February 2, 2023 “The Winter Witch” (** out of four) was a lumbering horror psychodrama about a woman (Rose Hakki) who returns to her ancestral home and finds that several children have been slaughtered in the nearby woodland and suspects that a notorious winter witch may be responsible and teams up with her daughter (Evie Hughes) and her estranged grandmother (Rula Lenska) to put a stop to the witch’s murderous domination once and for all. Gorgeously shot by David Graham but story dawdles and never gathers much momentum or intrigue. A disappointment from director Richard John Taylor whose last outing “The Krays: Dead Man Walking” was much more fierce and exciting. Continue reading →
February 1, 2023 “Waking Karma” (* out of four) was a miserable timewaster that won’t keep many awake about a high-school girl named Karma (Hannah Christine Shetler) whose estranged cultist father (Michael Madsen) appears out of the woodwork to torment her and her mother (Kimberly Alexander) and they have to band together to turn the tables on him and survive. Madsen sleepwalks his way through yet another pitiful waste of his talent. It’s sad that 30 years ago he starred in “Reservoir Dogs” but now plays in nothing but dogs anymore. Continue reading →
February 1, 2023 “Those Who Call” (*1/2 out of four) was a lackluster horror thriller about two sisters (Yetlanezi Rodriguez and Angie Sandoval) whose car breaks down in a redneck Texas town (are there any other kind in movies like these?) and they find themselves under attack from a sadistic and bloody pagan cult. Drably done horror story was allegedly inspired by a Cuban folklore story but is a pileup of stale cliches reheated from “Deliverance” and “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre”. Hang up on this wrong number. Continue reading →
February 1, 2023 “Friday The 13th Vengeance 2: Bloodlines” (**1/2 out of four) was an overall proficient spin-off of the classic horror series which is a direct sequel to “Friday The 13th VI: Jason Lives” about Jason Voorhees’ father (C.J. Graham) who resurrects his son (Jason Brooks who also directed) to finish off the Jarvis family once and for all and slaughter lots more teens but things get awry when Tommy Jarvis (Thom Matthews) shows back up leading to a final showdown to the death. Crudely done from the outset with some mangy opening scenes but once it gets going- it does deliver more than its quota of gore and creative kills for series fans. Many kudos also for hardcore “Friday” followers, such as the return of Matthews and Graham (who played Jason in “Jason Lives”), the return of Darcy Demoss also from part VI, and the return of Harry Manfredini’s now-classic score! Continue reading →
January 31, 2023 “Night Hunt” (*1/2 out of four) was a pedestrian horror thriller set against the backdrop of Chicago in which two women (Monica Ochoa and Adilene Martinez) attempt to find a serial killer who has been terrorizing the city but don’t quite realize what they are up against. Pretty tame and ineffectual thriller doesn’t provide any insights in regards to serial-killer psychodrama or much in the way of scares either. Writer/director Ricardo Islas has covered this territory before, in 2011’s “The Hauntings Of Chicago” and 2007’s “To Kill A Killer.” Continue reading →
January 31, 2023 “12 Theses” (*1/2 out of four) was an insipid religious horror thriller about a news story from Switzerland about the 12 theses and how everyone associated with it is suddenly dying and it’s up to a determined police captain (Dugald Ferguson) and a theology student (Joanna Castelli) to find out why and how before it’s apocalypse now. Director Stefan Asang shows some style and nuances in his filmmaking and storytelling but it’s all for nothing because it’s yet another dull religious story about evil activity within the church and the end of the world. Loosely based on Herbert Blaser’s horror thriller “Cruor”; by this point there have been so many anti-church horror movies that the Vatican should sue. Continue reading →
January 31, 2023 “Cabin Tales” (* out of four) was a bargain-basement horror cheapie about a group of friends (Ariel Celeste, Mia Knight, Andrew Kunkel, and others) who gather for a weekend getaway at a lake when strange occurrences start happening leading to a murder investigation and explorations as to what really happened. Writer/director/star/co-producer Justin Russell certainly gives his all but this is strictly amateur night in terms of storytelling and acting. Film is only 42 minutes long but still feels padded and thin. Continue reading →
January 30, 2023 “Sorry About The Demon” (*1/2 out of four) was a brainless horror comedy about a young man (Jon Michael Simpson) reeling from a recent breakup who comes to learn that his new place is full of restless and evil spirits but are they his friends or enemies in life? One-joke story quickly wears thin but still goes on for nearly two hours and might have worked better as a one-character play. Dumb writing overwhelms the sincerity of Simpson’s likeable performance. “Sorry About The Movie” would have been a more apt title for this clunker. Continue reading →
January 30, 2023 “Alone At Night” (* out of four) was a perfectly awful horror thriller set during a long night of quarantine in which various friends (Ashley Benson, Jon Foster, Sky Ferreira, and others) find themselves victimized by a mysterious killer. Since all of the characters are unlikeable, you’re literally rooting for the killer to put them (and the audience) out of their misery. Ugly and unredeeming thriller goes nowhere and takes it’s time getting there. Paris Hilton and Pamela Anderson show up in meaningless cameos. Continue reading →
January 30, 2023 “Delusional” (* out of four) was a noxious psychodrama about a woman (Anais Almonte) with severe mental health problems who kills her husband and is sent to a mental hospital but the doctor (Billy Hartmann) assigned to review whether she’s mentally competent to stand trial begins to have psychological problems of his own as a result. Viewers who make it to the end of this fiasco will likely experience mental health problems of their own. Offensive movie trivializes (and exploits) a serious subject matter. Almonte tries in the lead but she co-wrote, co-directed, and co-produced and bears most of the blame for this dreck. Continue reading →
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