Bria Lou Reviews

  I decided to watch and write about these films together due to them both being quite short, as well as the second being a direct sequel. Plus after watching The Bride!, I was really in the mood for more Frankenstein content! I liked these movies. First up is Frankenstein. As short as the film is, I was surprised by how long it took to really get into the story. It was interesting to get the background, but after watching so many adaptations, I just wanted to see where it would go. The film spends time letting us get to know the characters, and as great as this is, it takes a while to see or get to know the character we're actually here to meet. But when we do get to meet the creature, it's definitely worth the wait! The design of the creature is great. Simple for today's standards but it really works. It's an iconic image. But what makes it work so well are the movements and actions. The creature is played amazingly by Boris Karloff. If I had one criticism of the char...

  In 1930s Chicago, The Bride (Jesse Buckley) is created as a companion to Frankenstein's monster (Christian Bale). I'd heard mixed things about this film, most of it on the bad side, but I'm a fan of the Frankenstein story, and the actors involved were great, so this was always going to be on my watchlist. I understand the mixed reviews because my thoughts on the film are also mixed. The first word I wrote while reviewing this was 'weird'. That's not unusual for a Frankenstein movie, but this was weird even for Frankenstein! I really loved the character of Frankenstein's monster, or Frank, played by Bale. He's such a well written, interesting, actually quite sweet character and I loved watching him. Weirdly, as this film is about The Bride, this is probably my favourite depiction of Frankenstein's monster to date. And in contrast, I didn't feel much for the character of The Bride. She's not the one I remember when thinking about this film, a...

  Alone in her new home, Eve opens the door one night to a man with his family, claiming that he grew up in this very house, asking to look around for old times sake. As a people pleaser, Eve obliges. But once the family enter, strange things start happening, and Eve starts to lose her grip on reality. I feel like every book-tuber mentioned this book last year, and as I'm trying to get more into horror books, it was definitely high on my list. I loved this book. It felt scary from 3 pages in. We get right into the story from the second we open the book, and it pulls us in so well that we become invested immediately. I really liked Eve as a main character. Particularly at the beginning, she's somewhat easy to relate to, and her reactions feel authentic. Not that most people would do what she did in the first place, but you can sympathise with her and root for her. The author makes things feel scary effortlessly. Things are teased out really well, and the overall unsettling atmos...

  I'd never heard of this film before seeing it on the bucket list but the premise was really interesting. I liked this film. It took a while to get going, particularly knowing what the film is actually about. But it was great that this time was used to develop the characters and have the audience become really acquainted with them. Getting to know the characters really helps in terms of how interested and engaged the audience is, but even without knowing the main character that well this film is really engaging, particularly after about 30 minutes when we really get into it. There are some really interesting shots and techniques used here, particularly the split screen to show exactly how much time is passing. It allows the audience to build frustration and eagerness, which again adds to how engaging it is. I didn't expect the film to be so timely - it could be made today and be at least as relevant as it was at the time, if not moreso. The characters are great. Not only are t...

  A thief (Chris Hemsworth) and an insurance broker (Halle Berry) team up to pull off a huge heist, while being pursued by a detective (Mark Ruffalo). I was looking forward to this one. It took me a while to actually see it, but even though the premise seemed quite generic, the cast was interesting enough to generate excitement. I think the film was fine, nothing really special, but I definitely had fun with it, so it's worth a watch. At the start there was too much going on in quick succession. The audience doesn't get a chance to breathe, which is an interesting way to mirror the main characters' emotions, but it also makes your head spin. As mentioned, the cast is great. But I did feel about halfway through that it may have suffered from having too many power players fighting for the spotlight. I personally would have liked to have more depth from both Berry and Ruffalo's characters, I didn't get to know them as well as I would have liked. I found the first 40 mi...

  I hadn't seen this film in years before this re-watch, but I had seen the remake more recently, so I was looking forward to watching this one again. I liked this movie. Before you even get into the film itself, the concept of the film is so unique and engaging. It's a simple idea that's expanded on to the point that it becomes truly scary. The idea of most of the horror taking place in dreams means that the filmmakers can take many creative liberties involving the design of Freddy. He can look as fantastical as possible. And the design is truly iconic. Freddy is one of the most visually recognisable horror villains and it's not hard to work out why. While all of the acting wasn't amazing, the actors were great! I particularly loved seeing Lin Shaye in such an early role (particularly as it's been announced that a new Insidious movie is coming out this year!). But Heather Langenkamp was also great as Nancy, and of course Robert Englund is iconic as Freddy. It...