Goblin Movie Review 226

Goblin is a 2010 horror movie  directed by Jeffery Scott Lando(House of Bones) and starring Gil Bellows(Ally McBeal) and Colin Cunningham(from Falling Skies).

It starts in the year 1831 and a local woman's child is thrown into a bonfire because the woman is accused of being a witch and they think that the child is evil. She curses them and their village. The demon comes out of the fire and kills them. Cut to modern day and it is October 30. Kate(Camille Sullivan), her husband Neil(Bellows), Neil's daughter, Nikki(Tracy Spiridakos) and her new baby brother, Nathan. They are all travelling to the town of Hollowglen because Neil wants to make a deal with the locals about some development that he is planning with his pal Owen(Cunningham). They arrive in Hollowglen and they have to ask the locals for directions to the cabin they are staying in. Along with Nikki is her friend Cammy(Erin Boyles) and they laugh at the locals. An old guy called Charlie(Donnelly Rhodes of Danger Bay fame) warns them about the curse on the children of the town. They think that he is nuts.

They arrive at the cabin and Owen is there. There is tension in the air between Kate and Nikki. Kate is Nikki's stepmother and Nikki resents her. Next day is Halloween and the Goblin comes back to get vengeance on the village. Cammy and Nikki meet two local boys called Matt( Brett Dier) and Kyle(Reilly Dolman). They all hang out together at the house as Nikki is babysitting Nathan. Kate, Neil and Owen meet the local Sheriff(Andrew Wheeler) and talk to him about the development and the curse. He denies that the town is cursed and he doesn't seem too keen on the development either. The Goblin is in the woods behind the cabin and Cammy and Matt are killed. Nikki hears Cammy scream and she runs out of the house leaving Nathan alone. She finds Cammy dead and runs back to the house. Nathan has gone. Kate, Neil and Sheriff come back and she tells them what happened. They think that it is some sort of prank and Kate begs her to tell her what happened to her baby, but Nikki assures her that it isn't a joke. Sheriff takes Kyle in the cop car. Neil goes looking in the woods for Cammy and Matt. He finds Cammy.

Kate and Nikki are alone in the house when the Goblin arrives and kills Kate. Kyle arrives back having escaped. He has a car and she jumps in with him. Goblin is following them. It kills Owen. Charlie meets Nikki and Kyle and he tells them that he has a special spear which will kill the Goblin but someone has to get in close to impale him. Charlie decides that he will do it. Nikki and Kyle head to the local cafe which is owned by the Sheriff's wife, Bea. She has the missing baby. It turns out the Sheriff lured the family to the area so that they could get the baby or something like that. She locks Kyle and Nikki into a room. Neil arrives but gets handcuffed by the Sheriff. He tries to blame Neil for the killings, knowing well that the Goblin is responsible. Charlie lets them out and he tells them that Bea is trying to swap Nathan for a promise from the Goblin that he will leave them alone. They go to where the original bonfire was and they see the Goblin coming for Nathan. Charlie sticks the spear into the Goblin. It kills Charlie but Kyle goes back and tries again and it kills Kyle. Nikki finally kills the Goblin and she and Neil take Nathan and leave.

This was a below average offering. It is a bit slow in parts and the story is a bit ropey, but it isn't that bad to pass a couple of hours. Be warned that it is very low budget, but the Goblin was ok in it. This gets 3/10.

The Walking Dead, Season 2, Episode 8

 It's back!!!The last time we saw Rick and company, they were shooting all of the walkers in Hershel's barn. Sophia, the missing child, was one of them and Rick had to shoot her.

The new episode begins with the group in shock. Rick is feeling bad for shooting Sophia, but he had no choice.Hershel is annoyed with them and he wants them off his land. Carol is very upset by the death of her daughter.Shane wonders if Hershel and his group knew that Sophia was in the barn all along and let them go off and risk their lives looking for her. They deny it. Rick and the group have to bury Sophia and Hershel's family and then burn the rest. Carol can't bring herself to watch her daughter being buried. Shane tells everyone that he did what had to be done. Andrea and T-Dog agree with him. Do- gooder Dale doesn't and he tries to tell Laurie that Shane is dangerous and that he believes Shane sacrificed Otis to save himself.

 One of the girls, Beth collapses and goes into shock. Rick looks for Hershel but he is nowhere to be found.

Glenn and Rick go to look for him at a local bar. Shane apologises to Carol for what happened to Sophia.

