Horror Crush: Vera Farmiga

It's time for another horror crush. This time I am picking a woman who is currently appearing in horror material and is a total MILF. I am talking about the exquisitely beautiful Vera Farmiga.

Farmiga was born on Aug. 6, 1972 (making her 43) in Clifton, NJ. She's been acting since 1996, but it wasn't until 2007, when she appeared in her first genre flick. It was Joshua. I have never seen and am not sure I ever even heard of it before, writing this. It's apparently a creepy kid flick. Any of you out there seen it? Any thoughts?

She wouldn't return to straight up horror till Orphan, which coincidentally, is also a creepy kid flick! Orphan is actually chilling, fun, nasty, and even a little sleazy. This is the tale of a couple that adopts a weird, little girl (Isabelle Fuhrman) that turns out to be anything but innocence. It's not scared to go beyond what studio horror deems OK material and features a great performance by the whole cast. Especially Farmiga who brings a lot of heart and depth to her performance. While, Fuhrman is creepy and as fuck. Without a shadow of a doubt one of the best flicks of this sub-genre and a favorite of mine that holds up really well to repeated viewings.

 

 

 

2013 saw her in the two roles that would define her genre work: Bates Motel and The Conjuring. Bates Motel is, of course, about the teen life of Psycho's killer Norman Bates. Farmiga plays his mom Norma Bates. This show far exceeded expectations, from the get go, and has gone on to be a fine genre series. It's a great mix of drama and horror. The acting is phenomenal and it manages to be creepy and get under your skin. Farmiga's immense talent and unbelievable beauty are in full display on this show, which recently ended it's fifth season in a spectacular manner.

 

 

The Conjuring remains my favorite movie of hers, as well as being one of the finest haunted house/ ghost flicks, ever. I've reviewed it before so need to talk more about it, other than once again mentioning how great she is in her role and how stunning she looks.

She returned to the same role in the recently released The Conjuring 2. This well done sequel may fall under some horror tropes but the talent in front and behind the camera raises it well, well above the average sequel or ghost flick. Like its' predecessor, it is inspired by a "true story". James Wan, again, proves that he is one of the genre's finest filmmakers. Unlike others he understands how to build tension and even manages to use jump scares correctly. The strong acting further helps the story alone. Farmiga again is amazing and, well, looks amazing, too!

Farmiga is as talented an actress as she is gorgeous. Her beauty is so captivating that, at times, I find myself completely taken away by it. She is truly one of the most stunnung MILFs in the history of horror.

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Insidious: Chapter 3

 

Title: Insidious: Chapter 3
Director and writer: Leigh Whannell
Cast: Dermont Mulroney, Stefanie Scott, Lin Shaye, Tate Berney, Michael Reid MacKay, Steve Coulter

Set some time before the occurrences of the first movie, this prequel begins when we meet pretty teen Quinn Brenner (Stefanie Scott) who goes to visit psychic Elise Rainer (Linn Shaye) to help her contact the spirit of her dead mom, Lilith (Ele Keats). Quinn believes that she has been trying to contact her from beyond. Elise at first refuses, but then agrees to do so. But, when she attempts to contact the girl's mom, she stops, when instead she hears a demonic presence. Elise warns the young girl to never attempt to contact her mom alone again, as when you call to the dead "they all can hear you". She, though, refuses to go any further in helping her.

Later, Quinn, who lives with her widowed dad (Dermont Mulroney) and little brother (Tate Berney), calls to her mom, who thinks replies to her. After, an audition for an acting academy, she gets hit by a car. She is put at the brink of death. And, an evil, wheezing, and demonic spirit fully attaches himself to her, when she's bought back by the medics.. Soon, his haunting of her gets more physical and terrifying, causing her loving dad, to go and ask Elise for help, who is still unwilling to do so.

It's really, I mean REALLY amazing just how damn good this film is. Most of the times third installments in horror franchises are just not that good. Just witness crap like Alien 3, Amityville 3D, and Jaws 3D for how bad they can be. Especially, when you take into consideration that the last one was OK, but mostly easily forgotten. Director James Wan let his Saw Leigh Whannell take over this one, and it ends up being a very wise move. Not because Wan couldn't have done it (quite the contrary he's one of the best genre directors out there), but because it's talented hands.

