My Top 5 Favorite Horror Movies

My Top 5 Favorite Horror Movies

  
  Horror films have been the genre I admire the most, mainly because it is hard to nail. The combination of story, characterization, and of course genuine scares make the experience of seeing one all the more exciting. In honor of Halloween, I am going to share my top 5 favorite horror movies of all time. I'm not going to limit myself to strictly horror, so any combination with horror will work (i.e. horror/comedy, horror/family, etc.). I'm not going to fully review them here. These are just brief summaries and what I liked about them. Also, I understand that all 5 movies are subjective of my taste, but let me know some of your favorite horror movies because I'm very sure I won't get all of yours here.

#5 - The Blair Witch Project

 "I'm afraid to close my eyes, I'm afraid to open them."  -Heather Donahue

  Number 5 is my first and favorite found footage film of all time. I can't stress enough how difficult it was for me to understand that this film wasn't real. The rawness of shooting The Blair Witch Project made me so intensely frightened of the woods and to this day I can't go out there. I'm just too afraid of witches (that reasoning doesn't make any sense, does it?).

^Well, if you stumble upon this, maybe you'll think it makes sense^

  The 3 film students depicted in The Blair Witch Project may not have the best acting chops (average, I would say), but they make you feel as if you were with them, trapped, alone, and frightened. They go into the woods to search for answers to the mystery of The Blair Witch. Well answers come and it's at their expense.

^The most memorable moment is when Heather cries apologetically for bringing her 2 classmates^

  The most daunting thing about this film is that you don't even see the witch terrorizing these 3 students! How crazy is that?!?! I was scared from something that I didn't even see. That is also the best thing about The Blair Witch Project: how something can scare you without actually having something there to physically scare you.
  

#4 - Jaws

 "You're gonna need a bigger boat."  -Brody

  

  Jaws is my number 4 choice for 2 reasons: nostalgia and it made me scared to go in the water (just like everyone else who saw it). I saw Jaws on TV when I was about 5 or 6 years old, around the time when I was swimming at my peak on my swim team. Well suffice to say I became afraid of swimming, even stepping into shallow waters of 2 feet. I thought my feet would be nibbled on by a mini Jaws.

^C'mon. Tell me that if you saw this at the deep end of your pool, you wouldn't crap^

  Even though you could argue that Jaws is Steven Spielberg's ultimate masterpiece, everyone should agree that the giant man-eating shark that terrorizes the beach of Amity Island is one the best film about a giant man-eating shark ever. How Spielberg did this as his directorial debut, I will never know. Creating a monster that made society change its way of going to the beach and even in the tub.

^Do what you do, buddy. Don't ever change^

  Just make sure you don't do this...

 ^Ha! You couldn't pay me to do this!^

#3 - Shaun of the Dead

"As Mr. Sloan always says, there is no "I" in team, but there is an "I" in pie. And there's an "I" in meat pie. Anagram of meat is team... I don't know what he's talking about."  -Shaun

   A horror-comedy! I love Simon Pegg's and Nick Frost's comedic banter. Every time they are on screen, you see their chemistry right from the start. That especially is true in Shaun of the Dead. The dry and witty British sense of humor (or humour...) that is presented has to be the main reason I love this movie. The other is, of course, the zombies.

 ^Time to bash some skulls!^

  Gore galore! The zombie apocalypse is upon us and Shaun and his best friend, Ed (Nick Frost), have to try and survive. Along the way, they meet up with Shaun's ex-girlfriend, Liz, and some other people. People die and people live (kind of). The kills in Shaun of the Dead are hilarious, which sounds weird to say but it is.

^Yup. A cricket bat. Not a gun or knife. A cricket bat.^

  Shaun of the Dead is Simon Pegg's and Nick Frost's best film together (and best horror-comedy involving zombies).

