Review: ‘Wichita’… Another Average Horror Flick

Wichita

Available On DVD & Digital HD: June 20, 2017

Guest review from Reel Reviews Over Brews

Wichita is about a filmmaker named Jeb (Trevor Peterson). Jeb is the creator of a TV series that is in decline. In order to try and save the show, he sets up a writing retreat for all of his co-workers to join him at a secluded home in the mountains. Little do they know that Jeb has wired the house with hidden cameras, due to his obsession with watching and manipulating their lives. Unfortunately for Raven (Persia White), she is his biggest obsession. When Jeb is eventually fired, he loses his mind completely and returns to the retreat with his camera where he sets himself on a horrifyingly violent rampage in hopes to capture it all for one final masterpiece.

We’ve been watching a lot of horror movies lately and Wichita joins in the middle of the pack. It takes a while for this movie to get going and once it does, it still didn’t quite have us on the edge of our seats, but it did have us trying to figure out what Jeb would do next. This movie takes a lot of the classic horror moves into play, so a few of the scenes seemed predictable. Trevor Peterson played an amazing role as Jeb though! It’s very easy to get caught up in his character’s story and that is why we have to applaud him. One thing we wish directors Justyn Ah Chong and Matthew D. Ward did with this movie, is utilize the hidden cameras more. It felt like hidden cameras were going to be a big part of the story line and they just weren’t used as much as we hoped or thought. In the end, Wichita isn’t bad, but it also isn’t great. Its average and we’re okay with that because most horror movies have been fairly underwhelming lately.

Reel ROB Rating: 3.25 out of 5 stars

Post Credits Scene: No

We want to thank our friends at Reel News Daily for allowing us to do this guest review for them!

Review: Don’t get trapped in ‘The Snare’

C.A. Cooper’s first feature length film debut, The Snare, is the story of Alice (Eaoifa Forward) who heads out to a vacant vacation complex for a drunken weekend, with her friend Lizzy (Rachel Warren) and her boyfriend Carl (Dan Paton). Despite the fact that they were knowingly trespassing, they didn’t expect the hell that they would soon be trapped in. This is the story of those who have fallen into a trap, and I want to make sure you don’t follow in their foot steps.

This is a film that had great ideas however, they were poorly executed. There were scenes within the film that were great, and scenes that were terrible, and in all honestly just needed to be cleaned up. The film didn’t appear to have a huge budget and it showed in different places through out, for example there was plastic patio furniture in the kitchen, and it didn’t make sense considering the overall quality of the apartment. There are many independent horror films out there with small budgets that are still great due to their creativity; The Snare just didn’t quite reach that mark. For someone who loves the horror genre, this film at times can feel rather frustrating, because you see the shell of an unnerving film, however the meat within it just wasn’t good.

[Spoilers Ahead]

The film clearly had a deeper meaning behind what was occurring within Alice’s mind. We see that her father in the beginning of the story has no boundaries like a father normally would around his own daughter, which purposefully makes the audience uneasy. We are then introduce to Lizzy, who is supposedly her friend, and Lizzy’s boyfriend Carl, who shows clear parallels to Alice’s father’s perversions. Alice seems like a quiet and together girl, and her friend Lizzy does not share those same characteristics; in a lot of ways their friendship doesn’t make that much sense, such as Lizzy stealing keys to a vacation apartment that isn’t hers and Alice just kind of goes along with it. Once they realize they are stuck on one of the upper floors of the building with no practical escape, the story became slightly more interesting. When we begin to see what’s occurring in Alice’s mind, there wasn’t a natural build of suspense, but instead the film relied heavily on the jump scares, which is kind of a disappointment. The best moments of the film happen closer to the end, but even the ending it’s self didn’t finish very strong.

The film overall was underwhelming. The acting did hugely improve as the film went on, however I believe it really could of been better if select parts of the story had been done differently. The overall theme that I think C.A. Cooper was aiming for, was interesting; I did like the dark parallels between Alice’s home life and their entrapment within the apartment, as well as the eerie music. For some the good may out weigh the bad, however it is not a horror film that I would recommend.

2 1/2 out of 5 stars.

Uncork’d Entertainment’s British horror flick, The Snare will be release in theaters and VOD on January 6th, 2017.

Jordan’s Review: Accepting “The Invitation”

INVITATION_Theatrical-Poster_Web

Forget everything you know about the past films of director (Karyn Kusama) and writers (Phil Hay and Matt Manfredi). These filmmakers have created a new style and beginning for themselves in the genre of suspense that will sincerely put audiences on the edge of their seat; The Invitation is their new beginning. 

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After two years since the tragic event that split them apart, nine friends come together to reunited at a dinner party in the Hollywood Hills. Despite their uncomfortable history, Will (Logan Marshall-Green) and his girlfriend Kira (Emayatzy Corinealdi), decided to attend this reunion hosted by his ex-wife, Eden (Tammy Blanchard), and her new husband David (Michiel Huisman). A lot has changed in two years, and in an awkward attempt to mingle as normal, certain changes start to become more and more apparent. After hearing more about Eden’s travels to Mexico and her life changing program, Will begins to feel like this invitation has a hidden agenda. While being haunted by a tragedy of the past and his ex’s strange behavior, Will and the audiences’ paranoia worsens as the night progresses.THE-INVITATION_Argument

Your unfathomable thirst for information in order to piece together this cringeworthy night is what makes the writing so great. Director Karyn Kusama said “I like movies that reward our patience and curiosity.” While paying tribute to traditional suspense films, The Invitation constantly washes us over with self doubt, and makes us question whether we should feel uneasy or are we just paranoid?  Are we the crazy ones or are they? I guess you have to see and find out for yourself.  The Invitation will be released and available on VOD on April 8th.

4 out of 5 stars