Movie Diary 2018 by pahaK

I hope you'll enjoy it as much as I did

Of Mice and Men (1939) N

Even though I haven't seen any of the films before or read the book I knew the basic concept of the story. I guess Steinbeck's novel is too iconic to be totally oblivious about it.



A regular guy, George, is wandering through the depression era USA with a huge childlike simpleton, Lennie, taking jobs where they can find. Lennie has a tendency to get them into trouble because he doesn't understand the world around him nor the effects of his enormous strength. They dream of a farm of their own. When things start to look good for them Lennie does something bad again.

There's no real plot in the film. It's more like waiting for Lennie's inevitable blunder and trying to guess who's going to be his victim. Rest of the time is filled the life on the ranch and some character time both for the two leads and some other folks around. Main thing seems to be to show how innocent Lennie is and try to ensure that the viewer would feel sympathy for him (to me it felt little too obvious).

I liked how the film doesn't seem to have an ideological message. It's just about people with dreams and hopes, flaws and fears, and of the world that can be unfair. It also shows that good intentions can have bad results. The ending was alright but probably not as emotional as it was intended to be (and the underlined dog allegory earlier in the movie didn't really help).

For such predictable and plotless film the characters weren't interesting enough and with some emotional cues being so overdone the end result was somewhat on the boring side.

Savage Dog (2017) N

An action film that reminded me of the 1980s both in bad and good.


A former Irish boxer, IRA terrorist and a legionnaire is forced to fight for money in Indochina at the end of 1950s. He gets out for a while, finds friends and falls in love but, as usual in films like these, his new found happiness is destroyed and our hero will seek revenge. In other words the plot is like a flashback from the 80s.

First half of the films has plenty of hand to hand combat due to prize fights. Their quality is OK except the fact that Adkins doesn't kick well (they look telegraphed and seem to lack proper force) and obviously the fights aren't realistic. Latter part of the film is more about fighting with various knives and guns. Some of these action scenes are great but others have the worst 80s cliches again (bad guys missing even with a machine gun, extremely stupid use of knife in the final fight, etc.) but, man, they're bloody.

In proper 80s style the revenge includes killing pretty much everyone and local people seem to be happy about getting rid off the bad guys running the area. Acting is what it is, not great but not too bad to really matter either. Plot is pretty weak and overused. By far the worst thing in the film is the use of completely unnecessary and stupid narration.

Decent action, weak plot and stupid narration nearly resulted in a bad movie but the sheer brutality of the second half raises it to OK level.

Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist (2005) N

The last film of The Exorcist franchise (at least for now). I'd seen the Renny Harlin version of the film earlier but this was the first watch of this version.


Young (or maybe I should say younger because he's already middle-aged here) Merrin is in Africa doing some archaeology and finds an old church buried in the sand. Accompanying missionary priest decides to call British military to protect the find from robbers. Opening of the church releases an ancient evil and madness spreads among the people.

Like all the other films in the franchise Dominion is stylistically completely different from the others. In many ways it feels like a standard unearthing an ancient evil script with some familiar names and images attached to link it to The Exorcist. Just like Exorcist II it doesn't seem to fit in with the other two. All in all the story was very generic and boring.

The film is too much about Merrin's guilt and overuses the themes from the opening scene throughout the film. There's no subtlety at all in this but irritating underlining and repetition. It also reduces Merrin's character to just his loss of faith and finally regaining it. Pazuzu seems much stronger than in The Exorcist yet he's cast out with far less effort. Also why does he look like a Buddhist holy man when he's supposed to be a local African cripple?

Not as bad as Exorcist II but clearly worse than others. Extra credit for stunningly bad CGI for the cattle eating the hyenas

Thumper (2017) N

Small scale drug dealers and a young undercover cop in a poor suburb.



A new girl comes to high school and befriends some of the small time drug dealers. In reality she's an undercover cop who tries to find the source of a bad product that has killed several kids in the neighborhood. When she finally finds the guy doing the cooking she pretty much does everything wrong.

There's nothing new in this film and several stupidities in the script weigh it down quite a bit. Kat doesn't feel like someone working undercover (especially as she's supposed to have prior experience too). She does all the usual screw ups like getting emotionally attached to one of the kids she's investigating and, of course, finally going in to lion's den on her own without backup or even telling anyone. Also I doubt that women with small children are the first choices for this sort of jobs.

What remedies the film somewhat is the high quality acting. Especially the trio playing Kat, Beaver and Wyatt are all great. Lena Headey as Kat's boss is the only weak link as she's just being herself (like she usually is, in my opinion). Outside the bit silly and way too emotional Kat the characters are mostly fine and seem realistic. Story is cliched but not bad, it's the details that weaken the script.

Well acted film that brings nothing new to the genre. I thought the main character felt wrong for the environment and was the greatest issue in the film.



Recommended movies: Rush (1991)

Resurrection (2015) N

While browsing through the films that are being removed from local Netflix I found two Argentinian horror films that seemed interesting. This is the first of them, will probably watch the other tomorrow.


A priest fresh from the seminary is on his way to Buenos Aires in 1871 to help people suffering from the yellow fever epidemic. On his way to Buenos Aires he visits his family mansion and finds the disease in there as well. Servants have robbed the house and fled, his brother is dying and his brothers wife and daughter have locked themselves in the chapel. Then the priest himself gets sick and reality starts to mix with fever dreams.

Resurrection is quite old school gothic horror. It moves at slowish pace and builds its story on family tragedy. Story begins really well but after Priest gets sick too much time is spent in his fever dreams and after that the truth behind the events is just told to him by the last remaining servant. Ending is very downbeat and it fits even though I hoped that the story would have taken different approach during the early parts of the film.

Visually the movie is mostly good. Settings are great, cinematography is fine but occasionally some shots look like they haven't been post-processed properly. Outside shots during the night are especially beautiful, and foggy. Acting is mostly fine (both priest and healer overdo their roles at times) the servant being the best played character.

Quite atmospheric gothic horror that spends too much time with fever dreams and takes a different turn from what I had preferred. Not bad by any means but could have been quite a bit better too.

Necrofobia (2014) N

The other Argentinian horror I mentioned yesterday.



A tailor named Dante has just lost his twin brother. He's also having some serious mental issues including seeing dead people and going full psycho when confronted with death in any form. His condition deteriorates quickly when people near him start to die and it doesn't help that his dead brother keeps coming back.

Necrofobia is sort of a mix of giallo and Edgar Allan Poe in modern setting. Visually it loans a lot from Italian masters and the overall structure of the story is also from there while idea itself is more like Poe's gothic horror. I don't think the combination worked too well - giallo approach loses a lot from the killer being quite obvious and the gothic descent into madness doesn't seem to add much more than some length to the film.

Technically the film is mediocre. Cinematography itself is good but again post-production is very sloppy and image often looks cheap (like in soap operas). Director seems to know what he's doing so I'm kinda interested in seeing some of his other films too. Lead actor is good, others are just passable. Best thing in the film is (and by a wide margin) really good soundtrack by Claudio Simonetti.

Loss of sanity depicted through giallo imagery. Too much repetition and circling around the few actual events that happen in the film.

Satan's Slaves (2017) N

An Indonesian horror that combines the typical Asian creepy ghosts with traditionally more western topic of satanic cults.


A former singer and mother of four children has been sick for years. Finally she dies but soon strange things start to happen: apparitions, moving objects, voices and the mother talking through the radio. Even local imam doesn't seem able to help. Oldest child, a girl called Rini, and imam's son finally find someone who knows what's happening but is there a way to save her family?

Satan's Slaves starts like many other Asian horror films (this is not a bad thing, just mentioning the facts). It's rather slow, has fair amount of ghastly apparitions and genuinely creepy atmosphere. The introduction of the satanic cult during the second half doesn't improve the film in any way and towards the end good scenes become more and more rare. There are quite a few unanswered questions in the end almost like they've left an option for a sequel.

