June 30, 2021 “Till Death” (** out of four) was a stylish but empty suspense thriller in which a woman (Megan Fox) wakes up handcuffed next to her husband (Eoin Macken) who commits suicide; she then has to attempt to unshackle him while two coldhearted killers (Callan Mulvey and Jack Roth) attempt to finish her off. Handsomely produced and well-shot by Jamie Cairney but movie stalls and lags after a while and never fully takes off. Fox does what she can with a limited role but is handcuffed herself by mediocre script. Not all that different from Stephen King’s “Gerald’s Game.” Continue reading →
June 30, 2021 “The Hike” (* out of four) was an abysmal horror thriller about a group of girlfriends (Jemma Bolt, Lisa Marie Long, and others) who embark on a camping trip and are besieged by (how’s this for originality) a group of rednecks and they have to fight back against them to make it out of the woods and stay alive. Hard to believe that 2 horror movies with the EXACT SAME TITLE and almost identical plot could be released in the same week but seeing is unfortunately believing. For anyone who needs further proof of horror films’ bankruptcy of new ideas, look no further. Continue reading →
June 29, 2021 “Ripper Untold” (*1/2 out of four) was a drably done horror thriller set in 18th century London in which a detective (Jonathan Hansler) and a medical examiner (Chris Bell) start looking into a series of bizarre and gruesome murders; however, they soon begin to suspect that one of them may be the killer who is to become Jack The Ripper. Some sharp dialogue between the two is drowned out by film’s uninspired and dreary presentation and film’s languid pace. At this point, maybe they should leave Bloody Jack alone and let him rust in peace. Continue reading →
June 28, 2021 “Bats” (*1/2 out of four) was a rabidly bad horror flick about a mysterious thunderstorm that causes an alien virus to return and causes bats to wreak havoc and morph into giant monster carnivores and two feisty women (Megan Purvis and Georgia Conlan) attempt to fight back and stop them from taking over and achieving world domination. Plenty of blood for those who want it but don’t look for anything resembling style or story coherence and film is even drably shot. No relation to the equally awful 1999 horror thriller of the same name. Continue reading →
June 28, 2021 “For The Sake Of Vicious” (*1/2 out of four) was mirthless horror show about an exhausted nurse (Lora Burke) who returns to her home to find a maniac (Nick Smyth) with a severely beaten hostage (Colin Paradine) and then other intruders come to the house and she has to fight them all off to stay alive. By-the-numbers story of home invasion and retribution done without much style or invention and thus wears you out pretty quickly. For the sake of your own entertainment, re-watch “The Purge” or “Desperate Hours” again instead. Continue reading →
June 28, 2021 “Gaia” (*1/2 out of four) was a bizarre horror thriller about an injured forest ranger (Monique Rockman) who is rescued by two iconoclastic survivalists (Carel Nel and Alex Van Dyk); at first she welcomes their help and hospitality but soon discovers too little/too late that they are cultists with a horrific devotion to the forest and against anyone who they perceive as an unwelcome threat. Give director Jaco Bouwer points for attempting to make an artful and different type of horror movie but the results are weird and unpleasant in equal measure. Filmed in South Africa Continue reading →
June 27, 2021 “The Hike” (* out of four) was a rockbottom horror show about a young couple (Kandi Thompson and Vinnie Vineyard) who go for a hike in the wilderness of the Smoky Mountains to discuss their relationship issues where they stumble onto (what else?) a redneck murderer (Luke Walker) who stalks them to the death. Yet another low-grade D.I.Y. horror movie in which the script, direction, and even the songs were by the three main actors but they’re hindered by bargain basement production and cliched storyline. Horror fans would best take a hike from this and re-watch “Wrong Turn” or “Deliverance” again instead. Continue reading →
June 27, 2021 “Last Of The Grads” (** out of four) was an overcooked horror show about a group of high-school graduates (Jadon Cal, Matt Catanzaro, Sara Eklund, and others) celebrating their last night together at an annual school lock-in but an uninvited guest shows up to crash the party and turns out to be a demented and lurid killer and the group has to fight back to determine who will make it out and stay alive. Takes too long to get going and then goes on too long although some of the kills are stylish and inventive and film is unapologetically gory and bloody at times. Not exactly worthwhile but nowhere near the worst and certainly won’t be the last of its genre. Continue reading →
June 27, 2021 “Good On Paper” (** out of four) was a wildly uneven Netflix comedy about a stand-up comic (Iliza Schlesinger) who meets a guy (Ryan Hansen); initially her guard up and she is resistant but he gradually wins her over with his self-mocking charm and confidence but soon finds he might be too good to be true. Both Schlesinger and Hansen give it their all and work well together, but after a funny beginning, film declines alarmingly and becomes contrived and silly. Schlesinger also wrote the script and this itself might have looked “good on paper” before the cameras started rolling. Continue reading →
June 27, 2021 “An Unquiet Grave” (*1/2 out of four) was a pointless bore about a man (Jacob A. Ware) who sets out on the year after his wife’s death to enlist her sister (Christine Nyland) to bring her back from the dead but naturally all does not go well and havoc ensues. No suspense or scares and a virtual catalogue of vintage horror movie cliches. Nyland’s strong performance is film’s only real virtue. She also co-wrote this clunker. Continue reading →
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