Crying Wolf

I got a message from the Twitterverse today about a trailer I might want to check out. It was for a film called Crying Wolf. I thought, "Sure, I'll...bite..." and clicked. I wasn't expecting anything, really. Well, the trailer that popped up was rather good. It's a little horror comedy from the U.K. and it looks like it might be well worth a viddy.

And...did I mention that Caroline Munro is in it?!?!?!   ::::puuuuurrrrrr::::    :)

From IMDB:
"From the Director of 'DEADTIME' and 'Zombie Harvest' comes Crying Wolf! They're Hungry, Hairy and ready to hunt you down! The comedy horror Crying Wolf tells the story of strange and weird goings on in a little English village called Deddington. The gruesome death of local girl Charlotte by a rabid monster causes alarm and revulsion - before desperate reporters, crazy detectives and revenge seeking hunters descend on the scene! Crying wolf is a fast paced British comedy horror that will keep you howling for more"

From the look of the trailer, Director Tony Jopia seems to know what he's doing. Things are shot well and there's a certain quality that tends to be missing from many smaller budget genre films.  Jopia has another film in the works called CUTE LITTLE BUGGERS as well - up for a 2014 release.

Sure, the film takes a bit of a hit on the financial side when it comes to some of the effects, but, with strong acting and a good plot, effects can slip a bit for sure. In the GOOD column, the humorous side of this seems to be "grin and wink" not "slip on a banana", thank goodness. I've seen far too many Yuck Yuck horror films that fall to a sad and flat sigh instead of laughs. (A HAUNTED HOUSE) They just don't cut it for me. This looks a little smarter and a little more high-brow.

The one thing that scares me a bit about this production is that news about it came rolling out around November of 2012. With distribution being what it is, this can happen - I know that. I just hope that I get to see this sooner rather than later. Maybe an October release?  Of course, I'm still waiting to see ZON 261 and they were talking about that one a month before news of this came to the surface. 

With an Edgar Wright-like bent, this film looks like it's going to be a lot of fun.

Yes, I'll accept a review copy if you want to send me one, Gents! ;)

Stay tuned!

The Possession

Again, if you don't have something nice to say, don't say anything at all came to mind first. I'll be honest, I scrubbed through this film after the first...10 minutes or so, I think. This little "BASED ON A TRUE STORY" nugget...wasn't for me. Maybe other folks will LOVE it. Especially in the wake of the popular films of the day like THE CONJURING and INSIDIOUS 2. People would eat this film up with a spoon, though seeing as it got 45 out of 100 on Metacritic I'm not the only person who wasn't into it 100%.



That being said, we have another Jewish lore based haunting here along the lines of THE UNBORN. More divorced family drama, which always plays well for this divorced male. :::grin:::  Dad struggling to work things out with the wife and daughters. Insert drama here.

Cut to showing how evil this box thing is. See? Look what it can do. It's EVIL, that box!

Cut to, "Dad, can I buy this box?" at a garage sale.

Cut to bad things happening.

Cut to resolution.

Cut to BIG FINISH.

Like I said, this movie was NOT for me. I scrubbed through and started to call out what was going to happen seconds before it did. I made myself laugh out loud when I called out the films ending shot for shot. It was actually rather humorous.

BUT, if you like ghosties and the paranormal with kids in peril and a Father fighting for them and you have not seen hundreds of ghost films,  you might like this. It delivers what it said it was going to deliver. There is evil, scary things, jump scares...a great popcorn movie.

If I had more time the night I had it on, I might have just left it running in the background, looking up when scary music played so I could take in the 3D effect and scare. But, I had movies to cram into one eve and taking time for this wasn't in my plan. I'll end up tossing it on one hobby night, I'm sure.

If you liked it, let me know.

Quickie: THE HAMILTONS

This was another one of those films that was fine. It was what it was.

There's a creepy family. Mom and Dad are dead and the kids are all living together. They've had to move towns. They have a secret. Good, bad and neutral family members interact. At the end, the secret - which wasn't very secret - is revealed. FIN.

I wouldn't watch it again, but I didn't fast forward or turn it off. (Granted, I was working on a project at the same time, but...)  The flow was slow and the plot rambled. Like LAST KIND WORDS, this would have made a fantastic short film. Maybe rolling in around 30 or 40 minutes instead of (checks)....oh, it was just 86 minutes long? Hmph...seemed way longer.   :::grin:::

Like creepy family horror with a not so secret twist? Tossing THE HAMILTONS on while you're painting your nails or doing your taxes isn't a bad idea.

Quickie: KILL LIST

Wow. Just...wow.

I don't want to say too much about this film. I missed it when it was "all the rage" and people were all over it, but managed to catch up with it recently. (Thanks, NETFLIX!)

The basics of the plot are simple. Money issues weigh heavily on a family of three. The husband and wife hold it together, but the pressure is making it hard to remember that they love each other. Fights about cash and spending flare. "YOU have not worked in MONTHS!"  A reveal shows that his work is basically being a hit man and it's time to break out the tools of the trade and start hitting again with his partner.

But, who are they taking out, who's asking them to...and why?

I really liked this film. It was a fun ride for sure. If you are lucky, you can watch this film without spoilers or knowing much about it. I'd say it was more thriller than horror, but it has some horrific elements for sure. The acting was fantastic. Fans of SPACED or other Edgar Wright films might recognize Michael Smiley who plays it straight and serious here. Perfect work. Neil Maskell and MyAnna Buring are rock solid as well. Buring has an odd range. From THE DESCENT to DOWTON ABBY to BREAKING DAWN (...and a featured player in the brilliant fake trailer for DON'T in GRINDHOUSE....) - it's a strange range for sure. She has a wondrous look.

NOTE: We're talking VERY heavy accents here. I'm an accent lover and rarely have issue with understanding what's being said, however I had the closed captions going for the first part of the film so I didn't miss anything. If you have an issue with that, best avoid KILL LIST. You'll just be frustrated and confused. :)

Quickie: AMERICAN MARY

I'm starting to do more of these "QUICKIE" reviews. Too many projects and too much work to get into the minutia all the time. :)

That being said....

 


AMERICAN MARY was grand. Jen & Sylvia Soska - aka THE TWISTED TWINS - really know how to craft a good tale and shoot it in an interesting way. They bring a lot to the table in the world of horror and I hope that they continue to do so. 






The story is a well written, simple and effective revenge tale. Poor Mary just wanted to be a surgeon, juggling school work, pressure from her teacher and financial trouble due to school. Pressure on the financial front is relieved a bit when she's hunted down to help with a medical emergency. A cool $5,000 to patch up an injured henchman - not bad for a nights work. However, things escalate quickly and the good comes with a lot of bad.

I loved the cast of characters in this as well. A strange and wild group based on alternative lifestyle choices. Sure, they may be stereotypes or parodies, but they were SUPER interesting. I was locked on from the very beginning - hooked into the story as it began to unfold around the players. 

Well worth a viddy for fans of body horror and revenge plots with a touch of fetishistic overtones.

Happy FRIDAY THE 13th (2013)

 


Happy Friday the 13th
from your friends at THE HORROR SHOW!