Certified Ace Movie Review : The Woman In Black : Angel of Death

The Woman In Black : Angel Of Death, a serviceable creep show

Genre: Horror
Country: United Kingdom
Studio: Mark Eckersley Production company, Hammer Films, Entertainment One, Cross Creek Pictures, Relativity Media
Release Date: December 30, 2014

Director: Tom Harper
Starring Phoebe Fox, Jeremy Irvine, Helen McCrory, Adrian Rawlins, Leanne Best, Ned Dennehy


In 2012, Daniel Radcliffe surprised everyone when he starred in the movie adaptation of the Susan Hill novel The Woman In Black.
Set during the Edwardian Era, he played widowed lawyer Arthur Kipps. He is tasked to go to Crythin Gifford to arrange the sale of the "Eel Marsh House" and examine the documents left by its deceased owner Alice Drablow. Soon he is drawn into a curse that has been plaguing the town and decides to find out the mystery behind the so-called Woman in black.

The film became a box-office success, earning $127.7 million at the box-office, and received positive reception from critics praising it's tone and atmosphere. Because of this, a sequel to the film was planned.
Two years after the release of the first film, Hammer Films has finally unveiled the sequel to their highly successful horror film. This time, minus Radcliffe.

So did the film fared better than it's predecessor? Let's find out as we have a breakdown of the film.


Story

The film opens during the Blitz of World War II. Eve Parkins together with her schoolchildren and the school's headmistress, Jean Hogg leaves the city and evacuates to the countryside town of Crythin Gifford. On their way,she met Harry Burnstow, a pilot stationed at an airfield near their area.
They stay at the Eel Marsh House for their temporary shelter.
During their first nights, Eve started to have nightmares about her past that she have been trying to forget ever since. Soon she starts to feel that something is wrong inside the house. When one of the children, Edward who has been mute since the death of his parents during the bombings, starts to display unusual behaviors and children end up dying, she deduces that an evil force is at play.
I liked the story of the sequel, by having it take place years apart from the first movie.
I also loved the Edwardian Era setting which adds up to the dark and sad tone of the whole movie. I don't know but I have this penchant for period horror films like The Conjuring. They have this gorgeous vintage look and feel that really adds up to the whole film.


Casting


Phoebe Fox stars as Eve Parkins, a schoolteacher who heads into the countryside town with her schoolchildren and headmistress. She is good as the film's protagonist. Her acting is above the average that you see in genre films like this.

On the other hand, her co-actor Harry Burnstow is also a good counterpart to her. He is also good in acting here, especially in the part where he reveals to Eve that he is not a real pilot for the army but rather a decoy because he can no longer fly a plane.

Helen McCrory adds up to the film's cast as Headmistress Jean Hogg. She gives a beautiful performance as the headmistress whom appears to be a strong woman and always takes control of the situation until she sees the ghost of the Woman in black herself, which traumatizes her.

Another cast member who deserves acknowledgement is Oaklee Pendergast as Edward. He is so amazing in his role as a troubled young boy who is being followed by the Woman in black.







Direction

Tom Harper was successful in filling up the whole movie with an eerie feeling with it's dark and sad tone. The film boasts with chilling atmosphere. Every scene is filled with a sense of dread.
He is also successful with throwing in a lot of jump scares all through out the film.
The only thing that I wanna point out is that the film is short on tension.

There were a lot of points in the movie wherein they could have pushed it a little bit more to add more tension between the characters.
One good example perhaps would be the relationship between Eve and Headmistress Jean. They could have added more conflict between he two of them, with Eve trying to prove to them that the Woman in black exists,while Jean still refusing to believe its existence.


Technical Aspects

This is one of the things that really showed a lot of improvements over the predecessor.
The visual effects of the film is so realistic. The music courtesy of Marco Beltrami is also eerily haunting.
One thing that I would also want to commend is the film's cinematography.

The film is gorgeously shot in every scene. I liked the shots of the marshlands outside the house, especially whenever they are driving down the road along the marsh. Those shots are so stunning to look at and so creepy to watch at the same time.
The only thing that I want to be addressed is the lightning of the film. The film looks beautiful especially during it's scenes under the daylight but there where parts in the film that were set during the night where I cant see anything at all. The best example of this would be the scene where their bus suffers a puncture while travelling through the deserted village on their way to the Eel Marsh House, where Eve is confronted by a raving madman. That scene was so dark that I can't even see what's already happening on that scene.
But aside from this,the film's visuals are pretty good.


Overall

The film is obviously overshadowed by it's predecessor in a lot of aspects,but I must say that The Woman in Black : Angel of Death is one pretty good horror flick. It wills send you chills that will creep through your bones all through out the movie. It's also filled with jump scares here and there so you're going to have a great time watching it with friends who love screaming and kicking.




Some more tension and suspense, plus a better lightning would be nice. But overall , the film definitely give you the creeps.

I'm awarding this film 4 out of 5 stars.

Certified Ace Movie Review : The Town That Dreaded Sundown (2014)

The Town That Dreaded Sundown, A satisfying throwback to slasher heydays.

Genre: Horror
Country: United States
Studio: Ryan Murphy Productions, Blumhouse Productions, Orion Pictures
Release Date: January 8, 2015

Director: Alfonso Gomez-Rejon
Starring Addison Timlin, Travis Tope, Spencer Treat Clark, Ed Lauter, Veronica Cartwright, Gary Cole, Joshua Leonard, Anthony Anderson, Denis O'Hare



In the spring of 1946, a series of unsolved violent crimes committed in and around Texarkana by an unidentified serial killer known as the Phantom killer made headlines in the news across the U.S. The Phantom killer was credited for the attack on eight people within ten weeks, five of these victims were killed. These attacks occurred on weekends between February 22, 1946 through May 3, 1946, mostly involved couples. This news sent the town of Texarkana into panic, with some residents leaving and moving into other towns for safety. After a few months of no activity from the killer, the Texas Rangers concluded that the killer is gone and may have left town already. Since no one was caught for the murders, people believed that the killer is still roaming around, looking for his next victims.
This became the inspiration for the 1976 independent cult slasher flick by producer and director Charles B. Pierce entitled The Town That Dreaded Sundown. The film proved to be popular as it became the source of urban legends surrounding the murders in Texarkana, even going as far as previous victims of the killer filing lawsuits against the producers of the film. It is also considered one of the earliest examples from the slasher genre that became a trend in the 1980's.
After a few years, Ryan Murphy (Glee) and Jason Blum (Paranormal Activity, Insidious, The Purge ) decided to come up with a meta-sequel to the original film, with a script from Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa (Glee, Carrie remake) and helmed by  Alfonso Gomez-Rejon (American Horror Story). After receiving praises from critics upon it's release, I've decided that I need to see this film for myself. Unfortunately, I didn't had any luck of seeing this film last year. But to my surprise, I finally found a DVD of this movie and got the chance of watching it.
So was the film able to meet my expectations being a fan of slasher flicks myself? Let's find out as we have a breakdown of the film itself.



Story

The film starts with some clips of the town of Texarkana during way back in 1946, at the time of the murders. A voice-over narrating the events in time of the murders said that the man behind these murders is still free, roaming around the town. It then introduces the film based on these murders, The Town That Dreaded Sundown, released in 1976. According to the voiceover,  the film is being shown in town to commemorate the anniversary of the murders every year.

The film's main story begins with a bunch of teens watching the film being screened at a late night drive-in theater. Corey Holland (Spencer Treat Clark) and Jami Lerner (Addison Timlin), a couple watching, decides to leave after Corey realizes that Jami isn't enjoying the film. The pair went into a secluded area to spend time with each other as they talk about their plans for college. Jami then sees a man wearing a bag in his head to cover his identity watching them from behind the trees. The man soon attacks them in their car, breaking the glass window and pulling out Corey. The man put him down in the ground and ordered Jami to look away. The masked man then stabs Corey to death. Jamie ran away from the killer but she eventually fell down and was caught by the killer. But instead of killing her, the man whispered to her that "This is for Mary. Make them remember." The man left her and she runs to safety as she finds herself back at the drive-in theater.
The next day, Texas rangers went to their house to ask her some information about the murder of Corey. Then they asked her not to say what happened to them to anyone else, to avoid a widespread panic in town.
Later on, another pair gets killed by the masked man dubbed as The Phantom. Jami receives a call from Corey's phone with the Phantom saying to her, "I'm going to do it again and again until you make them remember."

She decides to tell her police escort, Deputy Foster (Joshua Leonard), about the incident, assuring her that they'll look into it.
Because it seems to her that the police are not giving attention to her claims, she decides to investigate for herself.


As she looks for archive information at the City Hall, she meets Nick (Travis Tope) a former classmate of hers at school. He helped her find all the information that she needed, and later on they became friends. With his help, she starts to track down the people connected to the original film who might have the answers as to why The Phantom killer has returned to terrorize their town.
One good thing about the film is that it is not a direct remake of the 1976 film. Instead, its sort of a meta-sequel as it follows a film-within-a-film theme, as well as a reboot since it features a new storyline and a new set of characters.
I really love the decision of using the film-within-a-film theme instead of a direct reboot or sequel. This sets it apart from the rest of the slasher remakes that plague the genre right now.
Also, I liked the twist in the end, which was so unexpected. Originally, I thought this movie would be a general slasher flick but after watching the movie myself and reading all the reviews, I didn't expected it to be this good.


Acting

Addison Timlin is a great actress and I find her perfect for the role of Jami.
She has all the makings of a final girl. Travis Tope on the other hand, though considered by many as a newcomer, is a great actor.
He is good especially whenever his character would have these awkward moments with Addison Timlin's character, especially during their supposedly first encounter at the city hall while her character is researching about the Phantom murders.
Veronica Cartwright is also a good choice as Lillian, Jami's grandmother. A veteran actress when it comes to horror, as she have starred in well-known cult classic genre films even before as a child - from Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds to Ridley Scott's Alien. She gives the movie a vintage feel with her presence.


Direction

I've seen the works of Director Alfonso Gomez-Rejon with the Ryan Murphy produced, horror television anthology American Horror Story. One of my favorite television series ever, Alfonso Gomez-Rejon creates an eerie atmosphere with his works. and this is evident too here in The Town That Dreaded Sundown.
With the opening scene featuring Corey Holland (Spencer Treat Clark) and Jami Lerner (Addison Timlin) in the woods as they are watched by The Phantom, there is an unsettling feeling already present in the movie. The sight of The Phantom hiding behind the bushes, with his head covered in a sack mask only visible from afar, was really creepy. And when he attacked the couple in their car, that one caught me by surprise and made me jump. The same feeling that I have whenever I'm watching American Horror Story.
I also liked how he added dread and suspense to the murders. Instead of killing them off straight, Director Gomez-Rejo added more tension the these scenes making them more terrifying than the usual slasher fare.
another good thing in the movie that really made this slasher flick work is it's fast pacing. It reveals it's story straight out, maximizing the 87 minute running time. But despite the fast pacing and short running time of the movie, it was able to create characters that audiences would really root for. Characters that really feel like real people. This places it above the rest of the slasher movies today.


Technical Aspects

One of the best things about this film is that it gives you this 80's nostalgia while watching it. I dont know why but despite being set in the present day with gadgets like cellphones and computers around, it's as if I'm watching a movie taken right out of the 1980's. The film's color palette add up to this vintage feeling. And it totally works.
It adds dread to the atmosphere of the film. It's as if these characters were secluded from the rest of the world. Like wherever you go, there's really no way out of this town. No where is safe. No help coming.

The film also gives out nods to it's predecessor, as it recreates some of the original film's iconic scenes. One in particular is the infamous trombone kill .
Another good thing that would be a big blowout to horror fans is it's promise to deliver all the goods that make up a slasher: gore, nudity and sex. It features a lot of them. For example, one of the best kills in the movie involves a soldier, Daniel Torrens, returning from the military to spend Thanksgiving with his girlfriend, Kendra Collins. After having sex, he went out to get some snacks from the vending machine outside. After a few minutes, she heard some weird sounds outside so she went in the window to see what it was. Then, all of a sudden, the Phantom appears outside their room's window and smashes it with her boyfriend's severed head. She jumps out of the bathroom window, breaking her leg in the process, with her bone protruding from her feet. Then, she tried her best to run to their car and drives it. This is one of the most painful scenes in the movie. Every time Kendra tries to press the pedal with her feet and the bone sticks out of her leg further, I say to myself, "Man, that really hurts!"
Unfortunately, she ends up being caught by the killer.
Such painful death.


