IT (2017)

Hey everyone, how are we today? I'm back with another review on the increasingly improving genre, horror. More and more of these films have abandoned the cliches, and no longer insult our intelligence, which I really am happy to see. Did this movie keep this new trend? Let find out:

IT- This has been called one of Stephen King's best stories of all time. During my generation we had a TV mini series adaptation starring Tim Curry as the infamous Pennywise. Tim Curry did the clown justice, but since it was made for TV there were restrictions on the intensity of gore and violence.


Plot- The small town, Derry, is plagued by missing persons, mostly children for many years now. This plague comes in the form of your worst fears, yet IT's favorite form is a mischievous clown to lore children. The story takes place with a young boy encountering the clown during a storm and is taken by the beast. The older brother believes his younger brother is still out there. Meanwhile, he and his friends are being frightened by the same clown, and they decide to do something about it.

This movie really did the book justice. Bill Skarsgard does an incredible job as IT. He acts so goofy, yet you can see in his eyes theres something far sinister planned for your fate. All of the children in this movie really did an excellent job with the acting. The banter between the boys really sold me they have been friends for years. This version to me felt more like a Goonies meets horror.

The pop scares were minimal, it was more a creepy fact to get inside your head. Extremely well done.

Final Verdict- 9.5/10 definitely go see this movie in theaters. I can see myself owning this film when it comes out on blue ray.


Thats all for now, This is Phil Goes to the Movies, so you don't have to!

The Conjuring 2

Busy. Busy. Busy. I was able to see two movies today, so I'll be writing my other review later. For now, lets focus on the horror genre shall we. The first movie scared the crap out of me, and I rated it very high on the Final Verdict. Now sequels rarely live up to the original films, why you ask? I have no idea. The one spin off movie "Annabella" was trash, so I went into the theater with low expectations. Did this movie scare the hell out of me, or did they conjure up some garbage to make a quick buck? Lets dive in:

The Conjuring 2- Directed by, my new favorite horror director, James Wan. The same actors, Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson return to portray Lorraine and Ed Warren, a couple that assists in demonic and supernatural cases. Their most intense cases inspired these films, and I was terrified watching the original movie. It got to you psychologically, making it so successful. Main reason why I returned to see this sequel.

 Plot- We begin following the Warrens a few years after the first film. It was the year 1977, the Warrens were assisting in the Amityville killings. Here Lorraine gets a terribly haunting vision, so she asks Ed to stay away from the super natural for awhile. Unfortunately, they can't rest for too long before the church is asking them to go to Northern England to review a case for them. The Hodgsons are family of four children, and just the mother. The youngest daughter is being haunted by some evil spirit, wanting to possess her body. The Warrens attempt to help the family in saving their daughter from the demonic force.


I found myself jumping a lot during this movie; because there was very little down time at all, and it was terrifying scene after the next. There was one scene the whole theater jumped, my girlfriend wrenched my arm so bad she hyper extended my elbow. All directors should take notes from James Wan how to pace a movie to scare the shit out of you! It really tugged at your mind, and the tension was there from start to finish.


Final Verdict- 9.2/10, definitely recommend to see in theaters. This movie saved the franchise.


I have another review coming out tomorrow from the two movies I saw today. For now this is Phil Goes to the Movies, so you don't have to!

Annabelle

Hey, hey... hey everyone welcome to another edition of Phil Goes to the Movies, and its that time of year when all the scary movies come out. I saw a scary movie where believe it or not, all of the scary scenes were NOT in the trailer.... I know, I know I was shocked too. Now did I enjoy this movie and was happy there was a lead in for another sequel, or did I want to burn that god damn doll along with this movie? Lets find out as we dive into this review:

Annabelle- First off, I had two little bastards talking during the entire movie, with that said.... Don't talk during the movie because it makes people like me want to rip your god damn throats out! Anyway, the movie is the prequel to the successful horror film "The Conjuring", which I thought was a great scary movie, and I remember giving it high scores in the Final Verdict. Now the prequel deals with the doll, Annabelle, from the previous movie, and its terrifying origin story.

The plot was a young couple, expecting a child, move into a new neighborhood. They are doing what many people do by starting a family together, and one night a pair of deranged psychos attack the couple in their home intending on killing them. Luckily, the police arrive in time to save the couple, but one of the psychos were able to place a curse as she laid dying. This is where the doll becomes possessed!

Now, the movie's running time is 1 hr. 39 mins... literally 45 minutes went by with the beginning scene with the psychos and one creepy scene. THAT IS IT! In a horror movie thats a life time before starting to scare people.

Then there was one really intense scene, with a chase up the stairs, if I say more I will ruin it, and the best scene in the movie. After that it was literally one pop scare after another, as if the movie was making up for lost time. Honestly, the magic from the first movie was lost, and the trailer for this movie was intense... but the movie failed to deliver!

Final Verdict- 4/10, The pop scares were intense, but by that time I was already pretty bored with the movie. Honestly, save your money and see this on cable or Netflix.

That is it for now, some movies coming out here and there, but I am mostly looking forward for the block busters to return this holiday season. Until then this is Phil Goes to the Movies, so you don't have to.