July 10, 2021 “The Nest” (*1/2 out of four) was a muddled horror thriller about a troubled child (Maple Suttles) who buys a cute stuffed teddy bear at a garage sale but subsequently finds out that it is possessed and filled with parasitic creatures that enhance the girl’s anxiety and trauma and put an additional strain on her hard-working mother (Sarah Navratil) and grandmother (Dee Wallace). Creepy storyline and atmosphere goes nowhere slowly as film becomes overly glum and grim. Nice to see Wallace still cashing checks in token horror roles but this is pretty much a “nest” of cliches. Continue reading →
July 10, 2021 “Acquitted By Faith” (**1/2 out of four) was an earnestly done spiritual Christian melodrama about a self-absorbed attorney (Casper Van Dien) who runs over a young girl (Deborah Allen) while texting-and-driving and faces the wrath of her parents (Tom Schanley and Jaci Velasquez) and the courts but soon finds faith in God that helps save both their lives. Alternately corny and compelling and becomes overly preachy and moralizing towards the end but sincere performances and intentions help keep it on track and watchable. Continue reading →
July 8, 2021 “The Blackout Experiment” (*1/2 out of four) was a slavish imitation of “Saw” about 6 strangers (Troy Jones, Dom Cole, Yasmin Irvine, Stefani Rose, and others) who wake up in a room loaded with weapons after mysteriously blacking out and are forced to kill one another or forced to watch someone they care about die soon from a ruthless doctor (Cheverly Amalia) who is watching from afar. Gimmicky and gore-filled thriller is what happens when trash is recycled without any of the ingredients that made it fun to begin with. Amalia was also film’s executive producer. Continue reading →
July 7, 2021 “The Forever Purge” (**1/2 out of four) was a sporadically effective entry in this blockbuster series set along the Mexican border in which two Mexican immigrants (Ana de la Reguera and Tenoch Huerta) migrate to Texas for a better life; meanwhile, remnants of the New Founding Fathers Of America want the purge reinstated permanently as a means to exterminate anyone who is an immigrant while other landowners (Will Patton, Josh Lucas, Cassidy Freeman) try to help and restore order. “The Purge” becomes topical as it bites off more than it can chew in utilizing its story to focus on politics, immigration, and murder. Final third delivers the goods with some tense action and suspense but on the whole film is overstuffed and overlong- and makes you think what directors Sam Peckinpah and Walter Hill might have been able to do with this material. Might be time to call an end to this series before it starts to feel like it’s going on “forever.” Continue reading →
July 7, 2021 “Out Of Death” (** out of four) was a not-bad action melodrama set in a mountain wilderness in which a jogger (Jaime King) stumbles onto a drug-dealing operation involving the local cops and thugs (Lala Kent and Oliver Trevena); a retired local cop (Bruce Willis) soon arrives on the scene but can he be trusted or is he already part of the operation himself? Typical paycheck-DVD work from Willis although relative fast pace and crisp lensing from Peter Holland help keep it watchable and a cut above the routine. This was filmed at the start of the COVID pandemic in just 9 days! Continue reading →
July 6, 2021 “A Date With Danger” (** out of four) was a thoroughly predictable and obvious suspense thriller about a woman (Lara Jean Chorostecki) who is new to town with her daughter (Jaida Grace) and meets a man (Matt Wells) who is a smooth charmer who turns out to be (yawn) a sociopath intent on turning their lives upside down. Yet another romantic thriller which viewers will easily guess within the first 20 minutes. Glamorously shot by Kevin Rasmussen and decently acted but this is overall “a date” to forget. Continue reading →
July 5, 2021 “Witch Hunt” (** out of four) was witch hokum set in a parallel time universe in which witches are all real and witchcraft is illegal; a sheltered teenager (Gideon Adlon) must make the different decision on whether to help two young witches (Abigail Cohen and Echo Campbell) and help them seek refuge and asylum in Mexico but has to make sure she is not tempted herself to convert to witchcraft. Elegantly made and told by writer/director Elle Callahan but her own absurd story causes it to sink under its own weight. Watch “The Witches” again instead. Continue reading →
July 4, 2021 “The God Committee” (** out of four) was a misguided medical melodrama about a hospital administration committee (Julia Stiles, Kelsey Grammar, Janeane Garaofalo, Colman Domingo, and others) who have one hour to decide which of three patients deserves a life-saving heart but seven years later- they all struggle with their conscience and consequences as to whether they made the right decision. Intriguing and interesting plot points get lost as film becomes muddled and overall ineffectual. Stiles is rock-solid and holds film together at least for a little while. Continue reading →
July 3, 2021 “Lockdown 2025” (*1/2 out of four) was a substandard (and umpteenth) rip-off of “Night Of The Living Dead” about a strong-knight family (Glenn Plummer, Cosey Parker, Marcus Tark, and others) who turn to their home shelter in the midst of a nationwide lockdown and martial law but soon find that the real horror and evil may exist from within as they soon turn on one another. Nothing you haven’t seen done before and done better many times over; sad to see the talented Plummer wasting his talent in direct-to-DVD fare like this Continue reading →
July 3, 2021 “Let Us In” (** out of four) was a half-baked sci/fi hodgepodge about a small-town girl (Mackenzie Moss) who begins to investigate the sudden disappearance of several other friends in her area and begins to realize that there may be other and larger sinister forces at play and turns to a local cultist (Tobin Bell) for help. Well-intentioned and well-acted but never escapes the feeling of warmed-over Jim Henson, Steven Spielberg, and Ron Howard all ground up in a mild blender. Bell seems to be doing outtakes of Jigsaw all over again and is in film very briefly. Continue reading →
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