Top Horror Films of 2018!

The end is nigh! With the end of 2018 and the first year of Movie Night Massacre, I like to look at all the films that I enjoyed in the world of horror. For anyone who has been following this blog since it began as a new years resolution of sorts, you may remember that my first ever post was my top films of 2017!

9. The Nun

Now, I am very aware that a lot of people did not enjoy this film, and while I am completely aware of the flaws of the film, it didn’t stop me enjoying it as a fun, creepy if somewhat generic entry in ‘The Conjuring’ universe. The film looks gorgeously shot, full of enjoyable creepy moments and a moody, unsettling atmosphere. While the film as a whole was nothing special (hence why it is at the lowest point of this list) I still had a lot of fun with it, and would happily watch it again. You can check out my full review here!

8. The Secret of Marrowbone

I was very excited to check out this film as it starred some of my favourite up and coming actors in Anya Taylor-Joy, Mia Goth and Charlie Heaton. While it didn’t fully live up to my expectations, with Heaton’s performance feeling somewhat lacking and the pacing feeling a little messy, I still really enjoyed this film, again, really nice cinematography, an immense air of mystery and a really strong final act.
A haunting family drama, haunting being meant in this most literal of senses. You can check out my full review here!

7. Ghost Stories

When I first reviewed ‘Ghost Stories’, I was definitely not it’s biggest fan, after countless reviews praising every aspect, I went in expecting more than I got. But after having a while (8 months to be exact) to think about it and process the character of the film, the clever story telling devises and the truly great paranormal sequences as well as some highly enjoyable performances, I have changed my mind, it is a really strong film, however, I still feel somewhat disappointed with the ending as I feel it takes away a great deal from the rest of the film. However, the vast majority of the film is still down right scary and unnerving!

6. Insidious: The Last Key

‘Insidious: The Last Key’ is the latest instalment in the ‘Insidious’ franchise, one of my absolute favourite modern horror franchises and I was very happy with this addition to the story of the further and those entangled within it’s grip. The creature design as usual is original and unsettling, the characters are well fleshed out for the most part thanks to Leigh Whannel’s great writing and film is highly enjoyable, frightening and brimming with character from start to finish. You can check out my full review here!

5. Annihilation

Alex Gartland is the sci-fi mastermind that brought us the mind shattering ‘Ex-Machina’, and while ‘Annihilation’ is not as mind melting, it is much more intense, expansive and action packed. Clear inspiration being drawn from ‘Aliens’ as we follow a team throw an other worldly landscape (this time set on a slowly terraforming Earth) how ever, the threat is not as straight forward as a vicious alien creature despite what my choice of image may suggest. If you love sci-fi horror then I would definitely recommend checking out this gem! You can check out my full review here!

4. The House That Jack Built

My latest review was for ‘The House That Jack Built’, a dark, twisted tail full of violence, abuse and gallows humour. I won’t repeat myself too much, as the review is still fresh.
The artistry on display in ‘The House That Jack Built’ is incredible, as writer and director Lars Von Trier displays a brutal and surreal film that also stylistically manages to feel all too real in particular scenes. This film is not for everyone, but if like myself you enjoy slow burn horror with an artistic flair then I would highly recommend checking this film out!

3. A Quiet Place

These next three films is where I have a great difficulty in putting one above the other, because I absolutely adored them all, but there can be only one! So in third place is John Krasinski’s ‘A Quiet Place’, a film that uses silence to build one of the most intense and suspense filled film’s I have ever seen. The sense of family is extended to audience in way that allows us to feel the loss, fear and dread of out protagonists in such a way, that each action and every event that takes places matters to us. This is a big factor for a strong horror film in my eyes because if we as the audience don’t care what happens to the characters, then what is there to be scared of? ‘A Quiet Place’ is absolutely brilliant and utterly unnerving! You can check out my full review here!

2. Halloween

‘Halloween’ was so, so nearly first as it has everything I could have wanted it to. A brilliant score by John Carpenter himself (that I have had on loop on Spotify ever since it was released), brutal kills, a great story, great scares and unexpected heartfelt touch that made this film hit in a sentimental way that only makes you love it more. Aside from one moment in the film that leaves you questioning what the writer’s were thinking as a result of how out of nowhere it is, this film is outstanding. The perfect sequel to John Carpenter’s original. You can check out my full review here!

