Skip to main content

Jason and Shawn review: 100 Feet and Babysitter Wanted

100 Feet

Shawn: Here is a cheaply made horror film with some great scares balanced out by sequences that are a total fail. The film goes from creepy to cheesy and back again far too often. This had a tonne of potential and delivered about 60 per cent of it in some scenes and 100 per cent in others. The bit where the ghost kills the kid by headbutting him repeatedly was awesome. The big special effects ending was not. This rates a Bad for me.

Jason: Famke Janssen and the house are the real stars of this movie. There's good performances and some nice scares, but other moments -- especially the ending -- fall flat. How can the ghost materialize to hit her but she can't hit back? There's some nice quiet sequences here as well, but too many of them. It throws the pacing off. I wanted to like this movie more than I did. It's worth watching once. A Bad from me as well.

Babysitter Wanted

Shawn: This is how you make a low budget horror movie! And what a great musical score. It took everything, the dark shadows and moody lighting, and made it scarier. Loved the scene where the husband hacks up one victim while chatting with another. Actually, the whole family unit, including the evil child, was really good. And I liked the babysitter too. She does almost everything right when under assault from her stalker. Tell the truth, there wasn't anything here I didn't like. I went in not expecting much and was pleasantly surprised. A Good for me.

Jason: Babysitter Wanted is the real deal; a lean, mean horror machine that has twists and turns and still comes up with a surprise or three. The film is one part Halloween, one part House of the Devil and one part Hostel. Yet it isn't derivative at all. I liked our damsel in distress and even dug our villains. And the filmmakers nicely balanced the jump scares with slow-burn terror. This has something for every horror fan, and I'm giving it a Good.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

#CocktailHour: Slushtail

  Summer approaches, inspiring thoughts of sunshine, backyard parties, and having a tip and sip with friends.  With that in mind, I bring you this week sunny beverage. To make a slushtail, mix a can of frozen orange juice, a can of frozen lemonade (or limeade), a can of pineapple juice, a couple cups of black tea (or English Breakfast), and two cups of bourbon- such as Southern Comfort, in a pitcher.  When it's all nicely mixed, put it in the freezer until it's a nice slushy consistency. Scoop the slush into a cocktail glass, and pour in some Sprite or 7-Up.  Add a little umbrella for some frivolous fun, and a straw. Voila!  Ready to enjoy. This is a very refreshing drink.  The fruit juices, Sprite, and bourbon- when chilled makes for a great punch-like drink.  The bourbon doesn't overwhelm juices.   In fact, they are all nicely balanced in terms of flavors.  The sourness of the citrus fruits contrasts well with the slightly sweeter Southern Comfort.  It was refreshing enou

Unlock your fate with The Puzzle

When my dad wasn't working, building stuff or being my dad, he was making puzzles. It was a guaranteed way for him to unwind. So it was with great interest that I sat down to watch Italian filmmaker Davide Melini's award-winning short The Puzzle. You see, the mother in the five-minute film likes to relax with puzzles just like my dad. Unfortunately, her good-for-nothing son keeps harassing her for money. Losing herself in her favourite passtime, the mother soon discovers that completing this puzzle might unlock a nightmare. The Puzzle has been an official selection at more European film festivals than you can shake a stick at, and was voted Third Best Italian Film at the Rome International Film Festival in 2008. Having watched it, I'm not surprised. It's a tight little film that hits you hard in the final few seconds. You can tell Melini cut his teeth as an assistant director for legendary Italian filmmaker Dario Argento. But enough chit chat on my part. See if yo

The Animated Addict: "The Adventures of Tintin" (2011)

If you're a 40 + white dude, like myself, you may remember a comic series called " The Adventures of Tintin ".  I know I remember them.  This series, dating back to 1929, got turned into a animated feature film by Steven Spielberg in 2011. After buying a model of ship called The Unicorn, teenaged journalist Tintin finds himself on adventure that will take him from the high seas, to the low deserts, and from the distant past to the present.  With his trusty dog, Snowy, by his side, Tintin uncovers a story connecting two men across the centuries.. . The story is really quite good.  It's well crafted, and high paced- with just enough slow moments to build and develop the world and the characters.  This is the sort of adventure story you'd find in the old serials of the 1930's and '40's.  In fact, it felt like it was the sort of tale that you'd find Indiana Jones undertaking.  I found myself swept up, and swept along as our hero swung from one e