Sweetcujo9
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Reviews
All Souls Day: Dia de los Muertos (2005)
Another to my collection...with little redeeming qualities.
Being only the second reviewer, I'm sure I won't be the last with the Sci-fi Channel having shown this film the night before.
Unlike the other reviewer, I will give my opinion, but will do it without making bold statements without backing them up.
To start off, 'All Souls Day' comes at a time when the Zombie film is splashing all over big screens and small. With George A. Romero's 'Land of the Dead' on it's way in a couple weeks, and a small handful of decently-made living-dead films making an impact on today's audiences, Sci-fi channel presented it's audiences with the 'World Premiere' of 'All Souls Day' (this was NOT a made for Sci-Fi film). Crunched in between the likes of Romero's 'Day of the Dead', 'Resident Evil' and 'Return of the Living Dead 3', 'All Souls Day' followed the all-too-simple formula of twenty-somethings holed up in a building, fighting against the recently-risen-dead'. Sure, it was a hotel in Mexico, and not a house, and the premise of why the dead were rising had it's creative qualities, but, all-in-all, 'All Souls Day' fell short of entertaining it's audience.
Of the actors cast for 'All Souls Day', Jeffrey Combs and Danny Trejos appeared to be the only two who could accentuate upon their characters, leaving the other actors giving ill-attempts at line delivery. Sure, Combs and Trejos were the bookending characters to this bland film, but it was one of very few redeeming qualities which made this film even bearable enough to watch. And, as I have learned as an Independent Filmmaker, if you are going to work with kids, make sure you spend some time picking ones which can pace their line deliveries and not sound like they're reading out of a 'Curious George' book.
As an AVID Zombie Film collector and lover of the particular genre, I always enjoy seeing a new walking dead film available on the market. This, of course, brings me to the fact that, as a Special FX Artist, I am always looking for those innovative, creative scenes where the dead rise and wreck havoc on the living. 'All Souls Day' began slow, remained slow through the first three-quarters of the film, then finally gave the audience a glimpse at some pretty 'neat' looking zombie FX. Sure, most were masks, but there were a sparse few which gave me a little tingle of excitement down my spine. As was very evident, though, my disappointment overrode the excitement when 'All Souls Day' wanted to add it's flashy attempts at 'Dawn of the Dead' (remake) and 'Resident Evil' battle scenes. I couldn't help but laugh when a small 'martial arts' sequence was thrown in, only to have the girl torn apart five minutes later.
As was simply stated earlier, the storyline for 'All Souls Day' had an interesting premise, but writer, nor director, were able to clean up the 'mess' they had on their hands. Like a number of horror films out there, a number of scenes were thrown in as an attempt for selling points: i.e. make-out/sex scenes thrown in awkward places, cheesy martial arts. And, with all set in place, and layered together, 'All Souls Day' fell apart before it even got going...Sorta like a derailing train.
So, yes, I will purchase this film on DVD when it comes out in stores because I am a collector, but, as a Zombie/Film Critic, 'All Soul Days' doesn't even hold a popcorn quality to it; unfortunately for such genre veterans as Combs and Trejos.
Unlike the other reviewer, I will give my opinion, but will do it without making bold statements without backing them up.
To start off, 'All Souls Day' comes at a time when the Zombie film is splashing all over big screens and small. With George A. Romero's 'Land of the Dead' on it's way in a couple weeks, and a small handful of decently-made living-dead films making an impact on today's audiences, Sci-fi channel presented it's audiences with the 'World Premiere' of 'All Souls Day' (this was NOT a made for Sci-Fi film). Crunched in between the likes of Romero's 'Day of the Dead', 'Resident Evil' and 'Return of the Living Dead 3', 'All Souls Day' followed the all-too-simple formula of twenty-somethings holed up in a building, fighting against the recently-risen-dead'. Sure, it was a hotel in Mexico, and not a house, and the premise of why the dead were rising had it's creative qualities, but, all-in-all, 'All Souls Day' fell short of entertaining it's audience.
Of the actors cast for 'All Souls Day', Jeffrey Combs and Danny Trejos appeared to be the only two who could accentuate upon their characters, leaving the other actors giving ill-attempts at line delivery. Sure, Combs and Trejos were the bookending characters to this bland film, but it was one of very few redeeming qualities which made this film even bearable enough to watch. And, as I have learned as an Independent Filmmaker, if you are going to work with kids, make sure you spend some time picking ones which can pace their line deliveries and not sound like they're reading out of a 'Curious George' book.
