Paranormal Activity 3 review

I'm back! And here's the review I promised.

Yesterday I went to see the new Paranormal Activity 3.

It starts off somewhere just around the beginning of Paranormal Activity 2 (and 1 for that matter). And as far as I remember the order is:
Paranormal Activity 3 starts off just before Paranormal Activity 2 and somewhere along Paranormal Activity 2 the plot of the original Paranormal Activity unfolds. Headache?

Well on to the review:

I wanna get out of the way that I'm not big on sequels. specially not in horror movies. I tend to think the plot dies in sequels, although I felt the plot was thinned out in the movie, I still found it enjoyable. Besides plot is nice and important but it's not everything.

Which brings me to the scare-factor. This movie had some stupid-scares (you'll feel pretty stupid, when you see it), also some comical scares, which I love. It's great to see something being scary, but makes you laugh too. And overall the sounds and eerie feeling you get from watching a Found Footage movie still remained.

I got really annoyed by some of the characters though, which can really ruin a movie if they're important to the plot, even though I powered through it, somebody might give up on it.

Another pro would be the style and pattern of Paranormal Activity was still honored in this movie. It's nice to see that they found a style and stuck to it, yet still expanded it and experimented with it. like adding security-cameras in Paranormal Activity 2 and now giving the impression of an old camera.

All in all, this movie was enjoyable with some good scares, but it's starting to become a more fan-oriented movie. Outsiders or people who don't like the series should consider another movie. For the rest of us: Wanna see the series go full circle, then go watch it. I for one had a nice time and some distressing moments.

Verdict: 4/6 not the best thing I've ever seen and not really that strong of a movie. but it has it's charm.

New review coming out!

And I'm finally back and able to continue this blog.

I have a brand new review for you guys!
Later tonight I'm going to see the new Paranormal Activity 3 and I'll review it by tomorrow, so stay tuned.

Don't go alone.

- Nick of the Dead

Sorry for being away...

I'm sorry I've been away. I'll try to make some new reviews or posts.

It'll be a slow progress, but I'm hoping it will evolve. and maybe become even better.

-Nick of the Dead

Found Footage Introduction

I thought I wanted to explain a little about the genre that is Found Footage.

Most of you have probably seen Blair Witch Project or newer movies like Cloverfield, Quarantine or Paranormal Activity.
These movies belong to a rather unknown sub-genre called Found Footage. The story behind the movies in this genre is that it's supposed to be a footage that the viewer finds or comes across in a strange way. The movie itself has been shot using one or few cameras distributed between the actors. The actors are documenting or shooting a movie or another thing, when the plot of the movie unfolds. We don't see anything other than the shaky footage from the cameras and it brings us closer to the actors and plot.

Some of the movies tries to incorporate the viewer by breaking the forth wall and have the actors speak to the audience. Some even hints at the viewer being part of the plot.
I personally love this genre, because it's a very personal experience, you can identify and put yourself in the place of the cameraman.

I'm looking forward to reviewing these movies as some of them are my favorites.

Don't go alone

- Nick of the Dead

Found footage-theme!

Hello guys,

I just got The Last Exorcism so I'll start planning the way I'm going to do this special theme.

The movies I'm going to review will be (listed chronologically):

• Cannibal Holocaust
• The Blair Witch Project
• The Zombie Diaries
• Diary of the Dead
• Paranormal Activity
• Cloverfield (maybe)
• The Last Exorcism

I'll end this with Paranormal Activity 2 perhaps if I get it in time.

I have to more in this genre which is '[Rec]' and '[Rec]2'. But because I want to use the first movie in a later theme(Original vs. Remake), so I'll have to save those.

I'll get to it as quickly as possible, but I have to keep up with my homework too. But it shouldn't be too long from now.

Don't go alone

- Nick of the Dead 

Going "Old-school" + Semi-review

Hello guys!

So my computer is running slow, which means I won't be able to finish Amnesia anytime soon. But I recently picked up my pile of PS2 games. (No, I don't have a Next Gen console like PS3 or Xbox360... Yet).

I did find some of my old horror games and I'm going to list them here and you guys can tell me in the comments if you'd like me to try and get through some of them.

