Tuesday, March 24, 2015

DEAD SNOW 2: RED VS. DEAD (2014)

Well I'll be fucked with a rancid zombie penis...this movie was actually good!  Really good in fact.  After being underwhelmed by the original I wasn't too thrilled about the prospect of watching the sequel, but I did and I was shocked at how much I enjoyed it and how much of an improvement it was over that original snoozer.

Opening up immediately where the original stopped, we have the lone survivor, Martin, running from the Nazi zombies.  Stuff happens and he escapes but wrecks his car.  When he awakens in the hospital he's informed that not only has he been blamed for the murder of all of his friends, but the doctors have reattached his arm...only it's not his arm.  It's the Nazi leader dude's magical arm!!!  Hahahaha!!  After accidentally killing a few people with his murderous zombie arm, Martin escapes from the hospital and goes off in pursuit of the Nazi zombies who are now en route to finish a job that Hitler himself ordered them to do back in the war: wipe out a small Norwegian town that had performed some anti-Axis sabotage.

I'm not going to give away any more of the story, but I will say that if you enjoy light-hearted zombie classics like DEAD ALIVE or THE RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD, then I think you'll have a blast with DS2:RVD.  The humor is actually funny, great imagination, quick pace, good special effects, pretty girls (zero nudity though: boooo!!!!) and a satisfying ending (also make sure to watch the post-credits scene).  Good stuff.

I was not a fan of the original film, but I will proudly admit to the whole world that this sequel is really good and ranks right up there with WRONG TURN 4 in the Low Budget Horror Movie Sequel That's Actually Better Than The Original Hall of Fame.  Now I can't wait for Part 3!!!

Part 1 - Dead Snow (2009)

Wednesday, March 18, 2015

THE MAZE RUNNER (2014)

A teenage dude wakes up in a darkened freight elevator that's going up.  He has no memory of his past or where he is.  He can't even remember his name.  Finally, the elevator stops and he finds himself is a large field.  The field is surrounded by massive stone walls hundreds of feet high.  But he's not alone, there are other teenage boys.  Some of them have been there for years and they have developed a small society in order to prevent chaos.  As the boy is given a tour, he learns that the walls are part of a giant maze.  A giant maze that they are inside of and that changes each night.  The main door to the maze opens each morning and closes each night.  Then at night creatures called the Grievers are released and you don't want to be inside when that happens.

Going into THE MAZE RUNNER, I knew absolutely nothing about the story and I ended up liking it quite a bit.  So much so that I started reading the book and even though I'm only halfway through it I like it much more than the movie.  That said, the film is still an entertaining ride and hopefully the start of an awesome series.  Likable main characters, the maze itself was cool, the Grievers were awesome, good pace, nice special effects, interesting story that leaves you longing for more.  All in all THE MAZE RUNNER is a solid movie.  Recommended.

Part 2 - Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials (2015)
Part 3 - Maze Runner: The Death Cure (2018)