November 2018 - Scared Sloth Film Reviews

Cam (2018)

Directed by Daniel Goldhaber & Written by Isa Mazzei

Viewed on Netflix

Summary: Cam is an atmospheric character-driven treat with a magnetic lead performance and it genuinely unsettled me. Strongly recommend!

Oh boy, here we go. I gotta talk about a movie that goes into a topic that makes everyone super uncomfortable, sex. And not just sex, but the sex work industry. Why do I have to talk about this? Why can’t I talk about something that everyone is comfortable with, like movies with atmospheric horror or brutal murder? I didn’t just pick this movie because of its topic though, I picked it because it’s a new indie horror flick on Netflix with a unique premise and main character, and I figure I should try and cover as much interesting indie horror as possible, because hey, that’s where most of the fun stuff happens. So if you really don’t want to read about a movie that has a main character who works in the sex work industry, you don’t have to read any further, but if you’re okay with that, then please join me as I talk about the film Cam!

Christmas Clusterfork / Movie Reviews

The Grinch (2018)

Directed by Scott Mosier & Yarrow Cheney

Viewed in Theatre

Summary: Though it has slick animation and a good cast, this new entry to the Grinch franchise adds nothing and makes the story weirdly off-putting by turning Whoville into a Communist Ethnostate. Just watch the original.

I really wanted to wait until it was December proper to start reviewing Christmas related things, so I figured The Grinch would be a perfect fit to hold us all over until we get to some truly awful holiday schlock. I mean, this can’t be a Christmas film, right? It was released in November, before Thanksgiving, and I don’t see Christmas in the title, so let’s see what is going on in The Grinch! Little bit of a side note, this is a mildly historic occasion for me, because this is the first movie I’ve seen from the Illumination studio, the group behind movies like Despicable Me, Sing and another Seuss based adventure, The Lorax. Hey, they already have one Seuss movie under their belt, so this movie has to be good, right? Right???

Horror / Movie Reviews

The Devil’s Rejects (2005)

Directed by Rob Zombie

Viewed on HBO Go

Summary: Cutting out what didn’t work and doubling down on what did, The Devil’s Rejects is a huge improvement on House of 1000 Corpses. It’s still mostly for people who enjoy Rob Zombie’s signature blend of black comedy and gore, though.

Ahhh, Rob Zombie. I’ll work my way through your entire filmography in no time. Previously I talked about some of Zombie’s other works, House of 1000 Corpses and Lords of Salem and while they were a mixed bag there is something I find strangely interesting about Zombie’s films. I have a slightly different relationship with The Devil’s Rejects. This was the first Rob Zombie movie I ever saw, and because of that it’s still kind of nostalgic for me. I watched this movie before I was really into horror movies and I remember really enjoying the dark comedy and disturbing fare that the film had to offer. However, I’ve started re-evaluating movies that I’ve previously seen and I figured that taking another look at my introduction to Rob Zombie would be a fun trip. Please join me as I dive back in to Rob Zombie’s The Devil’s Rejects!

Horror / Movie Reviews

Errementari: The Devil and the Blacksmith (2017)

Directed by Paul Urkijo

Viewed on Netflix

Summary: Blending good performances, a unique setting and plot, and some fantastic visual effects, Errementari is memorable, fun, and creepy in equal measures.

This is a fascinating movie, not just because of the plot or visuals but because of where it came from. I’ve covered a few foreign horror movies on here but I’ve never talked about a movie made in the Basque region of Europe, a region that I’m not terribly familiar with. What attracted me to this film, aside from Netflix being very proud of it and pushing it on me whenever it could, is that it is a fantasy horror movie, a genre combination that I find really interesting. I already like a lot of horror films with supernatural elements, so why not just cut out the middleman and take a look at a horror film that wears its fantastical elements on its sleeve?

Movie Reviews / Thanksgiving Feast

Spending Thanksgiving With The Moretti’s (2016)

Spending Thanksgiving With the Moretti’s (2016)

Directed by Rodney Cherry

Viewed on Amazon Prime

Okay. We’ve had turkey monsters. Family adventures adjacent to thanksgiving. Time to stop beating around the bush and give you what we’ve all been waiting for. An honest to god Thanksgiving dinner movie. And it’s one of the worst movies I’ve ever seen. I know that’s a big statement. It’s definitely the worst Thanksgiving movie I’ve ever seen, not that that’s a huge list, but also it has what is probably the worst moral that a movie has ever tried to push on me. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg, we want to examine every aspect of this movie’s failure so please join me while I carve everyone a big slice of Spending Thanksgiving with the Moretti’s.

Horror / Movie Reviews

As Above, So Below (2014)

Directed by John Eric Dowdle

Viewed on Netflix

Summary: An obsessed tomb raider digs through Parisian catacombs to find the Philosopher’s Stone and prove her father right. What she ends up finding is a visually bland and scare-free film that wastes all the potential of the good premise and characters.

