The Innkeepers (Review)

The Innkeepers

The Innkeepers (2011)

Directed by Ti West

There is a king of the slow burn horror movie and his name is Ti West. West, who's filmography includes The Roost, Cabin Fever 2 and The House of Devil has made a name for himself in the methodically paced horror movie. I was not a fan of this in The House of the Devil writing:

"However, at the end of the day the movie is a wicked slow slow slow burn. It takes so long to get to the nitty gritty that no Red Bulls were helping to keep me awake."

However, in The Innkeepers the slow burn has hills and valleys and surprisingly has humor in it filled with cleverisms and pop culturisms that rescue it from being engulfed in eternal boredom. It dabbles in LOLs while fine tuning a ghost story as it's central premise. What you get is a fun, mish mash of amateur ghost hunter hipsters making contact with the ethereal plain which slowly evolves The Innkeepers into a non laughing matter.

The Innkeepers is smart enough to know it's audience and by doing so gives us an old fashioned spooky throwback ghost story that balances the line between being cute and scary. The characters are drones, the guests are odd and the ghosts are cliched visual jump scares. With all the said, I still had a few problems with West's lack of a firepower ending and his overabundance to drag the movie into zzzzzzzzzzz territory but some things can be overlooked when I'm having fun.

But I'm all for the nostalgia for my vintage Poltergeists for the new millennium. The Innkeepers could be Generation X's's answer to that 80s classic.

Boring Plot-O-Matic

After over one hundred years of service, The Yankee Pedlar Inn is shutting its doors for good. The last remaining employees - Claire (Sara Paxton) and Luke (Pat Healy)- are determined to uncover proof of what many believe to be one of New England's most haunted hotels. As the Inn’s final days draw near, odd guests check in as the pair of minimum wage “ghost hunters” begin to experience strange and alarming events that may ultimately cause them to be mere footnotes in the hotel’s long unexplained history.

Awesome Review-O-Matic

When you do a supernatural horror movie, you can possibly go one of two ways. You can go all LOLs or you could go deadly serious. It seems Ti West elected to do both. In The Innkeepers, Claire (Sara Paxton) and Luke (Pat Healy) are hotel worker drones who man the Yankee Pedlar Inn (in CT) for one last weekend before it goes out of business. There is a history of dread, as the hotel has a legend of Madeline O'Malley, whose death in a cellar has caused her to haunt this now defunct hotel.

The movie revolves around the dynamic of our hipster duo. Luke documents the history of his paranormal workplace on a website while Claire is in awe of a famous old timey actress (who she adores) that has checked into the hotel. Both are realistic drones who burn their boredom away with clever dialogue, actual job duties, beer and a search for scientific proof of the supernatural.

Staying at the hotel 24/7, they take shifts but at night, Claire goes all Fox Mulder and starts hearing the creeks and squeaks of something not right. It's here West goes all slow burn, hovering above Claire as she searches the remnants of a hotel (sometimes in full daylight) other times in the dead of night. Sara Paxton has a mesmerizing quality that made me buy into her performance. Claire is an asthmatic, everyday girl whose ambition has slowly died away. Paxton's performance is quirky stellar, similar to that of the cutout of a "hot gamer girl" but in this case "hot ghost hunter girl".

Pat Healy's Luke is goofball lovable. He's the horror geek, bad at web design, obsessed with the supernatural and possibly infatuated with his partner in crime. And his performance is not condescending to us horror hipsters at all. I could easily call these characters my friends.

But West wants to make sure that you get just enough haha's before he unleashes his House of the Devil style slow burn jump scares. And don't worry you get some eerie buildup of falsehoods and glimpses of either hallucinations, dreams or actual paranormal phenomenon. The fact that it's vague is part of the charm all the way to the end. It's almost a perfect film in how the atmosphere gets built up (a lost art in my opinion) and a perfect blueprint feature resembling those viral Internet videos with the "actual ghost footage" that leads to a growly scream of a "ghost" that usually scares the shit out of you.

My gripes, though few, are the things I originally said about House/Devil. I appreciate the false alarms but they take fuckin a Lord of the Rings trilogy to get there. Other characters such as Leanne Rease-Jones (played by Kelly McGillis) is the equivalent of the guy who always knows about the legend. Leanne plays a healer/medium who senses danger but elects to stay at the creepy hotel anyway. A few more guests make appearances but none add to the overall film.

