Tag: Horror

Doctor Sleep (Movie Review)

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Release Date: November 08, 2019

Genre: Horror

Cast: Ewan McGregor, Rebecca Ferguson, Kyliegh Curran, Carl Lumbly, Zahn McClarnon, Emily Alyn Lind

Summary (from Rotten Tomatoes):

“Doctor Sleep” is the continuation of Danny Torrance’s story 40 years after the terrifying events of Stephen King’s The Shining. Still irrevocably scarred by the trauma he endured as a child at the Overlook, Dan Torrance has fought to find some semblance of peace. But that peace is shattered when he encounters Abra, a courageous teenager with her own powerful extrasensory gift, known as the “shine.” Instinctively recognizing that Dan shares her power, Abra has sought him out, desperate for his help against the merciless Rose the Hat and her followers, The True Knot, who feed off the shine of innocents in their quest for immortality. Forming an unlikely alliance, Dan and Abra engage in a brutal life-or-death battle with Rose. Abra’s innocence and fearless embrace of her shine compel Dan to call upon his own powers as never before-at once facing his fears and reawakening the ghosts of the past.

Review By Me

Last month, I watched The Shining for the first time. I know, with me being a horror fan, I should’ve been seen this horror classic, but you know what they say, better late than never. Now set decades after the events in The Shining, we see a grown-up Danny Torrance played by Ewan McGregor, who struggles with childhood trauma and alcoholism. I was excited to see Doctor Sleep, because when I saw the movie trailer, I got goosebumps, and my goosebumps mean that a movie is gonna be good. The cast in this movie did an amazing job, the acting was great, and the new characters were interesting. I want to highlight the performances of Ewan McGregor, Rebecca Ferguson, and Kyliegh Curran. Ewan McGregor gave a fine performance as an older Danny; I love the relationship he had with Aba Stone, a kid who also has “the shine”, a role played by newcomer, Kyliegh Curran, who gave a powerhouse performance as the fearless, powerful, little girl who embraced her “shine”, I loved it. Rebecca Ferguson gave a terrifying performance as Rose the Hat, a cult leader who feeds on children with psychic powers. Speaking of cult leader, the cult goes by the name of “The True Knot”. I’m not gonna say much, except that these people are bad, terrifying, and hunts kids with “the shine”. In Doctor Sleep we get to see flashbacks from The Shining, which you kind of figured you would see. Being a sequel to the horror classic, The Shining, the movie stands on its own, and it shines lol.  I really enjoyed this movie, it’s definitely one of my favorite movies of the year ! The movie score was haunting, and the visuals were stunning, I was not disappointed. Doctor Sleep is one of Stephen King’s best film adaptations as well as one of my favorites. Is it safe to say that I like Doctor Sleep a bit more than The Shining ?  If you’re a fan of Stephen King, then you should watch this movie, or if you are into Horror Or Suspense, then this movie should be on your must see list. Will you guys be seeing Doctor Sleep ? If so, let me know in the comments below. As always thanks for reading !

*Rating: 5/5 *

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Halloween Horror Nights 2019 at Universal Studios Orlando

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Well guys, it’s that time of the year; Horror fans can attend the Horror event of the year, Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios. I live in Florida so I attended the event in Orlando. Fans can attend HHN during the following dates: September 06 – November 02, 2019. Being a fan of Horror movies, I first attended my first HHN last year, and of course I had to attend again this year ! This blog post will be about my time at this year’s HHN (unfortunately I wasn’t able to record in the haunted houses, but I got some great pics !

Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville

When we got to Universal Studios, we had a few hours before the HHN event began, so we decided to have lunch at Jimmy Buffet’s Margaritaville restaurant; I had a raspberry Margarita to drink, which had the right amount of sweet & alcohol; Honestly I wasn’t hungry, because I was too excited about HHN, so I ordered a grilled chicken sandwich with fries, which was good. 

HHN’S 2019 Merch

Okay so let me just say, that this year’s merch is cool, retro, and colorful –which I love by the way. I had a hard time trying to decide what merch I wanted to buy, but you’ll see what I bought towards the end 😉 I also loved how the merch booths were all representing the haunted houses ! 

