The Loved Ones

March is the International Women’s Month, and so for the whole month, let’s look into the movies that highlight the strengths and triumphs of women. Let’s begin with this 2009 Australian comedy horror film which does not only reflect the prowess of a woman, but also the tragedy and brutality that her wrath can bring. Get ready for some mild gore and be up for The Loved Ones.

The Loved Ones begins with a vehicular accident on a road. Brent (played by Xavier Samuel) is driving with his father in the passenger seat. All of a sudden, a bloodied man appears on the middle of the road, and swerving to avoid hitting the man, Brent’s car crashes into a tree.

 

Ten Movies about Souls with Unfinished Business

We all love ghost stories and the film industry never fail to pleasure us by producing movies in such genre. These ghost movies never have to be horror movies. Some belong to comedy, drama or romance genres. A common element in these films is the idea that the ghost is an unrested soul who must settle an unfinished account here on Earth. There are hundreds of such films, and here are ten of them:

The Others

The Others is a 2001 award-winning psychological horror film inspired by the novella “The Turn of the Screw”. Directed by Spanish-Chilean director Alejandro Amenabar, it stars Nicole Kidman and Christopher Eccleston. Grace Stewart (Nicole Kidman) is a Catholic mother living with her two children in a remote country house in the British Crown Dependency of Jersey during the post-World War II period. Life seems normal for the family until the arrival of three servants, when odd events begin to happen…  “Sometimes, the world of the dead gets mixed up with the world of the living.” In the end, Grace Stewart realizes they were the dead and the “intruders,” dead 50 years ago when she murdered her family. (image source)

The Sixth Sense

The Sixth Sense is a 1999 drama film directed by M. Night Shyamalan. It stars Bruce Williams, Joel Osment and Olivia Williams. It tells the story of a child psychologist named Dr. Malcolm Crowe and his interaction with a nine-year-old troubled child named Cole Sear. Cole claims to see dead people which Crowe would not believe at the beginning. The child eventually uses his gift to help out some ghosts. In the end, Crowe realizes that he is also a ghost and that he was killed when he and his wife were attacked by one of his patients (shown earlier in the movie). (See full review) (image source)

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REC 2

 

REC or [·REC]² is a 2009 sequel to the internationally-acclaimed 2007 Spanish horror film REC (see Random Film: REC). Jaume Balaguero and Paco Plaza still co-wrote and co-directed this second installment. It follows the events immediately after the events of REC, and hence, it still has that shaky camera and claustrophobic effect.

Plot. Dr. Owen, an official from the Ministry of Health, and a special group called GEO team are sent to the quarantined building to control the situation. Inside the building, they encounter the infected victims but Owen uses his rosary and religious mantra to drive them away. It turns out that Owen is actually a priest sent by the Vatican to acquire a blood sample from the Medeiros girl (the carrier of the virus which spread the demonic possession). They eventually reach the penthouse (owned by another priest in charge of her) and found the sample. However, it is set on fire while when they test it to confirm. The only option is to get a sample from the Medeiros girl herself.

Meanwhile, several other characters also surface. Jennifer’s father has come back after buying medicine for his child (the infected girl from REC who was thought to have tonsillitis only) and insists on entering the building. He convinces a firefighter and both go inside. Likewise, three teenagers – Tito, Mire, and Ori – manage to get inside the building via the sewage system. However, the police later seal the exit. Click here to read full review of "REC 2".

REC

 

REC (or ·REC) is a Spanish film co-written and co-directed by Jaume Balaguero and Paco Plaza. It was released in Spain in November 2007, and instantly became a critical and commercial success.

Plot.  The movie is fully in Spanish language and was filmed using camerawork. It follows a television reporter, Angela Vidal, and her cameraman, Pablo, who cover the night shift of a local fire station in Barcelona.

It begins with shots of Angela and Pablo documenting the activities of local firefighters. Then the fire station receives a call about an old woman who is trapped in her apartment. The group immediately responds and Angela and Pablo go with them. When they arrive at the area, the woman suddenly becomes aggressive and bites a policeman. She escapes and hides in one of the rooms. Meanwhile, the terrified residents in the building gather in the entrance hall as the entire building was sealed off and quarantined.

Later, the old woman bites another firefighter who plummets through the stairway to the lobby floor. The camera crew, police and remaining firefighter search for the old woman. She appears again, still fierce, and when she begins to attack them, she is shot. Afterwards, Angela interviews a little girl who appears to be sick with tonsillitis. Click here to read full review of "REC".