Finally, I still don't think Ti West knows how to end a film. With such buildup, one demands an ending which can hold up the entire movie. Instead, West goes all conventional and I was a bit disappointed. I'm not looking for some M. Night Shalatwisters, but it still felt a little flat.

But as I said before The Innkeepers is damn fuckin smart. Characters react as I thought I would react, they get nervous, stammer and crack jokes like I would. Call me a horror hipster too. I'm not ashamed. The Innkeepers is a Generation X ode to the horror ghost story that younglings will like but keep us hardcore aged horror fanatics on our toes. I love my nostalgia not remade but repackaged in original creative tales. Ti West has finally made a movie I liked, nay loved. That's a first.

The slow burn horror king has built a kingdom with a unique style, flair and has a treasure room of all those very familiar cliches. Sometimes royalty shares the wealth with the people and Ti West does just that. Hopefully the 99% will see The Innkeepers for the gem that it is.

Nude-ipedia

Sara Paxton shows some leg (she's so damn cute!)

WTF moment

The first encounter with Madeline O'Malley

The Jaded Viewer's Final Prognosis

The Innkeepers will premiere on Video in Demand on December 30th, 2011. It'll be in theaters on February 3rd, 2012 courtesy of Magnet Releasing. The film is in conjunction with Dark Sky Films and Larry Fessenden's Glass Eye Pix.

The Innkeepers is definitely going to find a place on my Top 10 of 2011 list. If you're looking for a quality old fashioned spookster, this is the perfect film.

The Vitals

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Rating:

Check out the trailer.

Categories: 2011 horror movies, ghost stories, horror comedy, independent cinema, indepentent horror, indie film, indie horror, larry fesseden, the house of the devil

The Winner of The Jaded Viewer Giveaway: The House of the Devil VHS is......

Thanks to all who participated in this giveaway. It was very interesting to read all your answers to who would be your celebrity babysitter for a night. I mentioned my babysitter would be Ellen Page who I think is super duper awesome. But check out the list below of who others picked to be their babysitter.

• Oprah
• Jean Claude Van Damme
• Jamie Lee Curtis (The ultimate babysitter.)
• Elvira
• Werner Herzog
• Emily Perkins
• Joe Bob Briggs
• Mila Kunis
• Hulk Hogan
• Julianne Moore
• Linnea Quigley
• Milla Jovovich
• Jocelin Donahue
• Quentin Tarantino
• Christopher Lee
• Vincent Cassel/Klaus Kinski
• John Goodman
• Falcor from The Neverending Story
• John Waters
• Edwige Fenech
• Kurt Russell
• Serj Tankian
• Jeff "The Dude" Bridges
• Alison Lohman
• Elijah Wood
  

A bunch of hotties, respected directors and actors and a wrestler. Clearly, we value a good conversation over eye candy.

As for the film, I reviewed this film a while ago. I gave it 2 spinkicks. I kind of liked Babysitter Wanted a little bit better but I can't be to harsh with this flick. I mean Ti West created a solid throwback babysitter horror nostalgia flick and put it out in VHS form which is uber cool to say the least.

The odd history of how I came to get this House of the Devil VHS clamshell was that my former dot com company moved offices and left a pile of goodies for us employees to pick up. Somehow, the editors left this beauty of a prize. I swooped it up and figured a true horror fan would enjoy this instead of it being in the trash.

Like I said. this VHS clamshell collectable is pretty awesome. It's just the clamshell and the VHS tape inside. Nothing else. But it's pretty damn cool if you have a VCR (which I don't). I always say it's best to give to those who do (....have a VCR...really? You have one? Kudos)

Well without further ado and via a random drawing (I assign every entry a random number and use random.org to pick the number) The Winner of The Jaded Viewer Giveaway: The House of the Devil VHS is......

Murphy who picked Edwige Fenech as the babysitter.

Congrats Murphy!

Thanks to all who participated in this contest. I have a few more DVDs to giveaway including Fertile Ground, Savage County and Ferocious Planet.

I should be putting up another giveaway in a few days. So check back here in a few.

