Review: Nails

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Whether snowed in at an empty hotel, stuck on a ski lift or trapped within an elevator, horror movies have made the most out of stationary locations. Often creating a sense of claustrophobia, audiences cringe at the inescapable horrors that surround these films' characters. From classics like The Shining to more modern fare like Devil, movies featuring a closed in location have proven to be effectively secluded - even in the middle of cities or busy buildings. The latest film to capture this is Nails.

Starring self-described scream queen Shauna Macdonald (The Descent) as Donna, Nails finds ghostly scares limited to a hospital bed. After a car accident, Donna becomes disabled and forced to rehabilitate in a spooky older hospital with a dark past. Each night, suspicious things happen around her and she is unable to defend herself or prove these issues. Like sleep paralysis, this movie uses her inability to move to create tension. It also stars Leah McNamara (Lily) as Donna's daughter, Gemma, Steve Wall (Vikings) as Donna's husband, and comedian Ross Noble as Donna's nurse and confidante.


Nails is impressively compact. It's the kind of movie that works because of its characters and scenery, not its story. Macdonald's performance elevates the one-room horror flick way beyond what this otherwise practical horror story could have been. Nails, the central antagonist is less the center than the background device at which the characters are propelled; only providing scares but never amounting more than the one dimension he began the story as. MacDonald in - all her horror glory is impressive - and deserving of a lot of credit. Without her in the hospital bed, this movie could fall apart easily. But, her ability to convey terror is as impressive as ever.


The most glaring flaw in Nails is its dependence on horror conventions. With plenty of bump-in-the-night scares and dreadfully empty stares into dark corners, Nails does little to create anything fresh. But, that doesn't mean it’s not still at least a little scary. Filled with deeply embedded tension and an atmosphere that is dreary and filled with shadows, Nails does succeed at creating horror, even if it’s not the type of horror that's quite uniquely terrifying.


Overall, for a typical ghost tale, this indie flick is impressively put together. There's a deeply unsettling atmosphere, some terrific acting and a well-established actress at the help. Nails may not be overly creative in its execution, but it’s an entertaining and relatively scary endeavor. Nails shouldn't be as worthwhile as it is, but the core of this film is haunting even if it fails to exceed expectations of what a ghost movie can be. 7 out 10.

Best in Show: Quick Binge Television (Pt. II of II)

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5. The River (ABC)

In one of the most outlandish, yet adventurous shows in recent memory, ABC's The River brought found-footage to television. Set in the Amazon, this one-season series was an underrated gem that may be gone, but shouldn't be forgotten. Beset at the disappearance of her travel show-hosting husband, Tess Cole and her son, Lincoln, travel to the jungle and become deeply involved in a swirling - and terrifying - mystery. Although sometimes chaotic and misguided, The River deserved better than its raw deal and is a short, must-see for fans of the subgenre.





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4. Harper's Island (CBS) Fleshing out a slasher plotline into an entire series can be a harrowing task. Whether it’s the difficulties around establishing enough worthwhile characters that are loved, but also expendable, or creating an interesting enough mystery to keep audiences interested. This subgenre has found some interesting results on television. In shows like Slasher and MTV's Scream, the success and horrors have been limited, often oversaturated in melodrama between protagonists. But, in Harper's Island, rampaging murder found its home. Grossly underrated with an end twist that would shock even the mo0st diehard Lost fans, Harper's Island floundered in ratings, despite its fantastic premise, terrific cast and engrossing death scenes.

3. American Horror Story: Asylum (FX)

Largely regarded as one of the best American Horror Story seasons, Asylum brought Ryan Murphy's cast and crew to an insane asylum for the critical hit's second installment. Deeply terrifying, this season featured everything from religious themes and slasher aspects, to odd sciences and aliens. Perhaps too stuffed with, well, everything, Asylum seemed to be in a constant, entertaining identity crisis. With all the well-done and intersecting plethora of subplots, there was something for everyone to love, but also something for everyone to hate. And, while there are some messy critiques to be made, the end result was something totally original, compelling and horrifying.

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2. The Enfield Haunting (Sky Living)

Before The Conjuring 2 swept the box office and won over critics with its own retelling of the infamous Enfield Poltergeist, Sky Living's miniseries, The Enfield Haunting, shook UK viewers to their core. Scary and well told, this controversial story is executed with great precision. It's dark and brooding atmosphere is sure to chill bones and it's action packed 3-episode layout makes it feel like a long, but terrific movie. Those who missed it on the first go around should do all they can to locate it and watch. It's a strong, forceful rendition that challenges the prowess of Wan's creation.

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1. American Horror Story Murder House (FX) 

American Horror Story: Murder House helped herald in a new generation of horror television. While other programs existed and will continue to exist years after this fantastic creation, nothing will ever touch the pure surprise of Murder House, its amazingly accomplished cast and the heart and devotion to horror that rests in this shows core. Easily one of the scariest installments of the series and by far the best laid out, Murder House exceeds as a horror show and a moving and compelling piece. Near flawless in its execution, each character, visual and scare were thoughtfully put together to create something all could enjoy. Even when the going gets a little gory for some, it always wrapped back to something mass audiences could know and love. Murder House is something that'll never be recreated or recaptured. It was a fleeting moment, but one that'll be remembered for years to come.