Overall

The film is one of the best slasher films I've seen for a while since Adam Wingard's You're Next. The film is probably far superior than the original film.
Dark, gritty and full of suspense, the film seems like a throwback to the slasher heydays during the 80's, giving viewers a nostalgic feeling.
With all the goods that fans of the genre are expecting, The Town That Dreaded Sundown will surely surpass your expectations.

I'm rating this film 5 out of 5 stars.

Certified Ace Movie Review : Tragic Theater

Tragic Theater : A lamentable tragedy

Genre: Horror
Country: Philippines
Studio: Viva Films
Release Date: January 8, 2015

Director: Tikoy Aguiluz
Starring Andi Eigenmann, John Estrada, Christopher de Leon



Based on the 2009 novel by Gilbert M. Coronel, Tragic Theater : Exorcism of the Film Center starts with the tragedy that happened in real life during the construction of the Manila Film Center in 1981. A few years later, a group of spirit communicators tries to unravel the mystery behind the building, and get rid of the spirits that is haunting the premises.

The film became a trending topic online after the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) gave the trailer of the film an X-rating, a rare thing for movies released by well-known movie companies like Viva. According to the news, the trailer was deemed too scary for public viewing. So the producers decided to release the X-rated trailer online for people to see. The first time I saw the said trailer, I didn't actually felt scared at all. I was intrigued though, for the fact that it got banned for public release by the MTRCB. Later on, after making some cuts and deleting scenes from the movie, it was given an R-16 rating (for viewers 16 years old and above only). So when the film was released, I decided to see it for myself.

And sadly, I was disappointed with the outcome of the film. Why? Well, check out my review below to know how it fared out.


Story

The film opens with a reenactment of the 1981 accident, as the building collapses during it's construction, where a lot of workers died.
The film then jumps to 1999. Anne Marie "Annie" Francisco (played by Andi Eigenmann) is handed over the task of renovating the abandoned Manila Film Center, so that it can be converted into an IMAX theater. Worried that the spirits of the dead victims from the accident years ago are still haunting the premises, she enlists the help of Father Nilo (John Estrada) and his team of spirit communicators to help her exorcise the Film Center. During the ritual, the group held hands together to form a circle, which should be kept at all times to secure them from any force that could attack them. During their first attempt, Annie kept on receiving an unidentified call on her phone, causing her to break free from the circle so that she can answer it. They were able to call the spirits of the dead victims inside the theater, but they refuses to leave the building. so they decided to try again to do the ritual. Their second attempt proved to be more dangerous for them. As they do the ritual, Annie receives another unidentified call on her phone, which she eventually attends to. But as she leaves the theater, she fell into the floor losing consciousness. The group soon sees possessed by one of the entities in the building, as her body gets suspended in mid-air.

The movie starts out fine with the viewers being introduced to the character of Annie. As the film progresses, it was revealed that she is trying to cope and move on from the a rape incident that happened to her before, with her witnessing her best friend being killed by the men who raped them. The film then introduces Father Nilo, the priest who helped her in the process of recovering from the said trauma. There were hints during the film that he felt something special with Annie, probably hiding his true feelings for her. But this was not explored in the story. Instead, it continues to add more supporting characters which did nothing to help the story.

The movie proceeded straight to the ritual of the group inside the Film Center. Things started to somehow get creepy as they try to call and speak to the spirits of the dead victims of the accident. But this started to fade out after Annie gets possessed by one of the entities inside the building.
Here the movie shifts it focus, from a haunted building to a possession story. Annie's prolonged possession was one of biggest mistake of the film. The film's story would have worked if it didn't changed it's main focus and just stayed with the premise of the haunted theatre. But instead, they switched their focus to Annie's possession which actually lagged the film's pacing and story, adding a lot of irrelevant flashbacks and backstory, removing all the creepiness that there is during the first act.
The story also contains scenes that doesn't really made any sense and feels so irrelevant to the plot. There's this scene where Annie finds herself in the opening of a dark tunnel. she sees a light, coming from a floating candle at the far end of the tunnel. she decides to follow the light. But as she walks towards its direction, a floating disembodied hand appears behind her, trailing her, and constantly touches her. This scene was somehow creepy to watch and actually gave me a jump once. But it was extended too much to a point that it became boring.

Another thing that I needed to point out is the fact that most of the time, the characters seem to forget that Annie is being possessed and is still left suspended mid-air inside the theater. There were instances where the characters would talk about the spirits inside the theater or fight over things. It's like, you want to remind these people that "Hey, aren't you forgetting something? Your friend is still hanging out there mid-air inside the theatre?"


Acting

Andi Eigenmann is one of the best actresses of her generation, and she did her best in making sure to do justice to her role. She actually gave a lot of effort for this film, even despite the accident that happened during filming where she falls from the harness which she was strapped to. The harness snapped while she was suspended 8 feet from the ground.

But the role that she was given to wasn't really good to start with. Her acting was fine as a girl troubled by her dark past. But her character is forced to do stupid things just like the rest of the group, in order for the story to go on. Her character is the first to break from the circle during the ritual even though it was clearly explained to her that it's too dangerous. These and other stuff her character overshadows her acting.
John Estrada doesn't seem fit to play a priest. He tries his best to portray the role. But for me, he is far better playing the bad guy because it really brings out the best in him, just like how he does it on his previous television series.
On the other hand, Christopher De Leon looks suitable as a bishop. Though his character was given too much backstory, making it feel like he was just there too prolong the movie since the story is just plain short.
The rest of the supporting cast plays your average stereo-types who does things that are so unrealistic just for the story to go through dark places. Also, most of them dont look scared enough. Yes, they scream and squeal and sound like they're scared but honestly, they dont look like one especially during crucial parts of the movie.
An acting workshop to help them would be a good idea before throwing them into a project in the future.