1. Hereditary

‘Halloween’ and ‘A Quiet Place’ were the only two horror films this year that met my expectations. ‘Hereditary’ is the only one that exceeded them. The only film I left feeling an emotional tole after witnessing it. I felt unsettled, uncomfortable, scared and shocked. I always love a film that can make me feel this wide range of fear filled emotions. The several layers present in this film culminate to create an immeasurable sense of discomfort and fear. The dramatic tension present in the family, the mental health related undertones of the story and the supernatural elements all come together to make one of my now all time favourite films. One last aspect I truly love about the film is the way in which it feels as though I have barely scratched the surface of the hidden details present in this film and the way in which it feels like there is something new to be found with each watch. ‘Hereditary’ is a horrifying and utterly unnerving film, filled with immediate shocks as well as slow burn tension and subtle background details that are perhaps even scarier than what is clearly presented to us! You can check out my full review here!

Favourite Non-Horror Film of 2018: The Shape of Water

I couldn’t not give at least a slight mention to ‘The Shape of Water’ as it is my overall favourite film of the year. I love every single scene and every moment. I saw it several times in the cinema and bought it immediately when it was released and watched it countless times since. This movie is the sole reason I haven’t watched more movies this year, as I have just opted to put it on instead. You can check out my full review here!

If you have made it this far, thank you so much for reading my top horror films of 2018! I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I did enjoyed writing it. I’ll be back in the new year with my most anticipated films of 2019 list! What did you think of the movies I listed? Let me know in the comments or on the comments of what ever social media you seen my post this review on! In The meantime, stay creepy!

The Nun: Review

‘The Nun’ is a gothic and ghastly tale that focuses on the origins of the demon nun Valak, first seen in ‘The Conjuring 2’ and is directed by Corin Hardy (‘The Hallow’) and written by James Wan (‘The Conjuring’, ‘Insidious’, ‘Saw’) and Gary Dauberman (‘Annabelle: Creation’). I have been a big fan of the ‘Conjuring’ franchise since it’s inception and I personally feel that aside from 2014’s ‘Annabelle’ that it has been an enthralling and enjoyable series!

In ‘The Nun’ we follow the journey of Father Burke (Demián Bichir), Sister Irene (Taissa Farmiga) as they investigate an abbey in Romania alongside Maurice “Frenchie” Theriault (Jonas Bloquet), a French-Canadian traveler who has since settled in a village near the supposedly cursed abbey. What follows is a dark and gothic story as our protagonists attempt to bring peace and holiness to this foreboding location.

The acting performances in ‘The Nun’ are very strong, particularly the performance of Taissa Farmiga (‘American Horror Story’) as she gives us a warm and vibrant character that we grow to care for greatly, which is always an important factor for myself in any film.  Jonas Bloquet (‘Elle’) also gives a very enjoyable performance as the charming and somewhat comical (but not to the detriment of the film) relief character of the film. Demián Bichir (‘Alien: Covenant’) also gives a decent and convicted performance as he gives his all to the story.

That’s where the downside of this film comes in however. The writing as a whole is rather uninspired as the characters do lack any sort of arc, a lot of situations come about as part of a scare and are then left unresolved. Also, Valak itself seems really inconsistent when it comes to who it harms or kills and how. The story as a whole is rather predictable, as the plot progressed, I found myself already knowing what was about to happen and then being proven right.
The setting of a dreary gothic abbey in easter Europe definitely isn’t anything new, however, I don’t feel that it necessarily needs to be something new. I don’t think there is anything wrong with using an old concept as long as it is done right, and the location and setting  work very well for this story as the location oozes character that is highly reminiscent of classic Hammer horror. This is not to say that the writing of the film as a whole is bad, I enjoyed the story of the film well enough, I would sooner describe it as unoriginal and in some places, uninspired, rather than bad.

The set design is something that deserves major props (pun fully intended) as this film looks fantastic, each set created for this film feels real and lived in with an immense amount of details paid to every nook and cranny! Similarly, the design of The Nun and other paranormal entities and locations that appear through out the film all look brilliant, bar one particular CGI looking shot that felt very out of place in comparison to the high quality effects present in the rest of the film. My one issue with this film in terms of the visuals is that when things get dark, in some scenes the lighting seems way too dark, while still appearing as though you are supposed to watch the events taking place as opposed to a scene that intentionally goes dark to leave the audience in fear alongside the protagonist. As a whole, the effects, set and prop designers for ‘The Nun’ deserve a great deal of praise!

