Paranormal Activity (2007)(Minor Spoilers Review)

 

**This post contains MINOR spoilers**

The Story- In 2006, Katie (Katie Featherston), and her boyfriend, Micah (Micah Sloat) experience strange paranormal occurrences in their home. Katie turns to a psychic named Dr. Fredrichs (Mark Fredrichs) for help. 

Fredrichs gives the couple a stern warning about the malevolent entity lurking in their home. Katie panics, while Micah uses a series of unusual methods to uncover the truth. Katie is forced to relive dark moments from her childhood, as the entity becomes more aggressive, while Fredichs considers his limited options to solve the problem. Will Katie and Micah figure out a solution before it’s too late?

My Thoughts- We’ll just leave the house, run away, and everything will be okay! Wait, leaving the house won’t work? I’m glad they established leaving the house is not on the table for solutions early on in the movie through Dr. Fredrichs explanation about demons, and the differences between hauntings and possessions. Katie and Micah can’t run or hide. Moving to a different house or a different state won’t magically make the entity disappear. No, the entity is specifically attached to Katie. That’s truly frightening, because when you look at the big picture, Katie and Micah really don’t have a safety net.

Micah is kind of a goofball. His heart is in the right place, and he’s a good guy, but there’s no denying he makes a handful of the usual stupid horror movie mistakes here. Micah Constantly antagonizes the entity. Dr. Fredrichs and Katie explicitly warned him to avoid any attempts to contact, or basically extend an invitation to the entity. So what does Micah do? He brings an Ouija board into the house.

Is there a legitimate reason to record any of this? That’s always the big question for found-footage films. Micah is happy and obsessed with his new camera, but is that really a good enough reason to record everything? It gets to the point, where it’s basically a running joke, with Katie scolding Micah for recording. Although, considering Katie and Micah’s unusual dilemma, you could say recording is necessary for proof, while documenting a series of strange events. 

I’ve always believed the original Paranormal Activity would’ve benefited from a mockumentary found-footage format that’s similar to Lake Mungo or The Poughkeepsie Tapes. Paranormal Activity has too many dull stretches, and the scares are inconsistent. Breaking up the monotony of entity attacks, or does something to toy with Katie and Micah, Katie and Micah argue, something strange happens, rinse and repeat, with interviews from experts, the police, or family and friends would’ve fit perfectly with the “real footage” shown here. 

A good amount of unanswered questions after this one. Who is the entity? What happened during Katie’s childhood? Who tried to burn a picture of Katie as a child? What role does Katie’s sister, Kristi play in all of this? It’s easy to see why this one opened the door for so many sequels, because there’s still a lot of material to work with to build a franchise. 

Paranormal Activity takes a serious and dedicated approach to realism. No opening credits, just a message thanking the San Diego police department and Micah and Katie’s families. Micah and Katie use their real names. As far as the overall presentation goes, Paranormal Activity doesn’t look too polished. You really get the feeling you’re watching actual footage of two people suffering through a bizarre and dangerous situation. And all of the bedroom footage is catalogued with dates and different numbers, showing the downward spiral for the entity’s attacks night after night. 

The nighttime bedroom scenes are genuinely eerie and spooky. The amateurish camerawork adds another layer of realism to the movie. Micah is not a professional cameraman. You can constantly see how he’s trying to get the hang of things, when he’s recording around the house, and I’m glad they didn’t feel the need to rely on excessive shaky cam stuff. 

Paranormal Activity 2007 is an effective found-footage horror film. Micah Sloat plays his role well. Katie Featherston delivers a solid performance, and she is truly a SCREAM queen. The scene, where Katie is laying in bed, when she tells Micah she wants to stay in the house is so good. As soon as you see that relaxed facial expression and that calm smile on her face, you just know something bad is about to happen. 

Sloat and Featherston basically carried the movie by themselves. Dr. Fredrichs and Katie’s friend, Amber (Amber Armstrong) are the only other two people, who make appearances throughout the movie, and when you compare things to Micah and Katie, their screen time is very limited.

Paranormal Activity features a handful of creepy moments and scenes. The Ouija board catching fire, the entity dragging Katie out of the bed, and the entity breathing on Katie’s neck are some of my top picks. It’s also impressive how Oren Peli managed to create a cohesive film that’s contained to one setting. You’ll only see one shot outside shot of Micah’s neighborhood, and the scene with Katie on the back porch. But the vast majority of the movie takes place inside Micah’s house.

When you strip Paranormal Activity down to its core, it’s a movie about an evil force destroying a hopeful couple’s lives, a story that doesn’t have a happy ending. Looking back, it’s wild to think about how a low budget found-footage film laid the first brick for one of the more notable horror franchises. Love it or hate it, Paranormal Activity 2007 is definitely one to remember. 

Rating - 7/10 

Paranormal Activity (2007)(Spoiler Review)

 

**This post contains spoilers, including thoughts on all three endings**

The Story- In 2006, Katie (Katie Featherston), and her boyfriend, Micah (Micah Sloat) experience strange paranormal occurrences in their home. Katie turns to a psychic named Dr. Fredrichs (Mark Fredrichs) for help. 

Fredrichs gives the couple a stern warning about the malevolent entity lurking in their home. Katie panics, while Micah uses a series of unusual methods to uncover the truth. Katie is forced to relive dark moments from her childhood, as the entity becomes more aggressive, while Fredichs considers his limited options to solve the problem. Will Katie and Micah figure out a solution before it’s too late?

My Thoughts- We’ll just leave the house, run away, and everything will be okay! Wait, leaving the house won’t work? I’m glad they established leaving the house is not on the table for solutions early on in the movie through Dr. Fredrichs explanation about demons, and the differences between hauntings and possessions. Katie and Micah can’t run or hide. Moving to a different house or a different state won’t magically make the entity disappear. No, the entity is specifically attached to Katie. That’s truly frightening, because when you look at the big picture, Katie and Micah really don’t have a safety net.

Micah is kind of a goofball. His heart is in the right place, and he’s a good guy, but there’s no denying he makes a handful of the usual stupid horror movie mistakes here. Micah Constantly antagonizes the entity. Dr. Fredrichs and Katie explicitly warned him to avoid any attempts to contact, or basically extend an invitation to the entity. So what does Micah do? He brings an Ouija board into the house.

Is there a legitimate reason to record any of this? That’s always the big question for found-footage films. Micah is happy and obsessed with his new camera, but is that really a good enough reason to record everything? It gets to the point, where it’s basically a running joke, with Katie scolding Micah for recording. Although, considering Katie and Micah’s unusual dilemma, you could say recording is necessary for proof, while documenting a series of strange events. 

The alternate ending? It’s a dud. Katie kills Micah, followed by Katie (now clearly possessed) slitting her throat, killing herself in front of the camera and that’s it? For me, it’s an ending that just doesn’t hit hard enough, after all the teasing and calculated attacks from the entity.

The 2007 Screamfest Film Festival ending concludes, with Katie being shot to death by police, and the movie is dedicated to Micah and Katie, featuring a happy picture of them together. Amber (Amber Armstrong), Katie’s friend, plays a part in this ending, because she’s the one, who discovered Micah’s body downstairs. 

The Screamfest ending (or the original ending) is decent enough. A clearly traumatized Katie rocking back and forth, and sitting at the side the bed was a nice touch. It’s also a more somber ending. You can tell Katie wasn’t fully possessed yet in this ending. She sounded like her normal self, when the police arrived, and she was clearly devastated about killing Micah. Check it out below!

The theatrical ending is easily the best ending. Katie’s horrifying screams (something that happens in all three endings) from downstairs, the sight of Micah’s corpse flying at the camera, and a fully possessed Katie lunging at the screen. It all happens so fast. There’s barely any time to process the final shocking moments. Everything blends together perfectly, including a zombified Katie with her blood stained shirt, and Katie hovering over Micah’s body like a feral animal. 

I’ve always believed the original Paranormal Activity would’ve benefited from a mockumentary found-footage format that’s similar to Lake Mungo or The Poughkeepsie Tapes. Paranormal Activity has too many dull stretches, and the scares are inconsistent. Breaking up the monotony of entity attacks, or does something to toy with Katie and Micah, Katie and Micah argue, something strange happens, rinse and repeat, with interviews from experts, the police, or family and friends would’ve fit perfectly with the “real footage” shown here. 

A good amount of unanswered questions after this one. Who is the entity? What happened during Katie’s childhood? Who tried to burn a picture of Katie as a child? What role does Katie’s sister, Kristi play in all of this? It’s easy to see why this one opened the door for so many sequels, because there’s still a lot of material to work with to build a franchise. 

Paranormal Activity takes a serious and dedicated approach to realism. No opening credits, just a message thanking the San Diego police department and Micah and Katie’s families. Micah and Katie use their real names. As far as the overall presentation goes, Paranormal Activity doesn’t look too polished. You really get the feeling you’re watching actual footage of two people suffering through a bizarre and dangerous situation. And all of the bedroom footage is catalogued with dates and different numbers, showing the downward spiral for the entity’s attacks night after night. 

The nighttime bedroom scenes are genuinely eerie and spooky. The amateurish camerawork adds another layer of realism to the movie. Micah is not a professional cameraman. You can constantly see how he’s trying to get the hang of things, when he’s recording around the house, and I’m glad they didn’t feel the need to rely on excessive shaky cam stuff. 

Paranormal Activity 2007 is an effective found-footage horror film. Micah Sloat plays his role well. Katie Featherston delivers a solid performance, and she is truly a SCREAM queen. The scene, where Katie is laying in bed, when she tells Micah she wants to stay in the house is so good. As soon as you see that relaxed facial expression and that calm smile on her face, you just know something bad is about to happen. 

Sloat and Featherston basically carried the movie by themselves. Dr. Fredrichs and Katie’s friend, Amber (Amber Armstrong) are the only other two people, who make appearances throughout the movie, and when you compare things to Micah and Katie, their screen time is very limited.

Paranormal Activity features a handful of creepy moments and scenes. The Ouija board catching fire, the entity dragging Katie out of the bed, and the entity breathing on Katie’s neck are some of my top picks. It’s also impressive how Oren Peli managed to create a cohesive film that’s contained to one setting. You’ll only see one shot outside shot of Micah’s neighborhood, and the scene with Katie on the back porch. But the vast majority of the movie takes place inside Micah’s house.

When you strip Paranormal Activity down to its core, it’s a movie about an evil force destroying a hopeful couple’s lives, a story that doesn’t have a happy ending. Looking back, it’s wild to think about how a low budget found-footage film laid the first brick for one of the more notable horror franchises. Love it or hate it, Paranormal Activity 2007 is definitely one to remember. 

