It Chapter Two

Twenty-seven years after their first encounter with the terrifying Pennywise, the Losers Club have grown up and moved away, until a devastating phone call brings them back.

It Chapter Two is a lengthy horror sequel clocking almost in at 3 hours, similar to the original IT TV adaptation, and this now focuses mostly on the adult side of that story.

Including James McAvoy, they were cast pretty well, and one of my favorite scenes was the Chinese dinner restaurant were the humor worked pretty well. Of course Pennywise itself returns, and it brings along way more jump scares than last time, and some of them were effective, some of them weren’t.

There was even a spider mutation scene that directly references the one from The Thing(1982)! Although it’s not as overall qualified as Chapter One, it’s still better than most horror movies out there.

Stephen King also makes a cameo at his old age, a trope he has done in previous horror films. The story is about reunion, gathering artifacts from the past(with jump scares) and then performing a ritual to defeat the clown.

It Chapter Two is a long movie, sometimes even making the first one obsolete story wise, but it’s also better than most on the current market.

 Rating: 7.0

Doom

 

One of the classic first person shooters from the early 90's, and perhaps next to Wolfenstein 3D, the most innovative from that decade, Doom is a demonic shooting game where you play as a space marine that goes on a killing spree through numerous amounts of demons.

Developed by id Software headed by John Romero, the gameplay would consist of moving through various levels with enemy waves, before you would eventually find the exit and press the button to go to the next level.

Hidden secrets would give you access to new areas and extra supplemental ammunition in order to make your progress easier. Doom is most of all iconic because of it's fast paced action, and the fact that it's satisfying to kill such large numbers.

Doom II: Hell on Earth is the sequel where the demonic and space settings will eventually bring you towards the surface on planet Earth, where demons will have gathered in large numbers thanks to hell gates letting them get there.

This is the Doom game I have played the most as a kid/teenager in the past, sometimes I believe, I even played local multiplayer with an old friend of mine. I remember that there is a difficulty called Nightmare mode where the death demons would eventually just revive through mere seconds, which is truly nightmarish !

Some of the creatures featured were fun to kill, and the bosses such as the spider overlord, the cyber demon and the final boss which is revealed to be John Romero's head on a spike manipulating it, are memorable too.

The first 3D entry, Doom 3 acts like a prequel of some sorts, as you now play as a space marine that has arrived at a scientific station on the planet Mars, where soon after, hell is released upon it, and the surface is overrun by demonic creatures.

It it also the first entry that can be considered scary, as it uses horror tropes in order to make you fear it's dark level design and the creepy things that are happening between the levels which are linear in nature.

Although not as classic as Doom 1 or 2, I still liked beating Doom 3 back in 2004, and then ten years later when a HD remastered edition of some sorts was released. It also has an expansion pack called Resurrection of Evil.

Old school Doom is back in modern times!

More of a remake rather than Doom 4, it’s a first person shooter with limited health, over 8 guns, numerous demons and handy powerups to use! Set in the familiar sci-fi/demon hybrid setting, the story is always, simple and to the point, kill them all while attempting to seal off the Hell gate(s).

Doom is a mindless yet entertaining FPS, and it’s at it best when it gets too intense. Also similar to the modern Wolfensteins, it features secret classic levels, and it has a handful of fun easter eggs to discover.

While setting up a sequel, it was great to have a reunion with all of these familiar demons and of course the gameplay itself, reminiscent of Doom 1 and 2!

The sequel towards this reboot, called Doom Eternal, has been delayed to March 2020. Once it has released though, I will continue like many others, to blast those demonic creatures into oblivion once more!

Making a Murderer

 

This mini-series documenting a total of 3 cases all connected towards each other is a shocking insight into how corruption and manipulation were able to sentence 2 persons to life in prison, of which Steven Avery was sentenced unjustly to prison for 18 years previously.

Some of the most profoundly baffling moments of questionable investigation methods and alleged conclusive evidence pieces include Avery’s blood and DNA being on magical places, Lenk and Colborn being excused to participate without conflict in Avery’s next case several times, magically finding a key and a bullet hole after their marks, making Brendan confess from his supposed allies, Colborn reporting after months or even 8 years later during critical moments and bones which were moved possibly not only twice but thrice.

Making a Murderer might be a documentary which filmed very large portions of the process of the cases, and it might also be made not only to bring out the truth but to sell it too, but I was like many others engaged with the trial progressions and the investigations.

Based on this, I was convinced through this perspective that Steven Avery is innocent, but a quick search on the internet shows that not all crucial facts were shared inside this documentary. Nonetheless, Making a Murder was definitely an interesting ride about the judicial system and their participants in a terrible(figuratively) case for several reasons.

