• 24Nov 09

  Horror Review: Saw VI

  I'll admit it right now, I am a Saw fan. They may not be the best films ever, but they've been consistently enjoyable and generally gripping throughout the series rushed time-span. Over the years they've become less and less stand-alone and more like an annual horror serial, always ending on a neat twist and cliffhanger that provides anticipation for the next entry. It may seem like a cash cow to some, but I think it's an approach that works with the series' narrative $tyle.

  The only real major misstep so far has been part V, which did little to further the plot (and even now part VI is out, it's "game" still has little relevance), had fairly boring kill scenes for the most part and did a pretty poor job of really fleshing out the Hoffman character as a believable Jigsaw successor (which was especially disappointing after Saw IV's end reveal).

  Thankfully, Saw VI manages to dodge past most of V's problems and seems to go a way towards getting the series back on track. I'd say it's probably the best one since part III.

  Aside from an admittedly OTT opener (even by series standards), the story picks up pretty much straight from where V left off. With Agent Strahm now permanently off of his trail, Hoffman sets on completing Jigsaw's final game, while his fellow officers become increasingly suspicious of his intentions. The subject of said game, in a more topical slant, is health insurance exec William, someone who, by job description, essentially chooses who lives and who dies. Predictably, it turns out that he had previously prevented John Kramer (whom we know had been suffering from a brain tumor) from getting access to treatment that may have helped to cure his condition.

  Unlike IV and V, the trap sequences are all fairly inventive and all share a central theme, in which the test subject must decide upon the fate of other participants. There's one in particular towards the end that really is a doozy, and is probably the furthest the series has ever gone in terms of the "oh God, that's ****ing gross" factor. It really reminded me of how similar some of these films are to Cube, if any of you have ever seen that (this one and III in particular).

  While Tobin Bell and Costas Mandylor both do a great job, a lot of the performances for the more secondary characters are really quite weak and do bring the film down overall. The over-amped editing $tyle is also still a minor annoyance. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. It's also pretty heavy on flashbacks (a necessity when you kill off your main character, I guess), with most of them being sort of "and this was also happening during part _" type stuff, which can get in the way sometimes.

  The ending was also fairly well done, inevitably leaving it open for the next film but being intense/significant enough that I didn't really care. It seems like there may be a major change of status quo when Saw VII comes around, but I guess I'll have to wait and see. Which brings me to my next point: the movie seemed a little too short. I know 1 ½ hours is the standard kind of length for these films, but this one really could have benefited from another 30 minutes or so. It moved along at such a brisk pace in its second half that it doesn't really give you enough time to digest what's going on.

  Overall, if you don't like the Saw franchise then this one won't change your mind, but if you're a fan, then you don't want to miss it. I for one enjoyed it. And just for kicks: Saw VI > Paranormal Activity .

  7/10

  • Posted Nov 24, 2009 3:09 pm PT
  • Category: Movies
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• 26Jun 09

  Horror Review: Shutter (2004)

  

  Say Cheese...

  Now, my exposure to the Asian horror genre has been, at best, limited. As a regular survival horror player I've come into contact with titles like Fatal Frame and Siren but the only film from the genre I'd seen had been Ju-On: The Grudge, which I didn't like all that much. The constant barrage of awful remakes didn't exactly encourage me to try and track these films down either.

  So, it was with a certain level of caution that I sat down to watch Shutter, not really knowing what to expect. The basic premise didn't do much to make it seem much more than a standard ghost story. And you know what? I thought this movie was great, one of the best horror films I've seen in the past few years.

  It's premise is simple enough and may be vaguely familiar to anyone who has ever played Fatal Frame. Photographer Tun and his girlfriend Jane are travelling home from a wedding reception when they suddenly collide into a woman who has stepped out into the middle of the road. In a panic, they quickly drive away, leaving the seemingly injured woman behind. They check around later but apparently no body was ever found. Wracked with guilt over the incident, both Tun and Jane start to experience strange nightmares and ghostly images begin appearing in Tun's photos...

  I know, I know, that doesn't really sound like anything special or even original, but this film has such a wonderfully fleshed out story arc that revealing anything more would be a disservice. There's more going on than it initially appears and it's done so that both the main characters and the inevitable vengeful ghost come across as sympathetic. The ghost attacks in this film aren't random, our raven-haired spook has a very understandable reason for tormenting her particular targets and there's a certain level of poetic justice to a number of these scenes, particularly the ending.

  Part of what made this so enjoyable to watch is that I actually found it scary. I'm never usually scared when watching horror flicks but I was on the edge of my seat ever since the first big scare (it's a really obvious one too, and it still got me). There's a very palpable sense of dread that runs through the movie so you'll forgive it for the occasional SUDDEN NOISE type moments (most of which succeeded in making me jump).

  Even if the film doesn't succeed in frightening you, there's still plenty of atmosphere here for you to enjoy. The film is beautifully shot and has a nice melancholic soundtrack. There's one scene in a pitch black room lit only by the flash of a camera that is particularly nice to look at.

  Also worth a mention is the quality of the film's acting. The two leads do a great job of selling what their characters are going through. Tun in particular is portrayed very likably and provides a rare strong male role to root for.

