Thir13een Ghosts (2001) Movie Review

Thir13een Ghosts (2001) IMDB

Thir13en Ghosts (2001) movie poster

Let’s start this review with the premise of the movie - Your rich uncle dies and he leaves you his house. Who wouldn’t be excited to see your new mansion !! Oh, by the way it has glass walls on the inside. That is a bit weird. Hmmm. Glass walls sound a bit like a mirror maze, and as the story unfolds the walls shift in the house, making it an actual maze for the occupants to move through. Did I mention the house has been sealed and they are trapped inside? I didn’t. Oh, well they are trapped inside with 12 ghosts who can only be seen by wearing special glasses. So, if 12 ghosts are chasing them around a glass walled mazelike house why is the movie called Thir13een ghosts ? And that is the story. Can the group escape the locked house and what do the ghosts want ?

The good of the movie is an interesting story concept and an unfolding mystery. The bad is the cartoonlike visuals of the 12 ghosts. I would prefer a more menacing group than one that kids could watch (with exceptions for The Jackal and the Juggernaut which are both excellent baddies). Despite that, this film is still rated R for violence and gore, and a bit more.

This is actually remake of the 1960 film 13 Ghosts by William Castle and starring Charles Herbert. That version had much different special effects. I think I prefer the 1960 version which can be found for free streaming typically.

There was a lot of potential in the modern version, but it didn’t deliver. The reviews were poor for it when it was released and I have to agree. I give it a 5/10.

Check out the trailer:

Iteration 1 (2016) Movie Review

Today we dive into another maze-ish related short film from 2016, Iteration 1, directed by Jesse Lupini.

Iteration 1 (2016) (IMDB)

Iteration 1 (2016) movie poster

Here is the premise of the short film Iteration 1 : A woman (played by Katharine Isabelle who you might know from Ginger Snaps) wakes up in a bed in the middle of a well-lit white room with black grids on the walls. She has 60 seconds to, well, after 60 seconds she collapses and everything resets. Her goal, although never stated is to find a way out of the place she is in (which is about as specific as I can get because it isn’t really clear except this place is maze-like). Each time she awakens a voice declares the Iteration # she is on. This feels like a time travel/groundhog day movie where our character needs to learn from their mistakes to move forward in the time loop. And it happens after just 60 seconds in this Iteration so things are sped up.

The film is weird with little dialogue but actually fun to watch. You’ll find yourself talking to the woman and giving her suggestions based on what you might do in this situation, like, hey, maybe try this (or that). Definitely worth a viewing ! I give it a 7/10 and suggest you invest the 14 minutes you will need to watch this film.

Bonus points to the designer of the poster who used a labyrinth for the “O” in Iteration but made it off center so it looks something like a thumb print. Is this a clue ? Here is a close-up of the design in higher resolution.

Iteration O labyrinth

The best part about short films is you can often watch them for free on YouTube !! Check it out:

The Collection (2012) Movie Review

The Collection (2012) (IMDB)

The Collection (2012) movie poster

The Collection is the sequel to the 2009 movie The Collector, each directed by Marcus Dunstan. The movie posters for the 2 movies are almost the same so you may have seen one movie but might not be sure which one.

After escaping from a serial killer known as The Collector a man is sent back to the serial killer’s hideout to rescue a kidnapped girl. The only problem is that hideout is a booby trapped maze he needs to get thru to save the girl. And by booby trapped, I mean Saw levels of pain and creativity. Can he save her in time ? If I told you I would need to write spoiler and then give you the answer. But I didn’t so you’ll need to watch this on your own to get the answer.

If there is one thing I disagree with the critics on is that this movie is more poorly reviewed than the first installment The Collector. I completely disagree. While that movie is fine, this sequel is a much better movie. I give The Collection a 7.5 / 10. The movie can be found on streaming for free and it is only 82 minutes ! They edited out all of the boring parts and were left with a nice tight movie. See this movie and enjoy the carnage !

UPDATE: After years of “development hell” it seems that The Collector 3 appears to be back in development. I will be watching for updates. It also has initial artwork that suggests the movie poster will be a similar version to parts 1 & 2.

Hell Fest (2018) Movie Review

If a movie contains a maze or labyrinth, I watch it. Sometimes that means movie gold, but most of the time it means eh. How is the horror film Hell Fest ? Let’s find out.

Hell Fest (2018) (IMDB)

Hell Fest (2018) movie poster

I want to start with the movie poster. Nice use of the devil looming over everyone and the fire colored sky on the top of the poster contrasting against the greyscale below. Good design.

IMO, this is a remake of The Funhouse Massacre from 2015 with a larger budget and a slightly different script. If you haven’t yet seen The Funhouse Massacre, I don’t want to spoil it, but based on reviews that would be impossible. A good publicist would say it got “mixed reviews”, never mentioning the reviews were mixed between bad, unwatchable, terrible, poor, and almost ok. Anyway, a groups of kids on Halloween night head to the amusement park for Hell Fest for some nice haunted house style fun. But, there is a serial killer on the loose among the workers who is making some of the experiences seem a bit too real (because they are !!!). Will the group be able to escape the masked person following them ? Will police and security believe them ( do they ever?). The best part about this movie is the ending and I mean that sincerely. I would give the poster a close second.

My thoughts: 5/10. It is better than almost all of the low budget horror maze movies I have seen. This film grossed over $18M during it’s theatrical release. The trailer is quite good: