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!