The Woman in Black Movie Review 245

The Woman in Black is a 2012 horror movie based on a novel of the same name written by Susan Hill. It is directed by James Watkins and starring Daniel Radcliffe.

A young man called Arthur Kipps(Radcliffe) is a solicitor and he has to go to and oversee the estate of a Mrs. Drablow who has just died. The house is called  Eel Marsh House and it is a spooky large mansion. Arthurs wife died in childbirth and he thinks about her. He lives with his son and the nanny. When he reaches the island where the house is, the locals are very unfriendly and they tell him that he shouldn't go up to the house. One of them, Sam Daily(Ciaran Hinds) decides to be friendly and he and Arthur become friends. Sams wife is a bit crazy and she has some sort of visions. Arthur goes to he house and he hears and sees spooky things.

He sees a vision of a woman dressed in black and a whole story unfolds about a woman who lost her child and who has come back to steal all of the children in the village. The local children die in horrible ways and they blame Arthur for stirring up the woman in black. Arthur sees more visions of the children who died etc and he becomes shaken. He goes to look for the woman in blacks child who was lost in the marsh. He finds him and he brings him into the house to the woman in black. He buries the child and thinks that that is the end of it . He leaves the house and all is well. He meets his son who has come to meet him along with the nanny.

Unfortunately for Arthur, his son wanders onto the train tracks and he runs after him only to be run over by a train. They reunite with Arthurs wife and walk away. The woman in black is watching still lost in her grief....

This movie was okay. It was a bit slow and dull in parts. I thought that the scares were mediocre and it was just a little predictable. I wouldn't watch it again. Radcliffe wasn't bad as the lead, but all I could think was it is Harry Potter and the Woman in Black!It gets a 4/10.

The Wicker Tree Movie Review 244

The Wicker Tree is a 2011 horror movie directed by Robin Hardy who also directed the classic The Wicker Man. He also wrote this movie.It stars Graham McTavish,Jacqueline Leonard and Clive Russell.

The story begins with two born again Christians called Beth(Brittania Nicol) and Steve(Henry Garrett) who decide to go to Scotland to convert some non-believers. Beth is famous for her singing and she is engaged to Steve. They arrive in Scotland and meet Sir Lachlan Morrison(McTavish) and his wife Delia(Leonard) who live in a village called Tressock. They invite Beth and Steve to stay there and they agree. When they arrive in the village they realise that there is something a little strange about the locals. They find out that the locals are going to celebrate May Day and they want Beth to be the May Queen and Steve to be the Laddie.

The rest of the movie is complete nonsense and I have to say that this is a really bad follow up to the classic The Wicker Man. I love that movie and to see that the same director was responsible for this rubbish is amazing. I hated this and I would not recommend it. I didn't like the Americans and the way that they were just so idiotic. I think that their characters were ridiculous. Nobody is that stupid. They were completely naive and so trusting. That was just silly. Why Scotland? It seemed silly that they would just pick Scotland out of the blue to convert. I know that the original was set there, but it seems unlikely that these people would come to Scotland at the drop of a hat. This was just a waste of time. See it at your peril..It gets a 2/10.

Bay Coven a.k.a. Bay Cove Movie Review 243

Bay Coven is a 1987 TV thriller starring Pamela Sue Martin and Tim Matheson along with Woody Harrelson. It is directed by Carl Schenkel.

Linda(Martin) and her husband Jerry(Matheson) are young professionals working in Boston. Linda has just gotten a promotion in the law firm where she works and things are going well for her. Jerry is fed up of the city and he wants to get away. They meet a couple, Josh(Jeff Conaway) and his wife Debbie(Susan Ruttan) and they tell Linda and Jerry about a place called Bay Cove where there are houses for sale. They decide to go and see the house. Bay Cove is a small village and there isn't much happening there. Jerry sees the house and loves it.They meet the owner of the house. She is called Beatrice(Barbara Billingsley) and she shows them around inside. They decide to buy the house. Linda sees some old man across in the next house and he is shaking his head at her.

