Podcast Episode 6

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Episode 6 is a long one as we run through the slasher formula checklist with 1981's Hell Night, try to figure out the confusion that is Megan in 2002's Dog Soldiers and discuss how kids today are too soft with 1987's The Monster Squad. We also give our thoughts on The Conjuring, Curse of Chucky, a Friday the 13th sequel, another Day of the Dead remake and much much more! Enjoy!

The Conjuring - Review

About 20 or so years ago at the ripe age of 10 my mother took me to see a presentation by Ed and Lorraine Warren, the famous supernatural investigative husband and wife team. They spent about an hour and a half showing us slides of ghost photos, possessed items and playing audio tapes of demons speaking through their possessed hosts. Hearing those voices and seeing the images of a purportedly possessed children's doll was enough to actually frighten that horror film obsessed 10 year old. So as The Conjuring unspooled in front of me on the screen it wasn't long before I was experiencing some major deja-vu.

The Conjuring concerns a family consisting of Carolyn, Roger and their 5 daughters. They purchase an old rundown home only to discover that it is inhabited by a malevolent force. As this force becomes more violent they seek help in the form of Ed and Lorraine Warren. Ed is a renowned demonologist and Lorraine a clairvoyant and they work to rid not only the home but the family members themselves of this entity before it literally tears their family apart.

The Conjuring is an amalgamation of several tropes and plot lines we have seen before. Wan calls on films like The Amityville Horror (also a Warren case), Poltergeist, The Entity, The Exorcist and even his own Insidious for inspiration. Actually, I think there may be a little bit of Evil Dead imagery in here as well. All of these sources could have been a major downfall for the film if it hadn't been well executed. However, rather than feel like a cut and paste money grab experience, all of these elements come together seamlessly into one giant melting pot of a film that works surprisingly well from start to finish.

Podcast Episode 5

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For episode 5 of Midnight Triple Feature we discuss the 1973 London Underground cannibal film "Raw Meat, Frank Henenlotter's 1982 cult classic "Basket Case" and the 1990 kung-fu comedy "Skinny Tiger Fatty Dragon". We also talk about the upcoming Terminator sequel, Jim Carrey, V/H/S 2 and more!

Under the Bed - Review

Under the Bed is the new film from Steven Miller director of the recent Silent Night remake and Automaton Transfusion. Described as a "suburban nightmare" the story centers around two brothers who are being tormented by a creature living under their bed. With no one around to believe them they are forced to take matters into their own hands and face the creature before it can devour them.

I was pretty excited to check out Under the Bed as it looked to be a throwback to some of my favorite films from the 80's like Monster Squad or The Lost Boys. Unfortunately, it doesn't come close to reaching the heights of it's influences. While those films are immensely re-watchable due to their great pacing, inventive story telling and likable characters Under the Bed is lacking in almost all of these areas. The pacing is off as the story seems to retread the same territory several times without much happening to push it forward. The beginning and end move at a pretty brisk pace with some decent character development at the front of the film and some good action and special effects at the end but the middle of the film feels lost and bogged down. Once it has been established that something is living under the bed and we learn the truth behind the older brothers past there isn't much more to do.

Podcast Episode 4

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To celebrate the official beginning of summer we have changed things up a bit this week and are covering one of our most beloved sub-genre's of horror, the summer camp slasher film. We discuss 1981's low budget Madman, 1982's fan favorite The Burning and 1983's uncomfortable shocker Sleepaway Camp. In addition we list our most anticipated films for the summer of 2013. Enjoy!

V/H/S 2 - Review

Horror anthologies have always been a favorite of mine ever since I watched Creepshow and more recently Trick R Treat. I also love found footage films, D]despite many people’s tendency to shit on them, and think there's a lot more new and creative things that can be done with this genre. In no film is this more evident than in V/H/S 2.

V/H/S 2 is comprised of five segments, unlike six in the original, one of those being the wrap-around story. This, however, is a welcome change as it allows the directors plenty of time to flesh out their stories, one of which runs 40 minutes and is definitely worth the extra time. If there’s one part of the first V/H/S that I thought was most lacking it was the wrap-around story. It followed a group of troublemakers as they recorded themselves causing mayhem and ended at a creepy house where they have to find a V/H/S tape. Of course they slowly begin to disappear as the viewer is treated to each new story. It wasn't terrible but you didn't care about the characters at all because they were assholes and it felt like it was thrown in simply to provide a reason for all of these films to exist together. This time around, we follow a sleazy private detective and his partner on their search for a missing student when they come across.... you guessed it, a pile of VHS tapes that they can’t help but watch. I found this wrap-around story to be much creepier than the original film as the tapes actually affect them in strange ways and we can see someone else in the background watching them. In the original V/H/S we’re not given many hints to the origin of the tapes but in V/H/S 2 we are given a few more clues, though they still remain vague. The ending was a big step up from the first as well and turned out to be a bit of a surprise.

Podcast Episode 3

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The ABC's of Death - Review

The concept behind ABC's of Death is an inspired one. Take 26 genre directors, give them each a letter and a budget of $5000, and have them direct a short based on their given letter. The directors are given 100% freedom to write and direct as they see fit with no intervention from the production studio. It's like a visual take on the saying "when the cat is away the mice will play". The only problem is some of the mice just aren't as good at playing the game as others and can make the better players look bad. That's kind of what happens with ABC's of Death. There are a few moments of true entertainment and enjoyment but they are often overshadowed by their less entertaining and enjoyable counterparts. That's not to say these aren't all talented directors because they are, it just didn't work out for them in this format. The other issue is there is no real editing here. The letters are presented in order so we get no real sense of flow beside the fact that the letters follow each other. What follows is a rundown of each letter. The only way I could think to rate a movie like this is to rate each segment and average them together for an overall rating.