The Facility (2012)

A research facility recruits volunteers to test a new drug, which is a crap shoot for anyone who volunteers. Since this is a horror movie, you know something is going to go horribly wrong.  The group of strangers are housed together in one wing of an isolated facility which has no other inhabitants.  They are forced to give up their cell phones and have no radio, TV or other electronic devices.

Since there is nothing to do except interact, we get some background info on each one as they converse.  Finally a movie in which the exposition is between strangers, rather than close friends who should already know everything that is being revealed.

The subjects are individually inoculated at regular intervals and each is scheduled for a series of shots. When the first volunteer has an adverse reaction to the injections, the rest of the group demands answers.  They are not comforted by the Doctors vague words and each fears they will have a similar reaction.

When the second person injected has a different, but equally bad reaction, the group panics and starts calculating when each person received their shot.  The thinking is that they watch whoever is going to potentially be affected next.  So if someone isn't affected, there's no way to know whether it's the person who received the placebo, or they are immune to the reaction.

The first thirty minutes of the movie are slow. It's British so that's not surprising. Then the action starts as people begin reacting badly to the drugs.  But then the movie starts to drag again near the end, so... meh.

Barricade (2012)

A year after his wife dies, Terry brings their children to an isolated cabin in them mountains that their mother used to love.  And by cabin, they mean a huge home.

Terry instructed the store owner to decorate for Christmas, so there is a tree all set up, and the kids favorite foods are plentiful in the freezer in the basement.  The next day they head out to play in the snow before a storm rolls in, but think they see someone outside.

Strange things start happening. Someone dumps toiletries all over the bathroom and Terry's medication disappears.  The kids are getting nervous, and everyone is getting the strange cough that the store owner had.

After seeing someone running by the shed, they bolt back to the house and lock the doors.  Terry decides to barricade his family inside to lock out whatever menace might be out there.

It's not clear if: Terry's missing medication means he's going psycho; everyone is coming down with a mystery disease that alters their reality; the cabin is haunted by an evil presence; or someone is truly outside stalking them.  When you find out what's going on, you'll be highly disappointed.

Woman in Black 2: Angel of Death (2015)

During war torn London in World War II, children were sent out of the city to protect them from being killed in bombings.  The head mistress Jean and teacher Eve are tasked with accompanying a group of children as they journey out of the city. At the last minute a young boy, whose parents were killed in a bombing the night before, is added to their charge.  The boy is still in shock and rendered mute, and Eve feels protective of him.

The group takes up residence in an isolate manor, which can only be reached by a road which disappears at high tide.  Eve feels uneasy there. It's been abandoned for years and she thinks she's seen someone else on the island.

After the deaths more than one child, Eve wants to leave, but the stern headmistress won't let her take the children with her.  So Eve and Harry, a pilot she met on the train, start looking into the history of the home and discover the story of the Woman in Black.

I really liked the first Woman in Black movie, but this one was disappointing.  It's very slow paced and there isn't much supernatural action.   The ghost only appears a few times, and Eve's repeated shouts for Edward get really annoying.  Also for an area that is under blackout rules, they sure have a lot of candles at night.  There isn't another homes for miles, so the light would be a prime target for bombers. So much for keeping the children safe....oh yeah, and you moved into a haunted mansion.

Exeter (2015)

When the church decides to renovate an abandoned asylum, Father Conway supervises the volunteers helping to clean out the building. High school student Patrick is serious about this work, but his friend Brian decides the best thing about helping the church with the asylum is that it would be a great place to have a party.  Patrick is not amused.

That night, there is a huge party at the asylum.  After spending the night doing stupid things that teenagers do, they decide to try a party game where someone says an incantation which causes a volunteer to become stiff as a board and light as a feather. This  allows the volunteer to be lifted up using only their fingers.  Surprisingly volunteer Rory, Patricks younger brother, rises a few inches before they drop him back to the floor.  Everyone laughs and Rory runs off.

Later on, when Patrick tracks Rory down, he is violent and seemingly possessed.  They try to help him, but common sense goes out the window... oh  wait, they didn't have any to begin with. At this point, the group begins a constant stream of even worse decisions.  Will there ever be a movie where people don't want to cover up an accidental death by doing something to hide it that would make them look 100% guilty of murder, if discovered?

Before you know it, they're trapped, there's a demon in the asylum, rumors of dead orphans, and the trapped teens even manage to carve a ouija board out of an old piece of wood.   Where else can you see a bunch of teens google how to do an exorcism, and maybe even find an exorcism app for their phone?

The most amazing thing about this movie is everyone's cell phone has a pristine connection and can access the web.  But who brings a laptop to a party in an abandoned building anyway? Stupid kids.....