Ed's Review Dot Com

Legendary Pictures,

Perdita Weeks, Ben Feldman, Edwin Hodge, François Civil,

Scarlet (Perdita Weeks) is following in her father’s footsteps searching out relics of ancient human history. In the middle east she finds a key piece of information to lead her to a precious stone in the catacombs under the streets of Paris. She meets up with her friend George (Ben Feldman) and connives to bring him along with some local guys she finds who know they way into the catacombs. Papillon (François Civil) is the leader of a group who have been down in the catacombs many times before. But things get very complicated as an ancient evil is present in this undiscovered are of the ruins that is the gateway between earth and hell.

This was a scary movie. But I do have to admit that the times I jumped were from the soundtrack and the sound system, not from the suspense of this kind of silly horror fest. Granted it has lots of scary scenes….in a world full of bones, but as they go through the same corridors time and time again, it starts to look really familiar. Truthfully, it was kind of fun to get the adrenaline rush of loud sounds making you jump, and people pay huge prices to walk through the haunted mazes this time of year for that, and this is full of that kind of jump in your face scares. But the story is pretty weak and falls into silliness time and time again. After an hour and a half of struggling through the maze of this underground horror tunnel we are hit with a sudden and quite unfulfilled ending that makes us wonder what just happened. The cast is likeable enough, but they don’t have enough experience to pull this off, and it shows. Additionally, there’s not much of a budget going, and this is another example of a film that was released to theaters prior to being shown to the critics which is always a bad sign. I expect the audience here is the teen set who like the easy jumps and screams and doesn’t mind the lack of substance to the story. They took on a really deep and difficult subject and blew it off with trivial explanations of what is going on. It’s just not that great of a film to deserve your big bucks at the theater, and I was really happy I took this in at the matinee to save myself a few bills. I can’t highly recommend this except for the exact audience for which this is intended. Otherwise, wait for it on video.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

BBC Films, Headline Pictures, Magnolia Mae Films,

Ralph Fiennes, Michelle Fairley, Felicity Jones, Kristin Scott Thomas, Tom Hollander, Tom Burke, Perdita Weeks, John Kavanagh

Charles Dickens (Ray Fiennes) is at the height of his career, but bored with his domestic but literary deficient wife when he spots a young actress, Nelly (Felicity Jones) who is very smart. Friendship turns into more as he makes this young woman his mistress, but his morals require him to keep her a secret, and though she lives a lavish lifestyle, the lies and secrets tear her to pieces.

Based on the life of British Author Charles Dickens, this is a very well done story. If there’s a flaw, it’s that it’s very slow to develop, but the story is very interesting, and the performers are very good. There is a scene where Dickens’ wife delivers a message to her husband’s mistress which is very powerful. That one scene makes the movie worthwhile. The self loathing and bitterness about always being hidden away as a terrible secret takes a toll on the poor girl, and her efforts to deal with that is what makes this film so entertaining. It’s set in the late 1800’s, of course, so it’s a period piece of sorts, and that’s something that I normally don’t get into. But I have to admit the story did keep me interested, and the fact that it’s based on the true story helped to keep my interest. The script is very well written and the character development is outstanding, and Ray Fiennes second round of playing Mr. Dickens gives us a lot more into both the good and not so good sides of this revered writer. If you like the biographical drama of times of old and can tolerate the slow and steady way this story evolves, you’re sure to like this tale. If you want lots of action and adventure, stay away!

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

After Dark Films, Dobre Films, Midsummer Films

Courtney Hope, Bruce Payne, Ruta Gedmintas, Joshua Bowman, Jamie Blackley, George Oliver, Perdita Weeks, Saxon Trainor

Amber (Courtney Hope) lives in a small midwestern town. She has plans to head to Chicago to live, but has to get there immediately in order to put down the deposit on her apartment or it will be given to someone else. The problem is, she has no way to get there. It seems everyone with a car is busy. After finally getting a ride with a couple friends, the car breaks down, and the hitch a ride on a passing semi. But the drive won’t let them get off, and they’re carrying a cargo of blood and trapped in the back. When they arrive in an abandoned slaughter house, all hell breaks loose, and the creatures that have them captive are going to take them apart one by one.

This is one of the newest in the HorrorFest (8 Films to Die For) series, and another pretty decent one. These guys have gotten pretty clever in finding directors willing to cut their teeth on low budget horror films. This one has some twists and turns, and some you wouldn’t even know about unless you listen to the commentary by the writer and actors. This is a bizarre story that isn’t what you are expecting. We know something isn’t exactly right with Amber, but we have no idea what’s really going on. This is one of those thriller horror films that keeps us wondering just what is out there. Amber is a strong woman though, and if anyone can survive this horror she can. But she up against unbelievable odds.

Lots of suspense, frightening jumps and scares, and it’s fairly gory, although not all blood and guts. Actually it’s a well thought out story, and half way decent in this category. Some of the HorrorFest films in previous years were clunkers, but this year they have been really good. (See review of Husk a few days ago). I think this is a pretty good low budget horror film and well worth the effort to track it down.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog