Horror films – Justine Goodman

PHOTO COURTESY OF COLUMBIA / SCREEN GEMS / GHOSTHOUSE PICTURES

Although this horror flick didn’t break any records when it was released in early 2007, The Messengers did hold down the top spot at the box office over Superbowl weekend and was generally popular among horror fans. The movie (which stars Dylan McDermott, Penelope Ann Miller and Kristen Stewart) tells the story of the Solomon family, and the events that transpire after forces of darkness begin to infiltrate their formerly tranquil North Dakota farm. Bonus footage on the DVD includes the standard featurette on the making of the film, interactive commentary with the actors and so on. And don’t be skeptical about the film’s fright factor just because it’s rated PG-13; kid-approved movies are allowed to be terrifying – they just can’t contain excessive nudity or profanity. Which totally makes perfect sense.

Photo by Eric Lee, courtesy of Fox Atomic

From A Nightmare on Elm Street to the Scream trilogy, everyone knows that when Wes Craven makes a picture, it’s going to be scary. This March, the master of all things nightmarish follows up the first installment of The Hills Have Eyes (2006) with this sequel, which he co-produced and co-wrote with his son, Jonathan. In Hills 2, a group of young, inexperienced National Guardsmen travel to a desert research outpost to deliver supplies to some government scientists, only to discover that the facility has been eerily abandoned. What begins as a seemingly routine rescue mission turns into a terrifying game of cat and mouse, as the troops are hunted by the cannibalistic mutants that occupy the hills. The premise may seem less appealing than that of the first film, in which we saw the Carter family picked off, one by one, but if you’re looking to be frightened you won’t be disappointed. The Hills Have Eyes 2 drops on March 23.
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