31 Nights of Terror 2015 #16 - The Beast of Xmoor (2014)

The Beast of Xmoor (2014)
Director: Luke Hyams
Starring: Melia Kreiling, Nick Blood, Mark Bonnar
Format: Netflix

Plot: A pair of documentarians head into the woods of the Exmoor countryside to find proof of the mysterious big cats that roam the area. But what they find in the depths of the forest is a horror beyond imagine. They must fight tooth and nail to survive or fall prey to what lurks in the darkness.

I've said before that I love horror movies set in isolated locations, especially the wilderness. While writer and director Luke Hyams hasn't re-invented the wheel with The Beast of Xmoor, he has taken a common horror trope (people hunt for Bigfoot in the American wilderness) and given it an English twist.

The setting is the expansive, windswept English moors (actually shot in Ireland, doubling for England, apparently) which are incredibly eerie. The urban legend in question is the English black panther. Like Bigfoot in the US, it has intrigued Brits for a long time now and makes for plenty of speculation (google it if you're unfamiliar). 

On top of a unique location and would-be monster, there are a few other twists thrown in that keep things interesting. Oh, and it's not found footage (despite having documentarians as main protagonists) which I was glad of, having seen way too many of those movies lately.

At its essense Exeter boils down to a "survival in the wilderness" flick, but it works because of the location and because of the acting, especially of lead Kreiling, who plays a great damsel in distress who is forced to kick butt to survive. Once the action starts it's pretty fast paced and never boring, although it won't please gore fans very much. While the ending feels a bit rushed, it is satisfying enough. 

Overall, Exeter won't blow you away, but is definitely worth a watch for having a different take on a well-worn genre.

31 Nights of Terror 2015 #13 - The Hoarder (2015)

The Hoarder (2015)

Director: Matt Winn
Starring: Mischa Barton, Robert Knepper, Charlotte Salt
Format: AVI

Plot: When Ella discovers her Wall Street banker boyfriend is renting a secret storage unit, she suspects he's using it to hide an affair. Enlisting the help of her best friend Molly she breaks into the facility only to discover something more terrifying instead. Now trapped in a darkened building with a group of neurotic strangers who start disappearing one by one, Ella soon uncovers even worse horror in the dank depths. Her life or death battle to escape eternal enslavement is about to begin....

The name of this one appealed to me because, well, I'm a bit of a hoarder. No, I'm not one of those "living in piles of filth" people you might see on TV's Hoarders. But I do collect a lot of stuff and like to refer to myself as an "organised hoarder". Sadly this movie has absolutely nothing to do with hoarding - the closest its gets is being set in a multi-level self-storage building.

The building itself is a pretty good setting for a horror movie - dark, claustrophobic, cluttered. The script also makes good use of lights on timers that keep turning off. And of course with all the wacky and wonderful things people keep in their storage lockers, that allows for all sorts of weapons for the protagonists to use to fight back.

Fight back against what exactly? Well, I don't want to give anything away, but I will say that The Hoarder does a good job of keeping the viewer guessing whether this is a straight-up slasher or something paranormal. The gore factor isn't bad but nothing that will amaze gorehounds. The acting is pretty mediocre (especially Barton, whose lack of emotion and wavering American accent is distracting) except for Knepper, who is good in anything.

One thing that did surprise me about this movie is that it doesn't really build up the suspense as you would expect. The two women arrive at the storage building and BAM! The action begins. From there things happen at a steady clip, making sure things are never boring. Some of the actions of the characters are just plain dumb, but the twist towards the end is fun and the ending satisfying.

31 Nights of Terror #6 - Eden Lake (2008)

Eden Lake (2008)
Director: James Watkins
Starring: Kelly Reilly, Michael Fassbender, Tara Ellis, Jack O'Connell
Format: DVD

- This one was a cheap blind buy. I know nothing about it.
- Okay, so it's British. And directed by James Watkins, who wrote a great little flick called My Little Eye.
- And stars Michael Fassbender, who since this has gone on to play parts in Inglourious Basterds and X-Men: First Class (as young Magneto).
- Hello Kelly Reilly. If there's one thing the Brits know how to produce it's sexy redheads (for more evidence see Karen Gillan from Dr Who).
- I guess I'm getting old and crotchety, because nothing makes my blood boil like disrespectful kids.
- Jesus Christ, there's some tough viewing in this. The one scene with the kids taking turns cutting the guy in particular.
- Movie is finished and I just realised I didn't write any notes for the second half of it, I was so engrossed in what was happening on screen.

Overall thoughts: Wow. It's been a long, long time since I've been as affected by a horror movie as I was by Eden Lake. This movie brought out more raw emotion (most of it anger) than I've felt in forever. At the core it's an isolation survival movie (like The Hills Have Eyes and so many others) mixed with a revenge flick (Last House on the Left, I Spit on Your Grave et al), and an effective one at that, full of suspense, jump scares and brutal violence.
But beyond that it is a commentary on the way our society is changing. From what I've seen and read, the increase in youth violence is a major problem in England (where Eden Lake is set), but disaffected and disrespectful youth are prevalent in any western society. This movie takes what we all know is going on in our society and puts it right in our face in a blunt and extreme manner. The idea of a monster chasing us through the woods is pretty scary. Switch the monster with a group of conscienceless youths and it becomes something that could actually happen, so all the more terrifying.
If you haven't seen Eden Lake, see it now.