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ludokai
Reviews
Rewind or Die (2023)
The epitome of "fine"
There's not really much to say. It's very generic in terms of it's story and premise and fairly short in terms of the game length. The high point for me personally would be the art-style. While it's similar to what's seen in a lot of indie horror games it is a very grimy, dirty and surreal aesthetic with visuals that really compliment a horror game. The low point for me 100% has to be the voice acting. Timothy, Louis, Officer Johnson and the lady in the freezer not only take you out of the story but feel detrimental to it. Audio is super important in a game like this and the ambient sound is fine but when a cheap mic then blares in it's just not a great time.
There's some genuinely fantastic indie horror games out there but this is easily skippable in my honest opinion. Not overtly bad but it is the kind of title that just blends into the slew of other indie titles.
Knights of Newgate (2021)
Extremely bad;
I can overlook a generic, cliché story and I can overlook special FX that look like they were from the mid 90's but it's the acting and audio quality I just can't get passed. No-one in this movie comes across as an actual actor and the audio quality is beyond belief. One person speaking can sound like they're using a cheap headset whereas another sounds like they're in the kitchen with reverb hitting everywhere.
It's not often I come across titles this bad. It feels so lazy to the point that it's not worth going into. It's just a massive waste of time.
Black Summer (2019)
Not great but not bad
The most common question I've been asked since Black Summer came out is "Is it as good as The Walking Dead?". Whilst I don't think that's a fair comparison because of the sheer budget difference, I do think it's an easy question to answer; no. It's not. But it's decent at what it does.
The premise is simple; a virus is spreading (airborn) and turning people into ravenous creatures which are almost identical to the zombies seen in Dawn Of The Dead(2004). The story itself is about people trying to get from A to B (it's really that simple). A man trying to find his sister and children, a mother searching for her daughter etc. Whilst the little stories it tells are okay, I found myself been taken out of the experience since the movie has short segments per episode but I can overlook this.
Whilst I do think Black Summer is worth a watch, I don't think it's even close to other series we've already got. The problem is that it does nothing new, doesn't explore anything new or tell a new kind of story. It's generic but having said that, it's generic done well which is why I think it's worth a watch.
TLDR;
Nothing new, ground-breaking or overly memorable but something decent to watch for fans of 28 Days/Weeks Later, The Walking Dead, Dawn Of The Dead etc.
The Silence (2019)
A wasted premise
So the idea of a primeval creature resurfacing and demolishing our society is solid. It's always a really good premise but unfortunately this movie does not stick solely to that premise.
The basics are that an ancient race of aerial creatures is unleashed and decimates all in it's path. Their senses are based around sound (similar to Quiet Place) and I enjoyed that part of the movie *but* it then adds a sub-plot of a cult-like group who chase our dear survivors because "The girl is fertile". Because it deviates from what it's already set in motion, the movie ends ups confused. Bottom line is that if you're going to make a creature flick then have it entirely based around the creatures you've created, don't devolve it into the generic "We're a cult and we want your little girl" because the end product becomes extremely lackluster.
It's a shame because I was enjoying this movie but adding the really badly done cult aspect absolutely takes away from the experience. If this movie would've purely been about the creatures, survival etc then it would've been a genuine treat to watch but after the bad sub-plot I can honestly say that there's better movies out there that'll kill your time.
A 2/10 for me. It's basically Quiet Place with an added (and extremely weak/cringe) sub-plot.
Alien Warfare (2019)
A genuine regret watching this movie;
So I love all kinds of movies regardless of cast, budget, genre etc. It's not often I actually regret watching a movie but sadly I do regret watching Alien Warfare (2019).
I understand that not every movie needs to be/can be high budget. In fact some of my favourite movies (Evidence, The Battery, State Of Emergency etc) are on the low-end when it comes to budget so I go into movies with my eyes wide open but dear lord.
Alien Warfare is just flat-out bad. The effects were bad to the point that they almost seemed like they were supposed to be supporting some kind of parody. The story itself was okay-ish but it's the same thing that's been done time and time again. The cinematography was just cheap and some of the dialogue itself just seemed awkward. So having said that; I have watched movies like this before with the same negatives that've had the saving grace of good/passionate actors but dear lord, that's not the case here. I got the legitimate feeling that the actors either weren't getting paid, weren't getting paid enough or weren't actual actors and instead were people either picked up off the street or kidnap victims. None of the actors performed well or even mildly decent, none of them seemed to have any semblance of passion and none of them felt believable in their respective roles.
I'm all for indie-movies and micro-budget movies and I usually tell people to watch something just for the experience but I can wholeheartedly say that this one is an easy hard-pass for most people. It just isn't worth the time invested.