It — Very interesting story and technically solid horror flick — 8*/10

This is the kind of horror movie I like. It doesn’t scare the shit out of you, it's not gory, it's super interesting with lots of nice details, you can't tell who's going to die when, with a few exceptions, you have a strong female member of the group, and a bunch of kids who give a solid cohesive performance.

Synopsis & information: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1396484/

Alien: Covenant — Oh, it just gets so creepy... Loved it — 8*/10

Welcome back to the real creepiness of the Alien world. The overall sense of never being safe is finally truly back. Gotta love it.

Michael Fassbender, Katherine Waterston, Billy Crudup and Danny McBride (finally showing us his acting skills).

Synopsis & information: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2316204/

A Cure for Wellness — An old-style horror crafted in a modern way — 8*/10

It's a horror film only as far as there are a few horrifying things, mostly psychological. It does, however, have an old horror type feel to it, like something you know is there, without getting any real evidence of it, ever.

The structure of the flick is amazing, incredible craft. It is captivating, even though at some point it falls flat, using too well-traveled roads, but it picks up again for a solid ending. Slow. Not for everyone. Excellent work by Gore Verbinski.

Celia Imrie.

Synopsis & information: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4731136/

Freddy vs. Jason — As far as gory slasher movie goes you can't go wrong here — 6*/10

• Scenario: Inventive and interesting scenario for a gory slasher movie. There are a number of silly things that go with the style, but the worst are thankfully absent which gives us the opportunity to appreciate the work. I had fun watching it. More than once. It is what it is though.
• Synopsis & information: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0329101/
• Who is it for? Freddy and Jason fans as well as any slasher aficionados and those curious about this kind of flick, but usually don't the like the mindless idiocy that goes with it.

It Follows — Great idea but without enough meat — 7*/10

• Scenario: Solid suspense with a few original ideas, mainly in how it paces the scenario and its realistic approach, but the story doesn't work. I'm all for leaving things to the imagination, but as it stands, it lacks cause and conclusion, leaving only the suspense. It's thrills for the sake of thrills. It feels like two third of a movie. Weak.
• Dialogs: Realistic.
• Characters: Well done.
• Actors: Great work on the part of everyone.
• Photography: Nice camera work.
• Sound: The music and score make for real chills but I'm not sure if it's the result of genius or luck since a lot of it is low quality.
• Special effects: Seamless, except for the blood in the pool.
• Synopsis & information: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3235888/
• Who is it for? Those who love thrillers just because of their jarring effect and therefore don't require any fluff.

The Cabin in the Woods — This is how you get creative with an old tired genre — 8*/10

• Scenario: This is a slasher movie, no doubt about it, but it's so different. The story, especially its premise, is what stands out. There are many creative as well as unexpected twists and turns packed with a number of great novel ideas. I particularly loved the intro and the ending, perfect.
• Dialogs: Good.
• Characters: Innovative, if simple.
• Actors: Good work on the part of everyone. Cast members include Kristen Connolly, Anna Hutchison, Richard Jenkins, Bradley Whitford, and Sigourney Weaver.
• Photography: Nice.
• Sound: Nice music and score.
• Special effects: Detailed, if not always perfect.
• Synopsis & information: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1259521/
• Who is it for? Those who want to see a different kind of slasher movie, even those who normally do not like the genre, like me. Sensitive souls should abstain.

Detention — Totally out of whack and full of references — 7*/10

• Story: It's difficult to understand anything in this freaky succession of barely related events. It's winks after winks to different horror movies riding a fine line between a goofy comedy and a parody.
• Characters: Simple and caricatural.
• Dialogs: Fast and funny.
• Scenario: It's more than a simple roller coaster, because it spins every which way until the plots really thickens. It doesn't make any sense before then.
• Actors: Nice silly work on the part of everyone. Cast members include Dane Cook.
• Photography: Acceptable.
• Sound: Nice music and score.
• Special effects: Good.
• Synopsis & information: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1701990/
• Who is it for? Those who want to see something totally crazy and don't mind violence and gore.

Dawn of the Dead — Your basic zombie epidemic — 7*/10

Dawn of the Dead is a good zombie movie and if that's what you're looking for you'll be entertained. Things happen fast, lots of action, not too gory, nice effects, and lots of thoughtful plot elements. However, it's a bit linear, predictable and it feels like there isn't much to chew on. It's nice, but only once.

For those hungry for a zombie flick.
7*/10

Se7en - Perfection in a bone chilling costume of perfect serial murders - 10*/10

Se7en is no less than a master piece by David Fincher. The gripping ambiance, the sheer genius of the scenario as well as the acting power of Morgan Freeman, Brad Pitt and Kevin Spacey are it's strongest point, but there's no aspect that is less than great. (Except for one very minute detail.) One thing that is often overlooked is the backdrop discussion on society by the main characters which makes the movie that much better.

