5 Horror Gems You Probably Haven't Seen

Halloween is just a few days off, and if you're like me, you love this time of year. Everyone loves watching horror movies on Halloween, but lately, good horror movies are hard to come by. So, mainstream movies aside, I've decided to put together a list of the best horror movies in recent years that you probably haven't seen.

 #5   Grave Encounters (2011)      

Low-budget, some bad acting, and hate-able characters couldn't keep me from enjoying this fun little flick. Fan of Ghost Hunters? Maybe Ghost Adventures? Well Grave Encounters depicts what you wish would happen when those morons beckon ghosts to make their presence known. In the found footage style made popular by The Blair Witch Project and recently, Paranormal Activity, G.E puts a new spin on the genre. Taking elements that already exist, with shows like Ghost Hunters, and thrusting apparition after apparition into the viewers face. The movie follows some film-makers making a new tv show called, what else, Grave Encounters. The acts they put on are purposely fake, as they are actors within the movie itself, making their own show. But once things start happening that isn't a part of the show, their true colors show, and the real fun begins. The star of this movie is the Asylum itself where it's filmed. The atmosphere makes the movie seem even more genuine, and makes this one of my favorite found footage type films I've seen. 

 

#4  The Signal (2007)

All communication is lost when a strange signal, that turns anyone who listens to it into homicidal maniacs, invades every tv, radio, and cellphone. Part romance, part black comedy, and part horror, The Signal is a unique mixture of different genres that seam together beautifully. Similar in those respects to, Shaun of the Dead, The Crazies, and Zombieland, there's also another feature that sets The Signal apart. The story is told in three parts, from three different perspectives. A woman, her husband, and a third man who she has fallen in love with and has been seeing behind her husband's back. It's a love triangle set amidst a world that is falling apart. The signal that is affecting people, has driven people to insanity, but surprisingly, they still have all their faculties. Meaning, that you don't know who is crazy and who isn't. They don't become zombies. They're seemingly normal people, with just very violent and insane tendencies at a moments notice. Sometimes someone you think is perfectly sane, turns out to be crazy, and vice-versa. The uniqueness of this film deems it worthy a watch, so give it a shot. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised. 

 

#3  Trick 'R Treat (2007)

This is actually my favorite movie to watch on Halloween. The whole movie takes place on Halloween, and focuses around 4 short stories. Throughout the movie, the stories interweave in a beautiful and intelligent way. The stories range from a group of teenagers investigating a local ghost legend, to a school principal who moonlights as a serial killer. The movie never takes itself too seriously, but still packs a few chills, and a good amount of laughs as well. The stories themselves would each make for a decent horror flick, but they way they come together makes it all the more awesome. The story jumps back and forth through different times of the night, so occasionally you'll catch a glimpse of events from the other stories taking place from a different perspective. It all makes for a good fun watch on Halloween or any other night of the year that you just want to experience that Halloween feeling.

 

#2  Tucker & Dale Vs. Evil (2010)

Tucker & Dale is the Three's Company of horror. It all revolves around hilarious misunderstandings. And when I say hilarious, I mean hilarious. There were a few parts in this movie that made me tear up from laughing. The story revolves around two good ole country boys, Tucker and Dale, who simply want to get away to their newly purchased vacation cabin. The boys planned to spend a few days fixing up the place and making it into a respectable cabin, but when a few college kids show up, the plans get thrown out of whack. The college kids, seeing Tucker & Dale, immediately assume the worst. They MUST be crazy cannibal rednecks who want to muder and eat them. So they do what anyone else would do in their situation (not exactly). They try to take them out before they get taken out. However, Tucker & Dale know nothing about it and continue working on their cabin. To make matters worse for Tucker and Dale, is that as the kids try to kill them, they end up killing themselves without Tucker and Dale even realizing it. So, in a series of absolutely hilarious suicides and failed murder attempts, Tucker and Dale finally realize that they are being targeted. This doesn't help much, as they're actually a bunch of babies, but they finally get the courage to fight back. But the kids corpses keep filling up their yard, and the with the only witness to what's really going on knocked out, Tucker and Dale may have a tough time getting out of this situation.

