The Nun (2018)

September 7, 2018

Directed by: Corin Hardy

Written by: Gary Dauberman

Starring: Damian Bichir, Taissa Farmiga, Jonas Bloquet

Budget: $22,000,000

Tagline: Pray for Forgiveness.

Trivia: An advertisement for the film was pulled from the video sharing site YouTube, as many users complained that the five second clip featuring a startling jumpscare was "too scary." Administrators thus removed the ad and apologized, claiming that it was not their intention to publish content that may potentially "offend" or "shock" viewers.


The Nun is the latest movie from the Conjuring franchise. First, I cannot believe how much money these movies make! Don't get me wrong, they are good films, but their widespread appeal is shocking. I saw this movie on the Friday after it came out and the audience boasts every type of person. We were seated next to three Hispanic ladies in their fifties who couldn't help but whisper to themselves "Dios mio" after every scare. There was the usual drunk college kids (it was a Friday night), families, older couples, etc. I don't know how producer James Wan and the production companies figured out how to market horror to the mainstream but they've done a remarkable job.

The Conjuring (2013)

September 3, 2018

Directed by: James Wan

Written by: Chad Hayes, Carey W. Hayes

Starring: Patrick Wilson, Vera Farmiga, Ron Livingston

Budget: $20,000,000

Quote: "The devil exists. God exists. And for us, as people, our very destiny hinges upon which one we elect to follow."

Trivia: When the movie was shown in the Philippines, some cinemas had to hire Catholic priests to bless the viewers before showing it. This was due to some viewers having reported a "Negative Presence" after watching the film. The priests also provided spiritual and psychological help to the viewers.


Man, I really missed out on horror movies over the past decade prior to a few months ago. As a kid and teenager I used to search through the aisles of Blockbuster Video watching nearly ever movie I could get my hands on. Then in my twenties I was part of a horror movie club that my friend started where a bunch of us friends would get together to drink beer and watch horror movies. But then I moved away for a bit and didn't keep up with the new movies. So I had never seen any of the Conjuring movies, but figured I should  probably give it a shot since the spinoff The Nun is coming out this Friday. Enough of my backstory...

The Conjuring is a film that explores the existence of paranormal activity. It is based on the true story from the case files Ed and Lorraine Warren which are more or less a true life ghostbuster married couple. The movie has a handful of cheap jump scares but what really makes the film effective is what we do not get to see in the film. The parts where the demons or ghosts are not visible and the moments when something is amiss but what is wrong is not yet apparent. When we finally first see the demon, it is rather disappointing because the viewer's imagination is what makes the demon and story so scary. But this is not to say that everything is left up to the viewer's imagination. Hitchcock and Polanski were masters using atmosphere to create suspense, but those were different times. Today's horror audience demands at least some visual satisfaction in the form of monsters and gore and this movie offers that as well.

The House of the Devil (2009)

September 1, 2018

Directed by: Ti West

Written by: Ti West

Starring: Jocelin Donahue,  Tom Noonan, Mary Woronov

Budget: $900,000

Quote: "During the 1980s over 70% of American adults believed in the existence of abusive Satanic Cults... Another 30% rationalized the lack of evidence due to government cover ups... The following is based on true unexplained events..."

Trivia: Deliberately shot in the same kind of style and using similar techniques as the splatter films of the 70s and the 80s which it emulates.



The House of the Devil is a beautifully shot film that was carefully crafted to make it look like it came from the early 1980s. Filmed on 16mm film and set in 1983, the film really does look and feel like an eighties slasher film. While watching it, I had to double check on IMDB to make sure that it was in fact from 2009 and not 1979. The soundtrack also features an eighties classic by The Fixx played through a cassette walkman. Those of us in our thirties and older will recognize it. Finally, the film also borrows film techniques popular in the eighties slashers such as a zoom in on characters, the opening credits in yellow font, and a freeze frame at the end with a still image of the closing credits. While the movie itself is an occult film and not a slasher, it has the feel of the eighties slashers.

Demon Wind (1990)

August 8, 2018

Directed by: Charles Phillip Moore

Written by: Charles Phillip Moore

Starring:  Eric Larson, Francine Lapensée, Rufus Norris

Budget: $500,000

Tagline: It'll Blow You Away!

Trivia: Lou Diamond Phillips was married to one of the assistant directors on this film. Phillips frequently visited the set during the shooting of the movie and even played a demon under a pseudonym.




Demon Wind is one of those movies that I never got around to seeing, but so many people choose it as one of their favorite guilty pleasures. A bad movie that they love. I want to apologize to all those people, but I could not get into this film. I'm sure it's because I'm watching it for the first time as a thirty five year old and have no nostalgic attachment to the film. While, I was not a fan of the film, it did have a lot of cool moments and is not without some merit. If you haven't seen it and need a quick synopsis: It's the plot of Evil Dead mixed with Lamberto Bava's Demons with no budget or acting ability.

Evilspeak (1981)

July 29, 2018

Directed by: Eric Weston
Written by: Joseph Garofalo, Eric Weston
Starring:  Clint Howard, R.G. Armstrong, Joe Cortese

Budget: $900,000

Quote: Data incomplete... Human blood required. Thus spake the computer.

Trivia: The production did some filming in a South Central church that had been condemned and scheduled to be torn down. When the aged minister saw that the crew were refurbishing the church, he didn't understand that this was "show business refurbishing" and that the church would ultimately be burned down, dropping down on his knees and thanking God. Nobody had the heart to tell him the truth.

Evilspeak is about a misfit that is constantly picked on who discovers a way to summon demons and Satan through his computer. I don't know if it is because I was born in 1982 and spent a good part of my later childhood watching 80s movies on TV, but there is something so comforting about 1980s computer movies. I love the computer prompt with the green and black screen and the ridiculous things that movie writers had computers do because nobody had any clue how computers work. WarGames, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, and of course Hackers. Seriously, watch these movies again, the plotlines are adorably ridiculous. Evilspeak is no different, except with the added bonus of Satanism and gore!