Aquarium of the Dead Movie Review

Trailer here.

Aquarium of the Dead is a 2021 comedy/horror movie directed by Glenn Miller and starring Vivica A. Fox.

The movie begins with a scientist who is working with sea creatures. Something goes wrong and a huge octopus attacks everyone. Cut to the Shining Sea Aquarium where Miranda(Eva Ceja) is working in the lab. There is a call from a place called Eden Zoo sating that they need to destroy a certain batch of medication because it is dangerous to the creatures. The medication has disappeared though. Senator Blackburn(Anthony Jensen) and his assistant, Beth, show up to meet Miranda. Miranda gets a call from the scientist from the beginning of the film. She is really panicked. A woman called Clu(Fox) is there and she finds out what happened with the octopus.

They need to close down the ducts in the aquarium and go into lockdown because the creatures have had the medication and they could turn violent. A dead dolphin comes back to life. Zombie sea creatures!! The creatures are out of their tanks. The place locks down to stop them. Communications are affected and Clu tries to find a way to call for help. Two workers, Daniel and Skylar go in through a tunnel into the aquarium. There is a crocodile on the loose. A huge crab attacks Daniel. Skylar saves him but he gets attacked too. A doctor gets attacked by a starfish. The doctor says that the creatures are emitting venom. The Senator, Miranda and others decide to go up to the roof. Daniel and Skylar are in the tunnel underneath the aquarium. Clu is working on the cameras to see where the creatures are. 

The fire service are called in. Two firefighters see a crocodile outside the aquarium. Miranda tells the people trapped inside that they need to climb through a duct to get to a fire door. They run into Daniel and Sylar.  Miranda realises that the medication has caused the catastrophe. Daniel is to blame as he never destroyed the medication. The firemen get inside the aquarium. Miranda and her group meet a walrus and a crocodile who want to have them for lunch. Skylar dies. Clu calls Miranda and tells her that she can't open the doors to let them out. They need to switch on the power manually. They work out that the creatures are actually blind. The group have to go through the shark exhibit to get to the basement and switch on power. Beth gets attacked by a starfish. She dies. The Senator gets finished off by an octopus. Miranda climbs across into the basement which is flooded. She turns on the power.

The rest of the film is them electrocuting some of the creatures and escaping. Now, I know that this is not the best film out there. It's not even close to it, but I did enjoy this because it was so ridiculous. Sometimes, these really cheap films can be fun and this was fun and silly but somehow, it was entertaining. I found it fun because you don't need to think about it or figure anything out. You just watch it and leave your brain at the door. For some mindless fun, give this a watch. I can't give it a very good score because it is so silly, but I will be kind and give it a 4/10.

The St. Francisville Experiment Movie Review

Trailer here.

The St. Francisville Experiment is a 2000 found footage horror movie directed by Ted Nicolaou and starring nobody you would know.

A producer called Paul(Paul Salamoff) is making a documentary with a group of paranormal investigators. Their documentary is set in a place called St. Francisville. It is supposed to be haunted. The participants are Tim, Madison, Ryan  and Troy. Troy is supposedly an expert on ghosts. A woman called Sarah is coming along too. She says that she is psychic. They talk about a woman called Madam LaLaurie who was evil and tortured people in her house. They think that she might have stayed at St. Francisville.  Paul talks to some of the locals about the house. A psychic is going to go into the house too. They all arrive at the house. Paul locks them inside for the night. The lights don't work. Madison feels uneasy. They set up their equipment.

Madison hears someone whisper her name. A door opens on its own. Let me tell you, I would be getting the key and running the hell out of there at this point! They wander around and go down to the old creepy basement. There is an old doctors bag with knives inside. Music starts to play(get out of there!!!!). They discover a music box. A doll makes an appearance. Every horror movie cliché seems to be in this film. A chair moves by itself. The group goes up to the attic and there is a dead bird up there.  The lights go out and they go back downstairs. A séance is the next thing to happen. These people just want something bad to happen to them, it seems. 

They have a Ouija board and of course they make contact. The spirit is called Charles. Chains appear from the chimney. They decide to cleanse the house. I would think that it is a bit late for that now. Paul goes into the attic to cleanse it. He gets stuck up there. Tim hears noises and he gets dragged away by something. Madison is attacked, but Paul saves her. They go and look for the others and they find them tied up. What is going on in the creepy house? Could it be some ghosts maybe? The group escape and the film draws to a close.

The first thing to say about this film is that it is certainly cashing in on the Blair Witch Project success. That is obvious. This film is not as good as Blair Witch. It can stand on its own two feet, though. It is a haunted house film and there are some decent scares in it. The acting is ropey, to be sure, but still, I did enjoy this. There is a lot of hate for it because people compare it to the better film, but just enjoy it for what it is- a low budget haunted house movie with some scares. Don't expect too much and you will enjoy it. It isn't great, but it isn't as bad as people say either. Make up your own mind. I found it hard to rate this. It is somewhere between a four and a five.