Today all the After Dark Horrorfest movies come out on DVD. It's a wide variety of horror subgenres ranging from cannibals, dopplegangers, witchcraft and time travel.
Honestly, most of these movies kinda suck.
So to spare you the "should I Netlfix or *gasp* even purchase" some of these movies, I will put all my reviews right in this post.
From Within was my 3rd choice of excited movies I wanted to see out of the After Dark Horrorfest movies that came out last year.
Small American town, suicides, teen John Connor. Had to be at least decent right?
Wrong.
It's just a Ring knock off through and through.
This is basically what happens when America tries to make a basically Japanese shock horror film. The Japanese filmmakers will go all out to obliterate your senses with scary quick scares, nightmare visuals and hard R scenarios.
In a western reboot, it's just done too PG-13 to give a crap about.
The best thing From Within had going for it was the poster above and for me the panning credit sequence at the end of the movie.
Boring Plot-O-Matic
The residents of a small American town begin to die one-by-one apparently by suicide..
Awesome Review-O-Matic
There is a movie called Suicide Circle that came out of Japan in 2002. The opening scene has 54 high schools jumping to their deaths in front of a subway train. That's how you start a movie about a plague of suicides. By just giving the audience a WTF moment straight out.
And don't give me any M. Knight shit. The Happening wasn't happening at all.
So when your rash of suicide movie starts out and you have two goth kids hanging out contemplating just aint gonna cut it.
Been there, done that. So when the goth kid blows his brains out, we start on our journey of a mysterious evil force making people kill themselves.
It's a rash of sui-palooza. Next, the goth dude's girl stabs herself with scissors. Then an antiques dealer hangs himself followed by his niece slicing her wrists on broken glass. Later we meet our final girl, Lindsay and her boy friend Dylan. Dylan is the son of the local Jerry Falwell and they love the religion.
Later, Lindsay's BFF car explodes (Final Destination style) and her step mom gets the urge to drink some Drano.
All this happens because each of these victims sees their doppleganger chasing them with blue eyes, vein-y faces and eyes that cry blood.
This is as scary as sitting in a traffic jam.
We meet the other local townies, all Republican, God fearing, evangelist listening gun totin rednecks. As the suicides become rampant, they start to blame the crazy family that lives deep in the backwoods. Because every small American town has got that family.
This brings us to John Connor...ahem I mean Aidan (Thomas Dekker from Sarah Connor Chronicles). He's the goth kid's brother and his mom was mysteriously killed years ago by the townsfolk in a burning thingmajig.
Basically it's your mom got killed by townies so I have to evoke revenge movie by cursing the town. You'd think you could hire Freddy Kreuger for this gig. Alas, our final girl is next on the curse hit list and it's a race against time to stop the damn videotape...err I mean cursed spell book from killing her.
The thrilling conclusion is clunky and without any thrills. It was thrilless.
It ends with your now cliched mysterious evil gets the last laugh, which to me I usually like but when you don't really care about any of the characters, I was so indifferent.
And that's the thing. These genre of movies, "rash of suicide" movies have to result in a big payoff. If they don't, the build up just falls flat.
Each of the characters was so boring, it was impossible to pull for any of these people to survive. Lindsay our final girl, was so goodie two shoes, innocent and tolerant you just wanted to throw up. Our resident warlock Aiden was Mr. Mysterious I thought stage smoke was going to accompany him everywhere. Our our main big angsty bad, Bible belt freak Dylan was so McCain-ish, I wanted to go all Obama on him (I have no idea what that means)
All in all, the movie is a straight to DVD PG-13 snooze. It begs the question how these movies even end up as part of the supposed elite 8 of the After Dark fest.
Gore-ipedia (if you want to be shocked don't read)
Gunshot to head Scissors neck trauma Hanging Slicing wrists on broken glass Drano drinking 4th degree burns
Nude-ipedia (because you like boobies)
Nada...does cleavage count?
WTF moment The closing credit montage (probably the best scene in the movie)
The Jaded Viewer's Final Prognosis
It's a PG-13 rash of suicides movie. I didn't think that was even possible but From Within is it. Even The Happening got an R and that sucked. Nothing really special here. Go watch a remake or something.
The fact that I couldn't even get images of the suicides in the movie says it all.
