Posts Tagged ‘horror’
I first read about this movie in Wizard Magazine’s annual rundown of all the upcoming movies that are coming out or in production. The little mini-article (really a paragraph) said that Vinnie Jones would be starring in it and it was about a serial killer who stalked his victims on the subway. I didn’t hear much about it after that, till Vinnie Jones himself was on Craig Ferguson’s Late Late Show talking about the movie (which Craig said sounded like a porno). After that, again, I didn’t hear very much about it.
That all changed last night.
Last night, I was looking through FearNet’s list of movies and started watching 2001 Maniacs again. Before I could even get on to the movie, there was a preview for… Clive Barker’s Midnight Meat Train. As soon as I saw that, I thought, "Cool, it’s finally been made!" then I went through the list of movies again, saw it and started it up. Was it worth the wait?
The film starts with a young bald guy waking up on a subway car. He’s groggy, so he staggers to his feet, starts walking up the aisle and suddenly slips on a patch of blood. Looking ahead, with all grogginess gone, he sees the floor leading to the door completely covered in blood, with some more on the windows. He finally manages to make it to his feet and over to the door, looking into the next car, where he sees a figure killing someone.
From here, we go to photographer Leon. He’s trying to make it as a freelance photographer, but not getting many jobs. His girlfriend Maya gives him the good news that their friend Jurgis is going to hook Leon up with one of his rich contacts. Leon meets with the contact, Susan Hoff, who looks over his work and basically dismisses it (Jurgis tells him it was good, though, because if she disliked it completely, he would’ve had one minute instead of five). That night, following Hoff’s advise, Leon heads out into the night to take pictures of people. Following this trio of gangsters into the subways, he catches them in the act of almost assaulting a girl on the stairs leading down to the train platform. After taking some pictures he gets their attention and avoids an ass-beating by pointing out the surveillance camera that’s aiming down at them. After checking with the girl (who gives him a very nice kiss as a way of thanking him) he takes one more shot of her after a hand stops the train doors from closing so she can get on. She takes a seat several rows away from the owner of that hand who we only see in the background and blurred during this next scene… even while approaching her, he stays blurred and out of focus. The last we see in this scene is a large shape, like a mallet, swinging down and hitting the girl in the head, practically spinning it around completely…
This movie was really well-done, I thought, with a plot that kept you wondering. Who is this big guy with the large hammer? Why is he killing people on the subway and what does he do with the bodies? How is he getting away with it? To add to the mystery of the film, Jones doesn’t talk during most of the movie. He says one word during all of the show (beating his previous silent record set in the remade Gone in 60 Seconds). What the man does well is act, though, even without using his voice.
The cast in this was well-picked. Leon was played by Bradley Cooper who doesn’t have much of a career in the genre, but he has had some notable films and series under his belt: five episodes of Nip/Tuck, The Comebacks, 46 episodes of Alias, and Wedding Crashers, to name a few. Leslie Bibb plays his girlfriend Maya and she did well with the screen time she had. She’s been in Iron Man, Wristcutters: A Love Story, The Skulls and is going to be in this year’s Halloween-related anthology Trick ‘r Treat.
Brooke Shields had a small part as Susan Hoff, but she played the rich society lady with a taste for the morbid pretty well. As stated earlier, Vinnie Jones plays Mahogany, the subway serial killer, and does an excellent job at it. His genre credits include last year’s HorrorFest entry Tooth & Nail (which I hope to cover soon), X-Men 3: The Last Stand as the Juggernaut, and WWE Films‘ Steve Austin vehicle The Condemned. And, of course, the whole thing is based on a short story by Clive Barker, who introduces the film when it’s chosen on FearNet. The film was directed by Ryuhei Kitamura, who also directed and wrote Versus, Alive, and Godzilla: Final Wars.
All in all, a fun film, one that comes highly suggested. With a pedigree like Clive Barker, who brought us Nightbreed and Hellraiser, how can it go wrong? I give it 5 out of 5. Until next time, remember to stay off that midnight train, cuz there’s no way it’s stopping in Georgia… this is Red Hawk signing out!
My uncle is not a man easily scared. He’s a Vietnam veteran and his experiences there have left him with a somewhat different perspective on scary stuff than mine, ie: "After what I went through over there, the only thing that scares me is stuff that can happen in real life." Also, he’s not one to believe in ghosts or cryptozoological beings. That being said, when the ads for today’s film started airing on TV he said that it gave him shivers. If that doesn’t say something about this film, I don’t know what does!
