DECAY (2012) Review

Directed by: Luke Thompson

Starring: Zoe Hatherell, Tom Procter, Stewart Martin-Haugh

You know what I like? Free horror movies. You know what I don’t like so much? The endless spewing forth of shit zombie films. There are so many it’s as though I could throw a rock blindfolded and still manage to hit about ten of them. However there is one thing that can persuade me to check out a new zombie flick and that’s the promise of something new and fresh. Sure, a lot of the time these claims turn out to be complete bullshit but what about in the case of DECAY? A free movie set and filmed at the CERN Large Hadron Collider… with zombies? I know what you’re thinking; did I just read that right? Yes. Yes you did. But an awesome premise means nothing if the movie can’t match up to it, so how does DECAY stack up?

 As has already been mentioned, DECAY takes place at the CERN Institute, primarily inside the world’s largest particle collider nestled 100 metres underneath France and Switzerland. Four physics students (played by real life physics students apparently) are volunteered to man the control room during the absence of one of the professors who is leading a technical team down into the tunnels to fix some kind of problem. Suddenly and inexplicably the Large Hadron Collider begins running seemingly by its own volition, an event that shouldn’t be able to take place while there are people down there. After some panicking one of the students shuts the machine down, but not before it has baked everybody in the tunnels with a lethal amount of Higgs radiation. With the phones down and the elevator not running, the only way out is through the access tunnels. But has the radiation really killed the technical crew?

I’ll bet a few of you who are reading this are wondering the same thing I was worrying about at first. Are these actual zombies? Or just some irradiated CHERNOBYL DIARIES type freaks? Well rest assured they are zombies in as much as they are reanimated corpses (it’s all explained in the movie with science and stuff). And what better place to put a bunch of zombies than an isolated, claustrophobic, subterranean maze?
Unfortunately although this would seem to be the perfect environment for some creepy, panicky, and action-packed moments I don’t feel that the filmmakers really got as much out of the location as they could have. Since the film was supposedly shot at the actual LHC maybe they had to hold back in fear of doing damage to the equipment? I don’t know. Regardless they still did a good job of creating an appropriate atmosphere with flickering lights, shadows, the distant gurgling and moaning of zombies and any sounds seemingly amplified in the dead silence.

And what about the effects? I hear you ask. Well I hate to say it but there’s a bunch of kind of dodgy looking CGI and not enough practical going on here. And the film also commits one of the worst effects sins ever; CGI blood. I can’t understand why any film should be using digital blood, unless that blood is being used for an effect which would be impossible otherwise. I can understand that the budget here wasn’t huge but really I would have preferred having no digital blood, even if it meant less blood overall in the film.

I should mention that the entire film doesn’t take place in the Collider, in fact there is a fairly sizeable chunk at the beginning where we see the students getting ready for some kind of emergency meeting. There’s some character development and some kind of love triangle introduced but it’s not very deep and all it did was make me want the radioactive zombie action to start already.

So overall DECAY isn’t a great film but then I don’t know all of the details. If it really was shot at the CERN Super Collider maybe there were safety and time restraints to deal with. I still think it could have ditched the CGI blood or at least toned it down. But hey the movie’s free so I can’t complain too much. Check it out if you’re a fan of zombie flicks, after all what have you got to lose apart from 75 minutes of your life?

CHERNOBYL DIARIES (2012) Review

Directed by: Bradley Parker

Starring: Jonathan Sadowski, Devin Kelley, Dimitri Diatchenko

The Ukrainian ghost town of Pripyat would seem (to me at least) to be a perfect place to set a horror movie. If you've seen photos of its crumbling buildings, overgrown vegetation and forgotten belongings littering the place, you'll know just how eerie a place it looks. So CHERNOBYL DIARIES already has a guaranteed awesome location (Well technically the movie wasn't filmed on location in Pripyat, however if you compare photos to the scenery in the movie you can see that they have done a great job in trying to recreate the look), but what about the rest of the movie?

We start off with a video montage showing a group of American tourists goofing their way around Europe. This is the only real representation of the video diary aspect hinted at in the title. Cut to the same tourists talking about 'extreme tourism' which consists of being taken to Pripyat by a dodgy ex-special forces tour guide. After being turned away from a checkpoint they find a back way in and start to make their way through the abandoned city while their guide Uri (Diatchenko) talks them through the history of the place.
After spending a short time there the group are ready to leave, but surprise, surprise, the van they travelled there in has been sabotaged. Soon they realize that they are not alone in Pripyat. Something is stalking them in the shadow of Chernobyl.

