rfinnct

IMDb member since May 2009
    Lifetime Total
    25+
    IMDb Member
    14 years

Reviews

Kriya
(2020)

Tedious and nonsensical.
I went into this knowing the language and the rites presented would be foreign to me. I've seen many horror films from across the globe and, even if I don't understand the nuances of the culture and its superstitions, I can almost always still enjoy the story for what it is. That was not the case here.

First off, the acting is horrendous. Wooden, almost completely emotionless. The writing doesn't help matters. I realize lots can be lost in translation when working with subtitles, but even the lines spoken in English were awkward and unrealistic.

Second, the plot is paper thin. I swear I'm not normally one who says "I knew what was going to happen at the end within the first 5 minutes," but really, that's what happened. I mean, it's telegraphed as clearly as what was going on with the woman going through great lengths to cover half of her face for the first part of the film. Once she finally reveals what's underneath, it's such a non-revelation that I wondered why she bothered in the first place (and inexplicably she starts covering it again... I assume to save time and money on FX makeup). As another reviewer said, there's a bunch of in-fighting within the family that comes and goes randomly and with little relevance to the plot. A lot is spoken about a family curse, but very little is explained. Motivations of characters are muddy and seemed inconsistent; nuggets of exposition seem to add little to the plot and are presented in a clunky, obvious manner (someone reminds a character of something really bad they did in the past and then adds "remember?" As if the person could ever forget such a deed).

I enjoy slow-burn movies, but this seemed so slow it was borderline in reverse. Plus, just the premise of an admittedly beautiful woman picking up a guy at a bar and getting him home with the promise of sex, but suddenly he's at her dad's last rites/funeral and doesn't just say "NNNOPE! Outta here!" is just ridiculous. They didn't even give him any way *not* to leave... he drove there!

I give 2 stars for the look and atmosphere of the movie, but even at a hair over 90 minutes (including end credits and 10 minutes total of flashing lights and club music at the beginning and end), this was a chore to sit through. Save your time & skip it!

Halloween Party
(2019)

Lightweight, fun horror
I've been watching horror movies for over 40 years (yeah, I'm old). I state this only because in all those years I've seen high-budget flicks that were awful, and low-budget ones that were great (and vice-versa both ways). This is obviously on the lower budget side, but I have to say the overall look and production design make it look far more polished than I expected from a free movie on Tubi that I'd never heard of before. The script and characterizations were also quite a step above what I'd expected as well. Many of the characters had very distinct personalities and traits, which is kinda rare in horror movies where most portray them as just bland, disposable, and usually annoying.

I see a lot of reviews saying it's a "fun" movie, and I have to agree. It's written well with some outright funny/witty lines at times, but to me doesn't completely cross the line into comedy horror. But is it scary? Kinda. It's got some effectively creepy moments, but unless you're a horror lightweight, I don't see it keeping anyone up at night. And to further that thought, the tone of the movie seems a little bipolar; sometimes seemingly aimed at teens (almost with a campy, Goosebumps vibe), but also scattered with some graphic images, f-bombs, and off-color humor that don't seem appropriate for a younger audience. The acting also runs the gamut from surprisingly strong to (hopefully intentionally) campy. I think all of that leads to the "fun" aspect of it, but those looking for straight-up serious horror would be let down.

One more note: the plot is more nuanced and involved than I expected, but it reallllly doesn't stand up to much scrutiny... at least not the whole "meme" aspect of spreading the curse ("meme" not even being the correct term, when it's more like a virus) which seems clunky, illogical in its own rules, and visually juvenile.

If you're looking for horror with a capital H, I'd give this one a pass; but if you're looking for something fun with some creep factor, I think this would fit the bill. Especially around Halloween.

Summer Camp
(2015)

Interesting Idea, but lacking in execution
It starts off in familiar territory: a small group of young counselors in a remote camp. However, just by reading the movie's summary, you'll already know it's not going to follow the same trajectory as others with this same set-up. The premise borrows heavily from a sub-genre of horror movies such as "28 Days Later" and "The Crazies," where people suddenly suffer from a plague of unknown origin that causes murderous rage (again, part of the brief summary here on IMDb). What it adds is an interesting twist in that the people who are inflicted by this "rage" suddenly snap out of it, and are clueless to what happened while in its grip.

The positive is that multiple people could suddenly go off at any moment; it's not just one person who's suddenly gone insane and the rest get picked off one by one. This adds some tension, but unfortunately the filmmakers seem to only touch on some of the implications of this condition that could elevate the premise from "scary" to "horrific." For instance, the characters all come to realize that they all are infected, and they all cycle in and out of this madness. If the screenplay had been fleshed out enough so that the characters could dwell on the facts that, not only do they not want to kill a friend even in self-defense (especially knowing they'll eventually come back to normal), but there's also now a fear that they themselves might be killed in self defense when they're suddenly in the grip of unstoppable rage.

Instead, the movie careens from one person going crazy (sometimes multiples at the same time) to another, to another, etc. and it becomes tedious. There's no time for character development (although at times the movie adds in nuggets of characters' back-stories which are obviously added for the viewer to feel something for them, but are too sparse to register as anything other than awkward and misplaced), and the constant growling/snarling/attacking starting about 1/3 into the film never ratchets up any tension. By going from 0 to 100 so early and then consistently staying there becomes monotonous and actually reduces the fear factor since it's basically doing the same thing repeatedly.

In addition, it relies way to heavily on the camera shake technique. Not the "found footage" type, but the kind that's meant to convey action, confusion, and chaos (and yes, probably shift attention away from budgetary constraints). That can work well in small doses, but again, when the action starts so early and doesn't stop for an extended period of time, it greatly reduces its effectiveness. The viewer is bombarded with quick-cuts and constant camera-shake which becomes annoying and and pretty much defeats the whole purpose.

I applaud them for an interesting premise, and both the acting and the effects ranged from passable to good. I just think fleshing out the premise and expanding on its implications would have pushed it beyond just another zombie-like "rage plague" movie that many horror fans have seen enough times already.

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