Vacancy, and Vacancy The First Cut - Reviews

First off, last Friday in time for Halloween the amazing Zombies Ate my Neighbours came out for the virtual console! It's the Super NES version of the game, and is fantastic. Only noticed it this morning, so snapped it up right away.

I never really felt like watching Vacancy. From the trailers it looked like it was going to be in the Torture Porn genre of horror. While every now and again they can be fun, it's not a genre I watch that often. I was pleasently surprised to find out that Vacancy is in fact an original, and great thriller. The film also had some famous names in it, such as Kate Beckinsale and a man who apparantly is quite famous (can't recall his name)

Vacancy is about a soon to be divorced couple who are travelling home from a party. They got lost in the back roads of middle America. After getting engine trouble they stop at a remote garage next to a cruddy Motel. The mechanic 'fixes' thier car and they set off only for the car to die a couple of miles on. So they walk back and decide to stay overnight at the motel which is run by a seedy manager. After getting to thier room the man decides to watch some TV. Putting on one of the cassette tapes there he discovers it is what appears to be a snuff film, then horrified he discovers that the room in which the murders on tape are taking place is in fact the very same room him and his wife are in. Madness quickly ensures, and a night of violence as him and his wife attempt to fend off the crazed Motel staff who are intent on killing them both to add to thier snuff film business.

The film amps up really well, starting with a vague uneasiness and ramping up to terror. It is really well paced, and the sense of these two people being utterly isolated and trapped is well realised. The killers themselves (wearing strange blue masks) are kinda sinister in thier silence, and nods to the Motels past (such as a room full of hundreds of videotapes) create the feeling that this is just routine for the killers adding to the fear.

The soundtrack fits the films tone well, and is excellantly shot, and looks great. The film ends satisfactory also, which is always good. Recommended.

Now for the 2nd Vacation, entitled Vacation: First Cut. The film is a prequel (not a spoiler as in the first few seconds of the film it states this) and is about the very first snuff film made by the sick Motel staff. Staff at a different Motel to that of the first secretly record couples sleeping together to sell to a Trucker for his porn business. But one night as they are filming a couple they watch in horror as the man brutally murders the woman he is with. Realising they can't involve the Police (as it would reveal thier Porn operation) they instead capture the killer. The serial killer suggest to them that they could start making snuff films instead of Porn. The Trucker tells the Motel staff that there is a market for snuff films, so they grudgingly agree. Soon a group of 3 turn up at the Motel, the staff put thier fiendish plan into action, but the serial killer turns out to be a loose cannon...

First off, the film is nowhere near as good as the first Vacancy. The budget is obviously lower, and the actual plot is not as good, or scary as the original. The characters are less likeable, and it's really distracting that the Motel owner looks identical to that of the Motel owner of the first film, and yet is not actually that character. Apparantly the serial killer is also in Vacancy one, but I didn't even realise this untill I Wikied it.

It's interesting to see how the Snuff film trade started, but it is clumisly done, and confusing also. Still it is entertaining, and worth seeing if you enjoyed the first.

My Bloody Valentine 3D - Horror Film Review

My Bloody Valentine got a lot of press when it came out in the cinema due to being in 3D. It's certainly the first 'new' 3D film I became aware of. At the time I had yet to get my unlimited Cinema pass, so I didn't see it. What I picked up from the TV trailers was that it was some sort of slasher featuring a killer miner armed with a pick axe.

A miner after getting trapped in a cave in went crazy and killed his co-workers. He was rescued, and taken to hospital were he lay in a coma before waking up. He slaughters the hospital staff, heads back to the mine and kills a load of teens having a party there before being shot and presumed dead. A survivor of the incident, a young man called 'Dean' (actually he is not called Dean, but he plays the character Dean in the great series Supernatural) returns to the town after being away for 10 years. His Dad the owner of the mine has died, so Dean has come back to the town he fled from to sell the mine. He finds his childhood sweet heart now married to the towns Sheriff (both these also survived the mine massacre). Soon people start being killed by a miner carrying a pick axe once again. It seems the mad miner didn't die all those years ago.

The film is ok, but looses a lot not being seen in 3D as many scenes and effects are set up to take advantage of the 3rd dimension. Bits of people regularly fly towards the screen, as does the point of the pick axe. The plot is kinda basic, and like Sammy in Friday 13th Remake it's hard to see the actor playing the main lead in this as anything other than Dean from Supernatural, though his character in this is a lot more morose and moody.

