Scary Stories (from a Dark Allie)

So, while the first one was more about family and survival (no surprise I liked it then, eh?), this one was definitely more about the Purge. Oh, and Frank Grillo. It was also about Frank Grillo.

And I liked it! Unlike some other sequels, I felt this one actually added to the story. The Purge is an interesting concept and it’s sort of glossed over in the first film. You get enough context to feel like you understand the universe but not quite enough context to feel like all your questions have been answered.

I always liked this one. It’s not perfect, but it’s got a great cast, an interesting premise, and some tense moments.

Okay, now here’s an addition to the franchise I can get behind. This movie was engaging and entertaining and unlike the previous film actually got me excited about watching the next one.

I think perhaps my favorite part of this one (or at least the most well done part) is how, just when you start thinking that they’ve strayed far from the intent and rationale behind the first movie, the twist is revealed and the original meaning restored. It’s epic and quite satisfying.

This movie had an interesting story, an overused implementation, and a weirdly uneven and often slow pace. It has its scary moments but for the most part it’s just boring.

This is another horror movie remake that tries to be far more disturbing than its predecessor. It succeeds, but only superficially.

I can see why this movie was controversial when it came out. Like The Last House on the Left, it shows a lot of graphic violence and rape. Unlike The Last House on the Left, this movie at least attempts to provide some character development to all sides.

While I certainly wouldn’t call the men sympathetic characters, I appreciated that this movie tried to be about more than just violence and rape.

Well, this was a movie. I don’t want the hour and a half of my life spent watching this back, but I also don’t feel like I gained anything during that time.

Essentially this movie set up an obvious, predictable situation…and then followed through with it. It’s apparently hailed as a “suspenseful” movie but for me the only suspense was when the movie was going to end.

I have to admit, I think part of the reason I rated this at four out of five is because I was surprised at how interesting I found it. It’s based off of a book, and if the adaptation is true to the story at all I think I want to read this book.

Wow. Just…wow. This movie was a disappointment. It’s based on a Stephen King novel I have read – and one I quite liked, at that. But I did not like this movie.

It was boring, it lacked emotion, and it was a poorly paced adaptation of the story. It feels strange to me to rate anything with such a great cast lower than three out of five, but I couldn’t bring myself to go past two out of five for this one.

This one, while also written by Leigh Whannell, just wasn’t quite as good as the first one. It’s more disturbing for the sake of being disturbing, dark for the sake of being dark, and the story just isn’t quite as interesting.

I’ll give it one thing, though – the twist at the very end was pretty good. Not entirely unexpected or unpredictable, but well timed and well placed.

It doesn’t make me hopeful for the next 5 films, though. Well, I guess we’ll see next week!

Funny enough, I didn’t realize that tonight’s movie starred both Anton Yelchin and Imogen Poots – just like last night’s movie. And I’m rating this one four out of five, also like last night’s movie. But aside from those two things, this movie is nothing like last night’s movie.

I’m tired and my clothes smell like Downy so I’ll be quick. Tonight’s movie was better than last night’s movie in practically every way.

Also, it has David Tennant. And of course Anton Yelchin. Watch this movie. Don’t watch the other movie.

I’d never seen this movie before and went in without much in the way of expectations. Luckily that meant I wasn’t too let down when this turned out to be an unremarkably average attempt at horror/comedy.

Let’s just say that The Lost Boys did the same thing way better a couple years later. In fact, all three of those movies did the same thing better than this one.