REVIEW:
Norway isn't exactly well known for their horror movies. In fact, while both Sweden and Denmark have produced quite a few horror flicks over the years, Norway only has four or five real horror movies on their record, and they're not exactly movies to brag about either (with the obvious exception of Villmark aka Dark Woods). However, their latest horror effort, a slasher flick set in the snowy Norwegian mountains, might just change their reputation in the horror industry.

Cold Prey (or Fritt Vilt as it's originally called) is not an original slasher flick in any way - nor does it try to be. Instead of focusing their effort on trying to come up with original and ludicrous twists that make no sense, the guys behind Cold Prey obviously focused on creating an incredibly creepy atmosphere, a fast pace and scaring the shit out of the audience (excuse my language).

The story revolves around five twenty-something’s who go to the mountains for a vacation of extreme snowboarding. Naturally, things quickly go wrong when one of the guys breaks his leg. They seek shelter in an abandoned hotel (which is very reminiscent of the one in The Shining - something they actually pointed out rather than trying to hide) and it seems as if everything is going to be just fine. What they don't know is that a psychopathic serial killer with a pick-axe is living in the basement of the old hotel, and he does not feel like having any visitors.

Sure, it's as predictable as can be but Cold Prey is one hell of a slasher flick. In fact, I'll even go as far as saying that this was the best slasher flick that I've seen this whole year. From the moment things start to go wrong, you're practically glued to the screen due to all the suspense. It occasionally lets up for a couple of laughs (that by the way really worked, no cheap gags to be found in here) only to scare the living hell out of you moments later.

This is director Roar Uthaug's first full length feature and man is it an impressive one. The movie is beautifully shot with interesting and original angles as well as beautiful cinematography. The entire movie has the grey, dirty feeling to it which is very popular right now - and it really works. It doesn't exaggerate the use of colours either (like See No Evil did), but lets up every now and then with some powerful contrasts. I guess I don't need to say this but the movie was simply beautiful to look at - a real treat for the eye.

I was also really impressed by how good the acting was. The entire cast is relatively unknown, and only two of them had been in feature movies before so it was surprising to see them pull off such strong performances. Oh and before I forget it, the killer, god damn that has got to be the best outfit for a killer that I've seen in years. Not only is he huge and has a pick-axe, but the mask is incredibly creepy (haunting even).

Naturally, this wasn't a flawless movie though and as a slasher fan I was quite disappointed to see that it was so dry in the gore department. There is a lot of blood puddles etc, but there's no real gore to be found in here - even if the death scenes were tentatively really gory. It's a shame that the theatrical version was the uncut version because I did feel that it would have been an absolutely perfect movie had it had more gore in it.

Still, for just this once, I'm going to overlook that because I haven't had such a great time in a cinema in a long time. The cinema was packed with annoying teens with beeping cell-phones, but even they sat quietly, biting their nails during most of the movie. Do not miss this slasher flick as it's the most competent and genuinely slasher flick that you'll see in a long time. And for those of you who wonder; Yes, I do love Shredder, and yes Cold Prey definitely surpassed that in just about every way.

GORE:
A weak impalement, some blood splatter and a couple of corpses. I was really disappointed in this section.

SOUNDTRACK:
The soundtrack sounded like a million bucks and added a whole lot to the atmosphere of the movie. The rock music was also quite nice even though I felt it was a bit tame. Overall, the score was still an A+.

BOTTOM LINE:
I actually dare to say that Cold Prey is the best slasher flick of the year. It has all the right ingredients and knows how to use them. Sure, it might be a bit too dry in the gore department, but the tension, the atmosphere and the scares definitely made up for that. Whatever you do, don't miss this slasher opus from Norway. I headed in with really high expectations, and it still surpassed them!

REVIEW:
Say what you will about the quality of recent Japanese horror flicks, but if there's one director who stands out in the crowded Asian horror business, it's Sion Sono. This man doesn't care at all about horror movie trends or making his movies mainstream. He takes his visions and turns them into bizarre horror flicks that no one else would ever have even considered making, and for most of the time - it works. Exte pretty much ridicules the current inflated trend with long-haired ghost girls, and it does so with style and humour.

