The Caller (2011)

This movie has been lingering forever on my Netflix queue, until I noticed that it stars my new favorite redhead, Rachelle Lefevre, who is currently heating up the screen on Monday nights on Under the Dome.  Also, Stephen Moyer!  I'm Team Eric, but I'll still watch him in a movie.  Also, it's filmed in Puerto Rico, where I just traveled to and absolutely loved!  So these are all good reasons to devote a couple hours to a horror movie, right?

Mary Kee (Lafevre) is going through a difficult divorce, involving restraining orders and the whole nine yards.  Desperate to get quickly separated from her husband, she rents a rundown apartment in San Juan.  After her arrival, she begins to receive strange phone calls from an older woman, Rose, looking for someone named Bobby, who obviously doesn't live there.  Annoyed at first, Mary thinks the woman may be lonely and disturbed, so she chats with her a bit.  But as she begins to become frightened by Rose, Mary attempts to cut off contact.  This greatly angers Rose, who sets out to exact revenge.

[Side note: Can either of these people do a sex scene wrong?  Between Bill/Sookie and Julia/Barbie, and now these two together, it's surprising that my TV doesn't catch fire]

Supernatural movies are sometimes a little confusing to me, especially those that attempt to bend the space/time continuum as this one does.  The premise of this movie reminded me a bit of The Butterfly Effect, like you can change something small that happened in the past and it alters your entire future.  When Mary talks to Rose, she can alter the past, most notably the behavior of her younger self.

For a ghost/supernatural movie, this flick was pretty good.  Since I'm more of a fan of real-life horror movies, I would have loved if the lady actually was stalking her a la Inside.  Fun fact: the caller's voice is the creepy lady from Drag Me to Hell (Lorna Raver).  The acting was good and everything was significantly creepy, although I do think they could have done a little more with the ties to the past.  Some more scenes like the boiling water/instant scars would have been cool.  But not a bad watch.  Check it out on Netflix instant.

Compliance (2012)

I have to admit, Magnolia Pictures has never stuck much in my mind for any reason.  But when watching V/H/S, I saw the preview for this movie, and I was entranced.  When watching Compliance, I saw the preview for another exciting-looking movie, Deadfall, and now it looks like I am a Magnolia fan.   Scream King is convinced that the main character in this film (Becky - Dreama Walker) is related to Rose McGowan, but the internet says no.  She does look a lot like her, doesn't she?

Compliance is absolutely (and very closely) based on a true story.  In the late 90s and early 2000s, a man posing as a police officer called over 70 fast food locations, weaving a story about a young cashier who stole money from a customer's purse.  The caller claims to have the regional manager on the other line, and says that police will arrive soon.   However, in the meantime, the "police officer" suggests that the store manager could help by strip-searching the alleged thief, both to help out law enforcement, and save the woman a trip to jail later.  This specific movie is based on the incident that led to the caller being caught, which took place in Mount Washington, Kentucky.  This particular case went further than any of the previous calls, and included a sexual assault.

In the movie version, a young cashier named Becky (Dreama Walker) is removed from her cash register by her manager, Sandra (Ann Dowd) after receiving a call that she had stolen money.  The man, "Officer Daniels," (Pat Healy) pushes Sandra to recover the money stolen, first strip-searching Becky and keeping her clothes as "evidence," and also searching her bag and belongings.  After the strip-search, the caller coerces Sandra into bringing in several men to "watch over" Becky, so that Sandra can help out at the very busy counter.  When the men are alone with Becky, the caller attempts to coerce them into sexually degrading Becky, even pushing as far as a sexual assault.

At some points, I would find this story unbelievable, unless I didn't know it was true, and occurred on several occasions.  This case has been compared to the Milgram experiment as it showcased how far people would go in a situation where they're being commanded to do things by people they view to be an authority.  The acting here was great, and the intensity and general creepiness really shined through.  This isn't a cut and dried horror movie, but I couldn't help but review it here.  A really great look at a true-life case. 

Candyman (1992)

It's hard to believe I've never written a review of Candyman.  I'm definitely not a Clive Barker fangirl (I actually dislike Hellraiser) but I've always loved Candyman.  It's a perfect movie in so many ways...great acting, especially from Tony Todd and Virginia Madsen, a great urban legend background, badass cinematography, and general creepiness about the whole thing.  Back in the 90s, this was one of those movies everyone was talking about in school -- those who were brave enough to watch it, those who lost sleep over it, and those who weren't able to sneak it past their parents to ever see it at all.  My parents kind of indulged my love of horror from an early age (my mom's favorite movie is The Exorcist) so Candyman was definitely part of my horror repertoire from a young age.

For those who haven't seen Candyman (blasphemy!) this is the basic story.  Helen Lyle (Virginia Madsen) and her friend/schoolmate Bernadette (Kasi Lemmons) are doing a graduate thesis on urban legends.  Helen's husband, Trevor (Xander Berkeley) is a professor at the school.  Although they're covering all urban legends in their study, they begin to focus on the legend of Candyman, which they're told lives in a nearby housing project, Cabrini Green.  Against the advice of pretty much everyone (including her friend Bernadette), Helen deeply investigates the Candyman legend, returning many times to Cabrini Green, putting herself in grave danger.  Meanwhile, Candyman has set his sights on Helen, stating that unless she becomes his victim/prodigy, he will select an infant instead. 

This is truly Tony Todd's standout role, although he's made quite a splash (splatter?) with the Hatchet movies over the last few years.  Madsen is innocent, yet saucy, and the supporting actors all play their parts perfectly, being memorable enough to not take over the story.  The creepy music and overheard shots in this flick are truly awesome.  And the scenes like Helen climbing through the face, her standing in her bloody clothes, and the fire burning outside the projects are the type that make this movie so memorable.   The score is incredible, and aside from some cheesy moments, this flick has really held up over time.  Also, now I kind of want to watch Urban Legend!

