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I've known of Madison County's existence for almost a year now. Since it's debut trailer, there was an immediate intrigue I had to the film. This looked like horror done down and dirty, raw in tone and quick with kills. A year later and I'm finally able to see if my suspicion was right. Well, I was. Madison County is a twisted little flick that spins an interesting mystery long before the kills begin.That may sound like a turn off for blood fiends, but with surprisingly likable characters and and a consistently uneasy atmosphere, County quickly shuttles you to the main attraction: Damien. He's weird, he's tall, wears a pig mask, and has a close bond with his ax. Damien is a real terrifying sight, and you get to see a lot of him. the most effective sequences in the film consist of Damien approaching his victims from yards away. Writer/director Eric England boldly places Madison County almost entirely during the day, and being able to spot Damien advancing through the distant trees is a thrilling image. While Madison County is not a perfect film (it has an amusing way of going through a horror film checklist) it really knows how to ratchet up tension and display some serious brutality and completely solid acting. it's a shame it didn't go theatrical, but at this point Madison County is the best horror home release since The Hills Run red two years ago.

Well darn, at least Clash of the titans, while cheesy to a fault, entertained me. It was two years ago, and I left a theater mildly entertained but ultimately let down by horrid 3d effects and an underwhelming lead man in Sam Worthington. fast forward two years and here we are again, with expensive special effects and a two dollar script. it's not that Wrath is horrible, but it does not improve upon it's predecessor in any way, which is it's final downfall. Worthington seems more comfortable in the role this time(I spy a smile!) but the script denies him any time to flesh Perseus out.

In fact, the script let every actor down. Ares, portrayed by Edgar Ramirez, is hopelessly sullen and Fiennes' Hades has by far the worst lines in the film. Liam Neeson phones it in, with his beard doing most of the work. Also, Bill Nighy randomly shows up as Hephaestus, the keeper of the labyrinth, and while his kookiness is most welcome, he is granted around ten minutes screen time. And finally poor Rosemund Pike, playing a tough queen, gets knocked down and around by both monsters and a two dimensional character arc. Wrath of the Titans' only improvement is it's special effects, which are indeed quite amazing. Kronos, while suffering from short screen time, is an awesome sight, except for when he stands( too much torso, not enough leg). His arms of molten rock spew destruction everywhere, and you can see the money on the screen. Other titans fair just as well, but the director seems unsure of the effects work, and keeps the camera jittering along. Overall, Wrath really did nothing that Clash didn't do, and failed to truly entertain. the only time my heart beat fast during the movie was when the Prometheus trailer came on in 3d. That was the highlight of the film.