A must see if you don't mind harsh crimes.
10*/10

Alien³ — Gritty, down and dirty fight to the finish — 8*/10

Alien³ is, to me, the unloved child of the Alien series. If not as good as the other two preceding it, David Fincher's attempt was a successful one nonetheless. It came full circle by going back to "weaponless" confrontation with the beast. I think that, combined with a revolting dirty low-tech environment, rebuffed most watchers.

The good. Imaginative environment. Tight scenario with many chills and thrills. Captivating story. Great photography. Excellent costume and dialogs. Simple and touching relation between Ripley and the doctor. Very interesting characters. Excellent cast.

The actors. Sigourney Weaver outdid herself with this evolution of her heroic persona, a truly great performance. Charles Dance seems to be the true complement to our female lead and played it to perfection. The whole lot of convicts and jailers was astonishingly good, I'll just give special mentions to Paul McGann, Christopher Fairbank, and Charles S. Dutton.

The bad. Unfortunately, the alien's CG effects are starting to show their age, and it can be distracting at time.

The ugly. The intro. It's not logical. There can be no eggs there. The queen had lost her egg producing sac. That's probably what turned off most hardcore Alien fans. It did me. It took me a while to go past that and see the quality of this film. Since this blatant mistake was the basis of the whole scenario, it left very few advocators.

The result. A great sci-fi thriller. Should be seen with an open mind if you like the first two installments of the franchise.

8*/10

Aliens — Colonial marines locked in firefights with alien bugs, a must see — 9*/10

Aliens is an other incredible sci-fi by James Cameron done in his early days. A thrilling action packed sequel to the original masterpiece, Alien.

The good. Action, lots of it. Well thought out characters. Captivating and thrilling story. Very diversified scenario. Many surprises. Same meticulous setup. Even stronger female lead. Dark human ambitions still manipulating events. Spectacular climactic event.

The actors. Sigourney Weaver gives us an other great performance as the now legendary heroic survivor. Michael Biehn is the mellow corporal Hicks who grounds us and Ripley in a solid fashion. Paul Reiser manages a great performance where you just love to hate him. Lance Henriksen, as Bishop, shares with us his calm demeanor while looking completely innocent. And Bill Paxton gives an amazing performance as the high strung over-confident braggart.

The meh. The power loaders are great, but could have been done just a little better. Some of the special effects are showing a bit of age, but everything taken into consideration, it's barely noticeable.

The bad. Apone's pre-drop rousing orders. Compared to the rest of the dialogs, it's a little weak.

The ugly. Nothing. It's too good for that.

Th result. A horror movie packed with combat action scenes and lots of firepower. It doesn't get any better than that. See it.

9*/10

Alien — This is what all space monster movies are based on, but could never match — 9*/10

Alien is a Ridley Scott masterpiece. It shook its audience when it came out several decades ago and it still does the same now. Any aspiring suspense director would do well to study this movie in depth.

The good. What makes this film as close to perfection as possible is the attention to the setup. It starts during the initial credits during which the simple visuals as well as the score puts you in the mood. It's slow and heavy with chills already. Then you get to know the environment. The crew wakes up, and you get to know them...

The pace throughout this flick is perfect. It's a slow climb to an ultimate peak of tension. The dialogs, the characters, the camera work, the editing, the script, the story, the background history... everything is meticulously done. Most special effects still hold the road even now, because they were extremely well done and used correctly.

The actors. Great selection for the cast, each member well adapted to its role. I'll simply mention the excellent work of Sigourney Weaver who's career was launched with this title, and Ian Holm who's performance is truly unforgettable.

The bad. The only reason I didn't give this movie a perfect score was because some of the technology is getting old. The size of the main computer. The many blinking lights. And the text interface, to some extent. Only two special effect sequences are really getting old. The planet-side landing of the ship. The triple explosion with the sheet of fire.

The rest can easily be imagined as some sub-standard rough industrial technology, a bit like what was done in Serenity (review yet to come), the crew having to deal with less than ideal conditions or hardware.

The ugly. Nothing. This is very close to perfection, if somewhat old.

The result. Horror, shivers, and sweats guaranteed. See it.

9*/10

The Shining — A classic suspense with incredible atmosphere — 9*/10

The Shining is by now a classic, and it has the well deserved title of master piece. Stanley Kubrick came up with the a jewel, no less.

The strong point of the movie, and one of Kubrick's best talent, is the atmosphere. You get sucked into it by the time the couple settle in as the guardians of the lodge.

The young boy really is the meat to the horror of it all, he's the one to give you the chills, helped with some very smart editing and a deeply persuasive soundtrack. The music is great. Jack Nicholson on the other hand is the one to make us afraid with his excellently well played psychotic behavior. Shelley Duvall is the born victim, excusing her husband, bending to his will, doing his job, mostly clumsy, rather clingy, a bit clueless... it's all in her acting, and it's spot on.

The film is obviously getting old, but you really rarely take stock of it, like the awkward generic, and a few lousy sound pickups in the beginning. I'll relegate the general stiffness of the introduction, until they are alone at the hotel, as building up the atmosphere.

Overall, if you haven't seen it yet, you should.

9*/10