Monday, October 5, 2015

Halloween Mini-Reviews: We Are Still Here, Clown, and Stag Night

3) We Are Still Here


An old couple moves into a quiet New England town to mourn the passing of their son, but a malevolent presence already lives there. The film starts with familiar paranormal tropes. Small supernatural things happen and then it gets more and more sinister. At first, the couple think it's the spirit of their son, but it becomes clear that they're wrong. About the time the seance happens, everything becomes turned around. The ghosts and the neighbors are not what they seem. It becomes an unexpected cultist movie that subverts expectations and makes this 70's throwback fresh and new. Reminiscent of Twin Peaks, the town knows whats happening and sees it as a necessity for their continuing well being. I was pretty impressed, but it takes a while to gain steam. If you're tired of formulaic horror and don't mind a 70's inspired film, this is for you.

My rating: 4/5 fishmuffins

4) Clown


A mild mannered man finds a clown costume in a basement of a house he's selling and wears it to replace the clown that couldn't come to his son's birthday party. Everything goes well and his son is happy, but the suit, nose, and wig won't come off the next day. He desperately tries to remove them with scissors, a knife, anything only to severely hurt himself. He delves into the history of the suit to figure out why he can't take it off. Clown is a fun, bloody, over the top movie that has a cool premise. The suit is actually the skin of a demon and he needs to eat children in order to return to normal or turn into the demon permanently. Although it takes itself quite seriously, there are quite a few horror comedy moments that make the movie fun to watch. Unlike many films, children are killed onscreen and in your face. The transformation is gradual, but frightening and well done in its completion. The only thing I didn't like was the ending. It was a bit abrupt and I didn't think it was deserved. Overall, it's a premise I haven't seen that takes itself seriously, but isn't afraid to be over the top.  Clown makes clowns a hell of a lot scarier.

My rating: 4/5 fishmuffins

5) Stag Night


Morons get off a subway train too early and get attacked by Cannibalistic Humanoid Underground Dwellers or CHUDs. This movie was just bad. I didn't care about any of the characters at all. The villains may as well have been played by animatronics and didn't have any personality. The cinematography is nauseating and shakes like there's an earthquake at all times. Gore effects were pretty decent, but that's the only shining moment in this awful movie. I don't care when unlikeable characters are killed or when two have a super emotional moment as one of them dies. Everything falls flat and makes me sad. Another cannibal dud.

My rating: 2/5 fishmuffins

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