Categories: contest, giveaway, horror giveaway, jadedviewer, jadedviewer.com, the house of the devil, the house of the devil review, the jaded viewer

A Jaded Viewer Giveaway: The House of the Devil Collectable Clamshell VHS

After a few weeks of voting, the most requested item for the giveaway was by far The House of the Devil VHS Collectable. It garnered 19 votes and I don't need any more time to make it the featured item in this jaded viewer giveaway.

I reviewed this film waaaaay back when. Babysitter meets the devil flick. I gave it 2 spinkicks. I kind of liked Babysitter Wanted a little bit better but I can't be to harsh with this flick. I mean Ti West created a solid throwback babysitter horror nostalgia flick and put it out in VHS form which is uber cool to say the least.

This VHS clamshell collectable is pretty awesome. It's just the clamshell and the VHS tape inside. Nothing else. But it's pretty damn cool if you have a VCR (which I don't). I always say it's best to give to those who do (....have a VCR...really? You have one? Kudos)

So what do you need to do to enter this giveaway? Simple. Leave your name and e-mail address and name a celebrity that you want to be your babysitter for one night.

I'll get it started and say I'd love my babysitter to be Ellen Page. (Ahhh you thought I'd go with the sexy bombshell nymph didn't you?) I figure me and Ellen would just chill, eat some popcorn and watch some Canadian horror. And you know plank around the house. I hear she loves the planking.

Simple right? At the end of August I'll randomly pick a name from all the entries and BOOM SHAKA LAKA, we got a winner. Well here's the trailer for The House of the Devil. Enter the giveaway via the comments!

Categories: contest, giveaway, horror giveaway, jadedviewer, jadedviewer.com, the house of the devil, the house of the devil review, the jaded viewer

Giveaway Contest #3: YOU decide what the giveaway should be

Well I haven't done a giveaway contest in a while. I think the last one I did was the Buffy contest or it could have been that Deadneks DVD one. I forget. In any case, I became an American horror movie picker as my old company was basically throwing away DVDs. Sure these weren't the best DVDs but one man's junk is another man's treasure.

So I'm going to create a poll and let you decide which horror related DVD/novelty item you want me to giveaway in a contest I'll have in a few weeks. At some point, I'm going to hold a giveaway for each of these items, but you're in control for this one.

Here are the items up for grabs. I haven't watched any of these films except for House of the Devil which I saw in the theater.

1.) The House of the Devil VHS clamshell

the jaded viewer says: I reviewed this film waaaaay back when. Babysitting meets the devil flick. I gave it 2 spinkicks. But this is the limited edition collectable VHS clamshell edition of the flick. If you still have a VCR, this is probably awesome.

Trailer with a Danielle Harris lookalike.






2.) Ferocious Planet DVD (a SyFy Original Movie via Maneater Series)

the jaded viewer says: Stars Joe Flanigan and John Rhys-Davies. New copy of this SyFy original movie. Who knows what the plot is but I'm sure the flick has awesome CGI. Here's the trailer.




3.) Savage County DVD (via MTV New Media)

the jaded viewer says: I think the soundtrack may be better than the movie. Texas Chainsaw ripoff for sure for the MTV generation.

Trailer because you didn't ask for it.





4.) Fertile Ground (via After Dark Originals)

the jaded viewer says: I think the house doesn't like this big city couple too much. You know how I LOVE After Dark originals right?

Trailer because you want to see scenes that are way too dark.

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VOTE IN THE POLL ON THE RIGHT HAND SIDE FOR WHICH MOVIE YOU WANT ME TO GIVEAWAY!!!

Categories: contest, giveaway, horror giveaway, scifi channel, sweeps, sweepstakes, the house of the devil

Tales from Beyond the Pale (Episode 4 and 5 Reviews)

If you haven't given Tales from Beyond the Pale a chance, I'm not sure what your waiting for. It's like the Twilight Zone meets War of the Worlds radio broadcast. It's slickly produced and has some stellar creepy stories that could very well be feature films or at the least, very well done shorts. There is something about hearing a story rather than seeing it that can give you chills. Radio exercises your imagination something that film lacks.

I've already reviewed Episodes 1 and 2 and Episodes 3 and 4. Check em out so you can pick and choose which Tale from Beyond the Pale you may want to download. Glass Eye Pix brings about the evolution of horror radio. Top notch star voice talent, great suspenseful stories in half an hour and sound effects that are spooky creepy.

