Review: The Evil Dead 2

In a previous post, found here, I spoke about 10 sequels better than the original. One of those listed was The Evil Dead 2. In the spirit of the October theme, I will now give it a full review.

It starts with a reenactment of the first movie, then continues right to the point where it ended to begin this sequel. A big difference in this movie is the main character actually is aware of what is happening this time and tries to combat it immediately. With some very wonderful camerawork and angles used, a unique flair unseen in other horror movies is presented to the audience.

 
The lore regarding the Book of the Dead from the first movie is expanded upon when our hero meets up with the daughter of the researcher mentioned in the first movie. This world building helps make the plot feel like it has more depth than a typical scary movie. As per the first film, many bizarre and bloody things happen to the characters once again. The effects in the movie are greatly improved this time around, with stop motion animation and animatronics galore. The movie ends on an absurd yet curious note which I won't give away.

One thing I liked which may turn off some viewers would have to be the tone of the movie. Unlike most conventional horror flicks, this one has a strong presence of both action and comedy.  Even with the regular horror elements of paranormal activity and murder happening, the comedy and action are there throughout which may annoy a viewer. However, it manages to blend it perfectly and not have the moods conflict but rather compliment each other. There's no way to explain it, but to experience it.

Final Verdict:  Yellow Light, if you are open to experimental things, try out The Evil Dead 2.

Cinemassacre's Monster Madness

People can be especially big fans of certain genres of movies. Some love romance, others comedy, and many love action flicks. One person I am familiar with is an extreme fan of the horror genre. Every year during the month of October he makes one video every day talking about a different movie counting down to Halloween. The movies span a hundred years, and he likes to give the countdown a different theme every year. The videos are informative and interesting even if you are not the biggest horror fan. Once you begin watching, you'll become a fan and tune in every year. Be sure to check out: Cinemassacre's Monster Madness.

Good Example of Tension

One thing that makes a good horror movie is when what is happening on the screen is uncertain, or rather looks hopeless. When things are too close and a hair is the difference between life and death, it makes an audience pulled into what is happening. Makes them interested to see what happens and if the person will make it. Take for example, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. If you haven't seen this movie yet, I'd suggest you watch it first before playing the video.

The young woman is injured and can barely walk, but still has to run away in a place where it appears there is no one around to hear you scream. She is being chased by two attackers, and one easily catches her. Its not a matter of getting away, she is practically already caught and he is just toying with her until the man with a lethal weapon that she cannot defend against catches up and kills her.

All these factors which a person does not stop to think about are subconsciously absorbed and processed through a person's brain, and make for an intense scene. Good intense scenes like this are the best for any movie, not just horror. Even as she climbs into the truck, you still think she might not make it, and feel a sense of relief when she does make it to safety.

Makeup Progression

There was an explosion of horror movies in the 70s and 80s. In the past they were a niche genre, but during that time they defined a generation and helped horror break into mainstream appeal which carries on today. People can theorize why this is, but my belief is the advances in special effects, especially the make-up department.

Take for example the 1958 move The Fly and its 1986 remake. In the original, the man who is transformed into a fly wears a mask. That is it. The mask is boring and looks like it could be fashioned on the head like a Halloween costume.

1958

On the other hand, the remake went farther than slipping on a mask. Layers upon layers of makeup were applied to the actor, Jeff Goldbloom. Things protrude and he no longer has a human face shape. It is a full transformation that looks like an actual monster.

1986

Visuals are an integral part of film. Special effects, when done correctly, greatly influence and help propel a work to another level. Special effects are especially important in most horror movies, sometimes making or breaking them.

Review: Poltergiest

Many times when watching movies we have a sense that it is mocking our intelligence. We often wonder why characters make certain decisions when it is clearly a dumb one. Other times we scoff at set ups made for a cheap way to have the story move. These two are especially true for the horror genre. If a house is haunted, one character will go alone to the axe collection room for a smoke. Or while trying to run away from something, a character is guaranteed to trip and scramble around. Moments like these make a movie predictable and usually bugs the audience too much to enjoy what is happening. The only way this could be worse would be if these nuisances occurred before the horrific part even starts, which brings me to Poltergeist (1982).

The movie starts out with a simple setup, a family moves into a a haunted house. Then things slowly start happening which catches their attention. Unlike most movies where things start happening which appear to be a coincidence or could be just a figment of the character's imagination, this movies has the characters fully acknowledge the house is haunted almost right away. This happens when the youngest child is being dragged around the kitchen by an unseen force and everyone thinks its hilarious. Instead of being afraid they stay in the house and the ghosts start trying to kill them. And yet they still stay in the house another night even after they managed to escape death a few times. After more short intense scenes, a medium comes and spends the next thirty minutes pouring out exposition. At this point the movie is ending, and they escape the clutches of evil.

