Elite Watches #1

Just a brief rundown of my horror watches of the week.

Nightlight (2015)

Don't let the title fool you, this movie is not about a child with a monster in his closet or a killer nightlight possessed by the spirit of Horace Pinker. Nightlight is the story of some teenage kids who decide to play a nighttime hide and seek game in some woods. Local legend has it that the woods are evil and make people commit suicide, and what better time to play in these woods than after the suicide of a classmate? The film is told like a found footage film, except instead of a camcorder, the viewer sees through the POV of a flashlight. This choice of POV could have been used in a fresh way, but the director decided instead to just have it flicker like hell when it is convenient and then work just fine the rest of the time. Did I mention this flashlight once belonged to the teen who did himself in? The acting fell somewhere in the middle, with the directing fall below par. Nothing especially original to be seen here, but it isn't necessarily bad either. 5/10

Digging Up The Marrow (2014)

Adam Green (Frozen, Hatchet) comes to us with a new mockumentary film, which he both directed and stars in as himself. In the film Green meets with fan William Decker (Ray Wise) who is convinced that Green is just the guy to help him expose the truth. The truth being that there are real life monsters living in a parallel world under the Earth's surface. A place he fittingly named The Marrow. The film plays out very well, with Green making for a likeable protagonist, and Wise playing across from him as an unstable conspiracist. This is one of those films that I find to either love or loathe, more often it being the latter. However, Green delivers a strong film that gave more than I expected. The film does offer up some typical cliches you can expect in this genre, but finishes strong as a film with a lot of heart. One of my top viewings of the year. 8/10

7500 (2014)

Ryan Kwanten, Amy Smart, Jamie Chung, Jerry Ferrara and Scout Taylor-Compton star in this forgettable horror/thriller about an airline flight that experiences supernatural occurrences while flying over the Pacific ocean. The exact nature and origins of these happenings is a mystery that will be revealed throughout the film. While having a strong, likeable cast, the film lacks heart. The characters are all flawed (in a good way) and this could have made for a decent supernatural thriller with an ensemble cast. What went wrong here was the writer and director clearly wanting two different types of movies and the end result is a bit of a mess. Director Taskashi Shimizu (The Grudge) clearly attempted to mix Japanese style horror with American drama/thriller. The end result is a sadly a perfect example of why these two groups should not merge. That is not to say the film does not have some strong points on their own, but just don't deliver together. 5/10

Exists (2014)

Exists is, quite simply, a found footage movie about a group of friends in the middle of the woods who find themselves struggle to survive against a ravenous Bigfoot. I'm going to spill the truth tea here by saying that almost every Bigfoot horror movie is extremely underwhelming. I went in with no expectations, which is what I always try to do. The premise alone was almost enough to make me want to put this movie off, but decided to just go for it. The characters don't offer much with personality and we don't get to know any of them, sans one. The directing was surprisingly very decent, with a lot of good shots. The film switches between multiple cameras throughout, mostly for convenience, which works with some surprises in the film. The creature itself is one of the more realistic interpretations that I've seen in film thus far, so kudos to that. As a normal film it would play out as average, but I feel the film deserves more credit for it being a decent Bigfoot movie. 7/10