REmake 2

This is excellent, Capcom outdid themselves, and my respect and thankfulness for that are vast.

A plan which has been talked about for years, Resident Evil 2 has finally been remade, and the result is an astonishing modern take on a classic sequel which arguably, and in my opinion, is ultimately better.

The old cast returns, with new facial models to give them new, but faithful looks. The scenario's of Leon and Claire are still there as a concept, but it's not really A and B anymore, but more like, you finish the short campaign first, and then you unlock the longer one.

Item management has been remixed and returns partially from Resident Evil 7, and there are new puzzles to discover and figure out. The overall layout of the Raccoon City Police Department is the same, but there are definitely new area's and rooms to discover.

This easily showcases the best of survival horror in years for me because the overall package is of such a high quality, and I cannot remember any nitpicks or annoyances when I beat this on normal and hard mode.

I also cannot pinpoint a favorite scary moment as there are several factors to that. There is the survival aspect of scarcity, the sublime dark atmosphere, the gory zombie effects and perhaps my favorite, the frightening Mr.X chasing you around with intimidation.

I can only imagine considering the vast success of this, how REmake 3 will turn out with Jill and Nemesis returning, considering it would be an easy followup to do, what with the setting being familiar, and the impressive RE Engine rendering everything carefully.

The use of the third person perspective, the light and the shadows balancing out, the smoothness of the gameplay, the classic aspect of having to find certain key items to progress and of course the familiar storyline of the G virus returning, including the many forms of William Birkin, is stunning.

REmake 2 is my game of the year. I knew this already once I beat it back in january. It will fight for the top overall game in the franchise between REmake, RE 4 and RE 7, which all excel in innovative and groundbreaking ways.

Happy Halloween! It's time for a third playthrough!

Rating: 9.2

Joker

 

Smile

The most controversial movie of the year?

Joker is getting plenty of attention nowadays, and with this character driven feature directed by Todd Phillips from The Hangover movies, you would not expect such a change of quality of film making to be happening.

Loosely based on The Killing Joke from 1988, Arthur Fleck is a failed stand-up comedian with disturbing mental health issues, which is worsened as society trashes upon him and makes him feel like being non-existent.

Living with his mother in Gotham City, he attempts to make people feel happy by bringing them joy and laughter, but class-ism, bullying, mental healthcare and the tense political uprisings outside eventually bring out his alter-ego as The Joker.

This slow-burn moving story can be considered as kino, as the premise is relevant to what is happening today in the world in terms of protests, inequality, abstract obstructions, violence and despair.

Joaquin Phoenix brings an incredible performance with an iconic laugh that may or may not be consciously intended, as sometimes it is considered as a medical handicap, and sometimes as part of his clown act. Hildur Guðnadóttir’s score is uplifting, melancholic and sincere.

In the climax however, it doesn't matter, as he embraces his new state of being, presenting himself towards the city through the media in a live talk show in a memorable speech and a finisher that has to be seen to be believed.

Joker is a transcending beautiful wreck of filming, depicting a bleak setting with horrific outcomes, as bloody deaths will occur, but through that, as well as his delusions of fame and love, not to mention feeling betrayed, he at first ascends the stairs, and then spirals them into downfall, with full joy and madness. And the bliss is supreme.

At first, he considered life to be a tragedy. But then, he realized it's all a comedy.

Rating: 8.5

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night

Voyage of Promise

The spiritual successor towards modern Metroidvania's and Castlevania has arrived; Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night.

Kickstarted and produced by former main series man Koji Igarashi, ArtPlay has succesfully transformed the formula towards 2.5D graphics and a distinct art style. Set in the 18th century during the Industrial Revolution, the story begins.

Miriam is a Shardbinder capable of absorbing and using the abilities found by enemies throughout the huge castle to explore, which is similar to Soma in Aria and Dawn of Sorrow. From new projectile attacks, to summoning familiars, to unlocking new movements to get further.

Others joining the cast are the remaining former playable characters from the companion game Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon, which are Alfred the alchemist, Gebel the vampire and Zangetsu the demon hunter.

In similar fashion, there is a bad ending, and a good ending, with the latter unlocking more areas and bosses in between, and eventually the true climax. It's your typical gothic story with demons done right, and each of them alongside the supporting cast brings a personality and style.

If you like Castlevania and Metroidvania games in general, you will feel right at home here. It's an action RPG with equipment, collectibles and platforming to be found. There is also a cooking feature that will let you cook using ingredients, and a craft mode letting you obtain new items.