The biggest selling point of this movie seems to be that it was penned by Oren Peli, the creator of the PARANORMAL ACTIVITY franchise. Obviously for PA fans this will be a major draw and even people who hated the PA franchise (like me) will be interested to see how Peli does outside of that tired spookfest.
Although the movies differ vastly in both location, format (no found footage here - save for the short intro sequence) and atmosphere, they are both similar when you get down to the bare bones. Both PA and CHERNOBYL DIARIES show a small group of people running around in the dark, screaming and crying and acting stupid while being pursued by an unknown enemy. So in essence Peli hasn't really strayed far from his comfort zone at all.

The scenes after the group arrive at Pripyat are probably the most interesting in the whole film. Uri goes through some short snatches of history and they make their way through eerily empty buildings. Once they get back to the van and find it sabotaged though, things get very predictable, cliché and stupid. And dark too. This movie is very dark. Sometimes this is a good way to ratchet up the tension but unfortunately for CHERNOBYL DIARIES it seems that the intense darkness is there to hide the film's shortcomings rather than to enhance the atmosphere.

The writing is lousy, the acting is average at best, the 'scares' are cheap and everything (apart from the setting) just feels like it has been recycled from other horror films. Films like WRONG TURN, THE HILLS HAVE EYES and THE DESCENT come to mind but CHERNOBYL DIARIES doesn't even come close to any of them.

THE DIVIDE (2012) Review

Directed by: Xavier Gens

Starring: Michael Biehn, Lauren German, Milo Ventimiglia

Many movies have taught us that when you take a group of people and lock them all together in a confined space, bad things happen. Such is the premise of THE DIVIDE, a movie which follows a group of survivors who have taken refuge in the basement of their apartment complex after a nuclear attack on New York City. With the deadly levels of radiation outside their bunker these people will need to stay inside for a long time, but eventually of course they start to clash and disagreements quickly turn to violence. As the tagline says “The lucky ones dies in the blast”

THE DIVIDE starts with a bang, literally. A nuclear attack is underway and although we don’t really see a lot of it, it’s pretty obvious what with all of the people running for their lives and everything. Through all of the jostling and running and screaming we follow a relatively small group of people rushing through a heavy steel door which then slams shut behind them and suddenly it all goes quiet and dark. Somebody hits the lights and these survivors get their first glimpse at the place they will be calling home for a long time. For some it may even turn out to be their tomb. A few nerve rattling aftershocks later and we are introduced to the characters we will be spending the next 2 hours with.

Mickey (Biehn) is the apartment super and this basement is his territory, an underground complex he has turned into a fallout shelter for when the ‘rag-heads’ attack. He’s a gruff don’t-take-no-shit-from-nobody type of guy and it’s from him that we get the lowdown on the situation. He explains how they may not be able to venture outside for a long time, but stops short of saying just how long that may be. Along with Mickey there are Eva and Sam a couple with a fractured relationship, a woman named Marylin and her young daughter, two brothers Josh and Adrien and a friend Bobby and finally Delvin who seems to be the token black guy. Mickey instantly clashes with Josh and Bobby who turn out to be the stereotypical nobody-tells-me-what-the-fuck-to-do young idiot males. They ignore his warnings and proceed to try and open the door but back off when Mickey pulls an axe on them.

After things finally settle down and everybody seems to be aware of the gravity of their situation something unexpected happens. There’s a knock at the door. A knock at the door? After a nuclear blast? Yes that’s right. The door is torched open and in step a bunch of soldiers wearing radiation suits and carrying some heavy weaponry. But is this a rescue crew or a clean-up squad? That question is swiftly answered as they abduct the young girl and then bullets start flying. The shit has most definitely hit the fan.

It’s pretty predictable by this point that things are just going to go from bad to worse. Arguments make way for violence, questioning turns into torture, sexual appetites rear their ugly heads, radiation sickness sets in and it’s unclear just how many people are going to make it out alive.

Let’s get the bad stuff out of the way first. THE DIVIDE is most definitely not an original concept, it’s also predictable and full of characters who make stupid decisions. The acting in parts is below par and the nature of the confined space means that shooting locations are limited. Despite all this however, I really enjoyed this movie. With not much in the way of a plot this is definitely a character driven film, and this is where the movie pulls you in. Even though half of the characters seem like assholes or idiots who you just wish would die, it is really entertaining watching them interact especially after they all start turning on each other. Some of their transformations are terrifying (see accompanying images for examples).
And when the action starts it doesn’t let up until the end. You may think that spending two hours in this claustrophobic setting would become boring but somehow it manages to do just the opposite. The suitably dim and dank subterranean surroundings make for some panicky scenes especially when gunfire is thrown into the mix. And the knowledge that they are all basically rats in a trap is always present.