Direction

Director Tikoy Aguiluz has been known in the industry for his award-winning films like Manila Kingpin: The Asiong Salonga Story (2011) and El Presidente (an Emilio Aguinaldo biopic, 2012). But entering the horror genre is a totally a big mistake since the film doesn't really offer anything scary for it's viewers. Anyone looking for a good horror flick would get disappointed because the film lacked enough scares to call itself a horror film.
To his credit, Director Tikoy Aguiluz was able to create a creepy atmosphere during the start of the film. But once it reaches the point where Annie's possession becomes the focus of the film, everything goes down. Hr tried his best in creating unique scenes that looked weird and unique (but irrelevant all through out). But he extends it too much to a point that its already boring. One good example of this is the scene that I mentioned a while ago where Annie finds herself in a tunnel. Another scene that I really dont get it the part where she finds herself in a room with four different closed doors. She looks inside the first door, then leaves it open. And when she checks the next one, the first door slams shut and closes by itself. She does the same thing over and over again, and keeps on repeatedly leaving the doors open so that they can shut themselves. This scene just feel so stupid and disconnected to the story. No wonder all of us inside the cinema were laughing at this scene.

Despite the fact that the film was deemed too scary for public viewing by MTRCB, it turned out to be a great disappointment for everyone expecting a good scare. Hard to admit but director Tikoy Aguiluz is just not the right person to helm a horror flick like this.


Technical Aspects

A haunting score is just not enough for a movie to be called a horror film. It should have actual scares on it to justify the genre it belongs. Tragic Theater fails miserably at his, relying heavily on its score and sound effects to elicit suspense and throw in dread all through out the film.

The cinematography of the film was another drawback for the film. The film's frequent close up shots especially with John Estrada's character was so annoying and distracting. It actually makes my eyes harder to focus. The rest of the cinematography turned out fine, though. I love those scenes where they shot it from the top view, looking over Andy Eigenmann's suspended body with the rest of the characters down below her. These scenes were really dizzying to watch since the view added a sense of depth to it.

Then, we go to the film's only saving grace : the special effects. The film's FX are quite good and believable. This is shown especially during the scene where their group of spirit communicators perform the ritual. One of the girls are being forced by the entities inside the theatre into breaking free form the circle. Rats start to appear on her side, trying to have her release her hold from the rest of the group.
The prosthetics and make-up were also quite amazing to look at. It is an improvement compared to the rest of the horror films released locally these days. Probably the only good aspect of the film.


Rating

Honestly, I dont understand why the film's trailer got banned in the first place. I also dont get it why the film received an R-16 Rating from MTRCB sicne the film is not really scary. It doesnt contain any gore or nudity, except for one scene where another patient of the bishop long ago was shown spitting out nails from mouth while being possessed, or the scene where Annie and her friends was shown briefly being raped during the flashback.

The material of the film was great, with the tragedy of the Manila Film Center as it's backdrop. Sometimes the MTRCB's decision don't really make any sense at all. For me, this would pass for a PG-13 rating, albeit the rape scene which was not really necessary to be shown.



Overall

Viewers like me expected too much from the film, hence the overwhelming negative response from those who've seen it already. The film doesn't contain enough scares to satisfy audiences, ended up bland and boring. It's even hard to call it a horror film.
To sum it all, Tragic Theater is nothing but a waste of it's talents and production values. It's a movie which can't even justify it's own genre of choice.
Tragic, indeed.

I'm awarding this film 2 out of 5 stars.

THE 10 BEST MOVIE KILLS

THERE are a lot of horror films that we're memorable to us because of the unique way they dispatched their characters. Some of them were so unique that they really stick to your mind. I mean, who would forget the iconic opening scene of Wes Craven's Scream (1996) featuring Drew Barrymore as high school student alone in their house, waiting for her boyfriend to come over. She receives a flirtatious phone call from an unknown person who asks her, "What's your favorite scary movie?" The scene then escalates out of control as the caller threatens her life, reaveling that he holds her boyfriend hostage, and that she needs to answer his movie trivia questions to save her boyfriend and her own life. The scene ended with her boyfriend being killed by the unknown caller and her parents finding her body, stabbed to death, hanging from a tree.
Another iconic death scene will be from Steven Spielberg's Jaws. Quint (Robert Shaw) slips down the deck of their boat and gets eaten alive by the giant Great white shark.
Another memorable death scene would be the Chestburster scene from Ridley Scott's 1979 hit sci-fi thriller Alien. Or the Chest Defibrillation from John Carpenter's 1982 classic horror The Thing.
Another would be from the 2002 horror film Ghost Ship. As  dozens of wealthy passengers dance in the ballroom and upon the deck of the Italian ocean liner, Antonia Graza, someone intentionally releases a thin wire cord from a pool that snaps and slices its way through the dancefloor, bisecting all the dancing passengers in half (except for a young girl who was spared due to her height).
And of course, we will never forget the infamous death sequence in Final Destination (2000) featuring an airplane accident, together with it's respective sequels.
These are just few examples of those memorable death scenes that we have fell in love with over time. And in addition to these classic killings, I have decided to come up with my own list of the Top 10 Best death sequences from my favorite horror movies.


10. You're Next (2013)  Blender in the head.
One of the better slasher films of this generation, You're Next features killers who came up with cool, inventive ways to dispatch their victims (one includes a piano wire trap that is just totally nerve-wracking).
But the best part of the film perhaps is its victim-turned-victor protagonist Erin (played by horror gem Sharni Vinson) as she reveals her dark nature and uses her killer instincts to avenge her family's death. Here she created a wonderful killing tool : made out of a blender in their kitchen.
A totally bloody kill.


9. The Thing (2011)  Adam's assimilation with the Thing.
John Carpenter's The Thing was considered as one of the best classic sci-fi horror films by many. Featuring very nasty and gory special effects that were way ahead of it's time, the film earned the hearts of horror fans over time.
And on 2011, Matthijs van Heijningen Jr brought us his prequel to the cult classic, this time starring  Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Joel Edgerton, Ulrich Thomsen, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje and Eric Christian Olsen as part of a team of Norwegian and American scientists who discover an alien buried deep in the ice of Antarctica. Soon, they are confronted by the shape-shifting alien that assumes the appearance of the people that it kills.

Just like Carpenter's film, this prequel offers a lot of visually stunning special effects of the creature. One of which features the Thing as it absorb and takes in the still breathing Adam. The insect-like Thing rolls its own face (which was from another crew member) over Adam's a few times to fuse the sides together.This starts the fusing of the faces which gives the newly formed thing its name, Split-Face.
Truly disgusting but amazing to watch at the same time.


