It's been a spooky week!

So, this week just passed, I happened to have watched 3 horror films. My family are bonafide scary-movie junkies and we just decided to watch some films in the evenings, instead of our usual television soaps for a change!

Here's what we checked out...



First up, was The Loved Ones (2009). Very different to the usual stalk-and-slash picture or cannibal-filled gore fest we usually watch, this was a little more indie. When troubled Brent turn downs an invitation to the school dance from quiet classmate Lola, it's not long before he regrets his decision as
she starts to enact sick revenge upon him (and we're certainly not talking name-bashing on Facebook kind of revenge).

The Loved Ones will certainly make you wince in places, the violence is hard-hitting and because it's real people enforcing it (not mutants, ghosts or vampires), it really does get to you. For someone well accustomed to a scary or two, it may seem more like a thriller than a horror just because of its lack of the general things you come to expect in a scary film. There are no jumps, no tension or eerie soundtracks but it still makes you think "rather them than me".

The acting is impressive, particularly from Twilight's Xavier Samuel, who, despite having as little as 5 lines throughout the whole film, really gets the audience's empathy and viewers find themselves really willing him to escape Lola's clutches.

Whether it's truly a horror and whether the science is particularly accurate, (we're not sure after getting drilled in the head, you'd still be able to drive a car), it is certainly worth a watch, particularly if you're into slightly out there, non-mainstream movies.

6/10

The second in our miniature fright-fest was The Innkeepers (2011). Led by a very small cast, it follows Claire and her fellow hotel worker, Luke as they try to pick up paranormal evidence in the last weekend of their employment at The Yankee Pedlar Inn. With a handful of peculiar guests occupying the rooms and stories of a ghost haunting the halls, the pair soon discover the hotel may not be as empty as they thought it was.

Being a Sara Paxton fan, I had been keen to see this movie ever since it's release. It didn't disappoint and the story was pretty solid but it felt far too short and the truly scary moments were few and far-between. But funnily enough, the non-scary scenes were actually far superior and more interesting than the "scary" ones.

What was surprising about this movie was that it actually had a lot of humour in it, which you wouldn't expect watching the trailer. The two inn employees' interaction made for a lot of laughs and made them seem very real, albeit slightly unlikeable characters.

The first half of The Innkeepers was truthfully, brilliant. It felt almost like old classic The Shining in it's build-up of suspense but then unfortunately, let this unravel far too quickly at the end in a failed attempt to frighten the audience. So, give it a watch, but you may have to forgive it's rushed ending.

6.5/10

Our third choice caught our attention because not only was the screenplay written by horror-legend Wes Craven, it also originated from an older Asian movie called Kairo. Plus it boasted a pretty good cast (Kristen Bell, Ian Somerhalder and Sam Levine to name a few). The concept of Pulse (2006) would be one to scare our technological advancing society, nearly 10 years on from when it was released.

After witnessing her boyfriend commit suicide, Mattie (Bell) and her friends start receiving emails from his computer. There's only one thing though, his computer has been unplugged since his death. Soon the gang start being self-offed one by one as Mattie frantically tries to figure out what is causing all the people around her to do this. Turns out it's demon-like figures that use internet and signal frequencies to present themselves and take hold of their victims. (I can't say I wasn't scared typing this post out the very next day).

Yes, there are some holes in the plot and the visual style is a little "emo" but in the end, you don't really care. Considering it was made in 2006, Pulse has an almost retro-horror feel about it, almost comparable to cheesy favourites such as When A Stranger Calls or The Ring. It's not mind-blowingly intelligent but does pose some interesting parallels against our dependency on technology and how it turns us into mindless puppets, a notion that is even more relevant today than it was when it was made.

6.5/10

All in all, I think we picked some good ones this week! I'm so often disappointed with horrors but this trio did well in terms of entertainment for a couple of hours.