We Are What We Are (2010)

   

Family values takes a whole new meaning in Jorge Michel Grau's eerie cannibalism thriller "We Are What We Are," and the menace of the movie is both strange and psychologically intriguing. Sexual politics and bodily mutilation take the front wheel in this nightmarish horror film, and no one is safe. When the patriarch of a strange, impoverished family in Mexico dies dramatically, the bereaved are compelled to carry on as they always have. But this time 'carrying on' doesn't mean washing clothes, commuting to work, and buying groceries- Father's clan is a family of cannibalistic killers, and someone must take the job of hunting their human prey.

   While Mother (Carmen Beato) locks herself in the room and falls apart, her two sons- impulsive, violent Julien (Alan Chávez) and the more methodical, repentant Alfredo (Francisco Barreiro) squabble and their beautiful sister Sabina (Paulina Gaitan) plays them against each other. Alfredo laments that his mother never liked him and tries to prove himself to the others, while Julien, a loose cannon, postures and puts his family in grave danger with his recklessness.

   Meanwhile, two somewhat corrupt cops track the family, after a gory incident involving a prostitute threatens to put their strange lifestyle on display. The film builds tension with spooky cinematography and a nerve-wracking violin score akin to "The Shining." The acting is superior from the entire cast, especially Paulina Gaitin and Francisco Barreiro (who is also a cutie- I look forward to seeing him in "Here Comes The Devil."
   The first scene is a haunting study of disenfranchisement- as Father  (Humberto Yáñez) wanders the streets and stops before a display of mannequins, he falls to the ground and begins to spit up blood. After dying in the street, he is nonchalantly cleaned up along with his blood, and steadfastly ignored by passersby, as the violins on the soundtrack shriek. This sets the tone for a grim and bloody picture that is sadly underrated by the public.

   There is recurring theme of women in low-class situations asserting power as best they can- Sabina manipulates her two brothers with her gentle words and her gorgeous body, while mother attempts to maintain control of her sons. And the prostitutes... well, you'll have to see how that turns out. More disturbing than the graphic violence is the dehumanizing way the family talks about their victims (they're 'whores' and 'faggots,' never people.) More disturbing still is the way you start to root for the family, ever so slightly, before you can stop yourself. They suck you into their world, and things you know are wrong seem intriguing.

   I wish the characters of the police had been developed more. I definitely think the climactic scene would have been more compelling if the main cop hadn't just tried to pick up a prostitute who was like twelve, destroying any meager sympathy we may have had for him. After that, I don't care whether he lives or he dies... I'm actually rooting for the man-eating psychos at this point.

   The 5.7 rating of this movie on Imdb makes me sad. I only checked the clock once during "We Are What We Are," and that was when my sister asked from the other room how much was left. This movie was engrossing and not boring at all, and I thoroughly enjoyed watching it. I love how foreign horror films don't feel the need to reveal everything in the first five minutes. It is compared to "Let the Right One In" on the back of the box. Well, I wouldn't call it better ("Let the Right One In" is my favorite movie,) but it was well-made and highly enjoyable. A creepy slow-burner of a horror film.
                                       Rating- 
                                             8.0/10

   

Pathology (2008)

I do not dislike this 'movie' because it is 'sick' or 'disturbing' or anything else other viewers brand it with. I dislike it because it is unbelievably written, badly acted, and takes itself so seriously that you are hardly even able to laugh at the pure ridiculousness of the script. "Pathology" features poor performances from Milo Ventimiglia (who displays about four or five facial expressions, tops, but mostly gives us his broody face) and Michael Weston (who wins the honor of being the most unbelievable villain of the year.)

Drinking game time.

. Take a drink whenever a cadaver is shown or discussed.

. Take a drink whenever there is unnecessary sex scene.

. Take a drink whenever someone gives someone else a intense or significant look.

. Drink every time you snort at the pure idiocy of the script.

   Ted Grey (disgustingly transparent symbolism in name, check!) is a med student who leaves his girlfriend (Alyssa Milano) to study at a morgue. He is immediately ostracized by the other students. When he makes a 'deep' comment about the innate evil of humanity at a bar, he temporarily wins their respect and they let him in on their secret- they have formed a group where they kill an undesirable member of society and the others try to guess how the murder was committed, using their med school skills.