Now check out some brief reviews of the last 2 episodes.

Johnny Boy

Written and Directed by JT Petty

JT Petty directed The Burrowers, a fun monster flick that just missed my Top 10 Horror Movies of 2008. His entry to the Pale is a little bit of Rosemary's Baby meets Grace.

Quick synopsis goes like this. From the Streets of New Orleans to the baby's nursery this frightening tale is about the anxieties of parenthood.

It's told in a film noir sort of way as Emily narrates her marriage with husband John and their newborn baby John Jr. The sounds of New Orleans come alive as the newleyweds struggle with their Johnny boy. Johnny is not your typical newborn, at times he won't breathe (as heard by his parents via a babymonitor) but then recovers worrying his parents. His obsession with a spoon is also quite peculiar. Soon both parents start a chain of distrust until the twisty ending.

Johnny boy had some creepy moments but the over narration seemed a little much. Lots of over explaining sometimes hurts a radio program. Johnny boy is definitely a product of Grace and all those baby devil movies. A mysterious encounter in the beginning with an incoherent woman isn't entirely explained at the end though you know it has corrupted little Johnny in some way.

Overall, it's got a few good moments and alot of buildup to a very predictable ending. There could have been a couple of directions this Tale could have gone with maybe Voodoo or ghosts in its New Orleans setting. But one thing's fore sure, I'll never listen to a baby monitor the same way again.

The Hole Digger

Written and Directed by Larry Fessenden

Well leave it up to the Larry Fessenden himself to come up with probably the best Tale so far. The Hole Digger is exactly what a horror radio play should be.

Plot goes like this.

It was the summer that everything changed, that summer in Cape Cod when me and my brother first found the hole dug down in the dunes in front of our house.

Whether it was for a grave or a treasure, that hole changed our lives for good.

It's the stories that don't start off with crazy stuff that usually buildup into a WTF is going on tons of fun. With The Hole Digger, Fessenden introduces us to Nicky and Tommy, brothers who grow up in Cape Cod. Tommy the older of the two takes care of his youngling, at one point saving his brother from dying. Nicky starts hearing digging as he tries to sleep and later the 2 discover a mysterious hole being dug that seems to have no purpose.

The sounds of shoveling are right on the money creepy. You have no idea what's going on and each shovel gets your human antennae on edge. The boys soon confide with their mother on this unusual discovery who soon loops in their uncle and a local sheriff. What in Thor's Hammer is this hole?

The Hole Digger seems to be more about this family's struggle and conflict as it does with this mysterious Hole Digger. It's this nice touch that makes you care about these kids and their problems. The ending leaves a little more to be desired but its subtle cool. The use of the sounds, the pacing and the voice characters were all Stand by Me-ish.

Leave it up to our dear Tale Keeper host to make one of the best Tales so far.

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Every horror fan with a mp3 player, iPod or iPhone, Droid or whatever digital entertainment device should at least download one of these episodes. It's definitely worth the $2 (it's the price of a cup of coffee!) to check out some quality horror radio back from the dead.

The Vitals

• The official site
• Glass Eye Pictures
• Facebook Page
• Follow @TalesBeyond on Twitter
  

Categories: larry fesseden, radio show, stake land, tales from beyond the pale, the house of the devil

Tales from Beyond the Pale (Episode 3 and 4 Reviews)

I'm totally hooked on Tales from Beyond the Pale. It's totally makes my morning commute go by like a flash when I'm on the train. I download the episode, load it up to my iPhone and I got 30 minutes of entertainment. Like I said when I reviewed the first 2 episodes, Glass Eye Pix brings about the evolution of horror radio. Top notch star voice talent, great suspenseful stories in half an hour and some sound effects that make it feel real.

The next 2 episodes were just released and both went in very different directions. Is this Seat Taken? from Sarah Langan takes a stab at serial killers while This Oracle Moon goes all sci fi. Read the reviews below to find out which one was better.

Here are a couple of brief reviews of the last 2 episodes.

Is this Seat Taken?

Written by Sarah Langan

We get a Dexter-ry episode in this tale from Sarah Langan. Here be the plot:

A young man meets an alluring woman on the Long Island Railroad and slowly comes to realize they have a common past... but maybe not the one she is recollecting.

