Author: dlepikcom

“Missing” (** out of four) was a claustrophobic online psychodrama about a woman (Nia Long) who goes suddenly missing and her daughter (Storm Reid) attempts to track her down and find her using various tools online on her computer and from home but finds that the online web can be a very dark and mysterious place at times. Directors Nicholas Johnson and Will Merrick and star Reid do all they can to pump this up with intrigue and tension but the problem with these online/computer thrillers is they get unavoidably monotonous and limited after a while. After a while, what’s “missing” is spontaneity and variety and film gradually runs out of fuel.

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“The Ritual Killer” (*1/2 out of four) was a bogus serial-killer melodrama about a grizzled detective (Cole Hauser) who is tracking a killer (Vernon Davis) who is practicing black magic rituals and he turns to an elderly professor of African studies (Morgan Freeman) for help. Mostly just unpleasant and by-the-numbers with a ridiculous and unsatisfying ending. Freeman is wasted in the movie and just seems to be cast to serve up memories of the much better “Kiss The Girls” and “Seven” which this movie all-too-obviously inspired. Hard to believe this was directed by George Gallo who in better days was the writer of “Midnight Run.”

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“Batman: The Doom That Came To Gotham” (**1/2 out of four) was an imperfect but entertaining entry set in 1920’s Gotham City in which an ancient evil is awoken and threatens to envelop and destroy the city and only the Dark Knight (voiced by David Giuntoli) can rise and save it. Film’s story and script are hard to follow and don’t always make sense but at least it moves fast and features enough action and colorful visuals. Opening animation scenes are a real wow. Not exactly the best of Batman’s catalogue but better and more fun than “The Batman” last year.

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“The Killers Next Door” (* out of four) was an irredeemably awful thriller about 2 redneck criminals (David Pridemore and Michael Locicero) who are on the run and take refuge in a cabin in the woods with a nice couple (Rosanna Jimenez and Sean Carmichael) and they both have to fight each other- psychologically and physically- to stay alive. There’s not much to say about a psychodrama in which both the bad guys and good guys are unlikeable. Locicero also wrote, directed, and co-produced so he bears most of the blame for this unpleasant timewaster.

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“Hunt Her, Kill Her” (*1/2 out of four) was a gory, one-note horror drama about a janitor (Natalie Terrazino) newly hired to work in a furniture factory who finds herself stalked to the death by a group of masked intruders and she attempts to hide and then turn the tables on them. Yet another stalk-and-slash horror show which quickly runs out of gas. Ryan Thiessen’s effective cinematography is definitely a highlight throughout but can’t give this much other distinction. Watch “Hunter Killer” for more thrills and scares instead.

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“Deinfluencer” (* out of four) was a horrendous horror show that won’t develop any influence of its own about a cheerleader (Caylin Turner) who is kidnapped and imprisoned by a perverse sicko (Simon Phillips) who makes her film and humiliate herself through various social media but she begins to suspect that there may be more to this killer than meets the eye. Film mashes you in unpleasantness and ugliness for over an hour-and-a-half and the cheerleader is so unlikeable you might be rooting for the killer anyway; it’s movies like these that killed the horror genre until “Scream” revitalized it in the mid-90’s. Phillips also co-wrote and created the story.

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“Ambush” (*1/2 out of four) was a clunky action thriller about a group of special operative commandos (Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Aaron Eckhart, Gregory Sims, and others) who are sent in to a village to obtain pertinent information that can change the fate of the war but soon find themselves in the midst of an escalating war that tests all their loyalty and safety. Starts off strong but then gets bogged down and gets tedious and never gets back on track. This type of story worked better with Chuck Norris and Jean Claude Van Damme back in the ’80’s. A particular waste of Eckhart who spends almost the whole film on walkie-talkie.

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“Children Of The Corn” (** out of four) was a more-of-the-same entry in this inexplicably endless horror series about another group of vindictive and violent Midwestern children (Elena Kampouris, Kate Moyer, and others) who are spurred on by the irresponsibility of the adults (Callan Mulvey, Bruce Spence, and others) in the town who ruined their crops and set everyone on a path of destruction. Allegedly a prequel to the original and not a remake but it’s really the same story as all other entries, no better or no worse. Hard to believe this is the 11th entry in a series that began nearly 40 years ago! Filmed in 2020 and only being released now but overall feels like stale corn.

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“Bikini Hackers” (*1/2 out of four) was a low-brow comedy about a series of none-too-bright young girls (Caroline Elise, Samantha Venable, Zoe Meehan, and others) who conspire to take down some of the world’s top financial systems through hacking but trickery and treachery awaits them at almost every turn. With a title like that, you know not to expect a cinematic artful masterpiece but film offers hardly any sex or violence either or any cheap thrills which make you wonder why the hell it was made in the first place. Even though it’s a film centered around hacking, film looks and feels like it was made by a group of hacks instead.

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“The Paramedic Who Stalked Me” (** out of four) was an overheated suspense potboiler about a young woman (Lexi Minetree) whose life is saved by a paramedic (Andrew Spach) who becomes obsessed with her and turns out to be a serious sicko that kills anyone who gets in the way of him having her in his life. Initially engrossing and holds your attention with its skillful performances but story gets progressively sillier and deteriorates before its ridiculous conclusion. Nowhere near as awful as some other “Fatal Attraction” wannabes but still in need of some good script and story medics of its own.

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