Halloween Movie Challenge 2018 (Parts 11-14)
31 New-To-Me Horror movies watched & Reviewed In October:
11. THE PURGE:
The trailers for The Purge always looked good to me and the reviews were generally positive - so I am not quite sure why it has taken me this long to get around to watching it. (It's already spawned several sequels and a TV series!). The premise is that in a near-future USA there is a dedicated day in the year where all crime is not only legal but positively encouraged by the authorities. The theory runs that this somehow brings down crime for the rest of the year and as such the economy booms. To go on crime rampage on this especially sanctioned day is supposed to be cathartic and therefore beneficial to both the individuals and society as a whole. (Quite how this is supposed to be cathartic for the victims is not examined here). For the first half of the film I was not quite able to suspend my disbelief as the premise seemed just too full of holes. As the film progresses this becomes less important. The slightly ridiculous premise starts to become a mirror for modern society (America in particular). We see reflected how brutal loss of life can become sactified and even patriotic, we see the shocking divides between the rich and poor and we see how many of the most blood-thirsty elements are most thoroughly embraced by the most comfortably off - no co-incidence that they are the least likely section of society to be affected by The Purge as their wealth, gated communities and such like offer some relative protection. In the age of President Trump who can judge what is too ridiculous to be true anymore?
12. TRUTH OR DARE:
A group of college kids on Spring break in Mexico are led to an isolated spot and tricked into playing a game of 'Truth Or Dare.' The game turns out to be a gateway for a demon to enter their lives and they are forever locked into the game as the truths and dares become more extreme (leaving the game or failing to fully comply results in death). The game of truth or dare is described in the film as "a chance to learn your friends' deepest secrets and make them do stuff they don't want to do." The demon takes these aspects to their fullest extreme. The film was surprisingly engaging though slightly derivative (at times reminding me of films like 'Final Destination' and 'It Follows' but not being quite as good as either) but ended with a surprise conclusion that I quite enjoyed.
13. THE BABYSITTER:
A geeky, neurotic 12 year old buy has a regular baby sitter while his parents are away, an older teenage girl cast to both extremely attractive and extremely cool. When the boy stays up late one night to find out what she gets up to when she isn't looking after him he discovers that she is a practicing satanist. She and her friends (who have just made a human sacrifice in the boy's living room) then have to attempt to silence the boy. It's difficult to describe this film without making it sound stupid - and I was kind of expecting it to be stupid but it turned out to be a lot of fun. Whether the lightness of touch came from the writing, from the directing of from the performances there was a lot of enjoyable humour (similar in tone I would say to 'The Lost Boys'). I liked this way more than I was expecting.
14. WIND CHILL:
Emily Blunt plays a student who accepts the offer of a ride-share as she tries to get home for the Christmas holidays. The man driving is a stranger and is revealed to be a bit of a stalker. Initially this seems to be the source of horror within the film, but only for the first act. The second part of the film suggests that being stuck in a snow covered wilderness without supplies might be the next source of horror and it is for a while. The final part of the film reveals a supernatural element, something like a ghost story is also taking place. The three elements compliment each other nicely until the final conclusion. Most of this film is just the two lead cast members in a car together. We see them change as the film progresses as their journey (literal and metaphorical) shapes them. I had never even heard of this movie before I flicked through Netflix. I think it deserves a much higher profile.
11. THE PURGE:
The trailers for The Purge always looked good to me and the reviews were generally positive - so I am not quite sure why it has taken me this long to get around to watching it. (It's already spawned several sequels and a TV series!). The premise is that in a near-future USA there is a dedicated day in the year where all crime is not only legal but positively encouraged by the authorities. The theory runs that this somehow brings down crime for the rest of the year and as such the economy booms. To go on crime rampage on this especially sanctioned day is supposed to be cathartic and therefore beneficial to both the individuals and society as a whole. (Quite how this is supposed to be cathartic for the victims is not examined here). For the first half of the film I was not quite able to suspend my disbelief as the premise seemed just too full of holes. As the film progresses this becomes less important. The slightly ridiculous premise starts to become a mirror for modern society (America in particular). We see reflected how brutal loss of life can become sactified and even patriotic, we see the shocking divides between the rich and poor and we see how many of the most blood-thirsty elements are most thoroughly embraced by the most comfortably off - no co-incidence that they are the least likely section of society to be affected by The Purge as their wealth, gated communities and such like offer some relative protection. In the age of President Trump who can judge what is too ridiculous to be true anymore?
12. TRUTH OR DARE:
A group of college kids on Spring break in Mexico are led to an isolated spot and tricked into playing a game of 'Truth Or Dare.' The game turns out to be a gateway for a demon to enter their lives and they are forever locked into the game as the truths and dares become more extreme (leaving the game or failing to fully comply results in death). The game of truth or dare is described in the film as "a chance to learn your friends' deepest secrets and make them do stuff they don't want to do." The demon takes these aspects to their fullest extreme. The film was surprisingly engaging though slightly derivative (at times reminding me of films like 'Final Destination' and 'It Follows' but not being quite as good as either) but ended with a surprise conclusion that I quite enjoyed.
13. THE BABYSITTER:
A geeky, neurotic 12 year old buy has a regular baby sitter while his parents are away, an older teenage girl cast to both extremely attractive and extremely cool. When the boy stays up late one night to find out what she gets up to when she isn't looking after him he discovers that she is a practicing satanist. She and her friends (who have just made a human sacrifice in the boy's living room) then have to attempt to silence the boy. It's difficult to describe this film without making it sound stupid - and I was kind of expecting it to be stupid but it turned out to be a lot of fun. Whether the lightness of touch came from the writing, from the directing of from the performances there was a lot of enjoyable humour (similar in tone I would say to 'The Lost Boys'). I liked this way more than I was expecting.
14. WIND CHILL:
Emily Blunt plays a student who accepts the offer of a ride-share as she tries to get home for the Christmas holidays. The man driving is a stranger and is revealed to be a bit of a stalker. Initially this seems to be the source of horror within the film, but only for the first act. The second part of the film suggests that being stuck in a snow covered wilderness without supplies might be the next source of horror and it is for a while. The final part of the film reveals a supernatural element, something like a ghost story is also taking place. The three elements compliment each other nicely until the final conclusion. Most of this film is just the two lead cast members in a car together. We see them change as the film progresses as their journey (literal and metaphorical) shapes them. I had never even heard of this movie before I flicked through Netflix. I think it deserves a much higher profile.