When a Stranger Calls Back (1993)

This movie has been creeping into my mind lately, and with the holiday off of work, I was able to get ahold of it.  When my sister and I were younger, this movie was a great source of fear for us.  We taped it off of television, and watched it over and over.  When a Stranger Calls Back is the sequel to When a Stranger Calls, starring Carol Kane.  Kane returns for this movie as a grown version of the teenager stalked in the original movie.

In this sequel, Julia (Jill Schoelen) is babysitting for two children who are already asleep.  She does the regular babysitter thing, watching MTV and doing homework, until she hears a knock at the door.  A man states that his car is disabled, and requests to be let in to use the phone.  Julia refuses, but offers to call the Auto Club for him.  It's then that she learns the phone is out, but doesn't wish for the man outside to realize that.  She says she called, and the man goes on his way.  However, he returns some time later to say that they never arrived, and requests that she call again.  Still not wanting him to know that she's stranded without phone service, she fakes the call.  He returns once again to tell her that he sees someone creeping about the house.  She checks on the children and realizes they're gone.  She tries to escape the house, only to find that the creeper is in the living room.  She escapes just in time and the children are never found.

Fast forward to five years later, where Julia is going to school and living in an off-campus apartment.  She keeps her apartment OCD-level organized, and is frightened to realize that small changes have been made over the last few months.  She reaches a breaking point when she finds a child's sweater hanging in her closet.  She runs to the police, who involves women's advocate, Jill (Carol Kane).  Having experienced similar trauma, she takes Julia under her wing, and brings in John Clifford (Charles Durning) to help investigate.

Let's pause a moment to admire the amazeballs hair in this movie:

The killer/stalker/whatever in this movie is one of the most bizarre that I've ever seen.  Being a weirdo ventriloquist, slapping someone in a coma repeatedly, painting yourself like a brick wall?  There are some seriously creepy moments in this movie.  Just little touches like the kid's shirt hanging in the closet, the faceless dummy, and the milk carton, that just give you the shivers.

I am a huge When a Stranger Calls fan, but this sequel keeps the action going more steadily than it's predecessor.  Although the general style is so early-90s lame, the acting is pretty on point.  I remember how much I loved this movie when I was younger, and I'm happy to say I still liked it nearly two decades later.  Rock on, Carol Kane.

Insidious (2010)

I'm going to be totally lame and admit that jump scares get me every freakin' time.  I get so stressed out that something is going to pop out from somewhere and I'm never quite prepared.  Also creepy imagery a la The Cell really makes me lose sleep, and this flick really had a lot of it.  Scary kids also flip me out, so when I realized this movie was going to be about creepy children, I was already super stressed going into it.

Insidious is a strange and freaky love child of The Haunting in Connecticut, Poltergeist, and A New Nightmare.  It's about a nice and happy little family: Josh (Patrick Wilson), Renai (Rose Byrne), Dalton (Ty Simpkins), Foster (Andrew Astor), and Cali (who is a baby, and therefore not listed on IMDB)  Dalton is playing around in the new house when he falls off of a ladder, bumping his head.  The parents think that all is well, and they put the kid to bed.  But the next morning, he doesn't wake up.

Doctors determine that he is in a coma, but unlike one they have ever seen.  Their advice is to run a bunch of tests, and hope that he eventually comes out of the coma.  Meanwhile, things that go bump in the night are constantly invading the family's home.  They keep seeing visions, people, and all around scary shit.  Josh is in denial about the whole thing, but Renai is very convinced that their house...and lives are haunted. 

When they bring in a medium of sorts (unfortunately not Tangina, but Lin Shaye) things go all kinds of crazy, and Josh and Renai learn that Dalton's supposed sickness runs deeper than they ever could have imagined. 

I wouldn't say this movie was super-original, as it was obviously heavily influenced by Poltergeist.  But it's been a while since I've seen a supernatural movie that actually scared me, even though much of it is because I am such a huge baby about jump scares and freaky looking people.  But I thought this movie had a good story, some great scares, and if you liked any of the aforementioned ghost movies, then you'll like Insidious.
 















photo source

Dead Tone (2007)

I actually liked this movie.  It was a fun throwback to the 90s slashers like I Know What You Did Last Summer and Urban Legend.  The movie opens with a group of kids at a sleepover making prank phone calls.  It's all in good fun until the kids dial a recipient who is not too thrilled with their little game.  So upset, in fact, that he comes over and murders all of the adults in the house.

Fast forward 10 years later and a bunch of kids are having fun at college.  Finals are over, and a rich guy is planning a blowout bash at his secluded family mansion.  He invites "The Crew" (a group of friends) to come along, and they are more than happy to oblige.  They all take off for a weekend of booze, sex and fun times, not knowing what might await them.

Meanwhile, Detective John Criton (Rutger Hauer), unable to crack the original case, is searching for the now-adult survivors of the attack.  Lo and behold, a couple are dead, one is missing, and several are at the party as we freakin' speak.  The Crew shows up to the lavish abode, which is chock full of attractive, drunk twenty-somethings, and outfitted with video cameras throughout every inch of the house.

Stupidly enough, someone suggests that they play the exact game that got them all nearly killed in the first place.  Somewhat predictably, horny college lushes start getting hacked left and right.  The twist to this movie was actually pretty good and the deaths were pretty gory and fun.  This flick isn't reinventing the wheel but I found it to be a fun ride.