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Resident Evil 5 Review
It took me forever, but I got it done! My Resident Evil 5 review is ahead, and so are SPOILERS, so don’t read on if you don’t want bubbles burst.
I went into Resident Evil 5 with that, “this game is going to be awesome” mentality. Well, I couldn’t have been more right! I’ve been playing Resident Evil since RE2 came out, and, while sticking mostly with the main games, 1-4, Veronica, etc. I haven’t been let down yet. While the game was the least scary of all the Resident Evil games I have played in the past, it didn’t matter. It still had me on edge most of the time.
I was disappointed at 1st with not being able to aim/shoot while walking, but they did add left to right strafing, which helped a ton, and by the end of the 1st chapter I didn’t even care about the walking while shooting. As I have been doing lately with more and more games, I tried it out with headphones on. Headphones can really give you a taste of things you are missing through speakers alone. Noises of approaching enemies, creaks of an area you are in, it really enriches the environment. Cutting off any outside noises you may hear at home also really brings you into the game. Throughout the game you will uncover a ton of back story behind Umbrella, Wilpharma, Tricell, and the virus’s, that will really start to fill in some of the blanks and things you may have questioned before.
I went through the game with Kiel/Reset. The co-op feels a lot like Gears Of War, and Army Of Two, and works very smoothly. A friend can shoot, and while an enemy is stunned, the other can run up, and kick, or punch him. Though Kiel and I do agree with adding of strafing and physical attacks, we really wished there was some type of a quick roll or dodge you could do. The physical attacks however you can to wait for the button command to pop up, which didn’t always work in my favor. I would shoot an enemy, and he would stumble around stunned, I would run up to him for the attack. The button command would never show up, and inevitably, the infected would grab me and take advantage of me with his or her plant like octopus looking mouth. I do recommend playing the game on 2 systems because while the split screen is nice, after playing alone, it’s much nicer to have the entire screen to yourself. It’s nice to be able to pass items back and forth between the partners, giving ammo when needed, and healing both at the same time with herb or 1st aid sprays also a welcome addition.
I was extremely disappointed there was no merchant this time around! I was hoping during the 1st level he would be hanging out in some hut or something, with those blue flames and his trench coat full of goodies. Aside from that I love the weapon upgrading you can do. As well as the purchasing, it really gives you a chance to switch your weapon choices around as you please. Although I did miss the large sized attache case from RE4, because I could eventually store every type of weapon I wanted to, for use at any time.
I know it’s probably hard to do, but I didn’t like the repetitiveness of the enemies. When I have 6 enemies around me attacking, and 3 of them are the same person, and the other 3 are a different person, it kind of turns me off. I think there was 1 female infected enemy as well. The boss battles we’re mostly epic as usually and did not disappoint. Bringing in some new messed up monsters and enemies helped keep things fresh, while bringing back lickers, and more than I’ve ever seen before gave me that warm sentimental feeling. Snakes are of course back, hiding in crates and pissing me off. Dropping not only regular eggs, but the rotten egg, which I decided to eat, and it almost killed Sheva! I should have thought that through a little better.
I was kind of dissapointed in the almost 0 scare factor or the game. Even though Resident Evil 4 was more action, it still had a decent scare factor to it I thought. It’s true playing with a friend takes the edge off, but I had hoped it would have been more scary. I’d love to see zombies make a comeback in 6.
It’s a well known fact amongst my friends that in most games where you are given the choice of a male or female character, I will 99% of the time pick the girl. So naturally I played through as Sheva, and it seems to work out better that way any how since all my friends like to be the male characters. Leon and Claire are my favorite Resident Evil pair and characters, but I have to admit, after seeing Jill, new hair, new graphics, all redone, I got super excited, and being able to play as her in Mercenaries was the topping on the cake. Being able to play 2 players in the Mercenaries makes it so much more fun. I remember that constant anxious feeling when playing it in Resident Evil 4, knowing you’re alone. In Mercenaries you get 3 versions of Chris and Sheva, and 2 versions of Jill and Wesker. All carrying different weapons and items and that can really change up each Mercenaries level.
A nice addition was the ability to chapter select so you could go back and play whatever level whenever you want. Which is convenient for retrieving BSSA emblems scattered about the game, or working on some other achievements.
Versus Mode, you have to pay 5 dollars for it, and yes that sucks though it is pretty sweet. HOWEVER, you cannot do 2 player on the same screen. So if you wanna play with friends, 4 copies of the game, 4 xbox’s. LAME!!! Also, while you’re playing Versus, there is some club techno music playing constantly, and it doesn’t make any sense.
With all said and done, I had a blast playing it, and even more so with my friend Kiel/Reset. I think both him and I can agree we are glad Wesker is dead, and we hope he stays that way. This game is beautiful. I can’t wait to see what future Resident Evils are like, almost as much as I couldn’t wait for this one. I give this game a 4.5/5, and recommend the hell out of it.
