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Hallows' Eve (2013) Directed by Sean McGarry



Every time I think genre movies can't get any worse, a new one pops up, that's even worse than any other one.

Seriously, this is one of the absolute most terrible slashers that I have seen, since "Bloody Homecoming". The problem really isn't that it's a very generic one but the problem is that it's an extremely poorly done movie.

It's a very messy movie to watch, that jumps from scene to scene but without having a real, or good, main plot line in it. I don't really know what is going on and I also just don't know who all of these characters, who pop up in this movie, are. There basically is no character development, or what so ever and I really don't get who we are supposed to cheer and feel for in this movie. Basically every character in this is a huge douche and it's one of those genre movies in which all of its character love to drink, get high and have sex with each other, preferably all at once, at every opportunity they get. So how about we root for the killer? Well, that's hard as well, since the movie is a bit of a whodunit as well and we don't know the identity of the killer or his/her exact motives. So how are we supposed to root for a person that we don't know or understand?

These sort of movies still can be pretty decent ones to watch, as long as they are handling its horror well. This one never does though. It's all far too predictable and you know exactly when the next killing is going to occur and often also who's going to die next. The killings aren't very creative neither and besides are often terribly shot, with also some fake looking blood and gore involved. It's a terribly cheap looking movie, that's looking more like an amateur production than anything else really.

The acting is absolutely terrible as well and it ruins and ruins a lot of the tension and atmosphere of the movie. Granted that the actors aren't helped by a very good script but it still is obvious that none of the actors in this are really any great ones, with perhaps the exception of Danielle Harris. But the thing that's possibly even more annoying than the acting is all of the dialog. The dialog is about absolutely nothing and most of it obviously got put in there to make some of the scenes longer. But it really makes the movie drag instead and adds to the reasons why this is a terrible and highly annoying movie to watch.

Just a plain bad horror movie, that really isn't worth seeing.

2/10

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Trailer: Shiver (2012)


Wendy Alden, a young secretary in Portland lacking in self- confidence becomes victim of a savage killer who has claimed the lives of a number of other women. Somehow Wendy finds the resources of courage to fight back and escape. From: IMDb.com






Directed by: Julian Richards
Starring: Danielle Harris, John Jarratt, Casper Van Dien and others
Current release date: October 8, 2013

Halloween 5 (1989) Directed by Dominique Othenin-Girard





(Review originally written at 20 September 2009)

Well, this movie is a pretty messy one to watch. Things seem to happen very randomly and there hardly is a good main plot-line it follows. It's just the one even after the other, without making an obvious connection and contribution.

Perhaps they though it would be enough simply showing Michael Myers killing a whole bunch of people again. The movie and its killings hardly ever become interesting though. As an horror this movie is just picking a wrong approach with its story and build-up. As shame, since before this movie the series still showed some class and were simply god movies within its genre to watch. With this movie things start to go terribly wrong. The also decided to try out some new things, by adding in some comical characters and to make the Myers characters more of a supernatural one but things simply never get developed well enough to let it all work out though.

The movie basically starts of were part 4 had ended and the movie pretty much also features the same characters in it. It got shot back to back with "Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers", with as a big difference though that they started on this movie without a complete script. Surely it was done for budgeting reasons but this 5th part surely doesn't benefits from it.

Halve of the time the movie consists out of killing, while the other halve remains pretty much boring to watch. Especially toward its ending the movie tends to get worse to watch, when absolutely nothing good or interesting is happening. It relies mostly on Dr. Loomis' babbling, which was still a good thing to watch in the previous movies but in this movie his character just doesn't work out quite as well.

Oh well, it still is a pleasure to watch Donald Pleasance though, so it can't be really said that's his fault really. At least his character is still better and more compelling than any of the other characters within this movie, which often come across as ones that add very little to the actual movie, who get killed very randomly and without apparent reason. Yes, this movie could had really used Jamie Lee Curtis again already.

One of the Halloween-sequels you can really easily do without.

4/10

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Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988) Directed by Dwight H. Little





(Review originally written at 13 September 2009)

Because this is the already fourth establishment in the Halloween-series, this movie has always been a bit under-appreciated. After the failed attempt at a different approach that "Halloween III: Season of the Witch" was, this fourth movie goes back to its roots again and the movie can be simply called a good and effective one within the slasher-genre, which the first movie from 1978 firstly really defined.

The movie is far from being perfect though with its story that is just plain ridicules and just too hard to believe at times. The movie at times is being too simple and light about things and often simply just takes things from granted, even though as a viewer you'll hardly ever buy these things. Still the movie is good enough to serve as one that is typical and good enough for its genre. It has all the clichés you can expect but as a fan of the genre you'll hardly ever complain about these things.

It's main concept still works out better than I anticipated though. I mean, Michael Myers who is after his 7-year old niece this time didn't sounded very appealing or exciting to me at first. Luckily it still works out so because the movie also features some other good characters, on which the movie concentrates just as much.

I must say that Donald Pleasence was truly excellent in his role. He impressed me more than he ever did before in any of the other previous Halloween-movies.

As an horror/slasher it perhaps isn't being the most original or bloodiest movie within its genre but it's being simply good and generic enough to please the fans of the genre, as long as they are open for a third sequel to a movie that redefined the genre for ever. Of course this movie doesn't ever reaches the level of the first "Halloween" but on its own right this movie is simply being a good one that is still very well worth watching and is much better than most other genre movies and certainly much better than most sequels to horror movies.

7/10

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