The Chaser (2008)

Joong-ho, an ex-cop who was fired for corruption and currently works as a pimp, notices that some of his girls have gone missing. While he's trying to figure out if they've run away with  money he's fronted them, he realizes they all have something in common. The last caller who booked them had the same phone number - and he's just sent another girl to meet this guy.

In fear that the customer is selling his girls, Joong-ho calls Mi-jin, who is currently in a car with the customer. Joong-ho asks her to not let on that there is an issue but to let him know the mans address when they get to his house. She agrees and Joong-ho heads toward the part of town where Mi-jin was supposed to meet the client.  But he never hears from her.

Worried that another of his girls will be stolen, he starts driving the streets and locates her car.  A short while later a minor fender bender changes everything and the chase is on.

This is a violent thriller and I don't want to reveal much about it as you'll enjoy it more if you go in blind.  Joong-ho is the protagonist but he's not a good man.  Even as he chases the man down, you know he's doing it because he's concerned about losing money on his girls rather than their safety.  The introduction of the seven year old daughter of Mi-jim complicates things but also brings some humanity to the main character.  Thankfully the child doesn't get in the way as Joong-ho brings her on his search into the seedy parts of town, although he does try to keep her from seeing him beat the hell out of people. How sweet of him.

If you're looking for a good thriller, can handle some uncomfortable violence, and don't mind subtitles, I'd recommend this one.

Screamers (1981)

In 1891, a Lieutenant named Claude and a small group of prisoners survive a shipwreck.  Unfortunately their lifeboat seems to be made of balsa wood and it wrecks as well.  A few of the men wash up on an uncharted island and while searching for drinkable water, Claude falls into a man made trap and they realize they are not alone.

The island is inhabited by Edward Rackham, who is keeping  Professor Marvin and his daughter prisoner.  Marvin has figured out how to turn men into amphibians and Rackham is using these creatures to take gold and antiquities from the lost city of Atlantis which is conveniently located nearby.

The island voodoo priest predicts bad things are coming.  She's certainly correct since Rackham doesn't want anyone interferring with his plans and Claude doesn't like what is going on.

This movie is not what it appears to be.  This is an Italian film called Island of the Fishmen. A US distributor bought, added a 12 minute intro about a treasure hunt, and retitled it Screamers.   The original movie is pretty slow paced so it's like someone said, hey we've got a beach, some water and a cave... so let's add a gooey monster laden beginning. How could anyone complain about that?

The first 12 minutes are the most interesting with the gooey skeletons and cool monster hands. Actually the fishmen are pretty cool as well, but other than that the movie is pretty boring.  Oh and there was one part that reminded me of Goonies, since there was a boat in a cave and there were people looking for treasure. The poster and first 12 minutes are the coolest thing about this film.

Bird Box (2018)

There are reports of strange mass suicides in Europe. People who seem fine, all of a sudden  decide to kill themselves. No one knows if it's a virus or how exactly it spreads.  Malorie, who is pregnant with her first child, hopes that whatever is causing this doesn't spread to the US.

While on a visit to the hospital for a check up, Malorie sees a woman smashing her head into a windows and then all hell breaks loose.  After her sister is seized by the madness, Malorie ends up sheltering in a large house nearby with a number of other survivors.  

They figure out that there is something outside and if you see it, you go crazy.  So they cover the windows with paper and when the food starts to run out, they work out a plan for going out to get more.

The movie takes place over five years, and in the present, Malorie and two young children are blindfolded in a row boat trying to get down the river where they've heard there is a safe place with other survivors. But is it a trap? And how the hell do you get through the rapids while wearing a blind fold? 

If you go along with the premise, its entertaining, although sometimes frustrating.  And god damn it, the other pregnant woman is an idiot and will drive you insane. But since we know who is on the river trip, we are aware that characters are going to disappear over the course of the film and probably with bad results.    Also there are many unanswered questions. What are these creatures? Where did they come from? What purpose does it serve to kill everyone?  Who are the people who can be out without blindfolds, and how did they come to be this way?  Why wouldn't you be more careful about going back to a house where these non-blindfolded people almost caught you once?

