February 12, 2023 “5G: The Reckoning” (*1/2 out of four) was a wretched horror thriller set at the beginning of a global pandemic in which 8 students (Oliver de la Harpe, Stina Duval, Jason Lee Fraser, and others) are in lockdown at their college dorm facility and are virtually unable to connect with the outside world but find that an otherworldly presence has invaded their dorms and threatens to overtake their reality and endanger their lives. Promising beginning soon leads nowhere as film becomes both visually and thematically ugly and structurally routine. Can’t someone make a good horror movie about the COVID pandemic??? Continue reading →
February 11, 2023 “Look Into The Fire” (** out of four) was a diffuse suspense psychodrama about a neurology student (Artie Shase) who starts experimenting on himself on unlocking the inner workings of the brain but soon finds that he uncovers dangerous and repressed memories linked to a friend (Nina E. Jordan) that lead to haunting visions that threaten his present and future. Intriguing themes of cerebral and psychological duress aren’t fully realized and film is stalled by its muddled script and characters you don’t really care about. An ambitious directorial debut from camera operator Tim Morrill but not worth taking a “look” at. Continue reading →
February 11, 2023 “Vacation Home Nightmare” (*1/2 out of four) was a banal suspense melodrama about a woman (Aubrey Reynolds) away on vacation with her friends (Felisha Cooper and Yolanthe Cabau) who is brutally attacked in an air b & b rental when the maintenance manager (Grant Wright Gunderson) tries to help but she begins to wonder whether he can be trusted or is he really the one who has been stalking her? (You get two guesses and the first one doesn’t count). Yet another Lifetime mystery thriller without any mystery or thrills and seems prefabricated out of a computer. It’s timewasters like these that make you want to go on a “vacation” of your own from the movies. Continue reading →
February 11, 2023 “Transfusion” (** out of four) was an obtuse emotional melodrama about a former special forces solider (Sam Worthington) whose wife (Phoebe Tonkin) dies and he has to do everything possible to keep his young son (Edward Carmody) from being taken from him, even if this means returning to his former lifestyle in the criminal underworld. Film never really connects emotionally and never has the compelling power it needs, despite some scattered effective moments. The usually dynamic Worthington is monochromatic and one-note here. Writer/director Matt Nable has a key supporting role as an underworld enforcer. Continue reading →
February 11, 2023 “Consecration” (*1/2 out of four) was ridiculous psychobabble that feels like a condemnation about a woman (Jena Malone) whose priest brother commits suicide so she travels to the Scottish convent where he fell to his death and she encounters various religious omens and begins to distrust the priest (Danny Huston) who oversees the church which seems to be hiding various nefarious activity. Latest in a never-ending line of quasi-religious horror movies about the church, exorcisms, religious demons, etc. etc. etc. Can anybody actually tell these interchangeable movies apart??? Malone and Huston are solid as usual but more horror movies like these will really make filmgoers want to say their hail mary’s. Continue reading →
February 10, 2023 “Grotesque” (* out of four) was an aptly titled timewaster about a woman (Elizabeth Chamberlain) who is the victim of a botched plastic surgery procedure which results in her going insane and wanting to kill anyone and everyone who tormented her about her looks and led her to getting plastic surgery in the first place. Potentially satirical look at vanity and obsession with looks and perfectionism is completely undone by its own grotesque acting and terrible filmmaking. Avoid at all costs, unless watching someone chopping their foot off and having to eat it is your idea of a good time. Continue reading →
February 9, 2023 “My Landlord Wants Me Dead” (*1/2 out of four) was a suspenseless suspense thriller about a young woman (Emily Rosslyn Villareal) who fails out of college and loses her job and gets a job with her aunt (Anzu Lawson) taking care of her house but finds that the landlord (Roy Abramsohn) is a nutjob creep who will stop at nothing to make sure she’s out for good. Utterly predictable and stupid thriller full of stilted and awful dialogue. With a title like that, you know not to expect Oscar fare but film doesn’t even provide much in the way of cheap thrills or scares. For a much richer and engrossing landlord/tenant psychodrama, evict this from your list and watch “Pacific Heights” instead. Continue reading →
February 9, 2023 “Float” (** out of four) was a middling horror psychodrama about a vlogger (Kate Mayhew) and her friends (Kaya Coleman, Grant Morningstar, and others) who embark on an annual river float in commemoration of the death of their friend but are besieged and stalked by a mysterious local (Matt Wise) and his sinister followers who want them out. Overall well-made and well-acted for this genre but film gradually sinks and fails to stay afloat because of its own generic story and script. Directorial debut for noted horror producer Zac Locke. Continue reading →
February 9, 2023 “Dying For Chocolate: A Curious Caterer Mystery” (*1/2 out of four) was an unappetizing suspense melodrama about a single mom and caterer (Nikki Deloach) who teams up with a hard-nosed detective (Andrew W. Walker) to uncover the death of her close friend (Jaycie Dotin) as they both start to suspect their might be ties to a large-scale crime operation. Loaded with fluff and empty calories that basically is the coating for a routine and by-the-numbers mystery thriller and it would help if the 2 leads actually had chemistry together. Another adaptation of Diane Mott Davidson’s “Curious Caterer” series but this will likely give all but her most devoted fans indigestion. Continue reading →
February 8, 2023 “Knock At The Cabin” (*1/2 out of four) was an earthbound horror melodrama about a young girl (Kristen Cui) who is vacationing with her parents (Jonathan Groff and Ben Aldridge) when they are visited by armed strangers (led by Dave Bautista) who demand that they make a crucial choice to potentially avert the apocalypse. Typically dour and dull effort from M. Night Shymalahan except this one doesn’t even have the benefit of his usual big-surprise ending to save him. Hard-core Shymalan fans (I’m not in case you were wondering) may find more substance here. K-Ci and The Sunshine Band fans may rejoice also because the film makes prominent use of their ’70’s classic “My Funky Shoes” but unfortunately there’s not much that’s funky or classic about the film itself. Continue reading →
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