Jigsaw's Lair

The Woman in Black Movie Review 245

2012-05-27T11:42:00.000+02:00

The Woman in Black is a 2012 horror movie based on a novel of the same name written by Susan Hill. It is directed by James Watkins and starring Daniel Radcliffe.

A young man called Arthur Kipps(Radcliffe) is a solicitor and he has to go to and oversee the estate of a Mrs. Drablow who has just died. The house is called Eel Marsh House and it is a spooky large mansion. Arthurs wife died in childbirth and he thinks about her. He lives with his son and the nanny. When he reaches the island where the house is, the locals are very unfriendly and they tell him that he shouldn't go up to the house. One of them, Sam Daily(Ciaran Hinds) decides to be friendly and he and Arthur become friends. Sams wife is a bit crazy and she has some sort of visions. Arthur goes to he house and he hears and sees spooky things.

He sees a vision of a woman dressed in black and a whole story unfolds about a woman who lost her child and who has come back to steal all of the children in the village. The local children die in horrible ways and they blame Arthur for stirring up the woman in black. Arthur sees more visions of the children who died etc and he becomes shaken. He goes to look for the woman in blacks child who was lost in the marsh. He finds him and he brings him into the house to the woman in black. He buries the child and thinks that that is the end of it . He leaves the house and all is well. He meets his son who has come to meet him along with the nanny.

Unfortunately for Arthur, his son wanders onto the train tracks and he runs after him only to be run over by a train. They reunite with Arthurs wife and walk away. The woman in black is watching still lost in her grief....

This movie was okay. It was a bit slow and dull in parts. I thought that the scares were mediocre and it was just a little predictable. I wouldn't watch it again. Radcliffe wasn't bad as the lead, but all I could think was it is Harry Potter and the Woman in Black!It gets a 4/10.

The Wicker Tree Movie Review 244

2012-05-23T19:55:00.000+02:00

The Wicker Tree is a 2011 horror movie directed by Robin Hardy who also directed the classic The Wicker Man. He also wrote this movie.It stars Graham McTavish,Jacqueline Leonard and Clive Russell.

The story begins with two born again Christians called Beth(Brittania Nicol) and Steve(Henry Garrett) who decide to go to Scotland to convert some non-believers. Beth is famous for her singing and she is engaged to Steve. They arrive in Scotland and meet Sir Lachlan Morrison(McTavish) and his wife Delia(Leonard) who live in a village called Tressock. They invite Beth and Steve to stay there and they agree. When they arrive in the village they realise that there is something a little strange about the locals. They find out that the locals are going to celebrate May Day and they want Beth to be the May Queen and Steve to be the Laddie.

The rest of the movie is complete nonsense and I have to say that this is a really bad follow up to the classic The Wicker Man. I love that movie and to see that the same director was responsible for this rubbish is amazing. I hated this and I would not recommend it. I didn't like the Americans and the way that they were just so idiotic. I think that their characters were ridiculous. Nobody is that stupid. They were completely naive and so trusting. That was just silly. Why Scotland? It seemed silly that they would just pick Scotland out of the blue to convert. I know that the original was set there, but it seems unlikely that these people would come to Scotland at the drop of a hat. This was just a waste of time. See it at your peril..It gets a 2/10.

Bay Coven a.k.a. Bay Cove Movie Review 243

2012-05-19T10:56:00.000+02:00

Bay Coven is a 1987 TV thriller starring Pamela Sue Martin and Tim Matheson along with Woody Harrelson. It is directed by Carl Schenkel.

Linda(Martin) and her husband Jerry(Matheson) are young professionals working in Boston. Linda has just gotten a promotion in the law firm where she works and things are going well for her. Jerry is fed up of the city and he wants to get away. They meet a couple, Josh(Jeff Conaway) and his wife Debbie(Susan Ruttan) and they tell Linda and Jerry about a place called Bay Cove where there are houses for sale. They decide to go and see the house. Bay Cove is a small village and there isn't much happening there. Jerry sees the house and loves it.They meet the owner of the house. She is called Beatrice(Barbara Billingsley) and she shows them around inside. They decide to buy the house. Linda sees some old man across in the next house and he is shaking his head at her.

They move and meet the rest of the community. Linda has a dog and they all seem to hate it. Linda talks to Debbie about the weirdness of the neighbours and they read a book about witches which they found. They look around the cove with their husbands and Linda's dog disappears. Their friend Slater(Harrelson) comes down to Bay Cove to see them and he thinks that there is something wrong with the place. He decides to investigate. Meanwhile, Jerry is acting strangely. He seems different since they moved to the bay. Slater is killed in a freak accident and Linda gets suspicious. Jerry is going off the rails and Linda wants to get out and go back to Boston. Linda goes into the house and talks to the old man who tells her that there are witches here and there is a coven. Jerry thinks that she has gone mad. The locals are all witches and they want Jerry to join their coven. He kills himself and tells her to go to the church to hide from them. She hides in the church and it explodes. She is last seen in a boat rowing away from Bay Cove.

An average thriller with very little scares. There is enough to keep you watching but once it is over, you will forget it. It is a watchable TV movie, but nothing special. It gets a 4/10.

The Avengers Movie Review 242

2012-05-16T12:55:00.000+02:00

The Avengers is a 2012 superhero movie directed by Joss Whedon who of course you know from Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel as well as Dollhouse. It stars Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Robert Downey Jr as Iron Man, Chris Evans as Captain America, Mark Ruffalo as Hulk,Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye and Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow.

If you have seen the movies Thor, Captain America and Iron Man, you will know the characters already. This movie begins with the evil Loki played by Tom Hiddleston. Loki has a plan to take the Tesseract which is a very powerful energy source and use it for evil. He has made a pact with an evil group called the Chitauri who in return for the Tesseract, will give him a powerful army to defeat the earth and all of the superheroes too. Nick Fury played by Samuel L. Jackson is at a S.H.I.E.L.D. facility when the Tesseract suddenly starts to change and emit energy. Along comes Loki who has been brought to earth and he takes it. He also makes Hawkeye and Dr.Erik Selvig played by Stellan Skarsgard into his slaves and takes them with him. Nick decides that he needs help so he gets the team of superheroes together to battle Loki. Loki is caught and brought back to S.H.I.E.L.D. His brother, Thor shows up and tries to bring him back home to Asgard. He is persuaded not to by Captain America and Iron Man. Loki is brought onto an aircraft carrier and put into a prison with a steel trap built in should he try to escape. Tony Stark(Iron Man) and Bruce Banner try to find the Tesseract.

The heroes wonder why Loki allowed himself to be caught so easily. Hawkeye and the other agents he enslaved are going to attack the ship. Banner transforms into Hulk and runs amok. The others try and fight the attack. Loki gets out and puts Thor in the prison and he falls into the steel trap. Hulk heads off alone and Agent Phil Coulson is killed. It seems as if everything is lost. Hawkeye is rescued by Black Widow and she helps him to come back to himself again. They have to rally together as Loki is using Stark Tower to open the portal to earth. From the portal come the evil Chitauri and there are loads of them. They are destroying everything. Thor and Hulk arrive back and the team is complete.

They have to close the portal and stop the Chitauri from pouring in. The superheroes have to become a team . Hulk goes after Loki and makes him suffer. The others fight the invaders and Black Widow and Dr.Selvig try and close the portal(Dr Selvig having come back to his senses by this stage). They eventually succeed and Thor takes Loki back to Asgard. Nick Fury and the other Avengers are pleased and Nick says that if he needs them again, he will call them. There are two post credit scenes. The first is a set up for the next movie and it involves one of the Chitauri telling his boss Thanos about their invasion and the second has the Avengers eating in a restaurant.

All in all, a great movie. It has everything you could want - fantasy, action, humour and a great baddie. Tom Hiddleston is very impressive as the lordly Loki and he plays the part perfectly. Hemsworth was great as Thor once again. Ruffalo was good as Hulk. It was very impressive when he came out to destroy everything in his path. Iron Man was good, Captain America was good and the other characters did well too. It was a good cast and the movie was well made. I didn't feel the time passing as I was caught up in it and I really liked it.

Everyone had a good part in the film and I think it worked very well. I am looking forward to the next one already!!! This gets a 9/10.

Beyond Evil Movie Review 241

2012-05-13T12:00:00.000+02:00

Beyond Evil is a 1980 horror movie directed by Herb Freed who also directed Graduation Day and starring

John Saxon, Lynda Day George and Michael Dante.

The story revolves around a haunted house on an island. Larry Andrews(Saxon) and his wife Barbara(George) go to live there as Larry has been offered a job with his pal Del Giorgio(Dante). The locals are all afraid of the house as it is evil. There is a local legend about a woman called Alma Martin who was the mistress of the house which was called Casa Fortuna. Her husband ruled the island. They had an arranged marriage and they didn't like each other. Alma dabbled in Black Magic and she was killed by her husband who was scared of what she might do to him. She comes back from the dead and murders him. A local tells them that Alma is still roaming in the house.

After moving into the house, Barbara hears voices and she can't sleep. The local witchdoctor is Dr.Frank Albanos and he meets Larry. Barbara cuts herself with a knife and Larry has to get her to the local hospital. The doctor tells him that she has an emotional problem. He gives her some tablets to help her. She laughs at him and Larry is worried about her. She wanders off from the hospital and Larry searches for her. She turns up at home. She starts to see Alma in the house and Dr.Albanos comes to talk to her but she won't listen to him. She goes to a crypt near the house and she is possessed by Alma. Larry realises that she isn't normal and he talks to Dr.Albanos about her . He tells Larry to get out of the house. Barbara doesn't want to go.

Del goes over to check on Barbara and she comes on to him and then she is possessed by Alma and she throws Del over the balcony, killing him. Larry arrives back and she pretends that nothing is wrong. Dr Albanos and his daughter Leah try and get Alma out of Barbara. Leah gets killed by Alma. Larry and Dr Albanos destroy the crypt and Barbara returns. She is free from Alma. Alma comes out of Barbara and she dies and turns to dust. They get away from the house.

This film was okay. I didn't love it or hate it. I don't think that I would see it again. I am giving this one a 4/10.

Crowhaven Farm Movie Review 240

2012-05-09T12:52:00.000+02:00

Crowhaven Farm is a 1970 made for TV movie starring Hope Lange, Paul Burke and Lloyd Bochner. It is directed by Walter Grauman.

Crowhaven Farm is left to Maggie Porter(Hope Lange) and her husband Ben(Paul Walker) and they decide to move in. Ben loves the place, but Maggie is a little spooked by the place. She begins to have visions of olden times and a witch. Some of the locals arrive for a party. One of them is Harold, who knows all the history of the farm. There were witch trials and people were stoned or crushed to death. A guy called Mr.Pierce(Lloyd Bochner) gives her a job and Ben isn't happy about it. Maggie is having more visions and in them she is a witch being crushed to death. A local woman is looking for a home for her ten year old niece, Jennifer and Maggie offers to take care of her. She and Ben think that Jennifer is a lovely child, but there is something funny about her they don't see. Maggie has to stay in town one night and Mr Pierce offers her his apartment. She doesn't tell Ben about it.

Maggie goes to the doctor and she is pregnant. Harold arrives to talk to Maggie but meets Jennifer who takes his cane and hides it. He goes home and she gives it to the handyman, Nate(John Carradine) who is spooky too. The next day, Harold dies after a mysterious accident. He gave Maggie some books on witches and the local legends. She tells Ben that she thinks there are still witches around but he thinks that she is crazy. She figures out that Jennifer is evil and when the baby is born, she doesn't want her near it. Ben has to go away for a night and he has to leave Maggie with Jennifer. Maggie doesn't want him to go, but he does. Maggie thinks that something bad is going to happen so she takes her baby and she runs off. She runs into Jennifer and some of the locals. Jennifer says that Maggie betrayed them. She is the descendant of a witch and they think that she is the reincarnation of her.

The witches are going to crush her just like in days of old. They want her soul, but she promises them Ben's in exchange for her life. They agree. Jennifer tells Ben that Maggie stayed at Mr Pierce's place and he goes mad and shoots him dead. He is a desperate man when he realises that he was wrong and he runs out into the wilderness where he meets Jennifer. The next day, the cops find his body. They assume it was an accidental death. The movie ends with Maggie living in the city with her baby. A cop comes over to her and chats to her.

She realises that he reminds her of Ben. When he says that he will be watching her, she hurries off, realising that he might want to get revenge on her....

This was not a bad movie. It is pretty average for the time. If you can get to watch it, then it will pass away a while.It gets a 5/10.

Chronicle Movie Review 239

2012-04-30T10:03:00.000+02:00

Chronicle is a 2012 Sci-Fi movie which is directed by Josh Trank who hasn't done a lot of movies. The main stars are Dane DeHaan who you might have seen in True Blood or In Treatment.Michael B Jordan appears in this too and he has been in The Wire and Friday Night Lights. Aussie Alex Russell is also in this and he hasn't been in much.

The story is pretty simple. Andrew has a camera and he is filming everything that happens to him. Him and his friends go down into a hole and there is some alien thing down there which gives them superpowers. The three guys are Andrew(DeHaan) who is having a hard time at home with his sick mother and drunk dad, Matt(Alex Russell) who is his cousin and popular guy Steve(Michael B. Jordan). They discover their new powers and at first, it is fun and games but they don't realise that they need to control it. The three of them are having a ball flying and making things move with their minds but Andrew is getting more serious. The guys agree to fly around the world together when they graduate. Andrew wants to go to Tibet. Steve hangs out with Matt and Andrew and he tries to make Andrew more popular.

