Haunting House

Haunting house

2 Families go to a fancy house in the woods to try to buy it. Not a cabin in the woods, no. This is a multiple bed room house with little recordings that tell you about what is in the house. The place is big and cheap to buy. There one catch.  Once they get into the house they can’t leave. Whenever they try to walk to far from the house they come back to where they were.  They try to drive out and they go around in circles. They are  trap in a time loop, with a mute woman who seems to know about the house. They are  seeing  illusions and slowly going insane as dark secrets revealed. There are two things that help this movie. First one is the fact, they tried to leave the moment things looked weird. This avoid the “why don’t they just leave the haunted house”. Answer they can’t. They try and try to no avail. If you think of a way for them to escape, changes are they will try it. You follow them and feel the frustrations when they plans and theories go to hell. The seconds is it quickly skip months ahead of time, so you can see the madness kick in. The people quick get the idea there some sort of force working against them.

 One thing I didn’t like was the mute girl. A problem that could be solved is the woman just pick up an f’ing pencil. Just write down your words woman.  Since nearly everyone on here a little F up, part of the mystery is who to trust because they all seem to be horrible people accept for 1 or 2 people. That said some of the freak out of the character a bit over the top. Sometimes it becomes like a lifetime movie where a character is a nice guy one minute, then he ready to choke a B the next. So it gets over the top near the end and some of the decisions seem suspect. Although it hard to  blame on them to much going mad. Still has some fun twist into it, and a nice spooky picture. B

Death Race Inferono

This is a new brand new entry on the Death Race Prequel movies. This follows the original Frankenstein  as he finishing up his last couples of races. It this one a new bad guy, takes over the Death Race, and makes it INTERNATIONAL. The race is now taken to 3rd world area. Which translate to people driving around the desert for 2 hours? Seem the budget takes a hit every movie but it some imaginative kills with a nice over the top bad guy. He chews the scenery at pac man like proportions.  Frankenstein’s (always 1-2 races from escaping) has a run in with the new owner who wants to keep him there for good, or kill him. He also adds changes to the death race, like a collar the sends a missile after you if you try to escape and having the battles in open areas. Some of the death scenes pretty good, and it has a nice multiple cat fight scene in the middle. Not that I go for just tawdry affair. Me I am enlighten...I just pointing it out for the savages out there. It not like I pause, then rewind the scene 11 times. I am above such things. Although the babes aren’t THAT babelicious as past movies and there seem to be a lack of chemistry between the female and male leads.  Also it is hardly any nudity. If you’re going to do exploitation don’t pussyfoot around. There is missile chase scene that is pretty good. But the blood is tone down and some of the areas uninspired. It runs across the same desert multiple times and not as many memorable character to go up against. It seems more like a made for TV sci-fi movie. A lot of that has to do with budget though, but maybe they shouldn’t have aimed for an international story then. That said one scene uses the area pretty well that gets the bystanders and fans in on the action. And it is a key part of the plan. The main bad guy while fun doesn’t have the punch as the villains from the past movie.  Although the ending is pretty cool, and ties into the first movie well. It might be a good idea for future movies. All and All B-

Battle Ground

Battle Ground

                Battle Ground is an ultra low budge shoot em up about bank robbers vs. a crazy nam vet. That hook alone was enough to make me (a love a Z grade Action movies) want to see that but the results are realty mixed. Think of it as Rambo vs. the guys from heat with a slasher movie style and you have a good idea of the movie.  The movie starts out with them just finishing a bank robbery with one of them injured. They are on the run cause one of them shot a cop now there normal means of escape will be delayed and cost more money. The idea of loose cannon on a team always bugs me. Why would you hire people on your team that clearly that insane? I mean no professional bank robbery team really wants some guy going all “Leroy Jenkins” by shooting up the place. It just counter productive. But that just my own pet peeve. The start of it gets you interested cause it takes you right into it. So they have to find a place to hide. They find an empty house in the woods thinking nobody there as they bicker on how the bank robber went all fubar. Low and behold this happens to be a house of crazy Vietnam vet who proceeds to hunt them down and killed them. An apparently does this to anyone who gets near his area. He sets up traps like a derange home alone kids and takes their money. Which cause the criminals to stay and hunt him down? There some nice kills and the set up of the battle ground are pretty sweet with a lot of secret passageways and good places for shoot outs. Problem is it no one to really root for cause both sides are dirt bags with very little remorse. So you don’t really root for anyone. You can have evil protagonist but you got to do something to make the audience follow them...make them exciting somehow. Something that makes each side somewhat rootable. Smoke Aces did this cause people had different hitmen they liked. Not so much here. Also you go into the clique that no one able to aim well in this...sense they can’t hit each other until the end. I mean this guy pretty old given when nam was…let no one seem to be able to get a shot off old man river over there. And it not like he a particular fit old mans…he has some city years on him. Still pretty fun. Some of the keys pretty imaginative and you can enjoy seeing the cat and mouse game. C+