#2 - The Thing (1982)

"I dunno what the hell's in there, but it's weird and pissed off, whatever it is."  -Clark

  Thinking whether someone is human or...well...not, is a big fear in my life. This may not resonate with everyone, but if you like aliens, gross body horror, and Kurt Russell at his prime, then you'll love John Carpenter's The Thing. 

^Oh God! That's gross!...But pretty cool^

  The Thing is pretty much about a "thing" that terrorizes the base of a group of scientists (including the bad ass known as Kurt Russell) at the Antarctic. It attacks and takes form of an organism making it seem like the original organism. Metamorphism is the short way to say it.

^Well it stays like the original until it feels threatened...or when it just wants to consume.^

  I love the isolation of this film. Thousands of miles from Antarctica to the nearest people who can help them and a hostile alien is hiding among the scientists. The Thing made me paranoid for a couple of reasons: 1) I don't know who's real and who isn't. 2) I don't want to be eaten and taken over by a dangerous extra terrestrial. Good thing that won't ever happen, right Kurt?

^...Oh...I'm dead, aren't I?...^

  John Carpenter is one of the masters of horror. He did it with the original Halloween and he did it with The Thing. The guy has a twisted mind.

#1 - The Babadook

"DON'T LET IT IN!"  -Samuel

  I had a tough time deciding whether to put The Thing or The Babadook at the number 1 spot. I'm going with The Babadook for 1 reason: it is a callback to classic horror films that was made during the modern era of horror films.

 ^...eeehhh...This is freaky as hell^

  The Babadook is an Australian Indie Horror flick and Jennifer Kent's directorial debut. It's the story of single mother Amelia who deals with the death of her husband and her son's (Samuel) erratic behavior. Samuel asks Amelia to read her a story one night and she picks up a random pop-up picture book called Mister Babadook. The story is about an entity in which once you are aware of its existence, it torments and haunts that person. Samuel believes that the Babadook is stalking them and Amelia eventually finds a bunch of evidence that points to that truth.

^Why? Why would you read that disturbing and scary book?^

  The elements of old school horror are scattered everywhere in the movie. The Babadook doesn't rely on cheap jump scares and eerie music (although both of those things sometimes helps freak us out). There is no intense big score for the majority of the film and the monster is barely in the movie. You only see glimpses of it, which to me, is even more frightening. It takes a lot of skill to keep that suspense instead of using small cheap jump scares that get the audience without even trying.

^There's that one glimpse. That's, once again, freaky as hell^

  Well there are my top 5 favorite horror movies of all time. This was actually pretty difficult to set up. There were plenty that I left out that I love as well, but these are my definite top 5. If I missed any of your favorites (which I for sure did) comment and tell me yours.

Thanks and Happy Halloween!

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Steve Jobs Review

Steve Jobs

 "What do you do? You're not an engineer. You're not a designer. You can't put a hammer to a nail. I built the circuit board! The graphical interface was stolen! So how come ten times in a day I read Steve Jobs is a genius? What do you do?"  -Steve Wozniak

"Musicians play their instruments. I play the orchestra."  -Steve Jobs

  The biographical drama Steve Jobs is directed by Danny Boyle and stars Michael Fassbender as Steve Jobs, Kate Winslet as Joanna Hoffman, Seth Rogen as Steven Wozniak, Jeff Daniels as John Sculley, Michael Stuhlbarg as Andy Hertzfeld, and Katherine Waterston as Chrisann Brennan.

  Steve Jobs is made up of three different events in the Apple co-founder's career. The first is the unveiling of the Macintosh computer in 1984. Unfortunately, the computer suffered backlash due to performance issues and sales which resulted in Jobs being fired from Apple. The second event was in 1988 when Jobs unveiled yet another new computer called NeXT, which was just a black cube that was not even at all up to par with competing computer companies. Jobs eventually drops out of the NeXT phase and returns to Apple inc. in the 1990s. The third event happens in 1998 when Jobs unveils the new product iMac (which we all know what happens from there i.e. iPod, iPhone, iPad, iTunes, etc.). During these three periods of Steve Jobs' life, he deals with problems of all sorts such as his daughter coming into his life, financial issues with his daughter's mother, criticism from people who know him, and conflicts regarding his place at Apple. All of these battles that Jobs faced are definitely justified because this guy was a total f***ing jerk!

