Feast, 2005

This film is hilarious! Not a serious horror by any means so don't watch this if you are looking for a genuinely scary film. It's all the little touches that it make it so funny. As each character is introduced, a mini Bio appears saying thinks like -
Name: Bozo
Life expectancy: not good!
The monsters are utterly disgusting and there is one bit where a certain part of the monster's anatomy gets trapped in a door - eeeeeew! Not a film I would want to watch a second time but certainly good for a few laughs.

Paradise Lost, 2007

Set in Brazil, a group of backpackers take a dodgy bus ride to their holiday destination but things go seriously down hill when... well... when the bus goes down a big hill and crashes! It's your typical thriller in many ways - group of young people getting into trouble, bad guys with guns chasing them etc but the bit I enjoyed most about this film was definitely the under water chase. I have never seen anything like this before and I was almost gasping for breath myself as I watched our herione swimming frantically through the under-water caves to try and get away from the baddies, stopping only take in tiny pockets of air as she went. Tense doesn't even cover it.

Dead Snow, 2009

Set in beautiful snowy Sweden, a gang of friends take a holiday to a remote wood cabin in the mountains. Unfortunately for them, they find themselves with some right nasty neighbours - nazi zombies! This is a fantastic horror with genuine laughs, BIG jumps, lots of gore and some absolutely fantastic costumes. A really different idea well executed, absolutely worth a watch.

Switchblade Romance, 2003

The French title for this film was Haute Tension and tension there was...the whole way through the film! I didn't relax until the credits rolled. There are some pretty gory deaths and the usual bucket loads of blood but this is not your run-of-the-mill slasher. This has a fantastic plot, superb acting and absolutely shedloads of terrifying moments. You must watch this film, but get yourself a strong drink first!

Drag Me to Hell, 2009

Ever since getting into horror films (quite a recent thing for me) I have employed a strict WAHO (Watch At Home Only) policy. There's a very good reason for this. Many years ago I accidentally saw a scary movie at the cinema and spent the whole journey home looking over my shoulder and checking the back seat of my car for psychotic axe-murderers!!!
However, this film came up and I decided to take the plunge and give it a go on the big screen. What a mistake! After about 10 mins of jump-out-of-your-seat terror, I turned to Matt and said "I've messed up, I can't cope!". He laughed and told me that was the whole point, to get scared. Top-notch acting, PLENTY of frights and not too bad a story line. Although I was utterly exhausted at the end the film, I did have a big smile on my face as my first WOBS (Watch On Big Screen) experience has been a great one. Highly recommend you all go out and scare yourself silly with this one!

Dead in 3 days, 2006

A German horror this week, for a change. A gang of college students have just graduated and head off to a party to celebrate. During the day, they each receive a text saying, 'You'll be dead in 3 days'. They put it down to someone playing a prank...until one of gang goes missing! Tense, spooky, pretty gruesome and bloody in places. All round a solid horror. One thing bugged me the whole way through the film though, who does this blonde chick remind me of? And then it hit me, it's Elijah Wood AKA Frodo from Lord of the Rings...

SECOND OPINION: There are two types of low-concept horror in my eyes. Those that are simple, yet effective; and those that are just plain simple. All the Boys Love Mandy Lane is an example of the latter, but Dead in 3 Days just sneaks under the wire. Just. On the upside the deaths are imaginative and the characters suitably engaging. The story is believable and the perpetrator of the nastyness doesn't turn into Jason or Michael at anytime, which is refreshing for a what is ostensibly a slasher movie. On the downside the gang of merry victims do fall into the "let's do the dumbest thing we can think of" trap a little too often. Correct me if I'm incorrect, but when you only have 1 day left of your "3 days" and you're safe in a house with the police, you don't go looking for the killer. I don't anyway. They do. Duh!

We watched the dubbed version, which is a shame. I'm not keen on dubbed films because they change the words to fit the mouth movements, which seems like a vicious trade-off for the sake of learning how to read simple English. Anyway, the voice acting was very good on the whole and everything gelled very well. 

So a solid slasher movie with some inspired killings, but a few dodgy plot decisions too. Worth a watch all the same.

Jack Brookes, Monster Slayer, 2007

This film is actually really good fun. I had pretty low expectations because it's a 'comedy horror' which usually means - not very funny and not at all scary. This, however, was genuinely entertaining. The plot is wonderfully ridiculous – Jack the plumber/student has serious anger management issues ever since he witnessed his family get brutally killed by a monster troll (oh yes, this is good stuff!) when he was a child. His tutor – Robert Englund – lives in a big old house in the sticks, with a secret buried in the garden. Englund totally steals the show (depsite the plumber being pretty darn hot), and although it's low budget, the 'monster effects' are really quite charming in a silly sort of way. Overall, very good fun (and not at all scary).

