Movie Review - Killer Obsession

Killer Obsession

AKA:  Crossfire

2016

The Cast

When National Guard soldier Samantha Harrison (McKee) returns to her hometown after a tour in Iraq, which has left her with a pending "Friendly Fire" charge, she finds "Normal" life is harder than serving in a war-zone.  Graydon (Rozon) is the sole survivor of the team Samantha supposedly gunned down and he's looking for both justice and revenge.  Unable to remember the night in question, Samantha has to rely on the testimonies of her squad; Billy (Koensgen), Bobby (Thebaud), and Jimmy (Lund)...  However, after both Billy and Bobby take their own lives it becomes evident to Samantha there's something darker going on and she sets out to solve the mystery.

This is a very well thought out mystery with strong believable characters that are portrayed respectfully by the actors and actresses.  McKee makes a good lead role and is so subtle in her portrayal, never going overboard on the emotional side, to make Samantha very believable.  I could relate to her outburst of anxiety when she tries to seek law advice.  She just cannot fill in the forms.  You can see all the raw emotion on her face.  Then after she takes flight, back in her car, you can see the relief flood over her along with the sadness and anger at not having been able to complete a simple task.  This is pretty much spot on, as a sufferer of depression and anxiety, I can relate.  Lund too is great in his portrayal.  His character also has as many different flaws that he brings across to the audience in a believable way.  The only thing I would have liked would have been a little more structure and drive to Rozon's character, Graydon.  This could have been used to create a little more unease and suspense, especially revolving around the inevitable twist.  This, however, could have been down to writing or direction, rather than acting.  I must also pay respect too to Thebaud's character, Bobby, who injects the idea of a conspiracy theory into the storyline.  He does this so well, you can see that he's worried about his and his families life.  There are no small parts in this film.

The story, on the whole, is good and flows well.  It does have a few slight flaws.  If you're a fan of mysteries then you'll have solved this one pretty quickly as it's not a great twist.  As I said before, it could have been made better.  The other is the constant bombardment of "getting councilling".  Don't get me wrong, I believe therapy can be a good thing but it's pushed too much within the run of the movie.

The direction is well above standard for a TV Movie and helps to keep the audience's attention, as well as creating atmosphere.  Though I do believe there was a chance missed to make Graydon appear more ominous and driven.  I particularly liked the use of colourisation.  Muddy browns for a melancholy moment and greys for sad and depressing scenes.  Even the flashbacks to the combat looked realistic, even though they weren't on a large scale, which I think actually helped their power.

If you like a war drama with an interweaving mystery to solve this is the film to watch.  I really enjoyed the film and would be happy to watch it again at some time...

I give this a cold and calculated 6.75 out of 10.

The Trailer

Movie Review - Killer Assistant

Killer Assistant

2016

The Cast

Love is eternal.

Suzanna Austin (Zucker) is a successful magazine editor.  Used to working by herself, her boss, Janet McAlper (Baron) assigns her an assistant, David (Eaton), after noticing how stressed she's been getting.  David appears too good to be true and as time progresses Suzanne begins to believe he's got an ulterior motive...

I really liked this story for its characterisations.  Tilson and Wakefield have created a well structured and ingenious tome.  Suzanne is a strong career-minded woman, who can be relied upon to get the magazine out... but not to be a great mother or wife, as she spends most of her time at work.  Then when David's character enters the story we get to see how the stress of her work and family life help her to become suspicious and paranoid.  This starts off small but builds up fast, to the point she's worrying about her own sanity.  Add the element of her family getting to know David and actually trusting him, into the mix, and this keeps the story interesting... at times, actually engrossing.

The good thing is, both the lead actor and actress are great in their performances and bring their characters to life; giving the film and story strength.

Though Boyle does add a couple of nice shots the filming is pretty standard, which is okay when you have a good cast and an even better storyline.  However, it would have only strengthened the movie to make it more engaging for the audience.  Thank God, he's better at manipulating the pace.  Boyle is good at building the tension and atmosphere from a simmer to a full boil.  This starts right at the beginning with the "Years Earlier" scene up to the climax.  He also throws in a couple of peaks along the way, giving the audience a rollercoaster ride.

I'd recommend this to all Mystery Lovers and Armchair Detectives worldwide.

I give this mysterious soul-mate a 6 out of 10.