This is a movie that really surprised me, not necessarily because of its quality but because of its plot. When this movie originally was released in theatres I vaguely remember seeing the trailer. It looked okay, just a standard found footage movie about people trapped in the Parisian catacombs who run into monsters of some kind. But when I watched the movie, I learned that this is not at all what the plot was actually about because this movie is actually about a woman searching the Parisian catacombs for the Philosopher’s Stone, a mystical item created by Nicholas Flamel, that according to alchemical legend has incredible powers. I have no idea why this is obscured, as the trailer that I just rewatched makes absolutely no mention of this plot and goes to great pains to edit around any mention of the stone or alchemy. Why was the studio so ashamed of what this movie was about? Well, let’s find out as we explore As Above, So Below!

Horror / Movie Reviews

Overlord (2018)

Directed by Billy Ray

Viewed in Theatre

For those of you who read the title and thought, “Overlord, what the hell is that?” Please let me explain. Overlord is a war horror film taking place during WWII that also happens to be a zombie movie. Yes, a Nazi zombie horror movie coming out in 2018. It feels a little dated, considering that zombies have been on the outs for years, and it seems that audiences agree, as the movie has not made much money domestically. Additionally, the trailers were less than stellar, not doing too much to really sell the movie to an audience that might be a little wary of a piece of genre fiction like this. With all of this in my head, I walked into the theatre, sat down and saw a movie that I surprisingly enjoyed. Before I get into the movie, I just want to appeal to to you directly: please, see this movie and support some original IP in this sea of remakes, reboots and sequels. Now, let’s get into Overlord.

Movie Reviews / Thanksgiving Feast

Alone in the Woods (1996)

Directed by John Putch

Viewed on Amazon Prime

I have a confession to make, my friends. I have never seen Home Alone. Sure, I’m familiar with it, I’ve seen clips of the original and know what happens in it, hell I’ve even seen Home Alone 3, but I cannot remember ever watching the original film in its entirety. That puts me in a bit of an odd position when it comes to discussing the Thanksgiving film I’m going to be talking about today, Alone in the Woods, which is an unashamed ripoff of the Christmas classic. I guess I shouldn’t be too surprised about this odd film, as it comes from the director of My Magic Dog and Atlas Shrugged Part II: The Strike. (That is not a joke https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1985017/?ref_=nm_flmg_dr_17) Well, let’s stop wasting time and get into this Thanksgiving classic, Alone in the Woods.

Horror / Movie Reviews

Child’s Play 2 (1990)

Child’s Play 2

Directed by John Lafia

Viewed on Amazon Video

Summary: Although this sequel doesn’t have as many original ideas and good characters as the first film, it is still a fun slasher romp with an insanely good climax.

After enjoying the first Child’s Play a great deal for its great blend of weird doll voodoo horror and fun 80’s slasher goodness, I decided it would be a good idea to check out the sequel, Child’s Play 2. This was especially appropriate because the reboot of the Child’s Play franchise was just announced for release next year, so I have some catching up to do before that movie comes out! Made by the same team, with the director of the first film swapping duties with the writer John Lafia, the movie feels not just like a sequel but like a direct continuation of the first film, picking up where the first film left off. That’s an interesting move for a sequel, picking up essentially right after the final scene of the previous film, but does it pay off? Let’s find out as I dig a bit deeper into Child’s Play 2!

Horror / Movie Reviews

Hell House II: The Abaddon Hotel

Hell House LLC II: The Abaddon Hotel

Director: Steve Cognetti

Viewed on Shudder

Summary: A documentary crew ventures to the Abaddon Hotel eight years after the initial tragedy at Hell House in 2009. The viewer realizes the true horror is that they are now watching a terrible sequel to a good movie.

Not too long ago I reviewed a film called Hell House LLC from first time director Stephen Cognetti. A lot of people, including me, were pleasantly surprised by the quality of the movie, with Hell House LLC becoming a great new example of how low budget filmmaking can be done right even if the premise, a group of people start setting up a “Haunted House” in an abandoned hotel that is actually haunted and spooks happen, isn’t particularly groundbreaking. It wasn’t perfect by any means, but it was a solid film that hinted at a promising new director entering the horror field. Now, two years after the release of the first film, Hell House LLC II: The Abaddon Hotel has been released and I was pretty excited to see what direction they were going to take with it. Does this sequel live up to the success of its predecessor? Let’s find out! But the answer is no.

Monthly Archive: November 2018

Cam (2018)

The Grinch (2018)

The Devil’s Rejects (2005)

Errementari: The Devil and the Blacksmith (2017)

Spending Thanksgiving With The Moretti’s (2016)

As Above, So Below (2014)

Overlord (2018)

Alone in the Woods (1996)

Child’s Play 2 (1990)

Hell House II: The Abaddon Hotel

Recent Posts

Archives

Categories

Recent Comments

Meta