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Cute and funny, but not quite as good as I remembered it to be. Smith is a gifted horror director and this little horror/comedy balances both genres quite nicely, but almost two decades later there's not enough to set it apart from a slew of similar outings. It's prime filler for genre fans, but it lacks that little extra. The personnel of an arms company are traveling through Europe, as a thank you they're getting a weekend off in a luxury retreat. The retreat turns out to be a dump and the team is forced to make the best of it. What they don't know is that the woods are swarming with angry victims of their employer. Smith has a jolly sense of humor, with some absurdities thrown in (the bear is pretty memorable), and the horror is quite graphic and to the point, but the rest of the film is a little too flimsy to leave a strong impression. The 00s were a good era for horror and Severance doesn't disappoint, but a masterpiece it is not.Read all
A decent but somewhat basic and predictable horror flick. The setting is a small convent on the Scottish shores, the story pretty much writes itself after that. There's certainly nothing blatantly wrong with Consecration, it's just that Christopher Smith used to deliver more notable horror films, so it's hard not to feel just a little disappointed. Grace is called back to Scotland when her brother is found in a local convent. He committed suicide, a priest was found nearby, murdered. Grace isn't religious and has some traumatic events in her past that makes her wary of anything to do with faith, but the longer she stays in the convent, the more she feels drawn to this way of life. The setting is gorgeous, the performances are solid and there are some neat little twists in the story, that do add a little intrigue. But it's not enough to make a sizeable impact, and the horror elements are a tad generic. It's a proper horror film that doesn't bore and deliver exactly what it promises, so if you're looking for pleasant genre filler, give it a go.Read all
Christopher Smith returns to the horror genre. The Banishing is pretty basic genre fare though, which is a shame as Smith has shown himself pretty apt at putting a unique spin on the genre in the past. Not that this is a bad film, anything but, it's just a bit too by numbers for its own good. A house with a dark past, that's what you're getting here. People hear voices, mirrors show ghostly reflections and a local madman warns the new inhabitants that something is awry. By the time everybody is finally on board it's already too late, as the ghost has taken control of the family living there. The Banishing is a solid slowburner, but it lacks the audiovisual finish to stand out. There are some very moody scenes, performances are good across the board and there are a few solid scares, but overall it's not enough to convince me this wasn't just another haunted house flick sporting a dramatic backstory. Quality filler, but I'd hoped for something more.Read all