Cinderella´s Curse

Back in the early 2000 i came up with a brilliant idea while speaking to my ex girlfriend Linnea. I decided i would try on her prom dress because who wouldn´t want to see that? Exactly, no one. That made everything even more clear to me why i needed to do that. I actually got in the prom dress but to get out of it? That was a bit more complicated to be honest and when i finally did i thought i broke it. Luckily i didn´t so things turned out well after all. I would imagine that some women love to wear dresses, especially during summertime if the weather is wonderful. It´s not often you see it here in Sweden but occasionally you see someone wearing one. When it comes to dresses i think a lot of people are easily reminded of the classic Walt Disney animated movie known as Cinderella from 1950 because this is one of those animated films a lot of young girls loved watching growing up. Not just because of the dress of course but the love story of young woman Cinderella who falls in love with Prince Charming. We all know the story of Cinderella where she lost her shoe at the end of the stroke of midnight while Prince Charming want to find the woman he met, who fit in this shoe. It has been quite a while since i watched this film, it might have been when i was babysitting back in 2009. I know there are animated sequels to this classic film but i have not seen them. I also know there are other film adaptations of Cinderella and i have actually seen one of them at least called A Cinderella Story from 2004. To be honest this wasn´t a film i wanted to see but one of my family´s children wanted to watch it and so we did. Let´s just say i easily fell asleep during the film. I think actress Hillary Duff was a modern version of Cinderella if im not mistaken? Other than that i don´t remember much more. So since a lot of classic fairytale characters such as Winnie The Pooh and Mickey Mouse became public domain a lot of low budget horror films are being made based on these characters. So here we are with another classic fairytale character made into a horror movie and this time it is Cinderella in a film called Cinderella´s Curse. Distributed by the British independent film company Champdog films ( who gave us the lovely independent horror film Virtual Death Match ), i was curious to see what they would do with such a classic fairytale. Is it possible Cinderella´s Curse is the best film adaptation so far based on the classic story or is this just as bad as Scarecrow´s Revenge from 2019?

Cinderella ( Kelly Ryan Sanson ) is forced to work hard everyday while being treated like garbage by her evil Stepmother ( Danielle Scott ) while she gets an oppurtunity to go the dance with Prince Levin ( Sam Barrett ). But there are those who doesn´t want Cinderella to have a wonderful dance, and plan to destroy her night no matter what it takes.

I am fully aware that the following words i am about to say will be very controversial for fans of the old animated Disney film of Cinderella, but my personal opinion is that Cinderella´s Curse is the best film adaptation we have had so far of the classic fairytale of Cinderella. This is exactly how i want a Cinderella story to be told with demonic figues, flesh wounds, an evil stepmother and a book that looks like the Book Of The Dead from Evil Dead. Mix this all together and you have the Cinderella movie we have all been waiting for. It is about time someone dared doing something fun with this classic story, i personally don´t want to see the classic fairytale being told the same over and over again. Is this a low budget horror film? Yes, but i am completely fine with that, in fact usually it is independent films that actually takes chances and do fun films such as this one. A major Hollywood studio wouldn´t dare doing this so i am grateful that they actually tried to do something different with this film. Ok, so let´s go through some of the details i appreciate about Cinderella´s Curse. I really appreciate the brutal violence in this film where we do get to see some proper flesh wounds. When you think of the story of Cinderella you may not think about bodies getting cut open, and this is exactly why this is a great match for a story such as this. There are some other fun violence scenes i didn´t expect which i really appreciated. When it comes to the characters we do have some surprisingly fun acting performances but the one who really stand out in this film is actress Daniella Scott as the evil Stepmother. This is honestly the best acting performance i have seen her do so far and i have seen several of her films. I love the fact that Daniella really go into this character with such a evil approach and this may be one of my favourite independent film acting performances of this year so far. Actress Kelly Rian Sanson deliver an acting performance as Cinderella that works quite well where you actually feel sorry for her. The female cast in general does a great job on this film to be honest. The story itself surrounding Cinderella have some similar ingredients from the original story with some big differences, and i do appreciate they decided to twist it around a bit. Anything negative to say? Honestly, no. I am actually quite surprised how much i enjoyed this film to be honest. It´s not a perfect film in any way and i don´t mind some flaws. Director Louisa Warren have finally made the fairytale film i have been hoping for in several years and deliver a fun surprise. Cinderella´s Curse will definetely be on my list for favourite indepenent horror films of this year.

