Scary Stories (from a Dark Allie)

I’m easily distracted, so I often skip foreign movies because I know I don’t pay enough attention to the subtitles to really follow the plot. And dubbed movies, especially dubbed horror movies, are pretty hit or miss (more often on the “miss” side). But this one hits, and it hits hard.

What all that means is that I love this movie. A lot. It’s incredible how effective this movie is. “High tension” is absolutely right. This movie is a thrill ride that just doesn’t let up. The story isn’t entirely original, but the acting, the pacing, and the background music all work together to make this a really scary story.

My birthday is this Sunday, so I figured I’d spend the week leading up to it watching (and writing about) some of my favorite scary movies. Starting with this one. I’ve watched this several times now, and even knowing what’s going to happen I find myself at the edge of my seat every time.

I love Vera Farmiga and Peter Sarsgaard, but I was blown away by Isabelle Fuhrman as Esther. In fact, all of the kids in this movie were superbly believable, which just added to the creep factor.

This is one of those movies that I feel like I should like more than I actually do. It’s got all the makings of a good scary movie! A great cast, a good composer, and an original story. But I thought it was only okay.

I’d been talking about John C. Reilly earlier today and saw that he was in this, and I hadn’t seen it since it came out (over 10 years ago now!) so figured it was a reasonable choice. I love Jennifer Connelly and Tim Roth, and I’ve been seeing Dougray Scott in a lot lately, so I figured it wouldn’t be that bad. And it wasn’t that bad or anything. The acting was definitely great, and the music was really well done. And the abandoned apartment and dilapidated complex was pretty creepy.

The good news is, I was right! Contracted makes so much more sense after watching Phase II. I thought this one was a better film overall. In fact, you could probably cut the first movie down to 20 minutes, add it to the beginning of the second, and have a great movie that isn’t too long.

This one didn’t feel slow like the first one at all. In fact, I had to rewind a few times towards the last few minutes because I had to double check to see if it had suddenly turned into an action movie (it had). Similar to the first one, the acting was good in this – except for BJ.

Tonight’s post is a special one, because it’s really half of a post. I saw the first Contracted a year or two ago on Netflix, and while I mostly liked it, I always felt there was something missing and I wasn’t sure how to articulate it.

I saw that the sequel was recently added on Netflix and was pretty excited, but wanted to watch the first one again – it had been a while since I’d seen the original, and I read that the second started immediately after the events of the first. And it turns out, I’m pretty sure what was missing from the first movie was…the second movie.

This was a weird movie. I kind of get where they were going with the story, but it didn’t quite land for me.

I think Christopher Walken is not so much terrifying as he is intimidating. He intimidated the crap out of me in this movie, but I was never really scared. Maybe it’s the accent. I just don’t buy that the archangel Gabriel would be Christopher Walken. Clearly it was my inability to suspend my disbelief for the movie that ruined it for me.

This movie isn’t really a horror film, but it’s definitely a scary story. And since everything that happens in the film could technically happen in real life, it’s even more terrifying.

It’s interesting how a movie with essentially one location and three characters can be so engaging, but there wasn’t any point in the movie that dragged on or seemed unnecessary. The character development is impressive, though I suppose a movie like this would have to do that well. It definitely wouldn’t work if the characters weren’t sympathetic.

I (like many folks I know) have a love/hate relationship with M. Night Shyamalan. I loved Unbreakable and thought The Sixth Sense was pretty okay, and I hated The Happening (despite Zooey Deschanel – but that’s a review for another day) and was pretty bored by Lady in the Water. So I wasn’t sure what to expect from The Visit.

Then I watched the trailer for it, and realized it was basically an M. Night Shyamalan found footage film, and was even less sure what to expect from it. About where I landed…I’m on the fence about it, much like my overall sentiment towards the director.

I’ve been on a streak of above-average movies lately because I got a new job (yay!) which has left me a bit sleepy at the end of the day (boo!) and unwilling to put up with less-than-stellar movies. But it’s my second week now, so I’ve started getting used to the new schedule and can start watching and reviewing terrible movies again.

Just not tonight. Cam2Cam isn’t a 4 out of 5, but it’s not terrible. The acting is great, the story interesting, and the scenery (in Bangkok) beautiful. Plus the main character’s name is Allie.

This is a silly movie, and I like it. It’s the first thing I ever saw Megan Fox in, which is probably why I like her so much. Amanda Seyfried is great in this, and there are even cameos by J.K. Simmons and Chris Pratt!

Sure, it’s not the scariest of movies. I’m not sure Diablo Cody knows how to write real horror, but she does know how to write teen drama. So this is another film that ends up more like a primetime teen drama and less like a really good scary story.

Cursed is a very 2005 Kevin Williamson/Wes Craven production that ends up more Dawson’s Creek than Freddy Krueger. Joshua Jackson and all.

That said, I still really like it. The dialogue is cheesy and hard to swallow (I don’t think Kevin Williamson has ever quite figured out sibling relationships in his writing), but the acting is great. And the cast has a lot of relatively big names – Christina Ricci, a pre-fame Jesse Eisenberg, Judy Greer, Portia de Rossi. Oh, and of course Shannon Elizabeth.

This is an interesting movie. Interesting in a good way, though. I really like that the scares in this one build over time – it’s no action-packed slasher film, but rather a glimpse into the dark side of suburban family life and mental illness.

I don’t think the pacing will suit everyone. It’s a bit slow to get going (although you wouldn’t expect that from the awesome opening sequence), opting for character development over shock value, but this works well here; by the time you realize the depths of Pauline’s troubles you’re already feeling sympathetic towards her.

I’m surprised I haven’t already reviewed a Stephen King adaptation. I realized this was one I hadn’t already seen or read, which is impressive because I’ve seen and read a lot of Stephen King. Like, a lot. Anyway, it seemed like an appropriate choice for my first Stephen King review.

I may be a bit biased, but I haven’t met a Stephen King adaptation I don’t like. I think it’s partly because King is so great at describing scenes in such detail that a visual adaptation can’t help but be true to the original.