THE FOURTH KIND is an incredibly unsatisfying alien abduction movie. Unsatisfying because it has neither an alien or an abduction!In Nome, Alaska, people under hypnosis remember being abducted by aliens who first notice they are being watched by an owl--that is not an owl. After seeing this boring flick, I would be amazed if owls want to watch it (even if they are not owls).
The title comes from categories of alien contact. The beginning of this film is strange. Actress Milla Jovovich walks out in an Alaskan forest to explain that she's going to be playing Dr. Abigail Tyler. Then for the next 10 minutes, we see purportedly real footage of the 'real' Tyler, sometimes in split screen with Milla Jovovich. While that sounds interesting, it really isn't--it's distracting and the people look nothing like who they are playing.
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The Australian-made SLAUGHTERED is the sort of movie that shouldn’t get overlooked in the current resurgence of slasher films, which includes all the franchise remakes/reimaginings like HALLOWEEN/FRIDAY THE 13TH, new attempts to establish unstoppable killers such as HATCHET and LAID TO REST or its low-budget, comical Aussie contemporary I KNOW HOW MANY RUNS YOU SCORED LAST SUMMER. To put it simply, SLAUGHTERED has been made by someone with more than a clue, and who has been as relentless as any disfigured maniac to get her movie across the finish line without sacrificing the entertainment experience. 
TRIANGLE starts out with a premise that would fit any Sy-Fy original: when passengers out on a yacht hit sudden stormy weather, they seek refuge on a mysteriously abandoned ocean liner. You've seen it in VIRUS, GHOST SHIP, GHOST VOYAGE and a dozen other bad movies. What you don't expect is where writer/director Christopher Smith is going with it and the compelling lead performance by Melissa George.
There's dark, there's bleak and then there's Javier Gutierrez' BEFORE THE FALL (Tres Dias), which is so utterly nihilistic, it makes the ending of Frank Darabont's THE MIST look like CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS! This amazing film was chosen to close L.A. Screamfest.
According to its own press kit, FAMILY DEMONS is "a psychological horror film about an abused teenage girl who murders her alcoholic mother and is horrified to discover that the mother's vengeful spirit returns to haunt her. Even in death, the mother is hell bent on denying her daughter's freedom." 
Since SAW has become the 21st century’s FRIDAY THE 13TH—an unstoppable once-a-year franchise with a signature villain—it only makes sense that in both cases, the sixth entry has proven to be surprisingly better than expected. Not that SAW VI takes the series into any surprising new directions, nor does it make much that’s fresh out of the saga’s stock ingredients. Yet it stacks up as a scarier and more satisfying viewing experience than the last few sequels.
It’s a harsh thing to say, but some people just aren’t funny. Bo Zenga is one of those people. He was an executive producer of the dreadful SCARY MOVIE, and an executive producer and co-writer on the atrocious Snoop Dogg-starring SOUL PLANE. This time around, Zenga is a triple threat, serving as the writer/director and one of the producers of the flagrantly unfunny STAN HELSING, a SCARY MOVIE ripoff/parody (opening today in New York and LA) that is a crime against comedy and sets a new standard for adolescent, idiotic, witless humor. SOPHIE’S CHOICE has more laughs than this woebegone chaff. So do yourself a favor and skip this incompetent horror satire. No need to thank me, folks. I’m just doing my job.
In the works for several years, the low-budget Australian horror/fantasy DAMNED BY DAWN has finally emerged from the depths of postproduction to begin making appearances at genre film festivals across the world. The U.S. premiere took place at Screamfest this past Monday, with more no doubt soon to follow; keep an eye on the movie’s 
In the spirit of Halloween '09, we're breaking out reviews (some new, some old) of some Fall Frights you may want to work into your monthly viewing. 
In the spirit of Halloween '09, we're breaking out reviews (some new, some old) of some Fall Frights you may want to work into your monthly viewing. 
