My 2 week holiday is long over, but before I started back at work I managed to squeeze in a few movies and the odd hour or two (or ten) of TV, of course. Here are some of the horror/sci-fi films I watched.
Europa Report
A privately funded space mission sets off to travel further than any human ever has before. The gang of six international astronauts is heading for Europa, one of Jupiter’s moons in the hopes of discovering some form of life. The mission, of course, does not go smoothly.
The best element about Europa Report was seeing how astronauts live in space, getting a peek into their living quarters, how they pass time, deal with being all alone up there and missing their families, how they continue in the face of dwindling odds for survival. All the action is filmed from cameras located inside the spacecraft and the astronauts’ helmets, giving the film a realistic edge. The “found footage” element works well.
The snippets of horror were muted, not thrown in your face like so many other space films. Europa Report was a subtle horror/sci-fi flick (with the exception of the final image which I’m still not sure what to make of). The actors all did their jobs nicely and it was great to hear different accents. For any space lovers out there, check this one out. ****
Would You Rather
As I’m not much of a fan of so called “torture porn”, I’m not sure why I stuck with this movie. Okay, yes I liked two of the lead actors, Enver Gjokaj who starred in the shortlived Joss Whedon series Dollhouse and Brittany Snow from Pitch Perfect were in it, but after thirty minutes I should have known better and switched it off.
Would you rather stab the person sitting beside you in the thigh, or be whipped three times? So you get the gist of this sadistic game. There’s nothing new here but thankfully it’s not as grotesque as Saw. I wouldn’t bother with this one unless you’re extremely bored on a Friday night. **
The Purge
In America, one night of the year, for 12 hours, there will come The Purge. Police and emergency services will cease, all crime will be legalised, so the country’s citizens (should they choose) can run amok, stealing, raping and murdering, whatever they’ve been keeping pent-up for the rest of the year. The film focuses on Ethan Hawke’s and Lena Headey’s family, battling to stay alive when their home is invaded.
I can’t even be bothered to rate this one. I couldn’t get past the idea of an American society allowing something like The Purge to occur. Maybe I could have enjoyed this film if we were given some explanation and background. But we’re not. So in theory you could attack your neighbour’s daughter during The Purge, and come tomorrow, society would simply carry on as normal and there would be no repercussions? Not even say the daughter’s family taking their revenge? I don’t think so. I found the concept of The Purge so ludicrous I’m stopping typing, right now –
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So as you can gather, of the above three, the only one I’d recommend would be Europa Report, and I fear it could be too slow-moving for many. But as someone who’s always been fascinated by space and space travel, getting a realistic insight into what life is like for astronauts was a delight.
What horror and sci-fi movies have you watched recently, and do you have any you could recommend ?
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Emma's Ramblings on Supernatural Fiction 