Venom

R rated horror? Count me in
Its kind of a sad state horror films are in right now. What angers me the most about the PG-13 horror films we've been seeing recently is that they were originally supposed to be R. For instance, all of the "unrated" movies coming to DVD (see Grudge, Ring 2, Dark Water, Darkness...the list can go on and on), they were cut down from an R rating to achieve that PG-13 group. Whenever I bring this up I get yelled at (mostly by those unable to see R rated movies) because they think PG-13 horror films are the end all of horror. What they are missing is that in the past most, if not all, horror films were rated R and it just feels like a dumbing down when you can't go anywhere to find an R rated horror film but lo and behold PG-13s abound.

I apologize for the digression but it does serve a purpose for this review. The reason I give Venom a 4 star rating as opposed to the 3 or 3.5 it probably deserves is based on the timing. I saw this movie this last weekend because my...

Mr. Jangles
This is yet another horror film that had me fooled thanks to the previews. When I saw the previews, it appeared that this was a truly disturbing film that was sure to creep you out and leave you unsettled. When I saw the film, however, it turned out to be another teen horror flick.

Granted, this movie was quite a bit more entertaining and frightening than some others I'd seen recently (Cry Wolf, Dark Water, etc.). The swamp setting did lend the movie an added sense of darkness and dread, further darkening the aura of a backwoods town in the middle of nowhere. Ray, as "Mr. Jangles", was a pretty menacing figure and the incorporation of voodoo into the story also helped to make it a bit more interesting and mysterious. So, the movie had a good setting, tone and villian - ultimately, not too bad.

I'd say it's worth a viewing.

Great Movie.....Not Sure Why Some Don't Like It
I have no clue why this film didn't do any better than it did. It really is a very good movie and contrary to popular belief, it actually does manage to generate some supsense. I mean, true, we don't have any big-name faces in the cast, but who needs those anyway? The cast works fine, and most of them are able to act fairly decent. The only part where this movie falls short, is the last 3-4 minutes or so, when the lead female character finally kills Ray Sawyer. That whole sequence just seemed out of place. The colors were over-saturated, and it was entirely too bright in contrast with the rest of the film. Obviously, this small screw-up is not enough to make the movie bad, which is why the film deserves 5 stars and not 3. This is definitely worth a look!

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