SECOND OPINION: Well, I think Rach has summed this up perfectly and there's not much more to be said. Think Bad Taste, Army of Darkness et al but with charm. Or, to put it another way, if they make part II, I'm first in the queue to see it. Great fun.

Frontière(s), 2007

Eeew erugh and double yuck. This film is totally grim and if you are squeamish like me, you will cringe and cower behind the cushion for most of this film. I can't honestly say I enjoyed it because it was just so horribly painful. I suppose it was good in that it did scare me but I would rather watch an episode of You've Been Framed if I just wanted some cringe-worthy laughs. Not one of my favourites.

SECOND OPINION: Funny one this for me. It's in the same vein as Wolf Creek, lots of screaming and shouting, lots of unpleasantness. I didn't like Wolf Creek I'll be honest. However, this film isn't as realistic and the premise is pure fiction.

The film is set during riots in Paris, started due to some controversial Presidental Elections. We quickly start following some young bank robbers after a heist which hasn't gone so well. One of them has been shot and there's been something of a falling out. There really is no honour among thieves. They go their separate ways, planning on meeting up at a hotel as far away from the crime scene as they can get. There's the first problem; we don't like the 'good' characters in this film, so when they meet the 'bad' characters, we're not really bothered what happens to them.

The hotel they arrive at isn't very nice at all and things go south with surprising speed. Here's where the film picked up for me (before getting very 'by the numbers' at the end). The bad guys in this film do not mess about. There's no chasing (until the end) and the hapless robbers are dispatched with merciless efficiency. These guys mean business and the blood runs thick and fast.

So in conclusion, the film will undoubtably stay with you after watching. It's brutal and surprising but ends up more like House of 1000 Corpses by the end, which is a big disappointment. Worth a watch, nevertheless.

Poltergeist, 1982

They're here...

Well, this is another classic that I have never seen before. I wasn't sure how it was going to hold up against the more modern films but rest assured, it absolutely holds its own. It didn't make me jump out of my chair or scream with terror but it was really enjoyable and is definitely scary enough to get on the Friday Horror Night list. The little girl is so angelic, I was really worried for her safety when it all kicked off. There are a few corny effects but I have actually seen much worse on the current series of Doctor Who – and that doesn't even have the excuse of being so old! I'm glad I've watched it and would highly recommend it if you haven't already seen it.

SECOND OPINION: I haven't seen this film for a long, long time and, if I'm honest, I thought it was going to be entertaining, but not at all scary. I was wrong. There's something about Poltergeist that is very, very creepy. Ok, so it all gets a little silly at the end, but after 27 years this film still has the ability to send more than a few shivers down my spine.

If you've not seen it before you'll still find it strangely familiar. Poltergeist has been parodied and copied by pretty much every movie or tv show that references poltergeists since it was made. Everything from Family Guy and The Simpsons to X-Files and Ace Ventura have used this movie as their source material. So if you've not seen it yet, what are you waiting for?

Mirrors, 2008

Kiefer Sutherland is an ex-Detective who takes a job as a security guard in a huge burnt out department store. It's a creepy old place and he starts seeing things in the mirrors. He (and everyone else) thinks he is going crazy but what they're forgetting is that this is a Horror Film so of course there's something evil going on.  It did scare me enough to have to ask Matt to come to the bathroom with me half way through the film but it didn't give me nightmares.

When it comes to Kiefer Sutherland, I don't actually think that he's a) really that good an actor or b) as hot as some people make out. What does everyone else think? 

Overall, a pretty good horror with lots of creepy moments but felt like it went on for about 1/2hr too long.

SECOND OPINION: There no denying it, mirrors are scary. Especially when you walk away, leaving your reflection behind. That's just not right. I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed this film and thought it was very creepy. I'm fast becoming a fan of Alexandre Aja, after The Hills Have Eyes. Also, just because this is a creepy film, don't think for a second Aja is going soft on us. There are a couple of truly disgusting moments sure to make the scaredy-cats among you turn away. In the end, however, it does go on too long. Or perhaps I just felt that the film finished at least twice, probably three times. Think "Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" and you'll know the feeling.

I read someone who thought the ending was rather farcical, but I didn't feel that at all. Just overly long which inevitably saps the tension. Don't let that put you off though, it's well worth watching nevertheless.

[REC] (AKA Quarantine), 2008

Holy cupcakes, this film is awesome! A TV reporter and her cameraman are following the LA Fire Dept for the night in the hope that something interesting will happen. A call comes in that something has kicked off so they all jump in the trucks and head off to the apartment building where the call was made. When they get there, they find out that one of the residents appears to have been 'infected' by something and has gone all kinds of crazy. I don't want to give away any more of the plot but I will just say that this film has lots of suspense, bucketloads of violence and enough jumps to give your heart a cracking workout. It's a must, must see but get the cushion ready to hide behind if you're a scaredy cat like me!