Not only is Exte hilariously funny, but it's also packed with great special effects, some stunning visuals and even a couple of scares. The story revolves around Yoko, a typical Japanese teenage girl with a bubbly personality. While studying to become a professional hairdresser, she also has to take care of her niece as her cousin has been anything but nice to her. One day, a strange man walks into the hair studio that Yoko works at and gives them a bunch of hair extensions. Everyone is eager to put them on, unaware of the fact that the hair has been cursed by the dead girl that the man got them from.

The story may seem somewhat similar to the South Korean horror flick "The Wig", but believe me, it's not. In fact, there's no real ghost girl in Exte, there's just a whole lot of hair that's gone on a killing rampage. Sion Sono has also mixed in some elements of torture porn in here, and even if there's close to no gore in the movie, he manages to make the torture scene quite emotional due to his impressive directing skills. The acting is also top-notch and Chiaki Kuriyama gives us her best performance since Battle Royale. Her character develops and grows in harmony with the story and you instantly root for her.

Exte is a spectacularly entertaining horror film and the best thing to come out of Japan in several years. This movie is without a doubt an instant cult classic and I will definitely be watching this again. I am in awe of Sion Sono as I didn't think that it was possible to make a great horror movie about hair anymore as the concept has been done to death - but if there's one man who can do it - it's Sion. Grab this one as soon as you get the chance as it's a whole lot of fun.

GORE:
Some minor blood, some dead bodies and a lot of hair.

SOUNDTRACK:
The christmas music set a good atmosphere but best of all is the "My Hair" song. God damn that was funny.

BOTTOM LINE:
Extremely entertaining horror flick with a sarcastic tone to it, ridiculing all these pathetic long-haired ghost girl movies coming out these days. If you're expecting yet another generic ghost movie, you're wrong, this is something you haven't seen before. You don't want to miss this one - trust me.

REVIEW:
This was the grainiest, most homemade-looking horror movie I've ever seen, and I'll be damned if it didn't turn out to be one of the best horror movies ever. I fucking loved every second of it! This is what horror movies are all about. Forget torture-porn, we don't need to actually see the gore when pure violence and brutality and madness is so much more disturbing. I'm telling you, this is one and a half hour of constant panicking, constant screaming, constant violence and constant entertainment. Because no matter how difficult it may be to watch this movie at times due to its graphic nature, this is one kick-ass film and I don't think that anyone can disagree with me on that.

There's not really a whole lot of story in here. Five girls get lost while on their way home and soon find themselves terrorized by a psychotic woman. And man is she ever so psychotic. She plays demented games with the girls, chasing them, torturing them, forcing them to do nasty things and she has no plans of letting them die easily. I don't think that I've ever sat through a movie with so much chaos and hysteria in it. And the thing is, it all feels so real. It was like watching a documentary. Remember that disturbing footage of the high school hazing that a bunch of young girls were involved in a couple of years ago? Yeah well, this movie evokes pretty much the exact same emotions, just because it feels so realistic.

It didn't even bother me for a moment that the movie was extremely grainy and shot with handheld camera as that only added to the whole feeling of the movie. In fact, I'm sure it wouldn't have been even half as effective had it been shot in the good old fashioned way. The picture is occasionally blurry, some camera angles stay on for way too long and the entire thing feels so amateurish - and I LOVED IT! It's simply genius. This is by far the most demented movie that I've seen to this date - despite the fact that it had close to no gore in it.

I can't stress what a unique experience this was enough as I haven't seen anything like this ever before. It's simply a brilliant and disturbing horror movie with a genius ending which both satisfies and entertains. As you can probably hear, I'm extremely worked up over this movie. It's just so fucking brilliant! Still head in with low expectations so that you won't be disappointed, but I don't think that you will either way. Enough talking, now go out and get this movie!!

GORE:
Lots of blood splashing everywhere but no real gore.

SOUNDTRACK:
This was also genius. The techno music mixed with the black metal got you even more worked up.

BOTTOM LINE:
Simply outstanding! I'm lost for words. Five Across The Eyes is one of the most unique experiences I've ever had the pleasure of sitting through. It's a chaotic, demented, disturbing horror flick and it works on every level! I loved it. I absolutely loved it.