2019 Haunted Houses

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This year’s HHN had a whopping ten haunted houses, which included:

Stranger Things
Jordan Peele’s Us
Universal Monsters
Ghostbusters
Killer Klowns From Outer Space
House of 1000 Corpses
Depths of Fear
Graveyard Games
Nightingales Blood Pit
Yeti: Terror of the Yukon

Unfortunately we weren’t able to go to all ten houses, but I did meet my goal of going to five of them which included: Jordan Peele’s Us, Universal Monsters, Killer Klowns From Outer Space, Nightingales Blood Pit, and Yeti: Terror of the Yukon Details. Towards the end, I’ll rank the five houses that I attended from my most favorite to least favorite ! Also I wasn’t able to capture some of the houses via photo/video, but let’s get started !

Killer Klowns From Outer Space – This one was fun; It felt like a crazed carnival klown house; Plus the Klowns were also creepy lol 

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Universal Monsters – This one was awesome; Getting to see the Classic Monsters was cool. This house was also on my must see list, and it was definitely one of my favorites !

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Nightingales Blood Pit – This one was okay; I liked that the setting had us feeling like we were in the ancient Roman times. 

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Haunted Houses (Most Favorite to Least Favorite)

Okay so as I stated above, I wasn’t able to see all ten houses, but seeing five of the houses in addition to getting on some rides, made the night great ! So with that being said I’m going to rank the five houses that I did go to, starting with my most favorite to least favorite !

Universal Monsters – This one is my favorite; From the way the Monsters were displayed on the warehouse, to seeing those legendary monsters in the house, I loved it ! The house was so detailed, I felt alive lol ; This house was definitely fun to go through and I really enjoyed it ! 

Killer Klowns From Outer Space – This house was fun and reminded me so much of the movie; Smelling the popcorn, and seeing the cotton candy cocoons, I was like wow ! And then the klowns with their big creepy grins, they were scary enough lol; This house was awesome ! 

Jordan Peele’s Us – I really enjoyed the movie, so I was excited when they announced this as one of the houses; This one did not scare me a lot, but the house was nice; I was literally walking through the movie and I thought the set up was amazing, it was very detailed. 

Yeti: Terror of the Yukon  – Now typically when we hear about Yetis we think scary and big; I felt like this while walking through the house; There were torn up and dismembered bodies throughout the house, and the suspense of not knowing when the Yeti would come out; This house was fun, but not memorable ! 

Nightingales Blood Pit – Okay the ancient Roman setting was nice; The scares of this house was about the same as the Yeti house; It was nice to experience, however the house was fun, but not memorable ! 

Drink Break – The Twilight Gateway 

I couldn’t do HHN without getting an alcoholic beverage in a souvenir cup, so you know I had to get one, and of course I got the Universal Monsters cup ! The drink I got was The Twilight Gateway, which is a tequila-based cocktail with watermelon, pineapple juice, orange juice, and grenadine — It was good, just the right amount of sweet and alcohol lol, how all drinks should be !

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Universal Studios Orlando Attractions – The attractions that were open during HHN

Not only did we go to some haunted houses, we got on the rides that were open, which was also a plus ! The following attractions were open:

Transformers The Ride – 3D
Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit
Revenge of The Mummy
Men In Black Alien Attack
The Simpsons Ride
The Wizarding World of Harry Potter: Diagon Alley
Fast & Furious Supercharged

We went on all the attractions, except we weren’t able to go to Harry Potter’s Diagon Alley ! 

Transformers The Ride – 3D

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Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit

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The Simpsons Ride

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Fast & Furious Supercharged

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Our favorites were the Transformers The Ride – 3D, Revenge of The Mummy, and The Simpson Ride — These three were fun, exciting, and definitely worth riding ! The Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit was scary; Yeah you get to choose music to listen to on the ride, but I couldn’t enjoy it because I was too busy screaming lol.

2019’s HHN Souvenirs

This year’s merch is fun, retro, and colorful, so you know I had to buy some; Like last year, I bought a shirt, a shot glass, and of course my souvenir cup !

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Wrapping up 2019’s HHN

I had a great time at  this year’s Halloween Horror Nights ! The houses were fun, edgy, and well planned out; We were able to get on all the attractions, except one;  And even though I wasn’t able to go to the other five houses ( The houses I also wanted to see were Stranger Things, Ghostbusters, and House of 1000 Corpses), I had an amazing time; I definitely enjoyed this year’s HHN, and honestly liked it better than last year’s ! 