#1  Behind the Mask : The Rise of Leslie Vernon (2006)

And my favorite horror movie of all time. Imagine following Jason Voorhees around with a video camera as he explains the things he does. How does he walk so fast? How does he get that door to slam at just the right time? BTM follows Leslie Vernon, a lesser known Jason more-or-less. He gives us an inside look into what these horror icons do(if they really existed of course). BTM takes every horror cliche in the book and explains it in a way that's both hilarious and genius. The crew documenting becomes fascinated and drawn into Leslie's world all the way up until the moments when they have the difficult choice to stop Leslie or let him be. The movie is absolutely hilarious but so smart that it will make you never look at horror movies the same way again. Anytime I watch a Michael Myers film or Freddy film, I catch myself going, "Leslie showed me how you do that." The cast was great, and though low budget, remains my favorite horror of all time, and is also one of my favorite MOVIES of all time. If you haven't watched it, and are a fan or horrors at all, do it NOW. I have a friend who hates horror movies but loved BTM, so give it a try none-the-less. 

Happy Halloween :D

-Darrell

Movie Review: Session 9

     Whether it's an unrelenting killer terrorizing a small town or a group of hungry zombies out for blood, there are almost always the gory, bloody and the "makes you jump" moments that can be somewhat predictable yet, you still want to see, that make most horror flicks, well, a horror flick. But because Session 9 takes place in a real abandoned insane asylum and the environment itself is eerily calm, there doesn't have to be a murder around every corner because the mysteries behind the building itself plays a key part in freaking you out. So instead of those "gross you out" kind of moments, you get more of a creepy, hairs standing on end psychological feel through the entire movie that plays with your mind!

     Session 9 begins with an asbestos cleaning company given the job of ridding the Danvers State Mental Institution of  all the asbestos in the building. The tension between the members of the crew, Gordon, Phil, Hank, Mike, and Jeff, is high from the start. Gordon, the owner of the company, is having problems with his wife, Wendy, because of the stress of financial problems and of being a new parent. Phil, angry at Hank for stealing his girlfriend, has turned to marijuana. Jeff , youngest in the group and the nephew of Gordon, is the jokester of the group, when he is asked to check the breaker box in the basement he says he can't because he suffers from nyctophobia, a fear of the dark. Mike, a law-school dropout, finds an evidence box in the basement with taped sessions of Mary Hobbes, a patient with multiple personality disorder. She has 3 personalities, Billy, Princess, and Simon. During most of the film the doctor in the recording is trying to understand who Simon is and how he influences Mary. The doctor asks where each personality lives and is told that the Princess lives in the tongue because she talks a lot, Billy lives in the eyes because he sees everything, but since we haven't heard from Simon and the doctor can't get the other two personalities to talk about him, we don't know where he lives. Could it be that he isn't a personality at all but a demon of sorts?

    

      I really like the atmosphere of the movie. The eerily desolate surroundings on the inside of the asylum and the creepy music together really sets the mood to this mind bending film. As the men in the film venture deeper into the mystery that is the asylum we find ourselves wondering how much of it actually happened and how much was just in their head. If you really pay attention to this film you can see how truly scary it is but it definitely takes a lot of thought.. Not because it takes place in an asylum but because this is something that could really happen to anybody. As for the acting and the main story, however, it really lacked. The only reason I enjoyed this film at all was because of the setting and the haunting therapy session tapes.

 

Pros: Thrilling Atmosphere/ Realistic Story/ Enticing Back Story
Cons: Acting/ No Main Plot

Final Verdict: 4.5/10

 ~Tiffany

T.V Show Review: Once Upon A Time

     Do you remember being a little kid and being told these amazing stories of good vs. evil? Such as Red Riding Hood has to be released from the wolf's stomach or where Snow White is poisoned by the Evil Queen but awakened by true loves kiss and the Queen is defeated? But what if the Evil Queen wants revenge and the story's not over? That's exactly what happens in ABC's Once Upon A Time. It begins at Snow White's wedding to Prince Charming where the evil queen swears her revenge on them. Later Snow White has a daughter and on the day of her birth the Queen puts a curse on the Enchanted Forest. But before that happens Prince Charming puts his daughter in a magic portal that sends her away where she won't be found.

