April 30, 2023 “From Black” (** out of four) was a turgid horror thriller about a recovering drug addict (Anna Page) who is beset by the recent unexplained disappearance of her son but then is presented with an opportunity to find out about what really happened to him and a chance for her own personal and moral redemption. Beautiful cinematography by Duncan Cole and initial moody direction from Thomas Marchese lead you to hope that this will be more than just an empty pileup of horror cliches- but it’s not. Film opens with dialogue and passages from “Star Wars: Revenge Of The Sidth”! Continue reading →
April 30, 2023 “Last Sentinel” (*1/2 out of four) was an aimless suspense melodrama about a female corporal (Kate Bosworth who has never looked more like Rebecca De Mornay) and her squad of soldiers (Martin McCann, Thomas Kretchmann, and Lucien Laviscount) who are stranded on an abandoned military base in the midst of the water and are awaiting help and rescue but they soon start to wonder if help is actually on its way and they start mentally fragmenting and turning against one another. Meandering and tedious story about the fight for survival against uncertain odds and drifts on endlessly at nearly two hours. Bosworth does what she can with an underwritten role but let’s hope this is the “last” of her direct-to-DVD dreck and she gets the comeback role she needs. Continue reading →
April 30, 2023 “The Stranger” (*1/2 out of four) was a moribund horror thriller about the owner of a small hotel (Jennifer K. Preston) who is already grieving after the death of her husband and finds that her existence is disrupted by the arrival of a mysterious visitor (Damien Ashley) who threatens her sanity and thus her life. Mostly lifeless collection of horror cliches lifted from endless and other better movies especially “The Shining” but has no relation to the 2008 cult classic “The Strangers.” Even still, this won accolades at the 2022 Dead Northern Film Festival and the 2022 Grimmfest Horror Festival but none from this FB reviewer. Continue reading →
April 29, 2023 “Pillow Party Massacre” (* out of four) was a suffocating horror suspenser about five girls (Laura Welsh, Savannah Raye Jones, Jax Kellington, and others) who are haunted by a past April Fools prank that went awry and reconcile in the woods for a weekend of sex, drugs, and rock ‘n’ roll but don’t count on an uninvited guest showing back up to teach them a lesson. Throwback to ’80’s trash-horror (“Sorority House Massacre”, “The Slumber Party Massacre”, “April Fools Day”) with a few retro touches (“I Know What You Did Last Summer”) thrown in to the mix but it’s all for nothing, since the script and story are all tiresome and stupid. It’s movies like this that make you regrettably glad that the ’80’s eventually came to an end. Continue reading →
April 29, 2023 “The Fearway” (*1/2 out of four) was an enervated horror suspense thriller about a couple (Shannon DaLonzo and Justin Gordon) who embark on a road trip on the freeway but soon find that they are being stalked and hunted by another driver who won’t allow them to get off the road and soon things start to get really ugly on the highway. Just a collection of cliches from other and more suspenseful movies, Steven Spielberg’s “Duel” in particular. In fact “The Twilight Zone” used to have stories like this in 30 minutes flat. David Gordon’s burnished cinematography is one of film’s few virtues. Continue reading →
April 29, 2023 “The Fearway” (*1/2 out of four) was an enervated horror suspense thriller about a couple (Shannon DaLonzo and Justin Gordon) who embark on a road trip on the freeway but soon find that they are being stalked and hunted by another driver who won’t allow them to get off the road and soon things start to get really ugly on the highway. Just a collection of cliches from other and more suspenseful movies, Steven Spielberg’s “Duel” in particular. In fact “The Twilight Zone” used to have stories like this in 30 minutes flat. David Gordon’s burnished cinematography is one of film’s few virtues. Continue reading →
April 28, 2023 “The Covenant” (**1/2 out of four) was a relatively sturdy action potboiler set during the war in Afghanistan in which an injured sergeant (Jake Gyllenhaal) risks his life to return to enemy territory to save the interpreter (Dar Salim) who previously saved his life when he was wounded behind enemy lines. Newly serious effort from pulp director Guy Ritchie succeeds as an action thriller but falls short in terms of script and story, leaving this sometimes explosive thriller with a cloudy sense of detachment. No relation to the 2006 Renny Harlin movie of the same name. Continue reading →
April 28, 2023 “Evil Dead Rise” (*** out of four) was a groovy sequel to the 2013 remake about two estranged sisters (Alissa Sutherland and Lilly Sullivan) who reunite in a cabin in the middle of the woods but their reconciliation is cut short by the presence of flesh-eating demons which threaten to devour them both and turn them both into ravenous killers. Writer/director Lee Cronin ably duplicates the gonzo and frenetic style of original “Dead” creator Sam Raimi and features buckets of blood and gore in high style and with a twisted tongue-in-cheek sense of humor. Not for the squeamish but definitely entertaining for horror fans and fans of the series. Original “Dead” star Bruce Campbell can be heard on a recording as a priest. Continue reading →
April 28, 2023 “Murder Anyone?” (* out of four) was an abysmal comedy about two hapless playwrights (Maurice Lemarche and Charles Howell IV) who are tasked with creating the next in horror and comedy phenomenon and soon find that subsequent events begin to resemble their life and that the play they’re working on is overtaking them and threatening to become a reality. Attempt at doing a twisted psychological satire on playwrighting and its effects on the playwrights themselves falls almost completely flat. Nary a chuckle is to be found and the 2 writers themselves are annoying to begin with. Based on a play but it’s unlikely that this film adaptation will make “anyone” want to check that out. Continue reading →
April 28, 2023 “A View To Kill For” (*1/2 out of four) was a drably routine suspense thriller about a young woman (Tiffany Montgomery) who inherits a beautiful estate from her deceased father and her and her husband (Samuel Whitten) move in and are elated but soon find it’s too good to be true, as a prowler breaks in and starts harassing them to leave. Paper-thin script and characters and by-the-numbers plotting make this something definitely not worth “viewing”. Watch “A View To A Kill” again instead. Continue reading →
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