HORROR YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED: FRIEND REQUEST (2016)

FRIEND REQUEST (2016)

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German horror filmed in English has pretty college student Laura Woodson (Alycia Debnam-Carey, The Devil’s Hand and Fear The Walking Dead) feeling sorry for lonely, withdrawn Marina (Liesl Ahlers) at school and befriending her on her social media account (which we assume is Facebook although the name is never given). Laura soon finds out Marina is emotionally unbalanced as the young woman begins to become obsessed with her. She “unfriends” the strange girl which pushes Marina over the edge and thus, she commits suicide. This only makes things worse, as Marina now stalks Laura as some kind of malevolence presence and worse still, is one by one killing her friends and posting videos of their gruesome deaths to Laura’s social media page. As everyone she knows begins to grow fearful of her, Laura begins a quest to find out who this mysterious girl really was and why she has such dark power from beyond the grave…but will she find out in time?

Script by Matthew Ballen, Philip Koch and director Simon Verhoeven (no relation to Robocop’s Paul) offers nothing new especially in this age of cyber-themed horror and thrillers. Film’s story has elements of similar movies such as the recent Unfriended, Ratter and Dark Summer, but effective direction from Verhoeven actually makes it work better than you might expect. He does create atmosphere and there are some spooky moments, as well as, some disturbing ones, too. The deaths of Laura’s friends have impact and the jump scares are well done and not overused. There are also a few clever bits like maintaining a countdown of the friends Laura loses on social media as the spirit continues to manipulate her account and kill those close to her. The director also gets some decent work out of his cast with Alycia Debnam-Carey making a suitable and likable heroine and Ahlers making for a creepy goth girl in her brief scenes early on. The film can be a bit formula as haunting flicks go and the ending is exactly where you expect it to end up, but the ride getting there is entertaining enough to past the time without feeling like a waste of it.

Not a great movie, or even an original one, but it is well made enough to get by. It is routine as both cyber-horror and haunting flicks go, especially more recent ones, but has enough atmosphere and effective moments to make it worth a look if you find yourself sitting on the couch with nothing to watch. The attractive cash also includes Brit Morgan, Brooke Markham, Connor Paolo, Sean Marquette and William Moseley as Laura’s friends and love interest respectively.

-MonsterZero NJ

2 and 1/2 lap tops.

 

HORROR YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED: LET’S BE EVIL (2016)

LET’S BE EVIL (2016)

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Flick is centered around the use of virtual reality to teach highly intelligent children to better prepare to be the leaders of the future. Three youths, Jenny (Elizabeth Morris), Tiggs (Kara Tointon) and Darby (Elliot James Langridge) are hired to be the caretakers of one such group in an experimental program in a secure location. Strange things start to happen and soon perky Jenny starts to believe the children around them are not so innocent. What exactly are they teaching these kids here and have they learned too much?

Co-written by star Morris along with director Martin Owen, this Village Of The Damned for the virtual reality world has a distinct 80s vibe despite the advanced technology. It also starts out rather low key and then slowly builds tension as things start to get weird. It’s the last act that takes one by surprise, as the filmmakers suddenly crank things up with some intensity and a few vicious moments that you’re not expecting, since the rest of the film operated on a more moderate level. That’s what gave this thriller a little needed punch, as initially it just seemed like another routine cyber/bad seed thriller. Owen delivers some creepy and suspenseful moments as our three councilors realize they are trapped in this cyber prison with some very intelligent and sadistic kids. There are some surprisingly violent scenes to add to the effect and Owen does maintain some solid atmosphere once things get going after the misleading slow start. The are some flaws here, too. Problem with our villains is that we only really get to know one of them, an outcast named Cassandra (Isabelle Allen) who the sinister group seems to have rejected. This keeps them from having any sort of a personality other than a collective of evil presences out to get Jenny, Tiggs and Darby, we assume for their own amusement. Also, the last act reveal wasn’t really a surprise, you see it coming a mile away, but it still worked well enough to give chills. Otherwise, on a production level, the film looks like a modestly budgeted flick, which is fine and there is a very 80s-ish electronic score by Julian Scherle to add atmosphere.