Visually the film looks good but many scenes are pretty dark so it's hard to find good screenshots for a review. Scares are generally working but hardly surprising to anyone with some familiarity with Far Eastern horror. Soundtrack is quite good but again not extremely original. Acting seems mostly fine but it's little hard for me to evaluate with languages I'm not used to hearing (especially when their intonation is radically different like Indonesian and Thai).

So I liked the first half more than the second. It has your typical horror film issues of shallow characterizations due to too much time spent on being spooky. It had one very Fulci-like scene with totally unexpected level of gore out of nowhere (kinda like the fall in Don't Torture a Duckling). It's not bad at all but I was little disappointed by the whole cult aspect.

Upgrade (2018) N

Yet another film that I'm inclined to label as "The Outer Limits scifi" because they basically feel like an episode from that series stretched to movie length.



In near future computer integration has gone quite a bit further that it's now: many cars drive themselves, houses are run by computers and there is even implanted technology á la cyberpunk. In this world a technophobe called Grey is paralyzed from neck down during an attack that leaves his wife dead. He ends up having an experimental chip implanted on his neck that allows him to function again. With his new abilities he begins to investigate the attack.

First of all Upgrade is extremely predictable because it follows the "The Outer Limits" formula to the letter. Other than that the story's premise is quite alright but there's lots of details that annoy in a film that attempts to be hard scifi (like Stem's inability to make Grey move naturally instead of the Robocop impersonation we get). Also the final twist (if you can call it that) doesn't really bear scrutiny.

Upgrade looks better than these low budget scifi films on average. Stem's fight scenes are stupid but it's more of a script issue. Effects are good enough and few glimpses of graphic violence work well. Acting is pretty good and the overdone stiffness of Grey/Stem is again more about writing and directing.

I don't get the few raving reviews I've seen for this as to me Upgrade feels like a standard low budget scifi that has nothing to make it memorable. It's not bad but I doubt I'll remember much of it in few months.

Demons of the Mind (1972) N

A little different offering from Hammer Films.



Baron Zorn has his children, son and daughter, locked up in his house. He believes that his bloodline is cursed with hereditary madness and invites a doctor to attempt to heal the children. Disappearance of few local young women rouses the nearby villagers who believe that a demon hunts the forest at night. Finally the accusing fingers start to point towards Baron's estate.

Demons of the Mind is psychological horror film dressed as a gothic tale. It leaves the possibility of something supernatural entirely for the viewer to decide. Is there just madness and phony science or an actual curse on the Zorn family? There are good ideas in the film but unfortunately the script is really messy and as a result the story never lives up to its potential.

Visually the film is beautiful with nice settings and interesting camera angles. Acting is quite mediocre but the script doesn't really offer that much characterization either. Especially Emil and Elizabeth would have needed more depth and their relationship should have been made more daring. There are great scenes but far too much fluff in between.

A little more ambitious than average Hammer Film but fails to realize its vision properly. Good concept and nice visuals are enough for an OK rating only.

Geostorm (2017) N

Read so much verbal abuse for this in another forum so I had to see it myself. It's bad, it's really bad. As a movie it's pretty much like your average Asylum production but with real actors and quite large budget. Complete garbage.

Hereditary (2018) N

A horror film that's been praised as a new classic and compared to films like The Exorcist and Rosemary's Baby.



I'll skip the plot description completely this time because it's impossible to say anything meaningful without spoiling the film. Themewise the number one topic is loss and how to cope with it. Up to a point that aspect works alright but primarily as a plot device it doesn't have enough depth to carry almost 2/3 of the film. There are couple of decent scenes about the faulty family dynamics but they don't seem to lead anywhere. As a result the first 90 minutes or so of the film are dreadfully boring.

The way the actual plot starts to move forward feels silly and forced and as the film gets closer to the end that applies to pretty much everything related to the plot. Some of the scenes don't seem to fit at all and couple are borderline comedic. Despite of all that the last 20 minutes or so are mildly entertaining (I kinda have a soft spot for this kind of stuff) but not rewarding enough for suffering through the rest of the movie.

