EvilPhoEniX

Dating is dangerous! A solid romantic psycho-thriller in the Hannibal mode, and mature for a debut. The main character has trouble finding love, dating doesn't work out until the day she meets a nice man in a store (read Winter Soldier!), but she has no idea that he has a rather strange appetite. There's not much to write about the story, but I'll admit that I turned off the trailer out of boredom and it's one of those films I wasn't looking forward to, and as a result it's a spring horror surprise. The film is beautifully shot, with impressive interiors and colours, technically on par, the acting is also solid with the main character having the face of Anne Hathaway, and the atmosphere is awesome with an exploitative feel focusing on psyche rather than violence, but even that comes across to a lesser extent. The plot itself is pretty twisted and refreshing, the film flows well and the ending is decently gritty and suspenseful as well, so I'm satisfied. I was expecting another boring talky drama and got a great cannibal thriller. Story 4/5, Action 2/5, Humor 2/5, Violence 3/5, Fun 4/5 Music 3/5, Visuals 4/5, Atmosphere 4/5, Suspense 3/5, Emotion 3/5, Actors 4/5. 7.5/10.

Matt Reeves and his dark neo-noir detective Batman! I was hoping that the new Batman would instantly join the top 10 films I've ever seen and unfortunately that's not going to happen, as some of the individual elements didn't quite work for me, but that doesn't mean it isn't a solid film that everyone should see in the cinema. In fact, I can't really imagine seeing the film at home and not falling asleep. Matt Reeves pulls us into a three-hour dirty and dark Gotham that is no stranger to crime and corruption. The acting is very precise, Robert Pattinson as Batman is perfect, Zoë Kravitz is the sexiest Catwoman ever, Jeffrey Wright as Gordon is very solid, and Paul Dano is very good as the villainous Riddler (although at times I thought he overacted quite a bit, but nothing distracting). Colin Farrell as the Penguin should also be praised, he managed to shine in a small space as well. The atmosphere of the film is really reminiscent of Fincher's Se7en, and I was reminded of Saw in a few scenes (probably due to the puzzles). As a detective film The Batman is very good, with great crime investigation, but I'm a bit disappointed that we don't get much action itself, given the long running time, I would have liked at least a more spectacular finale (apart from a couple of ground fights in the dark, there's really nothing wow on my part), which unfortunately means I won't be in a hurry for a second viewing. Praise must also go to the music, which is spot on, and above all the cinematography and technical aspects are of the highest possible standard. I had goosebumps twice, during the one-shot Batman flyby and also when the Batmobile starts up (although surprisingly it was only used once!!). All in all the three hours were fine, there is a lot of quality work done in many ways, but it is so exhausting that the experience is not multiplied by euphoria as I had hoped. Maybe on a second viewing I'll enjoy the film even more, maybe the experience needs to mature, but either way, satisfaction prevails. Story 4/5, Action 4/5, Humor 2/5, Violence 3/5, Entertainment 4/5 Music 5/5, Visuals 5/5, Atmosphere 5/5, Suspense 3/5, Emotion 3/5, Actors 5/5. 8/10.

I liked the first one a bit more, but the second one is also a solid animated film for fans of modern pop music. The animation of the animals is amazing (the lion leads the way!), the songs are fresh, the storyline is fast-paced and the film reliably manages to entertain. Too bad it lacks humor for an animated film, but I'll still pull it out at 4 stars. 7/10.

An average 90's-style thriller. During a winter storm, the main character is forced to stop at an isolated rest area with four other strangers. She encounters a kidnapped child in the parking lot and the problems start. I quite like thrillers with the theme of one place, a group of strangers, someone hiding something, but unfortunately they reveal that too soon here and the film lacks a proper twist or shocking revelation, as it did in the iconic Identity. Acting-wise I wasn't too impressed with, the film is visually, there is minimal violence (it needed more characters and definitely more savagery), but the nail-biter was more or less pleasing, you don't see that every day. It's relatively OK for one viewing on a dull evening, but in no genre level is the film satisfying enough to stand out from its counterparts. Story 3/5, Action 2/5, Humor 0/5, Violence 3/5, Fun 3/5 Music 2/5, Visuals 3/5, Atmosphere 3/5, Suspense 3/5, Emotion 2/5, Actors 3/5. 5.5/10.

Hellboredom! Another festival indie over which the local critics will wank about how beautifully slow, festival, artsy and useless it is. Hellbenders is a very intimate and cheap horror film about a daughter’s relationship with her mother, who keeps her isolated somewhere in the woods. She claims she is sick and not allowed to associate with other people. Their family has something to do with witchcraft. I was looking forward to a witch horror movie with black magic and instead, I got a talky drama of two unlikeable characters with awful music, dollar store visuals, lame CGI and a tediously boring flow. Nothing interesting actually happened in the meager 80 minutes. No gore, no atmosphere, no suspense, no jumps-cares and no surprises, just another slow burn cesspool for "the chosen ones". Story 2/5, Action 0/5, Humour 0/5, Violence 1/5, Fun 2/5 Music 1/5, Visuals 2/5, Atmosphere 2/5, Suspense 1/5, Emotion 2/5, Actors 2/5. 3/10.

Netflix and another great true crime drama that is worth your time, especially if you liked The Tinder Swindler. In two hours we follow a con man, a master manipulator, who pretends to be a British spy and leaves behind destroyed families and robbed people. The villain is a real psychopath who is very intelligent, has everything figured out to the last detail, a walking ghost who uses his skill to the fullest. The documentary is divided into three parts and all the stories of the people in it are worth watching. I really enjoyed the old man who played the Spy in his old age and did a great job. Again, at times the documentary is confusing, it switches between characters and stories quite often and it's challenging to get your bearings, but you get used to it. It's got pace, build-up and well dosed information, and the most shocking thing is again how the justice system is almost powerless against this. This is what Netflix is great at. 7.5/10.

