Review: The Walking Dead - "Welcome to the Tombs" (season finale)

By: Heather Seebach 

**Warning: The following contains major spoilers**

Well, as I feared, the show continued its oscillating trend in episode quality with a lackluster finale. In fairness, it's not bad for a regular episode - just a disappointing finale. Last week gave us an onslaught of jaw-dropping zombie kills, great dialogue scenes, and a heart-wrenching goodbye. Yet somehow this season send-off is less emotional and less bloody. Still, it had some solid moments and I cannot complain because I got what I ultimately wanted: a dead Andrea and a still-breathing Governor. 

 "Welcome to the Tombs" opens with the Governor, who is full-on crazy-pants now, beating the shit out of Milton. Now, the commercials showed Gov punching someone and although Andrea made the most sense, I figured they wouldn't have the balls to show him punching a woman in the face. Even the torture was vaguely implied by her being a little bloody and the Governor saying, "Get the tools. I'm not gonna need them anymore." Still, I love the pre-credit sequence because of the Governor. His dialogue with Milton was great, especially the bit about how it's okay to enjoy killing because it means you're alive and you've won. Also, when asked what Penny would think of what he has become, Philip replies, "She'd be afraid of me...but if I'd been like this from the start, she'd be alive today." Not so different from Rick, eh? 

When the Governor orders Milton to kill Andrea, and the scientist refuses, what Gov does is devilishly clever - he stabs Milton so he'll turn and HAVE to kill Andrea. "I said you were gonna kill her. And now you're gonna die, and you're gonna turn, and you're gonna tear the flesh from her bones. In this life now, you either kill or you die, or you die and you kill." So evil! Poor Smithers. 

I loved the entire concept of Milton slowly turning and coaching Andrea to escape before he does. I thought for a moment that zombie Milton might even hesitate to attack her, since he was always so convinced the walkers had some of their former selves in them, but ultimately I'm glad that didn't happen. It would have been way too corny. 

The other thing I liked about this episode was Carl. Watching him kill that Woodbury guy in cold(ish) blood was pretty surprising. Better yet was the later conversation with his father, where Rick totally gets served. He reminds his dad that letting Andrew live got Lori killed, and how he failed to kill the Governor when he had a chance. The little guy has a point - Rick did the same thing with Tomas because he was a potential threat. Like father, like son. Plus, I guarantee that Woodbury dude in the woods was gonna go for Carl's gun. When the boy says drop your weapon you DROP your weapon, not reach toward him, k? 

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Evil Dead worlds to collide in 7th film?!

This weekend Evil Dead director Fede Alvarez visited WonderCon and announced that his entry in the franchise will ultimately cross over with Sam Raimi's planned sequel Army of Darkness 2 in a seventh Evil Dead film. This is more evidence to support my argument that Alvarez's entry is more sequel than remake. The timeline is deliberately vague, and it's not exactly the first Evil Dead film to blur the line between remake and sequel. 

Personally, I am very excited about this. I am a bit confused, however, as different sources are posting conflicting reports from the panel. According to Bloody-Disgusting, the seventh film would mark the fourth entry in BOTH franchises, meaning Army of Darkness 2 (prior to the cross-over) won't happen. Meanwhile, ShockTillYouDrop reports that both Alvarez and Raimi will have one more sequel to their respective films before the cross-over. So which is it, dammit?! I really hope we don't have to wait until film #7 to see another Raimi Evil Dead (if he even directs it). 

According to the panel reports, Bruce Campbell seems to be more on-board with a Raimi sequel these days. 

"I think seven is a nice number," Campbell grinned. [source] 

This is promising, but as ever, I am cautiously optimistic. This is certainly not the first time Sam Raimi has said he was writing a sequel with his brother, Ivan. But if Alvarez's Evil Dead does well at the box office, the likelihood will be better than ever. So horror fans, do your civic duty and go see the "remake." My full spoiler-free review is here. What do you think about the news? Does the prospect of this new film being a sequel and having a future with Raimi's universe make you more interested in seeing it this Friday?

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Top 20 Gore Scenes from 'The Walking Dead'

By: Heather Seebach

No matter how AMC's The Walking Dead may falter in its writing, there is one thing I can always count on - awesome gore FX courtesy of KNB and Stargate Studios. Granted, I am partial to the former's practical approach to zombies, blood, and guts, but some of the show's most ambitious gore scenes would not be possible without the latter's digital FX.

