Chilling Visions: 5 Senses of Fear (2013)

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

Another year, another horror anthology, and this time it's the turn of 5 SENSES OF FEAR which unsurprisingly contains five short tales each based around one of the human senses. Like SCARY OR DIE or the V/H/S/ movies, this is acceptable stuff for horror fans, although it lacks the quality of something like TRICK 'R TREAT.The problem with 5 SENSES OF FEAR is not the production values, because they're actually decent for a change; although the stories were shot on the cheap and in a very short space of time, they look good and the calibre of both acting and direction is of an acceptable standard. There are no big names here, but then you don't go looking for them.The problem is that all of the stories are focused on delivering gore rather than true scares so that the scope ends up being rather limited. The first one, SMELL, is about a guy who comes into possession of a new and experimental perfume; this has a classic outcome and was my favourite of the five stories. The second one, SEE, involves some predictably nasty eye violence and very little else. The third, TOUCH, is about a blind kid who has a car accident and is the most atmospheric of the quintet, although the story is very slight. TASTE is an all-out gore effort set in an office, while LISTEN goes down the found footage route and isn't too shabby. All of the stories are acceptable, but I found them lacking in delivering proper horror themes or scares; is gore all the genre has to offer these days, I wonder?

Just watch the opening sequence and you know you're in for a treat. This movie (1:30 long) is one of the most playful and enjoyable anthologies I've seen in a good while. I think what sets it apart from others is that it doesn't take itself too seriously and it knows it. All the stories are cleverly produced with rather good acting and effects, camera angles, etc. The only drawback is that, while it is very entertaining all the way through, it isn't necessarily entirely filled with horror. The up side to this is that we're given a wide spectrum of horror, suspense, and thriller so that it doesn't grow stale over time. There are 5 tales and they each feel as if you're being given a gift to open and enjoy. Pretty packaging, full content, and the stories are enthralling to say the least. It's easy to get into the stories and look forward to what's coming next. Even greater is the fact that they are all tied together with subtle clues as to how they are connected. But these subtleties are important enough to make you feel the connection in a very roundabout way such as in "Cabin in the Woods." I'll go into a brief synopsis of each tale so you can get an idea of what to expect (skip this if you'd rather know nothing going in, but I've kept it bare minimum):1. Smell - This tale is about a man who is down on his luck but picks up a special aroma that turns his life around, but at what price? As an opener, this one doesn't quite set the stage for what's to come. It's possibly the most playful of the 5 tales, but the ending is pretty funky fresh haha. This one is often considered a weaker tale, but I enjoyed it quite a bit. It's full-bodied and robust *see what I did there?* =D 2. Sight - This tale is about a lonely man who works as an optometrist and uses his machines to extract memories from his patients in order to enjoy their memories. He's a stalker basically, but when he finally takes certain matters into his own hands, trouble ensues. This one is rather short, but the build up is great and the finale is very enjoyable and somewhat psychedelic. It is chilling, gory to a degree, and creepy. The approach of sight on this one is very creative and engaging. 3. Touch - The best tale in my opinion, this one is about a blind boy who seeks help for his family after a car crash. This tale is amazing and feels so real and almost empowering as the boy makes his way through a rather troublesome environment. It's further strengthened by the boy's intelligence. 4. Taste - If you've paid attention to the clues throughout the film, this is where they lead you - what ties the tales together. This tale involves a young man who is offered a job for a strange company. Upon his arrival, things get a little. .. .distasteful. You'll never see this one coming, and it's a bit funny while also a tad gruesome. 5. Hearing - A found-footage attempt, this film involves a crew who's task is to compile some found footage into one film. The film involves a song that has lethal effects on it's listeners. This one is possibly the weakest. It is a great idea, but it lacks in proper execution. It's neat little way to end everything though I suppose. Not unenjoyable, but not really super enjoyable either. Keep in mind that these were filmed in roughly 4 days per tale, so the window wasn't large, but they did amazing considering.

The title predicts what you will get, 5 short movies about our senses. But all with a twist so that explains the fear. All of them contain horror and I must say that the quality of each flick looks superb.Smell, the first one doesn't has an original script but you have to watch and go through the first minutes to see what is going on. It all looks messy after a while for the main lead and it's just on the edge of gore. With the use of a perfume given by a stranger a man do attracts beautiful girls but there's a price to pay. The body slowly decays. The effects used are really well done. A nice short with excellent shooting and editing.Sight, again not an original script. There are so many full features about eye removal and replacing them from killers and here we do have a bit of the same. The instruments used to control the eyesight do capture what's going on in the brain and so we are suddenly into a story about a killer taking revenge on a eye surgeon. It also has a few of nice effects but isn't that scary at all, nice editing again.Touch, for me that was the weakest of stories involved on this disc. It never really got my attention. Taste, a lot of blah blah and you're waiting what is going to happen, Beautiful girls running the business and the only thing you want to know is, what kind of work is offered...but once refused things go wrong. A bit sad about the shaky camera's used but original story, nothing is explained and again on the edge of gore. Some will be remember the bear trap from Saw.Hearing, the only short made like a documentary. To make it more creepy they are after a Russian tape about some kind of song which do affect people playing that song. Didn't like it at all because it's a lot of blah blah even as they tried to involve us by removing the sound sometimes to think we would go mad too. Sadly, you really have to wait until the end before the horror comes in on the found footage. And from there it's uploaded to youtube, so be aware if you are watching youtube....Overall, not bad due the quality of all shorts but Hearing and Touch weren't the thing I was waiting for...Gore 1,5/5 Nudity 0/5 Effects 3/5 Story 2,5/5 Comedy 0/5

I came away from this with a good over all feeling; at least a feeling of liking the movie, as a whole, not so much from the gore that was just a bit too syrupy. So you get one over all story told in five parts without the usual arc to pull it together. Instead of that usual arc you get a "Wolfram & Hart" almost Umbrella Corp if somehow it had the Brazil twist running through the whole movie that works nicely, and has some nice little payoffs throughout, and upon re-review you see things from the new angle. Sadly the first story is just so slow, and dry that it really bogs the rest of the stories down from the start, so when Touch ends so very suddenly it sort of makes more sense. I wanted more from the blood effects, I just find making blood look like syrup is just cheap, it doesn't get like that till it has had some time to set, so the fresh stuff should look more like fresh blood. But I do pick. In the end I found that I really did Enjoy this movie, and would think that anyone not afraid of a little fake blood, and vomit (lots, of both) then you will to.