The Trailer

Movie Review - The Perfect Stalker

The Perfect Stalker

2016

The Cast

  

In this film, we have the story of a woman supposedly suffering from HPD - Histrionic Personality Disorder.  And the opening sequence, except for the psychiatrist scene, sets the rest of the film up brilliantly.  The trouble with the psychiatrist scene is that it all feels too staged.  It's quickly edited and after only one session the shrink knows what's going to happen - she appears more a fortune teller than a doctor.  It's the way this is delivered and shot that made me cringe inside.  It all feels like it's only been added to the film to make everything black and white for the viewer.  Give your audience credit, they probably could have figured out the storyline without this horrid scene.

However, that said the rest of the film bears no resemblance to this scene.  The director, Curtis Crawford is pretty adept at using lighting, camera work, and location to set the scenes with atmosphere and tension.  Though a couple of scenes could have been a little longer to build the tension a little more.  It's a shame that he lets the pace slow down a little near the climax when it should be climbing to its zenith.

The acting is above average and I have to say that there is a brilliant scene where Grace (Savre) cuddles up with her man, Robert (Brown), and the look on her face is just so creepy and chilling - awesome scene, nice and powerful.  This is one of those movies where the actors really do believe that there are no small parts, for they all give their best, which adds to the power and believability of the story.

As for the story, it's been done before and though there's nothing really new it's still a strong tale.  Yes, it might have been nice to see a little more about Grace's background.  Not that she may have been through some trauma which has lead her down this path, but of her relationship with her husband as it's evident at the start of the movie he really loves her.  A little bit more background leading up to her condition and his death would have made the story stronger.  If the writers could have added a few lesser used scenarios and twists this again could have made it stronger.

However, this is a watchable and enjoyable thriller which I would recommend to lovers of this genre and to those who haven't watched this style of film before.  If there also happens to be little on to watch when it's raining or snowing outside, this isn't a bad one for a duvet day.

I give this an enjoyable average 5.5 out of 10.

The Trailer

Movie Review - Deadly Paradise

Deadly Paradise

AKA Dark Paradise

AKA Remote Paradise

2016

The Cast

  

Badly scripted lines delivered badly and captured badly on film... This is a bad film. What's your price to sell off your morals and beliefs? For Tamara, played by Boti Bliss, it's 8.3 million dollars. Right from the start, this story starts hitting the cliche list. Tamara is a woman whose life was ruined by her father. What did her father do to ruin her life, you ask? He walked out on her and her mom... and being the weak women that they were they let this incident affect their entire lives forward - this is "cliche three" ("cliche one" is the bad boyfriend we see before this incident and "cliche two" is the cat she owns because she's a sad and lonely woman (and we never see the poor old puddywack again)). She tells the estate lawyer that she wants absolutely nothing to do with her absentee father or anything he may have left her, she is venomous to the extreme about this - "cliche four". Then the lawyer tells her it's 8.3 million and boy you can see that she climaxes in her pants on the spot - "cliche five". And of course there are no thoughts about not excepting her Daddy's generous gift - "cliche six"... and we're only ten minutes into the story.

From here on in it gets worse, much worse. There's nothing worthy within this story or film to save it and make it worth a viewing - I wasted an hour and a half so you don't need to. I mean, even the direction is so bad that the continuity errors actually scream at you. There are a couple of times when Tamara waves from the front of the villa at Dario (Sabato Jr) on his yacht. In front of the villa are nothing but open sea and a couple of distant islands - though when we see Dario wave back he's in a harbour with trees behind him. If he's in a harbour on one of the distant islands then Tamara has better eyesight than an eagle or a hawk. There's even a wonderful binocular scene where the image actually gets closer. Binoculars are fixed and do not zoom. Then there's a wonderful scene where the director uses a fisheye lens which has the effect of giving the audience actual seasickness.

Though the worst thing is towards to the end of the film when we get the reveal. This is so unrealistic and implausible to be completely stupid. 

Even though there's a lot going on in the film nothing is properly explored or utilised to its best advantage. This is such a waste of a story - even though it's not a particularly good one.

Just for the dearly departed pussycat, I give this a badly constructed 1.75 out of 10.