They move and meet the rest of the community. Linda has a dog and they all seem to hate it.  Linda talks to Debbie about the weirdness of the neighbours and they read a book about witches which they found. They look around the cove with their husbands and Linda's dog disappears. Their friend Slater(Harrelson) comes down to Bay Cove to see them and he thinks that there is something wrong with the place. He decides to investigate. Meanwhile, Jerry is acting strangely. He seems different since they moved to the bay. Slater is killed in a freak accident and Linda gets suspicious. Jerry is going off the rails and Linda wants to get out and go back to Boston. Linda goes into the house and talks to the old man who tells her that there are witches here and there is a coven. Jerry thinks that she has gone mad. The locals are all witches and they want Jerry to join their coven. He kills himself and tells her to go to the church to hide from them. She hides in the church and it explodes. She is last seen in a boat rowing away from Bay Cove.

An average thriller with very little scares. There is enough to keep you watching but once it is over, you will forget it. It is a watchable TV movie, but nothing special. It gets a 4/10.

The Avengers Movie Review 242

The Avengers is a 2012 superhero movie directed by Joss Whedon who of course you know from Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel as well as Dollhouse. It stars Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Robert Downey Jr as Iron Man, Chris Evans as Captain America, Mark Ruffalo as Hulk,Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye and Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow.

If you have seen the movies Thor, Captain America and Iron Man, you will know the characters already. This movie begins with the evil Loki played by Tom Hiddleston. Loki has a plan to take the Tesseract which is a very powerful energy source and use it for evil. He has made a pact with an evil group called the Chitauri who in return for the Tesseract, will give him a powerful army to defeat the earth and all of the superheroes too. Nick Fury played by Samuel L. Jackson is at a S.H.I.E.L.D. facility when the Tesseract suddenly starts to change and emit energy. Along comes Loki who has been brought to earth and he takes it. He also makes Hawkeye and Dr.Erik Selvig played by Stellan Skarsgard into his slaves and takes them with him. Nick decides that he needs help so he gets the team of superheroes together to battle Loki. Loki is caught and brought back to S.H.I.E.L.D. His brother, Thor shows up and tries to bring him back home to Asgard. He is persuaded not to by Captain America and Iron Man. Loki is brought onto an aircraft carrier and put into a prison with a steel trap built in should he try to escape. Tony Stark(Iron Man) and Bruce Banner try to find the Tesseract.

The heroes wonder why Loki allowed himself to be caught so easily. Hawkeye and the other agents he enslaved are going to attack the ship. Banner transforms into Hulk and runs amok. The others try and fight the attack. Loki gets out and puts Thor in the prison and he falls into the steel trap. Hulk heads off alone and  Agent Phil Coulson is killed. It seems as if everything is lost. Hawkeye is rescued by Black Widow and she helps him to come back to himself again. They have to rally together as Loki is using Stark Tower to open the portal to earth. From the portal come the evil Chitauri and there are loads of them. They are destroying everything. Thor and Hulk arrive back and the team is complete.

They have to close the portal and stop the Chitauri from pouring in. The superheroes have to become a team . Hulk goes after Loki and makes him suffer. The others fight the invaders and Black Widow and Dr.Selvig try and close the portal(Dr Selvig having come back to his senses by this stage). They eventually succeed and Thor takes Loki back to Asgard. Nick Fury and the other Avengers are pleased and Nick says that if he needs them again, he will call them. There are two post credit scenes. The first is a set up for the next movie and it involves one of the Chitauri telling his boss Thanos about their invasion and the second has the Avengers eating in a restaurant.

All in all, a great movie. It has everything you could want - fantasy, action, humour and a great baddie. Tom Hiddleston is very impressive as the lordly Loki and he plays the part perfectly. Hemsworth was great as Thor once again. Ruffalo was good as Hulk. It was very impressive when he came out to destroy everything in his path. Iron Man was good, Captain America was good and the other characters did well too. It was a good cast and the movie was well made. I didn't feel the time passing as I was caught up in it and I really liked it.

Everyone had a good part in the film and I think it worked very well. I am looking forward to the next one already!!! This gets a 9/10.

Beyond Evil Movie Review 241

Beyond Evil is a 1980 horror movie directed by Herb Freed who also directed Graduation Day and starring 

John Saxon, Lynda Day George and Michael Dante.