Also the score and sound design for the most part are enjoyable, the only factor that really lets things down is the typical loud jump scare sound effects that are common place in blockbuster horror films these days.

But is ‘The Nun’ scary? The film contains a great deal of jump scares, however they are rarely if ever a false scare. Every time a jump scare takes place, the focus of said scare is something that we as the audience are supposed to be afraid of. If you are like me these scares are all well and good as long as they are paired with tension and a sense of dread which this films does great. There were many scenes that had me on the edge of my seat that were highly intense and moments that had me jumping where I sat and it felt totally earned, as a result of which I really enjoyed those moments, as opposed to feeling foolish for falling for an unearned scare. There was also a scene in the third act that chilled me to the bone and I absolutely loved the scenes in this film that hit that level of terror!

‘The Nun’ is not a by any means a perfect movie, the story itself is very unoriginal and the plot is rather paint by numbers but what saves it is a great set of performances, chilling imagery tied together by strong direction from a promising up and coming director. While it is nothing new or original, ‘The Nun’ was still a highly enjoyable film and a solid entry in the ‘Conjuring’ franchise. I may have went hard on the negatives in the review but thats only because they stood out against all of the strengths and potential the rest of the film had. If you enjoyed the other films in the series, I have no doubt you will enjoy this gothic nightmare too!

I’m going to give ‘The Nun’ 75%!

Have you seen ‘The Nun’ yet? If so what did you think about it? Let me know in the comments and lets talk about it! If you have read this whole review before ever looking in to anything about this movie then you can check out the trailer below!
Stay creepy and thanks for reading!

Hellraiser (Burnt Church Film Club Screeing): Review

I recently had the absolute privilege to attend Burnt Church Film Club’s screening of the Clive Barker’s gorey horror masterpiece, ‘Hellraiser’! What made this night even more special was the special appearances of cenobite actors Nicholas Vince (Chatterer) and Simon Bamford (Butterball) as well as make up and special effects wizard Stuart Conran!

You may have seen me talk about Burnt Church Film Club before in my Pan’s Labyrinth review or you may have seen me post about them on social media before, but if you haven’t, they are film club that host a vast and varied selection of film screenings of all genres at The Flying Duck in Glasgow. They have loads of great screenings year round with so many horror movie nights that i can’t even manage to pick which one to go to half the time! They have also done an amazing job bringing in special guests for live and skype Q&As just like they did for the ‘Hellraiser’ screening! You can check them out through the link below!

https://www.facebook.com/burntchurchfilmclub

It was great to meet Nicholas, Simon and Stuart and hear their stories from what it was like creating this horror classic! Now on with the review!

‘Hellraiser’ focuses on Kirsty Cotton (Ashley Laurence), her father Larry (Andrew Robinson) and her step mother Julia (Clare Higgins) as they move in to a new house that up until recently was being squatted in by Larry’s reprehensible brother, Frank (Oliver Smith/Sean Chapman). The reason Frank is nowhere to be found however, is the result of some very graphic and gruesome circumstances.

The writing and direction of ‘Hellraiser’ is fantastic, which is to be expected when the author of the ‘The Hellbound Heart’ AKA the source material for this film is the one and only, Clive Barker himself. The sign of a strong script and pacing in any genre is each scene seamlessly flowing from one to the next and ‘Hellraiser’ does this so well, from start to finish. Each character is fleshed out (some all too literally!) in such a way that we understand each character’s motivations whether they positive or otherwise. This is something I always love to see in a horror film because it gives the audience a reason to care for the protagonist and a line of understanding the antagonist in some twister form or another.

Ashley Laurence’s portrayal of Kirsty Cotton is one of the best “final girl” roles and performances in horror in my opinion, as she not only captures the raw and visceral fear that any sane human being would feel put in her situation, but she also has the bravery and smarts to set things straight and stand up against the sinister forces she is pit against. Definitely one of the most underrated stars of the horror genre as a whole!
Of course, despite the small amount of screen time, The Cenobites themselves (played masterfully by Doug Bradley, Nicholas Vincent, Simon Bamford and Grace Kirby) are a chilling yet captivating, with Bradley and Kirby delivering lines give audiences goosebumps to this day!