I mentioned below par acting earlier but thankfully this is the exception rather than the rule and for the most part everybody does a great job, Michael Biehn especially. Things get rather brutal and depraved during the course of the film and may be a little too much for some people, especially if you find yourself sensitive to scenes of torture or rape.
But otherwise THE DIVIDE is a pretty solid action packed movie. Xavier Gens has taken a well used idea and given it new life by filling it to the brim with depravity, brutality, doom and gloom. Well worth a watch.

URBAN EXPLORER (2011) Review

Directed by:Andy Fetscher

Starring: Nathalie Kelley, Nick Eversman, Klaus Stiglmeier

Urban Exploration seems to me like the perfect subject for a horror film. The whole point of it is to venture into dark, isolated, out of the way places where few people ever go. I'm actually a little surprised that I've never seen a horror film using this theme until now. Taking this subject ensures some perfect horror ingredients, darkness, claustrophobia, disorientation and the unknown. But is that enough to create a good, solid horror movie?

Denis (Eversman) and his girlfriend Lucia (Kelley) have organized a little subterranean tour of Berlin's mysterious underground. They meet up with another two explorers Marie and Juna and their German guide Kris who leads them through a nightclub and then deep down underground. Their destination is an old walled-off Nazi bunker, and the trip should take them about two hours there and another two hours back. Simple right? However the trip is anything but uneventful and they soon find themselves fighting for their lives as a subterranean psychopath stalks them relentlessly. Will they ever see daylight again?

The movie starts off rather slowly, the characters all meeting each other at a designated spot before being led underground by their guide. When they finally find themselves deep down in the darkness Kris leads them on, pointing out features as they go. Although the going is rather slow, this gives the film a great chance to set the mood and show off some great shots of the surroundings. The underground location is actually one of my favorite parts of the movie. The low light, torch beams, rubbish strewn everywhere, water dripping down long tunnels all come together to create a somehow beautiful experience but at the same time you also have a feeling of impending doom. I will admit however that some of these huge caverns look like they might just be factories or warehouses filmed late at night, they just seem a little too big and intricate and they seem to vary quite a bit.

So visually the film is excellent, but what about the rest? Well I thought the characters were quite well written and I think that it was a smart move to make them (apart from Denis and Lucia) people who have all just met for the first time. It's a good way to make sure that relationships don't get in the way too much. Surprisingly for the most part they don't make too many stupid decisions either, although the movie does have it's fair share such as Marie deciding to point her camera right at Kris's face and take a flash photo while he is trying to navigate a narrow beam across a dangerously deep shaft. 

I thought the killer was really well written and cast too and he actually reminded me a lot of the Aussie madman Mick Taylor from WOLF CREEK. In fact the whole movie (apart from the setting) was reminiscent of that film. Not that that's a bad thing.

I should also mention the effects too, which seemed to be all practical and by the end there is quite a bit of gore and blood without going over the top.

Storywise it's pretty simple and there aren't a whole lot of needless subplots to get in the way. The pacing was a bit inconsistent in areas though, and this 90 minute movie seemed to me a lot longer because of it. I also had a bit of a problem with the ending. There was a point where I thought it could have ended, but it didn't. It dragged on for a little longer and I really thought the last few scenes could have been left out. Also there were a few scenes which seemed a little unbelievable or illogical. But apart from those few problems I actually enjoyed URBAN EXPLORER and I recommend it to anybody who hasn't yet seen it.

THE DESCENT (2005) Review

Directed by: Neil Marshall

Starring: Shauna McDonald, Natalie Jackson Mendoza, Alex Reid

I was pretty excited to see this movie. I'd read plenty of positive reviews and it was written and directed by Neil Marshall who was responsible for one of my favorite werewolf films Dog Soldiers. Unfortunately The Descent didn't really do it for me.

A group of female friends get together for an annual adventure vacation. Sarah (Shauna McDonald) has been lured to the United States along with her friend Beth (Alex Reid) to go on a caving (or spelunking, if you prefer) trip with their old friend Juno (Natalie Mendoza). After explaining that the cave is an exceptionally easy and safe descent, they arrive to find that Juno has lied. It turns out that the cave is actually unmapped and as far as everybody knows, unexplored. But they decide to go anyway.

