Welcome to this week’s edition of my movie blog. It’s a busy month for film festivals and conventions, as there are a lot of them around. So I figured, I would highlight them in my opening this week. Here’s a list of some of the festivals and conventions that are happening this month.
Eerie Horror Fest
Erie, PA October 10 - 14
Woodstock Film Festival
Woodstock, NY. October 10 - 14
Rock and Shock Horror Convention
Worcester Mass. October 12 -14
Terror Film Festival
Philadelphia, PA October 16 -21
Bang Bang Film Festival
Philadelphia, PA. October 17 – 21
Hollywood Film festival
Hollywood, CA. October 17 - 22
Rhode Island International Horrror
Providence, RI October 18 -21
Toronto After Dark Film Festival
Toronto, Canada October 19 - 25
It Came From Lake Michigan Film Fest
Milwaukee, Ws. October 25 – 28
Full Moon Horror Convention and Film Festival.
Little Rock, AK. October 26 - 28
Big Bear Lake Horror Film Festival
Big Bear Lake CA. November 2 - 3
Please go out and support independent filmmaking by going these festivals.
Reviews
Rating System
5 Stars – Highly Recommended
4 Stars – Recommended
3 Stars – Good / Average Film
2 Stars – Disappointing Film
1 Stars – Totally Awful
Horrorfest 2007
Bad Reputation
Bad Reputation is the first film to kick off Horrorfest 2007. The film is about a high-school girl (Angelique Hennessy), who thinks that the students have accepted her, when she is invited to a party. During the party, things go horribly wrong for her, when someone put drugs into her drink. Then she is raped and the student body makes fun of her. She then begins to exact her revenge by murdering the people that tormented her. It’s amazing how independent horror has become watch-able again for me. Bad Reputation was a very good film. It’s very rare for me to enjoy a slasher film where you don’t care for the victims at all, but it works for this film. I liked how the story developed in the first thirty minutes, where I felt sorry for the main character and you hated the kids that were doing this to her. I also like the fact that the screenplay didn’t get carried away with offing various characters for no apparent or stupid reasons which plague some low budget horror films. I thought Angelique Hennessy did a good job the material that she was given in the film. Bad Reputation is good film for those who love revenge slasher films. For more information on this film, go to www.myspace.com/badreputationmovie. 4 Stars. Not Rated.
Stupid Teenagers Must Die
Stupid Teenagers Must Die is group of teenagers in the 1980’s are having a séance in a haunted house, where all the typical 80’s characters in horror films are there. Soon eerie things start to happen in the house where a serial killer used to live and the teenagers start to die a bloody death. The remaining teenagers must fight this supernatural force and stay alive. Will they get to safety or will they end up dying a horrible death. Stupid Teenagers Must Die is good campy B-movie fun. The film does suffer from its little budget and the fact the screenplay spends, a lot of time parodying 80’s horror movies. But I enjoyed the film’s humor that made it a fun mindless guilty pleasure film to watch. B Movie fans will have a fun time watching this film. For more information, on Stupid Teenagers Must Die, go to www.myspace.com/stupidteenagers. 3.5 Stars. Not Rated. 76 Mins
New Releases on DVD
Maang Lung (Dragon Heat)
Dragon Heat is one the latest film on the Weinstein’s Dragon Dynasty label. The film is about a crime lord who goes missing before he stands trial. It’s up to a group of elite Interpol agents that’s assembled to bring the crime lord back to stand trail. In order to capture him they have must go through a mysterious and very armed enemy. Michael Biehn (Grindhouse, The Terminator), Maggie Q (M.I 3, Live Free or Die Hard), and Shawn Yue (Infernal Affairs) also co-star. The filmmakers of War should take notes on how to make an effective Chinese action film because this was a very effective and violent action packed film. The film does good job developing its characters and telling a good story throughout the film. I thought the action sequence were very good and smart, as the sequences made it entertaining to watch and not redundant. I thought the performance were also good in the film. Dragon Heat was a nice escape from the action movies that Hollywood usually puts out. 4 Stars. Not Rated. 110 Mins.
DVD Pick of the Week
1408
1408 is the latest movie to be adapted from a Stephen King story. The film stars John Cusack (Gross Point Blank, High Fidelity) as an author who’s written two books that focuses on supernatural phenomena. Then one day, he receives a postcard telling them about a room 1408 in a New York hotel. Obsessed about the postcard, he’s determined to stay a night in the room and research the strange occurrences of that room. Will he make it out alive or will he end up another victim of that room? The film also co-stars Samuel L. Jackson (Black Snake Moan, Snakes on a Plane) and directed by Mikael Hafstrom (Derailed). I was surprised that I really enjoyed this film a lot, even thought it was rated PG-13. This is coming from a person, who dislikes PG-13 horror films. The rating for the film was biggest fear going into this because it might not be frightening enough for me or horror genre fans, as it might fall into the trap that many PG-13 horror films go though, by having no major scares or no story. Mikael Hafstrom does great job in creating a dark atmosphere that makes the film frightful and suspenseful. It also pushing the boundaries of what a PG-13 horror film can do. Also, I enjoyed John Cusack’s performance in the film. He was great and kept me interested in suspense throughout the film. It’s also one of those movies, where if the lead performance wasn’t very good or great then the movie was going to suffer because he’s on-screen by himself for most of the film. Also, don’t be fooled by the advertising that Samuel L. Jackson plays a major role in this film. He only on-screen for a short time but goes give a very great supporting performance, as the manger of the hotel that has this haunted room. 1408 is one of the best horror films to be released this year. It’s the most frightening film I’ve seen in theaters, since The Blair Witch Project back in 1999 and genre fans will enjoy checking into room 1408. 5 Stars. Rated PG-13. 108 Mins.
That’s it for this week’s edition of the movie blog. I’ll be back mid-week with this month edition of The Underrated Movie Blog on my myspace page. It will include two horror films that some of you might not have heard of. Until then, have a good day.
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