I loved this more than I should. I say that because it was a mess in many ways. It had some offensive scenes which is expected with something from the 90s. It DID NOT age well. The “mess” stems from more than that though. The creative choices were questionable which I’ve heard that Stephen King’s creative choices were as well. The directing wasn’t anything special. There were other issues, but we will talk about everything soon enough.
First, I just want to say that part 2 was miles better than part one. While it felt like I enjoyed a bad movie with part 1, it felt like I enjoyed a movie for good reason with part 2. I felt the format of part one was janky. It should have been the full story with the child actors. It kept on going back and forth from the past to present. They shouldn’t have introduced the adult actors until part 2. That would’ve given more time for Pennywise and the child actors. Then again, there still wasn’t enough screentime for Pennywise in part 2 where they only focused on the adult actors. The characters and how they grew was the focus of part 2. The whole villain situation with part 2 was very confusing anyways. I’m not sure what to say about that. I don’t want to spoil it, but I didn’t really understand what was going on.
One thing that both parts have in common is the bland visuals. I know that they couldn’t do what can be done now in the current IT Films, but they certainly could’ve done better than what they did. There was never a scene where I said “WOW” in both parts.
Speaking of visuals and the time when it was made, the CGI was not good. There was one scene in part one that really took me out of the film. I know that bad CGI is expected with a 90s film, but this specific CGI scene lacked something that the other scenes had.
I think it’s safe to say this miniseries DID NOT age well. Along with the CGI, there were some offensive scenes involving women and the n word. I was surprised though that the representation of women (literally one character) wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. She was able to hold her own in a fight, but she was still very whiny and often confided in the men. It’s like she had to be protected when she obviously didn’t have to be protected. Just because she’s a woman doesn’t mean she can’t protect herself. Again, I know this is expected with a 1990s film, but I do think it is worth mentioning.
The script in part one lacked substance and strong dialogue. Nothing really captivated me in the script of part one. In part 2, I believe the script was carried by the adult actors. Though the child actors did a decent job in part one, maturity and experience comes with age. The adult actors seemed to know what to do with a mediocre script. They did make appearances in part one, but they weren’t in there as much as the child actors.
I’m sure you’re wondering what I thought about the child actors and adult actors and how they compare to each other. The standouts in my opinion were definitely Marlon Taylor/Tim Reid as Mike Hanlon and Emily Perkins/Annette O’Toole as Beverly Marsh. Jonathan Brandis/Richard Thomas as Bill Denbrough is also up there, but I’m not a big fan of Thomas’ performance. I was expecting something a little different when I imagined this Bill as an adult. I also loved Ben Heller as the child version of Stanley Uris while I believed Richard Masur just made no sense to me. He is not Stanley… He never felt like Stanley to me. The actors for Ben Hanscom, Richie Tozier, and Eddie Kaspbrak did a fine job with what they were given. I personally believe Brandon Crane as the child version of Ben Hanscom was the best out of the three in terms of the young versions of the characters. Dennis Christopher as Eddie Kaspbrak did the best out of the three in terms of the adult versions of the characters.
Though I had fun with both parts, part 2 had me more engaged. I was on the edge of my seat with that one while I never really felt that with part one. Either way, this was a fun experience that I will most likely come back to eventually. As a miniseries, I give IT (1990) a…
What is up with distasteful and offensive creative choices in horror films? Though this movie will never come close to what I experienced with Mother!, it definitely left a bad taste in my mouth. It doesn’t help that the particular scene I am talking about was at the very end. It was the last thing I saw before stopping the film. I will avoid spoilers, but if you plan to watch this film, be aware that the end will most likely turn you off immediately.
Half way through the movie, I honestly thought I would be giving this film a decent review. To be fair, 2/3 of the film was decent, but that 3rd act ruined the entire film for me. Ridiculous doesn’t even describe what I experienced. There were parts where I had to laugh. It’s seems like they hired the wrong writer for a horror film because the best parts seemed like your standard family film. In fact, it felt as if I watched two films instead of one. The first and second act played out like a decent family film with a few flat horror plotlines seeping through while the third act was just a jumbled mess of what I assume is supposed to be horror. There wasn’t even a sense of danger until the last 20 minutes!