8. Sorority Row (2009) Charlene "Chugs" Bradley's murder.
A remake of the 1983 cult classic, this film helmed by Stewart Hendler, stars Briana Evigan, Leah Pipes, Rumer Willis, Jamie Chung, Margo Harshman, Audrina Patridge, Caroline D'Amore and Carrie Fisher. A group of girls pulls a prank on their sororrity sister's boyfriend after finding out he's cheating on her. The prank spins out of control after their sorority sister ended up being killed for real. They hide the body and return to their normal lives. Eight months later, a killer starts hunting them down, intent on killing off everyone who knows about the secret.
This is actually one of the best slasher remakes I've seen alongside Prom Night (2008), featuring really scary scenes and grizzly deaths. One of which features Margo Harshman as Charlene "Chugs" Bradley, the sorority's drunken, slightly slutty sister as she goes to her therapist and finds him handcuffed to his bed, revealing he was seduced by an earlier client. He asks if she would like a shot, and she agrees entering the bathroom to prepare. As she does so the therapist is killed by an unknown assailant using a tire iron that was the original tool used to kill their sorority sister eight months ago. Chugs enters the living room and lies down, drinking beer. Suddenly the killer appears and shoves the beer bottle down her throat choking her. Then, the killer slices her throat open with the tire iron. Her beer goes red with her blood as she dies.
So sadistic.


7. The Nightmare on Elm Street (2010)  Kris Fowles' Dream murder.
The 2010 remake of Wes Craven's 1984 classic, Katie Cassidy stars as Kris Fowles, one of the teens being haunted in their dreams by your friendly child molester and killer Freddie Krueger (played by Jackie Earl Haley).
In one of her dreams, she finds herself inside a dilapitated classroom, with Freddy clawing the board, saying "Ready or not, hear I come." She wakes up to find out that it was just a dream, so she went to get herself a glass of water and decided to go back to sleep. But Freddy appears beside her in bed, and turned out that she was still dreaming.
His boyfriend who was sleeping with her woke up to find her screaming while asleep. He tries to wake her up but she wont. Her body levitates in the air and is thrown around the room. Then, her body is sliced by what appears to be Freddy's claws. Her boyfriend is sprayed all over with her blood as her lifeless body fall to her bed.
The best kill in the movie!


6. Hansel & Gretel : Witch Hunters (2013) Finale Witch Massacre.

One of the best fairytale-inpired movie from the past few years, Hansel & Gretel : Witch Hunters is not like the rest. Directed by Tommy Wirkola (Dead Snow), this is no Alice in Wonderland nor Snow White & the Huntsman. It's a gory and violent yet fun and entertaining flick featuring Jeremy Renner and Gemma Artenton as the titular twins who grew up to become professional witch hunters.
The film highlights gratuitious gore and violence, all of which are thrown into the audience in 3D.
The film's final act includes a coven of witches being massacred by Hansel, together with their friends, as they save Gretel and the rest of the kidnapped children.
One of the best kills? Escaping witches flying high speed into a web of of blessed wires that slice through them.
Perfect cut!


5. Saw 3D (2010) The Garage Trap.
The seventh and final film of the franchise that started it all, Saw 3D features one of the most gruesome deaths in movie history. One of my favorites include the Go-Kart trap, with Betsy Russell tied in a rail track and a Go-Kart with a pointed blade in front running high-speed into her, ripping her body out.

But who would forget the Garage trap, featuring a bunch of Skinheads. Their leader, Evan wakes up to find himself inside a car, his back glued to the driver's seat. He needed to break free from the super-glued seat (tearing his skin in the process) and pull the red lever on the car hood to stop the car being released from the jack crushing Kara's head lying in front of the vehicle's wheels, ripping the jaw off of Dan positioned behind the car and crashing into Jake, who was tied to the wall.

Obviously it didn't ended well, and Evan gets thrown out of the car into a pile of wreck.
Love the chain reaction leading to their demise!


4. Carrie (2013) Prom night massacre and Chris Hargensen's death.
I know a lot of you, guys loved the 1976 film starring Sissy Spacek, but there's something in the 2013 remake featuring Chloe Garce Moretz in the titular role that had me head over heels over this new adaptation.
As we all know, Carrie White, an awkward, not-so-popular girl gets the hottest jock in school as her date to the prom, but a prank to humiliate her involving a bucket of blood set to be dumped unto her as she gets to be crowned Prom Queen gets out of control when she unleashes her telekinetic powers. She kills off all the rest who have treated her badly before and laughed at her while she's on stage, humiliated. Flying props in flames thrown to people. Live wires dancing in the air to electricute some. Bleachers crushing every student trying to climb over it. All of which makes the Prom Night Massacre of one my favorites.

Then, there's Chris Hargensen as she tries to escape Carrie's wrath. With her boyfriend dead, she tries to run over Carrie with her car which was suspended on mid-air . But Carrie releases the car from her telekinetic grasps and it drove right into a gas station, smashing her face into the windshields and later on, getting caught in the explosion.
Watch this scene as Chris' face smash into the glass, with shards of glass penetrating her skin in slow motion made it more glorious!


3. Final Destination 5 (2011) Bridge accident.
I love all the installments of the Final Destination, and most especially, their opening premonition sequences. From the first one (2000) which opened with an airplane accident, the second one  (2003) which started with a highway pile-up, the third (2006) with the roller-coaster Devil's Flight derailment, up until the fourth (2009) released in 3D, which opened with the laughable race car crash.
But my most favorite of all is the fifth installment, later revealed to be a prequel, to the series. Final Destination 5 goes back to it's serious roots with this film, featuring an opening premonition that really blew my mind.

