Review – The Houses October Built

I’ve gone back, scoured the plot summaries and reviews, and I can’t for the life of me figure out why I wanted to rent this. The premise – backwoods haunted house attractions are part of a meta-conspiracy of evil – might have held some small measure of promise. But the found footage format, amateur hour acting, wretched script, uneven pace and pointless violence lay waste to any chance this juvenile production might have had to not suck. The hour and a half of my life stolen by this garbage was paid for with only one benefit: I have now firmly resolved never again to watch anything that even looks like it might have an evil clown in it. As I believe this will make me a happier, healthier person, I will doubtless look back upon this movie with gratitude for finally prompting me to take a step I should have taken years ago. Wish I’d skipped it

Review – Willow Creek

Okay, kids. Let’s try to learn something from this experience. The premise is solid enough: two filmmakers venture into the woods in search of the site where the famous Patterson-Gimlin footage of Bigfoot was shot. The acting is fine. Bobcat Goldthwait has demonstrated elsewhere that he has enough talent to write and direct a good movie. Yet this still turns out to be a dreadful, meandering bore. Lay it squarely at the doorstep of the decision to shoot this as yet another found footage travesty. If even talented people can’t make this sub-genre work as anything better than a Blair Witch parody, then let’s treat this as conclusive proof that there’s no value in pursuing it further. See if desperate

Review – How to Train Your Dragon 2

I didn’t like this one quite as much as the first. Toothless is once again in fine form, but the story takes a turn for the depressing. Too much dragon peril and family member death. It was still a good movie. Just not quite up to the high standards set by the original. Mildly amusing