The Apparition (2012)

I'll save you some time -- Don't see this movie.

I'm not picky when it comes to horror movies, I usually end up enjoying most of the ones I see, but this one was a true disappointment. Basically, there was no real back story, no understanding of the motivation behind any of the characters, horrible acting and lack of any sort of depth.

Scary movies don't need to be psychologically and intellectually stimulating, but I think they should at least have a plot!  I consider that to be the bare minimum for any decent movie.

I'm not even sure how to really describe this movie. IMDB's synopsis states "A couple is haunted by a supernatural presence that is unleashed during a college experiment." And that's truly as deep as it goes. Unless I completely missed it, the viewer never gets an explanation behind who or what the apparition is, where it came from or what it wants. The characters seem as one dimensional as cardboard cutouts, and their actions often don't make a lot of sense.

This was the worst excuse for a scary movie I have ever seen. The only truly horrifying aspect of the whole ordeal is that I will never get that hour and a half of my life back.

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PG-13, 1 hr. 23 min.
Mystery & Suspense, Horror

Directed By: Todd Lincoln

In Theaters: Aug 24, 2012 Wide
On DVD: Nov 27, 2012
Box Office:$4.9M

Warner Bros. Pictures

Final Destination 5 (2011)

I have to admit, these movies are a guilty pleasure of mine.

The only reason I really watch them any more is to see the interesting new ways they decide to kill off the characters.

Other than, I can pretty much recite the basic script for one of these films before I even see it.

Lead character has a vision of a terrible tragedy that results in the gruesome death of his friends and himself in some horrifying and highly unrealistic way -- Character realizes it was a vision, but things start playing out just as they were in the dream so character makes a scene and gets his friends and a few other 'believers' out of the situation -- Horrible situation actually happens -- People are like "Woah, how did you know that was going to happen?" -- Character becomes chief suspect in police investigation -- Survivors start dying off in same order as they would have died in the tragedy -- They realize they can perhaps 'cheat death' if they kill someone else -- It doesn't work -- They all die. 

Somewhere in there is a weird cameo from the dude who played "Candyman," who I guess is supposed to be Death. He always gives them the same warning about no one being able to cheat death, although the teenagers always seem to think he's crazy.

I feel like the screenplay writers are literally just filling in blanks for the names and locations.

Again, the only thing that changes with these films are the death scenes, but I do admit, those can be entertaining. And the ending on this one was a nice touch for those of us who have been watching these from the beginning.

"Final Destination 5" is nothing to write home about (although is a 5th of any series ever going to be?), but if you're bored and are in the mood for a predictable horror flick, it's perfect.


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R, 1 hr. 32 min.
Horror

Directed By: Steven Quale

Written By: Eric Heisserer

In Theaters: Aug 12, 2011 Wide
On DVD: Dec 27, 2011
Box Office:$42.6M

Warner Bros.