Glenn tells Rick he loves Maggie and that she loves him too. They find Hershel drinking in a bar. He tells them that he has lost all hope. He realises now that there is no cure for the walkers and that everything is lost.

Rick talks him around and when he hears about Beth he decides to come back and help her. Before they can leave, two strangers walk into the bar. They seem friendly, but when they start asking too many questions, Rick and Hershel get suspicious. Glenn tells them about the farm and they want to go there. Rick tells them that there is no room and things get nasty. Rick shoots the two of them.

A good episode with a good ending. I thought that there would be two more survivors added to the cast and when Rick shot them, it was a surprise. It is a great show and I am looking forward to more!

The Grey Movie Review 225

The Grey is a 2012 thriller starring Liam Neeson and Dermot Mulroney and directed by Joe Carnahan. It is based on a short story by Ian MacKenzie Jeffers.

Neeson plays John Ottway who is working in Alaska killing wolves who are coming close to an oil drilling rig. He kills a wolf outside and then he turns the gun on himself obviously intending to commit suicide. He is stopped when he hears the howling of the other wolves. He had written a letter to his wife and he is thinking about when he was with her last. He is heading home with some others when their plane crashes in the middle of nowhere.He and some others survive and they have to go and build a fire before they freeze to death. The other survivors are Diaz(Frank Grillo), Talget(Mulroney),Hendrick(Dallas Roberts),Flannery(Joe Anderson),Hernandez(Ben Bray) and Burke(Nonso Anozie). Ottway takes over leadership of the group much to the annoyance of Diaz.They take turns watching out for the wolves as they have landed in their territory. Hendandez gets killed as he is urinating. The wolves are going to pick them off one by one.

Ottway tells the group that the wolves consider them fair game because they have encroached on their territory and that they are hunting them like prey. They have to get over to a wooded area to get away from the wolves. Ottway suggests that they collect all of the wallets from the dead so that they can be given to their families. As the wolves follow them, more of the team are killed. Ottway tells them that they have to fight the wolves and kill them. There is no other way to survive. The wolves come closer and the group are afraid as they hear the ungodly howling of the pack. The survivors dwindle until there is just Ottway, Diaz and Hendrick left. Diaz gives up and is left by the water to die. Ottway and Hendrick continue on, but tragedy stikes as Hendrick falls into the river and gets his foot stuck between two rocks and drowns. Ottway is alone. He ends up right in the middle of the wolves lair and he is surrounded by them. He knows that this is the end and he arms himself for a savage fight. This is where the movie ends, but there is a little scene at the end of the credits which shows the main wolf lying dead with Ottway's head on its stomach suggesting that they killed each other.

This is a very good movie. Neeson proves once again that he is a very talented actor and he is very impressive here in this part as a lonely man who has lost his wife and has nothing to live for. He battles the wolves only to end up in their lair. I highly recommend this and I think that it is very entertaining. There is some lovely shots of the wilderness and the wolves are impressive too. I am giving this an 8/10.

The People Under the Stairs Movie Review 224

The People Under the Stairs is a 1991 horror movie directed by Wes Craven and starring Wendy Robie and Everett McGill.

Fool(Brandon Adams) is a 13 year old kid who lives with his sick mother and his sister in a horrible tenement which is falling apart. He meets Leroy(Ving Rhames) who tells him that he is going to rob the house of the landlord to get money and that if he helps him, he can take a cut. He has a treasure map of the place and he has heard that the landlord has gold coins stashed in the house. Fool calls to the house which people think is creepy. He pretends to be a boy scout selling cookies. A woman comes out to him. She is called Mommy(Robie) and she doesn't want anything to do with him and sends him off. She is living in the house with her daughter Alice(A.J.Langer) and Daddy(McGill). A friend of Leroy's called Spencer calls at the house pretending that he is the gas man and he goes inside to case the place. He doesn't come out. Someone goes out in a car so Leroy and Fool go inside.

They break in and meet a nasty dog. It chases them and they have to lock themselves into a room. They let themselves out and Leroy goes upstairs for a look while Fool hears something coming from the basement.

He goes to investigate and he finds Spencer who is dead. He sees that there are loads of people down there and they are locked up. Who are they? Alice helps him escape from them. Mommy and Daddy arrive back at the house and they see Leroy's van. They go inside and they realise someone has broken in. Daddy kills Leroy. Fool talks to Alice. He finds out that she has never been outside and that all of the people in the cellar were kids that the couple abducted and tried to make into their son. They didn't fit the bill so Daddy cut their tongues out or hurt them in some way and left them down there. They took Alice from her parents and made her their own daughter. There is a kid they couldn't lock in the basement and his name is Roach. He lives in the walls of the house and Daddy wants to kill him.