^C'mon Steve! You can treat people decently, can't you?^

  I can tell you truthfully that I knew enough about Steve Jobs' influence on technology, but nothing on what he was like as a person. It was just a couple of days before when I found out that most of his employees did not like him. Michael Fassbender, as the man himself, really embodies the definition of being a professional and insane. From the first scene of the film, Jobs was clearly ego-maniacal. He had to do everything perfectly and was a narcissist. He didn't want to acknowledge the people who helped him create Apple, which upset me a ton. Throughout the film, Steve Wozniak asks Steve Jobs if he could acknowledge the Apple 2 team who helps with programming and specs. He completely disregards Wozniak's wishes and instead insults them. I read up on the real Steve Jobs a little bit more after watching the film and realized that Michael Fassbender portrayed Jobs perfectly. If Fassbender doesn't get at least nominated for an Oscar, then I personally write a strongly worded letter to the Academy.

 ^Michael is just waiting for his nomination to be announced^

  Aaron Sorkin's adapted screenplay definitely hindered Michael Fassbender's excellent performance. We get to see how Steve Jobs psychologically conducted himself backstage just before keynotes. It's amazing how the king of adapted screenwriting does it again and you can clearly hear and see the details in the tech jargon that can and sometimes will go over peoples' heads. Despite the confusion of computer statistics, Sorkin really nails it with Steve Jobs' co-workers, showing us how pissed off they really were with their boss.

^Poor Woz. He just gets beaten up for being a good guy^

  The performances of everyone, not just Fassbender, really made me invest in their characters: Steve Woziak as the pushover nerd, Joanna Hoffman as the voice of reason to Jobs, John Sculley as the helpful CEO who does his best to back up Jobs, and Andy Hertzfeld as Lisa Brennan's (Steve Jobs' daughter) healthy father figure. The rock solid acting ability of these actors and actresses really punched my gut and made me feel so many emotions. The most of which I felt every time Jobs' daughter and Jobs were on screen together trying to repair the damage Jobs has done.

^Wow. Steve actually has a beautiful heart underneath his ugly demeanor^

  There were definitely some parts which confused me and at times couldn't follow. There were scenes in which Steve Jobs is having an argument with someone and it cuts to another scene of Jobs' past kind of explaining the situation, but it would cut in and out from that scene back to the present scene. I couldn't follow the editing at times because it would cut in and out too fast.

^Steve gets it! Please just hold on a second!^

  Although some of the editing and some of the writing caused some confusion, I can absolutely get behind Steve Jobs as a film overall. I felt heartbreak and heart-warmth that I didn't even expect out of a movie about what goes on backstage with Steve Jobs. This is how biopics should be made: A psychological burrow into what makes an influential human being tick.

Pro

• Michael Fassbender as Steve Jobs
• The rest of the cast's performances
• Smart writing
• The emotional feels!

Con

• Some editing can confuse the audience
• Maybe a bit too smart writing...

 

4.7/5

Watch the trailer here

Steve Jobs is rated R for Language

Steve Jobs is in theaters everywhere now

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Crimson Peak Review

Crimson Peak

 "Ghosts are real. That much I know. I've seen them all my life..."  -Edith Cushing

  The horror/Gothic romance film Crimson Peak is directed by Guillermo del Toro and stars Mia Wasikowska as Edith Cushing, Tom Hiddleston as Thomas Sharpe, Jessica Chastain as Lucille Sharpe, and Charlie Hunnam as Dr. Alan McMichael.

