Random Horror

Following on from Insidious was a film I had been looking forward to watching for a long time. From the first time I saw the trailer, I was excited at the prospect of seeing it. I finally saw my opportunity and within hours of buying it, Sinister was spinning to life in front of my eyes. The film opens with a scene unlike any other, a silent film reel which shows a family of four bound, with hoods over their faces and nooses around their necks tied to a tree branch. An unseen source slowly cuts through a branch of the tree which when it collapses, acts as a pulley and hoists the family high up into the air. The camera rolls for a few moments as we watch the families’ lives being slowly extinguished by the weight of their own bodies! Skip forward a few months and we are introduced to the Oswalt family, Ellison, his wife Tracy and their two kids Ashley and Trevor. Ellison is a once-successful true crime writer who is on a push for another triumph. He has moved the family from their ...

I know this is moving slightly away from my typical “Random Horror” but I am not averse to bigger pictures which I why I relished the opportunity to watch Insidious. Having received it as a Christmas present in 2011, I couldn’t wait to watch it and I have since seen it several times. Insidious follows Josh and Renai Lambert and their three kids. After moving into a new house, the family struggle to settle and things are set back even further when Dalton, one of the kids falls into a bizarre coma like state. This causes more strain on the already thinly stretched family but it isn’t until Renai experiences strange noises and ghostly activity that the family decide enough is enough! They move into a new house to try to escape the supernatural activity which has been plaguing the poor woman only to experience the same thing in their new home! On the advice of Josh’s mother Lorraine, Renai calls in an expert and promptly invites paranormal investigator Elise into their new home. Along ...

When I first heard about this film, I was somewhat intrigued to see how it would play out. However, my intrigue was somewhat stilted by the thought in the back of my head which smacked of un-ease. There was something sinister and wrong about the films subject matter which for some reason, be it that part of my human psyche which craves and is fascinated by the morbid and the unknown or just some sick notion. Whatever it was, it looked... interesting. Gut tells the story of two friends, Tom and Dan. Tom, who has settled down and has the nice family life, seems to have grown up. Dan on the other hand still wants to be a teenager, living the bachelor life. Together they have been friends for a long time but slowly the friendship begins to drift as Tom outgrows Dan and his beer and movie fuelled nights. A conversation during a lunch break notifies Dan that Tom is thinking of upping sticks and moving away. This news doesn’t go down too well with Dan! Eventually he seems to accept the i...

After receiving this film in the post, I was more than excited to watch what some people had called one of the best direct to DVD Horror films. Until I was contacted by Jack Messitt (Director) I had never heard of Midnight Movie, however, once I received the DVD I did a bit of research and was pleasantly surprised and intrigued with what I read. As well as a great website, this title boasts some impressive accolades and high praise from various outlets. The film starts with a patient at a psychiatric ward painting. The patient, Ted Radford was a director who forty years ago made a slasher film called The Dark Beneath. At the request of his doctor, he is permitted to watch his film however, something sinister occurs and everyone on the ward except for the doctor vanishes leaving behind only pools of blood and a mystery! The only remnants of Radford, is a few weird symbols and a lot of blood! Skip forward a few years and we are taken to a cinema setting with a small group of people ...

Chain Letter was one of many DVD’s I received at Christmas and after a quick survey of the cover art, blurb and cast details, we decided that it was to be next on the list to watch. Said cover included a close up of some of the cast and a bloody corpse with a chain wrapped tightly around their ankle. The top billed also made for promising reading with the inclusion of horror legend Brad Dourif accompanied by familiar face Keith David and from Twilight, Nikki Reed. The film opens with what is probably the most chilling moment. A girl who has been bound and tied is chained to the back of two cars. As she lay on the floor of a garage, two people exit the house and get into the cars, unbeknown to them, their cars would soon become a weapon of horrific death! The scene ends without actually finding out what happens and it isn’t until the end that we learn of the fate of the poor woman chained to the cars!   The basic premise of Chain Letter follows a familiar pattern and is ve...