responsible for his father's untimely death in a car crash. He's since turned to drugs and self-harm as a way to cope. With the school prom coming up, he already has plans to take his girlfriend as his date when the school weirdo (every school has one) quiet girl Lola asks him to the dance. When he turns her down, he couldn't have imagined the horrifying consquences of his actions. He's about to become the Prom King of Lola's own sick little fantasy, a fantasy that doesn't end well for the guy who turned her down...

Review: I loved this film a lot. It actually didn't start particularly strongly - I thought I was in for another of those angst-ridden throwaway teenaged horror flicks, you know the type. But when the real action starts (which it does quite swiftly) this film kicks up about four gears to become one of the most sadistic, twisted, disturbing and downright difficult to stomach films I have personally ever seen. And I've seen a lot of disturbing stuff. Brent's torment is both toe-curlingly graphic and inventive in ways seldom seen, even in this day of "torture porn" and graphic violence. Fabulous performances by the girl who plays Lola and her demented, doting dad keep us inside the nightmare, although comic relief does come in the form of some breathtaking black humour when you least expect it. Just before Lola inflicts the final torture, it looks like there might be a way out for Brent - will he escape, or will he become "one of them," ? You'll have to watch it if you want to find out. Comic, inventive, disturbing, surprising, horrifying and with an ending seldom seen in horror movies, this has shot straight to the top of my favourites list. But it might be an idea to have a bowl handy, in case the urge to throw up gets too strong.

Grave Encounters

Sub-genre: Supernatural horror/"found footage" films

Synopsis: Lance Preston is the presenter of a docu-reality ghost-hunting show called Grave Encounters. Lance and his intrepid (not to say vacuous) colleagues investigate haunted locations on film, always conscious of looking good on camera and getting their story, even if they have to twist things a little and dispense the odd bribe. Hey, it makes good TV. But what happens when Lance and the crew investigate a REAL haunted location, and find themselves way out of their depth, trapped in the corridors of an abandoned insane asylum, unable to find a way out, with someone or something stalking their every move?

Review: I really enjoyed this movie. As a Ghost Adventures fan the blatant lampooning of GA presenter Zak Bagans was hysterical, but even for those who don't watch GA, the satire of the ghost-hunting "reality" show paints in broad enough strokes that everyone can get the joke. Although I've seen some reviews slating the use of the "found footage" style in this film, I don't think this criticism holds water. It's supposed to be a documentary, and as such the use of our old friend ShakyCam is nothing if not canonically justified. I thought this film had a great mix of tension building weirdness and actual money shot "boo" scares. Two of our first clues that something is really wrong are the fact that 1) Every door the crew find, including the emergency exits, leads to yet another long corridor, and 2) Although it's past 8am, it's pitch dark outside. The directors build the tension with moody shots down long corridors that have us expecting to see something long before we actually see anything, and the crew's deteriorating nerves and lack of sleep add to the hysterical atmosphere which will have you on the edge of your seat. Found-footage might not be new, and supernatural nasties might not be new, but there was enough here for me to really enjoy, and if you're looking for a film that makes you jump, make sure you watch it.

Meadowoods

Sub-genre: Found footage

Synopsis: A group of three teenages are bored with their lives in small-town America. To entertain themselves, they decide to murder someone, and to film the entire process, from selecting and stalking their victim through to the actual murder itself.

Review: Another "found footage" film, and one that's well done at that. Two teenaged misanthropes persuade their wannabe-cameraman friend to video their latest adventure; stalking and killing someone. Initially we see interviews with the would-be killers explaining why they want to kill someone - their reasons themselves are chilling in their nonchalance - after which we see them pick a victim and begin to "groom" her for the murder. They also plan how they're going to murder her, and as the film goes on we start to appreciate just how depraved this pair really are. The guy who plays Travis gives a storming performance, starting as the class clown and deteriorating through several shades of "mentally unhinged" to revealing what we sense is his true personality - that of a sadistic, unhinged, sociopathic bully. Once the plans are all in place, they lure their victim to an isolated spot where they plan to carry out their wicked plan. Will they pull off their plan? Will one of them chicken out and blow their cover? Will they succeed in committing murder, and will their friendship survive this series of events? Watch it and find out!

Behind The Mask - The Rise of Leslie Vernon

Sub-genre: Um...

Synopsis: A wannabe TV presenter and two wannabe cameraman decide to make a documentary about serial killers. They strike lucky when a man called Leslie Vernon contacts them and says he wants to participate. He claims he's going to be the next major serial killer. In a world where Michael Myers and Freddy Kreuger are real people, Leslie sees murder as his calling. The crew starts to film Leslie making his preparations for his "big day" and talking about the victim he has picked out. The crew initially assume Leslie's a little bit unhinged, but essentially harmless. But as his big day approaches, they start to wonder; will he really go through with the multiple murders he's planning? What role do they play in his twisted plans? Just who is Leslie Vernon, anyway? And most importantly of all, can they just stand by and let this happen?

Review: Well, I have no idea what sub-genre this movie would fit into. It is another "found footage" film for part of the way through, but this film is hard to pin down into one box. It definitely works ona lot of different levels. It's found footage, but it's not. It's a satire of, and homage to, the horror genre, and yet is simultaneously a horror film in its own right. One thing is certain - you have to be a real horror fan to "get" this film, but if you "get" it, you'll love it. A great performance by Nathan Baesel who plays Leslie, and can switch from goofy eccentric to truly terrifying in the blink of an eye, and also brings great emotional depth to a character we should loath. We also see reporter Taylor's emotional responses to Leslie and how the two become a sort of foil for one another...and yet Taylor has no idea to what extent she will become a foil for Leslie's ambitions as the movie progresses. To say too much more would ruin the film. I get the feeling that this film is like Marmite - love it or hate it. But if you're a horror addict like me and you can understand and enjoy the references and side-swipes, I think you'll really enjoy this film.