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.