Right up to the end of the film it keeps you guessing who the crazed miner actually is, which was quite fun to guess who it was. The miner himself looks fantastic, wearing a black all in one miner suit complete with gas mask, but he never comes across as scary.

A fun enjoyable film you can switch your brain off to.

SCORE:

Friday the 13th (2009) - Horror Film Review

My god Friday the 13th is terrible! Not so bad it's good terrible, but just plain awful, boring, and utterly devoid of any new ideas. The Halloween remakes work as they are re-done in the messed up style of the excellent Rob Zombie. This remake though is boring, shows no style, and is utterly generic.

The plot is the same as every other Friday the 13th film. A group of young campers have gone to Crystal Lake, Jason turns up and kills them one by one, until he is stopped. In more detail though; the film starts with a black and white flashback showing Jason Vorhees' mum having her head lopped off by a camper as a young Jason watches from the trees, then it flashes forward to twenty years later. This is different as in the originals that happened not long before the rest of the Friday the 13th's. So twenty years later and Jason is running around killing campers (wearing a sack over his head like in Friday the 13th Part II). Partway through the film he finds his infamous hockey mask. That's about it.

The characters are nearly all really unlikeable, which wouldn't be so bad if there deaths were entertaining, but mostly they are not. All the characters are killed really quickly, and boringly, usually just getting a machete stabbed through them. The film is surprisingly lacking in gore, and feels quite tame, there are a few topless females in the film. The actor who plays Sam in the great Supernatural series is in this, playing pretty much the same role, still he's about the best thing about the film.

What is annoying is how bland the film is, it is almost yawn inducing. Jason teleports around in unrealistic ways. For example, he is killing some male about thirty yards away from a house, literally less than half a minute later he's somehow managed to get on the roof of the house and is standing in a 'grr look at me' way, stupid. The twist ending would have been more of a twist ending if there hadn't been one, as you could see it coming a mile away (not spoiling much, a supposedly dead Jason springs out Crystal Lake to grab the survivor).

This remake of Friday the 13th was a poor film, not worth watching.

SCORE:

Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost and the Damned - Action Videogame Review (X-Box 360)

First off, I know this isn't horror, I apologise, it is violent though, so kinda fits in to the site...perhaps?

The Lost and the Damned is the first of the two downloadable episodes for Grand Theft Auto IV. I played TLATD in 2 parts, Half was played back at the start of the year when it was first released. The second play through was quite recent.

The episode sees you as a biker called Johnny Klebitz. You are second in command of a violent biker gang called The Lost. The game opens with the leader of the gang released from prison and resuming command. Tension immediately erupts over Johnny who is the moral voice of the group, and the released leader who seems determined to make enemies out of everyone, and make The Lost self implode in the process. The game occurs the same time as the first half of Nico's story in GTA IV, and at times the story lines cross over, with missions from IV occurring from a fresh perspective.

I really hated this when I first played it back in February. I had only recently finished GTA IV at the time, and was a bit sick of the whole thing, and worn out. The missions felt a lot harder to me, and seemed to just involve driving to a location and killing everything there over and over again. Due to being in a biker gang, the motorbike is the default vehicle. It's built like a brick wall, so you wont be falling off too often, but I felt less protected than when I was Nico in a car. The new story is much more dark and gritty than previous, and is full of violence and swearing.

Playing this after a half year break has made me realise just how much I actually do like the games engine, the city is a fantastically made place, and the physics for the vehicles are very enjoyable. I really enjoyed the missions, I don't know if they just picked up, or if I was just tired of the whole system in Feb. Missions involve shooting lots, but also other varied things. One mission sees you abducting Nico's brother in a cool cross over, another mission finds you being chased by what seems to be Liberty City's entire police force;. your on the back of a motorbike firing a gun at the chasing cars and helicopters, very fun and satisfying. The last mission in particular was really fun (slight spoilers, but it sees you and your gang breaking into a very heavily defended location).

This new episode sees new things to do in addition to the main missions.  Like the car finding missions in the main game you get a load of bike finding missions, there are gang war missions (I never actually tried any of these) but best are the racing missions. These see you race against 9 other bikers around a plotted course. In a cool move though you are armed with a baseball bat as are the other racers, so the whole thing feels like Road Rash.

