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What an excellent day for an exorcism

White Zombie, 1932



The acting is stiff and melodramatic, a signature of films in the thirties, but this is really an underrated horror classic. The film takes you back when zombies were not new millennium rotting puss. Modern zombie films for the most part have steered away from the lore of voodoo rituals giving rise to zombies. Now it's more often scientific reasons a zombie horde was created, like an alien virus or lab experiment gone wrong, etc.

The film creates an eerie atmosphere with great stage sets and subdued lighting. The dead zombies are more like catatonic slaves as opposed to the modern zombie eating machines seen today. I'm not 100% sure, but I believe this is the very first zombie movie, so it's worth checking it out for that alone to see how it all started. Not to mention the legendary Bela Lugosi puts on a great performance.
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What an excellent day for an exorcism


Prospect, 2018



I understand this is a low budget sci-fi film amounting to a little less than 4 million. It's okay that the filmmakers have a very short list for their filmography. It's forgivable that, except for Pedro Pascal, the cast are relatively unknown actors. But what's most annoying is how so many low budget sci-fi films involving an alien world are always forests. Going by these type of films, apparently the galaxy is filled with nothing but earth-like forests.

Costumes, props, and cast/crew fees apparently eat up most of a 4 million dollar budget. So there's nothing left to create an alien world. Time and time again, low budget filmmakers default to the same old tired backdrop - a forest you've often seen on a family vacation. I had read later the movie was filmed in a park near Tacoma, Washington. While it's certainly pleasing forestry, there's nothing alien about trees, vines, ferns, ivy, and other familiar plants.

If you look at amateur sci-fi shorts on YouTube, film hobbyists all film in forests or a desert due to them having little to no budget. You would think professionals would shake off that amateur habit. The story, acting, directing, costumes, and props actually range from decent to good, so a more objective viewer might give it a higher rating. It's my negative bias for lame "earth-like forest worlds" that I just could not get past and cannot rate it higher than a 5 out of 10.



28 days...6 hours...42 minutes...12 seconds
I had hopes for Prospect, shame it doesn't seem to be that engaging.
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Suspect's Reviews



What an excellent day for an exorcism

Wind Chill, 2007



"Winter is coming." Nothing like a traditional ghost story in the frozen tundra to prepare you for the winter months upon us. While the plot isn't exactly original, it's a good presentation of familiar ghost stories. The two main actors, including Emily Blunt, give convincing performances in a horror film that relies on atmosphere and build up rather than gore.

Considering the majority of the movie takes place in a broken down car stranded in the snow, it manages to hold your attention with solid character development along with episodes of intense fright. While the back story on why that area is plagued with ghosts is predictable, it's still a fun old fashioned horror tale accompanied by a gripping soundtrack. This ghost story would be perfect to watch on a night when your home is blanketed in snow and its twenty degrees or less outside.



What an excellent day for an exorcism

Little Evil, 2017



Little Evil feels like a movie that jumped out of the eighties and leap-frogged into the new millennium. Which would explain why its formula feels dated. A comedy horror? Well, it uses the plot vehicle of satanic horror to launch its story, so technically it carries the horror tag, but there's nothing horrific about it, making it pretty much a straight up comedy. The humorous nods to The Omen are in your face, including the child, Lucas, looking and dressing like Damien.

The acting is quite good by most of the cast, especially the hilarious reactions by Adam Scott who plays the stepfather trying to bond with this anti-Christ junior. Early in the film, it manages to stay within the realms of reality, but as the story progresses, that's thrown out the window to make room for all levels of absurdity. So it's best to not take one second of this film seriously and have a good laugh at its devilishly whacky premise.



What an excellent day for an exorcism

Vatican Tapes, 2015



After The Exorcist - 1971, it's been a struggle for filmmakers to produce a satanic horror film with the central theme of exorcism, that is fresh. Not so much the fault of the creators, after all, how much can you stray from the premise of a person possessed by an evil spirit? So naturally, every exorcism movie will always include a series of events that reveals the person is possessed and the inevitable battle to exorcise the demon. Vatican Tapes is no different, its plot is cornered into this very specific horror sub-genre.

The film features a cast of familiar actors who all deliver competent performances. Technically, it's supported by a haunting soundtrack along with serviceable audio/visual effects. Anyone who has watched numerous exorcism films will likely be disappointed since it brings nothing new to the satanic horror sub-genre. That said, the familiar plot devices employed in the film are well done. There's even a few scenes indicating an evil spirit is present that I have not seen in other exorcism films.

Unfortunately, the film often relies on cliches and because of its PG-13 rating, it lacks the graphic horror often seen in other exorcism movies. All that combined with a plot that is wholly unoriginal, I would probably not give this film a rating higher than 5 out of 10. However, with it's able cast delivering quality performances, the filmmakers successfully executing a series of creepy events, and a powerful ending, I feel it deserves a 6.