One, The (2001)

Director: James Wong
Notable Cast: Jet Li, Jason Statham, Delroy Lindo

In a recent Jason Statham marathon, I decided to go back and watch the first movie I ever saw him in which so happened to be "The One" with Jet Li in the title role. As seemingly delectable as a film starring both Statham and Li is for action fans, "The One" tends to be a film caught in the purgatorial state between being an action film and a science fiction one. The genres have been successfully mixed before, but with "The One" the mixture is not cohesive and leaves a film that feels far too watered down and rushed that it ends up being more or less a "Matrix" clone with less brains and brawn.

Gabe Law (Li) seemingly has the life. A beautiful caring wife and a job as a police officer upholding justice that really allows him to utilize his martial arts skills. When a different version of himself called YuLaw (Li) shows up to kill him, he doesn't know if he is going crazy or not. YuLaw is from a different universe and has gone through all of the other universes to kill his other versions, creating a more powerful version of himself known as 'the one.' Now its up to Gabe and to Multiverse agents (Statham and Lindo) to stop his 'evil self' before he causes a catastrophe of epic proportions.

"Does this movie have a rapper in it? No? That's odd."

When I was first getting into martial arts films, I was only able to acquire American films that featured Jet Li and Jackie Chan at the time - and the 16 year old in me loved this movie. It's been years since I have revisited "The One" and upon my time with film as a 27 year old, I found it be a rather...well, crappy movie. On a popcorn flick kind of level, "The One" certainly entertains as it pumps up the action to the maximum level and utilizes Jet Li to some fun effect. The film caters to that early 00s action motif in style by throwing in enough 'bullet time' (and obvious cash in that most action films were doing since the release of the "Matrix" a couple years earlier) that it must have cost a fortune just to shoot. Ironically, despite its focus on gun fights, chases, and a needlessly complex plot - the highlight of the film is the Li vs Li fight at the end where classic choreography and some old school techniques (including having each character use a different martial art) make for a strong fight. Something that I'm sure was not the focus of the filmmakers.

Leaving like a Jet Li. Don't know when I'll come down again.

So "The One" earns a few style points for some fun action, but beyond that this film drags on with its watered down 'logic' and poorly crafted script. Because the story requires so much explanation (with Multiverses, Multiverse police, the concept of 'the one', and of course the characters to make it work) that none of it feels deep enough to carry the film. The characters are quickly brushed over, the plot races at a lightning pace to fit in enough to make the action seem legit, and the oddly added in science fiction moments look cheap and often make one scratch their head including a rat grenade where the wire receiver hangs out of its ass...a definite WTF moment in the film.

Look! It's Statham! A rare moment where we find him in his natural habitat (with a gun and grimace) and sporting HAIR.

"The One" is fun enough as it is, which is a popcorn flick, but its awkward blend of martial arts, action, and science fiction doesn't gel together enough to be thought provoking or intriguing. It's watered down for easy digestion and rarely rises above that. It's hard not to be somewhat disappointed as both a Jet Li and a Jason Statham fan with "The One." Could be worse though right?

Written By Matt Reifschneider

The combination of Statham and Li is tough to pass up right? Same for me. Might as well pick up your copy at the links below too. 

Godzilla and Mothra: The Battle for Earth (1992)

GODZILLA AND MOTHRA:

THE BATTLE FOR EARTH

Aka "Godzilla vs. Mothra"

Re-introducing King Ghidorah with the last sequel proved to Toho that audiences wanted to see Godzilla fight monsters they were already familiar with from the old series. Due to this it would only be natural for them to bring back Mothra and thus they began “remaking” older sequels, but “remake” is a poor word choice as the the film is completely different when it comes to plot. The title however makes it confusing as it was released in Japan as “Godzilla vs. Mothra” and to avoid audiences mistaking it for the 1964 sequel “Mothra vs. Godzilla”, it was retitled “Godzilla and Mothra: The Battle for Earth” for American video release.

Picking up right after “Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah”, a meteor crashes right beside Godzilla and Ghidorah after they go crashing into the ocean (seriously, what are the chances?!). The meteor causes a tidal wave that reveals an ancient egg of Mothra off the shore of an island. The bad part is that the meteor also reawakens an ancient evil moth known as Battra. This armored caterpillar bastard starts making its way to Tokyo but soon Mothra is on his way to cut him off, but Godzilla makes it a little difficult (which results in a fun underwater battle between the three).