There is additional music for this episode, involving classic biker rock tracks as well as additional shows and recreational activities you can do. Obviously there are lots of new achievements to unlock as well. Enjoyed this, it is worth the download price, and extends the reason to visit Liberty City.

SCORE:

Headshot - Action Videogame Review (X-Box Indie)

I think this may well be the first X-Box Indie game I have reviewed. Headshot is only 80 Microsoft points (around about £1 I think?).

In this game you play as a sniper, and the whole game takes place through the gun sight on your sniper rifle. As such the screen is black, apart from the circle of your reticule. Many stick figure people walk around on the screen with mild crowd noise. After a random amount of time the crowd will scream and a time limit will appear. In this time you need to search the screen for the stick figure who has pulled out a gun on another stick figure and shoot him before the time limit runs out. If your successful then you go onto the next round which has a slightly quicker time limit, if not it's game over.

The game is very simple, but it is really tense as you wait for the killer to play his hand, the realistic crowd noise makes the whole situation more real. For 80 Microsoft Points you really can't complain about this game. It is very simplistic, but a cool experience.

SCORE:

Saw VI - Horror Film Review

Saw VI last night. I have only seen Saw I and Saw II previous to this one. This was hella confusing. Where before you had the annoying dying of cancer man Jigsaw, now he's dead (not that you would know it due to him being in videos, and flashbacks lots and lots) there seems to be about a billion people doing Jigsaws work now. There's his wife, a Detective, a druggy, a suicide victim (though half of these are probably killed in previous films, maybe?) all off devising torture games on people judged as not valuing life. I don't know how many of these flashbacks are actually clips from previous films, but the whole of VI feels like it's midway through a series, rather than a stand alone film. This is my fault though, as I have had plenty of time to see the previous ones.

The basic plot for this one is that a man who threatened to stop John's (Jigsaw) health insurance if he went ahead to have some new untested cancer treatment (in the past) is kidnapped and put into a 'game'. He has an hour to play through 4 tests. If he succeeds he gets to see his family again, if he fails, well that's obvious. The tests usually involve having to make choices over friends and co-workers he knows, 'playing God' as it were (this is what John described the mans actions as, deciding who shall live and who shall die based on his health insurance formula he devised). Of course this leads to self inflicted torture, and violence. The unrelated 'game' at the start of the film set for 2 debt collectors is by far the most grim and unsettling violence in the whole film, so all that comes afterwards is tame by comparison. The sub plot requires a knowledge of the previous films in the series.

Saw I had a fantastic twist, Saw II had a clever twist. This has some twists, but nothing mind blowing. What I liked about Jigsaw previously is that it seemed he became this serial killer due to developing cancer and noticing that there were so many healthy people who just didn't seem to value their life. I may be mistaken, but it appears via the flashbacks that even before this occurred he was a nasty, vile man, taking away any mild respect for the man. He is just a horrid person, and all his evil stooges carrying on his work are also extremely unlikeable. As a result I felt more for the victims, no matter what stuff they had done previously, than the annoying serial killers.

The film was ok, it looks great, but I felt I did loose a lot not having watched III, IV, and V.

SCORE:

Horror Update on me

I just wanted an excuse to use the above picture to tell the truth, I think it's hilarious. But yes, horror update on me. Today at work someone who wished to legitimatly insult me actually called me a 'Zombie Freak' which I found kind of funny, especially as this came from a 40 year old man.

Nextly, saw Saw VI today. Review to come soon. It is Halloween soon! Should be a scream. Going to head down to Spooky Stroud to watch Horror films with my only friend (it's a hard life being undead) I shall somehow do an update on my Halloween.

Lastly, I fear my Hamster may be undead. Whenever he is in his ball he rolls up to any exposed flesh on my person and tries to bite it in vain. I guess that Trioxin water subsitute I've been giving it has had dire consequences.

Dead Rising: Chop Till You Drop (2009) - Zombie Horror Videogame Review (Wii)

Dead Rising: Chop Till You Drop is a vastly different kind of game to the original version of Dead Rising. What is cool is how it has changed to fit itself onto the more casual Wii system, and as a result feels like a completely different game.

