QUITE ONES

Hammer Film Production

Directed by: John Pogue

Starring by: Jared Harris, Sam Clafin, Erin Richards, Rory Fleck-Byrne, Olivia Cooke

Didn’t expect much bang or ghost on this film because as I seen on its trailer it’s some kind of psychological horror, so there’s must be more act than appearance so that’s why I was surprised to see several of it at the end. During the hours I have busy to compares the film with the real fact, which had to be inspiration for this movie, that I’ve read on Phillip Experiment, it was some experiment of parapsychologists in Canada in 1970 who try to prove human mind could produce a ghost through imagination and visualization.

It began at Oxford in 1970 when Joseph Coupland was showed some cases on his parapsychology class. Joseph was the man who always tries to define supernatural thing with science, everything should have logic explanation and that’s why he hired Brian, local cameramen, to document his experiment with his two assistant, Krissi and Harry, to study and cured odd woman who’s possessed by demon names Jane Harper.

Joseph team were using modern and scientific methods like Electronic Magnetic Pulse (EMP) to tracks negative energy from ghost, sensor camera to photograph an aura from Jane to shown the figure of the thing that bothers her, they name it Evey and I found it very amazing in that period, also playing loud rock music in order to kept Jane from sleep so her agitation could increased the activity of that negative energy.

Science versus supernatural, that’s what I think about this film. Two elements that always interested when it’s collided, and Joseph, with his ideology and logic tried to explains every strange manner on Jane and persistence to his conclusion that Evey is only some creature that made inside the head of Jane. Brian upset because the experiments hurting Jane and its lack of ethic, it’s proves nothing than making their subject harming herself and the apparition of Evey get aggressive.

The cameramen who finally had doubt on Coupland theory finally looked up from some evidence on library and he found that the symbol that marked on Jane’s waist was a symbol of an occult sect called Lillitu, which worshiped Sumerian demon, and they killed a young girl a few years ago because they believe with doing so they could bring their god into the physical world. The young girl’s name was Evey Dwyer and with her abilities she killed all member of the sect by set them on fire inside a burning house.

It’s some example of a horror movie that used less visual effect, besides the apparition of a long tongue that come from Jane’s mouth, but the story it’s tense for me. The mixed between paranormal activity angle by Brian’s camera and a regular horror movie was fine. But the songs that played on that movie not represent the periods. Bertha Butt Boogie by Jimmy Castor Bunch was released in 1975 but it’s played on the movie which set up in 1974. And Cum On Feel the Noise by Slade indeed released in 1973 but appropriated in 1974. Perhaps Paranoid from Black Sabbath will do more.   

Another thing, if it’s true that Jane Harper was haunted by Evet Dwyer, or I’ve said Jane Harper is Evey Dwyer herself, why she said the ghost is a baby? A baby who’s trapped in fire, with some stuffed to convince the team that the appearance was baby creature, see also the shape under the blanket on the baby box while in reality Brian discovered that Evey Dwyer was trapped in fire when she was teen.  

Is she lies because she already knew that she’s Evey? Or it’s some mistake by misleading from the writer? Well, to found out about it I think you should check the movie on yourself…

DELIVER US FROM EVIL

Jerry Bruckheimer Film

Directed by: Scott Derrickson

Starring by: Eric Bana, Edgar Ramirez, Sean Harris, Olivia Munn

Not many horror film involving police duty, most of all become crime fighting stories or action genres but in Deliver Us From Evil, Sergeant Ralph Sarchie was dealing with a prime crime, the devil himself to be fought. I like the way Priest Mendoza said about crime fighting like murder, burglary, domestic violence, riots and so on that humans do were only secondary layer of crime in the world. There’s a prime crime that had to dealing with and that was spiritual fighting.

Sarchie and Butler facing a serial weird situation during their patrols, a marine name Jimmy who beating up his wife, a mother name Jane who throw her baby into lion’s cage sewer, and mysterious painter who almost killed Sarchie with a lion at the zoo. His radar, that was Butler said to him, lead Sarchie that the numbers of situation turns out to be unusual case from other cases their handles.

