Tag Archives: night

Silent Night

Posted on by

Vampire Owl: We have always wished for silent nights in favour of vampire activity.

Vampire Bat: Vampires have always hoped for silence to keep on hunting, that too in a flash.

Vampire Owl: For vegetarian vampires, we do hunt really well.

Vampire Bat: We have hunted evil better these days.

Vampire Owl: Yet, humans consider us to be evil.

Vampire Bat: There will never be bigger evil than humans. Their evil returns every time and rises like a phoenix.

Vampire Owl: Well, we are yet to find a good human during our visits to their lands.

Vampire Bat: But serial killers are too easy to find, especially on the 11th day of terror. We are watching them at all times.

Vampire Owl: They call these people psychos, but this cruelty comes natural to them.

Vampire Bat: There are always much bigger modes of cruelty among humans. Just make a call on the vampire phone.

[Gets some tacos and three cups of taro tea].

What is the movie about? :: On a Christmas evening, a child is seen traveling by car with his parents from his grandfather’s place and their vehicle is seen as stopping on a remote road. A man dressed as Santa Claus arrives in another car and murders Billy’s parents in front of him. The killer, who is also stabbed, is revealed to be Charlie (Mark Acheson). As the child comes into physical contact with Charlie, an electrical surge appears to pass between them, and there seems to be something which has passed on from the dying killer. As the child grows up, known to the society as Billy Chapman (Rohan Campbell), he is seen as taking over the duty of committing murders while wearing the costume of Santa Claus during the Christmas season. The idea goes like this – during each Christmas, he begins hearing Charlie’s voice urging him to punish people who have been evil, and from then he would need to commit a murder for each day leading up to Christmas. There will be no failure to follow this particular procedure.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: After committing a quick murder at a motel, Billy escapes from the scene to avoid suspicion and arrives in the town of Hackett. There he becomes instantly interested in the beautiful, but angry lady of the town Pamela Sims (Ruby Modine) and her father Dean Sims (Lawrence Brown) who runs a gift shop. He gets a job in the same shop, and gets closer to Pamela, finally beginning an intimate relationship. But he never really losses his skill in murders as new victims is found and killed without remorse. A local police officer and Pamela’s abusive ex-boyfriend Max Benedict (David Tomlinson) is not happy about Billy being around her, and also develops suspicions about the new person moving into the town after which too many murders happen at the same place. But it is revealed that there is some other series of incidents happening in the same area, with little kids going missing one after another. There is a suspected abductor referred to as “the Snatcher”, but it is to be seen how the incidents go on as Christmas gets closer.

The defence of Silent Night, Deadly Night :: The slasher horror mode activated very quickly with this one, not really wasting that much time. The protagonist here is a tragic anti-hero who is forced to go through what he does, rather than the usual supernatural or psychotic villain, and that surely brings a change from the usual. There is time spent in exploring his trauma and motivations, which makes the character more relatable. To add to it the same, there is a mythology, supernatural elements and mystery involving missing children. The horror effects work well with the blood and gore, as one would expect from a slasher horror movie, and deaths become natural part of the film with ease. The killing are also justified for a change, instead of making the whole thing random or a case of revenge like some other flicks. The holiday mood can also be felt with the Christmas elements around, and the ending nicely supports a sequel which could have further variety with the kind of serial killer it develops with the finish.

The claws of flaw :: Silent Night, Deadly Night feels absurd even for a slasher horror movie with its content which does not innovate, or chooses not to bring some nice creative elements. There were many moments which it could have made more interesting, especially by adding usual elements of the genre which have been going through a classic path for a very long time. The question about what special elements this one brings or what it brings as part of the genre, would need better answers here. There is also a certain amount of extra complication that comes with some of these additions here, and the background tale with the mythology is not that much thought about. There is the slow pace and drag that comes in between, and the romance is also not going too deep, and never being emotional enough. The strange ideas are not that much explored, and we feel the need during regular intervals. Many viewers could feel that there is something missing around here, as the movie seems to just go on as it wishes to, and thinks not that much about connections.

The performers of the soul :: Rohan Campbell makes the main character memorable, and worth being the Christmas killer that we would need to follow. There is something more than a serial killer or a murderous psychopath about him, as more aspects of the character are nicely shown by him. A man with a deeply damaged childhood and never-ending emotional conflicts also with the trauma and violent impulses, remains safe in his hands while going through vulnerability and terrifying menace. Ruby Modine makes her character interesting, and there is something about the same all the time, and might have even more to contribute later in a possible sequel – there is a lot that a scream queen in a slasher can do. There are violence and darkness in her, which she manages to display with a charming ease. Her scenes bring some of the most emotionally grounded moments to the movie, and elevate the whole thing. Mark Acheson has a more unusual role, but contributes nicely to the film’s dark and supernatural elements.

How it finishes :: This serves as the second remake of the 1984 film with the same name, after the 2012 reimagining of the same. The audience who enjoys traditional slashers focused mainly on the brutal kills and other elements may find the added mythology and the strange emotional storytelling distracting, as deviation from the usual ideas is surely present here. This is not your classic old slasher of nostalgia and memories for sure. But those who are willing to accept its strange mix of genres are likely to find a surprisingly engaging work with a divergence. Despite not sticking to a classic tradition, it remains a solid Christmas horror film that will probably appeal most to a certain kind of audience. One would guess that making it interesting for all kinds of viewers was never really the idea with this one. Still, we are having the slashers in this world which is going after nonsense because it pretends to be funny, and that much is hope with feathers. Something more sinister might still be coming in a sequel.

Release date: 12th December 2025
Running time: 96 minutes
Directed by: Mike P Nelson
Starring: Rohan Campbell, Ruby Modine, David Lawrence Brown, David Tomlinson, Mark Acheson

<<< Click here to go to the previous review.

<<< Click here to go to the biggest movie of last year.

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

The Whisper

Posted on by

Vampire Owl: Have you heard about vampirism spreading through whispers in the wind?

Vampire Bat: Vampirism is supposed to spread only by biting.

Vampire Owl: Dr. Frankenstein knows about scientific vampirism.

Vampire Bat: Mr. Frankenstein does not know science or vampirism.

Vampire Owl: Well, we only have one scientist and he is Frankenstein.

Vampire Bat: It is a shame that we immortals are to trust a duplicate from another realm.

Vampire Owl: He is the original certified scientist who is also a half-vampire.

Vampire Bat: Still, you shall find the vampires of this movie as stranger.

Vampire Owl: I do not see why they would not be strange in comparison.

Vampire Bat: You cannot expect all vampire depictions around the world to be the same.

[Gets a thattu dosa and three cups of Ooty tea].

What is the movie about? :: Lucía (Ana Clara Guanco) has fled from her home with her young brother Adrian (Marcelo Michinaux) as the situation in their home with their father Victor (Luciano Cáceres) would need them to follow a family vampire tradition. Victor has always been telling them that Adrian is just like him and will turn into a vampire, but Lucia who cared for her little brother did not listen to the same. Leaving Victor behind, they arrive at a secluded mansion deep into the woods seeking refuge and hoping that one day, they will have normal lives. But this attempt to stay normal is shattered when a cat which lives in the area brings them a human finger, revealing the fact that there is something terrifying going on in the area. There are movements around the house at night and something keeps triggering the car alarms, while the switches and electricity are not working properly either. The night seems to be difficult to go through, but she keeps asking Adrian to keep the headsets in his ears and forget all of these, while a group keeps kidnapping girls to kill them on camera and then sell the snuff videos for financial gains.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: She finds the worst when they find a girl being killed by some masked people on the camera on the collar of the cat. She checks for information online and finds out that many girls have been kidnapped from the area and one of such incidents happened on the road that goes in front of their home. She feels that they could be attacked any moment, and as she takes a file out of the camera and plays it on her desktop computer, she realizes that the house has been entered and they had tried to take her, but her brother had gone missing. Desperate to save him, she goes out and finds the men killed by her brother who seems to have bitten them and even turned one of them into a ruthless vampire. As they try to escape from the rest of the members of the group, she finds herself and the boy kidnapped and tied up in a warehouse. As she is unable to come up with an explanation what had happened to the other gang members, the group focusing snuff videos, decides to make her their next victim as they strip her down to her bra and panties and chain her to a bed to brutally kill her on the camera. Can the siblings escape in time?

The defence of The Whisper :: The tale of a brother and sister escaping an ancient family curse while also fighting a group of criminals makes such an interesting premise with a lot of possibilities, often endless and most of time very interesting. The isolated home with woods creates a bleak, eerie atmosphere that keeps viewers engaged while being emotionally attached to the brother and sister. The abiding sadness which surrounds the character of Ana Clara Guanco will keep us emotionally attached to her. An air of melancholy surrounds her at all times, and the depth of the same is reflected not just on her face, but in her movements which feels more motivated by perpetual sadness rather than fear. A crime thriller, supernatural horror, family drama and mystery come together towards the same here. The visuals of the setting are nicely captured to increase the tension and the feeling of danger. One can also note how well the cat in the movie serves the purpose, and how the initial scenes had set things in motion. The darkness has been effectively used as the movie’s ally too.

The claws of flaw :: The non-linear path which is taken here does not serve the purpose that well. The psychological side does not work that well here, and the terror could have also been shown in a more detailed manner with the cruelty felt even more. The slowness of the movie could also be seen as a concern as the movie brings down its pace a lot in the middle, which basically makes us feel that nothing much is to happen here and there would be just some forced ending to follow. The multiple ideas and genres followed here, despite having something in each, might not satisfy everyone as it goes through all of them without full focus on anything. Some subplots could have also been better explored and some character development for the characters other than the protagonist would have been much appreciated. Even the other two clearly named characters could have had more focus, but as Ana Clara Guanco does a brilliant job, most of it is just forgotten and not claimed as a big problem. The fights could have also been shown in a better manner and the vampire attacks misses out on fangs and claws while there were so many opportunities for the same.

The performers of the soul :: Ana Clara Guanco as Lucía does that kind of a work which we will remember for her being that tragic heroine who is ready to make the ultimate sacrifice for her brother. For him, she is ready to leave her home and all possibilities of a better life, moving to the middle of nowhere with no assurance of doing any better for herself and she does not even care for her safety. She plays the sibling whom every little brother would wish for, and the same is done in a believable manner. It can be seen that she runs to save him when he seems to be in some kind of trouble and when there is some problem, she tries to protect him with all her life. This reluctance to bring any harm to the boy lands her under the knives of a butcher, stripped to her underwear and chained to be hacked to death brutally in front of a camera. In the end, she would have to make the ultimate sacrifice and as the tragic heroine, embrace the worst. It is a very emotional performance which is there to stay. Luciano Cáceres as Victor has more than what we think he has to do, as he brings a lot more as the movie goes towards the end. Marcelo Michinaux also plays some good work as the little brother. The rest just have to follow the flow.

How it finishes :: The idea of escaping a violent world, stumbling into a world of snuff films and confronting a terrifying family curse at the same time is an idea that had a lot of scope. This definitely works, but one cannot say that it is at his best of strengths, and losses the power at regular intervals in between. This is still another interesting vampire movie and the one movie which it reminds one the most is Byzantium, but that was a more superior movie in all aspects; this one can only follow with most elements. Throughout the movie, we are still reminded that vampirism is one of the lesser evil that we can encounter, and there is always the bigger evil, which comes from humans who might know no way to stop themselves from turning pure evil. We are reminded that evil always finds a way and being attacked by a vampire is the least of your problems as human horror is always ready to be unleashed as darkness becomes more of their ally than that of any known nocturnal creature from myth or reality. With an emotional side, this one brings that particular reminder well, as we watch this one Amazon Prime Video.