The story is exactly the same as before. A zombie plague has been unleashed on a small American town. You play as Frank West a journalist who has headed to the town (more specifically Willamette Mall) to investigate and try and get the scoop. Once there you uncover a plot involving terrorists, and about a town called Santa Cabeza. So far so similar.

Obviously the graphics are no where near as good as the X-Box 360 version, and the amount of zombies on screen at any one time is far less. There is major fogging for the zombies, they can pop into existence in spaces were seconds previously there was nothing. To make up for this there are many different types than the 360 version. As well as the zombies there are also enemy poodles, and even parrots who fly overhead and drop hand grenades on you. Quite a few of the psychopaths from the 360 (psychopaths were Dead Rising's version of bosses) are now instead super zombies. These super zombies are stronger and have powerful attacks compared to the usual zombies. The butch police woman is now a giant zombie armed with powerful tasers, and the Vietnam veteran is now a zombie armed with 2 machetes who charges at you for example.

The whole original game was very time based, you had to keep to a strict time limit to progress the story, and lead fellow survivors to safety. Time is no longer an important factor, the different sections of the game are more level based. Usually you will have a story mission, then a variety of missions were the aim is to rescue a specific survivor. Breaking the structure down like this lends the game a far more arcade like feel. You get a grade for each mission you complete, and are gifted accordingly.

This game guns play a far more important role than melee weapons. You have your guns mapped to the D-pad and use the Wii-mote to aim a reticule at the screen in an over the shoulder Resident Evil 4 type of way. Ammo is plentiful, most zombies when killed leave behind either ammo, or money. Otis the owner of a gun store can be visited at any time. In his shop you can buy new guns, as well as upgrade how much ammo you can carry for each weapon, and buy books which teach you new special moves.

Levelling up still occurs. This time it is less important. You get either more item slots (all accessed via a menu screen rather than the 360's real time selection), and a bigger choice of books to buy at Otis's shop, and that's about it. Health upgrades are done via mixing won protein supplements with juice, so levelling up is not needed for that.

The game is still as violent as it was before, and includes some new weapons, as well as removing some others. The game features all the cut scenes of the original and has the 'Overtime' bonus mode incorporated to the end of the game rather than separately selected. Due to the focus on guns the boss battles are far more easy. A particular highlight was the fight with the convicts in the park. The 360 version of this fight was quite tough, this version has the whole fight take place as an extended quick time event, and as a result is quite fun.

After the game is finished there are lots of extra missions available to try (titled 'Odd Jobs') such as running down a certain amount of zombies in the underground tunnels, or killing a certain amount of zombies just using the football weapon. These are a nice bonus. I recommend Dead Rising: Chop Till You Drop, even if you own the 360 original. It is different enough to warrant a purchase.

SCORE:

Marvel Zombies 2 (2007-2008) - Zombie Graphic Novel Review

I said in my review of Marvel Zombies that I would definitely be getting the second one, and so I have. Headed to the local comic book store and picked it up. Noticed there are four Marvel Zombies comic books out now, and seems to be a 5th series currently in comic form.

The story picks up 40 years after the end of the first one. The Marvel super zombies have eaten every single thing in the entire universe. They decide to head back to Earth and try and get the dimensional portal there working so they can travel to a place with life. Meanwhile back on Earth the surviving humans are slowly descending into civil war over differences in opinion between the old adults, and the teenagers. The arrival of the super zombies leads to the undead creatures own civil war, as some are filled with guilt at all the billions of lives they have ended (such as Spider-Man) and decide to protect what's left of the human race from the evil super zombies.

Again the dialogue between the super zombies is hilarious, it's hard to explain, but the conversations they have are just laugh out loud funny. The script and artwork are done by the same people as the first, so it all looks fantastic. What is odd is that some of the main characters have been changed up. For example Gladiator is now a main character when he wasn't even in the first one. Thinking logically though, these additions could well be newer zombies created when the original cast attacked alien planets. I really don't have a good knowledge of the Marvel universe. Also in the first book the zombies absorbed powers of the Silver Surfer, yet some of the zombies who didn't do that still seem to have similar powers. These are small gripes though.

The plot is good, but not as exciting as the first, and the book ends on an obvious cliff hanger this time, where before everything was pretty much wrapped up. Again though, I'm definitely going to get the next in the series!

