Hotel Transylvania 2 (2015) 7/10

Starring : Adam Sandler, Andy Samberg, Selena Gomez, Kevin James, Steve Buscemi, David Spade, Keegan-Michael Key
Director : Genndy Tartakovsky
Running Time : 90 mins

Johnny (Samberg) and Mavis (Gomez) have a baby boy, but his grandfather Dracula (Sandler) is concerned that his grandson isn’t showing enough signs of becoming a vampire, so when his daughter and son-in-law go away leaving Dracula in charge of the boy, he attempts to put him through a monster make-over and turn him into a grandson he can be proud of.

This was a fun sequel that takes the plot of the original and expands on it rather than simply rehashing it. There are some funny moments, and children will love the scary monsters and the slapstick humour, but there aren’t that many decent jokes for adults, which isn’t surprising as this is in all intents and purposes and Adam Sandler movie.

You’ll like this if you liked : Home

The Conjuring 2 (2016) 8/10

Starring : Vera Farmiga, Patrick Wilson, Frances O’Connor, Madison Wolfe, Simon McBurney, Franka Potente
Director : James Wan
Running Time : 135 mins

Husband and wife paranormal investigators Ed (Wilson) and Lorraine Warren (Farmiga) travel to the UK where they have heard stories of a possible poltergeist in an Enfield council house. As they investigate, the activity is revealed to be a hoax, but the Warrens suspect that this may not be the case.

This was a very entertaining sequel, and brought back lots of memories of hearing about this story when I was younger. What always makes the conjuring movies so scary is that they don’t try to scare but, instead, portray facts as they took place with very little in the way of glamorising the story. Obviously there are some tweaks to the tale, but this is one of the better horror movies I’ve seen in recent years.

You’ll like this if you liked : Insidious : Chapter 3

Wrong Turn 6 : Last Resort (2014) 6/10

Starring : Anthony Ilott, Chris Jarvis, Aqueela Zoll, Sadie Katz, Rollo Skinner, Billy Ashworth, Harry Belcher, Joe Gaminara, Roxanne Pallett
Director : Valeri Milev
Running Time : 92 mins

A young man named Danny (Ilott) discovers that he has inherited a spa resort from his birth parents. He and his friends head out to visit the place, only to find it isn’t as great as they imagined, and that the caretakers left in charge of the place are odd to say the least. It isn’t long before Danny starts to like the idea of running the place, much to the horror of his friends, but that isn’t where their horror ends...

This was an incredibly odd instalment in the Wrong Turn series, and it looks like it might be the last (at least for now). The hill folk or whatever they’re supposed to be have become increasingly unlikely as the series progressed, and their decisions in this movie beggar belief. Obviously the teens (or more like twenty-somethings) involved in this movie, like the rest of the movies, were mostly unlikable but it’s just seemed weird that they would behave in such ridiculously stupid ways, and as for the twist at the end – well, it seemed so unnatural for what happened to happen!

You’ll like this if you liked : See No Evil

Freaks Of Nature (2015) 8/10

Starring : Nicholas Braun, Mackenzie Davis, Josh Fadem, Denis Leary, Ed Westwick, Vanessa Hudgens, Keegan-Michael Key
Director : Robbie Pickering
Running Time : 92 mins

Dillford is a small American town where vampires, humans, and zombies co-exist. Dag (Braun) is a normal human teenager who finds his world turned upside down when his best friend Ned (Fadem) decides he wants to be a zombie on the same day that aliens invade. Teaming up with a newly turned vampire called Petra (Davis), Dag and Ned try to rescue the abducted town folk before the aliens try to kill them too.

I really enjoyed this comedy horror, which manages to be over the top in a logical way that, though never really explained, makes almost perfect sense for some reason. The characters are likeable and their choices, though often questionable, are explained in terms of their personalities which shows good writing. Fans of comedy horrors couldn’t go wrong with this little known gem which showcases the abilities of some of the young actors of today who don’t often get a fair shake.