Insidious: Chapter 3 is genuinely scary and nerve-jarringly intense. One of it's major benefits is that it doesn't drown itself in shitty CGI, a major fault of most haunted house/ ghost flicks. Instead, it remains quiet and ratchets up the scares. The villain is quite creepy, and in that sense, it does top the original which sort of falls apart when the villain is revealed to be a Darth Maul rip-off. This movie also uses jump scares effectively as they are the actual demon doing the scares and not something stupid like an asshole friend or a fucking cat. God, I truly hate shit like that, and it is so fucking overdone in horror nowadays!

Aside from being scary, the film has a lot of heart and emotion. That goes along way in making us care, and, thus, being more scared. This is anchored by excellent acting from all involved, in particular the heart of the film: its' two female leads. Linn Shaye gives one of the very best performances of her career, and one of the finest, of the year. Shaye is, without a shadow of a doubt, one of the best horror actresses of the modern era. Meanwhile, young Stefanie Scott is incredible in her role. I see a very bright future for this young lady. And, kudos to actually casting a teenaged girl and not a 20 or 30-something year old.

I really had very little desire to see this, until I began to read and hear some good reviews. This movie far surpassed my expectations and ranks as one of the very best horror sequels (and, certainly, prequels), ever made. For a film that didn't need to be made, it far surpasses many a genre film out there. A prime example, that when there is true talent in front and behind the camera a smashing installment in a franchise can be made.

*** out of ****

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4 Quickie Horror Reviews for 8/6/13

With me writing for best-horror-movies.com I don't always get a chance to review horror films, on my own for here. And, since I been watching a bunch of them (all of them reviewed by other writers on the above mentioned site I work for), I figured this would be a good chance for me to catch up on some recent horror viewings and share my views and thoughts on them. Maybe this could become a recurring thing, when need anyway.

ALL REVIEWS OUT OF 4 STARS

The Bleeding House (2011)- This somber story about a not so happy family with a dark secret who get visited by a doctor, that turns out to be a serial killer (Patrick Breen) is a solid and well done indie-horror film. There is some very good acting by all involved, in particular from Breen and Alexandra Chando as the family's pretty but weird daughter with a penchant for killing small animals.
The climax and ending are great and had me on the edge of my seat. A good slow burn of a movie, it has been playing on Showtime and is worth seeing. Sadly, for us Time Warner customers, cable is currently out of the question, as a form to see this one. Fuck that. Rent it. Or buy it. Just see it! ***


The Conjuring (2013)- From director James (Saw, Insidious) Wan comes this creepy as fuck tale, loosely based on a true story, about a family who move into a new a house. Soon they are haunted by a malevolent and demonic force. They call a demonologist couple (Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga) to help them.
Perfectly directed and paced, this fucker is one scary movie! Now, I considered myself very jaded. I mean I been watching horror movies since I was a child, so it's hard to scare me. That means props are in order here. My heart was racing in this one and my eyes were glued to the screen. This one got an R-rating despite having hardly any blood or gore and very little cursing. But, cause it is THAT damn scary!
Great acting too from all the cast. And, man, do I ever love Vera Farmiga. Between this and her role on Bates Motel, she is one of my main horror crushes of the year! This is Wan's best film, to date. Yes, I think it is better Saw or certainly better (and scarier) than Insidious (don't get more wrong I like that movie, but it lost me once the "ghost" was revealed, IE the whole climax). Before this my favorite film of his was Death Sentence. Not anymore. Believe the hype! ****