His investigation found out that a group of marines that send to Iraq change the three of them, Mick Santino, Jimmy Tratner, and Buttler into some doors for Evil to pass to earth. From that, he also meet Jesuit Priest name Mendoza who’s dealing with spiritual warfare and told him about his gift, that Sarchie’s radar was a special abilities to sense supernatural world and make him target for the demons.

The fact that this movie inspired by true story of NYPD Sergeant made me think that the creep was truly happening out there. I think you’ll be surprised like me when I see the scene on Santino’s place, where a cat corpse was crucified at the cross at the wall. My goodness, I don’t know if you can stand scenery like that, especially when you saw the inside parts of the carcass had been removed.

The story itself was not so horrified, it full with sudden appearance and big bang, more like action horror to me but every part was placed into exorcism at the end of the story. I don’t know the connection between The Doors and the graffiti cave on Iraq, I don’t know why evil targeting Sarchie just because he had supernatural ability, I don’t why the evil had to wait until other members of Santino came to New York to kill them but one thing that Mendoza said to Sarchie that evil just attacked in random, you can’t see or know his pattern…well, I think I just got to deal with that…and enjoy the exorcist battles that I just know had five steps to deal with.

And I do like every single scene, despite the confusing story, especially the exorcist battle that full with video effect. But there’s continuity mistaken by the director, when Sarchie taking down Jimmy Tratner, after the marine beating up his wife, Jimmy slashed him on the arms that made Sarchie suffered deep gash and he state that it needs stitches, it was not showing on the next scene when Sarchie and Butler goes to the zoo. The scar was there no more.

And I think there’s mismatch between Catholic Pastor and Jesuit Priest. Mendoza said he was Jesuit Priest but most of what he do, like sin confessing and cast out demons using Latin and holly water, showing that he was doing what Catholic Pastor do on their exorcism. Jesuit priest did not used Latin, they used daily language and not throwing holly water like that. But some words that taken by Mendoza about ‘defrocked’ if he behave similarly, when he confessed his sin after make sex with his first patient, it was the phrase that used by Christian priest.

OCULUS

Intrepid Pictures

Directed by: Mike Flanagan

Starring by: Karen Gillan, Brenton Thwaites, Katee Sackhoff, Rory, Cochrane

Oculus…the title is very catchy…and when I look on dictionary, I find the meaning that Oculus came from Latin word, the eye. One of the wisdom words I remembered is beware of your eyes, it glance with shine when your heart is clean but it glance with darkness when your heart is dirty… and I think the title was quite fit with the story about mirror…

It start with the tragedy that happened on Russell family about eleven years ago, when Allan Russell, the father, shoot Marie Russell, the mother, in madness and some strange phantom lady show herself in office room of the father. The tragedy put young Tim, the little son, to mental hospital and separation with his sister, Kaylie. But after eleven years, Kaylie still chase for the mirror. When she finally found it, she also picks Tim that by coincidence got his release from states, and asked the brother to settle things back by destroying the mirror.

I like the tense when Kaylie got the chance to see the mirror again after years, face to face with the mirror that’s try to defend itself by scaring her with weird condition. I don’t know what will happen or what she’ll get if the man who owns the gallery doesn’t come. Obviously not third sculpture because there are only two of them in reality.

The film pace is slow but I understand the reason, the writer tries to build strong story by explain all thing in details. And I think it works well. The tense increase every minute, not by shocking performance of the ghost or loud noise but by the story and all possible situations that would terrifies you when you try to reveal some mysterious thing that could endanger your life. I’m in love with the character of Kaylie, she’s a woman who put everything in detail, from investigation about the mirror and set up her plans to destroy the mirror.

Shamelessly, I though she talks too much about her plan, over confidence that ceiling jack ram will do her purpose without distraction, and it makes the mirror, as individual if it is, think so hard to counter the plan. I mean, in logical, what will you do if someone set up some plans to kill you and he make words of it?

Moreover her motivation was weak, if she want to destroy the mirror why she try to prove her theory by letting the mirror drawing energy from living thing, gain the negative influence and take risk of her own death. In logical, just set up the timer and let the jack ram smashed the mirror in the first place. She doesn’t have to prove anything because all proves has been seen when she was a child. Or, if she finds it necessary to prove her theory, I think the dead plant is enough to show Tim that he’s wrong and after that just let loose the jack ram without setting up the timer.

Despite that, I liked the story, it was original idea, came up with back and forth plot that describe present and past, in the middle of it the story mixing present and past in the same plot. Excellent! It’s not only creepy but also confusing the audience for the end of the story. This story not also scary but fill with psychic drama, something that wouldn’t always like by major audience, for example in Indonesia, but it would get positive credits. And I think it’s paid when Oculus grossed $4,940,000 on its opening day, nearly equaling its production budget of $5 million.

Also, from the movie I’ve got fresh understanding why Kaylie and Tim didn’t get hallucination when they were young, it’s because the child has a pure heart. They were 11 and 10, by that age you would not think about evilness in you but when we’re grown up all hatred, anger, madness, and evil thing grows and like I said on the first line here, beware of your oculus when you looked back at the mirror, probably you look at the devil itself…

MALL KLENDER / THE MALL

Hitmaker Studio

Directed by: David Poernomo

Starring by: Sandy Aulia, Denny Sumargo, Igor Saykoji, Tasya Kamila

I know this movie before it's released on the cinema. Why? Because I’m about to writes about ghost at the mall. One that I know is Mall Klender, the place was on fire in 1998 cause by a riot and many victims get killed inside. When the internet said this film is about to launched, I can’t wait to watch because I need resume for my story.

7 years old Mila had prophecy that her supernatural sight will be reveals in age 23, like what her grandfather had. That prophecy makes Mila very curious about supernatural things. She and her friends becomes ghost hunter, come to many place that being haunted by demons but find nothing until they accept the challenge that come from newspaper to prove there’s no ghost in some mall.  What made it interesting is Mila is about 23 when they enter the mall.

The story was mixed by romantic relationship between Panji (Denny Sumargo) and Mila (Sandy Aulia) and the scary event when they’ve been locked up for 24 hours inside the mall. I like the bicycle scene, it’s when she joins Danang to ride a bike and circling the mall with it and in some dark alley they’re separated.  When the bicycle come to itself from the end of the alley, I thought it’s very cool effect…at last, Indonesian horror movie can make something like that…also when the foot print shown beside the vehicle, and Mila’s necklace hung in the air, and Mila thrown from the height and fall to the box that save her…it’s a fantastic series of scary things. I also like the idea about jalangkung doll inside the dolls box and grabs by grips of the box, when Pandji try to get some of it in order to give Mila a present.

But the fantastic series become suck at the scene when Pandji got thrown by a baby stroller that chasing them. How could he also fall over to a box that hold him from smashing the floor like what happened to Mila? Once is cool, but twice? I merely said that it’s lack of fantasy from the script writer…

It also said that there’s a lot of anger come from the supernatural creature that buried under mall’s foundation but awkward when Mila and her friends only take less skeleton from the storage at the basement, and it turns out that only one grave was prepared to bury the corpse that they found there. How come it only one corpse that they took while Mila was told that there’s many?

And once again, the top of the scene when Mila and her friends are being chased by a lot of monster before the morning come was cool for final scene but the make-up of the monsters bothered me for the umpteenth time, as always when I saw Indonesian horror movie, the makeup was awful.

But I admitted that the film had a good story, though the storyline got very slow, because it surprised me at the end when found out that Mila’s friends, Danang and Karina are ghost. They were killed by their best friend and lost their thrust in friendship until they meet Mila. Their relationship heals their pain and they accompany her anywhere when she becomes ghost hunter with Pandji. And Pandji, who warned by Danang and Karina not to tell Mila about them was nice because he continues to stands beside her no matter terrifies the situation goes.

The fact that Danang and Karina is ghost actually could predict because I’m questioning about their part. There’s no conversation between them and Pandji. And when Pandji got possessed by demon, they do nothing to help Mila except watch, as if they were beyond all the events. And it’s true…they are outsiders for reality world.

The word that can’t be forgotten on this film is when Pandji said to Mila, “The supernatural creature finds their way…they will revealed themselves to people when they want it. But when they do, the people who had supernatural sight couldn’t realize that they were ghost because he/she can’t distinguish them from the living.” 

