A Review of Zombieland (2009)

This horror comedy was an awesome action packed film with lots of gruesome zombie killing scenes. The main protagonists name is Columbus, he is played by Jessie Eisnberg, is on a mission to get back to Columbus, Ohio to try and see his family again after the zombie outbreak. He survives in Zombieland by following a set of rules he created, and in doing so he meets the other leading characters. Tallahassee played by Woody Harrelson, Wichita played by Emma Stone and Little Rock played by Abigail Breslin. 

These four stuck together throughout the film, all with personal goals to achieve while surviving a world overrun by zombies. Tallahassee's goal throughout the whole film is to find Twinkies to help remind him of a better time in his childhood when the world was zombie-less  While the two girls, who are sisters, are trying to get to an amusement park that they heard was zombie free.

I enjoyed the dark humor that this film had to offer and I thought that it was very entertaining to watch a comedic twist on a such a horrific incident. I thought that the zombies were very well done in this film also. They were a great illustration of what a modern zombie would be like; rabid, scary, destructive, mutated, flesh eating walking diseases. 

Even throughout the intense zombie killings the director Ruben Fleischer found a way to include a building romantic relationship between Columbus and Wichita. I found it entertaining and funny how the film included the thoughts of the main protagonist, Columbus, out loud. It really added to the comedy aspect of this horror film. 

 


 Ultimately, I thought this horror film was a good one and I think if you haven't seen it then you most definitely should. You can even find it right on YouTube or Netflix :) 

Review of Prom Night (2008)

 Let me start out by giving you a little background on the film, the main protagonist Donna Keppel is attending her senior prom and its supposed to be one of the best nights of her life. She thinks she safe from the terrors of her past, yet tonight on her prom night is the night they come back to haunt her. One man who terrorized her in her past, who she thought had left her alone for good, is back. Now she must spend all of prom night trying to find a way to escape the cruel and ruthless violence and destruction that her obsessed killer has planned for her and all her friends.

Prom Night (2008) is a crappy remake of the original film Prom Night (1980) with actress Jamie Lee Curtis as the protagonist. I was extremely disappointed with the film created in 2008. The film was pretty much plot less and gives horror movies a bad name. From the beginning of the film we are told who the killer is and what he wants from Donna and the teens. There are a bunch of the expected killings in this movie where the main characters are lured into the darkness and then killed. This was upsetting, they could of had so much more substance present in the film to make this a great one, but in my opinion it was an epic flop for viewers and in the box office. 

This film had poor acting and a terrible script. The killer was only scary because he was labelled as "the killer". The film was repetitive to me and I found myself wanting to turn it off. I didn't see any awesome horror scenes that would even put this in the category of horror film, the most I saw was a puddle of blood on the floor. It had the typical "scary movie" strategy of having the character hide under the bed, hide in the closet, or "Oh my God, there's a man with a knife behind me in the mirror!"... I feel like I should just let all of you know that this was a waste of a Friday night for me. I didn't take much away from this film other than it was a film poorly constructed and that was overly advertised for something so crappy and disappointing. If anyone else saw it I would enjoy your feedback as well.

10 reasons that some scary movies can be okay for kids

After doing some browsing in my blogging community I came across this article about scary movies and why some scary films could be okay for kids to watch. This article was written by Albert Saliba and I found it on The Horror Movies Blog site. 

He starts out his article by talking about how when he was a child he watched The Time Machine on TV and he remembers being so scared that he had nightmares for months. Saliba then inquires, "...was I really scared for life? Not so much." He said he went back and watched The Time Machine again when he was an adult and he found it entertaining and fun to look at how different his perceptions were as a child as opposed to them now. I think that the majority of people in the same situation will look back and enjoy this comparison of perception also. I know I did when thinking of the first time I watched the film The Grudge. 

Many parents try to shield their children from scary films and I also agree with Saliba that they should monitor what their kids watch to an extent but there is no need to go overboard. Scary movies can be okay for kids to watch and here are some reasons why.

1. Handling fear –  Scary movies are a good way for kids to learn and understand how to handle fear. It may all seem real, but if you keep reiterating the fact that it is just a movie it will take some of that real fear a child has from the film away . a horror movie every now and then may help your child stand up to their fears and deal with them.
2.  Thrills –  Some kids enjoy being scared with thrills and spooky things. It could be fun for them to shriek, and it may be funny to see their siblings or friends hide their face. By the age of 8 to 10 kids may be searching for more thrill seeking/adventure type films to see.
3. Reality vs. make believe – Watching a scary film can help kids learn to separate and learn reality and make believe. Kids just need to step back and put it into perspective that what they just watched didnt really happen, but took place in a movie studio.
4. Learn to analyze – Once they can put it into a different point of view then kids can analyze the scary movie for themselves. They can wonder why one thing makes them scared while other things don’t frighten them as much.
5. Just for fun – Kids might want to watch  a scary movie every now and again to help change up their original movie viewing selection. What kid isn't going to want to watch a scary movie on Halloween?
6. Pushing boundaries – Children should be well rounded and can't be raised with one sided views. Sometimes pushing the boundaries isn't a bad thins and a child who has never seen a scary movie as a child wont know how to deal with it as an adult. 
7. Share a passion – Some people really do enjoy watching scary movie and it could be a good way for them to form a relationship with someone who also really enjoys watching scary films such as a parent, friend, or sibling. 
8. Part of growing up – Everyone needs to get scared every once in a while and its a part of growing up. Watching scary movies is a harmless way for a kid to get that experience.
9. Fitting in – Kids like to fit in with their friends, so when you don't let them watch a scary movie they could feel really left out. Especially when their friends are talking about a spooky film or episode and they can not relate.
10. Snuggle time – Parents can use this as an opportunity. An opportunity to get some extra snuggle time with their kids as they get older. Watching a scary movie together is a good way to bond with your child. 

Parents don't want to let their kids have nightmares or anything like that, so discretion is advised when necessary. But parents, you don't want to shelter your kids too much. Saliba says that children under the age of 7 have a hard time separating fiction from reality. This doesn't mean go let your kid watch a gory movie that will scare the crap out of them, but with a little background on the film parents can decide on films that have the appropriate amount of scariness in them. He says also that you should include a scary film with a happy ending or humor also. Nothing too frightening. Nonetheless an occasional thriller or scary film doesn't have to be a bad thing. 

Review of The House of The Devil 2009

I watched this film on Halloween night this year in hopes that it would be super scary, but unfortunately I found it to be a huge disappointment. The movie is set in the 1980's, it begins with college student Samantha Hughes taking a super strange babysitting job. She called the number on the flyer posted outside her dorm that said babysitter needed. Yet, when her friend Megan drives her all the way out to the boonies the man has no little children for her to watch, just his elderly mother that you don't even get to see till the end of the film.

Samantha decides to take the babysitting job even though the odd circumstances. Samantha then told Megan to come back at 12:30 pm but on the way back to her house from dropping off Samantha some crazy man off the side of the road just blows her head off... I didn't find this scary at just a little bizarre.

Its the night of a lunar eclipse and Samantha is in the creepy house just being super nosy. This is a time before cell phones and so she keeps trying to call Megan to see if she made it home ok, but she gets no answer. This starts to make her feel like something has gone terribly wrong. Samantha decides to order a pizza that was delivered by the man who shot her friend in the head. After she takes a bite and finds it disgusting she then starts finding even more bizarre things, such as a tub full of black hair.


This film was so unbelievably dragged out. There was no scary scenes until the last 20 to 30 minutes left in the movie. After Samantha passes out from being drugged from the pizza she awakes to being tied up in a circle marked with a star. She was brought to the house to be used in a satanic ritual. The "elderly mother" who she meets for the first time is working with the devil while she performs strange acts on Samantha, poring blood from her hand into her mouth with a cows head skeleton. Like I said this movie was just creepy and strange, not scary at all and definitely not one of my favorites.

After the ritual had been performed Samantha gets out of the house and uses the gun to shoot herself in the head because she felt like that was her only way out of the satanic ritual they had performed on her. At the end of the film it shows Samantha in a coma, but her and her baby are said to make a full recovery. So, now shes pregnant with Satan's baby. I really didnt see that one coming. My honest opinion though is that this film was terrible and creepy not a thriller/horror movie and its a waste of time

Scream (1996) a review by That Film Guy

After watching the original Scream (1996) film I was excited to hear what other people had to say about it. I thought that it was an awesome beginning to a super slasher series. This movie had me at the edge of my seat wondering and waiting to see who 'Ghost Face' was going to attack next. I found a review of Scream written by "That Film Guy" or better known as Thomas Patrick. He has his own website and reviews plenty of movies of all different genres, so I found his review credible. 

 Patrick starts out by stating that the horror genre over the years has changed in style drastically, but the film Scream has really captured what true horror is all about. The director of the film Wes Craven has already dug deep into horror and hes a director that really knows what hes talking about when it comes to horror films. The film Scream begins with the protagonist Sidney Prescott, it illustrates her trying to cope with the murder of her mother of one year prior when the film begins. Sidney is frightened when she learns that there is another killer loose in the town of Greensboro. One night when Sidney is waiting for her best friend Tatum to come over she receives a mysterious phone call from the killer named 'Ghost Face' and then she is attacked. Her boyfriend, Billy, is a suspect at this point and was arrested for questioning. While Billy is in jail, Sidney receives another call from the mysterious killer. The town sheriff, Dewey, the local news reporter Gale Weathers and a horror film expert randy try to use the clues from horror films to catch this sick attacker.

