Dying Breed (2008)

Rating: 8

Director: Jody Dwyer
Release Date: 6 November 2008 (Australia)

Dying Breed is a bit slow through the first half with not a whole lot happening but it makes up for that in the second half. I really enjoyed it.

After the death of her sister in Tasmania, Nina and her friends travel there to finish what her sister started. They are trying to find proof that the Tasmanian Tiger still exists. Instead, they find proof that cannibalism still exists.

Dying Breed is well acted and overall a pretty cool movie. Not a lot happens in the first half but the gorgeous scenery makes it entirely watchable. Once the action starts, it's bloody good fun. There are some really creepy characters....specifically the little girl and the old 'Pieman'. In my opinion, this one is definitely worth a watch.

Martyrs (2008)

Rating: 6.5

Director: Pascal Laugier
Release Date: 3 September 2008 (France)

Martyrs is a brutal French horror film. It has an interesting story and some great acting.

It starts out in 1971 with a child, Lucie, breaking free of the torture chamber she had been held in. She's taken to an orphanage of sorts and there she befriends Anna. Then the movie flashes forward to the present day and Lucie wants revenge for the abuse and torture she suffered as a child. With Anna's help they try to get that revenge. Things don't go according to plan though and both the girls and us, the audience, are in for some surprises. We find out what all that torture was for. It was all for a very specific reason.

Martyrs has a very good story for a horror movie. It is sad though to see what Lucie and Anna go through. It's obvious that Lucie was deeply scarred both physically and mentally by what happened to her as a child. While I thought it was a good story, it's really not one I think I'd watch again. Like I said, it was brutal. It had some pretty scary, edge-of-your-seat moments which were pretty cool. Overall, if you aren't bothered too much by watching torture (it is only a movie after all) and you can handle some goriness, then this is worth checking out. But be warned....it's very sad.

Addams Family Values (1993)

Rating: 9

The Addams family are back at it in this hilarious sequel. It's right in line with the first movie so if you enjoyed that one, then you should enjoy this one as well.

In this sequel, there is a new addition to the family in the form of baby Pubert. The kid is adorable with his Gomez hair and baby moustache. There is definitely some serious sibling rivalry though from Wednesday and Pugsley. They try, unsuccessfully, in a variety of creative and amusing ways, to kill poor baby Pubert. An evil nanny is hired, who has her sights set on Uncle Fester. She talks the parents into sending the older children away to summer camp to get them out of the way of her schemes on Fester. And that's where the fun starts. Seeing dark and dreary Wednesday and Pugsley at cheery and bright summer camp is a sight to behold. Needless to say, they don't fit in.

It's kind of rare to see a sequel live up to it's predecessor. I wasn't expecting Addams Family Values to be as good as it was. I enjoyed it every bit as much as the first movie. So, if you are a fan of this family, you must check this movie out.

The Gate (1987)

Rating: 7

Director: Tibor Takács
Release Date: 15 May 1987 (USA)

The Gate is a pretty fun (in a cheesy campy sort of way) horror flick. I was certainly entertained while watching it...though there was beer involved so that probably helped.

The Gate is about a brother and sister who find a gateway to hell in their backyard. An old tree is removed and a big hole is left in it's place that a young kid can't help but explore. With some backmasking (this is 1987) and a blood sacrifice these kids unwittingly unleash a horde of miniature demons. These little demon guys looked really cool! Some of the effects in this movie sucked and some were really cool. I guess you have to take the bad with the good. So, with the parents out of town for the weekend, it's up to the kids (with a little help from their friends) to find a way to close the gate.

This would be a good horror movie for a younger audience. There's no sex or nudity and very little profanity. And the frightening sequences aren't really frightening...unless you're under the age of like 10. I really enjoyed it though. Half the fun was making fun of it. One of the girls had some distractingly crazy '80's hair. But the acting is actually very good (especially by the lead boy) and overall this is a fun one to check out.

Wild Country (2005)

Rating: 4.5

I really wanted this to be better. It's not a terrible movie but there are things I wish the movie makers would have done differently.

What I did like about Wild Country is the setting. It takes place in Scotland with a group of young people (I love the thick Scottish accents) doing an overnight hike on the moors. They end up being terrorized and picked off by a creature that's supposed to be a werewolf. The werewolf actually looks (and sounds) more like a cross between a black bear and a wild boar. Whatever it was, it didn't look good. It looked very fake. The movie takes place mostly over the coarse of one night. The lighting was bad. I watched it during the day so I'm sure that didn't help, but I don't think it really made too much of a difference. The movie was so dark that you couldn't see what was going on through big chunks of it. Most of the action was hardly visible (which may have been a blessing....the fx seemed pretty bad) and you had to kind of figure out what was happening based on the audio. The script was cool so it wasn't all bad just listening to the movie. I liked the dialogue and I actually had the urge to turn on the subtitles just to make sure I was catching it all.....the accents were very thick. There really isn't much to Wild Country, but I guess I wouldn't say it was a complete waste of my time.

C.H.U.D. (1984)

Rating: 8

I was pleasantly surprised by how good C.H.U.D was. I expected a bunch of '80's cheese but there was actually very little.

C.H.U.D., Contaminated Hazardous Urban Disposal, actually creates C.H.U.D., Cannibalistic Humanoid Underground Dwellers. There are many homeless people that live underground New York City. When hazardous waste is illegally dumped down there and then covered up, the radiation turns these people into grotesque creatures who have a taste for human flesh. The story is creepy. They did a good job of building up the tension in this movie. I thought the story was pretty original. The C.H.U.D. themselves don't look too bad for being made in the '80's. The eyes glow a bit too much, but in my opinion, this movie would be a prime candidate for a remake just to see how realistic and scary they could make the C.H.U.D.. The acting in this was really very good. I liked the characters, especially Daniel Stern's character who runs the soup kitchen. If you're in the mood for a horror movie that has a good story and good acting, with a decent amount of gore, then I suggest you check out C.H.U.D..

The Addams Family (1991)

Rating: 9

I'm a big fan of the old The Addams Family t.v. show. The dark humor of this peculiar family is wildly entertaining. I thought the makers of this movie did an excellent job bringing this distinctive family to the big screen.

If you like the old t.v. show then I don't know how you wouldn't also enjoy this movie. The movie starts with Gomez lamenting the loss of his missing brother Fester. Meanwhile, a plan is hatched by outsiders to introduce a fake Uncle Fester into the family in hopes of cleaning out their substantial money vault. The Addams soon suspect something amiss with Fester and lots of laughs ensue. The whole cast did a great job. Christina Ricci definitely stands out as the serious and woeful Wednesday Addams. I also thought Raul Julia did a brilliant job as Gomez. And I have to mention Christopher Lloyd as Uncle Fester just because he's fun to watch no matter what role he plays. The sets are wonderful and appropriately gloomy. The story is fun. Watching The Addams Family, delightfully macabre, is a great way to spend a rainy afternoon.