  It was during the Victorian era when young Edith Cushing saw the ghost of her mother warning her to "beware of Crimson Peak". 11 years later, she is now an author of ghost stories. Through trying to publish one of her novels, she meets and falls in love with Thomas Sharpe, who came to America from England in order to get funding from Edith's father, an industrialist, for his invention that can dig up clay. Edith's father rejects him and one thing leads to another, Edith's father ends up mysteriously dead. The night she meets Thomas, Edith sees her mom's ghost after 11 years and tells her once again "beware of Crimson Peak". Edith eventually marries Thomas and moves in with him in his family mansion, Allerdale Hall. The mansion is where Thomas gets the red clay which would apparently be a viable replacement for bricks. Thomas's sister, Lucille Sharpe, also lives in the mansion. Lucille is a cold woman who treats Edith with animosity that she hides behind her stoic face. Throughout the first couple of nights at the mansion, Edith sees blood red ghosts haunting her. She knows there is a secret being hidden from her. The secret that Allerdale Hall is Crimson Peak, where many strange murders took place.

^AAAAHHH!!! It's OK. It's OK. It's just a long gross looking hand^

  Right off the bat, Crimson Peak looks beautiful. The set design and makeup is impeccable, but I kind of expected that from visionary director Guillermo del Toro. The first scene with young Edith left me shaken and I got a feel for what the rest of the film had in store. Too bad I was wrong.

  I felt very let down by Crimson Peak. The marketing for this film was very deceitful. I came in thinking it was a horror film, and left realizing it was a Gothic romance film. I don't have a problem with romance these kinds of films, it was just annoying that the trailers made it seem as a horror. To be honest, I didn't find it that scary. Sure, it left me with my jaw open at times, but there were no frightening moments where I wanted to close my eyes or anything.

 ^Well commitment is a scary thing, isn't it?^

  The ghosts were not nearly in here as much as I wanted them to be. They were pretty much extras. If they were not in the movie, it could have been played out exactly the same. It really could have. The ghosts didn't really play a significant role (at least from what I can remember). They did look great however and when they did pop out on screen, I enjoyed it.

^Yup. Bloody ghost crawling on the floor. Nothing suspicious about that^

  I liked Tom Hiddleston and Jessica Chastain playing brother and sister. Their performances were good, but I thought everyone else fell a little flat. Mia Wasikowska's performance as the protagonist Edith was not really believable in my eyes. I understand that it's hard to act out a scene with a ghost when there's nothing to actually see. Still, there has to be some sort of emotional response for the audience to see.

  Edith saw a ghost crawl out of the floor when she was in Allerdale Hall and all she did was back up a couple of feet until the ghost got closer and closer, then she ran into her room. The next day, it was as if it hadn't really happened. I just had a hard time completely believing it.

 ^If I walked in a room and saw this, I would crap my pants and run the other way^

  The major reason I enjoyed Crimson Peak and can't fault it completely, was the hard R rating. There is a lot of blood and Guillermo del Toro makes good use of this. The last 20 minutes especially were intense. There was gore galore and I loved it. Another use of the R rating was that Thomas Sharpe and Lucille Sharpe's relationship is one that includes incest. That I didn't love. Nevertheless, a hard R rating gave it some points.

^Be careful with that thing, Edith. You can hurt some- Oh. Too late^

  Overall, I was disappointed with Crimson Peak. It was not what I wanted to watch when I first came in. I did enjoy it enough to recommend it to people, but only to those who like Gothic romance movies. If you're a horror fan, there might not be as many scares as you want there to be. If you're a romantic movie fan, there might not be as many romantic elements as you want there to be. But if you like beautiful set pieces, costumes, and make up, there is plenty in this movie that you will love.