I am thankful that such a bold, brutal show makes it to airwaves every week and has become extremely popular. If I can tune in and watch decapitations, amputations, exploding bodies, etc., I am a happy camper. The following is a list of 20 gore scenes I loved based on brutality, FX quality, and sheer entertainment value. Know that this was very hard to narrow down and there are tons more. Please share your favorites with me in the comments! Now without further adieu:

20. Michonne aka Lord of the Dance

My least favorite of all the boot-stomps thanks to a zombie head that is just too rubbery (cutting the shot before she lifts her foot would've helped it), but the brains popping out like a jelly donut is just irresistible.

19. Karma is a bitch. A rotten gut-filled bitch.

 One of the few representations of zombie guts on this list. This show sure does love brains. Michonne's "ew" face is perfection.

18. Take this job and shovel it!

This zombie is a bit rubbery too but this scene is splattery and the shovel bisection reminds me of a scene in Re-Animator.
 

 

17. Every survivor owes Rick 100 walker scalps. And he wants his scalps! 

 Okay, they do this skull-capping a lot, especially in the third season. But let's face it, it's awesome 

every single time. 

 

16. Eric the Half-a-Zombie 

 I'm a practical FX snob and I would prefer some more spilling guts but I can't deny this is still awesome (and that CGI is pretty damn good). 

(PS, if that Eric pun went over your head, listen to more Monty Python) 

15. Merle is not one for saving face.

A refreshing new take on the head-slicing move featured above. Thank you for keeping it interesting, Merle!

14. The gang goes all Office Space on the walkers.

 Shane must have forgotten the cover sheet on his TPS report. Die, motherfuckers, die motherfuckers, die! What can I say - I never tire of exploding zombie heads.

13. K.F.Z. 

Do you prefer original or extra crispy? 

12. Walkers give good head. 

 Michonne is such a badass she can take off a zombie's head with ONE ARM! My arm gets tired just watching this.

11. Hellooooo nurse! 

I know she isn't as exciting as a zombie kill, but the hospital girl is a ghastly reminder of how freaking awesome KNB FX is. This piece reminds me of their work on Piranha 3-D. It also tells me that the walkers either left in a hurry or are incredible wasteful. Look at all those guts! Imagine what she must have looked like once she 'came back.' Oh boy.

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Review: Bates Motel - "Nice Town You Picked, Norma"

 By: Jay Kennedy 

 Alright, let’s kick this off with some choice curse words because episode two was definitely not episode one. You get the impression that the show doesn’t really know what it wants to do, except lord over the simple fact that Norman Bates will become a raving psychopath. 

 SPOILERS START HERE 

So let’s start off with the good things about this episode. Dylan. Dylan is Norman’s older brother and the bane of Norma’s existence. Why? Because Dylan asks questions about the cops sniffing around. He taunts Norma with images of her baby boy making out with girls - oh no! And he really would love to know happened to dear ol’ Dad. Frankly, so would we all. 

So thumbs up to Dylan, who adds some much needed doubt to our chummy protagonists' ability to conceal their dark secrets. Not to mention, he and Norman get into fisticuffs and we see a real dark side to the teenager. Specifically in the form of a meat pounder swinging towards Dylan’s head after his older brother called Ma a bore with a capital W. So we like Dylan! He spices up the show, beats up his brother, and gives us an idea that this sleepy town isn’t all hugs and puppies - and this episode needed some of that. 

 
The other great thing in this episode is that Sheriff Romero isn’t giving up on pressing Norma for answers on a man that has since disappeared from Episode 1. And rightfully so - Norma and Norman, in an act of self-defense, went hack-happy with a kitchen knife and dropped his body in the lake. But man is she a terrible liar! This is not the actress or the writing by the way. It’s pretty clear the people making Bates Motel want her to be a bad liar, perhaps to grow the character or simply make the show’s audience cringe through each falsehood she tells. Either way, I thought this was a quality part of the episode. I may have even reacted with a “No, Norma! Do better!” at my little television screen. 

Then the things that are out of place or are just left unresolved (and hopefully these things will become clear to their necessity in future episodes): 

 We see a man burned alive within the first minute-and-a-half of the episode, but then, that storyline just kind of fades into the background. You’ll find out from a strange coffee date between Norma and Deputy Shelby that people in this town have an “eye for an eye” mentality that plays out in such a weird way. In the final frame - and I really don’t feel bad telling you this because it best examplifies the town instead of any lingering plot devices - there’s a man hanging upside down burning in the village square with Deputy Shelby directing traffic around it. Oh, no one wants to maybe pull the body down out of sight, or ya know, put the flames out? The best course of action is to just keep on moving, people. 