The Trailer

Movie Review - 31

31

2016

Bow And Arrow Entertainment / PalmStar Media / Protagonist Pictures / Spectacle Entertainment Group / Spookshow International / Windy Hill Pictures

Fathom Events / Saban Films / Vertigo Releasing / Lionsgate Home Entertainment

5 / 10

If it hadn't been for The House Of A 1000 Corpses, The Devil's Rejects, and The Haunted World Of El Superbeasto then I would not have watched this movie, especially after what Rob Zombie did to the Halloween movies.  Unfortunately, this is not as good as his earlier works.

This is just another load of people who are captured, tortured, and killed for pleasure.  What Zombie adds to the story is a triumvirate of puppet masters - Father Murder (Malcolm McDowell), Sister Serpent (Jane Carr), and Sister Dragon (Judy Geeson) - who run The Murderworld where they run a torturous gauntlet of games.  The triumvirate gives their prisoners twelve hours to survive the trials they have arranged for them.  Each trial is to survive the psychopaths they send in dressed as clowns.

However, most of this doesn't work.  My heart started to sink when the group of carnies are talking about the rides and attractions that they run, though their RV isn't towing anything and there's no lorry travelling with them.  Then you learn they're travelling with a fair, yet again there are no other vehicles.  It's these little things which annoy, and there are quite a few throughout the film.  For such an unoriginal story ironing out ALL the kinks would have made it stronger.

As for the direction, it's pretty standard stuff though Zombie does try to add a little art to the affair by working in vivid colours.  This isn't fully utilised due to the average camera work.  There's also an alarming lack of suspense and tension, which a film of this type really requires.  That said there are a couple of nice scenes with Richard Brake, who plays Doom-Head, where the close ups are so sharp and crisp.  This brilliantly captures his Brake's magnificent rendition of his psychopath character.  To be honest, it's Brake that steals this film.  This actor should be used more often, he has some serious skills. 

As for the rest of the cast, they are okay, none of them particularly stands out.  I would've liked more details in both the story and characterisations of the triumvirate as this was a missed opportunity to add a spooky and eerie element.  Also the other clowns - heads - aren't anywhere nearly as disturbing or sinister as Brake's Doom-Head.  The brothers Schizo and Psych-Head, played by David Ury and Lew Temple, are your routine slashers, complete with chainsaws.  Though it's Sick-Head which lets the film down.  This is not due to Pancho Moler playing the part, on the contrary, his acting is pretty solid. It's down to Zombie dressing him as a Hitleresque character - complete with swastikas and moustache.  I'm sorry but I think if anybody was confronted by him they would probably die laughing.

Then there's the name of the movie... 31.  This actually references Halloween and is another missed chance to tie the games into Samhain or another "Dark" holiday, which would have made the story stronger.

This is an average film which has a few small drawbacks and a couple of benefits that levels the film to average, once again.  If you're a Rob Zombie fan then you may like this.  If it's cold and wet outside you could turn off the lights and settle back with this slasher flick, it's worth at least one viewing.

Movie Review - Killer Date

Killer Date

AKA:  Swipe

AKA:  Wrong Swipe

2016

Cartel Pictures / MarVista Entertainment / The Cartel

Tugg / Lifetime Television / MarVista Entertainment

6.50 / 10

This is a well thought out tech based mystery thriller.  Anna, played by Anna Hutchison, is a loner with very little social life and no lover.  Her sister Sasha, portrayed by Karissa Lee Staples, repeatedly tells her this isn't good for her, so one night she creates a "Swipe" profile for her.  Swipe is an app that shares your profile with other users with the intention of meeting up.  If you like a certain user you swipe right and if they do the same then when you are in each other's vicinity you both get a message saying they're close.  Unfortunately for Anna, it's an ideal tool for a stalker to strike fear into their prey.

What makes this so good is the realness of the story.  You could quite easily see something like this happening.  Add in numerous swipes and your victim list keeps growing.  How can we be really sure that the profile and the picture you see is for a real person and not a created persona?  Just think Ted Bundy for the Tech-Age.

Writers Sophie Tilson and Shanrah Wakefield do a great job of showing the dangers of this kind of communication and contact.  They bring through a plethora of men, all of which are different, some are sexual predators, some are persistent to the point of bullying, and some are okay.    But which is stalking Anna?  There are twists upon twists as her investigation and the police's starts ruling out suspects.

Director Mathew Leutwyler uses these twists and turns as well as the apps distance notification to create a tense atmosphere.  However, I believe the movie could have been stronger had the pace been more varied and some better camerawork, something other than the straightforward point shoot and pan.

