Title: April Fool's Day
Movie Count:  10
TV Ep. Count:  3
Other Count:  2
Time Started:  11:45am

Plot:
Each April Fool’s Day, fabulously wealthy young Desiree Cartier hosts the most killer coming-out parties at her to-die-for Southern mansion, and this social event is never complete without one of her patented pranks. But when this year’s joke turns deadly, Desiree, her brother Blaine, and five of their friends all become the targets of a twisted killer who begins hunting them down one by one in this chilling tale of seduction, betrayal and revenge.

My Thoughts:
This is the 2008 remake of the 1986 cult classic. After getting this remake very cheap ($3.00 @ Big Lots) I heard that this movie is pretty much universally hated. So needless to say I went into this one with very low expectations. Even with that... I was not very impressed with this movie. This movie don't even start to get interesting until about half way through the movie... and then it is far from great. Well even though this is no more then an average movie (maybe even less then average) I can't get upset about it since it was only $3... a basic price of a rental.

My Rating: 2.5/5

What they Say:

Based on the chilling Richard Matheson science fiction classic 'I am a Legend', and later remade as 'The Omega Man' starring Charlton Heston, this classic features Vincent Price as scientist Robert Morgan in a post apocalyptic nightmare world. The world has been consumed by a ravenous plague that has transformed humanity into a race of bloodthirsty vampires. Only Morgan proves immune, and becomes the solitary vampire slayer.

What I Say:

In flipping though this pack I saw this and since I recently watched 'I Am Legend' with Wil Smith I decided to watch this.  I did not expect much in the way of Audio and video like most of the movies in the pack.  I got what I expected in the way of the video and audio - Scratches, nicks, hiss/pop and the video is a crop from a 1:1.33 version so even on a 4:3 display there is a border on all 4 sides and many titles and credits that go full screen are chopped off on both sides.  For most of the film there is a solid scratch line down the left side.  But even with all of that I found myself feeling very nostalgic of when I was very young and would see files like this in the drive in or on the Saturday afternoon creature feature on an old B&W TV. 

I was surprised since in many ways as I watched this I actually found I enjoyed it as much, if not more, then the current version of 'I Am Legend'.  While the new version was far better looking and the stories were the same in many places, they way this version all came together just seem to click for me.  Vincent Price really gave me the feeling of watching a man on the edge of sanity trying to hold it together.  I also think in some ways the bad print actually helped with the feeling of civilization in run.  About the only thing that bugged me was while they kept calling the undead Vampires they really were zombies.  In the end though this gets an old school thumbs up from me!

1. Zombie Hunter Rika: Unrated Limited Edition 
2. Pathology  
3. Joyride
4. The Last Man on Earth

Title: Dead Birds
Movie Count:  11
TV Ep. Count:  3
Other Count:  2
Time Started:  4:30pm

Plot:
When a group of criminals on the run after a bank robbery take refuge in an abandoned house they have no idea what evil they have come upon. Isolated and presumed deserted, the house is anything but safe...

As the night wears on and a thunderstorm grows outside, each member of the group begins to have visions of the atrocities that occurred within the house, haunting it forever. Voices in the well, visions of mangled bodies and clawing under the stairs plague their waking hours. As the fear in the group begins to grow and the supernatural forces in the house start to manifest themselves, they begin to turn on each other and exact the wrath of the souls trapped within the walls.

My Thoughts:
I bought Dead Birds for last year's Halloween marathon. I haven't watched it since... but I remembered I enjoyed it the first time around. So I was eager to give it another go. This one I liked a lot! I felt it was very well done... it had a good atmosphere... a few good jump scenes... and a bit of gore all mixed together. And it worked well for it.  I will definitely be willing to recommend this one to friends and family.

My Rating: 4.5/5

Well if you do get it I hope you enjoy it as much as I did... it seems I may be in the minority. I told a friend about it earlier today... she said she didn't care for it when she saw it. And she said I am one of the few that she knows actually liked it. 

Quoting Addicted2DVD:

Quote:

Title: Dead Birds
Movie Count:  11
TV Ep. Count:  3
Other Count:  2
Time Started:  4:30pm

Plot:
When a group of criminals on the run after a bank robbery take refuge in an abandoned house they have no idea what evil they have come upon. Isolated and presumed deserted, the house is anything but safe...

