2008 – Page 3 – Jiggy's Horror Corner

The Strangers (2008)

Directed by Bryan Bertino [Other horror films: Mockingbird (2014), The Monster (2016), The Dark and the Wicked (2020)]

Let me get this off my chest first: this movie is not “based on true events.” It’s inspired by an utterly unrelated crime. When a movie tries to pass itself off as real to increase the suspense, or whatever the hell they think they think is does, it just pisses me off. It didn’t work with The Blair Witch Project, and it sure as hell doesn’t work here. It adds nothing to the movie, and in fact, takes away from what otherwise is an okay (though below average) flick.

Home invasion flicks have never been a favorite of mine. I love slashers, but most home invasion flicks do nothing for me (save some exceptions, such as 2016’s Hush), mainly because they’re often so repetitive. Which isn’t to say there aren’t some quite suspenseful scenes and creepy imagery in the movie – there are. But when that’s all your movie has to boast about, it doesn’t amount to much.

Liv Tyler did a good job as the main female victim, and the masked guy had a cool mask. Also, one of the songs in the movie, “Mama Tried” by Merle Haggard, was pretty catchy. Still have that chorus stuck in my head. And as aforementioned, there were some creepy scenes now and again.

But what I always took as the “wham” line, their explanation as to why they’re causing such pain to this couple, doesn’t really do it for me. I don’t have a big problem with it – it just falls flat. It falls flatter still because even after that, we don’t see their unmasked faces, which doesn’t make much since, story-wise. Again, it adds nothing.

The Strangers isn’t necessarily a bad movie, but really, when there are literally hundreds of better movies from 2005 – 2010 alone, there’s not much point in seeking this one out. Just a below average flick with little going for it.

5.5/10

Broken Notes (2008)

Directed by Alex Slevin [Other horror films: N/A]

If you’re a fan of Silent Hill 2 (the video game, to be clear), then you may get a kick out of this moderately obscure Spanish flick. It’s basically a live-action version of the game, which has it’s pros and cons.

Pros being, if you’re a fan of the game, then you’ll probably enjoy how closely the movie follows it. But if you’re like me, and know next to nothing about the games, then the movie seems mostly like a mess.

There’s a plot, being a man going to Silent Hill in order to find his wife (who died three years earlier, but as he got a letter from her, he’s understandably hopeful), but it feels rather disjointed. The dialogue is both stilted and awkward (though that may be partially due to the fact the game’s dialogue, to my understanding, is much the same), and some things don’t make much sense. Almost everything’s a metaphorical representation of something, and while occasionally deep, that doesn’t do much for me.

Parts of the movie just don’t seem to follow the previous scenes, and that’s not something I care much for. What also has to be discussed is the audio quality of the film. There’s not a whole lot of talking in this movie, but there’s also not much “in-world” sounds, and by that, I mean if a character hits another character with a crowbar, there’s no thump. It’s just silent, as if it’s in a vacuum. It happens throughout the film, and it’s at best mildly distracting.

The color scheme of the film (sort of a faded palate; you can see different colors, but the only one that really sticks out is red) was unique, and did help with the dreamy quality of the film. That’s one thing the film should really get props for – the dreamy atmosphere. It’s helped along by the aforementioned disjointed scenes, odd dialogue, color scheme, and audio. So basically, everything in this movie adds to the dreamy atmosphere, which does come across as cool, but again, that’s not something I’m a big fan of.

It’s somewhat similar to another obscure film titled Silver Cell (2011), though I actually liked that one quite a lot more. Broken Notes seems to be for hardcore fans of Silent Hill 2, but anyone else who watches it, while they can get a plot out of it, will feel as though something’s missing. So for the right crowd, this movie may actually be, if not a fun ride, an interesting one. For me, though, given it’s hour and 40 minute run-time, it was just tedious. I felt the same when I first saw it, and sadly, little’s changed.

4.5/10

Pontypool (2008)

Directed by Bruce McDonald [Other horror films: Hellions (2015)]

I think, if I recall, this would be the third or fourth time I’ve seen Pontypool. And I’m still not sure how I really feel.

On one hand, I wish they had delved into the logic behind the infection/disease a hell of a lot more. On the other hand, the characters present didn’t know, nor had any idea how to really find out, and were more concerned about their own survival as opposed to the hows and the whys of this disease. The doctor, who’s personality was deeply amusing, was of little help, and seemed moderately unhinged himself, but still did what he could to help out the main characters.

The chaos in this film is very heavy, and coupled with the fact that we really don’t have an answer as to how this infection came about by the end of the movie, really makes it a hard one to judge. The idea of hearing second hand the horrors going on outside was pretty cool, which reminded me of another film, being Dead Air.

Stephen McHattie was a decent actor in his own right, but there are the occasional awkward scenes/lines. And the post-credit scene, well, I still have exactly zero idea what to make of that, despite the various theories I’ve read online. Pontypool is a mostly-claustrophobic film, some high-level suspense, and contains a somewhat confusing premise. Even after three or four viewings, I’m still not sure what to make of it. It definitely makes you think, though.

6.5/10