Horror Review: Baskin (2015)

Baskin is a Turkish film, so if you can’t stand reading subtitles, it might not be for you. If subtitles don’t bother you, well, you’re in luck. It’s always interesting to see a non-North American take on horror films; in fact, most of my favourite horror movies are from European countries.

While Baskin has been criticized by some for lacking a solid plot, it doesn’t really need one. It’s interesting enough in it’s own regard to worry about being completely plot driven. The introduction feels a bit long and tedious. For a film that doesn’t turn out to be character-centric, it feels as though a little bit of time was wasted in the first half of the story relaying the conversations between the team of police officers. That is my biggest criticism of the film; although the idea of drawn out conversation itself is a bit banal, this conversation is probably not one you’d find in a North American produced film.

Once you get into the meaty parts of the film, you realize that the atmosphere is very different from most horror movies. The scenes in the basement of the abandoned basement are quite suspenseful and tense without relying on the anticipation of jump scares. The visuals in this film are interesting and the shooting techniques definitely add to the disturbing nature of the characters of the ‘cult’. The main antagonist, Baba, is incredibly creepy. Everything from his appearance, to his movements, to his voice.

Without giving away too much, I found Baskin to be a bit of a mind-fuck. It’s a Hellraiser-esque questioning of dreams and reality that makes the viewer not want to sleep. (If you were to compare it to a well-known horror film). Overall, I enjoyed Baskin; it was something truly different from mainstream horror while still managing to be worth watching.

Worth Watching: Definitely 

Horror Review: Rings (2017)

Although part of the Ring franchise, I’m reviewing the latest installment of the series as a stand alone film. It’s been close to ten years since I’ve watched The Ring, and honestly, I don’t remember enough about it in order to compare it to Rings. It obviously didn’t make much of an impression on me. On another note, I don’t think I’ve watched the Japanese original either.

Rings provides an origin story for Samara, the demonic well-dweller who manifests through television and computer screens. Other than providing some immediate excitement, the opening sequence isn’t really necessary. (The film could have just started with Gabriel purchasing the VCR and videotape). But as most horror fans might agree, a little extra of the ‘scary’ stuff isn’t a bad thing either. We’re reintroduced to the videotape (now digitalized from the VCR tape) and the subsequent “Seven Days” phone call through an experiment being run by Gabriel, a college professor. Setting Julia’s investigation into motion by enclosing it in the premise of a college professor’s experiment actually works well. It provides reasonable explanations for many of the other plot elements that pop up.

Rings raised a few questions. The film doesn’t really explain why Samara was born as an evil manifestation to begin with. Sure, she was the product of a priest raping her mother and keeping her captive in an underground bunker, but this alone (as disturbing as it in itself) doesn’t really account for her inherent evil. Especially since there was always something wrong with the child, even though she was not raised by her birth parents, nor kept in captivity, nor tortured or any other number of things. It’s almost like we’re supposed to believe it was just some random glitch that she was born evil. There’s no clear origin for Samara being a terrifying child before she’s thrown down the well. (The demonic being thing is a little more understandable after being discarded down a well). It’s probably an over-analysis, but a child born out of such circumstances doesn’t automatically become evil.

What happened to Evelyn (Samara’s mother) after Samara was born? Wikipedia says that Evelyn escaped before giving birth, but I completely missed this. And where did she end up from there? Besides wandering around as some sort of pregnant spirit? It’s clear that Evelyn disappeared, but how exactly? No doubt Burke had something to do with it, but providing a little more of Evelyn’s story might have been beneficial. Perhaps in another film?

As for another random question, why does Samara suddenly gain the ability to renew Burke’s sight? Apparently his self-inflicted blindness kept him from Samara’s harm because he was unable to see her, but if she had the ability to restore his sight, why not take revenge before now? I guess someone had to find her remains to ‘release’ her, but from Burke’s words, it wasn’t the first time Samara had manifested in his presence.

Burke isn’t immediately revealed as the priest either, which provides some suspense through the film and allows for the plot twists to develop as they do. The best twist is inevitably saved for last, after it appears that Julia and Holt’s lives have returned to normal after cremating Samara’s remains. The meaning of the braille burned into Julia’s hand is revealed. While Julia’s visions lead her (and the audience) to believe that the cremation would release Samara’s spirit and banish the evil presence that possessed her, it’s revealed not to be so. In an unsettling final scene, Julia’s skin begins peeling away where the word “rebirth” was previously burned in braille. It reveals decaying, waterlogged flesh underneath. Further, Julia begins gagging and pulls an impossibly long (and disgusting) strand of wet black hair from her mouth. A camera shot of the mirror suddenly reveals Samara where Julia’s reflection should be.

Overly analytical and critical questions aside, Rings was actually a reasonably suspenseful watch. There was an easily followed, somewhat developed plot line, believable acting, good effects and a few jump-scares. (A lot of horror films manage to fall short of combining all of these elements). While I wanted a few more explanations and answers at the end of the film, I found it pretty solid, especially if you like origin stories and additional insight into your horror antagonists.

