October 8, 2021 “The Amityville Moon” (** out of four) was a perfunctory horror thriller about two women (Alex Rinehart and Kelsey Zukowski) who try to escape from the imprisoned church home they are held captive in but as soon as they escape they are mauled and stalked by an otherworldly animal on the prowl. Far from the worst of the crop of “Amityville” ouevre and done with some degree of craft and style but overall pretty routine and blah; incidentally, this has absolutely nothing to do with “The Amityville Horror” series and is simply just cashing in on a name. Moody electronic music score by Erick Schroder is a definite plus. Continue reading →
October 5, 2021 “Survive The Game” (*1/2 out of four) was a sub-routine action potboiler about a dedicated family man (Chad Michael Murray) whose life is interrupted when an over-the-hill cop (who else but Bruce Willis?) and a group of criminals (Donna D’Erico, Sean Kanan, Swen Temmel, and others) show up and they all turn on each other. Hard to believe that a similarly titled (“Survive The Night”) film with the same stars (Willis and Murray) could come out in the same year but maybe this really is proof that action filmmakers are bankrupt of new ideas. Willis sleepwalks his way through this and picks up another easy check; this one will die hard and fast at the Redbox machines. Continue reading →
October 2, 2021 “While We Sleep” (** out of four) was a muted horror melodrama about a dedicated radiologist (Darya Tregubova) who begins to investigate the abnormal CAT-scan of a young girl (Lyra Irene Gross) and begins to uncover dark and lurid secrets of her household that may threaten her and the girl’s family. Elegantly made and extremely well shot (it was directed by Andrsez Sakula who shot “Reservoir Dogs” and “Pulp Fiction”) but story never builds to anything satisfying and mostly just plods. Far from the worst of its ilk but after a while it may just put you to “sleep.” Continue reading →
October 2, 2021 “Skinned Deep” (* out of four) was an amateurishly inept horror thriller about a family on vacation that are abducted by a group of cannibalistic killers and they have to band together to fight their way out and survive. Umpteenth film derived from “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre”, “The Hills Have Eyes”, “Deliverance” with no new style or innovation to add to the party but plenty of bad acting and filmmaking. “Superficial” may have been a better title for this timewaster. Continue reading →
October 2, 2021 “Gunfight At Dry River” (** out of four) was a mostly lackluster Western set in 1888 along the U.S.-Mexican border in the title town which has been debilitated by a drought but the promise of gold brings hope and greed to its townsfolk (Michael Moriarty, Charlie Creed-Miles, Ann Mitchell, and others) which leads to a frontier battle. Lots of standoffs, saloon fights, and sunsets but it’s all very routine and covers all-too-familiar Western terrain. By this point, it might be time for the Western genre to ride off into the sunset. Continue reading →
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