It was hard for me to believe that it has already been a decade since Bryan Bertino’s home-invasion thriller The Strangers led a resurgence of sorts for the low budget home-invasion thriller. While it’s not a perfect film, it’s one I can admire for using some restraint in letting its creepiness get under your skin from time to time rather than using gratuitous gore and jump scares. It was far more successful by lingering a long shot on Liv Tyler smoking a cigarette, oblivious to the out-of-focus figure standing just a few feet behind her in the darkness.
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Insidious: The Last Key is the fourth film in the Insidious horror franchise, directed by Adam Robitel and written by Leigh Whannell, who had previously directed part 3 as well as written parts 1-3. The film continues some time after Insidious Chapter 3 with paranormal medium Elise Rainier (Lin Shaye) drawn into a demonic haunting at the site of her childhood home. Through flashbacks, Elise’s history with her supernatural gift is explored when she unwittingly releases a sinister force. Decades later, Elise returns with her paranormal investigator sidekicks (Leigh Whannell and Angus Sampson) to attempt to banish the evil once […]Read more »
In 2017 I saw 76 movies in theaters, more than I have ever done in a whole year. While there were a ton of films that I enjoyed this year, I find only a handful will stick with me into the new year. In lieu of my typical top 10 year-end list, I instead opted this year to highlight my five favorite movies from this year, listed in no particular order. Beyond that I have listed 18 more films on which I can put my stamp of approval.
Dunkirk is the latest film from Christopher Nolan, director of Inception, Interstellar, and The Dark Knight trilogy, based on a screenplay he authored himself. Stepping out of the sci-fi/fantasy genre for a moment, Nolan presents a split-perspective narrative detailing the evacuation of British soldiers at Dunkirk beach during the second World War, an event deemed one of the greatest military disasters in British history.
Here’s an interesting premise for a horror film: cross the gruesome deaths of Final Destination with the high-school clique setting of Mean Girls. Give yourself 30 seconds to think what that could be. Now, relish in the fact that whatever you just thought up is likely a better execution of that premise than anyone involved with Wish Upon could ever hope to achieve.
War for the Planet of the Apes is the third film in the rebooted Planet of the Apes franchise. Directed by Matt Reeves (Cloverfield, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes), War continues the saga of Caesar (Andy Serkis), a genetically-enhanced ape in a post-apocalyptic America. Picking up a few years after the previous film, this installment focuses on Caesar’s clash with a reckless human colonel (Woody Harrelson) on a campaign to eradicate the damn dirty apes for once and for all.