SINISTER

So I saw the movie 'Sinister'! Lah di da! Same old story basically as every time I see a horror film. It was good and scary at times but most of the juicy stuff had already been given away in the trailer. Dammit! Why do they always do this to me?
  Anyway, that's pretty much all I want to say about the film itself. BUT - I was pretty impressed with the sound design and the score. Obviously, like so many other scary films this would have been nothing without good sounds. And of course, to my astonishment, it was Christopher Young doing the score.
  I've become quite a fan of his lately. From creepy scores (Nightmare on Elm Street & The Exorcism Of Emily Rose) to some of the most beautiful scores I can remember (Copycat & Entrapment). Anyway, I have now listened to so many film score composers that I can almost always hear who did the score to the movie I'm watching. However, mr. Young continues to surprise me. Pull him up on IMDb and see the astonishing list of very different movies he has composed for. I find it amazing. He renews himself with every score and only in his beautifully composed, quiet piano pieces does he reveal himself from film to film. The rest of the music is a surprise every time. Below is his 'Greatest Hits' from YouTube. Listen for yourself. Though I disagree that these are his greatest hits it definitely shows the incredible variety in his works.

  And on that note, worth mentioning is definitely also Dane A. Davis, the main sound designer on the film, who has worked on 'Cabin In The Woods' and the 'Matrix' films. No wonder it's all so well done!

The Cabin In The Woods

So - the choice the other day was between 'The Avengers' and something a little more horror-ish. So I chose to watch 'Cabin In The Woods' - a film I've been sort of following for quite some time now! Apparently a lot of interesting things went on with this project delaying it time after time. It was shot in 2009 and opened a month ago. Well, better late than never I guess and reading about it, watching the trailers etc did intrigue me.
 Anyway - I wish more films did what this one does! NOT give away everything in the trailer. Actually from the very beginning you are intrigued by the way things happen and how they happen and why they happen.
 Without giving away any more of the plot I think there are some interesting similarities between this film and 'The Hunger Games'. But judge for yourself when and if you get to see both.
 I like how this film starts much like so many other youth slasher films. A group of stereotype young people are going out into the woods to spend a weekend in some deserted cabin. Have we heard this one before? But then we start getting little hints about the real story that develops throughout the film and culminates in a finale that, whether you 'buy' it or not, certainly is original and very entertaining.
 It was so nice and refreshing to get to see one of these 'here we go again' films with a giant twist. Almost as if the makers knew that this is how we would think.
 Exactly why they waited so long to release it I'm not sure. It is interesting though. Maybe they were waiting for Chris Hemsworth to become enough of a star to sell some tickets though I think the story itself sells it. None of the actors are particularly memorable - well there is one cameo towards the end that blew my socks off. Very interesting choice! However, the actors don't have to be great in this film, everything else that goes on is what you need to pay attention to. I still cannot quite wrap my head around what exactly I think of the actual story but I was entertained and intrigued like I haven't been for a very long time by this type of film.
 Drew Goddard co-wrote and directed. He wrote 'Cloverfield' and was a writer on 'Lost' so I think that should give away that there are a few surprises along the way. The other writer, Joss Whedon, is the man behind 'The Avengers' and 'Buffy The Vampire Slayer' so the simple fact that these two guys write the script should be enough to attract some serious attention. I kind of want them to collaborate again. It's very interesting!