If you're hoping to see the creatures, you don't.  That's often the best way to go since imagination can be far scarier than what shows up as monsters on the screen.  And in this case that is definitely true since they've released a photo of what the creatures were going to look like. You'll be sorely disappointed and glad they aren't in the film.

And if you are one of the few that haven't already seen it, yes, there is literally a bird in a box.

Curse of the Mayans (2017)

Dr. Allen Green hires dive expert Danielle Noble to assemble a team of the best divers to go into the Yucatan jungle and explore some newly discovered underwater caves.  Green feels there are secrets to be found in these caves and he must have them.

One of Danielles men shows up with his girlfriend in tow, which is a really odd thing to do when you've been hired to do a job. No one is happy about this, but they need him for the trip so they take her along.

Green is supposed to be an archaeologist, but he doesn't act like one.  He drills into the temple floor. He ignores advice from local guides. He's basically a jerk who doesn't seem to care at all about anything other than getting everyone into that cave -which they aren't all that inclined to do based on advice from the guides and some strange happenings that occur the first night there.  Good god, it could be a curse!

When the group begins their dive, the caves hold many interesting things that have not been seen for ages. Unfortunately one is an alien who's been imprisoned and is prepared to wreak havoc on them.

This has some nice scenery, but ultimately it's pretty boring and didn't keep my attention. I actually zoned out and missed the ending. I'm going to assume that they all lived happily ever after. Either that  or the alien killed all but one of them.

Rats (2003)

aka Killer Rats

A reporter goes undercover at an asylum to try to get a story.  She discovers that patients are going missing and the asylum seems to have an inordinate amount of rats. She reports the rats to the staff, and is surprised that they won't listen to her.  It's like she's forgotten that she's supposed to be a crazy person locked in a mental institution.

Let's face it. It's the rats. The rats are killing everyone, even the exterminators.  It turns out that years ago scientists did experiments on the rats that turned them into killers. They've just been roaming around in the basement, gathering steam to mutate even further into little killing machines... and there's also that giant rat over there in the corner eating someones leg.

Octopus (2000)

When a bomb goes off in a building nearby, Agent Turner and his partner realize that the old lady they saw inside is now short one bag and give chase.  But this is no lady.  It is actually a terrorist named Casper. I'd like to say he's a master of disguise, but I can't because it was obvious that he wasn't a woman.   So it's more that Turner and his partner are crappy agents.

When Casper shoots Turners partner and then crashes a car in a getaway attempt, Turner ends up rescuing him from the burning vehicle. This sets the stage for Turner to accompany Casper to the US via a ride on a Navy submarine. No one shall ask why the military would let a terrorist, even one in custody, get on a Navy sub, but that is just one of the many leaps in logic that you'll find in this movie.

You also shouldn't wonder why the female scientist first appears on screen doing either a terrible Russian or Asian accent.  We were arguing over which one she was attempting and then she threw a curveball at us by actually being American. What the hell is going on here?

The terror group working with Casper decided they will "infiltrate" a cruise ship so that they can rescue him from the sub.  Boy those military, with their terrorist transporting subs and their inability to keep quiet about it.  And how does a cruise ship get someone off a sub?

These terrorist are the worst ever as they leave their door open to their cabin. When the maid comes to make up the room, they hear her knock and ask if anyone is there. But instead of asking her to come back later, they do nothing and they dispatch of her for finding bullet casings. Ugh, you guys are the worst. Just keep your door shut.

Oh yes, and eventually there is an octopus and it attacks a cruise ship.  It's like they wrote an action movie about a terrorist and it was boring so they decided dot throw a mutant octopus into the mix.

The octopus is interesting because the beasts size is inconsistent. Sometimes it's the size of the octopus on the cover of the DVD while other times by comparison it seems more lie the size of a house.