Though Anna Hutchison is the lead and is very good in the role it's Karissa Lee Staples who is the strongest actress in the movie and had a wider range of emotion and skills.  Unfortunately, the lower you get in the cast the worse the acting gets.  It's not a bad thing to do when working on a budget and the worst is only on for a few minutes or seconds, though if you remember them as I did, it only leads to weakening the film.

On the whole, this is a respectable and watchable movie.  If you enjoy mysteries then this will be right up your street.  If you're looking for an intriguing and interesting movie to watch then you might want to consider this one.

Book Review - Murder From The Newsdesk

Murder From The Newsdesk

By Peter Bartram

Seven Crampton Of The Chronicle Mystery Stories

The Mystery Of The African Charity

The Mystery Of The Two Suitcases

The Mystery Of The Single Red Sock

The Mystery At The Beauregard Hotel

The Mystery Of The Precious Princess

The Mystery Of The Clothes On The Beach

The Mystery Of The Phantom Santa

9.25 / 10

I chose this book to read and review as part of the Crystal Lake Publishing Readers Book Club April challenge... and I'm glad I did.

Though it's a novella sized book of seven short stories there are two weightier tales, "The Mystery Of The African Charity" and "The Mystery Of The Phantom Santa".  These bookend the much shorter stories and this is a brilliant layout as having the longest story at the beginning gives the reader a chance to familiarise themselves with the main characters, this, in turn, makes the shorter compositions more of a joyous quick romp, I say this as I pretty much devoured this book with a smile on my face; for that I thank you, Mr. Bartram.

Peter Bartram is an excellent writer with a steady and easily readable prose and narrative, who fills the whole story with observations and humour.  I'll admit I'm not a big fan of writing in the first person, though Bartram is definitely a master of this style and crafts his words and characters so perfectly as to make them so believable they come off the page to live in your mind's eye.

Though I really enjoyed all the stories I particularly liked the second story "The Mystery Of The Two Suitcases"  which goes to show how cunning and devious people can be.

Another thing I loved was that for most of the stories the clues are there for you to figure out; I didn't see or smell a single red herring.  Though I tried, I never did quite figure it out, my detective skills must be slipping.  The closest I got way in the last story...  I was close, but not spot-on.

Even the book cover is as well thought-out as the mysteries within.  Its simplicity and style actually drew me to the book.  I notice the others in the series are in a similar style.  Respect to the artist who designed them.

I am looking forward to reading the free novella Murder In Capital Letters and I will make an effort to read the other books in the Colin Crampton series.  I really do like the idea of a crime reporter helping to solve a crime and the character is so well thought out and humorous it would be a shame not to read more.

If you like crime novels or just a good read you cannot go far wrong with this book.

Get The Free Kindle Book At Amazon

Movie Review - Pet

Pet

(2016)

Magic Lantern / Revolver Picture Company : Orion Pictures / Samuel Goldwyn Films

9 / 10

Pet is a strong and disturbing psychological thriller that delves into the depths of the abnormalities to which the human psyche can sink.

Once upon a time Seth (Dominic Monaghan) and Holly (Ksenia Solo) used to attend the same school.  Poor Seth had a crush on Holly but was too scared to act upon his feelings.  Showing that the world is indeed a small place, years later Seth spots Holly on the bus as he's travelling to work and goes over to say hello.  Unfortunately, Holly doesn't remember Seth and treats him as though he were a leper.

Undaunted by this Seth takes it upon himself to install himself into her life and so starts to stalk her on the internet, making notes of all her likes and dislikes, especially the music she listens too and the places she hangs out...

The film has so many depths of feeling from obsession to affection to corruption to love to depravity that, once the twists start coming, it's hard to stop watching.

The writer, Jeremy Slater, has done a glorious job of making an unbelievable synopsis into a thoroughly believable story.  With the brilliant direction of Carles Torrens, this is brought realistically to the screen.

The two actors in the main roles are the ones responsible for holding the script and film together as they, and the characters they create, work really well together and are more than credible as two broken people finding a dark and twisted love.

This movie is now one of my favourite thrillers and I would recommend it to all lovers of the twisted mind and twisted plots.  It may be awhile before I watch this one again as it has made an impression on me, which is the aim of this type of film, but I will watch this film again.

Respect due to all who participated in this film.

This is a brilliant trailer as is doesn't give away any of the twists.

If you like the trailer then try the film.

Movie Review - Fear Inc.

