Category: Uncategorized

American Mary (2013) was body horror unveiled but wasn’t as horror as I’d hoped. Unlike another one, The Human Centipede, American Mary plays down the visible gore and cranks up the revenge motive. There’s a lot going on here including a brief trip into the body modification community. Some may find it tries to be too much. Nonetheless, when looked at as such, it works as a simple horror film that fans of the genre will likely enjoy.

American Mary

“The allure of easy money sends Mary Mason, a medical student, into the world of underground surgeries which ends up leaving more marks on her than her so called “freakish” clients.” -IMDB

Cast

Katharine Isabelle Mary Mason
Antonio Cupo Billy Barker
Tristan Risk Beatress Johnson
David Lovgren Dr. Grant

Directed by

Jen Soska, Sylvia Soska

Written by

Jen Soska, Sylvia Soska

Other Info

Drama, Horror
R
Fri 11 Jan 2013 UTC
103min
IMDB Rating: 6.3

Jen Soska and Sylvia Soska are the directors. They are also identical twins. These two have come out blasting their own breed of horror and shock entertainment. I will be watching for what they come up with in the future. Incidentally, they play twins in the film who have their forearms amputated and switched with the other twin. Odd indeed. Other surgeries featured are a live Betty Boop and Barbie doll.

Mary is played by Katharine Isabelle, well known for the horror trilogy starting with Ginger Snaps. She plays the role way understated but it works since we have no idea what her character might be thinking or feeling in this extraordinary plot.

FINAL THOUGHTS
This film seems to be made for Netflix or another cable provider. It stops just short of commanding a theater presence. Perhaps the directors need more time to develop their “chops” (no pun intended). Still, I think it’s just as good as the Human Centipede and almost as great as Tusk, these two being films in the body horror genre. It’s a great revenge flick and I recommend it to those out there who are into films like these. And finally, to repeat, I will be watching the Soska Sisters’ future directing projects.

6/10

It honestly surprises me that after so many zombie movies have come down the pike we could still love another but that’s what audiences are doing and this reviewer right along with them.

Train to Busan

Cast

Yoo Gong, Soo-an Kim, Yu-mi Jeong

Directed by

Sang-ho Yeon

Written by

Sang-ho Yeon

Other Info

Action, Horror, Thriller
Rated PG-13
1h 58min

There are a lot of twists in the story. The director also wrote the movie. It has a take-your-breath-away ending you may or may not expect. Predictions varied in my family. By the way, I watched it with my 9-year-old and she couldn’t leave the room she was glued to the film. This film will appeal to horror and suspense films more than anyone. At the same time, I see a universal appeal in this film. I must warn you, it does have subtitles but they are easy to follow. Moreover, there are long stretches of time where there is no dialog at all. It tells the story through the images.

There are at least a couple more side-stories that make the movie and its characters endearing. You do care about these characters, they are not flat lifeless victims in a horror film. I would recommend this film for older children: 10 and up but parents should use their best judgement.

Like I shared, my 9-year-old loved it but she was clinging to me the whole movie which made it easy for me to explain things. For fans of the genre I highly recommend this film.

Title: Bone Tomahawk Genre: Western, Horror MPAA Rating: R Year: 2015 Director: S. Craig Zahler, known for being a relative newcomer. Top Billed Cast: Kurt Russell, Patrick Wilson, Matthew Fox, Richard Jenkins Brief Synopsis: When the town doctor falls into the hands of canniballistic indians, The Sheriff and his men must rescue her. My Word to the Wise: If gore ever fit masterfully into a well-acted Western, this is such a place. Fans of either or both should see this film.

The rest of this review may contain spoilers.

It’s highly likely that relative newcomer writer/director S. Craig Zahler creamed his jeans when he was able to cast Kurt Russell as the lead role in his film. In the same year, darn near the same month of release, Quentin Tarantino’s hit “The Hateful Eight” came out with Russell as one of its lead players. That film has done extremely well for Tarantino and I predict “Bone Tomahawk”will match that success.

Kurt Russell plays a sheriff and he isn’t the only well known actor that is well cast. Highlights for me were: Matthew Fox, known for “Lost,” Richard Jenkins, who I will always remember as the sad sack in “Eat, Pray, Love” though he’s in a ton of films, and David Arquette as Purvis. Please take note of the huge cast of very good actors in this film.

I’m a Western junkie from way back. Probably the first modern one I went crazy over was Tombstone, which yes also starred Kurt Russell. This one starts out gory and pretty much weaves that particular throughout. If you were setting out to make a gory Westsren, it would certainly make sense to write your own story around cannibalistic indians. This new director did just that and lest we forget, Tarantino usually wears both hats as well. If you’re a western buff like me, go see this movie! If horror is more your thing, same applies to you. If you like both genres, you’re in for a treat. Get the largest  Coke they sell, a huge popcorn, a date is always nice and enjoy the huge entertainment of this film.

Gerald’s Game (2017)
TV-MA | 1h 43min | Horror, Thriller | 29 September 2017 (USA)

While trying to spice up their marriage in their remote lake house, Jessie must fight to survive when her husband dies unexpectedly, leaving her handcuffed to their bed frame.
Director: Mike Flanagan
Writers: Stephen King (based on the novel by), Jeff Howard | 1 more credit »
Stars: Carla Gugino, Henry Thomas, Bruce Greenwood

Mike Flanagan has proven himself a strong thriller and horror movie director. His early strong work was Hush and most recently, he wowed horror audiences again with Ouija: Origin of Evil. This Netflix movie follows suit, he has done an amazing thing here.

Flanagan too a Stephen King novel and created this horror film. I can call it horror even though horror aspects don’t show up for quite a while in the movie. You may question it yourself but trust me, when you watch it, it will be revealed.

The acting is top notch. You have Carla Gugino as the wife inadvertently drawn into a “Fifty Shades of Grey” sort of game. She is the star of this film. Her acting is 100% from the gut and I believed in this character because of her. At times it was like Cast Away, a woman trying to survive all by herself. At other times, she was a tortured child working through her demons. And then there’s the dark character that keeps showing up. You just get a feeling he is going to have a greater part in the big picture. Bruce Greenwood is her asshole husband although we aren’t clear on just how much of an asshole he is because most of his parts are created in his wife’s mind.

The final 1/4 of the film is the best part. All is revealed and a lot of your frustration as a confused viewer is assuaged. The final scene feels so much like a Stephen King movie I just can’t explain how much. It works on many levels. You may get bored at first but persistent audiences will be rewarded. It should have moved a bit faster though in my opinion.

8/10