We start the film with a wedding. Jane and Ben get married and head back to their apartment where Ben, a photographer, starts taking pictures of her. Soon, they’re on their way to Japan for a honeymoon and a new job offer for Ben (who’d worked there before). Along the way to their honeymoon cabin Jane wakes Ben up to look at the map then looks back and sees a girl walk out into the road. Jane can’t stop in time and slams into her. The girl’s gazing up at her before falling under the tires and the car goes off the road, crashing into a tree. Before Jane passes out, she sees the girl on the road start to stir and sit up, looking towards her.
When Jane and Ben wake up in their car they start looking for the girl (who Ben didn’t see and doesn’t seem to really believe in). After the authorities get there, they comb the woods searching for the girl that Jane saw, but can only think that maybe she hit an animal instead. Distraught, but understanding there isn’t anything more she can do, Jane heads off to the cabin (in a replacement vehicle) and finally cheers up a little bit. They celebrate their honeymoon by taking pictures of themselves on the deck of the cabin… some pictures that turn out a little weird later on…
This movie was pretty enjoyable even though the ads for it seemed to give away several important plot points, but that seems to be the case with a lot of American horror movies nowadays. Based on a 2004 Thai horror film (which I haven’t seen yet, but hope to soon), the film focuses a lot on spirit photography and what it might mean. I’ve always found this subject fascinating, having read about it for years (and seen some good examples of it, as well). It’s also a tale of revenge from beyond the grave which always seems to be a big seller in my book.
The acting in this is pretty good, with two actors from previous Japanese horror films having parts in it. Playing Jane is Rachael Hunter, an Australian actress who portrayed Zoe in WWE Films‘ Kane vehicle See No Evil, Teri Richards in the film version of comic book Man-Thing, and her biggest role to date, probably, Maggie Madsen from Transformers. She did well with her scare scenes, I thought, and she hid her accent well, also. Joshua Jackson plays hubby Ben. His horror pedigree includes 2005’s werewolf film Cursed, 1998’s Urban Legend and also Apt Pupil, based off of Stephen King’s novella. The girl, Megumi, was played by Megumi Okina who is best known, perhaps (at least in the US) as Rika, the main woman in the original Ju-On. The other J-Horror pedigree in this film is Kei Yamamoto, who had a bit part as Murase, a medium who specializes in spirit photography. He also played in 2004’s Premonition (a film that has nothing to do with Sandra Bullock’s film), as well as Professor Jôtarô Nagao in TV series Ring: The Final Chapter, based off of the Ringu series of films. Usually, I only mention actors, but I’d like to mention that the director, Masayuki Ochiai, seems to be a rising star in J-Horror. From the Presentiment segment of the previously reviewed Dark Tales of Japan to Infection to The Hypnotist, to this film, he can definitely deliver scares and creepiness in equal amounts.
In conclusion, I hope that you get as much enjoyment out of this film as I did. I give it 5 out of 5, and recommend it highly to anyone looking for a good, short scare. Until next time, may all your pictures be spiritless, and this is Red Hawk signing out!
.jpg)
"I’m a weary, disillusioned soldier and you’re the only pleasant site I’ve seen in seven months."
- Lt. Andre Duvalier
Here at Happy Horror we believe that any movie should be given a fair chance, no matter what the surrounding opinion or age. Case in point: this little gem that we’re using to kick off my first theme week, The Terror. Forty-five years ago, this film came out and helped the careers of various actors and yet it’s hardly known today. Well, four years ago, I picked this up at Wal-Mart for a dollar and just finally got around to viewing it.
