December 11, 2021 “Death Valley” (** out of four) was a well-produced but empty, overly familiar horror thriller about a group of mercenaries (Jeremy Ninaber, Ethan Mitchell, and others) who are hired to rescue a bioengineer (Kristen Kaster) in an underground-storage bunker; upon entering the facility, they all find themselves under attack from an otherworldly creature and all have to fight for their lives to survive and escape. Initially, this seems to be a rip-off of George Romero’s “Day Of The Dead” but then it soon shifts gears and turns into a rip-off of “Alien.” Moves fast and is efficiently made but never sufficiently rises above the routine. Continue reading →
December 11, 2021 “Red Snow” (*1/2 out of four) was a tawdry horror suspense thriller about a struggling vampire novelist (Dennice Cissneros) who vacations for Christmas at Lake Tahoe and must defend herself against actual real-life vampires and she must utilize what she has researched and written for years to save her life. Potentially intriguing material is undone by cheesy production values and a lack of irony and humor. A rarity in that film’s vampire and gore effects were achieved without the use of any CGI effects but so what? Continue reading →
December 4, 2021 “Last Shoot Out” (**1/2 out of four) was a serviceable B-grade Western about a newlywed (Skylar Witte) who learns that her husband (Michael Welch) had her father previously killed; she then subsequently goes on the run in fear but is rescued by a fearless gunfighter (Billy Tyson) who hides her at a remote outpost while her husband looks to find her and take her home. Never escapes the cut-and-dried routine of most formula Westerns but having said that- it is sturdy and smooth and relatively well-made and well-acted. Finale provides enough tension and firepower to overall make this trail worth riding down. Continue reading →
December 4, 2021 “Devil’s Island” (*1/2 out of four) was a pointless horror thriller about a young woman (Kat Alexandra) who inherits a small island in New York but discovers all-too-late that it has a dangerous history and that her and her friends (Danielle Jean Schaefer, Kristjan Sokoli, and others) are in imminent danger. Nothing you haven’t seen 1,000 times before and will likely see 1,000 times again but is bereft of any artistry or scares. ’70’s blaxploitation star Fred Williamson has a minor role here as a retired cop and is rock-solid as usual but this is unlikely to provide the comeback that he needs. Continue reading →
December 3, 2021 “Death Link” (*1/2 out of four) was a limp horror melodrama with a group of bratty teenagers (Elise Luthman, Jessica Belkin, Riker Lynch, and others) who tell the gruesome stories online that they want to see with each story more deadly and daring than the last but suddenly these staged murder videos turn very real and they have to soon uncover who is the real killer amongst them. An ’80’s-themed horror movie brought up to date to the social media age except a few problems- it’s stupid and boring. Horror fans needn’t bother clicking on this “link”. Continue reading →
December 3, 2021 “House Of Glass” (*1/2 out of four) was a suspenseless suspense melodrama about a feisty wife (Jenny Shakeshaft) who becomes convinced her husband (Matt Abshire) is having an affair and obsessively tries to uncover the truth at all personal costs. Since neither the wife nor the husband are especially likeable or interesting, film is very uninvolving and unpleasant after a while. This type of character melodrama might have worked better on the stage than on film. Watch “House Of Wax” instead. Continue reading →
December 2, 2021 “Bingo Hell” (* out of four) was one unlucky number about a community of elderly friends (Bertila Damas, Clayton Landey, and others) who are held together by their fiercely independent leader (Adriana Barraza) but tensions arise when their bingo hall is sold to an evil entity that threatens to permeate and overtake all of them. Bewildering storyline is excessively campy and garish and (oh yeah) stupid. Viewers might get more entertainment value and probably more scares out of playing an actual game of bingo itself. This was the film that Amazon Prime Video chose as their launch for this year! Continue reading →
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