As the night wears on and a thunderstorm grows outside, each member of the group begins to have visions of the atrocities that occurred within the house, haunting it forever. Voices in the well, visions of mangled bodies and clawing under the stairs plague their waking hours. As the fear in the group begins to grow and the supernatural forces in the house start to manifest themselves, they begin to turn on each other and exact the wrath of the souls trapped within the walls.

My Thoughts:
I bought Dead Birds for last year's Halloween marathon. I haven't watched it since... but I remembered I enjoyed it the first time around. So I was eager to give it another go. This one I liked a lot! I felt it was very well done... it had a good atmosphere... a few good jump scenes... and a bit of gore all mixed together. And it worked well for it.  I will definitely be willing to recommend this one to friends and family.

My Rating: 4.5/5

I was a bit disappointed with this film. I read some really good reviews and I liked the premise; but I felt it was a bit of a missed opportunity. While there was some great atmospheric build-up, I thought the writers tried too hard to be clever and, instead, ended up making the film too confusing.

Nonetheless, it was good enough for me to keep....thinking that maybe on second viewing it will be better.

Pete....have you got 'Wind Chill'? If not, I recommend you watch it as it's a much better ghost story IMO.

Quoting Pantheon:

Quote:
Quoting Addicted2DVD:

Quote:

Title: Dead Birds
Movie Count:  11
TV Ep. Count:  3
Other Count:  2
Time Started:  4:30pm

Plot:
When a group of criminals on the run after a bank robbery take refuge in an abandoned house they have no idea what evil they have come upon. Isolated and presumed deserted, the house is anything but safe...

As the night wears on and a thunderstorm grows outside, each member of the group begins to have visions of the atrocities that occurred within the house, haunting it forever. Voices in the well, visions of mangled bodies and clawing under the stairs plague their waking hours. As the fear in the group begins to grow and the supernatural forces in the house start to manifest themselves, they begin to turn on each other and exact the wrath of the souls trapped within the walls.

My Thoughts:
I bought Dead Birds for last year's Halloween marathon. I haven't watched it since... but I remembered I enjoyed it the first time around. So I was eager to give it another go. This one I liked a lot! I felt it was very well done... it had a good atmosphere... a few good jump scenes... and a bit of gore all mixed together. And it worked well for it.  I will definitely be willing to recommend this one to friends and family.

My Rating: 4.5/5

I was a bit disappointed with this film. I read some really good reviews and I liked the premise; but I felt it was a bit of a missed opportunity. While there was some great atmospheric build-up, I thought the writers tried too hard to be clever and, instead, ended up making the film too confusing.

Nonetheless, it was good enough for me to keep....thinking that maybe on second viewing it will be better.

Pete....have you got 'Wind Chill'? If not, I recommend you watch it as it's a much better ghost story IMO.

I found Wind Chill to be extremely dull tbh.

What They Say:
Nearly a decade after two young girls are brutally murdered, the monstrous killer, Jonah, escapes from a mental institution and returns to his familiar killing ground, the theme park attraction "Dark Ride." His unfortunate victims this time are a group of college kids on a road trip that inevitably leads them to the Dark Ride where their night of youthful fun becomes a nightmare. The killer, who is mimicking the sets within the attraction, makes sure this is a "ride" audiences will never forget.

What I say:
Previously all the films in the "AfterDark Horror Fest: 8 Films to Die" series that I had seen were pretty good.  Well, I guess that could not last.  The best I can describe this file is a really bad B movie script with very good sets, video, audio and production.  As for the characters, not long into the film I was getting the "I hope he kills them all brutally" point.  The plot was for the most part followed your basic "Hi, we're dumb collage kids" formula.  How dumb were they?  Well, somehow they don't seem to recall they have cell phones until almost the end and then send text messages to the one who escaped who then comes back to help.  HELLO, 911.... Ever heard of it?  I think that was the point even my suspension of belief could take no more.  The shocking, I think it was supposed to be shocking, revelation at the end was apparent about 1/2 the way into the film.

While the visuals and Audio were good the bad story and the fact this was touted from the series of best horror files of the year pretty much earned a thumbs down from here.


Movies Watched:

1. Zombie Hunter Rika: Unrated Limited Edition 
2. Pathology  
3. Joyride
4. The Last Man on Earth
5. 30 Days of Night
6. Dark Ride: After Dark Horrorfest 

I hope you are making sure to profile (or audit the profiles of) each of these!




Oh, and don't forget to make screen captures for the headshot files of all the characters!!!!