Good, Bad and Horrible pt.1

Some time ago I decided to become more active in watching horror movies again. I've been slacking lately, and figured it was past due to take in some new scares.

But where to begin? Studios are pumping out tons of new films every year. Luckily there are lots of list on IMDB that catalog peoples favorites. So, I headed over there and made myself a list of films that sounded interesting.

Now, there are a few problems with horror movies. First off, they almost always have lousy ratings whether they are good or not. That's because they tend to be rated like regular films, not genre specific horror. That can easily bring the score down, which in turn makes it difficult to tell the good from the awful.

Secondly, everyone's tastes are different, which became very clear to me with this project. A movie I hated got lots of praise (Absentia), while one that I loved (Session 9) was frowned upon.

Thirdly, synopses often lie, at least by omission, while posters can be extremely misleading. This makes it truly difficult to judge before hand if a movie is for you. The only option is to take the plunge, and plunge I did.

What follows it the first of a series of posts about this journey of mine into horror I haven't seen before. I'm not looking to review these films as such, just write up a short opinion on each, with a watch it / don't watch it attached. For more information, follow the IMDB links.

Here we go!

First up is Alyce a.k.a. Alyce Kills (2011).

This movie is pretty surreal at times, and it feels like the director tried a bit too hard to be artistic. But at least he tried! All in all it was entertaining, I had no problem sitting through it. The acting was adequate, and the gory effects likewise.

I'd say it's worth watching on a slow night.

Next is Livid (2011).

At first I was a bit confused as to where this film was going, but at least it knew. This is a very surreal film, with some gorgeous visuals, at least when you can see them, since many scenes are quite dark. In many ways it's one of the most Silent Hill like movies I've seen outside that franchise. I really liked Livid, but be advised that it's in french, so if that's not your cup of tea, stay away.

A dark fairytale nightmare well worth it for horror fans.

We continue with Absentia (2011).

This is one bad movie. Disjointed, choppy and full of unnecessary scenes. It seems to me that creator Mike Flanagan had all the tools but failed to build something with it. He was so aware that to show the monster is to loose the tension, that we never really see anything. What's supposed to be a shocking moment near the end, is practically impossible to even make out. The acting is wooden and the soundtrack is awful. At several points it makes it hard to hear what the characters are saying. To top it off, Absentia is brimming with cliches. What little there is to enjoy, is overshadowed and drowned by a script better suited for a drama.

Avoid this film.

The final entry this time, is Session 9 (2001).

Here we have good actors engaged in an interesting psychological journey. I truly enjoyed this film on several levels. It's not only bursting with atmosphere, but it keeps up the pace extremely well. It gives you plenty of clues but cleverly uses some of those clues as red herrings. If you watch with only one eye you'll most likely lose the point. Not the greatest ending but at least Session 9 avoids most mental hospital cliches.

Well worth watching!

So there we have it. More movie opinions next time! Until then, have a great week.