Though the plot is different from the 1964 sequel, people familiar with Mothra will fnd a lot of the same plot devices in this nineteenth entry in the franchise (fourth in the “Heisei Era"). We get Mothra’s two attractive twin fairies and her starting in her larva stage before cocooning herself to become the butterfly later. I do have to say I am really digging how Toho is making Godzilla more animal-like in nature with this second era of the franchise. He’s supposed to be an antagonist damnit, not some hero of the earth! What I also dig is that Toho has all three monsters fight each other before Battra finally turns on Godzilla resulting in a rather funny moment when both it and Mothra fly his ass out to sea.

Overall it’s the “same ‘ol same ‘ol” with this sequel (especially if you watch a ton of Godzilla films in a row, like I am with my “Godzilla Tokyo Stompathon”) but it’s a solid entry into the franchise. I liked how Toho introduced a new monster in the form of Battra to up the ante instead of just having Big G and Big M going at it like in the original 1964 sequel. Unlike many monsters in the Godzilla franchise, Mothra was able to break free at the end and become the main focas of her own spin-off franchise later with the “Rebirth of Mothra” trilogy which is fitting considering Mothra had her own film before merging into the Godzilla franchise.

Godzilla will return in "Godzille vs. Mechagodzilla II"

Written By Eric Reifschneider

Hawk the Slayer (1980)

HAWK THE SLAYER

I originally bought the USA Home Video big box release of “Hawk the Slayer" over a decade ago for $.99 at a mom and pop video store but the problem was the tape was so decayed due to age that I couldn’t even watch the film, and I desperately wanted to watch it because the cover artwork was so bad ass. Now all these years later and finally having a viewable DVD it was amazing the glorious fantasy trash I missed in my childhood. You see long before the days of Peter Jackson’s “Lord of the Rings”, fans of fantasy entertainment had little to choose from with “Hawk the Slayer” being one of the ‘best’. Boy it must have been rough times for fantasy fans!

Hawk the Slayer is obviously the hero of the story and he’s on a mission of revenge against his brother Voltan (Jack Palance). Voltan, jealous of his brother for stealing his woman, kills his little bros fiancee and then proceeds to kill their father but not before getting his eye burned out of his socket. Hawk, with the power of magical sword (imagine that in a fantasy film) gathers a group of mercenaries (a giant, a dwarf, an elf, a witch and a peasant) to stop Volton’s iron grip on the land and to protect a coven on nuns for good measure.

This low budget British flick shows its lack of funds on its face with laughable effects, costume designs and sets. The special effects are regulated to glowing hula hoops, glowing rubber bouncy balls and the best yet is magic silly string that has the ability to freeze enemies in their place. The acting is equally as bad by being on total opposite ends of the spectrum. John Terry as our hero is absolutely lifeless as a stone statue but Jack Palance over compensates this by overacting, hamming it up beyond belief plummeting whatever respectable elements the film had going for it into complete camp. Also Palance looks way too damn old to be Hawks brother… by about 30 years! Hell Voltar’s son Drogo even looks older than Hawk.

Some compare “Hawk the Slayer” to “Star Wars” with our hero having some special ‘force’, a magical sword, two side characters acting like R2-D2 and C-3PO, and the villains helmet looking like Darth Vaders. This is giving “Hawk the Slayer” too much credit but even with the film having such deplorable dialogue, laughable effects and lack-of/overacting of its cast one can tell it was made with love and affection for the subject matter even if the result of the film is lower tier fantasy trash. The cheesy early 80s synth score mixed with flutes is just sugar coating for this entertaining flick that will appeal to connoisseurs of cornball cinema that could only be found in the ‘big boxes’ of glory day video stores.

Written By Eric Reifschneider

Bullet To The Head (2013)

Director: Walter Hill
Notable Cast: Sylvester Stallone, Sung Kang, Jason Momoa, Christian Slater, Sarah Shahi

Damn, I love this second golden age of action films. Just in the last month, we've had new films for Schwarzenegger, Statham, and Stallone who just so happens to be the focus of this review. I certainly had high hopes for "Bullet In The Head" as Stallone teams up Sung Kang, Jason Momoa, and legendary action director Walter Hill. Although the film had a few surprises to throw at me, generally speaking it was exactly what I wanted from this film despite being a little too formulaic for its own good. I would hesitate to call "Bullet To The Head" a great film for sure, but it did deliver just what I expected.