Rating- 7/10

Character Spotlight- Beth- Lauren German- Hostel Part II (2007)

**This post contains spoilers**

Three unsuspecting friends unknowingly wander into a death trap in a small Slovakian village? Any of this sound familiar? Oli (Eypor Guojonsson), Paxton (Jay Hernandez), and Josh (Derek Richardson) stumbled into an underworld of gruesome torture, brutality, and death in Hostel (2005). What happens in Hostel Part II? A nude model named Axelle (Vera Jordanova) lures Beth (Lauren German), her friend, Whitney (Bijou Phillips), and the nerdy clinger, Lorna (Heather Matarazzo) to Elite Hunting Club's special death trap hostel.

Beth's bank account allows her to buy "anything," but money doesn't impress Sasha (Milan Knazko), the leader of Elite Hunting. Axelle is Beth's number one target for revenge, but Beth runs into a series of bigger problems in a dank torture room at Elite Hunting's main facility.

Two new members named Todd (Richard Burgi) and Stuart (Roger Bart) purchase the rights to Whitney and Beth's deaths. Todd? He's looking forward to torturing and murdering Whitney, because Todd wants a diabolical and cold-hearted killer instinct. Stuart is having second thoughts about his non-negotiable deal with Elite Hunting, but an act of kindness from Beth triggers Stuart's dark side....

Beth is the leader of the trio, and she's the voice of reason, but there's a silent rage underneath Beth's seemingly calm exterior. Don't back her into a corner, because she'll retaliate with a pair of scissors (or an axe). Also, don't use the C word ("c***") around Beth, because you're pushing a big red button.

If you need a comparison, just think about Marty from Back To The Future. Marty would lose his cool, whenever someone called him a "chicken" or "yellow" (Buford "Mad Dog" Tannen in Back To The Future III). The big difference is, Marty's temper tantrums were limited to tense staredowns. On the flip side, Beth retaliates with decapitation and murder.

If we're comparing sole survivors, Beth is a wiser and more vigilant protagonist, when you compare and contrast similarities and differences with Jay Hernandez's  Paxton from the original. First, Paxton was an enabler. Remember, Paxton pushed Josh to loosen up and have a good time, when Josh was clearly uncomfortable, and for Paxton, hormones triumphed over logic nine times out of ten. Yeah, he realized something was fishy, but Paxton crossed a "too little, too late" line for unraveling the secrets behind Elite Hunting's intricate underworld.

Although, Beth isn't innocent, because she made a few crucial mistakes. For starters, she ignored the local's warnings (remember the guy, who tried to warn her at the local festival?), and she foolishly trusted Axelle to do the right thing after the confrontation with the Bubblegum Gang in the woods.

The big difference between the two? Beth took her role as the mature friend in the group seriously, and she tried to protect Lorna and Whitney. Beth never sacrificed Lorna and Whitney's safety and well being for the sake of having a good time or a wild night. Beth played the role of a babysitter for Lorna and Whitney, and two obvious examples include Beth protecting Whitney from a one night stand with that creepy guy, and her pleas fell on deaf ears, but Beth did everything she could do to protect Lorna from Roman (an Elite Hunting associate).

Beth is rich, but she's not a spoiled and whiny brat. Beth is a scrappy, fearless, and resourceful (i.e. the big pair of scissors) fighter, who refuses to quit, and it's a refreshing change for a character with a loaded bank account. During the final moments of the movie, Beth (with some help from the Bubblegum Gang) punishes Axelle for her betrayal with a beheading, and Beth removes Stuart's genitals after Stuart's bizarre transformation. Beth showed no mercy during her vindictive attacks, and both deaths are pretty nasty and gruesome. Over the years, I lost count for watching Hostel Part II over and over again (it's somewhere in the teens), and I can't make up my mind for answering this question: Who suffered a more brutal death? Axelle Or Stuart?  


If you're interested, you can follow this link to read my spoiler review for Hostel Part II-

http://mitchmacready.blogspot.com/2013/06/hostel-part-ii-2007.html

Also, you can follow this link to read my spoiler review for the original Hostel-

http://mitchmacready.blogspot.com/2013/06/hostel-2005.html

And here's a link for Hostel Part III (spoiler review)-

http://mitchmacready.blogspot.com/2013/06/hostel-part-iii-2011.html



   

The Condemned (2007)(Minor Spoilers Review)

**This review contains MINOR spoilers. No major character deaths, reveals, or twists.**

Jack Conrad (Stone Cold Steve Austin) has one shot at freedom, but he’ll have to compete in a fight or die reality game show to earn his ticket. As a former US Army soldier, Jack is stuck in a corrupt and brutal prison in El Salvador, and he’s awaiting his execution, but a last minute offer from the warden changes everything.

Jack agrees to participate in Ian Breckel’s (Robert Mammone) reality show on a remote island, so Breckel writes a big check for Jack’s release. On the island, Jack is forced to compete against other death row inmates from different countries. Jack fights Ewan McStarley (Vinnie Jones), Go Saiga (Masa Yamaguchi), Yasantwa Adei (Emelia Burns), Petr Raudsep (Nathan Jones), Lamont Bruggerman (Andy McPhee), Kreston Mackie (Marcus Johnson), Paco Pacheco (Manu Bennett), and his wife, Rosa (Dasi Ruz). Another death row inamte named Teach (Rai Fazio) fights the helicopter drop into the water, and he suffers an accidental death after a hard landing.

The contestants receive food, water, and weapons during scattered supply drops, but time is running out. Each contestant is wearing the mandatory ankle bracelet bomb. In thirty hours, the bomb will explode, and if a contestant tries to tamper with the bomb, they’ll trigger an explosion. The contestants are furious, but Breckel offers two choices for salvation: Option one, said contestant can choose to pull the red card on the bomb to trigger an explosion, or you can avoid suicide with a win.

Breckel receives support from a team that includes his girlfriend, Julie (Tory Mussett), Goldy (Rick Hoffman), Bella (Sam Healy), Eddie (Christopher Baker), and Baxter (Luke Pegler). Cameras are rolling 24/7, millions from around the world pay $49.99 to watch Breckel’s game, and Breckel is trying to shatter records for page views, so he can brag about beating ratings for the most recent Super Bowl.

McStarley emerges as the early favorite to win it all, but Jack has plans to throw a monkey wrench into Breckel’s sadistic game, when he reaches out to his ex-girlfriend, Sarah Cavanaugh (Madeleine West) for help. A reporter named Donna Sereno (Angie Milliken) scolds Breckel during an interview, and the FBI tracks Breckel’s game with some helpful tips from Sarah. Does Jack have a chance as a one man wrecking crew? Or will he run out of time and allies, when the bomb explodes?

Steve Austin is a suitable fit for Jack. Jack is limited to snappy one-liners, and a barrage of fight scenes, so you don’t have to worry about any problems with Austin stepping out of his comfort zone. On top of that, Jack is a scrappy guy with a good heart, and he’s trying to do the right thing, so you want to root for him.

Vinnie Jones fills his usual role for the snarling tough guy, and Jones is a nice fit for the sleazy and despicable adversary. Robert Mammone is a believable scumbag, and Rick Hoffman provides most of the comic relief here. Can’t say too much about the other death row inmates. For the most part, they’re scoundrels and savages, who will do anything to survive, but Paco, Rosa, and Mackie emerge as likeable characters as the story progresses.

My biggest problem with The Condemned? Mixed signals. The Condemned wants to be this mindless fun, guilty pleasure action film, but the need to deliver messages of morality muddles the tone for this one. Donna scolds Breckel for making a “snuff film” during an interview at the beginning, and towards the end, Donna proudly stands on her soap box to express her disappointment and disgust with the paying customers for Breckel’s show during a long-winded soliloquy. And I can’t forget about Julie’s teary-eyed pleas to Breckel, and Goldy’s moral dilemma.

Think about it like this. You’re sitting down at a fast food restaurant, and you’re about to devour a double cheeseburger with a large fry, a large soda, and a large chocolate milkshake. Out of nowhere, an employee walks up to you before you take your first bite. He or she puts a list on the table. This list contains the nutrition facts for everything in front of you.

After you look at the list, are you thinking about enjoying your food, or pigging out with no shame? No. Now you’re thinking about extra calories and pounds you don’t need, high blood pressure, and clogged arteries. That’s the biggest problem here: Occasionally, The Condemned ruins the fun with preachy morality gibberish. Also, the teased rape scene at the beginning, and the implied rape scene with Rosa and McStarley don’t help the problem. They don’t show everything in the Rosa scene, but you know what’s going on.

The Condemned had a shot at cult classic gold, but I’m going with a bare minimum passing score for this one. Yeah, the preachy stuff is annoying at times, and certain scenes of depravity feel random and unnecessary. But The Condemned delivers enough hard hitting fight scenes and sporadic bursts of adrenaline filled action sequences to hold your attention for one hour and fifty-three minutes. Plus, the cheesy one-liners are good for a few cheap laughs. In the end, I’m just glad we don’t have to worry about The Condemned 2 or 3 for more useless and forgettable straight-to-video releases.

Rating: 5/10

Michael Jordan had another run with the Wizards after winning six championships. Brett Favre was one step away from earning a second ring with the Vikings.

As the world's definitive multi-talented superstar athlete, Trisha Bunrastar is taking an unexpected and shocking leap into a new career path. Assuming the identity of Freechelle Fantabulous, Trisha vows to fight crime and battle evildoers as a superheroine. Will she conquer her new mission? Find out more here! http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EFLI6VK

Or take a trip into my special world of madness that includes comedy, horror, and the supernatural in this collection of short stories- http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EFMYZ0U

Remember Amazon offers free Kindle App downloads for various platforms. Follow this link to find out more- http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?ie=UTF8&docId=1000493771

And don't forget to follow me on Twitter here- https://twitter.com/LQuigleyFan1

The Condemned (2007)(Spoiler Review)

**This review contains spoilers**

Jack Conrad (Stone Cold Steve Austin) has one shot at freedom, but he’ll have to compete in a fight or die reality game show to earn his ticket. As a former US Army soldier, Jack is stuck in a corrupt and brutal prison in El Salvador, and he’s awaiting his execution, but a last minute offer from the warden changes everything.

Jack agrees to participate in Ian Breckel’s (Robert Mammone) reality show on a remote island, so Breckel writes a big check for Jack’s release. On the island, Jack is forced to compete against other death row inmates from different countries. Jack fights Ewan McStarley (Vinnie Jones), Go Saiga (Masa Yamaguchi), Yasantwa Adei (Emelia Burns), Petr Raudsep (Nathan Jones), Lamont Bruggerman (Andy McPhee), Kreston Mackie (Marcus Johnson), Paco Pacheco (Manu Bennett), and his wife, Rosa (Dasi Ruz). Another death row inamte named Teach (Rai Fazio) fights the helicopter drop into the water, and he suffers an accidental death after a hard landing.

The contestants receive food, water, and weapons during scattered supply drops, but time is running out. Each contestant is wearing the mandatory ankle bracelet bomb. In thirty hours, the bomb will explode, and if a contestant tries to tamper with the bomb, they’ll trigger an explosion. The contestants are furious, but Breckel offers two choices for salvation: Option one, said contestant can choose to pull the red card on the bomb to trigger an explosion, or you can avoid suicide with a win.