Fear Inc.

(2016)

Lone Suspect / Amasia Entertainment / Title Media : Eagle Entertainment / Electric Entertainment / FilmBuff

2 / 10

Not all independent films are good or worthy of cult status.  This movie falls solidly into that category.  It tries so hard, too hard, to be worthy of cult status, it's so evident it's trying; though, it just turns out to be very trying.

What you have is a sound premise a horror fan who has become desensitised to horror.  He's such a fan he takes his girlfriend to haunted houses on Date Night and predicts when and where the scares are going to come while laughing continuously.  The character is very annoying and rather humourless, if he was to resemble snot-girl from The Blair Witch Project then Lucas Neff does a fantastic job of creating a lead character you're just praying and hoping to be killed.  If not, then his acting skills are lacking or the Director, Vincent Mascaile, had a warped vision for this movie.

So the writer Luke Barnett adds the element of Fear Inc. a company who, when hired, come to scare the proverbial crap out of you.  This now lands in the "The Game"'s field of expertise, which actually gets a mention in the movie.  If you're going to carry out a movie in the same magnitude of that film it should be just as good and as convoluted, however, it isn't

There are a lot of missed opportunities in this movie, which could have elevated it to at least watchable, if not enjoyable, and possibly to cult status, though a lot of work needed to be done to get to that destination.

Once you realise what Fear Inc. do, which is given away at the start and in a monologue before the scares even begin then the surprise and possibility of the situations being real plummet into the farcical.  You can see the twists coming as the director and writer call their punches before they throw them.  The film would have been stronger had the viewer not known Fear Inc.'s agenda.  This would have led them to continually wonder if our hero's the victims were in any danger.  It's pretty much impossible to create tension when you know nothing is at stake as it's all playacting.

Apart from Lucas Neff's character, all the other cast have believable and relatable characters, with the exception of Caitlin Stacey, who portrays Joe's girlfriend, Lindsey.  Even though Stacey is one of the strongest actors in the line-up, I couldn't help but wonder why this strong woman was still attached to the waste-of-space Joe.  There was no chemistry between them and this causes an imbalance in the plausibility of the movie; even more so when you learn it's her and his friends who have hired Fear Inc.

This movie is labelled as a Horror - it's not - a Comedy - it's not - a Thriller - it's not that thrilling, but this is as close to a decent description as any.

Should you watch this movie?  No go and watch The Game, The Scream box set, The Saw box set, Deliverance, and Southern Comfort, which seems to be the movies this is roughly based on.  All of which are better than this film... even the SAW series from III upwards.

Movie Review - Code Of Honor

Code Of Honor

2016

The Cast

To be clear, I am a Steven Seagal, fan - I even liked the albums he did with Thunderbolt and even caught him live (one of the best gigs I've been to) - controversial, HUH!!!

So you would think I like all his films... well I don't - there have been quite a few stinkers in his career.  Code of Honor though doesn't give off too much of a stench.  Though I do believe that Steven Seagal's name shouldn't be top billing as it's Craig Sheffer (who I've liked since Nightbreed) who is the star of the show and has more screen time.

The story revolves around a serial killer, Colonel Robert Sikes (portrayed by Seagal) who is intent on killing gang members, being judge and executioner all-in-one, and the FBI Agent sent to help out the police in apprehending him, William Porter (played by Sheffer).

Seagal gives his usual moody, dark, and brooding acting stereotype (you always know what you get in a Steven Seagal Movie) as the armed forces trained serial killer.  No stretch there and I do think that he has his character wrote around his cliched style.

Craig Sheffer, however, does a decent job of portraying a helpful agent pursuing his once army buddy come friend.  Though something doesn't seem quite right about Agent Porter.

The story, written and directed by Michael Winnick, keeps a good pace, gives the viewer enough action to keep them entertained and a couple of twists that you don't see coming until they are revealed.  As for the action, there's not a lot of martial arts in the movie and when there is you're not sure if Seagal is doing his own moves.  There's a couple of knife-play scene's, though none come close to the sparks-flying speed spectacle of Under Seige.  Most of the action is based around gunplay which allows for lots of head-shots, blood splatter, and oodles of blood mist.  If you like a good body count film you'll like this.

If you like action films, you should like this as the story is pretty strong with a couple of twists, decent action and good direction.  I recommend to all.

I give this serial killer a 6.5 out of 10.