   The very beginning and the very end are... not bad, but the rest of the movie is so terrible you might have to pinch yourself to stay awake. "Pathology" is full of pseudo-profound comments about the darkness that abides within human beings that an emo eighth-grader could have written. The characters are singularly unlikable- it would be hard to find a more reprehensible bunch than featured in this movie, and I'm not letting Ted off the hook.

  The moral issues behind he killings of the undesirables, as immoral as some of them are, are never explored in any depth (remember, they 'deserve' it,) while some of the scenes are so silly that you'd have to be high on a gigantic amount of cannibus to find any value in them. Take for instance, the scene where Ted and femme fatale med student Juliette (Lauren Lee Smith) get intimate at the scene of the murder they have committed, having passionate sex across from the dead body. Are we supposed to take this shit seriously??

Ooh, better make this face throughout the flick so I look 'intense.'

   Which brings me to another subject, the acting. Ventimiglia can't act. Weston can't act as the main baddie, 'Jake.' Smith tries to play a sexy-but-dangerous stone cold killer, but tries so hard that the performance simply comes off as awkward and inexperienced. The movie continually tries to be as immoral and sleazy as possible, but what does it achieve? Nothing.

   "Pathology", quite simply, is bad. It is so bad, in fact, that I nearly didn't care that my mom's idiot dog was barking in my ear through the second half of the movie because it almost mercifully blocked out some of the awful dialogue. I hated this movie. It is terribly made in almost every respect, and I don't want to hear its title ever again.
                                               Rating-
                                                       2.5/10

Angst (1983)

So, apparently this movie is super rare and eventually I got my hands on a bootlegged copy (don't judge me, I'm not proud of it!) The DVD I now own is the short version (at 75 minutes) and has somewhat grainy picture quality. The plot follows the homicidal maniac credited simply as 'the psychopath' (eerily played by Erwin Leder,) who is released from prison where he served time for the murder of an elderly lady only to set his sights on a family living in an isolated house.

   The main character never kills to steal or pillage. He has no use for cash or fineries, and never knew his victims prior to the homicides. He kills simply because he gets off on it. He has never known a life without cruelty or abuse, and this is neither a rationalization or an excuse. Now I'm going to format this review a little differently than the others. Here are some thoughts:

. "Angst" approaches the serial killer genre a little differently than other films of it's kind. First of all, the movie makes no effort to sympathize or rationalize the killer's actions. Unlike, for instance, Gerard Johnson's "Tony" (a very good movie in it's own right) where you grow to feel for the psychopath, Leder's killer is unrelentingly (and perhaps appropriately) loathsome.

. I may be mistaken, but I believe the killer never speaks to any of his victims. We hear his voice through a voice-over narration. This is an interesting filmmaking method, as is the bizarre and jarring cinematography and soundtrack.

. I hate the fact that this guy even got out of prison because he made up some bullshit story about being well. Twice! (the first was for the murder of his mother.) People like this should be kept behind bars for as long as humanly possible, as with all mass murderers and sexual deviants. It's not worth it, people! (Okay, that's my inner Conservative talking, but it's a pretty f'ing valid point.)

. It made me mad when I saw that the wheelchair-bound man-boy (Rudolf Götz) at the home the killer broke into was left alone in the house. I'm sorry, but a man with the IQ of an infant shouldn't be left to fend for himself while his mom and sister are out shopping! He could fall out of his wheelchair... or, shit his pants... or have his home broken into by a necrophiliac serial killer! See, the unthinkable does happen!

. The stand-out actor was definitely Erwin Leder. Rudolf Götz was good too as the mentally challenged man. Silvia Rabenreither and Edith Rosset were a little weak as the daughter and the mother, respectively.

