The Shrine (2010)

The Shrine is a strange one, a strange one indeed. It's the kind of dumb horror that we've all seen hundreds of times before, but it's given just enough intelligence and just enough of a twist to make it worth your while.
Cindy Sampson plays Carmen, a journalist who decides to lie to her boss and follow a story that she can't let go of, one involving a missing young man. The young man was last known to have been travelling in an area that has seen other disappearances in recent years and Carmen thinks it's more than just a coincidence. She takes along her intern Sara (Meghan Heffern) and also her boyfriend (played by Aaron Ashmore), who is handy with a camera. When they get to the location of their potential story it's not long until they find themselves feeling distinctly unwelcome.

From the opening sequence showing some strange and dangerous ritual to the scenes of an eye-rolling journalist lying to her boss while following up a "hot lead" to the moments that see some young people being treated very discourteously by angry locals, The Shrine spends an hour or so being a by-the-numbers horror movie. That's why the third act, with one or two twists on the material, ends up being such a pleasant surprise. Once again, there's nothing that hasn't been done before, but it dodges left when you think it's going to go right and vice versa. Will horror fans be amazed by these fake-outs and twists? No, probably not at all, but they do elevate the film by taking the audience to a very different final destination than the one pointed out at the beginning.

The cast all do a good enough job. Cindy Sampson is very good as Carmen, Meghan Heffern is very good as Sara and Aaron Ashmore hasn't put in a bad performance that I can think of in anything that I've seen him in. Trevor Matthews and Vieslav Krystan are also perfectly fine, if a bit nondescript, in their roles.

Jon Nautz (who both directed and co-wrote the screenplay with Trevor Matthews and Brendan Moore) does a much better job this time around than he did with Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer though I am aware that quite a few people liked that movie more than I did. He shows that he knows how to put together some standard genre moments and then goes on to show how easily things can be freshened up ever so slightly. Horror aficionados may balk and say that Nautz brings absolutely nothing new to the table, but I give the guy points for trying. Sometimes that is all you want/need to see in the flood of identikit movies that just keep being churned out nowadays.

6/10

http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Shrine-Blu-ray-Aaron-Ashmore/dp/B0072HTWNK/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1358803544&sr=8-2

Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer (2007)

It's most definitely not the worst movie that I've ever seen but Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer is a pretty weak horror comedy that doesn't have enough good horror in the mix and also forgets to include enough comedy. There are some good effects and gore gags on display but not enough to make up for the insubstantial content and unappealing lead character.

Jack Brooks (played by Trevor Matthews) has a problem with his anger. A big problem. He just can't chill out and let things pass him by. There's a chance that it all stems from a childhood incident in which he didn't react while his loved ones were attacked, perhaps ever since that fateful moment he has been overreacting to compensate for his inactivity. Will he be able to step up to the mark when Professor Crowley (Robert Englund) finds himself turning more than a little bit monstrous?

There's definitely potential here, this is a film that a number of other people have enjoyed much more than I did, but it's just never realised because of the biggest hurdle - that lead character. Trevor Matthews does okay in the role but it's just an angry man onscreen being pretty stubborn most of the time. Kinda like any number of Adam Sandler characters but with a lack of anything remotely funny. Robert Englund does a bit better, and at least seems to be having fun, and the supporting cast features a number of people trying hard with weak material.

Writer-director Jon Knautz is the man to blame. He's had the seed of a great idea but then absolutely failed to make anything great from it. Poor Trevor Matthews is an easy target, especially when you consider what someone like Bruce Campbell or Bill Paxton could have done with the role (and if you've seen and enjoyed the movie just take a moment to consider those casting choices and then tell me that you can't imagine the whole thing being even better), but he's let down by Knautz just not getting the tone or balance right. The movie doesn't know whether to be a dark comedy, a light horror, a homage to the latex monsters and practical FX of the 1980s or an enjoyably 'rough 'n' ready' low-budget romp using every trick possible to hide the limitations. It tries to be all of these things, which is admirable, but ends up being none of them.

4/10

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Jack-Brooks-Monster-Slayer-DVD/dp/B001AU3G64/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1342692124&sr=8-1