The rest of the movie is about the guys having fun until Andrew gets annoyed with his dad etc and he goes berserk. He kills Steve and then he loses all control. This movie is a fun way to pass an hour and a half, but I did find it a bit dull in parts. If you like the premise then you will probably enjoy this kind of film. The lead characters are okay in it and it isn't bad for a PG-13 film.

Chronicle-5/10

Blood Beach Movie Review 238

2012-04-29T12:26:00.000+02:00

Blood Beach is a 1980 horror movie directed by Jeffrey Bloom who also directed Flowers in the Attic. It stars David Huffman, John Saxon, Burt Young and Marianna Hill.

The movie begins with a woman called Ruth walking on the beach with her dog. She talks to the local coastguard, Harry(Huffman) and then all of a sudden she disappears into the sand. Her dog is left barking at a spot on the beach. Harry calls in the cops. Ruth's daughter, Kath(Hill) arrives to find her mother. She and Harry used to date so things are weird between them. Ruths dog is found dead on the beach and they think that someone did it on purpose. A young woman is bitten by something on a crowded beach and she has to be pulled from the sand. Her legs are chewed up. Captain Pearson(Saxon) is in charge and he wants action. He is being annoyed by Sergeant Royko(Young) who doesn't know what to make of it.

The cops decide to dig up the beach, but they find nothing. The press arrive at the beach and question people about it. The local kids are calling it Blood Beach. More people are attacked on the beach and the cops keep coming and going. Harry's girlfriend gets killed and he is very upset. Kath is still looking for her mother and they begin to think that it is a killer stalking the beach. Harry investigates an old ruin by the beach and he discovers a secret lair. The cops stake it out and they see a monster in the lair. It is some sort of subterranean creature and they decide to destroy it. They blow it up and everything goes back to normal. Or has it????There is movement in the sand and it seems as if the creature is back!!!

This is an okay movie. Nothing special. It was watchable, but I wouldn't be rushing to see it again. Catch it if you can. It gets a 4/10.

Dark Places Movie Review 237

2012-04-25T15:41:00.000+02:00

Dark Places is a 1973 British horror/thriller directed by Don Sharp who made lots of Hammer movies such as The Kiss of the Vampire and he also made Psychomania which is a little known horror movie that you should get your hands on if you can! Dark Places stars Joan Collins, Christopher Lee and Robert Hardy.

Edward Foster(Hardy) is talking to a patient called Marr and he leaves his house to Edward. He tells him that there is money buried inside the walls of the house. He dies soon after. Edward goes to Marrs Grove to find the house and when he does, he is going to live there and find the money. A local warns him about the house being evil which he dismisses. Outside, he falls through a wooden bridge and hurts his leg. A neighbour who is a doctor helps him. The doctor is called Ian Mandeville(Lee). He befriends Edward and tells him that the house is supposed to be haunted. Until the house is ready to live in, Edward is staying with Marrs solicitor, Mr. Prescott(Herbert Lom). That night, Edward is looking out at the large house when he sees a light come on. He tells Prescott but he thinks that is just his imagination.

The next day, Edward goes to the house to try and sort things out.He meets a woman called Sarah Mandeville(Collins) who just happens to be the sister of Ian. She offers her help to clean the house. We discover that Ian and Sarah know about the money in the house and they want to scare Edward out of there so they can find the cash. Prescott tells Edward that the previous owner of the house was called Andrew Marr and that he was having an affair with his nanny and he murdered his wife and children. Edward looks for the money. He can't find it yet. He begins a sexual relationship with Sarah. Edward has flashbacks where he sees Andrew Marr and he sees what happened in the house. He comes upon a key and it leads to the money at last.

Edward knows where the money is and he doesn't want anyone to know about it. He has a pick axe and he is preparing to break through the wall when Sarah comes upon him. He kills her. Ian comes looking for her and he gets killed too. Prescott comes to the house and sees the carnage and calls the police. It turns out that Edward was an inmate of the mental asylum and that he was mad.Has the house made him go insane again? He is carted out by the police and the money is found along with the bodies of Marrs wife and children. This was an entertaining movie. There is a lot to like about this and I would recommend it. It was a surprise as I had never heard of it and when I came upon it, I didn't have much hope for it, but it is actually a good tale with some very good actors. Watch it if you can. It is worth seeing. It gets a 6/10.

Dark Night of the Scarecrow Movie Review 236

2012-04-22T14:48:00.000+02:00

Dark Night of the Scarecrow is a 1981 horror movie directed by Frank De Felitta who was the writer of movies such as Audrey Rose and The Entity. It stars Charles Durning, Tonya Crowe and Larry Drake.

Bubba(Drake) is a mentally slow man who is kind and gentle. He befriends a young girl called Marylee(Crowe) and the locals disapprove of it even though Bubba is not capable of hurting anyone. The leader of the locals is a man called Otis(Durning) who has a posse composed of Skeeter(Robert F.Lyons),Philby(Claude Earl Jones) and Harliss(Lane Smith). When Marylee wanders into someones back yard and gets attacked by a dog, Bubba carries her home to her mother who thinks that Bubba is responsible. Otis starts getting his posse together and they hunt Bubba down . Bubba runs to his mother and she hides him by dressing him as a scarecrow and putting him in the field. Otis and co go to his mother and demand her to give them Bubba. She won't. They discover him eventually and shoot him dead. Afterwards, they discover that he was innocent after all. They are taken to court but they escape prosecution. Bubba's mother tells them that justice will be done one way or another.

Everything goes back to normal but Marylee looks for Bubba. Nobody tells her what has happened. She starts talking to Bubba as if he was still alive. She visits his mother and she tells her the truth about Bubba's death. One by one the guilty men are killed. They think that it might be Bubba's mother doing it and Otis has a confrontation with her but he kills her. He burns down her house. Then he figures that it might be Marylee as she tells him that she knows he killed Bubba. He thinks that he is safe but Marylee draws him into a field where the spirit of Bubba is waiting for him. He gets his comeuppance and Bubba and Marylee talk, best friends once again....

This was a good horror movie and one of the first, if not the first in the killer scarecrow genre. It was interesting and I really enjoyed it. It is a cut above a lot of the other scarecrow movies I've seen. I would recommend it. It gets a 7/10.

April Fool's Day Movie Review 235

2012-04-16T10:19:00.000+02:00

April Fools Day is a 1986 horror movie directed by Fred Walton who also did When A Stranger Calls which is a great movie. It stars Deborah Foreman, Ken Olandt,Griffin O' Neal, Thomas F. Wilson(Biff from the Back to the Future movies!) and Tom Heaton.

