Movie reviews (titles starting with R)

[goodcop2000]

Rammbock: Berlin Undead (2010)
4 red-eyed freaks

At just about an hour long, this German film with English subtitles is a quick watch. It appears to have a small budget as there are not many special effects and the action takes place in a limited area but that doesn't stop the movie from being fun. The storyline is that a man visits Berlin from out of town to see his ex-girlfriend. He is at her apartment speaking with some maintenance workers when one of the workers suddenly becomes murderously violent. The man soon realizes that this type of incident is widespread. Rammbock never really gets around to explaining the origin of the epidemic but does show that it is contagious. The outbreak appears to be related to people infected with a disease as opposed to traditional undead zombies. There are some genuinely frightening moments in the movie and a novel method of fighting the infected is introduced. I highly recommend this one for aficionados of zombie type movies.

Ravenous (1999)
3 chunky meat stews

Ravenous is an independent film about cannibalism starring some pretty big-name actors including Guy Pearce, David Arquette, and an actor I loved in the Band of Brothers miniseries, Neal McDonough. The movie was interesting and at times disturbing but unfortunately the plot was not very believable.

Re-Animator (1985)
3.5 buckets of blood

Dr. Herbert West is a young but driven (some would say mad) scientist bent on defeating death. He manages to rope his roommate into helping with his experiments which are not exactly endorsed by the faculty at Miskatonic University. The plot does not closely follow the H.P. Lovecraft story on which it was based but Re-Animator is a lot of fun for gore enthusiasts. Reportedly, 25 gallons of fake blood were used during filming! Some of the special effects are spectacular and the reanimated bodies are properly horrifying.

[REC] (2007)
4 red-eyed freaks

This Spanish film (subtitled in English), directed by Jaume Balagueró and Paco Plaza, tells the story of a young female reporter played by Manuela Velasco. She and her cameraman get permission to spend the night accompanying a group of firefighters while they work so they can film a TV segment. They go to an apartment building for a medical call and things quickly go bad. The film is shown from the point of view of the TV cameraman and the film makers do a nice job of creating a tense, claustrophobic atmosphere for the viewer. Although it employs a newer style of filming, [REC] provides good old-fashioned scares. The acting is pretty good overall. Others have been critical, but I enjoyed Velasco's performance. This movie was remade in the U.S. as Quarantine.

[REC]² (2009)
4 red-eyed freaks

Directors Balagueró and Plaza follow up their fun and scary POV horror with another great effort in this sequel. The events take place shortly after the end of the first film. A SWAT team is assigned to accompany a health official into the now-quarantined apartment building, but everything is not as it seems. I like that [REC]² explains more about the origin of the outbreak and that the story is much more original than the now common "rage virus" plot. There is a lot of fun action that almost feels like you are playing a first person shooter because of the POV filming and I think the acting is slightly better than the original. I especially enjoyed the performance of Óscar Zafra as the leader of the SWAT team.

[REC]³ Génesis (2012)
2.5 red-eyed freaks

After loving [REC] and [REC]², I was excited about the third installment. Since the sub-title was Génesis, I thought it would be a prequel or that it would further explore the origin of the outbreak. As expected for a [REC] film, the movie begins with footage from hand-held cameras. The setting is a wedding day and the camera men giving us our point of view are the wedding videographer and the groom's cousin. There is nice character development as we meet the bride and groom, their family, and their friends. "Clever", I think, "to make us care about them before they are brutally slaughtered". The scenes are clean and bright and the atmosphere is in complete contrast to the first two films. "Just wait for the juxtaposition of light/beauty with blood/horror", I think. Cue the uncle with the fresh dog bite getting sick and turning savage. This moment, early on, is the turning point of the film. The videographer's camera gets broken and suddenly we are watching in the traditional third person view. "That's strange", I think. Then I notice that the soundtrack has become standard horror movie music. I am thrown for a loop. "Well, as long as it's scary, I'm cool with it", I think. Then the final surprise hits. The rest of the movie is an unabashed comedy! A comedy with plenty of gore, but a comedy nonetheless. Now I loved Shaun of the Dead, so I am not against horror/comedy but if the movie is not going to be scary it better be extremely funny. [REC]³ is neither. The two reasons I am giving it a rating of 2.5 and not far less are that the actors are quite good and the aforementioned gore is well done. I noticed that this installment was directed by Paco Plaza without his partner on the earlier films, Jaume Balagueró. Perhaps he took the film in an entirely different direction for that reason. I'm not sure. What I do know is that now I am not so excited about the reported 4th movie coming later this year.

