The Brides of Dracula (1960)

Title: Brides of Dracula (1960)

Director: Terrence Fisher

Cast: Peter Cushing, David Peel, Yvonne Monlauer

Review:

When Horror of Dracula first came out and was such a huge success for Hammer Studios, they immediately started working on a sequel for it. Christopher Lee was not asked to return for this sequel because the studio didnt want to pay him more money. Im guessing Lee was also running away from being type casted as the guy who plays Dracula, so he didnt come back for this sequel. And so, Brides of Dracula was filmed without him. Dont be fooled by the title though, Dracula is nowhere to be seen on this flick. In fact the movie starts out with a spooky voice over letting us now that "the Monarch of all vampires is dead, but his disciples continue on..". So no Christopher Lee here, though Lee did return to the role of Dracula in the film that goes after this one, Scars of Dracula. But on this one? No Count Dracula. Instead we get David Peel as Count Meinster (one of Draculas disciples) to take his place.

The story is about this young girl named Marianne who is on her way to a boarding school to become a teacher. Of course she gets sidetracked and ends up in this giant spooky castle in the middle of Transylvania. A Baroness Meinster lives there and welcomes her...but not before warning Marianne not to walk into a certain part of the castle. Of course Marianne does venture into the prohibited part of the castle where she discovers that the Baroness has her son tied up in chains because he suffers a certain "illness". Marianne thinking this to be cruel, releases the Baroness's son without realizing that she has just releasaed a very powerful vampire into the world!

Even though Christopher Lee doesnt show up as Dracula (and he is very missed) we do get Peter Cushing reprising one of his most famous roles as Dr. Van Helsing wich at least gives the proceedings an air of familiarity and continuity. David Peel as Count Meinster is good, but goofy looking if you ask me. Too much of a pretty boy to play a scary villain, he just looks too freaking clean cut! Not as scary or dramatic as having Lee don the fangs and cape. Another very memorable performance here comes from Freda Jackson as Greta. She plays a servant in Count Meinster's castle. She gives us one of the most memorable moments on the film when she is waiting on top of a grave for one of Count Meinsters brides to wake up.

The films lush look and great direction can be credited to Terrence Fisher, one of Hammer Studios greatest directors. Fisher is responsible for some of the best that Hammer had to offer like for example Curse of Frankenstein, Horror of Dracula, The Mummy and Curse of the Werewolf. From a visual standpoing the film is filled with great atmosphere and eerie shots. In my opinion, Brides of Dracula is the most lush looking film in Hammers repertoir. Kudos to Fisher who has not dissapointed me yet.

The titular brides. Only they aint Draculas Brides! There Count Meinster's

There are a few things that didnt make much sense to me in the story like for example: if the vampires can turn into bats as they do in this movie, then why couldnt Count Meinster just turn into a bat and escape the shackles that had been holding him prisoner for so long? If Greta (the housekeeper) cared so passionately about Count Meinster, why had she not released him from his shackles herself?

By far the most shocking of all moments in the film is when Van Helsing himself is actually bitten by a vampire. All he does to cure himself is spray some holy water on the bite and burn it and his is free of being a vampire! That didnt make much sense to me, but it is a technique thats been used in other Hammer films before (for example Kiss of the Vampire) so it didnt surprise me. But still, it makes no sense. All these nonsensical sequences just lead me to believe that even though the films visual aspect is great, Brides of Dracula had a weak script that was written in a hurry just to get a sequel out.

This film was originally going to end with a swarm of Bats killing the evil vampire, but that was discarded because Peter Cushing felt that ending would be too magical for his character to be doing it and that Van Helsing was never about dealing with magic. Van Helsing always used the old stake and hammer to do his vampire killing! Not conjuring up any bats with magical spells. Not only that, but it was going to be too expensive to shoot. The planned ending with the swarm of bats attacking the bloodsuckers to death was finally used three years later in The Kiss of the Vampire.

But minor squabbles aside, this was a fine Hammer film. It can be found in the Hammer box set called Hammer Horror Classics. Its a great box sets which includes in it many of the finest Hammer films that had not been released on DVD yet like the awesome Curse of the Werewolf and the underrated Paranoiac! Kiss of the Vampire is in there as well, but in my opinion Brides is the Jewel of the set. And inspite of its misleading title (Dracula is nowhere to be seen and these are not really his brides!) the film manages to be memorable and beautiful to look at. Another fine jewel on Terence Fishers crown.