John Dies at the End- This weird-ass movie has been getting a lot of praise. It comes from horror master Don (Phantasm films, Bubba Ho-Tep) Cosceralli. The plot? Uh, basically two young guys discover a drug that turns people into something not human and kills them. Can they stop this other-worldly invasion?
Actually, there is a lot more that happens. Sometimes this one is a real head-scratcher. It tries too hard to be too weird at times. The slow parts do tend to hurt it. But... it is fun, in the end. The acting is good and most of the FX are well done with some good gore. I don't think it is as great as some have called it. But, it is original for sure, and that's rare in this genre.
If you like Kafka and/ or David Lynch, you will wanna check it out for sure. Even if you don't, be sure to give it a look.
And, one more thing, the flamethrower mask is cool as fuck and reminded me of Megadeth's mascot Vic Rattlehead! ***

Would You Rather- Here is one that came out of no where, for me. A pretty young girl (Brittany Snow) is invited to play a game held by a rich man (Jeffrey Combs) at this mansion. Along with others, she must play a horrifying game of "would you rather" until only one remains alive. That winner will get lots of money and help, in her case for her gravely ill brother.
This is one of the very best movies of the year! The acting is so good, especially from Combs and Snow. Snow really surprised me, more since the last time she had been in a genre film was in the godawful Prom Night remake. Fans should also
note that one of this site's personal favorites, the gorgeous Sasha Grey, is in it as well, as the bitchiest player of "the game".
This isn't the goriest movie, in fact much of the brutality happens off screen. But, it works here, as your imagination runs wild. And, the tension is unbearable at times. A true masterpiece that hopefully other horror lovers will enjoy.
NOTE: the DVD and blu-ray are mad cheap at Best Buy and FYE, so get to buying it! NOW!!! ****

I'm gonna try and do more reviews of more movies for you guys, outside of my job. Hope you enjoyed these and let me know your thoughts on these movies, if you've already seen them!

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Death Sentence

Director: James Wan
Writer: Ian Mackenzie Jeffers (based on the novel of the same name by Brian Garfield)
Cast: Kevin Bacon, John Goodman, Kelly Preston, Jordan Garrett, Stuart Lafferty, Aisha Tyler
Min: 105
Year: 2007

Nick Hume (Kevin Bacon) is an executive with a good family life. One night he and his oldest son, a hokey playing teen, stop a gas station. The son goes in and a gang come in and rob and kill the man behind the register. Then son then gets gets throat slashed by a machete wielding member, as part of his initiation. When, the district attorney tells Hume that he can give the scumbag a guaranteed sentence of 2 to 3 yrs, if he agrees to a lower charge, Hume decides to take manner into his own hands. When he kills him, the gang leader, brother to the deceased swears war on Hume and his family. But, the gang may soon learn that they have fucked with the wrong man.

James (Saw) Wan's ultra-violent revenge thriller works well as a throwback to the 70s movies of this type. The script is very (and I do mean very) loosely based on the novel of the same written by Brian Garfield. Garfield wrote this book as a sequel to his classic Death Wish (which is the book the masterpiece starring Charles Bronson was based on). There is little to nothing to do with that book, but this film works regardless of that.

There is little new or original material that the film adds to the sub-genre, but it is in the handling of the subject-matter that makes it work so well. First and foremost, Bacon gives one of my favorite performances I have ever seen him do. He is loving as a father and badass as a scum-killing motherfucker. His decent into vigilantism is well done,as he is disgusted at first, but by the end becomes a cold-blooded killing machine. I enjoyed the rest of the cast, as well, with Goodman coming off as a suitably sleazy gun-dealer and higher-up to the gang.

Wan gives the movie a washed out look that fits the proceedings. The pacing is fast and furious and the movie never fails to grab your interest. The violence is bloody and exceptionally well handled. Gory squibs, head shots, throat slashing, stabbing, and, best of all, a shotgun amputation manage to give the type of blood-letting that I so like to see in this type of movie and something made by Wan.

It should be noted that the DVD has a director's unrated cut, but there is no extra gore. Instead it is all exposition, which somewhat slow the film down. Though, they don't hurt the movie, it's the theatrical cut that is the superior version.

This is actually my favorite Wan movie. While, Saw might be the better movie; this one holds up much better to repeated viewings. It's ultimately a solid, bloody, and kick-ass movie, with one hell of a climax. If you have never seen it, you owe yourself a favor of viewing of it.

**** out of ****

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