What I Watched in April

Woo hoo! April saw my return to the movie theaters and, of course, I caught two horror movies! Don't act so surprised.

I had been interested in MAMA for two reasons- Guillermo del Toro produced it and its a ghost story. Either of these will insure my desire to view and both together makes it inevitable. Overall I liked the movie but it falters in the final act. I like the way things resolve but a lot of the onscreen details were too silly an drawn out. The protracted final scenes tried my patience and had me wishing they would wrap things up once the reveal was done. This left me feeling a bit unsatisfied with the movie but it was still a pretty good experience. How's that for a spoiler-free review?

I also caught the new EVIL DEAD film and am now prepared to wade into the horror geek discussion of its qualities. I liked the film, so there!

Oh, all right. I found this film to be a solid horror effort with a number of clever bits tossed in to make it an above average movie. I had heard the huge amount of bitching and whining about the movie as well as the few contrary voices so I was concerned. Concerned that once again the industry had pushed out a cynical, crappy, uninspired cash grab that would bore me and make me hate everyone involved. Certainly the intense ripping given the film by so many 'Horror Movie Fans' made me think that this was going to be a bad experience so imagine my surprise when about halfway through I realized the movie was actually well done. I had several specific points that 'Fans' had complained about in mind as I watched and as they came onscreen I realized that you would have to be wanting to hate the movie to bitch about the specifics I was seeing. In all seriousness- complaining that characters do stupid things in a horror movie is like complaining that water is wet. What do you think drives most tales of this type? Do you think someone in an EVIL DEAD film isn't going to read the Book of the Dead aloud and summon the hideous creatures? Honestly Horror Fans - grow the *blank* up!

But don't get me wrong- if you did not like the film I have no desire to change your opinion. Movies, like all art, are a subjective thing and your enjoyment will vary depending on a variety of variables that are specific to you. I can explain that I enjoyed the film and why and you could do the same for disliking it but at the end of the day its just a movie. I was surprised after all the vitriolic hatred directed at EVIL DEAD that it was as entertaining as it is. I suspect some of this anger is kneejerk and not really based on giving the film a fair shot.

And for the record I think its simply the fourth in the series and not necessarily a straight remake. Lets see if that starts some discussion! 

REC 3: GENESIS (2012)- 6

CHILDREN OF THE CORN: GENESIS (2011)- 3 (clearly there are no good films in this series)

THE SINISTER EYES OF DOCTOR ORLOFF (1973)- 6 (Franco thriller)

INTERZONE (1987)- 2 (terrible post-apocalyptic film)

MAMA (2013)- 6 (well done but the plotting falters in the third act)

FRIDAY THE 13th PART 3 (1982) - 4 (rewatch in 3D!)

WATCHMEN (2009)- 9 (rewatch)

THE MAN WHO SAW FRANKENSTIEN CRY (2010)- 10

THE OCTAGON (1980)- 5 (rewatch)

MOTORCYCLE GANG (1957)- 5 (fun slice of delinquent cinema)

THE BEASTMASTER (1982)- 4 (fun but sloppy)

TEETH (2007)- 5 (interesting if not great)

EVIL DEAD (2013)- 7 (well done- really the fourth in the series)

YESTERDAY'S ENEMY (1959)- 9 (amazing British war movie)

DICK TRACY (1945) - 6 (solid detective tale)

KILL BILL VOL. 1 (2004) - 9 (rewatch)

KING KONG VS. GODZILLA (1962)- 4 (too silly- this was the full length Japanese version)

REPLICANT (2001)- 4 (silly idea with a game cast can't make a good film)