 28 years later bail-bonds collector Emma Swan is approached by Henry, the son she gave up for adoption 10 years earlier, and he tells her that the town he lives in, Storybrooke, Maine, is under a curse and the residents are really fairy tale characters who have no memory of who they are. He also tells her she is the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming and that she is the only one who can save them from the Evil Queen Regina. Though Emma won't believe Henry's stories at first, as the season progresses she begins to realize he may not be wrong.

     I really like how you get to see two different persona's for some of the characters. In every episodes story line, there's also a corresponding back story . For instance, if the episodes main story line is about Mary Margaret or something in particular that is happening, then the back story has something to do with Snow White or another characters relevance to her or whatever is happening. The fairy tale characters and their back stories are introduced in completely new way from how the stories are originally told. Like with Regina, she doesn't hate Snow White because she wants to be the fairest of them all, but because Snow White (as a child) finds out that Regina doesn't want to marry her father (the king) because she loves Daniel. Regina then tells young Snow she's gonna run away with Daniel but her mother can't know so she must keep it a secret. Cora, Regina's mother, tricks Snow into revealing Regina's plans, resulting in Cora killing Daniel so that her daughter will marry the king.

     I didn't like how the season would kind of drift away from the main story line here and there by adding insignificant characters. You would be introduced to a character in one episode but after that you wouldn't really see them again. So, I felt like that was kind of pointless. The season finale, like most shows, left off with a cliffhanger but it also answered a lot of questions that were hanging from past episodes. I really thought they did a nice job of ending the season on both a good and a bad note. You have the curse being lifted but the characters aren't sent back to the Enchanted Forest and just when you thought nothing else could happen, Mr. Gold/ Rumpelstiltskin brings magic back in a gust of purple fog. The entire season kept me interested in what was gonna happen next and how some things would be resolved. I really enjoyed how the first season played out and I can't wait for season 2 to premiere later this month. In fact it's one of my favorite shows on T.V right now and I would strongly recommend it.

Pros: The idea of fairy tale characters living in our world/ Redesigned fairy tale characters

Cons: Insignificant story lines/ Non-relevant characters/ Some of the acting

Final Verdict: 9.75/10

~Tiffany

Game Review : Mario Kart 7

     Nintendo has come up with a new revamped version in the popular Mario Kart series for the 3DS. In Mario Kart 7 you still have to choose from 8 characters initially, and once you start beating the cups in 150cc mode you unlock more characters.  However, unlike Mario Kart DS the babies, Funky Kong, and a few more characters were excluded so you only get 17 playable characters rather than 25. While 50cc and 100cc races are fun and somewhat challenging, the 150cc races make you work hard to unlock new characters.

      There are 16 new course as well as 16 retro, the new courses, mainly character-based, include Music Park (driving across piano keys that play music), Rosalina's Ice World (based on Super Mario Galaxy), Neo Bowser City, and some of the retro courses include Koopa Cape (Wii), SNES Rainbow Road, Luigi's Mansion (DS), Luigi Raceway (N64), and a lot more to choose from.

Rosalina's Ice World

Neo Bowser City

Rainbow Road (new)



     The most noticed addition however, is the hand glider, which you use in each course, including the classics, by jumping special blue ramps that are specifically designed for using the hand glider. Once you're in the air you can pull down on the joystick to glide over objects or push up to gain speed. The coins on the tracks can be collected to unlock more karts, tires, and gliders and for every 50 coins you collect you unlock one new item and the more coins you have on a course the faster you'll go.

 The best part of the game in my opinion however, is the 3D effects. The field of depth they were able to accomplish was just amazing, I actually felt as if I was part of the game as I zoomed through different courses. But it's not only the 3D effect that gives it this "WOW" factor but also the 2D graphics in general. They were well designed and defined and you can definitely see the differences in MK DS and 3DS. . I definitely enjoyed the game and would recommend it to anybody who asks. They managed to make it better than the previous games and still give it the Mario feel.

Pros: Amazing 3D effects/ New courses/ Hand-glider

Cons: Fewer character/ Slows down dramatically when underwater

Final Verdict: 9.5/10

-Tiffany

Anime Review : Durarara!!! (Series, 24 eps)

 An entertaining and original take on gang based drama.
                    

