Bria Lou Reviews

  An ice cream man (Ari Millen) sells treats to children, with murderous consequences. Sometimes hearing bad things about a movie makes me more excited to see it than positive reviews, and this was definitely one of those times. I'd heard so many terrible things about the movie that I couldn't wait to see it for myself! And the reviews are right, this isn't a great film. Though for the most part I did enjoy watching it. From the beginning it's clear that the acting isn't going to be great. I think the majority of the kids did a good job, but generally speaking this isn't an acting masterclass. But the thing that lets it down majorly is the writing. For a start, the characters are caricatures, particularly the child bullies. It's like someone wrote down the traits of a typical bully, mixed them up and threw them into the script with no accounting for individual personalities or anything that could have been used to develop the characters or push the story for...

  This was one of my most highly anticipated rewatches on the bucket list. I love this movie, and for me it's definitely one of Hitchcock's most underrated. And thankfully this rewatch was just as great as all the other times I've seen this movie, which is a lot! I really like that the film took the time to establish the characters before the horrors start. We really get to know our main character, Melanie, and it's so much fun to follow the story with her. The result of this, though, is that it can make the beginning of the movie feel a bit slow, but because you're interested in the characters, you're interested in the entire story. So when the horrors start, you're that much more invested. In particular, I really liked the development of the female characters, who make up the majority of the film. Not only is it female-led, but the women are the centre-piece and absolutely who we're watching the film for. It was very ahead of it's time in that way....

  Alice (Souheila Yacoub) and her in-laws are plagued by demonic forces following the death of her husband. I'm not the biggest fan of the Evil Dead franchise. I've seen most of the movies and haven't found one that I've really liked, but I still wanted to give this one a try. I actually liked this more than some of the other ones I've seen. That's not to say that I think it was a great movie, but it was better than I thought it would be. I really liked the opening. It does a great job of reminding you what world you're in. The introduction to the family is interesting, we get to understand their dynamics really quickly and it makes you want to get to know them. And while I did like the characters, I also felt distant from them, and this remained until the end of the movie. I never felt like I really knew them, and I never cared about them enough. But it's their dynamics that make things interesting. While we aren't particularly interested in the cha...

I hadn't heard of this one before the bucket list and had no idea what it was about before pressing play, so I went in completely blind.  I have mixed feelings about this movie. There were some great things, but also some things that I didn't love.  The opening scene is great. Not only does it set the tone for the rest of the movie well, but it also puts you on edge and holds you there for a lot of the film. The main reason the film works is because the actors are so great. Even when you don't really know what's going on, you buy into everything that happens because the actors performances are so convincing and feel authentic. Despite being a ghost story, something about it felt really grounded and real. Even though you know there are fantastical elements, the characters feel human.  It does a good job of creating scares, particularly because a lot of what's scary is the story itself rather than using jumps. You can feel the fear within the characters, which makes y...

  When faced with a dangerous enemy, Supergirl (Milly Alcock) teams up with an unlikely ally for revenge. I had seen all of the bad reviews of this film before watching it, and while I didn't expect it to be as good as Superman, I was surprised by how much hate it was getting. I actually didn't hate the film, but it definitely had a lot of flaws. I really liked that they set it on another planet, rather than doing another story set on Earth. It would have been nice to see more of the planet and how the world was different to Earth. One of the first flaws of this movie is that it assumes Supergirl's appearance in the Superman movie was enough to make the audience care about Kara, and it really isn't. So because of that, no work was put into making us care about her. But in addition to that, Kara isn't as funny or likeable here as she was in her small Superman scene. And while she doesn't have to be, at times it doesn't feel like the same character. I kept wai...

  For a long time I thought I'd already seen this movie. It was only the night before watching it that I realised I've actually only seen the 2004 remake. While not a sequel, this is the second in a series of zombie movies by the director, the first of which being Night of the Living Dead. Despite liking both movies, I definitely preferred the former. It begins from a place of chaos, which is a great way to get the audience to understand the characters' states of mind. It took a while for the movie to grab me. The chaos of it all made it hard to follow, and hard to latch onto the characters.  The movie kind of takes Night of the Living Dead and expands it to a much larger scale. I actually preferred the smaller scale, as we got to intimately know the characters and we got time to understand their world. In comparison, this one definitely felt like being thrown in at the deep end.  As with all creature feature-type movies, I wanted to see more of the 'creatures'. Its...

  After witnessing an accident, a couple discover that they are being haunted by a demonic entity known as 'the passenger'. The trailer for this film was so fantastic that I couldn't wait to see the whole movie. It gave little away, previewed the potential scares and really left you wanting more. Unfortunately, the scenes in the trailer were the best part of the movie. The first half of the trailer makes up maybe 10 minutes of the movie, and it was a really great opening. We were immediately invested, scared, and really interested in where it would go. And then it just went downhill. The pacing isn't great - it speeds up, then slows to a glacial pace, then speeds up too quickly at random moments, making it hard to maintain interest. The scares are great, for the most part, but they begin to feel more important than the story itself. And part of that is because the story itself can be incoherent and messy, to the point where the only thing anchoring the story in a consis...

