In The Tall Grass (2019), Laysla De Oliveira, Netflix
The story ofIn The Tall Grasscentres around a sister and brother who venture into a vast field of tall grass, only to discover that there may be no way out.
Based on a novella that’s co-written by Stephen King, director Vincenzo Natali’s drama / horror / thriller definitely starts off with promise. It then goes on to deliver some quite satisfying twists and turns, but ultimately ends up losing its way and becoming more watchable than memorable.
Part of the reason I didn’t find In The Tall Grass to be great overall is that the story doesn’t come together in a way that made me fully buy into it all. Nevertheless, I do have a favourite thing about this movie and that is the performance by talented young actor Will Buie Jr. who plays Tobin. Also, is it just me who thinks that Buie Jr. kind of resembles Michael Douglas somehow? I digress.
Though In The Tall Grass is definitely not the best drama / horror / thriller of 2019, it’s also not the worst; nor is it ‘nightmare inducing scary’. Give it a chance if you’re so curious.
The latest official trailer for director Andy Muschietti’s IT Chapter 2 – starring Jessica Chastain, Bill Hader, James McAvoy and Bill Skarsgård is finally here…
The first thing I noticed with this impressive trailer is how wonderfully creepy Skarsgård looks as Pennywise. The second is the brilliant casting of most, if not all of the adult versions of the kids in the movie.
I wonder if this could be the version of IT that actually really terrifies me. I’m ready to find out. I think I’m ready to find out.
Javier Botet , Sophia Lillis, Jack Dylan Grazer, Finn Wolfhard, Jaeden Martell and Troy James, also star.
Directed by Kevin Kölsch, Dennis Widmyer and based on the bestselling Stephen King Novel of the same name, Jason Clarke, John Lithgow and Amy Seimetz are the stars of new horror / thriller Pet Sematary.
The story centres around the Creed family who move into a new rural home, and soon learn of the ‘Pet Semetary’ located close by. After their cat is killed by a truck, said cat is laid to rest in the mysterious pet cemetery. The Creeds don’t fully know it yet but the cemetery is not quite as it seems. In fact, it soon proves to them that sometimes, dead is better…
I’ll start by saying that I already love the ‘…sometimes, dead is better‘ line. So spooky!
Having definitely not read the book, I’m drawn in by how clever this story seems to be. I’m interested in the thrills and maybe a few scares… but really, mostly the thrills, because I’m scared.
Naomi Frenette, Maria Herrera, Obssa Ahmed, Bailey Thain, Sonia Maria Chirila, Jeté Laurence and Hugo Lavoie also star.
Thomas Jane, Molly Parker and Neal McDonough are the stars of 1922, another Stephen King book-to-movie adaptation. Set in 1922, Jane plays a simple yet proud rancher who conspires to murder his wife for financial gain and convinces his teenage son to participate…
I want to watch this one, especially to see the teenage son’s emotional journey. All I have to do before then is get over my intense dislike of the vilest of rodents; particularly since you would have noticed, they feature quite prominently. If they weren’t already enough put me on edge, the music in this trailer also plays its part.
Directed by Zak Hilditch; Kaitlyn Bernard, Dylan Schmid, Nikolai Witschl and Roan Curtis also star.
In Gerald’s Game, Gerald and Jessie are a middle aged couple trying to spice up their marriage in their remote lake house. Unfortunately for them, things really don’t go according to plan. Directed by Mike Flanagan and based on the novel by Stephen King, Carla Gugino, Bruce Greenwood and Henry Thomas star…
This is probably just the kind of thing that my over-active imagination would conjure up and help me foresee, before I’d even consider allowing myself to be handcuffed, given the choice. For a moment I thought the characters were actually having an affair. How much more anxiety ridden Jessie would be if that were the case.
I have to see this to find out how she gets out, especially assuming that she does it without anyone’s help.
You may know that horror is not exactly my favourite genre. However, you may not know that I’ve been trying to be less scared and take small steps towards not avoiding scary movies all together.
My recent change of heart was inspired in part by the fact that the trailer for the upcoming IT movie remake did not scare me at all. In light of this fact which some believe to be surprising, I opted to watch the original IT TV movie which was released back in 1990. Now, I did watch it in broad daylight instead of late at night. Nevertheless, it’s no news to me that I wasn’t at all scared.
I’m certain that my lack of fear when it comes to scary looking clowns stems from the fact that, even when they have big, sharp yellow teeth, I just see them as people that make balloon animals to put smiles on little kids faces. Maybe if IT’s costume wasn’t so bright and colourful, I might be horrified. Or maybe I find there to be greater horrors in the world. Whatever the answer, I’ve come to the way of thinking that people who are scared of clowns are those who developed a fear of clowns at a young age. Whether it be from watching the original IT movie or simply just never liking clowns to begin with. It’s likely that had I watched IT when I was a relatively young child – one who saw those sharp clown teeth close-up, perhaps I’d have a reasonable fear of clowns too.
As for what I think about the movie, to begin with, I found the kid actors to be more convincing than most – if not all of the adults. Maybe it’s a style of the time but I certainly wasn’t a fan of the ‘extreme overacting’ several of the adults appeared to be guilty of. Second, this is likely also due to that period in time, but… my goodness, all that seemingly ceaseless panning of the camera sure did become annoying. Third, the story appeared to move at quite a slow pace but then finally, the entering of the sewer happened and I was very much awake; though I must add, still definitely not scared.
Regarding the things that stood out in a good way, it was so great to see a handsome, young John Ritter. He’s the only person I immediately recognised. He therefore helped put me at ease in terms of me feeling as though this movie was worth sticking with. Overall, my favourite moment in the film is when a certain someone gets sucked into the tube of light, butt first. I enjoyed that moment and found the way it was executed to be somewhat hypnotic. Lastly, I really like what Stephen King’s IT has to say about fear and how it’s you who gives it power and as such, you can choose to not let it control you.
In summary, if seemingly ceaseless panning, some serious overacting, sharp yellow clown teeth and a relatively slow pace at the beginning don’t scare you off, tune in to IT. It is a classic after all.
In The Dark Tower, Idris Elba plays a gunslinger named Roland Deschain, a man who roams an Old West-like landscape in pursuit of the ‘man in black’ (Matthew McConaughey). Deschain is also searching for the fabled Dark Tower in hopes that reaching it will preserve his dying world…
The plot of The Dark Tower is certainly unlike any Stephen King story I’m familiar with and that’s reason enough for me to watch. There’s also the names Matthew McConaughey and Idris Elba to convince me further. I really want this to be good; toes, fingers and everything crossed.
Katheryn Winnick, Tom Taylor, Nikolaj Arcel, Abbey Lee and Claudia Kim also star.
Horror movies aren’t my favourite genre because I enjoy peaceful nights of sleep. And, perhaps, even more importantly, ‘Being scared out of my mind isn’t fun for me’. Give me a good suspenseful thriller any day. I can take those, most of the time. But a horror movie that’s likely going to rob me of a good nights rest? ‘No, thank you!‘
There is one exception to my rule about scary movies. Slasher horror films such as Scream (1996) and A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984), I tend to find those more amusing than scary. It’s, therefore, mostly the psychological/religious horrors that I can’t stand. Those will have me up at night for all the wrong reasons.
Fast forward to the present day where I find myself interested in dipping my toes back in scary movie pool. A journey that starts with me watching IT (1990), a film I never saw as a child. No wonder I’m not at all scared of clowns, even when they have large, sharp teeth.
One thing I’m probably not going to do is watch the movie that put me off horror movies in the first place, The Omen (1976). I couldn’t sleep for a whole week after watching that at twelve years old.
The Movie My Life 