Several flaws of the movie simply come from how things are executed. This wins the award for dumbest characters in a horror movie. It is too much to bear and leaves a bad taste which remains throughout. The words "Why don't you leave the house" will ring enough times in your head to give you a headache.

Final Verdict: Green light. Pass on this movie and watch something else.

October Theme

Today marks October 1st. As the air cools it feels like the perfect atmosphere to be very afraid. Every day leads to the final day in October, H͕͈̥̫͠á̫͇̮̭͍ͅl͔͍̮̱͖ͅl̼͎̩̙o͚͙̭͓̥w̟̯̘͠ẹ͕̣̤e̴͙̣̻ͅn̙̬̫. Things get colder and more spooky counting up to that day as people hang up their skeletons, place their j͈̩ͅa̤͝c̶̞͈̠k̨̞-̰̮̦̣̲o̙-͏̤̫̥l͙͙̦̦̲a͇̤̜̺̬͕n̼̜t̢̘̟̺e͜r̪̩͚n͡s̻̩̬̕ on their porch, and start getting ready to dress up. O̞͓̺̱n̥̻̹e҉̱̦ ̭͇͎͔t̻́h̖͉ͅi̺̺͍n̹̗̙g̪͚̜ to really set the mood is of course, watching ṣ̪̜c͏a̢̘r̯͓̝͓̬͠y̫͙͝ ͍̝̺͠m͢o̠̖̟̞͙v͇̭̼̗i̸̘͕̬̗̥͖ͅe͉̞̫͘s̴.͟ ̷̫To mark the occasion, I will have this month's entries all relate to anything ̣͖̼̙̪h̷̥̺̥͍o̫͉̳̗̻̮r͓̣̼͇̘ṟ̤͍̫͜o̧̻͎͉̙̙̟r͡ ͇̝̹o͏̮̤̩̻r̛͈̮̻͇ͅ ̱͍s̗͍͙ṵͅp͕͕̫̖͕̹͚͟e̡͕̥͕̝̦r̙͈̠̣̺͘ņ͚̟̯a͜tú̘̞̜r͝a̳͍̱̱l̦̯̠̦. The good and the bad, you'll find out great things to check out and poor things to avoid. This blog is set to get haunted for your ̭̪͇̗͞r̩͓̹̖̖͞e̮̳̩a̷̞di̬̖͎͇̥͞n̪̝͓͍͕̘g̬̳ ͎p͖͉l̮̹͘e̫̮͚͍̥̠͢ͅa̟͓̰͢s̘̦̫͉͎̤͜u̫̠̻͉̺̺͈r̸̺̙e̲̜.̶͔̯̜̹̫͚ ̸̯͇̗I̗̫̠̯̫̱͖ ͉͙̩̲wi͞ll̰̹̳̺̙͚̪ t̵̲̠̠y͓̬͉͕̳̻̫͢p̜̺̝ḛ̱̭ ̶̥̜̮ͅo̹̹ṷ̘̰̭̭̣t̝͝ ̼̩̰̹̻̳e̡̬̹͈͔v҉̝͕̥̮̜̺e͉̖͔̝̮ͅŗ̳̰̰̹̙̫̟ỵ̳ entry from my great grandfather's abandoned estate which was built on an ancient Indian burial ground, the site of witch burnings, satanic rituals, and five John Denver Christmas specials. B͓͇e͖͉̗̟ ̬̙̼͇̭͇̖w͕̫̮͙̯̘͡a͓͎̺̟r̪͚͍̭̰͔̫n̯̩e̻̝̬̠͈d̙̹͕̰̳ͅ ̰t̘͈͚̰̺̯͍h͚͈̦̤o͈̙u͟g̴̻͎̠ḩ,̸̫̯̱̖ ̬͞t͔͓̫h̖͈̺̫ͅe̲͇̺̘͡ ҉c҉͕̗͙u̙̫r͉̥̝̮s̞̹̙͡ę ͔͉̩̦͉m̧̫a͏͚͎̜̘y͖͘ ̳̲͓̰s̞͎̞͎͉p̴̟̣r̹͜e̢a̖͡d̳̯͎̫͡ ͏͍̹̝͕o͙͍̳̭n͔̩t̤̳̖̱͉̭͉o̤ ̝y̼̣͉̥͍ͅò̮̙͉͎̬̳̟ù̫̩͕̣̳̦.͏̘̼