The bosses are satisfying, and the enemy design in general is commendable. There are also secret rooms to be found, including one which transported me into an 8 bit world, which was a cute surprise.

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is familiar and worthy to play, for newcomers and veterans alike.

Rating: 8.4

Top Ten Horror Scores

This time, I won't talk much. I will simply let you listen to my favorite horror scores :)

10.Stranger Things

9.Halloween

8.Deep Red

7.The Omen

6.Eraserhead

5.The Shining

4.Saw

3.Hereditary

2.Suspiria

1.The Thing

Stranger Things 3

 

After a longer break, this spectacular series returned during this summer!

All seems to have returned to normal at Hawkins, Indiana, for the familiar cast, including the teenagers, young adults and grumpy older people, but once Will's back starts itching more and more, and once Eleven starts having strange visions, the stranger things have returned.

A few new characters carry along the ride, including Cary Elwes as Mayor Larry Kline, and Maya Hawke, daughter of two prominent actors, as Robin. My favorite character of the bunch, Dustin, takes somewhat of a backseat, while Jim Hopper's character gets developed in positive ways.

The Mind Flayer from the previous season is extracting revenge by mind controlling, and eventually consuming citizens of the town in blurpy, slimy ways, while the Russians are introduced as the evil Soviets who are trying to open an inter dimensional gate.

As the fictional year is now 1985, of course the 80's references are far and between, directly and more subtle in your face, such as great movies Day of the Dead(1985) and Back to the Future(1985) being featured at the cinema, while I also spotted Mr.T and Ghostbusters cereal meals elsewhere, and so on.

The highlight of this season is the character development of the established characters, while the plot is of course very 80's and fitting, it also plays it rather safe, as I expected a bit more during these 2 years of filming.

Stranger Things 3 will nonetheless satisfy film goers of sci-fi, horror, adventure and all those that feel the nostalgia for the 80's. Despite being born only in 1988, I still feel personally connected towards this decade.

Rating: 7.5

Two T Anthologies

At first, I decided to re-watch only 1 iconic horror anthology, but then I remembered a second one which I just had to see again after all those years! For this Halloween on the 31st, I will also be re-visiting several of my favorite horror movies, which I almost never do.

For now, let me review to you two anthologies starting with a T.

Trick 'r Treat  definitely feels like a Halloween movie, as the overall spirit of it is well represented, as the production values show that.

The best thing about this anthology are of course the tie in's of each little story, and the being known as Sam, who is like a violent guardian of Halloween itself.  He oversees the night happening, and seeks out those that violate the horrific rules.

All of the short stories are enjoyable, although the School Bus Massacre was the weakest one, but you gotta see Trick 'r Treat as a whole, and definitely keep an eye out for those tie in's. In overall, a recommendable horror hit with a large cult following.

Rating: 6.5

3 stories into one TV movie, which were told in a pretty fast paced way. Trilogy of Terror's stories were a little too exaggerating in my opinion, plus it was odd to see a main actor playing so much different characters.

Each story ends with a plot twist. I did not foresee the first plot twist, but I did foresee the second one. And as for the third and most infamous story...the doll simply saved the horror movie from becoming below average material.

You have got to see this precursor to Chucky's terror as a horror fan! Good stuff, it was funny, yet creepy at the same time as well, and at the end when the doll has taken over the woman that is also a nice touch hehe. In overall, definitely go see it only for the final story!

And if you want to see even more Zuni action, in Trilogy of Terror II(1996), the African killer doll returns to provide more genuine creepy scares towards the audience! The endurance this little fellow provides is unbelievable, he really wants to eat up human flesh!

Like the original trilogy, he seems to die very painful once again. And like the original, only the final story matters the most.

Rating: 6.5

The Twilight Zone

And now, the young man Flok will finally venture, trip and dare into a zone so unreal and unusual, he wonders if he will ever find his way out.

Rod Serling’s baby certainly amazed the world by the end of the 50’s and throughout the 60’s with his abnormal TV series, each of them featuring strange tales of supernatural means, usually involving science fiction, horror, psychological thriller and fantasy among other diverse genres, and usually ending with a very effective twist.

I must say that many of the episodes hold up surprisingly well, because the stories continue to be fascinating in their own ways. There are too much episodes to discuss and it is frankly too hard to choose a favorite one, so I won’t start thinking about that.

Almost every episode is worth watching anyway. Personally, as well as looking at others opinions, The Twilight Zone is definitely one of those series you have to see at least once in your lifetime, most likely preferably starting with the original.

How can anyone not be fascinated by some of the best episodes it has to offer in its 5 seasons?

Rating: 8.0