Ouija

      

Along with the many unnecessary remakes we get in the horror genre, films made based off of action figures or board games are probably the most unnecessary that I can think of in the film industry. We should completely understand why this genre of film exists though. If you are making these types of films, likely there is a target market already in place for them. These movies don't work though because it's not like your going to have source material for them because the film is only about a game or a doll. One prime example of these problems occurs in the film Battleship. The film feels nothing liking the classic game Battleship due to the characters and plot elements. Whenever I play Battleship, it's not like I am introduced to characters or a plot. The source material of the game is not at all related to the movie elements. Ouija is the latest dip into this genre in 2014.

Ouija is an infamous spirit board and it's purpose is to talk to the dead and it is self-explanatory why we see ouija boards only in horror films. Films like The Exorcist from 1973 or Paranormal Activity from 2009 are some examples of horror films with Ouija boards. Ouija boards have turned into an urban legend with supposed deaths occurring because of them and this is one reason why my girlfriend hates them with a passion. I am the first one to say that Ouija as it's own movie based off the board would be hard due to because you need a lot of material to support it but it is still an interesting idea none the less. As it turns out, Ouija is enough to get by but still nothing very promising.

After Debbie Galardi (Shelley Hennig) commits suicide after finding a Ouija board in her room, a group of her closest friends come together to find the reason for her suicide though none of them know that the board itself might be the problem.

As I said before, this is the type of plot that needs to rely on substance to survive because it is only based off a game board. The substance though here is average at best. Kill scenes we have all seen before, pacing that is all over the place and a low budget to the film as evidenced by it's lack of location and sets. Ouija is a film that is put together in a way that makes it come off as very unmemorable.

The film's downfall can also go back to the characters. Casting teenagers in these PG-13 horror films is already the norm but in the end, there is really nothing here to see from the cast. There is no substance whatsoever to the characters and they are made in a way that makes you not like or dislike them. They are characters you just watch waiting for the ending. Even Lin Shaye shows up as Paulina Zander, a character that has an interesting backstory to film. This backstory though that feels like a last minute idea and comes into the film too late. The maid of the house played by Vivis Colombetti is quite underused and is a big waste of an idea and a character.

Much like the film Mama from last year or other horror remakes, Ouija is a slumber party film for teenagers girls to get scared who do not know about good horror films yet or will never know. You could even say it is also a film meant to watch with your significant other because at theater for my showing, the place was filled with nothing but couples. Ouija is the type of horror film that I can choose to forgot and will certainly forgot about once I pick the best horror films from 2014.

2.5/5          

As Above, So Below

 

The idea of horror films being placed in one setting is not uncommon. The main idea of this is to put emphasis on the setting and to make for a claustrophobic film. The Blair Witch Project of 1999 or Evil Dead of 1981 involved settings in the woods and never left it once it was entered. In The Descent of 2005, the only setting was a cave. In Paranormal Activity of 2007, the setting was one house in San Diego. The list of horror films with a single setting could go on and on.    

As Above, So Below's director John Erick Dowdle is somebody who is very overlooked in the film world and is slowly turning into my favorite horror director around. His first film Poughkeepsie Tapes from 2007 never got a proper release through the theater and or on disk and can only be found on the internet but it got rave reviews from the few that did see it. Quarantine was a 2008 remake of a Spanish film that was set only in a apartment. In 2010, he puts out Devil which had a very interesting plot about a group of people trapped in an elevator with the devil being one of them. The film was so overlooked that the trilogy that was originally planned around it was cancelled. Now in 2014, his As Above, So Below is a horror movie following a very similar formula using claustrophobic ideas and the "found-footage" filmmaking technique. This is also kind of a Dowdle "formula film" but still, As Above, So Below is a very fun ride.                      

The movie follow around Scarlet Marlowe (Perdita Weeks) a middle-aged woman who's father has committed suicide and who's on a quest to continue her father's goal of finding the Flamel stone which can grant everlasting life. After going down to the catacombs beneath Paris to search for the stone with a group of explorers, strange hauntings and happenings occur.               


From the above plot described, it would seem like this is a magical-type adventure filled with fantasy. Well yeah, you could say that would be true but barely because unlike most horror films, As Above, So Far Below is quite full of culture, including Parisian, European and even the Middle East. Being set in Paris, it's uses European ideas and obviously has a French vibe. Lead character, Scarlet gives off such a vibe of being smart that she comes off as being a scholar. Once we enter the catacombs, it is full of many horror ingredients and to say this would be different ending for a found footage film would be quite correct.