You’ll like this if you liked : Frequently Asked Questions About Time Travel

Sinister 2 (2015) 7/10

Starring : James Ransone, Shannyn Sossamon, Robert Sloan, Dartanian Sloan, Lea Coco
Director : Ciaran Foy
Running Time : 97 mins

A young single mother, Courtney Collins (Sossamon) and her twin sons move into a new home, only to discover that it is haunted by a demon named Bhughul when the deputy who was involved with the demon in the first movie discovers that their home is marked for death.

This was nowhere near as good as the first movie, but still reasonably enjoyable. The movie veered more towards horror than the first one, which was more of a psychological thriller, and the numerous ghost children throughout the film were a little annoying, but it’s still a fun enough horror film in spite of all of that.

You’ll like this if you liked : The Babadook

Feast (2005) 8/10

Starring : Balthazar Getty, Henry Rollins, Navi Rawat, Judah Friedlander, Josh Zuckerman, Jason Mewes, Jenny Wade, Krista Allen, Clu Gulager
Director : John Gulager
Running Time : 87 mins

A bunch of locals at a remote desert bar find themselves under attack from flesh-eating monsters intent on destroying the bar and killing them all in order to get back one of their own that had become trapped inside the building. Their only hope is a stranger who arrives just in time to become their hero.

This is a pretty silly horror movie that starts off playfully enough, introducing the characters as stock examples from the horror genre, but then starts to turn things around. The monsters manage to be both silly and frightening, which is an achievement in itself, and though the script isn’t the best, the setups are well done and the twists are both surprising and at times shocking. Be warned though, there are some crazy misogynistic moments in this film that some more sensitive people might find offensive.

You’ll like this if you liked : Slither

Crimson Peak (2015) 8/10

Starring : Mia Wasikowska, Jessica Chastain, Tom Hiddleston, Charlie Hunnam
Director : Guillermo del Toro
Running Time : 119 mins

Edith Cushing (Wasikowska) is an aspiring American author who meets a mysterious stranger named Thomas Sharpe (Hiddleston). The two eventually fall in love and decide to marry, moving far away from Edith’s family to England to live with Thomas’s sister Lucille (Chastain) in their dilapidated family home. But it doesn’t take long for the warnings about the Sharpe’s that Edith received from her friends and family to start coming spookily true.

Firstly, this isn’t a ghost story. As Edith says in the movie, it’s a story that just happens to have ghosts in it. If you’re looking for a jumpy horror movie, then you’re looking in the wrong place, but if you’re looking for an atmospheric murder mystery with a twist, then this is absolutely perfect. It is, at times, a little slow, but this slow pacing it what makes it more effective than if it just rushed into the moments of horror which are few and far between.

You’ll like this if you liked : The Lady In The Water

Insidious Chapter 3 (2015) 7/10

Starring : Dermot Mulroney, Stefanie Scott, Angus Sampson, Leigh Whannell, Lin Shaye, Tate Berney, Michael Reid MacKay, Steve Coulter, Hayley Kiyoko, Corbet Tuck, Tom Fitzpatrick
Director : Leigh Whannell
Running Time : 98 mins

Teenager Quinn Brenner (Scott) attempts to communicate with her dead mother but, when these attempts fail, she consults a psychic, Elise Rainier (Shaye). Elise warns her that she is meddling with powers that she doesn’t understand, but Quinn ignores her warnings until she starts to notice strange things happening in her home and is attacked by a violent demonic presence.

In spite of the fact that this movie has such a low certificate, it still manages to have a few jumpy scary moments without going over the top into the realm of blood and guts. The story is interesting and well paced, with a stellar performance from Shaye who reprises her role from the previous movies. It works as a great introduction to the horror genre for those too young to see the more violent and gory entries in the genre, and fans of the previous movies might even find this one a little better.

You’ll like this if you liked : Ouija

Would You Rather (2012) 7/10

Starring : Brittany Snow, Jeffrey Combs, Jonny Coyne, Lawrence Gillard Jr, Logan Miller, Enver Gjokaj, Sasha Grey, John Heard, Charlie Hofheimer, Eddie Steeples, June Squibb, Robin Lord Taylor, Robb Wells
Director : David Guy Levy
Running Time : 94 mins

Iris (Snow) is desperate to help her brother out with his medical expenses, so her brother’s oncologist Dr Barden (Gillard Jr) introduces her to a philanthropist named Shepard Lambrick (Combs) who invites her to a dinner party. When she arrives she discovers that his plan is to play a deadly parlour game in which the last man standing is awards his help.