Rating: DDD

Death Bitch

Revenge is a very powerful tool but it can also be dangerous. If you want to revenge someone for something they did towards you personally or someone you love, think about what you are doing. Even if you may pursue with your revenge plan because of what happened in the past, it may not help you heal your wounds completely. I can completely understand if you want to revenge someone if you are a victim, we don´t always trust the justice system. But at the end of the day using revenge may make your future a living hell if things go terribly wrong. When it comes to revenge stories we have seen a lot of films in the past taking on the subject in many different categories. You have revenge action films where some of them are seen as classics and of course there are also some great horror revenge films as well. One of my personal favourite revenge films from the past is the 1974 action revenge film Death Wish from legendary director Michael Winner ( who directed 3 other classic Charles Bronson films as well such as The Mechanic, Chato´s Land and The Stone Killer ). Death Wish tell the story of New York architect Paul Kersey ( played by action legend Charles Bronson ) who lives in Manhattan with his wife, Joanna Kersey ( Hope Lang ), and their adult daughter, Carol Kersey ( Kathleen Tolan ). One day while Joanna and Carol arrange home delivery from the grocery store, three muggers find their adress and decides to break in. Joanna is brutally killed while her daughter Carol is sexually assaulted. Paul´s life completely falls apart and he decides to arm himself and shoot down criminals on the streets of New York to revenge the death of his wife and his daughter being scarred for life. Death Wish is a very simple but effective action film where legendary actor Charles Bronson does a great performance as Paul Kersey. There are 4 more sequels of the Death Wish franchise and i do enjoy some of them but the original film is definetely the best. Well worth checking out on DVD or Blu Ray if you love physical movies just like myself. Speaking of revenge films i recently got a chance to watch a brand new action movie called Death Bitch where you could tell this is a revenge inspired story. Since i am a big fan of revenge action films i simply had to check out Death Bitch to see if the title matched as well as i hoped. Is this one of the better revenge films in recent years or is Death Bitch a film that doesn´t have as big balls as i hoped it would have?

Alexis Walker ( Linnea Swanson ) lost her brother and mother in a home invasion. Struggling with the loss of her belived family members Alexis becomes a vigilante and decides to take out criminals all across the city. While the city experience a vigilante there also seems to be a serial killer out there known as The South Bay Slasher.

It comes to no suprise that Death Bitch knows what kind of audience this film was made for. This is a film that is clearly made for fans of independent action films who appreciate classic action ingredients, plenty of violence and doesn´t hold back on rough language. In some ways you can say there are some similar ideas here to the 1974 classic Death Wish although the plot is completely different. The revenge story itself is pretty simple and if you are looking for a film that doesn´t feel complicated or follow any specific trends and feels more like a throwback to VHS action films of the past then Death Bitch should definetely please you. So what do i appreciate about this film? I feel that the main actress Linnea Swanson gives her vigilante character Alexis a certain style that matches her angry approach while she execute criminals across town, similar to what Charles Bronson did in Death Watch. One of my personal favourite characters in Death Bitch is definetely Detective Maddy played by actress Traci Burr ( who i recognized from the independent horror film Hell Of The Screaming Dead that also included legendary actor Mel Novak ). The character of Detective Maddy matches so well in this film that she actually steal the show in certain scenes. Not only does this character look cool on screen but i do feel that Traci deliver her dialogue smoothly. Even if you can tell that the kills are not very brutal in certain scenes, i do feel that the execution scenes is a important detail to make the revenge plot more effective. So now to my negative thoughts and i have to say that i would have liked this film to be more brutal. Imagine if we saw main character Alexis empty even more bullets and we see all that blood flushing out, that´s my kind of revenge film. I think if Death Bitch would have shown a lot more bloody violence it would have been more effective. At the end of the day this is still an action film that´s made with passion for old school action cinema. Death Bitch lands somwhere between classics such as Death Wish and the Jennifer Garner revenge film Peppermint while making it´s own impact especially with a great female cast. If you are fed up with another Jennifer Lopez wedding film ( how many have she made now? ) and just want women to kick ass then this is the film for you. Death Bitch shows that not all women love wedding magazines and rather have some fun instead with lots of bullets included. Director Ken Brewer clearly loves classic revenge stories and he deliver a film that VHS action nerds like myself will appreciate.