THE LAST EXORCISM 2

Arcade Pictures

Directed by: Ed Gass-Donnelly

Starring by: Ashley Bell, Julia Garner, Spencer Treat Clark, Tarra Rigs

I don’t know about you guys…but in my opinion this film was poor…

Yes, evil might win…who says it can’t? But in this film, boy…it make me think twice before choosing the good side because the bad guys get a big prize and left nothing for the deeds beside death. What about the words that saying, win some and lose some?

After what happened in the first movie, survivor Nell Margaret Sweetzer, the girl who’s being possessed tries to put her life back together. They put her in the safe house call Deveraux Transition House who gives her some medical and psychological treatment to help her started a new life. Nell finds a job as a house keeper, mingle with her roommates at Deveraux, and get crush on her coworker, Chris. In this film Nell’s character was develops so much, I’m not refusing evolving character or developing story from the first one, I think it’s cool that Nell succeed to transform herself as a good person when she threw away her consciousness about evil that haunted her, Abalam, but it really not that cool if it takes almost half of the film.

The scary scene was very text book like the radio that turns on or turns off by itself when she clean the room at work, and the majority trick to scares audience was cheap because it lies on soft music playing before a loud bang with loud noises. I don’t why the scriptwriter put walk at the park scene because there’s no relevant with any scene at the back. Maybe they want to show how Nell gets along with her friend but they also want to put some tense to start the horrified part, which turns out to be poor one because the scene was not scary enough, especially with some goofy statue that come in a sudden on her back and tell her that her condition was just temporary.

I’m little a bit confused about Nell’s father also. Is he dead or not? On his first appearance on Nell’s room, I though the guy was dead, I thought he was a ghost because he could come and disappeared as he pleased from her room but when Gwen killed him at Frank’s room I was lost, whether he’s a spirit or ordinary human that also survive from the horrified tragedy on the first movie?

And the cult ordo of Cecille that try to get rid of the demons inside Nell’s body? C’mon, do you believe that something like voodoos could throw the devils away? Well, I don’t ! That’s why it was normal when the three of them get slain inside the house by Nell that finally being possessed once again by Abalam, the spiritual creature that love her much and get jealous when she fall in love with Chris.

Despite the poor scenes at all over the plot, still there’s a good scene which I enjoy on this film. It was when Nell comes outside the house with a boot shoes that belong to her friends, get inside the car then drove it to the highway which also burns all building that being passes by her vehicle to fulfill the prophecy that said evil will burns everything at the end of the world, and again it left us no choice than pick her side or live with nothing…well some might say so…and the exorcism will not last after all… 

DARK SKIES

Blumhouse Production

Directed by: Scott Stewart

Starring by: Kerri Russel, Josh Hamilton, Dakota Goyo, Kaddan Rocket

Loosing up a work could be difficult for everyone, especially for a husband who had a family to feed up, and that’s what happened to Barret’s family. Believe me, I know what it feels. The husband, Daniel, had no work for the last three months and it put a lot of strain on his relationship with Lacy, his spouse. That’s why the elder son, Jesse, always tell the story about sandman to his little brother, Sammy, every night so they shouldn’t have to listen the fight of their parent.

It turns out that the sandman story becoming real when Lacy found out weird thing inside the house like food stern across the kitchen floor, the missing vegetable from the fridge, and missing photo from the frames. They set up the alarm to detect and one night its scream aloud to warn the Barret, but they found out that the system was broke down because the sensor on nine spot was trespassed at the same time, which impossible to do by natural cause.

The awkward get high when Lacy and Daniel stuck up in a lost time. Lacy loss almost six hours when she thinks that she was companied a couple of client to look at the house, and Daniel loss three hours when he got up at night and walked out of the house unconsciously. If Lacy had a brushes on her forehead, Daniel had a nose-bleed. Until Lacy caught a strange figure standing on Sammy’s bed and when she turn on the light the room is empty and her little son was out already in the front yard.

Gather all strange events that occurred Lacy searching on internet to find the answer, and it makes me pleased when alien become the cause. It’s not ghost or supernatural power but alien. This movie becomes refresher for me…a sci-fi horror and as you can predict, it make the rest minute more exciting when I watched it.

I won’t tell about the ending because it wouldn’t surprise you, but I knew the end of the story when I heard Jesse says to Sammy, when he told him about the sandman, that his little brother had not to be worry because the sandman will come to him first. Dark Skies has a marvelous scene, the scene that I liked most, at massive dead of a bird that flew to the house, but the funny thing is when wildlife official who invited by Barret to check the birds says that she will do some autopsy on them.

I think autopsy only performed on human, but for animal? I don’t know the term but I don’t think autopsy is the right word. Other thing I found as a missing logic is the battery on Lacy’s I-phone. If she said that she loss 6 hours of her time on that day, so it probably a half left or almost empty.

I love the implicit message in this film, no matter hard the situation for the family members when they’re facing trouble that comes from external cause they should stick each other…care each other… watch each other so they wouldn’t let anything happened to one another. And look how tough Daniel is when he’s doing everything to protect his wife and kids.

PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 5 (THE MARKED ONES)

Paramount Picture

Directed by: Christoper Landon

Starring by: Andrew Jacob, Jorge Diaz, Gabrielle Walsh, Renee Victor

It’s been a brand new year…the year of 2014…and this is my first review on this year. It feels too long since the last time I put Cherrie to this blog because I’ve been busy by some deadline…chased by publisher to give them a novel script about graveyard of Jeruk Purut…thanks God it’s finished and the first thing I did after that was going to the cinema and watch the next series of Paranormal Activity (ParAc)

Make a different perspective than ParAc 2,3, and 4 that using a child as main target of terrorize, in this 5th series Christoper Landon using a teenage of 18th years old Jesse who always get so curious about many thing on his neighborhood. The murder of Anna, the neighbor of Jesse, by Oscar on one night made Jesse want to know more about it and he take his buddy, names Hector to enter Anna’s house. They didn’t find interest thing in that house besides the murder spot which covered many blood. But after that night, Jesse got a strange mark on his hand.

Many strange things happened after he got the marked, the toy that can buzz itself when he talked to it, hovering in the air when he dropped himself, and invisible power that could threw pair of scumbag that want to take Jesse’s bag pack with force. Firstly, he found it was awesome thing but when he meet Oscar that warn him about the marked, and made suicide in front of him, Jesse could no longer accept all the strange thing and try to throw it out. But the curse already possessed him and he can’t get away easily so his grandmother and Hector had to find some help from a shaman priest.

The shaman priest gave an egg to her to exorcist the spirit inside Jesse, but they refuse. From that, the war began and Jesse managed to kill the old woman by pushing her through the stair. Hector and Marisol asking help from Arturo, Oscar’s brother who also a gang boss, to find and stop Jesse from being sacrifice at some haunted house that inform by Ali Rey. But they all got killed there by ghostly troops.

The series still makes bated breath while watching it, and I admired the expertise of the writer to connect the plot in this series to another, like when Hector entering the door of time which bring him back to scene on ParAc 1 when Micah was killed by Katie. But despite that, I think the suspense on The Marked Ones decreases, and the sighting of the ghost can’t be maintained.

I like ParAc 1, 2, 3 because they hold the sighting until the end of the story…truly at the end…so it creeps the audience because they don’t expected the monstrous face like that would appears. But on the marked ones, we could see the sighting at the middle scene, when Jesse entering Anna’s house to search his dog that lost inside the house, as a sighting of two little girl with spooky eyes.

Funny thing I’ve got when I watch The Marked One is when Hector shoot the wall that shrink and suddenly explode, with Jesse in front of it, right just after when Jesse’s grandmother scrub him with eggs that given from the shaman priest, the entire living room had mess up; picture was torn apart, chair was upside down, but there was no damage on the television at all, whereas the TV was place in the corner where the explosion had come. It’s a strange thing when considering LCD TV is very susceptible, little shock can damage the screen and that thing happened to my TV at home when my boy knocking our television by accidentally.

I don’t know about you, but I found out that Arturo, Oscar’s brother, was not truly a gang boss like Jesse and Hector said when they’re discuss about how terrified they were to report their tape about Oscar appearance on the night when Anna was murdered, because Arturo was the leader of vandal gang. When Marisol and Hector ask him for help it appears that Arturo only bring one of his friend…so much for the gang…if he’s really a gang leader, Arturo should bring a dozen men or more to demolish those who had killed Oscar. A dozen of gang member with arms against the supranatural forces of devil’s follower…that would make the battle much more interesting and become an interesting peak scene at the end of this series. 