Technically the film is pretty solid but it fails to create an atmosphere of dread or fear. Compared to somewhat similar Satan's Slaves I watched few days ago Hereditary lacks the creepiness altogether. Soundtrack was good and probably the best part of the film. Acting was also good except the son of the family who was really bad in some more emotional scenes.

After all the praise Hereditary ended up being a massive disappointment.

Blood Rage (1987) N

Extremely bad slasher with couple of decent murders. Directing, cinematography, writing, acting, everything besides the special effects was terrible. After 30 minutes I started to skip from murder to murder. Complete waste of time.

I love the idea that you could be sitting round discussing films and asking "and how were the murders?"

Well, I think the murders are quite important in slashers so...

I should start doing this with bad slashers.

Of course but still an insight into the fan's world .

The Roaring Twenties (1939) N

A crime film about bootleggers and how the prohibition turns good men into criminals (and how war lets them befriend with bad people).



Three people befriend during the WWI. After the war the return to civilian life isn't easy and slowing economy makes it hard to find a job. Eventually they all end up together smuggling booze to thirsty prohibition era New York. What started as easy money eventually turns to violent business and greed tears old friends apart. Pretty standard stuff for this kind of a film.

The foremost thing on my mind is the rushed pacing of the film. The story is just too huge for one movie. Obviously it wasn't an option in 1939 but I'd believe this would work much better as a TV series. Lots of of characters are simplified too much and the dynamics between them are practically distilled to one line of dialogue at worst (George and Lloyd). It's like a synopsis of a great story. Acting was also good but I'm not exactly sure if I like Cagney.

The opening sequence in France during the war feels staged and somewhat out of place. It's necessary because it's pretty much all the character building we have for George but it looks awful and is way too theatrical. Back in the States everything works better. I think one or two singing scenes could have been cut for something else and at least some attempt to show why Eddie fell in love with Jean would have been nice.

I like how the film puts much of the blame to prohibition itself. How making a law impossible to enforce that's against the people's sense of justice isn't only stupid but also dangerous as it turns otherwise decent men into criminals by pushing them outside of legality. I'm surprised how clearly the film criticized prohibition. As a related note Eddie is portrayed little too good and decent to underline that point. I don't think he could have gotten to his position by always being such a nice guy.

The story and acting are good, technically it's fine except for the opening scenes and there's nothing horribly wrong with the film but 106 minutes is just too short time to tell a story of Eddie's rise and fall. The end result is far too superficial.

The Slayer (1982) R

As far as I know a rather unknown horror film from the 80s. To my surprise it was released on blu-ray about a year ago so it was finally time to see it in good quality.


A painter suffering from mental issues (including recurring nightmares) reluctantly goes to spend a short vacation to a somewhat isolated island with her husband, brother and sister-in-law. She immediately gets the feeling she's been on the island before. Then comes the storm and her nightmares are starting to look more than mere dreams.

The Slayer isn't the most innovative horror out there but it does its thing quite well. The early part introduces the characters and they certainly feel more alive than average cheap horror film characters. I especially like the chemistry between the brother and his wife - they have some genuinely fun bantering going on. Acting is also pretty good.

The film has quite creepy atmosphere and I like how many tense scenes are shot in the way that the viewer really isn't sure if there is something lurking out of sight or if the director is just playing tricks with you. The Slayer isn't a splatter film but there are few moderately graphic scenes which are nicely done (especially the pitchfork scene is really good).

There isn't much explanation done in the movie and it's pretty open to interpretation, I suppose. The very end of the film seems little off and somehow too cheap solution. I think I'd like the film more without the final scene but it doesn't really ruin anything. Overall it's not the greatest classic of the genre but way better than IMDb rating (4.9) implies and surely deserves some attention.

I respect it but your review of hereditary is brutal - it creeped me out the whole time. Thought it was very well made although as a whole less than great, less than the hype but not bad.