We open the movie with an old man, Victor, in a castle. He staggers to a chain that pulls up a portcullis and goes through, then enters a secret passageway into another old area. Following this, we cut to the credits for The Terror. Following the credits, we see a young man, Andre, riding a horse down the beach. As he rides along, he checks his compass which spins like he was in the Bermuda Triangle. He goes a little further, then falls off the horse, falling unconscious only to be woken by the incoming waves. He gets up and walks a little bit back the other way and sees a beautiful woman. He asks her where to find some water and she leads him to a pool where he drinks. He starts following her up the beach further, finally getting her to tell him that her name’s Helene, when she tells him she wants to show him something. She leads him to a spot near a hole in a rock wall in the water where the waves crash in really harsh. Helene looks at the hole in the wall for a few seconds then starts walking towards it. Andre jumps into the water to try to bring her back, but ends up being both buffeted by waves and besieged by a falcon flying overhead. In the end, he falls in and blacks out…
This movie was an interesting experience for me. I ended up neither liking it strongly nor disliking it. I was more or less in the middle all the time I was watching it. Some parts stood out for me, others went way too slowly for my usual taste, but it was all good. The acting was well-done, as I said, and why shouldn’t it be? The first person we see in the movie, Baron Victor Frederick von Leppe, was portrayed by the legendary horror actor Boris Karloff. In addition to being the actor who immortalized Frankenstein’s monster in the original Frankenstein, he also played the voices in the original How the Grinch Stole Christmas holiday cartoon, he hosted the 10 episode series The Veil in 1958, and starred in a whole slew of other monster and horror films. The other major star of the film, Andre Duvalier, was played by Jack Nicholson, a legend in his own right. Other genre titles he was in include Witches of Eastwick and Wolf, but really, his reputation speaks for itself. Rounding out the strong male cast is Dick Miller who some might recognize as Mr. Futterman in the two Gremlins movies, and just about every Joe Dante film. I would be remiss to not mention Jonathan Haze, who has a small part in this film as Gustav. He plays Seymour Krelboin in the original Little Shop of Horrors, as well as other parts in movies such as X: The Man with the X-Ray Eyes, Teenage Cave Man and Blood Bath. On the female side of the coin, we have Sandra Knight as Helene. She also played in Blood Bath, as well as Frankenstein’s Daughter and an episode in the horror anthology television series One Step Beyond. Playing Katrina, the old woman who helps Andre recover his health, is Dorothy Neumann, who also guest starred in several television shows of the era, including the Addams Family, The Twilight Zone and even an episode of Tales from the Crypt shortly before she passed away in 1994.
Altogether, I rate this film a 3 out of 5. It’s a good way to kick off our first theme week, where we’ll be visiting the works of one of my favorite directors, Roger Corman. So, I’ll see you all tomorrow. Until next time, this is Red Hawk signing out!
Hi, everyone! I was looking over some of the different search engine terms that have brought people to our site and one that stuck in my mind was "a list of the best horror playstation 2 games". Well, while I can’t say I’ve played every single horror-based game on the system, I’ve played my fair share of them, and I thought I’d focus on that for an article. So, without further ado (because we know how long ado’s take), here’s a list of horror games for PS2 and what I, personally, thought of them. As I play more, I’ll have more updates, and hopefully even head into PS3 territory soon.
Fatal Frame
I know I covered this one in a two-part article, but I just love this game. For those of you who haven’t read about it, you play as a young girl who heads into an old, abandoned Japanese mansion in search of her missing brother who’d gone in before her. Along the way you encounter ghosts of various viciousness which you must fight with an old-fashioned camera (later games dubbed this the Camera Obscura). This game… no, this series… is one of the best I’ve played of any genre, and I stand by my earlier rating of 5 out of 5.
Fatal Frame 2: Crimson Butterfly
One game I’ve been wanting to review for a while but haven’t gotten around to it, yet. It takes the basic gameplay of the first game, throws in a little back story (while the main characters you play as in FF2 aren’t related to the first game, the ghostly events are), advances the camera controls a little more and throws in some more replay value. This game was my friend Vicki’s entry into the series and I’m sure she’d agree that 5 out of 5 works for it, also.
Fatal Frame III: The Tormented
I haven’t gotten to play this one as much, thanks to a prolonged loaning to my previously-mentioned friend, but I definitely enjoyed it. The game closes the gaps between the two previous games with the player taking control of three characters: Rei Kurosawa, the main character whose guilt over the loss of her fiancé causes her to enter a strange mansion in her dreams, the House of Sleep; Kei Amakura, uncle of Mei and Mayu, the main characters of Fatal Frame II; and Miku Hinasaki, the main character from the original game, who works as Rei’s assistant. As the story progresses, the House of Sleep expands and so does the influence of the spectral forces on the waking world, as Rei starts seeing strange things appear in her house. I give this another 5 out of 5.