It was said that the bridge collapse was started from high winds. Construction workers working on the bridge further added up to this, causing the bridge's support to become weaker.
Passengers from Bus 1282 flee the vehicle, except for Isaac, who was inside the comfort room, busy talking to one of his girls. Candice gets trapped, and chunks of the road where she was standing at fell into the lake below. She hangs onto the railing of the bridge far off to the side, but it eventually detaches, sending her to fall off the bridge and is impaled on the mast of a sailboat passing by. Isaac comes out of the comfort room unaware of what's happening. The bus then falls off the bridge and Isaac is thrown against the windshield, crushed as gushing water floods the bus.
The bridge then starts to collapse from the middle, forcing everyone to find an alternative route around to escape. Sam helps Molly cross a beam that connects with the other side of the Bridge and she managed to get to the safe half of it. Meanwhile, Olivia trips, and her glasses are kicked into the water by nearby bystanders. Sam helps Olivia along the beam, but due to her poor eyesight, she is left helpless and falls into the water below. She resurfaces, but is crushed by a falling car from the bridge.
Nathan runs to Sam, but one of the cables detaches and strikes Nathan, threwing him away. The bridge then starts to tilt right, and Dennis tumbles off of the bridge but he grabs the edge of the bridge at the last second.
He tries to climb back up, but a car slides onto a tank causing it to fall over, and splashing Dennis with hot molten asphalt, melting and burning his flesh, and killing him. Half of the bridge then starts to collapse, and Peter and Sam jumps onto a suspended guard rail. Finally, the other side bridge collapses completely. A truck carrying steel bars then tips over, and it's contents fell and skewer Peter, who falls onto the concrete below and smashes his head in the ground. Molly, who made it to the other side of the bridge, screams as a large metal sheet slides off the truck, bisecting Sam in half.
With it's unique and multiple ways of finishing off it's characters (we're just in the opening act, guys ) this film is a sure fire hit with horror fans out there.


2. SCRE4M (2011) The film within a film within a film opening.
Wes Craven revisits his classic horror franchise with Scream 4. This time, it features an opening scene that already gives us a high body count to start with and the expected all-star cameos.
The film opens with two girls talking about the other's Facebook stalker. They are eventually killed off by the killer clad in a black robe and the infamous Ghostface mask. This turns out to be the opening scene of Stab 6, being watched by another pair of girls. One of them(Anna Paquin)  tells her friend how the film sounds so stupid with the idea of a Facebook stalker, deducing that the horror genre is already dying. Her friend (Kristen Bell) gets pissed off with her talking too much, and stabs her in the stomach.

This turns out to be the opening of Stab 7, being watched by another pair of girls, Jenny Randall (Aimee Teegarden) and Marnie Cooper (Brittany Robertson) at the night of the fifteenth anniversary of the Woodsboro Murders. Soon, they are attacked by the real Ghostface killer and the story really begins.
The film offers a lot of dark humor and pop culture references making it hip.
Witty, grizzly, and fun to watch at the same time, this is the reason why Scream 4 is one of my all time favorite horror flicks ever.

1. Piranha 3D (2010) Lake Victoria Massacre.
A reboot of the 1978 flick, this time helmed by Alexandre Aja (High Tension, The Hills Have Eyes) and stars  Steven R. McQueen, Jessica Szohr, Jerry O'Connell, Richard Dreyfuss, Christopher Lloyd, Elisabeth Shue, Adam Scott, Kelly Brook, Riley Steele, Ving Rhames and a special role by Eli Roth.
On top of my favorite horror movies of all time, this B-movie summer classic gives horror fans all the goods: blood, nudity, and gore.
Campy tone looms all over the film, as it shows in the opening scene itself, featuring Richard Dreyfuss as a fisherman ( a parody and a near-reincarnation of Matt Hooper, the character he played in the 1975 classic Jaws) who gets eaten up by a swarm of piranhas.
The film gets more fun after Jerry O' Connell gets thrown out in the water full of piranhas who ate up his waist down below. Two piranhas soon fight over a chunk of his junk.
But the highlight of the film appears in it's climax, featuring a lake packed with a thousand students on their Spring break, partying in the water. The lake turned red with blood as packs of hungry piranhas attack the partygoers, with close-up looks on these fishes chewing off their victim's flesh. The chaos turned more deadly as more people try to save themselves from the piranhas. some getting run over by boats.

One of them (Eli Roth) gets his head squashed by two boats as he tries to climb over one of them.

While a girl gets her head pulled into the blades of the motor of another boat as her hair gets stuck on them.Karma gets the owner running that boat as it more people tried to climb over it, causing the boat to flip over and throwing him into the water where he gets chewed up by a swarm of piranhas. Well, he deserves it anyway.

The massacre ends up in high note as the floating stage used in the party starts to tilt over due to the number of people climbing over it, resulting in all of them being thrown back to the lake, into the waiting packs of piranhas.

So there you have it. My Top 10 Best Kills Ever.
So do you agree or disagree with my own list?
Then make sure to share us your thoughts and leave a comment down below!

Thanks! 

Certified Ace Movie Review : [REC] Apocalypse

[REC] Apocalypse, a satisfying cruise to the end.

Genre: Horror
Country: Spain
Studio:  Canal+ España, Filmax
Release Date: October 31, 2014 (Spain)
January 2, 2015 (United States)

Director: Jaume Balagueró
Starring Manuela Velasco, Paco Manzanedo, Hector Colome, Mariano Venancio



It all started with the release of the Spanish found-footage styled horror film [REC] in 2007. In the film,television reporter Angela Vidal (played by Manuela Velasco) gets trapped in a building together with some other residents as swarm of ravenous infected people attacks them. The film was well-received by critics and audiences alike, spawning three sequels.
The first sequel was [REC] 2, with it's story taking off directly where the first movie left off. Released in 2009, it revolves around a doctor together with a SWAT team as they enter the the building as to find out what happened with its residents. Here they found and rescued Angela Vidal, who was unbeknowst to them, was already possessed by the demon who was the source of the virus.
The next one was released in 2012, entitled [REC] Genesis, featuring a new setting and a new set of characters. This time, a wedding reception becomes turns into a killing ground as the guest gets infected one by one with the virus, turning them into ghouls hungry for human flesh. This also marks the shift of the film series in using found-footage style camerawork to the traditional cinematography.
The final film in the series features the return of the series' main protagonist, Angela Vidal ( Manuela Velasco). In [REC] Apocalypse, she finds herself aboard a ship where a doctor is trying to isolate the source of the outbreak. Just like the third installment of the series, the final film was shot using traditional cinematography.

So did the film met my expectations for a zombie movie? Let's have a breakdown of the film to check.


