31 Nights of Terror 2015 #34 - The Borderlands (2013)

The Borderlands (2013)
Director: Elliot Goldner
Starring: Gordon Kennedy, Robin Hill, Aidan McArdle
Format: AVI

Plot: A team of Vatican investigators descends upon a church in a remote area to demystify the unusual happenings, but what they discover is more disturbing than they had first imagined.

Also known as Final Prayer (a more fitting name), this is one of those movies that is saved by its third act and ending.

That's not to say the rest of the movie is bad. As found footage paranormal movies go it's simply watchable for the first two-thirds. Like all films of this kind, nothing much happens at the start, then the tension and suspense ramps up. The early portions are all about getting us comfortable with the characters before the bad stuff goes down, and the actors do a good job of bringing fun-loving techie Gray (Hill), hard-drinking and cynical church investigator Deacon (Kennedy), and by-the-book priest Mark (McArdle) to life.

Once the paranormal stuff starts it's nothing we haven't seen before, but the isolated setting (which I love) adds to an overall creepy atmosphere. Then late in the piece one of the characters goes investigating by himself at night and the suspense really ramps up, leading to an ending that I was left thinking about for days afterwards.

Those who don't like found footage films will probably want to bypass this one, but if that doesn't put you off, give it a watch, for the ending alone if for nothing else.

31 Nights of Terror 2015 #24 - Ju-on: The Grudge (2002)

Ju-on: The Grudge (2002)
Director: Takashi Shimizu
Starring: Megumi Okina, Misaki Ito, Misa Uehara
Format: DVD

Plot: A mysterious and vengeful spirit marks and pursues anybody who dares enter the house in which it resides.

I've seen this one before a couple of times and may have even reviewed it here on the blog (I'm too lazy to check), but chose it for the marathon because my girlfriend hasn't seen a lot of classic J-Horror. I've also seen the American remake with Sarah Michelle-Gellar, which I actually enjoyed, although it's not as good as the original Japanese version here.

Sadly I find that J-Horror doesn't stand the test of time. Once upon a time these movies really creeped me out, but I guess the tropes of the sub-genre were done to death and that takes away some of the impact. Still, the little boy is creepy, some of the scares are still good (attic, elevator, shower) and the story is good (if a little confusing due to it's non-linear style).

As J-Horror goes this is one of the best and certainly holds up better than Ring (which I tried re-watching a couple of years ago and didn't enjoy much at all).

31 Nights of Terror 2015 #15 - Exeter (2015)

Exeter (2015)
Director: Marcus Nispel (Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake)
Starring: Stephen Lang, Kevin Chapman, Kelly Blatz
Format: Netflix

Plot: During an all-night, drug-fueled party at an abandoned asylum known for the horrific treatment of its patients, a group of ordinary teens decide to experiment with the occult, mysteriously leading to a violent possession. In an effort to find help, the group rushes to escape, only to find themselves locked inside with no means of communication. Tempers flare, trusts are broken and in attempt to save one of their friends possessed by the demon, the amateurs try to perform an exorcism. Instead of solving the problem, and unbeknownst to them, they unleash an even more powerful and vengeful spirit, one with a distinct motive and which wants them all dead. The teen's only chance of survival is to uncover the asylum's deep mysteries and find a way out before it's too late.

After a career dedicated to music videos and big franchise remakes (Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Friday the 13th, Conan the Barbarian), Marcus Nispel offers his first original feature film with this decidedly-mediocre outing.

Yes, it involves possession, but it's not your usual possession movie. Instead Exeter comes off more as a live-action Scooby Doo adventure. Okay, there's no talking dog (unfortunately) but the group of teens are you basic Mystery Inc group - one of them is even a stoner who looks like Shaggy.

An abandoned asylum can be a great setting (Session 9), but it's wasted here as Nispel discards suspense in favour of big special effects moments. About the only thing he gets right is the gore, with a good amount of blood and guts strewn about. But the story is lame and the actors (mostly no names) look lost most of the time. It doesn't help that the main protagonists look way too much like Shia Lebouf and Lindsay Lohan, two actors I can't stand.

For 91 minutes the teens creep around the asylum, a possessed person goes nuts and makes things fly around, they creep around some more, rinse and repeat. Of course's there the required twist ending, which also falls flat.

Avoid.

31 Nights of Terror 2015 #10 - We Are Still Here (2015)

We Are Still Here (2015)
Director: Ted Geoghegan
Starring: Barbara Crampton, Andrew Sensenig, Lisa Marie

Format: AVI

Plot: After their teenage son is killed in a car crash, Paul (Andrew Sensenig) and Anne (Barbara Crampton) move to the quiet New York countryside to try to start a new life for themselves. But the grieving couple unknowingly becomes the prey of a family of vengeful spirits that reside in their new home, and before long they discover that the seemingly peaceful town they've moved into is hiding a terrifyingly dark secret. Now they must find a way to overcome their sorrow and fight back against both the living and dead as the malicious ghosts threaten to pull their souls - and the soul of their lost son - into hell with them.

We Are Still Here is a fantastic slice of winter horror helmed by a first time director and clearly influenced by Lucio Fulci's The House By the Cemetery (1981).

What starts off your basic haunted house movie morphs into something more than that. I don't want to give too much away, because this is one of those movies that is best enjoyed without too much prior knowledge, but it involves a town with a dark history.

Geoghegan does a great job of building up a foreboding atmosphere, making perfect use of the snow-bound countryside to create a real sense of isolation. The acting is also great across the board. Special mention goes to Barbara Crampton - it's fantastic to see the star of great 80s fare like Re-animator and From Beyond getting a meaty lead role all these years later, hopefully she gets a whole lot more. I also have to mention director-turned-actor Larry Fessenden, who is great as a stoner-hippy friend of the main couple. Monte Markham is also notably creepy in a key supporting role.

The third act of this movie contains some fantastic gore. Real balls-to-the-wall stuff. And the pay-off is nicely done, again without wanting to give too much away.

I thoroughly enjoyed We Are Still Here and highly recommend it to scare-philes and gore-hounds alike. I'm looking foward to seeing what Geoghegan comes up with next and where his career goes from here, hopefully straight up.

31 Nights of Terror 2015 #8 - The Possession of Michael King (2014

The Possession of Michael King (2014)
Director: David Jung
Starring: Shane Johnson, Ella Anderson, Cara Pifko
Format: DVD

Plot: Michael King (Shane Johnson), doesn't believe in God or the Devil. Following the sudden death of his wife, Michael decides to make his next film about the search for the existence of the supernatural, making himself the center of the experiment - allowing demonologists, necromancers, and various practitioners of the occult to try the deepest and darkest spells and rituals they can find on him - in the hopes that when they fail, he'll once and for all have proof that religion, spiritualism, and the paranormal are nothing more than myth. But something does happen. An evil and horrifying force has taken over Michael King. And it will not let him go.

This one flew under the radar for me - I'd never heard of it before picking it up for $1 at a closing video store in my town (part of a 50-DVD lot I grabbed on the last day before they closed up for good). But even going in blind I knew what to expect (well duh, the name says it all) and I'm no real fan of possession movies - they all seem to retread the same stuff we've seen going all the way back to The Exorcist (which I do dig).

On a positive note, The Possession of Michael King starts off strongly. The early parts where Michael is investigating paranormal activities (necromancer, retired priest, freaky devil-worshipping swinger couple) is good stuff. But unfortunately once our guy becomes "possessed" it's all down hill from there.

In Johnson's defence he does a pretty fine job of playing our hero in supernatural peril. It's just that we've seen it all before so many times. You know the drill - weird body and facial contortions, furniture moving, loud sounds, jump scares, the whole nine yards. If that's your thing, have at it, but it honestly bores me to tears. And why the hell is a possessed Michael still filming everything?

The Possession of Michael King is a generic found footage demon movie, not the worst I've seen, but nothing I'd be in a hurry to watch again.

31 Nights of Terror 2015 #6 - Last Shift (2014)

Last Shift (2014) 
Director: Anthony DiBlasi (Dread)
Starring: Juliana Harkavy, Joshua Mikel, J. LaRose
Format: AVI

Plot: A rookie cop's 1st shift in the last night of a closing police station alone turns into a living nightmare.

This low-budget affair starts off with a premise that echoes John Carpenter's Assault on Precinct 13 - an old police station is empty because the department has moved into nicer digs down the street. A rookie cop is sent to play night watchmen on her first shift (and the last shift for the station, hence the name). But unlike it JC's movie the station doesn't come under attack by criminals, or at least not in the conventional sense. Spooky shit starts happening and from there it becomes a "haunted location" flick with some satanist cult elements thrown into the mix.

For the budget what you get is a very slick and well-shot film. The acting's also pretty good (for a bunch of no names) and there are enough jump scares and suspenseful moments to keep things interesting. The cult element is handled well, with the aforementioned cultists having a very Manson-esque vibe to them.

Unfortunately a lot of the early going happens in a brightly-lit police station, which detracts from the suspense, but unlike a lot of others I don't have a problem with the slow-burn approach taken here. Once the action kicks in it's entertaining and includes some really nice visual effects. The end twist is also pretty good, I didn't see it coming.

Last Shift isn't anything mind-blowing, but is definitely worth a watch for horror fans who don't mind a slow pace.

MAY-DE TO BE MOCKED - Paranormal Entity (2009)

 Note: Throughout the month of May I will be watching Mockbusters, those low-budget movies which are made purely to cash in on a recent successful blockbuster. I call this May-de to be Mocked! 

Paranormal Entity (2009)
Director: Shane Van Dyke
Starring: Erin Marie Hogan, Fia Perera, Norman Saleet, Shane Van Dyke
Format: AVI

Plot: A family is apparently being visited by the spirit of their dead dad/husband. But things start going bad, so they set up cameras throughout the house to find out exactly what's up.

Normally when I list the cast of a movie, I pick out the three or four main actors. But that list that you see above? That's the whole cast. Four people. Total. And one of them (Saleet) only shows up briefly towards the end and Van Dyke never shows his face.

So yeah, minimalist is the key word here. But when you're aping the Paranormal Activity phenomena, that's to be expected I guess. I couldn't find the budget for this movie (produced by mockbuster specialists The Asylum) but it can't have been any more than about $100,000. Four actors. One of those actors is the director/writer. No special effects. Shot on handicams in a house. Hell, maybe $100,000 is being generous. $50,000?

I should add that I'm an unashamed Found Footage apologist. I like found footage movies. Starting with Blair Witch Project (which blew me away when I first saw it), continuing through all the hundreds of imitators, I enjoy them.

So, the found footage gimmick isn't the reason I didn't enjoy this one very much. Whereas Paranormal Activity and its first sequel (parts 3 and 4 are best not mentioned) do a great job with a good, slow build, this mockbuster doesn't show that same patience. It tries to show things too early, and in doing so fails to build up any real suspense.

The acting is passable (Hogan is the standout as the sister/daughter/main victim). One major difference from Paranormal Activity is this movie doesn't shy away from nudity and swearing. I guess that's something.

The other major problem is that I watched this after already having seen the first 4 Paranormal Activity movies, and by now the whole concept has passed its used by date. I wouldn't say I disliked this movie - it kept me entertained for the most part - but it felt exactly like what it is, a low-budget imitation.