So we get the idea that whatever happened to Norman’s pal’s father - turns out that’s the guy who went all crispy in that first two minutes - was someone getting their vengeance on by hanging this guy up and lighting a match. Sure, why not? The other part this opens up is Dylan meeting a dude in the town strip club (does every single small town have a strip club?) attached to the dealings McCrispy was a part of. This lands Dylan a job in their outfit - and all we know about the gig for sure is you need to carry a gun. 

The last piece - and I’ll try to keep this short because I know I’m dragging on here - is the strange love story between Emma - a girl with Cystic Fibrosis - and Normie. While working on some homework, Emma stumbles onto a notebook that Norman found in one of the motel rooms. It’s a perverted little torture sketch book that Emma asks to borrow, thinking it’s manga. She translates the book and finds out it’s a story about some immigrants who weren’t treated very nicely. 

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Guest Review: Bates Motel - "First You Dream, Then You Die"

By: Jay Kennedy


Last Monday, the first episode of A&E’s new show Bates Motel aired.  Sound familiar?  It ought to if you’re on this website! The show’s whole premise is taken from the book and legendary Hitchcock film, Psycho.  The story picks up with a very young Norman Bates (he’s not a Psycho yet) waking up to a startling scene. 


ENTER SPOILERS HERE.  Ye be warned.


Father Bates has keeled over, presumably from a heart attack, and Norman calls for his dear ol’ mother to come help. Turns out the old man is dead and it’s time to start over in a new town. And you guessed it, Normie’s Ma buys an old motel on the side of the freeway.


Now up to this point, if you’ve ever seen the show Smallville - that’s the one about Superman before he was Superman - you’re feeling something quite familiar.  You realize although you know where this is going to lead you - ultimately to that shower scene off in the distance future - you’re really interested in knowing what the hell happened to this family to get them from A to B!


Norman Bates is played by Freddie Highmore, a fantastic young actor from films like August Rush, The Art of Getting By and hey, look at that! He was Charlie from the Johnny Depp Wonka movie! But we’ll look past that role because you feel for Norman in this story!  Vera Farmiga, who you’ll remember from Orphan, Running Scared or the Clooney flick Up In The Air, plays Norma Bates and she’s incredible as the single, overprotective, and a little too tightly-wound mother figure in Norman’s life.



 The story goes on and we meet some people in Norman’s school that are welcoming him like nobody’s business. If you thought he was traumatized by classmates, guess again! They love Norman! Well, the ladies do anyway. However, his Mom is getting a little too much attention too from a filthy drunk whose land the Bates just purchased after it went to the bank for foreclosure.  And he aims to get it back, yo!

The tension is available in this first episode and rockets through a terrifying rape scene, which we can only assume is a first of many murders in this show. And we even get to meet the town lawman, which brings in an edge-of-your-seat panic scene where you’re holding your breath.

As for a bloody mess, even though it’s a network tv series, we do get to see a lot of red slopped all over the house and the motel.  And there’s no doubt in my mind Bates Motel is going to be a gruesome series. 


  
The final scene in the first episode of Bates Motel is something I’m not giving away, but it made damn sure that I’d come back for the second! Let’s just say it had very strong, scary overtones and gave a cryptic, disturbing idea of things to come at the Bates Motel.  If you’re a fan of all things creepy (and I can only think that you are), you’re going to want to dim the lights and start enjoying what I did with the first episode of Bates Motel!

 
Bates Motel airs Monday nights at 10/9c on A&E

**all images courtesy of aetv.com**

 - - -  
 
Jay Kennedy is the author of WUT UP MOVIES (http://www.wutupmovies.com) and is a lover of all things film!  Basically he’s just another fan like you!  Along with writing reviews he loves to rhyme off Top 10 lists and his favorite slasher flick is still Halloween!