As we mention The Cenobites, we can’t not mention the masterful special effects work taken on by entire special effects team (Stuart Conran included of course!) as they bring a whole new world to life with creatures, tortured souls, disfigured bodies and the extra-dimensional home world which The Cenobites call home! All these special effects hold up wonderfully to this day, even the more outdated digital effects, namely the animated lightning like effect that comes near the end of the film, has a particular charm to it – I would much rather see that than any form of remastered digital effect, as it just fits so well in my eyes.

I can’t go any further without also mentioning Christopher Young’s incredible score! Memorable melodies that will haunt your dreams and serenade the darkest depths of your mind, it is the perfect backing track to this dark, twisted and ethereal film.

But is ‘Hellraiser’ Scary? I would not say it is scary in the modern sense that it makes you jump in your seat, but instead it is a film that gets under your skin with gruesome visuals and terrifying thoughts that tip their hat towards H.P. Lovecraft and his concept of cosmic terror as everything about The Cenobites and their very existence is beyond our human understanding, they are not good nor evil, but on a plain of understanding that we can’t comprehend and I think it is that sense of insignificance and the overall fear of the unknown that makes ‘Hellraiser’ truly frightening!

Incase it wasn’t apparent through out this review, ‘Hellraiser’ is one of my all time favourites, I think it is masterfully written, directed, performed and created. While it may appear campy to some, to me it holds in immense amount of character that isn’t so easy to comes across these days.

I’m going to give ‘Hellraiser’ 92%!

Have you seen ‘Hellraiser’? If so what did you think about it? If not, what are you doing still reading this far? Go watch it!
Either way, let me know in the comments and lets talk about it! If you have read this whole review before ever looking in to anything about this movie then you can check out the trailer below!
Stay creepy and thanks for reading!

Hereditary: Review

I have been very excited to see this film after hearing so many great things from fellow horror fans and last night, I finally got to see Ari Aster’s ‘Hereditary’! Unfortunately my viewing experience was ruined for the most part by ignorant, rude and disrespectful fellow movie goers, but I will not let that effect the review of the film itself but it is something a may delve in to in another post. But without further a due, here is my review of ‘Hereditary’!

First of all, I want to say that Aster’s direction is fantastic, he creates an intense atmosphere from the very beginning by the means of long drawn out shots that allow the suspense to ferment as we await the next shot. There is a wise array of eye grabbing imagery captured and created through out the film that boldly sets it apart from other genre films. Aster also worked incredibly well in bringing the actor’s to give their full potential with astounding performances across the cast.
The whole in film family perform with a great amount of conviction, particularly Toni Collete (The Sixth Sense) as Annie Graham gives a tortured and demented display of emotions that caused the film to be a riveting and uncomfortable watch as we observe what appears to be a complete descent in to madness. Milly Shapiro joins the growing range of child actors in horror films that exceed all expectations, with a haunting performance as Charlie Graham, a disturbed and vulnerable young girl. I could go on about each terrific performance but these two in particular are the stand outs.

My main issue with the film is some of the dialogue and a particular plot device moment. writing wise some lines come across poorly written grammatically which personally took me out of the film as soon as it was said. This may seem like nothing but when you are wanting the full immersion that horror can provide to give the best scares, the last thing you want is to be taken out of said immersion. There also comes an exposition focused monologue near close to the end of the film that essentially explains a great deal of what we witness, which I am in two minds of as it seemed very obvious that it was filling in the audience, but equally,  if they had not done that, I feel I may be missing some important information. As for the plot device, I won’t spoil anything that happened but around the half way mark our protagonist is shown something by a friend and instructed how to do it. If you have seen the film, you should know what I am talking about. I did feel this part of the film to be quite surprising as it felt very mainstream and expected in comparison to the rest of this viciously original story. While these factors did bother me somewhat, it didn’t spoil the rest of the film for me too much.

Imagery plays a massive part in this film, whether it be beautifully composed shots that hammer home a point, image or idea, or the way in which shapes can be used to misdirect our expectations as they questionably appear as spectres in the dark before closer inspection reveals nothing to be out of the ordinary. There are also dream sequences where these visuals are put to great effect that are immensely chilling.