A group of college friends are going to the house of Muffy St.John(Foreman) for Spring Break. They are going to party and have a great time. They all know Muffy in some way. Muffy is getting the house ready and we wonder if she has some tricks in mind for them. She pulls out an old jack in the box and it brings back childhood memories for her. The friends go on a ferry over to the island where Muffy lives. They have a guy called Skip (O 'Neal)with them too. They are messing around on the ferry when one of the crew members gets really hurt. They all feel terrible as the guy has to go to hospital. A cop,Constable Potter(Heaton) arrives and tells them not to leave the island while he investigates. They arrive at Muffy's and she is ready for them. They have dinner etc and have a good time.

Strange things begin to happen to each of the group and one by one they disappear. Muffy changes too. She seems to be disturbed. Someone seems to be killing them. Who is it? They contact the Constable and he tells them that he will come and see what is happening. They are all worried about Muffy too. She seems to have lost the plot. It comes down to a confrontation with Muffy for the survivors and she has a knife. They are scared of her now as it seems that she planned for all of them to be there so she could murder them. It looks bleak for them when they realise that it has all been a prank. All of the 'dead' people emerge and it turns out that everyone they met was in on it . There was no constable, he was Muffy's uncle. The crew member was never hurt. It was just a trick. Nobody is dead. The movie ends with a little scare for Muffy when she opens her jack in the box. Someone tries to kill her but it is just another prank.

This was an entertaining movie. I could see the twist coming a mile away because of the title, I guess. You would expect the prank at the end. I still liked it and it was worth a watch. It gets a 5/10.

Columbus Circle Movie Review 234

2012-04-12T14:06:00.000+02:00

Columbus Circle is a 2012 thriller starring Selma Blair, Amy Smart, Jason Lee, Kevin Pollack and Beau Bridges.It is directed by George Gallo.

An old woman is attacked and killed in her apartment in Columbus Circle. The cops come to investigate. Frank(Giovanni Ribisi) and his partner Jerry(Jason Antoon) are the detectives on the case. They talk to the reclusive woman across the hall whose name is Abigail(Blair) and she knows nothing about the old lady. We find out that Abigail has shut herself off from the world for some reason and she doesn't leave her apartment . The concierge(Kevin Pollack) gets her everything she needs. She is the daughter of a millionaire and she disappeared years ago and has been living under the name Abigail. Her real name is Justine Waters. The old lady's apartment is up for rent and Charlie and his wife Lillian move in. Charlie(Lee) and Lillian(Smart) argue and Charlie hits her. Lilian is helped by Abigail who had been through abuse as a child.

The two become friends and Abigail tries to help her. Abigail speaks to her doctor Ray Fontaine(Bridges) about everything that is happening. He was a family friend and he helped her to get her life together after she left home. It turns out that Charlie and Lillian are con artists and they are trying to hack into Abigails bank and get her password etc so that they can take all of her money. Charlie downloads the information from her computer. The concierge remembers Charlie from prison and he threatens to expose him. Charlie tries to kill him, but the concierge runs into the road and gets killed by a bus. Lillian and Charlie stage an argument and when Abigail tries to help, Lillian pulls a gun on Charlie. The thing is the gun is full of blanks and Lillian pretends to shoot Charlie. Abigail doesn't realise this and she stabs Charlie to death. The two women hide the body and try to decide what to do.

Abigail finds out that Lillian is trying to take her money and she calls the press to tell them that Justine Waters will be at the bank. Lillian is there dressed and wearing a wig pretending that she is Justine. When Abigail shows up, Lillian realises that she has been had. The cops take her away and Abigail sets off on holiday assuming Lillian's identity. Somehow, Abigail has gotten over her fear of going outside and now, she is free.

This film was bad. The characters were silly and the story dragged along. I didn't think that there were any scares in it and the suspense was non existent. This isn't good, in fact, it is very very bad! Avoid.It gets a 2/10 and that was just for the good cast!

ATM Movie Review 233

2012-04-04T14:23:00.000+02:00

ATM is a 2012 horror movie directed by David Brooks and starring Josh Peck, Alice Eve and Brian Geraghty.

David (Geraghty) works at Starkweather Financial and his best friend is Corey(Peck). They are at their Christmas party one night and David talks to Emily(Eve) who he has liked for ages. He offers her a lift home and she accepts, but his friend Corey wants David to take him home too. On the way, Corey wants to stop for pizza but none of them have any cash so they stop at an ATM booth in the middle of nowhere(as you do). Bear in mind that this is at around one o'clock in the morning. David parks a long distance from the booth and Corey walks into the booth. After a few minutes, David has to go into him and help him out. Corey is pretty drunk and he can't get his money out for some reason. David gives him his cash and Emily gets out of the car and walks into the booth too.

After a few minutes, they notice a guy standing outside with his face covered and wearing a large coat with a hood. They wonder if he wants to use the ATM but David is suspicious. A guy with a dog is walking through the parking lot and the weirdo kills him. The three are horrified and now they know that this person is crazy.

They try to come up with some reason why he is just standing outside. They look around for something to help them to make contact with the police, but no matter what they try to do, there is no way to alert them.

The guy is at the back of the booth and he is obviously trying to get in from the rear. They are terrified and they realise that when he reaches them, he will kill them all. David tries to give him money, but the guy doesn't want it. David runs for his car, but it is parked so far away that the guy is on his tail. Why the hell did he park so far away from the booth? Even if he was trying to make Corey walk the distance in the cold, he should have never parked so far away. It is a silly plot hole.

The rest of the movie is taken up with the mad guy trying to get at them and they trying to sound an alarm or something. The killer murders a security guard and he just walks around and waits for something to happen.

I won't give away the ending, but there are some serious plot flaws here. I was irritated by them. Other than these flaws, I actually enjoyed this film. I liked it because the plot was very simple, but it was interesting because the characters are caught by some killer and there seems to be no reason or cause for him to want to kill them. His lack of motive makes him more dangerous. There were some bits that annoyed me, but I have to say this was a decent movie and I would recommend it. It gets a 6/10.

The Innkeepers Movie Review 232

2012-04-02T15:14:00.002+02:00

The Inkeepers is a 2011 horror movie written and directed by Ti West who also did The House of the Devil. It stars Sara Paxton, Pat Healy and Kelly McGillis.

The Yankee Pedlar Inn is an old hotel with a long history. It is finally closing its doors after the weekend.

Luke(Pat Healy) and Claire(Paxton) are staying there for the final weekend. They are investigating a supposed haunting in the hotel.Years ago, a woman called Madeline O' Malley hung herself in the hotel after being jilted by her fiancee and the owners hid her body in the cellar because they didn't want bad publicity for their hotel but they had to close it after the locals found out. Luke has set up a website with videos of strange things happening in the hotel and he has a recorder set up to catch some paranormal activities happening. A woman called Lee(McGillis) comes to stay in the hotel and she is an actress who is now a healer. Claire is a big fan of hers and she tells Lee that she loved her work.