. I was puzzled and relieved that he *MILD SPOILER* let the dog live. My only guess (besides that he was just such a nice guy, har-har) is that he wanted a relic from the killings. Whatever the reason, I was happy that the cute little daschund did not meet a gruesome (and untimely) end. *END OF SPOILER*

   Overall I found this movie interesting because it offers a glimpse into a serial killer's mind. I didn't really find it all that disturbing, but others might be horrified by the violence displayed here, so for that reason I would not recommend it to sensitive viewers. The camerawork and soundtrack are another asset- haunting and strange, it adds to the sense of disorientation and horror the movie is trying to achieve. Watch it, if you can find it.
                                               Rating-
                                                    7.5/10

The Tall Man AKA The Secret (2012)

 
The  theme of the 'wronged mama bear,' where every mother's worst fear is realized, stands as a common trope in horror and thriller films, and "The Tall Man" is no exception. This is better than "Flightplan," thank God, and puts a new spin on the worn theme of the child being snatched from the arms of the protective parent. Above all, it sports a pretty wicked twist, one that is unpredictable without being totally out there or ludicrous.

   I never would have picked up this movie if it weren't for director Pascal Laugier's previous film "Martyrs." The trailer to "The Tall Man" looked to be in kind of lame standard thriller-ish territory, so I decided to avoid it. When I finally got to watching it, I was pleasantly surprised. This is a well written, directed, and acted movie.

   Content-wise this isn't even in the same ballpark as "Martyrs," although I did see it got a nice 'R' rating from the MPAA. "The Tall Man" stars Jessica Biel as Julia, a nurse who seems to serve as a friend, neighbor, and basically a helping hand to everyone in the small town of Cold Rock, Washington. The children of Cold Rock are being abducted by a mysterious force known as the "The Tall Man," disappearing without a trace and baffling the local police force.


Julia has a son, David (Jakob Davies,) and periodically visits local woman Tracy (Samantha Ferris) and her teenage daughters, Carol (Katherine Ramdeen) and silent Jenny (Jodelle Ferland.) Tracy's boyfriend Steven (Teach Grant) impregnated Carol and menaces Julia when she comes to the house to check on the infant. He oozes class.

   When David is taken from Julia, Julia will do anything to get the boy back. The cool thing about this movie is that it takes you one one way and then- *BAM*-it steers you in a completely different direction. I won't tell you if the crimes of 'The Tall Man' are supernatural or not, because what would be the fun of that?

  Suffice to say it's fresh and exciting, Biel makes a adequate scream queen, and Jodelle Ferland is great as always. Jacob Davies (as the son) can't really act and settles on being mildly perturbed, but give him time. The supporting cast is good too. Samantha Ferris and Colleen Wheeler, as the mother of one of the disappeared kids are the standouts.

   One of the problems with the script is that Julia seems at parts to be too much of a 'supermom.' Between battling an attack dog and clinging to (and being dragged by) a abductor's van, it's a wonder this woman has the energy to get up in the morning. Altogether, though, this is a sadly underrated and overlooked horror/thriller.
                                              Rating-
                                                    7.5/10

Martyrs (2008)

 
 There are no words to describe how f**ked-up this movie is. I have not seen "A Serbian Film," which is supposed to make "Martyrs" look tame in comparison, but I truly do not know how it's going to top this. I've seen "Antichrist," "The Human Centipede II," "American Mary," but nothing like this. This movie is spirtually and physically sickening, which is exactly how the filmmaker,Pascal Laugier, intended it.

   Okay, I'm probably just riling up you gorehounds, so I'll cut to the chase. To say that this movie is nauseating is not to say it's bad. It's actually very well-made and well-acted from start to finish. Actress Mylène Jampanoï does a great job as the frightened victim turned infuriated perpetrator, and Morjana Alaoui is also terrific as her enamored friend.

   Although Anna (Alaoui) harbors a lesbian crush on Lucie (Jampanoï,) her sexuality isn't a huge part of the plot. Instead, the movie is about the giving and receiving of physical punishment (not the least bit pleasurable; sorry, BDSM enthusiasts,) and just how far the rich and selfish will go to secure their own peace of mind, with no regard to the people they hurt.

   Maybe comparing the premise of this movie with current class issues is a long shot, but damn it, it sounded smart to me at the time. Lucie is inexplicably held prisoner as a child and subjected to physical pain. Young Lucie (Jessie Pham, in a performance worthy of her grown-up counterpart,) runs away and ends up in an orphanage, where she meets Anna (played as a child by Erika Scott) and forges a close bond.