So, is ‘Hereditary’ scary? While fear is subjective, this is one of those films where that is the case more than ever. I found this film incredibly unnerving, disturbing, upsetting and intense. Moments in this film had me frozen with fear (as much as a film can anyway) but ‘Hereditary’ is not a film for everyone. There is a large family drama element that may not be for everyone, and a strong use of abstract imagery and story telling later on in the film that has caused a very mixed reaction (including my screening which resulted in the more immature of movie goers to laugh and shout at the film) so if you see this film, and I think that you should, please keep that in mind and go in with an open mind.

I am going to give ‘Hereditary’ 86%!

Have you seen ‘Hereditary? If so what did you think about it? Let me know in the comments and lets talk about it! If you have read this whole review before ever looking in to anything about this movie then you can check out the trailer below!
Thanks for reading!

Pan’s Labyrinth (Burnt Church Film Club Screening): Review

Yesterday, I had the privilege to attend a sold out screening of Guillermo Del Toro’s modern day masterpiece ‘Pan’s Labyrinth’ hosted by Glasgow’s own Burnt Church Film Club. BCFC is held in The Flying Duck, a fantastic vegan restaurant not far from Buchanan bus station. The club has hosted and will host a vast array of screenings for cult hits, under appreciated classics and the like, whilst creating a friendly and comforting viewing environment, allowing you to be surrounded by like minded people who are also there to appreciate these great films. I cannot recommend these screenings enough, so if you like what you have heard, I will link the Facebook page below where you can find event pages for screenings and links to by tickets!

https://www.facebook.com/burntchurchfilmclub

Now, on to the review! Pan’s Labyrinth is a dark and twisted fantasy/drama/horror set in just after the Spanish civil war where sects of each side continue to attack one another, or at the very least, doing what they can to set the other side back. Amongst all of the political and ideology fuelled chaos is Ofelia (Ivana Baquero), a young girl enraptured by tales of fairies and mythical beings who is taken to stay with her new father in law, Captain Vidal (Sergi López), a cruel fascist Falange officer. As she arrives on Vidal’s base, Ofelia is lead to a labyrinth by a stick insect which she believes to be a fairy. When she discovers this labyrinth, an entire mystical hidden past of which Ofelia had no idea of is revealed to her by the now iconic Faun (Doug Jones/Pablo Adán).

It goes without saying at this point that the direction by Del Toro is outstanding, as he works with every actor to depict a tale of wonder and melancholy, all while creating masterfully framed shots, unique and mesmerising creature and set designs. This allows ‘Pan’s Labyrinth’ to feel as though it takes place in a world of it’s own, fully fleshed out and pushing the boundaries of believability.

The writing of this film, whether it be dialogue, lore, plot, pacing, is overwhelmingly strong. The pacing of the film is seamless, as each moment perfectly connects to the next. The story and dialogue suck you in to the world that is being presented in front of you. The fairytale aspects unique to this story are as timeless as anything that has been told through out tradition in my eyes. A particular part of the story I find deeply interesting is the contrast between the horrors of war and the horror of fairytale monsters, particularly within certain imagery present in the Pale Man’s chamber that is eerily reminiscent of a very upsetting image remembered from the second world war. I find that the use of horror that is very real, juxtaposed against horrors of a very unreal nature.

The acting through out ‘Pan’s Labyrinth’ is outstanding. Despite the fact that the entire film is in Spanish and subtitled for English speakers like myself, it never once felt like an effort to follow the story as the emotions are so well conveyed not just through the actor’s tone of voice and body language as well as their dialogue. The range that is present within these actor’s emotional palette is immense, especially of that of Ivana Baquero, as through out the film wonderment in joy is matched by grief and sorrow. Baquero gives what is possibly the best child perfomance in cinema in ‘Pan’s Labyrinth’.

The musical score through out this film ethereal, from heart wrenching lullabies, to dramatic and intense themes used to ramp up tension in war torn battles and Brother’s Grimm-esque, horrifying, monster focused scenes.

The part of ‘Pan’s Labyrinth’ that stands out to most, and for good reason, is the creature design and special effects make-up. The Faun and the Pale Man are two of the most iconic, memorable and awe inspiring special effects creatures ever committed to film, brought to life by the fantastic Doug Jones. Despite it’s short length, the scene in which the Pale Man is present is a stand out moment of the film, that is as beautiful in it’s imagery as it is horrifying in the actions that take place.

