The Pact

Another random film, another gamble. Is the pact exciting? Is it a total dud? Read after the jump to find out.

Pumpkinhead

Our third installment of Random Netflix Week, brings us a real classic! Stan Winston's "Pumpkinhead".

This 1988 horror picture stars Lance Henriksen.("Alien, Mass Effect") I almost think that their is some inspiration from "Alien" used in this, but more on that in a bit.

The Plot

So essentially this movie's plot is; After the tragic death of his son, Ed Harley(Henriksen) seeks out the help of an old witch woman, to summon a nasty demonic creature to avenge his son's death and kill the people responsible. Although after realizing he's got more then what he bargained for, Harley knows that what he's done is wrong and tries to stop the vile thing himself.

Is it scary?

I think if I was a kid watching this, I'd be pretty freaked out. It's not really jump out of your seat scary, but more like gruesome scary, if that makes sense. I guess one of the things I notice about a lot of horror movies from the late 70's and 80's is that violence to children is a fairly common formula. Which I think doesn't make it scary per say but, more like shocking.

Why do I get the idea I've seen the creature thing before?

Well aside from its sequels, this demonic being looks very much like it was in "Alien" or at least "Alien: Resurrection." Lance Henriksen being in it kind of seems like an odd coincidence too.

Here is Pumpkinhead>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>^

Newborn Alien/Human halfbreed>>>>>>>>>^

See the resemblance?

So what did you like about it?
Well aside from the fact that Pumpkinhead does kind of look like an alien, he is pretty well put together and I don't know who was either controlling that thing or wearing a suit, but it looks pretty damn realistic. Something you don't see much nowadays because people cheap out and use CGI.......Bastards. I also like Harley. He's kind of one of those tragic heroes, where you feel bad for him in the beginning but as the movie progresses, so does his character and you see him spiral downward into darkness. The acting in this movie is not too bad either, aside from one of the encounters he has with the witch woman. It's a bit on the laughable side because its pretty bad. This movie has classic horror written all over it, its a bit of a tried, tested and true formula for the most part. Come up with an interesting plot, add in some stuff that just makes it go over the top add in some personality and good characters, but don't try to justify too much, because after all it is a horror movie and not "Pearl Harbour". .........Those who don't pick up on that sarcasm, shame on you!

Was there anything not so great about this movie?
 Well like I said, the one scene where Harley meets with the witch woman, is  pretty bad. The other part of this movie that I didn't like was that it felt a little rushed. The point from where the son dies and then Pumpkinhead's rampage takes place, was really quick. Which helps with the intensity and keeping you drawn in, but makes the story seem like they didn't flesh it out enough.

Who would you recommend this to?
Anyone who's a fan of any creature feature from the 70's and 80's. Fans of John Carpenter films. Also if you like "Alien" but maybe want something a little different. This movie is hard not to like, in one degree or another.

Who wouldn't like this?
If you're one of those assholes who takes horror movies too seriously and calls out every little thing, this wouldn't be for you. Also if you're a little kid and likes going to the pumpkin patch for Halloween each year, you probably shouldn't watch this. 

If it were not on Netflix, would you buy this movie?
It's not a must own, but yes I would. It definitely will go well with any horror enthusiast.

Final thoughts?
Harley could have just called Batman, to avenge his boy....no pun intended. But when you can get an evil demonic killing machine instead. FUUUUUUUUUUUCK YEEEEEEAH!

4 pumpkins out of 5

Here is the trailer 

        

 

 

Rites Of Spring

Random Netflix week continues! Today we feature Rites Of Spring. More after the jump.

Creature

We start off Random Netflix Week with "Creature(2011)". This movie is pretty much almost everything you'd think it is. A group of friends traveling down in the Bayou hear an old folk legend about a mysterious half man, half alligator (It's essentially the swamp version of bigfoot) that stalks the area in search of victims to feed on and a mate to quell his cold heart. The only notable actor in this movie is Sid Haig("House of 1000 Corpses, The Devil's Rejects".) He plays pretty much the kind of character you would expect, for those of you who have seen those other 2 movies.

