Ominous (2015)

Well Deserved Praise

This Movie Can Only Be Described With One Word.

I like Black Panther, but I didn't like this movie.

Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

One of the best horror movies I've seen in a very long time. Truly heartfelt with easy to relate to characters you can connect with. The story is very well composed with plenty of suspense building and no jump scares, The acting is incredible and you can tell these actors are experienced and are on their way to the big time. This movie takes you on a wild and scary trip through these peoples' lives and troubles as well as the decisions they have to make. A movie like this is unmatched in my opinion by anything released in the past 20 maybe 30 years. The cgi is amazing and life like which just adds to an already intense atmosphere. Ominous is most definitely a must see. Though sequels tend to be disappointing I can't help but hope they make another.

Now THIS is a horror film! From the creepy atmosphere and tone, to the way the director slowly builds the dread and tension, this is one that belongs in the theater, not TV. Basically the story is about a child who is killed in a car accident, and his parents, who make a deal with the devil to get him back. Except, as a priest later explains, the son they got back is the devil incarnate. And if the demon child is allowed to reach maturity, bad stuff will happen. Of course bad stuff already is happening: dead dogs and birds, people catching on fire, bodies hanging in meat lockers, a playground massacre, melting flesh and crucifixions, etc. so the father (Barry Watson from 7th Heaven) decides something has to be done. Like The Omen, only the child's father can kill the demon child, so he decides to give it a shot. I won't give away how he does it, but it's actually a terrific slow-burn sequence full of suspense and one of my favorites of the movie. The script isn't exactly original but what it has going for it is pacing. There's not a dull point to be had here and the story is constantly moving. Plus the director and the cinematographer really do a good job at making this feel like a theatrical release and not just another movie for Syfy. There's also a lot of action and some unexpectedly well done physical FX, which is a rarity in this day and age. The performances are good too, from Watson to his wife, who I recognized from Game of Thrones, and their creepy son, who reminded me a lot of Pierce Gagnon from Looper. I really liked this one and give it a hearty recommend.

I have to admit I don't normally watch Sci-Fi Channel movies, but my husband insisted we watch this one. I was ready to bolt, but surprisingly... not only did it hold my interest, but I thought it was one of the better horror movies of recent memory. Yes... I'm a horror fan.Much like INSIDIOUS or THE CONJURING, this is a horror story rooted in the relationship of two adults facing a very difficult turning point in their lives. Husband Michael (Barry Watson) has been unfaithful to his devoted wife Rachel (Esme Bianco) and he's started drinking. Then... they lose their son in a car accident. When they get their son back in a miraculous turn of events... each of them have their faith tested in different ways. The marriage they'd struggled to save starts to fracture again and in the middle of it all is a son who may be their sweet little angel... or something far more ominous. Not content to be a simple haunted house film... the movie goes beyond the confines of its story and strives for something bigger. There are elements of HIGHLANDER in the subplot about a renegade priest dueling (literally) with a seemingly immortal foe. There's a big action sequence out of THE BIRDS where the demonic child takes on an entire SWAT team. And the film's one mistake... a SHARKNADO like park scene that feels out of place in this otherwise creepy and satisfying movie. It's also very gory. Ironically of all the PG-13 horror movies lately... a TV movie is the one that delivers the R-rated goods.While the plot is most reminiscent of THE OMEN and PET SEMETARY, the filmmakers have clearly taken influence from the James Wan play book. In fact, I would argue that this film is more successful at capturing Wan's trademark creepy atmosphere and tone than his own spin off ANNABELLE. Sci-Fi paired this film with the INSIDIOUS films and its easy to see why. If they decide to make INSIDIOUS 4... maybe give these people a call.Final verdict... terrifically atmospheric, strong acting, so-so low budget CG, way above average Sci-Fi channel movie.

Following the tragic death of their son, a grieving family is offered the opportunity to see him again only to realize they have the demonic spawn of the Antichrist in their care and must try to prevent his true form from appearing.This here was a rather disappointing but still enjoyable effort with some decent parts about it. For the most part, what tends to work here is the rather enjoyable amount of action on display here, which tends to come off rather nicely here by bringing a lot of exciting moments. The first few times this happens, from the initial reaction to the dog and the strange looks and glances he gave to the chilling way he would pop up everywhere during any kind of conversation, even if it dealt with him or not, is certainly enough to feel that something is going on before it gets to the rather fun display of powers in the church eruption. This is quite a big, gateway scene that fully explores the power within through an explosive action-sequence that features the priest catching fire and the subsequent race to put him out amidst the panicked crowds and then using the supernatural powers to explode the stained-glass windows and using them to wound a fellow priest on the scene gives this a truly strong sequence. Likewise, the playground attack of him gathering objects through supernatural means and flinging them through the air with supernatural winds while killing off dozens of people is a fantastic moment that comes off nicely as well as the police ambush on their hotel hideout where the drawing of the murderous crows is sent into battle against the agents and bringing about tons of great deaths and action with the demonic-influenced creatures generating a lot of fun throughout here. The resulting battle in the head-room and chase back to the house is all fine enough, and along with the decent gore here make this one good enough to become watchable although there are some big flaws on display here. The main issue here is the film's main premise, which is surprisingly never once brought up as anything more than a means to move the film along and never once questioned or even given much consideration as for why anyone would welcome that to begin with, and the need for doing so is never given here other than parental guilt. Also, this has the unfortunate problem of literally requiring everyone around him to be the biggest morons on the planet for their cluelessness at what's going on, for it's one thing to feel parental guilt and remorse over what happened which may make them turn a blind eye to the proceedings, but it's another when this one does such a fantastic job at demonstrating his obvious evil tendencies that to not recognize it after the priests' murder or the incident at the gas- station which should've been the biggest clue something was wrong here. That is so incompetently handled that it really sticks out in here, much like the lousy CGI on display does to crop up here from time to time. Even further, that this relies so heavily on borrowed material is quite troubling, really making this out to be lifted from so many other sources that it can't even find its own identity in here. These issues are what really hold this one down.Rated Unrated/R: Violence, Language and violence-against-animals.