SCORE:

Halloween Films: Top 5

It is coming up to Halloween, the best night of the year. Here is 5 Halloween films you should watch on all Hallows Eve;

1. Halloween/Halloween 2

I count these two films as basically part 1 and part 2 of the same film, due to Halloween 2 taking place literally right after the first film ends.

Psychotic mad man Michael Myers escapes from a high security mental home and makes his way to his home town of Haddonfield just in time for Halloween. There he starts stalking a shy young girl named Laurie Strode (Jaime Lee Curtis), killing off her friends until it's just her left. Meanwhile Dr Loomis; a man who was the Doctor in charge of Michael Myers rushes to the town, he knows that Myers is pure evil and must be stopped. This film was really effective in that you never really have a good look at Myers, he appears in shadows, stealthily taking out his victims, in the end credits his character is named just as 'The Shape'.

Halloween 2 is a much more gory, and action packed film. Having been temporarily disabled at the end of Halloween he now makes his way to the Hospital that Laurie Strode has been sent to. This film features more brutal killings, more nudity,and more action than the first, and has a satisfying end.

2. Murder Party

Another film set during Halloween. I have mentioned this film before on here. Basically a lonely geek finds an invitation to a Halloween party. He dresses up in a ridiculous cardboard robot suit and heads to the party, only to find out it was actually a elaborate trap set by a group of hipsters to kidnap someone and murder them as part of an art installation. Quite a funny film, though expect plenty of dialogue.

3. The Fear 2: Halloween Night

Another film I have wrote about. A young man invites his friends to his grandparents house for a Halloween party where the guests are supposed to dress as their biggest fears. Very silly, and badly made film with terrible effects, but fun in a so bad it's good kind of way.

4. The Nightmare before Christmas

The fantastic Tim Burton claymation  film. The film is set in Halloween town where the Pumpkin King Jack Skeleton has become disillusioned with Halloween, and sets his sights on taking over Christmas with disastrous results. Though set in Halloween town, the film is much more of a Christmas film, but can be watched for both occasions I think.

5. Halloween 3: Season of the Witch

The odd one out in the Halloween series as it is a stand alone story. An evil toymaker (a Ken Dodd lookalike) plans to hypnotise Americas children to murder their parents via hypnotic messages sent out on Halloween. Damn annoying hypnotism sound, but is very Halloweeny, and if you can last the damn noise not a bad film.

Marvel Zombies (2005 - 2006) - Zombie Graphic Novel Review

Marvel Zombies is unsurprisingly a book which involves zombies, and is set in the Marvel universe. I think (but am not sure) that the Marvel Zombies series is a spin off from a Fantastic 4 story in which they travelled to an alternate dimension where a virus had turned the inhabitants of Earth into flesh hungry zombies (I am of course making this up, as I have never read it). In this alternate universe the only people left alive/undead are the hundreds of Super Heroes and Super Villains as keeping their super powers after their change into zombies they easily killed and ate everyone else in the world. What I do know is that thanks to Magneto (one of the last humans left) the Fantastic 4 travelled back to their own dimension, and the dimension travelling machine thing was destroyed leaving the super zombies stranded in their dead world (edit 24/08/19 - all I said there does happen but wasn't the root cause of the outbreak).

The story was released in five parts, which are compiled in the Marvel Zombies graphic novel. Magneto is quickly eaten by the combined super zombies. The super zombies are led by zombie Iron Man, and include mainly Colonel America, Spider-Man, Wolverine, and Hulk (mostly Bruce Banner, he only changes into zombie Hulk when hungry). The world seems empty of fresh meat to eat, but this soon changes with the arrival of the Silver Surfer who announces the arrival of planet eater Galactus. When Galactus arrives he is furious that his servant has been eaten. The super zombies both good and bad though see Galactus as the ultimate meal...

The book is really quite gory in places, various super zombies lose various parts of their anatomy during the story. The script was done by the same man who does the script for the excellent The Walking Dead comic. Unlike that though, this story is really humorous in places. The super zombies conversations with each other is so absurd as to be hilarious, and seeing well known heroes and villains all zombied up is a great treat for fans.

The artwork is bright and vivid, and the story itself is silly, but cool. Well recommended. I shall definitely be getting Marvel Zombies 2!