Breckel receives support from a team that includes his girlfriend, Julie (Tory Mussett), Goldy (Rick Hoffman), Bella (Sam Healy), Eddie (Christopher Baker), and Baxter (Luke Pegler). Cameras are rolling 24/7, millions from around the world pay $49.99 to watch Breckel’s game, and Breckel is trying to shatter records for page views, so he can brag about beating ratings for the most recent Super Bowl.

McStarley emerges as the early favorite to win it all, but Jack has plans to throw a monkey wrench into Breckel’s sadistic game, when he reaches out to his ex-girlfriend, Sarah Cavanaugh (Madeleine West) for help. A reporter named Donna Sereno (Angie Milliken) scolds Breckel during an interview, and the FBI tracks Breckel’s game with some helpful tips from Sarah. Does Jack have a chance as a one man wrecking crew? Or will he run out of time and allies, when the bomb explodes?

Steve Austin is a suitable fit for Jack. Jack is limited to snappy one-liners, and a barrage of fight scenes, so you don’t have to worry about any problems with Austin stepping out of his comfort zone. On top of that, Jack is a scrappy guy with a good heart, and he’s trying to do the right thing, so you want to root for him.

Vinnie Jones fills his usual role for the snarling tough guy, and Jones is a nice fit for the sleazy and despicable adversary. Robert Mammone is a believable scumbag, and Rick Hoffman provides most of the comic relief here. Can’t say too much about the other death row inmates. For the most part, they’re scoundrels and savages, who will do anything to survive, but Paco, Rosa, and Mackie emerge as likeable characters as the story progresses.

After the inevitable one on one showdown with McStarley, Conrad is presumed dead after he lost a battle with McStarley’s shotgun. McStarley is the only man standing after twenty plus hours of blood shed, so McStarley is declared the winner, and Breckel orders McStarley’s release. Here, it’s revealed Breckel and McStarley agreed to a secret deal. Breckel manipulated (i.e. the weapon and supply drops) the game so McStarley could be the clear cut favorite to win. In return, McStarley promised Breckel a grand show, because he’s the “real deal.”

Breckel grants McStarley his freedom, but there’s one catch: Breckel refuses to pay McStarley his cash prize. Breckel double crossed McStarley, so McStarley snaps. He grabs a machine gun, and McStarley murders the remaining members on Breckel’s tech team at the control center on the island. But Jack returns to save the day at the last second. McStarley is about to kill Julie, but Jack murders McStarley with a series of shots to his torso.

Breckel leaves Julie behind, and he’s trying to escape on a helicopter, because he’s trying to outrun an approaching group of Navy SEALS. A vindictive Julie uses a key to release Jack’s ankle bomb, and Jack uses the bomb to kill Breckel and the unlucky pilot in a fiery explosion. To end the movie, Jack (as a free man) reunites with Sarah and her two children. To add an extra tidbit, Jack’s real name is Jack Riley. Jack Conrad was an alias for the mission in El Salvador, but Jack was captured by Salvadorian soldiers.

McStarley and Conard as the final two in a fight to the death is predictable, because you can see the showdown coming from a mile away. Still, Breckel and McStarley receive their deserved gruesome deaths, and you get to see the feel good moment of Jack’s reunion with Sarah, and there’s nothing wrong with that.

My biggest problem with The Condemned? Mixed signals. The Condemned wants to be this mindless fun, guilty pleasure action film, but the need to deliver messages of morality muddles the tone for this one. Donna scolds Breckel for making a “snuff film” during an interview at the beginning, and towards the end, Donna proudly stands on her soap box to express her disappointment and disgust with the paying customers for Breckel’s show during a long-winded soliloquy. And I can’t forget about Julie’s teary-eyed pleas to Breckel, and Goldy’s moral dilemma.

Think about it like this. You’re sitting down at a fast food restaurant, and you’re about to devour a double cheeseburger with a large fry, a large soda, and a large chocolate milkshake. Out of nowhere, an employee walks up to you before you take your first bite. He or she puts a list on the table. This list contains the nutrition facts for everything in front of you.

After you look at the list, are you thinking about enjoying your food, or pigging out with no shame? No. Now you’re thinking about extra calories and pounds you don’t need, high blood pressure, and clogged arteries. That’s the biggest problem here: Occasionally, The Condemned ruins the fun with preachy morality gibberish. Also, the teased rape scene at the beginning, and the implied rape scene with Rosa and McStarley don’t help the problem. They don’t show everything in the Rosa scene, but you know what’s going on.

The Condemned had a shot at cult classic gold, but I’m going with a bare minimum passing score for this one. Yeah, the preachy stuff is annoying at times, and certain scenes of depravity feel random and unnecessary. But The Condemned delivers enough hard hitting fight scenes and sporadic bursts of adrenaline filled action sequences to hold your attention for one hour and fifty-three minutes. Plus, the cheesy one-liners are good for a few cheap laughs. In the end, I’m just glad we don’t have to worry about The Condemned 2 or 3 for more useless and forgettable straight-to-video releases.

Rating: 5/10

Michael Jordan had another run with the Wizards after winning six championships. Brett Favre was one step away from earning a second ring with the Vikings.

As the world's definitive multi-talented superstar athlete, Trisha Bunrastar is taking an unexpected and shocking leap into a new career path. Assuming the identity of Freechelle Fantabulous, Trisha vows to fight crime and battle evildoers as a superheroine. Will she conquer her new mission? Find out more here! http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EFLI6VK

Or take a trip into my special world of madness that includes comedy, horror, and the supernatural in this collection of short stories- http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EFMYZ0U

Remember Amazon offers free Kindle App downloads for various platforms. Follow this link to find out more- http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?ie=UTF8&docId=1000493771

And don't forget to follow me on Twitter here- https://twitter.com/LQuigleyFan1

Character Spotlight- Sam- Trick 'r Treat (2007)

**This post contains spoilers**

Do you believe in Halloween? Take some time to think about your answer, because if you're leaning towards no, you'll have to deal with a visit from Sam. On Halloween night, Sam embarks on a mission to protect Halloween, and any non-believers will suffer the consequences.

Henry loves Halloween, but his wife Emma? That's a different story. Emma "hates" Halloween, and she's in a rush to remove all the decorations before her mother arrives for a visit. Sam attacks and he crucifies Emma as a scarecrow, and a devastated Henry is horrified at the sight of his wife's dismembered corpse.  

Mr. Kreeg? He's a miserable codger, who detests Halloween. Kreeg uses his dog and a mask to scare trick-or-treaters into dropping their bags of candy on his doorstep, because Kreeg wants all the candy for himself. But Sam steps in to teach Kreeg a lesson he'll never forget. Sam could've murdered Kreeg during a fight to the death, but Sam made a willing choice to spare Kreeg's life, and Sam walked away from Kreeg's house without looking back.

Sam is a pint-sized devil with a nasty mean streak, but he saves his wrath for evildoers and the non-believers on Halloween. When other supernatural forces take control and impose their will on Halloween, Sam will quietly sit back and enjoy the show. Remember the werewolf massacre during "Laurie's first" in the woods? Sam refused to step in and save Steven, because he deserved his punishment.

It might take some time, but Sam could be the next real horror icon. They pulled the plug on Jigsaw in Saw III, and we never got a chance to witness a REAL return for John Kramer. Saw 4-7 showed bits and pieces of John Kramer in flashbacks, and Saw 6 put more focus on Jigsaw with the health insurance dilemma, but that's it.

Think about it, horror needs a new icon and a fresh face. Sam is an ideal choice, as the menacing enforcer, who's determined to protect Halloween. On top of that, Trick 'r Treat has a strong cult following. Plus, a lot of Trick 'r Treat fans are foaming at the mouth for the planned sequel.

Although, it's hard to avoid a conundrum, when you start talking about horror sequels. On one hand, Sam needs more films to establish a real legacy, so we can compare, contrast, and rank Sam amongst other horror legends (Michael Myers, Freddy, Jason, etc.). You can't use two films as a legit measuring stick for a legacy, because you have to leave some room for praise AND criticisms.

The bad side? You're taking a BIG risk of devaluing the prestige of the original with too many sequels, because film series (especially horror) with too many sequels have a low success rate. Remember Halloween: Resurrection? Paranormal Activity 4? The underwhelming and unbearable Saw sequels? Sure, there's a chance we could see a Halloween 4, Halloween III: Season Of The Witch, or A Nightmare On Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors, but it's a rare occurrence nine times out of ten.

Film series don't improve with more sequels, and it's an undeniable truth that's impossible to ignore. IF we get a Trick 'r Treat III in the future, I'll keep my fingers crossed for the best (a lot of that depends on the sequel), because Sam needs to stack some more bricks on his foundation for a sturdy and valid legacy.

If you're interested, you can follow this link to read my spoiler review for Trick 'r Treat (2007)-

http://mitchmacready.blogspot.com/2013/10/trick-r-treat-2007spoiler-review.html

And here's the link for the minor spoilers review-

http://mitchmacready.blogspot.com/2013/10/trick-r-treat-2007spoilers-review.html

 

Balls Of Fury (2007)(Minor Spoilers Review)

**This review contains MINOR spoilers. No major reveals or big twists**

Randy Daytona (Brett DelBuono) is preparing for the biggest match in his life. At the young age of twelve, Randy is praised and celebrated as the best table tennis player in the world, and he’s the favorite to win it all during the finals of the 1988 Summer Olympics.

Randy must overcome two insurmountable obstacles to take home the gold. First, Randy must defeat Karl Wolfschtagg (Thomas Lennon), a fierce competitor from the German Democratic Republic. On top of that, Randy’s father, Sgt. Pete Daytona (Robert Patrick) of the United States Marine Corps bet money on Randy’s big match with the hopes of paying off his gambling debt.

In the end, Randy cracks under the pressure, losing the big match, and the mafia abducts his father. Sgt. Daytona’s owes money to Feng (Christopher Walken), a feared crime boss and enthusiastic ping-pong fan, and Sgt. Daytona can’t rely on his exhausted line of credit, so Feng’s associates murder him.

Nineteen years later, Randy (Dan Fogler) is haunted by the traumatic loss and his father’s death, so he takes a job at a casino in Reno, Nevada. As a sideshow act, Randy performs ping-pong tricks to pay the bills, but after a botched stunt, Randy’s boss, Rick The Birdmaster (David Koechner) fires him.

But Randy receives a second shot at redemption, when Ernie Rodriguez (George Lopez), an FBI agent, tempts Randy with an irresistible offer. With Rodriguez‘s help as an undercover agent, Randy must enter Feng’s annual ping-pong tournament, an exclusive best of the best tournament to crown the top ping-player in the world.