Jimmy Bobo (Stallone) might be a ruthless hitman, but that doesn't stop him from being loyal to his partner. After a recent hit though, Jimmy finds that they have been double crossed and his partner lies dead at the hands of a mercenary (Momoa). With the help of a detective (Kang) sent from Washington DC, Jimmy is going to find his partner's killer and give him what he deserves. Can the two unlikely "partners" team up to uncover a larger conspiracy or will they end up killing each other?

"He's the guy from "Fast Five?" Oh that makes much more sense now!"

Although it can be loosely defined as such, "Bullet To The Head" is a fine addition to Walter Hill's rather impressive 'buddy cop' film list. Shockingly so, this new school meets old school action flick is surprisingly dark and violent. I knew going into it that it was rated R, but the throw back style of the script certainly highlighted the darker elements that made 80s action films so good. Stallone might end up being a rather subtle and hollow one beat character as the hitman Bobo, but he definitely owns in the role as a bad ass and becomes quite the anti-hero to follow. This darker tone, which was not alluded to in the trailers whatsoever or in the fact that the original director of the film was let go for making it too dark, does allow "Bullet In The Head" to go some places that it needed to go. The violence is there for sure as is some of that gratuitous nudity (mostly to make Christian Slater's corrupt lawyer seem even more sleazy), but the darkness of our leads makes for a rather intriguing spin on what I thought was going to be more of a light hearted and "wink-wink" throw back affair.

Stallone'd.

Unfortunately, despite some intriguing characters and the violence to punctuate them, "Bullet To The Head" eventually falls to its own devices. Far be it for me to criticize the director who essentially created 'the buddy cop' formula for following his own design, but "Bullet To The Head" ends up being a very predictable film that fails to truly intrigue. The mysterious conspiracy that the two fall into is about as 'by the book' as it gets for these kind of films and the majority of its run time is spent going through the plot motions instead of delving into the intriguing characters. Both Stallone and Kang end up drifting in roles that seem too shallow to truly hold up the film and their banter, although having some great moments, ends up being a bit too predictable in itself too.

Rambo Vs. Nu Conan.

For action fans, "Bullet To The Head" delivers on what it promised - an often fun and violent ride that mirrors some of the great action work in the 1980s with some intense action sequences to boot including a very intense axe fight between Stallone and Momoa that steals as the high point of the film. The darker shades of the film make for a unique spin that I wasn't expecting, but the formulaic script and underdeveloped characters do leave one wanting a bit more. Although I was hoping for more from "Bullet In The Head" it's hard not to enjoy it for what it is. Now I'm just curious to see if it begins to cater to a cult following...

Written By Matt Reifschneider

Pack, The (2010)

Director: Franck Richard
Notable Cast: Emilie Dequenne, Benjamin Biolay, Yolande Moreau, Phillipe Nohan

French horror films have seen a massive resurgence as the likes of "High Tension", "Martyrs", and "Inside" dominated the extremity of the genre. When I finally was able to get around to seeing "The Pack", a shape shifting genre flick that was likened to the films mentioned above, I was excited to see what else the French horror landscape had to offer. The end results of "The Pack" though are a rather mixed affair that borderlines significantly disappointing. Sure it has some moments to love and the concept is delightfully twisted, but the overall product ends up falling quite short of the high standards set by its brethren.

When Charlotte (Dequenne) picks up a strange hitchhiker Max (Biolay) on the side of the road, she seems to have no fear of anything. Together they road trip for a while before eventually coming to a little restaurant off the beaten path run by an odd elderly woman (Moreau). It is here that Max mysteriously disappears. Charlotte later returns to 'investigate' what happened to Max only to find that the restaurant is meant to feed more than hungry customers...

"We're going to France? That place it BR00TAL."