Patrick then goes on to share that the movie was originally called Scary Movie, but Scream suited the film better. At first when the film came out people weren't sure if they could think of this film as your typical horror movie. After seeing top actress Drew Barrymore was present in the film and murdered not too shortly after the movie began it was evident that no one was safe from this slasher, not even someone like Barrymore with high Hollywood stature. Patrick said this action was done on purpose by Wes Craven to get that first shock right out of the audience. 'That Film Guy' thinks that this film was excellently casted and it shows a lot for the cast members to show the kind of emotion that goes with this film. I couldn't agree more with him either, the cast members really did a good job of coming into their characters. He talks about how the sequels were also a good addition to the original film, but will never match up to it, as it cannot be duplicated. I think hes right and wrong. I think that the original is unique and it will never loose its luster, but like I said before I think that the original set up a good back drop for an awesome slasher series. Patrick ends by asking his viewers, "Do you like scary movies?". For me, that's a big HELL YES! but what about you guys? Is scary movies your thing?

My Apology to the Mad Scientists

Mad Scientists,

This is my sincere apology to all of the mad scientists of the world. I understand that people are quick to judge you for all the insane things that you do, but it all had to begin somewhere. You probably had a hard childhood, it probably wasn't easy growing up with pail skin and crazy hair.
The other children probably ridiculed you for that insane laugh of yours too. It just couldn't be easy growing up with no friends. No wonder they say you're mad all the time, I would be upset too! I don't blame Henry Frankenstein for creating an outrageous out of control monster. Henry just probably wanted some friends. If I had the scientific capabilities such as his you better believe that I would be conjuring up some insane monsters. They say that you mad scientists have strange obsessions, but I don't think they are strange.. I think that your brains just tend to think out of the box! Dr. Moreau isn't all that insane. He just thought it would be cool to make people out of animals. That's pretty neat if you ask me and in order to do that you gotta be some kind of super intelligent! I believe that you guys even try too discover things for the greater good of people despite their negative outlook. I mean Dr. Andre Delambre accidentally turned himself into half fly by trying to make a matter transportation device. I think being able to teleport would be awesome. So again.. I apologize for the crude views on you mad scientists and your work. Your just normal people with a twist, nothing wrong with that.

Sincerely, 

Meghan 

The Original Vampire DRACULA

FUN FACT: More films have been made featuring Dracula than almost any fictional character. Tarzan is about his only competition.(Landis,23)

Novelist Bram Stoker first introduced his novel Dracula in 1897 and it was a great success. The first film version of Bram Stoker's Dracula was introduced in 1922 in the German silent film called Nosferatu. This film also became a huge success, yet it was produced without the permission of Stoker and because Stoker had passed away by this point his wife took the issue to the courts. 

Stoker's novel was adapted into a play by Hamilton Deane in England and toured there for three years before it opened in London's West End. People came from all over to see this play and it eventually made it's way to Broadway. Although it became a huge success by the time it made it to Broadway in 1927 the play had been heavily revised by John L. Balderston. The lead was played by a Hungarian actor named Bela Lugosi.

Lugosi was asked to play in the lead in Universal's Hollywood adaptation of Dracula and was beyond thrilled. The film version was more so based on the play rather than Stoker's novel. Lugosi also played a Count Dracula look alike in the film Mark of The Vampire (1935). Unfortunately for Lugosi, his career never stepped out of the realm of Dracula and he was typecast as the vamp for the rest of his career. He toured the play after the film and performed over thousands of times. Hundreds of Dracula movies have been made since then, but most notable big budget films were Dracula by John Badham in 1979 and Bram Stoker's Dracula in 1992.

The legends of vampires have been reinvented in every vampire film. Just to name a few of John Landis' favorites, Near Dark (1987) produced Kathryn Bigelow, Interview with a Vampire (1994) produced by Neil Jordan, Let the Right one In (2008) produced by Tomas Alfedson, Innocent Blood (1992) produced by John Landis and Daybreakers (2009) produced by Michael and Peter Spierig. 

I haven't had the chance to read the original novel Dracula by Stoker, but I hear that it is just as scary as any Dracula film. The story is told through letters and diaries and is very detailed. John Landis' the author of Monsters in Movies: 100 years of cinematic nightmares suggest that if you every have the time to read it you should. Special thanks goes out to John Landis' for his great research on monsters in movies!