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DansHauntedHouseful
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Reviews
The Amityville Horror (1979)
Pretty good film, so long as "pretty good" is slightly less than "good"
The Amityville Horror certainly isn't the best haunted house film out there, but it's not so bad. In fact I'll say it's "pretty good," so long as "pretty good" stands for slightly less than "good." The establishing shots of the house are excellent. Who can forget those creepy attic windows that look like jack-o-lantern eyes! I love the background music. Now-a-days, creepy music is often replaced by the sounds of electronic jolts and thuds. Who can resist those singing children and their haunting "la la's"? I sure can't! The book is better, but the film stands on its own. The book is able to cover more ground, but that is to be expected since the book has 300 + pages compared to the film's 2 hours of footage. What the film is able to capture with its limited amount of time is done reasonably well. The mood is eerie, the characters are mostly well developed, especially Rod Stieger as Father DeLaney. Katherine Lutz's character could have used a bit more development.
For a more comprehensive review of the Amityville Saga, please check my IMDb profile and for the link to my blog - TheBooksofDaniel
13 Ghosts (1960)
Imagine if Rod Serling became the writer/producer for Leave it to Beaver
I will describe "13 Ghosts" this way – imagine if Rod Serling (Twilight Zone) became the writer for "Leave it to Beaver". "13 Ghosts" might be an example of the end product. The father wears his Mr. Rogers sweater over his white-collared shirt. The mother has an overly rigid hairdo that is very fitting for the June Cleaver type. The little boy who, although he never says it, has "golly gee" written all over his young, curious face. While there is no older brother named Wally, there is the older sister named Maeda. She is prettier than Wally, so I like her better. As they go about behaving like the average 1960 television family, they are accosted by ghosts.
I love this movie! I love the Zorba family and the haunted house they live in. I love the cheesy ghosts. When movie attendees went to the theater to see his 1960 film "13 Ghosts", they were given a "ghost viewer" (similar to 3D glasses) which allowed them to see the ghosts. Nowsadays, one does not need this ghost viewer to see these phantoms. Nevertheless, I love the whole concept of the ghost viewer
1408 (2007)
It has the flair of a psychedelic trip
It has the flair of a psychedelic trip; albeit a trip or horrors – a very bad trip. But luckily for us the viewers, we are grounded in reality on the other side of the screen. Any "trippy" experience to be had is thankfully vicarious. But I'll admit that I found myself a bit exhausted by the film's end.
I really liked this movie. It is a tense film with psychological drama mixed in with the horror. John Cusack is excellent. And Samuel L Jackson, though his screen time is limited, brings a welcoming performance. This movie is one of my favorites. See it! For a more in depth review of this film, please visit my website TheBooksofDaniel. The link is in my IMDb profile.
Insidious (2010)
One of the better modern horror films
This is a great film. It is one of the better horror movies of the modern age. And though, technically, it's not the houses that are haunted, this film has all the makings of a good haunted house flick. Before the coma tragedy and the hauntings that follow, the family goes through the normal concerns of adjusting to a new home. Isn't this how many haunted house films begin? Insidious certainly has the haunted house props. The first house has a tall staircase and a spooky attic. The second has a long hallway with a grandfather clock at the hallway's end that sort of stands in an eerie spotlight. There are plenty of places for ghostly beings to hide. Creating such hiding places in suburban homes seems to be one of Director James Wan's specialties. For a more thorough review, check out my wordpress blog. The link is on my profile page.
El orfanato (2007)
Artful and Creepy
Free of cheap scares and senseless gore – The Orphanage relies on setting, story, and artful camera work.
Consider such scenarios that are common in many haunted house films: children with sensitivities toward paranormal phenomena; a house haunted by ghostly children. These can be genuinely creepy scenarios so long as the film is done right. To capture the creepiness factor, the lines between reality and a child's fantasy must be ever so subtly blurred. There must be layers of terror lurking underneath the shield of innocence, with each successive layer becoming more and more disturbing. The Orphanage gets it right. It successfully builds a bridge between innocence and terror and we the viewers walk this bridge in exhilarating trepidation.
