August 28, 2024 “Dagr” (** out of four) was a fairly conventional found-footage horror thriller about a group of YouTube bloggers (Riz Moritz, Ellie Duckles, Tori Butler-Hart, and others) who find themselves in a paranormal nightmare when they accidentally awaken a sinister occult from the past and find that all their lives are in danger. Plodding and dull for the first half but second half does provide some spookiness and scares although even these seem borrowed heavily from “The Blair Witch Project.” Title is Welsh for dagger, in case you were wondering. Continue reading →
August 28, 2024 “Escape Pod” (** out of four) was a rehashed sci/fi melodrama about a young astronaut (Patrick Sharn) who awakens in an escape pod with a fellow astronaut (Fallon Gyurko) with no memory of how he got there and has to gradually piece together memories of his past to save himself and his future. Not bad by these film’s standards with some decent filmmaking and effects but never really transcends its derivations and origins from other better movies (“2001”, “The Martian” to name a few). Works best in its final third but you’ll likely want to plan your “escape” before then. Continue reading →
August 28, 2024 “The Deadly Swarm” (* out of four) was a deadly awful “horror” thriller about a group of friends (Leona Clarke, Elliott Eason, and others) who attend a medical retreat of a loony doctor (Richard Kovacs) who is doing experiments with people’s minds and insects which unleash a fatal swarm. Yet another film poster in search of a movie, as film has minimal horror and action and the visual effects are pretty tacky. Maybe after this and the notoriously awful “The Swarm”- horror filmmakers should give killer bees a rest. Continue reading →
August 28, 2024 “Bittertooth” (1/2 out of four) was an insulting mess about two female podcasters (Genevieve Thomas and Autumn Ivy) who take it upon themselves to track down a brutal serial killer (Joe Altieri) and give him a dose of his own medicine by torturing and murdering him but they find out this is far more difficult than they realized. By the end of this trifle, viewers themselves will feel like they have been subjected to even worse torture. Film rambles in about 10 different directions for most of its length and only some stylish gore at the very end saves this from an absolute zero. Continue reading →
August 28, 2024 “Angels Fallen: Warriors Of Peace” (**1/2 out of four) was a corny but combustible sequel to the 2020 original about a war veteran (Josh Burdett) who receives a calling from an angelic higher power (Cuba Gooding, Jr.) and others (Denise Richards, William McNamara, Randy Couture) to prevent an army of the dead from taking over the world. Maudlin and contrived but moves along quickly and efficiently and features so many familiar faces in the cast that it winds up surprisingly watchable. A little long but film’s fiery and exciting final third makes it worth it. Continue reading →
August 28, 2024 “Beware The Boogeyman” (* out of four) was incoherent dreck about a new doctor (Elissa Dowling) at a psychiatric hospital for the criminally insane and learns of the new cases from one of the equally insane doctors (Airisa Durand) and the various nutty patients (Chynna Rae Shurts, Rollyn Stafford, and others) she is responsible for. It’s films like this that make you think “Shelter Island” maybe wasn’t quite as bad as when it first came out. By the end of this mess, viewers themselves may feel like checking into a mental institution. “Beware” is right. Continue reading →
August 28, 2024 “The Bench” (** out of four) was an overly derivative horror thriller about a woman (Jennifer Byrne) who is rescued by some summer partiers (Matt McClure, Chris Sommerville, and others) and invites them to her vacation house where they soon suspect one of them is a murderer because they all get killed one after another. Film started shooting in 2008 and took 16 years to finish and complete but doesn’t seem worth the effort. Film offers some gore and homages to “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” and “The Evil Dead” but not enough to distinguish it from lots of others of its ilk. Continue reading →
August 28, 2024 “Cocaine Werewolf” (* out of four) was a howlingly awful horror show about a group of friends (Brice Kennedy, Yolie Canales, James Carolus, and others) filming a horror movie of their own in the Pennsylvania woods when a cocaine-infused werewolf shows up and prowls on the set and kills them off one by one. Yet another movie inspired by the bewildering success of “Cocaine Bear” but terrible acting and filmmaking make this a real bad trip. You’ll have more fun (and a lot more scares) attending an N.A. meeting. Continue reading →
August 28, 2024 “The Beast Within” (** out of four) was an uninspired horror melodrama about a curious 10-year old (Caolinn Springall) who begins to question the reasons for her and her family’s (Kit Harington and Ashleigh Cummings) isolated existence and follows them on one of their treks to the forest and realizes the sinister evil lurking beneath the facade of their beautiful life. Not much suspense or horror and not much of anything else to sustain dramatic interest for long although good performances are a plus. This is not a remake of the 1982 abomination of the same name and is far better than that mess. Continue reading →
August 28, 2024 “Death Web” (* out of four) was a monumentally dull “horror” thriller about a young livestreamer (Jenna N. Wilson) and an internet cultist expert (Alexander Dillon) who discuss online the endless possibilities of evil in the internet existence and explore the boundaries of the living and the dead where every click brings them closer to danger and death itself. One more movie set entirely online in which the characters talk and ramble to no extent and one more movie that the world didn’t at all need. Film is only an hour and 4 minutes long but believe me you’ll want to click off from this long before then. Continue reading →
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