Red Sands (2009)
1.5 carbine rifles

This horror follows a group of American soldiers in the desert fighting against a mysterious foe. There are not a lot of positive things to say about Red Sands. I don't mind low-budget horror films as long as they are imaginative and have a good story. Unfortunately, the plot of this movie is predictable and, worst of all, boring. The costumes, sets, and regular special effects are alright but the CGI effects are horrendous and look like a cartoon added to live action ala Who Framed Roger Rabbit? The acting is not terrible but is certainly not good enough to save this film.

The Reeds (2010)
3.5 murky swamps

The Reeds is an interesting and complex British supernatural horror film about a group of friends who take a boat ride into an isolated area and run into trouble. The filming location is a great setting and helps provide an eerie atmosphere that the film maintains well. I thought the acting was very good, definitely better than your average horror film. The only drawback for me was some unanswered questions at the end of the movie.

Reeker (2005)
3.5 strange smells

Reeker is an entertaining indie horror flick about a mysterious monster stalking a group of young folks on a road trip. The first time I saw it I thought it was too slow-moving but I really liked the ending. When I watched it a second time, I caught a lot of things that I missed on the first viewing which increased my appreciation of the film.

Remains (2011)
2.5 tasty brains

Remains is an original movie made by the Chiller channel so I did not have great expectations (consider all of the bad Sci-Fi channel productions). Apparently it is based on a short series of comics from 2004 but I am not familiar with that series. The movie wastes no time getting to the zombie action. There is a brief intro at the beginning showing a catastrophe which apparently is the source of the zombie hordes, then the killing begins. By no means is this a great zombie film but it did keep me interested all the way to the end. The weak aspects of the movie include mediocre to poor acting, inexplicable decisions by characters (both human and zombie), occasional bad CGI, and little character development. I was particularly annoyed that a couple of important characters in the movie were killed in an event that happened off-screen and is only referenced later. The main strength of the movie (for zombie fans) is that there are lots of zombies around to endanger our heroes - some lurking, some shambling, some running. The writer of the script did try out some novel ideas regarding zombie behavior which sometimes worked for me (they eat other zombies when fresh humans are not available) and sometimes did not (they sleep standing up at night). I have no desire to watch Remains again but I think zombie lovers will find it worth one viewing.

Resident Evil (2002)
3.5 tasty brains

Disclaimer: Apparently, a lot of people look down on these movies because they feel they do not measure up to the video games. I have never played any of the Resident Evil video games, so I am judging the movies in this series purely on their own merits.

I found the first Resident Evil movie to be a high energy action film with plenty of zombie carnage. The plot about a dangerous virus wiping out a secret scientific facility run by the Umbrella Corporation is interesting. Who doesn't like a good story about a giant, evil corporation? The main character, Alice (played by Milla Jovovich), spends much of the movie trying to piece together her past after waking up with amnesia, which adds an air of mystery as the viewer tries to figure out exactly what is going on. Plenty of other interesting characters populate the film and add to the intrigue.

Resident Evil: Apocalypse (2004)
3 tasty brains

For some reason, I did not enjoy this Resident Evil sequel as much as most of the others in the series, but it is still entertaining. Milla Jovovich is back as Alice. She has escaped the secret facility and is now kicking zombie tail in Raccoon City, which is quickly quarantined as the zombie infection spreads. Alice joins up with others in an effort to escape the city. Raccoon City police officer Jill Valentine is introduced as a main character but the performance by actress Sienna Guillory is subpar. I did enjoy the appearances of Carlos Olivera, a former Umbrella Corporation operative left abandoned in the city, and Nemesis, an extremely strong T-Virus mutation bred to do battle with Alice.

