Forsaken Stars

A little late in coming, but since we’re supposed to turn our clocks back an hour…oh, well, nevermind. Late is late. But maybe some horror fans out there are stretching their celebrations throughout the entire weekend. If so, this list is for you.

Here’s an update on the [mostly horror] films and television series I’ve seen over the course of the latter half of the month. The numbers should start at 22 and go to 31, but until I can figure out how to get this blog to format, just imagine it listed as such. Here’s the link to the first part of the list: Part One.

1. Insidious: Chapter 3 (2015)– 3 out of 5 Forsaken Stars — has a score that scares and unnerves. I think it’s based on the sounds of a dying mare and purposefully and squeakily letting the air out of a balloon.
2. A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night (2014) – 4 out of 5 Forsaken Stars — A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night is Black and White Beautiful and a perfect Vampire film. Four out of Five Forsaken Stars mostly because I wanted more, so much more!
3. Tremors 5: Bloodlines (2015) — 3 and a half out of 5 Forsaken Stars — It’s really good! Better than the whole first season of Zoo. Michael Gross and Jaime Kennedy give the fifth installment in the tunnel monster frachise their honest best and the campiness takes a backseat to some decent scares, character building and solid cgi! There were some callbacks to the original, some new evolutuonary wrinkles and more than a couple homages to Jurassic Park. Yeah, I miss Reba and Fred Ward, but Kennedy and the new cast deliver, and Gross deserves some kind of horror flick lifetime achievement award.
4. Tales from the Darkside the Movie (1990) – 3 and a half out of 5 Forsaken Stars – An oldie but a goodie, this one boasts a cast comprised of Debbie Harry, Christian Slater, Steve Buscemi, Julianne Moore, Matthew Lawrence and David Johansen in three tales of terror. Tons of crazy practical effects! But hey, it was 1990!
5. The Walking Dead – 3 to 4 out of 5 Forsaken Stars, depending on the episode – Okay, so I finally caught up on Season 5 and I have to admit they had some great, thought-provoking episodes balanced with episodes of intense, edge of your seat action. And I can understand why people will riot in the streets if they kill off Daryl Dixon.
6. Extinction – 3 and a half out of 5 Forsaken Stars – Always good to see Matthew Fox onscreen. I also love thrillers set in colder climes, the stakes always seem higher somehow, more severe. This film probably has to err more on the side of atmosphere than plot due to budgetary constraints, but the “zombies” are pretty cool, and remind me of the vamps in the similarly located 30 Days of Night, a recent fave of mine. The ending isn’t as harsh, but it’s still harsh.
7. Cop Car – 3 and a half out of 5 Forsaken Stars – While technically more of a thriller than a horror flick, this one is fun and has Kevin Bacon as a Bad Sheriff trying to get his car back from a couple of crazy stupid runaway kids. Rides the line between funny and dark, kinda like The Goonies meets Death Proof, only with a much smaller cast and plot.
8. The Circle – 4 out of 5 Forsaken Stars – A taut, sci-fi horror thriller that sets fifty people in a room with the power to kill themselves. Is there any escape? Not much room for character development, and yet, it’s all about character!
9. Carrie 2: The Rage (1999) – 3 out of 5 Forsaken Stars – Surprised at how many stars of the time were in this – Home Improvement‘s Zachary Ty Bryan, Jason London, Mena Suvari, and the actual connection to the original Carrie, Amy Irving, who played Sue Snell. Look out for the Eddie Kaye Thomas “cameo.”
10. All Cheerleaders Die (2013) – 3 and a half out of 5 Forsaken Stars – Hybrid/homage film heavy on The Craft and Lost Boys. I praise it for its character building for the first forty minutes or so, but I think it also weighed the movie down. I almost forgot I was watching a horror film and thought I was watching the next Bring It On or She’s All That and then suddenly it turned all Idle Hands on me. The girls are as drop dead sexy as they are drop dead deadly, but all the characters, girls and guys alike, suffer from severe lack of judgement fails and missed potential. Hopefully the rumored promised sequel has some characters and screenwriters that learn from their mistakes.

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