Worth Watching: Probably

Horror Review: Cult Of Chucky (2017)

Released at the beginning of October, the newest film to feature the familiar, foul mouthed, possessed doll, Cult Of Chucky continues the story from the previous film. The Child’s Play/Chucky franchise is another I need to revisit, as I’m not too familiar with it. I haven’t seen all of the films, and the ones I’ve seen haven’t been watched any time in the last few years. As such, I viewed Cult of Chucky more in the context of an individual film than a continuation of the franchise. At least in the sense of watching the films back to back, or in order.

At the beginning of the film, Andy (a familiar character central to Chucky’s story) is revealed to have the severed, burned, mutilated head of Chucky in his home. Chucky is still very much alive in his decapitated form, and still very much the smart-ass we’re used to. It’s also revealed that Chucky’s victim (from the previous installment in the franchise), Nina, is confined to a mental institution as the result of being blamed for Chucky’s crimes. Dr. Foley, the psychiatrist in charge of both the institution and Nina’s treatment, has been working to convince Nina she’s guilty, not believing that a possessed doll exists. Which is understandable. Would you believe someone if they told you stories of a kid’s doll possessed by a serial killer? That being said, Dr. Foley isn’t exactly a likeable character himself, proving to be an opportunistic sexual predator.

When the ‘Good Guy’ doll shows up in a group therapy session, the institution door is literally opened to Chucky’s diabolical and murderous rampages. Predictably, the rest of the film revolves around Nina trying to convince other characters that Chucky is real and capable of committing the subsequent (and pretty entertaining) murders that occur. Andy appears in the film several times, attempting to fulfill his apparent quest to destroy Chucky.

Cult of Chucky leans more toward the slasher sub-genre of horror, unlike some of the other films in the franchise. There is still humor in this one, but definitely less so than some of the previous movies. This, for me, is a good thing. I’m not a huge of comedic horror and the entire premise and character development of Chucky himself is one that I find comedic. And that’s not even venturing into Chucky’s dialogue and actions. So the slasher element, minus some of the stupid comedy present in some of the other films, makes this one decent. It might actually be an accessible movie for someone who isn’t already a Chucky fan.

There are no major surprises or twists, but Cult Of Chucky is still an enjoyable watch. And if you’re excited to see the little bastard come back, the film’s ending definitely sets this up. There’s nothing new or brilliant, but there aren’t any major disappointments or holes either. Overall, if you’re looking for a fun horror watch, give it a try.

Worth watching: Probably

Horror Review: Creature (2011)

Creature seems to have brought in numerous poor reviews, but I actually quite enjoyed the film. The storyline is alright, and the swampy setting of Louisiana is creepy enough in itself. There’s something about stereotypical backwoods folks and deep south swamps that make a good setting for all kinds of strange things to happen.

Like several entertaining horror movies, a group of friends finds themselves on a roadtrip, only to be enamored by a local legend of a creature named Lockjaw. Naturally, making a foray into the swamp to further investigate this creature, set up camp, drink booze, smoke weed and have sex seems like a good idea.  Again, pretty familiar themes in horror films, but this familiarity makes some films enjoyable (and others a little too cliché). Creature isn’t a difficult film to predict for the majority of the runtime. Lockjaw himself turns out to be a little cheesey looking, which I didn’t mind as it seemed like a bit of throwback to horror films of decades past. Although this was probably due to budget constrictions, it reminded me of a less well-done version of a creature such as Pumpkinhead.

While there a few places where the backstory and plot could use a little strengthening, Creature has a few unexpected twists for your typical monster horror film. Sid Haig makes an appearance in the film as one of the orchestrators of a plot to keep Lockjaw’s lineage going, and he plays the role well. One would probably expect no less as Haig always manages to play a good sociopathic creep. Many of the special effects in the film might be a little lame for audiences used to big budget, recent horror films but again, they reminded me of effects found in some of the eighties and early nineties classics. Creature’s ending even throws in a few twists that are atypical for a pretty predictable horror movie. While it certainly isn’t a brilliant film, I found Creature to be a very enjoyable flick to watch, full of creepy backstories, creepy characters, a creepy setting, a weird enough monster, and a nice amount of gore.

Worth Watching: Probably

Horror Review: Mark Of The Witch (2016)

Every once in a while, you find an ‘indie’ horror film that’s surprisingly good. This isn’t the case with Mark Of The Witch. Shot with ‘artsy’ camera angles and blurry effects, it made the film even more difficult to watch. There are so many black outs and random scene jumping that it feels like a bunch of barely-related clips thrown together in the hopes of making something brilliant. Apparently these are supposed to portray dream sequences, but the viewer is just left feeling perplexed. And not in a good way.

There’s very little to be found in the way of a plot. The protagonist is rather boring and the mysterious feeling that Mark Of The Witch is striving for is non-existent. Rather, it’s a confused jumble of poor writing and a totally underdeveloped plot. The main character, Jordyn, begins to feel as though she is two separate entities upon turning eighteen. There are only little hints in poorly written dialogue as to why this is occurring and what it has to do with witchcraft. It’s difficult to even discuss a plot when there isn’t one to discuss. Sometimes a compelling character can save even the worst horror film, but Mark Of The Witch falls short in this regard also. It’s incoherent, boring and dreadfully short of a masterpiece.

Worth Watching: Don’t Waste Your Time