Survival horror games:

• Fatal Frame 1 (Project Zero 1)
• Fatal Frame 3: The Tormented 
• Forbidden Siren 2
• Resident Evil 4
• Silent Hill 2
• Silent Hill: Origins

Other semi-horror related games:

• Darkwatch
• Evil Dead: A Fistful of Boomstick
• Ghosthunter
• The Thing

I do have one more game that I would like to add to the list:

• Echo Night: Beyond

Now you guys might either think:
"What?" or "Psh, that's not scary at all."
Well, it did provide me with some scares, but it's not a quality pearl like the games you see today. But the reason I mentioned is 1) I've already completed it and 2) It's actually a really interesting game, if you just put your mind into it.
The plot is kinda simple: You and your fiancée are on your way to the moon. (It's Japanese...) Some paranormal force makes your space shuttle crashes into the moon-base and kills almost everybody. You wake up alone and alive, but as you soon figure out: Everybody else is still there! And it's your job to help them "move on" and of course find your girl.
As you walk around the base you meet the ghosts of different people, some are good and some turned evil by a strange mist. There's no way of defending yourself, if you encounter an evil spirit, your heart-rate will rise until you have a heart attack. So your option is to run or outsmart the ghost.

There are so many great things about the game and you connect with the people you help.
I can't tell you how many time I've made a satisfactory sigh as a ghost vanished in a blinding white light. I want to tell you about the ending, but I would ruin it for you. I'll just say that I'm actually very proud of having this in my collection and it's definitely a game I'll play again.

Well, that was it for today, I'll see you later

Don't go alone

- Nick of the Dead

Sorry

Hey guys,

I'm back again! I know it's been a while, but I've been busy with tests in school.

I'll get back to reviews very soon, I have a lot of new great movies that I can't wait to see!
I might also do some of my ideas, but that will have to wait until I've planned it out.
I'm also still in the process of playing Amnesia: The Dark Descent and I can tell you that it's quite scary, but only if you let yourself take on the role of the main character. I'm not done yet, as I haven't played it lately, but I'll let you know how it progresses.
In the meantime you can go check out a user on YouTube called 'shirtfag'. He's collected a lot of creepy videos, some are awesome, some are hilarious, some are classics and some are just plain weird/dumb.

shirtfag's YouTube

It's not the best thing I've seen, but it's a nice addendum to the Creepypasta website I linked to earlier. I hope you'll enjoy some of them. I did.

Don't go alone

- Nick of the Dead

Short Update

I'm here with some news:

I've arranged all my horror-movies in different genres, as to better categorize and structure future ideas of reviews.

Next, I've come up with some review-specials, these include:
Originals vs. Remakes - Original movies reviewed and set up against the remakes. Which one will win?
Found Footage Films - A "history" of the Found Footage-genre. All the way back from Cannibal Holocaust to the recent films, like Paranormal Activity.
Masters of Horror Run - I'll go through the whole first season of Masters of Horror.

I might also review some really nasty Rape-and-Revenge movies for you.

Until next time!

Don't go alone
- Nick of the Dead

You want Creepypasta?

I hope you know about 'Creepypasta'. But if you don't I'll give you a small explanation:

Creepypastas are small stories on the internet posted on different websites, most like a 'Copypasta'. The only difference is that the Creepypasta is (most of the time) scary. They can range from really good, perhaps even something from real life and all the way down to completely idiotic (see BUT WHO WAS PHONE?).
A lot of these stories have been copy/pasted on to different websites, but most of them might have originated from the paranormal board or /x/ on 4chan.

I found a wiki that has collected a lot of them and made a database, with genres listings, videos and pictures. I would recommend taking a look to get a peek inside the paranormal memes on the internet:

Creepypasta Wiki

Btw, I'll make a new review soon and perhaps make some special themes that I'm planing.

Don't go alone

- Nick of the Dead

Horror Preview

I'm back again, bringing you a small preview of a video game.

Horror freaks with a Steam-account rejoice!
Right now you can buy Amnesia: The Dark Descent 50% off (lasts until March 7th)

I can only recommend this game, as it draws you in completely. You have no weapons or superpowers, you're just a regular man against unknown monsters. I'll give a full review if I can get through it. In the mean time go download it and play a really well-crafted horror experience. Remember to turn off the lights, use your headphones and beware of the shadows.