 

 Durarara is an odd recipe of sorts. Mixing together gangs, urban legends, manipulation,high-school kids and even an irish headless horseman. Pre-Heat and bake for 24 episodes, and you've got a tasty treat. The story focuses on 3 high-school friends, and the world they live in. Each of the friends has one massive secret that they hide from each other. The province of Ikebukoro is controlled by 2 major gangs. The Dollars, and the Yellow Scarves. These are not your average gangs though. This is the technology generation, and as such, these gangs are merely internet based. Until that is, people start vanishing and reports of a killer known as "The Slasher" start showing up. The leader of the Dollars decides to start placing posts on the forums to help put a stop to the killings, but things begin
worsening as more complex problems arise. To further complicate things, rumors begin surfacing that the slasher is a member of the Dollars.

                                       "Possibly the two coolest characters in Drrr."

At times light-hearted and silly, Durarara begins to focus more towards plot as the story progresses. Episode after episode, the plot slowly thickens, charging towards its conclusion. The slasher now has an army, and so does the Dollars, and now the Yellow Scarves are growing at a major rate, and at the very center, are these 3 friends, who are much more involved than any of them realize. The humor is good at times, and always lightens the mood, which at times can be very serious. This blends well and takes away some drama, which is a good thing. My only complaint, is with the ending. Although not bad, it does leave a lot of holes. Although this could be intentional, as even though I don't expect a continuation, they did leave a LOT of doors open to close later.

                                              "Yes, she really doesn't have a head."


Durarara is a fun series that leads with story,
and follows with wit. The good guys are fun
to root for, the bad guys are fun to hate,
and the mastermind pulling the strings is                
too awesome not to love. Durarara could
be better, but it could also be a lot worse.
The plot is original, and is well thought out.
With great art, great animation, and some
awesome and hilarious fight scenes, Drrr has
it all, and does it all well.

Pros : Story / Sound / Art design / Humor

Cons : Ending seemed rushed / BIG questions unanswered


- Darrell

Game Review : Limbo (PC)

An adventure of the mind, Limbo captivates with thought, puzzles and immersing sound effects amongst an eerie surreal atmosphere.

                         "Just an innocent boy taking a leisurely stroll through Death Forest."

Limbo is described as the "in-between" of worlds. Not Heaven, not Hell, but somewhere in the middle. Limbo is a game of few words, well literally no words, but the atmosphere speaks for itself. A monochrome reality, where the sun is scarce and shadows move in unsettling ways. In some areas, the only light visible is the reflection in the characters eyes. Limbo offers you no answers. Who are you? Why are you here? What is my goal, where do I go? These are the questions you might ask when you start Limbo, and after finishing the game, I still don't know the answers. But I really don't mind. My adventure into Limbo was brief, I completed the game in just under 4 hours, but it left a lasting impact. The game's visuals are so unique and bring so much beauty to such simple graphics and animation. A color version of this game would look terrible, instead the grayscale visuals are charming and creepy simultaneously. In gameplay terms, I would describe Limbo as a "survival platformer". The entirety of your understanding quickly becomes "Just keep going right, and do not die." The puzzles can be quite erm, puzzling, at times, especially as you push further into the game. Later game puzzles have you meticulously hitting levers, scaling ladders, avoiding traps and timing perfect jumps under very small time constraints. The puzzles were always fun though, and you always feel accomplished when completing them. The game takes you everywhere from flooded forests to old mineshafts and all of these are fully realized in the black and white tones. At your disposal, is nothing, aside from a short and long jump. The puzzles are mostly straightforward, your goal : reach that ledge, or make it past that spinning saw. 

                     "With the exception of your character, it seems everyone in Limbo is bald."

