Directed by: Pedro Almodovar
Released: 2011
Country: Spain
Genres: Drama, Sci-Fi, Psychological thriller, Horror
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Review
Ah, Pedro Almodovar, you are amazing. The Skin I Live In is meant to be a psychological thriller. The result is a blend between thriller, horror, drama, and sentiments. While chiefly a thriller, it also touches sentimental aspect, though there is no melodrama. The Skin I Live In is a haunting film, a disturbing story told beautifully, with an excellent presentation and screenplay.
Robert Ledgard (Antonio Banderas) is a plastic surgeon and is successful in face transplantation. He comes up with a new idea, about skin that are resistant to insect bites, burns, etc. He is, however, forbidden to go on with this experiment.
But however, secretly, Ledgard has kept a young woman, Vera, hidden in his home. He is testing that very idea on Vera. Vera is kept hidden in a room of his house. She can't get out. The only people who know about her existence are Ledgard and his servant, Marilia.
One day, an odd man wearing a tiger costume arrives in the house. He is actually Marilia's son, Zeca. Marilia tries her best to get rid of him. She cannot let anyone get a hint about Vera. However, Zeca discovers Vera, and then after breaking into her room, rapes Vera. However, Robert soon arrives and kills Zeca.
Marilia reveals to Vera the tragic past of Ledgard, about the suicides of both of his wife and his daughter. From that time, Vera and Robert seemingly fall in love and Robert is promised that they will be no more locked doors in future.
And then... there is flashbacks... We are shown everything of the past. Of what exactly had happened to Robert's wife and daughter. And who Vera actually is. A tale of suicides, revenges, mistakes, desperation, and terrible results of revenge.
The back story is shocking. Just shocking. It was like... a bolt from a blue! I mean, it is kind of a twist. And the background is told so beautifully, and often disturbingly.
The first hour of this film is spent with introductions. We are introduced to the characters, the situation. But we have no questions about who Vera actually is, how Vera is related to Ledgard's tragic past. She just seems an innocent girl, an innocent victim of Ledgard's experiments. The next part is the flashbacks, the background. The flashbacks answer the unasked questions. Ah, my mouth dropped open with surprise! Each of the back stories were so fascinating and shocking. I'll say no more about this part!!! The last part... well, I better not say anything about that!
Antonio Banderas is excellent as Ledgard. Elena Anaya, as Vera, delivers a strong performance as well. With strong performances, excellent concept, and an extraordinary screenplay this is a splendid film. It was so haunting, so amazing, so memorable. The last scene almost brought tears to my eyes!! Almodovar, salutes to you!
4.5 out of 5
Directed by: Stanley Kubrick
Released: 1980
Country: United States
Starring: Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, Danny Lloyd, Scatman Crothers, Philip Stone, Joe Turkel, Anne Jackson
Genres: Psychological horror, Thriller
Rating: 4 out of 5
Review
Just think of it. Three people are in a hotel alone. There is no one else. Then suddenly, things happen to one of them, terrible things. He starts acting madly and violently- ready to kill the two other people. No, The Shining is not a haunting house film. Here, the thing to fear is not the presence of spirits, but the things to fear is one of the main characters. The ghosts just form a background that is very creepy as well.
Stanley Kubrick's ''The Shining'' is a terrifying film, first of all, and sort of ambiguous as well. The film is somewhat confusing, because we have no idea what exactly is going on, why certain things are happening to the characters, etc. But however, this is a pretty scary and one of the best psychological horror films I've seen. The atmosphere and situations are built up so well that it's impossible to deny the greatness of this film.
Jack Torrence, a writer, takes the responsibility of the Overlook Hotel in winter. In winters, the hotel is closed because snow makes it difficult to move; Jack and his family will be the only people in the hotel. The hotel is located in an isolated area, with no houses or people around. Jack decides to use the isolation of the hotel as a chance to pay attention to his writing. Jack hears about a tragedy that took place in the hotel. Decades ago, a man working in the hotel had killed his wife and two daughters and then committed suicide. In spite of this history, Jack decides to work in the hotel
The family moves to the hotel. Jack's son, Danny, is clairvoyant and telepathic. He can sometimes sense what is going to happen in future. And he has a mysterious imaginary friend named Tony.
