उपयोगकर्ता समीक्षाएं

This was the second movie that I watched at Nightmares Film Festival. I got to see the United States premiere of this film. What intrigued me was that at a previous year for this festival, I watched Book of Monsters. It features the same creative team and actors. I thought this might be a sequel of sorts, but this is just using a similar title. Ahead of this, I followed the Instagram page and was excited to check this out.

Synopsis: the sole survivor of a blood-drenched massacre must team up with a rag-tag bunch of rookie cops and lawbreakers to defend a police station from an invasion of monsters from another dimension.

Here we start in a cabin in the woods. We see the ending of a ritual that results in everyone being killed, except for Jamie (Lyndsey Craine). She cuts her way out of the door with a chainsaw and is then taken into custody. She doesn't realize this at first. After getting cleaned up, she is then interrogated by Dara (Johnny Vivash) and Melvin (Daniel Thrace). They don't believe her story and think that she killed everyone there. She is taken to a holding cell and shares it with Big Jenny (Rebecca-Clare Evans).

In these cells, we see her being joined by a bachelorette party. Blair (Fenfen Huang) is the bride. Her maid of honor is Chelsea (Michaela Longden), but they're not getting along. She has a shadow who agrees with everything in Crystal (Louella Gaskell). There is also Ruth (Juné Tiamatakorn) who is vomiting. In another cell is Tinny G (Nicholas Vince). Helping here is Dennis (Arron Dennis). He believes that Jamie is innocent but can't prove it.

What we learn later is that Dennis and Melvin are brothers. Together, they go to visit Casey (Yvonne Okyere) who is the lab tech. The 'eldritch blade' artifact that was used in the ritual is brought here and she is analyzing it. Jamie tries telling the cops that they need to stop or it is going to spell their doom. That is what happens when Casey reopens the door and monsters attack this police station. It is another fight for survival for Jamie. Not everything is as it seems though as this place is plunged into another dimension.

That is where I'm going to leave my recap and introduction to the characters. Where I want to start is that this movie doesn't have the deepest story. It also doesn't need one either. It's built on the practical effects of the monsters. These are on point. I was warned before this started that this goes bloody and gooey, which it doesn't disappoint there. We are even getting heavy Lovecraftian vibes which also had me smiling in the theater.

Where I want to start delving a bit more into would be this being a standalone and not a sequel. I'm not going to hold it against the movie by any stretch. How they ended that first one though made me want to see the adventures of Sophie. There are elements that seem like cross-overs though. Something happens at the end that I think is a connection with certain individuals. I did like that. What I will give credit to though is that it allowed Craine to take on a different character, Jamie, develop it and give a good performance.

Now that is out the way, let's get over to the best part of the movie in my opinion and it is the Lovecraftian stuff. We are dealing with elder gods and they are considered demons here. We have the eldritch blade that is used to bring these entities forward. Eldritch is part of the Lovecraft mythos. I'm pretty sure I saw a Cthulu sighting in this movie. I'd also say that the monsters that attack in the cabin and holding cells area fits that vibe as well. I'll bring up once more that they did all they could with the practical effects and they look wonderful. Special credit to that. Even the CGI used wasn't bad. It was used for things that just couldn't be done and that's how it should be in my opinion.

The last parts of the story is just that I love using this police station in the United Kingdom as our setting. They don't have guns to fight back with, which is interesting to see as an American. I like the fact that they find weapons in the evidence room and things that you'd find in buildings like this as well. There are ritual elements and even a bit of a cult, which are things that I love to see as well.

That should be enough there so then over to the acting. No one is great here, but they don't have to be. The characters are played a bit more on the comedic side which can be harder if I'm honest. I love Craine in this role and we see her get to show a bit more of her talents. Jamie has depth and growth which I didn't see coming. Dennis is good as this bigger cop who is a bit bumbling. He plays well off his smaller brother Melvin. I liked Huang, Tiamatakorn, Longden and Gaskell as this bridal party. It feels like they all have known each other for years and that is coming to a head on this night. The alcohol they ingested before coming to the station doesn't help. I'll also credit Vivash, Vince, Evans and the rest of the cast for rounding this out for what was needed.

All that is left then is the rest of the filmmaking. The cinematography is good. We have that isolated feeling that they can't escape, which is good. That is almost an Evil Dead feel. I've already said what I can about the effects. The soundtrack also works to help build the atmosphere and tension for me. I like the sound design for the creatures as well. That worked.

