8.7/10
深宅 (2021) 豆瓣 IMDb 维基数据 TMDB
The Deep House
5.7 (46 个评分) 导演: 亚历山大·布斯蒂罗 / 朱利安·莫利 演员: 詹姆斯·贾格尔 / 卡蜜尔·罗
其它标题: The Deep House / 더 딥 하우스
一对年轻夫妇经常拍摄、上传自己探险水下房屋的视频。这次二人前往一个偏远的湖泊,意外发现了深水中一幢奇怪的废弃房屋,而他们的到来唤醒了深宅中的黑暗存在。
2022年10月16日 看过
2022年10月16日 评论 a review of 深宅 - Massively underrated. I get that it uses a lot of found-footage clichés, a subgenre of horror that the industry became way too oversaturated with during the 2000s, but I feel like people are letting that get in the way of being able to appreciate the novelty of the setting. In a similar manner to The Blair Witch Project , the terror these characters are facing doesn't just stem from the inexplicable occurrences happening around them, but the dangers inherent to the natural environment they find themselves trapped in as well. Only instead of getting lost in the woods, the YouTuber couple protagonists are contending with stuff such as a rapidly dwindling oxygen supply while locked in a (haunted) house that's submerged at the bottom of a lake. The aquatic abode even does quite a bit to make the film's ghastly antagonists more interesting. As a guy with thalassophobia and ichthyophobia (among countless other water-related phobias) I was more freaked out by the shots of the leads swimming with actual fish than I was any of the supernatural moments, yet the sight of the reanimated dead floating towards a potential victim with their arms outstretched and hair drifting about is unexpectedly eerie. A good thing too as otherwise they probably would have been rather unmemorable thanks to the fairly generic satanic cult plot. That's not to say the writing is all bad. The script actually has some really cool set pieces and the whole shebang is carried by a Paranormal Activity -esque (the first one) dynamic between its two scuba divers where a girl is pulled into increasingly life-threatening situations by a boyfriend who desperately wants to catch something on camera that will bring him that ellusive internet fame no matter the cost. It speaks to this era of social media stars going to ridiculous extremes for "clout," and to a lesser degree toxic relationships also. You may think all assembling a bunch of familiar tropes and placing them underwater would be good for is giving us a sunken, sodden corpse of a movie to look at, however you'd be mistaken. On the contrary, they unexpectedly sprouted gills and took on a new life here. Not to the point where the feel completely fresh again, but enough so that they're genuinely the most exciting they've been in years. To quote a very wise crustacean, "Darling it's better, down where it's wetter.”
8.7/10
隔山有眼 (2006) IMDb KevGa-NeoDB TMDB 豆瓣 维基数据
The Hills Have Eyes
6.5 (109 个评分) 导演: 亚历山大·阿嘉 演员: 亚伦·斯坦福 / 凯瑟琳·奎南
其它标题: The Hills Have Eyes / 深山大屠杀
老夫妻鲍勃·卡特(泰德·列文饰)与艾塞尔(凯瑟琳·昆兰)为了庆祝他们的结婚纪念日,带着家人开车做一次穿越国境的公路长途旅行。本希望借此次旅行增进家庭成员之间的感情,但旅行中发生的种种摩擦却时时考验着这个家庭。
旅程渐渐进入漫漫黄沙荒无人烟的地带,在一次夜晚扎营时休息时,他们遭受到了一群怪物的袭击,原来此处附近曾有一个废弃美军研制核武器的基地,核实验让附近一个村庄的人们遭受到了可怕的核辐射,活下的人身体变的畸形且性情嗜血而暴力,他们伏击这一家人,对他们进行残忍的捕杀,原本老实懦弱的女婿达乌·布库威斯基(亚伦·斯坦福德饰)决心振作起来,做出最强烈的反击。
2021年10月9日 看过
2021年10月9日 评论 a review of 隔山有眼 - Wes Craven's 1977 original is a cult classic for good reason. It may have just been a toned-down, southern-fried version of his directorial debut The Last House on the Left , but it was a nasty, brutal film for the time with a creative setting and villains. This remake tops it in every way though, which is remarkable given how few changes were made to the script. The events are largely the exact same ones as before. Only portrayed in a harsher, more sickening manner with better acting and pacing. There's a more action-packed third act, it really hammers home a nuclear testing angle to instill the violence with a political message, and a much improved ending. That's really all that's different. Which, as someone who appreciates the original, but felt it was missing a little extra oomph, wasn't a problem for me personally. This is how you do a remake. It takes a flawed, yet respected movie and irons out a lot of its faults (sans things like the slow beginning and dumb characters), while imbuing the horror with an increased level of savagery and a lesser sense of silliness that it arguably always should have had. This isn't for the squeamish as it's definitely a product of the post- Saw , "torture porn" era of the mid-to-late 2000s where gore and depravity were matching the heights seen during the exploitation cinema craze of the '70s and '80s. If you have the stomach for it however, this is one of the best redneck cannibal nightmares you can find this side of House of 1000 Corpses .
8.7/10
牧师之女 (2015) IMDb 豆瓣 维基数据 TMDB
The Blackcoat's Daughter
6.2 (5 个评分) 导演: 奥兹·珀金斯 演员: 艾玛·罗伯茨 / 琪兰·席普卡
其它标题: The Blackcoat's Daughter / 牧师的女儿
一对姊妹凯特(琪兰席普卡 饰)和萝丝(露西波顿 饰)就读的贵族高中开始放寒假,奇异的是她们的父母却不知何故无法前去接她们,姊妹俩因此被困在疑云密佈的校园异空间,并且在孤立的学校发现毛骨悚然的怪事一件接一件发生……另一方面,心事重重的年轻女人琼(艾玛罗伯兹 饰)为了一个祕密,必须尽快赶到这所学校。当琼接近学校时,凯特遭受到恐怖幻象折磨,萝丝的神智也濒临失守,但是为了脱离邪恶意志的掌握,三人必须通力合作……
2018年10月28日 看过
2018年10月28日 评论 a review of 牧师之女 - What's most fascinating about Oz Perkins' modernization of satanic/occult horror films is it's atypical approach to scaring you. It relies almost entirely on atmosphere and storytelling to get the job done. What violence and creepy imagery there is exists almost solely in the final chapter. You get the feeling something's not quite right early on. There's some typical human drama happening which almost made me think I had mistaken the movie's genre, but the oppressive music gives the notion that something darker is on it's way. Each disturbing new revelation no matter how small increases the sense of unease. Kiernan Shipka carries the movie with her odd duck performance that has it's creepy and unsettling moments. The movie is about loneliness and isolation. All of which stems from her character. I would have liked some kind of backstory that would explain her pre-demon contact weird behavior, but I'll settle for just understanding her in the moment. An unsafe feeling plagues almost every moment following the girls first night alone while stranded at school over break. This extends outside the academy as well where Emma Roberts catches a ride with a stranger and his wife. The subplot plays well off of rape paranoia as you wonder what the man's motives for the girl are, but it plays it's hand too early causing the film's big twist to come up short. Some great lookalike casting though. Haunting for more than just it's use of a demonic entity and devil worship in a time where most films save the latter of those two things for passing references. The confined nature of the plot is also something that sticks with you. You really feel how alone Boynton and Shipka's characters really are. I dont think the movie really sold it's protagonist's lack of any other options other than the darkest path the way The Witch with Anya Taylor-Joy did, but Perkins' distinctive style makes it just as noteworthy an exploration of the arcane and human all the same.
8.7/10
机械姬 (2014) 豆瓣 Min reol 维基数据 TMDB IMDb
Ex Machina
7.4 (947 个评分) 导演: 亚历克斯·加兰 演员: 艾丽西亚·维坎德 / 多姆纳尔·格里森
其它标题: Ex Machina / 人造意识(台)
效力于某知名搜索引擎公司的程序员加利·史密斯(多姆纳尔·格利森 Domhnall Gleeson 饰)幸运地抽中老板纳森(奥斯卡•伊萨克 Oscar Isaac 饰)所开出的大奖,他将受邀前往位于深山的别墅中和老板共度假期。在与世隔绝的别墅中,纳森亲切地接待了这位员工。 事实上他邀请加利到来还有另一个目的,那就是协助他完成其所开发的智能机器人的测试。天才一般的纳森研制了具有独立思考能力的智能机器人伊娃(艾丽西亚·维坎德 Alicia Vikander 饰),为了确认她是否具有独立思考的能力,他希望加利能为伊娃进行著名的“图灵测试”。似乎从第一眼开始,加利便为这台有着宛如人类般姣好容颜的机器人所吸引。
在随后的交流中,他所面对的似乎不是冷冰冰的机器,而更像是一个被无辜囚禁起来的可怜少女……
2018年9月8日 看过
2018年9月8日 评论 a review of 机械姬 - I was left a little disappointed by the ending. For all of it's expertly crafted tension this game of manipulation turned out exactly how I thought it would. Which is to say that when all is said and done Ex Machina isn't all that different from the countless other films out there with similar premises. The ride up to that point is still thrilling however, with strong themes and three exciting performances that will give you at least a little bit of doubt in regards to who can be trusted. The ominous soundtrack and the fact that I already knew that things weren't what they seemed filled me with unease. This is something Alex Garland made excellent use of to create a very unnerving atmosphere and reveals that come off as even more twisted than they already would have. For me this was freakier than most of the horror films I've watched. Of course the concept of playing mind games with AI already deeply disturbs me. That's not to take away from the performances of Oscar Isaac and Alicia Vikander though. Those two are key reasons things feel so dangerous. The back-and-forth pull between which of their characters the protagonist would be better off trusting hinges on the question of what it means to actually be human. Isaac's character may be a little unhinged, but he is another person so it stands to reason that while he is manipulating his house guest in some way, he's probably not a real threat. Ava on the other hand is an inhuman entity unlike anything else Gleeson's character would have previously encountered. We don't know if she feels empathy enough to not slaughter anyone she comes in contact with if she were to be set free. She's clearly hasn't had the most desirable "life." That could very well have led to a hatred of humans. A lifeform she could view as inferior anyway. Vikander gives a suitably alien performance that provides Ava with a certain disconnection from her flesh and blood counterparts. Is she using her sexuality to manipulate a lonely and naïve individual, or is it possible for her to actually feel something more than a need to deceive? Ex Machina is another movie about the dangers of playing God. It's really good at getting you to ask questions. Certain twists and the ending itself are easy to predict. Meaning that it doesn't deviate too much from convention story-wise. Yet it's never robbed of atmosphere or tension so this is still a very effective thriller. It's also an intelligent piece of science fiction. One with a sexual angle that stems from the very human condition of never wanting to be alone and belief that if we aren't screwing, we aren't living. Alex Garland wasn't just satisfied with getting under our skin. He wanted to get inside our heads as well. And I, for one, think he succeeded rather marvelously. Managing to make something gorgeous in the process.
8.7/10