The cast is small with pretty Elizabeth Morris being a solid girl-next-door heroine. She comes across as a sweet, caring girl and appears legitimately frightened when things start to go awry. We like her and therefor care when she is in danger. Morris gives her a nice personality. Kara Tointon is also likable as the spunky Tiggs and gives her character some feistiness and sexiness to contrast the more demure Jenny. Langridge plays Darby as the cynical slacker type. He is the group’s doubter when Jenny thinks something’s wrong and is effective enough in the part. Rounding out our leads, is young Isabelle Allen as Cassandra, who the cyber-brats seem to have cast out. She is good in the part and we sympathize with her as the frightened child, though we have seen enough movies to not completely trust her. There is also an artificial intelligence named Arial who is the group’s guide and is voiced by Natasha Moore with Jamie Bernadette representing her cyber-body.

Overall, this was an entertaining enough little cyber-horror. Sure we have seen computer themed flicks like this often as we have the evil children scenario, but the mash-up does work thanks to a very effective last act. The film starts out with a moderate tone and then catches us off-guard with a very intense and surprisingly violent last half hour. A decent thriller from director Owens and co-writer/star Morris.

-MonsterZero NJ

3 laptops, although there aren’t any in the movie. Sometimes you work with what you got.

 

 

HORROR YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED: SMILEY (2012)

SMILEY (2012)

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Smiley is a horror flick you wished you could like more because the makers seem to be trying really hard to deliver…but misses the mark a bit too much to be completely forgiving. The story centers on an internet urban legend of a serial killer named, ‘Smiley’. When you are on a video chat with someone, you’re supposed to type in ‘I did it for the lulz’ three times and Smiley will appear behind the person you are chatting with and kill them. College roommates Ashley (Caitlin Gerard) and Proxy (Melanie Papalia) give it a try one night and, to their horror, watch someone be brutally murdered before their eyes. Now good girl Ashley is convinced that Smiley will soon come for her and Proxy and even starts to see the faceless killer around campus. Is he real and is her life in real danger, or is Smiley all in the emotionally troubled girl’s head?

Written by Michael Gallagher and Glasgow Phillips and directed by Gallagher, this flick tries hard to be a sort of Scream meets Candyman for the internet age, but just doesn’t accomplish it’s goal. The whole Smiley legend seems a little too far fetched and silly to really grab us and Gallagher really doesn’t create any tension with it. Attempts to create enough doubt as to whether Ashley is imagining him, or if he really exists aren’t effective enough and that might have added some mystery and suspense to it, if we weren’t sure. Simply adding a Scream-like plot element that Ashley lost her mother and is still grieving, isn’t enough to make her an unreliable witness…that and more deaths occur, so we know something is up. Ashley also only starts to get a little unglued when she starts to see Smiley, otherwise she seems like she has her head on straight. The script is actually very talky, too with very little Smiley action. There are numerous, lengthy scenes in one of Ashley’s classes with her Professor (Roger Bart) waxing philosophical and none of the scenes really go anywhere or contribute to the story. They seem like time wasters to stretch out a thin script to feature length and the time would have been better spent trying to scare us with more Smiley. The opening scene with a pretty babysitter (Nikki Limo) is actually the best scene in the film and the flick never reaches that effectiveness again. There are a few gory deaths and the Smiley character himself looks effective, but he is never around enough to evoke true menace and the big reveal at the climax really comes as no surprise. It’s too bad, a tighter script and a far more capable hands behind the camera and this could have been a cool little flick. It’s few effective parts just don’t add up to a successful whole.