SECOND OPINION: Films like this are great. Yes it's a spanish horror (many of the best horrors are at the moment) but the subtitles shouldn't put anyone off. Personally, they don't bother me, but if it's an instant turn-off for you, consider this... people in horror films don't say much when they're being killed, and screaming is an international language! What might put you off is the fact that the whole film is shot on handheld, a la Blair Witch (hence the [Rec] title). But don't worry about that either, because this movie is a short sharp kick in the teeth at only 75 minutes long. Not enough time to feel sick, not from the shakey camera anyway!

So our jobbing reporter follows a fire team into an apartment block with her fearless cameraman. They're there to tend to a woman who has been acting strangely, but since we only see what the cameraman sees, we have no idea the whys and whatfors. As you can imagine at 75 minutes long, things don't stay calm for long, and it gets more and more tense with every minute. Put simply, Jaume Balagueró and Paco Plaza have crafted a perfect example of shock therapy. It's quick, painful and terrifying from start to finish.

Fido, 2006

This is a zombie film, no mistake. Did I like it? Well, it was alright...but not brilliant. Fido introduces zombies as the latest must-have home gadget – cleaning, cooking, you name it! Unfortunately, these zombies still have an appetite for flesh so things go a bit awry when our zombie friend Fido munches a little dog (sorry Bonnie, yet ANOTHER film where the dog gets it!). It's a silly film but gets a few laughs, perfect for a rainy Bank Holiday weekend like this one!

SECOND OPINION: Set in 1950s America, the middle-class urbanite has a new toy to play with... a zombie. Every good housewife should have one, and since the dead have started rising from the grave they're hardly in short supply. This film is daft, there's no escaping it. There are a few bloody moments, but it's light on scares and gore mostly because of its saccharine 50s setting. Yes, Happy Days meets Dawn of the Dead with Billy Connoly as Fido, the pet zombie. If this strikes you as an odd idea for a film, it is. If you think you might like it, you probably will. Will you "Laugh your head off" as the poster claims? Well, I laughed, but nothing fell off. Not yet anyway...

Babysitter Wanted, 2008

Blimey! This was really tense. You remember all those urban myths about psychos terrorising single women when they're babysitting... well this is basically all that in a film. I was really on edge the whole way through and thoroughly enjoyed the thrills! Quite 'traditionally' scary and few bits you did see coming a mile off but great all the same. 

SECOND OPINION: Erm. I should probably start by saying that this film has so many 'Official Selections' from horror festivals around the world, I had big expectations. If I'm honest, the fact I could have bought it in Asda did put me off a little. I doubt End of the Line would be on their shelves. Anyway, for me this film took too long to get started, then cherry picked far too many ideas from more successful movies. It's just too derivative to be enjoyable. If you want to see girls in serious peril watch Hostel Part II or Wolf Creek, if you want something supernatural watch The Omen. If you want to spend eighty-six minutes feeling like you've seen it all before, get this. It's not that it's bad, it's just far too familiar.

Special Guest – Sarah: As a novice to the horror genre I was a bit worried about my second film – would I pee my pants this time?  The verdict, NO.  Although this was a better film than End of the Line as I found it a more believable horror, as in this could actually happen, it met my expectations until a certain point involving the weird kid. After this it went down in my estimations. The priest didn't do enough. I also thought this ticked all the 'things to include in a horror movie' – scared girl, scarey man, being followed by a car, can't find the keys to escape etc, etc.  Did like it though, scared slightly, blood & gore yes, suspense yes but a tad predictable at times.  6/10 I await to be scared even more!!!!

Special Guest – Marcus: It was an ok film, but not as good as End of the Line. I thought it was a little bit slow and predictable. Good gore content, though. I would recomend it as a watch. Not the greatest film, but worth a view.

The Last Winter, 2006

Creep-o-rama! This film is scary, dark and downright depressing... perfect for horror night! I am going to let Matt explain the plot but all you need to know is that it poses some interesting questions about how we are treating our planet. There are some mental moments in this and I have to be honest and I say I wasn't quite sure how to interpret some of them, but I think that's the idea. Thankfully, Matt is a lot brighter than me and could help to explain what they are trying to get at with this film!

SECOND OPINION: This sticks in the mind like glue. Powerfully acted, beautifully scripted and shot and almost no-one got to see it when it was released. It's a crime, because I don't think I've seen a film which is so brilliantly executed.
The premise is very simple (aren't all good horrors) in which the members of an Alaskan drilling company, charged with setting up the equipment before the workforce arrives, start going haywire. Not mad-stabby-crazy haywire, but quietly, disturbingly so. Victim number one goes for a midnight stroll, naked. He freezes to death and no-one can figure out why. Soon everyone's seeing or hearing strange things but when the madness really sets in... woof. Everyone reacts differently. Nothing is explained more fully than a 'suggestion', but don't fear, this is no Donnie Darko. The Last Winter has a real point to make and it doesn't make it lightly. You'll come away feeling guilty for the greed of men and concerned for the future of our planet. You'll also think twice before blindly following orders to 'get the job done'. You have been warned.

