Movies
After a relatively long hiatus, the V/H/S series is back, reincarnated by Shudder. Not much has changed since the last time, several found footage shorts are loosely tied together by a central segment. Each director was given carte blanche, the only unifying factor is the found footage approach. I'm not the biggest fan of the series (with only the second entry being really worth a watch), that probably explains why my expectations were pretty low. The time off seems to have breathed some new life in the concept, since there were some pretty inspired entries this time around. Tjahjanto's short in particular is a real stand-out. Superb effects, great designs and lots of nasty gore. The Empty Wake and Storm Drain are simple but effective, Terror and Holy Hell (the wrap-around segment) are decent but clearly not up to par with the others. All in all, a jolly good time for fans of the found footage niche.Read all
A somewhat disappointing horror/thriller. The premise is tricky, with an American expat having the biggest trouble getting used to a foreign country. It doesn't make for the most sympathetic lead character, which in turn makes it pretty hard to believer and root for her when things are going sideways. Julia follows her husband to Bucharest after his promotion. He is swamped with work, while Julia fills her days with doing not much in particular. When she hears about a serial killer on the loose in the city, she begins to suspect the strange man who is constantly keeping an eye on her from his window. Monroe is very unlikable, the mystery is too simple, the finale pretty disappointing. It's a shame, as the cinematography is quite remarkable, and the score very moody. All the elements were there for a tense little horror film, but the result felt rather flat and uninspired. This was too much "Lost in Translation - The Horror Movie".Read all