November 12, 2020 “Saint Maud” (*1/2 out of four) was a sputtering horror psychodrama about a dedicated nurse (Morfydd Clark) who becomes dangerously obsessed with saving the life and soul of her dying patient (Jennifer Ehle) but this takes her to Hell and back as she is forced to confront the demons of loneliness and psychosis that are creeping into her life. Many praised this horror film but I’m not among them; it’s sluggish and dour for most of its running time and ends abruptly just when it seems to be building. Clark’s sincere performance is film’s main asset. Yet another pallid imitation of “The Shining” which is another shining example of why that film was so great in the first place. Continue reading →
November 12, 2020 “Beyond Hell” (** out of four) was a tolerable horror thriller about a young girl (Kearsten Johannson) who tries a powerful new drug called Changa and is transported to a dimension of Hell in which an evil creature (Gavin R. Downes) latches onto her and then begins killing her friends one by one. Better-than-most of its dreckish ilk, with decent filmmaking and sturdy pacing, but it falls apart into cheesy silliness in its second half. A book series is simultaneously being released along with the film for hardcore fans. Continue reading →
November 11, 2020 “Lie Exposed” (* out of four) was a turgid melodrama about an older alcoholic woman (Leslie Hope) who receives a terminal health diagnosis and decides to throw caution to the wind and leaves her life and her husband (Bruce Greenwood) behind and strikes up an affair with a photographer (Benjamin Ayres) which causes her to have reflection on being at the end of her life. Self-indulgent and self-important movie is never moving or involving and is a real bore. Even the usually dynamic Greenwood is muzzled by his poorly written role. Heavy going all the way. Continue reading →
November 11, 2020 “Death Files” (** out of four) was an arty but empty Russian horror drama about two brothers (Mikhail Ryabkov and Evgeniy Toroschin) who discover a flash card at a warehouse and plug it into a computer and soon become embroiled in a mysterious web of violence and murder. Visually striking and told with some style but film’s excessive unpleasantness and sullen mood erode your interest after a while. Seven directors and six writers are credited! Continue reading →
November 11, 2020 “Squatter” (* out of four) was an embarrassingly awful horror thriller about various friends at a party (Grits Carter, Russ Skains, Anne Nichols Brown) who are stalked and slashed by a psychotic killer who is obsessed with wrestling and machetes. Where the hell are Jason and Michael Meyers when you really need them? This painfully lame movie seems shot with someone’s camcorder and scripted with a crayon. “Squat” would have been a better title for this utter timewaster. Continue reading →
November 10, 2020 “Six Minutes To Midnight” (**1/2 out of four) was an uneven melodrama set in 1939 in which a member (Eddie Izzard) of the British secret service who is sent to teach at an Anglo-German private school (run by Judi Dench) to uncover information about its students who are said to be members of the Nazi High Command but soon finds that things get really ugly when he is uncovered and his life is in danger. Fascinating time period in history is reverently told but is somehow never as gripping or compelling as it needs to be and takes too long to get going. Izzard’s strong performance helps compensate to some degree but even Dench seems like she’s just going through the motions; this marks a reunion for the pair after “Victor & Abdul.” Continue reading →
November 7, 2020 “Ruthless Renegade” (*1/2 out of four) was an utterly forgettable and predictable thriller about a high-school girl (Anne Marie Dobbins) who desperately wants to be “a renegade”- a cliquish team of cheerleaders; when one cheerleader is found murdered and a guy (Jon Schaefer) she has a crush on is arrested, she sets out to find the real killer. Yet another predictable timewaster that makes you remember nostalgically when movies like these used to actually be fun. Re-titled “The Pom Pom Murders” for television Continue reading →
November 7, 2020 “Stay Off The App” (*1/2 out of four) was a misbegotten horror clutter about a dangerous website app which various people (Richard Grieco, Mindy Robinson, and others) use and each time they go on it increases their wealth but also increases their risk of death. Director Dan Frank self-indulges and mashes your face in ugliness and unpleasantness for nearly an hour-and-a-half and provides no new insights except that social media can be a dangerous tool! “Stay Away From This Movie” would be a better title for this claptrap. Continue reading →
November 7, 2020 “Blind” (* out of four) was a blindingly awful “horror” story about a former actress (Sarah French) who is left blind after a botched eye surgery and is initially horrified about living in the darkness but soon comes to find that there are many others who are blind to comfort her even as she starts losing her mind. Viewers who make it to the end of this garish misfire will no exactly how she feels; utterly laughable at times and incomprehensible. One-time horror movie siren Caroline Williams has a bewildering bit part here but needs to keep her eyes open for better roles than this. Continue reading →
November 7, 2020 “Triggered” (** out of four) was a frenetic horror thriller about several high-school friends (Liesl Ahlers, Reine Swart, Sean Cameron Michael, and others) who have a 5-year reunion on a camping trip in the forest and soon find they are strapped with time-bombs by an insane former teacher and that killing one another gives them extra time and they have to count down the clock to see who stays alive. Never boring, as director Alastair Orr lathers on non-stop gore and camera stylistics to try and keep you entertained, but it wears you out after a while. All-too-obviously inspired by the original “Evil Dead” but lacks Raimi’s deftness and humor. Continue reading →
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