Session 9, 2001

Up until the last 15mins, nothing 'horror' worthy actually happens, but right from the off you'll feel spooked by this film. A load of guys are de-asbestosifying (ok so that's not a real word but go with it!) a disused mental hospital. One of them finds a stash of old recordings of the 'sessions' between a psychiatric doctor and his schizophrenic patient. The story builds the tension brilliantly and you just know this is not going to end well. I didn't quite see the end coming but even if you do, it doesn't spoil the plot because it's more about the build-up than the climax itself. There was just one bit that I found stupidly funny – During a 'session', a young girl pops up as one of the multiple personalities so the patient (adult man) starts talking in a baby voice like that of a young girl. Don't ask me why, but I just found this hilarious. I can only put this down to nervous laughter! A really gripping, chilling and in the end, quite bloody horror.

SECOND OPINION: First thing that grabbed me about this movie is the cast. It's absolutely top notch for a film of it's type. Until everything starts unravelling, it's more like a good quality drama than a little known horror. Unravelling. It's a good, encompassing word for Session 9, as the film doesn't romp or barrel along, it slowly unravels along with the characters.
The set-up is curious. Maybe it is generic, but since it's played with such conviction, it certainly didn't feel like it. Our four characters are hired to clear asbestos from an old lunatic asylum. The boss, Gordon Fleming (played by the intense Peter Mullan from Children of Men) has three of his usual team with him, but is struggling with life. Business is tough and this job could mean make or break, so do they really need the fourth guy, they guy no-one trusts?
Meanwhile, Phil (David Caruso) finds some recordings of a woman, who for the most part talks nonsense. However, the tapes are filed as Session 1, 2, 3 etc. and we know something significant is bound to happen when he reaches number 9.
Session 9 will stay with you, no doubt. It's an unusual ghost story which descends into madness in much the same way The Last Winter does. Is it the asylum, or the tapes, or something else entirely? Watch it and see for yourself...

Stuck, 2007

This was excellent. Mena Suvari plays the lead character, AKA piece of ...(poop)! She's driving home stoned from a party and accidentally hits Stephen Rea. As you can see from the picture, he actually gets wedged in the windscreen. Its pretty horrific and I was really wincing in one scene involving the windscreen wipers - eeeeeeew! Mena is, as I said, a nasty piece of work and she would rather leave him stuck, waiting to die, than risk getting in trouble for the accident. And the worst part? It's based on a true story, see here.

SECOND OPINION: Stuart Gordon holds a place in my heart. Many years ago I saw Reanimator and discovered gore was good. Last year, I watched it again, and discovered gore was good, and funny, if a little childish. Now he's made this, a film about a guy stuck in a windscreen. Nach. As Rach says, the chilling thought is that, to a degree, this actually happened. A girl did hit a homeless guy with her car, he did get stuck in her windscreen and she waited days for him to die before dumping him somewhere.

As you know, we avoid real life horrors, since it's not what Friday Horror Night is about. There are exceptions to every rule though, and since this story follows the hapless jaywalker as he fights back, it was a rule worth breaking.

The characters and acting are first class and the snappy script is wonderfully paced. We feel for Thomas, we feel his pain, his confusion and his desperation. For all the hokey plot, it feels real. I was willing him to break free, but this is no easy film to watch. With Gordon's pedigree, he's not about to shy away from the red stuff. Prepare yourself for some very painfully moments where tension is perfectly blended with Thomas' pain.

Last, but not least, lets not forget this film is a black comedy. There are plenty of laughs to be had, all of them tinged with sadness, pain, excitement, anxiety and any other feeling you can muster. It's all first class.

Let the Right One in, 2008

This could well be the most 'grown up' horror we have watched thus far on Friday Horror Night. It's a little film which is basically a love story. A young, very quirky looking boy who doesn't have many friends and is being bullied at school, makes friends with a strange little girl. You know things are not right when her Dad goes off into the woods with a frightening bit of kit that includes a container for collecting blood! This film contains violence... and a vampire, but doesn't go to excess with either. It's more about the relationship between the 2 young people and what they mean to each other. I didn't once jump, or laugh, but I did really enjoy this film. It is very different from anything else we've watched so was really refreshing. I did feel a bit cold though as it's set in one very cold, snowy town in Sweden brrrr.