Some cops come to the house but Mommy tells them nothing is wrong so they leave. The dog is prowling and he runs after Fool  but Roach pulls Fool into the walls to get away. Daddy shoots at them. They end up in Alice's room but Fool gets caught and thrown into the basement by Daddy. Daddy cuts up bodies and feeds them the cellar people. Fool fears that he is next. Roach saves him but dies. Fool escapes from the house but can't take Alice with him. Fool managed to get some of the gold coins and he will be set for life with them.

 He can't forget Alice and he decides to go back to get her out. He finds out that Mommy and Daddy are actually brother and sister. He goes back to the house and he has to try and get Alice out without getting killed but Mommy and Daddy are on his tail.

He finds Alice and the try to leave. Meanwhile, all of the tenants from the horrible tenement show up at the door and Mommy has to fend them off as she tries to find Fool. Fool finds himself in the basement and he realises that the people under the stairs want to get out and see the outside world so he releases them. Mommy and Alice fight and the people under the stairs save her and kill Mommy. Daddy gets blown up by Fool and the people under the stairs are released and they look around at the world again. Daddy and Mommy's money rains down from the sky and everyone rejoices. This was a good movie and I liked it. I especially liked the teaming of Robie and McGill once again (they starred as husband and wife in TV show Twin Peaks!). They were very good in the roles and I think that was the best thing about this movie. It gets a 6/10.

Are You In The House Alone Movie Review 223

Are You In The House Alone is a 1978 TV movie, directed by Walter Grauman who worked as a director on loads of TV shows such as Murder, She Wrote,Columbo and V. It stars Kathleen Beller , Blythe Danner and Dennis Quaid. It is based on the book of the same name written by Richard Peck.

Gail Osborne(Beller) is a high school student and she is with her pal Alison(Robin Mattson), her boyfriend Phil(Quaid) and Steve(Scott Columby). Steve and Gail hit it off and  they kiss and make a date to meet. Everything is going along very well until someone leaves a note in her locker at school saying 'I'm Watching You'. She is unnerved by this and she shows it to Alison who tells her it is just a prank by some idiot. Gail has to babysit a while later and someone calls the house she is in. He says that he is getting closer. She checks that everything in the house is locked. The owner of the house returns and Gail tells her that she had a strange phonecall. The owner tells her it was just a prank, but Gail isn't so sure.

She wonders if it might be her creepy teacher but she has no proof of that. Gail and Steve go to a party and Gail meets her ex, E.K(Randy Stumpf) and she wonders if he might be the one sending the notes. She gets another note and it upsets her. She tells her teacher, but nothing is done about it. Gail is suspicious of everyone. She shows the note to Steve and he thinks that E.K is the one doing it. She babysits again and this time she gets a call again. Steve is on the way over but Phil calls in. He tells her that he was supposed to meet Alison. He pretends to call her on the phone. It turns out that he is the one who was calling her etc. He attacks her and rapes her. The movie ends with Phil getting caught posting notes to another victim. His parents are wealthy so he is not punished properly and he disappears from the school.

If you are looking for a horror movie, then this isn't one. It is more of a drama/ thriller. There are some creepy scenes and tense moments, but it will not scare you. Just be aware of that. It was well acted and I really enjoyed it for what it is- an average TV movie. It is worth watching because it is a film you would not come across very often. I give it a 6/10.

Rosewood Lane Movie Review 222

Rosewood Lane is a 2010 thriller/horror movie directed by Victor Salva who also directed Jeepers Creepers and Clownhouse. It stars Rose McGowan, Ray Wise and Lesley Ann Down.

Sonny Blake(McGowan) is a radio psychiatrist and she learns that her father had died. He fell down the stairs to the basement in his house. She decides to move into his house and she meets her weird neighbour Fred. He warns her about the paperboy who is cycling around staring at her. His name is Cam(played by Daniel Ross Owens) and he calls to her house offering her some deal to get the paper. She refuses, not liking him. He is a weirdo.(note here- the actor who plays Cam is at least twenty something and this movie is supposed to be about a paper BOY. He looks way too old to have a paper round. I read that the director was accused of sex with a minor and he couldn't work with kids, but he could have found a young looking actor instead of the guy they got)Sonny finds herself being targeted by Cam as he runs around and tries to frighten her and recites nursery rhymes at her.