You can follow Jay on Google+ (http://bit.ly/14kn93R)

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Trailer: 'World War Z'

By: Heather Seebach

Well, the latest trailer for World War Z, the film adaptation of Max Brooks' wildly successful book of the same name, looks less like garbage than the first trailer but that does not say much. It appears the marketing folks are now trying to hide the fact that this is a zombie film, perhaps hoping to lure in zombie-fatigued action movie fans? I actually have no idea why they would want to hide that fact given the immense popularity of The Walking Dead right now, unless they just want to hide how awful the CG people/zombies look.

 Take a look at the new trailer and decide for yourself:

World War Z opens June 21st. 

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Review: The Walking Dead - "This Sorrowful Life"

 Warning: The following contains SPOILERS!

 By: Heather Seebach

This penultimate season 3 episode brought us the powerhouse collaboration of writer Scott M. Gimple and FX-god-turned-director Greg Nicotero. It features a lot of the Dixon brothers and a bunch of awesome zombie kills. There are also many talking scenes but they are poignant and well-balanced with the action and gore. 

The episode opens with Rick, Hershel, and Daryl discussing the plan to hand over Michonne to the Governor. When Rick fills Merle in on the plan, we get the first of the good conversation scenes. Well, it's moreso Merle giving a monologue and Rick eye-fucking him, but it's good stuff. 

The next one occurs shortly thereafter between Carol and Merle, where she asks if he is really with them. I like when Carol says she wasn't scared of her own shadow but her husband's, much like Merle clearly lived in the shadow of the Governor though he'd never admit it. And Carol saying perhaps he too is a "late bloomer" clearly foreshadows Merle's sacrifice at the end of the episode. 

Meanwhile, Rick goes looking for wire with which to tie up Michonne and sees Lori again. Only this time she is not wearing the ghostly white gown. She is wearing her old flannel and appears to be pregnant!? Nicotero said on The Talking Dead that this is how she looked when she once told Rick he is no killer, and seeing her like this is what changes his mind about Michonne. Funny enough, hallucination Lori wasn't the only one who changed clothes this episode - I noticed Hershel and Michonne had new outfits, as well. 

 
When Merle decides Rick doesn't have the stomach to hand over Michonne, he takes matters into his own hands. I really love these two outsiders' scenes together, and her telling him he is not a truly evil man because what he has done burdens him. Also, their conversation in the car directly parallel's Merle's earlier conversation with his brother. He told Daryl he has no balls and follows Rick's commands, but Michonne accuses Merle of doing the very same with the Governor. No doubt this is what changes his mind when he decides to let her go and kill the Governor instead.

How great were all zombies and gore this week? From the prison hallway to the motel parking lot to the mill, "This Sorrowful Life" is packed with great-looking walkers! MVP's include the one with his torso all torn up who comes at Merle and the awesome cameo by Dawn of the Dead's plaid shirt zombie!

On The Walking Dead

The original plaid shirt zombie

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Review: 'Come Out and Play'

 By: Heather Seebach

With each new remake of a classic, horror fans die a little inside. It's a silly hipster reaction, since not all remakes are treated equal. To use music as an analogy: if Taylor Swift covers a Tom Waits song, it's blasphemy; but if Jack White does it, it's brilliant. The point is that anything put in the right hands can be molded into something as good if not better than the original. Unfortunately, Come Out and Play joins the long list of underwhelming horror remakes.

According to director Makinov (yes, that's his name), Come Out and Play is actually not a remake but an unrelated adaptation of the novel by Juan José Plans. Both the novel and its 1976 adaptation, Who Can Kill A Child? are about a couple vacationing on a remote island who discover it is populated entirely by evil children. The locale in this version has moved from Spain to Mexico, and the main couple not English but presumably American. Aside from that, there are no surprises if you have seen the first film adaptation. 

Come Out and Play looks nice, but it is unclear how much of that is due to competent cinematography versus the beautiful island location. Despite being a half-hour shorter than its 70s counterpart, this one seems to drag. There is no character development whatsoever to make the viewer care what happens to these people. The lead actors are wooden to the point of being laughable, and poor dialogue does not help. Worst yet, the film's most famous and intense moments are ruined by melodramatic acting and lazy editing. 

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Review: The Walking Dead - "Prey"

Warning: The following contains SPOILERS!

By: Heather Seebach

The Walking Dead continues to predictably alternate between intense and dull with each episode. This week's "Prey" lands on the former side with a tense story entirely about the Governor and Andrea. While Woodbury is preparing for war, Milton warns Andrea about the Governor's plan for the prison survivors, specifically Michonne. When they find the Governor's torture chamber, Andrea knows she has to kill him. But first, she skips town to go warn Rick & co., with the Governor on her heels.