Soon, Danny starts sensing unnatural and supernatural things in the hotel. Twin sisters. A flood of blood. A mysterious room at the hotel, Room 237.
Jack slowly starts getting violent, extremely violent. His nature starts changing: from a gentle person, he starts getting violent and, in short, mad. He senses ghostly presences in the hotel, encounters men from the hotel's past, and then he gets eager to murder his wife and his son...
The film repeatedly reminded me of a word: isolated. Just think of this. The hotel is situated in an isolated area, with no houses, no neighbors around, but only mountains and snow. And in this hotel, the three members of the family live around. You can probably guess how well the situation is built up. The production design is pretty marvelous. The hotel is luxurious and vast, which amazes not only the characters but also the audience. The background music is suitable and creepy and ghostly all around.
Jack Nicholson is great in his role. The character slowly becoming crazy- Nicholson portrays that very well. His performance is very scary and effective. One of the few disappointments in this film is Shelley Duvall's performance. Shelley plays Jack's wife Wendy, a very important character in the film, but her performance is rather ineffective, I should. As the son, Danny Lloyd gives a satisfying performance.
Overall, this is a splendid psychological horror film. This may not be one of my favorites of this genre, but however, I enjoyed and liked it a lot.
4 out of 5
Directed by: Robert Wise
Released: 1963
Country: United Kingdom
Cast: Julie Harris, Claire Bloom, Richard Johnson, Russ Tamblyn, Rosalie Crutchley, Lois Maxwell
Genre: Psychological Horror
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Review
I would begin this review simply by saying what I felt about this movie: ''The Haunting'' is an excellent film, and a brilliant example in the horror genre. No, it has no cheap scares filled with gore that today's cliched ''slasher'' films have. Instead, it has real shocks, it has art and sophistication that is in no way similar to the slasher film cliches.
The plot centers around the Hill House, which, at a look at it's history, can be described as a haunted house. It has had a tragic and scary history filled with mysterious deaths. Dr John Markway (Richard Johnson), originally an anthropologist, is now, with full enthusiasm, researching about the existence of ghosts. He decides to research about the haunted Hill House, and earns the permission of the owner. The heir of the owner, Luke (played by Russ Tamblyn) has to accompany Dr Marway. Markway asks two women to accompany him, Theo (Claire Bloom) and Eleanor (Julie Harris), both of whom are connected with something paranormal. Soon after they arrive there, haunting and creepy things start happening.
But this is not just a haunting house film. The film is more about Eleanor. Eleanor had cared for her mother all her adult life, and feels guilty at the death of her mother. Life for Eleanor has been a troubled one. She has waited all her life for ''something'' to happen, and she thinks Hill House is the perfect place where she belongs. We hear Eleanor's narration of her feelings throughout the film, adding a strange lyric in the overall film.There is often a question whether something is really happening, or is it just Eleanor's hallucination. She thinks that the house knows her, and is trying to get to her.
I also found the relation between Eleanor and Theo touching. They become friends at their first meeting, and several times Theo tries to drive away Eleanor's fears by bullying her. The two quarrel bitterly a few times as Theo constantly bullies Eleanor, but their friendship remains something special throughout the film.
The four lead actors are all excellently cast in their roles, and the two people who really gets your attention are Julie Harris and Claire Bloom (Bloom is the actress who played Queen Mary in The King's Speech). Harris brings the character of Eleanor to life, and Claire Bloom is memorable for her portrayal of Theo, also a very memorable character.
Robert Wise (also the director of The Sound of Music) does an excellent job. Nelson Gidding's screenplay, adapted from the novel ''The Haunting of Hill House'' by Shirley Jackson, is pretty brilliant. The sounds are pretty brilliant: musical effects can be extremely scary at times and the score is awesome.
There is no blood shown in ''The Haunting'', but it is scary, very scary. And moreoverm what is it, it is an artistic film, extremely well-written and well-acted, something of a masterpiece.
I can't just call it excellent. I think ''horror classic'' is a better word to explain this film.