SECOND OPINION: Certain plot facts are implicit in a film of this type. We know it's a horror, and if we've read anything about the movie at all, we also figure pretty early on that the strange young girl is a blood sucking vampire. But add to those facts that the girl is a straight-down-the-middle, Bram Stokeresque vampire with all the contagious, wall crawling, flying and light allergy shennanigans, and one begins to wonder what's going on. Even Blade mixed the folklore up a little! Well the focus isn't vampires, not really. It's a love-story borrowing more from Romeo & Juliet that Hammer Horror. The young boy is something of an outcast who daydreams of teaching the bullies at school a lesson, the young girl is similarly lost, but for very different reasons. How sweet. But if this film has a problem, and unfortunately I think it has, it's that the girl truly likes the boy, so he's never in danger... unlike everyone else. Since we don't care about everyone else, there's no tension where I thought there could and should have been.

So what do we have. A melodically paced boy meets girl vampire movie, which is wonderfully shot and acted, but at it's scariest, nothing more than unsettling.

Dance of The Dead, 2008

I wasn't really looking forward to watching this film that much because it is a comedy horror and these don't tend to be as good as the 'proper' horrors. The opening scene is pretty funny though and it did catch my attention quite quickly. The cast is good, although 2 of the boys look very similar so this gets confusing. It's a silly plot, but then what do you expect from a zombie movie! Overall, it was quite a good laugh. Wouldn't get a 'must see' from me but if you want something light-hearted and daft, this is for you.

SECOND OPINION: It's a zombie comedy in the vein of Sean of the Dead...only not as funny. It moves along at a cracking pace and is very entertaining, but it's not really funny or scary enough and all feels a little too familiar.

The Signal, 2007

I found this film shocking, funny, thought-provoking, gory and really interesting. One day, a 'signal' is suddenly transmitted on all TVs, radios and phones which is basically like noise interference. At first, it just seems like a strange phenomena. As the plot unravels, it appears that this signal has a bizarre effect on some people, turning them into crazed murderers! The film takes you through different people's perspectives and is really, really good fun. Some of the bloody scenes are utterly disgusting and shocking but you find yourself going "eeeeew ..... ha ha ha" because the way it mixes horror and comedy is genius. It would be fair to call this film disturbing but don't let that put you off, it is fabulous and should definitely be on your list of ones to watch.

SECOND OPINION: After watching this film I read an interesting fact, which tied it all together rather nicely. It is written and directed by three different people. This explains why it starts as a rather chilling zombie horror, turning into a raucous comedy half way through and ending as a nailbiter. Writing that down makes it sound rather disjointed, which it is...to be fair. However, the effect it has is not to drop you out of the story. In fact it amplifies the horror by lulling you into a false sense of security. Just when I was laughing, very hard,  the horror came back into the room and wiped the smile off my face in seconds. So to sum up, it's brilliant, inspired, difficult to define and most importantly, thoroughly enjoyable.

End of the Line, 2007

Well, this was an absolute treat. Not only did we have special guests (Sarah and Marcus) but this was a quality horror! Very early on there is an extremely scary moment where all 4 of leapt out of our seats. To be fair, the boys managed to just be quietly surprised but Sar and I actually screamed out loud and nearly poured our drinks all over the sofa! If you are religious, this will be doubly scary as it's basically about a religious group who have been ordered to 'save' everyone before the end of the world. There is a very, very scary old lady who does some unthinkably nasty things but all the time has this manic grin as she sings her religious songs – very distrubing. Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant!

SECOND OPINION: This film does not tread lightly. This film does not pull it's punches and will leave you feeling sickened more than once. It's all set in a subway, which as we learned in The Midnight Meat Train, can be a very dangerous and scary place. This particular night, all the members of a religious cult have been summoned to rise up and kill the innocents before the world ends. As Rachel says, the creepy thing is, the cultists are happy about their job, since they believe they're saving people. Brutally murdering with a cheery hymn and a smile is not something you'll forget in a hurry.

Turns out, the most shocking thing in the movie (and it's the most shocking thing I've seen in a horror film) has a strong, moral justification by the end of the film. I raised this point with our guests but they held to the opinion that it was sick, regardless. Ah well. The conversation, however, went something like this...

"Did you enjoy it?"

"God no! It was terrifying!"

"So will you be joining us for Friday Horror Night again?"

"Oh yes, absolutely!!!"

Otis, 2008

After watching Saw V last week, we wanted to go for something a little more light-hearted. Otis is billed as a comedy-horror and really, that is spot on. There are some really 'horrible' moments and you do feel a little bit tense but mainly it is really, really funny. The Mum in this is brilliant - a proper nut job. Some of the dialogue is sooo outrageous you'll be laughing and shaking your head at the same time. The basic story is that a  twisted perv kidnaps girls and makes them do some bizarre 'sweet sixteen' role-playing in his cellar. Very funny and definitely worth a watch.

