David Tennant as ‘Fright Night’ Peter Vincent
Shock Till You Drop received this cryptic image, a clue as to who the modern take on Fright Night has evolved the character of Peter Vincent into. Time to panic or take an interest? Your call.
Review: ‘The Sorcerer’s Apprentice’
“Almost” and “wants to be” should never precede the word “epic.”
Balthazar Blake (Nicolas Cage) is a sorcerer, one of a very few trusted by Merlin himself with the secrets of magic. Dave thinks he’s just an average kid until circumstances lead him to meet aforementioned sorcerer in modern day New York City. Sensing power within the child and confirming it, Balthazar intends to take him on as his apprentice until the near escape of an old enemy (Alfred Molina) traps the old sorcerer, sending Dave back into the world with no understanding of what just happened or the untapped power within him. Ten years later (to the day), both hero and villain return to the world, both knowing that Dave (Jay Baruchel) holds the key to saving the world or enslaving it for all time.
Sorcery, legends, mystical prisons, and secrets, all the ingredients needed to tell a fairy tale set in modern times. While the characters and story are both interesting, both are visibly being held back. Multiple chase scenes start out interesting, but then fade out instead of reach any real conclusion. If the good guy is completely distracted, why doesn’t the bad guy pounce? This happens often and repeatedly enough to make the running time seem far longer than it is (and not in a good way.) From beginning to end, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice feels like part one of an as-yet unannounced trilogy where two-thirds of the coolest stuff is being saved for later.
Review: ‘Piranha’ (2010)
Even if the rest is immediately forgettable, the massacre scene isn’t.
After a tragedy involving a local fisherman (Richard Dreyfuss) occurs shortly after a ground tremor, the local sheriff (Elisabeth Shue) of a small lake resort community is tasked with finding the cause. Meanwhile, a local teen (Steven R. McQueen) is roped into playing tour guide for an out-of-town soft-core porn king (Jerry O’Connell) while playing hooky from babysitting his younger siblings (not to mention missing out on all the barely legal skin being exposed at the local Spring Break celebration.) Of course, something hungry is lurking just below the surface of the seemingly harmless lake, a whole lot of something with a whole lot of teeth.
It’s a remake, it’s in 3D, and it’s horrific. With just enough plot to jump start the carnage, this feels like a grindhouse teensploitation film but is dressed up to look like like an Adam Sandler comedy. Starting with a sample of things to come, Richard Dreyfuss comes on board to parody his own infamous blood beach movie before everything settles down into plot, setting the scene for the later payoff. With plenty of nudity but no actual sex to bide the time, it’s all about the massacre scene, and it delivers exactly what horror aficionados want.
Review: ‘The Last Exorcism’
Superior storytelling mixed with masterful misdirection. The devil is (quite literally) in the details.
Cotton Marcus (Patrick Fabian) was raised as a preacher’s son with one foot in the pulpit. While he has performed exorcisms before, a crisis of faith later in life has led him to doubt that demons are real and caused him to question God. Still going through the motions to provide what he feels is a necessary service whether he believes or not, a documentary crew follows Cotton to a small farming community where a little girl named Nell (Ashley Bell) seems truly possessed. While the girl’s father (Louis Herthum) is certain of foul influence, Nell’s brother Caleb (Caleb Landry Jones) is as doubtful as Cotton. As the details start to emerge into a strange truth, Cotton’s faith will be called into question again, and it won’t only be Nell’s eternal soul on the line.
Produced by Eli Roth (who’s no stranger to the low budget horror genre) and directed by Daniel Stamm, The Last Exorcism is a mock documentary that shows truth as a subjective thing, whether it’s a righteous man’s faith or a preacher’s lack of it. From beginning to end, each character has a motivation that builds upon one another to shape the film’s outcome, and it does so both subtly and sneakily. Viewers expecting huge special effects or a gore fest may be disappointed, but those who enjoy the feeling of a story slipping under your skin and needling you with you own imagination, this one’s for you.
HHN XX – Experience “Fear” Himself!
For twenty years, Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida have brought fearful characters to life through haunted houses, scare zones, and shows. This year, Fear himself (along with some of his closest fiends) steps out of the shadows and into the spotlight… and nothing he touches will ever be the same.
HALLOWEEN HORROR NIGHTS XX: A NEW AGE OF DARKNESS
For 19 Years, Something Has Been In Control – And This Year, We Learn What It Is. All New Experiences Mark the 20th Year of the Nation’s Best, Most Intense, Halloween Event.
ORLANDO, Fla. (August 26, 2010) – There is more to paralyzing fear than a scream in the darkness or a cool breath on the back of the neck. Or the grip of the undead.
Fear that truly consumes us comes from deep inside our souls, stirred by something we don’t always understand and rarely have the chance to confront. Until now.
Halloween Horror Nights XX is about Fear himself. He is the Master of everything Halloween Horror Nights has ever been and will become. His weapons: Chaos, Death, Sacrifice, Mythos, Vengeance. His pawns: a clown, a storyteller, an undertaker, a director, an usher…and you.
