The House of the Devil

GENERAL INFORMATION

Release Info: 25 April 2009

Writer and Director:Ti West
Running Time: 95 Minutes

Staring: Jocelin Donahue, Tom Noonan and Mary Woronov

Rating? R

SPOILERS? NO

REVIEWS

IMDB: 6 of 10

MY RATING: 7

STORYLINE

College student Samantha Hughes takes a strange babysitting job that coincides with a full lunar eclipse. She slowly realizes her clients harbor a terrifying secret.

MY REVIEW

I had a friend at work tell me that this was a decent movie that they thought I would likely enjoy. I did. Thanks J. :)

This really did have a feel that seemed classic as well as new. While it is the seemingly classic story regarding the "girl next door" to me that's where it ends. While the viewer seems to be able to make some of the calls on what may or might not happen, it seems not so much like the old standard of yelling at the main character to not do something because you really want her to go in and do stuff!

What I DID LIKE about this movie:

• AMBIANCE/CINEMATOGRAPHY- Intense is really all I can say about this movie. There is an unsettling feeling that looms heavy throughout the whole piece. The score builds and continues to create a sense of uneasy wonder that sticks you directly in the gut.
• STORY- It's not a slasher type horror movie, and it's not the typical psychological thriller. It's simple horror that seems different. The story will stay with you for a while. It's a slow build, but worth the wait.

What I DID NOT LIKE about this movie:

• ACTING- Okay, so I admit the acting is a bit underwhelming. It's true. But this is a horror flick and if you're expecting Oscar winning performances, this is not that.
• FINAL ACT- Could have been a bit more climactic. Let me wanting a little more.

Cropsey

GENERAL INFORMATION

Release Info: 25 April 2009

Director: Joshua Zeman and Barbara Brancaccio
Running Time: 84 Minutes

Staring:  Documentary

Rating? Unrated

SPOILERS? YES

REVIEWS

IMDB: 6.4 of 10

MY RATING: 8

STORYLINE

Realizing that the urban legend of their youth has actually come true, two filmmakers delve into the mystery surrounding five missing children and the real-life boogeyman linked to their disappearance.

MY REVIEW

Firstly, I'd like to say that this is a quite disturbing documentary. I am always indescribably more frightened by psychotic people than chainsaw wielding demons! What the hell is a Cropsey? Well, that was the name that the kids on Staten Island called the Boogeyman in the 70's. In 19688 Andre Rand was of one missing child, Jennifer Schweiger, one of several children gone missing between 1972 and 1987, of which the majority were special needs. 

THIS is true horror

What I DID LIKE about this movie:

• Zeman and Brandaccio do an amazing job piecing together available evidence regarding Rand including interviews with family and friends of Rand as well as the missing children, and the detectives who worked on the case.
• Z and B even go so far as to make a move to interview Rand from Prison. It's an abject failure, but they tried.
• The footage and research into Willowbrook are skin-crawlingly effective and visits to the ruins are equally effective. This documentary looks specifically at the Willowbrook State School, a place for the mentally ill that journalist Geraldo Rivera took a focus on in 1972. Rand was known to have lived on or near the property at the time of the disappearances. 

What I DID NOT LIKE about this movie:

• Some of the interviews seems like they were cut short or just didn't have all of the level of detail. This would have been a better three part documentary with 60 minutes each to really go into the children, the place and the possible murderer.
• We constantly see pictures of the missing children and are told that only one was found, she was murdered, but none of the others were ever located. Jennifer Schweiger was found near a campsite where Rand was known to live. Other than that simple conjecture, THAT is the only proof that was given that Rand was the murderer. It seems they were either missing some important details or the case was flimsy at BEST! This is where it loses it focus for me in about the last third of the documentary. Some of the harsh realities are replaced by fanciful supposition.

On a more personal note..... So, today at work, this pigeon hung out on the ledge outside my window for about an hour, flew away and came back. I've named him Harvey. Came home to Captain Boomer hanging out with Terry and later in the evening, Boomer and Teddy were getting their nap time in before actual bedtime!