Horror Movie Talk

• It’s What’s Inside Review

  Synopsis Eight college friends reunite the evening before one of their weddings to catch up, hang out, and unexpectedly play a game that will change all of their lives forever. Review I like this movie a lot. It’s so much fun. It’s fast paced, the lighting and editing keeps you highly engaged, and the plot is simple but effective. I love the interpersonal drama that carries most of the movie, and without giving too much away, how it all plays out is very interesting. The first time I watched this I definitely didn’t anticipate the final twist, which was really exciting. Although this isn’t traditionally scary, the thought of it happening to you sends a shiver down your spine. It’s a very fun, lively movie and I had a blast watching it again for the pod. Before we get into any spoilers whatsoever, I believe this is a movie watched best going in blind, so pause the show here and come back when you’ve seen this. Score 8/10

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• The Woman in the Yard Review

  Synopsis The Woman in the Yard is a blumhouse produced movie about a family living on a farm trying to make ends meet after a disastrous car accident which left the father dead, and mother crippled. As this broken home traverses the everyday trials of a grieving family, a mysterious woman appears on a chair in their front yard. Attempting to speak to the woman reveals very little about her motivations, so the family barricades themselves in the house hoping to wait her out. Without electricity, a working vehicle or cell phones, the mother and her two children are completely isolated. Review of The Woman in the Yard The cinematography is strikingly beautiful for such a low effort film. While the acting ranges from really good at times to borderline over-acting, the script does not do our actors any favors. This leaves the film lacking in character development and meaningful relationships. The movie is very barebones as far as plot, and hardly anything of interest happens most of the movie. It starts with a good idea, but completely undercuts it by having the woman in the yard be normal looking and unthreatening. The ending is ambiguous, which may be a good thing for some viewers, but for me it contains too many loose ends and "what if"s. Score 3/10

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• Death of a Unicorn Review

  This week we review Death of a Unicorn! Stay tuned to find out whether the laughs are real or mythological. Synopsis Paul Rudd plays the hapless single father Elliot to Jenna Ortega’s, art history student Ridley. They both go on a work trip to a remote estate of Elliot’s boss in a former wilderness preserve. While on driving there, they accidentally collide with a horse beast with a horn protruding out of it’s head. Just a single horn. Like a uni-horn. When they try to hide the evidence from the CEO and his family, wacky low jinks ensue. Review of Death of a Unicorn While this film has an interesting premise and a good cast, the words that kept playing through my mind while watching this is “half baked”. Not like the wacky movie staring Jim Bruer and Dave Chappell, but more like a mouthful of hot brownie batter. It sounds good, but is actually disappointing. While there were a few situations in which I did laugh, they were few and far between, because what this horror comedy lacked most was jokes and bits.  The characters were all 2 dimensional, which in a comedy can be counteracted with broad caricature, but the writing here attempts to be subtle and low key with poor results. In fact, Paul Rudd’s character, ostensibly the second protagonist ends up being so wishy washy, that I was confused if he was supposed to be one of the villains. Jenna Ortega isn’t as stone faced as usual, but she doesn’t have much to work with here. In fact most of her dialogue felt like it must have read [fill in later]. Probably the most successfully subtle character is Anthony Carrigan’s Griff the butler. There were some good gory death moments. The expected impalements are here. There are some good headsplosions. But it’s not enough. I usually think it’s a cop out to say a movie’s CGI is bad, but for a movie dependent on monster design, they should have spent a little more time and money dialing in the unicorns. Score 4/10

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  1:31:11
• Hush (2016) Review

  Synopsis Hush follows Maddy (Kate Siegel), a deaf writer living in the middle of nowhere. She settles in for a quiet night of working when her friend turns up screaming and bloody at her door, but Maddy does not notice. The assailant figures out Maddy is deaf and a deadly game of cat and mouse ensues. Review The first time I watched this movie I really enjoyed it, but upon second watch it wasn’t as effective for me. I think it’s because if you know how it ends, it’s not going to be as exciting the second time around. I still liked it and Mike Flanagan is an incredible director, I very much enjoy most of the stuff he puts out. It’s a typical home invasion movie and the twist of having a deaf protagonist is inventive and works well. Kate Siegel is always great to watch, and the antagonist is pretty good as well. It’s a simple movie, and it works best to watch it without knowing what happens. It’s not the best, but it’s a quick 80 minutes and satisfies the horror itch. Score 6/10 http://patreon.com/horrormovietalk

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  1:08:41
• Eraserhead Review

  Synopsis Eraserhead is a movie about an awkward man named Henry who reconnects with his lost lover Mary over a lovely dinner of small chickens. They're the same as the big chickens except for small. After finding out the shocking news that Mary has given birth to Henry's child, the two get hitched and strap in for the slow steady life of a settled family. The baby soon causes turmoil in the young couple's life and Henry must learn what fatherhood truly means in the depths of the sleepless nights and constant screaming. There's some other stuff that happens but honestly I don't know what any of it means. Review of Eraserhead Eraserhead is one of those movies that I want to like more than I do. The whole time I'm watching it I'm sitting there thinking to myself “Yes! This is so unique and thought-provoking. I'm so glad art like this exists! …how much longer is left of this movie? I found myself checking the runtime at several points hoping it was almost over only to realize only 15 minutes had passed by. However, to this movie’s credit, it truly is a spectacle. Many have likened this movie to what experiencing a nightmare or a strange dream feels like. Time moves awkwardly slow, a low hum and sharp static hang over most of the scenes, and even the mere movements of the characters feel so off. If you are going into this movie expecting to understand it or get the message, you may be disappointed to find that there may not even be one. Though despite Lynches ethereal style of movie making I still feel like I caught themes of the stress of marriage and fatherhood, dealing with overbearing prudish in-laws, and the horror that is whatever newborns simply are. As a father of a small baby myself, I felt an attachment to the small creature that they attempted to pass off as a premature child, and the sheer fragility of an infant felt close to home for me. This movie pulled off the exact feat it was going for. It made me feel something. Even if that something was an eerie, stilted, boring, nervous feeling, at least its something. I said a lot of negative things but in reality I actually do find value and even enjoyment in this movie in a weird kind of way. Score 7/10

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