After a long time I had a go at another extreme film for only the most persistent and perverted souls from the well-known director Marian Dora. Those who’ve had some experience with him know what to expect. This time, however, I am not completely satisfied. Dora's peak was Carcinoma, which to date is one of the greatest films of its type ever made, but it was also original, shocking in form and content. Unfortunately, this one didn't really grab me. It's about three characters, a dwarf, an old man and a young girl who take a trip to a lake in the countryside, it all starts innocently. They're all kind of mentally weird, eating various worms and small animals, and this thing goes on for almost 40 minutes, which I honestly didn't enjoy. In the second half, the movie goes into sexploitation where the dwarf gets horny and starts physically, mentally and sexually molesting the young girl, with the grandfather both watching and aiding and abetting. There's not much talking, there's maddeningly annoying music that keeps repeating and Dora focuses on feces rather than gore, and I don't like that either. There is no proper rape and the only thing worth mentioning is the final "Incarnation", a rape by branches, which is probably the craziest scene of the whole film. I found the baby animals impaled on the branches that flashed throughout the film quite perverse and disturbing. Dora is a twisted artist who has a very small fan base and his films are not watchable by a normal sane individual. Definitely a hard film to digest, but it didn't really hit my taste buds with its concept. Story 1/5, Action 2/5, Humour 0/5, Violence 3/5, Fun 2/5 Music 1/5, Visuals 2/5, Atmosphere 3/5, Suspense 1/5, Emotion 2/5, Actors 1/5. 5/10.

A pretty decent intimate horror comedy about a Scottish shepherd who goes to an isolated island (greetings from The Lighthouse) for work and soon starts to go insane and the shadows from his past start to catch up with him. It's a bit slower and it’s not easy to keep the attention in the first half, but later on there are a couple of decent visions that are worthwhile (the skinned sheep lead the way, but the scene with the mother is considerably disturbing, and there is one small plot twist I rate as positive). Thematically it is nothing groundbreaking, but those with a soft spot for isolated island horror probably won't be disappointed. Story 3/5, Action 0/5, Humour 0/5, Violence 2/5, Fun 3/5 Music 3/5, Visuals 3/5, Atmosphere 3/5, Suspense 2/5, Emotion 2/5, Actors 3/5. 6/10.

The expectations were high, but I'm not as outraged as the rest. The tie-in to the Wu assassins series was a pretty bad move, because the fantasy elements were annoying already there and to cram them into a movie is impertinence of the highest order (I wonder if there's anyone who even likes it?). Otherwise, it's your classic martial arts B-movie that gets its feet tapped by a very bad soundtrack that is totally inappropriate for the fight scenes, and of course the fantasy CGI inserts are annoying, but the cinematography and choreography aren’t bad, not memorable, but not offensive (American productions definitely make worse fight scenes). Iko Uwais should choose better projects, because under the supervision of a mediocre director even his action can look ordinary. It was nice to see enough familiar Asian faces in supporting roles and I didn't suffer while watching it, so it works out to a weaker average. 5/10.

It took 50 years for The Texas Chainsaw Massacre to finally live up to its name. From my point of view, it was euphoria and a return fifteen years back to the time of hits as Haute Tension, Deathly Hallows, Martyrs, The Hills have Eyes, etc. Hixploitation is a sub-genre that has been slowly disappearing in horror, and I welcome open arms this comeback after maybe five years to a genre I love. If you are a true gore hound and like proper carnage, I can't believe you didn't smile from ear to ear with happiness and joy while watching this. The LGBT community, intellectual posers, wet teens and nerds swooning at the first murder will of course snort, because after re-watching The Father, their Netflix automatically loaded the most watched movie of the week, thinking they were going to get a slow burn drama from Texas about a creepy guy selling chainsaws in a run-down shop at the end of town, chugging beer at sunset, while uttering philosophical musings about the demise of the world and dealing with everyday adult obstacles. Of course, by the time he learns that he has cancer and incipient Alzheimer's and thus can no longer care for his two autistic sons, they've all been cruelly misled into thinking this won't be the kind of movie they'll watch with their grandparents. Now, finally, on to the movie. It's beautiful! An excellent showcase of gore scenes with a body-count so high that it could kick the ass of any horror film in the last five years in terms of gore. I can't remember anything else. The film is only a mer 80 minutes long and after a 20 minute intro it kicks in. Leatherface puts on the creepies mask of his career and goes cut everyone on sight, crashing, crunching bones, and mutilating people in dozens of ways, with intestines, severed heads, dismembered bodies, and severed limbs flying willi-nilly. There is no limit to the creativity and ideas in killing people here, it's uncompromising R-rated, almost NC17, which is not done nowadays, and I was completely ALIVE while watching it! I must also praise the cinematography and especially the soundtrack. There are a few jump-scares and whenever Leatherface is on the scene it's intense, raw, evil, bleak and cold. You can feel the characters' lives snuffing out palpably and the scene on the bus is already an instant cult classic that will be popping up in various YouTube videos 10 years from now. It's silly, it's cheesy, the characters are unlikeable, but it's so fucking entertaining and so fucking brutal that I forgive all these flaws with a smile on my face. This is what I lovel, and for those who don’t, you still have plenty of dramas in store. P.S. All those who gave 4 stars have my sympathy and are a guarantee that true horror fans haven’t died yet. Story 2/5, Action 4/5, Humor 2/5, Violence 5/5, Fun 5/5 Music 5/5, Visuals 4/5, Atmosphere 3/5, Suspense 4/5, Emotion 2/5, Actors 3/5. 8.5/10.