Resident Evil: Extinction (2007)
4 tasty brains

For my money, this 3rd installment in the Resident Evil series is the best in the bunch. Alice (Milla Jovovich) is back and badder than ever due to genetic enhancements from the Umbrella Corporation and a new wardrobe. Carlos Olivera (Oded Fehr) also returns, accompanied by the lovely Claire Redfield (Ali Larter) who is trying to lead a group of survivors to safety. What's better than a tough chick kicking zombie tail? Two tough chicks kicking zombie tail! As if staying alive is not difficult enough due to zombie infestation, mad scientist Dr. Isaacs of the Umbrella Corporation continues to cause trouble for our intrepid heroes. Much of the action in this movie takes place outside in the blazing sun and the makeup for the dry, rotting zombies is particularly well done.

Resident Evil: Degeneration (2008)
3 tasty brains

As I have mentioned, I never played any of the Resident Evil video games but I like the movie series and this animated story is pretty good. It features both Leon S. Kennedy and Claire Redfield teaming up to battle zombies. Once in a while the human motion looks a little wooden but most of the animation is excellent. From what I've read, fans of the video games enjoyed this even more than movie fans like me.

Resident Evil: Afterlife (2010)
3.5 tasty brains

This film is the action-packed fourth installment in the Resident Evil series. This was my first view of James Cameron's new 3D technology (first used in Avatar) and I was riveted by the special effects, even though some of the slow-motion action sequences are a little over the top. The plot, unfortunately, is not as impressive as the visual effects. Alice (Milla Jovovich) is determined to take down the Umbrella Corporation and utilizes an army of clones to help her. Eventually, Alice resumes her quest to find a safe haven from the zombie hordes. She reunites with Claire Redfield (Ali Larter) and recruits new survivors, including Luther West (Boris Kodjoe) and a man who may or may not be Claire's long-lost brother, Chris (Wentworth Miller). The new characters mix in well and there are some crazy, new T-virus mutations to keep things interesting.

Resident Evil: Retribution (2012)
2.5 tasty brains

The transformation of this movie series that began with Resident Evil: Afterlife is complete in this 5th film. The series started as zombie horror with action and tech elements, but has now firmly become a sci-fi action/adventure which incidentally has some zombies. Poor Alice (Milla Jovovich) has been captured by the Umbrella Corporation for what feels like the 10th time and is tortured by her former friend, Jill Valentine. Luckily for her, a powerful person from her past has need of her and sends several people to help rescue her, including her friend Luther West (Boris Kodjoe), former Umbrella Corp. operative Ada Wong (Li Bingbing), and Leon S. Kennedy (Johann Urb), who apparently is a major character in the video games. Ada makes an impressive showing but there is not enough camera time to develop all of the new characters, notably Leon, because the movie also features the reappearances of several popular deceased characters from earlier movies who were cloned. I wouldn't say this is a terrible film, but it is easily my least favorite in the series. The ending promises at least one more sequel will be delivered, but I will not be waiting on the edge of my seat.

Return to House on Haunted Hill (2007)
3 restless spirits

This movie is a direct-to-video sequel to the 1999 House on Haunted Hill (itself a remake of the 50's original). If you keep your expectations at a reasonable level, the movie is somewhat entertaining. As you would expect, the acting is mediocre and the plot at times a bit ridiculous. You can imagine the convoluted story line necessary to bring a large group of people back into the abandoned house where it is common knowledge that almost every person who enters meets a gruesome death. If you can get past that, the action and special effects are not bad. A house full of the ghosts of abused mental patients and murdered nurses is almost certain to offer some blood-soaked entertainment to people like me with a twisted sense of fun.

The Return of the Living Dead (1985)
4 tasty brains

Dan O'Bannon directed this film which was an alternate sequel to Romero's 1968 Night of the Living Dead. In his version, the cause of the dead rising was a government-made chemical, zombies retain much more intelligence and they can speak. This did add some very amusing lines - "Send more paramedics" and gave rise to the classic zombie battle cry - "Braaaains". There was also more cheesy humor in this film than the Romero sequels if that is what you like.

Return of the Living Dead II (1988)
3.5 tasty brains

While this sequel to The Return of the Living Dead may not be as groundbreaking or innovative as the original, I found it just as fun to watch. Nosy kids accidentally unleash trioxin from a lost barrel in unfortunate proximity to a graveyard. The result is a new Tarman (I love that guy and wish he had a bigger role) and a graveyard full of brain-hungry zombies who amble into town looking for sustenance. One strange choice by the film makers is having two actors who were turned into zombies in the first movie return as different characters (graverobbers) in this film. They do poke fun at themselves for this, with one of the characters lamenting how he feels like this has all happened before in a dream. The mix of physical humor, witty quips (from human and zombie alike) and gory special effects results in a fun film.