As an AVID Zombie Film collector and lover of the particular genre, I always enjoy seeing a new walking dead film available on the market. This, of course, brings me to the fact that, as a Special FX Artist, I am always looking for those innovative, creative scenes where the dead rise and wreck havoc on the living. 'All Souls Day' began slow, remained slow through the first three-quarters of the film, then finally gave the audience a glimpse at some pretty 'neat' looking zombie FX. Sure, most were masks, but there were a sparse few which gave me a little tingle of excitement down my spine. As was very evident, though, my disappointment overrode the excitement when 'All Souls Day' wanted to add it's flashy attempts at 'Dawn of the Dead' (remake) and 'Resident Evil' battle scenes. I couldn't help but laugh when a small 'martial arts' sequence was thrown in, only to have the girl torn apart five minutes later.
As was simply stated earlier, the storyline for 'All Souls Day' had an interesting premise, but writer, nor director, were able to clean up the 'mess' they had on their hands. Like a number of horror films out there, a number of scenes were thrown in as an attempt for selling points: i.e. make-out/sex scenes thrown in awkward places, cheesy martial arts. And, with all set in place, and layered together, 'All Souls Day' fell apart before it even got going...Sorta like a derailing train.
So, yes, I will purchase this film on DVD when it comes out in stores because I am a collector, but, as a Zombie/Film Critic, 'All Soul Days' doesn't even hold a popcorn quality to it; unfortunately for such genre veterans as Combs and Trejos.
Darkness (2002)
Disappointing film disguised by flashy cinematography...
I hadn't heard about "Darkness", until recent, when I was watching t.v. and happened across a pretty flashy ad for this proposed 'scarefest'. As the commercials became more frequent, my interest built. I looked at this as an opportunity to see a decent horror film for the first time in a while.
Challenging the 'Day-after-Christmas' crowds, I ventured out to the local cinema to catch this Brian Yuzna produced film. Purchasing my ticket, I found myself in one of the smaller theatres in the 16-theatre complex. As always, I found my favorite seating spot (positioned in the center of the theatre; half-way back and half-way in from the isle).
The opening was bland and there was no build-up or tension that I've felt in other films. Sure, there were a handful of sequences which touched off my attention, but, overall, the film was hard to follow. It's understandable if a film is supposed to be used to confuse the viewer, until finally pulling everything together at the end, but "Darkness" seemed to be all over the place, with scenes thrown in for their flashy qualities. In comparison, "Darkness" reminded me a bit of "Fear Dot Com", where most of the film's poor dialogue and storyline was sewn together by dashes of flashy cinematography, in hopes of salvaging a weak product.
"Darkness" did have potential, but the characters within were too weak, where the audience didn't care for them as they should, except for the young boy, because of the ingrained thought process of preserving a young child's life. As for Anna Paquin, I was disappointed in her presentation. Paquin is a fine actress, and usually can embody the character with raw force, but I didn't feel that energy in her character in "Darkness".
As for the three figures in the picture frame, who were they? Yes, there was a bit of an explanation, but it was still a subject that was too lightly touched on. And the small room under the stairs? C'mon guys, I know that there could have been so much more played off of those two elements, but, all-in-all, "Darkness" fell short and should only deserve the title of "Weak Shadows".
Challenging the 'Day-after-Christmas' crowds, I ventured out to the local cinema to catch this Brian Yuzna produced film. Purchasing my ticket, I found myself in one of the smaller theatres in the 16-theatre complex. As always, I found my favorite seating spot (positioned in the center of the theatre; half-way back and half-way in from the isle).
The opening was bland and there was no build-up or tension that I've felt in other films. Sure, there were a handful of sequences which touched off my attention, but, overall, the film was hard to follow. It's understandable if a film is supposed to be used to confuse the viewer, until finally pulling everything together at the end, but "Darkness" seemed to be all over the place, with scenes thrown in for their flashy qualities. In comparison, "Darkness" reminded me a bit of "Fear Dot Com", where most of the film's poor dialogue and storyline was sewn together by dashes of flashy cinematography, in hopes of salvaging a weak product.
"Darkness" did have potential, but the characters within were too weak, where the audience didn't care for them as they should, except for the young boy, because of the ingrained thought process of preserving a young child's life. As for Anna Paquin, I was disappointed in her presentation. Paquin is a fine actress, and usually can embody the character with raw force, but I didn't feel that energy in her character in "Darkness".
As for the three figures in the picture frame, who were they? Yes, there was a bit of an explanation, but it was still a subject that was too lightly touched on. And the small room under the stairs? C'mon guys, I know that there could have been so much more played off of those two elements, but, all-in-all, "Darkness" fell short and should only deserve the title of "Weak Shadows".