S2:

I honestly thought that there was nothing more to be told after season 1, but I was so dead wrong. Steven Avery continues to be in prison for a second unbelievable homicide and Brendan Dassey is used as an accomplice or a pawn of sorts to strengthen the prosecutor’s side.

When veteran lawyer Kathleen Zellner takes on Steven’s case, as she has exonerated 17 others before in her career, season 2 goes through great details of investigation, reconstruction and forensic evidence in order to show us how much is wrong about the case that set Steven to life in imprisonment again.

The other plot is about Brendan’s new lawyer team trying to win the fight against the hierarchy of the judicial courts that time after time, eventually denies or overrules his case. Making a Murderer Season 2 does not have a turnabout or a real twist for both gentlemen, but extensive searching and the empowering fight for them makes it worthwhile to keep watching.

Overall rating: 8.0

Terrordrome: Rise of the Boogeymen

A fan-game based on the most popular horror movie icons from the 70's, the 80's and the 90's, Terrordrome: Rise of the Boogeymen is an arcade based fighter.

With online multiplayer available, it plays and feels like Mortal Kombat, with special moves, throws, blocks, running, jumping and even an evade button intact.  There is a versus and a story mode, which lets you fight all of the characters, while presenting a small plot during the beginning and the ending.

Pretty much all of the iconic horror figures are featured, including Jason Voorhees, Freddy Krueger, Leatherface, Chucky and my favorite of the bunch, Pinhead. I was surprised to see some others such as Ash also make an appearance.

It's your average and standard 2D fighter, and in just about an hour, I lost the interest. But if you are a fan of these villains representing their franchises, Terrordome is a fun little time to try out, and then be on your way.

Rating: 6.0

Remothered: Tormented Fathers

A survival horror game influenced and inspired by many before it.

Developed by Italians, Remothered: Tormented Fathers lets you play as a female doctor who is investigating the disappearance of the daughter of the Felon family living in a rather large mansion somewhere in Italy.

Most notably seen as a spiritual successor towards the video game horror series Clock Tower and the original successor Haunting Ground, the gameplay involves investigating the large estate and it's secrets, hiding from the monsters occupying it, and escaping the nightmare.

To do so, the playable character can pick up defensive and diversion items, and she can hide under banks and inside closets to make the danger go away. She will also be able to pick up key items in order to solve simple puzzles to get further.

Atmospherically, this game is all good. As far animation goes, it's not bad, nor really good either. The story is inviting and is a standard overall trope to be found in horror media, with a plot twist here and there thrown in.

Remothered: Tormented Fathers is a decent and creepy horror game to experience if you are craving true survival horror. It will however be over before you know it, despite having different endings, but other than that, it's recommendable during this season.

Rating: 6.7

The Grandmother

A young boy gets neglected and abused by his parents. He then plants some strange seeds and they grow into a grandmother, as some kind of compensation.

Maybe one of the last pictures I still really wanted to see from David Lynch, The Grandmother is one of his earliest shorts, and delivers with it’s weirdness and creepiness even today. Like most of his works, it can be interpreted in different ways as to what is happening.

It also reminds me of the days when I would watch some of the strangest flicks out there, and it just might re-ignite my interest into them, as it sometimes feels that I have seen the majority over them by now, having watched over 4.500 movies so far.

The Grandmother's soundtrack and it's strange, dark mood are effective and will draw you into it's abstract world of otherworldly features easily. It's like experiencing and eventually waking up from a nightmare, and you wonder what the hell just happened.

The esoteric semiotic imagery and the surrealism inspire imagination.

Rating: 6.5

Five Nights at Freddy's: Sister Location

 

This is pretty much the last entry I will be reviewing for this series.

Five Nights at Freddy's: Sister Location is part wise a prequel and like the previously one, it also plays different, as the camera system and surviving in general are tossed out, and you are required to overcome different kinds of ordeals.

A narration plays out between different characters while you are progressing, including Phone Guy, Purple Guy, and the creator of the animatronics. Circus Baby will most of all guide you and the direction of the story.

While moving through different rooms, your playable character Mike is required to achieve several objectives, while also trying to avoid Funtime Foxy and others. If you fail, you will witness a jump scare.

Each night brings new stuff to overcome, which can be amplified with a controlled shock.(a running joke/meme of the game). It's good that there is variety, but because of that, the mechanics change constantly, which is good for tension, but bad for lasting appeal.

Five Nights at Freddy's: Sister Location is for me where I will stop, because I want off this ride of cheap scares, cheap gameplay and cheap quality.

I will at least admire the original game for what it accomplished, but this overall franchise definitely feels like out of control and overly milked, similar to Halloween, Hellraiser and plenty of other horror movie series where each entry dropped the quality further.

Rating: 5.9