October 30, 2022 “American Murderer” (**1/2 out of four) was an absorbing but hollow crime melodrama based on the true story of Jason Derek Brown (Tom Pelphrey) a charismatic con man who eventually progresses to murder and becomes tracked by the FBI and one agent (Ryan Phillippe) in particular who is determined to put an end to his game for good. Two strong performances from the two leads and sturdy direction from writer/director Matthew Gentile keep you watching but somehow film is never as compelling as it should have been and never shifts into high-gear. A feature-length adaptation of Gentile’s own short film of the same name from 2019. Continue reading →
October 30, 2022 “Feed Me” (* out of four) was an unappetizing horror thriller about a recent widow (Christopher Mulvin) who spirals into a state of depression and then is abducted and imprisoned by a cannibal redneck (Neal Ward) who tries to torture him and he realizes he has to overcome his mental health struggles to break out and survive. Disgusting and stupid but worst of all boring; it’s movies like these that make you wish Hannibal Lecter would come out of retirement. Guaranteed to give horror fans indigestion. Continue reading →
October 30, 2022 “The Octogames” (*1/2 out of four) was a tired suspense potboiler about 8 contestants (Sally Harvey Anderson, Brad Belemjian, Chelsea Connerley, and others) who take part in 8 deadly games in which their fates become violently intertwined as they try to uncover the meaning of the game and stay alive. Hybrid of “The Hunger Games” and “Saw” is pretty routine and predictable and isn’t likely to satisfy fans of either genre. Game over. Continue reading →
October 30, 2022 “House Of Clowns” (0 stars out of four) was an excruciating exercise in amateur-hour about a series of contestants (Brandi Facholas, Jon Marshall, Justin Milani, and others) who agree to take part in a traveling haunted house in which they are imprisoned overnight with a series of sadistic killer clowns. Trust me- by the end of this, you’ll feel imprisoned right along with them. The kind of horror movie that looks like it was made with $100 and a cell-phone, with dreadful acting and filmmaking and production values. Compared to this, the recent killer-clown saga “Terrifier 2” look like Hitchcock in his prime. Continue reading →
October 30, 2022 “The Lair” (*1/2 out of four) was a hopelessly derivative pastiche of “Alien”, “28 Days Later”, and too many others to think of about an air-force pilot (Charlotte Kirk) who is shot down over Afghanistan and finds refuge in an underground solitary base which she soon finds out has been overtaken by an alien creature bent on worldwide havoc and mankind’s destruction. Film moves fast enough but hardly offers anything with originality or for that matter scares or pulsating excitement. Directed by Neil Marshall who in better times directed “The Descent” but whose talent appears to be sadly descending since then. Continue reading →
October 29, 2022 “Sawed Off” (* out of four) was a bewildering horror suspense-thriller comedy that fails at all 4 genres about two hunters (JOdy Barton and Trae Ireland) who both have feelings for the same woman (Eva Hamilton) and go hunting in the middle of the wilderness where they keep killing one another but they somehow keep coming back to life and don’t know whether they’re going insane or some sinister forces are at play. Opening scenes are just fine but film soon goes off the rails and becomes incomprehensible and just plain stupid. Material like this cries out for the Sam Raimi of “Evil Dead” and his ghoulish touch. Continue reading →
October 28, 2022 “Headless Horseman” (* out of four) was a scoreless trifle about a young man (Nic Caruccio) who is decapitated and left for dead but makes a deal with the devil (Michael Pare looking hungover and bored) to return back to life to seek vengeance on the drug-dealing murderer (Ethan Daniel Corbett) who killed him and his girlfriend (Amanda Jones). Ridiculous story is made even worse by tacky filmmaking and terrible performances. Promoted as a horror film but actually rips off the action drama “Ghost Rider” (right down to its poster art). Fans of either genre will likely have more fun watching “The Horse Whisperer” instead. Continue reading →
October 28, 2022 “Terror Train” (** out of four) was a serviceable remake of the 1980 cult “classic” about a student (Robyn Alomar) who boards a train on Halloween eve, unaware that a psychotic stalker is also on board and starts killing the passengers and guests one by one. Yet another unnecessary horror remake which is pretty routine and by-the-numbers although it’s competently made and acted enough to be watchable and is a cut above other recent remakes. Alomar is good but won’t make anyone forget original scream queen Jamie Lee Curtis. Continue reading →
October 28, 2022 “Terrifier 2” (**1/2 out of four) was an in-your-face gore fest about the return of killer Art The Clown (David Howard Thornton) who comes back to the small town of Miles County with murder and blood on his mind (and LOTS of it) and targets one teenage girl (Jenna Kannell) in particular. How much you like or tolerate this movie highly depends on how much blood-drenched violence you can take. It is overall stylishly done and Thornton makes a strong impression as the killer and utilizes his miming skills to good use. However, film does get over-the-top at times and becomes overly disgusting and overly long at over two hours. A definite mixed bag and definitely not for all tastes. WARNING: the blood and gore is so intense that some audience members at screenings had to actually call paramedics and fainted! Continue reading →
October 24, 2022 “Where Are You?” (** out of four) was a muddled psychodrama about a photographer (Irakli Kvirikadze) experiencing a mental and artistic decline who starts taking his frustrations out on his free-spirited girlfriend (Madeline Brewer); when she suddenly disappears, he takes a trip through his own subconscious and becomes lost in an ozone of dread and despair as he searches for her and also his lost self. Hallucinatory and fervently flashy fimmaking from directors Valentina de Amicis and Riccardo Spinnotti hook you in and give you the spiritual sense of a drug trip like mid-period Oliver Stone; unfortunately, this only does so much since it’s hard to figure out what the hell is going on in the story and (even more) what the hell the movie is about! A film one can admire without fully enjoying. Anthony Hopkins has a perplexing cameo and also narrates some of the movie. Continue reading →
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