CARRIE

Misher Films

Directed by:  Kimberly Pierce

Starring by: Chloe Grace Moretz, Judy Greer, Julianne Moore, Portia Doubleday, Gabriella Wilde

It’s a special movie from special writer…therefore I’m looking for special friend to accompany me to watch the movie…and it turns out to be my friend from Disciple Class of PLPR 28 names Costan whose got the chance…otherwise he come from a long place…Sanger, it’s a small island near North Sulawesi…and not many time we have a chance to get along with a friend from that far…

I’ve seen Carrie about ten years ago, the first film was conduct on 1976 with Sissy Spacek as a star and she plays well. So I wonder if this 2013’s Carrie does the same. Moreover, I give some recommendation for my wife’s boss that asked me about this film, so if it’s not good as I think I know the shame will be mine…

Carrie was adapted from King’s debut novel. He was 26 years old when he was paid for the right of that film, and from since his name rise to the top level of the great novelist in US. And like king at that time, Sissy Spacek was also 26 when she appears on the movie to role Carrie at 15. But one thing I like from this movie is Chloe Grace Moretz who played Carrie on this 2013 movie is on the same age as Carrie in the novel.

The idea is simple but splendid in plot. It’s about a shy girl that always mock and being object for her friend to bullies, her lack of knowing about her period one day turns out to be horrified moment and she was thrown up by many of her friend in the school bathroom with tampon.

Tampon?

Yeah sure is…when King wrote the novel in early seventy, woman at that decade majorly was using tampon to handle their period, but funny thing when I see this movie the girls thrown Carrie with pad like Softex…that’s different thing…the script writer probably want to prevent what King write for the tampon but it show inconsistency when he / she make some scene when Chris and her friends uploading Carrie’s bloody tragedy, which recorded by Chris, to Youtube….something that can’t be done in first Carrie because there’s no Youtube in those days

  

A shy girl Carrie taught very hard by his mother to perform her religion, such pray and reading Bible, sometime by force and the violence sometime doesn’t make Carrie uncomfortable with her life. And by that condition she finally realized that she had extraordinary talent to move things. She’s looking more about her ability and train it so the power become greater…something that made her mother terrifies  because she think it comes from evil.

Carrie knows that her mother try to kill her if she knew about her telekinetic power so the girl hide it well until she can’t stand the argument when Tommy Ross, Sue Snell’s boyfriend and the most popular guy in school, asked her to go to the promp, something that every girl has dreaming for, moreover she like Ross very much so how she can say no to the handsome guy like that?

Every decision had consequences. Carrie had to deal with the mother’s anger so she pushed to show her ability to control the situation, in order to get her wish to go out with Tommy Ross on that special occasion. The girl prepare the whole thing to make the special day happened but one thing she doesn’t know that her enemy, Chris, also preparing something awful to her for the promp.

Best scene I’m waiting at this movie is when Carrie was showering by pig blood from atop. Like the first movie, this one also makes a number of times to repeat the scene. And the best part is to see when the girl was furious by the mocked, moreover when she saw Tommy Ross was dead after the bucket hit him, I don’t understand why a bucket that fell from above could kill people if it’s empty anyway, perhaps it made from an iron or there’s some fatal spot on human’s head that injured people when it got hit, but I enjoy her rage when she’s settles the score by murdering those who insulted her one by one. Forget about some tiny mistake about blood stain on Carrie’s face that change couple times between shot but I do like to see the style of carrie when she demonstrate the power…she’s devil-like indeed…

In such anger, I think Carrie was not carry away because she can shove her madness to the people she hate most, but not with them who always nice to her like Mrs. Dusjardin or Sue Snell. The end of this rage was obviously to catch the girl who did this to her, Chris and finished her for good, something that wasn’t hard at all for mighty Carrie.           

At the end, Carrie was buried inside the house after she defended herself from her mother that try to kill her, because she think Carrie become a witches whose power getting greater, and I ‘m glad they’re not doing the same mistake like Texas Chainsaw Massacre. On Carrie’s tombstone written like this, Born : 1998, Died : 2013.

Like I said on my BlackBerry status, Carrie is still Extra Ordinary and it’s mustsee movie class…