Perkins 14 is an example of fan created horror. Not really a first, but a rare occurence in this day and age.
The film was developed by Massify.com. Writers submitted story ideas, audition tapes were uploaded and the cast and winning story were chosen.
So their tagline that a film invented, written, cast, voted for, chosen and created by YOU, isn't that farfetched.
Now part of the After Dark Horrorfest 2009 lineup we'll see if something created by US is actually fuckin good.
Here be the plot chosen by YOU.
Plot o rama
Robert Perkins builds an army of 14 people brainwashed through cult-like methods to protect him from his parents' killers. When Perkins is imprisoned, the police unwittingly unleash his followers on a small town and they've only got one thing on their mind: "Kill for Mr. Perkins."
After Dark Horrorfest 2009 finally has a full lineup for the 8 movies to die for. I've seen a few of the past horrofest flicks in the theatre in 07 and 08. Some were damn good, some were fuckin horrible.
It's scheduled from January 9th to January 15th, 2009.
I've watched some of the trailers (when available and read the vague plot summaries) and below is my list of what I'm fuckin excited to see.
Plot:Robert Perkins builds an army of 14 people brainwashed through cult-like methods to protect him from his parents' killers. When Perkins is imprisoned, the police unwittingly unleash his followers on a small town and they've only got one thing on their mind: "Kill for Mr. Perkins."
The Jaded Viewer says: Internet hype here has been fuckin relentless. But Manson like shit hitting the fan could possibly turn this into something fun.
Plot:Inspired by the legends of a 19th-century cannibal and an extinct tiger, this brutal horror-thriller centers on four friends who find out that something—or someone—murderous lurks in the rain-slogged Australian bush. The Jaded Viewer says: Australia has been churning some bloody decent horror of late. Kills a plenty from the trailer. Could it be rednecks? Ancient spirits of evil? Killer koalas?
Plot:The residents of a small American town begin to die one-by-one apparently by suicide... The Jaded Viewer says: The Sarah Connor Chronicles cast sure makes a lot of horror movies. Looks like the Happening, but will it be without the lame ending? Because suicides are fuckin funny...err....I mean sad. My guess, the suicides are caused by killer koalas.
Plot:A young woman tries to find her injured boyfriend in a bizzare and dangerous hospital The Jaded Viewer says: I'm a big fan of Dr. Giggles. So if some doctors perform some unauthorized surgeries on some hipsters, who am I to argue? I also am a big fan of bonesaws.
Plot:On a busy street in London, Gina thinks she sees herself drive past in her own car. Stunned by this strange event, Gina follows the mystery woman up to her apartment. From here, events take an eerie turn for the worse until Gina's awareness slides from solid reality into a world that will haunt more than just her nightmares.
The Jaded Viewer says: It's probably all the episodes of Sarah Connor Chronicles I;ve watcged but Lena Headey is fuckin hot. And the trailer shows her in a bathtub naked. Umm, I have no idea what this movie is about but the potential of gratuitous nudity from Sarah Connor. Score!
Plot:A young woman thinks she is leaving her abusive life behind when she moves to Atlanta and ends up living at her family farm. She quickly learns that abuse comes in even crueler forms. The Jaded Viewer says: Please let it be Luther the Geek who abuses her at the farm.
Trailer: None
7.) Voices aka Du saram-yida aka Someone Behind You
Plot:Ga-in, a smart, pretty girl who is loved by everyone, witnesses the deaths of people around her. She is then singled out as the next in line to die from the curse that has one person in each generation die at the hands of two people close to them. Ga-in searched for the truth about the curse with Suk-min, a boy who always lingers around her, and her boyfriend Heon-joong, but attacks on her life by those dearest to her, like her best friend and her mother, never cease... The Jaded Viewer says: Thats a fucked up curse. How about if she watches the cursed videotape from the Ring? Or gets a missed call? Which curse would kill her first? Is their a curse hierarchy?
Plot:Sequel to the 2003 cult movie in which a person can change the past via remembering their forgotten memories due to blackouts. The Jaded Viewer says: I never saw the first one, so I am hell not gonna see this one.
Today all the After Dark Horrorfest movies come out on DVD. It's a wide variety of horror subgenres ranging from cannibals, dopplegangers, witchcraft and time travel.
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