This was an intriguing movie, though it doesn’t leave much to the imagination. The whole idea doesn’t sound that original, but by building the tension up slowly things are made far more interesting. The ending is something of a surprise, though for tainted viewers who expect the unexpected it is kind of obvious, and the predictability of who survives the dinner party will come as no surprise, though it would have been nice if someone else had won the game, though the final shock probably wouldn’t have worked with that happening.

You’ll like this if you liked : Saw III

Annabelle (2014) 6/10

Starring : Annabelle Wallis, Ward Horton, Tony Amendola, Alfre Woodard
Director : John R Leonetti
Running Time : 99 mins

Mia Form (Wallis) is pregnant with her first child, and her husband John (Horton) buys her a gift of a collectable vintage doll for which she’s been searching for years. But when the doll is tainted during a home invasion, she loses her love for the doll as strange things begin to happen in their lives.

This had potential, but it doesn’t really meet it. Spun off from the opening scene of The Conjuring (and loosely based on a true case of an actual haunted doll named Annabelle, which was actually a Raggedy Ann doll and not a valuable porcelain doll) this tries to give a reason for the doll being possessed, but just makes it too obvious about the direction the movie is going to take. I’m sure that the true story had no logical reason for the dolls possession, but modern movie goers do need explanations in their movies for them to work, plus the true story is kind of dull.

You’ll like this if you liked : Sinister 2

Hush (2016) 8/10

Starring : Kate Siegel, John Gallagher Jr, Michael Trucco, Samantha Sloyan
Director : Mike Flanagan
Running Time : 83 mins

Madison ‘Maddie’ Young (Siegel) is a deaf author who lives in an isolated cottage where she writes her novels, but when a masked man (Gallagher) attacks and murders her neighbour Sarah (Sloyan), she finds herself in danger for her life.

This is actually a pretty clever movie, which despite what you might think isn’t completely silent. We get snatches of Maddie’s world as she comes under attack from the masked man, but on the whole we are more in the place of the perpetrator as she tries to fight him off, and we suffer the same fate as he does as Maddie tries to get the better of him. Fans of classic horror flicks that don’t have monsters in them will enjoy this, but if you prefer slashers then this probably isn’t for you.

You’ll like this if you liked : Silent House

Cooties (2014) 8/10

Starring : Elijah Wood, Rainn Wilson, Alison Pill, Jack McBrayer, Leigh Whannell, Nasim Pedrad, Jorge Garcia
Director : Jonathan Milott & Cary Murnion
Running Time : 89 mins

School teacher Clint Hadson (Wood) returns to his home town of Fort Chicken to work at his old school as a supply teacher, but when one of the children eats an infected chicken nugget an outbreak of zombie like flesh eating madness over runs the school and only a handful of teachers remain to fight off the plague.

This movie was so much fun. Even though it feels like it’s all been done before – and not just because it’s a parody but because it feels like the parody itself has been seen before – it is still done in such a way as to be likeable and plausible even though it is clearly a comedy. Nothing is left to the imagination (aside from the ending of the movie) and most of what causes the outbreak amongst the children is explained and reasoned. Fans of comedy horrors won’t go wrong with this.

You’ll like this if you liked : Freaks Of Nature

Paranormal Activity : The Ghost Dimension (2015) 7/10

Starring : Chris J Murray, Brit Shaw, Ivy George, Dan Gill, Olivia Taylor Dudley
Director : Gregory Plotkin
Running Time : 98 mins

A family who have moved into their new home find some old camera equipment, and when they start to use it they discover it can see into the spirit realm, and that their home is riddled with spectral activity.

This fifth instalment tries to do something different from the rest of the movies by providing the cast of victims with a camera that can see the ghostly activity in the haunted house, and the characters are quite funny to begin with, but then we end up going down the same old road with the silly ghost cult people turning up and murdering everyone like they do in every other movie. You’d think by now that the police would be monitoring the place in case of killing sprees, but no. This was fun if you really like all the other films, but it is a bit on the samey side.

You’ll like this if you liked : The Blair Witch Project