4.5 out of 5
Directed by: Hideo Nakata
Released: 2005
Country: United States
Genres: Psychological Horror, Thriller, Mystery
Cast: Naomi Watts, David Dorfman, Simon Baker, Elizabeth Perkins, Deveigh Chase, Kelly Stables, Sissy Spacek
Rating: 2.5 out of 5
Review
Note: If you haven't watched ''The Ring'' yet, please don't read the review of The Ring Two as it may contain spoilers from the first movie. If you haven't watched ''The Ring'', you can read it's review here: http://blogofanaspiringmoviebuff.blogspot.com/2012/10/the-ring-2002-movie.html)
A sequel to the 2002 movie ''The Ring'' (my review of ''The Ring'': http://blogofanaspiringmoviebuff.blogspot.com/2012/10/the-ring-2002-movie.html), The Ring Two is scarier, but the sequel is not as beautiful or not as good as the first part. Nevertheless, some of the things we felt unclear in the first movie is revealed in the sequel. We come to know more about Samara, her birth mother, her intentions and wishes.
The film does have sweet scenes. But in spite of the revelation which make the story a bit more clear, and quite an excellent ending, the film lacks in something.
It becomes apparent, in the early scenes of the film, that the video tape has spread. We see a young man and a young woman. Apparently, the young man has watched the tape and is showing the tape to the woman as he wants to save himself. But the woman (named Emily) covers her eyes, not seeing the video, and therefore the man dies.
Then the story again comes back to Rachel Keller and her son Aidan. They have moved to Astoria. Hearing the news of what happened to the man, Rachel suspects something. After seeing the face man's dead body, she is shocked. After talking to Emily, she finds the tape and destroys it.
But, however, this doesn't finish the troubles with the tape: Samara now stays near Aidan and can hear everything which Rachel and Aidan are talking about, except when they sleep.
And then Aidan suddenly has hypothermia. Rachel takes help from Max, for whom she works, and takes Aidan to his house. To raise his body temperature, she tries bathing him in hot water, and then a very, very creepy stuff happens in the bathtub which I'll not reveal.
While Aidan is taken to the hospital, Rachel goes to learn more about Samara...
The film has creepy moments. The scene in the bathtub is the most notable of them. And the deer which attack Rachel and Aidan in the car were also creepy. But the question is, what are the relations of the deer with all those incidents?
Oh well, I'll not be going into more details at I'd not like to spoil the movie for you. The most notable thing about the film is that we come to know more about the incident, more about Samara.
Like the previous movie, Naomi Watts was good in this movie as well. So was David Dorfman in his role as Aidan. Simon Baker's performance as Max was perfect. The film also has Elizabeth Perkins in the role of psychiatrist Emma Temple. Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Sissy Spacek play Evelyn, Samara's birth mother. And there is Kelly Stables as the Evil Samara. Ryan Merriman plays Jake and Emily VanCamp plays Emily, whom we see at the very beginning of the movie.
Overall, if you liked The Ring, then The Ring Two will be enjoyable and good for you as many of things become clear. But however, it will not be as enjoyable and as good as The Ring. The Ring was so much better than the sequel.
2.5 out of 5.
Directed by: Gore Verbinski
Released: 2002
Country: United States
Cast: Naomi Watts, Martin Henderson, Deveigh Chase, David Dorfman, Brian Cox, Jane Alexander, Shannon Cochran, Lindsay Frost
Genres: Psychological horror, Thriller, Mystery
Rating: 3 out of 5
Review
A film of the horror mystery genre, The Ring has scary moments and some interesting mysteries. By the end of the movie, several flashbacks and revelations are shown, about people named Anna and Richard Morgan, and Samara. But however, in spite of all these flashbacks, the film somewhat made me disappointed. I expected a lot more from it. But neverthless, it was quite an enjoyable film and was worth watching.
At the beginning of the film, we see two teenagers, Katie, and Becca discussing about a certain video tape, by seeing which, the viewer receives a phone call. The viewer dies within seven days.
Then Katie reveals something really awful: she and her boyfriend Josh had seen the video, just last week. As the girls laugh over this, a few moments later horrific things start happening with Katie...
Over the next few scenes, we see that Katie is by now dead, and her young cousin, Aidan, is deeply shocked by it. Katie's mother Ruth requests Aidan's mother Rachel (who is a journalist) to investigate the case.
The film starts getting interesting and makes the viewer curious. Rachel comes to know that not only Rachel, but also her boyfriend Josh and two other teenagers are dead. Somehow, she suspects that the video tape has a connection with all these. She goes to the place where Katie and Josh had seen the video tape. She herself sees the very strange video tape, and gets a phone call...