Best in Show: Quick Binge Television (Pt. I of II)

For years, horror television has been on an upward climb to the top of entertainment. Shows like The X-Files and The Walking Dead have amassed large, dedicated fan bases, while older classics like Are You Afraid of the Dark? and The Twilight Zone continues to sparkle in the back of our minds. But, the former are long-running and if behind, near impossible to catch up on, while the latter are great on single watches, but are episodic anthologies that don't need your love or adoration for the consistent characters. That's why this week's list covers shorter series (vague term, oh well) that you can sit down and watch in, say, a week. Miniseries, limited series and concluded shorter series are all included to ensure, no matter the time constraints, there's something to watch and invest in.


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10. Channel Zero: Candle Cove (SYFY)

With the release of the follow-up to the limited series recently debuting, there is simply no better time to watch the self-contained 6-episode SYFY original, Channel Zero: Candle Cove. With terrifying puppets, some great camera work and cinematography, this series builds a spooky atmosphere that'll engross viewers more every episode. It's loopy and twisting plot is odd, but will maintain interest and while some of the acting is a little mediocre, the characters and story are all entertaining enough to keep it all worthwhile.

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9. The Exorcist (FOX)

The second season of this FOX television show has just started airing, but left behind are much of the original cast and story first featured. The first season is a call back to horror classics, most namely The Exorcist of which it considers itself to be a direct sequel of. The second season will continue the unraveling story of two central characters, but their move to a different home and family will surely make the first season feel terrifically separate. The first season is arguably largely underrated, as it keeps a firm line in mainstream horror territory, rather than taking the plot in an action, drama or arthouse direction. Sure, there's a central family that'll tug at the heartstrings, but this show isn't made for anyone other than horror fans, and for that, we should be appreciative.

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8. Dead Set (E4 - now on Netflix)

Based on the British version of the reality show, Big Brother, this 5-episode series brings the zombie apocalypse to a group of hopeful reality stars trapped and cut off from the outside world. When things start to go haywire, it's pretty clear that something is wrong, but for our \contestants, what exactly is happening begins as a mystery. This show is gory, sometimes a little comical and with a fantastic turn by breakout star, Riz Ahmed (The Night Of), it's a must-see.

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7. American Horror Story: Roanoke (FX)

Despite its complex premise, this UnREAL-like season of American Horror Story, is one of the most organic and straightforward of the season. Featuring a sleuth of actors, characters and actors who played characters, this show-within-a-show is creative, and honestly scary. With some cheap jump scares, some terrifying tension and an unravelling plot that leaves a bloodbath in its wake; Roanoke was a welcome change from the limited series' convoluted artsy years.

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6. IT (ABC)

Before Bill Skarsgard took over as Pennywise the Dancing Clown, Tim Curry starred as him in the iconic IT miniseries. While its graphics are dated and the plot gets a little off the rails, this ABC series gave viewers plenty reason to be afraid of the dark. Featuring an equally absurd and horrifying clown demon, IT tells a story nearly everyone knows now. And, while the new one is a fantastic entry in Stephen King's world, the original miniseries is quite the accomplishment that shouldn't be forgotten.

Review: Prevenge



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A strong contender as one of the strangest film's this year is Prevenge. Following the story of a pregnant woman who believes her child is speaking to her; Prevenge is an absurdly dark horror-comedy with gumption. It's the type of movie that doesn't seem concerned with how the audience feels about it, because it is so sure in how it feels about it. Prevenge takes prenatal horror in a strange direction as the crude central character, Ruth, unhappy in her life takes a turn toward killing because of her baby’s pension for it. Prevenge is not for everyone at all, but as noted, it doesn't want to be.

Prevenge stars a particularly quirky Alice Lowe (Hot Fuzz) as mother-to-be, Ruth; she holds the entire film on her shoulders as the sole character with substantial dialogue and multiple scenes. She's fantastically droll, but also really interesting to observe as she interweaves with secondary characters and plots their murders. Other supporting actors include Gemma Whelan (Game of Thrones) as a woman who has no time for Ruth, Kate Dickie (The Witch) as an employer with literally no life outside of her job, and Jo Hartley (This Is England) as a midwife frequented by Ruth. Dickie is especially fantastic; her slightly unhinged working woman is hilariously desperate and unconventional.

Prevenge is never scary in the literal sense. It leans heavily toward dark comedy and while it holds some horror aspects, it certainly doesn't adhere to its conventions. Perhaps the scariest parts of Prevenge - and probably intentional pieces of the movie, are the gross encounters she has with people who don’t care, are outwardly rude or are completely ignorant to her very real problems a pregnant woman faces. In fact, the death scenes are more fun than they are anything else, with precursory that even if her baby isn't talking to her, these people deserve to be killed by Ruth.

One of the oddest parts about Prevenge is in its lack of backstory. The film practically falls into the center of the story. Ruth is deeply pregnant and already hears her baby, neither are explained past brief comments and by the end of the movie, viewers won't t ever truly understand what happened and why, only that it did. There's subtext that is progressive, the nurturing mother figure so typical of stereotypes is broken apart, making way for a single woman unable to cope with her pregnancy and the issues she faces.

As mentioned previously, Prevenge will not be for everyone. It's very British and at times, low budget. But, for its lack of camera prowess and cinematography, the film makes up for in campy fun and a pretty entertaining performance from Alice Lowe. It's the type of movie that'll never make you hold your breath or scream, but it will engross you in a wayward world of talking fetuses and offbeat pregnancy. 6 out 10.