Directed by Crispian Mills. Written by Mills and Henry Fitzherbert. Starring Finn Cole, Asa Butterfield, Hermione Corfield, Michael Sheen, Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Tom Rhys Harries, Kit Connor and Margot Robbie.
Plot: an illustrious English boarding school becomes a battleground when a controversial fracking site causes a sinkhole and beasts come up from the ground.
This original story revolves around an English boarding school where Don (Cole) is sent after his father dies. His new roommate, Willoughby Blake (Butterfield), quickly fills him in on all the school happenings, except he leaves out the fact that his previous roommate committed suicide. When Don meets the headmaster known simply as The Bat (Sheen), he doesn’t like him at all. For good reason, too, because he’s not very likable. Turns out, he’s allowed a company to begin fracking on land very close to the school for monetary gain. This fracking will lead to disaster eventually, but first Don will have to deal with the school bully, Clegg (Harries), who informs Don that the girl he has a crush on, Clemsie (Corfield), is a goddess and way out of his league.
A teacher at the school, Meredith Houseman (Pegg), believes the fracking is a stupid idea. There’s also a protest group nearby that’s led by Woody Chapman (Frost), who wants the fracking site shut down. Their negative feelings about it all prove correct when gnarly man-eating creatures come out of a sinkhole the fracking creates. The Bat proves he’s useless pretty quickly, just as Meredith proves he’s not. And Clegg acts like an even bigger horror show than usual, claiming there’s a “new world order” now.
The ending was terrific. Even the little dog lived. The writing/dialogue was realistic with excellent actors portraying well-shaped characters. It wasn’t very scary, but it was funny as hell. The effects were really good, the direction was lovely and it followed all the rules it set up. DJ did feel it was a little slow to start and the bully bastards really annoyed me, but it all got way better during the second half. Many critics didn’t like this nearly as much as we did (if at all), but a lot of them said it was too “preachy”. We disagree that it was too preachy. Sure, they heavily imply that fracking is terrible, but since fracking IS terrible, just don’t watch it if you disagree with that particular statement. All in all, it’s pretty magnificent and you should totally watch it.
I suppose I could list my favorite movies here, but instead I'll give you a strange glimpse into what makes me TaraRomero.
1. I met George Romero. He was the kindest and sweetest man. He talked to me for longer than he should have with the line getting longer. He also held my hand. And when he noticed the ladybug I have tattooed on my wrist, he said he liked it and asked me it's name. Till then, it had not had a name. Now, I call him George.
2. I love stickers. All stickers. I just adore them. I even ask for stickers for Christmas! As a matter of fact, the birthday that just past, every member of my immediate family gave me sticker packs as gifts. Affordable and extremely appreciated.
3. I have never put much stock in astrology or horoscopes, but I LOVE the magic of the MBTI. Omg. I am an INFP and it actually sounds just like me. Introverted mostly. Creative always. Heart before head and not the most logical. Totally me! For better or worse.
4. It's no surprise I count horror so high up on the list of things that make me, me. However, it's so within my soul that I was part of the Horror Club in college. Interesting bunch. And even took a Horror Lit class as an elective. I got an A.
5. Coffee always makes me happy. Always. I'm particularly fond of caramel macchiatos. But I'll drink black coffee if it's the only thing available.
6. I hate shock for the sake of shock and endings that depress me. I always mention the movies Within (2016) and the Eli Roth produced, written and starred in, Aftershock (2012), as proof of this distate I have. I abhor the idea that just because I like horror, some people think I'd actually praise a movie that lets you think the "Final Girl" just made it through the night, only to slap her in the face with a tsunami.
7. We are big time animal people. I mean, if I could, I'd have an elephant, a bear, a zebra, a penguin, an otter and a meerkat, living with me. Seriously though. We have 2 dogs right now and 2 cats. Both cats we picked up when they each came to our front door hungry. And both dogs we got from 2 different sets of neighbors. Both who, unfortunately, don't know how to care for pets long-term. But they're happy and healthy now!!
8. Revisiting my love of horror, one of the above cats, my cat, is a little black guy named Church. Because Pet Sematary. His middle name is even Pascow. To give credit where credit's due, the name was DJ's idea. But he loves horror too!
9. I'm big into art. Along with movie posters and an Anne Frank quote, I have some actual paintings on my wall. I really think Dali paints beautifully when he wants to. And if I don't get to see Michaelangelo's Pieta in person some day, I will be very disappointed.
10. Lastly, I find Emily Dickinson's poetry intriguing. I took an elective course about her as well. But do you know I injected horror even there? I was given a poem to dissect and I picked one on death, of course. Then, I researched old "Death Photos" and even printed out copies for everyone in the class. They were so interested in looking at them that it stopped them from all looking at me, and I was able to deal quite well with my stage fright. Haha
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