Siren
Another game that takes place in Japan, rather than the US, this game consistently spooks the hell out of me. During the course of the game, you take up the controls of one of ten characters, hoping to get out of a nightmare world where the living dead roam the streets, searching for you. This game features the unique mechanic called "Sightjacking" where you can view the surroundings through the eyes of any character, enemy or ally, in the area. The game focuses more on stealth than attacking, with most levels requiring you to conserve ammunition and stay out of sight of the enemy (indeed, several missions give you no ammunition whatsoever to start with, or weapons). I’ll give this a 4 out of 5 due to some of the frustration involved in certain missions.
Silent Hill 2
Silent Hill was one of my favorite games on the original PlayStation and when this game came out, I played it as soon as I had a chance. While very enjoyable, it wasn’t my biggest favorite of the series. Players take on the role of James Sunderland, a man whose wife died three years prior. He’s approached Silent Hill as he received a letter recently from his wife asking him to meet her there, "in our special place". Players also encounter Angela Orosco, who’s there searching for her mother; Eddie Dombrowski, whose reasons for being in Silent Hill are, initially, unclear; and Laura, a small girl with a connection to Mary, James’ wife. This game introduces the concept of the town of Silent Hill playing with people’s perceptions, making them see things from their own subconcious. While successfully creepy and foggy, I have to give this one a 3 out of 5.
Silent Hill 3
I felt this game was a big improvement over Silent Hill 2. The plot has a direct connection to the original Silent Hill and while it sometimes mentions the psychological effects of the town, I didn’t really feel it overpower the story as much as with SH2. This time, you take the role of Heather, a teenage girl living in an unnamed town near Silent Hill as she first encounters monsters in the mall, then on her way home. The story takes some good twists and serves as a good finisher to the original game’s storyline. I give it 5 out of 5.
Silent Hill 4: The Room
This is my least favorite of the Silent Hill series, mostly because it just doesn’t feel like Silent Hill. You play as Henry Townshend, a man with a problem. He’s stuck in his apartment. Not that he’s afraid of going out or anything like that, of course; somehow a strange locking mechanism appeared on his door that will not let him exit no matter what. He finds a way out through holes in his walls. That lead to other areas, kind of like Alice in Wonderland, though there’s no "friendly" White Rabbits or Mad Hatters on the other end, just monsters and an immortal killer who’s trying to complete a ritual. All in all, I score this a 3 out of 5.
Clock Tower 3
While sharing the Clock Tower name with three previous games, this one has nearly nothing to do with those (outside of a villain named Scissorman that appears in a late chapter, along with his sister Scissorwoman). Players take on the role of Alyssa, a young girl who returns home after receiving a letter from her mother (specifically telling her NOT to come back home) and finds a stranger there who she assumes is a boarder at the house. Soon, she finds herself in World War II London, escaping a giant with a sledgehammer that murders a young girl. This game is freaky, using some extremely disturbing images to deliver the scares. I’ll give this one a 4 out of 5.
Haunting Ground
Known in Japan as Demento (no relation to the comedy music DJ Dr. Demento), and initially intended to be part of the Clock Tower series, this game stands on its own now. You play as Fiona, a girl trapped in an old medieval castle, trying to find a way out. Along the way you encounter some other characters, most notable of which is Debilitas, a simple man who acts as the gardener of the castle who instantly starts chasing Fiona whenever he sees her. Helping Fiona along the way is Hewie, a white German Shepherd dog who you train upon first meeting him. I haven’t been able to finish this game, yet, but so far, it’s worth a 4 out of 5.
Resident Evil: The Essentials
A box set of three Resident Evil games, this was a steal for me at $30 at Wal-Mart, you get three games in the set. First is Resident Evil Code: Veronica X, which was originally released to the Dreamcast as RE Code: Veronica. This was the first PS2 Survival Horror game I ever played, having rented it the day I bought my PS2. It follows the same gameplay pattern as the PSX Resident Evil games, making it pretty easily accessible to those familiar with them. I give it a 4 out of 5.
