#9 Peacock

Overview:  As if Peacock Nebraska wasn’t enough of a creepy place, resident John Skillpa has a dark secret--he has two personalities.  He goes by posing as a girl named Emma, but no one in town knows about this because he does this in the privacy of his home.  Because some idiot built his house right next to a train track, it was only a matter of time before a drunken train crashed into his property, making his privacy fence not so private anymore.  In a small town everyone knows everyone, and now John has to juggle both of his personalities.

The Good: This is a lot like “Psycho” for obvious reasons, only this movie is better! THERE, I SAID IT!  “Psycho” was a classic, but “Peacock” is a far better story because it’s told in Johns perspective the entire time, instead of just the ending.  Ya’ll know the phrase “You would make an ugly woman”, well that is not the case with actor Cillian Murphy, because when he puts on that wig and make-up, he transforms into an I-don’t-find-you-attractive-but-I-wouldn’t-mind-if-you-made-me-Mickey-Mouse-pancakes-once-in-a-while type of woman; I guess that’s one of the reasons this movie is so creepy.  There aren’t any real shocks or jumpy moments, but the real scare comes from Johns slowly loosing battle with his other personality, and you hope that Emma doesn’t take over by erasing John completely.  Although he is more known for his role in the “Batman” movies and “28 Days Later”, this is by far Cillian Murphy’s best acting job, especially since he’s “theoretically” juggling two roles.  Juno (Ellen Page) is awesome as well, and it’s very uplifting to see her as a slightly Podunk mother.

The Bad:  When I think of how to describe this movie I usually compare it to a nightmare, and I’m not talking about those nightmares where you wake up frightened because Rosie Odonall came out of the bushes with a chainsaw in her hands.  No, this is the kind of nightmare that’s eerie and uncomfortable to experience, and while you’re sleeping you hope that it will all end soon, so that you eventually wake up to the smell of bacon in the morning... Man i'm hungry for pig right now.  Many Die-hard Horror movie fans may be turned off of this movie since It’s not the traditional SHOCKFEST type horror, and so depending on who you are this movie may not be for you.

The Ugly:  Of course this is a great movie! It’s got a Podunk Midwestern town with Cillian Murphy dressed up as a lady… What’s not to love?!  If your looking for a whole lot of SHOCK Horror, then this movie isn’t where it's at, but if you are a person who loves a good creepy story then pop this sucker in the DVD player (or Blue-Ray if you’re rich), and be prepared to give yourself some silent-but-deadly nightmares.  PS. C had nightmares for a while after watching this.

3 out of 5