I will admit, the first third of the film was a winding and often quite engaging film. At one point the film feels like a slasher film only curve itself into a mystery before finally carting down towards a 'cannibalistic' family route. "The Pack"'s gene bending abilities in this artful and atmospheric first portion made for a rather unique and impressive start, leading me to believe that it just might end up clawing its way up the ranks of French horror. The acting here is subtle, but fitting while Emilie Dequenne made for an intriguing protagonist to take this trip with. As the film begins to truly show its horror tendencies above its mysterious opening, that's when it also begins to crumble right before your eyes.

Nope. Not a "Saw" sequel. Not that I could explain what the scene was doing in the movie.

The concept of the film is definitely a highlight as the final half begins to show its true colors. What started off as a mysterious slasher and torture-esque film, "The Pack" begins to unfold as an off beat zombie art house picture. Hints of a more mysterious almost witchcraft like subtext is there to tease you and most of the tension remains throughout the rest of the play time. Unfortunately, as the film digresses into more nightmarish moments that focus on these very creatively designed "undead" creatures who are awakened by blood in the soil, the film's focus goes with it. Not much from the opening comes back around to come full circle (leaving me quite frustrated as there was so much potential there) and the ending ends up leaving us with far too many questions for its own good.

Graboid people!

Director/writer Franck Richard seems to have this brilliant idea planned out, but some of the leaps of logic and forced artistic merit that are pulled at the end seem to undermine the general quality of the film. The special effects are quite impressive (the "undead" are vicious looking and make for some frightful villains), but the film feels the need to do some odd things that make us question just what the film is trying to do - including some daft ideas like having the "undead" seemingly teleport from place to place and never explaining just they want with our helpless protagonist. By the time the credits rolled, I was insanely frustrated by the lacking focus and uneven atmosphere.

What started off as a very unique and potentially impactful horror film quickly turns to skeptical leaps of plot hole riddled thought and unfocused/undeveloped concepts unveiling "The Pack" as one of the weaker horror films to jump over to the US from France. It is a film that definitely has it's moments, but for those with a bit more of a developed horror taste or looking for another strong French horror film...then I suggest looking elsewhere.

Written By Matt Reifschneider

Yet, if you are a collector of French horror or as simply intrigued by the film's blending of genres, then feel free to click on the link below to pick up your copy right now.

Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters (2013)

Director: Tommy Wirkola
Notable Cast: Jeremy Renner, Gemma Arterton, Famke Janssen, Peter Stormare, Thomas Mann, Derek Mears

When a film gets mostly negative reviews, it tends to make me cautious. This was how my initial feelings about "Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters" played out. Then it was pointed out to me that this goofy R-rated action horror was directed by the guy that gave us "Dead Snow." Within 24 hours I was in the theater, ready to enjoy. I'm certainly glad I did. Despite what the initial reports said, "Witch Hunters" was a complete and utter blast for me. It was a film that reveled in its ridiculousness, forcing the tongue into cheek humor, and completely running with its B-grade concept to the full extent of its own awfulness. The film might not have been good by any stretch, but the film knew it wasn't and ran with it anyway - an element that the cult film fan in my loves to see.

After the horrible events that lead the brother/sister duo of Hansel (Renner) and Gretel (Arterton) to becoming orphans and killing a witch, the two realized that it was their calling to continue the swath of destruction. Thusly, the two train to hunt witches for hire. When a handful of children go missing from the same township the witch hunters are hired to investigate and save the children. An evil witch (Janssen) has started a collection to fulfill an evil prophecy to make her and her fellow witches immortal...so now its up to the brother and sister hunting team to make sure that it doesn't happen.

I think the script here was more of an "outline."

Man, this film garnered a lot of hate. Critics lambasted the film for its weak plot, over the top violence, and thin characters that predictably moved about the fantasy setting. Ironically, I cannot argue with those points. "Witch Hunters" does have a weak plot, over the top violence and thin characters. The difference I think is that I may have been one of the few to realize that I was going to a film called "Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters" and not "Lincoln." If you are going to a film called that, then I suggest you take off your hoity toity pants and slip into something a little more comfortable because this is a the kind of film that you sit back and enjoy for its outrageousness.

It might be ridiculous, but it was oh so much fun.

