Trilogy of Terror (1975) – movie review

***Top Television Horror Movies of the 1970’s***

Trilogy of Terror (1975)

directed by Dan Curtis
written by Richard Matheson
and William F. Nolan

Starring:
Karen Black
Robert Burton
John Karlen
George Gaynes

Dan Curtis and Richard Matheson are together again for another exceptional TV movie, perhaps the best of the lot. Karen Black plays 4 different characters in three separate stories of this horror anthology film. The last segment has pushed this made-for-TV film into legendary cult status. A lonely woman gets a Polynesian Zuni Fetish Doll as a gift. When handling it she knocks off it’s protection necklace and the thing comes to life with a thirst for blood and death. The battle between Karen Black’s character, Amelia, and the evil warrior doll in a small claustrophobic apartment is one of the great conflicts in horror films. That doll still haunts the dark corridors of my nightmares. While everyone talks about the Zuni Fetish doll episode, ‘Amelia‘, the other two stories are quite good also. Karen Black who at the time had not been considered a horror film actress excelled in the lead roles of this film and especially the last segment. If you have not seen this film I recommend that you do it. Hopefully it still stands the test of time and new viewers are as frightened by it as original viewers were in the 1970’s.

Fun facts:

During the “Julie” segment, a shy teacher agrees to go to a movie with a student. The movie is supposedly a French vampire film, but what we see on the screen are scenes from The Night Stalker.

Karen Black came up with the idea of grinning and showing fang-like teeth similar to the ‘zuni’ doll in the final scene of  ‘Amelia.’

In the Nightmares and Dreamscapes episode, “Battleground” (Stephen King) the hitman has the Zuni fetish doll from “Trilogy of Terror” in a display case.

 

 

(TV Guide Ad pic thanks to ‘Joe’s Rec Room’)

The Possession of Michael King (2014) – Movie review

The Possession of Michael King (2014)

This is a film that uses found footage elements along with some traditional film scenes. It tells the story of a young family who suffers a tragedy. The father, Michael King, a devout atheist, sets out to prove there is no afterlife or spiritual world and to document it (or rather the lack of it). He and his camera-man go through some rituals, the blackest of black rituals, to summon bad spirits, angels, demons, anything to disprove Michael’s project statement. Nothing seems to garner any results, to Michael’s smug delight, until he visits a demonologist and performs a invocation. That’s when all hell breaks loose.

Though I found the film interesting and appreciate what the filmmakers were trying to do here, the film never fulfills its potential to be scary. It’s a bit creepy at points but it doesn’t build enough tension. The modern style of filmmaking with fast cuts and all action – all the time, never gives the viewer time to let the events emotionally unnerved them. If the film had two or three long scenes that built atmosphere, suspense, and psychological tension, it would have served the story better. This is a case where the found footage style hindered the intentions of the film. This is in sharp contrast to a film like, The Exorcism of Emily Rose, which was a modern possession film, but had a slow atmospheric style that gets under your skin. For another example, what made The Conjuring so effective were the lulls in between the horror-action.

With that said, I still did enjoy the film. It had some unique ideas and visuals for a possession movie. I’d say watch this at your own risk because I can’t wholly recommend it. Some may enjoy certain aspects of the film, but as a whole, it fails to fully deliver the goods. However it was more enjoyable to watch than many of the recent possession films like, The Possession and The Devil Inside.

I give it 2.5 harbingers of hell out of 5 on the nasty demon scale.

The Quiet Ones (2014) – movie review

The Quiet Ones (2014)

I like the analytical approach toward parapsychology taken by the main character in this film. Dr. Coupland contends that all ghostly activity is the byproduct of living people with strong telekinetic powers. Paranormal activity is not from the great beyond but created in the subconscious of a person and manifested upon the physical world. He intends to prove his theory with experimentation and documentation of his prime test subject, Jane. He ‘rescued’ her from the barbaric grip of the mental healthcare industry. The doctor and a small team of students hole-up in an abandoned countryside home, away from the prying eyes of Oxford’s administrators. With scientific monitoring equipment, they will prove Dr. Coupland’s theory.

With the ‘set-up’ of the camera-man documenting the event, you may get the impression that this is a found footage film. It’s not. Director, John Pogue, limited the 1^st person/camera POV to a few well-placed scenes that add to the creepiness of the film. Most of the film is portrayed in traditional style.

The film is an intellectual tug-o-war that successfully has the viewer taking sides on the professor’s theory, then flipping opinion back and forth as events escalate. This is mostly atmospheric horror following a cycle of building creepy tension then releasing it. It’s effective in that aspect. The team spend the day discussing the case but when night falls and the team members sit up alone (in shifts) watching Jane’s behavior on monitors, the atmosphere tenses up considerably. Jane speaks of a malevolent presence named ‘Evey’ and her intensions to do bad things. Coupland argues that ‘Evey’ is just a part of Jane’s subconscious and they will be able to extract that negative energy to cure Jane of her ailment.

There are some good plot twists as creepy Jane (played by Olivia Cooke) manipulates the characters with her words and turns them against each other. I wouldn’t consider this film a ‘classic’ but it’s a good watch on a quiet night, for eerie malevolent tension and some good jump scares. It’s original in concept and doesn’t contain the usual Hollywood clichés; I appreciate that. This is a Hammer film Production. Hammer have been releasing a steady stream of interesting films since their re-launch. It is loosely based on a real event known as the Philip Experiment, conducted in Toronto in 1972.

Creepy little film that was well-acted and original in concept, worth a watch.

I give it 3.9 outta’ 5, on the creepy, dark-haired, goth-girl scale of paranormal psycho-haunt films.

