Film Reviews. Jaws. Vacancy. The Happening. When a Stranger Calls. The Invasion.

Name of film: Jaws

Director: Steven Spielberg

Date when film released: 1 January 1976 (UK)

Country where made: USA

Awards: Won 3 Oscars. Another 9 wins and 13 nominations.

Copy of a review: ‘Far from being a monster movie, this is a realistic and gritty example of a town which relies on summer trade having its beaches invaded by a dangerous shark. There are genuinely suspenseful sequences, a first-rate soundtrack and believable people. The character development of the three men in the boat shows there's a lot more to this film than just a rubber fin. I'd recommend this and Jaws 2 to any fan of drama/thrillers.’

My Opinion: I agree with that comment, it seems like a something that could happen in real life, really thrilling.

Male/Female ratings out of 10: Males voted 8.4
Females voted 8.0
Why: I think that male rating is higher than female rating as it is a violent film.

My rating out of 10: 6. This film was made quite well, I remember watching it when I was younger and I got quite scared but really enjoyed watching it as it made the adrenaline race.

Name of film: Vacancy

Director: Nimród Antal

Date when film released: 15 June 2007 (UK)

Country where made: USA

Awards: 1 nomination for teen choice awards.

Copy of a review: ‘What a thriller is supposed to be: tension, suspense, and jump-out-of-your-seat scares’

My Opinion: I agree with this short, yet straight to the point review on Vacancy. There was a lot of tension in the movie, and I screamed a couple of times.

Male/Female ratings out of 10: Males voted 6.3
Females voted 6.5
Why: As this film is about a couple, I think females like it more as show a small parts of romance, and the man trying to save is girlfriends life, though there isn’t much difference in the vote.

My rating out of 10: 7. I found this a scary film, it really freaked me out !

Name of film: The Happening

Director: M. Night Shyamalan

Date when film released: 13 June 2008 (UK)

Country where made: USA/ India

Awards: Not shown on website.

Copy of a review: ‘"The Happening" is about a family on the run from a natural crisis that presents a large scale threat to humanity. The side effects of this phenomenon are "Unintelligible speech," "physical distortion," and "death." Overall, this is my least favourite M. Night Shyamalan movie. At first, my family and I thought that it felt rushed; it felt like Night was rushing through the writing process to get the movie made. But after hearing that it's supposed to be a B movie, that changed my view. But I still look at it as it is. But it's still good, and it gives the message out, which is always good.
And don't take your kids, it's very graphic.’

My Opinion: I disagree with this comment at the beginning, but nearer the end I would agree. I wasn’t as pleased with the movie as I thought I would be, but it was interesting.


Male/Female ratings out of 10: Males voted 5.3
Females voted 5.5
Why: The votes are fairly level here, it’s a pretty gory movie, but there’s logic to it aswell.

My rating out of 10: 5. I didn’t think this was too interesting, it was made quite well and shocked me a lot of times. Though it was very repetitive and bored me in parts.

Name of film: When a Stranger Calls

Director: Simon West

Date when film released: 12th May 2006 (UK)

Country where made: USA

Awards: 1 nomination

Copy of a review: Critics and audiences both pretty much panned this movie, but I actually didn't think it was too bad! Even the critics I normally agree with thought it was crap, and I normally despise PG-13 "horror films." So this means one of two things: either (1) I'm too easily pleased, and my taste in movies has dwindled over the years, or (2) 'When a Stranger Calls' isn't nearly as horrible as it's made out to be. Now, to be fair, some of the criticisms of the movie are true--there's not much character development, and not much happens in the story. But man alive folks, how much were you expecting from a movie about a babysitter being stalked? Cut them some slack! As a former babysitter who was watching this flick late at night with the lights out, I can safely say the stalker dude was one creepy mofo! Who knows? I guess stuff like this just gives me the willies.Yes, I admit I had fun watching this, and I don't care how big of a minority that puts me in. ;)

Male/Female ratings out of 10: Males voted 4.7
Females voted 5.0

Why: This is quite an evenly spread vote as it’s the kind of film that would appeal to a wide range of audiences. I think the females have voted a bit higher because the lead is a girl, and shows what it would be like if they themselves were to be put in this crazy position.

My rating out of 10: 5. This movie scared me a lot. I do get scared easily and I’m always screaming when small things make me jump, but this movie made me jump too many times to be honest. Though it was very gripping and some parts were well thought up and just right for a thriller.

Name of film: The Invasion

Director: Oliver Hirschbiegel

Date when film released: 12 October 2007 (UK)

Country where made: USA/Australia

Awards: 1 nomination

Copy of a review: We went to see this last night. After all of the horrific reviews, I was expecting it to be awful. I was pleasantly surprised. While not to say it was an AWESOME movie or anything. It was good Sci Fi fun. I get irritated when a lot of movie buffs are looking for every film to be a Gone with the Wind or something. This was just a fun, smooth, entertaining production. I've never been a real fan of Nicole kidman, but I must say, she was quite fetching in this movie. If you are looking for the 50's version of War of the Worlds..The forbidden planet..John Carpenter's the THING...etc..it doesn't qualify. If you are looking for a fun Sci Fi Thriller to watch, it does the job.

Male/Female ratings out of 10: Males voted 6.1
Females voted 6.3

Why: Again, this movie has a female lead, and though it wouldn’t happen in reality it shows females what it would be like to be in this situation. Also a lot of girls and woman look up to Nicole Kidman so they want to watch it and they like it.

My rating out of 10: 5. I didn’t enjoy this movie greatly. I thought it was okay, but nothing I would recommend or watch again by choice. It wasn’t too action packed it was quite grotesque and I just didn’t find it that great. Though a lot of people do like that sort of thing, I don’t particularly.