Rating: DDD

A Quiet Place: Day One

Even though i enjoy living in a city and experience city life where i can go to the cinema whenever i want, perhaps go out to any restaurant or watch a live concert with a music band i enjoy, i also enjoy going to a lake and just relax. Fixing up a fire, barbecue some vegetables, some meat and bring potato sallad while you get away from all the big noises of the city and don´t need to think about time or stress. It is also nice to give fishing a try as well in case you might get a chance to barbecue some fish while you still have a fire going. In the 80´s and the early 90´s i used to spend a lot of summers around the lake Bysjön in Värmland here in Sweden. Not only would we fish there we would also walk along the forest looking for blueberries and mushrooms. Of course there are people out there who wouldn´t go to a lake or any forest, since they have other ways to relax and that´s completely fine. Everyone finds different ways to see what makes them feel relaxed and it´s good no matter what you choose to do. But what if you one day discovered that the end of humanity may be upon us if you make just a noice, you may be attacked and killed by an unknown creature? That is exactly what happened in the 2018 post-apocalyptic horror film known as A Quite Place from director John Krasinski ( perhaps most known for his iconic rolle as Jim Halpert in the comedy TV series The Office ). A Quiet Place turned out to be one of the most interesting horror films of 2018 for trying a completely different approach in the post-apocalyptic genre than we have seen before with really powerful acting performances and really good CGI effects. The 2020 sequel A Quiet Place Part II also directed by John Krasinski turned out to be a really good sequel. So here we are in 2024 with a prequel to these films simply called A Quiet Place: Day One, a film that is supposed to tell the story how it all started as these creatures started taking over the world. Since i have seen the previous films in cinema i had to see this one as well on the big screen. Is this a really good prequel or is this a film that we didn´t need in the A Quiet Place franchise at all?

Samira "Sam" ( Lupita Nyong´o ), a pessimistic, terminally ill cancer patient, lives at a hospice outside New York with her cat, Frodo. Reuben ( Alex Wolff ), a nurse, convinces a reluctant Sam to join a group outing to a marionette show in Manhattan. While in the city, the group notices meteor-like objects falling from the sky. Shortly after, hostile extraterrestrial attack the gathered crowd. An ambulance explode and knocks Sam unconscious. Sam later wakes up inside the theatre with Frodo and other survivors. She and the remaining survivors have no other option but try and survive, even though Sam is already struggling with her cancer illness.

Prequels are quite tricky to pull off, especially if you are going to tell a story that happened before the original A Quite Place film started back in 2018. This prequel actually manage to tell a story from a completely different angle compared to the previous films. Of course the circumstances of the young woman this film is focused on is very sad considering she is terminally ill, but i do feel this is a very important detail because it raises a lot of questions. How do you survive a war out there when you are suffering already and your body is dying? How do you deal mentally with the situation knowing that this will only end in one way? There are other questions that may be asked along the way but as a survival horror film i have to say A Quite Place: Day One manage to put all the right pieces together. You have some nicely created horror scenes in this film as humans are being attacked by these creatures. It may not be a very bloody film to be honest and that´s ok, what matters is that the horror scenes are effective. Lead actress Lupita Nyong´o ( who played the cool character Nakia in the Black Panther films ) gives a strong performance as the terminally ill character Sam. I feel that she really captured the mentality of a terminally ill patient and the struggles she have every single day. There are other really good characters here such as Henri played by actor Dijmon Hounsou ( well known from classic films such as Stargate, Gladiator, Constantine, Blood Diamond and many more ). Actor Joseph Quinn also deliver a solid performance who i know from the Netflix TV series Stranger Things. So the question is does this prequel work better than the previous films? No, i think this prequel may not be as strong as those films proved to be. But i still feel this is a really good horror film from director Michael Sarnoski that proves there is a future for the franchise of A Quite Place. A prequel you should see no matter where you watch it on streaming or physical media, one of the better horror releases this year so far. A Quiet Place: Day One proves that horror can still be made on a high quality level of film making.