Rating: 5 out of 5

The Kiss of the Vampire (1963)

Title: Kiss of the Vampire (1963)

Director: Don Sharp

Cast: Clifford Evans, Edward De Souza, Noel Willman, Jennifer Daniels

Review:

Christopher Lee made many films with Hammer Studios, lots of them were vampire films. But one thing he didnt like was being type cast. He didnt want to be known as "the guy who plays Dracula in all those Hammer movies". He ended up doing a bunch of them anyways, but sometimes, he would just say no to appearing in some of these films. As a result, Hammer Studios produced a couple of vampire films without Christopher Lee playing the role of Count Dracula. One of them is Legend of the Seven Golden Vampires, which I strongly urge anyone out there who hasnt seen it and enjoys a good Hammer film to go out and see. Christopher Lee's presence was sorely missed on that one! They put another actor in the role of the count, and it just wasnt the same! Brides of Dracula is the one in which Christopher Lee's presence is missed the most because its the film that followed the first Hammer Studios Dracula film entitled Horror of Dracula; and a sequel to Horror of Dracula without Christopher Lee, just isnt the same. Still, Brides of Dracula is one of the best Hammer films out there as well and I think I will be reviewing it soon in a future blog. But the film I'll be talking about today is Kiss of the Vampire. This film did not star Christopher Lee or Peter Cushing, how did it fare without two of Hammers biggest stars? Was this film able to fly on its own?

The story as in many Hammer Dracula/Vampire films, is about a young couple who is traveling through the country when their car suddenly runs out of gas! The couple decides to stay in a local Inn, to spend the night while they can get their hands on some gas, cause you know, there isnt a gas station for miles. While staying there, the local vampire clan extends their warmest invitations to their castle for dinner and some music. While there, the head vampire (called Dr. Ravna) falls for the human girl, and from there on in will stop at nothing to get her in his vampire clan! Will she fall for Dr. Ravnas hypnotic charms?

The rest is preatty predictable if youve seen other versions of Dracula or any vampire Hammer film. The head vampire falls for the girl and has to make her his. The different thing about this version though is the way that Count Ravna goes about making the girl his. You see he doesnt just snatch her, he invites her to a masquerade ball and uses his other vampire disciples to make her dissapear right in front of her husbands eyes. You see, Dr. Ravna is a religious leader of this vampire cult! They all wear the same ceremonial garments and gather in Dr. Ravnas castle which serves as a temple for their cult as well. This is really what sets this movie apart from other Hammer vampire films. The rest of the movie follows the husband of the kidnapped girl trying to find anyone whos willing to go back to the castle and get his wife back.

In most vampire films, the head vampire usually charms the hell out of everyone at first before revealing his true nature. This is true of this film as well. Dr. Ravna invites the unsuspecting couple to a grand masquerade ball, where everyone wears masks and everyone is partying, drinking and having a good time. And a great sequence it is! Gerald the husband of beautiful Marianne is tricked and his wife is taken from him right before his very noses! Those scenes in the party reminded me quite a bit of the ballroom sequences in Jim Hensons Labyrinth or in Stanley Kubricks Eyes Wide Shut. You know, everyone wearing these beautiful yet strange looking masks. Masks always add an air of surrealism to any scene, this movie was no exception. This masquerade ball makes for a dreamy sequence, all the more enhanced because we know that most of the people attending are vampires.

This movie functions as a warning against weird religious cults that blind you, brainwash you and dont let you think on your own. Marianne gets whisked away by the strange vampire cult, and soon, she cares nothing for her husband who she was so in love with in the first moments of the film. Suddenly all she cares about is the group, and what the groups leader has to say. Same with many religions and cults, where they can quickly convince a family member to join and pretty soon, thats all they care about! Thats all they talk about! And then you start wondering: will I ever get my family member back? Thats what this film is about. A young man trying to recover his wife from the clutches of a weird cult! Things are only made worse because said cult is a vampire cult!

A great thing about the flick though is the feeling of paranoia that permeates the film after the wife is taken. The whole masquerade ball sequence mixed with the vampire cult/clan reminded me a lot of how I felt when I watched The Wicker Man, one of the best (if not the best) religious themed horror movies out there. You know, a bunch of fruitcakes who have it all figured out and you are playing their game without even knowing it. That idea that the whole town is in on something, and you've just stumbled onto it without ever realizing it. And how do you escape these crazy bastards now??