Return of the Living Dead III (1993)
3 tasty brains

The third installment in the Return of the Living Dead series has a very different feel to it than the first two. Unlike the earlier movies there is no campy humor and we never get to see huge waves of zombies. Instead this movie is really a love story between Curt, the teenage son of a military official who is experimenting with good old trioxin to create biological weapons, and Julie, Curt's girlfriend who suffers an untimely death. Unfortunately Curt decides that he wants Julie back at any cost and, predictably, bloodshed ensues. The small amount of zombies in this film is a downer and a side-plot involving our heroes getting into trouble with a Latino gang is not very interesting. There are also some continuity issues with the earlier films regarding the manner in which people can be turned into zombies. On a personal note I was very disappointed that the zombie who emerged from a Trioxin barrel was not a third "Tarman", the iconic and vastly entertaining zombie who escaped barrels in the first two movies. There are some positives, though. Melinda Clarke does a nice job playing Julie as a sexy bad-girl type and she does her best work as her transformation into a zombie progresses. Basil Wallace also has a stand-out performance as "Riverman", a mentally ill homeless man who helps Curt and Julie. My favorite part of the movie is the end because when it feels like it's about to wrap up, there is an unlikely but entertaining turn resulting in more carnage and the appearance of a creature that looks like a cross between a zombie and Robocop. The fun ending probably makes this worth watching for zombie lovers but don't venture on to the putrid 4th installment.

Return of the Living Dead 4: Necropolis (2005)
1.5 tasty brains

I enjoyed all of the Return of the Living Dead movies up until this 4th one in which the quality drops off a cliff. There are a few nice special effects in the second half of the movie once the zombies finally starting rampaging but the acting and the plot are both very bad. The only actor I recognized in the film was Peter Coyote and he didn't help the cause. I don't know if he had a neurological disease or recent botox injections but he had a weird smirk on his face for the entire film which was very distracting.

The Revenant (2009)
3.5 zombie vampires

You can decide for yourself if The Revenant is a vampire movie, a zombie movie or some combination thereof. However you classify it, it is a very entertaining film. The story features a soldier named Bart Gregory who is killed in action but subsequently rises from the dead after his funeral. Bart is very confused about what is going on, as is his best buddy when the walking corpse pays him a visit. Eventually the two men learn to make the best of the situation. The movie nicely mixes scary, gory zombie action with dark comedy. I'm surprised that I didn't hear more buzz about this movie, which did win awards at several film festivals.

Revolt of the Zombies (1936)
1.5 vacant stares

If you need evidence that not all old black and white movies are good, feel free to watch Revolt of the Zombies. I can't think of any other reason for you to watch it. The title is much more exciting than the actual story. A group of scientists, representing the various Allied countries in World War I, takes on a mission to discover the ancient secret of creating mindless zombies. One of the scientists stumbles across the proper formula and decides to use it to his advantage against his competitor in a love triangle. The acting is horribly melodramatic and the dialogue is atrocious. Surprisingly, the Halperin brothers who worked on this film (director Victor Halperin and producer Edward Halperin), also teamed up a few years earlier on the much better White Zombie (1932).

The Ring (2002)
4 VCR tapes

Setting aside any comparisons to the original Japanese version Ringu, which I have not seen, I like The Ring because it is downright scary. In addition to creepy imagery, there are some real surprises that occur. Although other movies have tried to simulate the same effect, this is the first place I saw the weird jerky approach with sudden jumps forward employed by the monster. It still creeps me out.

Room of Death (2007)
4.5 eerie dolls

If you can stand reading sub-titles (or you speak French) don't miss this excellent murder thriller. Elements of this film remind me of Silence of the Lambs (purposefully I'm guessing because that novel is glimpsed briefly in a scene). There is a young, unproven, female profiler new to her department, a ritualistic murder to solve, and a kidnapping victim with a limited life span. There are also very well-acted, complex characters and some unexpected twists. I was extremely impressed by the film.

