Jackson Horror

2013 has started with a bang for the horror box office, thanks to the remarkable opening of Texas Chainsaw 3D in America, (followed by the Guillermo Del Toro flick Mama) but the question is this - Is this latest instalment in the long-running franchise any good? Does it keep the series alive? Is it the true sequel to the original?

In my opinion yes, but only just.

TC3D has a simple but clever enough premise. Protagonist Heather Miller (Alexandra Daddario) finds out that she is adopted, and is in fact the only living relative of the infamous Sawyer family from the original film, and as such she inherits the family estate. What she doesn’t realise however, is that she has also inherited the chainsaw-wielding maniac that has terrorised so many others over the years. As such, Heather and her friends embark on a road trip to check out the house, and of course it’s not long before the bodies start piling up.

As a slasher-style film, TC3D starts out strong. The kills are nice and gory, there are a few good jump moments, and some nice tension too. This instalment doesn’t feature the grimy, sepia tones of the 2003 reboot and its sequel, which is a bit of a shame, but the more modern look works well enough (if you ignore the fact that Heather should be in her 40’s if the story’s timeline is to be believed), and the 3D, though not entirely necessary, looks pretty good. All in all, so far so good. There’s even a laugh out loud moment where Heather falls down repeatedly while running in classic scream queen fashion - a tongue in cheek scene perhaps?

Then something strange happens towards the third act. Not only does Heather not seem too upset by the fact that everyone around her has been killed, she then makes a few decisions that are slightly hard to swallow. I won’t say anything else in case you’ve managed to steer clear of spoilers, and the about turn in plot doesn’t kill the film entirely, even setting up an intriguing premise for the already announced sequel, but it still distracts from what could have been just a fun, nasty slasher film, and in my opinion the ending is a bit of a letdown.

So, in the end, TC3D does what it’s supposed to do pretty well (anyone watching this will know what they are getting). It just has a story that becomes a bit hard to believe once it hits the final act. If you are a fan of the franchise so far though, TC3D is bloody and fun, and well worth a watch. Just don’t take it too seriously. 

Overall Rating: 6.5/10

I’m always up for a new horror tv show, so here is the brand new trailer for Eli Roth directed Hemlock Grove, based on the book by Brain McGreevy, where the death of a teenager in a small town in Pennsylvania prompts an investigation into the town’s creepy past.

Starring some good names, including Famke Jannsen and Dougray Scott, I say this is one to look out for!

It will be released exclusively on Netflix on April 19th, where you’ll be able to check out all 13 episodes at once.

Who’s excited?

Review - ‘Them or Us’ by David Moody

With Them or Us, the much praised Hater series comes to a conclusion, and as it turns out, it’s a pretty good one.

Danny McCoyne, the series protagonist, is now facing survival in post-apocalyptic England, after the devastating war between the Haters and the Unchanged, but it’s not long before he realises there has to be more then fighting, and this is the theme of this third entry.

It is depressing tale to be sure, and is often lacking in hope for the characters that have manage to survive this long, but Moody succeeds because his portrayal of a dead UK is gritty and realistic, and so is the way the characters behave.

I don’t want to say much more, as it will spoil it for fans of the series, but suffice it to say that Moody brings this bloody series to end with a satisfying and page turning story that will keep you reading until the last page.

If you’ve not yet started the Hater series, what are you waiting for? If you have, then I reckon you’ll enjoy this creative, vicious and clever series as much as I did.

Overall Rating: 8/10

So, as is my Christmas tradition now, I got stuck into a holiday horror film, and this year it’s the turn of Silent Night, starring Jaime King and Malcolm McDowell in the sort-of remake of the 80’s film. King stars as the deputy of a small town in America on the hunt for a killer dressed as Santa, as the madman goes on a murderous spree of holiday violence. All in all, this should have been a blast. So what went wrong?

I have a few theories as to why this will not become a cult classic Christmas horror. First off, it’s clear that the budget had its limits, and while high budget isn’t always necessary, some scenes do look decidedly cheap, and as a slasher fan, I found most of the kills rather underwhelming, save one or two.

Second, the music is really quite off-putting. Every time the camera sees the killer Claus, the music switches to a jingle bells style, which cheapens the film. It’s not coming from a tongue in cheek place either, so it just doesn’t work. In addition, every time McDowell’s character is on screen, some awful wild west twanging sounds out, similar to that from Scream with the character of Dewey, but it just doesn’t work here. Considering the plot is about a serial killer Santa (which is actually fairly decent considering), it’s a pretty serious film, and so feels very out of place.

Lastly, casting McDowell is always a mistake these days. He hams up every scene so much it’s impossible to take him seriously, and again, the film is cheapened by his constant over acting. King does her best and is pretty convincing, but the supporting cast are not up to much either, again perhaps due to budget. Even Ellen Wong, who I love in Scott Pilgrim Vs The World, is pretty bad, not that she has much to do.

I did enjoy aspects of this film, but overall I can’t help but feeling that with slicker production values, a better, different cast (aside from King) and a bit more sense of fun, this could have been great, and as it stands it’s a missed opportunity, that I feel will sink without a trace come boxing day. It’s worth a watch late on Christmas Eve with a few beers if you’re a really avid slasher fan, but it’s not worth seeking out, which is a real shame.

Overall Rating: 5/10

These are insanely cool!

gaksdesigns:

Woodwork by Maskull Lasserre

(via beneth-anne)

I love a good pop culture horror reference!

gamefreaksnz:

Jasons Deli

USD $14.99

“Serving the best cuts since 1980”

And here are some very cool posters to go with the shiny new Pacific Rim trailer!

yojabari:

Pacific Rim posters

(via ry-animator)

Finally, here’s the first official trailer for the upcoming Pacific Rim, by the brilliant Guillermo Del Toro. I’m not going to deny that I’m rather excited by it, but I do worry that it looks a bit too much like what would happen if you put the Transformers, Power Rangers and Godzilla in the same film. I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or not, but certainly it’ll be a real visual treat at least. Let’s hope it’s a damn sight more intelligent than those elements it combines.

A brand new UK quad for American Mary, the body horror shocker due out on January 11th, 2013.

I’ve been keeping an eye on this one for a while now, especially being as it stars genre favourite Katherine Isabelle. Fingers crossed it’ll be worth the wait! Are you looking forward to seeing it?

The Host 2 - A brilliant new clip from the sequel, hopefully coming soon!

The Host (a fantastic Korean creature feature that I highly recommend) is getting a sequel, and here’s a first clip from Twitchfilm.com that proves it’s looking to be just as high octane as the original. If they can keep the unique characters and fantastic dynamics that made the first so successful, this will be a sure fire hit! 

Apparently there is no release date yet, but it looks like they are quite a way through post production so fingers crossed it’ll be soon.

What do you think? Have you seen the original? Are you looking forward to this?