Release date: 22nd January 2026
Running time: 100 minutes
Directed by: Gustavo Hernández Ibañez
Starring: Luciano Cáceres, Ana Clara Guanco, Marcelo Michinaux, Darío Lima, Horacio Camandulle, Rasjid César, Joro Gorfain, Machu Gutiérrez

<<< Click here to go to the previous review.

<<< Click here to go to the biggest movie of last year.

<<< Click here to go to the most awaited sequel of the year.

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Black Phone 2

Posted on by

Vampire Owl: Are they talking about the only phone in the castle?

Vampire Bat: It is one phone that has never worked.

Vampire Owl: But the vampire elders used to call Uncle Dracula with it.

Vampire Bat: Vampire elders always had their telepathic powers.

Vampire Owl: You think that nobody including Uncle Dracula ever used that phone?

Vampire Bat: The phone is meant to be more of a presence.

Vampire Owl: You mean to say that it has served as an afterlife presence.

Vampire Bat: It cannot be considered undead though.

Vampire Owl: Yes, there cannot be electronic undead, I guess.

Vampire Bat: Why don’t you ask your super-best friends?

[Gets a chilli porotta and three cups of Darjeeling tea].

What is the movie about? :: A few years had passed after Finney (Mason Thames) had killed the psychopath known by the name Grabber (Ethan Hawke), but his sister Gwen (Madeleine McGraw) begins having dreams and nightmares where she sees certain incidents and also the murders that happened at Alpine Lake Camp in 1957, leaving her mostly sleepless. Their mother Hope (Anna Lore) is also known to have had similar dreams at the time of the murders, and this has Gwen worries, while Finney has not come out of the trauma which unfolded in front of his eyes due to that psycho killer unleashing himself after abducting him four years ago. Gwen convinces both Finney and Ernesto (Miguel Mora), her best friend who has a crush on her, to travel to Alpine Lake Camp and find solutions to her problems with mysteries to be solved. Her father Terrence (Jeremy Davies) also gives permission despite early reluctance. They hope that this would solve her problems, even though she is not that sure.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: Despite a planned journey, a heavy blizzard traps them, but the supervisor of Alpine Lake camp, Armando (Demián Bichir) and his niece, the young and energetic Mustang (Arianna Rivas) shows them the way. Two camp employees are also there, in the form of Barbara (Maev Beaty) and Kenneth (Graham Abbey). As Finney receives a call on the camp’s dead land phone from the Grabber, he goes into panic. Speaking from hell as it seems, the Grabber vows revenge on him and his family by brutally murdering Gwen. Soon, Gwen is violently attacked in her dream by the Grabber, but the group manages to save her in the last moment from being thrown into fire. Barbara feels that Gwen is possessed by a demon, especially with the young girl having no control over her tongue, using curse and sexual words. The group feels that they have to find the dead bodies of the Grabber’s victims to loosen his hold over the dream realm, and hope that Gwen sleeps less. But can they do it without Grabber knowing or attacking them with a better plan?

The defence of Black Phone 2 :: The way in which the movie expands the original lore and adds new supernatural elements beyond the simple horror is something that should be appreciated, as we feel the creativity behind all of these in a world when horror has always struggled, especially after the Conjuring–Annabelle–Nun trio had started losing power from that memorable beginning. The world has been nicely built for the same and the evil being stronger than ever and almost invincible, keeps the strength of horror at a higher level. The exploration of trauma and the related character growth with an emotional side works well. The visual style with the support of snow and ice all around, is something to be noted too. For most of us who are not that familiar with blizzards and such snow brings further horror with the dialogues from the antagonist about ice of hell and the burns that it delivers – the dialogues further elevates the terror, and there are some unexpected horror moments which keep the world strong.

The claws of flaw :: The movie takes too much time to get interesting, and by the time it provides that feeling, it would have gone through half of its runtime. One feels the need to see why it takes so much time in showing dreams and hallucinations, when all of these could be over in a few minutes, as many moments like those are just random and not that much scary. The dream sequences, especially the initial ones often struggle and do not go on making the impact as Freddy of Elm Street would make. The quality of the same is also something to be questioned here, as it also remains tiring for the eyes. The horror in there do not feel real or dangerous until some time passes in the movie. This asserts the fact that the movie was about twenty-five minutes more than what it should have been. The emotional side and random fears do not raise the movie during the beginning stages. For those who have not watched the movie will also find themselves in a receiving side of some confusion which leaves rather late.

The performers of the soul :: The movie’s biggest strength is Ethan Hawke, the antagonist who takes it to the next level, despite not showing that much of his face – the mask itself would be remembered by the horror fans for long and could become iconic, thanks to his performance. Well, it is not limited to Freddy, Jason, Michael, Chromeskull or Ghostface. This has not been the kind of role in which we have been seeing him, but the movie reminds us that we should be. Madeleine McGraw whom we have seen more in the younger child roles in American Sniper, Ant-Man and the Wasp and Pacific Rim Uprising, gets to be the scream queen here, and despite some struggles in the repetitions of the first half, manages to finish so well. Mason Thames is the other main lead, and he also manages the same nicely. Miguel Mora also follows well. Arianna Rivas as Mustang remains nicely noted here, and is a lovely presence. Demián Bichir also has a strong and responsible role which is managed well, while Jeremy Davies adds well. Anna Lore’s small presence is memorable.

How it finishes :: I was not aware of the existence of a first movie, as this is not the kind of movie which has become known among the horror fans of this part of the world. This one surely deserves better attention in this part of the world, but its lack of attention towards the usual slasher elements got it pulled back a little. As one watches this one it can be said that this is a visually stylish and ambitious sequel that benefits from Ethan Hawke’s strong performance and its darker, and a dream-like atmosphere. Still, the drag in the beginning, uneven pacing, repetitive elements, and missing scream queen elements got this one in some struggle at times. The added supernatural elements might not feel positive to everyone, especially the fans of the first movie. Well, we can always have some divergent horror here and there. The scope never goes low for this one, as there is something that comes up strong at every moment – the idea seems to have been worked with nicely with different elements, and this would indeed remain an engaging watch.

Release date: 17th October 2025
Running time: 114 minutes
Directed by: Scott Derrickson
Starring: Mason Thames, Madeleine McGraw, Jeremy Davies, Demián Bichir, Ethan Hawke, Arianna Rivas, Miguel Mora, Maev Beaty, James Ransone, Anna Lore, Simon Webster, Shepherd Munroe, Chase B. Robertson

<<< Click here to go to the previous review.

<<< Click here to go to the biggest movie of last year.

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Bloody Ishq

Posted on by

Vampire Owl: It has been a long time since love was seen as bloody.

Vampire Bat: Well, all relationships beyond marriage are bloody.

Vampire Owl: Yes, people do fall in love and die.

Vampire Bat: It is quite natural, as we know the same news.

Vampire Owl: So many people die due to this romance.

Vampire Bat: Yes, such Ishq not in marriage is bloody and terrifying for sure.

Vampire Owl: Are they bloodier than Romeo and Juliet?

Vampire Bat: Well, at least they were really true to each other.

Vampire Owl: We cannot really have the dead people to talk, can we?

Vampire Bat: Not if they do not become vampires or at least zombies with a little bit of brain activity left in their heads.

[Gets a masala bonda and three cups of Yercaud tea].

What is the movie about? :: Neha (Avika Gor) is a young woman who has only recently had a near-death experience by drowning, and had lost her memory. She had fallen in love with Romesh (Vardhan Puri) and married her only a few months ago, and they had fallen in love when she was in Scotland, undergoing her studies. Now, they live in their large mansion on a deserted Scottish island, and as it is a grand old building, which he hopes to transform into a grand hotel by lakeside. Romesh assures her that she will regain her memory slowly and steadily as she goes backs to the same mansion and do things as she used to do. She also feels that she is going to heal in the mansion by herself while he goes to the mainland and work goes on in the building. But soon she feels that there is something hiding behind the grandeur of the mansion in its dark corners which seems to have something for her, as scary situations keep happening against all odds. She feels that there is something paranormal and that the house is haunted.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: Now, it seems that she cannot go out of the island as she has developed a fear for water. But inside the house, there seems to be some spirits trying to communicate with her and there are doors which seem to be locked forever with the strongest of locks. There are arms coming after her with some of them bloodied, a naked woman is on her bed with moaning sound heard, and glasses of the house seem to break for no reason and there are weird noises which seem to suggest something out of this world and intending to cause her harm. It is then that she is visited by Devdutt Sinha (Shyam Kishore), an officer from the Scottish police department, who tells her that her husband is the prime suspect in the murder of her father-in-law. She feels that death is also wandering rather too close to her and her falling in water might also have some other explanation to it. Fear and confusion seem to be regular part of her life, with hope seemingly far off.

And what more would happen here as the supernatural is ready to have its final say, making humans feel irrelevant? :: A woman who claims to be her best friend Ayesha (Jeniffer Piccinato) tells her that her husband is a liar and has rather to many secrets hidden within him. She tells Neha to find out the truth before it’s too late. Abhay (Gautam Sharma), a paranormal investigator lets her know that he had come to their mansion with Tanisha (Arshin Mehta), a medium who was possessed temporarily by an unknown spirit at the same building, and he adds that it was a terrible experience. Tanisha was seriously injured during the incident and due to her lasting trauma, do not go for any paranormal investigations anymore. Soon, Neha comes to know about deaths that had happened in their mansion and also understands that the death of her father-in-law was not an accident. There is some mystery surrounding her husband and there is more to the place than what meets the eye. Can Neha find out the truth before time runs out or will the mixture of truth and lies consume her slowly and steadily?

The defence of Bloody Ishq :: There horror stays alive in this movie, and there is fear generation that stays strong. The setting of an old mansion on a remote island with nothing else around, is a location which supports the horror environment so well, and the building itself does the rest with the support of darkness, lighting and antiquity which stands apart. The choice of Scotland is even more interesting with that landscape and the Hollywood feeling provided on the visuals. It also remains a stylish world, and the spirit is also something that generates interest. There are some nice twists around here, and the paranormal suspense is nicely maintained around here. The use of twists over twists work, as they are not that huge and just following the flow of things. The psychological tension is always present and it becomes as significant as the supernatural which gets the support further. Avika Gor leads the way here, as the leading actress who try to find meanings out of lost memories. She seems to nicely suit the horror genre as much as romance. The background score keeps us interested, and the songs are soothing.

The claws of flaw :: The movie is not something we have not seen before, and the feeling of repetition is definitely there. There are moments which provides the feeling that it has happened before, and we have seen enough of this. A lot of things around are there to be guessed correctly, and the twists are not enough to keep us away from knowing some of these truths early enough, even though the protagonist is not smart enough to know the same. The predictability seems to have come from some inspiration that might be from the earlier movies. There are times when things get rather exaggerated, and there is too much of time in getting to that area which could have been reached with so much ease. There is a little bit too much of melodrama here, and that is also stretched towards ending, where the twists towards end lose the steam. There is no real grand terror on the screen by the end as one would expect after this big buildup. The loss of steam in between is mainly due to the romantic side being weak, and never really getting up after falling down multiple times.