Overall I had a great time watching ‘Pan’s Labyrinth’ at the Burnt Church Film Club’s Screening. Regardless of this I will also be giving Pan’s Labyrinth 95%!

Thank you for reading my review of this film and event, if you have seen ‘Pan’s Labyrinth’, let me know what you think in the comments and if for some reason you have not seen it, for your own sake, please do! You can check out the film trailer below.

The Shape of Water: Review

‘The Shape of Water’ is one of my most anticipated films of 2018 as a whole. I am a huge Guillermo Del Toro fan with the Pan’s Labyrinth and Hellboy 1 & 2 being some of my all time favourite movies. When I first saw the trailer I was immediately in awe, my interest was at full attention.This review is pretty late as I have now seen this film 3 times in cinemas.

I can’t really keep going with out stating this out right here, as it will soon become very obvious. The reason this review so late is because I utterly adored this film and wanted to give it time before I review it just to be sure I wasn’t just being bias and overwhelmed but the views I had and have never diminished. It is without a doubt already one of my all time favourite movies, so with that out in the open, I will get in to the specifics of why this is the case.

Right off the bat, the first thing that will immediately come to your attention is the cinematography. Guillermo Del Toro (Pan’s Labyrinth, Hellboy) and Dan Lausten (Silent Hill, Mimic) came together to deliver a film which rarely goes with out scene that could be paused and framed in an art gallery. Using lighting effects and colour theory to their advantage to not only depict a stunning visual, but to add depth to the story with these subtle elements.

Speaking of Del Toro, his direction through out ‘The Shape of Water’ is flawless, each action done for a reason, it is very obvious that this is a project that Guillermo has had in mind since childhood. Each element of the film flows seamlessly under his direction as a result of this, the visuals fit with the music, the actors all embody their roles perfectly and the world within this film feels completely fleshed out.

The actors performances are all award worthy, Sally Hawkins (Godzilla, Submarine) gives one of the most heart filled performances I have ever seen without saying a single word. She conveys a wide range of emotions all through her mannerisms and facial expressions and it is a joy to watch again and again. Doug Jones (Pan’s Labyrinth, Hellboy) as the amphibious man is incredible, similarly to Hawkins portrays a wide range of emotions only with his mannerisms. Their romance as it blossoms through out the film had me completely invested. I fully cared for these characters because their performances where so strong, they did not feel like just characters. Michael Shannon (Man of Steel, Nocturnal Animals)was a truly intimidating antagonist, delivering what I feel is his best ever performance. He too was completely fleshed out and had me on edge, angered and shocked through out the feature. I could rave on and on about all the other great performances but this review would go on way too long.

The script works in tandem with the actors and direction to create an enthralling story from start to finish, taking it’s time in places where needed and ramping up the intensity as the story progresses. My one knit pick with the script is that I just wish there was more time spent on Elisa (Sally Hawkins) and the amphibious man first getting to know each other as this section of the film passes rather quickly. Perhaps this is me just wanting more time with these characters but that is the only thing that comes to mind as far as issues with the film go.

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention how incredible and ethereal the films soundtrack is. Each song is filled with wonder and whimsy as well as tension and fear when needed! Alexandre Desplat (The Grand Budapest Hotel, Godzilla) did an other worldly job with these compositions and he really added to the setting of early 60’s USA with his addition of re-arrangements of songs from that period!

The last thing I want to explain, is why I am reviewing this on a horror blog. Despite Del Toro’s track record, the inclusion of a monster and moments of tension and dread, this is not what most people would consider a horror movie but a romantic fantasy thriller. Despite this, it is still a highly relevant film to horror due to it’s influence and roots coming from 1954’s ‘Creature from the Black Lagoon’ (and other horror films of that period) as well as the overall nature of the horror of Michael Shannon’s intense and menacing performance as the film’s true monster in Col. Strickland. Perhaps ‘The Shape of Water’ is not a horror film in the modern sense, but I feel it is in the traditional Universal monster sense and in the way it moved myself as a huge horror and monster movie fan.

I’m going to give ‘The Shape of Water’ 98%, a near perfect movie!

