Raptor and Slacker
The Paw Print
In honor of the month of October and Halloween coming up soon, we have decided to review movies that would be great for the holiday. This week, we chose two horror movies; a new movie and a classic. Keep an eye out over the next couple of weeks for more great movies to scare up some fun on Halloween.
“Insidious”(2011)
When Renai (Rose Byrne, “Troy”) and Josh (Patrick Wilson, “Watchmen”) move into a new house with their three young children, they think everything is going to be great. However, not long after moving in Renai hears noises in the attic. She inspects it and finds nothing. Shortly after this, Dalton, the younger son also hears the noises. He goes to the attic and falls off a ladder, hitting his head. This doesn’t give much cause for alarm because Dalton seems unhurt, but the next morning he won’t wake up. The family takes their son to many doctors and they all say he is in a mysterious coma which they cannot explain.
Three months pass and Dalton is still in the coma. He is now at home and his mother is taking care of him. Renai starts to notice odd things happening around the house. She hears strange noises coming over a baby monitor and she sees people that disappear when she takes a second look. After being attacked in her bedroom one night by a creepy man, Renai insists that they move. Josh consents and they move. However, the mysterious and scary occurrences don’t stop. Josh’s mother, Lorraine (Barbara Hershey, “Black Swan”) comes to help Renai unpack and cope with the horrifying events going on around her. Lorraine suggests that maybe everything that is happening is caused by something bigger than Dalton being in a coma. She tells Renai that she has an old friend who can help them. Elise (Lin Shaye, “Dumb and Dumber”), an expert in paranormal activity comes to the family and eventually helps them end the horrors that are going on around them.
Raptor: It takes a lot to scare me when it comes to scary movies, and it also takes a lot of impress me. I often find that “scary” movies are cheesy or rely on cheap tricks to make someone feel scared. However, this movie did not disappoint. There were plenty of pop-up-and-scare-you moments and they definitely made me jump. The best part was they were not always at the most expected times, so when something did pop up, it was often unexpected and more scary. One thing that I really loved about this movie was that the entire thing did not rely on the scare factor. There was a lot of character development and good plot that went along with it. As far as scary movies go, this was one of the best I have seen recently. I give this movie an 8 out of 10.
Slacker: Let me start off with saying I am a big wimp when it comes to scary movies. I am not the biggest fan of getting the crap scared out of me. I can deal with the psycho torture movies like Saw and Shutter Island but this movie made me jump and scream at a couple parts. I thought it had a good story line that has not been done a 100 times over. The ending was unexpected to say the least. I thought there was actually going to be a happy ending in a horror. I know what an idea! I don’t think this movie will get out of my head for at least a week or two. If you want your girlfriend or boyfriend to cuddle with you though a movie, this would be the movie. I would give this movie 8 out of 10. It’s a good movie for the October session.
“The Exorcist” (1973)
This horror movie classic tells the story of Chris MacNeil (Ellen Burstyn, “The Wicker Man”) and her daughter, Regan (Linda Blair). While Chris, an actress, is filming a movie in Washington, D.C., Regan takes time to explore their new home. She finds an old Ouija board in a closet. She tells her mother that she has been talking to someone named Captain Howdy through the board and her mother laughs it off.
Later, Chris hosts a party and Regan seemingly sleepwalks down to the guests. She says that they are going to die and then urinates on the floor. Other strange things start happening to Regan, such as having violent seizures and her bedroom window keeps opening. Chris begins to get worried, but writes off her daughter’s strange behavior to nerves and the onset of puberty. A doctor tells Chris that Regan’s behavior might indicate a lesion on her brain and they do some tests. They find that there is nothing wrong with Regan physically, and it is recommended that they have a psychiatrist see Regan. This also produces no results, and finally a doctor suggests an exorcism. At first, Chris is skeptical, but eventually begins to take them seriously. She seeks out a priest, Father Karras (Jason Miller). He denies that Regan needs an exorcism, but eventually sees enough evidence to contradict this belief. He enlists that help of Father Merrin (Max von Sydow, “Shutter Island”), and the two priests perform the ritual.
Raptor: I have enjoyed this old classic for a long time. The first time I ever saw it, I was about 14 and it freaked me out. But I have seen it a number of times since then and I don’t find it scary at all anymore. I am sure that quite a few people will watch this movie and not find it scary at all, and I would partially agree with them. In our modern society, it really doesn’t scare us the same way modern horror movies do. However, considering that this movie was made in the early 1970’s, it was probably very scary at that time. I watch this movie with an appreciation for what it is. It was a movie about a possessed child that was made in a time when children acted with much more reservations than they do now. On this level, I would say this movie is an excellent example of both a classic horror movie and a depiction of acceptable/unacceptable behaviors during that time. I rate this film a 6 out of 10.
Slacker: This may be a classic horror movie but this movie made me laugh through the whole thing. Just like Psycho, and The Omen some other classic movies that weren’t scary even though they were psychologically suspenseful. I have never seen this movie before but I finally get the green pea soup joke. I can definitely see why this would scare people in the 70’s. You can tell that our horror movies now are based off of this movie. It was good. The child actor was amazing and creepy with all the makeup. I would give this movie 6 out of 10 only because it was not creepy or scary but it was good with a happy ending.
What’s Been Said…