How it finishes :: Bloody Ishq takes on the horror genre in that manner which makes one think that this one could have been another sequel to that good old horror genre – Murder with the supernatural or even Raaz. Love and deaths are common elements, and this one was also going to be a step closer to Hate Story it had come from another angle. In a perfect setting, this one tries, and even though never really managing to go in full power, gets an interesting thriller here – entertaining horror target has been achieved without that much of a difficulty. Even though there is certain lacking, this is not as bad as these reviews would say – this one is indeed a very much watchable romantic-horror thriller with good performances and a fine mood despite running predictability. If you enjoy Bhatt-style thrillers, this is for you, but not if you expect to anything new or even has the scope of innovation around here. After all, romance and blood come together in romantic thriller with added horror. Let us hope that Bollywood gains further power to improve on the usual and come up with something bigger.

Release date: 25th July 2024
Running time: 138 minutes
Directed by: Vikram Bhatt
Starring: Avika Gor, Vardhan Puri, Jeniffer Piccinato, Rahul Dev, Shyam Kishore, Coral Bhamra, Arshin Mehta, Gautam Sharma

<<< Click here to go to the previous review.

<<< Click here to go to the previous Indian film review.

<<< Click here to go to the previous horror film review.

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Salem’s Lot

Posted on by

Vampire Owl: I remember this as America’s answer to Dracula.

Vampire Bat: Do you think that Uncle Dracula would ever want to visit the United States?

Vampire Owl: Some parts of the nation are suitable for him.

Vampire Bat: You are talking about New Orleans where he won’t be an alien.

Vampire Owl: Uncle Dracula would need more than just one town or city.

Vampire Bat: You think that he still wishes to spread the undead curse?

Vampire Owl: I have read that it was the dream of the vampire elders.

Vampire Bat: Well, the vampire elders, even for a vampire lifespan, were too old to be alive.

Vampire Owl: They were still in their senses, even though tortured by light.

Vampire Bat: They are only that much in their sense as Dr Frankenstein during a science exhibition.

[Gets an egg puffs and three cups of tea with boost].

What is the movie about? :: In the 1975, a strange man from Europe opens an antique store in the town of Jerusalem’s Lot and starts residing in the long-abandoned Marsten House, which has a history of murders. It is then that Ben Mears (Lewis Pullman) has returned to this hometown after a very long time, this time as a writer. He falls in love with Susan Norton (Makenzie Leigh), who also wishes to leave the town one day. The place seems to be a peaceful little town where almost nothing happens, and there is almost nothing of interest. But the new entrant from Europe has a huge coffin in there, and something sinister seems to be lurking in the shadows of the night. There are boys who go missing, and as no clue is found, the locals begin to be suspicious about Ben who had only recently arrived and after which these missing cases started. The police is unable to find any clue about the particular missing.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: After the disappearance of the boy named Ralph Glick (Cade Woodward), his brother Danny Glick (Nicholas Crovetti) is also attacked, and after spending some time in the hospital, the boy dies, and is soon buried. Mike Ryerson (Spencer Treat Clark), gravedigger who buried the boy is soon attacked by the undead version of him and gets sick. It is Matthew Burke (Bill Camp) who first notices and identifies the signs of vampirism in the gravedigger and is able to connect the same to recent disappearances, illnesses and corpses. But things are worse than he could imagine as this is not a case of a random vampire attacking a few people in the town. Kurt Barlow (Alexander Ward) is an ancient vampire whose origins go a long way back, and is a source of pure evil. He would stop at nothing as the intention is to turn the whole town into a vampire colony and spread the undead curse even further. Can anyone even come close to stopping him?

The defence of Salem’s Lot :: The movie takes us to the 1970s feeling, and we see that again, and most of us who were not alive during the time can only know them through movies – this one seems to show that nicely, and place the vampire curse right in between. Finding the vampires around would be more chilling at that time as it is displayed in the movie, because there is no friendly neighbourhood vampirism as it has been popularized now. The movie maintains that original essence, and has vampires as the true evil creatures of the night, all prepared for some nocturnal hunting of humans. The setting is really well-constructed and the world suits works with perfection. The vampire attacks are shown with all the required intensity and the fear elements get good dose as the movie demanded. With the old style vampires with the long-established weakness and fear generation, the nostalgia returns like it has wings.

The claws of flaw :: The movie struggles to rise from the tag of just another old-style vampire movie which offers nothing new, and do not even make the book feel better with its content. There is the feeling of lack of depth at times, and the movie struggles to maintain pace. The length of the movie does not seem to justify itself and we see a lot of lagging in between. The struggle feels real, but it should not have been the case with a film which has the base material set from a long time ago – the whole things should have been as safe as adapting Dracula and adding so many new things to it, and still having the vampire world to work like a dream. Some characters do not really develop and we do not feel for them, even when they are dead. The emotional strength feels to be lacking, and the establishment of pillars of the movie might have been the problem as they threaten to fall. The mystery could have been deeper and it is to be noted that the new world would never cease to be terrifying even without vampires, as there are already existing monsters.

The performers of the soul :: The cast nicely blends into the 1970s setting and their work and appearance give us the best feeling of the time period. The blending into that world and characters work like a dream. The journey is led well by Lewis Pullman, who plays the protagonist who comes across the least possible evil and has to react quick enough to survive. Bill Camp is solid in a role which could be this movie’s Van Helsing, even though he does not survive that long with the undead curse spreading faster than that of Dracula. Makenzie Leigh seems to be the one person best suitable for the age with the work, and the character holds on so well. Alfre Woodard also keeps the anti-vampire battle going on well. John Benjamin Hickey could have had even bigger role to play when we see how things have been going. And then, the master vampire works really well, reminding one of Nosferatu.

How it finishes :: Salem’s Lot could have improved on the content of the book, but here it seems like just trying to use the available content and do nothing much to add to the same. There were lots of opportunities to bring a classic touch or visualize better, but the same are not taken by the movie. But the horror arrives well, and we are ready to accept the same. After all, horror is the one true feeling that everyone experiences and believes in, unlike the movies with college romance which is more myth for people who do not experience them. As part of the one true genre of horror, the movie has managed well. We are not supposed to expect more than what meets the eye as a usual thing though. This journey is indeed in the right direction to bring more horror to the scene, and take us back to the original vampire world – not that of the blood-drinking entities that glitter and live in the house on the other side of the street.

Release date: 3rd October 2024
Running time: 113 minutes
Directed by: Gary Dauberman
Starring: Lewis Pullman, Makenzie Leigh, Alfre Woodard, John Benjamin Hickey, Bill Camp, Jordan Preston Carter, Nicholas Crovetti, Spencer Treat Clark, William Sadler, Pilou Asbæk

<<< Click here to go to the previous review.

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Eleven

Posted on by

Vampire Owl: Do you know that there are not even eleven vampires in our team?

Vampire Bat: Well, we do not need that many vampires around here.

Vampire Owl: So, we are not building an army?

Vampire Bat: Why do we need an army right now?

Vampire Owl: To defeat an army of serial killer humans?

Vampire Bat: This movie only has one serial killer.

Vampire Owl: But humans are basically trained to be serial killers.

Vampire Bat: We do not see an army of serial killers in one movie.

Vampire Owl: There are many, but they show only a few of them.

Vampire Bat: Well, humans are meant to be born killers with inherent evil, and only one small push will do for even children.

[Gets a chicken cutlet and three cups of Wayanad tea].

What is the movie about? :: ACP Aravindan IPS (Naveen Chandra) is a police officer who has a near-perfect record of solving even the most impossible cases, and had recently caught a finance bank robbery group which had never failed in their crimes before with perfect calculations. This success is celebrated well on media, but a darker case was evolving in the background. ACP Ranjith IPS (Shashank) who is in charge of this new case involving serial killings almost dies in an accident after the body count reaches six, Aravindan is asked to investigate. Ranjith who barely survived, and is in the hospital promises to support him in any way possible, even though left out of service due to injury. For his support, SI Manohar (Dileepan) is given the duty, and both find themselves in a confused state as there was never any real clue found by previous investigatory and Ranjith. Aravindan discovers an interesting piece of evidence, an ankle-surgery plate in one of the victims, which helps them shortlist seven individuals based on age.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: At the same time, Sanjana (Reyaa Hari) who comes to a restaurant to meet her possible groom who was selected by her parents sees Aravindan who is wearing the same identification in the form of a grey shirt, and falling in love with him as he beats up multiple goons. She tells him about her desire, but he immediately rejects her and asks her to marry the person whom her parents had found for her. Aravindan reaches Sudhakar (Kireeti Damaraju) while tracing the ankle-surgery plate and Meera (Riythvika) while hearing about a beggar talking about a girl being abducted. The police also find a common group photo in both houses, finally finding a connection. Aravindan understands that the only connection between the twins is their school, Twin Birds Matriculation School, which no longer exists as it was burned down in a fire, followed by the death of its owner Ravi (Ravi Varma). This feels like a very strange connection with a past that they wish to forget from their childhood, which had a secret which was buried. Now, the question remains about who all will be targeted from that past.

The defence of Eleven :: This might be one of the most interesting versions of serial killer related murder investigations as it focuses on twins. At the same time, the visuals are nothing less than stunning, and the colours here especially at night seems to bring the best of Chennai. This is the kind of movie which quickly has us interested, and gets us through the journey with guesses, but brings those kinds of twists which come out of nowhere. But there is no overdose of the same like we had seen in Mirage, as things just went out of control. There are the twists over twists which works so well, and the suspense only gets stronger, while red herrings add on well. The shots of cemetery and the styling lacks in nothing. As the cinematography, background score and production values deserve praise, they keep us deeper in the movie here. The flashback tale is also very much interesting which reminds us that one has to pay for the heartless mistakes one makes, whether it is as a child or as an adult because humanity is not learned in old age, but part of human character rather early.

Positives and negatives :: The movie’s romantic side is a mess, and it is saved by the fact that the same is not given that much of a focus. There is something that makes us feel that it was not needed at all. There might also be the feeling that we have rather too many serial killers around, but in our world, one has to say that it is not a surprise to have such people hiding behind different faces. For some people, there might be points where there are missing connections, but it is seen that everything comes together at the end. It is always nice to see the inherent evil of man at work, like in William Golding’s Lord of the Flies – taking children as innocent is not the way to go; the actions of the kids could feel even more evil in nature than that of the adults as they are not forced into situations, but use them right out of their hearts. There are always the little demons in this world of chaos, and here we see that element coming back to haunt them as adults. This makes sure that there is always something different and divergent even in the nature of the movie, and revenge remains justified.

The performers of the soul :: The movie is guided by a solid performance from Naveen Chandra, who becomes a perfect police officer with that determination on his face that never seems to leave the character. The intensity that he shows in a quiet and determined manner, never going overboard, sets a fine example here, without also overdoing any action sequence. The different shades of his character work so well that we do not think about having any other perfect police officer during this time period. Reyaa Hari, the producer who is the leading lady is under-utilized, and in the role, does quite less – cannot blame her though, as the romantic side lags behind in almost everything and this approach does not suit her; yet she does fine in the final moments of the movie. Dileepan also remains solid as the supporting police officer, as his character also contributes to the twists well. Shashank plays the third important police man, and that also works nicely. Abhirami’s role is also an interesting one here. Riythvika also adds on to the proceedings here with memorable moments. The same can also be said about Kireeti Damaraju’s work.

