Horror | www.jaredmobarak.com

REVIEW: The Babadook [2014]

2014/05/312014/06/01 Jared Mobarak

“A friend of you and me” While it may be the monster lurking in the shadows—one terrorizing the imagination of a little boy already tortured by a darkness stemming from his mother’s inability to see him as anything more than the reason her husband died—The Babadook is also real. It’s the powerful manifestation of rage, guilt, frustration, and grief taking form outside its prey as well as within. Some people can cope with tragedy and move on, accepting the difference between life and death by refusing to forget that those…

REVIEW: ゴジラ [Gojira] [Godzilla] [1954]

2014/05/112014/05/11 Jared Mobarak

“I’m telling you the sea just exploded” Only nine years after the devastation of Hiroshima and Nagasaki by the atomic bomb, the first science fiction kaiju film was born. Manifested as a hybrid Tyrannosaurus Rex, Iguanodon, and Stegosaurus, the creature ゴジラ [Gojira] [Godzilla] took shape in the mind of special effects designer Eiji Tsuburaya. A giant beast released from the sea’s depth due to hydrogen bomb tests destroying its natural habitat, its ability to survive on land and water shaped its name from the words gorilla (gorira) and whale (kujira).…

REVIEW: Only Lovers Left Alive [2014]

2014/05/092014/05/10 Jared Mobarak

“A diamond emitting the music of a giant gong” In the age of Twilight its good to know an auteur like Jim Jarmusch can render contemporary vampires as the romantic ideals of immortality, wisdom, and survival any thought-provoking interpretation should. Gone is the CW brood from “The Vampire Diaries”, ostentatious displays of supernatural power courtesy of “True Blood”, and the heightened sexuality of all their bloodsucking quasi-porn sizzle. Replacing them is a dying breed of intellectual artists held over from centuries gone, men and women without interest in the current…

REVIEW: Proxy [2014]

2014/04/132014/04/17 Jared Mobarak

“Cause we all need someone to listen” I learned something while watching Zack Parker‘s horror (psychological thriller is a more apt genre label) film Proxy: Richmond, Indiana is a hotbed for crazy. He and cowriter Kevin Donner inject a little Münchausen syndrome, Prenatal Depression, and some run-of-the-mill psychopathy to round out the quartet of main characters. Each seemingly normal on the surface until a chaotic mind or the potential for psychotic break under tragic circumstances is exposed thanks to carefully unfolding revelations, the people populating this tale are regular folk…

REVIEW: Odd Thomas [2014]

2014/02/152014/02/27 Jared Mobarak

“I may see dead people, but by God I do something about it” It’s August 14th in Pico Mundo, CA and the world is about to end. Well, not the world per se, but the community young Odd Thomas (Anton Yelchin) resides. Sort of. He sees ghosts of dead people with unfinished business, a gift passed down by his crazy mother wielded in secret from everyone besides Police Chief Porter (Willem Dafoe) and girlfriend Stormy (Addison Timlin). But while it allows him to help the tragic, helpless souls wandering around…

REVIEW: Constantine [2005]

2014/02/082014/02/09 Jared Mobarak

“You still trying to buy your way into Heaven” At the height of the first new wave of comic book adaptations, Warner Bros. delved a little deeper into the literary medium’s annals for something dark like New Line’s Blade. It was three years before Iron Man ushered in cinematic universes and a year after Spider-Man 2 and X2 provided a one-two punch of the genre’s potential. Batman Begins was always going to be the studio’s 2005 crown jewel, but you could call Constantine a precursor to its pitch-black, cynical atmosphere…

REVIEW: You’re Next [2013]

2014/01/132014/01/13 Jared Mobarak

“Will you just die already? This is hard enough for me!” Disappointment that the hype surrounding director Adam Wingard and writer Simon Barrett’s film You’re Next was proving impossible to achieve set in about halfway through. I expected what many called an entertainingly fresh horror thriller with comedic flourishes, but all I saw was the usual home invasion tropes and by-the-numbers carnage courtesy of animal-masked predators and their unsuspecting, family weekend attendee prey. Then something happens to change its tone completely as attractive Aussie plus-one Erin (Sharni Vinson) rolls away…

REVIEW: The Purge [2013]

2013/12/03 Jared Mobarak

“Release the Beast” Welcome to the new United States of America, complete with booming economy, non-existent crime rates, and the 28th Amendment to the Constitution that ensures its longevity. After decades of extreme violence and poverty overtaking our streets, safety became a pipe dream and freedom a false construct no longer meaningful in the face of a self-destructing populace led by a majority of criminal maniacs reinventing the status quo. Well, if you can’t beat them the only option left is to join in the carnage by letting your own…

REVIEW: Hocus Pocus [1993]

2013/10/312014/05/19 Jared Mobarak

“Winnie, do you want to hit me? Will that cheer you up?” What began as a script for a made-for-TV Disney Channel movie, Hocus Pocus found its way onto the right desk at the right time for the increased level of support necessary to transition it into a bona fide theatrical release. Sadly for all involved, though, the critics more or less hated it and the box office barely squeaked by its production budget. Yet somehow everyone I knew who had seen it as a child possessed a strange affinity…

REVIEW: Escape From Tomorrow [2013]

2013/10/172013/10/18 Jared Mobarak

“Dad, why are we following those girls?” If you ever thought about going to Walt Disney World with the intention of shooting a dark psychological horror film on the sly about the multi-billion dollar corporation’s way too pristine façade hiding a seedy underbelly of prostitution, disease, and scientific espionage, I’m sorry but you’re too late. First time writer/director Randy Moore might not be the first person to film underneath Mickey’s nose without permission, but he’s definitely become the most famous for his audacity to twist iconic rides and visuals into…

REVIEW: Toy Story of Terror [2013]

2013/10/172015/07/12 Jared Mobarak

“And if something does happen to the potato—I don’t want to miss it!” While Disney/Pixar has dove into children’s television with Cars-centric offerings and a Buzz Lightyear spin-off, it’s surprising it’s taken this long to craft a primetime special. With what used to be a flawless feature film enterprise bolstered by award-winning shorts, perhaps they believed themselves above the small screen until now. But as Pixar evolves from luxury brand to simply one more animation arm of Disney proper, good press and high ratings aren’t something to ignore out of…