Story

In [REC] Apocalypse, Angela Vidal ( Manuela Velasco) wakes up to find herself aboard a ship together with other survivors of the virus outbreak including an elderly woman (who was the mother of the bride from Genesis), Guzman (Paco Manzanedo) and his partner, Lucas (Críspulo Cabeza) who were the soldiers that rescued her from the building. They were told by the doctors in the ship that they were trying to contain the virus, at the same time creating an antidote for the infected.
But after someone intentionally releases the infected test subject that they were using to create the antidote, chaos ensues in the ship as it's crew turns into ravenous creatures.
There is nothing new with the film's story because it just seemed like a rehash of other genre flick about science experiments gone wrong where their subjects escapes or was released. The only thing I guess that makes this film unique would be it's setting. The action takes place in the middle of the ocean. With no communication from the outside world (as part of their containment control), it gives the film a feeling that everything is lost. It's as if there's really no way out of this chaos anymore, a feeling that is more appropriate for the film's title.
Although I did liked the film's ending, I'm still a bit disappointed because it doesn't really gives out a concrete ending to the whole series. It ends in a scene that left me hanging for more (which isn't very nice since this is the series' final film).
I also found the movie to be full of racism, with the way they treated the Negro and the way they call the Filipino cook (who became the first to get infected in the crew). Although I really don't have anything against the writers and producers about this, I just think it's inappropriate with the way they stereotype these characters.


Acting

Acting wise, Manuela Velasco is brialliant for her role as the protagonist. She can easily relay her emotions through her face. She can look feeble when she needs to , then shifts her image to someone fierce when she needed to fight back.

Héctor Colomé as Dr. Ricarte. His character makes up a good antagonist because he believes that the parasite that caused the virus is still inside Angela's body. He becomes fixated with his mission in creating an antidote for the infection. One can really feel the tension that his presence brings to the screen.
The rest of the cast are equally good. Paco Manzanedo,  Críspulo Cabezas, Ismael Fritschi, and Mariano Venanci were all equally good in acting, adding up to the film's effectiveness.


Direction

Director Jaume Balagueró was a great choice to helm the film as he was successful in keeping up the tension and thrill all throughout the film.
I really liked how he has perfectly orchestrated some of the scenes, most especially the part where the cook was attacked by the infected monkey (which was the missing test subject for the experiment). I love how he created suspense as the infected monkey sneeks up behind him.
For me, this is the best scene in the film, amidst all the zombie killings (which were also gorgeously gory).
Aside from this, there were a lot of scenes invloving the characters venturing around the ship that are sure to provide excitement all through out. Scenes where they walk into a corridor, waiting for whatever is on the other side to show up were really intense. Director Jaume Balagueró also uses these scenes to give emphasis on the claustrophobic settings, adding to the feeling that there's no way out of this hell.

Technical Aspects

The film will totally delight horror fans out there as it gives out what we are expecting in a zombie-themed horror movie. Infected crew ripping off their victim's flesh. Blood spraying all over the place. All of which are seen all through out the film.

It also features one of the hair-raising zombie prosthetic make up I've ever seen. I really loved the look of the infected cook. with pus-filled swellings on his cheeks. It looks so cool and disgusting at the same time. It's way different than most zombie designs I've seen before in other horror movies. Compared to dozens of films about people being infected by a virus turning them into zombies like Dawn of the Dead or World War Z, the Infected here are far more scarier. Imagine bumping into one of these freaks in a hallway inside a ship. That's definitely a nightmare .I must say that this is really one of the best zombies I've seen in my life. It totally gave me the creeps!

I also loved how they created the infected monkey that spread the virus in the ship. It looked so real and it's as if a real monkey was used during filming. Unlike other horror films which usually use too much CGI effects that ends up looking so stupid, this one really looks organic and authentic.
I couldn't ask for more for when it comes to production values. It's just high-grade.


Overall

Despite the way they ended the series which will just leave you wanting more, the film will surely delight fans of the genre as it provides all the goods that one can expect. Plus a little bit more.
It brings the zombie-apocalypse genre back to life after a slew of horrible movies that killed it and drove it down to its grave. This movie is definitely worth the look.



I'm awarding this movie with 4 out of 5 stars.

Certified Ace Movie Review : Kubot The Aswang Chronicles 2

Kubot : The Aswang Chronicles, a sequel that is overshadowed by it's predecessor.

Genre: Horror Comedy
Country: Philippines
Studio:  GMA Films, Reality Entertainment
Release Date: December 25, 2014

Director: Erik Matti
Starring Dingdong Dantes, Isabelle Daza, Joey Marquez, Lotlot De Leon, KC Montero, Elizabeth Oropesa




When Tiktik : The Aswang Chronicles hit theatres in the Philippines way back October 2012, the film was well-received by audiences and critics alike as it was the first ever Filipino movie entirely shot on green screen chroma key. The film gained praise for it's visuals, and was lauded for Erik Matti's direction. The film features Grindhouse-style violence, action and gore, pushing the limits of it's PG-13 rating.
The film centers on Makoy (Dingdong Dantes) as he travels from Manila to the province of Pulupandan to get back his girlfriend, Sonia (Lovi Poe) who  is pregnant with their child. Sonia, being urged by her mother Fely (Janice De Belen) to stay away from him anymore, refuses to go back with him and decides on taking the child by herself.
Her father, Nestor (Joey Marquez) on the other hand, is on Makoy's side. He asked him to stay at their house for Sonia's birthday instead, and he agrees on helping them for the preparation.
But after a scuffle with some of the the residents from the meat market, things went pretty awry as they are revealed to be tiktiks, a form of aswang which mythological creatures that are hungry for human flesh. These tiktiks start attacking them at their house, trying to get the child on Sonia's womb to feed on it. Makoy and the rest of the family must then fight together to protect the child, and for their survival if they wanted to live up until sunlight.

The story is pretty much similar to the setup of a 2010 Hollywood movie, Legion. This time, it revolves around a group of people trapped in a diner as demonic entities surround and attack them, trying to get a hold of the child in one of the pregnant character's womb to kill it.

The only thing that makes Tiktik : The Aswang Chronicles really entertaining to watch is through the way it was visualized and executed. The visual effects in the movie were gorgeous to look at. From it's amazing backdrops, to it's horrifying creatures, one can really see the effort and hard work put into this project to materialized on screen. Also, Erik Matti's way of direction also adds up to the film's merit. It's violent and gritty. Tiktiks tearing out people's throats. Aswangs pulling out hearts of their victims. Makoy pulling out an aswang's intestines by  skewering it in the belly with a large wooden fork. It's so bloody, yet so fun to watch.
This makes the movie totally entertaining.