This particular Hammer film is missing not only Christopher Lee but also the great Peter Cushing. And though thats a sad thing any day of the week, specially on a Hammer vampire film, I will say that the cast is a strong one. The character of Professor Zimmer (played by Clifford Evans) was a great character, kind of like a rebellious religious monk. He is this movies Professor Van Helsing, he knows all about vampires and how to kill them. He is the one who comes up with the plan to erradicate the vampires, and I have to tell you guys the way the vampires die in this movie is very unique, I dont think Id ever seen that idea presented on any movie. Also, it kind of defies logic, and might leave you scratching your head behind the logic of what just happens. But still it makes for one of the most memorable moments on any Hammer film Ive seen.

Recently had the chance of rewatching this film and its still a great film. I liked the atmosphere, the slow build up, the feeling of "something is not quite right here" and then finally, the feeling of paranoia once you know whats going on in this strange little town. This movie is drenched on the usual Hammer atmosphere, spooky castles at the top of the hill, windy woods, dried up trees, cemeteries. Highly recommend this one if you want to have a old fashioned, spooky horror night.

Rating 4 out of 5

Blood: The Last Vampire (2009)

Title: Blood: The Last Vampire (2009)

Director: Chris Nahon

Cast: Gianna Jun, Allison Miller

Review:

This new vampire film is based on an anime that came out in the year 2000 which goes by the same name. I remember seeing that anime when it first came out and loving it. It was extremely dark in tone, many of the scenes took place in shadows, the main character Saya was very enigmatic and deadly. It was a story about a group of vampires who have infiltrated a highschool and a local bar, feeding on both students and the customers of the bar. In comes Saya to kill all the vampires. I always thought that this little film (it only lasts about 45 minutes) had excellent production values and top notch animation. That plus it had excellent atmosphere to it. Now almost ten years later comes the live action film adaptation of this anime. Did it do it justice? Is the film better then the anime? What changed? What stays the same?

This is the anime on which the film is based on.

Story is still essentially the same. Saya gets sent undercover to a highschool in Japan to find vampires who are living amongst the students, and feeding on them. Then she heads over to the bar and finds its also full of vampires and proceeds to slay them as well. Where this film takes a turn is in showing us Saya’s origins. Where she comes from and who she used to be. That plus the film introduces a couple of new characters that never existed in the anime like the American girl Alice, who Saya befriends and protects through out the course of the film.

So this movie pretty much stuck to the anime. It showed us the basic premise of it and I think that literally almost everything that was in the anime was in the film. They took the anime and turned it into the first half of the movie. They changed a couple of things here and there and introduced us to a couple of new characters, but it’s essentially the same thing. Right down to the vampires trying to escape on a military cargo plane that’s about to take off for Vietnam. Where things turn into completely new territory is in the films second half, were we get to see who Saya was before she became the vampire slayer that she is.

Some of the most interesting moments come once the second half of the film gets going. I know I enjoyed the new stuff more then the stuff Id already seen on the anime, which in reality is a very simple story. With its short running time, the anime didn’t really have any time to dive into the character’s past or anything; but the live action film has ample time to do this. This is where the film turns into more of a martial arts movie then a vampire flick. Saya gets trained in the forest by her martial arts master, who looks a lot like Pai Mei, the martial arts master who trains Beatrix Kiddo in the Kill Bill movies. You know the type, long white hair, equally long and white beard and mustache. And all these scenes take place in some sort of mystical japanese huts in the middle of a magical fog filled forest, where ninjas come flying out of nowhere and telekinesis is possible.

It’s during these moments when we get to see Saya’s martial arts training when the movie has some interesting martial arts fights. I mean we get to see tons of ninjas suddenly come out of thin air and attack Saya’s master. These sequences have some cool martial arts fighting, but really, it’s nothing you haven’t seen before in other martial arts films. Still, I always find the balletic martial arts fights interesting. The thing about this movie and its fights is that, I don’t think I’ve ever seen so much CGI blood in my life! I mean, this film is bloody as hell. But it’s all CGI blood! All of it. Looks fake as hell. If you can live with that, you shouldn’t have a problem watching these martial fights.