So what's to like about this movie?

Good looking women, boobs, some okay violence. The filming and cinematography of this movie is actually pretty good.

Really that's it? What's not to like?

The acting sucks big time! All of these actors are just terrible. The script writing isn't very good, so that's probably why, but still they suck. Also! I didn't know that "The Lizard" from the "Amazing Spider-Man". Was in this movie, because the creature in this movie looks exactly like him, the only difference is the costume looks better in this movie then in spider-man. For how bad and confusing this movie's plot twists if spider-man actually showed up I wouldn't be the least bit surprised.

 This movie is pretty predictable to a point, where they throw this twist out of left field and you're left thinking "What the fuck just happened? No they didn't just..... THAT DOESN'T MAKE ANY SENSE!!"

Why does Netflix rate this 3 and a quarter stars out of 5?

Your guess is as good as mine. These guys must have no good sense of what good movies are and what bad movies are, because clearly this movie is worse then eating Denny's after a night of being severely intoxicated.

Netflix is also a movie streaming system and will make all their movies look good, so people will watch them. So honestly what do you expect?

Is there anything that could have made this movie better?

Well part of the problem that makes this movie so bad, is that there is a lot going on. If it was more like "Lake Placid" and less like the movie it is then maybe it might have given it a little bit more. I won't give away any spoilers just incase anyone watches this, but there's this incestuous side story to it, which just throws a wrench in the whole movie. I also think if the director did his homework a little bit more and maybe watched "Creature From the Black Lagoon" it could have worked a lot better. Oh well.

Final Thoughts?

Hang on a sec, I'm just finishing a *grunting in the background, followed by a toilet flushing* Sorry you were mentioned something about final thoughts about this film?

This gets 1.75 Capt'n Spaulings out of 5.

Here is the trailer

Random Netflix Week!

This upcoming week at the scroll, we shall feature our next themed week. It is Random Netflix Week. We have taken 5 movies which we will watch and review and tell you, if its worth your time, or worth an aneurysm. We just selected them randomly, so we have no idea how good or bad they are.

If you would like to request a theme week, let us know on Facebook, or simply comment on here.

STAY TUNED!!

Chernobyl Diaries

Welcome back fellow Acolytes of horror. Today we have Bradley Parker's "Chernobyl Diaries". This film was released in May of 2012, so its still relatively recent. This story was drawn up and produced by "Paranormal Activity's" Oren Peli and like his paranormal counterpart this movie has a very familiar feel to it.

What is the plot?

Well six tourists who travel to the Ukraine are brought together for an "extreme excursion". A visit to the town of Pripyat. A small little city right outside of Chernobyl, where reactor number four exploded and vapourized the area, leaving it a radioactive ghost town.

Does this offer us anything we haven't seen before?

Well not so much. It is different from "Paranormal Activity" but not so different that you can't tell its not the same creator..... Wait does that make sense?........OK yeah it does.  

What could you relate it to?

It's pretty much Paranormal Activity, Resident Evil and the Descent, rolled into one. 

What did I like?

I liked a lot about this movie actually. The cinematography in this movie is great. I watched the blu ray version of this film and the quality is really well done. There is a really nice flow from the beginning of this movie to the end. The change in mood in particular. The movie starts off really happy and positive, there is a scene about 20 mins in that has no volume, other then the music in the background. The camera pans around the characters and showcases a really strong positive mood.

The movie then gradually gets darker and darker, to the point where its quite frantic and horrific. This film is also not done in the first person camera style, which is a nice change from these usual type of films. You can see more of the third person perspective, but it still keeps the intensity that the first person brings.

The acting in this movie is also really good, because its believable and comes across very natural and doesn't feel forced or overdone.

Lastly the intensity and horror aspect of this film like many of it's type are done well. This movie will keep you going and not bore you.

Ok so what is not so positive?

Well the problem with these type of movies is that they are a bit on the predictable side. This one unfortunately does fall victim to that. From the beginning you can probably guess what is going to happen. It doesn't take away from the entertainment, but it does from the suspense and plot.