Luke and Claire search for some evidence of Madeline but they don't find much. Lee seems to be psychic and she can tell that there are spirits in the hotel. Claire hears music playing, but there is nobody playing the piano. She gets freaked out and tells Luke about it. She tells him about Lee being psychic and he thinks that it is a load of nonsense. An elderly man comes to stay at the hotel and he wants a specific room because it was his honeymoon suite. Claire shows him to his room and then she and Luke get drunk. They go down to the basement and Claire calls Madeline. She sees the dead woman and Luke freaks and runs out of the cellar.

Claire follows him and he tells her that he lied about seeing anything ghostly in the place. He wants nothing to do with it anymore. He leaves the hotel.

Claire goes to get Lee and they head to the basement where Lee gets very upset. She tells Claire they have to get out of the hotel and when Claire gets her things, she remembers the old man. She goes up to his room but he has killed himself. She is shocked and she tries to find Lee. She hears someone calling her from the cellar so she goes to the top of the steps and calls Lee. She tumbles down the stairs when the old man appears behind her, dead and bloody. She hits her head and she wanders around the basement. She thinks that the old man is after her and she locks herself into the cellar. Out comes Madeline and the movie ends with Claire dead. How she died isn't explained but Luke tells the cops that he banged on the cellar door to get her out but she wouldn't let him in. The cops tell him that they need him at the station and Lee too. He goes back into the hotel to get Lee and they go off with the cops. The movie ends with a door slamming by itself in the hotel. Has Claire become one of the dead who roam the halls???

This was an interesting film. I liked what the director was trying to do, but it was a little slow and disappointing in the end. The ending of the movie was shabby and it was all just thrown together, I think. There were some good scary scenes with the ghosts but there was too much talking in this film. If you are looking for a fast paced movie, this isn't it. I found it a little slow and that was its downfall. I didn't like the Kelly McGillis character much either. If you have seen the movie, let me know your thoughts on it. It was a good effort but ultimately, it was just not a great story. There was so much potential wasted here..It gets a 6/10.

Torso Movie Review 231

2012-03-29T16:08:00.000+02:00

Torso is a 1973 Italian horror movie in the giallo fashion. It is directed by Sergio Martino and it stars Suzy Kendall( The Bird with the Crystal Plumage).

The movie begins on a college campus. Jane(Kendall) and her pal Dani are hanging out together. Dani is getting some unwanted attention from Stefano who likes her a bit too much. One of their college pals,Florence and her boyfriend are making out in their car when someone shows up making noise. Her boyfriend goes to investigate and doesn't return. Florence gets attacked by a masked man. The next day, the cops are investigating the death at the college. Jane and her friends are shocked and upset. Carol, a pal of Jane's gets killed by the same killer after running out of a party. He pokes her eyes out. The killer uses a scarf to strangle his victims and the cops go to the college students and ask them if they have seen anyone wearing one. Dani thinks that she can vaguely remember the scarf from somewhere but it doesn't come to her.

Dani gets a phone call telling her to keep quiet about the scarf or else. Her uncle tells her that she should go to the country to relax with her friends. Dani remembers that Stefano had a scarf like the one the cops had and she thinks that it might be him. She tells Jane and Jane goes to talk to Stefano but he isn't around. The friends go to the country where Dani's uncle has a villa. The problem is the killer has arrived there too and he is waiting to get the girls!!!It becomes a game of cat and mouse as the killer picks the girls off one by one until

Jane is the only one left alive. The killer slaughters all of her friends and he leaves but he realises that she is there and they have a standoff. Jane locks herself into a room. The local doctor had called earlier as Jane hurt her ankle and he comes back to check on her but she can't answer the front door. He comes upon the killer and they fight. The killer is revealed as Jane's professor at college. He has some serious problems and he wants to kill Jane and the doctor. The doctor manages to overpower him and he falls. The professor is killed and Jane and the doctor go to get the police.

This is an entertaining giallo movie and there is some blood and gore as you would expect. There is a good story and I liked it a lot. I would certainly recommend it to anyone who enjoys the Italian horror genre.It gets a 7/10.

The Walking Dead, Season Two Finale!!!

2012-03-26T13:22:00.000+02:00

Last episode, Rick killed Shane in a confrontation between the two. Then Carl had to shoot him when Shane turned into a walker. But, why did he and Randall turn when they weren't bitten???

This week, the walkers edge closer to the farm. Rick sees them at the last minute and everyone else gets ready for battle. The walkers take over the farm and they kill Jimmy and Patricia. Hershel defends the farm but the walkers are coming closer and he has to move away from his home. Rick and Carl get stuck in the barn and they have no choice but to set it alight and escape onto the roof. The walkers burn and Carl and Rick get rescued when they jump onto the Winnebago. Carol gets cornered by the walkers, but is saved by Andrea. Andrea gets caught by a large group of walkers, but escapes through the woods, chased by them. The group are running low on ammo and they have to get away from the farm. Glenn and Maggie jump into a car and drive away. Daryl picks up Carol and they leave. Rick, Carl and Hershel leave not knowing where Lori is. Lori is with Beth and T-Dog.

Andrea finds herself out of ammo in the woods and the walkers keep coming. Suddenly, when all hope is lost, a mysterious hooded figure with two armless walkers on a chain(who is Michonne but we don't know that yet!) and the figure saves her.Cut back to Rick, Carl and Hershel who go back to the spot on the highway where they were waiting for Sophia in previous episodes. They think that the others will come to the spot which they do. Everyone is reunited, except for Andrea. They drive on regardless and then run out of gas. They have to make a camp. People seem to be doubting Rick's leadership and he tells them that if they want to step up and do it, they can. Nobody does so he tells them from now on, what he says goes. He also tells them that Jenner( in the end of season one in the CDC, Jenner whispered something to Rick) told him that everyone is infected and that it why Shane and Randall turned into walkers without being bitten. The group are stunned. He tells Lori what happened with Shane and she is horrified and disgusted with him. The group don't realise that they are camped next to a large prison....

All in all, this was a good season. I liked the episodes. The only thing that annoyed me was the eternal love triangle with Rick, Shane and Lori. Lori's character leaves me irritated. I just don't like her at all and I can't root for her. Rick is still a weak leader, but he is showing some signs of being tough which he should have been from day one. It is good that the group are moving away from the farm as it was getting a bit mundane, so now, there will be a whole new adventure in season three, which I am really looking forward to. This series is well made and it has kept me eagerly watching every week. Bring on season 3!!!!