The episode opens with a flashback of Andrea and Michonne in the woods, before the Governor found them. I thought this scene would deepen the two ladies' relationship for the audience, but instead it seemed to serve one purpose - inform us that Michonne's pets were not good people. In the comic books, one was her boyfriend and the other his friend. So I wondered if this ex-boyfriend/current-pet used to beat her, which could foreshadow some future abuse/torture in her story. However, the episode's final shot kinda soured that theory for me, but who knows.

My other theory is that it's simply a parallel for Andrea's poor choice of abusive boyfriend. The shot that follows the pet's chain back to the Govenor's own chains (where Andrea ends up later) certainly supports that. 

Next we see the Governor preparing his torture room. As a comic book fan, this scene gave me a bit of a nerd-boner. 

While obviously the book ventures into all-out sick territory, I think these moments on the show are enough to ascertain what the Governor is capable of. His orgasmic reaction to the chains (above) and the shots of his torture tools create a strong sense of unease that should please comic fans in lieu of an actual rape/torture sequence which many consider a) unnecessary, and b) too far for this AMC show.

According to The Talking Dead, the Governor's torture instruments included a bone saw, knives, needles, scalpels, and a few especially disturbing tools used to keep a person awake/alive: hemostats (arterial clamps), force-feed tube, catheter, pills, and gas. I love the ominous shot of the suture thread - multiple uses, all fucked-up.

Then there was this frightening thing:

Possibly a laryngoscope-type instrument used to intubate for anesthesia (can you tell I used to assist surgeries?)...or perhaps just an ice cream scooper! In all likelihood, it is what I fear most - a vaginal speculum. Guh. Perhaps the comic book version of the Governor is in there afterall. Of course, this is all just SPECULation ;)

After seeing the rape cave, Andrea attempts to shoot the Governor, but Smithers, er, Milton stops her. Her follow-up solution is to say fuck it and leave town, so she does. Fortunately, Tyreese begins to see through the Governor's bullshit and refuses to help "feed people to biters." Sooner or later, he is going to end up on Rick's side, which I am eager to finally see. 

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Review: 'My Amityville Horror'

By: Heather Seebach

The Amityville House has been a source of controversy for nearly 40 years. Whether the haunting was a hoax or not, the property at 112 Ocean Avenue inspired a best-selling book, a dozen films, and countless nightmares. The latest film on the subject is My Amityville Horror, a documentary that details Daniel Lutz's firsthand account of what happened to his family in that infamous house.

The horror in Amityville began in 1974 when the DeFeo family murders shocked the small Long Island community. A year later, the Lutz family moved into the house where the mass killings occurred. Daniel was just 10 years old at the time. The family fled the home just 28 days later, claiming they had been terrorized by supernatural forces.

When Jay Anson penned "The Amityville Horror: A True Story", the house and the Lutzes became a media sensation. Countless people sought to make a profit off the story, some by attempting to debunk it. Fortunately, the Lutz children were spared from the media circus, but today, one of them has decided to tell his side of the story. 

 Daniel Lutz says he never asked to be "the Amityville kid." He has been running away from that story for nearly four decades. In fact, he still seems reluctant to be involved with My Amityville Horror, sick of being told he's crazy or lying. The documentary gives Daniel a platform to tell his tale, both in that month in the Amityville house and the subsequent years of psychological scarring. 

Daniel is a charismatic, expletive-spewing tough guy, and his forthright attitude lends credence to his story. Even if the haunting was a hoax perpetuated by patriarch George Lutz, Daniel seems to genuinely believe his memories are real. He recounts demonic faces, hoards of flies, objects moving on their own, and even his own possession.

The documentary, directed by Eric Walter, reunites Daniel with some of the players in the Amityville case, including investigative reporter Laura DiDio and demonologist Lorraine Warren. There are also interviews with paranormal experts who support the Lutzes' claims, and psychologists who feel Daniel's memories are due to post-event suggestion. 

The film is also quite scary thanks to Daniel's recollections, photos from the house, and eerie audio recordings. Fans of ghost stories or true crime should find it very interesting. My Amityville Horror is chilling, informative, and engaging. For anyone interested in the Amityville story, it is a must-see. It is a refreshing change from crappy sequels and crappier remakes. 

Check the film out right now on Amazon Instant:
 

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