SECOND OPINION: Comedy horrors don't sit very comfortably in Friday Horror Night. Rach and I always feel a little short changed. Otis isn't gory, nor particularly violent. It is, however, very funny and a little chilling in places.

Saw, 2004

I think this is probably the first proper horror I have ever watched. There is absolutely no let up on the scariness throughout the whole film. I actually felt like I'd done a work-out by the time it was over. It's a genius plot and I was completely and utterly terrified for them, and for me! Basically, 2 guys wake up in a revolting old bathroom. Each of them has a tape recorder with a message on how they can survive. They find out that they have to kill the other one or else their loved ones will die. The nut-job behind all this is called Jigsaw and we learn that he likes to play these 'games' with people. He never goes out to kill anyone but prefers to make them kill themselves or suffer the consequences. If you haven't seen this already, and you like to be really scared, then get your skates on and watch this film.

SECOND OPINION: Saw was probably the film that re-lit the fire in me for horror. Just the fact that Carry Elwes and Danny Glover were appearing in a horror film made me sit up and listen. It's perfectly paced, beautifully written and utterly original. As for the title 'Saw', well for the newcomer's out there, don't be put off. Unlike the sequels, this film keeps the horror in your head, not on the screen.

Saw II, 2005

This is another cracking Saw film. A group of people are trapped in one of Jigsaw's death-traps. Lethal gas is being pumped into the room so they need to get out sharpish. Just to add to the torment, the cop on the case (the lovely Donnie Wahlberg) finds out his son is one of the victims! There are loads of twists and turns and you really don't know what is going to happen. There is a really exciting moment where Jigsaw looks like he is going to get his comeuppance. This is just as scary as the first if not scarier. It's a must-see if my book.

SECOND OPINION: You know the drill, the first film is borne of sheer willpower, those that follow are somehow tainted by bigger budgets. Saw was a twisted morality play. Almost all of it happened in one room, with essentially two people. So raising the bar with the second film isn't difficult for shocks and scares, but artistically, Saw II suffers. They keep the film essentially in one room again, or one house at least, but we have many more characters to munch through as the film progresses. It's more of a standard horror now, since the deep character study of Saw has given way to quick sketches (there being no time to properly investigate everyone in the house) so we can't help but care a little less.

However, the cleverness of Saw remains. The games are now bloodier and much, much more lethal. Do as Jigsaw says, or your time in the house will be very short. So while it lacks the simplicity of the original, it has developed into something suitably twisted. I thoroughly enjoyed it and couldn't wait for the next installment.

Saw III, 2006

More head games and gruesome torture - great stuff! Jigsaw is in the late stages of terminal cancer so ropes a doctor in to keep him alive. Guess what, it's another game! The doc has a beautiful necklace of explosives around her neck which is wired to his heart monitor. If his heart stops, she goes bang bang. This is just one of many games going on and to be honest, I think I just got a bit bored of the whole Saw premise by the end of this film. They started out being so far out and challenging but when the idea is re-hashed this many times, it does lose some of the appeal. If you haven't seen any of the Saw films, I would stop after this one.

SECOND OPINION: This is where the Saw films start folding in on themselves. Characters' true motivations are revealed and Jigsaw is creating a very tangled web indeed. The games are bloodier still, but the storyline means they're not as clever as before. However, it's clever how we get an answer to the question "Why have the games become inescapable", as this lends validity to Saw II and made me hopeful for the next installment. With Saw III I feel the franchise has hit it's pace. It leaves you with a cliffhanger and, guilty pleasure as it is, I can't wait for the next installment.

Saw IV, 2007

Hooray - Jigsaw is dead! But that in itself probably isn't enough to make a whole film. So, during the autopsy, guess what they find...a tape of course! I didn't really enjoy this one as I really felt like all the good ideas had already gone and this was just spinning it out for the sake of another film. Having said that, there is still a good sprinkling of very chilling moments so if you are bored on a Sunday afternoon, it's raining outside and you can't think of anything else to do, watch this film.

SECOND OPINION: If Saw III started folding in on itself, Saw IV starts unravelling. There's a main thread of a detective who is being 'taught' by Jigsaw to think differently, but since he needs to save someone in each of his tests (and there are quite a few tests so the happen pretty quickly) we feel nothing for the victims. And since the detective is no angel, we end up feeling very little for him either. Also, Jigsaw's backstory starts being explained, but the more we know about him, the less scary he becomes. This is a shame, as Saw III felt like it was going somewhere. This should probably stay on the shelf, unless you'd like to know how it all ends.

Saw V, 2008

I did half enjoy this film but it is no way near as good as the earlier ones. Its a bit like one of those Friends episodes where they stick a load of clips together under a 'do you remember when...' theme. So, there's a lot of revisiting the previous films' events which I think they should have cut down on in favour of concentrating on the here and now. The 'game' in this one is just as gruesome as all the others but after seeing 4 of these films already, it doesn't have the same impact. I didn't feel terrified at any point and I can't really say that I was routing for the main characters. One thing that really broke my concentration throughout the whole film was just how bad one of the girls' hair was - it so obviously a wig it's not funny. You'd think that for a film like this they could either dye her hair or get her a decent wig. Sounds silly, but it really stops your mind from being able to suspend reality. So then it just becomes a silly film with bad wigs!

SECOND OPINION: Rach's right. I've enjoyed most of the Saw films up to now, but this one was rushed out. I suppose the biggest problem is the omission of any revelations. Up to this point the limbs, twists and turns have been flying everywhere. 'Who is Jigsaw', 'Who's working with him and why?'. The most interesting one for me was 'Why are some of the games unbeatable all of a sudden?'. This film has nothing new to say, other than one, very clever game. Because of all the flashbacks, we already know who the bad guy is and we already know how it ends. Finish with Saw IV and call it n enjoyable Quadrilogy. There's nothing new to see here.

Rogue, 2007

Without a doubt, my favourite Horror this year. As you can guess from the picture, it's about a man-eating crocodile – yay! Rhada Mitchell is the 'leading lady' and she's perfect in the role. It starts off quite tame and gives you plenty of time to take in the absolutely breath-taking scenery (Northern Territories in Oz). But don't worry, it soon hots up when the 'rogue' croc arrives and starts bumping off the characters. Matt and I tried to work out who would pop their clogs first and what sort of elaborate death it would be – but we were way off! There's a bit where they are all trying to make their escape where I actually took to screaming at the TV, to will them to go faster. I tell you one thing that I WON'T be doing after watching this film and that's skinny dippping at night!

SECOND OPINION: I pitched this one to Rach as a grown-up Lake Placid. But my, how it's grown up. Forget creature features and alligators in the sewers, this is as real as monster movies get.

Now, I was no fan of Wolf Creek; I thought it was mostly screaming, with relentlessly bleak scenes and very stupid girls who, honestly, deserved everything they got. You don't just hope you've killed the guy who's been torturing and murdering your friends, make damn sure of it. Anyway I digress. Rogue has the same style as Wolf Creek, it's very real, but with a little humour here and there to lighten things up.

So, our band of croc happy tourists answer a distress call in a remote area of Australia. When they arrive there's nothing but an upturned boat and in no time they're desperately making for a small island before their boat sinks too. Unfortunately for them they're in a tidal lake and that small island is about to get much, much smaller.

If you do watch this film, and you should because it's exhaustingly exciting, remember the movie croc is around 7m from tail tip to snout. Real crocs can go over 7.5m long and an 8m croc was once reported. It's real, scary and thrilling. 'Jaws with crocodiles' hardly does it justice!

The Hills Have Eyes, 2006

An American family go on a Road Trip to California. Thanks to the enthusiastic father, they take the 'scenic route' under the premise that it will be FUN. They end up slap bang in the middle of the desert with one broken wheel, no communication and a long night ahead of them.
There are some properly disturbing moments in this film and when our 'hero' is being pursued I did find myself holding my breath, trying to help him stay hidden! This is a great horror and there are some really, really gruesome moments – you'll love it!


SECOND OPINION: Now we're talking! As we've said before, remakes aren't really our things but since I never rated the original, there was nothing to lose. Like many horror films, it sets up the big scares by regularly showing the evildoers doing unspeakably evil things...I mean, they eat a little budgie at one point! What next? When things kick off later in the film, you literally have no idea how far the film-makers are prepared to push things. And trust us, they're prepared to push things pretty damn far. This film is sick, twisted, violent, gory and fantastic. It's old school horror and I loved it.

Halloween, 1978

This is a classic golden oldie. If like me, you are one of the very few people out there who have somehow missed this film, make sure you put it on your list. Now I have to admit, we did come very close to turning it off after the first 5 minutes because I honestly couldn't stop myself from laughing. BUT, it did get better and once I was used to the old style of film (low budget, bit corny etc!), I did really enjoy this film. It's basically about an escaped mental patient who flipped out when he was a little boy and murdered his sister on Halloween. Now he's back in his home town to stalk Jamie Lee Curtis and try his hand at terrorising teenage girls. Did put me off babysitting though!

SECOND OPINION: Obviously a horror classic. Yet Rach managed to laugh through the first ten minutes, no bother. For those who need a reminder, Michael is a young boy wandering around the house with his kitchen knife. Okay, so maybe that scene hasn't aged well and we've had Peep Show since then, but I still find it chilling. I was glad she got into it after a while, and it goes to show the classics will always be scary, no matter how old they get.