This episode was decent, though it had a few moments. I've actually commuted on the LIRR and to hear the sounds of the train were dead on.

Robert Benchley our strange stranger is manipulated by LI heavily accented Cassey Coca who has taken an interest in our hero. Their relationship is one of a doctor/patient feel but it becomes more intense. The dialogue is heavy and at times pretty hilarious. Benchley is a little odd and off and his secrets are slowly dragged out by our Amy Fisher like Cassey. At times, the conversation seems read rather than casually spoken and lines feel forced.

The end feels a little predictable as it ends with a bang. I can't say I loved Is This Seat Taken but it was entertaining. It's a pocket full of Dexter, horror radio style.

You can download a preview of the episode, by clicky here.


This Oracle Moon

Written and directed by Jeff Buhler

I recognized Jeff Buhler's name immediately. He had directed Insanitarium (which I reviewed and gave 1 SK) But what drew me to this episode was that it featured the voice talent of Ron Perlman. Perlman's voice is so recognizable you could figure it out through a subway intercom.

This is the first sci fi horror Tale from Beyond the Pale. I'll admit, I liked this one just because it was sci-fi-ish. Here be the plot:

A rescue team of astronauts is dispatched to a distant moon in hopes of reclaiming survivors from an ill fated exploratory mission sent six years prior. When no survivors are found, the rescuers turn their attention to the elusive creatures inhabiting the nearby hills for answers.

Perlman brings his Hellboy attitude in as Marsh, our el capitan. He steals the show as he has all of the best one liners. This Oracle Moon can best be compared to Event Horizon in its sci-fi horrorness. It's got that eerie chillness as Captain Marsh and his crew sense everything on this distant moon isn't as it seems.

I also liked the sound effects in this one. Just bleeps and bloops and rocket ship engines brings in a nice Star Wars touch. And for the first time, we hear fighting in a TFBTP! I imagined Perlman in his space suit punching creatures with a long metal pipe. You'd think it would sound goofy but your imagine runs wild when you HEAR something rather than see it.

Overall, This Oracle Sound twists as all the other episodes have. It's predictable but the explained ending was creative. I liked this more than the previous entry as I've not been exposed to much sci-fi horror of late. It's good their mixing in different types of horror genres. Sci-fi horror to psychological serial horror.

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As always Larry Fessenden's intro is always funny and the breaks in between make it feel all 1950s.

Every horror fan with a mp3 player, iPod or iPhone, Droid or whatever digital entertainment device should at least download one of these episodes. It's definitely worth the $2 (it's the price of a cup of coffee!) to check out some quality horror radio back from the dead.

The Vitals

• The official site
• Glass Eye Pictures
• Facebook Page
• Follow @TalesBeyond on Twitter
  

Categories: larry fesseden, radio show, stake land, tales from beyond the pale, the house of the devil

Tales from Beyond the Pale (Audio Review)

With the amount of digital entertainment in this day and age, you'd think radio would be dead. But it's still alive and kicking though has evolved into something a little more frightening courtesy of Glass Eye Pictures Larry Fessenden and Glenn McQuaid. Tales from Beyond the Pale is the evolution of horror radio. It's also an evolution in the horror genre. It's been a long time since the two have blended but Glass Eye Pictures has created a 21st century audio cocktail that had me on the edge of my seat.

You should already know Glass Eye Pictures as the studio that has brought you I Sell the Dead, The House of the Devil and Stakeland. But this newest project brings horror radio back from the dead and I gotta tell you it's fantastic.

At only half an hour each, each tale is filled with a story that is cunningly enticing and downright macabre. So far only 3 stories have been released and I had a chance to listen to the first two. With the voice talents of Vincent D'Onofrio and Ron Perlman, these aren't your golden oldies. These all have great actors and writers that weave a tale that give you a chill down your spine.

Here are a couple of brief reviews of the first 2 episodes.

Man on the Ledge

Written and directed by Joe Maggio

Starring: Vincent D'Onofrio and Larry Fessenden (and others)

As the title says, a man on the ledge thinks about his life as police try to talk him down. D'Onofrio plays John Alba whose life has spiraled out of control. The premise is only the trigger that enables the twists and turns to happen in this twisted tale.