Needless to say, the cops don't believe her as they can't find the paperboy and they think that she is imagining it. She has to fight him along with her boyfriend, Barrett. Cam starts to dispose of her friends and Barrett goes missing too. He killed her dad it turns out.She has to fight the paperboy alone and she doesn't know how to start. So, I will not ruin the ending but if you decide to watch this movie I have a few warnings for you. Firstly, Rose McGowan looks like a mess here. Her lips are stretched and her face is so different to what it was before. I know that she had plastic surgery because of an accident, but she looks horrific here. Her looks alone were more frightening than the movie!Ray Wise tries his best in this movie, but he is just wasted here. Bill Fagerbakke(Dauber from TV series Coach) has a brief role.

This movie is rubbish and I have seen some crap but this takes the prize for one of the worst movies ever. We have McGowan's lips which disturb me, we have an old paperboy who just rides around laughing and reciting nursery rhymes. We have her boyfriend who goes missing and is never heard from again even though they know that the paperboy killed him.The twist ending is lame and I saw it coming .The cops don't want to help until it's too late and Sonny is one of the most irritating female characters ever. She stays in the house alone even though there is a maniac on the loose. What the hell?My problem with this film is the age of the paperboy. Why didn't the director change it to a delivery man or something like that instead of a paperboy kid? If he knew he couldn't have a kid in the role, why didn't he change it? It baffles me....Avoid this at all costs unless you want to suffer....It is getting a 1/10 and that's because Ray Wise was in it!

Moon 44 Movie Review 221

Moon 44 is a Science fiction movie from 1990 that is in the vein of Bladerunner and Aliens.It stars Michael Pare and is written and directed by Roland Emmerich.Michael Pare is a guy I recognised from The Philadelphia Experiment which is another good old sci fi movie.Roland Emmerich is a name you will probably recognise from Independence Day and Stargate and many others.This movie is one of his first ones and is heavily influenced by the movies previously mentioned.

Its set in the future and Pare stars as Felix Stone, an undercover/internal affairs agent who is hired by a mining company to investigate goings on at Moon 44.This is a universe where mining companies work on planets in outer space and battle each other for control.Recently a rival mining company have been taking over planets by attacking them with battle robots and of course Moon 44 is next! 2 shuttles have disappeared and Stone, played by Pare is sent up to investigate. The mining company is too mean to pay people proper danger money so naturally have decided to use prisoners as pilots!! They in turn will be guided by navigators who are only teenagers!! Surely nothing can go wrong! If you can get your head around this premise then the movie settles down nicely into an enjoyable ride.

In charge of the mining operation on Moon 44 is Major Lee played by the always good Malcolm McDowell and just under him is Sergeant Sykes played by Leon Rippy.He is a guy who you will say " oh wait, haven't I seen him in something before" and the same goes for Brian Thompson who plays Jake O'Neill.He is a big, square jawed guy who is basically one of the leaders of the prisoners sent to Moon 44.Stone's chief navigator is Tyler played by Dean Devlin and he acts as his confidante while he is there.

Pare is a guy that I wondered why he wasn't in more things as he was good in this.I liked the 'dark look' of this movie and it has the same one that Bladerunner and Aliens have and for the most part the effects are okay. It's when there are outside shots of the helicopters that they are piloting that the movie falls down a bit. It's clearly just small remote controlled helicopters filmed close-up! Other than this the movie is very enjoyable even though it's predictable.It's just a simple sci fi movie that is worth a look.Yes it's old and dated but you would do a lot worse than to rent this out or try to get a cheap copy online especially if bleak sci fi is your thing! 

Moon 44- 5/10

The Thing (2011) Movie Review 220

The Thing is a prequel of the 1982 version of The Thing. It is directed by Matthijs van Heijningen Jr. It stars Mary Elizabeth Winstead.

The movie begins in Antarctica where some Norwegian researchers discover a huge alien ship under the ice and there is some sort of creature trapped in a block of ice. Kate Lloyd(Winstead) who is a palaeontologist and she is recruited by Dr. Sander Halvorson(Ulrich Thomsen) to investigate this. They all go to Antarctica and meet up with the team of researchers who are all interested in this new form of life. Kate is amazed when she sees the alien ship. Dr. Halvorson asks her to take a tissue sample from the creature in the ice. She is reluctant, but she does so.  Unfortunately, the block of ice is starting to melt and the creature eventually breaks out and goes AWOL. They don't know what it is so they have to look for it and try and capture it again.

