Movie - Devil's Pass (2013)

This movie was filmed the way that I enjoy watching movies which is the first person camera view. If all movies (or at least most of them) were filmed this way I would be a happy camper. I was not aware that this was based on a true story until I found the picture above which is a terrifying thought. Five college students set off to find out what happened to the nine skiers who mysteriously died in the Dyatlov Pass incident. In Russia, there is a mountain in which nine skiers were found dead and almost all naked. When the students start investigating the incident, a lot of people do not want to talk about it or have nothing to say about it. Once they get far up the mountain, they realize why. They start to find very large foot prints that start and end in random places where it would be impossible for them to be. While investigating radiation in the mountains, two of the students uncover a door buried in the snow. While they are sleeping that night, an avalanche takes out one of them and most of their supplies. After sending up a flare for help, government officials find them and begin shooting to kill. In an attempt to escape, they pry open the door and hide. Inside of the door they discover what looks to be a lab for experiments and with a little more exploring get ambushed by creatures. It is unknown what the creatures are and how they got there. After being pushed further into the cavern, they find a portal at a dead end. Having no choice but to move forward, both students go through the portal. when they make it through the portal, their bodies are transformed into the creatures and taken to the past. I would have to do some digging, but I don't believe that anyone has ever seen such creatures and if they did I don't know how believeable that may be. I gave this movie a four. It was very well done as most IFC movies are.

Movie - Dead End (2003)

I have seen a few movies or shorts that had a story similar to this. The movie is about a family who come in contact with a woman in the woods on their way to a Christmas party on Christmas Eve. The woman, when left alone with the daughter's boyfriend, takes his body, dismembers him, and throws him on the road. After seeing this, the family flees and tries to find help. After some time, they find that they are on an endless road that just keeps going on and on. Every time they stop, another family member gets taken and murdered until only the daughter is left. When the daughter suddenly awakens in a hospital, she is told that they had all gotten into a car accident and she is the only survivor. In a way the movie is a dream-like way of expressing the car accident and the loss of her family one by one. I liked the way that this movie played out and also liked that the paranormal investigator from Insideous was the mother character in this movie because she is a great actress (though she's pretty silly in this one). A funny part of this movie is when she eats an entire pie and ends up throwing up from it. The only part I didn't like about this movie was how ridiculously vulgar they made the brother. I though they could have toned that down quite a bit. I gave this one a four.

Movie - Tucker & Dale Vs. Evil (2010)

I was hesitant to watch this movie because I don't usually enjoy funny horror movies, but this movie was GREAT. I felt the above illustration really captures the awesomeness of the movie though I am not sure who to give the credit to. The movie really touches on discrimination and how extreme it can end up becoming due to that and misunderstandings. The movie follows two extremely redneck brothers who just bought a cabin in the woods and have issues talking to women. While they are out night fishing, they spy a woman skinny dipping with her friends. When the woman notices them, she falls and hits her head really hard and passes out. The rednecks save her and bring her back to their cabin so that she can heal, but when her friends see them dragging her onto their boat they assume they are kidnapping and murdering her. The movie just gets crazier as the kids get themselves killed trying to attack the rednecks who they think are psychopaths. As the movie progresses, you find out that one of the teenages is actually the psychopath and the rednecks put their lives on the line to save the girl. I really enjoy how the movie touches on discrimination and how it can affect people negatively. I really enjoyed this movie and gave it a four. Good stuff.

Movie - Cursed (2005)

This movie was a ridiculous disappointment which is a shame because I happen to like the two main characters. The movie is about a brother and sister who get into a car accident and get bitten and infected by a werewolf. As they start turning into werewolves, they uncover that two people that they are close to are also werewolves (one of them is the one who infected them). The movie puts more of a comical tone on werewolves rather than being a scary movie. The werewolves themselves looked more silly than anything and the overall movie just wasn't that good. I am giving this movie a two for being uninteresting and silly.

Movie - From Dusk 'Till Dawn (1996)

This movie is a secret vampire movie. You don't see one vampire until the last thirty minutes of the movie. The movie follows two criminals who kidnap a family of three who force the family to take them to Mexico in order to meet up with their liasion to make a deal. Once they get to a bar in Mexico where is the point where they are to meet their contact, they are attacked by a hoard of vampires. The vampire part is so random that I didn't even expect it. I actually really liked this movie for some reason. I think one of the main reasons is the amount of big names in the movie like George Clooney. I gave this movie a three for being pretty good. The only thing keeping this from a four would be the really corny way that they decided to do the vampire battles and deaths. I think they could have done a lot more with that part which is unfortunate.

Movie - Manhunter (1986)

I was not aware that the Red Dragon movie was actually a re-make of this movie from the 80's. Instead of following the Red Dragon character (Dee), the movie follows the detective who is cracking the case instead. The movie portrays a man who believes himself to be hideous and hides behind the personal of the Red Dragon which ultimately consumes his life causing him to murder innocent girls. At some point he wears pantyhose on his head and sends a reporter flying down a ramp in a wheelchair on fire. The movie mostly follows the detective and how he falls into the mindset of the criminal to solve crimes. Honestly, I enjoyed Red Dragon more because I personally enjoy seeing the side of the killer rather than the side of the detective which is usually how things are shown. That and the REAL Hanibal Lector that we all love is in Red Dragon and not in Manhunter which is unfortunate. I gave this one a three. It was pretty good and showed a different side of the story.

Movie - The Ward (2010)

This movie had a twist of an ending that I totally did not expect. And yes I am going to tell you so stop reading now unless you want to know. This movie reminds me a little of Girl, Interrupted. A woman ends up in an asylum with a few other girls who seem to be keeping a secret. As you go through the story and develop characters, you learn that the girls have begun disappearing over time. The secret is that the girls murdered another girl in the asylum and her ghost has returned to pick them off one by one. The end of the movie reveals that there was really only one girl all along and that the multiple girls were actually different personalities created by the girl. It's a twist that I really didn't see coming but definitely boosted my score of this movie (which was a four). I really enjoyed this one. Great movie.