Not all was bad though. Like I said before, I actually enjoyed the first and second act. The acting was good, and it was nice seeing Jason Clarke and Amy Seimetz’ characters communicating as parents even if their choices as parents were slightly concerning. For example, it seemed like they were always too busy to watch their children!! Jeté Laurence’s Ellie seemed to wander off way too many times. I know how it is to try keeping watch on children. Sometimes, they wander off without you realizing it. With this film, it just seemed to happen so many times. That’s just a nitpicky complaint though. There are many other complaints that I think deserve a mention.
One complaint that bothered me beyond anything else besides the ending was how unlikable the protagonist was. I couldn’t stand Clarke’s Louis. I believe the bad script was the main factor in this. I haven’t seen any of Jeff Buhler’s work besides this film, but that script definitely needed to be worked on some more. I’ll assume that Buhler is to blame since I already have many other issues with the script and Clarke seems to be a decent actor. In fact, the acting was pretty good. No one stuck out as a bad actor to me besides a few side roles. My favorite performances were definitely John Lithgow as Jud and Amy Seimetz as Rachel. Amy’s face acting definitely made an impression on me. I also think it’s worth mentioning that Jeté Laurence has AMAZING range for a child actor.
Since we have briefly touched on the bad script and good acting, I think it’s important to also touch on the directing which was decent. There weren’t any scenes that I thought were groundbreaking, but I didn’t have any major issues with the directing. Although, the green screen was so obvious when Clarke and Lithgow’s characters were in the woods. The directors, Kevin Kolsch and Dennis Widmyer, could have pointed out the bad green screen and fixed it! Again, that’s a nitpicky complaint on my part, but they could’ve made it look better.
I wouldn’t call this film terrible, but I definitely wouldn’t call it good or even decent. It was a horror film that was at it’s best without the horror. It was a film that ended the worst way possible. It was a film that was handled by people that didn’t know how to make another Stephen King film as good as IT or The Shining. I’ll give this film a…
Have you ever needed to fulfill a horror itch, but didn’t know what to watch and what not to watch? To be honest, that is me everyday. I always feel the desire to watch a horror film, but I just don’t know what to watch. I want to watch a good film, but there are so many rotten films in the horror genre. That is a big reason why I decided to do Horror Week. I want to venture out into the genre to help not only me but everyone to find more films in the genre worth watching. To do that, I am also going to suffer some not so good films as well.
I believe the best first step into venturing out into the genre is going to Netflix. They have many horror films, and it’s a great way to watch horror films on a budget. In this post, I will review five horror films on Netflix. I will also continue this type of post in the future as it will become a regular series on my blog. Let’s find horror films together!
5. TERRIFIER
Rating: 1/10
While Mother! was a bad film that was well-crafted, this was just a bad film that was terrible all around. It wanted to capitalize on IT’s success, but it instead seemed to capitalize on every other clown movie out there because let’s be honest, Pennywise is the only cinematic clown out there.
The only compliment I can give this film is that the lead is the equivalent of a Neve Campbell that can’t act. That isn’t even a compliment… that’s how bad this film was.
This film also challenged the question “How far is too far?” I know the answer to that, and this film is that answer. None of it made sense so they decided to cover the terrible script with blood. That didn’t work.
The only REAL good thing I can conjure up from watching this film is Art the Clown. He was truly terrifying. He made my skin crawl, and I may actually change my opinion on clowns now. Before this film, I didn’t understand why people were scared of clowns. I understand now. I’m on board with the “scared of clowns” club.
