PopHorror Let's Get Scared
It’s time for us to discuss week 4 of my 365 horror movie challenge! To catch up on last week’s films, click here. I was very particular about which films I wanted to watch this week. I was dog-sitting for a friend, so I had to spend a couple of days all alone in an apartment with a dog that had a tendency to bark at nothing in the middle of the night. I ended up having a pretty good week of films. Check out my choices below!
January 22 – The Devil’s Candy (2015)
(Synopsis provided by IMDb.com):
A struggling painter is possessed by satanic forces after he and his young family move into their dream home in rural Texas in this creepy haunted house tale.
This was another film that I’ve heard a lot of praise for in the horror community. I honestly found the build-up to the finale to be a little boring. It had a hard time keeping my attention. It ended up being one of those films I don’t overly hate or love. It’s just in the middle, where I don’t know what to say about it. I do love the finale in the film though. It was an interesting final fight, and I did enjoy the little twist at the very end. Other than that, the film is pretty forgettable to me.
Verdict: I’m honestly not sure whether to not I recommend The Devil’s Candy.
January 23 – Halloween 4: The Return Of Michael Myers (1988)
(Synopsis provided by IMDb.com):
Ten years after his original massacre, the invalid Michael Myers awakens and returns to Haddonfield to kill his seven-year-old niece. Can Dr. Loomis stop him this time?
I cant believe how long it took me to finally finish all of the Halloween films. Halloween 4 and Halloween 5 were finally available and, I have to say, Halloween 4 is definitely one of my favorites in the whole franchise. They went a very interesting way with the story after bailing their anthology plan. I think it’s a good continuation. Also, it’s the film that started Danielle Harris’ career! Halloween 4 was her first film, and she gave a fantastic performance!
Verdict: I loved Halloween 4 and I highly recommend it!
January 24 – Halloween 5: The Revenge Of Michael Myers (1989)
(Synopsis provided by IMDb.com):
One year after the events of Halloween 4, Michael returns to Haddonfield once again in an attempt to kill his now mute niece.
One of the biggest problems I have with this film is that it kills off an important character from Halloween 4 very early on, and they gave the sacrificial heroic death to the wrong character. If they gave that scene to the right character, it would’ve been much more emotional. Another problem I have is when it comes to the ending of Halloween 4, it seems like they had another plan for Jamie, but then they went a different route in this film. Other than that, Halloween 5 definitely isn’t the worst film in the franchise. That prize still goes to Halloween: Resurrection.
Verdict: I would still recommend Halloween 5 because I still enjoyed it, and if you had to stop watching the franchise, five would be a good film to stop at. I say that because The Curse Of Michael Myers is just awful. Don’t even bother.
January 25 – The Thing (2011)
(Synopsis provided by IMDb.com):
At a research site in Antarctica, the discovery of a frozen alien life form leads to a confrontation between graduate student Kate Lloyd and scientist Dr. Sander Halvorson. Soon, the alien breaks free and wreaks havoc on the research team. While Dr. Halvorson keeps to his research, Kate partners with Sam Carter, a helicopter pilot, to pursue the alien life form.
A lot of people downright refuse to watch this film because they think it’s a remake. Just to be clear, it’s NOT a remake! It’s a proper prequel and a damn good one! The story tells what happened with the Norwegian base that MacReady and the others from John Carpenter’s The Thing (1982) investigate. The film did a fantastic job working with the details that were shown in the original film, and fantastically pieced together a proper story. It also brings a new detail on how to determine who’s an alien or not, so this film definitely brought something new to the table while simultaneously solving the mystery of what went down at the Norwegian base.
Verdict: I highly recommend 2011’s The Thing!
January 26 – Dark Water (2005)
(Synopsis provided by IMDb.com):
A mother and daughter, still wounded from a custody dispute, hole-up in a run-down apartment building. To add further drama to their plight, they are targeted by the ghost of a former resident.
This film was a bit of a gamble. As I’ve said before, I was in an apartment all alone for a few days, so I wasn’t in the mood to completely be on edge all weekend. However, I picked Dark Water this day, and I had nothing to worry about, because Dark Water wasn’t scary in the slightest. It actually left me a bit frustrated, particularly the ending. I was mostly interested in this film because of John C. Reilly and the trailer looked interesting. The story was kind of bland, as were the characters. John C. Reilly’s Mr. Murray was the only charismatic person in the entire film. Dark Water has plenty of star-power, but that’s about all it has.
Verdict: I don’t recommend Dark Water.
January 27 – Jigsaw (2017)
(Synopsis provided by IMDb.com):
Bodies are turning up around the city, each having met a uniquely gruesome demise. As the investigation proceeds, evidence points to one suspect: John Kramer, the man known as Jigsaw, who has been dead for over 10 years.
I definitely have mixed feelings about this film. I’m a die-hard fan of the Saw franchise. I believe that Saw: The Final Chapter was a perfect way to end the series. So, when another one was announced, I was pretty skeptical. Overall, Jigsaw was a good film. The biggest problem I have with it is that it doesn’t really feel like a part of the franchise, if that makes any sense. The loose ends of the story arc had been tied up already. Jigsaw just seemed to create another loose end. When it comes to the overall story, I loved the twist at the end. I can’t help it; I’m a sucker for twist endings. However, I know it creates a problem for the overall story.
Verdict: Though Jigsaw has its flaws, I did enjoy it for what it was, and I do recommend that Saw fans watch it at least once.
January 28 – Resident Evil: The Final Chapter (2016)
(Synopsis provided by IMDb.com):
Alice returns to where the nightmare began: The Hive in Raccoon City, where the Umbrella Corporation is gathering its forces for a final strike against the only remaining survivors of the apocalypse.
I have to admit, I just can’t hate this film. I thought it was a beautiful way to end the franchise. The end of Resident Evil: The Final Chapter really took me by surprised, and I’m satisfied with how they decided to end it all. It was a very interesting twist that I never even considered. Although, there were some things I didn’t like about it. The way that the film ended made it seem like something huge was coming, then went back to simplicity. Also, it just disregarded all of the previous characters from RE: Retribution. The franchise has a habit of just letting familiar characters disappear and introducing new ones. It was something I had hoped would be resolved in the final chapter. Other than that, this installment was very entertaining and I’m satisfied with the end of this franchise.
Verdict: I definitely recommend Resident Evil: The Final Chapter!
There’s no doubt that my favorite film this week is The Thing. Horror prequels have a tendency to be wildly predictable, but The Thing kept me on my toes and left me smiling as the credits rolled. I’ll defend this film until the day I die! So, which of this week’s 365 Horror Movie Challenge films is your favorite? I’m always looking for horror movie recommendations, so if you have any you think I should see, let me know in the comments!