 

The Conjuring (2013) – movie review

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The Conjuring

In Harrisville, Rhode Island, a young couple with five children struggling to survive a weak economy got a great deal on a home and several acres of land. It was an opportunity they could not pass up. They would later regret it.

The Conjuring is the classic haunted house tale, a true story adapted for film under the direction of James Wan. It relays the harrowing events of the Perron family and what occurred in their country home during 1971. It also follows real-life paranormal investigators, Ed and Lorraine Warren, who throughout their lives have helped hundreds of families deal with supernatural occurrences.

The Conjuring delivers, jump scares, creepy scares, fun scares, and ‘think about it at 2: am’ scares – it has it all! The pacing was excellent, leaving time after each big scary scene for nervous laughter and regrouping before ramping up the tension again. There
were some intentionally funny parts, dark and oppressive atmosphere, and the kind of build-up needed for a supernatural film to be effective. At its climax the film escalated into a high-action fear-fest.

Some will say that aspects of the film could have been more in-depth. The investigation into the history of the land seemed truncated but nothing is worse during a ghost movie than watching the protagonist sit in a library looking at old newspapers on microfilm. The scene with the priest was equally short but the film is not about the priest, it is about the Warrens and the Perrons. So, while these scenes were obligatory they were kept to minimum length, which I think worked well for this film.

If you like supernatural horror, ghost stories, haunted house flicks, and a bit of spirit possession, you will likely enjoy this film. It is the most fun I have had with a haunted house film since Poltergeist.
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Recommended if you like:
Poltergeist, House, The Amityville Horror, Insidious, The Woman in Black, The Changeling,

Lorraine Warren was on set as a consultant, a testament to Wan’ s commitment in portraying the events as close to the real happenings as possible.

Lorraine even makes a Cameo appearance in the film during a lecture on supernatural occurrences.

***You can compare the movie with the real life happenings here: Reel Faces

**You can read about some of the Warren’s investigations here: The Warrens

**After many years of silence, the youngest Perron daughter penned a book, ‘House of Darkness House of Light’ in 2009 detailing the events that had taken place back in 1971. When asked why she waited all these years, she stated, “The world was not ready for a story like this back then.” Check out the book here: ‘House of Darkness House of Light’ 

Apartment 143 (2011) – Movie Review

Apartment 143

A paranormal investigation team sets its cameras up in the home of a single dad and his two children. In an interview with Alan (the Dad), he tells how the paranormal events started a few weeks after the passing of his wife. They moved from their house to this current LA apartment and within a few days the activities started again. It becomes clear early-on that the teenage daughter hates her father. The six-year-old son is a charming young man full of questions for the investigating team. Alan is struggling to raise his children while dealing with the paranormal events now taking place in their lives.

The activity begins with creepy atmosphere and subtle movements in the apartment. They soon escalate into violent outbursts as doors are slammed and items are moved. In one scene they hear the loud crashing of dishes in the kitchen, but when they run into the room, nothing is out of place. Through a series of interviews and investigations the team learns more about the family, hinting at several different possibilities for the situation. The lead investigator tells the dad that the teenage daughter is exhibiting signs of schizophrenia, and that is when the paranormal shit hits the fan.

There was some good acting and character development considering this was a documentary-style film. It is one of the better ones, providing creepy suspense, jump scares, paranormal action, and a tense build up to the climax. Not for everyone’s tastes but I liked it.
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Footnote:
Apartment 143 is distributed by Magnet, which has clearly become one of the premier distributors for quality, R-Rated, middle-budget, modern horror-films from around the world. They have brought us films such as: Monsters, I Saw the Devil, Troll Hunter, VHS & VHS-2, John Dies at the End, Absentia, The Shrine, etc… When I see the Magnet logo associated with a film, I will not hesitate to watch it.

The Last Exorcism – (2010) – movie review

The Last Exorcism – (2010) – movie review
The Last Exorcism is a mock-documentary about a popular evangelist preacher, ‘Cotton’ Marcus, who is part showman, part spiritual cheerleader. He brings a reporter and cameraman into his world to show them the inner workings and daily activities of a bible-belt preacher. He admits to the reporter that although he has spent many years preaching and doing exorcisms, he does not believe in demons, ghosts or other worldly entities. A personal crisis with his own son coincides with a tragic event in Texas where a young boy was killed during an exorcism event. This event was the epiphany that made Cotton Marcus want to reveal himself as a showman, as well as, all the other self-proclaimed preachers doing exorcisms in the south. Cotton hopes to expose the falseness of exorcisms so that people will understand that they should not put their children at risk in the hands of preachers over medical professionals. Cotton invites the news crew on an exorcism, picked randomly from a stack of letters requesting spiritual intervention on behalf of loved ones. They travel to the Sweetzer farm in the Deep South to perform this exorcism charade upon a teenage girl. The film then twists and turns leading the viewer to constantly change opinions about the possessed girl as the pendulum swings both ways, in favor for an actual possession, or just a psychologically disturbed teen.

The film is impressively filmed and directed by Daniel Stamm and the lead actor, Patrick Fabian (Cotton Marcus), is charismatic and entertaining. Likewise, Ashley Bell delivered a convincing performance as Nell, the possessed teen. In most exorcism films, it is all about the last 20 minutes but this one has creepy scenes and chills that held my interest throughout. In fact, the exorcism starts about halfway through the film. The Last Exorcism has a bizarre ending like no other exorcism movie. While some viewers did not like the surprise ending, I did like it. It took a familiar film genre and entwined a new aspect into it. There have been many exorcism films made in the last 10-12 years. I like this one better than most of the glossy, slick production films of the same genre that have been released.