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carlton163
Reviews
Stormhouse (2011)
Scary with brains!
A couple of the average reviews here, and also the odd review I've seen elsewhere, just go to show that everything's subjective, because I absolutely loved this movie when I saw it at the Edinburgh Festival where it premiered last year.
I don't want to spoiler anything, as there are some nice twists and turns along the way (and at least one killer in the final act!) and by now you'll be familiar with the central idea. New York psychic girl (played by Katherine Flynn - although weirdly there are currently a Katherine and a Katie FLynn in the IMDb credits!) is brought to a top- secret military base to speak to a caged ghost. She gets along with it fine and they all live happily after... ahem! Maybe not... :)
Sure, the sound is a bit dodgy in places - maybe a result of this being a reportedly low-budget film. But for me, there was nothing low budget about the atmosphere or the super-creepy goings-on. Not to mention the occasional outburst of ultra-violence (especially one scene - you'll know when you see it!). Killer stuff. Really loved Grant Masters as the Major - a well-rounded, low-key villain, never OTT, but really intimidating in a different way.
Like films such as Session 9 or Insidious before it, Stormhouse rose up in my brain when I woke up in the middle of the night. Brrr! It's actually pretty disturbing, it's stayed with me - and that's rare in a horror film. I highly recommend that, if you're open to indie films which can't afford millions of super-flashy FX (although there are plenty of good ones here!), you enter the Stormhouse. Just don't expect to leave!
Experiment (2005)
Stylish thriller defies its budgetary limitations
The lowdown: The recipient of various festival awards, this classy British indie flick has yet to be made commercially available, but it's clearly only a matter of time. Best described as a hard thriller with elements of horror and sci-fi, it sees Anna (Georgina French) waking up in a foreign city. She has no idea who she is, or what she's meant to be doing. Should it be any consolation that there's a guy in town, Morgan (John Hopkins), who's suffering the same problems? As the film's title suggests, the reasons behind their plight are somewhat more sinister than having done a load of tequila shots the night before.
Good points: Shot in Prague using the latest High Definition technology, Experiment looks great - especially given its low budget of $250,000. Setting the story in a foreign city cleverly emphasises the main characters' sense of isolation and confusion, and it's a bold move to include a great deal of on screen English subtitles in the first act. The cast attack their roles with considerable energy, except for David Gant as evil mastermind Walker, who achieves brilliant things by speakkkking verrrry slowwwwwly. Pure malevolence.
Starting off at a fairly leisurely pace, while throwing in the odd deftly-timed jump to ensure you aren't sitting too comfortably (look out for the one in a hotel room - it puts all the tiresome Ring clones to shame), Experiment rarely stops entertaining - right up until the bitter end.
Bad points: There's little to complain about. The script's only weakness is the way in which Anna and Morgan do a little too much agonising over not knowing who they are. After a while, it becomes tiring to watch. No big deal.
Overall: Several notches about the average indie thriller, Experiment has a dark intensity which you'll want to check out. Now it's up to distributors to allow you that pleasure...