The Strangers, 2008

Liv Tyler and Scott Speedman (who you might recognise from 'Underworld') are supposed to be spending some 'quality time' together at their holiday home. However, things don't get off to a brilliant start and when 3 masked visitors turn up, it just goes from bad to worse. Our Liv does a good job of making you feel scared and there's a really tense moment where she is basically playing hide and seek with these nutters - my heart was pounding! Overall, reasonably scary with good acting but not a very involved plot so don't watch this one if you like a good story!

SECOND OPINION: Well, right up the the very end I was hopeful this film would pull something out the bag. That it would take a turn and go somewhere dark and surprising. It rambles along with, admittedly, a few good scares, but just when it should be cranking it up a notch, it runs dry. It ended up a poor mans Funny Games, and I ended up a fan of neither. It's not as clever or twisted as Funny Games yet it somehow manages to be more pointless. Go figure.

The Midnight Meat Train, 2008

Now who wouldn't want to watch a film with a title like that? We're in New York with an up-and-coming photographer but oh dear, what's going on in the underground? Don't be alarmed that Vinnie Jones is in this film, he has no lines and his haircut is possibly the scariest thing in the whole film. Just one thing that bugged me, the train in question is not actually the midnight train but more like the 1.50am train or something!
Overall quite enjoyable but never going to make it into my top ten. Bonus points for the sheer volume of blood!

SECOND OPINION: As Rach says, the title makes this film a must see. It's up there with Lesbian Vampire Killers. Myself, I've not seen a decent Clive Barker film since the original Hellraiser. That said, I wasn't looking forward to Barker's Hellraiser remake...until I saw this film. Finally, after twenty two years, Clive Barker is being taken seriously again.

It's a small story about a photographer, who is challenged by a gallery owner to take his photography to the next level. Leaving the apartment at midnight he sets off for the subways, in time to snap a gang robbing a young girl. Great emotive photography, but when she disappears the next day, never to be seen again, he looks to his photos for clues. The more he investigates, the closer he gets. But to who and to what?

Half way though the movie certain plot points become clear. The revelations are disappointing, I'll be honest. By the end you'll doubtless feel the journey was more fun than the destination, but having said that, I was glad I'd worked out the direction the film was taking. It made the ending seem more acceptable. At the end of the day, it's a Clive Barker film, so you know what you're getting. Sick puppy violence and completely unbelievable. Damn good for all that.

The Ruins, 2008

OK, now you have to trust me on this one....think Mexico, think beach holiday and think evil in the jungle. I know, it's a bit of a stretch to think that this heady combination could ever be scary but believe you me, it is.
Not only is this very scary, it is also completely gross which gets extra points in my book! If you're as squeemish as I am, you will be REALLY uncomfortable with some of the scenes on the ruins -eeeuuuwww! There's no-one you'd know in the cast but really well done and probably quite a good starting horror for anyone wanting to dip a toe in the water.

SECOND OPINION: I had no idea what this film would be about, which helps. If you'd like to play the game, stop reading now and risk a rent.

The set-up is pure slasher, young college kids get bored of sitting poolside and decide to check out some ancient ruins. Ahh, the guy who suggests they go is setting them up, right? Nope. So there's a monster in the ruins? Wrong. So it's the locals stopping them from leaving the ruins then? Think again. This film does nothing you expect it to and, as a result, churns out some really inventive horror pieces. Watch carefully people, the detail and really creepy goings on happen almost out of sight in a 'did I just see what I thought I saw' kind of way. You did, and you'll see a lot more before the night is through!

The Eye, 2008

Remake of the Chinese originial 'Gin gwai' made in 2002. Matt's not normally a big fan of remakes but in this case, we made an exception.

I am a firm believer in picking films out purely on their name -'The Midnight Meat Train' is a fine example. But I have to admit, this title didn't really grab me! So, this film was chosen for our Friday Horror simply because the plot sounded OK and it passed Matt's vetting process!

In a nutshell, Jessica Alba is blind but gets some brand new eyes put in. Unfortunately for her, these aren't just any old eyes, they are evil eyes! or are they?

SECOND OPINION: As Rachel says, we tend to avoid US remakes like a plague of marauding zombies. That said, if it gets favourable reviews we'll give it a shot. So what does The Eye have to offer us? Essentially, it's a ghost story. Alba gets the eye operation she's been waiting for, then (just like poor old Jeff Fahey in Body Parts, 1991) it all starts going wrong. By the end of the film it feels more Final Destination than Sixth Sense, but there are enough genuinely chilling moments to keep you on the sofa...or behind it if you're new to Friday Night Horror! In fact, if you're new to the genre, it's a great place to start. Settle yourself in gently, it's going to get bumpy when we reach Hostel and The Hills Have Eyes.