Extra Ordinary (2019) - Comedy Horror Film Review

Extra Ordinary is an Irish horror comedy that for the most part is sweet and innocent, yet has the occasional moment of high violence and gore. Directed by Mike Ahern and Enda Loughman, this films humour is never overtly funny, but at the same time doesn't do anything to offend. The simple story told in a mostly family friendly way, again, aside from the moments of high violence.

Rose Dooley (Maeve Higgins) is a kind and lonely driving instructor in a small Irish town, who also has the gift of being able to contact the dead. Initially Martin Martin (Barry Ward) contacts her in order to help him exorcise the spirit of his dead wife, who is causing him no end of trouble at home. However, after his teenage daughter, Sarah (Emma Coleman) is found comatose and floating above her bed, Martin instead begs Rose to help return her to normal. The girl has been chosen as part of a demonic sacrifice, that washed up one-hit wonder rock star, Christian Winter (Will Forte - Gravity Falls) is intending to perform in order to make a comeback. To counter this Rose and Martin team up in order to collect ectoplasm from seven different ghosts, which is said to be the only way to return the girl to normal.

While there are a whole host of side characters it felt like a lot of the film rested on the shoulders of Higgins, Ward, and Forte. It's a good job that all were perfectly cast, especially Forte's wonderfully over the top Christian Winter who was dramatic, flamboyant and cheesy in every scene he appeared in. All three characters get flashbacks at one point or another, Winter's was the best, his one-hit wonder song shown as part of this. With Rose, her father was a local exorcist who made plenty of instructional videos, such as how to deal with 'Gloating' (floating goats), these are intercut throughout the movie and are made to look like eighties VHS tapes, complete with low quality footage, and slightly distorted audio. All of those moments were wonderful.

Lake Bodom (2016) - Horror Film Review

Lake Bodom is a location that has appeared in many different horrors over the years. The place is infamous due to the brutal murder of three campers in the 1960's. There were many different theories as to who the killer was, but no one was ever charged. Confusingly, in Finland this was released under the title Bodom, which also happens to be the name of a Hungarian found footage horror from 2014 that has a very similar story (my review of that one can be found here). I have started watching horrors from Shudder on Sundays, this was my second pick after skipping the Sunday previously.

In 2016 four teenage friends head to Lake Bodom with various motivations for doing so. Nora (Mimosa Willamo) and Ida (Nelly Hirst-Gee) have been tricked into thinking there is going to be a cabin party there. In reality, Atte (Santeri Helinheimo Mantyla) has told them that so they would agree to go to the isolated lake with him and his best friend, Elias (Mikael Gabriel). Atte is obsessed with the 1960's murders that took place there and hopes he can get the girls to help him recreate the police crime scene photos, while Elias is hoping he can get lucky with one of them. However, nothing works out for any of the four teens, as their camping trip is rudely interrupted by a killer...

I had heard many good things about Lake Bodom over the years but had never gotten around to watching it. I did enjoy my time with it but it requires a huge suspension of disbelief. It isn't too long into the movie before the friends are camped out at the lake and so the horror begins relatively quickly. There are many curve balls thrown by this pretty generic beginning, and while I was surprised with where this went I didn't think it worked that well. Maybe one twist would have worked out well but we don't get that here, off the top of my head I think over the course of the movie there are six big twists. These twists all alter the perception of events and characters, but it almost (but not quite) becomes farcical with how much is changing constantly. If this had all fallen away to reveal a The Cabin in the Woods style resolution I don't think I would have been surprised.

Bunny the Killer Thing (2015) - Comedy Horror Film Review

Back in December of last year I did a small news post about the release of Finnish comedy horror Bunny the Killer Thing (directed and co-written by Joonas Makkonen), it didn't seem my thing as it seemed to revolve around sex jokes which I usually don't appreciate. However having watched Bunny the Killer Thing for review I have to say it was frankly hilarious from start to finish (or should that be 'start to Finnish'?), something I was not expecting.

During the prologue a man finds himself kidnapped and at the mercy of a mad scientist. The scientist injects him with a strange serum that starts a mutation within his body, with new found super strength he breaks free from his bindings, knocks out the kidnappers and flees into the nearby woods where he further transforms. Meanwhile a group of friends are journeying out to a cabin in woodland for a weekend of partying, on the way they pick up three shady British guys whose car has broken down. The partying starts in earnest but the festivities are interrupted by the kidnapped man who has now mutated fully into a six foot tall rabbit-man armed with an enormous and deadly member, and thirsty for female copulation...