Is it Scary?

I can imagine people in a movie theatre jumping out of their seats a few times. I'd say its reasonably unnerving, but because of the predictable plot, the scary moments themselves are also a bit predictable.

Final Thoughts?

This movie is worth seeing. Unfortunately it is not on the Canadian netflix, so you will have to either stream it somewhere else or pick it up on dvd/blu ray. My copy was only $15 so if you got nothing better to get for that much, then it might be worth it. If you like the "Paranormal Activity" series alone, this will be worth it for you. Also if you are a fan of "The Descent" then you should also like this.

4/5 Blown up reactors 

Here is the trailer:

Movie Review: Mama

Mama (2013)
100 mins

Oh Mama!

Mama is a feature version of a short which you will be able to see at the bottom of this review. Generally speaking, most things with Guillermo Del Toro's name on it is a pretty safe bet. Is that the case here? More after the jump.

Nazi Horror Finale: Nazi's at the center of the earth (Video Review)

[Commentary / You'll Never See] - Well here is our first video review. Please keep in mind this was all for fun, it was put together in about an hour and obviously poorly edited. We just wanted to have some fun, hope you watch it!

They Saved Hitler's Brain

**** Disclaimer: This blog nor its writers support Nazism and this review is purely for shits and giggles****

Welcome back to Nazi horror week here at the scroll. We give you our 4th movie of the week David Bradley's "They Saved Hitler's Brain". I tell you its a real big shame they won't be able to save mine after watching this scheise! But more on that in a moment. I think you can tell simply by the photo above that this movie is absolutely ridiculous. So this movie was made in 1963 and much like "Outpost: Black Sun". It stars a bunch of people you couldn't give 2 shits about.

What the hell is this about?

So apparently if you read the back of the dvd box it says the plot is about  how Hitler had a hidden agenda to maintain his life by preserving his brain, or well actually his entire head. Also he plots to release a deadly nerve gas which will wipe out all the allies and win the war. 

Ok so doesn't sound too bad right? Ok the whole saving his brain bit is pretty silly but, releasing a deadly nerve gas and wiping out everyone is pretty diabolical! So let me tell you something. This main plot is not part of the movie until after about 45 mins in. I'm serious! The first half of this movie, has some completely different story going on and a whole different set of characters! The last 45 mins is the actual movie that we're suppose to be watching..... It's like they took 2 movies and cut them in half and put them together.

How is the movie visually?
Fucking terrible that's how! First of all I've seen movies from the 1930's that look better then this malarkey. This movie is 1963 and the version I watched was remastered too. I'd hate to see the original version cause I bet it looks even worse. there's a car chase scene in the movie which was done so bad, the camera is zooming in and out and moving around, I thought I was going to puke! Not every part of the filmography was bad but most of it was.

You were saying something about 2 movies put together?
Yes! Ok the first 45 mins was about these 2 investigators or reporters or whatever they were and they were looking for some top secret plans, supposedly I think it was suppose to be the plans detailing what Hitler had done, but they don't mention that and the Nazi's you see in the first part of the movie look like mobsters! I thought it was like a gangster movie or something. So after that it shifts to the actual movie with a completely different set of characters then who started off in the movie. It kind of reminded me of an Ed Wood movie except, he actually keeps me interested and his movies were so bad they are entertaining. Honestly you could fast forward through the first 45 mins and watch from there and it would be better, but unfortunately not by much.

What was the worst thing about this movie?

Well aside from everything and how boring this movie was, the parts where they get to having Hitler's head in the movie almost made me fall out of my chair. So his head is sitting on top of what looks to be an easy bake oven or the bat computer, you can decide. He's got this glass dish over top and all you see him doing is rolling his eyes around making these stupid looks and OH OH OH! When he does speak, he sounds like one of those Nazi troops from Wolfenstein! "Schooschtofl!" I think they might have even used that voice for those characters.

Here's a scene that describes what I'm talking about

Ok so would anyone like this? Is there anything to like?

