September 22, 2020 “Nocturnal” (** out of four) was a reductively remote drama about a young schoolgirl (Lauren Coe) who develops a relationship with a middle-aged man (Cosmo Jarvis) who is obsessed with her; while they seem like complete opposites in terms of age and their positions in life, their need for companionship results in their relationship soon blossoming. Well-acted by the two leads in naturalistic fashion but story never connects emotionally and remains hazy and aloof. This was oddly selected to open last year’s BFI London Film Festival. Continue reading →
September 21, 2020 “Welcome To The Circle” (* out of four) was a shapeless bore about a father and daughter (Matthew MacCaull and Taylor Dianne Robinson) who are attacked and left for dead on a camping trip but survive and are then subsequently trapped by a demon-worshipping cult called The Circle and they have to try to band together to psychologically and physically survive. Terrible acting and filmmaking turn this into both psychological and physical torture for the audience as it plods on endlessly for an hour-and-a-half. Inauspicious directing debut for noted documentary creator David Fowler. Continue reading →
September 21, 2020 “Antebellum” (** out of four) was a maddening horror melodrama about a successful author and inspirational speaker (Janelle Monae) who finds herself trapped in a horrifying reality which seems a series of dreams and nightmares reflecting back to when she was in slavery and she must sort out the mystery between the present day and the past before it’s too late. Monae is solid as usual but the thin storyline veers back-and-forth between the past and present bizarrely and becomes pointless and pretentious after a while. Film also doesn’t end so much as stop. Directors Gerard Bush and Christopher Renz admitted this was all-too-obviously inspired by (i.e. ripped-off from) “The Shining”. Continue reading →
September 20, 2020 “Conjuring The Devil” (* out of four) was a Godawful horror show about a young woman (April Love) struggling with her own faith and guilt in life and finds herself under attack from a vicious and possessed nun who is out to destroy her so she decides to fight back and attempt to send her back to Hell. Or something like that. Recycled themes of countless other demonic/religious/possession horror cliches that film is almost the weary equivalent of a garbage recycler on screen. Shoddy filmmaking may give you even more reason to scream and say your hail Mary’s! Maybe it’s about time horror creators “conjured” up some new ideas before they themselves deserve eternal damnation in Hell! Continue reading →
September 19, 2020 “The Paramedic” (**1/2 out of four) was a mildly engrossing foreign-language melodrama about an emergency-ambulance worker (Mario Casas) who is involved in a severe car accident and then begins to physically and mentally deteriorate and soon becomes suspicious of his partner (Deborah Francois) and starts to hold her hostage while his sanity unravels. Mixture of moody character study and Hitchcockian thriller themes doesn’t fully gel but keeps you in its grip thanks to solid performances and tight dierction from Carles Torras. Story starts to get lurid and over-the-top in its final third so this is overall a mixed bag. Continue reading →
September 19, 2020 “The Secrets We Keep” (**1/2 out of four) was a moody but muted melodrama set after WWII in which a woman (Noomi Rapace) is struggling to rebuild her life after the war; upon meeting her neighbor (Joel Kinnaman) she believes he is a former Nazi war criminal and she kidnaps him to interrogate and inflict back the pain and suffering she endured in the war. Rapace is first-rate as usual and story has historical intensity but it’s somehow never as powerful or compelling as it should have been. Very similar story was told prior in Roman Polanski’s 1994 “Death And The Maiden.” Continue reading →
September 18, 2020 “Cult Girls” (** out of four) was a better-than-average horror thriller about a woman (Saara Lamberg) and her two younger sisters (Ava Bakaitis and Milla Bakaitis) who grow up in a Pagan apocalyptic cult led by an ancient Baltic goddess of death and reincarnation; they subsequently escape but the torment of this eats away at them for years leading them back to their ancient grounds where they grew up to conquer the evil spirits that have been haunting them. Umpteenth story of mumbo-jumbo horror and paranormal activity is given a definite boost by director Mark Bakaitis who knows where to put his camera and infuses this with a searing and striking visual style. Well-produced and well-shot by Trent Schneider on a low budget. Filmed about 5 years ago but worthy of its release and may become a “cult” favorite. Continue reading →
September 18, 2020 “Paranormal Attraction” (*1/2 out of four) was an enervatingly routine horror show about a young woman (Brooklyn Haley) who moves into an abandoned house which (to the surprise of no one but her) turns out to be haunted with evil spirits and subsequently all Hell breaks loose. Passable beginning soon gives way to too much mumbo and too much jumbo and film sputters as it covers territory covered in millions of other direct-to-DVD horror films. Originally titled “Unholy Attraction” but the word paranormal is just too damn popular these days. Continue reading →
September 17, 2020 “The Last Laugh” (** out of four) was an unconvincing melodrama about a stand-up comedian (Steve Vanderzee) on the verge of both a breakout and an emotional breakdown who is about to perform in a theater when he discovers that a murderer is on the loose and he cannot convince anyone that this is not part of his act! Awkward attempt at mixing elements of both horror and comedy with backstage drama and elements of mental illness. Writer/director Jeremy Berg deserves points for trying something new but viewers eager for a more deft and powerful look at similar subject matter would best watch Martin Scorcese’s masterwork “The King Of Comedy” instead. Continue reading →
September 17, 2020 “One Hour Outcall” (*1/2 out of four) was a tedious melodrama about a middle-aged businessman (William Norrett) whose interludes and relations with a high-class escort (Natalia Ochoa) force him to re-examine his relations with his own family and to confront his own problems in life. More of an experiment than an actual film and on that basis it runs out of steam pretty quickly and soon turns into a bore. Opens up well but after a while you’ll want to hang up on this wrong number. Norrett also scripted. Continue reading →
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