Together, Rodriguez and Randy will infiltrate Feng’s criminal organization, but Randy needs to polish his rusty skills first. In Chinatown, Randy trains with Master Wong (James Hong), a blind man, praised as one of the best ping pong trainers in the world, and he’s Feng’s old mentor, and Master Wong’s niece, Maggie (Maggie Q). Randy passes a big test after a win over The Dragon (La Na Shi), so one of Feng’s mysterious associates (Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa) offers Randy an invitation to the tournament, and Randy accepts.

Randy, Rodriguez, and Master Wong take the trip to Feng’s secret facility for the tournament. At the facility, Randy is forced to compete against an old rival, non-nonsense experts, and the losers receive a fatal shot from Mahogany’s (Aisha Tyler), one of Feng’s top assistants, poisonous darts. Randy tries to avenge his father’s murder, but Feng throws a tricky curveball at Randy during the finals…………

Christopher Walken delivers the best performance in Balls Of Fury. Walken is hilarious as the delusional and eccentric crime lord, who’s obsessed with ping-pong. Fang is a kooky adversary, the look helps (i.e. Feng’s painted fingernails), and Walken really nailed this character.

Dan Fogler’s funny enough, when he’s not forcing his routine with over the top hysterics. Maggie Q is decent with a parody performance of the tough woman, who excels in a man’s world. James Hong’s entire shtick revolves around Wong being this inept and accident-prone blind man, and Hong is good for a few laughs every now and then. George Lopez? I don’t see the appeal in him, and his cringeworthy Scarface impersonations couldn’t pull any laughs out of me.

Terry Crews and Patton Oswalt have a pair of brief cameo roles here. Crews sticks to his jacked up muscle guy act as Freddy “Fingers” Wilson, and there’s a funny scene, where Randy wishes Freddy good luck before their match in Feng’s tournament. Freddy’s response? “Blow it out your ass, b****.” Oswalt is a popular ping-pong player nicknamed “The Hammer.” Basically, The Hammer is this loser geek with a beer belly, and he licks the tiny prize trophy after his match with Randy. Meh. Oswalt licking the trophy almost forced a smile out of me, but that’s it. Thomas Lennon’s screen time is short, but he’s a nice fit for the wired jerk with a big ego. Also, don’t get your hopes up for Robert Patrick. You’ll only see him at the beginning, and his character disappears after that.

Am I the only one, who noticed the Mortal Kombat connection with Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa? For those of you, who don’t know, Tagawa portrayed Shang Tsung in Mortal Kombat (1995). In the movie, Shang Tsung recruited Johnny Cage for the tournament. In Balls Of Fury, he recruited Randy for the ping-pong tournament. It’s kind of weird how Tagawa delivers invitations for an exclusive best of the best tournament in Mortal Kombat and Balls Of Fury, AND in both films, he’s working for the bad guys. It’s an eerie coincidence, if you stop and take the time to connect the dots.

Balls Of Fury has its moments. Most of the laughs come from Walken as Feng, and Fogler is a tolerable leading man. I can’t think of any true gut busters in Balls Of Fury, but watching Randy face off against a small girl (The Dragon), who’s the most feared ping-pong player in Chinatown put a smile on my face. Plus, Mahogany’s recurring gag with the poisonous darts brought some snickers out of me, and the misfire during the Maggie/Randy match is just priceless.

Still, I can’t go with a positive score for Balls Of Fury. Yes, Balls Of Fury put a smile on my face a few times, but in the grand scheme of things, the laughs are too inconsistent. I didn’t have a problem with Mahogany’s poison dart killing sprees, but the barrage of lowbrow antics hit a too tiresome point for me at the forty-seven minute mark.

I said this before, but George Lopez was too much for me, because he’s unbearably annoying as Rodriguez. And the cheap laughs approach for constantly using the word “balls” didn’t work on me. Walken brings his A game in the leading role, and without him, Balls Of Fury could’ve been worse, because he‘s the anchor for Balls Of Fury. Without Walken, this one sinks to the bottom of the deep end, fast.

Rating: 3/10

Michael Jordan had another run with the Wizards after winning six championships. Brett Favre was one step away from earning a second ring with the Vikings.

As the world's definitive multi-talented superstar athlete, Trisha Bunrastar is taking an unexpected and shocking leap into a new career path. Assuming the identity of Freechelle Fantabulous, Trisha vows to fight crime and battle evildoers as a superheroine. Will she conquer her new mission? Find out more here! http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EFLI6VK

Or take a trip into my special world of madness that includes comedy, horror, and the supernatural in this collection of short stories- http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EFMYZ0U

Remember Amazon offers free Kindle App downloads for various platforms. Follow this link to find out more- http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?ie=UTF8&docId=1000493771

And don't forget to follow me on Twitter here- https://twitter.com/LQuigleyFan1

Balls Of Fury (2007)(Spoiler Review)

**This review contains spoilers**

Randy Daytona (Brett DelBuono) is preparing for the biggest match in his life. At the young age of twelve, Randy is praised and celebrated as the best table tennis player in the world, and he’s the favorite to win it all during the finals of the 1988 Summer Olympics.

Randy must overcome two insurmountable obstacles to take home the gold. First, Randy must defeat Karl Wolfschtagg (Thomas Lennon), a fierce competitor from the German Democratic Republic. On top of that, Randy’s father, Sgt. Pete Daytona (Robert Patrick) of the United States Marine Corps bet money on Randy’s big match with the hopes of paying off his gambling debt.

In the end, Randy cracks under the pressure, losing the big match, and the mafia abducts his father. Sgt. Daytona’s owes money to Feng (Christopher Walken), a feared crime boss and enthusiastic ping-pong fan, and Sgt. Daytona can’t rely on his exhausted line of credit, so Feng’s associates murder him.

Nineteen years later, Randy (Dan Fogler) is haunted by the traumatic loss and his father’s death, so he takes a job at a casino in Reno, Nevada. As a sideshow act, Randy performs ping-pong tricks to pay the bills, but after a botched stunt, Randy’s boss, Rick The Birdmaster (David Koechner) fires him.

But Randy receives a second shot at redemption, when Ernie Rodriguez (George Lopez), an FBI agent, tempts Randy with an irresistible offer. With Rodriguez‘s help as an undercover agent, Randy must enter Feng’s annual ping-pong tournament, an exclusive best of the best tournament to crown the top ping-player in the world.

Together, Rodriguez and Randy will infiltrate Feng’s criminal organization, but Randy needs to polish his rusty skills first. In Chinatown, Randy trains with Master Wong (James Hong), a blind man, praised as one of the best ping pong trainers in the world, and he’s Feng’s old mentor, and Master Wong’s niece, Maggie (Maggie Q). Randy passes a big test after a win over The Dragon (La Na Shi), so one of Feng’s mysterious associates (Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa) offers Randy an invitation to the tournament, and Randy accepts.

Randy, Rodriguez, and Master Wong take the trip to Feng’s secret facility for the tournament. At the facility, Randy is forced to compete against an old rival, non-nonsense experts, and the losers receive a fatal shot from Mahogany’s (Aisha Tyler), one of Feng’s top assistants, poisonous darts. Randy tries to avenge his father’s murder, but Feng throws a tricky curveball at Randy during the finals…………

Christopher Walken delivers the best performance in Balls Of Fury. Walken is hilarious as the delusional and eccentric crime lord, who’s obsessed with ping-pong. Fang is a kooky adversary, the look helps (i.e. Feng’s painted fingernails), and Walken really nailed this character.

Dan Fogler’s funny enough, when he’s not forcing his routine with over the top hysterics. Maggie Q is decent with a parody performance of the tough woman, who excels in a man’s world. James Hong’s entire shtick revolves around Wong being this inept and accident-prone blind man, and Hong is good for a few laughs every now and then. George Lopez? I don’t see the appeal in him, and his cringeworthy Scarface impersonations couldn’t pull any laughs out of me.

Terry Crews and Patton Oswalt have a pair of brief cameo roles here. Crews sticks to his jacked up muscle guy act as Freddy “Fingers” Wilson, and there’s a funny scene, where Randy wishes Freddy good luck before their match in Feng’s tournament. Freddy’s response? “Blow it out your ass, b****.” Oswalt is a popular ping-pong player nicknamed “The Hammer.” Basically, The Hammer is this loser geek with a beer belly, and he licks the tiny prize trophy after his match with Randy. Meh. Oswalt licking the trophy almost forced a smile out of me, but that’s it. Thomas Lennon’s screen time is short, but he’s a nice fit for the wired jerk with a big ego. Also, don’t get your hopes up for Robert Patrick. You’ll only see him at the beginning, and his character disappears after that.

Am I the only one, who noticed the Mortal Kombat connection with Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa? For those of you, who don’t know, Tagawa portrayed Shang Tsung in Mortal Kombat (1995). In the movie, Shang Tsung recruited Johnny Cage for the tournament. In Balls Of Fury, he recruited Randy for the ping-pong tournament. It’s kind of weird how Tagawa delivers invitations for an exclusive best of the best tournament in Mortal Kombat and Balls Of Fury, AND in both films, he’s working for the bad guys. It’s an eerie coincidence, if you stop and take the time to connect the dots.

Who’s the true ping-pong master? Well, Feng raises the stakes, when he orders Mahogany to kill Wolfschtagg during the final match. Wolfschtagg’s replacement? A kidnapped Maggie. Feng forces Maggie to compete against Randy in a match to the death, but Maggie refuses. The FBI invades Feng’s facility during a self-destruct sequence, and Feng is disgusted by Maggie’s refusal to compete against Randy, so Feng decides to challenge Randy in a ping-pong match to the death to determine Wong’s greatest pupil.

But there’s a catch to Feng’s match. Randy and Feng must wear Feng’s custom made electronic vests, and the loser is electrocuted to death at the end of the match. On a rickety bridge, a one-armed Randy (Rodriguez broke one of Randy’s arms, because Randy wanted an excuse to quit before the final match) defeats Feng with a backhand serve. Feng falls into the lake below with his vest intact, and he’s electrocuted to death. Randy celebrates in a departing boat with Maggie, and to end the movie, Wong reopens his ping-pong school to teach new students. Long story short, traditional ping-pong enthusiasts trashed Wong’s school, because teaching a “gringo” (Randy) is forbidden in Chinatown.

Did any of this surprise anyone? We all knew Randy would face off against Feng, and we all knew he would win with some miraculous Hail Mary comeback. Randy and Maggie falling in love and sharing a big kiss? Yep. That’s another moment you could see coming from a mile away. Is the finale for Balls Of Fury a horrific and unbearable train wreck? No, but it’s hard to ignore the mundane step by step through the motions predictability.

Balls Of Fury has its moments. Most of the laughs come from Walken as Feng, and Fogler is a tolerable leading man. I can’t think of any true gut busters in Balls Of Fury, but watching Randy face off against a small girl (The Dragon), who’s the most feared ping-pong player in Chinatown put a smile on my face. Plus, Mahogany’s recurring gag with the poisonous darts brought some snickers out of me, and the misfire during the Maggie/Randy match is just priceless.

