Cabin in the Woods

• + dark comedy
• + references to a lot of cool shit
• + mocks the current state of horror / meta
• + creature feature
• + great characters
• + unhappy ending
• x the main creatures were generic af (zombie redneck torture family). it's a statement, yeah, but it's also not hype
• x the bird flying into the forcefield in the beginning spoils a later scene
• x meh CGI

Arrival

• + The Nature of Daylight unghhhhhhhh my ears orgasm
• + creature theoretical shit unghhhhhhh my interests orgasm
• + general theoretical shit (different perception of time / circular thinking and how it translates to speaking) unghhhhhhhhh my brain orgasm
• + the reveal unghhhhhhhhhh general movie things orgasm
• + the fact that someone tried to communicate via mahjong (it's unique and had merit)
• + the fact that mahjong was a BAD idea and why
• x I can't tell you if I liked the characters other than the main chick because idr them
• x some of the dialogue between humans was eh
• x some of the military/country leader decisions seemed a bit over the top (threatening aliens to leave when they can't even understand human language)

Final Prayer

• + found footage
• + the characters grew on me
• + great ambient/subtle horror
• + overdone premise with a unique twist
• + Gray is relatable af in that situation
• x slow to start, didn't like characters much at start
• x animal gets hurt/killed (sheep)
• x Deacon reads a very non-subtle thing about church origins and goes HMM. I WONDER WHAT THAT MEAN.
• x/+ ending is one of the worst ways to go and a hard watch for me

Ginger Snaps

• + dead dog effects are bad enough for me to stomach it
• + actual werewolf effects are great
• + sister dynamics are great
• + actually the entire family dynamic is great
• + puberty metaphor is clever (not subtle, but clever)
• + the werewolf design is unique and not just a big dog
• + the pre-werewolf-ness includes 6 nipps WHICH IS RARE but LOGICAL
• x werewolf is stiff with movements but that's just how good practicals usually are

Pontypool

• + single room horror
• + nearly completely audio horror
• + AUDIO. HORROR. it's absolutely brilliant
• + small, specific things about some of the audio is ACE
• + cute ("cute") "after credits" ending
• x acting in like 3 places is OOF
• x dialogue in like 3 places is OOF
• x the (main) ending is garbage