The show is complete with audio stimuli from NYC sounds to police radio. These little touches make you feel like you're there. D'Onofrio is brilliant as a man who not only seems to be in utter despair but disturbed as well. The dialogue is clearly filled with rants of dubious monologue, colorful analogies and conversation that make you think.

It's all of this that makes Man on the Ledge feel oddly real. You will never look at a suicidal man about to jump the same way again after hearing this tale (because I'm sure you all do this all the time :-P)


British & Proud

Written and directed by Simon Rumley

The second episode of Tales from Beyond the Pale takes Western paranoia to a new level. British & Proud follows Sebastian, a British dude who marries Zalika, an African beauty as they vacation to visit her family in Sudan, Africa.

Let me just say the difference between TFBTP and other horror radio is that they don't just rehash old urban legends or horror short stories but we get to listen to NEW stories told in such a creative way complete with sound effects and performances of the highest caliber.

So many different themes are explored in British & Proud. Western imperialism, identity and love. As Sebastian uses his heart rather than his head, you start to empathize with him and his situation. But sometimes, when you keep it real, it can go wrong.

British & Proud is maliciously evil and uniquely mesmerizing. You really start to listen to each word, to each noise and especially to each scream at 100%. You know many of these tales won't end well, but you can't help but listen.

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If you want to download something fun and creepy, Tales from Beyond the Pale is pure 30 minutes of wickedness. Larry Fessenden's hosting introduction reminded me of the old Cryptkeeper with a tinge of Rod Serling. You even get an old timey break (it's just promos for a trailer) that makes it feel classically new.

Horror fans and bloggers, this is a must download. So turn off your TV, shut off the game console and before you shut down your computer, download Tales from Beyond the Pale. Horror radio-casting is your new form of entertainment and it's here to scare the hell out of you.

The Vitals

• The official site
• Glass Eye Pictures
• Facebook Page
• Follow @TalesBeyond on Twitter
  

Categories: larry fesseden, podcasts, radio show, stake land, the house of the devil

Babysitter Wanted (Review)

Babysitter Wanted

Babysitter Wanted (2008)

Directed by Jonas Barnes/Michael Manasseri

I got some backlash from my review of The House of the Devil as I basically said it was average at best. It's a slow burn, some decent jump scares and I summed it up by saying it was a reheated frozen dinner.

So what if I had one of those frozen dinners again?

Well this is where Babysitter Wanted comes in. It's got the same premise as Ti West's film. College girl with lousy roommate gets a gig to babysit a couple's young little tyke in the middle of boonies USA. Suspense is drawn out as mysterious phone calls start ringing, she frantically searches for the kid and than the big reveal is well...revealed.

Suffice it to say, if I told you what the curveball was, it might ruin the movie for you. But I'll tell you straight out. It's definitely not what happened in The House of the Devil. But for me, the difference between this flick and the latter is that we don't have to wait an obscene amount of time to get the big reveal.

I will tell you exactly when we get it in this movie. It's at the 48 minute mark. You'd think after everything is revealed it would be down hill from then on. But it doesn't. It actually becomes more cat and mouse fun and has some awesome tension filled moments.

Babysitter Wanted is what I wanted from The House of the Devil. It takes that babysitter urban legend and squeezes every drop of horror onto the screen. If I had to do a switch to my Top 20 list, I'd actually do it. A very solid horror movie that actually lives up to what it was trying to do.

And here's why.

Boring Plot-O-Matic

In a small college town, a young girl working on a babysitting job in a rural farm is terrorized throughout the night.

Awesome Review-O-Matic

Angie (Sarah Thompson) is a religiously devoted freshman starting her first year in community college. She's got the stoner roommate and is the total country bumpkin. Lacking funds, she rips apart a flyer's number and gets a gig babysitting for the Stantons and their cowboy in training kid Sam.

She soon gets a BF to be and gets various foreshadowing flyers taped to her dorm room door. As the babysitting gig starts off, all is slightly normal. And this is where I have to stop or I'll reveal too much.

Let me just say the moments play out as they do all these other babysitter in peril movies. She walks slowly around the house so the creepy gets into overdrive. The phone starts ringing with incomprehensible speech and the most over used cliched scene in babysitter movies makes an appearance as well where our terrified babysitter is searching for the missing kid around the house and she pulls back a shower curtain.