Next is Resident Evil: Outbreak, the first online RE game to be released. You pick one of eight characters and guide them through any of five scenarios (only one is unlocked to start with, but more become available through various playthroughs). It attempts to show an everyman’s POV of the Raccoon City infection, giving you a choice between a cop, security guard, doctor, reporter, waitress, plumber, subway worker or student. With numerous special items available, multiple outfits to unlock and different events to see, this game has more playthrough value than you might first think. 4 out of 5.
Finally, there’s the game that was sworn to never see the light of a PS2 laser, Resident Evil 4. In this game, you take on the role of Leon Kennedy, male character from RE2, as he’s on special assignment into a European country to save the U.S. President’s kidnapped daughter. Along the way, he encounters not a horde of zombies but a bunch of peasants infected with a parasite called Las Plagas. This game is very fun, and dares to break away from the classic "bioweapon" stories of the rest of the series. I give it 5 out of 5.
Resident Evil: Outbreak: File #2
A sequel to RE: Outbreak (obviously), this game reunites you with Mark, Kevin, Yoko and the rest of the Outbreak crew as they continue their attempts at surviving five new areas. Online capable again, this game actually seems a bit tougher than the first, though they at least give you the chance to pick your (offline) partners, rather than assigning them randomly as in the first game. I had fun with this game and score it 4 out of 5.
Kuon
Rounding out our tour of horror games for now, I bring you Kuon. This has to be one of the rarest games I’ve seen come out here and the only way I’ve been able to play it is by signing up for the online rental service GameFly. You play as one of two women (though a third character becomes unlocked once you beat the game with both of them) each striving to help exorcise a Japanese mansion in Heian Period Japan. It’s been pretty fun and I expect to have a full review of the game up as soon as I finish it completely. So far, it gets a 4 out of 5, subject to future events.
Well, there you go. That’s just a small sampling of the many survival horror games out on the PS2 now and I haven’t even hardly mentioned PS1 or PS3 (or any other systems, for that matter). If you enjoyed this article, please feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail me, and let me know of any other games I can cover in future installments. Until next time, keep gaming, and this is Red Hawk signing out!
"They say that this is one of the most haunted houses in all of Japan."
- Miyuki
Welcome to our annual October festival named Happy Horrorween! I will be your host for the duration of the month, bringing you some of the best in horror from the past and present. And when I say the best, I mean it, as we’re doing something a little different this year: every full week of the month, we’ll be covering five movies that a certain horror celebrity has been associated with (either starring or directing) and on the sixth day I’ll be inducting that person into the Happy Horror Hall of Fame, where they’ll join the likes of Ted Cassidy and… well, Ted Cassidy’s the only one there, right now. But not for long!
Meanwhile, let’s kick things off right with another ghastly, ghostly epic. When I started my October festival (originally named Octoberfest), the first movies I reviewed were the original Ju-On and it’s sequel and remake. That year, Takashi Shimizu (a man who also deserves a spot in the HHHoF) released The Grudge 2 to the United States. A few scenes were, I believe, redone from the original Ju-On (the ghostly girls looking in through newspapered windows, for one), but for the most part the scenes are original to this film. It also somewhat brings the curse back to what the original Japanese films portrayed: jumping from person to person through contact outside of the house.
The film starts with a couple arguing over breakfast (after the usual Grudge opening showing the rundown of how the curse operates), when the woman, Trish, walks around behind the guy, Bill, pours hot bacon grease over his head, then rears the skillet back and smacks him over the head with it extremely hard, causing him to fall to the ground and shake, blood draining onto the floor. From here (after the opening credits where we see a review of what happened at the heart of the curse), we go to the International School in Tokyo, where a girl, Allison, is running to try to catch up with two others, Miyuki and Vanessa. Allison seems desperate to try to fit in with the other two who seem somewhat stuck up (Miyuki comments on how Allison’s only been there three weeks, but Allison corrects her by saying they’ve been in the same class for six months). Vanessa mentions that Allison should eat with them sometime, but balks again when Allison seems too eager.
