will_asher Reviews

Last Night in Soho (2021)

Great time-travel mystery that tunes you into what the characters go through.

[8/10 · 16 April 2024]

This movie did a great job of drawing me in to the story and characters (-Even though I have almost nothing in common with the characters as a guy with no interest in fashion or 60s nostalgia). And while I'm personally not into much 60s music, the music is used to great effect in the movie.

Another review said the movie would've been better as a time-travel mystery without the horror elements. That's possible, but it's great as it is, and if it wasn't listed as horror then I likely wouldn't have found it and watched it.

When the horror movie elements are not really scary at all to the viewer, but the movie has tuned you in the character so well that you share the character's terror, I think that's a sign it's really well done.

Out of the Dark (2014)

Yes, it's a ghost story. Not bad, but not very original.

[6/10 · 27 January 2024]

Unfortunately, there doesn't see to be much space in the market for ghost stories that aren't horror movies. There's a review here called "Generic ghost story" which is accurate for the most part, but I'd like to add to it. The aforementioned review went through the steps of what a cliched ghost story is, but I think those steps describe what a ghost story is _supposed to be. I'm tired of all the horror movies that have no story, no explanation, and/or no resolution.

OTOH, this movie _is cliched. Not because it's a ghost story (that follows the steps of what makes a lot of ghost stories), but because it follows those steps in almost the same way that several other stories have done before.

I'm glad this movie at least made a decent attempt at a ghost story with story and heart and a reason behind it, unlike a lot of others these days. They just need a new story rather than copying one that's been done before.

Jug Face (2013)

It goes nowhere is exactly right

[5/10 · 13 December 2023]

There's another review here titled "It goes nowhere... don't be fooled." That review is spot on. Go read it.

I'm adding my vote to that one. The only thing it that review that I'd disagree with is that Paranormal Activity was actually an okay movie.

When this movie ended, I was like "That's it? That's all there is? That was dumb." ...Not that this was the only horror movie I've had that reaction to.

Monsters should be fought against. When there's a monster eating people, someone should try to do something about it. Maybe they'll kill the monster. Maybe the monster will eat them. But not just "Oh. Stop the story. I changed my mind. I'll won't fight. I'll just do what this sick cult pit monster wants me to do and die, making this movie pointless."

Turn of the Screw (2020)

An excellent low budget adaptation of the Turn of the Screw.

[8/10 · 16 November 2023]

I wanted to leave a review partly because the only other review on here gave it only four stars. For such a low budget flick, I think they did an excellent job with the story. I liked this version better than The Innocents movie (which might be the most popular straight adaptation of The Turn of the Screw as far as I can tell). And the little twist with having it be a dress rehearsal for a play while not changing much, it makes the low budget effects work better since it's like watching a play, and adds a little fun in my opinion with the two missing actors, the mysterious director, and the (mostly) empty theater.

The Privilege (2022 TV Movie)

Weird, creepy mystery. not bad

[6/10 · 27 August 2023]

Intriguing story, more original than a lot of horror movies I've seen recentlly. It's a weird and creepy mystery, but it is explained (not completely, but well enough imo) at the end. (A lot of reviewers here didn't seen to get it.) The sex was completely unnessesary and stupidly placed in the story, but that's not unusual for horror movies.

It does mix genres, but I think it does it pretty well. I prefer horror movies that have a story like this one rather than pointless scares. This movie does that much right. It has an interesting idea that mixes demonic horror with sci-fi which won't work for everyone. The story is a little disjointed and weird, but it's not bad.

Let Me In (I) (2010)

Just as good as the original, IMO, and more accessible to Americans

[8/10 · 22 March 2022]

Of the foreign language horror movies, this is the first one that I have seen both the original version and the American remake. (I watched the original about a year earlier.) The remake is faithful and very close to the original movie (I almost said "to the original story", but I haven't read the book). There's a few things the original does better, and there's a few things that the remake does better. Both are very well done, and thought provoking, which already puts them on a higher level than most horror movies.

I actually like the remake a little better mainly because the good/evil/evil* dilemma for the main character is clearer to the audience (at least for an american audience), and because of that, it's more sympathetic and difficult --more striking, to me at least. When I saw the original, the thing that turned me off was that it seemed to make evil seem not so bad. This one, actually make both main characters a little more sympathetic (to me at least), and well, I don't know where I was going with this except to say that this version seemed more poignant to me.

(*I put evil there twice on purpose, because in this movie, as it sometimes seems in real life, it seems like the choice is not between good and evil but between one evil and a different evil, and good seems unattainable.)

Apartment 143 (2011)

I hate it when a movie has no ending.

[4/10 · 16 June 2021]

This movie was decent (but nothing special) through most of it, but then the investigators just give up and leave and nothing is resolved. There's no ending (except for that really cliché bit, which almost makes it worse than no ending).

Under the Bed (I) (2012)

This movie takes itself way too seriously

[6/10 · 3 May 2021]

This movie takes itself waaay too seriously for a 'monster under the bed' premise. Either you build the story up right in a way that's a bit more plausible, or you make a horror comedy. This movie is terrible at what it's trying to be. The bullies (including the father) were over the top stupid. If you want to make a scary movie, don't do a way over-dramatic movie about a monster under the bed that gives the audience no actual reason to fear for the characters (except maybe from the horrible father) -Hint: We need to care about the characters first. And the characters need to be a little more realistic. It doesn't matter how scary your ghost or monster is, if we don't care about the characters, we don't get scared.

BUT, the movie was still entertaining. I laughed and I liked the relationship between the two brothers, so it's not going to get a one-star rating from me. I actually kind of enjoyed it. But only as an accidental horror comedy.

I've seen worse.