Still, I can’t go with a positive score for Balls Of Fury. Yes, Balls Of Fury put a smile on my face a few times, but in the grand scheme of things, the laughs are too inconsistent. I didn’t have a problem with Mahogany’s poison dart killing sprees, but the barrage of lowbrow antics hit a too tiresome point for me at the forty-seven minute mark.

I said this before, but George Lopez was too much for me, because he’s unbearably annoying as Rodriguez. And the cheap laughs approach for constantly using the word “balls” didn’t work on me. Walken brings his A game in the leading role, and without him, Balls Of Fury could’ve been worse, because he‘s the anchor for Balls Of Fury. Without Walken, this one sinks to the bottom of the deep end, fast.

Rating: 3/10

Michael Jordan had another run with the Wizards after winning six championships. Brett Favre was one step away from earning a second ring with the Vikings.

As the world's definitive multi-talented superstar athlete, Trisha Bunrastar is taking an unexpected and shocking leap into a new career path. Assuming the identity of Freechelle Fantabulous, Trisha vows to fight crime and battle evildoers as a superheroine. Will she conquer her new mission? Find out more here! http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EFLI6VK

Or take a trip into my special world of madness that includes comedy, horror, and the supernatural in this collection of short stories- http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EFMYZ0U

Remember Amazon offers free Kindle App downloads for various platforms. Follow this link to find out more- http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?ie=UTF8&docId=1000493771

And don't forget to follow me on Twitter here- https://twitter.com/LQuigleyFan1

The Mist (2007)(Minor Spoilers Review)

**This review contains MINOR spoilers, no major twists, big reveals, or character deaths**

After the Drayton family survives a fierce and devastating thunderstorm, David (Thomas Jane) takes his young son, Billy (Nathan Gamble) to the local supermarket to buy supplies and food. David leaves his wife, Steff (Kelly Collins Lintz) at the house to sort through the mess, and David prepares himself for a tense confrontation with his rival next neighbor, Brent Norton (Andre Braugher), a pompous New York lawyer, who continues to hold a grudge against David for property damages. But David is willing to ignore any bitter feelings, and he allows Norton to tag along for the ride to the supermarket.

At the supermarket, a harmless day of shopping turns into a chaotic fight for survival, when a bloodied Dan Miller (Jeffery DeMunn) runs through the front doors. Dan warns everyone about a malicious threat within the oncoming thick cloud of mist. In the receiving area of the supermarket, David, Myron (David Jensen), Jim (William Sadler), and a bag boy named Norm (Chris Owen), investigate a problem with the supermarket’s generator. Here, the group discovers a deadly monster.

David urges everyone to remain calm with some support from local residents. Amanda (Laurie Holden), Dan, Irene (Frances Sternhagen), and the supermarket’s assistant manager, Ollie (Toby Jones) join David in his fight to maintain civility and peace, but panic complicates the situation, when different species of monsters from the mist threaten the survivors. As the self-proclaimed prophet,  Mrs. Carmody (Marcia Gay Harden)  uses her influence over those, who choose to follow her as a deadly weapon, so David and the others are forced to work on an exit strategy before it’s too late.

After a close call from an attacking group of monsters, David pushes Private Wayne Jessup (Samuel Witwer) to reveal the hidden details behind the mist and the monsters. David believes Private Jessup is apart of a botched military experiment, and the failed experiment unleashed the monsters. But Private Jessup is more concerned with fixing a failed relationship with Sally (Alexa Davalos), Billy‘s babysitter, and Sally works as a cashier at the supermarket, and a barrage of problems complicate the life-or-death dilemma. Ollie doesn’t receive the necessary support from Bud (Robert Treveiler), the store manager, David’s rivalry with Norton resurfaces, and a woman (Melissa McBride) with two children at home begs for an escort through the mist.

With their backs against the wall, David and his group are restricted to two unsavory choices. For the first choice, David and his group can stay inside the supermarket, with the hopes of outlasting the disaster, while taking some very slim chances on evading Mrs. Carmody’s wrath. The second choice? David can take a deadly chance to save Billy and reunite with his wife, but he needs his car in the parking lot. Will David risk everything to save Billy?

Thomas Jane is a competent leading man, and The Mist features an overall solid cast, but Marcia Gay Harden delivers the best performance here. Mrs. Carmody is a self-righteous and delusional nutcase. Harden pulls everything together with an eccentric and kooky performance, and Harden brings a believable nasty side to Mrs. Carmody. There’s a scene where Amanda catches Mrs. Carmody in the bathroom, and she’s praying for help, so Amanda reaches out to her as a friend. Mrs. Carmody’s cold response? “When I need friend like you, I’ll be sure to s*** one out.”


The Mist tugs on the viewer's “What would you do?” thought process. At first, you get the impression the survivors will constantly dismiss Mrs. Carmody as an annoying loon, but things change as the story progresses. After a series of attacks from the monsters, certain survivors are noticeably petrified. They fear for their lives, so they need someone to believe in. Enter Mrs. Carmody. Mrs. Carmody slowly convinces her followers to believe in divine intervention, because they’re looking for answers. They’re looking for anything to ease the pain, or calm their fears.

There’s a scene, where Ollie goes into an explanation about Carmody’s followers. Ollie says if you can scare people enough, they’ll believe in anything to make the boogeyman go away. The “Do you believe?” arguments provide some good food for thought. Considering the bizarre and deadly situation, you can understand the perspectives from different characters. When it comes to Carmody’s supporters, you can understand the need for them to trust and follow every word from their protector. On the flip side, you can understand the motivations for David’s constant pleas for peace. He’s just a father, who wants to protect his son, and ensure the safety of EVERYONE in the supermarket, because Mrs. Carmody handpicks the condemned and those worthy of survival.

The Mist is an eerie and frightening sci-fi/horror film, with a malevolent sense of wonder. There’s enough bloody gore, and disgusting gruesomeness to pull a reaction out of you, and The Mist delivers a hard gut punch with one of the most shocking and devastating finales you’ll ever see. Strap yourselves in for a mysterious, haunting, and bloody ride, because The Mist is an engrossing film, and it‘s one of the rare Stephen King adaptations that’s worthy of remembrance.

Rating: 8/10

Michael Jordan had another run with the Wizards after winning six championships. Brett Favre was one step away from earning a second ring with the Vikings.

As the world's definitive multi-talented superstar athlete, Trisha Bunrastar is taking an unexpected and shocking leap into a new career path. Assuming the identity of Freechelle Fantabulous, Trisha vows to fight crime and battle evildoers as a superheroine. Will she conquer her new mission? Find out more here! http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EFLI6VK

Or take a trip into my special world of madness that includes comedy, horror, and the supernatural in this collection of short stories- http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EFMYZ0U

Remember Amazon offers free Kindle App downloads for various platforms. Follow this link to find out more- http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?ie=UTF8&docId=1000493771

And don't forget to follow me on Twitter here- https://twitter.com/LQuigleyFan1

The Mist (2007)(Spoiler Review)

**This review contains spoilers**

After the Drayton family survives a fierce and devastating thunderstorm, David (Thomas Jane) takes his young son, Billy (Nathan Gamble) to the local supermarket to buy supplies and food. David leaves his wife, Steff (Kelly Collins Lintz) at the house to sort through the mess, and David prepares himself for a tense confrontation with his rival next neighbor, Brent Norton (Andre Braugher), a pompous New York lawyer, who continues to hold a grudge against David for property damages. But David is willing to ignore any bitter feelings, and he allows Norton to tag along for the ride to the supermarket.

At the supermarket, a harmless day of shopping turns into a chaotic fight for survival, when a bloodied Dan Miller (Jeffery DeMunn) runs through the front doors. Dan warns everyone about a malicious threat within the oncoming thick cloud of mist. In the receiving area of the supermarket, David, Myron (David Jensen), Jim (William Sadler), and a bag boy named Norm (Chris Owen), investigate a problem with the supermarket’s generator. Here, the group discovers a deadly monster.

David urges everyone to remain calm with some support from local residents. Amanda (Laurie Holden), Dan, Irene (Frances Sternhagen), and the supermarket’s assistant manager, Ollie (Toby Jones) join David in his fight to maintain civility and peace, but panic complicates the situation, when different species of monsters from the mist threaten the survivors. As the self-proclaimed prophet,  Mrs. Carmody (Marcia Gay Harden)  uses her influence over those, who choose to follow her as a deadly weapon, so David and the others are forced to work on an exit strategy before it’s too late.

After a close call from an attacking group of monsters, David pushes Private Wayne Jessup (Samuel Witwer) to reveal the hidden details behind the mist and the monsters. David believes Private Jessup is apart of a botched military experiment, and the failed experiment unleashed the monsters. But Private Jessup is more concerned with fixing a failed relationship with Sally (Alexa Davalos), Billy‘s babysitter, and Sally works as a cashier at the supermarket, and a barrage of problems complicate the life-or-death dilemma. Ollie doesn’t receive the necessary support from Bud (Robert Treveiler), the store manager, David’s rivalry with Norton resurfaces, and a woman (Melissa McBride) with two children at home begs for an escort through the mist.

With their backs against the wall, David and his group are restricted to two unsavory choices. For the first choice, David and his group can stay inside the supermarket, with the hopes of outlasting the disaster, while taking some very slim chances on evading Mrs. Carmody’s wrath. The second choice? David can take a deadly chance to save Billy and reunite with his wife, but he needs his car in the parking lot. Will David risk everything to save Billy?

Thomas Jane is a competent leading man, and The Mist features an overall solid cast, but Marcia Gay Harden delivers the best performance here. Mrs. Carmody is a self-righteous and delusional nutcase. Harden pulls everything together with an eccentric and kooky performance, and Harden brings a believable nasty side to Mrs. Carmody. There’s a scene where Amanda catches Mrs. Carmody in the bathroom, and she’s praying for help, so Amanda reaches out to her as a friend. Mrs. Carmody’s cold response? “When I need friend like you, I’ll be sure to s*** one out.”

 After a while, David realizes escape is the only viable option for survival. Using his car, David plans to burn every drop of gas in his tank for a long drive. Clinging to a fool’s hope, David plans to drive until the group is clear of the mist. Mrs. Carmody convinced her followers to sacrifice Private Jessup to the monsters after a savage attack. Mrs. Carmody is holding a grudge against Amanda for a slap across the face, and Mrs. Carmody knows David is forming a group against her, so Mrs. Carmody plans to eliminate the opposition with more sacrifices to the monsters. During a frantic struggle, Ollie shoots and kills Mrs. Carmody with Amanda‘s gun. Mrs. Carmody’s death (and the gun) give David and his group a clear path to exit the store.