The trio approach the house and Allison hangs back a moment, wondering what it is. The other two start to tease her a little, telling her that anyone going inside becomes cursed. Vanessa starts in first, then Miyuki follows, pushing Allison ahead of her, as we see through a peephole that someone seems to be watching. Inside, the place is trashed and burned, most likely from Karen’s efforts in the first movie. Vanessa tells Allison that this was where the girl from the international college killed her boyfriend two years prior. As Vanessa and Allison start upstairs, Miyuki hears a noise from the bathroom and investigates, seeing the tub full of water (and leaves). Suddenly the water starts moving and Miyuki backs out quickly, telling Vanessa (who’s happy Allison’s getting freaked out by the place) that they should go. Vanessa talks her out of it and leads the way back upstairs and down the hall to the room where Yoko found the way to the attic in the first film. Allison ends up in the closet on a dare, but then the closet becomes impossible to open from either side. Allison sees Kayako’s face in the panel up to the attic and starts panicking more, finally getting out through the closet door and confronting her "friends" before running out again…
There’s more to the film than just the trio, of course, but I don’t want to spoil any more for you than I already have. You also meet Aubrey, Karen’s sister who’s been sent by their emphysemic mother to bring Karen back to the States again. And there’s also more involving Trish and Bill, the couple from the intro. There’s a lot going on in this movie and just like the first film, the scenes aren’t seen in chronological order so don’t worry if a little confusion might creep in during your viewing. Just remember that all the clues are there, they just have to be viewed in the right order.
The acting in this movie was well-done all around. Returning from the previous film (at least, for some scenes early on) is Sarah Michelle Gellar as Karen. She’s not on camera for long, but what she has in it is really good. You’ll also remember her from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, I Know What You Did Last Summer and Scream 2, among other things. Taking over as star this time is Amber Tamblyn who you might recognize from TV’s Joan of Arcadia, as well as playing Katie Embry in The Ring… she’s also in the non-horror Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, as well as its sequel. Playing Trish is Jennifer Beals, who’s probably best known for the 1983 film Flashdance, but she also played in 1985’s Frankenstein remake The Bride along with Sting and 1989 comedy Vampire’s Kiss with Nicolas Cage. Arielle Kebbel portrayed Allison, the unfortunate recipient of the closet’s locking. She stars in next year’s The Uninvited, as well as having a pretty good history with TV shows and a few non-genre movies. Reprising her role of Kayako, of course, is the lovely Takako Fuji. As for Toshio’s part, this time the part went to Oga Tanaka, as the original actor, Yuya Ozeki, had grown too tall between films. This is just a handful of the talented cast on hand.
The Unrated DVD has some really good features on it. Along with the usual behind the scenes featurettes and deleted scenes, they included Tales from The Grudge, three short films that are kind of offshoots of the series showing how the curse is growing and spreading outside of the house. Also, there’s a montage of the cast and crew goofing around with the scene clappers, set to the film’s spooky score, that is good for a laugh. Finally, as for languages, you can watch it in English or French. Mon dieu!
All in all, I’d be doing this film a disservice if I gave it anything less than a 5 out of 5. I’m looking forward to next year when The Grudge 3 comes out, although it already has a couple strikes against it in my book. First, it’s a straight-to-video offering, and the Grudge experience really works best in a theater environment. Secondly, the director isn’t Takashi Shimizu, but instead, the director of the Tales from The Grudge films, Toby Wilkins. However, Shimizu is producing the film and Wilkins did do a good job on Tales. So, I’ll be keeping an open mind (and wallet) when the third one comes out. In the meantime, there’s still a lot to enjoy about this film, and it definitely begs for more than one viewing. So, until next time, keep your eye out for creepy, meowing kids… and their creaking, croaking mothers… and this is Red Hawk signing out!
How about this? One of the biggest things to happen on the site, yet. Fathom Events is showing the film Death Note II in selected theaters (only in the US, unfortunately) and Happy Horror has been asked to host a giveaway for two free tickets. The film is being held on two nights, October 15th and 16th, so if you want to see it, leave us a message here or in our forums to enter your name. At the end of September (2008) we’ll select a winner through a random drawing and that lucky person will get the opportunity to see the movie!
For those unfamiliar with the storyline of the original anime, or the first film, here it is: the story is about Light Yagami, a student who finds a supernatural notebook with the ability to kill anybody whose name is written in it. With it, Light determines to destroy all evil and make a world where he can rule. Against him is L, the world’s top detective, who’s determined to solve the mystery of the Death Notes and stop Light’s spree.
So, good luck to everybody who decides to enter the contest and we’ll let you know as soon as we find out. Talk to you all later, and as always, this is Red Hawk signing out!
You can find the complete list of where the film will show right here!
Older Posts »