In conclusion, this is another fun movie co-writer/director Sparke. I've enjoyed both monster movies I've seen from him. He and I have similar taste in films from what he said at the Q and A. He wears his inspirations on his sleeves in the best way possible. This has enough of a story to get me invested and the effects take over from there. The creature designs are great. The ritual, cult and Lovecraftian stuff is on point. The acting helps bring characters to life and I think that this is done well enough. No glaring issues there outside of it just having a lower budget. It can stretch it though. I'd recommend this if you're into movies like this as it feels like a more whimsical The Void.

My Rating: 7 out of 10.

I'm all for low budget horror/comedy and potential cult hits, but this movie is not that, it lacked creativity and substance. It was a little too simple, lacked originality, and the monsters were not even remotely convincing. The monsters looked like they were made in some random person's garage, which would've been fine had the humor and writing been on point, to make up for the fact, but they weren't. It is very much an average movie, all things considered, but I do need to give credit where credit is due. The acting was pretty solid, the practical effects, even though kind if weak, were a welcome sight in the long run and much respect for no cgi or green screen. So all things said, not the worst movie ever, but if you're gonna watch, keep your expectations low, keep the inebriation high, and you might actually have a good time.

On Halloween, at a cabin in the woods, there is a party going on, and the star attraction is an ancient relic, the Eldritch Blade. By aligning a series of coded symbols, it is activated, and let's say, one really doesn't want to activate it. It summons monsters, among other nasty stuff. It is low budget, and the monsters are done practical, more or less as they would have been done in B movies of the 1960's. Men in rubber suits with tentacles and gaping mouths. The CGI is less than what could be done in a middle school film class. Anyway, out from the cabin comes Jamie with a chainsaw. Everyone else in the cabin is dead, and she is the main suspect. She tries to tell them what happened but the police don't believe her. There are dumb people, some slapstick, but for the most part rampant silliness. Not great, but silly fun.

It's a comedy-horror in which some dumb criminals and some even dumber cops must band together to battle Lovecraftian monsters. The lead actress does an admirable job. The effects are very low-budget; they're either practical or "we know you know it's really bad CGI, fuggadaboudit," both of which fit this type of movie nicely.

The problem is simply that the humor isn't funny. The script tries. The performers try. They were clearly going for a mix of madcap wackiness and deadpan British snark. The jokes land a few times (the best lines are already given away in the trailer); the vast majority of the time they just don't, despite the best efforts of an affable cast.

Director Stewart Sparkle's 2023 feature film is a kind of follow up to his earlier film 'Book of Monsters'. On Halloween Jamie (Lyndsey Crane) is found in a cabin in the woods with a chainsaw, covered in blood, and with her friends chopped up all around her. Taken to a police station for questioning she claims it was a monster from the beyond wot done it. But then - with police laughter still ringing in her ears - strange things start happening. Written by Sparkle with Paul Butler this is a gore filled supernatural monster horror comedy, which fortunately doesn't take itself too seriously. Hokum, with some rather annoying cops - one of them played by Johnny Vivash (him again!).

Stewart Sparke is one to watch. Mixes British humour into American style comedy so well.

Made on a small budget this looks pretty cool, it lightheartedly homages the type of movies I grew up loving in the 80s and 90s without making fun of them. Some fantastic practical effects and cool puppets. Very little c.g.i used but what is also manages to look retro so doesn't look out of place.

Bonkers plot, fun characters and a likeable cast who are enjoying themselves.

A fantastic Friday night Movie.

Perfect follow up (but not sequel) to Book of Monsters, another movie all B-movie/horror fans need to check out.

I'm really looking forward to what he does next.

Watched at the Dead and Sudburied horror marathon.

A woman who survived a monster attack attempts to warn the skeptical police of the danger an evil artifact holds.

I almost turned this off after the first few minutes. It was really stupid and unfunny. It seems as though they were going for a "so bad it's funny" parody of low budget horror movies from the 80s, but it was more like a group of your friends got together and decided to make a movie on YouTube.

I figured it had to get better, so I decided to give it a chance. There's certainly no hope of it getting any worse. And for a time, it did get intermittently watchable. It never got any funnier, though, and I kept thinking to myself, "This is deadly boring." Around the 40 minute mark, I got tired of playing with my phone and just turned off the movie.