David eventually discovers Steff’s corpse entangled in the monster’s web at the house. David is distraught, but he can’t afford to waste any gas, so he continues the search for a safe haven. But David’s car runs out of gas, and the group is stuck in the mist. Inside the car, Billy is sleeping in Amanda’s arms, and the group can hear loud rumblings outside. Mind you, all of this is happening after the group spotted a gigantic monster with tentacles. Collectively, the group agrees on a mercy killing, because they can’t handle the thought of a torturous death……but there’s a big problem: The gun doesn’t have enough bullets to finish off everyone. The gun is one bullet short, so David agrees to be the trigger man. David fires three shots, and as Billy opens his eyes, David shoots and kills Billy.

Devastated and distraught, David leaves the car, screaming. He doesn’t care anymore. David is tired of running, and he’s ready to die. David is waiting for the next monster to finish him off, but instead of a monster, David spots a passing military convoy. That’s right. The rumblings came from an army of approaching soldiers, not a monster. A vast army of soldiers accompany the convoy, and the woman from the supermarket, who went into the mist alone to save her children is safe and sound with her children, as a passenger on one of the convoys. The soldiers use their flamethrowers to kill the creatures and clear the mist, and a broken David drops to his knees in agony.

Thomas Jane did a good job of selling David’s heartbreak in this scene. It’s an earth-shattering shocker, because everyone had a chance to live, if David waited a few more minutes. David murdered his own son and three other people, because he believed he was doing the right thing, but he needlessly killed everyone before the long awaited rescue. It’s a gutwrenching and stunning finale, and I can honestly say The Mist features one of the best shockers I’ve ever seen.

The Mist tugs on the viewer's “What would you do?” thought process. At first, you get the impression the survivors will constantly dismiss Mrs. Carmody as an annoying loon, but things change as the story progresses. After a series of attacks from the monsters, certain survivors are noticeably petrified. They fear for their lives, so they need someone to believe in. Enter Mrs. Carmody. Mrs. Carmody slowly convinces her followers to believe in divine intervention, because they’re looking for answers. They’re looking for anything to ease the pain, or calm their fears.

There’s a scene, where Ollie goes into an explanation about Carmody’s followers. Ollie says if you can scare people enough, they’ll believe in anything to make the boogeyman go away. The “Do you believe?” arguments provide some good food for thought. Considering the bizarre and deadly situation, you can understand the perspectives from different characters. When it comes to Carmody’s supporters, you can understand the need for them to trust and follow every word from their protector. On the flip side, you can understand the motivations for David’s constant pleas for peace. He’s just a father, who wants to protect his son, and ensure the safety of EVERYONE in the supermarket, because Mrs. Carmody handpicks the condemned and those worthy of survival.

The Mist is an eerie and frightening sci-fi/horror film, with a malevolent sense of wonder. There’s enough bloody gore, and disgusting gruesomeness to pull a reaction out of you, and The Mist delivers a hard gut punch with one of the most shocking and devastating finales you’ll ever see. Strap yourselves in for a mysterious, haunting, and bloody ride, because The Mist is an engrossing film, and it‘s one of the rare Stephen King adaptations that’s worthy of remembrance.

Rating: 8/10

Michael Jordan had another run with the Wizards after winning six championships. Brett Favre was one step away from earning a second ring with the Vikings.

As the world's definitive multi-talented superstar athlete, Trisha Bunrastar is taking an unexpected and shocking leap into a new career path. Assuming the identity of Freechelle Fantabulous, Trisha vows to fight crime and battle evildoers as a superheroine. Will she conquer her new mission? Find out more here! http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EFLI6VK

Or take a trip into my special world of madness that includes comedy, horror, and the supernatural in this collection of short stories- http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EFMYZ0U

Remember Amazon offers free Kindle App downloads for various platforms. Follow this link to find out more- http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?ie=UTF8&docId=1000493771

And don't forget to follow me on Twitter here- https://twitter.com/LQuigleyFan1

Awake (2007)(Minor Spoilers Review)

**This review contains MINOR spoilers, no plot twists, big reveals, or major surprises**

Wealthy businessman Clay Beresford (Hayden Christensen) is stuck in a troubling dilemma. As the top man in his deceased father’s company, Clay tries to close a lucrative deal, but Clay’s health causes some major concerns. Suffering from a potentially fatal heart condition, Clay needs a heart transplant to save his life.

Clay’s overprotective and controlling mother, Lilith (Lena Olin) urges Clay to choose Dr. Jonathan Neyer (Arliss Howard), a world renowned surgeon, who’s in line to become the next Surgeon General, for the operation, but Clay refuses. Instead, Clay picks Dr. Jack Harper (Terrence Howard) for the surgery. Dr. Harper saved Clay’s life after an attack. Afterwards, Clay and Dr. Harper developed a bond as friends, so out of loyalty and respect, Clay rejects Dr. Neyer.

To add to his growing list of problems, Clay is in a secret relationship with his mother’s assistant, Sam (Jessica Alba). Minutes before the surgery, Clay is reassured by Jack, and members of his team, including Dr. Puttnam (Fisher Stevens) and Penny (Georgina Chapman), but Clay’s eased spirit is disturbed once the anesthesia kicks in. Clay is unable to speak, move, or open his eyes, and as a result of anesthesia awareness, Clay is able to hear everything going on around him.

Clay is struggling to comprehend his bizarre situation, and things only get worse, when Clay accidentally overhears every little detail in a plot to murder him on the operating table……….

Yeah, suspension of disbelief is CRUCIAL for enjoying Awake. Awake feels like a sci-fi thriller, that’s trying way too hard to be crafty and complex most of the time, but I have to admit, it’s hard to look away. I had to know what would happen to Clay every step of the way. Is Clay going to survive? Will someone actually hear Clay in the hospital? I was hooked into the story with each passing minute, and Awake deserves credit for some well placed and genuinely surprising swerves.

Overall, the cast is capable at best. Hayden Christensen is decent in the leading role, and it’s nice to Jessica Alba break out of her usual mold of being the innocent ray of sunshine to take on a more devious and cold-hearted character, but it’s almost impossible to pick out a top notch performance from this cast. Terrence Howard comes close as the conflicted best friend, but his character is overshadowed by an overwhelming amount of screen time for Clay. Lena Olin is another top contender. She’s spot on as the controlling, delusional, and emotionally abusive mother, but Lilith encounters the same problem Jack encountered: Clay’s screen time and focus dominates everything. And for what it’s worth, McDonald is good for a few laughs, as the seemingly dimwitted drunk.

Still, I really enjoyed Awake. As I said before, strapping yourself into suspension of disbelief mode is essential to buying into or tolerating the supernatural side of this film, and some will complain about a contrived story and preposterous plot twists. But if you’re willing to sit back and enjoy some fun, Awake is an effective and satisfying mystery/thriller, with an intriguing and deceptive story. Awake leads you down one street, and out of nowhere, the story takes a sharp turn into a series of tricky, bumpy roads with thick clouds of unsettling fog.

Rating: 6/10

Michael Jordan had another run with the Wizards after winning six championships. Brett Favre was one step away from earning a second ring with the Vikings.

As the world's definitive multi-talented superstar athlete, Trisha Bunrastar is taking an unexpected and shocking leap into a new career path. Assuming the identity of Freechelle Fantabulous, Trisha vows to fight crime and battle evildoers as a superheroine. Will she conquer her new mission? Find out more here! http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EFLI6VK

Or take a trip into my special world of madness that includes comedy, horror, and the supernatural in this collection of short stories- http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EFMYZ0U

And remember Amazon offers free Kindle App downloads for various platforms. Follow this link to find out more- http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?ie=UTF8&docId=1000493771

Follow me on Twitter here- https://twitter.com/LQuigleyFan1

And don't forget to like both of my Facebook pages, because the Mitch MacReady 2 Facebook page includes quotes from both ebooks that can't fit into Tweets- https://www.facebook.com/mitch.macready

Awake (2007)(Spoiler Review)

**This review contains spoilers**

Wealthy businessman Clay Beresford (Hayden Christensen) is stuck in a troubling dilemma. As the top man in his deceased father’s company, Clay tries to close a lucrative deal, but Clay’s health causes some major concerns. Suffering from a potentially fatal heart condition, Clay needs a heart transplant to save his life.

Clay’s overprotective and controlling mother, Lilith (Lena Olin) urges Clay to choose Dr. Jonathan Neyer (Arliss Howard), a world renowned surgeon, who’s in line to become the next Surgeon General, for the operation, but Clay refuses. Instead, Clay picks Dr. Jack Harper (Terrence Howard) for the surgery. Dr. Harper saved Clay’s life after an attack. Afterwards, Clay and Dr. Harper developed a bond as friends, so out of loyalty and respect, Clay rejects Dr. Neyer.

To add to his growing list of problems, Clay is in a secret relationship with his mother’s assistant, Sam (Jessica Alba). Terrified of Lilith’s reaction to losing her only baby boy, Clay secretly proposes to and marries Sam, but after some intense pressure from Sam, Clay finally breaks the news to a dissatisfied and angry Lilith.

Minutes before the surgery, Clay is reassured by Jack, and members of his team, including Dr. Puttnam (Fisher Stevens) and Penny (Georgina Chapman), but Clay’s eased spirit is disturbed once the anesthesia kicks in. Clay is unable to speak, move, or open his eyes, and as a result of anesthesia awareness, Clay is able to hear everything going on around him.

Clay is struggling to comprehend his bizarre situation, and things only get worse, when Clay accidentally overhears every little detail in Dr. Harper’s plot to murder him on the operating table……….

Why is Dr. Jack Harper trying to murder Clay? Well, Dr. Harper is stuck behind a wall of debt after a series of malpractice lawsuits. Dr. Harper used his trusted friendship with Clay against him, and during the transplant, Dr. Harper plans to inject the donated heart with an untraceable poison, so after the surgery is complete, Dr. Harper can cling to the excuse of Clay’s body rejecting the heart.

But that’s only half of the plan. Remember, Dr. Harper needs to be in a position to collect the insurance money from Clay’s death AND his inheritance. Penny and Putnam are in on the scheme…and Sam is playing Clay for a fool. With some goading from Dr. Harper and A LOT of pressure from Sam, Clay marries Sam the night before his surgery. Why is Sam apart of this? Sam used to work under Dr. Harper, and she wants a piece of the pie, so Sam agreed to deceive Clay into accepting her as the love of his life. Clay was an easy target as the neutered momma’s boy, and Sam was able to use Clay’s desires of a leap into manhood as motivation to turn Clay against his obsessive mother.

Of course, a small monkey wrench is thrown into Jack’s plans. The little angel on Jack’s shoulder creates a moral conundrum for the conflicted doctor, and on top of that, a member of Jack’s team backs out at the last second. A surgeon named Fitzpatrick abandons the team, so Dr. Larry (Christopher McDonald), a bumbling alcoholic, replaces him.