How it finishes :: Eleven is one of the best investigation thrillers featuring a serial killer and twists remain very much effective with suspense all around. For the fans of investigative thrillers who wish to see murders coming out of a buried past, this one is surely worth a watch, as there is a good score to be taken for its strong lead, technical polishing and the satisfying second half which comes to an ending which it deserved. The ability to remain engaging from the beginning to the end is a skill that not many movies possess. There is nothing much that it misses, and we are familiar with some classic thrillers with serial killers from Memories to Abraham Ozler, Forensic, Anjaam Pathiraa, John Luther, Antakshari, Paappan and others which have kept Malayalam movie industry going strong. This movie could have surely used more hype and much more screens here, as we are the kind of people who like the twists and thrills with a serial killer around and a mystery which is soaked in revenge and best served cold. For now, this one serves the same well in Amazon Prime Video in multiple languages.

Release date: 16th May 2025
Running time: 135 minutes
Directed by: Lokkesh Ajls
Starring: Naveen Chandra, Reyaa Hari, Abhirami, Ravi Varma, Riythvika, Shashank, Dileepan, Arjai, Aadukalam Naren, Kireeti Damaraju

<<< Click here to go to the previous movie review.

<<< Click here to go to the previous Indian movie review.

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Bambi

Posted on by

Vampire Owl: I feel that I know this particular animal.

Vampire Bat: Well, there is no vampire deer around here.

Vampire Owl: There are no new vampire appointments?

Vampire Bat: There has not been a vampire transformation in a long time.

Vampire Owl: But Dr. Frankenstein was transformed into a vampire.

Vampire Bat: He is not a vampire. Mr. Frankenstein just has some really bad teeth.

Vampire Owl: Well, he is known as the first vampire scientist in the media.

Vampire Bat: The media is just exaggerating things. They even talked about the hunt.

Vampire Owl: There was the great monster hunt which spread further.

Vampire Bat: It was not really a hunt. It was just a random experiment.

[Gets an uzhunnu vada and three cups of Ooty tea].

What is the movie about? :: A young deer is shown as losing his family members, to poachers, to vehicles carelessly driven through forest roads and finds the rivers contaminated with radioactive waste. Drinking this contaminated waste transforms the deer into something else, a mutated creature known as Bambi. It drives him into vengeance, as he, as part of the forest, decides to take back the world which used to belong to them, and finish off whatever humans he finds on the way. Greatly increased in size and stronger than ever, the mutated version of him is something which would now stop at no force, seemingly becoming the apex predator which would not hesitate to kill at will. A big truck carrying toxic waste from a local radiation company known as Wibexr Pharmaceuticals would be a special target. At the same time, there are also other creatures of the forest, mostly herbivores, but have turned carnivores due to the same effect of the contamination. There might not be any innocence left in the forest yet.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: A few days after the contamination, a mother Xana (Roxanne McKee) and her son Benji (Tom Mulheron) take a taxi to spend the Thanksgiving holidays with Xana’s husband Simon (Alex Cooke) with whom she might get separated soon – and his family is also there including his dementia-stricken mother Mary (Nicola Wright), his brothers Andrew (Russell Geoffrey Banks) and Joshua (Luke Cavendish), Andrew’s wife Harriet (Samira Mighty), and their son Harrison (Joseph Greenwood). As Simon promises to arrive before dinner and celebrate with the family, the family stays waiting. On the way, Bambi attacks the taxi and brutally kills the driver while Xana and Benji manages to get out of the vehicle and somehow reaches the family house. The residents of the house do not believe in the story of a giant deer attacking, and feels that there is something else at work, but decides to be careful. Maty also seems to know the name of the deer and there are drawings of the creature in the house.

And what more would happen here as the world seems to be scariest with a contamination within a forest? :: Soon, Bambi reaches the place and attacks the house and kills Harriet splitting her into two with her reinforced antlers, forcing the family to flee in a caravan, losing the creature for some time. They drive into the forest only to find the road blocked and thus an unexpected dead end. Andrew tries to remove it, but Benji who panics upon seeing Bambi on the rear-view mirror drives off with him, Xana and Mary inside and Andrew is accidentally dragged behind them and dies on the road. Harrison who is left behind gets caught in a trap for animals and are brutally killed by a group of mutated rabbits. The group of Benji, Xana and Mary come up against Michael (Adrian Relph), a co-worker of Simon. Soon, they come across some truths which would be better if remained hidden, but then there is that mutated deer with some other ideas. Can the family and friends at least survive this night?

The defence of Bambi: The Reckoning :: The movie strikes well with its fear induced out of the cuteness of nostalgia, with such an inversion which goes so well with the situation that nature faces in front of human induced disasters. As this one flips into a horror revenge deer turned monster, the mood is so well-arranged and the environment is so much perfect. The Twisted Childhood Universe of horror taking on beloved characters gives it an appeal that we do not forget with ease. The monster deer created out of radioactive waste is designed very well and some inventive kills and gore also looks interesting. The haunting feels good and the presence of that kind of danger which seems to be present everywhere leaves the options of running, and there is the effective survival mode. The deer scares us like a rabid dog, as the looks shift to the face of a dog with antlers and the body of a horse, as this mutation never ceases to be scary. The dark mood is always present throughout the movie and there is also the talk about the need to save nature or it will hit back as forest would find a way for revenge.

The claws of flaw :: The movie could have spready the horror further with moments which would be remembered for the variety of terror as a classic slasher, but that much is not there. The elements of the classic slasher are less explored here as there seems to be some confusion about how the induced evil on cuteness should progress. The character development is rather less, and the humans feel like just provided here to be prey with the scope to save only the expected characters by the end because the movie just wants to keep playing safe. The low budget effect also shows at times, and seems to limit the movie from getting to the next level, especially with a seemingly unstoppable creature on the hunt. The darkness in the movie seems to be created more to hide what could be a terrifying thing beyond all imaginations if provided with the best budget. It is sometimes too much away from the usual serious horror and the reminder of the childhood tale does not strike everyone that well as we look at it. This is not that much of a classical childhood thing for people around here as much as some of the others.

How it finishes :: Bambi: The Reckoning gets a cute little creature grow up to become a demonic mutant monster that would change many childhood stories. The original Bambi of Disney would not get that treatment here, and the direct inverted cuteness is something that will stay with the viewers who would also have a related childhood nostalgia going the other way. This is the movie which comes as an unexpected interesting entry. It becomes the reminder that the sweetest could be the evillest, and as William Golding’s Lord of the Flies had told us, there is always that evil in the cuteness which is always ready to come out. We can now have the feeling that this evil is actually right out of the inherent evil of children that was delivered against Piggy and Simon in that novel and its multiple film adaptations. After all, the movie reminds us that evil is real, and the horror is the ultimate reality. You will surely get the entertainment and a special nostalgic feeling out of this one in Amazon Prime Video, but if you expect more substance or a polished horror experience, you might need more.

Release date: 25th July 2025
Running time: 81 minutes
Directed by: Dan Allen
Starring: Roxanne McKee, Tom Mulheron, Nicola Wright, Samira Mighty, Alex Cooke, Russell Geoffrey Banks, Joseph Greenwood

<<< Click here to go to the previous movie review.

<<< Click here to go to the previous English movie review.

<<< Click here to go to the previous English live-action movie review.

<<< Click here to go to the previous monster movie review.

<<< Click here to go to the biggest movie of the year.

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Shaitaan

Posted on by

Vampire Owl: So, is the movie really about the devil?

Vampire Bat: There are many demons who identify as the devil.

Vampire Owl: Is there anyone whom you know?

Vampire Bat: We do not make acquaintances with the shadow world.

Vampire Owl: We are also nocturnal creatures of the shadows.

Vampire Bat: We are the shadow warriors, but we are not shadows.

Vampire Owl: Shadows are still our allies, and they even provide warnings.

Vampire Bat: Allies do not make us. We are better than that.

Vampire Owl: The shadows will keep us safe.

Vampire Bat: Not just the shadows, we shall stay in the dark forever.

[Gets a masala bonda and three cups of mint tea].

What is the movie about? :: Kabir Rishi (Ajay Devgn), a chartered accountant, his wife Jyoti Rishi (Jyothika), daughter Jahnvi Rishi (Janki Bodiwala) and son Dhruv Rishi (Anngad Raaj) decides to take a break from their busy routine, and spend some time at their farmhouse in the outskirts of Dehradun, Uttarakhand. Jahnvi is hoping to end this trip as soon as possible, and go on her on tour with friends, especially her boyfriend. On the way, at a dhaba, they come across a man named Vanraj Kashyap (R Madhavan), who offers them tea when they do not have change. He seems to be a nice person who shows the photo of his daughter and gives friendly advice. He also gives Jahnvi who does not want to have roti and tea, a laddu which she accepts happily. He also leaves her with a few biscuits, much to the dismay of Jyoti. As they reach the farmhouse, they are surprised to find Vanraj following them there. They also find out that Jahnvi had invited him inside the house, and he sits there on the couch as a guest.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: He only asks for a cup of tea and charger for the phone, but soon, Janhvi ends up threatening her brother under his influence, which makes Kabir and Jyoti ask him to leave immediately, to which he disagrees. Before Kabir can push him out, Janhvi under Vanraj’s command stops him. Vanraj says that he has hypnotized Janhvi using black magic, and that she will obey every instruction he gives. To prove his control, he orders her to repeatedly stand and sit, and she does the same robotically. To make them believe in the extremes of his power, he makes her take a tea packet and eat raw tea leaves. He also makes Janhvi slap her father and make her laugh and cry. As she is asked to jump into the swimming pool and stay underwater until he tells her, the parents understand the grave situation. As the frightened family gives him the mobile phones as told, he makes Janhvi destroy all the phones in the house, cutting off their communication with the outside world. Now the question remains about what does he plan to do, and what does he want from the family.

The defence of Shaitaan :: The movie rests on the shoulders of Janki Bodiwala who brings a performance that nobody would ever forget, as she alternates between her character’s own personality and that of a hypnotized mind, as we see her helplessness and determination to commit a task according to an order at the same time, and moving between the two. Madhavan’s alternation between the gentleman and pure evil entity is not that far behind either, as his evolution as an actor is seen again, but we know that he could have also done the father-figure to perfection if given that role. The movie keeps us closer to the situation, because we know that it is indeed a usual family in trouble, even though a little bit too bourgeoisie for many, with the main character driving a Benz Car and owning a huge farmhouse in a hill station besides his original home in the city. The feelings that we have for the family is much more as we can relate to them, at least most of us. The danger is always there, with the younger child closest to death than any other, even though I would consider all lives as equal whether that of children or the elders – I am not a robot to calculate how much more they will live and be useful to society or turn into murderous psychopaths.

Positives and negatives :: The movie might not be appreciated as doing as good as the original, but we know that it is true for all Bollywood adaptations, a case which is best depicted in the works od Priyadarshan, as the original Malayalam movies were all classics which can have no match, certainly none with nepotism factor taking around, like in the case of that remake of Helen. The idea of the original version would always stay strong, and with this one made on a bigger budget and made to suit the spoon-fed and feel-good-seeking audience, some of the soul of a dark movie would be left out – we know what the Bollywood have been involved in making big blockbusters, and so the taste difference would be looked at by the makers who remake works. But the movie has its tension perfectly built and the danger felt from within, with no exaggeration. Each and every moment in the house seems to be perfectly created, and the cast nicely adapts to the same. The satanic touch brings the terror as the movie shifts its world by the end really well.

The performers of the soul :: Janki Bodiwala is the one person who steals the show, long above the veteran stars who surrounds her, and it is no surprise as her character stays at the centre and decides too many outcomes. She had also played the same character in the original movie, and that experience seems to count. This work will establish her as one of the best among the future stars of Bollywood, and maybe could have a hand in another regional cinema too. She has the biggest moments of the film to perform, like the one where sits on the gas cylinder, dancing without end and those smiles and laughs for no reason which are truly spooky. Madhavan might have played the best villain in a horror movie, and let us hope that the ending of Hindi version does not spoil his chance to bring a sequel with him in it. The way in which he gives instructions and talks about his own greatness provides us with the chills. Ajay Devgn and Jyothika plays the helpless parents who still struggle to make things happen and save their family quite well. As the former nicely manages to bring the heroic father to the scene, let’s see what the next sequel of Drishyam brings, as Bollywood is ready take the script from the Malayalam version, and Tamil, Telugu and other versions would be waiting.

How it finishes :: Shaitaan, as a remake of the 2023 Gujarati film Vash, makes a fine impact, even though most of us have not watched the original. But from what has been heard, the original is more of the classic, but as we only have this one around here, and it is very well-made, despite the ending seemingly not that special compared to the original. There is a haunting and satisfying feeling about it, with that strength which is rarely seen in pure horror movies of Bollywood, even though movies like Stree and its sequel had made horror comedy working better. The best horror of pure seriousness was done well by Bollywood quite long ago, and most of the time there were only movies like 3G and Murder which only partially did the job. But this one will surely achieve a legendary status, despite being an adaptation of an older film. Remakes will work very well if done in the right manner, and this one proves it. This is also a proof for the fact that you do not need to keep looking at Hollywood for horror every time, and basic elements for the same working out is right here, with us.

Release date: 8th March 2024
Running time: 132 minutes
Directed by: Vikas Bahl
Starring: Janki Bodiwala, Ajay Devgn, R Madhavan, Jyothika, Anngad Raaj

<<< Click here to go to the previous review.

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Tarot

Posted on by

Vampire Owl: So, vampires can now try these too?

Vampire Bat: Well, vampires are all about beliefs, the myths and legends.

Vampire Owl: We are the demons of humans who come out of their hell.

Vampire Bat: We are surely much more than that when awakened.

Vampire Owl: The question remains about what we are to those humans.

Vampire Bat: Why would you want to know about what they think?

Vampire Owl: I want to know what they feel to be different from what they know, for I shall sacrifice my identity to be better than their thoughts.

Vampire Bat: We will always be what we are, of blood and eternal night.

Vampire Owl: There are no better nocturnal creatures, I know. Ours are classic horror stories of many nights.

Vampire Bat: Go for more of horror then, fellow vampire, stay furious.

[Gets a butterscotch shake and three cups of ginger tea].

What is the movie about? :: A group of friends from the same college, Haley (Harriet Slater), Grant (Adain Bradley), Paxton (Jacob Batalon), Paige (Avantika Vandanapu), Madeline (Humberly González), Lucas (Wolfgang Novogratz) and Elise (Larsen Thompson) rent a mansion in the middle of nowhere to celebrate Elise’s birthday in peace. They have some drinks and try to enjoy their time away from city. Haley and Grant just had a breakup, and to make things feel better, Haley read their fortunes using some very old seemingly hand-painted tarot cards taken from the basement. Elise gets the High Priestess, the first card which seems to be scary enough to feel something sinister; Lucas gets the Hermit; Madeline is attached to the Hanged Man; Paige becomes the Magician; and Paxton finds the Fool. Finally, a reluctant Grant receives the Devil while Haley herself does not find it too surprised as she gets the Death card and remarks that the love will be the death of her. Even though Paxton feels that he saw a shadowy figure outside, things go on without any incident.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: As the group returns to campus, they tend to forget about the tarot readings. But on the very next night, Elise feels that there is something in the attic, and there she is attacked by a strange creature, resembling the High Priestess on her tarot card, and after being pushed down the attic, she is killed using ladder. Haley tries to console her grieving friends as they all wish that one of them was with Elise on that night. The very next night, Lucas is terrorized by the Hermit from his tarot card and chased into the restricted area of a nearby train station. He keeps running away from the chasing monster, but ends up being killed by a speeding train. The group gets together and tries to figure it out as two of their friends are already dead. Haley feels that there is some relation between her readings and how her friends died. She talks about the same to her friends. But it seems that they need an expert on this. But what they come to know would not make them any confident about surviving? Can at least some of them remain alive in the end?

The defence of Tarot :: The movie does offer some genuine scares, and the demons on display here brings the scares really well. These creatures are nicely detailed, and suits the situations really well. The environment nicely moves to horror with ease whenever there is the supernatural coming in to take a soul to the other world. The different deaths make fine impact, and the variety in them needs some appreciation beyond the usual. The fear factor is always present, and in the darkness of the night, gets even better in evil and terror. When one wonders how the next death can happen in a situation, there is that quick appearance, like in the case of that bridge. The flashback remains spooky, and adds to the scary elements with the curse that keeps the creepiness factor high enough. There are many Eastern European myths which could come in here, and a Cabin in the Woods environment with them going back to where it all started would have been nice, but lives are already lost when the chance is there in the movie.

The claws of flaw :: The movie does miss out on some of the chances which it could have easily taken, especially related to the death – the first one could have been the most classic of them all, and the second one could have taken another twist. The supernatural menace could have taken lives in a Final Destination mode or with even better varieties. Some more violence could have also made an entry, as this is that kind of a movie when we look at it from a distance. There is a certain amount of laziness or easy-going mode seen at some parts. There were so many paths which the movie could have taken after those initial moments of unleashing the curse. The darkness of the movie needed to have that special punch, something which Until Dawn could display in a better way. Sometimes, we do feel that all these might not be enough to make the victims think enough, as they often end up looking in the internet instead of anywhere else, even after having an expert out there. Just like those strange horror films, sticking together is not an option here too.

The performers of the soul :: Harriet Slater leads the way as the true protagonist of the movie who tries to the save everyone including herself. With a depressing past and a breakup, the character needed the attention she has provided the same. Her desire to genuinely solve this problem and even take the blame can be seen reflected here. Avantika Vandanapu is the next person who catches our attention, and plays a character that we wish to see survive in the end. She would make a fine scream queen in another horror movie as we witness the signs. The run from the magician is a sign indeed. Jacob Batalon is the one who brings the funny side to the screen, and he does the same well to keep the humour alive in between all the horror and deaths. Humberly González and Larsen Thompson goes through the unexpected deaths well, and the fear factor is well-displayed with them as death stalks all around. Olwen Fouéré scores as the tarot and astrology expert in between all the never-ending curses.

How it finishes :: Tarot makes its horror working with the usual stuff and a little bit of addition to go with the same. Let us not fall into the trap of negative reviews, as we horror fans are better than that, and we know that most of the critics do not rate the films of the genre well enough. But this one thrives on its supernatural side, and keeps the horror moving forward. There is death lurking in the shadows, and the audience is surely aware of the same, as they wait for the evil to pounce upon the youth whose fate was told through the tarot and horoscope. While watching this movie, I had the feeling that this kind of topic would suit a Malayali horror film more, as this deviation from the usual methods of the genre directly aligns with many traditions we see around. After all, there is no shortage of myths and legends for us, and the connection could be more easily established. Let horror come back to us, and we will accept it as a common thing in life, unlike the very rare elements like romance and feel-good.

Release date: 3rd May 2024
Running time: 92 minutes
Directed by: Spenser Cohen, Anna Halberg
Starring: Harriet Slater, Adain Bradley, Avantika Vandanapu, Wolfgang Novogratz, Humberly González, Larsen Thompson, Olwen Fouéré, Jacob Batalon

<<< Click here to go to the previous review.

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Nosferatu

Posted on by

Vampire Owl: Finally, our Count is coming back to the big screen.

Vampire Bat: This one is not really the true Dracula Uncle.

Vampire Owl: Well, Count Orlok is not lesser than Count Dracula.

Vampire Bat: I have heard from humans that this Orlok is an illegal version.

Vampire Owl: Well, there are no such rules in vampire kingdom, right?

Vampire Bat: Human rules need not apply here, but we should know.

Vampire Owl: We will never really know the humans.

Vampire Bat: We will know everything except their inherent evil.

Vampire Owl: Well, which is why we do not transform humans into vampires anymore.

Vampire Bat: I am sure that they want to; the greed for eternal life and perpetual youth.

[Gets a tea cake and three cups of Ooty tea].

What is the movie about? :: Ellen Hutter (Lily-Rose Depp) is a recently married young woman who has had too many nightmares in her life in the past, and it is revealed that her recent bad dream about being married to death and everyone around her dead. It is revealed that while looking for consolation from her loneliness and depression in life, during her random chants and prayers, she had ended up creating a psychic link with Count Orlok (Bill Skarsgård), or what they villagers of Romania used to call Nosferatu, with Romanian roots. The nocturnal creature of pure evil had marked Ellen from thousands of kilometres away, and this connection often led her into situations of seizures and sleepwalking. She keeps having hallucinations and a feeling of being with death, from which escape seems almost impossible. She has been living in the German town of Wisborg with her husband Thomas Hutter (Nicholas Hoult) and is irreversibly in love with him as it seems, but this connection seems to have journeyed through the unimaginable, the darkest of the woods and deepest of the rivers and lakes.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: It is then that Thomas accepts the offer to sell the partially ruined Grünewald Manor to a reclusive lord named Count Orlok located somewhere in Romania. Ellen talks about her nightmares and pleads Thomas not to leave for those unknown lands where a certain cursed evil lurks, but the offer from his employer is too much for him not to accept this opportunity of a life time. He leaves her in the care of his wealthy friend and famous shipbuilder Friedrich Harding (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and his wife Anna Harding (Emma Corrin) who lives with their two little daughters. As he arrives at the Carpathians in the Transylvanian area of Romania, Thomas is warned not to wander around during the nights and not to visit Orlok. During the same night, he still wanders around and witnesses a group of gypsies running a ritual with a fully naked woman on a horse which ends with the exhuming and impaling a vampire’s corpse with a wooden stake, ending the undead life with a lot of blood coming out of its mouth. The next morning, he finds no help or support, and leaves for the count’s castle alone and on foot.

And what is to follow as the Count maintains all the control over the world known to him? :: In his castle, Count Orlok welcomed Thomas as the aristocrat that required respect at all times. But soon, his existence as something more than human is revealed to Thomas, who hopes to escape, but the paths of the castle only lead to the crypt where the count is sleeping in his coffin, and he is not able to attack him as the vampire awakens, and so do his demonic hounds. He understands that he will have to remain a prisoner in the castle forever, as the document which the count made him sign might not be the Romanian version of the deal concerning the property, but a document dissolving his marriage to Ellen and the vampire had also taken his locket, containing a lock of her hair. He understands the vampire is going after his wife, and jumps into the river below the castle to escape. But the count has already started his journey and has infested a ship which is on its way to Germany. He will not stop at anything unless he becomes together with Ellen. Can anyone stop this evil from embracing her and also spread through the whole of Western Europe? Or will the blood-seeking demon have a blood feast that will last forever?

The defence of Nosferatu :: The movie achieves atmospheric horror and thrives with the sound effects as much as the visuals. There is fear running through the air, as we rarely see a world thriving on light here. The psychological side very strong here, and the performance of Lily-Rose Depp is truly magical here, with so many moments to remember, and the final few moments of her is out of this world. I cannot stop myself from not being the new admirer of Johnny Depp’s daughter as I have been a fan of him. I can say that I have never seen the main female character of any version of Bram Stoker’s work getting such attention which is supported by a performance of grandeur. The connection to the demonic creature and talk about all of this terror has never been so perfectly detailed and connected to the female lead. Nicholas Hoult and Willem Dafoe works the roles just as expected, while Bill Skarsgård’s demon is something we have not seen before, well divergent in looks and actions to create more terror. Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Emma Corin move through expected paths. These are not just characters, but people who immerse us in their wisely created world with fine performances.

Positives and negatives :: It can be said that there is no movie based on Bram Stoker’s work that has provided an emotional and haunting touch like this one, and a terrifying vampire movie becoming an emotional tale of love and selflessness keeps us rooting for the film even more, like never before. The movie basically like music which strives for a fight against the most terrifying form of evil with love. By the end, here we know that as evil always finds a way, so does goodness and self-sacrifice. Finally, we know that the melancholy of the main character is not hers alone, but of all of us. It is a poetry on what it takes to thrive against the most ancient forms of evil. The sequence in the forest makes a fine reflection which is to come, and there are some classic shots in the castle that elevates this movie to a psychic-psychological mood which is rarely seen in the adaptations. The final image from where the camera zooms out reflects the same, and that too with a melancholic beauty. There is also some work with demonic possession, which is actually shown without any overdose. This is indeed a fine Gothic work that reflects the Victorian Age even when not in Britain. The one thing that we might really be missing is the Brides of Dracula.

How it finishes :: This is the one movie which becomes a fine divergent tribute to both the 1922 version of Nosferatu and the many later versions of Dracula as well as the original book, along with being a different entity in itself. There seems to be so many inspirations, and many creative ideas placed around here. This version is sure to be remembered as a classic in future, no matter problems critics would find, which would be lost in the process. This version might be the one which needs even more attention than what it has managed. This is that version of the vampire that maintains all kinds of feeling which are related to a vampire as a nocturnal creature that feeds from the lifeforce of humans. There are not many movies which can pay homage to so many of its predecessors and still remain something new. This one, with some fantastic performance and an atmosphere which would put even the high-budget movies to shame, manages to rise and seek theatre experience – it is quite depressing that the movie was not really found in theatres when it released.

Release date: 25th December 2024
Running time: 132 minutes
Directed by: Robert Eggers
Starring: Bill Skarsgård, Nicholas Hoult, Lily-Rose Depp, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Emma Corrin, Willem Dafoe, Katerina Bila

<<< Click here to go to the previous review.

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Clown in a Cornfield

Posted on by

Vampire Owl: How many clowns have terrified us so far?

Vampire Bat: The best people among them are from Killer Book Club, Haunt, Terrifier and It.

Vampire Owl: Well, these days, the clowns are scarier than even vampires.

Vampire Bat: It is natural because humans have been turning into clowns.

Vampire Owl: You are talking about a new generation.

Vampire Bat: You are speaking as if the present is any better than the new.

Vampire Owl: You know that it can only get worse.

Vampire Bat: Yes, wonder what kind of nonsense is yet to come now.

Vampire Owl: At least they should know that death is only the beginning.

Vampire Bat: They would not when they are alive.

[Gets a marble cake and three cups of Ceylon tea].

What is the movie about? :: It is seen that in 1991, in the town of Kettle Springs, Missouri, a girl in her bra invites her friend to have sex in the cornfield, only to have her and the friend being ruthlessly murdered by a clown named Frendo. Back in the present, Quinn Maybrook (Katie Douglas) and her father Dr. Glenn Maybrook (Aaron Abrams) moves to same town, with Glenn taking over as the town doctor. Both have been going through a strained relationship after the death of Quinn’s mother. After being late in the class, questioning the teacher and receiving an unexpected detention right on her first time in the school, Quinn becomes friends with Cole (Carson MacCormac), the son of the town mayor Arthur Hill (Kevin Durand). She is also introduced to his seemingly cool and energetic group of friends, Janet (Cassandra Potenza), Matt (Alexandre Martin Deakin), Ronnie (Verity Marks) and Tucker (Ayo Solanke). The group creates horror parody videos for their YouTube channel, all about the clown Frendo causing terror in the town.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: Cole tells her the story of burning down Baypen Factory while they were shooting videos there, and that the town’s people blame the fire on them. A good number of people in the town also went unemployed due to the fire destroying the place and the workers not able to find any other job. It seems that Quinn is with a group that is not even close to getting a little bit popular among the common people of the town. At the same time, they notice that there is more than just one clown around there, and Tucker is the first one who realizes the same as he gets killed. It is followed by Matt getting murdered while going through his regular exercise. With the Founder’s Day being ruined due to strange turn of events, the friends once again are in trouble as the usual suspects. They try to get away from all of these at a party, but things get even worse there as they realize that the killer clown is real, and the entity is not limited to just one individual. This will require them come up with the unthinkable to escape, or die in the process in a terrible manner.

The defence of Clown in a Cornfield :: The movie starts off well, and its premise is really good, from the underlying horror to an irritating teenager who does not like to obey her father, but likes to be with a group of teenagers whom she feels as the coolest gang around. The clowns are all nicely detailed, and are scary with those funny looks and action. The performances are really good, and everyone becomes part of the whole environment without anything that stands apart from the same. The clown character nicely makes us interested, and this might be a more interesting killer than the others who have graced the screens, because the non-supernatural elements really have us going forward strongly. The sequel has the scope to be something classic if the right ingredients are added and boosted.

The claws of flaw :: The movie often hesitates to get into the traditional slasher horror mode, and some elements seem to be missing. It often keeps to the safe zone and do not take that risk – instead it tries to be modern against the traditional standard. The horror could have been more twisted, especially with a clown image around. Clowns chasing teenagers around could be more mysteriously terrifying every time. The subversions could have made way for innovations with better effective thinking. The movie’s villain idea might feel a little too stretched, even though the antagonist works really well due to the performance. The problems of the movie have to solved through a fine sequel on another day. After all, there is so much of an atmosphere that supports this horror, with cornfields, abandoned buildings and roads which seem to go towards an eternity with no lights at night. Then there are the unnecessary twists which seem to lead the movie to not many interesting areas.

The performers of the soul :: It can be seen that Katie Douglas plays the rebellious, unruly teenager really well, and it is certainly that kind of a character who whom we do not really feel for. The actions of the character are performed very well, and we see the signs of another scream queen coming up here for the future. Aaron Abrams as the father figure plays the responsible one well, and we would accept him as the classic traditional dad who cares so much for his child, despite the girl being more irritating that one can ever imagine. One can imagine how difficult it can be for a parent to have a thankless child of this age, and he displays the same perfectly. The villain here is very well depicted, and a lot more cannot be said about him without ruining the suspense. One can be sure that he had a pretty good reason to become one, even more than Thanos had in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, for one cannot do whatever he or she wants, and there are consequences, which will sometimes be provided by villains, and this time you have the same being done with efficiency.

How it finishes :: The movie does work as a cautionary tale as much as the horror thriller that it originally happens to be. There is the message about respecting traditions, and it keeps one wondering about what can happen next, but with an expansion in the middle, we know that there is more to this than what meets the eye. The use of the usual stuff and the lack of innovation keeps it with limited capabilities, but there is the effort to take this a little further without all of these, and that keeps the horror going. The movie could have used the original elements that a slasher horror should always have instead of keeping the usual ones at the surface. The movie does not try to use those common moments which all the serial killer movies have had, and with that lack of core, there is this struggle, which it nicely overcomes with its characters and the final twist. Well, slasher horror will surely keep asking for your attention, and it becomes our duty to support this one too, and with a hope for even better sequel.

Release date: 9th May 2025
Running time: 96 minutes
Directed by: Eli Craig
Starring: Katie Douglas, Cassandra Potenza, Aaron Abrams, Carson MacCormac, Kevin Durand, Will Sasso, Alexandre Martin Deakin, Verity Marks, Ayo Solanke

<<< Click here to go to the previous review.

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Midnight

Posted on by

Vampire Owl: There are not many mediums that vampires can use at midnight.

Vampire Bat: I am sure that we can use an Ouija board at midnight instead.

Vampire Owl: That board is a fake medium invented by humans.

Vampire Bat: So, you think that there is no hope with the board.

Vampire Owl: Yes, we need to look forward to finding an undead conductor.

Vampire Bat: You cannot have any of the undead allow something from the other side to pass through it.

Vampire Owl: The undead is greater than any spirit.

Vampire Bat: Getting possessed by a spirit is not a great experience.

Vampire Owl: So, you think that there can be possessions.

Vampire Bat: Well, you know the thing about demonic possessions.

[Gets a green apple cake and three cups of Munnar tea].

What is the movie about? :: Kim Kyung-mi (Jin Ki-joo), is a mute and deaf woman who works as a sign language customer service executive at a sign language call center. Her mother Kyung-mi’s mother (Gil Hae-yeon) is also dumb and deaf. As some of the employees have to go for a dinner with the clients, she chooses to go with her employers and return late at midnight. Jung-eun’s (Kim Hye-yoon) goes out on a date at night, and her brother Jong-tak (Park Hoon) who works as a security guard after serving in the army, is worried because she would arrive late, almost at midnight, especially as a man and woman were found dead during an earlier night. Coming back home late after dinner and visiting her mother, Kim witnesses the sister bleeding after being stabbed by an unknown man and becomes the new target for this particular serial killer Do-sik (Wi Ha-joon) who had been hunting women, and sometimes unsuspecting men some time around midnight. She runs further away from the area when her mother is standing and tries to hide, but the killer is someone who knows the area really well.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: The killer needs to find the young woman to make sure that there are no trails that lead to her. At the same time, Jong-tak is in the streets, searching for his sister who has not returned home yet. As Kim reaches her car and enters it, she is shocked to find him inside the vehicle, and after being forced to drive at knifepoint, she jumps out the car, once again chased by the killer, only to connect to the cops, but as she cannot sleep, it does not work at all. When the police finally arrive, it seems that the killer had already manipulated all the evidence, and there are no suitable clues in the CCTV cameras either. The killer had also joined them in making things more confusing for the mother and daughter duo. As the brother also arrives in the police station with the photo of his sister, Kim identifies her as the woman who was abducted, stabbed and kept in the vehicle by the stranger. But the killer is someone who knows when to manipulate and when to kill with all the brutality – does this mean that the killer will go on with the murders and the sister and the witness would also have to die?