We are now one full month into Spring 2024, which kicked off on Tuesday, March 19 and comes to an end with the start of Summer on Thursday, June 20. This year’s summer movie season has a whole bunch of exciting horror highlights, including A Quiet Place: Day One, MaXXXine, and Alien: Romulus, but let’s hold that particular thought until June rolls around.
We’re here today to talk about Spring 2024 and the many horrors we still have left before the weather gets warmer and we find ourselves in the heat of one hell of a spooky summer.
Here are 12 horror movies you don’t want to miss in Spring 2024!
STING – April 12
Two words: SPIDER HORROR. Writer/Director Kiah Roache-Turner (Wyrmwood) hopes to induce eight-legged terror with his brand new horror movie Sting, only in theaters April 12.
Of particular note, Sting features practical spider effects from 5-time Academy Award Winner Weta Workshop, with the spider in this one inspired by H.R. Giger’s Xenomorph!
In Sting, “One cold, stormy night in New York City, a mysterious object falls from the sky and smashes through the window of a rundown apartment building. It is an egg, and from this egg emerges a strange little spider. The creature is discovered by Charlotte, a rebellious 12-year-old girl obsessed with comic books. Keeping it as a secret pet, she names it Sting.
“But as Charlotte’s fascination with Sting increases, so does its size. Growing at a monstrous rate, Sting’s appetite for blood becomes insatiable.”
BLACKOUT – APRIL 12
Indie darling Larry Fessenden is back with new horror movie Blackout this Spring, Fessenden’s third movie – following Habit and Depraved – to put his own spin on classic monsters.
While Habit was centered on vampires and Depraved was a fresh take on Frankenstein’s Monster, Larry Fessenden’s Blackout is the filmmaker’s contribution to werewolf cinema.
The film follows Charley, an artist whose drinking binges blur with his sneaking suspicion that he might be a werewolf. He distances himself from those he loves and sinks deeper into solitude, his flashes of memory of his nighttime grisly acts manifested through his artwork.
ARCADIAN – APRIL 12
If Nicolas Cage is covered in blood, you better believe we’re going to be watching. Cage gets his own A Quiet Place with Arcadian, a new creature feature coming to theaters April 12.
In Arcadian, which also comes to Shudder later this year, “After a catastrophic event depopulates the world, a father (Nicolas Cage) and his two sons must survive their dystopian environment while being threatened by mysterious creatures that emerge at night.”
Jaeden Martell (IT 2017) also stars in the post apocalyptic monster movie.
ABIGAIL – APRIL 19
If you’re bummed about Melissa Barrera being fired from the Scream franchise, you’ll definitely want to get out to your local theater this month to support Abigail, the new VAMPIRE BALLERINA horror movie from Scream and Scream VI directors Radio Silence.
Barrera stars alongside fellow horror favorite Kathryn Newton (Freaky) in Abigail, which is actually the latest horror movie in Universal’s relaunched Universal Monsters Universe.
In the film, “After a group of would-be criminals kidnap the 12-year-old ballerina daughter of a powerful underworld figure, all they have to do to collect a $50 million ransom is watch the girl overnight. In an isolated mansion, the captors start to dwindle, one by one, and they discover, to their mounting horror, that they’re locked inside with no normal little girl.”
LATE NIGHT WITH THE DEVIL – APRIL 19
One of the most talked about horror movies of Spring 2024 has been the Halloween 1977-set Late Night With the Devil, which has been playing in theaters since its premiere on March 22.
Late Night with the Devil will begin streaming at home on April 19, 2024, less than one month after arriving in theaters. Shudder will be the exclusive streaming home of the movie.
David Dastmalchian (Dune, The Suicide Squad) stars as the host of a late-night talk show that descends into a nightmare in Late Night with the Devil, set on Halloween 1977.
In the found footage-style film that captures a period aesthetic, “A live television broadcast in 1977 goes horribly wrong, unleashing evil into the nation’s living rooms.”
INFESTED – APRIL 26
Spring 2024 is all about SPIDERS – sorry, arachnophobes! – with the previously mentioned Sting being followed by the French creature feature Infested (Vermines) later this month.
What’s particularly exciting about Infested is that its director, Sébastien Vaniček, has been hired to direct the next installment in the Evil Dead film franchise, so this will be our first taste of what Vaniček is capable of within the genre. And the buzz for this one is strong.
In his review out of Fantastic Fest last year, for starters, Bloody Disgusting’s own critic Trace Thurman raved that Infested is “one of the best spider attack movies in years.”
In the upcoming horror film, “Fascinated by exotic animals, Kaleb finds a venomous spider in a shop and brings it back to his apartment. It only takes a moment for the spider to escape and reproduce, turning the whole building into a dreadful web trap.”