To read more, visit my blog - the link is on my profile page
The Old Dark House (1932)
Creepy film. Revels in the art of the uncanny.
When describing films that are overly saturated with elements of a certain theme, the phase "X for X's sake" is often used. 'Gore for gore's sake' or 'Violence for violence's sake', you get the idea. I am tempted to use the phase "Creepy for Creepy's sake" when describing the film, although I don't mean it in a negative way. The Old Dark House doesn't grab you by the head and smash your face down inside a pie of creepiness. Rather the creepiness is all around you from beginning to end, though it may not always be subtle.
It is a simple story – a violent storm forces two sets of travelers to seek shelter at and old, dark house. The inhabitants of the house are quite strange, as would be expected. There are several subplots that arise, and some of these are awkward. But never mind, the purpose of the film is not to tell a thought-provoking story with a compelling plot. Instead, it is to revel in the art of the uncanny. It succeeds in its goal with dark and chilling atmospheres, crafty camera-work, and its effective use of shadows. Some of the characters are humorously unsettling, even by today's standards. I would like to go more in depth and describing some of them, but that would require me to tread too far into the forest of spoilers and I don't want to do that. Oh and there's the screeching of the wind! Gotta love that! Read more of my review at my blog, which is found in my profile
The Babadook (2014)
A very deep film with lots of symbolism
This piece is more of analysis than a review. Therefore, it is filled with spoilers. So reader beware! The Babadook is too deep of a film for me to just offer up a simple "I like this film because of its depth, mystery and special effects. (and yes I do like the film for these things – and so much more!)" It is begging for thoughtful analysis. Or maybe it's just my analytical mind that desires such an examination. It is a film rich with symbolism, so much so that I cannot help but dive underneath the layers to see what is lurking from within.
On the surface, the film is a "monster hiding in closet" story - a child's nightmare, etc. The monster in this film is a shadowy figure called "The Babadook". But the film is much more than this.
he Babadook represents all the repressed feelings that dwell within the mother and son twosome since the death of Oskar Vanek. Up and until Amelia encounters The Babadook, Sam's impressions of him are left to the viewer's imagination. Perhaps this is because his fears, though no less real, are more vague. He never knew his father, but still he suffers from his absence. He lacks discipline and courage. Having a mother who is unbalanced and overstressed does not help his situation. Sensing Amelia's hesitations about being a mother, he feels insecure.
Amelia has never properly grieved. She has buried many emotions and they are bubbling to the surface. Sorrow and sadness are definitely part of the mix, but she possesses feelings that are much more toxic. She is bitter. Her husband died so the Sam might be brought into this world. She blames Sam for this. She even hates him at times. Through her eyes, we see the shadowy creature. We see it possess her, and this is when her bitterness is in full form. She even admits that she would have been happier had he died instead of her husband.
Although Amelia is behaving cruelly, Sam still loves her and comes to her aid. Together they defeat Mister Babadook. But they don't kill him. Rather, he flees to the basement of the house. There he stays. Mother and son are happy at the film's end. They love each other. Both have said some hurtful things to the other, but this is what can happen when a hodge-podge of negative feelings goes unchecked. The feelings fester and amalgamate and create a character that is foreign to the host that harbors such sentiments. People become monsters; unrecognizable abominations of their former selves.
The Babadook is a great film. Thankfully, it lacks "high-octane" scares and gore. In its place there is good old' fashioned story-telling and mood development. Oh, and great artwork! Mister Babadook appears genuinely creepy
La casa del fin de los tiempos (2013)
Excellent with Twists and Turns (**some spoilers in review**)
Excellent story! But it's difficult to tread into the weeds of the plot without unearthing major spoilers. However, a few key words in the title of the film provide an important clue to the secrets of this film: "end of time." Therefore, one can expect a film that deals with the supernatural while challenging the linear notion of time. And this expectation is met – quite brilliantly so! There are clever twists and turns throughout the film, so much so that at times I became lost in the plot. But never mind that – at the film's end I was completely satisfied. Besides, getting lost helps one to identify with the bewildered characters that are forced to confront the startling mysteries within this house – mysteries that are doled out; never allowing an understanding of "the big picture" until all is said and done.