If you so happen to do what I suggest, then you will find "Witch Hunters" to be a violent and silly film that entertains in all the right spots. One thing that did surprise me though was the lacking "horror" to be found in the film. "Witch Hunters" is easily much more of an action comedy than any horror to be found. Yes, there are some great gory special effects (and I very much appreciate the lack of CGI for much of the stunt work) and the witches are definitely creepy in their own cartoonish ways, with a particular nod to a rather seething fun performance from Janssen, but this film was made for the B-grade action fan in me more than the horror fan. The action is insanely fun, albeit a bit repetitive by the end, but there is something innately pleasing to see witches get clothes-lined off of broomsticks or have Renner boot one in the air to blast it with a shotgun. Even the silly run of the mill dialogue seems to be more catered to the action audience. There are even some great one liners to be had here including my personal favorite: "Whatever you do, don't eat the fuckin' candy."

Tell me again how it's not similar to "Evil Dead 2?"

If you want more horror in your diet, I suggest perhaps something else, but for this B-grade action fiend "Witch Hunters" hit all the right notes. It doesn't stray from the path at all in its formulaic writing and often enough it didn't seem to be willing to even push the boundaries past the obvious surface level shenanigans that ensue, but it felt as if everyone involved with this spectacle of violence and tongue-in-cheek absurdity was having a blast. Director Wirkola is obviously inspired by the likes of early Sam Raimi ("Evil Dead 2") and Peter Jackson ("Dead Alive") and he slathers the film in that same style and flair. Thusly, I felt like having fun too like the rest of them. "Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters" is only for those willing to sit back and have fun. Turn your brain down and just go with it.

Written By Matt Reifschneider

Godzilla 1985 (1984)

GODZILLA 1985

Aka "Godzilla", "The Return of Godzilla"

After a decade of silence, cinema’s biggest star makes a much celebrated return in “Godzilla 1985” (original Japanese title is “Godzilla” and “The Return of Godzilla” to avoid confusion). It seemed in his silence the cult fanbase surrounding the original run of Godzilla films had sky-rocked so Toho thought it due time to bring Big G back, reboot the franchise and update Godzilla for a new generation. The final result, though rather under-whelming, worked not only getting a U.S. theatrical release but also kickstarting the “Heisei Era” of the franchise and inspire a new slew of sequels to come.

Since this is a reboot it ignores all previous sequels and is a direct follow-up to the original “Godzilla” from 1954. I should mention I have only seen the U.S. American cut and in this version Raymond Burr returns as Steve Martin, reprising the character he played in the American cut of the original “Godzilla, King of the Monsters”. All has been quiet for 30 years until a new Godzilla, this one even larger than original one (a towering 800’ tall as opposed to 400’), has made his appearance known and decides to stomp up Tokyo again. Steve Martin (referred to as Mr. Martin due to the actor bearing the same name being popular at the time) is called in to help with the mess and cool down some cold war tension heating up.

The film-makers for this reboot opted to go with a much darker approach to the subject matter, sharply contrasting to the campiness of the sequels before. This approach is much more in tone with the death and destruction of the original film and I dug the return to form, especially making Godzilla the antagonist again as opposed to the "hero" character he was degraded to by the end of the last series. There however is still a little Japanese cheese that enters into the mix in the form of Super X-1, a flying saucer device built to battle Godzilla.

Though I dug the dark tone of the film, I was rather underwhelmed by the plot and movie as a whole. For rebooting a franchise it just didn’t live up to some tremendous potential it had going for it. First of all Godzilla doesn’t fight another monster but I didn’t expect him to though many fans might be disappointed by this fact. The plot is just ‘godzilla smash tokyo’ simplicity and I just wanted a little more from the film as it was supposed re-introduce a new generation to the legendary cinema monster.

Looking at the “Godzilla” franchise as a whole, “Godzilla 1985” ends up being one of the more forgettable entries. It just lacks the loveable campiness of the older films and the visual flair of the entries to come. I still commend the film-makers returning to the darker tone of the original film but I just wish they had more to work with concerning plot (perhaps the original Japanese cut is far better). As of the time I write this review this is the only entry into the franchise yet to be released on DVD in the United States. Many “Godzilla” fans stare at their DVD shelves with puffy eyes, saddened by the glaring hole in their “Godzilla” collection. Rumor has it that Image Entertainment will be unleashing the American cut on DVD closer to the time that the new American “Godzilla” films gets released. The American cut is better than nothing and we fans can only keep our fingers crossed…

Godzilla will return in "Godzilla vs. Biollante"

Written By Eric Reifschneider

Atragon (1963)

ATRAGON

Aka "Undersea Battleship", "Ataragon"

What is more bad ass than a flying super sub with a freeze cannon and a fucking drill? Not much my friend and Toho proves yet again they were one of the master studios of science fiction in the 50s and 60s with their underwater adventure flick “Atragon”, a film that fans will be even more pleased about when they learn of its connection to the “Godzilla” franchise.