Pro

• Aesthetically, it looks amazing
• Hard R rating
• The ghosts when they were on screen

Con

• It's a Gothic romance, not a horror
• Not enough ghosts
• Emotional involvement with ghosts

 

3.1/5

 

Watch the trailer for Crimson Peak here 

 

Crimson Peak is rated R for Bloody Violence, Some Sexual Content, and Brief Strong Language

 

Crimson Peak is in theaters everywhere now

 

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Beasts of No Nation Review

Beasts of No Nation

 "I will always protect you because you are my son. And a son always protects his father."  -Commandant

  The war drama Beasts of No Nation, adapted from the novel of the same name by Uzodinma Iweala, is written and directed by Cary Fukunaga and stars Idris Elba as the Commandant and Abraham Attah as Agu.

   Agu is a young boy living in an unnamed African country where war is rising between the government and the rebels who disagree with their beliefs and laws. Agu, along with his father, mother, baby sister, and older brother, are forced to evacuate their village in order to escape the government military trying to eradicate them. Agu's mother manages to escape with his baby sister in a packed car, but Agu, his brother, and father are stuck in the village. They hide but are found by the military and sentenced to execution. Agu luckily runs away from the military and is found by a rebel group in the jungle led by the Commandant. They save Agu and turn him into a child soldier who kills because he is told to, witnesses the murders and rapes of the innocent, and transforms into the kind of monster that killed his family.

^Wait. What?!?! This kid kills people?!?!^

   

  Beasts of No Nation is very much not for kids. If your kids have access to Netflix, block this film now. Just wanted to get that out of the way in case the killing and raping of innocent people didn't make you do that yet.

  Abraham Attah, who plays Agu, was a street vendor who was found by Fukunaga in Ghana. Abraham is by far the best thing about this film. Seeing this boy play a kid who is stripped from literally everything and turning into a child soldier thirsty for blood and pleasing the Commandant is unreal. He played the role as if he had been acting for years now. I would be shocked if he didn't get at least nominated for an Academy Award. You can see his hurt, his happiness, his despair, and his ruthlessness on his face when he's on screen. He is a rising star and one to definitely watch out for in upcoming films.

 ^Abraham Attah as Agu^

  I can't forget about Idris Elba playing the Commandant. Idris, as usual, is excellent. He is an Englishman with a clear British accent, but in Beasts of No Nation he completely nails a, what I think is, Western African accent. Besides that, his portrayal of a despicable rebel group leader is remarkable. As the Commandant, he helps poor Agu after he flees from the military and takes him under his wing. I was optimistic about the character up to the point where he forces Agu to perform oral sex on him. The Commandant treats him like "a son" by "protecting" him. It's clear throughout the film that he is just benefiting off of his battalion.

 ^What a gross human being. Not Idris Elba, I meant the Commandant!^

  The somberness of Beasts of No Nation was the perfect amount for a film about the horrors of being a child soldier. The deterioration of Agu from being in a livable environment, although not completely stable, and having happy childhood moments and then going in a downward spiral into a world of death, depression, crime, and deceitfulness was, for me, an eye-opening experience into the world of war from the perspective of a child.

^Director of Beasts of No Nation Cary Fukunaga (from Oakland!)^

  The film does lack a bit of depth in terms of background. I would've liked to see a little more on the rebels motives on why they rape, murder, and tense up situations. I felt like it was never explained to me during the film besides that they do not like the government at all and they'll do whatever it takes to rebel against them. I can understand killing the government military, but what about killing innocent people and raping them? I'm not too familiar with civil wars, but I'm pretty sure everyone has motives on why they do what they do. It just wasn't explained enough in Beasts of No Nation.

  

  I said the somberness of this film was eye-opening for me. I came to realize that after the film however. During the film, I just thought I was watching a well produced snuff film that I wanted to turn off. The message of Beasts of No Nation was effective, but maybe a little too effective. I couldn't stomach some of the stuff that was in the film and because of that, I think it might turn some people off seeing all of this happening to a child.