The story revolves around a haunted house on an island. Larry Andrews(Saxon) and his wife Barbara(George) go to live there as Larry has been offered a job with his pal Del Giorgio(Dante). The locals are all afraid of the house as it is evil. There is a local legend about a woman called Alma Martin who was the mistress of the house which was called Casa Fortuna. Her husband ruled the island. They had an arranged marriage and they didn't like each other. Alma dabbled in Black Magic and she was killed by her husband who was scared of what she might do to him. She comes back from the dead and murders him. A local tells them that Alma is still roaming in the house.

After moving into the house, Barbara hears voices and she can't sleep. The local witchdoctor is Dr.Frank Albanos and he meets Larry. Barbara cuts herself with a knife and Larry has to get her to the local hospital. The doctor tells him that she has an emotional problem. He gives her some tablets to help her. She laughs at him and Larry is worried about her. She wanders off from the hospital and Larry searches for her. She turns up at home. She starts to see Alma in the house and Dr.Albanos comes to talk to her but she won't listen to him. She goes to a crypt near the house and she is possessed by Alma. Larry realises that she isn't normal and he talks to Dr.Albanos about her . He tells Larry to get out of the house. Barbara doesn't want to go.

Del goes over to check on Barbara and she comes on to him and then she is possessed by Alma and she throws Del over the balcony, killing him. Larry arrives back and she pretends that nothing is wrong. Dr Albanos and his daughter Leah try and get Alma out of Barbara. Leah gets killed by Alma. Larry and Dr Albanos destroy the crypt and Barbara returns. She is free from Alma. Alma comes out of Barbara and she dies and turns to dust. They get away from the house.

This film was okay. I didn't love it or hate it. I don't think that I would see it again. I am giving this one a 4/10.

Crowhaven Farm Movie Review 240

Crowhaven Farm is a 1970 made for TV movie starring Hope Lange, Paul Burke and Lloyd Bochner. It is directed by Walter Grauman.

Crowhaven Farm is left to Maggie Porter(Hope Lange) and her husband Ben(Paul Walker) and they decide to move in. Ben loves the place, but Maggie is a little spooked by the place. She begins to have visions of olden times and a witch. Some of the locals arrive for a party. One of them is Harold, who knows all the history of the farm. There were witch trials and people were stoned or crushed to death. A guy called Mr.Pierce(Lloyd Bochner) gives her a job and Ben isn't happy about it. Maggie is having more visions and in them she is a witch being crushed to death. A local woman  is looking for a home for her ten year old niece, Jennifer and Maggie offers to take care of her. She and Ben think that Jennifer is a lovely child, but there is something funny about her they don't see. Maggie has to stay in town one night and Mr Pierce offers her his apartment. She doesn't tell Ben about it.

Maggie goes to the doctor and she is pregnant. Harold arrives to talk to Maggie but meets Jennifer who takes his cane and hides it. He goes home and she gives it to the handyman, Nate(John Carradine) who is spooky too. The next day, Harold dies after a mysterious accident. He gave Maggie some books on witches and the local legends. She tells Ben that she thinks there are still witches around but he thinks that she is crazy. She figures out that Jennifer is evil and when the baby is born, she doesn't want her near it. Ben has to go away for a night and he has to leave Maggie with Jennifer. Maggie doesn't want him to go, but he does. Maggie thinks that something bad is going to happen so she takes her baby and she runs off. She runs into Jennifer and some of the locals. Jennifer says that Maggie betrayed them. She is the descendant of a witch and they think that she is the reincarnation of her.

The witches are going to crush her just like in days of old. They want her soul, but she promises them Ben's in exchange for her life. They agree. Jennifer tells Ben that Maggie stayed at Mr Pierce's place and he goes mad and shoots him dead. He is a desperate man when he realises that he was wrong and he runs out into the wilderness where he meets Jennifer. The next day, the cops find his body. They assume it was an accidental death. The movie ends with Maggie living in the city with her baby. A cop comes over to her and chats to her.

She realises that he reminds her of Ben. When he says that he will be watching her, she  hurries off, realising that he might want  to get revenge on her....

This was not a bad movie. It is pretty average for the time. If you can get to watch it, then it will pass away a while.It gets a 5/10.