Rating: DDDD

Abigail

One of the genres within horror films that can be quite tricky to make interesting is horror films that includes vampires. Some of you might say there are vampires in the Twilight franchise, i wouldn´t really call them vampires. The so called vampires in the Twilight saga felt more like Sunday Bibe school versions of college horror films that were extremely boring to watch. I would argue that the vampire master Jerry Dandrige ( played by legendary actor Chris Sarandon ) in the 1985 horror vampire classic Fright Night would easily destroy every single vampire in Twilight. When i watch a vampire movie i want the film not only to be entertaining but it also needs to be respectful to the vampire genre as well. We could probably discuss what our favourite vampire horror films are but i decided to talk about one title that i actually really enjoy. A vampire horror film from the year of 2007 known as 30 Days Of Night from director David Slade ( who did direct the great horror film Dark Harvest released last year, worth checking out on Amazon Prime ). This film is based on the comic book series of the same name, written by American comic book writer Steve Niles. The film takes place in the town of Barrow, Alaska, where the people are preparing for its annual period of the winter with a month-long polar night. What the people of this town don´t know is that they are about to be invaded by a group of vampires led by their leader Marlow ( Danny Huston ). 30 Days Of Night is a vampire film that actually not only works really well as a vampire film but the location of a small town in Alaska is very interesting regarding the cold weather condition. This was one of the better Josh Hartnett performances i have seen him do as Sheriff Eben Oleson and legendary actor Danny Huston as a vampire leader turned out to be a really good match. If you have not seen 30 Days Of Night check it out on streaming or on physical media. Early spring this year i heard a vampire horror comedy called Abigail was coming out in cinemas worldwide. I was planning to watch it in cinema but that plan didn´t go too well. So instead i decided to check out Abigail on blu ray released in July in the UK to see if this would be a solid vampire release. Is this film you should watch to prepare for a cozy autumn or is it possible that Abigail is just as bad as the R&B hip hop studio album Gangsta Harmony ( an album of 18 tracks that easily could have been 9 instead ) from Mo B. Dick released in 1999 ?

Young ballet dancer Abigail ( Alisha Weir ) is abducted by 6 criminals and taken to the secluded Wilhelm Manor. Before leaving, their leader Lambert instructs them to guard Abigail for 24 hours, at which point they will recieve an equal share of 50 million U.S. dollars ransom paid by her father Kristof Lazaar ( Matthew Goode ). What should have been an easy job turns out to be a true nightmare when these 6 criminals get to see the real Abigail reveal herself.

While some vampire films tries to go in a different direction than a traditional vampire film, Abigail does try to add some extra flavors where especially her ballet scenes helps Abigail stand out in this genre. I can not remember any vampire film where i have seen anyone combine ballet and a vampire before, so for that i have to say Abigail does attempt to do something quite different than we are used to see. If we look overall of the film Abigail i would probably call this the vampire version of the 2019 horror comedy Ready Or Not with some big differences of course. While i watched this film i was also reminded of the 1999 horror film House On Haunted Hill ( a remake of the 1959 film ) where a group of people are forced to survive inside a long-abandoned hospital. In Abigail you have a group of kidnappers who tries to survive inside a mansion instead where they are locked inside. There are some funny scenes in this film and i especially appreciate to see the ballet scenes be included in certain scenes where the vampire girl Abigail attack her victims while using her dance moves. When it comes to the characters there are especially two i feel stand out in this film. First you have the young girl Abigail played by actress Alisha Weir who i feel give the strongest acting performance. To be able to play this well at her young age transforming into a vampire show this young woman is a talented actress. Actress Melissa Barerra ( who is really good in the 2021 drama film All The World Is Sleeping ) plays the tough character Joey and i feel she have such a natural way to deliver dialogue in this film. Something else i enjoyed in this film is certain scenes where Abigail attack victims in different ways. I appreciate the twist that´s revealed 1 hour into the film, definetely made things a bit more interesting regarding the plot. Anything i feel could have been done better? I would say this film could have been even more violent since this is supposed to be a horror comedy, they could have gone over the top and have more fun with some extreme brutality. Other than that i think this film looks good, have good performances in general and for a vampire film i feel this film does feel different than most modern vampire releases. I still prefer 30 Days Of Night compared to Abigail but it´s definetely worth checking out. Directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gilett have definetely brought us a tasteful treat with Abigail that will be appreciated by fans of vampires.

