martoxley Reviews

The Innocents (2021)

Great film, very original.

[8/10 · 24 August 2022]

Firstly films this good are very rare, even the average rating of 7 on here is too low. I watched this film without reading any reviews. But I have to say this was an excellent watch. Such a very original film. Very dark and foreboding. A few ridiculous reviews saying about animal cruelty, which is ridiculous I mean do you really think it was real??? I really like Scandinavian films, as they seem to be highly original like Let The Right One In. The acting by the children in the film was so refreshing and spot on especially the autistic child.

Absolutely beatfifuly shot, and pretty disturbing.

Highly recommended.

From the Dark (2014)

Ignore the ridiculous negative reviews

[7/10 · 30 June 2022]

This was a really good little horror that I went into, without any preconceptions.

I've got to say that I really enjoyed it from start to finish. A good modern day vampire film. The acting by the female lead, Niamh Algar was very good.

Silly negative reviews have said the characters missed obvious things and therefore gave a poor review???

All I can say is if you were scared witless for your life, you might miss a few things too. Get real.

Recomended despite the stupid low rating.

A Patch of Fog (2015)

Not Hollywood tripe!

[8/10 · 20 April 2022]

This film was so refreshing, an Irish independent film. That had a simple but very effective plot.

Helped by the always excellent Stephen Graham who had a major part in this film. He plays a character who is very subtly creepy and he's also very lonely. He was the standout but the other actor Conleth Hill who was in game of thrones, Sandy was also absolutely immaculate. I stumbled across this hidden gem on Amazon Prime. I was very glad I did. A must see.

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (2022)

Too long

[6/10 · 3 April 2022]

Not a bad kids film by any stretch, but at just over 2 hours it's too long. Could've easily cut some unnecessary scenes out. My grandchildren are 7 and 9 and I could see them getting bored after 1 hour 30 or so.

Would have been given a 7 if it had been a more compact run time. Jim Carrey stole the show as Dr Robotnik, he was excellent.

They Look Like People (2015)

Can't believe some people.

[7/10 · 20 October 2021]

First off this film isn't for everyone.

V.good little low budget tense, thriller.

People have said that this isn't a horror (jump scares et al). It is actually a good little low budget psychological horror/thriller

The main characters are well acted and, you actually have sympathy for them.

As Wyatt's mental health issues develop, means you're never really sure what he is going to do. Especially when he goes out and buys the hardware and acid.

A psychological horror/thriller it most definitely is, I was always on the edge of the seat, when he went into the basement.

Never knowing what he was going to do or try next.

Overall a thoroughly enjoyable film. Going in cold and not reading any absurd reviews.

Recomended.

Rose (V) (2020)

Highly original film

[7/10 · 15 October 2021]

Great cinematography and atmosphere, set mainly in a small cottage in the winter and in the woods in the Welsh countryside.

I totally got what director Jennifer Sheridan was trying to achieve and she accomplished it very well.

The acting by Matt Stokoe (Sam) who also wrote the screenplay and Sophie Rundle as Rose was excellent.

Set mainly in the small, dark claustrophobic cottage.

Over the course of the film we are shown what sort of sacrifice Sam was making for Rose ( who had some kind of unspecified illness, not unlike vampirism). Because of his love for his wife, this I found very touching.

Overall a highly recommended film, if you have a half a brain and understand the sensitivities of the characters.

I give it seven out ten overall.

The Unholy (2021)

Half decent film

[7/10 · 17 August 2021]

So I read the shrine 25 years ago and recently and I have to say that it's not a bad effort at all. Let me say you are on to a loser when you make a film from a book because everyone has their own perceptions of the story and characters. But overall I enjoyed it, all the characters names were unchanged which was welcome. The obvious change was from UK to US but in defence it's a Hollywood movie, so what could you expect. Good acting throughout, particularly the main lead.

It was however made from the original James Herbert book, tastefully and fairly Sympthtecaly. Overall not a bad effort at all.

The Reckoning (2020)

Don't believe the ridiculous reviews

[6/10 · 19 May 2021]

This is an ok film, certainly not a 1/10! I really like Neil Marshall films, The Descent, Doomsday, Dog Soldiers, you can always feel the common directorial style.

It's not a patch on these but it's still reasonable and definitely worth a watch. Sean Pertwee as the witchfinder is terrific, let's face it he's always consistently good.

You could say this is a bit of a modern day reboot of The Witchfinder General with Vincent Price. The lead actress is pretty good, as is pretty much the whole cast. I won't say too much, just watch it and enjoy it.

Dachra (2018)

Must watch film.

[8/10 · 19 January 2021]

To start this is the first Tunisian film to get a general release. Very good it is too. Very good cinematography and atmospheric, the plot whilst not necessarily the most original is still very gripping. Good tension building story with a few surprises towards the end. Watch and enjoy it, concentrate fully on the subtitles or you'll miss something.

Hereditary (2018)

Excellent film

[8/10 · 6 November 2020]

Firstly I want to say that all the ridiculous reviews saying "worst film in 10 years, I want my 2 hours back etc..." either didn't understand the film or didn't/wouldn't appreciate what the writer and director tried to do. The acting was great as was the slowly mounting tension of the film. This was a refreshing change to other movies in this genre. Reminds me of Rosemarys baby and The Shining, in the way the tension builds and the main character (Toni Colette) seems convinced that she is making a positive contact with her dead child but is infact unwittingly taking part in a satanist ritual (her dead mother was also a satanist, but she doesn't realise for the first part of the film). This film was highly original and genuinely moving, as you could empathise with the main character especially in the first part of the film. The ending was quite obvious what was happening and reviewers saying "WTF happened there" clearly didn't understand/appreciate the film. Overall I found this film highly entertaining and well worth watching, one you'll remember. I'd give it a solid 8/10.

It Follows (2014)

Great, original film.

[8/10 · 23 October 2020]

Firstly I want to say that please ignore all the ridiculous 1/10 reviews. These people are either unintelligent, or just didnt understand or appreciate it. 1 review said you would enjoy it if you were under 10!!! I'm 52, Hello?? I found the film very refreshingly different to anything else I'd seen for years. Great acting, musical score and idea, that something reletness and after you, no matter where you go or what you do. No stupid jump scenes or boring teen slasher here thankfully. This instead is an individual, original and beautiful film. Which reminds me of the best horrors from the 70s and 80s, where the best horror is fear of the unknown. Highly recommended.

The Conjuring (2013)

Dissapointed.

[6/10 · 10 September 2020]

I looked forward to this film, as I saw it on the Imdb top 100 bucket list. I did think it was better than the average haunted house horror. Good acting and camera work. But my main dissapointment came from the expectations, seeing that the film was in that list. There was no mention of the Exorcist, which is a vastly superior film despite being over 30 years older. I'm going to rate it 6.5/10