EvilPhoEniX

At the end of the year, there will definitely be talk about how successful horror films have been. Most of them have taken the top spot at box office, most Stephen King adaptations in one year, and this year also belongs to teen horror, which seems very modern and I've liked them all so far, with the smart Better Watch Out, the fun The Babysitter, the scary It, the upcoming lauded Tragedy Girls, and now the group is expanded by Happy Death Day. Happy Death Day meets Edge of Tomorrow and Scream and it's mostly great fun. Jessica Rothe's alluring hottie and pretty bitch is having the biggest nightmare of her life. She's being chased by a killer with a very disturbing mask and razor blade who keeps killing her as she finds herself in a time loop from which she can only escape if she can guess the killer's identity. I'll mention at the outset that the biggest issue is the lack of gore, which with a premise this enticing is a bummer and will put off a lot of gore fans, but if you can get past that you're in for a decent time. It's very nicely shot, decently suspenseful, the soundtrack is great, the murders – although bloodless – are quite imaginative (the scene with the cop is one of the best), there is room for humor and the biggest attraction is the game of detective to guess the killer before the main character, which requires 120% attention because the final twist and reveal was very surprising. The director fucks with the viewer 360° and makes it clear that there are indeed intelligent filmmakers behind who definitely deserve success. The scene where the main character goes out into the yard naked and starts having an incredible time, I was wide-eyed like all the actors in the film. It won't suit everyone, but those who like to play with the genre and like Scream should be satisfied. 80%

Won Sin-Yeon, the director of the thriller A Bloody Aria and the awesome actioner The Suspect, comes up with the best thriller Korea has produced this year. The story follows a serial killer who has been a bloody rampage from a young age, targeting mostly deserving people, which I don't blame him for. In a car accident where he suffers a head injury, which that causes him to black out, he has to stop the blood spree and only has time to devote to his beloved daughter until a second serial killer starts running rampant in town, who accidentally starts dating his daughter. I found the great duel between two serial killers very original, so far I've seen killer vs cop, but this time it's different and it adds an incredible edge to the film, and the face to face encounters are some of the best. The film has plenty of suspense, is perfectly shot, well acted, has some great sequences, they just skimp a bit on the violence, which is the only major criticism, but otherwise a great thriller culminating in a nerve wracking duel in a cabin. I was biting my teeth all through the film. Nice surprise 80%

A nice surprise and Frank Grillo fans beware, he's not off camera for a second. Wheelman is a very minimalist film set 90% in a car, but Tom Hardy has already proved that it can work in Locke. Grillo is a proper badass and I ate up his role hook, line and sinker. I liked how much tension and twists could be mined from mere phone calls, but of course there are chases and a few dead bodies dropped as well. Satisfaction for me, I couldn't have expected more from Jeremy Rush's debut. A small, suspenseful, very gritty, and decent film. 75%.

Stephen King's adaptations have been on fire this year, and today we have another of his short stories, which didn't knock me on my ass, but is definitely more interesting than the recent and boring Gerald's Game. My favorite Thomas Jane is in the lead role, and for the first time in a while he has a role tailor-made for him, and without him the film would definitely lose its charm. The film is set in the 1920s on a farm somewhere in the middle of nowhere, which makes for an interesting atmosphere, but there were quite a few horror elements for my taste. The intense conspiracy murder in a bed and a couple of scenes with rats definitely stand out, I was expecting a lot more of these but unfortunately they were skimped on, which is a shame because a good horror film with rats would be more memorable. As a horror film it doesn't shine too much, but it does as a mystery drama with solid performances and decent cinematography. The slower pace may be a detriment for some, but I surprisingly wasn't bored. 65%

After a great trailer I'm feeling quite embarrassed. After an hour into the movie I had to take a break and watch the trailer again to see if I was really watching the same movie, as something didn't feel right. The movie isn't bad at all, but the director didn't know if he wanted to make a crime drama, a thriller or an action flick and it feels very mechanical at times. A psychopath with a burnt face sets up bombs in a football stadium and the lead detective with the help of a female doctor tries to find them. This has been done a thousand times, but the main villain has some something going for him and plays decently with the detective. There is one major fight in a hotel where the detective mows down agents and it's pretty decent. It does veer more into a psycho thriller at the end with one interesting twist, but it still left me with an insipid impression. I was definitely expecting a more action-packed film, but fine entertainment at least. Lee Jeong-Jae is traditionally excellent. 65%.

Forest survival has always been one of my favourite themes, and once the forest is replaced by a treacherous jungle, the film immediately becomes a more exotic and attractive spectacle, with no shortage of dangerous animals, paranoia, wandering or an unpredictable wild river (one of the most intense moments). In places the film is also decently scary or slightly disgusting. The film is decently shot, is based on true events, stars Harry Potter and has a great soundtrack so for me a very enjoyable adventure spectacle. Greg McLean, so far, has never let me down. 75%

At first I wasn't too keen on the film, I'm not really into crazy Korean comedies, but this one was very good. Police academies and the recruitment of new cadets is a welcome theme with me (I would have left the training longer though) and the main pair of cadets are very likeable and entertaining. The first hour focuses more on humour, training and studying, but once they witness a crime, they'll be trying to get to the bottom of it all. There is one excellent and very suspenseful chase and a great action finale, where the final fight with a very combat proficient bad guy is a joy to watch. A very entertaining film that goes by quickly. 75%

My second most anticipated Korean film from the director of Confession of Murder. I liked it, but this time it lacked something for a 5-star rating (Battleship Island remains unsurpassed). Villainess picks up a strong pace from the opening and wreaks bloody havoc, alternating elements of POV and normal camera, which makes the film both more interesting and more appealing, though the normal camera suited me better. The protagonist is properly uncompromising and she’s certainly skilled, especially with the katana. There's not much room for proper fighting (they either shoot or slash). The strongest and best moment for me was the scene on the motorbikes in the tunnel where they cut each other with katanas while driving, I've never seen anything like that in my life and it's quite possibly one of the best action scenes I've seen this year. Too bad that in the middle there’s less action hence the pace, but otherwise a decently dynamic ride that I will never despise. 80%

A fine affair, but given the casting, more could have been extracted. Seeing the cute Qi Shu, Jean Reno and Andy Lau in one film is fine, but it doesn't try to impress with anything else. The action isn't much and is rather average, but at least it's entertaining and doesn't slip into boredom. The scenes from Prague with the accompaniment of Smetana's “Vltava” are a plus, which I really didn't expect in a Hong Kong film. The Korean The Thieves was more sophisticated. 60%.

Fucking awesome!! S. Craig Zahler didn't impress me much with his debut Bone Tomahawk, he did revive the dead western genre into horror with two solid gore scenes, but boredom was inevitable for me. His second effort, however, is thankfully different stuff! It stars Vince Vaughn, an actor mostly known as a B-movie comedian, but here he is transformed into an uncompromising badass that no one can beat both physically and mentally, and he delivers his strongest and best acting performance of his career! The first quarter of the film is rather tepid, but upon entering the prison, a very macho and tough guy ride begins, where the authenticity and realness literally gives you chills. For me, Red Leaf was quite possibly the toughest prison I've ever seen on film and the head warden played the heartless and unpleasant asshole with absolute grace. The very rough Zahler shoots the fights without a single cut and there is no shortage of broken arms, legs, spines and crushed skulls!!! The gore is shot very differently than in other films, so the question is who comes closer to reality? A very uncompromising, vicious, bleak, cold, intelligently written and brilliantly directed prison flick, the kind we haven’t seen for the last 20 years. It will definitely be fighting for the top spot this year. 95%