Movie Nights: Week in review 2.2-2.8
This week we watched some very unique movies ranging from scary to spooky.
Splinter
Splinter is a really creative one that goes quick. We love a horror movie that’s short and sweet. We follow a couple camping in the woods Polly (Jill Wagner) and her clumsy boyfriend Seth (Paulo Costanzo) break their tent. Meanwhile two criminals, Lacey (Rachel Kerbs) and Dennis (Shea Whigham), run into trouble while on the run when Polly passes by Lacey. They stop the car and are basically taken hostage. They end up hitting an odd little prickly animal after that they stop at a gas station, where they begin to be terrorized by a splintery parasite. The effects are really cool and reminded us of the Black vomit scene from Jennifer’s Body. We love the scene where you get to see somebody being taken over by this splintery parasite. People complain about the shaky camera but it didn’t bug us.
Photo Credit IMDB
The Descent
The Descent is one of our favorites. We love the raw vibe of the film. Centered around a group of women that become trapped in a cave with unknown creatures. Well acted and a script that moves seamlessly from plot setup into action. The cast included Shauna Macdonald, Natalie Mendoza, Alex Reid , Saskia Mulder, MyAnna Buring, and Nora-Jane Noone. They do a great job of feeling like a real friend group. This film does a good job building up the characters' backstory quickly so you care more about them by the time they get to the cave when all the terror begins. If you are claustrophobic at all this one might be hard to get through. Watching these women cram their bodies into tiny spaces throughout the cave adds a whole new level of anxiety to the film. We love how they play with lighting in this one, they really make good use of the partial darkness to drive fear. The red flare lighting in the cave when they are first exploring looks incredible and we loved seeing the pit covered in bloody bones and remains lit by her glow stick. There are some memorable and tense scenes that are greatly impacted by the lighting for the better. The descent is chilling and brutally graphic, we LOVE it. All the fight scenes are solid, the attacks are top notch when they brawl with the creatures especially at the end. Watching them bash in their heads was a really good time. The actual creatures are incredibly creepy nightmare fuel. Although we love a good final girl we actually really prefer the alternative UK release ending that is much more bleak, it was considered too dark for American audiences but we think its much better. No matter what version you watch from start to finish, this one is a winner that will linger in your mind after you watch it.
Photo Credit IMDB
Us
There is so much we love about Us. We love the soundtrack first off, it sets a great tone throughout and the score does a great job of building tension. We love the family made up of Winston Duke as Gabe the father, Lupita Nyong'o as Adelaide the Mother, Shahadi Wright Joseph as Zora the daughter, and Evan Alex as Jason the younger brother, it is a nice representation. This movie has Incredible acting throughout and the perfect amount of humor mixed with tense situations. This movie is a really interesting and original concept, it essentially follows this family as they are being attacked by a family almost identical to them called the tethered. This film has great foreshadowing and clues along the way to a great twist. Although all actors do a great job, Lupita Nyong’o really steals the show with her performance as Adelaide and her tethered double, she is completely convincing in both of her roles she does an impeccable job. The violence towards the end is fantastic, something about great kill scenes set to awesome music just really gets our blood pumping. There is a beautiful fight scene between the Mom (Lupita) and her tethered double (Lupita) that is gorgeously unique and one of our favorite parts of the film. There are a lot of unanswered questions about the tethered and some things seem a little unrealistic but it is a great and incredibly fun movie nonetheless. Worth a watch if you like any horror elements with humor or like Jordan Peele Movies.
Photo Credit Claudette Barius - © Universal Pictures
Villains
Villains is great, and so much better if you go into it blind. Bill Skarsgard does such an incredible job playing Mickey with Maika Monroe as Jules, his girlfriend and partner in crime, their chemistry is great. We love watching them together. They appear super compatible and feel like a real couple, this brings a more realistic and romantic element to the film. Kyra Sedgwick and Jeffrey Donovan do an incredible job as well of being completely insane and it brings the movie to such an intense level. Essentially petty thieves and questionable characters break into a house that belongs to a crazy couple and find more than they bargain for. Villains is a Dark Comedy with horrific elements that will keep you on edge. This movie is never dull and always amusing. We hated the tongue piercing scene! It was terrible to watch talk about real life terror but that’s all we’ll say about that. We get to watch this couple make mistakes and endure humorously tense and dangerous situations. With a great ending this movie is worth watching if you enjoy horror comedies at all.
Photo Credit IMDB
Extra Ordinary
Extra Ordinary is a really unique concept about ghosts and the paranormal. It is more funny than scary, calling it horror would be a stretch but it is spooky. A very light hearted story about a woman Rose, (Maeve Higgins) a lonely Irish driving instructor using her ability to talk to ghosts to save the daughter of a man she meets Martin (Barry Ward) from being used in a Satanic ritual. We love the performance by Will Forte as the Ex Rock Star and aspiring satanist. We loved the effects when a girl gets ripped in half during a ritual, other than that there is little to no gore or violence in this film. The main character Rose is so cute and endearing. The humor throughout is a little different or awkward; it reminds us of Housebound and What we do in the shadows. The ending goes a little off the rails for us; it get a bit more silly that we really have a taste for. This unique and quirky ghost story is worth watching if you like more wholesome spooky movies.
Photo Credit IMDB
When a Stranger Calls
When a Stranger Calls is a very 2000s horror movie, from the clothes to the dialogue it takes you back. This one has very dramatic beginning, we love the teen scream vibe of any high school set horror movie. This remake of the 1979 “When a Stranger Calls” follows a teenager Camilla Belle while she is babysitting and begins to receive ominous phone calls. The calls get increasingly threatening and she ends up finding out surprise surprise the calls are coming from inside the house. This house really enhances the film because this absolutely gorgeous home is a great place to watch a girl get terrorized. When a stranger calls builds suspense well and is a blast to watch. This one is definitely worth watching especially if you’re in the mood for a 2000s vibe.
Photo Credit IMDB