A race of human beings living underwater on a lost continent are angry for reasons unknown at their ashore counterparts. They declare war with their state-of-the-art submarine that can dive deeper than any other ever made… or so they think. The Japanese government needs a solution quick when they learn about a rouge World War II submarine commander that has spent the last 20 years of his life building a super sub but the problem lies that he believes the war isn’t over and will only use his weapon for the glory of Japan. Can his daughter and the Japanese government convince the war monger to use his super sub to save the world?

The imaginative storyline is based on a series of novels that no doubt takes inspiration from Jules Verne’s “Journey Under the Sea”. There’s a super sub, a ‘captain nemo’ stand-in and even a giant monster to shake things up a bit in the form of Manda. Manda is a giant sea dragon that the underwater race of humans worship as a god and though its screen time is limited, the memorable fight between it and the super sub Atragon is a moment Kaiju fans will eat up.

“Atragon” is a lot of campy fun from the Toho / Ishiro Honda success team-up. Fans of Japanese monster flicks might be a little disappointed in the little screen time allotted for Manda but this is not a Kaiju monster flick, but a science fiction adventure film that just happens to have a giant monster in it. The idea of the “Atragon” would become a pop culture icon in Japan with it and Manda later appearing in the “Godzilla” film “Godzilla: Final Wars” (Manda would also appear in the “Godzilla” entry “Destroy All Monsters”). The concept of Atragon would also be loosely remade as the Toho science fiction epic “The War in Space”.

Written By Eric Reifschneider

Terror of Mechagodzilla (1975)

TERROR OF MECHAGODZILLA

Aka "The Terror of Godzilla"

With “Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla” being a hit it only made sense to bring the chrome dome clone of Big G back for a direct sequel. So the following year came “Terror of Mechagodzilla” (confusingly titled “The Terror of Godzilla” for U.S. theatrical release) but despite the impressive robotic enemy returning and with original “Godzilla” director Ishiro Honda at the helm, this fifteenth entry in the franchise really shows it’s tired blood and resulted in the end to the initial run of the franchise (commonly revered to the “Showa era”).

After the brig brawl that concluded the last film which resulted in Godzilla throwing Mechagodzilla into the ocean, a Japanese submarine searching for the remains comes across a new monster instead, Titanasaurus. Titanasaurus was originally discovered decades before by a scientist but his contemporaries shunned his so called ‘discovery’ and ran him out of the profession. Wanting revenge he helps the race of space apes rebuild Mechagodzilla to take over the world. Can Godzilla beat chrome dome once and for all without an ally?

Mechagodzilla is still as cool as ever but the alien invasion plot device is really old hat now. The budget was obviously lower as the audience isn’t graced with the campy transformations of the space apes as seen in the last film and they hide the fact by having the aliens wear dorky helmets instead. I did dig the cyborg subplot with the scientists daughter being installed with the control device for mechagodzilla and an INTERPOL agent that has fallen in love with her has to decide whether to kill her or not.

 The new monster Titanasaurus isn’t overly special either showcasing the Toho creative team was running short on creativity at the time. He’s just an average aquatic looking dinosaur that has a hilarious cackle. His really only special ability is to cause hurricane level winds by waving his fined tail, an ability already showcased previously with monsters such as “Rodan” and “Mothra”. I did love the introduction of Big G however with his dark, moody revealing after Titanasaurus destroys an oil refinery. It’s perhaps my favorite introduction to the big guy in the entire series.

