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Month: July 2021

“Werewolves Within” (*1/2 out of four) was a lame adaptation of the Red Storm video game set in a small town in winter in which a new forest ranger (Sam Richardson) and a postal worker (Milana Vayntrub) and other townfolk (Michael Chernus, George Basil, and others) find themselves under siege from a mysterious creature that is terrorizing the community. Toothless horror comedy manages to actually rip off “The Howling” and also “Night Of The Living Dead” in equal measure; packed with annoying characters who spout off even more annoying dialogue. For hard-core fans of the video game only.

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“Blood Pageant” (* out of four) was a disastrously lame horror comedy about a cheesy reality show in which the various actors (Chris Gilmore, Anthony Sands, Beverley Mitchell, and others) find that their set is being stalked by a maniac slasher who seems to have watched “I Know What You Did Last Summer” and “Halloween” one too many times. Relentlessly dumb attempt to satirize reality television and combine it with a horror movie; it’s not a good sign in a movie when you’re rooting for the killer and waiting for all the annoying characters to die. Snoop Dogg, Stephen Baldwin, and Danielle C. Ryan pick up a couple of extra bucks in superfluous cameos.

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“Extraction Point” (0 stars out of four) was an execrable time-waster about a UFO which is taken by top-secret shadowy government operatives; one concerned citizen (Farid Jamal Khan) snoops around and ends up finding a secret laboratory run by a sinister doctor (Joe Bei) and becomes friends with his assistant (Tara London) and finds that all Hell is about to break loose. Mind-numbing incoherent dreck suggests an “X-Files” episode filmed on someone’s cell-phone. Literally impossible to follow but film is so cheap and dull it’s not even worth the bother. Do yourself a favor and “extract” this one from your list.

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“Fluxx” (** out of four) was an overdone and overly cerebral melodrama about an isolated actress (Shelley Henning) in her Hollywood Hills mansion who begins to emotionally unravel and reflects back on her past memories with a celebrated talk-show host (Tyrese Gibson killing time between “Fast And Furious” entries) and others in her life (Shiloh Fernandez, Tanner Beard, and others) as means to regain her grip on reality and sanity. Opens with a sensational and stylish opening credits and has some interesting themes but goes so far afield into excess and mundane unpleasantness and never gets back on track. Gibson is solid as usual but based on this effort his career seems to be in “flux.”
“Weekend Getaway” (*1/2 out of four) was a tired suspense psychodrama about three happily married couples (Ashley Dennis, April Melody Rox Doillard, Dee Hill, and others) who go to a cabin in the woods for a weekend and dangerous secrets are revealed that force them to question their relationships and stability. Pretty photography by Conrad Craven is eye-catching but otherwise this is pretty much of a bore. Hill, Dennis, and Dillard are all knockouts but this mostly feels like reheated Tyler Perry.
“Play Dead” (** out of four) was a flamboyant but overly flimsy horror psychodrama about a young woman (Paula Brasca) who awakens injured in a basement surrounded by corpses; in order to survive, she pretends to be dead while grotesque rituals are ongoing around her involving others (Damian Castillo, Catalina Motto, and others) in the house. Directed with some style and flair by director Carlos Goitia and cinematographer Luciano Montes de Oca but becomes undeniably monotonous and unpleasant after a while because of lack of variation and story. Obviously influenced to some extent by “Cabin Fever” and also “Hostel”.
“The Travellers” (**1/2 out of four) was an agreeably done comedy about a stage designer (Luke Bracey) who returns to his native Australia to say goodbye to his dying mother (Susan Porter) but this trip soon devolves into chaos as he encounters his difficult father (Bryan Brown) and past lovers (Celia Massingham and Alison McGirr) as he struggles to keep himself together and coordinate his life. Pleasant outing from writer/director Bruce Beresford (“Driving Miss Daisy”) with a well-served cast although it stops just short of hitting the mark. Brown adds some suavity and style as usual with his effortless (and ageless) charisma.
“Home Education” (* out of four) was a languid psychodrama set in the England countryside about a young girl (Lydia Page) who starts to question the beliefs of her domineering and overbearing mother (Julia Ormond) as she ventures out on her own for the first time and encounters the horrors of real life. Both inept and inert; film is incredibly stuffy and blah but has no real story to tell. A particularly egregious waste of Ormond who in better days starred in “First Knight” a film with actual tension and verve.

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