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#HHN29 – Until next year !

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That’s a wrap on 2019’s HHN; Will you guys be attending the event this year ? If so, what houses were your favorite ? What are your most anticipated houses ? As always thanks for reading !

IT: Chapter Two (Movie Review)

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Release Date: September 06, 2019

Genre: Horror

Cast: Bill Skarsgard, James McAvoy, Jessica Chastain, Bill Hader, Isaiah Mustafa, Jay Ryan, James Ransone, Andy Bean

Summary (from Rotten Tomatoes): 

Evil resurfaces in Derry as director Andy Muschietti reunites the Losers Club in a return to where it all began with “IT Chapter Two,” the conclusion to the highest-grossing horror film of all time. Twenty-seven years after the Losers Club defeated Pennywise, he has returned to terrorize the town of Derry once more. Now adults, the Losers have long since gone their separate ways. However, kids are disappearing again, so Mike, the only one of the group to remain in their hometown, calls the others home. Damaged by the experiences of their past, they must each conquer their deepest fears to destroy Pennywise once and for all…putting them directly in the path of the clown that has become deadlier than ever.

Review By Me

I loved 2017’s IT, it’s one of my favorite horror movies, so of course I could not wait for IT: Chapter Two to be released. The first one was really good and so I knew the second one would be great as well. IT: Chapter Two takes place 27 years later, after the Losers Club make a pact to return to Derry, if IT (Pennywise) returns. I bought the book a while ago and had plans to have it completed before I went to see the second part, but time got the best of me; However, I still plan to continue and finish the book. Within the first 15- 20 minutes of the movie, it’s like what I had read was right in front of me on the screen. I was pretty excited, because I did not think those specific parts of the book, would be in the movie, for some reason, it was exciting to me. Now let’s talk about the Losers Club. I think the casting of the grown-up version of the kids was perfect, look wise and personality wise. They all did a great job of acting. I also loved how we were able to see flashbacks of the young Losers Club, including scenes we did not see in the first film, it was kind of nostalgic. Let’s talk about the star of the film, Bill Skarsgard as Pennywise the Dancing Clown. I love Bill as Pennywise; he gives a great performance, just like how he did in the first film. He’s menacing, creepy, and terrifying. I read some reviews where some people were complaining about the film’s length being almost three hours long; I did not have a problem with the film’s length, but I kind of feel that since the book is over 1,000 pages, an almost three hour long film should not be a problem. Also, Bill Hader playing the older Richie Tozier, I read that people thought the movie had too many funny scenes/ jokes. This character is known to be funny, and he crack jokes. I was expecting him to be funny in this film and I did not think it was a problem. We did not see Pennywise much in the film, but his slight absence made it more terrifying, because he would manifest into their fears, which is pretty scary enough ! Andy Muschietti did a great job with the second part of IT, just like he did with the first one. This is a well-written film, as well as an intense emotional ride – for the audience and the characters. This film contained a few surprises, but that may be because the audience may not have read the book, or the director wanted to add an element of surprise to the film; I loved the movie and would recommend this film to watch. IT: Chapter Two is a great conclusion to the story and I think it is just like the first film: a horror masterpiece; Let me know in the comments if you plan on seeing this film, if not You’ll Float Too ! As always thanks for reading !

* Rating: 5/5 *

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Ready Or Not (Movie Review)

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Release Date: August 21, 2019

Genre: Horror, Mystery & Suspense

Cast: Samara Weaving, Adam Brody, Mark O’ Brien, Henry Czerny, Andie MacDowell

Summary ( from Rotten Tomatoes):

Ready Or Not follows a young bride (Samara Weaving) as she joins her new husband’s (Mark O’Brien) rich, eccentric family (Adam Brody, Henry Czerny, Andie MacDowell) in a time-honored tradition that turns into a lethal game with everyone fighting for their survival.