   Anna seems determined to help Lucie no matter what squirrels reside in her attic and continues to be a faithful friend and companion when Lucie grows up and, P.O.-ed and dangerous, takes a shotgun to a couple she believes participated in her torture and their teenaged children.

 

 This movie is super brutal and fairly realistic, and establishes itself as such in the home invasion scene. Unlike a American movie, Lucie runs out of shotgun shells and needs to reload, and the reaction of the family radiates terror, but perhaps, not surprise. The movie a sick (let me rephrase that- sicker) turn after Anna is captured by Lucie's tormenters.

   The ending is a 'What the Hell?' moment and will leave you thinking about what it all means. The cinematography is very professional and overall well-done. The scenes involving Anna's entrapment last a little too long, frankly. How many times can we watch a woman be smacked around and degraded when it doesn't advance the plot?

   The movie makes the decision to focus on young Lucie rather than her captors in the flashbacks, which is a good cinematic choice considering Lucie is traumatized by the experiences and initially doesn't remember her victimizers. In many of the later scenes with Anna, we see her abusers very clearly, constrasting with with the earlier scenes with Lucie.

   I thought this was a very well-made movie, but only watchable for people with very strong stomachs. It's not a popcorn movie, and neither does it intend to be. I liked it, but I don't think I could watch it again anytime soon.

                                Rating-
                                       7.5/10

Let Sleeping Corpses Lie AKA The Living Dead at Manchester Morgue (1974)

 Surprise! I actually liked this better than George A. Romero's 1968 defining classic "Night of the Living Dead." Granted, "...Living Dead" came first, and they're both important horror films in their own right, but "Let Sleeping Corpses Lie" was more exciting and entertaining, and less about bad actors like Karl Hardman (no hate towards Duane Jones though) arguing in a fortified house with the groaning of the undead in the background.

   So, "Let Sleeping Corpses Lie," (also known as "The Living Dead at Manchester Morgue," "Don't Open the Window," and by countless other titles) stars Ray Lovelock as George, a ill-tempered artsy-craftsy type who goes on a trip to meet some friends at his new house. He never gets there, though, as his motorcycle gets run over at a filling station by Edna (Cristina Galbó.)

   George somewhat imposes himself on Edna and demands she drive him the rest of the way there, but Edna wants to visit her drug-addicted sister (Jeannine Mestre) and photographer brother-in-law (José Lifante.) Their quibbles are interrupted by a viral outbreak that turns it's victims into- you guessed it- flesh-eating zombies.

   The cause of the virus is pesticides, and although the premise hints at environmental themes, you are never hit over the head with these messages. Similarly, the paranoid Inspector (Arthur Kennedy) accuses George of being a hippie Satanist and seems to be intent on disbelieving everything George says. So maybe the movie is making a comment on battle of Conservative Vs. Liberal values? Or just plain old prejudice, when it rears it's ugly head.

   There are some parallels between this and "Night of the Living Dead," including a similar intestine-eating scene and pessimistic ending. The development of George from a griping nitwit to fighter against the undead may surprise you, but it's well-done for this kind of movie.

   The best moment is the scene when they're trapped in the mortuary and the COFFINS START OPENING! I loved the zombies' eyes- finally something different with the genre. I think the movie might have been better with a little bit more dark humor, a 'la "Shaun of the Dead" (best. zombie. movie. ever.) The acting was good-ish, a little flat overall, but the movie as a whole was very a entertaining one that I would recommend to any horror lover.
                                      Rating-
                                             7.0/10

Night of the Living Dead (1968)

Although George A. Romero's influential cult classic must have been terrifying for it's time, the years have rendered it rather mild and outdated. Still, "Night of the Living Dead,"  which was filmed on a shoestring budget of $114,000, serves as an interesting study of peoples' reactions to a crises and the necessity of action during a devastating event. Furthermore, it interestingly casts a black man in the leading male role, which was quite daring for it's time.

  Fragile Barbra (Judith Dea) makes a visit to her father's grave with her perpetually complaining brother Johnny (Russell Streiner) when a strange man attacks them. Managing to escape alive (Johnny was not so lucky,) Barbra becomes holed up in a farmhouse, and soon renders herself obsolete due to suffering a complete mental breakdown.It is there that she meets Ben (Duane Jones,) a fellow survivor of what turns out to be a zombie attack.