One time instead of seeing an empty tub I'd like to see the worst thing she has ever seen. Severed heads, body parts, organs and tons of blood and splatter.

But that would be a reveal wouldn't it?

The rest of the movie after the twist is your standard final girl vs the big bad. A few solid splatter and gore scenes are interspersed throughout the struggle and we see the evolution of Angie from good, religious college girl to outright profanity spewing final girl of the year. It's an awesome performance from the hot girl next door Sarah Thompson (she was on Angel and a few other TV shows). Seeing her devotedness go from God to survival was fun to watch.

Also, the movie is effective in its set up shots to get the tension moving. Lots of faraway shots with the killer moving in. Closeups to get the emotional punch and a few twists and turns that were set up by the black darkness of this small little house in the middle of nowhere.

All in all, Babysitter Wanted hits on all these notes and does it without including the 80s nostalgia. Sure, there are various logic holes in the reveal and "the ending" actually has like 3 endings within itself. Directors Barnes and Manasseri make sure that our last shot ends on a note of hope rather than dread.

With these type of films, it's hard to blend the pre reveal with the post reveal within the movie. But Babysitter Wanted does its best and it comes out all right. I love when a film that you watch going in with no expectations blows you away. The feeling is just spontaneous happy, sorta like winning an auction on eBay.

This urban legend that's spawned countless movies still keeps chugging along. Let's hope they're all like Babysitter Wanted.

Gore-ipedia

Ax trauma
Knife trauma
Meathook trauma
Achilles heel trauma
Various splatter and gore

Nude-ipedia

Nada. But Sarah Thompson looks particularly yummy in a very tight sweater

WTF moment

THE BIG REVEAL!

The Jaded Viewer's Final Prognosis

If you didn't like The House of the Devil or thought it was just "eh", well than try another of these reheated frozen dinners. This one is like a Hungry Man frozen dinner. It's packed with meaty morsels, some peas and carrots and some solid dessert.

Sure it looks like When a Stranger Calls and even Halloween, but its one of the best 25 horror movies to come out last year. For me, this is one of the best babysitter in peril movies ever.

Now rip off the flyer's phone number and dial this one up.

Here is the link to the official site.

Rating:
Check out the trailer below.

Categories: 2008 horror dvd, babysitter wanted, babysitter wanted trailer, bill moseley, nana visitor, sarah thompson, the house of the devil

The House of the Devil (Review)

The House of the Devil

The House of the Devil (2009)

Directed by Ti West

It's very odd that this decade, the 2000s have all been a haven for the throwback, remake or homage movie. We get sentimental for different decades, the 70s and 80s we deem as the golden age sometimes. This very much is the case within horror.

I am not a child of the 70s, but I did watch the cinema of the time. When I first got into horror, I figured I should self-educate and watch the best of the best. The Exorcist, Rosemary's Baby, The Omen, etc. And after watching all these movies, I never knew why people were so obsessed with the occult and the Satanic worship at the time.

But Ti West wants you to get reacquainted with that devil fear all over again. With The House of the Devil, he basically takes that slow burn, jump scare and evil Satanic worshipping frozen dinner and reheats it for you, complete with the side of gory red pudding. West does nothing new to this genre of film, but instead adds some gorehound delights and nostalgic 80s soundtrack to complete a good homage, nothing more and nothing less.

The House of the Devil is a throwback glimpse into a plodding pace that is all atmosphere based which eventually leads to an over the top, metal music cacophony of chaos ending. If you you remember these movies fondly, you'll love this movie. If you're a tween or were born in the 90s, this is a movie where may you spontaneously develop ADD.

I found myself caught in the middle. And I'll tell you why.

Boring Plot-O-Matic

In the 1980s, college student Samantha Hughes takes a strange babysitting job that coincides with a full lunar eclipse. She slowly realizes her clients harbor a terrifying secret; they plan to use her in a satanic ritual.

Awesome Review-O-Matic

Let's just start off with what I liked. I loved the vintage 80s opening credits, from the fonts to the freeze frame credit sequences. West spares no expense to get you back into acid washed jeans and Charlie's Angels hair. The soundtrack keeps this going with very montagey music that blends into the film. As Sam blasts her oversized Walkman, we hear music from new wave to metal (thank the Gods of Fire for that). Later, we even get a gratuitous 80s montage set to "One Thing Leads to Another" by The Fixx. It's all these things that gave me a happy because nostalgia is an intoxicating drug for any movie fan.