Review By Me

Okay so before I began, just a warning, this movie review will be pretty short, and with that being said I hope that’s alright with you guys lol.. I first saw the trailer for Ready Or Not a few months ago at the theaters, and I knew I had to go see it. The movie opened with a flashback, which I liked. I think flashbacks are great and helpful. I’m not gonna say what the flashback was, but of course throughout the movie, the flashback is a pretty big detail. The casting in the movie was great. I wasn’t familiar with the actors; Some faces I did recognized, and overall I thought they handled their characters well. At one hour and 35 mins., Ready Or Not delivers a great movie. The pacing is great and at 95 minutes, it shouldn’t be slow right ? I love a horror movie with a unique plot, and Ready Or Not has it. I’m sure you have seen the trailer for the movie, and if you were like me, definitely had this movie on your must see list. Grace, the bride endures some displeasure from her In Laws; whether its her brother in law flirting with her or her father in law voicing his opinions about Grace….Eventually, after the wedding, the family invites Grace into the family’s big room, where they tell Grace the story on how the tradition of playing a game to introduce a new member into the family began, and of course the game that Grace picks is “Hide and Seek”; From there the game begins lol. This movie had some funny scenes, hence it also being called a black comedy.  I really enjoyed Ready Or Not; Samara Weaving was great as Grace, being that bride who was being hunted, ended up hunting the family lol. This movie is fun, comedic, and has a twist, which I think the audience, may not expect. Whether you like horror movies or not, I recommend you guys to see this film. If you plan on seeing it let me know below or  if you’ve seen Ready Or Not, let me know what you think in the comments below ! As always thanks for reading !

Rating: 4.5/5

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Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark (Movie Review)

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Release Date: August 09, 2019

Genre: Horror

Cast: Zoe Margaret Colletti, Michael Garza, Gabriel Rush, Austin Zajur, Dean Norris, Gil Bellows, Natalie Ganzhorn

Summary (from Rotten Tomatoes):

It’s l968 in America. Change is blowing in the wind… but seemingly far removed from the unrest in the cities is the small town of Mill Valley where for generations, the shadow of the Bellows family has loomed large. It is in their mansion on the edge of town that Sarah, a young girl with horrible secrets, turned her tortured life into a series of scary stories, written in a book that has transcended time–stories that have a way of becoming all too real for a group of teenagers who discover Sarah’s terrifying tome.

Review By Me

As much as I love horror movies, I wasn’t aware of the movie Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark until a few months ago; Not only that, I did not know the movie was based off a book (which I bought a few days ago). I went to Books A Million, and let me tell you, I spent a good 15 minutes in the horror section trying to find the book, so I went to the website and saw that it was listed as a children’s book, and of course I found it in that section. A few days ago, I finished reading the book and I enjoyed it. The stories in each chapter were spooky, entertaining, and short. I wish they were longer. Scary Stories is a good film, I liked the fact that the main character, Stella was a huge fan of horror movies, like me so that was pretty cool. Her love of horror and of course being that it is Halloween time, Stella and her friends headed off to the haunted Bellows house and it spirals from there. The cast did a good job in portraying their characters. After exploring the Bellows House, the teenage friends awakens a “curse” and at first Stella’s friends do not believe, but after their friend Auggie is missing, they know they must try and stop what is happening before they all disappear. Two of the stories that I read in the book, were in the movie: “The Big Toe” and “Me Tie Doughty Walker”. The creatures were creepy, especially the way they looked. The visual effects were great, especially The Pale Lady and The Jangly Man, these two looked the creepiest in the movie. Even though Sarah Bellows was seen as the villain, in honesty she was just a victim, and it was a shame what her family had done to her. For any teenager or preteen that is a horror fan this movie I think is appropriate to see. It’s not over the top scary; It’s creepy and fun, and I would recommend any horror fan to watch it. I enjoyed the stories that I read so I’m hoping for possibly more movie sequels to be released in the future. If you’ve seen Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark, let me know in the comments below on how you felt about it. Also comment below if you plan on seeing it. Thanks for reading !

Rating: 4/5

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Crawl (Movie Review)

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Release Date: July 12, 2019

Genre: Horror

Cast: Kaya Scodelario, Barry Pepper, Ross Wayne, Anson Boon, George Somner, Morfydd Clark

Summary (Rotten Tomatoes):

When a massive hurricane hits her Florida hometown, Haley (Kaya Scodelario) ignores evacuation orders to search for her missing father (Barry Pepper). Finding him gravely injured in the crawl space of their family home, the two become trapped by quickly encroaching floodwaters. As time runs out to escape the strengthening storm, Haley and her father discover that the rising water level is the least of their fears.

