CHICAGO – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com appears on “The Morning Mess” with Dan Baker on WBGR-FM (Monroe, Wisconsin) on March 21st, 2024, reviewing the new streaming series “Manhunt” – based on the bestseller by James L. Swanson – currently streaming on Apple TV+.
Paranormal Activity
Video: Official ‘Paranormal Activity 3’ Trailer Released; Film Slated For Oct. 21, 2011
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on July 21, 2011 - 5:46pmCHICAGO – The official trailer for “Paranormal Activity 3” has just been released!
Film Review: ‘Saw’ Creators Fall Just Short of True Scares With ‘Insidious’
Submitted by BrianTT on April 1, 2011 - 11:42amRating: 2.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – I have written over a thousand reviews and have rarely been as conflicted as I am about my response to James Wan’s “Insidious.” It comes down to this question — do you judge the effort or the execution? I love what Wan and co-writer Leigh Whannell (the team behind “Saw,” working this time with the producers of “Paranormal Activity”) are attempting with their unique ghost story, one that clearly pays homage to an old-fashioned style of horror filmmaking, but I don’t think they quite pull it off. Ultimately, a movie doesn’t exist in theory, only up on the screen, and that’s where “Insidious” doesn’t quite work as well as this classic horror fan truly wished it would.
HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: 35 Pairs of Chicago Passes to ‘Insidious’ From Makers of ‘Paranormal Activity,’ ‘Saw’
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on March 30, 2011 - 12:10amCHICAGO – In our latest horror/thriller edition of HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film, we have 35 admit-two passes up for grabs to the advance Chicago screening of the new film “Insidious” with Patrick Wilson and Rose Byrne from the “Paranormal Activity” and “Saw” makers!
Interview: Leigh Whannell, James Wan Hunt Ghosts With ‘Insidious’
Submitted by BrianTT on March 29, 2011 - 2:24pmCHICAGO – Patrick Wilson (“Little Children”) and Rose Byrne (“Damages”) play a truly terrified couple in James Wan’s “Insidious,” opening this Friday, April 1st, 2011. Produced by the team behind “Paranormal Activity” and written and co-starring Leigh Whannell, the man who did the same double duty on “Saw,” “Insidious” hopes to be the haunted house movie of 2011 with a twist.
Blu-Ray Review: Disappointing Return of ‘Paranormal Activity 2’
Submitted by BrianTT on February 18, 2011 - 12:28pmCHICAGO – There’s something that horror movie producers never seem capable of understanding. A great horror movie is like watching a magic trick. It doesn’t work nearly as well the second time. The sequels to “Saw,” “The Blair Witch Project,” and now “Paranormal Activity,” are not that dissimilar from watching the same rabbit come out of the same hat with nothing much different than a new colored bandana around its neck. “Paranormal Activity 2” has moments but doesn’t amount to nearly the same overall experience as the first.
Blu-Ray Review: Controversial ‘Catfish’ Examines Identity in the Internet Age
Submitted by BrianTT on January 5, 2011 - 11:38amCHICAGO – It almost felt like Universal tried to piggyback “Catfish,” recently released on Blu-ray and DVD, on to so many other movies that it somewhat tanked at the box office (not breaking even $4 million) because it lost its own identity; ironic, given the film’s purported examination of the shifting ground of truth known as the internet.
Film Feature: The 10 Scariest Scenes in Film History
Submitted by BrianTT on October 28, 2010 - 2:43amCHICAGO – A truly scary movie doesn’t release you from its grip when the end credits begin to roll. It doesn’t evaporate from your mind like a pleasurable yet disposable piece of escapist entertainment. It burrows itself within your subconscious and follows you like a malevolent shadow until night falls.
Film Review: Prequel ‘Paranormal Activity 2’ Deftly Exploits a Baby as Emotional Scare Tactic
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on October 23, 2010 - 1:57amCHICAGO – From its first “The Blair Witch Project”-like film in Sept. 2009, “Paranormal Activity” now reigns as one of the most profitable films ever made based on return on investment. But just a short 13 months later, “Paranormal Activity 2” returns to theaters with content and panic tactics that are much of the same.
HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: 20 Chicago Passes to Highly Anticipated Sequel ‘Paranormal Activity 2’
Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on October 16, 2010 - 4:55pmCHICAGO – In our latest horror sequel edition of HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film, we have 20 admit-two passes up for grabs to the advance Chicago screening of the highly anticipated sequel “Paranormal Activity 2”!
Blu-Ray Review: ‘The Fourth Kind’ is Disturbing For the Wrong Reasons
Submitted by mattmovieman on March 18, 2010 - 12:37pmCHICAGO – Here’s the most desperate film in many a moon. It tries harder than any recent horror picture to prove that its artificial horrors are real. What it lacks is the subtlety and suspense necessary to actually scare viewers. “Blair Witch Project” did it with ominous sounds in the dark. “Paranormal Activity” did it with time code. Both films proved that in the case of psychological horror, less is always more.