4. CREEP
Rating: 5.5/10
*As I am editing this, I realize this film is better than I thought. I had to process it. I am not changing the ranking because I still believe I enjoyed the films below more than this one. Just keep in mind that what you are about to read was my first impression after watching it. I like it more now after about a week.*
By no means a great film, but Creep is still a masterpiece in its own way. Mark Duplass is a mastermind who managed to create a character on par with Jack Torrence in The Shining. Since I’m comparing this film to one of the greatest horror films of all time, you’d think I’d give this film a stellar review, but that’s not the case. There’s so much good to talk about in this film, but the dullness of the film was a blanket over the good. The antagonist in this film — Wait. — I take that back. Josef is not an antagonist. He is a troubled soul who managed to creep me out in a non-creepy film that’s called Creep. Confusing right? I still don’t understand it. I just felt that while Duplass’ character was creepy, the script was just boring so it did nothing to have me on the edge of my seat. It’s disappointing considering how everything else was spot on. The directing and acting was as good as it could be in a film of this caliber. Patrick Kack-Brice did a fine job at playing the role of Aaron while also directing the film. This being my second found footage film (my first, Cloverfield, also in this list.), I am growing more fond of the genre. It brings realism to the horror genre that heavily edited beauty shots just do not have.
I am looking forward to watching the second film hoping it does something for me that this film did not. All that has to be done is a better script, and we will have an amazing horror film on our hands. Either way, I have to give credit where it is due. Patrick and Mark handles this film pretty much on their own. They are the stars of the film as well as the only writers on the script. Patrick also directed the film so they did this practically on their own with production from Netflix and Blumhouse Productions. That deserves recognition on its own.
I would describe this film as a creepy concept with creepy performances and a bland script. Let’s hope the sequel can redeem this series for me. In fact, I am planning on making this post a series. I will post a part 2 of a Netflix Horror Film Ranking, and the sequel will definitely be on that list. Can’t wait!
3. 1922
Rating: 7.5/10
Halfway through this film, I had to make sure this was actually advertised as a horror film. To my surprise, it was labeled horror!! What I saw was a stellar Shakespearean Tragedy. It had the murder. It had the haunting of some kind. It had the downfall of man. It had everything a Shakespearean Tragedy has except for William Shakespeare himself. This is a Stephen King adaptation!! To be fair, it’s based off of a novella rather than a full-length novel so it makes sense for there to be a different vibe than the other King stories.
Considering the tragedy angle, it’s safe to say it wasn’t as scary as I was hoping. I kept on waiting for more. I wanted the film to lean heavily on the haunting of Arlette James. Instead, it leaned heavily on the downfall of man and son. That definitely made for a good film, but it was lacking in the horror department. It would’ve been so much more satisfying if Arlette haunted her son and husband in the second half of the film. There were a few scenes where she kind of haunted her husband and murderer, Wilfred James, but that wasn’t enough. I needed more. I wanted Conjuring-level haunting and that isn’t what I got. I’ll admit that I was disappointed, but that was really the only disappointment besides Thomas Jane’s terrible farmer accent. It just didn’t work for me. It was too over the top.
The two actors that stood out for me were Dylan Schmid who played the son, Henry James, and Brian d’Arcy James who played Sheriff Jones. They both did a stellar job with the roles they were given as did most of the cast. The talent goes beyond the screen though. The director and writer Zack Hilditch did a swell job especially with that script. WOW. There so many lines that just amazed me like “I hope there is no God. I imagine all murderers hope there isn’t because if there isn’t no heaven, there is no hell.” Another line that amazed me was when Henry asked if they could kill the mom with a pillow and the dad said “It would be too slow. Too painful. She’d struggle.” What sold that was the delivery. That was one of few times when Thomas Jane’s accent worked on every level. It was menacing and creepy. I loved it.
Anyway, this was a delightful film that just did not scare me. It felt like I was in English class watching the next Shakespearean Tragedy instead of watching a horror film. Either way, it was a well-made film. While this is a better film in my opinion, I did enjoy Cloverfield more.
