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...