Rating: DDD

Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F

When i think back at the year of 1984 i have so many wonderful movie memories that the list never seems to end. This was the year when we got the very first Police Academy film, it was also the year when horror comedy classic Gremlins hit the big screens worldwide. One of the best action films of that year was of course James Cameron´s sci fi action film The Terminator with Arnold Schwarzenegger, Michael Biehn and Linda Hamilton while we also had the Indiana Jones sequel known as Indiana Jones And The Temple Of Doom. There is no question that this was a very magical cinema year for many reasons and let´s be honest, we even have to include the Troma classic motion picture The Toxic Avenger ( which is a B movie masterpiece if you ask me ). Let´s stay within the year of 1984 and talk specifically about one film for a while that became a huge worldwide hit in cinemas and that is the action comedy known as Beverly Hills Cop from director Martin Brest. At the time this film came out in cinema here in Sweden in early 1985 ( yes it was released later here ) i was 7 years old and i only remember seeing the cinema posters. I didn´t see the first film until 1988 at the same time i saw Beverly Hills Cop 2 on VHS when my dad rented both films. It was actually the Beverly Hills Cop films that was my first real introduction to comedian Eddie Murphy and i became a fan since then. Eddie Murphy as the Detroit detective Axel Foley is one of the true iconic 80´s characters and both films were really entertaining. I prefer the original film but i do appreciate Beverly Hills Cop 2 as well. When the 90´s kicked in it seemed we wouldn´t get another sequel until the third film was released in 1994. It is a sequel i do not like to talk about for different reasons so at that time i was hoping Eddie Murphy would do something better in his film career. He finally did in 1997 with the action movie Metro, that was not a box office hit but in my opinion one of his last good films in the 90´s. When the 2000´s kicked in it seemed that Eddie was stuck making family comedies and other comedies that just were not that funny. Over the years i have tried to watch the other films he have released and when news came out he was making a 4th film in the Beverly Hills franchise i was not hopeful. I thought it would be difficult to return with a sequel after so many years. So here we are this summer of 2024 when Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F have been released on Netflix worldwide and it seems fans of the classic franchise is excited. Is this the best Eddie Murphy film for many years or is Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F a sequel that never should have been made at all?

Detective Axel Foley ( Eddie Murphy ) manage to cause chaos once again in Detroit while chasing thievs from a Detroit Red Wings game. Deputy Chief Jeffrey Friedman ( Paul Reiser ) decides to retire to protect Axel from being punished and encourages Axel to reconnect with his estranged daughter Jane Saunders ( Taylour Paige ), a defense attorney in L.A. Billy Rosewood ( Judge Reinhold ), working as a privat investigator after having had a fall out with John Taggart ( John Ashton ), also calls Axel, warning him that his daughter is in danger. Axel have no other option but to travel back to Beverly Hills, not only to reconnect with his daughter but also fight against a very dangerous criminal cartel.

I remember waking out of the cinema in 1994 after watching Beverly Hills Cop 3 in cinema at the age of 16 and i was really disappointed. Since i enjoyed both the original film and the sequel it felt like the third film was basically just a cash in to try and sell as many tickets as possible and lost most of the charm of the previous Beverly Hills Cop films. If you have not seen the third film in this franchise, skip it unless you really want to see it. Thankfully they tried to capture some of that Beverly Hills Cop magic back in this latest sequel 30 years after the third film was released. In many ways you can say that they actually made an effort to try and bring some of the magic back with some of the iconic characters we remember. Since comedies these days are lacking of funny dialogue and funny scenes, this film actually have some fun moments where i did find myself laughing. I wouldn´t say this is the funniest Eddie Murphy film i have seen but i have to say he is definetely more funny than he have been in the last 27 years since Metro came out in 1997 ( a film you should see ). Not that Metro is meant to be really funny since it is mostly an action film but in my opinion that was the last Eddie Murphy film that i actually enjoyed. Just the fact that Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F manage to deliver an entertaining action film is clearly a surprise for me where the action scenes works better than i expected. I am definetely pleased that they bring back legendary actors Judge Reinhold and John Ashton as their iconic characters Billy Rosewood and Chief John Taggart. Not only that of course you see very feminine character Serge played by actor Bronson Pinchot, everyone´s favourite gay guy. Actress Taylour Paige give this film a different perspective on the life of Axel Foley by portraying his daughter Jane. Nice to see legendary actor Kevin Bacon in this film as the character Captain Cade Grant, he have such a natural screen presence. The soundtrack feels just like revisiting the older films and i feel they managed to make this sequel a love letter throwback to the fans. Director Mark Molloy have done a wonderful job with this sequel and i hope he works with Eddie Murphy again because we need the old school Eddie back as we used to see in the past. Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F may not be a perfect action comedy but this is definetely the comeback of Eddie Murphy we have been waiting for.

