My Soul to Take - Movie

I thought as an extra bonus, I would give my ordinary opinions on a movie that I recently had the chance to see via Netflix.  Yes, I know.  It isn't a "library find", but I couldn't help myself on this one.

"Now I lay me down to sleep. I beg the Lord my soul to keep...."

Now, I hadn't heard anything about this one.  I knew that it was a horror movie.  I had no clue who was in it or who directed it or any of those types of things. (I don't watch tv, read the paper or anything else like that.  It's too depressing.)  But, I happen to love most things horror, so I thought I would give it a chance.

Again, I'm not great with plot summaries, so I am borrowing this from Wikipedia... just the first paragraph.  "In the town of Riverton, Abel (Raul Esparza) is working on some toys for his daughter and a soon-to-be-born child. A story on the news announces that the town is being gripped by a serial killer known as the Riverton Ripper. After his wife calls him to bed, it is revealed that Abel is in fact the serial killer, and appears to have multiple personality disorder. He kills his wife and is arrested and shot by police, but the ambulance he is in explodes on the way to the hospital"........  

Given that this is a high school horror movie it reminds me of how out of touch I am with the younger generation, but I found this movie very fun.  It wasn't too predictable and there were enough twists to keep me interested.  Pretty much what I would expect from a Wes Craven film.

Would I recommend it?  Definitely.  I will admit to not the greatest acting in the world, but when are horror actors ever truly wonderful?  Not bad, though, not bad at all.....

MOVIE: Dead Silence (Probably spoilers...you've been warned)

Greetings fans of the Monthly Musings.  I think I should really change that name to something else since I'll be musing about something more than once a month. I'll ponder that for a while.

And now, on to the review!

Year: 2007

Director: James Wan

Story: James Wan and Leigh Whannel

Stars: Ryan Kwanten, Amber Valletta, Donnie Walhberg, and Judith Roberts as Mary Shaw

"Beware the stare of Mary Shaw. She had no children only dolls. And if you see her in your dreams, do not ever, ever scream."

imdb.com

Ok, so this movie is a bit old to really be reviewing, but I felt that I had to.  If the director looks familiar, it is the same guy who directed the first SAW movie. I enjoyed the Saw movies quite a bit, so I decided that I would take a chance on Dead Silence.  

I have come to determine that it is a cross between Puppet Masters and Darkness Falls.  The basic tale is that of an old ventriloquist who ends up murdered by the townsfolk of Raven's Fair.  And, this being a ghost story, she comes back to exact her revenge as is the case with most ghost stories.  It is a very classic old ghost story told very eloquently.

It all starts when a mysterious package arrives at the door of the Ashen couple.    This movie is so good that I don't want to get into it more than that.  :)

What made this movie so great was that even though you KNEW when the scary parts were happening, it was shot in such a way that still eeeped the bejeezus out of me even though I was in my living room with my lights were on.  I actually had a hard time bringing myself to watch it a second time, it was that creepy.  I don't get creeped out by movies very often.  

Now, about the acting.  Probably not the best I have ever seen, but not real terrible, either.  We'll forget that I hadn't heard of very many of the actors. Obviously Mark Walhberg because of his work in the Saw movies, but who the heck is Ryan Kwanten?  Ok, I see he's a character in True Blood.  Not something I have brought myself to see, though I have read a few of the books.  I don't recognize any of his other stuff save for an episode of Law and Order :SVU.  No matter.  His performance was pretty good.

I won't get into too much of the other actors separately, save to say that for the most part not real terrible. I will say that the best performance was given by Billy, the ventriloquist doll.

Cinematography was really good, but I can't stand when directors use that awful blue tint.  I felt that it could have done without it, but that's why I'm just an average schmoe and not a director. :)

As far as if I would recommend this movie to others.  YES YES YES!  See this movie!  It's not full of a lot of gore like other horror movies.  It has its moments, but don't they all?  

Until next time... oh, and by the way, if you haven't cast your votes yet, please do so.  The poll is at the bottom of the page.

Thanks for reading my really average review of a really great movie.