Not long after the enter the cave though, there is a rockfall and they find themselves trapped with no map and limited supplies. But that isn't the worst part. It turns out that they're not alone in the cave, and the other inhabitants are hungry...

If you've seen Dog Soldiers, then you'll know the general outline. The film starts off with a couple suffering a traumatic event, (in this case a car accident) then the film flashes forward to a group of people in a remote location (although this time it's women and they are in a cave) and then they soon find that they are facing a terrible non-human enemy (not werewolves this time). But that is where the similarities end. Not only do the women have to battle monsters, but they also have conflicting personalities which causes trouble. Juno is the strong fearless leader type, whereas Sarah is a traumatized woman trying to get her life back together (how ironic).

The cave sets the right kind of atmosphere for a horror film, dark, claustrophobic and creepy (I found it to be a little too dark at times). The acting is fine, but nothing spectacular. There is plenty of tension. All round it is a good solid horror flick, but I think after all of the hype it just seemed to fall a bit short of my expectations. It's definitely worth a watch but don't expect too much.

THE MIDNIGHT MEAT TRAIN (2008) Review

Directed by: Ryuhei Kitamura

Starring: Bradley Cooper, Leslie Bibb, Vinnie Jones

This film is actually an adaptation of a short story by Clive Barker, who just happens to be one of my favorite authors. Although there have been good film adaptations of his work, (Hellraiser, Candyman) this isn't one of the best but at the same time it definitely isn't the worst. 

The film follows amateur photographer Leon (Bradley Cooper) who is trying hard to break into the world of professional photography. This leads him to some late night shooting where he accidentally stumbles upon something terrifying. It seems that there is a killer riding the subway, catching the late train each night and butchering unsuspecting passengers. 

The movie makes no effort trying to hide the identity of the killer (Vinnie Jones) and I actually liked this aspect. The acting is good all round (I'm pretty sure Vinnie Jones was born to play the role of a psychotic murderer) and the cinematography and technical elements are great. Although I did find the cgi to be a bit dodgy especially concerning the blood.

Even though the movie is full of flaws, (especially regarding the photography angle) and the story is a bit far fetched, (I just can't swallow the fact that all of those people have been murdered and nobody has caught on yet) the movie is fun and enjoyable. Definitely worth watching and it is a fresh take on the horror genre, both in the way it was told and also the subject matter itself.

THE TUNNEL (2011) Review

Directed by: Carlo Ledesma

Starring: Bel Delia, Andy Rodoreda, Steve Davis, Luke Arnold

This movie went viral after it's unconventional release and money raising efforts. Money for the film was actually raised through fans being able to buy frames of the film for $1 each. The film itself was released as a legal download via torrent site Bittorrent along with the physical dvd. With a budget of around $140,000 The Tunnel was filmed in just 14 days.

The Tunnel is a new entry into the handheld / found footage genre so If you're not into those kind of movies you probably won't like it, but I do urge you to see it anyway. It is a little different from most of the others though as it is shown in a documentary style using 'real' footage interspersed with interviews from the survivors. The film is based on a real story, but It's hard to say just how much is real and how much is fiction. 

And I have to admit that when I first watched the trailer I was expecting this to suck, but I was pleasantly surprised.

In 2007 the NSW (New South Wales) government came up with a plan to utilize Sydney's disused, underground tunnels for a water storage/recycling facility. After some controversy about the plan displacing the homeless who lived in the tunnels, it is suddenly scrapped. This part is actually true. There really is a huge maze of underground tunnels beneath Sydney and the government did want to use the water below because at the time Sydney's water supply was at an all-time low.

Suspicious of the sudden government backflip, Natasha Warner (played by Bel Delia) investigated and found a strange and frightening story. The homeless living in the underground network were disappearing without a trace. She decides to lead a team of four down into the tunnels to find out exactly what is happening. Before long they discover that there is something down there, something responsible for the missing people. And now it's after them...

This part is pretty unbelievable but compared to similar films (Paranormal Activity, Blair Witch Project, Rec) it is probably one of the most plausible stories. The movies feels so real though, thanks to some great acting from the little known cast and the atmosphere created by the handheld cameras. The 'creature' (you never get so have a really good look at it of course) is pretty creepy too. This movie actually had me on the edge of my seat quite a bit, and even though there were some stupid moments there weren't enough to ruin it for me.

If you liked Rec, Paranormal Activity, the Blair Witch Project or similar films then I'm sure you will love this. In my opinion it is definitely the most realistic of them all. And as a low budget film shot in just 14 days the quality is amazing. It isn't really breaking any new ground in the genre but it is a very tense watch.