The defence of Midnight :: In the beginning, this movie might seem to be just another serial killer movie with its antagonists targeting random people on the streets, but it becomes much more than that, as it uses almost everything at its disposal to the best effect. The night itself has been used to its best advantage, and this is also not the kind of movie when there is a long investigation going on, and the police has to go for clues which they acquire over days, and the result is that there would be more victims. Instead, this movie has so many thrilling moments set in a night, which has the serial killer’s smartness displayed in an interesting manner, but we are not bothered with the flashbacks or the motive that would have been there in other movies – this becomes more of a survival movie where there is the need to make sure that a missing woman survives, and at the same time, the leading lady further struggles to survive. As things unfold with a night that progresses, there is the idea that two of the main characters cannot speak and hear, which drives this movie to bringing things to light in a different manner. There is no shortage of thrills around here, and silence is nicely used with sound effects in a visual treat of terror.

Positives and negatives :: There are moments when one would feel that the movie could have elevated the status a little bit. But the final moments are just too good, as finally the serial killer understands that more than one person can play his game. The movie is a survival thriller for the main protagonist, and Jin Ki-joo, with her performance, has us backing her to survive against all odds. The characters do no get to be that smart as they should be though, as they create opportunities for the killer to come back and get them, multiple times. There are many co-incidences in here too, and those are used a little more than needed. But there is no shortage of the feeling of danger around here, as night seems to be used as a medium for the serial killer terror to spread – it always seems that he is in control, even when he gets beaten up. We did not know about this movie when it released, but we know it now, and we have that serial killer whom we have been waiting. The movie is also a reminder that in a busy world, nobody has time to check on others, and a serial killer could always be hiding among us, undetected until captured.

The performers of the soul :: Jin Ki-joo is leading lady and the protagonist of this movie, and she comes up with a performance to remember as the woman who cannot speak or hear, but has to rise above her limitations as she faces one of smartest and most brutal serial killer who is good at hiding his motives. She has presented the character so well that the audience keep believing that she has no hope, but continues to see that slight ray of hope that she could stay alive despite the odds being very much against her. She seems to be better known for the South Korean television series and the drama, but the way in which she displays the hopelessness and fear to replace it with courage, is something that will catch our eyes – the ending with her character gaining the advantage is too good. Wi Ha-joon makes a fantastic serial killer, and I won’t be surprised if someone would try to copy this character, as the killer works so well. Park Hoon also join in very well. Then there is Gil Hae-yeon who comes up with the mother figure really well. At the same time, Kim Hye-yoon is lovely addition, and becomes the reason for the events of the movie to start moving forward.

How it finishes :: Midnight is a reminder that Korean films still possess the top quality with horror thrillers featuring serial killers. It will be a good idea to watch the movie on Amazon Prime Video before someone from Bollywood copies the film and shows it as a much lesser version with the brother of the victim and the girl who witnesses the crime dancing to songs at a party while the serial killer kills the abducted girl, and we would also have to listen to some very sad songs with the brother grieving for the sister. The quality of this movie will always be higher as it does have all the emotions, but never does it overdo them, or come up with irrelevant subplots or exaggerating the villain. We directly enter this world which is all about that particular night, and the audience is also as much part of the events that happen during midnight, and everyone goes on this journey with the main characters. You are also reminded that you need to go back to these kind of movies, and even though we do have our own serial killers with films like Forensic, Anjaam Pathiraa, Memories and Antakshari, but none so classically determined in the form of a stranger as this one.

Release date: 30th June 2021
Running time: 103 minutes
Directed by: Kwon Oh-seung
Starring: Jin Ki-joo, Wi Ha-joon, Kim Hye-yoon, Gil Hae-yeon, Park Hoon, Kang In-seo, Noh Su-min, Na Eun-saem, Lee Jae-seok, Park Ji-hoon, Song Yoo-hyun, Bae Eun-woo, Kwon Young-min, Jung Wo Chang

<<< Click here to go to the previous film review.

<<< Click here to go to the previous Korean film review.

<<< Click here to go to the previous Korean horror film review.

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Night Drive

Posted on by

Vampire Owl: Do you remember the last time when the vampire team was on a night drive?

Vampire Bat: We only have night drives around here. We don’t go for morning drives.

Vampire Owl: Yes, but the night drives have been rare too.

Vampire Bat: That is because we don’t drive, but fly.

Vampire Owl: Not all vampires can fly, or even glide.

Vampire Bat: Yes, but we bats and owls do.

Vampire Owl: Yet, we can go for a drive in the vampire-mobile.

Vampire Bat: It is a bat-mobile, and it is my private property.

Vampire Owl: You don’t use it as you can fly.

Vampire Bat: It will not be used for night drives, and that is final.

[Gets a vegetable samosa and three cups of Vagamon tea].

What is the movie about? :: Georgy Jacob (Roshan Mathew) works as an Uber driver and hopes to migrate to the Middle Easy for a better future. He is in love with Riya Roy (Anna Ben), a very popular news reporter, and they used to be childhood friends for a very long time. They do keep a certain amount of distance between them, as Riya’s father, Roy Mathew (Renju Panicker) who has retired from the military forces is not fond of Georgy. For Riya’s birthday which is also the Christmas evening, they decide to go on a night drive without her father knowing anything about it. At the same time, Rajan Kurup (Siddique) is caught in a gold smuggling scandal which was discovered by Riya and her channel, a case which has been transferred to NIA. He expects to be arrested by the squad on the very next day, and asks Chacko Cherian (Kalabhavan Shajohn) to find a way to get rid of the gold in his home before NIA comes for the raid. Rajan’s trusted aid Jaleel (Sudheer Karamana) assigns the minister’s personal assistant Balu (Kaliash) to get the gold to a safe house.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: Meanwhile, Riya who was driving the car gets into a fight with Circle Inspector Benny Moopen (Indrajith Sukumaran) who was doing routine vehicle checking. Benny lets them go so that he can avoid any of the people there spreading the news about him bothering a lady in the middle of the night, but is clearly angry about the incident. Riya who keeps arguing with Georgy over the earlier incident suddenly spots someone in front of their car, and the vehicle seems to have hit that person, who is revealed to be Balu with a bag full of gold. The two manages to take him to the hospital, which brings Francis (Prasanth Alexander) who owns the car they were driving and Ammini (Sreevidya Mullachery) handles that particular Uber fleet operations to the hospital too. The police officer in charge of the case is Benny, who is only happy to torment Riya and Georgy over the incident. He decides to keep them in the hospital, but the arrival of Chacko at the hospital with other motives complicates things.

The defence of Night Drive :: The movie seems to move forward naturally in the beginning stages, with likable characters and the incidents which can be related by different people from various stage of their lives. The beginning stages go on with the usual, and feels like the natural order of things. It does have some fine twists, and a few red herrings are also there to make sure that one doesn’t guess it the right way. The different characters in the movie are not really what they seem to be, as the visages tend to show differently on diferent occasions. There are moments which keep you at the edge of the seat, as these are characters whom you like. The cast has been chosen well here, as you feel that there would have been tendency to go for a few others, but here we have characters getting equal importance instead of the focus shifting to one person. The visuals of Cochin are really good around here. This is the kind of movie which should have released directly on OTT, as there is a certain possibility of this going popular among the audience outside Kerala if it was first released online.

The claws of flaw :: Even though the movie had built up so well, the final scenes are not that much up to the mark. There is the plan to bring some mass action in the end, but it doesn’t suit the overall mood of the film – a darker version of the final moments would have done better for this particular movie. Let the outdated superstars do the mass action for their brainless fans, and the new generation of actors should go for class and perfection. These are not the times of such fan nonsense in the theatres, as we have the post-corona virus OTT loving audience as a strong force, and this is the flick which will be watch more on such platforms rather than anywhere else. It had a certain realistic side to the proceedings until the makers decided to go full action in the last few minutes with a specific background story added to the main characters. The first few minutes could have been shortened too, as there seems to be an extension of the less important happenings then. The conclusion could have also been kept at a higher level.

The performers of the soul :: Roshan Mathew has been continuously working hard to come up with some memorable performances, last seen in the Amazon Prime Video release, Kuruthi, a thriller with many messages. Coming out of the first big role in Aanandam and the earlier smaller ones in Adi Kapyare Kootamani and Puthiya Niyamam, he has evolved a lot to reach this higher level. His performance in this movie is realistic for most of the time, and something to be appreciated, until the mass moments come in the end. Kumbalangi Nights and Helen has already let Anna Ben set a bar which is difficult for her to overcome – even with a film like Sara’s having her as the life and soul. Indrajith Sukumaran is solid as the police officer who seems strict as well as menacing, and at the same time, likes to have a strong grip on his investigation. Siddique once again plays the corrupt politician with sinister motives well, and reminds one of Jagathy Sreekumar of Passenger. Kaliash once again has a good supporting role and so is Kalabhavan Shajohn, while it is nice to see Sreevidya Mullachery of Star Magic fame playing a memorable role here – she is indeed a lovely talent, and the fair reason for anyone to watch the popular show in Flowers television channel.

How it finishes :: Night Drive becomes a movie of interest without that much of a hype associated with it. It has some fine moments of interest, and successfully deviates from the tendency to go full nonsense like in that Shane Nigam – Shine Tom Chacko film of misery and shame, the pariah of a movie called Ishq. When two lovers are on a night drive, the situation can be tackled well to make a thriller of quality beyond the usual and the expected, as shown around here. This movie seemed to have Roshan instead of Shane, Indrajith instead of Shine and Anna instead of Ann, with the main characters going for a night ride as part of celebrating the lady love’s birthday, and in the process being stopped by the man claiming to be the police officer – seems so familiar for those who have watched that movie, but this one takes a completely different route, and also involves other characters in a journey of twists which are not about just two, three or four people. Night Drive is successful and delivers nicely when we take a fine look.

Release date: 11th March 2022 (Theatre); 10th April 2022 (Netflix/Manorama Max)
Running time: 118 minutes
Directed by: Vysakh
Starring: Roshan Mathew, Anna Ben, Indrajith Sukumaran, Kalabhavan Shajohn, Sreevidya Mullachery, Kailash, Muthumani, Prasanth Alexander, Santhosh Keezhattoor, Siddique

<<< Click here to go to the previous review.

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Seance

Posted on by

Vampire Owl: So, more youngsters are trying to make contact with the dead.

Vampire Bat: Yes, you needn’t be bothered as this is not about the undead.

Vampire Owl: Nobody can contact us through the portal. It has natural resistance.

Vampire Bat: There is absolutely nothing natural about the portal.

Vampire Owl: Doctor Frankenstein has arranged for the natural resistance.

Vampire Bat: If the crazy scientist is involved, it is is surely not natural.

Vampire Owl: You continue to underestimate the doctor.

Vampire Bat: I make no estimate of such a pseudo-scientist.

Vampire Owl: You know that the Frankenstein monster is real.

Vampire Bat: So are his 2897 accidental creations, which are of no use.

[Gets a vancho cake and three glasses of strawberry shake].

