Black Christmas (2006)

Date Of Release: 15^th December 2006 (UK) and 25^th December 2006 (US)

Director: Glen Morgan

Producer: Glen Morgan, James Wong, Odgen Gavanski, Bob Clark, Mark Cuban, Todd Wagner 

Starring: Katie Cassidy, Michelle Trachtenberg, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Oliver Hudson, Lacey Chabert, Kristen Cloke, Andrea Martin

Running Time: 84 minutes

Distributor: Dimension Films & MGM

Review

This film is a very loose remake of the 1974 film of the same name. I had seen that film years ago and was a little bit sceptic about this one. I don’t do remakes to well but seeing as this one was loosely based I thought that I should give it a go. I have to say, I was highly surprised. I expected this to be another teen slasher with a stupid twist set around Christmas. It is a little bit like that but better than you think.

To start off with, the theme of the film. Yes, it is Christmas, but when you are watching it you actually believe it is Christmas. They have all the decorations, the snowy weather and the music. I especially like the part where one of the girls explains that all of the customs are actually Pagan. I also love how the make the scene cheery yet very dark. The film is set in a sorority house, but it’s not your typical bimbo like setting, they don’t play on that too much. The look of the killer is different too. He was born with jaundice which gives him a yellow tint to his skin. In the scenes where he was younger, I think the yellowness was a bit over the top. It’s weird how they got something so common to actually look quite creepy. 
 

The plot itself is actually not half bad, even if the ending was a tad sloppy. I’m not sure about the whole “mother rapes her son to have a baby storyline”, made me gag a little if I’m being honest but I guess that is what the director may have been going for. The whole part with the cheating boyfriend was unnecessary though, too mushy and forgetful to be honest. My favourite part has to be where the bible basher got her head chopped off. All these girls get their eyes gouged out and this geeky little girl gets beheaded?! I found it highly amusing.

This film was actually a lot better than I expected it to be. Not the most amazing horror out there but certainly good for a night in. I would definitely suggest watching this on a cold winters night…with all the doors locked that is.

 

Rating: 6/10 – Simply having a wonderful (BLACK) Christmas time!!!

 

 

Dead Girl

Date Of Release: 6^th September 2008 (Toronto Film Festival) and 24^th July 2009 (US)

Director: Marcel Sarmiento & Gadi Harel

Producer: Marcel Sarmiento, Gadi Harel, Brendan Davis, Cynthia Graner, Vince P Maggio, Blue Nelson

Starring: Shiloh Fernandez, Noah Segan, Candice Accola, Michael Bowen  

Running Time: 101 minutes

Distributor: Dark Sky Films

Review

When I first heard about this movie, I have to say, I really wasn’t expecting too much from it. I thought that it would just be another crappy, porno type, teeny bopper style horror. Got to admit, after watching it, I couldn’t have been more wrong. This film is a lot better than you think it will be. The plot itself is actually quite simple. 2 high school seniors bunk school one day and come across an old abandoned psychiatric hospital. Inside they find a naked mute woman who they later find out is actually un-dead. One of the guys wants to release her whilst the other wants to keep her as some kind of sexual play thing. Events soon spiral out of control.

The film almost has a slight high school movie vibe to it, but that soon changes as the film goes on. It becomes much darker and much more sadistic. The film is full of gore, violence and explicit behaviour. This is one of the only films that I have watched were you are actually on the zombies side and wish that they would just kill every fucker on there. This is probably because abuse is abuse at the end of the day, even if they are un-dead.  
 

There is a part where one of the main guys convinces another guy to receive oral from the dead girl, which he happily goes along with. She then bites into his dick. Blatantly my favourite scene!! The ending scene is also pretty good, and almost poignant in a way. What lengths would you go to; to save the one you love?

This film is a perfect example of not judging a book by its cover. It may not be to everyone’s taste and at some parts it can be a tad slow but give it a chance. It really is a lot more original than you will think. I certainly recommend you watch it.    

Rating: 7/10 – Move over Rob Zombie, there’s more than one living dead girl in town!