Paradise Lost

I saw this movie despite it's bad rating, and I must say that it wasn't at all bad. Good production values, great soundtrack and a somewhat believable story. I think a lot of people would've found it better had they not expected a horror movie. Sure there's blood and guts in it, but it's more of an adventure-movie in the sense that the good-guys, bad-guys ratio evens things up. What it does lack however is a satisfying ending and a subplot that would given an added depth to the characters. I still think it deserves a 5 rating as it's different than most movies, it doesn't follow the standard 'stupid-people walking straight into doom' recipe. It's beautifully shot at locations that I'd love to see in real life. It did get a notch or two higher for the effort. If the last 15 minutes of it had been a bit more scary and gruesome I'd definitely would've given it a 6 or a 7. If you are after a Texas Chainsaw-kind of deal you are most likely looking in the wrong direction, but if you are not, then this might tickle the fright in you just enough for it to be worth renting.

Watched it last night, with pretty much no great expectations of it. Maybe a scare or too, but I really was expecting poor acting. Yet, to my surprise the movie holds its own very nicely. Good acting by all, the girls were cute, with some decent nudity as well, which always adds a little to a good horror flick. The best thing about this movie was its ability to use Paranoia. Not necessarily the Hitchcock form, but still for a big budget horror movie, its vibe and atmosphere is very solid. I found myself being a little scared, for no apparent reason, which is a good thing for a horror/slasher to do. overall, good movie, good young acting, great scares, and just a cool movie to chill and watch with some friends. check it out.

I really came into this movie hardly knowing a thing about it except I've heard a million people telling me it was terrible and the 3. something rating on here made me think this was going to be laughably bad but it really wasn't.

I'm surprised this movie didn't do better! I mean its nothing more than average even know I thought it did have some originality. Any average horror/slasher fan would probably enjoy it, it's no worse than wolf creek or hostel. The film did a good job of setting their tones, they did a good job at pacing and they managed to do a good job with the intensity. The camera works a little frustrating at first but you get used to it and it ends up working for the film. The deaths and special effects aren't the most amazing at looking realistic but they did a good job with their budget. I also really liked how they developed the characters in this but they could use less gore, I mean I know thats whats getting the audience for some reason lately but it didn't feel necessary and they kept a gross scene on for just too long.

Overall, Don't get me wrong this movie isn't excellent but its not as bad as everyones saying it is. If you liked wolf creek, hostel, into the blue, or the descent then you'll probably enjoy this, it's worth a look.

Without making this review to long, I just want to say that Turistas starts off well, and then goes way downhill once the "horror" begins. The opening half of the movie is very well developed. It draws out it's characters well, sets up moments of suspense for the horrors that will come, and keeps the viewer interested due to it's beautiful cinematography.

Once the terror and violence actually begin (which doesn't happen until the last third of the movie no less) it goes way downhill. For one, it was marketed as a torture movie, but there is barely any of it! Sure, there's a brutal killing here and there, but when it came to gore, this film was very tame. Second, the cinematography in during the night scenes was awful,with the chase scenes and violence barely viewable. You could not tell what was happening on screen, and all of the viewers of the film were lost with what was going on. Third, the last third was extremely predictable. You could tell who was going to die and when. The main villain (who ironically looks like the President of Iran) is not well drawn out, and the "climax" of the film is pitiful.

There is however, fine acting jobs done by all involved, and a particular death scene that made me squirm in my seat due to its brutality and intensity. When the chase scenes and violence were actually viewable (of which it rarely was) it actually was pretty intense. However, the actual deaths were not (save one or two), and the dumb decisions made by all of the characters may be the stupidest yet to grace the screen this year.

It's sad. Turistas had potential. It started off great, but just went in the wrong direction I guess. I have never seen a movie that fell so much on its rear.

Turistas (2006) is a movie I saw an advance screening of ages ago and recently watched again on Tubi. The storyline follows a group of tourists in Brazil whose tour bus breaks down and they decide to continue their trip on foot. As they get off the beaten path they find more fun than they could ever imagine but then wake up the next day to their worst nightmare.

This movie is directed by John Stockwell (Dark Tide) and stars Josh Duhamel (Transformers), Melissa George (Hunted), Olivia Wilde (Tron: Legacy), Desmond Askew (Go), Max Brown (The Tudors) and Beau Garrett (Tron: Legacy).

The settings and circumstances are well established in this and the cast is pretty solid. The storyline is cliche and straightforward but still fun to watch unfold. There's also some comedy mixed in here and there, the prostitution scene always cracks me up. I did like how they did the drug scenes and the kill sequences and gore are very solid. There's a machete scene in this I always love. There's a good use of a staple gun in this as well; and to be honest, there's some surgery scenes that make me woozy. The use of underwater scenes was a bit too much but the circumstances overall felt realistic.

Overall this is a slightly above average horror movie with some good gore and kill scenes. This is definitely worth a viewing for horror enthusiasts that I would score a 5.5-6/10.