Film Review : "Feed"

 I am alwaqys looking for a good vampire movie, so the trailer for this movie excited me.It is different than the trailer leads youto beleive.The bulk ofthis is in some part due to one of the film's strengths in how it deviates from what you normally expect from a  vampire movies as it takes a twist on the lore. However this twist is clearlyinfluenced by one of my favorite vampire book series Brian Lumley's "Necroscope", Granted the lore is on the surface based on the Irish legends of the Dearg-due.According to the robots of   Google Gemini, Marco Van Belle claims it is influenced by Bram Stoker's Dracula, whichc is almost as funny as when Coheed & Cambria said they had never heard of Rush.

Sure I might have preferred a Necroscope movie, but this one works well enough. Itis a shame that this movie went straight to streaming services as it is a better movies than the critcally acclaimed "Sinners", which was just a ripoff of "From Dusk Til Dawn" and everm for all this movie's unacknowledged Lumely influence it's still more original than "Sinners". The only draw back to this movie is for it to be an Irish film it really triesto  come across as an American film, and plays into a few Western casting tropes,which are not deal breakers.

The vampores use more of a psychological attack that takes mesmerism to a new level. I prfer the more animalistc predatory nature the vampires in "30 Days of Night' held , but this new approach, that I am not going to spoil for you is something fresh that successfully set this movie apart. The lore is well blended and the ending works for me even if this narative get's alittle shaky by the end in places. We know audiences hunger for vampire movies that are well made and not "Twilight" romances, which is why they fell for things like the Nosferatu remake and "Sinners', so here's hopiong this movie develops more of acult following as it is more deserving. 

Film Review; "Evil Dead Burn"

 While I am always looking for horror movies, when I see Halloween decorations hitting the shelves in July, it makes the urgency level rise. I am glad I took my time to find this movie online, because it might not have been worth the trip to the theater, which I rarely make in the first place, but it was best digested in four seperate chunks of time, over two days. Which is a shorter time than msot movies take for me. It is no surprise this is not the best movie in the franchise, but it is also not the worst. It is different enough to not feel redundant, but still remembers the assignment. The fact that Sam Raimi hung around as the producer helped protect the legacy of the brand. 

With that came the just being gross to uphold the standard vibe. You would think the Necromomicon, even this fictional version, would summon more monsters than jsut demon zombies, but no, though this time they are pyro-zombies. The writing works well enough, with neough balance in the getting-to-know-the-characters section, yet I am seeing a recurring trope of the annoyingly Beta coward male with the female protagonist having to step it up. This is the third movie if we are just counting horror, but it was even in Masters of the Universe. This was the only Hollywood psy-op agenda moment of the movie 

It is familiar and pulls from the other movies, a wink at them from time to time. I would say tense but not scary, as it wa a little predictable. They did take their time to establish the characters a bit, not that it really matters as all of them are equally unlikeable, but it seems to be the point as it is the curse of a toxic family that seems to fuel the evil into motion here. They check off the Rami boxes of including scenes that are gross for the sake of being so and hold no bearing on the plot. It was a fun watch that looses sateam imn the third act, so leave your thinking caps at home and just be prepared, but in your face dread.

Film Review : "Leviticus"

 

This movie came out back in June, and I just got the opportunity to catch up with it. It was one of the year's highest-rated horror movies so far, with predictable picks like "Obsession" leading the way. But is there really anything to it? Sure, a great deal of the Hollywood hype is because it is a gay horror movie, which is nothing new as gay themes in horror go back to 1936 with "Dracula's Daughter". But there has to be more to a movie than that. It is well done and looks great, but at the core, the film is basically just a gay version of "It Follows" 

Despite being a slow burn, it almsot barely feels likea horror movie, as most of the horror goes down in the last 20 minutes. There is a slight obsession angle to it, buyt the how and why this was all set in motion is vague. The characters are frustrating, and they never really deliver on the religious subtext, and imply that praying the gay away is what set the cure in motion.. You don't feel sorry for anyone or feel a tangible sene of dread. It looks nicely shot, which was the only thing that kept me watching, though half of the anticipation was if something was actually going to happen. 

I am sure the Neon distribution deal helped them make some of the stylistic choices, as it felt very familar when compared to the studio's other work. I say this more frequently, but if a horror movie looks good, often that alone will be enough to fool fairweather fans of the genre who are too cool for 80s slashers andd are probably among those who did not like "Psycho Killer," which still holds the top spot for the year in my book. Little happens here, and when some does transpire, it's underwhelming given the build.