Another thing that bothered me about the movie was the look of the vampires. They go from human form to bat like form. And when they transform its sort of like when the Highlanders get all the power from the immortal they’ve just killed. Everything turns into a light show and then poof! The vampire bat appears. When the vampires show their true form is when the film dives into Power Rangers territory. Don’t know who Okayed the look of these creatures, but it’s so obviously a man in a rubber suit, its distracting. I personally loathed the look of these vampire creatures. Its not credible at all! Not to mention that when these creatures fly, the computer animation isn’t all that convincing either. I mean, the vampire creatures seen in the anime looked like when Gary Oldman transforms into that man bat thing in Bram Stokers Dracula, unfortunately on the movie, when the vampires show their true forms it looks like something you'd see in The Power Rangers or those old Ultraman shows. Yup, in this aspect of the film, the anime tops the film.

My main problem with this movie was the addition of Alice into the story. Alice is the American girl who drags along with Saya on her vampire slaying. The character is dead weight and adds nothing to the story. Well, it gives America audiences somebody to “root” for, though just because she’s American does not mean I’m going to warm up to her. No matter how American she is, she still a useless character. She was so unnecessary! She does nothing except get rescued! Why is she tagging along with Saya? Was it absolutely necessary to have such a useless character tag along? Nope. It wasn’t. To top things off, the acting is atrocious from almost the entire cast, save for the girl who plays Saya.

The film is a fun watch, more so if you’re into anime, vampire and martial arts movies and fantasy. If you can’t take cheesy looking vampires or people flying through the air with swords then don’t even bother. If on the other hand you don’t mind a cheesy action packed story with vampires and telekinesis, by all means dive in.

Rating: 3 out of 5

 

At Midnight I'll Take Your Soul (1964)

Title: At Midnight I’ll Take Your Soul (1964)


Director: Jose Mojica Marins


Review:


The Brazilian Horror film did not exist before Jose Mojica Marins made At Midnight I’ll Take Your Soul. This film represents the birth of horror in Brazil, so for that alone, it should be worth a watch to all movie buffs out there. According to the films director Jose Mojica Marins, the desire to make this film started with a nightmare he had where he saw these ghostly figures carrying his dead body on a coffin to the afterlife. Quickly after that he decided he wanted to get this film made, so he gathered his small cast and crew and decided to do this movie.

The films plot is about this gravedigger known as Ze. He is hated by everyone in town, because really, he’s one big bully. He intimidates everybody, walking to the local bar and mocking everyone. He is a trickster, a conman, treacherous, a rapist, the worst traits you could think of in any human being. To top things off, they guy thinks that religions and the supernatural are a hoax. That there is no such thing, and he isn’t afraid to tell everyone what he thinks about that! The primary thing in Ze’s life is having a child. An offspring. And since his wife is sterile, he is going around searching for the perfect woman to be the bearer of his child. How far will he go to get what he wants?

There are many things I liked about this movie. First off, its very old school spooky. What I mean by that, is that, it has many scenes that take place inside of a cemetery, with a full moon, with wolves howling in the night and owls sitting on trees looking at you with their big eyes. It has fortune tellers, and skeletons, and crosses and mausoleums, and corpses and ghosts. You name it, if it’s spooky and scary and halloweenish, it somehow made its way onto this movie. I just loved the way the movie starts, with this old gypsy fortune teller holding a skull in her hands warning the audience about the horrors that await for them while watching this film. It sets the mood right away for a spooky old time. In this sense, its the perfect movie to watch on Halloween night.

But was it a silly clichéish movie? Was it like those silly old Universal Monster flicks from the 50’s and 60s? No freaking way. This movie has an edge to it that I did not expect. Honestly, because of the time it was made and because the film is in black and white, I was expecting some silly fun. What I got was a film that was heavy in themes, and even sacrilegious in nature. Why you may ask?

Well, for starters the character of Ze (aka Coffin Joe) is one violent non believer. He does not believe in God or in the Devil. He thinks demons and ghost and fortune tellers are all a big hoax. And he thinks that after we die, that’s all there is. Theres nothing before and nothing after it. The only thing that matters to Coffin Joe is continuing his bloodline through his offspring. His children. Weird thing is, I completely agree with Coffin Joe and his views of life. Not the murderous, rapist, evil side. But more on the philosophical side. On a personal note, I’m a non believer, and all of the supernatural hocus pocus they teach at churches is only useful when you want to make a horror movie or spook your friends with a ghost story. For me, the supernatural is all in peoples minds. And Coffin Joe thinks this way in the film, and not only that but the guy screams it from the top of his lungs for everyone to hear! He thinks the only thing that matters is continuing to exist on this world through your offspring, which I agree with, I think that through our children is the only true way that we continue living. Problem with Ze (Coffin Joe) is that because he has no religious beliefs, he thinks this is synonimous with being a villain. Since there is no God watching over your every action, well, then you can pretty much do whatever the hell you want, cause NO one is going to make you pay. I dont subscribe to this point of view, because I think being a non believer implies you having to set up your own set of moral values. Your rights end, where someone elses begin. We must always strive to be the best human beings we can, even without religion. This is an idea that Coffin Joe does not believe in.