And last December 25, 2014, a sequel entitled Kubot : The Aswang Chronicles 2 was released, continuing the story were it originally left off.

So did the movie met my expectations? Let's have a breakdown of the film to check and see.


Story

The story picks up where the first movie left off. Makoy, together with his wife Sonia and their child, with Nestor leave the province of Pulupandan seeking for a safety place for them. But on their way, a group of elder Kubot (a type of hairy aswang, who kills their victims by sucking out it's inards through a long transparent tube coming out from it's mouth and strapping its end at it's victims mouths ). They kill Sonia in retaliation for the death of the Tiktiks in Pulupandan and kidnaps their child. In the process, Makoy loses an arm as he tries to save his wife and child to no avail.
Two years passed, Makoy is now living with Nestor in Manila as he tries to find what purpose his life has. He has lost all hope, being plagued by nightmares about his wife and his child (who is presumed dead).
In their city, a factory owned by a young, ambitious heir of another Kubot clan uses it's processed meat products to infect people and transforms them into aswangs.
As the infection spreads through their city, Makoy must team up with a doctor named Lex (Isabelle Daza) who has been studying same cases of infection, to stop the mastermind behind all of this.

The story is an improvement over the previous film. It shows a wide-scale spread of the aswang virus through ingestion of processed food (made of human meat). The only problem was that they didn't pushed the story to it's full potential.
It would have been better to show a chaotic climax featuring people infected with the aswang virus spreading havoc all around the city.
But they cut it off before the real fun actually began.


Acting

Dingdong Dantes shows off his dramatic side in this movie, as his character goes through grief over the loss of his family. It gives the character a deeper background, unlike in the first movie.
Isabelle Daza is a fine actress. She does her part with full passion and willingness, even going as far as looking stupid in some scenes.
Lolot De Leon was a great addition to the cast. She provides laugh all through out the movie. I don't like to compare but it's as if she is the replacement for Ms. Janice De Belen's character in the first movie, who was also one of the source for comedic relief.

One thing that I must also commend is the addition of Elizabeth Oropesa as the leader of the elder Kubot. She is just totally menacing in every scene. Her appearance every time she transforms into a Kubot sends shivers to my spine. Her character is so mysterious, making her presence a dreadful addition to the story. I really dont know why they didn't made her character the main antagonist in the film.

Honestly speaking, she is way scarier than the film's main villain played by KC Montero. He just doesnt look so scary even with the make-up and prosthetics. It doesn't help the fact that he speaks half Filipino and half English all through out the movie which decreases his menace (if there's any).
I would've loved to see more of Elizabeth Oropesa in this film.
Asied from KC Montero's not-so-scary villain, another thing that really distracted me was the replacement of Lovi Poe as Sonia with a look-alike actress, Hannah Dela Guerra. It really distracted me because there's a lot of times that it's so obvious that Sonia isn't the original Sonia that we saw in the first movie.
I mean, I'm really sad for this because I love Lovi Poe in the first movie. Too bad she had some issues with Direk Erik Matti causing delay on the movie.
Another weakness that I also found was the characterization of Joey Marquez orignal role as Nestor. It bothers me, though was the fact that it's as if his character doesn't really care about what happened to his family. compared to Makoy, Joey Marquez' character looks like he didn't have any loved ones (his wife and daughter to be exact) that were killed by these freaking aswangs. Compared to his character in the first movie, it's as if he doesn't give a shit about his relatives who just died. C'mon, really?
I guess that's one point that the writers need to look at the third intallment of the series. Yup, Aswang Chronicles will be returning for a third installment. Hopefully, all these character issues will be addressed in the next movie.


Direction

As always, Erik Matti fills up  the whole movie with lots of vilonce and gore. I always loved his works, from Tiktik : The Aswang Chronicles to the internationally acclaimed action thriller film On the Job (2013).
I loved how he orchestrated the opening scene featuring the attacks of the elder Kubot. I especially loved the part where Elizabeth Oropesa brought Sonia in the air and sucked her inards.
The dark humor in the orignal movie was also pumped up here in the sequel. I especially love very time Lotlot De Leon is around. she gives comedic relief for the whole film.
The only thing though that I felt like was missing for this sequel is the promised gore.

In the trailer, a voice-over said that there's gonna be more internal organs in it...
I know it's a pun but c'mon, the first movie involved a lot of body parts flying around. Arms, intestines, guts... those are the things that I wanna see more in this sequel. But I was disappointed to find out that they removed all of those things here in this movie. I guess this was done to achieve a lower rating from the MTRCB. I mean, they need a wider audience to earn their investment, right?
Even the way their story ended felt so hastily done. It was like they lacked of ideas on how the battle between Makoy and the aswangs in the factory was gonna end.


Technical Aspects

The first film was a technical masterpiece with it's stunning visual effects. But with this sequel, the producers gave up this aspect that made the first film magnificent.
I know that the urban backdrop was a good change of setting from the rural setting of the first movie. But I can't help but feel cheated while watching this sequel.
I know it might be unfair to compare the first movie with the sequel but c'mon, guys. a sequel is a sequel. And it's main purpose would be always to top the first one.
But with this aspect, the sequel really suffers a lot.

The film just look so cheap. Gone are the beautiful backdrops of the provinces created from green screen chroma key. You wont find the CGI aswangs that Makoy fought with a tail whip. Gone are the CGI blood spraying slowly in the air as tiktiks tear off their victims.
all of these graceful aspects that made the first film are all gone.
So sad...


Overall

The film may have improved on it's premise, and new additions to the casts like LotLot De Leon and Elizabeth Oropesa really deserve a round of applause for their performances, but the removal of the biggest aspect that made the first movie a hit- the visual effects -really affected the film's quality.
It's so hard not to compare the sequel to the first one, and in this battle, the new movie loses bigtime.
But above all thse technicalities, the film was still a good watch. Hopefully, the producers will address all the things they've missed in this sequel in the third installment.
Sigh...

I'm giving this film 3.5 out of 5 stars.