 The movie works best with just Barbra and Ben, who represent two opposite approaches to a crisis. Ben is a kind person but still a survivalist, and has no time for Barbra's weakly grieving. Barbra is consumed by guilt for leaving her brother, and turns to Jell-O almost immediately, while Ben thinks on his feet and begins to barricade the windows and doors from the approaching 'ghouls.'

 However, when a group of fellow survivors come, this film becomes a bit boring. The most asinine of the survivors, played by Karl Hardman, overacts almost constantly, and listening to the group argue becomes tiresome. Meanwhile, a lot of the violence seems fake (when one character punches another, it sounds like a balloon popping.) The character dynamics are much more interesting when it's just the two heroes.

   You may find yourself laughing at certain scenes, which lack the intensity of "The Walking Dead" but also the tongue-in-cheek self-awareness of films like "Dead Alive" and "Shaun of the Dead." Yes, in many ways it's the film that started it all (though "White Zombie" starring Bela Legosi, unwatched by me, came first,) but it pales in comparison to many modern zombie stories. However, I liked how the zombies were not totally stupid and could use tools.

   The acting overall wasn't great (best from Duane Jones and Judith O'Dea, the leads) and the the special effects are dated (although it's interesting to see how people improvised using practical effects before the era of CGI.) The movie was fun but not particularly disturbing or scary, except for the scene involcing the mother and her daughter (no spoilers.) I wonder how they got away with that.

   I may have been shocked by the death of my favorite character at the end, but my psychiatrist had already spoiled it for me (damn you man!) For those who have not been informed of the ending, it will be unexpected and sad. This is an important film for all horror fans and zombie lovers to see, but it isn't technically great in comparison to later horror flicks. I didn't love it, but I'm glad I saw it.
                                              Rating-
                                                    6.5/10

V/H/S (2012)

 

 Nothing to see here, ladies and gents. "V/H/S" is a appallingly bad and nauseatingly shot fright flick, marred by misogynist overtones and 0% (and I do mean %0) character development. The film is geared toward predominately male teenagers with short attention spans, sporting sickeningly schizoid cinematography and and gratuitous boobie shots (most of which are in sexually violent or exploitative context.)

   In the core storyline, A group of miscreants break into a house after being hired to steal one videotape. We have no sympathy for these people- between their abusive treatment of women and their grating stupidity, we're actually rooting against them. When they break in, they find a stack of V/H/S home movies... and a corpse. Unfazed by the body of an old man resting in an armchair, they begin to view the videotapes. Each one is a supposedly real horror short.

   The first short in the anthology is by far the worst. A trio of horny and misogynistic friends set out to video tape one of the men's sexual experience. The situation soon becomes rapey, as one girl is passed out drunk and another is an apparently addled femme fatale who is not what she seems. The acting in this short is pretty poor and the dialogue is worse.

   Is it really necessary to drop the F bomb in every sentence? I mean, I love my expletives as much anybody else, but throwing it around willy-nilly makes you sound like a 13-year-old trying to be 'edgy.' The boys are disgusting pieces of work, but watching their well-deserved demise, satisfying as it might be, is not enough to save this terrible short.

   The majority of these shorts are wretchedly bad to pretty mediocre, with the exception of one. Here's a wonder- Ti West, who made one of the worst shorts in the similarly themed horror anthology "The ABC's of Death", also directs the segment that saves this movie from being a total disaster. "Second Honeymoon," starring Joe Swanberg and Sopie Takal, is a surprising and competently acted short that kept me guessing throughout.

   The short with the aliens had potential, but just left too many unanswered questions for my liking. The others were utter crap. The shaky cam gave me a headache and a stomachache. The dialogue was a string of childish obscenities. There was no depth to the characters. I have not seen a movie in a long time with a cast of characters I liked less. This movie is so, so bad. Avoid it like the plague.
                                                             Rating-
                                                  3.5/10

Mama (2013)

 "Mama" is a eerily different and creepy ghost story with great performances from the child actors. Young Victoria and Lily (Megan Charpentier and Isabelle Nélisse) have spent 5 years in a cabin in the woods after their father (Nikolaj Coster-Waldaudies,) alone except for a ghostly presence they call Mama. When they are rescued by and put into the custody their dad's twin brother (also Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) and his metalhead musician  wife Annabelle (Jessica Chastain,) who doesn't want the responsibility of kids.