The August Club (2020)

Excellent short very low-budget Horror Comedy

[8/10 · 7 April 2021]

I laughed so hard I cried when the bully was narrating the story in black and white.

The only problem with this is that it's like a kids movie in most ways but it has too much swearing to be a kids' movie. Still good for grown ups or older kids though. Hilarious.

Where Is She? (II) (2019)

Don't bother

[2/10 · 7 April 2021]

Was really tempted to turn it off a few minutes in the acting was so bad. Then it got kind of intriguing so I kept watching to see if it got any better.

It didn't.

Legend (1985)

Wow. Well, now I know.

[5/10 · 6 March 2021]

I don't understand the glowing reviews. This is a cheesy 80s B movie with a not-too-bad story and an absolutely terrible script. The dialog made no sense half the time*. The dim lighting effects would've been neat for a scene or two, but it got really annoying having them through the whole movie. (When it was over we joked, "If it's too dark to see it, maybe they'll mistake it for a good movie!") I can't believe the people calling this a classic (and yes, the version I watched was the director's cut). I'll still give it 5 stars because the story itself, had it been better executed with a better script, could've made a good fairy tale.

*here's an example of the terrible dialog: "Sit" "No. I prefer to stand" "NO! NEVER!"

Until Dawn (2015 Video Game)

Really well done, like a choose-your-own-adventure horror movie

[9/10 · 1 January 2021]

I put this game on my list of horror movies I've seen partly because it plays like a choose-your-own-adventure horror movie, and partly because this game is part of what got me to start watching more horror movies. I thought "If this doesn't bother me that much, then I doubt I'll have a problem watching actual horror movies." (Before that, I'd hardly seen any horror movies because I was concerned about nightmares and trouble sleeping.) Don't get me wrong though, this movie has no lack of good scares and horror. It's just that before playing this, I didn't know how well I could handle that kind of thing.

I could've done with less swearing, but otherwise the game was excellently done. It uses the cliched situation of a group of ~17-19 year-old kids at a cabin in the woods, but Josh's madness and the folklore/backstory of the wendigos made for a unique and interesting storyline. And in some ways at least, this is better than any horror movie because the outcome (& body count) depends on you.

Where the Wild Things Are (2009)

One of the worst movies I've ever seen

[1/10 · 29 December 2020]

How is this rated so high? This movie was terrible. There was no fun, no imagination, no fantasy adventure, no "wildness" in this movie whatsoever. It was slow and depressing and it sucked.

Lean on Pete (2017)

Be warned: Horse lovers should NOT watch this movie.

[3/10 · 27 December 2020]

We watched this movie with my brother and horse-loving sister-in-law. This movie traumatized my sister-in-law and ruined her weekend. The horse is abused and later gets hit by a truck and dies.

This movie is depressing in general. There is almost nothing positive in it.

Ju-on: The Grudge (2002)

Doesn't seem to translate well for Americans

[6/10 · 24 December 2020]

This wasn't really scary to me, and the story didn't make a lot of sense. I get that it's non-linear and episodic, but why doesn't anyone point out that the house is cursed or try to break the curse? It just has characters one after the other go into the house, start seeing things, and then die. A movie with the same first third of the movie or so, but then having someone actually trying to figure out how to break the curse would've been a lot more interesting. Both the story and style of scares don't translate well for an American viewer.

Also, some of the subtitles didn't seem to be translated correctly (a couple of them were obviously wrong as the english subtitle was nonsensical: "she is paranormal"? Maybe they meant paranoid?). In short, I probably should've watched the remake instead. This just didn't seem to translate well. This isn't the first Japanese horror movie I've seen. I watched the original Dark Water with subtitles, and I liked that one a lot better than Ju-on. Ringu was also on my to-watch list, but after this, I'll think I'll watch the remake of that one instead.

The Shining (1980)

Some movies seem dumb 40 years later...

[7/10 · 3 December 2020]

Some movies are timeless. Some movies seem kind of dumb 40 years later. To me, this one was among the latter kind. The special effects obviously, but also the music and even the acting all seemed out of date. (Part of it may be the fact that I was thinking "That's the girl from the Popeye movie" in every scene with Wendy. Her style of acting was perfect for Olive Oil, but seemed silly in a horror movie.) It wasn't scary at all. Between the fact the I thought it was just okay, and hearing that Stephen King hated it, it makes me interested to read the book. So it succeeded in that at least. (minor spoiler ahead) ... Also, the boy's ability called "the Shining" that gives the movie its name has no relevance to the plot whatsoever, and only a tiny part in the movie as a whole.

Lost Creek (2016)

blah

[2/10 · 29 October 2020]

For one thing, you can't tell for sure from the description on Prime that it's a kids' movie. I wasn't sure. I did suspect it was a kids' movie, but I gave it a try anyway because there are a lot of kids' movies I like, especially kids halloween movies. I'm the kind of movie-watcher who usually can't tell the difference between good acting and bad acting, but in this movie, even I could tell the acting was terrible. You generally can't expect great acting from kids, but it wasn't just the kids who were bad actors. Everyone in it was bad. The script was bad. The climax was bad. You can't really tell how they defeated the monster. It was just suddenly gone. The plot concept in general had potential to be done well, but it wasn't. This only way I would recommend this is if you're really desperate for a way to entertain your not-very-picky 9-year-old for a while.

The Legend of Lucy Keyes (2006)

Not scary, but a fun little ghost story

[6/10 · 16 October 2020]

Yes, it had the feel of a low budget made-for-tv movie, and it wasn't scary. It had a very different feel than most "horror" movies I've seen. This one is really more of a folklore ghost story than a scary horror movie, but that's not a bad thing. Don't expect anything exceptional, but it's a fun watch.

If you want to be shocked and terrified, don't bother watching it. But if you'd be interested in a ghost story from New England folklore, you'll probably like this.