I won't be revealing much more. Over the next few scenes we see how Rachel with the help of her ex-boyfriend (and Aidan's father) Noah, try solving the mystery. Rachel has so little time, since she had seven days left when she first saw the video...
The above information is, I think, enough to make yourself curious about the film. Yes, the film is certainly worth watching.
Naomi Watts plays Rachel excellently, and Martin Henderson plays Noah, her ex-boyfriend. David Dorfman is excellent in his role as Aidan. And we see Deveigh Chase playing Samara. Deveigh Chase gave a highly remarkable performance. And then there is Brian Cox, playing Richard Morgan, and Shannon Cochran playing Anna Morgan.
Amber Tamblyn (as Katie), Lindsay Frost (as Ruth Embry), Jane Alexander (as Dr. Grasnik) and Rachel Bella (as Becca)- all of them play minor supporting yet important roles. They all gave highly excellent performances.
Cinematography was truly excellent. The background music was good.
A remake of the Japanese horror movie ''Ringu'', ''The Ring'' actually is quite scary. But as I mentioned in the beginning, in spite of the loads of flashbacks and revealations, I thought something was missing in the film. Really. But however, go on, watch this movie, it's really worth watching. It has got interesting mysteries that will keep you looking at the screen until the end. It's a recommended movie.
3 out of 5.
Directed by: M. Night Shyamalan
Released: 1999
Country: United States
Genres: Mystery, Thriller, Horror, Drama
Main cast: Bruce Willis, Haley Joel Osment, Toni Colllette, Olivia Williams
Rating: 3.5 out of 5
Review
The Sixth Sense is a psychological horror drama film, and you can expect a lot from it. And surely, it will meet will all your expectations, it will make you puzzled, a little scared, and finally, surprise you with a rather strange and interesting ending. It is a movie certainly worth watching and it's excellently presented.
Bruce Willis plays the role of Dr. Malcolm Crowe, a successful child psychologist. The movie begins as one night, he and his wife Anna (played by Olivia Williams) are talking about his success. They are in a romantic situation, but is interrupted by a noise. They discover the presence of a man in their house, who reveals himself as Vincent Gray, a former patient whom Malcolm couldn't treat properly. Before shooting himself, Vincent shoots Malcolm in the abdomen.
But by the next fall, Malcolm is working with another patient, a child named Cole (played by Haley Joel Osment). His friends call him 'freak'. Though initially refusing to share his feelings with Malcolm, Cole starts talking openly to Malcolm. He sees 'dead people', dead people who walk and don't know they are dead.
We also come to know that after seeing Vincent, Malcolm has become a changed man. His wife, Anna, refuses to talk with him, and now has a boyfriend.
Well, well, well... What is the most mysterious is that Cole has been seeing dead people, but why? And what puzzles you the most is the ending. You cannot even guess beforehand what happens in the end.
According to Wikipedia: Extrasensory perception (ESP) involves reception of information not gained through the recognized physical senses but sensed with the mind. ESP is also known as sixth sense. Thus comes the title of the film, The Sixth Sense. Why? Because Cole also had a sixth sense...
The film is presented in such a way that after the ending, that whole of it, which seemed too clear when we were seeing the movie first. But after it ends, you will be able to see many of the scenes in a different way, and can realize the mystery behind some of the scenes which might have seemed too clear and normal to us.
Bruce Willis's performance as Dr. Malcolm Crowe is excellent. And this is such a strong and memorable character, the reasons of which you will understand after you see the film. And there is an excellent performance by young Haley Joel Osment. He earned an Oscar nomination for his role in this movie. He is the second youngest actor to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.
And then there are the supporting characters. Olivia Williams plays Anna. Anna is the wife of Malcolm, significant in this film for several reasons. Toni Colette plays Lynn Sear, the divorced mother of Cole who often become worried about her son. Donnie Wahlberg is present as Vincent Grey. Trevor Morgan, Mischa Barton, and some others also plays important supporting roles.
Just watch this movie! It's strongly recommended. It has a story full of mysteries and puzzles, and the ending will certainly surprise you. Really, a highly remarkable and praiseworthy film which has a brilliant story, a wonderful presentation, excellent performances by actors, and also, a highly remarkable ending.
3.5 out of 5.
Directed by: Pedro Almodovar