Rating: DDD

Arcadian

I don´t know about you but i really appreciate the genre known as creature feature horror films. Especially if they are done with practical make up effects instead of CGI and i am definetely open for all kinds of films in this genre. Creature feature horror films have been around for a very long time and have made a huge impact on horror films in cinemas worldwide. The genre includes everything from mutated animals, aliens, monsters, flesh eating plants, mutated bugs, enormous sea creatures and much more. You have classics such as Creature From The Black Lagoon, The Thing, Critters, Mimic ( a film i feel should be talked about more often ), The Burrowers, Python, Alligator ( the original film from 1980 ) and of course we have to add the Alien franchise and the Predator franchise as well. There are plenty of other films that could easily end up on a creature feature horror films list but let´s talk about one specific film that i personally appreciate that was released 19 years ago in 2005. And that is the creature feature horror film known as Feast from director John Gulager ( director of all 3 films in the Feast trilogy ). Feast is a really fun creature feature horror film that really tries to bring back old school monster horror B movies back onto the big screen. Lots of gore, lots of blood and we even have Rollins Band frontman Henry Rollins in this film as well. Kind of reminds me of the really good 1995 horror film Demon Knight in many ways, with some big differences of cours. I highly recommend you pick up Feast on DVD or blu ray if you have not seen it or if you want to get the whole trilogy in a box set. I happen to enjoy all 3 films in this franchise even though i prefer the original film. Legendary actor Nicolas Cage have done it all in his career, everything from serious drama films, action films, thriller films and even horror films playing a lot of different characters. I have personally seen a lot of his film in his long career. Some films are quite good while others such as action film 211 ( The Bank Heist ) from 2018 are not one of the highlights. He did a really good job on the very odd horror film Mandy that really susprised me and i did enjoy horror comedy Willys Wonderland as well. So here we find Nicolas Cage in a creature feature horror film called Arcadian that i have been looking forward to see. Is this a horror film you should check out at home or is this a film that was just as boring as another season of Swedish entertainment show Bäst I Test on SVT?

Paul ( Nicolas Cage ) and his two boys Joseph ( Jaeden Martell ) and Thomas ( Maxwell Jenkins ) are survivors of a pandemic where creatures have taken over Earth and the remaining survivors try and survive every way they possibly can. Paul and his sons live in a farmhouse where they get supplies during daytime, since night time you are not allowed to go outside. So far they have managed to do quite well but not even they can hide from the creatures waiting out there. They still need to find other supplies, even if it means taking chances.

Imagine if you mixed influences from the 2017 horror film It Comes At Night and added some extra flavors of the 2018 horror film A Quite Place and you may understand what kind of creature feature horror film Arcadian is. Even though there are some monster attacks in this film they are not at the same level of violence as the 2005 horror film Feast i mentioned earlier in my review. But that´s ok, because it all comes down to if the film is solid enough to please fans of this genre. I would probably say this is more of a dramatic horror film that actually tries to tell a story and do have some character development. The biggest strength of Arcadian is actually not the monster attack scenes but the family chemistry between the characters father Paul ( really good performance from Nicolas Cage ) and his boys Joseph and Thomas ( also great performances from actors Jaeden Martel and Maxwell Jenkins ). The scenes where we get to follow this family try and fix their home after monster attacks and to find supplies wherever they can, you get a sense that they are grateful for the little things they have in life. They don´t know how any day will like so you quickly understand they are just living day by day. Just imagine being forced every single night not to go outside of their house in case these monsters would attack you ( yes they hide during daytime ), not even being able to look at the stars in the sky during night. The monster design is quite different from what we have seen before and the CGI effects of them work pretty good. The violence when it finally arrives do have some effective scenes, but you should probably know this is not a film where a lot of things happen right from the beginning. Anything negative? Honestly i don´t know if i have to bring anything up, i enjoy Arcadian as a post-apocalyptic for telling a simple but effective story of survival and how important family is. Director Benjamin Brewer have made a film that may not be remembered for being one of the best creature feauture horror films in many years, but i believe he may be remembered for bringing us one of Nicloas Cage more interesting films in recent years with Arcadian. If you are a fan of post-apocalyptic films in general and creature feature films as well, i have a feeling Arcadian is exactly what you are looking for. A film worth spending time with, no matter if you watch this film on streaming, VOD or a physical release.

