Gabe Reviews Horror

This review was originally written in 2022. Gabe's 100 Bucket List Horror Films Review #46: Ready or Not (2019) So, can I post a review that's just "Trust me, this movie is great, go watch it and you'll have a great time"? I mean, yeah. I can. But I guess I won't. It's not that I don't have much to say about Ready or Not- I mean, you SHOULD trust me, it IS great, you SHOULD go watch it and you WILL have a good time if you do- but this is one of those films where the ride is really what you're there for, and the best moments of the movie can't really be put into words in a way that'll do them justice. I'll start with a recap. Ready or Not is about a bride, Grace, who has just married into an enormously rich family who got their generational wealth through the sale of card and board games. The family is very big on tradition (owing back to a family legend about a mysterious benefactor, M. Le Bail, who promised them success if they followe

This review was originally written in 2022. Gabe's 100 Bucket List Horror Films Review #45: Aliens (1986) I've heard a lot of people say "Alien is a horror film, Aliens is an action film". And it's not entirely inaccurate. But while this one's focus is definitely on action, it's still totally a horror film (even if the previous film kept the horror more front-and-center). I'd never seen any movie in the Alien franchise until a couple years ago, and upon first watch I was kind of lukewarm on them. I'm very glad I gave this one a second chance, though, because it blew me away! While the action and sci-fi and even horror elements are the bread and butter of this movie, I'd argue that this movie lives or dies by the characters and their interactions. Don't get me wrong, even if the characters were bad there would still be the same amount of action in the latter half, but to this day I still hear people quoting the interactions between the marin

This review was originally written in 2022. Gabe's 100 Bucket List Horror Films Review #44: A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night (2014) A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night is a Persian/Iranian horror/western (?!) film about... a vampire, and drugs I guess? I've seen this movie before- I watched it five or six years ago, during my yearly ritual of watching and reviewing 31 horror movies every October. (I seem to be re-doing a lot of that lately.) I don't remember exactly what was in my review, but I do remember saying that A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night was the most boring movie I watched that year. When I started watching it this time, I chided myself for how wrong I was! Maybe I didn't really pay attention last time, I told myself. Because this one started out really good! I was engaged by the film's striking visual style, the interesting worldbuilding, the genuine characters, and just the overall feel and pace of the first thirty minutes or so. How could I have said th

This review was originally written in 2022. Gabe's 100 Bucket List Horror Films Review #43: Let Me In (2010) I can't fathom why both this movie AND Let the Right One In were on this bucket list, considering this one is basically a shot-for-shot remake of that one. But whatever, they're both on the list so I'm reviewing them both. To recap in basically a word-for-word manner, Let Me In is an American film about a young boy, Owen, bullied at school and without many peers, who befriends a girl, Abby, who recently moved into his apartment complex and who tries to teach Owen to stand up for himself. Little does Owen know, Abby is actually a vampire and her bloodlust will soon cause problems- problems that have kept her on the run for many, many years. Most of my thoughts on the other movie apply to this one. It's honestly such a close adaptation, I'm kind of impressed- I saw both of these films maybe ten years ago (I saw the American one first), and I remembered ther

This review was originally written in 2022. Gabe's 100 Bucket List Horror Films Review #42: Let the Right One In (2008) Let the Right One In is a Swedish film about a young boy, Oskar, bullied at school and without many peers, who befriends a girl, Eli, who recently moved into his apartment complex and who tries to teach Oskar to stand up for himself. Little does Oskar know, Eli is actually a vampire and her bloodlust will soon cause problems- problems that have kept her on the run for many, many years. This is a very uncomfortable movie. The first layer, is the way Oskar is bullied throughout the film. One could easily interpret this whole film as being about the cycle of bullying- Oskar is bullied by a kid at his school (who himself gets others to carry out most of the bullying, lest they be bullied themselves), but when Oskar begins to fight back, he learns that the bully who is bullying him, is actually being bullied himself, and he uses that very bullying to pass on the bullyi

This review was originally written in 2022. Gabe's 100 Bucket List Horror Films Review #41: It Follows (2014) I'll always go to bat for a film shot and set in Detroit, first because I grew up here, and second because I think the city has way more character and soul than people give it credit for. (Also, it's not 100% abandoned buildings and murder, though there is some of that too.) When I first saw this film back when it came out, I can't remember if I went in knowing it was shot in Detroit, but one of the first scenes takes place in the historic and iconic Redford Theater, which was just a few blocks from my childhood home (and it was where Sam Raimi hired ambulances to wait outside during the red-carpet premiere of The Evil Dead). It brought me so much joy to see a place I've been numerous times on the silver screen! Anyway, about the movie. While I don't think I'll be giving this one a 10/10, I really, really like this film. For anyone not familiar, it f