I don't understand how this got on a legitimate streaming service. If you're watching this with friends, and you're all kind of drunk, I guess it might be a more enjoyable experience. Otherwise, this is a hard skip.

The costumes are freakishly bad, the acting weak, the plot a watered down rehash, but there's enough good jokes in the same vein of Sean of the Dead to be worth watching this movie.

If the movie had abandoned efforts to be a horror movie and just stuck with the comedy this would have been a great movie actually. It's when it pretends to be serious that you start to yawn and thinking the parts worth watching are over then comes another batch of laughs, but only enough to keep you going to the end.

So it's well worth watching, especially if you liked Shaun of the dead. As a horror movie keep on going. This is a T as in trash it not even worthy of being a B or C flick in terms of horror.

Watched at the film premier at FrightFest 2023 and the film was brilliant, plenty of comedy and horror with more than a splash of blood and guts. ;-)

The is mainly based in the Police station where they think Jamie has killed a load of people in a cabin in the woods.

She is then put into the cells with an assortment of characters, mainly a hen party who are always taking the micky of the officers.

From that point, it is where things get a little freaky and the monsters start appearing and the blood and guts starts flowing.

Some brilliant old school special FX throughout the film.

A brilliant cast too ;-)

HOW TO KILL MONSTERS is thunderously good fun. It's hilarious, gory and insanely entertaining. And the creature designs are fantastic. It's fresh and original but also filled with nods to some of the cult classic horror films we all love (including, I think, to my delight, GHOULIES). There's a ton of energy in this low-budget gem and the film thrives on its b-movie roots. Much like its predecessor, BOOK OF MONSTERS, it entertains thoroughly with a great cast of human characters plus a great cast of slimy, dripping, tentacled creatures. If you liked EVIL DEAD 2, TUCKER AND DALE VS EVIL and IN THE MOUTH OF MADNESS then you'll love HOW TO KILL MONSTERS.

After surviving the original massacre, the last woman left is taken into custody by the police and kept with the rest of the inmates at a jail cell until they can figure out what's going on, but when they inadvertently summon a swarm of demonic creatures force her to save everyone again.

This was a fairly fun and enjoyable genre follow-up. Among the better elements with this one comes from the strong opening setup present within here that provides this one with the kind of intriguing connection of preexisting storylines, while also letting it work as a standalone genre effort. Tying into the previous events by showing the actual aftermath of the events and rolling credits in a meta-way makes the connections clear pretty early on about its sequel status, much like the flashback detailing what went wrong in the cabin that resulted in the actual start of the film proper when she gets picked up. The disbelieving staff at the police station who go through her belongings and try to paint her a the culprit for everything despite her insistence on the monsters responsible for everything makes for a fine touch to carry the storyline on, and with this giving a great opportunity to look into the various other incarcerated members of the station coming along for the ride, there's a lot to like here. That leaves the film with a great setup for the strong slew of impressive creature attacks throughout here. With this going for a constantly-changing selection of creatures that continually show up as obstacles to prevent the crew from finding the tool that stopped them the last time, this provides the film with the ability to work as a more action-oriented siege effort focused on clearing the monsters as they encounter the next hurdle in their quest. From the first confrontation in the jail cells giving everyone a sense of what they're up against, the fight to get upstairs to the remaining troops left in the station where they find the creatures have started sealing them off from the rest of the world, or the later scenes in the station where the race to uncover the one sacred object that can stop them brings about a series of different creations on everyone offering a great mix of practical creature effects for the uniquely-designed beings they come across and practical gore. These manage to make for a lot to like here, while there are a few issues that hold this one down. The main issue here is the somewhat underwhelming and unneeded change of pace the third act takes, which is a different entity entirely from what had been previously featured. Rather than focus on a more Action-oriented Horror setup with the way they constantly face off against different creatures standing in their way, the film opts for a series of over-the-top arcane spells and wizardry that tries to paint the use of those powers which are nicely hinted at earlier but just feels out of place in this kind of setup. It still keeps the rest of the gore and practical effects here but there's a different type of tone and atmosphere that stands out compared to the rest of the film, and manages to accomplish the other main issue in dragging the film out longer than it should trying to bring about a series of different revelations and storylines that this brings up. It's all a part of what makes the ending a bit underwhelming, and with the somewhat obvious low-budget limitations featured here, is what holds it down.

Rated Unrated/R: Graphic Violence and Graphic Language.