SCORE:

Dream of 21st October - Zombie Apocalypse!

Zombie Armageddon dream last night! I was reading Marvel Zombies before I went sleep, so I guess that is what it was influenced by.

Zombie Armageddon had happened. I was with a group of survivors in a house. The survivors were treating the whole thing as a party, eating, drinking, playing loud music. I was worried the zombies outside would be attracted to our noise. I got into the houses attic, and decided I would stay there. I moved food and water up there, I was joined by a couple of others, but the attic was quite small and dusty. A family on push bikes stopped outside the house to talk to the people inside, they drew attention from the zombies, but the house survivors didnt seem to care.

Then I was at a factory, still in use, so quite noisy. There was a big walkway were all the survivors were, it was really clean and clinical up there. One of the factory owners was explaining they had captured some zombies, they were trying to reform them to eat food rather than humans. The zombies were downstairs in the factory, but not restrained, so I didn't feel safe there.

Then there was something involving a ride on a rowing boat down a canal to a swimming pool which I dont recall.

Then I was in another house with a different group of survivors. Again I head into the attic. This attic is really posh, and has several rooms and a balcony, I feel I would be safe here. Out on the balcony I see the world has changed. I can see no zombies, but there are bikers driving around in the city, and gunships flying around. I learn that the zombies have all transformed, they are all docile now. A gunship lands on the balcony and a commander gets out, he informs us we are all slaves.

Then I'm at a fairground/market place. There are zombies doing simple jobs such as handing out balloons, and leaflets, thier owners praise them each time they do this. I'm still not entirely comfortable around the zombies, but the world is returning to normal.

That was the end of my weird Zombie Apocalypse dream.

Silent Hill: Homecoming - Horror Videogame Review (X-Box 360)

Finally got Silent Hill 5 (Also called Silent Hill: Homecoming). I played this through to completion in 2 sittings. I kinda have mixed thoughts about the game, and am a bit confused to what I think of it.

A young man named Alex Shepherd returns to his home town of Shepherds Glen for the first time since joining the Army many years previously. He discovers the Town which used to be so vibrant has fallen into a state of disrepair. Roads have collapsed, the shops on the high street have all closed down, and there are abandoned rusting cars everywhere. He meets a lady his parents knew called Judge Holloway. She informs him that ever since he left the Town has been getting worse and worse, and there has been a huge spate of missing people, so that currently there are only a handful of people still left in the Town!

He returns to his childhood home to find his Mum near catatonic, and his Dad off looking for Alex's younger brother who has gone missing. Alex decides to set out and search for his brother as well, as a nightmare he had about Josh is what brought him back to the town in the first place. The town is full of monsters also, but Alex with his military background is able to defend himself. Through the game Alex uncovers a conspiracy by the Town leaders, and that what is happening is maybe due to the nearby town of Silent Hill...

If this review feels a bit muted it's because that's the kind of reaction I got from the game. It does everything right; it sounds good, looks good, plays well yet it feels stale, and like no effort has been put into it. It does feel very much like a Silent Hill game. But excluding the graphical update this could have well been released on the PS2 or X-Box. The graphical update is actually detrimental. The original scared so well because it was really rough looking, that along with the grain filter created a feeling of absolute dread. Everything looks so smooth and clean now, it looks less like a vision of a nightmare, and more like a USA horror series such as Supernatural.

Many of the enemies are rehashed from previous games, there are not many surprises. The bosses all look quite similar to each other, and can be defeated the same way. The locations are not fantastic, and for the most part you don't spend much time in any location before moving on to a new place so a feeling of being trapped never occurs. The story is different, and has twists, but there were no real surprises, and it felt like the twists were just there because they are expected to be in a Silent Hill game.

The combat is good, you have a dodge button now, which makes the combat more intense, there is a weird trend to have Manhunt style brutal finishers which feels slightly out of place. There are nods to previous games in the series which is appreciated, and there are multiple endings (including the obligatory UFO ending). Akira Yamaoka once again creates a fantastic soundtrack. Alex Shepherd is a good enough character, the games increased combat works for him. The puzzles are fun to do mostly, but nowhere near as complicated as the previous games puzzles.

I love the Silent Hill series, and as long as they keep making them I will keep buying them. This is a good game, it just lacks the spark to make it a great game.

SCORE: