FILM RECOMMENDATIONS: HORROR & THRILLER (2016-19)
New Line Cinema, Warner Bros. Pictures
Age Certificate: 15
IMDb: 7.3/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 85/100
Plot
Seven helpless and bullied children are forced to face their worst nightmares when Pennywise, a shape-shifting clown, reappears. The clown, an ancient evil that torments children before feeding on them.
Review
A classic thriller by Stephen King; as good as the book in terms of storytelling, Muschietti (dir.) delivers nostalgia, comedy, and horror thriller all in one. As someone who has read the book, the cast portray their respective characters to my imagination and probably better to what I expected. Each character is unique and the dilemmas they face as children allows us to sympathise with them; it opens up the discussion of the maturity and independence of children and the problems they face in an adult world (really, children are living in a world where adults run everything and children are more or less ignored). This film gives an insight of life problems from children's' perspectives.
My rating: 9/10
New Line Cinema, Warner Bros. Pictures
Age Certificate: 15
IMDb: 6.5/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 63/100
Plot
After 27 years, the Losers Club receive a call from their friend, Mike Hanlon, that Pennywise is back. They decide to honour their promise and return to their old town to end the evil clown for good.
Review
A follow up to the first film 'It: Chapter One' (2017) and the conclusion to the Derry hauntings. The ending is heartbreaking as the feelings you have for the characters are on a deeper level since the first film and to see the children grown up feels like you have been up to date with them for the last 27 years. However, the first film's narrative was a lot more consistent and interesting than this chapter. I love that the idea of 'It' embodying a clown based on the stereotype that children love clowns just to lure them and eat their soul to survive was a better plot compared to the children all grown up and return to Derry to perform a ritual to stop 'It' from continuing his ways. With the complexity of the first film's narrative and characters were going, the expectations were the same for this film and of course, should have been better than the first film. The film had a good and somewhat satisfying conclusion nonetheless.
My rating: 7/10
Platinum Dunes, Paramount Pictures
Age Certificate: 15
IMDb: 7.5/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 96/100
Plot
A family struggles for survival in a world where most humans have been killed by blind but noise-sensitive creatures. They are forced to communicate in sign language to keep the creatures at bay.
Review
A few months before the release of 'Bird Box' (2018), there was a film where you cannot make a sound otherwise you can consider yourself dead. Director and lead actor, Krasinski, brings new ideas to the horror genre. With minimal sounds used, mainly focusing on just ambience sound, the film defines suspense in a new light as well as putting you on the edge of your seat from beginning till end of the film. Krasinski further challenges himself within the writing/narrative of the film. With such a thrilling concept, you get to see terrifying situations such as what would a pregnant lady do or what would a child who is deaf would do in a world where you have to be quiet otherwise the monsters will kill you.
My rating: 9.4/10
New Line Cinema, Warner Bros. Pictures
Age Certificate: 15
IMDb: 6.5/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 71/100
Plot
Samuel and Elle embed their daughter's spirit into a doll, only to realise it is a demon. Years later, they open their home to a nun and six orphan girls, one of whom finds the doll.
Review
I specifically have chosen the sequel to 'Annabelle' (2014) as it is better and probably one of the best horror films within the Conjuring franchise along with 'The Conjuring 2' (2016). It is a conventional horror film much similar to the first Conjuring film, however, the pace and the tone it has set for itself makes it a good film. In addition, the cast play their roles really well. Though the film may be a sequel to the first Annabelle film, it is actually a prequel and ends with the events of the first film; this made the film more enjoyable and satisfying knowing it is explaining the first film better.
My rating: 8/10
New Line Cinema, Warner Bros. Pictures
Age Certificate: 15
IMDb: 7.3/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 80/100
Plot
Peggy, a single mother of four children, seeks the help of occult investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren when she and her children witness strange, paranormal events in their house.
Review
Just like Annabelle's sequel, this film does good for the horror genre. Though it is as conventional as any other horror film and may have the similar or even the same narrative as the first Conjuring film, the cast sell the characters that they portray very well. Based on a true story in North London, the film feels close to home (literally) and you can witness and sympathise with a struggling family living in a council house that happens to be haunted.
My rating: 7.5/10
New Line Cinema, Warner Bros. Pictures
Age Certificate: 15
IMDb: 6.3/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 76/100
Plot
Rebecca and her boyfriend try to investigate the connection between her mother and her imaginary friend, Diana, after her stepfather is murdered by a supernatural entity.
Review
This film inspired me to create a short horror film for my media coursework during college. It used conventional horror concepts that are easy to replicate and intriguing to apply to one's film. I used similar themes such as the dark, the supernatural and concept of family for my film. 'Light's Out' focuses and uses advantage of the light and the dark to mystify the antagonist and accentuate its horror by not being able to see them except for their shadows.
My rating: 6.5/10
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I wanted to use scenes with the antagonists standing sinisterly for the posters but they all look too scary 😂 so I just looked for decent ones but still matched the aesthetics and tone of the film.
Sabina 🦁