Godzilla retires to the see for a long, much need decade of rest

I did love how Toho gave the reins to this sequel back to the Big G’s original creator Ishiro Honda as it gave him the opportunity to correct the mistake he made by helming the series worst entry “All Monsters Attack”. It almost seems serendipitous in the fact that this would also be the last entry of the original run of the series that he created and it’s fitting he would book end the series as well. It was due time to give the big fella a rest as though not a bad entry at all, “Terror of Mechagodzilla” just feels tired and wore out as if the creative teams were running out of ideas. This however wouldn’t be the last audiences would see of Godzilla as he would return a decade later, reborn and revamped for a new generation.

Godzilla will return in "Godzilla 1985"

Written By Eric Reifschneider

Paranormal Activity 4 (2012)

Director(s): Henry Joost, Ariel Schulman
Notable Cast: Kathryn Newton, Katie Featherston, Aiden Lovekamp, Matt Shively

Talk about a roller coaster horror franchise, the "Paranormal  Activity" series kicked off with a rather fun (albeit unoriginal) first film and it's been up and down since. "2" was crap, but "3" sparked some smarter moments that made it a rather surprising entry. Now we are up to "Paranormal Activity 4" and it's so obvious that this franchise has run out of juice that this entry not only rehashes many of the same scare tactics, but in its attempts to add to the mythos of the story it completely becomes an illogical mess of poor writing and confusing plot progressions. Despite the year turn around on each entry, this one handedly feels the most rushed. "Paranormal Activity 4" makes the other films look like arthouse pieces.

 Five years after the ending events of "Paranormal Activity 2", a family living in Nevada find themselves in the path of demon possessed family. The young teen daughter Alex (Newton) is the first one to suspect when a mysterious neighbor boy Robbie (Allen) has to live with them for a while when his mother is taken to the hospital. After Robbie's arrival, he quickly becomes friends with the young son Wyatt (Lovekamp) and mysterious things begin to happen around the house indicated by an invisible presence.

The "Kinect" spin was fun at first...later it just hurt my eyes.

I admire the fact that this franchise has desperately tried to add onto the mythos of the series with each entry. Where vague hints towards a larger plot are hinted at in each movie, the subsequent entry answers some while opening new questions. This allows the whole series to be an intriguing watch despite mixed bags of quality. This is essentially where "Paranormal Activity 4" fails for me as both a film and as part of the series canon. Rarely does it answer anything specifically left open by the first three and when it does or tries to add to the demon possession mythos, it haphazardly throws a few things together and leaves a lot of very illogical and messy questions. The reappearance of Katie from parts "1" and "2" as the villain seems thrown in there and leaves us wondering more about how the hell she got there rather than wondering what she will do next and the events surrounding the reason she chose to terrorize this family (there is a out of left field twist that seems ridiculously forced) is laughable at best. I believe the intent of the film what to create even more mystery for further sequels (or prequels), but it leaves this entry hanging as a complete wreck of missed neural connections and poorly crafted vagueness.

This failure as an entry into the series is only heightened by the fact that, as a stand alone film, "Paranormal Activity 4" is a failure too. The scares are never scary and obviously rehashed. People flying around and doors opening by themselves are not, at this point, enough to cut it. What 'new' scares they do add, like a "where's the knife" game and a rather well built bathtub sequence, fail to pay off in the end. The bath tub scene in particular is such a failed scare that it only left me wondering if it was meant to be part of a bigger scare later on. It wasn't. Even the well treaded idea of 'don't believe the teenage daughter about crazy shit' that is a horror staple is not fully realized. "PA4" never develops that relationship between its characters where it would seem reasonable for anyone to not believe her - particularly when she has all kinds of video evidence that she seemingly forgets she has to show them.

Why does the demon do this? Just to fuck with someone even though they have no idea it happened?

In the end, "Paranormal Activity 4" reigns the worst of the series and one of the biggest experiments in failed franchising I've seen. I would have been more pleased had they made it really bad so I could have gotten some unintentional laughter out of it, but the film seems content with just being a confusing supernatural flick with little payoff to anything. Perhaps the fifth entry into the series will answer some of the questions left by its ill explained script or poorly executed scares, but at this point I refuse to get my hopes up. At this junction, I highly recommend just skipping this one.

Written By Matt Reifschneider

Hell, I know some of you are collectors out there. I am too. So here's your chance to click the links below to order your copy of "Paranormal Activity 4" to finish your collection.