September 23, 2020 “The Dead Ones” (* out of four) was a deadeningly awful horror thriller about four misfit teens (Sarah Rose Harper, Brandon Thane Wilson, Katie Foster, and Torey Garza) assigned to summer detention of cleaning up their high school but soon realize they are not alone and that The Four Horsemen of the apocalypse are in the school with them and terrorize and stalk them to the death. Amateurish from the beginning and even looks visually ugly and blurry. One of the head villains is played by Muse Watson who ironically played the fisherman in “I Know What You Did Last Summer” a reminder (as if we needed another one) on the right way to do this type of horror story. Continue reading →
September 23, 2020 “Sinfidelity” (** out of four) was an obvious, empty suspense thriller about a married woman (Jade Tailor) who begins to suspect that her husband (Mark Jude Sullivan) is having an affair so she decides to have an affair of her own with her husband’s co-worker (Aidan Bristow) but this turns her life upside down when she finds out that he’s a vengeful sicko. Cleverly titled movie turns out to be yet another “Fatal Attraction” knockoff which is fatally illogical and predictable. Thomas Callaway’s cinematography is a definite asset but this is overall an affair to forget. Continue reading →
September 22, 2020 “The Babysitter: Killer Queen” (** out of four) was a strained sequel to the surprise 2017 hit about the continuing misadventures of Cole (Judah Lewis) who survived a satanic blood cult and now has to embark on the even more dangerous ground of attending high school but the physical and personal demons from his past soon return and he has to find creative ways to fight them off. Director McG directs with his usual flamboyance and panache and throws in some homages to earlier teen classics (with a nod to “Risky Business”) and some great soundtrack selections (yes the Queen title track) but it’s a lot of energy expended over nothing, since the story is practically nonexistent. Only for die-hard fans of the original. Continue reading →
September 22, 2020 “Nocturnal” (** out of four) was a reductively remote drama about a young schoolgirl (Lauren Coe) who develops a relationship with a middle-aged man (Cosmo Jarvis) who is obsessed with her; while they seem like complete opposites in terms of age and their positions in life, their need for companionship results in their relationship soon blossoming. Well-acted by the two leads in naturalistic fashion but story never connects emotionally and remains hazy and aloof. This was oddly selected to open last year’s BFI London Film Festival. Continue reading →
September 21, 2020 “Welcome To The Circle” (* out of four) was a shapeless bore about a father and daughter (Matthew MacCaull and Taylor Dianne Robinson) who are attacked and left for dead on a camping trip but survive and are then subsequently trapped by a demon-worshipping cult called The Circle and they have to try to band together to psychologically and physically survive. Terrible acting and filmmaking turn this into both psychological and physical torture for the audience as it plods on endlessly for an hour-and-a-half. Inauspicious directing debut for noted documentary creator David Fowler. Continue reading →
September 21, 2020 “Antebellum” (** out of four) was a maddening horror melodrama about a successful author and inspirational speaker (Janelle Monae) who finds herself trapped in a horrifying reality which seems a series of dreams and nightmares reflecting back to when she was in slavery and she must sort out the mystery between the present day and the past before it’s too late. Monae is solid as usual but the thin storyline veers back-and-forth between the past and present bizarrely and becomes pointless and pretentious after a while. Film also doesn’t end so much as stop. Directors Gerard Bush and Christopher Renz admitted this was all-too-obviously inspired by (i.e. ripped-off from) “The Shining”. Continue reading →
September 20, 2020 “Conjuring The Devil” (* out of four) was a Godawful horror show about a young woman (April Love) struggling with her own faith and guilt in life and finds herself under attack from a vicious and possessed nun who is out to destroy her so she decides to fight back and attempt to send her back to Hell. Or something like that. Recycled themes of countless other demonic/religious/possession horror cliches that film is almost the weary equivalent of a garbage recycler on screen. Shoddy filmmaking may give you even more reason to scream and say your hail Mary’s! Maybe it’s about time horror creators “conjured” up some new ideas before they themselves deserve eternal damnation in Hell! Continue reading →
September 19, 2020 “The Paramedic” (**1/2 out of four) was a mildly engrossing foreign-language melodrama about an emergency-ambulance worker (Mario Casas) who is involved in a severe car accident and then begins to physically and mentally deteriorate and soon becomes suspicious of his partner (Deborah Francois) and starts to hold her hostage while his sanity unravels. Mixture of moody character study and Hitchcockian thriller themes doesn’t fully gel but keeps you in its grip thanks to solid performances and tight dierction from Carles Torras. Story starts to get lurid and over-the-top in its final third so this is overall a mixed bag. Continue reading →
September 19, 2020 “The Secrets We Keep” (**1/2 out of four) was a moody but muted melodrama set after WWII in which a woman (Noomi Rapace) is struggling to rebuild her life after the war; upon meeting her neighbor (Joel Kinnaman) she believes he is a former Nazi war criminal and she kidnaps him to interrogate and inflict back the pain and suffering she endured in the war. Rapace is first-rate as usual and story has historical intensity but it’s somehow never as powerful or compelling as it should have been. Very similar story was told prior in Roman Polanski’s 1994 “Death And The Maiden.” Continue reading →
September 18, 2020 “Cult Girls” (** out of four) was a better-than-average horror thriller about a woman (Saara Lamberg) and her two younger sisters (Ava Bakaitis and Milla Bakaitis) who grow up in a Pagan apocalyptic cult led by an ancient Baltic goddess of death and reincarnation; they subsequently escape but the torment of this eats away at them for years leading them back to their ancient grounds where they grew up to conquer the evil spirits that have been haunting them. Umpteenth story of mumbo-jumbo horror and paranormal activity is given a definite boost by director Mark Bakaitis who knows where to put his camera and infuses this with a searing and striking visual style. Well-produced and well-shot by Trent Schneider on a low budget. Filmed about 5 years ago but worthy of its release and may become a “cult” favorite. Continue reading →
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