Yes, it is silly for this to be a found-footage film because it really serves no purpose in the film. Even more problematic, these characters aren't very rich in substance and they are kind of all over the place but still the acting is far from a problem and just about everyone has a backstory which isn't necessarily common in these type of plots. The catacombs idea is quite original and brings a different vibe to the film but it becomes even more interesting once the film puts psychological and also metaphysical ideas on top of it. It's not the type of horror film that is going to outright scare you but at least you are going to be creeped out by the concept and for crying out loud, it is shot in the real catacombs of Paris which contain the remains of 6 million dead people!
    

In the end, As Above, So Below could be described "as Blair Witch in catacombs" or a really messed up version of "The Goonies". Anyway, As Above, So Far Below is an innovative shock to the horror genre in 2014. A film that literally came out of nowhere for me.



4/5  

Dark Skies

I have loved horror for years now. I could talk for a while about what decades stand out for me in the genre, who's the best scream queen and why George Romero makes such good zombie films. The family idea and building a creepy and intense atmosphere usually work for me. Classical films like Poltergeist, Pet Sematary and Cujo are some of my favorites. Insidious from 2011 is the closest recent horror movie like this. Now in 2013, comes Dark Skies which is somewhat similar to Insidious though Dark Skies has a bit more sci-fi to it and is a bit more memorable.

In Dark Skies, a family is being haunted through many ways by a dark force which we later learn are aliens.
The film does center around a family but it does lack development between the family members but this is not terrible in itself. Dakota Goyo plays the older teenage son and delivers a fine performance just as he did in Real Steel, and his career certainly appears to be on the upswing. Kadan Rockett plays the younger son and plays this sweet young character very well for his age. John Hamilton plays the father and this is frankly the weakest character but you can still see that Hamilton is trying here. Keri Russel plays the mother and is perfectly casted and really carries this movie with her performance.

The plot is anything but new. Dark Skies rips-off Poltergeist, Close Encounters, E.T. and Paranormal Activity very liberally. In a strange way though, that is why I kind of liked the film so much. It reminded me of movies I loved from my childhood and could be considered a homage by director, Scott Stewart to those films.

With a somewhat ambitious and overdrawn plot, there are going to be some things missing inside. That said, the plot elements felt realistic. The film includes both children trying to fit in while Dakota Goyo is experiencing some negative peer pressure while also learning about the opposite sex. The parents are struggling with a serious money issue which brings tension to the film and could cause the younger audience to wonder if that could happen to them. These plot elements are not new but they bring the story just a little closer to home.

Of course in a horror/sci-fi movie, the money is in the scary scenes. The first scenes involving the aliens were a bit scary but the movie is more creepy than anything and is that way throughout. Characters run and walk around aimlessly outside in the middle of the night, experience mental breakdowns and unexplained nose bleeds along with body injuries in the form of marks and scars. The ending is one that we have seen before but it is set-up a bit differently and leaves you with an eerie feeling.

Dark Skies is a film that works on being something else than what you normally see today as it draws from movies from decades ago. As I mentioned earlier, it is a film that left me with a special feeling because of that. I recommend Dark Skies.

4/5

Top ten favorite horror films

October is really when we see a lot of horror films released and talked about obviously because of Halloween. This is good for me but actually I watch horror films all the time. Every week. Every month. I thought it might be a good time to list my top ten horror films. Here they are!

Long forgotten and could also be described as psychological horror. Brad Anderson's Session 9 is just great. Really creepy, great atmosphere and it has a great ending, Session 9 works on every level and is one you won't forget.

Even though most people that I know didn't like it and the sequels are really getting old, Paranormal Activity is a movie I have always liked a lot. It can be really creepy at times especially the ending. This low budget movie really works with it's claustrophobic feel.

In a lot of ways, Halloween, Friday the 13th and Nightmare on Elm Street are kind of all the same thing. Even through most of sequels are not very good to their franchise, the originals are all very good and memorable. They also include young actors like Jamie Lee Curtis, Johnny Depp and Kevin Bacon. Frankly, I could watch each one of these over and over again.

I have seen all of Geroge Romero "Dead"  films and loved every one but Night of the Living Dead is my favorite of these. For the 60's, it was quite different and obviously scary for a movie from that time period. The ending is great as well. This is a film that brings back a lot of good memories from my younger teen years when I was just getting into horror movies.

Only die-hard horror fans know about this one called Let the Right One In. Really good stuff and it is one of the few horror films where kids are the lead characters. Oh and they are vampires!

I know the sequels are not so great and  most people didn't care for them and even the original got only a mixed reaction but Saw has always stood out for me. An orginal story with a very creepy concept. Count me as a fan.

This might more properly be in the science-fiction or comedy category but I will include Gremilns here. A real fun movie from the 80's with a great cast and strange killers. What more could you want? I still watch it.

No way can I leave off The Blair Witch Project. This film that has a lot of raw power and may have the greatest movie endings of all time. One of the best found footage movies ever.


I know I missed some great films but these are my top ten and are a must-see for horror movie fans.