Awake throws a plethora of sneaky twists at you, but they save the big shocker for the grand  finale. So Clay’s bodiless form is trying to warn anyone, who’ll listen, but Clay is the only one, who can hear his voice, so his cries for help fall on deaf ears. Luckily, Lilith had a keen sense of suspicion about Sam and Jack, and after some sleuthing into Sam‘s background, Lilith knew she had to do something, quickly. With one last desperate attempt to save her son’s life, Lilith commits suicide by overdosing on a bottle of pills. Before her death, Lilith called Dr. Neyer so he could warn the police, and perform the surgery on Clay using her heart to match Clay’s rare blood type. Dr. Neyer successfully saves Clay’s life with the surgery, Larry helps the police catch Putnam and Penny, and everyone else involved in the scheme is arrested.

For varying reasons, Jack and his cohorts receiving their deserved punishment may or may not provide those rewarding feelings of closure you’re looking for. There’s a moment towards the end, where Sam tries to back out of the deal, as the police arrive, using the “grieving widow” as her cover. But Jack kept the syringe containing the poison used to inject Clay’s heart in a sealed plastic bag for evidence…..and Sam’s fingerprints are all over the syringe. In the operating room, Jack was having second thoughts about killing Clay, so Sam PUSHED Jack to inject the heart, and Sam is the one, who filled the syringe with poison. Sam is outside of Jack’s office, as he flashes the plastic bag in front of the door with a smile on his face. Sam pleads with Jack to handover the bag, but Jack locks the door, leaving Sam stuck outside with police.

Although, there’s a chance you’ll roll your eyes at this finale. Why? Because it’s kind of hard to ignore the preposterous series of circumstances before Clay’s revival. For starters, Clay isn’t dreaming. His bodiless form is actually roaming the hospital, trying to warn anyone, who’ll listen about Jack’s plan, AND somehow, Clay’s bodiless form is capable of going back in time to relive events in his past for some “How did I miss this?” hindsight moments? Eh, okay. On top of that. Clay’s bodiless form is capable of having a conversation with Lilith’s bodiless form towards the very end. After Neyer completes the surgery, Clay’s heart rate drops. This is happening, because Clay, realizing his mother is the only person he can trust 100% with no doubts, decides to stay in the afterlife with her. But Lilith urges Clay to return to the living world, so he can enjoy the rest of his life. Reluctantly, Clay obliges, and Clay opening his eyes is the last image you’ll see in Awake.

Yeah, suspension of disbelief is CRUCIAL for enjoying Awake. Awake feels like a sci-fi thriller, that’s trying way too hard to be crafty and complex most of the time, but I have to admit, it’s hard to look away. I had to know what would happen to Clay every step of the way. Is Clay going to survive? Will someone actually hear Clay in the hospital? Will Jack randomly pull the plug on the scheme to save Clay’s life? I was hooked into the story with each passing minute, and Awake deserves credit for some well placed and genuinely surprising swerves.

Overall, the cast is capable at best. Hayden Christensen is decent in the leading role, and it’s nice to Jessica Alba break out of her usual mold of being the innocent ray of sunshine to take on a more devious and cold-hearted character, but it’s almost impossible to pick out a top notch performance from this cast. Terrence Howard comes close as the conflicted best friend, but his character is overshadowed by an overwhelming amount of screen time for Clay. Lena Olin is another top contender. She’s spot on as the controlling, delusional, and emotionally abusive mother, but Lilith encounters the same problem Jack encountered: Clay’s screen time and focus dominates everything. And for what it’s worth, McDonald is good for a few laughs, as the seemingly dimwitted drunk.

Still, I really enjoyed Awake. As I said before, strapping yourself into suspension of disbelief mode is essential to buying into or tolerating the supernatural side of this film, and some will complain about a contrived story and preposterous plot twists. But if you’re willing to sit back and enjoy some fun, Awake is an effective and satisfying mystery/thriller, with an intriguing and deceptive story. Awake leads you down one street, and out of nowhere, the story takes a sharp turn into a series of tricky, bumpy roads with thick clouds of unsettling fog.

Rating: 6/10

Michael Jordan had another run with the Wizards after winning six championships. Brett Favre was one step away from earning a second ring with the Vikings.

As the world's definitive multi-talented superstar athlete, Trisha Bunrastar is taking an unexpected and shocking leap into a new career path. Assuming the identity of Freechelle Fantabulous, Trisha vows to fight crime and battle evildoers as a superheroine. Will she conquer her new mission? Find out more here! http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EFLI6VK

Or take a trip into my special world of madness that includes comedy, horror, and the supernatural in this collection of short stories- http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EFMYZ0U

And remember Amazon offers free Kindle App downloads for various platforms. Follow this link to find out more- http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?ie=UTF8&docId=1000493771

Follow me on Twitter here- https://twitter.com/LQuigleyFan1

And don't forget to like both of my Facebook pages, because the Mitch MacReady 2 Facebook page includes quotes from both ebooks that can't fit into Tweets- https://www.facebook.com/mitch.macready

Trick 'r Treat (2007)(Minor Spoilers Review)

**This review contains MINOR spoilers, no big reveals, plot twits, or character deaths**

Intro- Emma & Henry

Emma (Leslie Bibb) “hates” Halloween, but her husband, Henry (Tahmoh Penikett) is a devout believer in Halloween and the traditions attached to the holiday. After a stroll Warren Valley’s annual costume parade, Emma pushes Henry to remove all the decorations before her mother arrives for a visit. Henry warns Emma about breaking the sacred rules during Halloween night, and Emma learns her lesson the hard way, when a tiny enforcer/demon named Sam (Quinn Lord) decides to teach her a lesson she’ll never forget.

My Thoughts:  Shocking. That’s the one word I would use to describe this storyline. This was a GREAT opener for Trick ‘r Treat, because it sets the tone for the film. You know that Sam isn’t someone to mess with, and you know you’re about to see a sick and twisted horror anthology film, that won’t hesitate to pull any punches.

Principal Wilkins

Steven Wilkins (Dylan Baker) is the town principal for Warren Valley’s elementary school. Steven lives alone with his son, Billy (Connor Christopher Levins), but unbeknownst to other Warren Valley citizens, Steven lives a secret life as a cold-blooded serial killer……

My Thoughts: Dylan Baker is an ideal choice to portray the nerdy and quirky outcast, but there’s a dark side to his character here. Steven receives a dose of his own medicine later on, but there’s a genuinely surprising twist involving the father/son relationship between Steven and Billy.

Scavenger Hunt

Led by Macy (Britt McKillip), Chip (Alberto Ghisi), Schrader (Jean-Luc Bilodeau), Sara (Isabelle Deluce), and Rhonda (Samm Todd) take a trip to an abandoned rock quarry to test the limits of an old legend. Years ago, after receiving a collective payment from their parents, a school bus driver was ordered to murder eight mentally ill children by driving the bus into the quarry head first.

Although, before the bus driver hit the gas pedal, one of the eight chained children escaped, and drove the bus off the cliff. The bus sunk to the bottom of the quarry, killing the eight children, and the bus driver mysteriously disappeared after the incident. Throughout the years, this tragedy was dubbed the School Bus Massacre.

My Thoughts: As the leader, Macy is the “mean girl” in the group, so she feels the need to bully the geek (Rhonda), but Macy’s prank backfires in the worst way, when the REAL threat shows up.

Laurie’s First

At a young age of twenty-two, Laurie (Anna Paquin) is still waiting for her “first.” With some prodding from her older sister, Danielle (Lauren Lee Smith) and her two friends Maria (Rochelle Aytes) and Janet (Moneca Delain), Laurie agrees to attend a party deep in the woods with a wide variety of men for different tastes. But during the trip to her big night, Laurie is stalked by a masked man with fangs.

My Thoughts: With all the teasing and sexual innuendos, you’re lead to believe Laurie is about to lose her virginity, and she’s beyond terrified about the big night, but that’s not  the case. I won’t give away the big surprise here, because the twist is that good. If you’re jaw doesn’t hit the floor after Laurie's revelation, then you’re apart of a tough, tough crowd.

Mr. Kreeg VS  Sam

Living alone with his dog, Mr. Kreeg (Brian Cox) is a miserable codger, who loathes Halloween. Mr. Kreeg uses his dog and a glowing mask to scare trick-or-treaters into dropping their bags of candy at his doorstep, so Mr. Kreeg can have all the sweet goodies to himself. But Mr. Kreeg is stuck in a life-or-death fight, when Sam invades Mr. Kreeg’s home to punish the grumpy old grouch for his all his crimes during Halloween.

My Thoughts: Trick ‘r Treat set the bar high with the previous shorts, the film needed to end with a bang, and Mr. Kreeg VS Sam didn’t disappoint at all. After the big fight is over, Trick ‘r Treat fools you with a baffling conclusion, but everything changes, when some old friends from Kreeg’s past show up.

Summary: Director/writer Michael Dougherty packs a plethora of genuinely surprising twists into Trick ’r Treat, and he uses a smooth interweaving technique to connect the dots with each storyline. And more importantly, Dougherty never clusters everything together to the point where you get the feeling you’re watching a clumsy attempt to be too tricky failing before your very eyes. No, Dougherty carefully moves the pieces of the puzzle into place, and Doughtery’s is able to drop a layer of clever hindsight on each storyline.

It might take some time, but I can picture Sam gaining a loyal fanbase, as the next true horror icon. Sam doesn’t speak a word in Trick ’r Treat, but his menacing presence casts a dark shadow over each storyline throughout Trick ’r Treat. And those who disrespect Halloween in any way, shape, or form, will suffer the consequences after learning an unforgettable lesson from Sam.

If you love horror and Halloween, Trick ’r Treat is a MUST-SEE. Most horror anthology films suffer one big problem: Inconsistency. Well I can tell you, Trick ’r Treat doesn’t suffer from this problem. Trick ’r Treat is loaded with enough twists and turns to keep you on the edge of your seat, dark humor, bloody gruesomeness for the gore fiends, and enough spooky atmospheric tension to provide a handful of bone chilling moments. It’s a festive treat with everything any die hard horror fan could possibly ask for, and after one viewing, you’ll understand Trick ’r Treat’s strong cult following. I can’t wait for Trick ’r Treat 2!

Rating: 10/10


Michael Jordan had another run with the Wizards after winning six championships. Brett Favre was one step away from earning a second ring with the Vikings.

As the world's definitive multi-talented superstar athlete, Trisha Bunrastar is taking an unexpected and shocking leap into a new career path. Assuming the identity of Freechelle Fantabulous, Trisha vows to fight crime and battle evildoers as a superheroine. Will she conquer her new mission? Find out more here! http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EFLI6VK

Or take a trip into my special world of madness that includes comedy, horror, and the supernatural in this collection of short stories- http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EFMYZ0U

And remember Amazon offers free Kindle App downloads for various platforms. Follow this link to find out more- http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?ie=UTF8&docId=1000493771

Follow me on Twitter here- https://twitter.com/LQuigleyFan1

And don't forget to like both of my Facebook pages, because the Mitch MacReady 2 Facebook page includes quotes from both ebooks that can't fit into Tweets- https://www.facebook.com/mitch.macready

Trick 'r Treat (2007)(Spoiler Review)

**This review contains spoilers**

Trick ‘r Treat is a horror anthology film, and characters from different storylines interact with one another every now and then, so I’ll do another separate synopses and my thoughts after each one breakdown review. Trick ‘r Treat is set on Halloween night in the small town of Warren Valley, Ohio, and the story follows various residents in Warren Valley, who encounter a series of bizarre and supernatural disturbances throughout the night. And yeas, this step by step synopses/breakdown of Trick ‘r Treat is in chronological order.

