December 6, 2018 “Elves” (*1/2 out of four) was a slapdash horror thriller about a group of friends (Stephanie Marie Baggett, Deanna Grace Congo, Amy Jo Guthrie, and others) who discover ancient elves locked in a cursed chest and unknowingly unleash them on the world and find out that it’s going to be one bloody Christmas this year. Chintzy movie is really dwarfed by stupid characters and writing and annoying performances. Christmas-themed horror movies like these are enough to make anyone reach for a stiff shot of eggnog. Continue reading →
December 6, 2018 “Dead Trigger: Unkilled” (** out of four) was a mildly entertaining action melodrama about a mysterious virus that threatens to eradicate mankind and how a former soldier (Dolph Lundgren) is put in charge of recruiting a group of renegade sharpshooters and former criminals to stop the virus and stop the zombies which threaten worldwide apocalypse. Umpteenth derivation of both “28 Days Later” and “Resident Evil” and also “The Walking Dead” but Lundgren’s usual wooden performance is put to good use here and he’s well-cast and the movie at least never stops moving. Much better than most of Lundgren’s other direct-to-DVD schlock although film’s ending is a real letdown. Continue reading →
December 4, 2018 “Night Zero” (*1/2 out of four) was a boring horror thriller about six couples in Pittsburgh (Georin Aquila, Mike Dargatis, Dave Petti, and others) who are barricaded in a countryside home when a massive catastrophe occurs which leads to military involvement and the threat of worlwide apocalypse. Title is fitting and appropriate since it provides practically zero in the way of scares or thrills or originality. Yet another rip-off of “Night Of The Living Dead” which can’t come close to its intensity and even falls short of many of its remakes. Continue reading →
December 4, 2018 “Bad Company” (*1/2 out of four) was an inept action melodrama about a group of troubled teens (Booboo Stewart, Giselle Bonilla, Kyle Massey, and others) in a boot-camp who encounter a team of terrorists who are trying to overtake a nearby nuclear power plant and find they are the only ones who can stop them and prevent (yawn) world domination. In dire of need of a coherent script and direction, and characters who are halfway likeable and intelligent. “Toy Soldiers” and “Red Dawn” told more-or-less the same story with a lot more skill and conviction 2-3 decades ago. Continue reading →
December 3, 2018 “Death At A Barbecue” (* out of four) was a deadly horror fiasco about a group of suburban friends and whiners (Kim Paris, Seregon O’Dassey, Kelly LeBneger, and others) who get together for a barbecue and a killer amongst them gradually kills them off and begins put them out of their (and the audience’s) misery. You’ll be filled with misery as well, by the end of this mess. Terrible acting and low-rent filmmaking make this a really brutal watch. This looks as if it were shot by someone’s cell-phone camera. Continue reading →
December 2, 2018 “Twisted” (** out of four) was an obvious, predictable “Fatal Attraction” knockoff about a therapist (Elisabeth Harnois) who realizes that her new patient (Kimberly-Sue Murray) is the ex-girlfriend of her fiancee (Morgan Kelly) and what’s more- she begins to insinuate herself in their lives by getting a job with her fiancee and begins psychologically and physically harassing them. Reasonably well-made and well-acted to hold your attention but too much of the dialogue is overheated and silly and final third becomes laughable. Final plot twist in the last scene is pretty hard to swallow. Continue reading →
December 2, 2018 “All The Devil’s Men” (** out of four) was a lumpy underworld and espionage melodrama about a bounty hunter (Milo Gibson) who is forced to go to London on a manhunt for a disavowed C.I.A. operative (Elliot Cowan) which leads to a re-heated battle with a former military comrade (Joseph Millson) and his private army which threatens worldwide destruction. Too much talk and not enough action in this derivative action thriller. It jumpstarts every now and then but never sustains enough momentum to carry you through. Watch “All The President’s Men” again instead. Gibson is Mel’s son and shows some charisma but needs to find a role and script with more lethal challenge than this one. Continue reading →
December 1, 2018 “Last American Horror Show” (* out of four) was an abysmal story which is yet another horror anthology about three separate stories involving a prowling monster whose on the loose, a home invasion that goes haywire, and a revolting form of human sacrifice. Believe me- you won’t want to sacrifice any of your time or money on this mess. Film makes the original “Creepshow” or its sequel look like artwork by comparison. Numerous cult horror stars like Felissa Rose and Lynn Lowry pop up but it’s movies like these that eradicated their careers in the first place. Let’s hope this is “the last” in the ongoing trend of anthology horror movies. Continue reading →
December 1, 2018 “Restraint” (*1/2 out of four) was an unbearable horror thriller about a woman with various mental illnesses (Isabelle Celaya) who begins to unravel when she marries a controlling older man (Dana Ashbrook) and moves with him to the suburbs. Director Adam Cushman shows far too much restraint and tells an overly familiar story with little pace or scares which results in this being a real yawner. Cult fans may recognize Ashbrook from “Twin Peaks” which had more style and electricity in one episode than this has in its entire running time. Continue reading →
December 1, 2018 “The Bill Murray Stories: Life Lessons Learned From A Mythical Man” (** out of four) was a superficial documentary of Bill Murray and showing his comic genius on film and his legions of fans but film shows very little footage of Murray himself and is mostly composed of repetitive interviews with director Peter Farrelly, Gavin Edwards, and others. Die-hard Murray fans may find more of substance here but it’s pretty lackluster. Such a dynamic comic talent and eccentric and iconoclastic personality deserves a much richer biography and documentary. Continue reading →
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