First off - You're Next (originally released at festivals in 2011)...
A home invasion flick where a family is terrorized by a pack of animal mask wearing killers. It was a little been-there done-that in many ways, but still a very enjoyable horror film nonetheless. Sharni Vinson plays Erin, the girlfriend of one of the target family's sons. She surprises with a secret survival instinct that none counted on and makes for an interesting "final girl" here. Very creative / nasty booby traps await anyone who tries to escape the house - there are some genuinely scary moments throughout. Barbara Crampton of Re-Animator and From Beyond fame is featured and its very nice to see her again! One negative for me though, was that about halfway through the attack, we get to see the killers' faces cleanly. So when they put their masks back on, its just not as effective as it was before you knew who or what was behind it all. All in all, a quality horror film that could have used a tiny bit of editing and polish. A solid 3 out of 5 Khans!
What's that in the window?
Very cool graphical minimalist poster. Love the design.
Number Two on the list - The Conjuring.
Wow!!! I had heard great things and wanted to believe it was all that I had heard. I'm happy to say those reactions were RIGHT! Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson play husband and wife Demonologists Ed and Lorraine Warren - based on the real life couple of the same name. Set in 1971, this is the story of their most challenging case - a malevolent demon that has latched on to a family that has just moved into a new home out in the country. It is shown that Ed has a room in their home where he keeps artifacts from all of their cases - a place to keep them safe and out of reach from others who would use them for evil. Of particular note is the Annabelle doll...and old rickety toy that a demon possesses in the epilogue - of course this is brought into play later on in the film. Once the Perron Family begin to notice strange paranormal occurences, they call on the Warrens to rid them of the evil spirit. And then the sh*t hits the fan. What is so effective about this movie is that might have 10 seconds of actual blood in the entire film. Everything is done through sound, scares and surprises...accompanied by a terrifying soundtrack and effective cinematography. The last third borrows heavily from The Exorcist in many ways, but its still its own film when all is said and done.
This would have been in my Top 5 films for the year easily had I seen it sooner. A great ghost story horror film. As I said, its a bit derivative in its most important parts, but its so well done otherwise, that can't detract from the film's effectiveness. 4 out of 5 Khans!
Oh yeah, and there's also this:
HOOOLLYY SSHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH...
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