mrguugelballer

Watched 1/3rd of the movie. Quit. Went to my attic and dusted my VHS player. Searched 30 minutes for the right adapter for SCART. Inserted my Terminator 2: Judgement Day VHS in. Watched it. Felt happy. Took my Arnold poster down because he took part in killing something that was so important for a 9-year old kid back in 1991. Seriously. F you Hollywood.

The ride never ends...

Well what can I say. I've seen about 700 to 800 horror movies or series and this was the first one that I cried my eyes out in the end.

I'm still trying to figure it out what hit me so hard in the emotional center, but this is some seriously good entertainment. It's not perfect, but it's damn good. Cinematography is 10/10. Acting is almost right on the money. I did not find it particularly scary, but I've watched so many horror movies that it's not about the horror anymore for me, it's more about the story that is told. And the story was mostly good and sometimes excellent. Only grievance I have with the story is the oh-too-obvious "I am now going to tell you a scary story" parts. The first time it was done it was ok. The third (or fourth?) time it was done it's just repetition in my opinion. Also jump scares are so boring. They do the trick, but it's a cheap trick.

But the drama. Oh how I loved the drama. And I loved the dialogue between the people because it felt a lot more real than the usual dialogue in horror genre. Horror is one part secrets and mystery and usually it does not translate well as to how people communicate with eachother in horror movies because it's really difficult to write dialogue which is at the same time realistic conversation between people about the things that are happening in the movie/series but at the same time it don't spoil the secrets. In this series the dialogue works and it's beliavable AND it does not ruin the suspension. And thats worth 10/10 if something is. I don't even want to think how many horror films I've seen that I'd just hope everyone would be mute so that I would not have to endure the banal dialogue between the people on the screen :D

Haunting of the Hill House is an excellent story and I wholeheartedly recommend it to everyone who enjoys watching horror.

First things first: This is not a drama movie that tries to be as real and convincing as possible.

This is a movie about violence (and few other themes) and that violence is set up and portrayed not realistically but artistically. What I mean is that the director and writer are not trying to create a copy of our world. They created a imitation of our world and twisted it a little to create the atmosphere they wanted for the movie.

Now that I got that out of my system I'll give a quick review.

Vince Vaughn is great. First part of the movie is a prologue for the second part which is the meat of this movie. And the meat tastes so good. Violence is portrayed with much detail. The movie does not explain everything to you. It still gives you enough hints in dialogue and in characters behavior that you understand what's happening and why it's happening. You could call it somewhat minimalist approach to build characters. For me it worked because one thing I do not like in films is when directors and writers include lengthy explanatory scenes in films so that every single viewer has clear understanding why characters do what they do. It's dumbing down movies and it's painful to watch. I love the chemistry between Bradley (not Brad) and Gil. I love the ending. I love the violence. I love that the movie is a bit "off" from the usual story lines.

If you're into violent movies, this is a must watch.