Sweet Sixteen Movie Review 230

2012-03-25T23:17:00.000+02:00

Sweet Sixteen is a 1983 movie starring Bo Hopkins,Susan Strasberg and Patrick Macnee. It is directed by

Jim Sotos.

The movie begins with a Native American called Greyfeather( Henry Wilcoxon) going into a local bar and the locals start to give him hassle until his grandson, Jason(Don Shanks) comes in and there is a huge fight.

Jason takes his grandad out of the bar and while he is in the parking lot he gets chatted up by a young woman.

He tells her that he isn't interested and she isn't pleased. She meets a local teen called Johnny and she gets into his truck and he takes her to local Indian burial ground. She wants to leave as she is nervous so they do. Her name is Melissa(Aleisa Shirley) and her dad is Dr. John Morgan(Mcnee) who is working on a local archaeological dig with Jason. She will be turning sixteen next week(hence the title of the movie!). Johnny gets killed on his way home. Johnny's pal, Hank(Steve Antin) is talking to his dad, Sheriff Dan Burke(Hopkins) about it. Hank's sister Marci( Dana Kimmell) is a bit of a detective too so she wonders what happened to Johnny.

Johnny, Dan and Marci go out to where Johnny's truck was found and Marci discovers Johnny's bloody corpse. Dan finds out that Melissa was the last one to see Johnny alive so he questions her. She tells them about her meeting with Jason in the parking lot and she says that he grabbed her. Jason denies it. Melissa's mother is Joanne Morgan(Strasberg) and she grew up in the town. She is planning a huge party for her daughter's 16th birthday. Meanwhile, Melissa meets another young man and she agrees to meet him later. When she turns up, he is already dead and Greyfeather is nearby. The townsfolk are starting to blame the Native Americans for the killings, even though Dan warns them not to. Greyfeather ends up dead, killed by the locals in a revenge attack.

Dan has no choice but to arrest Jason when missing knives used in an attack are found in his house. He escapes from jail and he ends up meeting two locals who attack him. While this is going on, Melissa and Hank are having a swim and the two locals chase Melissa. Hank tries to find her.Melissa is being attacked when Marci sees her. She has wandered into the woods and sees what is going on. Suddenly, she is attacked by the killer. Who is it???Why it is Joanne Morgan, Melissa's mother! There is some silly reason why she has gone off the deep end but I can't be bothered to write about it. Her mother stabs herself and everything is fine. Or is it? The movie ends with Melissa wielding a knife. Has she gone nuts too????

This is a very mediocre horror movie. It is dull in parts and I wasn't mad about it. It is okay to pass some time if you are bored, but I wouldn't be watching this again. The cast wasn't bad, but I think that the movie was just poor. It gets a 4/10.

The Walking Dead, Season 2, Episode 12

2012-03-21T18:00:00.000+01:00

Last episode, Dale was killed by a rogue walker and Carl felt guilty because he had the chance to kill the walker earlier.

This week, the group bury Dale. Then they all get ready for more walkers to come. They think that there will be more walkers and they need to move into the house together. They are going to lock down everything. Rick and Shane have another argument and Rick asks Andrea to keep an eye on him. Carl tells Shane what happened with the gun and he gives it to him. Lori talks to Shane about everything and she tells him that she is sorry for everything that went wrong between them. She thanks him for saving her life when the zombies first attacked. Glenn is upset over Dale. Shane gives Rick the gun and tells him that Carl had it. Rick talks to Carl and he tells him to hang on to the gun for protection. Meanwhile, Shane goes into the barn to the prisoner Randall and he releases him and takes him into the woods. He breaks his neck and leaves him there.

The others realise that Randall has gone and assume he found some way out. Shane hits his nose against a tree to break it and make it seem as if he was after Randall and Randall jumped him. He comes back to the farm and tells them that Randall escaped and he is in the woods. Rick and Shane pair up and go to look for him. Daryl and Glenn go too and they find evidence that Shane killed Randall. Randall has turned into a walker and he attacks them. They kill him. Rick is beginning to have doubts about Shane's story and he realises that Shane has brought him into the woods to kill him. Rick kills Shane instead and when he is upset, Shane comes back as a walker and Carl shoots him with the gun his dad gave him. The episode ends with a huge number of walkers coming to the farm...

Good episode. Obviously, I am disappointed that Shane has gone. I liked the character and I thought that it was good to have a dissenting voice in the group. Hopefully, they can come up with another character as good.

Road Games Movie Review 229

2012-03-18T14:05:00.000+01:00

Road Games is an 1981 Australian thriller staring Stacy Keach and Jamie Lee Curtis. It is directed by Richard Franklin who also did the fantastic Psycho 2 which is one of my all time favourite movies.

Pat Quid(Keach) is a long distance haulier who drives around in his huge truck with his pet dingo, Buzzy. He is driving a trailer full of meat to Perth when he sees a weird guy in a green van acting suspiciously. He sees him check into a motel with a girl and the next morning, he sees him driving in his van alone and he looks weird.He hears on the news that there is a serial killer on the loose and he thinks that the guy in the van is him. He starts to keep an eye on him, but the problem is that the man in the van is starting to keep an eye on Pat too and this makes him edgy. He calls the cops and tells them what he thinks, but they don't show any interest. He gets mad when the guy hurts his dingo and he chases after him. He loses him and manages to pick up a hitchhiker(Curtis).They talk about the killer.

The cops follow him and they tell him that he is under suspicion because he used his name to get a room in the motel last night. Pat tries to explain that he is being framed, but they are still wary of him. Hitch(Curtis) and Pat drive along and when they stop for a rest, they notice the green van is there too. They stop at a truck stop the next day and the green van is there. It is empty. Pat goes into the bathroom to find the guy but he ends up scaring a tourist. Hitch looks inside the van while Pat is gone and the killer is in the back and he kidnaps her.

Pat comes out and knows that the killer has Hitch. Then he begins to wonder if he was right about the guy. Maybe she went with him for money or for sex. He begins to doubt himself. Maybe she wanted to go. His tiredness clouds his thoughts.

He sees the green van again and he chases it. The cops are after him and they all chase after each other.

Pat ends up crashing his truck and he chases the killer on foot. They face off and fight. The cops take him and arrest him for the murders. He tries to explain that it is the other guy. Buzzy leads the cops to the van where Hitch is and she tells them the truth. She is happy to see Pat and he is glad to see her. The movie ends with Pat, Hitch and Buzzy walking along in the sunshine while a human head is found in the meat trailer letting us know that the killer hid human body parts in Pat's trailer and that was why he was after Pat all along.

This is a very good thriller. Keach is very good as the trucker and it is an action packed, interesting movie. I would highly recommend it. It gets a solid 7/10.

The Walking Dead Season 2, Episode 11

2012-03-14T16:51:00.000+01:00

We left Rick and Shane driving back to the house with Randall in the boot in the last episode. Episode 11 begins with Daryl interrogating Randall and giving him a good hiding. Randall tells him that there is around 30 people in the group and that some of the guys in the group went around raping girls. He begs Daryl for mercy. Rick decides that the best thing to do is to kill him. He could lead his group back to the farm otherwise and all hell would break loose. Dale thinks that they shouldn't do it and goes around trying to convince everyone in the group to show mercy to Randall. Shane talks to Andrea about taking charge of the group and overthrowing Rick as the leader. Randall listens to this conversation. Carl goes into the barn and talks to Randall and when Shane catches him, he is furious. Carl takes Daryl's gun and runs into the woods and finds a walker who he teases as the walker is stuck in the mud. The walker gets loose and Carl drops the gun and runs home, telling nobody about the gun.

Dale is on his misson of mercy trying to get people to agree with him about Randall. They all have a meeting and most people agree with Rick about killing Randall. Dale freaks out and gives a speech about humanity. Rick, Daryl and Shane are going to execute Randall when Carl shows up and messes everything up. Rick then decides to spare Randall. Dale gets attacked by a walker and he is almost dead. Daryl has to shoot him in the head which he does. Carl realises that this is the same walker he was teasing earlier and he could have shot him but he didn't.This episode was not too bad. I have to say that I never really liked the character of Dale and he irritated me in this episode. Randall is a danger to the group and as such, he should have been killed to protect everyone, but Rick couldn't stand up and make the decision. He let himself be weak once again. I have a feeling that there will be a showdown between Shane and Rick and I don't see Shane lasting much longer in the series. I hope that I am wrong!!!

The Walking Dead, Season 2, Episode 10

2012-03-13T16:02:00.000+01:00

Episode 10 begins with Rick and Shane trying to get away from the walkers. Cut back to Rick and Shane talking about Otis and what happened. Rick figures out that Shane left Otis behind. Rick tells Shane that the baby is his and Laurie is his wife. He tells him that that won't change. He tells him that he will protect them any way he can. He wants to make plans for the coming winter. They have Randall in the boot of their car. They are trying to think of what to do with him. Rick tells Shane that he thinks they should use knives to kill the walkers to save ammo. They haul Randall from the car and are going to dump him when he tells them that he used to go to school with Maggie who is part of their group.

Shane wants to kill him but Rick stops him. They argue over him and then get into a fist fight. That brings on the walkers and the place is overrun with them. Shane is chased by them. Randall is tied up on the ground. There is a knife near him and he tries to get it. Shane gets stuck inside a schoolbus and it is packed outside with walkers. He has a knife and things are looking pretty bleak for him. Randall gets free and meets Rick. They see Shane inside the bus and Randall urges him to go with him and leave Shane. Rick goes but he finds the bodies of two cops and he thinks of Shane, his friend. He goes back and manages to save Shane. They get away and Rick tells him that he needs him to back him up as leader of the group. They put Randall back in the boot and go home.

A good episode mostly. There is a split coming and I think that the newcomer Randall is not as innocent as he seems. I think that he will cause trouble. That's my opinion!

Don't Go In The House Movie Review 228

2012-03-11T11:23:00.000+01:00

Don't Go in the House is a 1980 horror movie directed by Joseph Ellison and stars Dan Grimaldi(best known for his part in The Sopranos).

Donny Kohler(Grimaldi) is a quiet guy who lives in a huge old house with his mother. He arrives back from work one evening to find that she has died. Instead of calling the cops etc he decides to leave her body in her chair and put on his music loudly and dance around. He hears voices in his head telling him that he is finally free. His thoughts go back to his childhood when his mother punished him by holding his arms over a flame and burning them. He decides that he will do it to her. He thinks that he hears his mother's voice. He begins to pick up young women and bring them back to his homemade incinerator where he ties them up and burns them alive.

When he starts to miss work, his pal Bobby(Robert Osth)gets worried and calls him to see what is going on. Donny makes up stories about his mother being sick and that he is in trouble and Bobby wants to help. Bobby takes him to a disco to meet women, but he can't communicate with them at all and he ends up picking up two young girls who are drunk. He tells them that they can have a party at his house and they can call up their friends and bring them over too. They think that this is a great idea and they go with him. Meanwhile, Bobby goes to see the local priest, Fr.Gerritty(Ralph D. Bowman) and gets him to go to the house to help his pal. The two girls have figured out that Donny is not a nice guy and he has them in his incinerator waiting.

He goes upstairs to change into his fireproof suit and gets his flamethrower! Bobby and the priest break in and find the girls. They release them, but Fr Gerritty gets barbecued by Donny. Bobby helps him and they all run out of the house as Donny is faced with the dead corpses he had been keeping. They come to life and he sets fire to the house and burns it down with him inside. The movie ends with a young kid being slapped by his mother. He starts to hear the voices too, so here we go again !

This movie is OK. It isn't anything special and I thought that it was a bit dull in places. The premise was good, but the execution was not. Just a mediocre 80's horror. It gets 4/10.

The House of a Thousand Dolls Movie Review 227

2012-03-07T22:51:00.000+01:00

The House of a Thousand Dolls is a 1967 thriller starring Vincent Price,George Nader and Maria Rohm.

It is directed by Jeremy Summers who directed loads of TV stuff including the brilliant Randall and Hopkirk(Deceased) original series.

The movie begins with a funeral. There is a young woman in the coffin and it is brought to a large house. It is brought into a room where Felix Manderville(Price) and his wife Rebecca(Martha Hyer) are standing. Felix snaps his fingers and the girl in coffin awakens and screams. Cut to a man called Fernando(Sancho Gracia) who is looking for his girlfriend, Diana(Maria Rohm). He talks to friends of his, Stephen Armstrong(Nader) and his wife Marie(Ann Smyrner) and tells them that he is going to investigate it himself. They tell him to go to the cops, but he won't. Meanwhile a woman called Madame Viera tells them that the King of Hearts is very pleased with them for their part in getting the young girl to the house which is called House of a Thousand Dolls. Fernando goes to a nightclub and meets some sleazy guy. They chat and Fernando tells him that he is looking for a 'special' girl. The guy gives him a little doll and tells him to show it at the front door of a house that he will take Fernando to.

They reach the House of a Thousand Dolls and he sees the girls that have been taken and kept prisoner there.

He sees Diana and he chooses her. They talk and Diana tells him what happened to her. She is a prisoner and she has no choice but to do what they say. Fernando wants to get her out. Unfortunately, Madame Viera has been listening to their chat and she tells the heavies to kill Fernando which they do. Meanwhile, Felix and Rebecca are discussing their magic act. Felix lured young girls into his glass box and makes them disappear and then they are taken to the House of a Thousand Dolls to become prostitutes. Stephen is asked by the local cops to identify Fernando's body and he does. He is suspicious now and he wants to find out what happened to his pal. At the house, Diana and another girl try to escape from their prison,but they are caught and brought back.