Have you seen the movie? What did you think about it? I know I have a very high opinion of this movie but I know not everone will feel the same way and that is fine. Share your thoughts on ‘The Shape of Water’ below! and if you haven’t seen it yet, you should. Check out the trailer below!

The Cloverfield Paradox: Review

So yesterday we were surprised with the latest instalment of the Cloverfield franchise in ‘The Cloverfield Paradox’. I loved the first two, despite their very different formats and settings. In this latest instalment our story takes place on a space station where our main protagonists are working to create a new and unlimited stream of power for the world below who are currently going through a world wide power shortage. That’s all I will tell you, you can find out more from the film itself which is out now on Netflix!

The cast of this film is the strongest element in my opinion, particularly in Gugu Mbatha-Raw (Black Mirror) as our central protagonist, Hamilton. We are given the most back story on Hamilton, understanding her reasoning for making certain decisions due to traumas she has been through in the past.

There are elements of the story that are truly attention grabbing such as the heated exchanges between stressed and angry characters, perilous situations on Earth and in the Cloverfield satellite and certain plot twists that take place through out the later acts of the film.
However, I could not help but notice that the film as a whole appears to have originally been created without intention of being included in the Cloverfield universe and certain scenes, new footage and dubbed over dialogue were added in later on to tie it all in to the universe. While ’10 Cloverfield Lane’ had a good portion of it’s script come from a different project, the film as a whole was still created as a full film as opposed to adding on extra details to an already nearly complete movie to fit it in to an established franchise. Aside from this, I feel the pacing of the film was rather messy, as things seemed to go rather slow before speeding up and screeching to halt again. Despite these issues which I fully accept are there, I did enjoy the story as a whole thanks to strong performances from the cast.

Visually the film look very good, the special effects are vivid and impressive but they do suffer from looking a little too clean and polished as opposed to having the pre-existing, lived in aesthetic that allows CGI rendered objects to look highly realistic.

All in all, I would say ‘The Cloverfield Paradox’ is by far the weakest in the series, mainly due to the fact that it wasn’t originally intended for the series in the first place. All in all I still enjoyed this film as weakest but by no means bad entry in the franchise.

I give ‘The Cloverfield Paradox’ 63%.

Thanks for reading my review, I hope you enjoyed it! If you have’t yet, you can check out the trailer that dropped just before the film’s release below!

 

Guillermo del Toro Wins Best Director at Golden Globes and Shares His Love of Monsters.

Horror had a strong presence at this years Golden Globes, with ‘Get Out’ (Jordan Peele) for best actor Daniel Kaluuya and best picture, ‘Stranger Things’ for Best TV Series and Best Actor in a Supporting Role for David Harbour and of course ‘The Shape of Water’ (Guillermo del Toro) nominated for Best Picture, Best Screenplay, Best Actress for Sally Hawkins, Best Supporting Actress for Octavia Spencer, Best Supporting Actor for Richard Jenkins, Best Original Score for Alexandre Desplat and Best Director for Guillermo del Toro!

A horror/fantasy film being nominated for 7 Golden Globes is no small feat and that shown by the sheer joy in Guillermo del Toro’s acceptance speech as he won Best Director. Tearing up as starts his speech by stating “Since childhood, I have been faithful to monsters. I have been saved and absolved by them, because monsters, I believe, are the patron saints of our blissful imperfection.”

He continues by stating that through out his life, creating his “strange little tales” has saved him 3 times, first when making ‘The Devil’s Backbone’, then when creating ‘Pan’s Labyrinth and most recently, when filming ‘The Shape of Water’.

Del Toro was briefly interrupted by the music, indicating to him to wrap up his speech and leave the stage to which he responded “lower the music guys, it’s taken 25 years, give me a minute.” to the cheers and applause of the audience, before going on to thank his cast and crew and making special mention to all the hard working women in honour of the victims of harassment and abuse in the industry.

Guillermo finished his speech stating, “Lon Chaney is smiling upon all of us.” ending a touching speech with a sentiment that would bring a tear to many old school horror fan’s eyes.

As a long time fan of Guillermo’s work, it makes me so proud to see him receive this amount of praise and recognition and I want to extend by sincere pride and admiration to him and his team. Well done Guillermo! You are a true horror icon and a true icon of film as an art form!