Intro- Emma & Henry

Emma (Leslie Bibb) “hates” Halloween, but her husband, Henry (Tahmoh Penikett) is a devout believer in Halloween and the traditions attached to the holiday. After a stroll Warren Valley’s annual costume parade, Emma pushes Henry to remove all the decorations before her mother arrives for a visit. Henry warns Emma about breaking the sacred rules during Halloween night, and Emma learns her lesson the hard way, when a tiny enforcer/demon named Sam (Quinn Lord) decides to teach her a lesson she’ll never forget.

My Thoughts: Shocking. That’s the one word I would use to describe this storyline. This was a GREAT opener for Trick ‘r Treat, and the image of Emma’s demise is more than capable of pulling a reaction out of you. You knew something bad would happen to Emma after she blew out the candle in the jack-o-lantern, but it wasn’t so easy to predict the severity of her punishment. Sam’s plan? After Henry takes some time to watch a dirty movie inside, Sam waits for the right moment to attack Emma, while she’s alone. Henry awakes from his nap to find Emma crucified as a scarecrow. Limbs dangling, Halloween lights wrapped around her body, blood everywhere. It’s a real nasty sight. This opener sets the tone for Trick ’r Treat, because you know you’re about to see a movie with some sick and twisted stuff, and more importantly, this opener establishes Sam as a lethal threat.

Principal Wilkins

Steven Wilkins (Dylan Baker) is the town Principal for Warren Valley’s elementary school. Steven lives alone with his son, Billy (Connor Christopher Levins), but unbeknownst to other Warren Valley citizens, Steven lives a secret life as a cold-blooded serial killer. For his first victim on Halloween night, Steven poisons young Charlie’s (Brett Kelly) candy, but Steven runs into some problems during Charlie’s burial in the backyard.

My Thoughts: Dylan Baker is an ideal choice to portray the nerdy and quirky outcast, but there’s a dark side to his character here. Steven receives a dose of his own medicine later on, but there’s a genuinely surprising twist here. Throughout the early stages of Steven’s story, Bill constantly badgers Steven into carving a jack-o-lantern. When Steven is finished with Charlie, Steven accompanies Billy to the basement, so they can start on the jack-o-lantern together…but Steven and Billy aren’t carving a pumpkin. No, they’re carving Charlie’s severed head. And Billy puts an extra effort into carving out the perfect eye holes.

Another good swerve. Two thoughts ran through my mind after the first time. 1. Billy’s going to discover his dad’s secret, and freak out. Or 2. You know, Billy carves out a normal jack-o-lantern from a pumpkin. Steven teaching his own son how to kill, dismember, maim, and torture helpless victims? Yeah, I didn’t see that one coming.

Scavenger Hunt

Led by Macy (Britt McKillip), Chip (Alberto Ghisi), Schrader (Jean-Luc Bilodeau), Sara (Isabelle Deluce), and Rhonda (Samm Todd) take a trip to an abandoned rock quarry to test the limits of an old legend. Years ago, after receiving a collective payment from their parents, a school bus driver was ordered to murder eight mentally ill children by driving the bus into the quarry head first.

Although, before the bus driver hit the gas pedal, one of the eight chained children escaped, and drove the bus off the cliff. The bus sunk to the bottom of the quarry, killing the eight children, and the bus driver mysteriously disappeared after the incident. Throughout the years, this tragedy was dubbed the School Bus Massacre.

Macy has plans to summon the zombified versions of the eight children by collecting eight jack-o-lanterns, and using them as peace offerings for the children. But a harmless hoax takes a turn for the worst, when something unholy emerges from the depths of the quarry.

My Thoughts: As the leader, Macy is the “mean girl” in the group, so she decides to pull a prank on the geeky outsider, Rhonda. With Chip, Schrader, and Sara’s help, Macy tries to scare Rhonda with costumes resembling the eight children. Rhonda is frightened, but things go too far, when Rhonda bumps the back of her head on a rock after a fall, but it’s not over yet.

Schrader puts a stop to the prank, because Rhonda is freaking out, but during Rhonda’s hysterical meltdown, the REAL School Bus Massacre children emerge from the lake. The jack-o-lanterns can protect anyone against the eight children, but Macy defiled the ritual by kicking a jack-o-lantern in the water. Rhonda locks herself in the only elevator that’s capable of reaching the top of the quarry, clinging to her jack-o-lantern like a hunk of precious gold. For revenge, Rhonda rides the elevator back to the top alone, leaving the rest of the group to suffer horrible gruesome deaths at the hands of the eight children. As Rhonda ascends to the top, she gives a cold and unapologetic wave good-bye.

Jaw-dropping stuff. After a while, you knew it was only a matter of time before the real  School Bus Massacre children showed up. But Rhonda abandoning everyone else? Yeah, it’s another Trick ‘r Treat twist that hit me like a slap across the face. It’s easy to feel sympathy for Rhonda, but her willing decision to let everyone suffer a painful end really caught me off guard.

Laurie’s First

At a young age of twenty-two, Laurie (Anna Paquin) is still waiting for her “first.” With some prodding from her older sister, Danielle (Lauren Lee Smith) and her two friends Maria (Rochelle Aytes) and Janet (Moneca Delain), Laurie agrees to attend a party deep in the woods with a wide variety of men for different tastes. But during the trip to her big night, Laurie is stalked by a masked man with fangs.

My Thoughts: With all the teasing and sexual innuendos, you’re lead to believe Laurie is about to lose her virginity, and she’s beyond terrified about the big night, but that’s not  the case. At the party, Laurie attacks her mysterious stalker. Here, it’s revealed Laurie, Danielle, Maria, and Janet are werewolves, and Laurie isn’t looking to lose her virginity, she’s looking for her first kill as a werewolf. If you’re jaw doesn’t hit the floor after Lauire’s revelation, then you’re apart of a tough, tough crowd.

Mr. Kreeg VS Sam

Living alone with his dog, Mr. Kreeg (Brian Cox) is a miserable codger, who loathes Halloween. Mr. Kreeg uses his dog and a glowing mask to scare trick-or-treaters into dropping their bags of candy at his doorstep, so Mr. Kreeg can have all the sweet goodies to himself. But Mr. Kreeg is stuck in a life-or-death fight, when Sam invades Mr. Kreeg’s home to punish the grumpy old grouch for his crimes during Halloween.

My Thoughts: Trick ‘r Treat set the bar high with the previous shorts, the film needed to end with a bang, and Mr. Kreeg VS Sam didn’t disappoint at all. During the fight, I seriously had no idea, who would come out on top, as Mr. Kreeg struggled to defeat Sam. It’s funny, because Sam constantly toys with Mr. Kreeg at first, but when Sam prepares to deliver the final blow with his pumpkin lollipop, Sam decides to walk away? That’s right. Sam uses his lollipop to remove and eat a candy bar from Kreeg’s chest, and he causally strolls out of the house like nothing happened. It’s a baffling conclusion, but everything changes, when some old friends (more on that later) from Kreeg’s past show up.

Summary: Director/writer Michael Dougherty packs a plethora of genuinely surprising twists into Trick ’r Treat, and he uses a smooth interweaving technique to connect the dots with each storyline. And more importantly, Dougherty never clusters everything together to the point where you get the feeling you’re watching a clumsy attempt to be too tricky failing before your very eyes. No, Dougherty carefully moves the pieces of the puzzle into place, and Doughtery’s is able to drop a layer of clever hindsight on each storyline.

A prime example for clever hindsight is Mr. Kreeg’s storyline. During the beginning, Mr. Kreeg insults Steven in his backyard, as he’s burying Charlie. Moments later, you see Mr. Kreeg BEGGING for help from Steven’s POV. To return the favor word for word with a cold shoulder, Steven responds with “Screw you,” and Steven walks into his house without looking back. After Steven leaves, an anonymous attacker strikes Kreeg. Later on during Kreeg and Sam’s fight, it’s revealed Sam was the anonymous attacker.

And Laurie’s First is my favorite storyline in Trick ‘r Treat. Dougherty’s set up for this twist was perfect. Laurie is strolling through the woods by herself. The masked stranger reveals himself as a vampire, and he bites Laurie on the neck. Seconds later, a body falls into the campfire party with Danielle, Maria, and Janet. You think it’s Laurie……but you see a terrified Steven. Steven posed as a vampire with fake fangs (earlier in the film, Steven murdered a young woman during the parade using the fangs), but in a shock, Laurie turned the tables on him. Steven was such a despicable and cowardly lowlife weasel, and he FINALLY got a taste of his own medicine in the end. Oh, and Marilyn Manson’s “Sweet Dreams” was a nice fit as a background song for the nightmarish ambiance during this scene.

It might take some time, but I can picture Sam gaining a loyal fanbase, as the next true horror icon. Sam doesn’t speak a word in Trick ’r Treat, but his menacing presence casts a dark shadow over each storyline throughout Trick ’r Treat. And those who disrespect Halloween in any way, shape, or form, will suffer the consequences after learning an unforgettable lesson from Sam.

If you love horror and Halloween, Trick ’r Treat is a MUST-SEE. Most horror anthology films suffer one big problem: Inconsistency. Well I can tell you, Trick ’r Treat doesn’t suffer from this problem. Trick ’r Treat is loaded with enough twists and turns to keep you on the edge of your seat, dark humor, bloody gruesomeness for the gore fiends, and enough spooky atmospheric tension to provide a handful of bone chilling moments. It’s a festive treat with everything any die hard horror fan could possibly ask for, and after one viewing, you’ll understand Trick ’r Treat’s strong cult following. I can’t wait for Trick ’r Treat 2!

Rating: 10/10

Michael Jordan had another run with the Wizards after winning six championships. Brett Favre was one step away from earning a second ring with the Vikings.

As the world's definitive multi-talented superstar athlete, Trisha Bunrastar is taking an unexpected and shocking leap into a new career path. Assuming the identity of Freechelle Fantabulous, Trisha vows to fight crime and battle evildoers as a superheroine. Will she conquer her new mission? Find out more here! http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EFLI6VK

Or take a trip into my special world of madness that includes comedy, horror, and the supernatural in this collection of short stories- http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EFMYZ0U

And remember Amazon offers free Kindle App downloads for various platforms. Follow this link to find out more- http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?ie=UTF8&docId=1000493771

Follow me on Twitter here- https://twitter.com/LQuigleyFan1

And don't forget to like both of my Facebook pages, because the Mitch MacReady 2 Facebook page includes quotes from both ebooks that can't fit into Tweets- https://www.facebook.com/mitch.macready