Here is where we go grey. Sam (Jocelin Donahue) is that everyday poor, struggling college student. She's got a horny, slobby roommate which is the reason she decides to move off campus. She soon takes a babysitting job located in backwoods, USA and she and her friend Megan are off to meet the lovely but ultimately evil Mr. and Mrs. Ulman.

Act 1 is all set up as we play meet and greet with our heroine Sam. Donahue looks like a cloned Danielle Harris. West allows us to see her uninteresting life in the most aggravating of ways. Scenes of watching Sam walk from place to place, with juxtaposition closeup shots of a clock tower followed by more long walks and scary payphones. I have totally forgotten how yawny boring these long shots and scenes of nothing can be. (Can somebody tell me if this is how these 70s/80s Satanic movies were filmed back then? I honestly don't remember. But I get the feeling West makes sure we get the same feel as those movies. The mega slow burn is in effect. You better drink a Red Bull.)

Act 2 begins when Sam decides to take the babysitting job which turns out to be not a babysitting job. Mr Ulman (Tom Noonan, who does a decent job as the creepy undertaker-like guy) explains the rules and coerces her with more money.

We the viewer get painstakingly a collection of scenes of Sam snooping all over the house. Some scenes (especially shots of her through a window are glorious throwaway shots of old). But more so, we get Sam being scared of her friend's answering machine (complete with that 80s pretend voice message), Sam scared of the pizza guy, Sam scared of the bathroom, Sam scared of the creepy attic. West spares no expense who amp up the bass to get you to jump out of your seat. Think of the "Don't!" trailer and this sums up Act 2.

Check out an example of the slow burn suspense in this clip below.





Act 3 which takes about an hour and 10 minutes to get to is filled with bloody uber chaos. Motive is explained by our diabolical couple and their homicidal son tries to go, well homicidal on Sam. Satanic rituals are in effect with that Satanic star, that Satanic animal skull and that Satanic blood drinking and human sacrifices. In all these movies, they end one of two ways. Somebody gets shot or jumps off the roof of the house.

Like I said before, West throws in more gore and splatter than these movies usually have. Gore-ipedia includes a very stellar gunshot to the face, ocular trauma, sliced throats and a headshot. It's top notch FX and I couldn't help but applaud the effort.

However, at the end of the day the movie is a wicked slow slow slow burn. It takes so long to get to the nitty gritty that no Red Bulls were helping to keep me awake. I understand it's suppose to be this way but Satanic and occult movies are my weakest link within horror and I'll admit, I do not like style over substance. The House of the Devil is filled with these cliches of BOO! scares and unseen carnage. Though as an older horror fan, I am not easily scared as I use to be and as the jaded viewer, I demand to see something substantial and not the repackaged same old same old.

That's not to say the film isn't effective in what it was trying to do. Kudos to West and the entire cast for pulling off an impressive homage to the girl meets devil genre. It's brilliant in bringing back that longing for a movie you'd see at 2am on Channel 11 (WPIX in NYC).

So with that, it's a touch of grey for The House of the Devil. It's got its moments and it's got its long moments. Like a magic eye painting, you'll be waiting for the blurry mess of color to turn into a sailboat. Some people will focus and see the sailboat. Others, like myself wait for hours for that damn sailboat. Hell, sometimes you don't see a sailboat at all.

Nude-ipedia

Nada. These aren't the droids you're looking for.

WTF moment

Gunshot to the face. Didn't see that coming.

The Jaded Viewer's Final Prognosis

Going back on the metaphor I mentioned before, The House of the Devil is a reheated frozen dinner. You've eaten it before and it pretty much tastes the same. But sometimes, if you haven't had that same meal in a while, it tastes a little better. Right? Know what I mean?

The House of the Devil comes out on October 30th in a limited release. You can actually watch it on Amazon.com Video In Demand right now.

This is Ti West's 4th film.

Rating:

Check out the trailer.

jaded viewer related linkage:
Top 5 80s Horror Movies Hollywood Might Actually Think Would Be Good Remakes

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