Felix decides that Stephen is getting too nosy and he finds out that Marie will be in the audience at the magic show. He and Rebecca decide to take her. They do the trick and she is taken but they are unaware that Stephen was meeting his wife and he comes looking for her and he is very angry. Rebecca makes up some story about her being faint and that is why it took so long for him to find her. Stephen is a bit suspicious.He tells Felix about Fernando and Felix offers to help him to look for some clues. A local photographer offers information to Stephen,but he is killed before he can say anything. The next day, Marie is contacted by Rebecca who tells her that Stephen needs her and she will take her to him. Marie is overpowered and taken to the House of a Thousand Dolls.

Stephen gets a note telling him to meet Rebecca after the show. He calls the cops and tells them what happened. They tell Stephen to meet her and see what happens. He does. He tries to bargain with her and she agrees to get his wife out in return for help in escaping. Felix finds out about this and he tries to stop it. All hell breaks loose at the house and Stephen and Felix fight. Felix falls to his death and it is discovered that Rebecca is the fictional King of Hearts and this was all her operation. The cops come and the girls are free and the baddies are shipped off to prison.

This is a really cheap movie, but it isn't that bad. I enjoyed it and it had an interesting story. Vincent Price was just doing it for the money, I would say. It is worth a watch, though as it isn't as bad as you would think. It gets a 5/10.

The Walking Dead, Season 2, Episode 9

2012-03-05T13:18:00.000+01:00

Last episode we saw Rick shoot two survivors who were trying to find out where their farm was so they could get their hands on their stuff.

Laurie is in her car after her crash and there are walkers around her trying to get in. Cut to Rick and co. who are going to leave when they hear people looking for the two survivors Rick shot. Rick tells them what happened and there is a shootout. Back at the farm, Carol tells Daryl what is happening. He is still trying to cut himself off from the rest of the group after what happened to Sophia. Shane goes to find Laurie. Back at the bar, Glenn goes into the back to see if the new people are trying to get in . Rick and Hershel decide to try and get the car. Glenn gets shot at and he hides, thinking of Maggie. Hershel shoots one of them and the walkers get him. The shooters have to take off .Another one is impaled on a railing. His name is Randall and he begs them to save him from the walkers. They pull him off the railing and take him with them.

Meanwhile. Shane finds Laurie and takes her back to the farm, telling her that Rick and the others are fine and waiting for her. When Laurie finds out that he lied, she is not happy with him. She wonders what happened with Otis. She tells him that she told Rick about their affair and Shane isn't pleased. They are going to look for Rick when he arrives back with Randall. Shane and Rick argue over him. Shane wants to kill him because he will run back and tell his friends where the farm is. Rick thinks that he won't. Andrea and Shane talk and he tells her that he should have left with her when he had the chance. Rick and Laurie talk about Shane and she tells him that she thinks Shane is dangerous.

I have to say that I like the character of Shane. I think that he is just reacting to the situation at hand and that he is not bad. Rick is a little too soft and righteous for my liking. I can see a split coming between Rick's gang who would be Laurie and his son, Glenn and Dale and maybe Carol. Shane would have Andrea and T-Dog. Maybe Daryl, I'm not too sure, but I just think that if there is a split, I would much rather Shane be in charge...Just my opinion. Who would you prefer in charge??

Goblin Movie Review 226

2012-02-29T15:31:00.000+01:00

Goblin is a 2010 horror movie directed by Jeffery Scott Lando(House of Bones) and starring Gil Bellows(Ally McBeal) and Colin Cunningham(from Falling Skies).

It starts in the year 1831 and a local woman's child is thrown into a bonfire because the woman is accused of being a witch and they think that the child is evil. She curses them and their village. The demon comes out of the fire and kills them. Cut to modern day and it is October 30. Kate(Camille Sullivan), her husband Neil(Bellows), Neil's daughter, Nikki(Tracy Spiridakos) and her new baby brother, Nathan. They are all travelling to the town of Hollowglen because Neil wants to make a deal with the locals about some development that he is planning with his pal Owen(Cunningham). They arrive in Hollowglen and they have to ask the locals for directions to the cabin they are staying in. Along with Nikki is her friend Cammy(Erin Boyles) and they laugh at the locals. An old guy called Charlie(Donnelly Rhodes of Danger Bay fame) warns them about the curse on the children of the town. They think that he is nuts.

They arrive at the cabin and Owen is there. There is tension in the air between Kate and Nikki. Kate is Nikki's stepmother and Nikki resents her. Next day is Halloween and the Goblin comes back to get vengeance on the village. Cammy and Nikki meet two local boys called Matt( Brett Dier) and Kyle(Reilly Dolman). They all hang out together at the house as Nikki is babysitting Nathan. Kate, Neil and Owen meet the local Sheriff(Andrew Wheeler) and talk to him about the development and the curse. He denies that the town is cursed and he doesn't seem too keen on the development either. The Goblin is in the woods behind the cabin and Cammy and Matt are killed. Nikki hears Cammy scream and she runs out of the house leaving Nathan alone. She finds Cammy dead and runs back to the house. Nathan has gone. Kate, Neil and Sheriff come back and she tells them what happened. They think that it is some sort of prank and Kate begs her to tell her what happened to her baby, but Nikki assures her that it isn't a joke. Sheriff takes Kyle in the cop car. Neil goes looking in the woods for Cammy and Matt. He finds Cammy.

Kate and Nikki are alone in the house when the Goblin arrives and kills Kate. Kyle arrives back having escaped. He has a car and she jumps in with him. Goblin is following them. It kills Owen. Charlie meets Nikki and Kyle and he tells them that he has a special spear which will kill the Goblin but someone has to get in close to impale him. Charlie decides that he will do it. Nikki and Kyle head to the local cafe which is owned by the Sheriff's wife, Bea. She has the missing baby. It turns out the Sheriff lured the family to the area so that they could get the baby or something like that. She locks Kyle and Nikki into a room. Neil arrives but gets handcuffed by the Sheriff. He tries to blame Neil for the killings, knowing well that the Goblin is responsible. Charlie lets them out and he tells them that Bea is trying to swap Nathan for a promise from the Goblin that he will leave them alone. They go to where the original bonfire was and they see the Goblin coming for Nathan. Charlie sticks the spear into the Goblin. It kills Charlie but Kyle goes back and tries again and it kills Kyle. Nikki finally kills the Goblin and she and Neil take Nathan and leave.

This was a below average offering. It is a bit slow in parts and the story is a bit ropey, but it isn't that bad to pass a couple of hours. Be warned that it is very low budget, but the Goblin was ok in it. This gets 3/10.