What is the movie about? :: At Edelvine Academy for Girls, Alice (Inanna Sarkis), Bethany (Madisen Beaty) and other girls play a prank on their friends by faking the appearance of the Edelvine Ghost, an urban legend about a student who killed herself – soon, one of their friends, Kerrie (Megan Best), is found dead in the academy hostel, having fallen from her window. A new student Camille (Suki Waterhouse) who has been on the waiting list for the academy admission for a long time, gets the seat which has been left vacant by the death of Kerrie. The headmistress, Mrs Landry (Marina Stephenson Kerr) considers the death as an unfortunate accident, and is happy to have her there. Camille does feel that there is something wrong with the room. She becomes friends with Helina (Ella-Rae Smith), but gets in a fight with Alice and Bethany’s gang including Yvonne (Stephanie Sy), Rosalind (Djouliet Amara) and Lenora (Jade Michael), and gets beaten up by Alice with the help of her friends. The headmistress sends them to detention in the library until a certain amount of archiving is complete.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: The girls, despite their differences, decide to work together for the time being to finish the job as soon as possible and get out of there. It is during the detention that Alice convinces the group including Carmille and Helina to join her in a seance meant to contact Kerrie’s spirit and what actually happened. The two get the feeling that this is only a prank, but everyone finds things go out of control as they really seems to make contact with a spirit which tells them that they are going to be murdered by someone only mentioned as “her”. They are not sure if the spirit belongs to Kerrie or the original spirt which is part of the urban legend. Later in the night, Lenora moves away from the others to a lonely area to text a possible future boyfriend, but ends up seeing a masked figure. Soon, she is attacked and killed by the same strange figure. Mrs Landry feels that Lenora had run away as her personal items are missing along with her. Camille feels that her room might still be haunted by Kerrie, and there are enough dark spaces in the building for them to be scared.

And what more is with the girls and the ghosts around here in a world of chaos? :: The police and the parents feels that Lenora might have run away with the man with whom she became acquainted online. With the help of the man in charge of the rooms, Trevor (Seamus Patterson) who also happens to be the son of the headmistress, they get into Lenora’s room and find a strange cross made out of blood on the bed. They identify the symbol as part of the pendant worn by the girl who had killed herself and became Edelvine Ghost. Soon enough, Rosalind would be next person to be murdered by the unknown figure. Her death is considered to be an accident, but has the girls very much worried about what might happen next. Another one of the girls also notice a masked figure in the room, but the headmistress still dismisses it as a strange dream. The girls feel that time is running out for them, and if a solution is not found out soon enough, they are all going to disappear or die soon enough. Yet, it doesn’t make much of sense.

The defence of Seance :: The effects that this movie seems to use for horror seems to be of great quality. There is a fine atmosphere for the horror to grow at all times. The sound effects also nicely contribute to the same. The music is also very nice, and contributes well to the overall atmosphere of the movie – we do feel that it makes us feel more engaged with the whole thing. You think that this is going in one direction, and then there is another dimension to the whole thing – we notice the music changing accordingly, and there are always some fine settings to contribute to the horror. The presence of something sinister is also there, and with the fine use of darkness, the movie assures one of the same. The makers surely know how to get the best ingredients, and arrange them. There are some dialogues which seem to be coming randomly, but they are all of some significance. There are so many directions which this movie could choose, and we can see that it doesn’t try to go for the usual, which has served right – as Robert Frost would say about the road not that much taken making the difference.

Positives and negatives :: The movie has one nice twist to the killings which is pretty much an interesting surprise as the clues wouldn’t lead to the killings that easily. There are many red herrings present in here, as a ghost isn’t everything that we need to suspect around here. They mystery is strong, and there are enough suspects around here for one to await more deaths to happen. It is strange that there are many negative reviews to keep this one down, as we come to know that there is more to this than what can be seen after the first few minutes itself. You have the feeling that this could be Ouija and its sequels or I Know What You Did Last Summer and its sequels – this one has the killer and the ghostly presence, which means that your guess can most probably just go wrong. It could have still made the murders look better – even the shower murder scene goes wasted in here. Yet, the girls are too good, especially Suki Waterhouse, Inanna Sarkis and Madisen Beaty who blends in nicely with a possibility to become bigger scream queens of future, Suki also having some fine action sequences – reminds one of The Hunt fights.

How it finishes :: Seance is one find surprise horror movie that seems to have made an impact out of nowhere. We often have the tendency to underestimate movies like these, but some horror films have the skills to lift themselves up despite what you think, especially with so many negative reviews around. There is more than what meets the eye here, and there is the mixture of more than one genre as things come together. Well, horror is rarely one thing – even in real life, there is more than one kind of terror – we had different ones here, from nipah virus to corona virus, excess rainfall leading to floods, rising prices of fuel and the possibility of descending into chaos from what seemed to be good order. The reality of horror which prevails in this thankless world where evil people get the best results can be often more terrifying for people. Otherwise, we will always have movies like this one. Amazon Prime Video has the right horror movie this time, rising very high above last year’s Madres, The Manor and Black as Night.

Release date: 21st May 2021
Running time: 92 minutes
Directed by: Simon Barrett
Starring: Suki Waterhouse, Madisen Beaty, Ella-Rae Smith Inanna Sarkis, Marina Stephenson-Kerr, Seamus Patterson

<<< Click here to go to the previous review.

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Night Teeth

Posted on by

Vampire Owl: And finally, we have another vampire movie.

Vampire Bat: I don’t think that this is about our kind of vampires.

Vampire Owl: They seem to drink blood really well.

Vampire Bat: Yet, they seem to be like a new group of vampires.

Vampire Owl: There is no new or old groups among true vampires.

Vampire Bat: You were the one leading the protest against the new batch of sparkling teenage romantic vampires.

Vampire Owl: Well, I have now become a more inclusive vampire.

Vampire Bat: You are acting like the Vampire Chameleon.

Vampire Owl: That guy has been dead for years now.

Vampire Bat: Yet, you are trying to replace him.

[Gets a chocolate cake and three cups of tea-coffee mix].

What is the movie about? :: Vampires and humans have co-existed through the years, and the former has fed from the latter only through a mutual agreement, which means that there was no chance of a battle between the two races. The living and the undead has kept on going without any problems coming in between. There was also a truce, and as vampires continued to get better, humans continued to make themselves believe that the creatures of the night didn’t exist. Vampire continued to try and hide their existence, not feeding on the unwilling and never entering the human area without permission. Benny (Jorge Lendeborg Jr) is a college student who is working part-time as a as a chauffeur, temporarily replacing his brother Jay (Raul Castillo), who was going to apologize and make up with his girlfriend. Jay has also realized that the vampires have broken the pact and entered the human area, also feeding from a lot of them, as well as committing murders. His girlfriend Maria (Ash Santos) is also among the latest ones taken by the vampires as many encounters happen.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: Benny, a Spanish speaking immigrant, is the usual local college student who is not aware of all of these, and was going on with his happy and carefree life until then. He was the one who forced to Jay to let him be the driver for a change. As he goes to the rather rich area to pick up the riders, he meets Blaire (Debby Ryan), who seems to be really friendly. The other girl Zoe (Lucy Fry) doesn’t seem to be that friendly, but does seem to be talkative enough, in a strange manner. They even talk about the possibility of this being his last day on Earth. They do arrive at grand location where the party is taking place, and he hears a woman screaming from inside. At the same time, a war between vampires and humans are coming, because a very rich and influential vampire lord Victor (Alfie Allen) is the person who has intentionally broken the truce for no reason. Jay is actually part of a human group which is charged with maintaining the peace between the two races. As Jay and his friends start hunting down the vampires, Victor plans to finish off his fellow lords and gain all the power. So, what role does Benny play among all these around here?

The defence of Night Teeth :: There are some very interesting scenes in this movie which once again brings the vampires to the human world without pretensions. One has the feeling that this could go the Twilight way and make a mess of the whole thing with full teenage vampire romance, but such a thing doesn’t happen at all. The visuals are nothing less than stunning, as we go through this vampire-infested world in the nights with classic style buildings and lights – the blood also runs strong here, adding to the overall creepy beauty of the atmosphere. The pace is always good around here, and the vampire situation that we see here has been nicely arranged. The vampire-human clash in the city is basically like something that we have seen before, but being much better, like a battle between gangs or races nicely set in a better environment with a divergence. There is a continuous flow of a beautifully stylish world that is going on here, with a touch of horror, as blood runs through. Even without that much of backstory being told, the tale goes on really well.

Positives and negatives :: The movie does succumb to the usual tendency of such vampire stories to go through the predictable path, and that which appeal only to a certain amount of audience. Yet, it manages to come back up in the path whenever it seems to be a little lost, with the style and some nice humour that seems to come as a welcome addition. The humour comes in to join the horror and the thrills, and makes them more entertaining. It is a reminder that the funny side can compliment a horror movie really well, and it was what the film, Black as Night had missed while trying to add some dumb humour and some nonsensical history in between. The cast has also been perfectly chosen, even though there might still be some names which one would also like to have around here. There are some fine action scenes in here, that is for sure, and the vampire girls lead in that quite well. The movie also sets a fine ending which has scope for a future sequel. The music is really good, and set things up nicely for the happenings of the world. The movie does have some good fangs at the needed areas.

The performers of the soul :: Jorge Lendeborg Jr plays the protagonist caught between vampires really well – he seems to suit the situation nicely. He has the confusion being dealt with nicely, but even has enough to be a vampire himself. Yet, there is nobody who suits the nice vampire role better than Debby Ryan, who also has her moments of vampire intensity. One another day, she could be part of a horror slasher movie as a scream queen too, with blood seemingly doing well with her. Lucy Fry had played a vampire about seven years ago, and she is doing it again – this time, she is part of a much better movie, and has a lot better role to perform, as she becomes the perfect nocturnal creature in need of blood and enjoys all the violence that she inflicts. She has the kind of look here that one wouldn’t doubt if she is not really a vampire, even from a distance. I would love to have her as a major antagonist in more than one horror movie. Raul Castillo and Alfie Allen are the strong ones belonging to two sides. One would also love The Voyeurs‘ own lovely Sydney Sweeney and the always charming Megan Fox playing two superior vampires, but we could have actually had more of them here, especially the former who makes a very interesting character in a short time.

How it finishes :: We are never short of the need of the vampire movies to entertain us, for vampirism shall never leave the audience, being an idea of quality since Lord Byron’s physician, William John Polidori published the first vampire novel, The Vampyre. After all, vampires are as immortal in literature and cinema as the vampire characters happen to be in fiction, their immortality in their ability to entertain the viewers rarely questioned. This one, with a touch of the modern age, doesn’t fall behind, even though I did have my doubts after watching the trailer. Well, this is one of those movies which manages to do a lot better than what the trailer had brought us – the movie seems to realize that its strengths are best shown as a whole rather than in parts. You are going to remember the humour in this movie as much you remember those moments of action with blood having a say. In the end, you will remember that the vampires are forever, and they will keep coming back in different forms in different movies like the certainty of Corona virus taking different forms and coming back for more of infections.

Release date: 20th October 2021 (Netflix)
Running time: 108 minutes
Directed by: Adam Randall
Starring: Jorge Lendeborg Jr, Debby Ryan, Lucy Fry, Raul Castillo, Megan Fox, Alfie Allen, Ash Santos, Marlene Forte, Bryan Batt

<<< Click here to go to the previous review.

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.