I like Ed Wood movies, but I just couldn't get into this. It had some neat classic horror music in it which was cool and I think they were trying to go for a an old 30's style horror movie, but this thing just flops.

I won't watch this again and wouldn't recommend this to anyone. Do yourself a favour, if someone asks you "Have you seen They Saved Hitler's Brain?" Just reply "yep" So it can't be recommended to you.

Final Thoughts?

Dieser film ist krank! Es ist scheise!

(This film is sick!)     (It is shit!)

Trailer:      

Oh by the way this movie is also called "Madmen of Mandoras"

0.5 Hitler heads out of 5

Nazi Horror Week: Død snø (Dead Snow)

Dead Snow

2009 91 Minutes

Achtung!

Here we go with another Nazi Zombie flick. 

Whats the Plot?

A bunch of (fairly stupid) Norwegian medial students go to the mountains for a bit of a holiday. The students failed to do research and didn't know that the mountain in question used to be a Nazi controlled area. Nazi Zombie mayhem ensues.

Why do I feel like i've seen this before?

Well thats because you have. As well know, at this point the cabin in the woods movie had been done to death, and it wasn't till the actual movie "Cabin In the Woods" that it was flipped on it's head. The beginning of this movie is a complete choir to watch. Of noticeable blandness is that the beginning clearly looks like it was shot for the new MTV generation - featuring quick edits and non-sense snowmobile jumps. I was honestly very worried from the get-go, it seemed even more pointless than the usual cabin in the woods flick.

Is this about to get good?

Not quite half-way through the movie the set-up (revealing whats going to happen) is provided but some grumpy old man. The movie did not get good at this point either and my worry continued. The set-up seemed like an OK idea, but it really never explains whats about to happen that well.

Am I watching a different movie?

Here is the key to this review, I honestly felt like a different movie started at the 47min mark. It all starts with one gory character death and all of a sudden the tone of this movie completely changes. 

Funny one liners, gore galore and hordes of zombies all of sudden come into the picture and the movie stops taking itself so seriously. This was the movie I had been waiting for.

Were Nazi's necessary?

Nah, not really. I suppose they needed some reason for a lot of zombies to attack these kids, and I will say that their use in this film is actually pretty good once it gets going. 

How is the gore?

For a movie that was clearly shot for a low budget, they did a pretty good job. There are times when you can see more of a mannequin being used, but it doesn't hurt the film as by the point this is happening, it realizes just how absurd it is and has hopefully gotten the viewer to buy into the circus. There is plenty of blood and guts to be seen, so for you gore hounds, you will likely have plenty to enjoy - you just have to sit through a boring build-up to get to it.

How does it look?

I watched this film on Blu-Ray and was very impressed by how it looked. The film appears very clear and even though it looks grainy at times, I suspect this is because they clearly did not have the budget to use the highest quality film.

Final Thoughts? 

I can appreciate what they were trying to do here. My major gripe with this film is just how superior the second half is to the first. 

I really liked that they kept the Norwegian music in the film, but I wish they wouldn't have gone for the quick edits to keep peoples attention. The definite lack of relying on jump scares is also appreciated as It would have further cheapened the film.

There is a big payoff if you can make it to the end of this film, because the final action scenes are both gore-tastic and quite funny. 

Due to this feeling like a half a movie, but that last half being so good, i'm giving this movie 3 klinks out of 5.

Here is the trailer:

Outpost: Black Sun

****disclaimer: Our blog nor it's writers support Nazism****

We're back with our second Nazi horror flick, Steve Barker's "Outpost: Black Sun".

This movie is the sequel to "Outpost". A movie which starred Ray Stevenson(Punisher, Thor). This movie however stars a bunch of people you don't know. Luckily in this movie it doesn't really matter.
The movie starts off initially with the main character Lena, who's in search of and old evil Nazi by the name of Klausener. Klausener has discovered a new technology that will create a race of immortal Nazi super soldiers and with them will bring about the 4th Reich. For some reason she's the only one who knows about this and we're not sure why.

So what did I like about this movie?

The fight scenes in this movie are actually pretty decent and are pretty tense.

For a movie that is made in 2012, there isn't really much use of CGI, at least NOT THAT I COULD SEE!(I'll explain this more). The Nazi zombies look like they are wearing makeup and not computer generated. I always appreciate when film makers do that, I'm so sick of movies where CGI is so easily seen because it just seems like a cheap way to make a movie and make it less natural.

This movie looks like it had a decent sized budget because the effects used in it don't look cheap and they do look rather good.

I half liked the acting.

There's a scene in the movie that looked like a nod to Raiders of the Lost Ark near the end, that was pretty neat and the effects were cool.




So what was not so great?

The biggest problem I had with this movie is that visually its so dark. Seriously I might as well have been watching it wearing a blindfold, because you can't see shit and it only gets progressively worse.

With it being so dark it also takes away from how its filmed. I want to say I actually liked the way it was filmed because from what I could tell it actually looked not too bad, but again..... ITS TOO FUCKING DARK!! Have these guys never heard of brightness/contrast?!?!

The acting in this movie went from not too bad to progressively shit, especially the main character Lena. She was really annoying every line she had was "What about Klausener?", "Where's Klausener?" "How do I find Klausener?". Klausener this, Klausener that. Seriously really repetitive and irritating. Some of the dramatic parts in the acting weren't bad but, there were just parts that were stupid.

Oh and one of the last things which made it really confusing is one of the characters who switches sides towards the end. You're left thinking "uh OK what just happened?"

Was it scary?
No, not in the least. There were parts that were tense, but not scary.

Who would like this movie?
If you like Resident Evil, Dawn of the Dead. Then this movie will probably cater to you.
Its a decent movie if you find you are kind of looking to kill an hour and a half, it will at least keep you entertained if nothing else.

Final thoughts?
This movie had really good potential. Like I had said before, from how it was filmed and the effects used, the cinematography aspect of it was actually quite decent, but the lighting really messed it up. If they managed to edit that more and fix that problem I bet this movie would have been much better. Also I didn't have any expectations for the actors because they weren't anyone I knew, but I think if the writing would have been more developed they would have done better as well. Would I recommend this movie? Well I wouldn't mind doing so, but I'd be afraid of being badgered afterwards because they complained about not being able to see it, so read this review first and if the idea appeals to you, then by all means have at er.

2.5 zombie Nazi's out of 5


That picture by the way does not accurately depict the lighting in the movie.

Here's the trailer:    

Nazi Horror Week: Shock Waves

*DISCLAIMER* This blog nor it's writers support racism, or nazi's. This is just a theme for this week! 

Shock Waves (1977)

85 Minutes

Welcome to Nazi Horror Week. This week we will be featuring nothing but reviews of movies that have Nazi's in them in some form. 

When life gives you lemon's, you make lemonade.

Apparently in this movie, when life gives you Nazi's, you take those Nazi's and make them Super Nazi's.

So, whats the plot?

During WW2, Peter Cushing was put in charge of a group of genetically modified uber Nazi's who were unfeeling and very violent. To nobody's surprise (except maybe his) they were uncontrollable. Towards the end of the war he took them offshore to escape the allies likely capturing them and revealing the secret. The orders never come and he sinks the boat and takes a self imposed exile on an island. The film revolves around their unexplained return to get their violence fix that the zombie nazi's have missed being stuck at the bottom of the ocean

Is that really the plot?

You would never find my explanation at the back of the box, but yes - that is the main idea.

So, does it work?

Despite how I make it sound, I would actually have to give this a big yes. The main thing I have to talk about here is the two "main" actors they likely shelled out for, Peter Cushing and John Carradine. They are both used very little, but their minimal screen presence is felt and not a single scene is wasted.

I would actually go so far as to say John Carradine's short, short appearance in this film is the best acting you are going to see during the whole movie. While the rest of the actor's are hamming it up and not taking their work seriously, I get the sense John decided he was going to be a professional about thing and actually delivered his hammy lines with some conviction - he doesn't even come across as trying like the other actors surrounding him do.

What also works is the way the film was shot. The use of first person camera and the distance shots work really well here and help to not reveal too much which would have hurt the film had the done the "big reveal" too soon.

A minimal musical score also goes a long way to set the right mood.

Okay, not bad! Now what doesn't work?

My biggest complaint would be the other actors. Of particular note is Jack Davidson who plays Norman, and let me tell you, this guy is a real Norman. His character is so whiny and so annoying and his lines are delivered so forcibly, it's a wonder they didn't force this guy to stay on the boat. 

The other actors really don't do much either. Brooke Adams who plays Rose is great to look at, but everyone else is just there to run away and make poor decisions.

Concerning the plot, I was definitely left with some questions, such as:

Why did the Nazi Zombies suddenly rise from the ocean?

How has Peter Cushing managed to stay alive so long?

What were all those people doing on that boat in the first place?

Why didn't Peter Cushing try to leave?

I suppose some things are better left not known, but they give poor Peter all of two minutes to explain the thing and the characters are off and running before you even know whats going on.

Lastly, it's not really explained what the Nazi Zombies are after. I would even be reluctant to call them Zombies. It seems like they just want to be violent, since the rest of the time all they are seen doing is hanging around in the water lounging. 

Final Thoughts?

One thing this movie really nailed is the running time. This movie is over before the concept wears out it's welcome.

I would definitely recommend this for watching as it does have the making of a classic. If you watch this just for the fun aspects of it, you may be pleasantly surprised. Watching the two veteran actors put on a clinic next to the amateurs is also quite enjoyable.

Shock Waves is getting 3.5 Totenkopf's out of 5

They Live

Well before we get to Nazi horror week, we thought we'd deliver on a real classic. John Carpenter's "They Live". This 1988 film stars "Rowdy" Roddy Piper and Keith David(Requiem for a Dream, The Thing). This movie is all about exposing the gruesome underbelly of the government and society for its truly disfigured face. Roddy Piper's character who in the credits is listed simply as "Nada" is a hard working average joe who like a lot of people wants to earn a decent living. After coming upon some mystic sunglasses he puts them on to discover the veil which has been cast over society and the ugly side underneath it all. The world is not how we see it. Not all human beings are human.

Now I'm a huge John Carpenter fan, but this is the very first time I've seen this movie so I wasn't quite sure what to expect. The one thing I've always liked about Carpenter's films is that his intro's are usually not explained, so there is usually a bunch of events that happen at the beginning of the film but you're left wondering "Why? How? WTF?". Now for those of you who need to know every detail, everything explained then you may not like that, but if you can just sit back and watch this movie for what it is then you should enjoy it.

What did I like about this movie?

This movie is packed with action, from the beginning of the movie right to the very end, it's actually more of an action movie I'd say then Horror, but the two mix very well.

The acting isn't spectacular but for what this movie is, you won't hate it. The script writing makes the acting a little bit better. Nada isn't a big talker but when he does its the kind of cheesy one liners that make these movies enjoyable.  Does anyone remember Duke Nukem?

John Carpenter does his own music for all of his movies, in this movie its a jazzy blues style and it suits the movie pretty well, especially while....... Chewing bubblegum and kicking ass.

So  what did I not like so much?

Keith David's character of Frank isn't really necessary, I mean yeah he kicks ass alongside Roddy Piper but the two of them are so similar and so he's a bit lost.

The special effects in this movie are decent, but some of the aliens in the film just look so outrageously fake that its laughable. You can tell one of them is wearing a mask because when he starts speaking the mouth doesn't move but the jawline behind the mask does. You can also tell some of them are dummies, when they get shot they don't look real and look more like puppets on strings.

The one female character played by Meg Foster in this movie is also pretty useless. There is no romance in this movie whatsoever and who she turns out to be in the end has you scratching your head,

Who will like this movie?

Any fan of John Carpenter should like this movie, in particular those who like "Assault on Precinct 13". This movie relates closest to that one and the style is very similar. Also if you're a fan of 80's action films then this will be a nice addition to your collection.

I give this movie 3/5 Duke Nukem's 

And now the trailer: