DarkPrincess1989

Ethan Hawke has once again made a wise choice to star in yet another well-crafted Horror film. 2012 saw Hawke take on the lead role in supernatural thriller Sinister, which proved surprisingly scary. This year sees him play the patriarchal role in the recent home invasion flick The Purge.

The Purge, directed by James DeMonaco offers a refreshing take on the well-known sub-genre. The film's premise is slightly unconventional in comparison to other films of this kind. Set in the not too distant future in 2022, the United States has undergone a "rebirth" where crime statistics are at an all time-low and unemployment rates have decreased to a mere 1%. Sounds ideal, this is however not the case as for one night per year, the government have instilled a programme known as "The Purge", where anybody is entitled to carry out extreme acts of violence during a 12-hour period, this disturbingly includes murder! The film's protagonist is of course Hawke's character James Sandin. A wealthy, upper-class and successful businessman, Sandin has created and sold-out state of the art security systems which has created a slight animosity amongst the neighbors. The main setting is Sandin's luxurious home which he shares with his wife Mary (Lena Headey), teenage daughter Zoey (Adelaide Kane) and young son Charlie (Max Burkholder).

The first few moments of the film establishes the family well and their relationships with each other. They could be described as archetypal as they embody the usual family issues of maintaining communication which is established through the run-of-the-mill dinner scene where Sandin probes each member on their day in an organized fashion. However, it is clear there is an equality between the husband and wife characters which is evident later on once the carnage is at its height. These key scenes allow the audience to become involved with the characters very quickly and end up rooting for them.

The film plays on some thought-provoking themes. If you had the opportunity to commit violent crimes without consequence, would you? How far would you go to save your own skin and those you care about for the life of another? The way the film depicts these ideas comes across in a psychologically disturbing manner and gives a profound analysis of the corruption in the US government.

The action kicks off when Charlie, who is played with a sense of innocence and naivety as well as intelligence disarms the security system to allow an unknown African-American (Edwin Hodge) into the Sandin's home. Soon, a group of well-educated, middle-class thugs appear at the door demanding the "bloody stranger" for themselves with a sophisticated yet extremely psychotic leader (Rhys Wakefield). The thugs donne unnerving masks which adds a sense of creepy imagery to the piece. The previously non-violent Sandin's are now placed in the position of sacrificing another life for their own safety. This aspect of the film is portrayed with much complexity, bringing in the notion of unpredictability for the audience.

Plenty of twists and turns and shocks and scares are in store as well as some unexpected moments among the standard conventions of the home invasion film. The Purge displays a sense of psychological brutality with a truly terrifying idea that suggests its acceptable to kill. You will remain on the edge of the seat and won't want to turn away from the screen. Issues of prejudice relating to poverty and more subtly race are also questioned, demonstrating the so-called power of white supremacy. The majority of the film is shot in darkness and has the family separated all over the house which ramps up the tension as its unclear who will be around the corner! The Purge is a clever concept. Its well acted, directed and shot. Its themes are handled well on top of it being very suspenseful. Even as the credits roll, it reveals how twisted and disturbing the law really is, you will find it a difficult film to shake off. Although its not overly original, it most definitely provides a different and interesting angle on its sub-genre. I'd go as far as saying its my favorite genre film so far, this year.

**WARNING: CONTAINS SOME SPOILERS** Its common knowledge to any hardcore horror fan that Sam Raimi's Evil Dead (1981) was one of the most notorious video nasties of the 80′s. At the time, controversy surrounding the film was high due to its themes of demonic possession and no holding back on the gore factor. The film remains to be a horror classic, making lead actor Bruce Campbell and his character Ash an icon within the genre. I adore The Evil Dead for several reasons, mainly due to the fact it pushed the boundaries for its time and comes across as a fun, campy, edge-of-the-seat horror. I love the jaunty fast paced, camera angles that bound through the film's woodland setting and of course Campbell's performance is fantastic to watch along with Raimi's direction. The sequels Evil Dead 2 (1987) and Army of Darkness (1992) are even more unbelievable and outrageous, leaving a trilogy of cult classics that are to be enjoyed. Its a fair assumption to make that perhaps in the 80′s the film was misunderstood as the video nasties moral panics swept society. Fast forward to 2013 and there really isn't anything to be offended by.

Its a known fact that horror has lost its way in recent years and Hollywood is out of fresh ideas. All mainstream horror seems to offer is REMAKE, REMAKE, REMAKE! The majority of them become glossed up, full of torture porn and mostly miss the point of their originals with the exception of Maniac (2012). Therefore, like every other remake that have emerged in the past decade, Evil Dead (2013) surely didn't warrant one. Its actually taken me a lot of debating on whether to actually give this one a chance. Following much positivity about the re-boot, I decided, why not?. So, could I have lived without seeing The Evil Dead remake? The answer is yes. Understandably times have changed and filmmakers can go as far as they want and this film certainly brought in buckets of blood and gore but that didn't differentiate from the original and they even used practical effects over CGI which actually didn't come across that well. Instead of incorporating a seedy, grotesque 80′s feel, the effects just replicated those of the modern horror film.

Remakes have a tendency for creating in-depth back stories for our beloved films that don't warrant them. I'm all for keeping up the enigma and don't need to question these films too deeply. What you don't know is a much scarier concept. I don't need to know that Michael Myers had a tough upbringing and I certainly don't need a reason for the characters in Evil Dead to end up at the infamous cabin. Director Fede Alvarez clearly had the intention of re-creating the film as scary and bringing in a serious note. However it becomes problematic when in 2013, most of us are desensitized to what the genre offers meaning the film doesn't shock like the original did. What I will praise it on is the fact it wasn't a carbon copy of the 1981 version, it was a smart move not to include the Ash character as replicating Bruce Campbell's unique performance would be difficult, it also means the film can stand on its own. The tone remains bleak through the use of white, black and grey colouring and the way its shot captures an isolated environment, it literally feels like the trees provide no escape.

Alvarez has left the idea open as to whether its a sequel to the original or not and developed a theory that the cabin was bought by a family years after the events of the first movie, ultimately this works as a fan fiction idea. A brother and sister along with friends plan a getaway to the demonic location in order to help Mia, the sister character go cold turkey with her drug habit but soon that pesky Naturom Demonto, the book of the dead wreaks its havoc . The narrative was set up well and had potential but could have worked better without being The Evil Dead, it felt like the film's carnage overshadowed the initial plot and became predictable from then on. Granted, this remake wasn't terrible and certainly not the worst I've ever seen, I'll give that to I Spit on your Grave but its just another pointless remake to add to the rest of them.

"The Shadow of Death" (2012) is an upcoming non-budget, British slasher movie reminiscent of classic films from the 70′s and the latter part of the 90′s. "Shadow" focuses on a group of flatmates who stumble upon some woods in rural Southern-England with the incentive of meeting a dealer in order to score themselves a bit of weed. There's also an amateur policeman lurking around on the lookout for any impending action! Little do they know there's a mysterious killer on the loose and no one who enters the woods will be safe! The film uses the classic "urban legend" scenario adding a sense of enigma, inviting the viewer to want to uncover more. Stylistically it achieves a grind-house and 70's seedy horror movie feel similarly to "Last House on the Left" (1972) in terms of its editing.

Writer and director Gav Chuckie Steel has done an impressive job creating an entertaining, edge-of-the-seat horror while incorporating an old-school slasher movie style. The FX on the production are outstanding for an independent film leading to some squirm-worthy death scenes. The characters are entertaining drawing on post-modern archetypal horror victims that at times prove difficult to feel sorry for! However at the same time they could be characters encountered in real life. There's a couple of stoner's, a nerdy character, a Chuck Norris wannabe cop and a potential final girl! Tension is built up from beginning to end with some startling, creepy moments. To an extent "Shadow" could be described as "Texas Chainsaw meets Blair Witch" through being suspenseful, eerie and gory at the same time. What's great about "Shadow" is that unlike most recent offers into the horror genre there is something edgy and raw about it, the fact that it was shot on a Panasonic SD60 camera compliments its intended "grind-house" feel.

Independent movies such as this need to be supported, if your a fan of the horror genre I thoroughly recommend it.