Review : Screamers 2: The Hunting (2009)

via covershut.com

Alien planet, distress signal, stranded humans, scary creatures and a Ellen Ripley to fight them. This is Alien revisited. Of course with a little twist here and there. But the basic idea remains the same. A team sent to investigate a SOS from a planet which was destroyed by a man made weapon. They find some stranded humans which fight against them and also discover that the weapons have become dangerous since they can morph into human form now. And also that the planet has only seven days before it gets destroyed. So you get the idea of whats to follow. Mayhem blood and gore and some sex. .

The director Sheldon Wilson is a pro at directing TV movies. So he knows how to use the limited resources carefully. As i see more and more indie movies i realise the importance of being creative. Hell they are doing a fine job even with not that much amount of money. But look at the effect they created in Morlocks. And look at this movie. Space travel, creatures, authentic looking spaceship and the doom and gloom effect. Sheldon should be applauded for this fine effort. And the writer took many elements from space horror movies but couldn't garner the scares. But for most of the part the movie was enjoyable. Although i wanted more of the creatures and gore. Fine effort dudes.

New age RIPLEY???

  
The acting department is headed by Gina Holden(Bronte), Jana Pallaske(Schwartz), Lance Henriksen(Orsow) and Greg Bryk(Sexton). And these undoubtedly act really well to lift this movie up. Especially Gina. This movie belongs to her and i am very happy to see two direct to video movies giving females their due. And my expectations from such movies has risen since they get acted out so well. Others too act well. Especially Stephen Amell(Guy) who gets the girl in the end. But its Gina all the way. And she steals the thunder from her male counterparts in this one. Bravo!!!

Cinematography is a big plus. Everything is captured beautifully and in detail. The atmosphere of dread is also created and some fine shots will surprise you. For a D2V movie this surpasses my expectations for the second time in two days. Editing ad music is nice.


HighTension Verdict: I am saying this one more time. Guys please appreciate what these indie makers are doing with limited budget at their disposal. You cannot really tell if this was a low budget D2V movie and that in itself is a terrific thing. The writing took some plots from different movies especially Aliens. But this won't scare you very much. But as an action movie you can enjoy it although you see the creatures pretty less. And a nice little twist at end. I can definitely say this: you'll never get bored. And of course its a Canadian movie. Always eager to see how those fare. Give it a try.....

HighTension Meter: 6/10.

 Best QUOTE: "Humans are irrational. But he never does anything without reason"

 

Review : Morlocks (2011)

Via clubdesmontres.com

SYfy presents this monster movie inspired by creatures from the H.G.Wells novel The Time Machine- Morlock. As a time travel portal opens the creatures enter our world to wreak havoc. And how a team is sent to contain the situation are shocked by a revelation and how they survive and die of course, forms the rest of the story.



This movie was made for TV and when you consider this fact its shortcomings will look like its positive points. The creature effects are awesome. The time travel and the sci fi used in the movie is pretty kickass. We associate low budget filmmaking with corny and lousy stuff. But this will make you think. Indie filmmaking has improved a lot. And they have proved certainly that less budget can be overcome if you have a creative mind. And this boasts of some excellent action sequences and special effects. Which I hadn,t expected. So well done SYFY and team.


The director Matt Codd does everything he can to make this as scary a ride as possible. With less budget he gets to be more creative. And he does it with many horror cliches thrown in. Even Jurassic Park references were made. So the writer and director borrow a concept from H G Wells and many other horror movies and turn into a TV movie which maybe has very low scores on IMDb cos of all the cliches littered in it. But people creativity can only overcome only so much hurdles. Treat it as a TV movie and you'll see its better than you thought. And they have their own spin on the story. So its pretty enjoyable.

Via timemachine.wikia.com

      On the acting front Christina Cole(Angela) and David Hewelett(Radnor) and Marem Hassler(Vera Cortez) shine. And thats the good thing about it. Women are not just in the background cheering the males on or crying hoarse to save them. But are active and equal participants in whats going on. Other than these three, hold their own but aren't as good. And this movie has been acted out beautifully. And If not for IMDb i wouldn't have known it was a TV only movie. Great job guys.


Cinematography in one word is brilliant. They have done everything in their power to make this look as good as they can and come out trumps. The barren future landscape looks creepy. And the underground too. Editing is decent. 


HighTension Verdict: As a TV movie this excels. SYFY has done a wonderful job. But writing could have been better. Some cliches could have been done away with. And thats the only part which sticks out like a sore thumb in this nice horror movie. Atleast for me. And i'll love it if people appreciate the fact what these guys have done instead of panning them. 

HighTension Meter: 6/10.

Best QUOTE: Radnor: Let me see if I got this straight: You want me to travel through a rip in time, find and repair a device that you lost and broke, all the while trying to avoid rampaging creatures from the future. That about sum it up?

                                                        A CLIP FROM THE MOVIE

Love to hear your thoughts. Thank you for reading......

Review: The Hole (2009)

                                                Via swesub.tv

A boy and a his small brother with their single mom shift to a small town named Bensonville from Brooklyn. They are living a nomadic life and always moving. Do you ever unpack the boxes? asks the gorgeous Julie from next door. Apparently they are running from something. And this new house has a big bottomless hole which is accidentally discovered by the brothers. What are they running from? And whats the secret behind the bottomless hole in their house? This movie answers these questions albeit a tad slowly.


 This movie isn't listed as horror on IMDb. But it is on wikipedia. But with a tagline that says "What are you so afraid of" its gotta be on the horror list. And that hole looks creepy. And I must say it has some very creepy moments for a non horror movie. But its in the middle where not much happens and it turns into a drama unable to up the creep factor. Maybe it wasn't meant to be a horror movie afterall. But it had a great premise to show more than it actually did. PG 13 sucks.

                                          Via smalta.uz




Joe Dante (Gremlins n Gremlins2) directs this fantasy horror. As his film repertoire suggests he is no stranger to horror. Especially comedic horror. And in this he uses his expertise to great advantage. He creates situations which looks creepy on the outset but makes you laugh by the time the scene ends. And writer Mark Smith helps him in a creating a movie with so much meaning and depth. It hit home for me. And even a killer clown makes an appearance. Which makes it even better. Well done Joe n Mark.

The young cast is extremely talented. Especially the two boys who have the most work to do. Chris Massoglia(Dane) n his small brother played by Nathan Gamble(Lucas) do excellent work. As does their mom played by Teri Polo(Susan). They all are running away from their fight and nobody is happy about it. And all the moving is straining the relations between Susan and Dane. And then arrives the girl next door Haley Bennett(Julie). And more importantly the hole is discovered. We should count the hole as an actor in this one cos its the epicentre on which the whole movie revolves. A symbol of loss and hope. Of courage and fear. So well done cast.

One thing which caught my eye was cinematography. Excellent work by Theo Sande. He has Cruel Intentions and Blade on his resume. So no surprises there. The music score isn't as good. While editing is decent.

HighTension Verdict: As a movie on high on symbolism it interests me. But as a horror it doesn't cos its too damn slow. But a couple of scary scenes with great chemistry between the actors and a very good ending that hit home for me it isn't a bad proposition. SO....

HighTension Meter: 6.5/10.

Best Quote: Julie: I know what you've got. You've got a gateway to hell under your house. And that is really cool