Review By Me

I enjoy watching disaster and monster movies such as Jaws, Sharknado, and Lake Placid, which are also a few movies that Crawl reminded me of. I haven’t heard about this movie until I’ve seen the trailers when I would go to the movie theater watching other films. This movie review will not be long as this film is a simple, and short film. At 87 mins. the pace of this movie was just right. The movie has a simple plot, but it had you on your toes. The actors in this film did a great job, you were rooting for them to outsmart those alligators and to survive during the hurricane. This movie took place in Florida during a Category 5 storm, and I loved it. Of course you were scared and nervous for the characters, but it kept you on edge. I did not lose my interest and my eyes were glued on every scene; Crawl is just a well paced movie ! The action in this movie was nice and solid, especially those scenes involving those gators, which were sometimes pretty brutal during the attack scenes. This movie has the thrills and suspense, and I was on the edge of my seat the entire time watching this film, which was a pretty awesome feeling. You gotta love simple stories that are told well, because this is a great example of that. Overall I really enjoyed watching Crawl; It is a simple, horror, and edge of your seat suspense movie and to me one of the summer’s best movies of the year ! I hope you guys check this film out; Even though my review may not be extensive, sometimes short and sweet is a good thing lol ! I recommend you all to go see Crawl in theaters, and if you’ve seen it, let me know what you think in the comments below.

Rating: 4/5

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Annabelle Comes Home (Movie Review)

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Release Date: June 26, 2019

Genre: Horror, Mystery & Suspense

Cast: Vera Farmiga, Patrick Wilson, McKenna Grace, Madison Iseman, Katie Sarife, Steve Coulter, Michael Cimino

Summary (from Rotten Tomatoes): Determined to keep Annabelle from wreaking more havoc, demonologists Ed and Lorraine Warren bring the possessed doll to the locked artifacts room in their home, placing her “safely” behind sacred glass and enlisting a priest’s holy blessing. But an unholy night of horror awaits as Annabelle awakens the evil spirits in the room, who all set their sights on a new target — the Warrens’ ten-year-old daughter, Judy, and her friends.

Review By Me

While Marvel’s Cinematic Universe is my absolute favorite franchise, The Conjuring Universe is probably my second favorite; The Conjuring Universe, just like the MCU does a great job connecting the films. The Conjuring is the first film to launch the Universe, and Annabelle Comes Home is the latest film to be released of the franchise. The cases of the Warrens, the stories, and the Warrens themselves are so interesting and no doubt a crucial part of the franchise. Annabelle Comes Home, is the third film of the Annabelle sequels, and after watching this, you question whether this would be the last Annabelle film of the series ? I hope not, I like seeing this doll lol. When the movie comes on the first thing we see is the face of Annabelle, a scene which is familiar from another scene in The Conjuring Universe. I love the dynamic between Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson as the Warrens; They have this loving and supporting relationship who takes on these cases, that are quite interesting and scary, and through it all, they stay by each other’s side. I honestly think that Farmiga and Wilson are perfect as the Warrens. Most of the movie takes place in the Warren’s house, and wow let’s just say we get to witness some scary things in their house. I also liked how we were able to see demonic spirits we weren’t familiar with in the franchise. Speaking of demonic, we knew how evil and troublesome Annabelle was from the previous movies. In this film, you understand why she was put and locked in a glass case – Yes in this movie we are introduced to Annabelle powerful presence, which resulted in her being contained. I loved the acting and chemistry among the cast, their performances were believable, and made you scared for them. Out of the Annabelle films, this one and Annabelle: Creation runs neck and neck at being my favorite. Annabelle Comes Home is a great addition in the Conjuring Universe. This movie has the scares, the great acting, a spooky story; And it’s terrifying, intense, and haunting. I recommend you see this film if you enjoy scary movies. So don’t forget, let me know in the comments below if you plan on or have seen Annabelle Comes Home. Thanks for reading !

Rating: 4.5/5

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