   The special thing thing about this movie is the lack of typical 'bad guys' (Mama is disturbed and overprotective, but also a tragic figure) and the CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT many horror films lack. You end up both feeling for these little girls (who return to civilization filthy, emaciated and feral) and being a little creeped out by them due to the clever writing and the girl's great performances.

   The CGI can be a little shoddy and there are plot holes present, but that didn't deter me from enjoying the creepy, emotional, and compelling story. There where some very touching moments and I found myself still becoming uneasy on my second viewing, which hardly ever happens. I found the development of Annabelle's character and her transformation from rocker with no real responsibilities to devoted surrogate mom fighting a jealous supernatural force interesting.

   I will now voice my minority opinion and say this movie was better than the recent supernatural thriller "The Conjuring." While "The Conjuring" was perhaps a movie with better visual effects and more audience appeal, it never really got me interested in the characters. They were simply victims, struggling against a tide of bizarre supernatural events that were beyond their earthly grasp.

   On the other hand, I felt like the characters in "Mama" were well written and developed, and well I thought the young girls were the highlight of the film, the rest of the cast was quite good too. The child actors display range and prowess beyond their young years, and I hope to see more of them in the time to come.

   And then there's 'Mama', who's overall a rather confusing character, but also eerie and ambiguous. You feel for her, and you fear her wrath, in equal measure. I recommend this movie to horror buffs, but also to people who like just a good emotional riveting story. It's not a horror classic, but it's worth watching as 'light horror' for genre fans and scaredy cats alike.
                                      Rating-
                                            7.5/10

Maniac (2012)

Admittedly, I have never seen the 1980 original of "Maniac," and just recently became interested in the remake,  which, for all it's guts and gore, turns out to be a pretty decent psychological slasher movie. Physically Elijah Wood isn't a great stand-in for the apparently imposing, plain Joe Spinell but he still manages to turn in a good (if slightly over-acted) performance as the lead psycho. Frodo ain't here Mrs. Torrance.

   Frank Zito is a disturbed, slightly stereotypical nutjob (hmm, a sexually repressed loner with mommy issues... just dress him up in a wig and a dress and call him Norman) whose Mama liked to whore around in front of her impressionable son. This has left him with some issues with members of the fairer sex, and Frank acts out by killing and scalping attractive women. Did I mention Frank owns a mannequin shop? Creepy stuff for sure. At least Frank finds a way that all those scalps aren't wasted.

   Then the unthinkable happens. Pale creeper Frank finds a girl, Anna (Nora Arnezeder) who makes him rethink his creeper life. She's smart, pretty, and she, y'know, GETS him- an attribute that's in short supply if you're a psycho killer with a fetish for scalps. She even seems to like his mannequins even more than she likes him, and this makes Frank's heart flutter with something unexpected- love, caring, a yearning for a different way of life.

   Anna muses that the mannequins are beautifully unique and seem to have distinct personalities (no, she's not crazy.) Her soft, gentle manner draws out tentative Frank- but how long can Frank keep up his facade? And it soon becomes obvious that Frank's mask of sanity is about to slip (to borrow a all-too-overt reference to "American Psycho.") Will Anna be repulsed when she finds out Frank's true self?

   The movie adopts the disturbing stylistic approach of forcing us to watch the crimes from Frank's POV. Not only does that bring up all kinds of moral and ethical questions (is our fascination with violence and serial killers cathartic, or rather voyeuristic and exploitative?), it occasionally makes the killings uncomfortably sexualized, marked by Frank's repressed libido and misogynistic rage.

   I understand what the filmmaker is trying to do, but it is disturbing to watch a woman's breasts while she is strangled. Then again, doesn't the fact that the strangling doesn't bother me speak volumes on Americans over-familiarity with violence and carnage? Maybe that's what this movie is trying to say.