  If you're a fan of these sorts of films or horror films in general, I definitely recommend you give Shutter a try (and avoid the American remake as best you can). It may have been a little derivative but it rocked anyway.

  I'll probably be posting more of these reviews as I continue my education on Asian horror cinema, so stay tuned if you liked this one .

  P.S. RIP Michael Jackson, you will be missed. It's always a shame to lose someone so talented.

  • Posted Jun 26, 2009 11:25 am PT
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• 14May 09

  Videogame Storylines

  Ah, the videogame story. Having a good one can help make a mediocre game good and a great game even better. Not everyone plays games for the story of course, but for me it's one of the main reasons I play. Sure, movies and books can, and often do, tell excellent stories, but games have always been a more stimulating prospect for me. They're not tied down to typical storytelling conventions, they can tell stories in ways that cinema and literature cannot. And I find that fascinating. You are the hero of the tale, you get to play out the story as you see fit.

  Now that I've gotten that brief introduction out of the way, I'd like to present to you my 10 favourite game stories so far. Each one is a story that ended up meaning something to me, and in the world of videogames, that's pretty rare.

  10. Valkyria Chronicles

  

  This World War II meets Disney story may not seem like much at first, but over time it deals with a number of mature themes and scenarios. War, love, death, prejudice, treason, sacrifice, it's all here in some capacity and it's used in a way that I wouldn't have expected from a game that seems quite light on the surface. Over the course of the story I really learnt to care about the rag tag group of soldiers that make up your squad and it really tugged on the heartstrings when some of them inevitably come to harm.

  9. Half-Life 2

  

  It just goes to show how some of the simpler stories can end up being some of the best. Told entirely through in-game chatter and events, Half-Life 2's story of the one Free Man rising up to topple a tyrannical alien regime is a ****c one. After the events of HL1, Gordon Freeman has become a legendary figure, inspiring hope and spirit through to the human resistance as he takes the good fight to the Combine.

  8. Prince Of Persia: The Sands Of Time

  

  The first entry in arguably gaming's greatest trilogy, unlike many other franchise starting games, The Sands Of Time works because it tells an excellent story in it's own right. The Prince's quest through time to rewrite his mistakes and save the woman he loves isn't particularly original, but when it oozes this level of charm and fun it doesn't really need to be.

  7. Shadow Of The Colossus

  

  Another deceptively simple story, the true nature of SOTC's plot doesn't reveal itself until the very end, when the consequences of slaughtering the game's gentle giant's comes crashing down around your head. I won't spoil that here, but suffice to say, the ending moments really make you look back on the game's events in a very different light.

  6. The Darkness

  

  If you shoved The Crow and The Godfather in a blender, the end result would probably look something like this. Based on a comic book series by Top Cow, Starbreeze have gone above and beyond the source material to craft a crime drama worthy of the big leagues. The characters are all excellently realised, far beyond the 2D cardboard-cut outs that they often were in the comics.

  5. Fahrenheit

  

  Set up almost like an interactive movie, with each of the game's levels being an individual scene, your enjoyment of this game depends primarily on the strength of it's story. Luckily enough, it doesn't disappoint. Taking control of supposed murderer Lucas as well as the detectives trying to catch him, you get sucked into an occult murder mystery that quickly spirals out of control. The game's ending isn't quite up to snuff, but the first 2/3s are some of the most gripping in gaming.

  4. Bioshock

  

  Like the aforementioned Half-Life 2, Bioshock forgoes the use of conventional storytelling techniques, presenting itself as you play, delving deeper and deeper into the depths of it's failed utopia, Rapture. Despite the use of a number of high concept science fiction ideas, Rapture never once stops feeling like a living, breathing world. Terrible things happened there, as you soon become explicitly aware.

  3. Forbidden Siren

  

  An apocalyptic retelling of an old Japanese folktale, where a nun was granted immortality after consuming the flesh of a merman, Siren's story is a completely unique approach to horror gaming. Told in an unchronological fashion and featuring an ensemble cast of 10 playable characters, you must gradually piece events together to discover the truth as to what has become of the rural Japanese village of Hanuda. The game constantly toys with your expectations, sometimes jumping forward in time only for you to be attacked by a twisted version of a character who was previously under your control.

  2. Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater

  

  A prequel to the entire series, MGS3 depicts the tragic story of Big Boss and how he eventually becomes the terrorist that we see in the original Metal Gear. Taking influence from James Bond, among others, this story of espionage, betrayal and true patriotism is blockbuster entertainment of the highest order. If only MGS4 had followed a similar example.

  1. Silent Hill 2

  

  There's always more than meets the eye. Everything in Silent Hill 2 has some sort of hidden meaning just below the surface. Not a single detail has been included haphazardly, for what James sees hasn't been conjured up by just anyone. Silent Hill calls to people like him, feeds off of them, makes them suffer. With Silent Hill 2, Konami have forged what is perhaps the deepest, most intelligent story in gaming. From the the complex characters to the rampant symbolism to the final, breathtaking revelations, a journey into Silent Hill 2 will be one that most gamers won't forget in a hurry.

  So, over to you guys. What are your opinions on the subject?

  P.S. It's my birthday !

  • Posted May 14, 2009 3:23 am PT
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