Rating: DDD

Cellphone

Technology have changed our lives completely. Through our cellphones we can pretty much do everything ourselves such as buy a car, buy music, order take out, pay our bills, read a digital newspaper, we don´t even need a TV anymore if you can watch movies and news on apps instead on your cellphone. I know some people don´t always like a more modern society and i have no problem with it, if technology can help us make life easier it is a good thing. Of course if the electricity goes out that is a problem, but then it is good to have a survival kit at home such as canned food, instant coffee, a gas lantern or perhaps candles ( depending on if you are outside or inside your home ), bottled water and other things that might come in handy. Some other good things about having a cellphone is that you can Skype and talk to anyone worldwide without paying lots of money for foreign calls, you can also use Google maps in case you are lost somewhere. There are many good advantages of using a cellphone and i am sure it will get even more developed in the future when im an old fart ( 47 this month so i am getting closer i guess ). I remember when i got my first mobile phone back in 1999 as i bought a Ericsson A1018. The coolest thing you could do back then was sending text messages to your friends and i remember especially sending text messages to my best friends Patrick, Anders and André at that time. It didn´t matter what we did if we worked or not we would text message each other talking about going to the cinema or VHS store. Too be honest i actually prefered meeting my friends in real person, text messages just made it easier arranging meeting each other. Speaking of cellphones there have been films made in the past talking about cellphones, especially in the horror category. A personal favourite of mine is the 2003 Japanese horror film One Missed Call from director Takashi Miike, a film that really manage to capture a really creepy vibe regarding strange cellphone calls, but also the idea that each call you will hear yourself speak right before you die. A really effective combination and when the truth comes out who is behind all of this you will be suprised. The first film is the best and the sequels that followed were ok, they just couldn´t capture the same creepy feeling as the original film. There was an American remake made but it´s nowhere near as good as the original Japanese film. Speaking of cellphones not that long ago i sat down while watching films on VOD and came across a horror film called Cellphone. Not knowing much about it the poster did look interesting so i decided to give it a chance. Is this a horror film you should see this summer or is Cellphone as predictable and incredibly dull as Jake Paul´s hiphop singles?

Wynne ( Whitney Rose Pynne ), who is suffering PTSD from the death of her fiancé Liam ( Jared Noble ), starts seeing disturbing images on her cell phone about her future and the past as well. Each detail that reveals itself forces her to struggle with her PTSD even further.

Without giving away too much away regarding the plot you can basically say that Cellphone is a very simple film. This is the kind of film you would call a slow burn film, meaning that it doesn´t rush into anything and takes it´s time to build up tensions. I am actually one of those people who can enjoy slow burn films if they are well made, have great characters and especially include an interesting plot. When it comes to Cellphone i have to admit that this is a very basic horror film. It doesn´t take any big chances or doesn´t really try anything groundbreaking. I think if you are going to do a horror film where a cellphone takes a lot of space of the film you should try and do it in a effective way. Even if this film does include a lot of cellphone references i think the most imporant detail about this film is how the main character Wynne ( played by actress Whitney Rose Pynn ) is struggling with PTSD and this is where we do find the most interesting part of the film. How does PTSD affect you? How do you function in ordinary day life while trying to do your best to stay positive? This is where i feel the real story of Cellphone becomes far more fascinating than the cellphone connections. The cellphone scenes are of course a part of her PTSD struggles but it is the stress disorder itself that makes the main character interesting. To be honest though i am not sure i would call this a pure horror film, i might have to call this more a psychological thriller drama since the horror elements are not that powerful. Actress Whitney Rose Pynn gives a performance that matches her character well. Actor Justin Malik Jackson as the character Chris is quite a fun character, you never really know what he will bring to the table and is odd in some ways but still charming. Nice to hear legendary actor Malcolm McDowell speaking through the cellphone conversations with Wynne. Cellphone is a mixed bag for me when i look at the film overall, i appreciate the film to trying to bring up the importance of understanding how PTSD may look like while trying to combine it with a cellphone story. Rating this film is actually quite hard for me since i do enjoy parts of it while feeling there are elements missing to make the film even more interesting. I will say this though, at the end of the day i appreciate Cellphone for trying to tell a story regarding PTSD and why we need people to understand what a struggle it is for many people worldwide. Director Luke Sommer directed a short film called Cell Phone back in 2012 and this is his full feature film version based on that short film. I do think he have made a film that could start conversations regarding the subject of PTSD and for that i am grateful. If you enjoy slow burn films, this might be a film you would appreciate.

Rating: DDD