^Please don't kill, Agu. Just run away and play with some other kids^

  Overall, I believe that Beasts of No Nation is a fantastic film that expresses the loss of childhood innocence in a war torn country. A lot of scenes might be too intense to watch, but seeing it through the eyes of Agu is an experience like no other. Watching Agu struggle with being a child soldier makes Beasts of No Nation a film in which the average person, who hasn't had a history of being a child soldier, gains more knowledge of this kind of tragic upbringing.

Pro

• The two leads: Abraham Attah and Idris Elba
• Tone of somberness
• Great storytelling of being a child soldier

Con

• Lacks a bit of background into why they are fighting
• Too much somberness at times

4.8/5

Watch the trailer here 

Beasts of No Nation is unrated

Beasts of No Nation is on Netflix and in select theaters now

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Nightcrawler Review

Nightcrawler

 "Do you know what fear stands for? False Evidence Appearing Real."  -Lou Bloom

   A cringe-worthy tale of Los Angeles nightly news, and the last 20 minutes of this movie made me the most uncomfortable out of ANY movie I have ever seen.

   Nightcrawler, directed and written by Dan Gilroy, is a neo-noir crime thriller that stars Jake Gyllenhaal as Lou Bloom, Rene Russo as Nina Romina, Bill Paxton as Joe Loder, and Riz Ahmed as Rick.

  Lou Bloom is an unsocial scavenger that sells scrap metal to a construction company, but driving home one night he stops by the side of the freeway and sees a car accident with firemen and camera men all over the scene. He gets the idea that he could do the job that the camera men do: take videos of crime scenes and sell it to news stations. He starts and eventually gets good at it...too good.

 ^OK Lou, if you see blood leading up the stairs, that might be a sign to turn around and walk away^

  Lou hires a down-on-his-luck young guy named Rick to help him with the filming. Getting paid a salary in which you can't fully live on, Rick is forced to stick with Lou who creates anarchy for Rick on their nights together.

  ^Boy do I feel bad for you, Rick^

  Before I get into what I liked about the film, let me just say that Nightcrawler is a very dark film. I cringed through a lot of the scenes that involved Lou (which was pretty much the whole film).

  So throughout the film, Lou gives clear signs of psychopathy. He manipulates, lies, threatens, and emotionally abuses everyone he meets. A true alienated individual who disregards the lives and emotional status of humans. This being said, I believe that Jake Gyllenhaal gave the acting performance of his lifetime in Nightcrawler. A performance that I would compare this to is Robert De Niro's Travis Bickle in Taxi Driver. I would say that Jake's performance is on par with his, in terms of playing a mentally ill person.

^Jake...Please...You're scaring me^

   The attention to detail in Nightcrawler supersedes any of my knowledge of Los Angeles traffic. It's clear that Dan Gilroy did his research on the infrastructure of LA. The streets from the wealthy Granada Hills to the poverty-stricken areas of LA made the film that much sweeter.

^Oh no, no, no, no, no. How do people live like this?^

  I'm not going to sugar coat this, I like the pacing and the dialogue, but the conclusion, for me, is a bit underwhelming. I enjoyed the whole movie throughout. The ending WAS NOT a bad ending. I just didn't enjoy it as much as the beginning and middle parts. This was a film in 2014, so I guess I can kind of spoil it: Lou wins and he creates his own company. That's pretty much where it ends.

^Don't be so smug. I saw it coming^

  Even though the ending just dropped me off in the middle of the street without taking me to my destination, there really isn't anything else I didn't like about this movie. The social commentary made about nightly news and the people who work for them was creative and intense. This worked very well. Also, I know I said I cringed throughout the movie, but the last 20 minutes of the movie made me the most distressed out of any film I have ever seen...now go see it!

Pro

• Jake Gyllenhaal's performance
• Disturbingly beautiful
• Attention to detail of LA areas
• Social commentary

Con

• Ending fell a little flat

 

4.7/5

Watch the trailer here 

Nightcrawler is rated R for violence including graphic images, and for language.

Nightcrawler is on Blu-ray, Netlfix, and other streaming services now

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