Rope (1948)
3.5 knots

This story of how to get away with murder is not Alfred Hitchcock's best movie but Jimmy Stewart is outstanding. Hitchcock used a very interesting style - he shot the whole movie in one long take (broken up only to change film reels every 10 minutes).

Rosemary's Baby (1968)
4.5 scrabble tiles

Rosemary's Baby is a very faithful adaptation of Ira Levin's well-known horror novel. It tells the story of a young couple who move into an old apartment building with a dark reputation. When the wife, brilliantly played by Mia Farrow, becomes pregnant, she starts to suspect some of the people in her life have sinister motives. The plot is superb, with plenty of suspense, and the acting is very good. Fans exploring the roots of horror should not miss Rosemary's Baby.

The Ruins (2008)
3 secluded temples

This story is about a group of young tourists who journey to visit a Mayan temple off the beaten path and end up fighting for their lives. I really enjoyed the book and the movie previews looked great, but I was disappointed with the end result. Much more gory than scary, the film did not capture the great atmosphere of the book. Still, the actors do a decent job, the special effects are very good, and the movie is pretty intense. Although it didn't reach its full potential, the movie is worth a watch.

[samuraitrev]

I watched Resident Evil Apocalypse last night and before I looked at your scores I gave it 3.5. Again you're on the money man! I'm a big fan of the games so to see Jill Valentine in action against the Lickers and the Nemisis is solid gold to me. The way nemisis stomps around and growls "STARS" was pure nostalgia kicks. I'm watching Extinction tonight!

[goodcop2000]

(02-12-2013 01:23 AM)samuraitrev Wrote:  I watched Resident Evil Apocalypse last night and before I looked at your scores I gave it 3.5. Again you're on the money man! I'm a big fan of the games so to see Jill Valentine in action against the Lickers and the Nemisis is solid gold to me. The way nemisis stomps around and growls "STARS" was pure nostalgia kicks. I'm watching Extinction tonight!

Extinction has some great scenes....glad to hear you're enjoying the series.

[samuraitrev]

I watched Resident Evil: Extinction last night. It's a close call, but I think this film deserves an 4. It's got Claire Redfield in it and Wesker too! Some great post apocalyptic stuff in there. I'm a big fan of the Fallout games and this could have been set in the same world. I wasn't struck on Mila Yanavich in the 1st 2 films, but in this she's cool. Best Resi film so far in my opinion so a 4 from from me!

[goodcop2000]

(02-12-2013 07:14 PM)samuraitrev Wrote:  I watched Resident Evil: Extinction last night. It's a close call, but I think this film deserves an 4. It's got Claire Redfield in it and Wesker too! Some great post apocalyptic stuff in there. I'm a big fan of the Fallout games and this could have been set in the same world. I wasn't struck on Mila Yanavich in the 1st 2 films, but in this she's cool. Best Resi film so far in my opinion so a 4 from from me!

I agree that the film is on the cusp of a 4. I think that people like yourself who played the Resident Evil video games have more of a connection to the various characters and monsters and have fun seeing them come to life. Since I didn't play any of the games I have to enjoy the movies on their own merits which probably means your ratings will be slightly higher than mine. That being said, I think the whole series so far has been a lot of fun to watch (through the fourth movie, I have not seen the fifth).

[samuraitrev]

I watched Resident Evil 4: Afterlife and I thought it was the worst out of the four. I guess I just expected it to be as good as the 3rd one. I can't give this one any higher than a 2.5 (average).

[goodcop2000]

(02-21-2013 10:19 PM)samuraitrev Wrote:  I watched Resident Evil 4: Afterlife and I thought it was the worst out of the four. I guess I just expected it to be as good as the 3rd one. I can't give this one any higher than a 2.5 (average).

Sorry you didn't enjoy this one. The story wasn't great but this movie was my first look at James Cameron's new 3D technology (I still haven't seen Avatar) and it entranced me. I also thought the new mutations were really cool. Afterlife is the movie version of junk food - a guilty pleasure. I do remember being on the fence on whether to give it a 3 or a 3.5 but I ended up going for the better score.

[friskers96]

You need They Live on this list... It a classic and I do believe it still hold a Guinness record for longest fight scene in a movie..

[goodcop2000]

After a second viewing, I have adjusted my rating on Rammbock: Berlin Undead up to 4 red-eyed freaks. The movie is only an hour long but it packs a lot of horror into that time!