  This was one of the re-watches that I was most looking forward to, and from what I can remember, one of the only movies on this bucket list that I actually got to see in the cinema. I love this movie, along with most of the population. It's so much easier to write about something you've never seen before, than to write about something that you already love! The very start of the movie sets a tone that carries all the way through. We're scared, we're unsettled and there's so much nerves and anticipation that you're glued to the screen for the entire runtime. The pacing is so great, something is happening every minute and it moves so quickly that by the time it's over it feels like it just started, in the best possible way. It's so interesting to see how many careers were made or bolstered as a result of this film. It seems that all of the actors involved got huge boosts from this movie and most have gone on to do really interesting things, possibly as a...

  Sophie (Sunny Sandler) just got the lead in the school musical. But when life at home takes a dramatic turn, she is forced to balance competing priorities with the fear of a changing future. This movie wasn't really on my radar until I saw people talking about it on social media. I didn't know much of what it was about, which ended up being a good thing. I liked this film a lot more than I initially thought I might.  I really liked the way music was incorporated. One thing I had seen on social media was a clip of the main character singing, and I really liked that music was used throughout rather than just in one scene. The actors are all great, but in particular I really loved Melanie Lynskey and Max Greenfield in these roles. You connect with this family really quickly and only get more invested in their lives as the movie continues. That said, I would have liked for some of the relationships to be explored a bit more. This is a mother/daughter story, but there are other f...

  (aka 'A Black Cat in a Bamboo Grove', making the film virtually impossible to find!) This was the most elusive film on the bucket list for sure. I'd been looking for it all year and watched it as soon as I found it just to make sure it wouldn't disappear! I liked this film, though there were some aspects that I liked in theory more than in their execution.  It begins in a really uncomfortable way, and I'm really glad I didn't go in blind to this one. It makes sense for the story, as the initial incident is the catalyst for the rest of the film, but it was a shock for that to be the first thing we see.  Revenge films usually focus on men, with women often being the victims. I loved that with this one, even though the women are the victims, they are also the perpetrators of the revenge.  They're such strong characters, and it's really fun watching their acts play out.  If anything, I would have liked to see more of this revenge plot - it would have been ...

  This is another one that I'd never heard of before seeing it on the bucket list. I deliberately went in blind, so I had no idea what it was about. I didn't love this one. The first thing you notice is the way it's filmed. Despite being made in the late 70s, visually it looks older than a lot of earlier movies. Based on the locations and costumes, it's hard to work out anything about this film, from location to time period to how real its supposed to be and how seriously we're supposed to take it. It gets crazier than I initially expected. If you go in blind, it's the kind of movie where you really can't tell where it's going or what the message, if any, will be. It was great to actually get to know the two main characters somewhat. They could have been more developed but they're fun to follow. Its interesting looking at the variety of horror movies that focus on or become satanic. This one feels slightly more grounded than some of the others but de...

  When Oak Street is transported to an unknown time and place, the Platt family must work together to make it out alive. I was looking forward to this film, while also acknowledging that it probably wouldn't be amazing. But I love a dinosaur/creature movie, so I was definitely interested! I kind of got what I expected with this. It was fun, but didn't have a lot else going for it. For a start, it took a while to get used to some of the acting choices. I wouldn't say the entirety of the acting was good anyway, but after a while when you get into the film, it's not as jarring as it can be towards the beginning. The character development was odd. At the beginning, it tried really hard to give these characters backstories and full lives in hopes that the audience might be able to connect with them. But then this just went completely out of the window. When we didn't need to care about the characters, we were given too much, and when we actually needed to care about them...

  This was a new watch for me. I have a lot of love for vampire media, but I've found that I typically prefer it as part of other genres, such as romance or drama. I have seen some vampire horror movies that I've loved, but I've also seen ones that I haven't, so I tried to go into this one as neutral as possible. There are some really good things about this film, but in general, it's not a story I love. The cast is so great, particularly looking at it from today's standards. Having all of these amazing powerhouse actors playing these iconic roles is so great to watch. One thing that immediately stands out is the set designs and architecture. It's clear that a lot of thought was put into the design of the castle and it really pays off because it adds so much to the tone and atmosphere. The castle is almost a character in itself, and it does a great job of helping the characters to look more real and authentic. And with this comes the costumes and designs of t...

  This is another one that I'd never heard of, but it had a really intriguing premise, so I was definitely interested in seeing it. I liked this movie. Even roughly knowing what the movie is about, it's still a shock to see what happens when we get into the main plot. But it's a fun shock that makes you more interested. The story surprised me. I didn't expect so much of it (or any of it) to be about an investigation. This aspect of it was great because it introduced us to interesting characters, but it wasn't the most entertaining route for the story to take. But the more the two areas intertwine, both get elevated. As two separate stories one is much more interesting than the other, but when the characters start interacting, both stories improve. I love that the film is set in New Orleans, and I would have loved for the setting to become more of a character. For most of the film, you can't tell where it's set, which is a shame because New Orleans is a reall...

  This was one of the more elusive films on the list. I hadn't heard of it before and I went in blind. This one wasn't for me. From the start of the film there isn't a lot of dialogue, which threw me. It took a long time to understand what was happening, who the characters were, or what situation we were being thrown into. It takes a while to really understand not only what we're watching, but why we're watching it. And even after seeing it and sitting with it I'm still questioning why. The whole film has a really weird overtone that definitely contributes to the horror. Even though nothing scary is happening, you're on edge just because of the way the characters look at each other or their lack of dialogue. The filmmakers have a way of making non scary things feel really unsettling. Another unsettling aspect is the music. In so many scenes it feels out of place and jarring, which just makes the atmosphere really uncomfortable.  It's not the most interes...

  Two sisters (Kara Young and Mallori Johnson) get more than they bargain for when they set out on a quest for revenge. I'd heard a lot about this film before it came out, and the vast majority of reviews were really positive, so I was looking forward to seeing it. I liked this film, but I didn't love it as much as I thought I would, based on some of the reviews I read. I didn't know too much about the plot, but as the movie explains what the revenge mission actually is, I was invested - it was a really interesting and original plot. One of the best things about the film is the relationship between the two sisters, and the chemistry between the actresses playing them. The sisters are the heart of the movie and if their relationship wasn't as authentic as it is, the movie wouldn't work. I also loved their development as the movie continued. All of the performances are fantastic. A lot of the cast is supporting and only come in for a scene or two, but they all make th...

I'd never heard of this film, but it was one of the hardest to find on the list so that alone made me really intrigued about it.  I liked this movie.  The opening is very intriguing. We know nothing about the characters but we're immediately invested in the mystery. It does a good job of creating a character that we don't get to see. We feel like we know her based on the descriptions we hear. The story is well written and goes in a really interesting direction. Given the film is only short, it's great that it gets you invested from the very beginning. The actors all do a really great job with their characters. Their performances are authentic, which helps the audience become and stay intrigued about the outcome. This appears to be one of the only films on the bucket list that explores satanism, and the way it does this feel really original. We are forced to get to know the satanists as people before finding out who they really are and their connection to the mystery. Bu...

  Pinocchio, a wooden doll, will do whatever it takes to become a real boy. Even if his actions have deadly consequences. The newest instalment of the Twisted Childhood Universe (TCU)! I get so excited each time a new film in the franchise gets released, and they're getting progressively better, which is a major plus! I liked this film for what it was - and every single person involved in making it knows exactly what it is, which is great! The design of Pinocchio is really interesting, particularly the progression of this, the way he changes as he experiences different things and how he becomes a horror figure. The story, as I'd probably say for all TCU movies, is really original and creative. Even the ones that weren't good had a starting point of taking these classic childhood stories and adding original horror twists to them. This one spent time developing and allowing the audience to get to know the characters, which is something that was missing from some of the previo...

I'd never heard of this film, and the premise didn't give too much away, but knowing the director and main actor, and reading about the controversies when it was initially released, I knew it would probably be a weird one.  I didn't love this one.  From the very first scene it's definitely shocking in a variety of ways, from the way it's filmed, to what actually happens. It's really interesting to think about how often grief is used as the main theme for a horror movie. It evokes such complex, varied emotions, which can make it the perfect backdrop to pair with horror - it's a form of horror in itself. The actors have great chemistry and play a believable couple. It's not the easiest film to get into or connect with. We're kept at a distance from the characters because of the closeness of their relationship, and so much of what happens feels unreal to the point that it's hard to connect to. There's a lot of fantastical, surreal imagery, which...

I'd probably heard of this film before, but I had no idea it was based on 'The Haunting of Hill House' novel, so that was intriguing. I didn't love the Netflix adaptation but that didn't make me feel apprehensive about this one. I liked this film a lot.  The opening is great. It does a good job of showing the house's history in a way that's interesting and compelling to watch. It's nice that we get to spend a bit of time with the characters before we get into the main plot. Speaking of the characters, they're well written and fun to follow. Eleanor in particular is fascinating and gives 'Janet Leigh in Psycho' vibes.  The way the characters interact is really fun to watch. Their personalities are so distinct and interesting that at times you forget you're watching a horror movie. The characters are at least as interesting as the story, if not more so.  The film does a great job of creating the horrors. We're in the same position as th...