Our leading ladies are fine and probably would have been more effective with a better script and direction. Caitlin Gerard is a cute, but emotionally troubled girl-next-door as Ashley and we do like her. Melanie Papalia (Extraterrestrial, The Den) is pretty and spunky as party girl Proxy though, she seems like the stronger of the two for certain, though the script has her character being a little too unfazed by witnessing a murder and possibly being the cause. Bart is a bit eccentric as Professor Clayton, but his character really doesn’t contribute much and Shane Dawson is adequate as loner/nerd Binder, who Ashley falls for and asks for help getting to the bottom of this urban legend. A decent cast that work well with cliché characters and could have used better material.

The movie was OK. It’s not terrible, but it is far from succeeding in what it wants to do. You get the feeling the filmmakers were trying their best…there is nothing pretentious about it…it’s just they fell short. It has a bit of a charm, so you want to like it better, but it’s too weak to really embrace and enjoy thoroughly. That and the familiar elements aren’t used creatively enough to give it a total pass. Not a waste of time, but up to you if you want to spend that time checking it out.

-MonsterZero NJ

A generous 2 and 1/2 Smiley’s.

 

 

 

 

HORROR YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED: THE DEN (2013)

THE DEN (2013)

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The Den is one of those pleasant little surprises that you watched out of moderate curiosity and enjoyed far more than expected. It also sets it’s horror story completely on the laptop of it’s lead character, a full year before Unfriended. The story tells of pretty Elizabeth Benton (Melanie Papalia from Extraterrestrial) who has received a grant to do a social study of people who populate internet chat sites. The site she chooses for her 24/7 study is “The Den.” She meets all sorts of strange people and, as can be expected in a horror flick like this, catches the attention of a deranged and dangerous individual. Soon she is being cyber-stalked, her computer hacked, her life invaded and her friends and loved ones start o fall victim to some masked assailant. Can Elizabeth escape this maniac?…or will she be their next victim?

Directed by Zachary Donohue and co-written by he and Lauren Thompson, this is actually a clever and effective little horror/thriller with some gruesome and disturbing moments. More than a year before Unfriended and even a few weeks before Open Windows, Donohue sets his entire thriller on Elizabeth’s laptop and phone so we see her POV of those she’s watching and the POV of those watching her. What unfolds is nothing new to the slasher sub-genre, with a young victim being chosen and stalked and those around her put in harm’s way, but, the stage it plays out on is novel…for when it was made…and there are some moments that use the POV format very well. Donohue keeps us involved and there is some suspense and it’s only in the last act when it takes a bit of a “Hostel” turn, that the familiarity really starts to sink in…though it still worked well enough and provided some action caught on the various cameras. While it’s ending was nothing new and a bit abrupt, it still added a chill, so, it worked.

Another real big factor in this working as well as it does, is leading lady Melanie Papalia. The entire movie rests on her shoulders and she carries it well. Elizabeth is a sweet, ambitious and likable girl who is thrust into a nightmarish situation. Papalia plays her terror well, but, adds a strength and resilience to her character that helps make her resourcefulness and toughness believable when she has to fight tooth and nail for her life. The Extraterrestrial actress makes an impressive and endearing heroine and hopefully, she gets to play final girl more often. Also stars David Schlachtenhaufen, Adam Shapiro, Katija Pevec and Anna Margaret Hollyman as Elizabeth’s friends and loved ones but, it is Papalia’s show all the way.

I liked The Den. It’s no classic and it’s far from perfect but, it is surprisingly more effective than one might expect from a little movie set entirely on a laptop. The slasher story is familiar, despite the novel cyber setting, but, Donohue makes it work well enough and his firecracker leading lady carries this internet horror on her pretty but, sturdy shoulders. It’s not going to revolutionize horror and you might forget about it six months from now, but, for 80+ minutes, it’s entertaining, has some effective and disturbing sequences and introduces us to a director and actress we’d like to see more of. I’d say check it out if you have the chance. Cool little flick.

-MonsterZero NJ

3 laptops.

BE WARNED: Trailer is spoiler-ish…