You will die, a lot, in this game. Not because it's particularly hard, but because most of the puzzles are trial and error based, and death is usually the first couple solutions to them. Approaching a dark area for instance, a blade may swing down and kill you. This may seem cheap the first time, but the second time around you know what to expect. Unexpected kills make up the majority of your deaths, but fortunately, there is a checkpoint after every puzzle, and respawn is instant so you're not waiting every time you die. The sound adds depth and a level of surreality to everything. Simple lever pulls echo through the darkness and add the ever present feeling of abandonment. Limbo leaves you feeling completely deserted, with giant spiders and brain leeching slugs around every turn. Even the glimpse of another human will get you excited as much as it will scare you. Limbo is as simple as a platformer can be. Run, jump, push, pull, grab, swing, repeat. But even these simple things can become complex in Limbo. Throughout he game are various hidden trophies too, inspiring another playthrough. Limbo never tells you this obviously, and it wasn't until about an hour in that I found my first one, no telling how many I missed never knowing they were there. Although, as such a short game, I can't find one good reason not to play through Limbo again.

                "The visuals and atmosphere of Limbo sets it apart from every other platformer"

     Limbo stands out  from the myriad of other
platform puzzlers with it's unique visuals, simple
mechanics, immersive audio and well thought out puzzles. The lack of any story may be of some hindrance, but in ways makes the game that much more engaging, pushing you forward to discover the answers. Limbo is a wonderful way to spend a night of gaming and I'll be revisiting the eerie land many times.



Pros : Beautiful Visuals/ Nice Sound FX/ Entrancing atmosphere

Cons : Abrupt ending/lack of direction/very short          



- Darrell

Movie Review : The Amazing Spider-Man

"I'm gonna throw you out the window now" - Peter Parker/Spider-Man

     Just 5 years after Tobey Maguire last dawned the Spiderman suit, Andrew Garfield steps in as the next web slinger in The Amazing Spider-Man. However, unlike Sam Raimi's series of films, Marc Webb decided on a more comic book story approach. In Webb's rebooted version, Spider-Man's love interest is Gwen Stacey (Emma Stone) instead of Raimi's Mary Jane Watson (Kirsten Dunst). I felt that Stone was a better leading woman because unlike Dunst's character, she wasn't portrayed as the damsel in distress but rather smart and involved, which is one of the reasons Spidey defeated the Lizard. Another similarity to the comic is Spider-Mans web slinging ability. Don't get me wrong he still swings through the city, but it's artificial webbing shot out of a device that Peter Parker invented. Garfield portrayed Peter as a cool geek, and the reason I say that is because he is a geek in all senses of the word,he's smart and loves science, but he still has his skateboard (at least until he gets his Spidey abilities) and he loses the glasses. We also get to see Dr. Connors not only as Peters mentor, but also his main nemesis of the film. While there are still aspects of Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy that will always be famous (e.g the upside down kiss), The Amazing Spider-Man still managed to stay with it. One of the only real complaints I had was the time it took for Spidey to emerge. For the first half of the movie your getting an introduction to Peter before he's Spider-Mans, which isn't bad but for those who watch superhero movies for the epic fight scenes and the awesome arch enemies, it was an excruciatingly long wait. Lizard was a cool bad guy, but he was too much like the Hulk. Turning into this horrible beast and having no control over what it does. And the fight between Spider-Man and Lizard wasn't as great as they could have made it, I mean it didn't really last that long and the main fight they had been building up for was kind of a disappointment. As for my opinion on the movie, I really thought they did a nice job giving the story from the comic perspective and showing Spider-Man as a high school kid in a suit and not some unstoppable force. Even though there were some things about the movie I didn't care for, it did keep my attention and that's really all you can ask for in a good movie.

Pros: Amazing graphics/ Comic book feel/ better leading woman

Cons: Disappointing final battle/  Takes too long to actually get Spidey suit/ not enough fight scenes

Final Verdict: 8.25/10

-Tiffany


Second Opinion :

Visual effects have come a long ways since Sam Raimi's Spider-Man hit theaters. The effects are beautiful, but to me the gem of the movie is Andrew Garfield, the new and improved Peter Parker. In nearly every way, Garfield is a better Peter. He's funnier, more charming, and most importantly, much truer to the comics. There are faults in the story, as this is a brand new take on spidey's story, although it's still truer to paper than most other versions. But all that can be forgiven due to the acting and cast of the film. If you didn't read my Avengers review, then I mentioned that Marvel Studios is possibly the best company in the business at casting. This continues that streak, and was an absolute joy for me.

9 out of 10