They find the alien and they shoot it and kill it, but it can spread from person to person so there is no way of knowing who has been infected by it. Dr. Halvorson looks at the remains of the creature and sees that it was digesting one of the team. Kate finds fillings on the floor of the bathroom covered in blood. She realises that the creature can replicate a human being but that it couldn't absorb the fillings so it throws them out. The thing is on the loose in the building and it corners Kate. She is saved by the others and they kill that one and set it on fire but there is no telling if it has passed onto someone else. They have to isolate it and kill it once and for all.They disable the vehicles so nobody can escape. They take blood from each other and they take it to the lab to analyse it, but the lab is set on fire so they can't do that. Kate checks each of them for fillings and the ones who do have them are okay but there are a few who don't. They are under suspicion.

They have a flamethrower and they search to see if they can find the thing. It passes from one to the other and they have to kill each person it infects. Eventually Kate realises that it is in Dr.Halvorson and it is going for the ship so it can escape. She chases it and falls into the ship. She searches and finds the thing. She manages to destroy it by blowing it up. She is left shattered by the experience. The next day, a helicopter comes to the base and they see what has happened. There is one survivor called Lars and he orders the person in the helicopter to show him his fillings so he knows that there is no danger. He does so. Lars has a dog who was killed by the thing earlier, but it now running along with the thing inside it. Lars and the pilot chase it and try to shoot it.

This movie was not bad. It was not a patch on the 1982 version by John Carpenter, but you wouldn't expect it to be. Movies are not of the same quality these days , I think and this was not a brilliant horror/sci-fi film.

It is watchable though and I would say that there are some good scenes in it. I liked the thing itself and the special effects were quite good. This will  pass away a couple of hours, but it isn't anything special. I am giving it 5/10.

The Shuttered Room Movie Review 219

The Shuttered Room is a 1967 thriller/horror movie directed by David Greene and starring Oliver Reed, Gig Young and Carol Lynley. It is based on a short story written by H.P. Lovecraft and August Derleth.

The movie begins in a house where a family are living. There is something horrible up in the attic and when it wanders downstairs, the parents have to shove it back into its lair in the attic.What is it????Cut to years later and Susannah Kelton(Lynley) and her husband Mike(Young) are going to Dunwich Island because Susannah has been left a mill and house there. She is going to check it out and see her old home. When she was young, her parents sent to her to New York and this is the first time she has been back. The locals are a bit weird and there is a local thug gang led by Ethan(Reed). They all leer at Susannah and it is obvious that Ethan has taken a shine to her. They arrive at the house and it is in disrepair and dusty. They are warned about the house by the locals but they take no heed of that. Ethan is upset when he hears that they are moving into the mill. He runs to Aunt Agatha(Flora Robson) and tells her that the mill was supposed to be his.

There is something or someone watching them from the attic. Susannah is a little nervous in the house as she remembers her childhood. Ethan appears and tells them to visit Aunt Agatha. She remembers Susannah and she tells her about her parents. She used to look after Susannah whens he was a child. She tells them to get away from the mill as soon as they can. She tells her that the family is cursed. Mike and Susannah are amused by this. They go back to the mill. Mike goes to the local store to get supplies and Susannah wanders out for a walk. Unfortunately, she runs into Ethan and the gang. They run after her and you just know they are out for trouble! Mike arrives and saves her from them. He hits Ethan. A local girl is attacked and killed by the thing in the attic. Aunt Agatha finds the body and she takes the monster back up to its lair in the attic. She chains it up. She drops her glove on the way out. Mike finds it and he goes to see her. She tells him that she invented the curse to keep people away from the mill.

Mike is on his way back when he falls into a trap laid by the gang and they attack him. Ethan is at the mill and he is chasing Susannah. He tries to come on to her and she won't let him. He starts to get nasty and she hides from him. He finds her and he tries to kiss her. She runs away into the attic. He gets caught by the monster and he falls out of a window to his death. Susannah realises that the monster is her sister. Mike escapes from the gang and comes back and sees the monster too. He gets Susannah away from the house. The monster sets fire to the mill and Mike goes back to save her. Aunt Agatha tells him that she will but she locks the attic door and she lets the mill burn her and the monster. Mike and Susannah watch it burn. This was an entertaining movie and I liked it a lot. Is is worth watching for Oliver Reed's performance as the smarmy Ethan. He sports a strange American accent in it too! I am giving this one a 6/10.