HUMANE – APRIL 26
The daughter of horror master David Cronenberg, Caitlin Cronenberg is making her own mark in the genre filmmaking space with IFC Films’ Humane, coming to theaters this month.
The film is described as “a dystopian satire taking place over a single day, months after a global ecological collapse has forced world leaders to reduce the earth’s population.”
The wild premise? 20% of the world’s population must VOLUNTEER TO DIE!
“In a wealthy enclave, a recently retired newsman has invited his grown children to dinner to announce his intentions to enlist in the nation’s new euthanasia program. But when the father’s plan goes horribly awry, tensions flare and chaos erupts among his children.”
I SAW THE TV GLOW – MAY 3
Fresh off the haunting and singularly creepy indie We’re All Going to the World’s Fair, Jane Schoenbrun is back with A24‘s I Saw the TV Glow, releasing only in theaters this May.
Meagan Navarro wrote in her Sundance review for BD, “I Saw the TV Glow offers a layered and authentic portrait of identity, wrapped in ’90s nostalgia and surreal imagery that embeds itself deep into your psyche.” Meagan continues, “Schoenbrun delivers a singular vision of arthouse horror that entrances for its fevered dream style and insanely cool imagery.”
In A24’s latest, “Owen is just trying to make it through life in the suburbs when his classmate introduces him to a mysterious TV show — a vision of a supernatural world beneath their own. In the pale glow of the television, Owen’s view of reality begins to crack.”
TAROT – MAY 3
Originally titled Horrorscope, a much better title if you’re asking me, Screen Gems returns to the big screen with studio horror movie Tarot this Spring, a Tarot-card themed spookshow.
When a group of friends recklessly violates the sacred rule of Tarot readings – never use someone else’s deck – they unknowingly unleash an unspeakable evil trapped within the cursed cards in the upcoming Screen Gems horror movie Tarot. One by one, they come face to face with fate and end up in a race against death to escape the future foretold in their readings.
The hook for this one? Artist Trevor Henderson designed the film’s eight monsters!
THE STRANGERS: CHAPTER 1 – MAY 17
Bryan Bertino’s 2008 home invasion classic The Strangers spawns a brand new reboot trilogy this year, with first film The Strangers: Chapter 1 kicking things off in theaters on May 17.
The Strangers: Chapter 2 is expected to follow in Fall 2024.
Madelaine Petsch is the lead of the new reboot trilogy, playing a character who drives cross-country with her longtime boyfriend to begin a new life in the Pacific Northwest.
When their car breaks down in Venus, Oregon, they’re forced to spend the night in a secluded Airbnb, where they are terrorized from dusk till dawn by three masked strangers.
IN A VIOLENT NATURE – MAY 31
Slasher fans who have been hungry for a new Friday the 13th movie won’t want to miss In a Violent Nature, which plays out like a Friday movie… entirely from Jason’s perspective!
IFC Films will release In a Violent Nature exclusively in theaters on May 31.
In the film, “When a locket is removed from a collapsed fire tower in the woods that entombs the rotting corpse of Johnny, a vengeful spirit spurred on by a horrific 60-year old crime, his body is resurrected and becomes hellbent on retrieving it. The undead golem hones in on the group of vacationing teens responsible for the theft and proceeds to methodically slaughter them one by one in his mission to get it back – along with anyone in his way.”
Meagan Navarro wrote in her Sundance review for Bloody Disgusting, “In a Violent Nature may offer slasher thrills and a delightfully gory rampage across the wilderness, but the approach captures the carnage through ambient realism. It results in a fascinating arthouse horror experiment that plays more like a minimalist slice-of-life feature with a grim twist.”
THE WATCHERS – JUNE 14
M. Night Shyamalan returns with the new thriller Trap this coming August, but the road to that film’s release will be paved by the feature debut of his daughter, Ishana Night Shyamalan.
Ishana Night directed The Watchers, in theaters from WB/New Line on June 14.
The film follows Mina, a 28-year-old artist, who gets stranded in an expansive, untouched forest in western Ireland. When Mina finds shelter, she unknowingly becomes trapped alongside three strangers who are watched and stalked by mysterious creatures each night.
Which Spring 2024 horror movies are YOU most looking forward to?
4 New Horror Movies Releasing This Week Including ‘Late Night with the Devil’ at Home
Spring 2024 Horror Preview: 12 Horror Movies You Don’t Want to Miss
The ‘Scary Movie’ Spoof Franchise Is Getting a Reboot at Paramount!
‘Ready or Not’: Radio Silence Filmmakers Tease the “Absolute Banger” of a Sequel That’s Taking Shape
“We Built Every Creature” – ‘Alien: Romulus’ Goes Heavy on the Old School Practical Effects!
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