Topic: Weekend Movie Marathon: Ghosts/Hauntings

[Najemikon]

Good grief. 

[addicted2dvd]

  With that I think I will take a short break from this marathon. I will come back to it either later this evening or tomorrow.

[addicted2dvd]

The Messengers
Desperate for a fresh start after a tough two years in Chicago, the Solomon family retreats to a desolate sunflower farm in North Dakota. But the calm of farm life is shattered when 16-year-old Jess (Kristen Stewart) and her 3-year-old brother Ben begin to see nightmarish apparitions throughout their new home – visions that nobody else can see. As the visions grow darker, they become fear-inspiring experiences and Jess' parents (Dylan McDermott and Penelope Ann Miller) start to question their daughter's sanity. Now, Jess must find a way to save her family and win a battle with forces from far beyond the grave.

My Thoughts:
When I first bought this in August of '07 I was excited about watching it... the trailer looked good... the back of the box reaffirmed that I would enjoy it. And I watched it as soon as I got home. But I came out of it a little disappointed. I think I went into it with more expectations then I should have. Now today... on the second viewing I did enjoy it more then I did the first time... but still is far from one of the best. I won't say it is a bad movie... just average for the genre. Maybe slightly above average at the most. I will say that I did like Kristen Stewart as the teenage girl. She is the same girl that played Jodie Foster's teen in the movie Panic Room five years earlier. It was also pretty cool to see an appearance by William B. Davis (Smoking Man on X-Files) in this one as well.

My Rating:
Out of a possible 5:

Trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UYfy8pYXXko

[addicted2dvd]

Unrest
Alison Blanchard begins her journey to become a physician in her Gross Anatomy class, where she must confront rows of cadavers and her own fear of mortality. When the sheets are drawn back revealing her cadaver, Alison senses a presence in the lab. Her jaded professor chalks it up to first year "jitters" but her worries increase when a friend is found dead in the basement. Alison must find out the truth behind her cadaver before its angered spirit can wreak further vengeance on those who dared to disturb the body.

My Thoughts:
This is my third time watching this movie since I got it back in July '07. It is more of a slow paced movie... which I don't usually care for as much... but for this it works very well! I enjoyed it very much! I tell you one thing... I can see why they call that class "Gross Anatomy"... to think of doing something like that for real! Makes me glad I never wanted to be a doctor! I really enjoyed the performance of Corri English as Allison Blanchard...



... a very attractive young lady I haven't seen in much of anything. I do have her in this plus an episode of NCIS. But looking into her I see she has done quite a bit more. Mostly in taking parts in TV Series... but a few movies as well. This is definitely a movie I would recommend to any horror fan.

My Rating:
Out of a possible 5:

Trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xkRdjam1JPc

[addicted2dvd]

Boo
Some hospitals don't have a 13th floor. Santa Mira Hospital shouldn't have a third. It's something a group of five college students discover when they enter an abandoned hospital on Halloween night only to discover that rumors about the place being haunted are very real. Running into other people who are trapped in the hospital, they uncover the truth about a vengeful spirit who is hell bent on making sure no one, except himself, gets out alive!

My Thoughts:
This is a movie I got for my Birthday back in '05. My daughter Brittany got it for me knowing how much I enjoyed ghost stories. And that is what Boo is...  a good ghost story. Definitely not the best I ever seen... but not bad either. I felt the story started out slow and feeling like a low budget horror. But then as the movie went on it became more of a serious ghost movie. I wouldn't call Boo scary... even though it does try to be. The atmosphere of the movie was there from the very beginning but I feel it tried to hard instead of letting it come naturally from the story... especially in the beginning. The atmosphere was there and felt right once they got into the hospital... but in my opinion... they shouldn't of felt the need to try to make the movie feel scary in the first few scenes when all they had to do was set up the story and introduce the characters. A horror movie does not need to be scary from beginning to end to be good... unfortunately that is just what Boo tried to do... and for me at least.... that really made the beginning of the movie almost laughable. For the first few scenes I thought I just wasn't going to make it through this movie. But as I said... Boo did turn out to be a pretty good movie. I did enjoy it... and I am glad I have it added to my collection. As for my recommendation... I would Cautiously Recommend this one. Even though I enjoyed it quite a bit... I can see the first part of the movie putting people off. So it really isn't one I would recommend to everyone. I would say if you are curious about this movie... Rent it first.

My Rating:
Out of a possible 5:

Trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYNW3AKlDPI

[addicted2dvd]

The Diary of Ellen Rimbauer
A prequel to the hit Stephen King's Rose Red, The Diary of Ellen Rimbauer unveils a story of the twisted marriage of a matriarch to a promiscuous early 20th-Century industrialist and the haunted beginnings of an enormous Seattle mansion that has come to life.

Passages of the diary track a series of deadly encounters surrounding the Rose Red estate that transform Ellen from the innocent and submissive wife into a woman possessed by the dark forces inhabiting her home.

My Thoughts:
I absolutely loved the miniseries Rose Red when I got the DVD (missed original airing)... It is one of my favorite's of Stephen King's work. I was thrilled when I found out there would be a TV Movie prequel to Rose Red... but as luck would have it I missed the original airing if this too. Thankfully it was released on DVD. Now... I don't think this is as good as Rose Red... but I still enjoyed every minute of it! It definitely makes a great companion piece to Rose Red! Hopefully the next time I get in the mood to watch some ghost stories I will watch this and Rose Red back to back.

My Rating:
Out of a possible 5:

Trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5liC79SrcVg