   Frank spends a lot of time looking in mirrors, which may portray his fracturing personality (he often argues and pleads with his 'darker half,' which takes over when she gets the urge to kill) or it might just be there to remind us "yep, it's Elijah Wood playing the killer, not just a camera being toted around by the crew."

   On the surface, this film is fast-paced and exciting. The psychology behind the character of Frank is a little sketchy (somewhere between Norman Bates' exclamation of "a boy's best friend is his mother" and Philip Larkin's poem that begins "They fuck you up your mum and dad...") but the movie is mostly solid.

   I actually think "Tony" by Gerard Johnson, a highly underregarded film and hell of an independent production, knocks this film on it's ass. But "Maniac" is still a solidly acted way to pass the time. Take a date- but make sure they're not TOO into it, or we might have of a"Maniac" on your hands. Think about it. Good afternoon, everyone, and enjoy the feature.
                                          Rating-
                                            6.5/10

American Mary (2012)

Moral depravity, sexual deviation, and extreme body modification are  all on gut-churning display here in "American Mary," a surprisingly polished indie horror film with a impressive performance by Katherine Isabelle.

   As someone who found "The Human Centipede II (Full Sequence)" too strident, I can say I found that "American Mary" had a well-needed (and unnerving) realism that adds a kick to the violent scenes, of which there are many. Oh, boy, you have no idea.

   Mary Mason (Isabelle) is a seemingly normal, attractive aspiring surgeon who is introduced to the world of Extreme Body Modifications. Want laces sewn through your back? 'Need' horns applied to  your head for a more demonic look? Mary is on the job.

Paperhouse (1988)

When I was a little girl, my younger brother and I were convinced if we strapped enough household wires to each other and fell asleep in the same bed, we could meet each other in our dreams. Of course, my mom told us it was impossible, but that didn't stop us from trying. Children with my wild imagination and faith in the impossible would love the concept of "Paperhouse."

   Of course, "Paperhouse" has a very adult angle that makes it, ultimately, best for grown-ups. 11-year-old Anna (Charlotte Burke,) who is at that age where kids mouth off to their elders and will pick a fight over absolutely anything, faints in school on her birthday and is discovered to have a raging fever.

   Bizarrely, when Anna faints, she discovers that when she's unconscious or asleep, she enters a world entirely unlike her own- to be precise, to a remote house she has drawn before her dizzy spells began. In the house she meets a boy, physically handicapped Marc (Elliot Speirs, who died at a tragically young age,) who bears startling similarities to a boy with muscular dystrophy who Anna's doctor (Gemma Jones) is seeing, and who Anna has never met outside to dream world.

The Blackwater Gospel (2011)

Although this is a pretty obvious short on the evils of religion, the animation here is breathtaking, the visuals frightening, and the script, for the most part, is pretty damn good too.

   The angel of death, 'the undertaker,' is picking off the frightened residents of a small town, while the town's evil priest leads them on a witch hunt, leading to one man- the faithless, guitar-plucking hobo, who refuses to comply with the priest's reign of terror.

   The corpse-like characters are truly grotesque and frightening, scarier than anything Burton could come up with. The bloody conclusion isn't stylized or humorous either- it's unflinching brutality is unnerving. There's also some pitch-black humor concerning religious hypocrisy, but it does little to relieve the unrelenting tone.

Tony (2009)

"Tony" is the rare exception where the term 'indie horror' means smarter rather than just cheaper. On one level, it's a pretty simple premise (man commits crimes, man goes unnoticed until...), but on another, it a phenomenal character study of a man to whom desperation is a constant companion, to whose hobbies others would find sickness and perversion. All that and a highly effective performance by unnoticed actor Peter Ferdinando, as the titular killer.

   Tony is a lonely fellow who idles away his days watching low-grade 80's action films. We see him desperately trying to make a connection with the uncaring world around him, but socialization is hard, especially if your second hobby is, well... killing people.

The Phantom of the Opera (1925)

The second of many film adaptations of Gaston Leroux's novel (the first being a 'lost' and mostly forgotten film, "The Phantom of the Opera" is mostly famous for Lon Chaney's very physical performance as the titular phantom, a hideously deformed man who lurks the halls of the Paris Opera House, circa 19th Century.