CLOVERFIELD
Rating: 7.5/10
This is a film I was pleasantly surprised with. I’ve always wanted to watch this film, but I never got around to it. I’m happy that I finally decided to watch it. Although, I wouldn’t really consider it a horror film. It had me on the edge of my seat like many horror films do, but that’s also very common for thrillers or sci-fi. In fact, I would consider it a sci-fi thriller. Interesting enough, that’s what I said about A Quiet Place which this film reminded me of down to the first twenty minutes of a boring setup which was worth it. I’ll admit that I was beyond bored up until the big explosion, but that setup was needed for the rest of the film. It allowed me to get to know the characters, and without it, I wouldn’t have cared about what happened to them. Speaking of characters, let’s talk about the one character that made me want to gauge my eyes out… Hudson played by TJ Miller. I’ve never really been a fan of TJ’s, but he was particularly annoying in this film. The screenwriter, Drew Goddard, tried to write him to be the light in a dark tunnel. Someone that could make you laugh in such a serious film. Instead, he wrote him to be an annoying jerk that I could’ve cared less about. To be fair, TJ did a good job playing that type of character, but that didn’t make him any less annoying.
Not all characters were bad. In fact, I felt an emotional connection to all of the other characters. The one I felt connected with the most was definitely Rob who was driven by protecting the woman he loved. He was determined to be there for Beth, and it honestly made me cry seeing how much love he had for her. Michael Stahl-David did a great job at showing these very strong emotions. Everyone did a good job in this film. I’ve always been a big fan of Lizzy Caplan, and she did not disappoint here as Marlena.
I’m trying to keep in mind that this film was released in 2008, but I can’t just ignore the mediocre CGI. It was just pitiful.. and I feel like they could’ve done better. That’s just my opinion though.
An opinion of mine that I think many people can agree with is the ending sucked. I hate endings like that. It just felt like I wasted over an hour on nothing. It sucks because I loved so much about this film, but the last thing I saw was that ending. I won’t reveal too much about the ending, but it was very disappointing to see it end that way.
It is worth mentioning that before this film, I’ve always been scared to watch found footage films. The idea of them just annoyed me in the past so I stayed away from them. In fact, I didn’t know this film was one of those until I started it. That may have had to do with the boredom I experienced at the beginning. I had to get used to something I’ve tried staying away from for so long, but once I got used to it, I fell in love. The only issue was how shaky it was. I know that’s expected, but it made me sick to my stomach in certain parts.
This film had so much for me to love despite the few things I disliked. It was a film that had me on the edge of my seat, and it definitely has me interested in watching the other films in the franchise.
1. DEMONIC
Rating: 8/10
I am SO confused. This film was the only rotten tomato out of all of these films. It had a 33% critics rating while every other film was 60% or above. That’s so wrong because this movie was good!! It wasn’t perfect, but it was such a good haunted house film. Every haunted house film follows a formula, but this film did it different. It actually reminded me a lot of a Supernatural episode, and I used to love that show (I stopped after season 10.)
I’ll admit that the acting wasn’t perfect, but flaws honestly make a haunted house film. This probably makes no sense, but a haunted house film doesn’t have to be perfect. At the end of the day, I had the most fun with this film. I loved Cloverfield and it’s an extremely close second, but this is a post about horror films. This movie scared me the most. It was genuinely scary. It gave me chill bumps, and even though I probably should have, I didn’t expect that twist at the end.
In terms of who is behind the camera, James Wan was credited as a producer which persuaded me to watch the film. Wan is a mastermind, and I will always support something he is apart of. I did see that Harvey Weinstein was involved as an executive producer which may have had part in why it wasn’t successful. Even with me who loved this film wants to hate on this film now knowing he was involved. Although, I am going to give an unbiased review because that is what you deserve.
If you like Supernatural or things of that nature, you’ll love this film. Not perfect, but it will entertain you from the beginning the end.
And BAM. Another post down and SO many more to go! I hope you are enjoying the horror week so far! Feel free to share these posts with your friends! I will link my social media below if you want to share the posts there. If you want to email me at sincerelyyoursnp@gmail.com with any horror-related projects you have written, I will post them this week!! You will receive credit, and I will link your blog in the post!