I enjoyed how Jose Mojica Marins (who wrote and directed the film, as well as played Coffin Joe himself) uses the character of Coffin Joe to get these ideas across to audiences. At the time this film came out, it confronted a lot of opposition precisely because it was considered blasphemous. Because it addressed all these issues and themes that are considered to be taboo by some. But Jose Mojica Marins was an intelligent guy, he made the non believer the villain. In this way, he gets his message across, but at the same time, since the character who says all these “blasphemous” things is the villain, its okay for him to say it, cause you know, he’s the bad guy, he is crazy. What does he know? Still, I applaud Jose Mojica for using his villain to say what he means about religion. At one point Coffin Joe is drunk and running around a graveyard literally begging the dead to come out of their graves and take him to hell! The bravado in the Coffin Joes character was great. I loved how he defied all these ideas that religion tries to scare us with.

Of course this is a horror film, and it uses that fact to make the supernatural element real. But in my opinion, this is the only place where the supernatural can come to life. In movies, books, comic books and T.V. shows. Nowhere else. The movie has some interesting scenes involving spirits and ghastly apparitions. At one moment, Coffin Joe is warned by a fortune teller not to mock the dead, or they will come take his soul to hell. It is during these moments when the film, makes the supernatural element real, and we get to see some ghosts.

This movie was an indy all the way. It was made with very little money and at times, it shows. The special effects are very low key. Almost every scene, except for the exterior shots that take place in real cemeteries, were shot inside of a lot. Everything is done in interiors and the film was shot at a breakneck pace. Marins wanted to get this film made no matter what. For example, the actor who was going to play Coffin Joe bailed out at the last minute so Marins himself decided to play the character. I don’t imagine anybody else doing a better job then him. Be prepared for a completely 100% over the top performance! That scene with Coffin Joe drunk in the cemetery getting all existential, asking the big questions about life “what happens when we die? Where do we go? Where do we come from? Its all bullshit! There is no afterlife! What matters most is the life we live NOW!” What a great scene! That scene has such energy and emotion to it. Its like the ramblings of a desperate soul, angry with the way things are in the world.

So this movie was very controversial upon initial release. And it’s easy to see why. Its main character is a villain, he screams at the top of his head that God doesn’t exist! That religion is a lie! He eats meat on Holy Friday while a religious procession is passing through the front of his house! He is a cheat, a rapist and he beats women. He is murderous, yet he is the main character in the film! Still, it makes for a great watch simply because the guy is so evil. By the way, the film is actually pretty violent. It has an edge to it. Ze is one murderous bastard! In conclusion, I applaud this Brazilian horror flick for having the gravitas to say all the things it has to say. I find it amusing because Hollywood normally shies away from addressing anything about religion, cause you know, that’s just something Hollywood doesn’t talk much about. It rarely questions the validity of it. But people from Brazil aren’t Hollywood, and this movie was a true independent film unafraid to say what it has to say. I applaud it for that, and also because its an entertaining horror film not to be missed.


Rating: 4 out of 5
 
 

Mutant Chronicles (2009)

Title: The Mutant Chronicles (2009)

Director: Simon Hunter

Cast: Thomas Jane, John Malkovich, Ron Perlman

Review:

So ever since Sin City and 300 achieved box office success with their computer generated techniques of having all the backgrounds in the film be computer rendered drawings and making the actors the only real thing in the film, countless movies have tried to duplicate this formula. They've tried and failed? Nope, they've tried and died. An ugly death. Ever heard of a this science fiction film called The Gene Generation? You probably havent, but it tried to do the same thing, and failed horribly as well. Such an awful film. But it though its cgi could save it. It didnt. Mutant Chronicles is yet another example of how this technique can go horribly wrong.

