Chilling Visions: 5 Senses of Fear

I thought I'd leave a review about the movie because I didn't see many. I don't think it was great movie, but it was an okay movie to watch when you don't have much else to do. It was shot well, and the acting wasn't bad. Fun fact; the last one hearing, is somewhat semi-based on a real story. The Russian song "Gloomy Sunday," was linked to hundreds of suicides.

Anyways, the movie was good, and it's something to watch during this during quarantine.

The first 4 senses that they covered had really cool concepts. What I liked the most is that they were all interconnected one way or the other. The "hearing" story lacked a lot and it wasn't my favorite. It felt rushed and disjointed but but the actors were pretty good.

Another year, another horror anthology, and this time it's the turn of 5 SENSES OF FEAR which unsurprisingly contains five short tales each based around one of the human senses. Like SCARY OR DIE or the V/H/S/ movies, this is acceptable stuff for horror fans, although it lacks the quality of something like TRICK 'R TREAT.

The problem with 5 SENSES OF FEAR is not the production values, because they're actually decent for a change; although the stories were shot on the cheap and in a very short space of time, they look good and the calibre of both acting and direction is of an acceptable standard. There are no big names here, but then you don't go looking for them.

The problem is that all of the stories are focused on delivering gore rather than true scares so that the scope ends up being rather limited. The first one, SMELL, is about a guy who comes into possession of a new and experimental perfume; this has a classic outcome and was my favourite of the five stories. The second one, SEE, involves some predictably nasty eye violence and very little else. The third, TOUCH, is about a blind kid who has a car accident and is the most atmospheric of the quintet, although the story is very slight. TASTE is an all-out gore effort set in an office, while LISTEN goes down the found footage route and isn't too shabby. All of the stories are acceptable, but I found them lacking in delivering proper horror themes or scares; is gore all the genre has to offer these days, I wonder?

Saw this at The Art of Brooklyn Film Fest's Dark Side program. A great, original anthology.

It's refreshing it see a horror movie that focuses on characters and story and not just blood and guts (although there are some great squirm-inducing moments in this that made a few audience members quite queasy).

Also, the stories are all loosely tied together, but it's not easy to pick up all the connections on the first viewing. I'm excited to go back and watch this again to look for more details.

I'm hoping this gets a DVD/BluRay release, because it definitely deserves multiple viewings.

My only complaint is that I would have liked a bit more of a wrap-up at the end. It seems to finish pretty abruptly. But, maybe we'll get more in a sequel!

I loved this horror anthology, but I can understand how some people might not. It's not jump-out-of-your-seat horror. If anything, I'd characterize it as a series of unsettling and disturbing scenarios.

I'd equate it with an episode of Tales from the Crypt or maybe season one of Fringe. Each section of the anthology starts with a natural sense and ties it to something very unnatural. With maybe one exception, this doesn't end well for anybody!

SMELL tells the story of a man who's given the chance to change his pheromones to get sex and success. Our protagonist fails to realize that something about that offer smells fishy.

SIGHT deals with a lonely eye doctor who can see what his patients see. Unfortunately, he sure lacks foresight when he tries to help one of them out.

TOUCH starts with a blind boy and his family getting into a car accident. As the only one able to walk, the blind boy wanders through the woods to find help. As I'm sure he would agree, something doesn't feel right here.

TASTE is about an unusual job interview. When the interviewee turns down the offer, he's met with a biting critique.

LISTEN breaks with the rest of the short films and is in "found footage" format. It tells the story of two young men trying to piece together the recording of a song that is rumoured to kill all those who listen to it. In the end, our protagonists try to offer some sound advice -- but is it already too late?