- Nick of the Dead

The Wolf Man (1941)

The Wolf Man is an old Universal classic from 1941. It stars Lon Chaney Jr. as The Wolf Man.
A remake was made last year(2010), starring Benicio Del Toro and Anthony Hopkins.
IMDb: The Wolf Man (1941)

Review:

Plot: The plot was rather short and simple. You get thrown into it right away and it takes a few seconds to get into the whole deal. After that the plot moves rapidly and surely towards the end. Larry Talbot has been in America and returns home, because his brothers has died. He gets bitten by a werewolf and becomes one himself. That's the basic of the plot.

Acting: The acting was solid, slightly over the top as you would expect from a movie from that certain era. Lon Chaney Jr. did an amazing job as a playboy-ish american and slowly going insane.

Visuals: I loved the movie's sets! There were a nice old English town, a castle, woods and lots and lots of fog! I had a feeling that it was more of a dream-like movie than actual reality, this could be a comparison to the claim that Larry Talbot, the main character, is simply a lunatic and it's all in his head. 

Gore/Make-up: Although it had no gore, the make-up was fantastic. The Wolf Man's make-up was excellent, managing to hide the actors facial features just enough to believe, that he was no longer human, but a true werewolf. This also seems like the forerunner to later werewolf make-up.

Scream-factor: Even though there were no jump-scares, the movie had me chained and managed to raise my heartbeat at certain points, not because it was scary, but simply because it was exciting. 

Verdict: As one of the classic horror movies, I have to recommend it. If you're looking for a high quality blood soaked chilling horror movie, you've come to the wrong place. But if you want to see a simple, short piece of history put this thing in your DVD-player.

Rating: 5/6

Delay!

Hey everybody.

The next review will be delayed due to school-related work. I'll try and get it done by Friday.
Until then,

Don't go alone
- Nick of the Dead

Next review will be...

The Wolf Man from 1941!

Look forward to the review, which will be posted sometime tomorrow.

Plague Town review

This review is of the movie Plague Town from 2008. You can read up on it here:
IMDb: Plague Town

This movie, although not that scary, was really an interesting film.
You could describe it as a tribute to the old horror movies from around the 60's and 70's.
It had so many call-backs to the old movies, such as some of the make-up, the plot and more.

This is what the cover looked like. (From Denmark)

I want to show the cover of some of my movies, so that I can explain certain things in the review.

So when I saw the cover I had a feeling that this might be an interesting movie, possibly gory.

I can only say I wasn't surprised, but it was far better than I would have believed at first.

The plot did lack some background story and you get thrown into the movie right alongside the dysfunctional family, who are the main victims. 

We have every single stereotype. The annoying bimbo sister, the "Everything's going to be fine"-dad, the awkward stepmother who's not really doing anything and of course the quiet, weird daughter with mental problems.

The movie moved along nicely, a bit confusing at first, but might be able to catch the story pretty quickly.

It was shot with some alternating camera angles, sometimes very close up and other times out of focus.

The gore was there, but the movie never exploits it and rubs it in your face. There are of course some gross out moments, but the set is too dark to see the worst of the gore.

Verdict:

I wouldn't recommend this movie for a horror night with the boys or a snuggle-film with your girlfriend. This is something you should enjoy on your own or with a friend, who shares your interest. 

It did have some flaws, such as bringing a character back after a long time and some messed up, way too dark scenes (but those could also be good).

Still I would definitely recommend it for a horror-lover or someone, who's tired of looking at slasher-movies and torture porn.

Rating: 4.5/6

- Nick of the Dead 

First review later today

So finally I've found a bit of time to start the blog up!

My first review will hit the blog later today and the first movie will be....

Plague Town (2008)

It one of those movies in my collection that has been hidden away for a long time and I believe now is the time to show it!

Look forward to the review later

"Don't go alone."

- Nick of the Dead

First Entry!

Hey everybody!

First entry of my first blog!

In this blog I will review horror movies, creepy videos of the internet and other horror-related things.

I will try to make a new blog entry every Tuesday and Friday(can be Saturday).
I have no problem with people requesting movies, videos or other medias, that I should check out.
So just leave a comment or a link.

A small thank you goes to Maria :D Thank you for doing the design, because I fail!

Don't go alone

- Nick of the Dead