Chicks And Chainsaws

Hey guys,

I have decided to start a new blog focusing on women in horror (but not exclusively)…

Please check it out! I am also looking for contributors to this site, so if you fancy writing a review or feature then please don't hesitate to contact me!

http://chicksandchainsaws.wordpress.com

Carriers (2009)

Director: David & Alex Pastor

Country: USA

Tagline:  The rules are simple. You break them, you die...

Plot: Four young adults make their way to a beach two of them vacationed at as children during a viral pandemic, hoping for their holiday destination to be a safe haven for them and their friends.

Verdict: Carriers isn't your average outbreak movie, it is gritty and disturbing and focuses more on the relationships between the survivors rather than the virus itself. The virus is a fast acting uncurable discease that appears to literally rot the victim alive, it is very easily spread through any close contact with a carrier, although it doesn't appear to be airborn it can be spread through an infected coughing, etc. The focus of the film, as I mentioned, isn't on the disease so we are left with very little information about it, including how and when it started, how the four survivors managed to escape becoming infected and how long after the outbreak the events of the movie take place. This, however, adds to the intelligence or the film - it is very people focus, like The Walking Dead. An underrated film. 

About time!

I finally got an invite to the Metropol... Sadly, I got attacked and zombified, but I did meet this familiar figure there...

The Conjuring (2013)

Director: James Wan

Country: U.S.A.

Tagline: Look what you made me do

Plot: Based on a 'true story' recalled by paranormal investigators, Ed and Lorraine Warren (who also investigated the infamous Amityville house) the film retells the terrifying experiences of the Perron family's encounter with a spirit of a witch and the apparations of her subsequent victims in their Rhode Island farmhouse.

Verdict: It is rare to find a film that has some genuine scares these days. The Conjuring delivers on it's promise to be frightening. I am particularly difficult to scare, hence why I spend my time watching the so-called scariest movies of all time and writing them off as utter pants. Even I admit at jumped at the conjuring. The acting was brilliant, it couldn't be faulted (this is always important in convincing horror in the viewer) and the premise, indeed based on a true story made the tale that much more believable. If you are in the mood for something genuinely terrifying this Friday 13th and you aren't a horror hardcore, this will make your hair stand on end.

That thing that was taking up all my time...

Okay, so I just realised that I haven't posted up the ezine I was working on for months and months last year with the lovely Steve Upham, editor and owner of small press publishing house, Screaming Dreams. I had the opportunity to write majority of the content for the last edition of 'Estronomicon', the publishers sporadic online magazine. I have completely reformatted the zine, making it more of a magazine than a display of short stories. Hope you enjoy!

The Publishers Official Site: www.screamingdreams.com
Direct Link to Estronomicon: www.screamingdreams.com/ezine/LostAndFound2012.pdf

Lovely Molly (2011)

Director: Eduardo Sanchez

Country: U.S.A.

Tagline: 'Something is inside her' (can I just say, eww?! yeah, watch the film)

Plot: An orphaned former drug addict moves into her childhood home with her newly wedded husband, but it soon appears that her father never left the house...

Verdict: This film mixes elements of found footage quite effectively - recordings from 'lovely' Molly's wedding and her own recordings of her stumble into insanity. Basically, the premise isn't really very new - it becomes increasingly apparent that Molly's father was abusive, hence her subsequent drug addiction and constant teetering on the edge of normality. As the viewer, we are insure whether Molly is being raped and possessed by the spirit of her father or if her heroin use mixed with traumatic memories (previously, we assume, she had pushed from her mind as a coping mechanism) brought back up by moving into her parents' house causes a psychotic breakdown. By the end of the film, I was pretty convinced it was the former; but the lack of answers didn't add to the mystery of the film, rather, took away from there being any solid narrative. What you are left with is a bleak and depressing series of rather boring yet bloody events and a little bit of a sick feeling in your stomach.. but not in that good 'I just watched a gore-ific horror' kind of way. The film leaves you with many, many unanswered questions, such as 'How and when did Molly's husband encounter the very same woman Molly's possessed self was stalking at night with a cam-corder?', 'Am I the only one who notices these seemingly obvious plot holes?' and 'Was that a valuable waste of 2 hours?' No, it probably was not. In conclusion, this would serve better as a play to spotlight Gretchen Lodge's brilliant acting than it does as a worthy piece of horror cinema!