I’ll be honest, the horror genre has been better. Hollywood has forgotten what scares people. I just feel like they’ve given up on trying. It looks like they might be picking up the pace, but it’s hard to find ACTUAL scary movies now-a-days. Although, I have found myself indulging in horror short films lately. That is what we are going to do today. We are going to discuss my favorites, and maybe I can help find your favorites in the process. I just wish some of these short films would get adapted into a full-length film!! (Particularly the second one in this list.)
This list is in no particular order. I am just listing some of my favorite short films! Enjoy 🙂
Whisper
This short film is just 2 minutes, but it is 2 minutes well spent! It was a bit laughable when Alexa started talking, but it didn’t bother me too much. It was used as a plot device, and it worked even if it was unintentionally funny. I also love Michelle Khare so it was a nice surprise seeing her here.
I do wish that horror short films would have more than one jumpscare at the very end. Though I jumped, it’s kind of disappointing that they couldn’t have added just a little bit more. Just an extra minute would make it so much scarier. Isn’t that what they want? That’s really my only complaint. The demon looked good, and it was a good story. Watch it below.
The Maiden
Of course I am throwing this in here. This will always be my favorite short film. I have no complaints about this masterpiece, and since the director, Michael Chaves, is already involved with Warner Bros’ horror division, he needs to make a full-length version NOW.
From the antagonist to the acting to the script and directing, this is truly something special. There were several shots that just blew me away so props to Chaves for doing such a thing. Alia Raelynn did a good job acting the part as a scared real estate agent. There wasn’t any moment where I doubted her fear or determination. It was almost like she was having a war between herself. One moment, she was determined to sell the house, but the next, she doubted selling a house with such an issue as The Maiden.
The ending is usually an ending that I would hate, but it worked with this. It just makes me want a full-length film even more. Please take about 9 minutes out of your day and watch it!!
Tuck Me In
Oh. Oh. Oh. YES. The shorter, the better. This was one minute long, and it was a minute well worth it. I can’t say much because it’s so short, but I have chill bumps. The concept kind of reminds me of US, but I haven’t actually watched that movie so what do I know? Anyway, watch it!!!
The Birch
For a short film, the budget for this seemed pretty decent. The Birch was perfectly realized, and she looked very realistic. The only complaint I have is the editing and placement of the scenes. It seemed a bit wonky, but that’s just a style choice. The story of the birch is very interesting and complex, and I just don’t think a short story is enough! I want to see more!!!! Warner Brothers needs to do something with this! They need to build their horror division even more, and this is a great way to do it!!!
Be aware that the ending a bit gory, but it’s not overbearing. You should definitely give it a shot!!
Sleepy Eyes
I almost PEED my pants watching this. I am never buying a wind chime in my life. I don’t need them, and I don’t want them after watching this. It was a simple concept that still scared me. You don’t need a tree-woman CGI character or a demon flying around a house, and this short film proves it. Give it a watch!!
Honorable Mentions
The Whistle
Definitely something worth watching. I have not watched the sequels to this short film so I’m sure my main complaint will change in those considering the length of them compared to this one. I just don’t think there was enough time in this one to scare me. Some do not need the time, but this one needed it.
The Smiling Man
A very solid short film that gave me the chills. My only complaint is how much it seemed to borrow from IT.
Peek A Boo
This SCARED me. Though it scared me, the cinematography and acting just took me out of the short film a bit. I would not be able to sit through a full-length version of this. Although, I was genuinely terrified. It’s terrifying because technology can and is being manipulated like this!!!
THAT”S ALL! I hope you enjoyed this, and I am excited for upcoming posts! Expect more today, and of course, there will be posts all week! Please help spread the word! Comments, likes, and shares on social media are always appreciated! My twitter and instagram links will be listed below! Contact me at sincerelyyoursnp@gmail.com for anything pertaining to my blog. If you want to send anything horror related to post during this week, feel free to do so!
Sincerely Yours, Noah Purser 