The story concerns this machine that falls on earth and basically starts to turn humans into mutants. What do these mutants do? All they care about is destroying your brain with their hook like hands, and carrying you back to the mutant machine to turn their victims into mutants as well. Or something like that. In comes this special unit of humans from across the world to go into the mutant machine, and presumably, blow the thing up. Thats it!

What went wrong with this movie? Well, apparently this film director Simon Hunter (sorry dude, I got a feeling you wont be making movies anymore! Pack up your things and go home) was relying too much on the films computer generated images to blow everyone out of the water. Guess what my rookie director? In this kind of film, that is simply not enough. What kept a film like Sin City going? Was it the backgrounds? Was it the fact its striking black and white imagery? Nope. What held it together, what kept audiences watching were the characters, and the situations they got themselves into. And when you combine both visual awesomenes, with a great script and great performances, this type of film can be great. Unfortunately, the characters in Mutant Chronicles are so boring, so one sided, so lifeless that you just dont connect with them. The movie has a very dreadful palette, devoid of any color. Everything is grey and lifeless. In my opinion, the films look fits perfectly with this movies script and characters. You dont get to know them at all, all they do is blow shit up. And sense you cant connect, you dont care, you dont give a hoot where this movie is going, youll most likely disconnect it almost as fast as I did.

Weird thing is the film has a decent cast. Thomas Jane is perfect for the science fiction/action/horror film. He has that hero look to him. Kind of like a younger Christopher Lambert. On this film he plays the leader of the pack thats going into the mutant making machine. Along with him we have Ron Perlman playing of all things a priest, for what religion, who the hell knows, but he is a priest who wants to gather the mutant ass kicking army to go and destroy the mutant making machine. John Malkovich plays the polititian who gives the okay for the mission to move forward. The rest of the crew are a bunch of actors you've never even heard of, except for that Asian chick that played cute little Miho in Sin City. Im guessing Malkovich was paying somebody some kind of favor doing this cameo thing he did here. His participation in this film was almost as unnecessary as was his participation in Eragon. Actually, Malkovich plays the exact same role on Mutant Chronicles as the one he did in Eragon. Really, you see a guy like Malkovich on this kind of movie and you wonder what the hell he is doing there. He stands out like a sore thumb! Unfortunately, this cast is completely wasted in a lifeless story, that doesnt ask you to warm up to anybody. The actors just feel like robots moving the plot around, there is no life to these guys!

Finally, whats the purpose of these mutants? Why are they turning humans into mutants? Why are these machines doing this? Who the hell knows, all I know is that a movie with a lousy villain makes for a lousy movie. This was Mutant Chronicles case. We just get a group of bloodthirsty mutant creatures with hooks for hands who come, puncture your brain and then turn you into one of them. Thats it and thats all. No depth, no true purpose. You'd think that a movie thats based on an already established universe would have no problems giving us a film with characters that are fleshed out. Unfortunately, this was the case!

And what about the direction? The visual aspect of the film? The storytelling? Well, let me put it this way: I was watching this movie and suddenly I realized that what wasnt allowing me to connect with the film (aside from all the points Ive already mentioned) was the boring way in which it was directed. The way they set up the shots was so dreadfully boring, nothing interesting visually. Many camera angles were from far away, or completely static. In my opinion they disconnected us from what was going on in the film. There was no dynamic camera movement. Everything was dreadful and boring visually. The editing wasnt helping the film flow either, sombody put this film together really quick. So what we have here is a film that takes place in a future that looks like it was stuck in World War II (but with futuristic weapons! Get it?) and all the ships and machines run on steam, what some refer to as Steampunk. They had all the proper elements in which a science fiction film could thrive in. Unfortunately, the dreadful direction, storytelling, performances and script were so lifeless that the film never had a chance to take off, or grab you.

I got an idea for all those film producers out there. Before you go and give a couple of million dollars to a director, make sure its a very visually oriented director, an artist with a vision. Not a fanboy with a hard on for computer graphics. Cause in this kind of film, cool graphics just isnt enough. We need that human element in there, we need for someone to use computer generated images as a means to tell a good story. But not just anybody can do this. It has to be a director with a vision, with a desire to tell an involving story, to pull us into the mystery. A film without a visionary director behind it is nothing. Its lifeless, just like this film was. Theres nothing positive I can say about this movie, my advice is stay clear off this one, it truly blows!

Rating: 1 out of 5