   The Phantom (or Erik, as he'd rather be called, though no one ever does) is obsessed with one singular goal, winning the love of the beautiful Christine Daae (Mary Philbin), an opera singer who he idolizes. Willing to do anything to make her a star and earn her affections, Erik pulls strings to make her a leading lady, but his obsession comes with deadly consequences.

The Cat and the Canary (1927)

Although "The Cat and the Canary" isn't sure what it wants to be- a slapstick comedy, a whodunit, or a straight horror movie- intriguing characters and excellent performances from the cast keep this one fresh and charming.

   Half-mad millionare Cyrus West dies in his creepy mansion, leaving the name of his benefactor in his safe. Like flies to a freshly bloated carcass, his family gathers at the mansion, waiting to snatch up his sizable fortune.

   There is a potentially deadly catch... the person who wins the money must spend the night in West's reportedly haunted mansion, and pass a sanity test short thereafter. The dubious 'winner' turns out to be Cyrus' niece, Annabelle West (Laura La Plante).

Ju-On: The Grudge (2002)

Unbeknownst to me, "Ju-On: The Grudge" the the third in a series, and it is always a tricky thing to watch a sequel out of order. Fortunately, the film works well as an individual, and I understand that each film is different thematically.

   Although not particularly smart or logic-heavy horror, 2004's "Ju-On: The Grudge" contains a couple of good scares and ends up being a fairly decent way to spend 90 minutes. The curse of modern horror (and our jaded era) is that some of the scenes are more funny then scary, but if you get a laugh and a shock for your movie ticket, that's not so bad, now is it?

   The film is split into six segments that are linked thematically, starting with that of Rika (Megumi Okina,) a humble, compassionate social worker. In a film that offers very little character development wise, Rika is the most believable character.

Nosferatu (1922)

My favorite vampire movie of all time is "Let the Right One In." There are just so many layers of meaning in the film to find and enjoy. Although "Nosferatu" won't be stealing first place any time soon, it's still a decent and memorable piece of German Expressionist horror.

   Radical for the time it was made, this silent era film pursues it's antagonist, Orlok (Max Schreck) like a waking nightmare. It's righteous hero, Hutter (Gustav von Wangenheim,) who reminded me of "Brain-Dead"'s Lionel, only gayer, seemingly has no chance against the supernatural forces that surround him.

   Hutter is sent by his boss, Knock (Alexander Granach,) a rather repulsive old man, to go to bloodsucker Count Orlok's castle and have him sign a lease. Orlok, it seems, is looking to move in RIGHT NEXT DOOR TO HUTTER (a vampire in a residential area- isn't that lovely,) and Hutter, as an agent of Real Estate, is the man for the job.

The Broken (2008)

British filmmaker Sean Ellis' 2008 horror film, "The Broken," is a seriously underrated, twisted little puzzle-box of a movie that refuses to let you go and will inspire discussion after the credits have rolled.

   Sure, it rips concepts from other horror films (parallels to "The Shining" run throughout) and doesn't contain as many scares as it should, but "The Broken" is so much better than other films of it's kind and deserves more attention than it gets.

   Radiologist Gina McVey  ("Game Of Thrones"'s Queen Bi**h and resident brother-f**ker, Lena Headey) drives home from work one day to see her double drive past her. Horrified and intrigued (and not clever enough to leave freaky s**t like this alone,)  Gina follows the woman, only to lose her.

They Live (1988)

"They Live" is cheddar cheese, Swiss cheese, Brie Cheese, topped by a great terrible performance by pro wrestler "Rowdy" Roddy Piper as the unnamed shotgun-toting   protagonist. "I'm here to chew bubblegum and kick ass. And I'm all out of bubblegum." Yes you are, Rowdy, and never has such a line, so daringly uttered, struck such fear into the hearts into cadaver-faced extra-terrestrials as this.

   Rowdy plays a wandering laborer, who finds himself living in a little shanty-town in LA. When police storm the place, Roddy finds a box of sunglasses. One look through a pair of these sunglasses, and Roddy can see that everything's a lie... aliens have taken over the world right under our noses and are systematically brainwashing us with subliminal messages such as 'Obey,' Watch TV,' and my personal favorite, 'Marry and Reproduce.' And Rowdy Roddy's problems are just beginning.