August 16, 2020 “Follow Me” (** out of four) was a sordid horror thriller about a group of social media personalities and vloggers (Holland Roden, Ronin Rubenstein, Pasha D. Lychnikoff, and others) who travel to Moscow for a vacation getaway but soon become embroiled in a series of life-or-death games and traps and they struggle to survive both mentally and physically. Not bad by the standards of these things, with some creative kills and style in its second half, but takes too long to get going and is all-too-obviously inspired by the violent ugliness of the “Saw” series. Writer/director Will Wernick shows some creativity but needs to “follow” some more original ideas after this and his similarly themed “Escape Room” from a few years earlier. Continue reading →
August 16, 2020 “Ava” (**1/2 out of four) was a stylishly done but overly familiar action thriller about a ruthless and deadly female assassin (Jessica Chastain) who works for a black ops organization but finds herself thrown to the wolves by her sinister superiors (John Malkovich, Colin Farrell, and others) after a job goes wrong and has to fight for survival while trying to get to the bottom of a high-end conspiracy from the government. Solid production values and strong work from Chastain make this easy to watch but story seems to be following a much-too-routine pattern especially after many other similarly themed female assassin films (“Atomic Blonde”, “Lucy”, “Anna” just to name a few) over the last few years. Geena Davis and Joan Chen both have their best roles in years in minor but key parts. Continue reading →
August 16, 2020 “The Bad Nun 2” (* out of four) was a Godawful sequel to an original that I don’t think anyone was exactly saying their hail mary’s for a sequel to; this time, a young woman (Sarah T. Cohen) and her family move into an old and abandoned church and her grandmother (Nicola Wright) suddenly reveals that there are divine and unholy secrets associated with the church that results in all Hell breaking loose. Umpteenth movie about religious exorcisms and paranormal activity is made with absolutely no life or conviction whatsoever and is a real snooze. Avoid this “bad” sequel and re-watch “The Exorcist” or “The Amityville Horror” instead. Continue reading →
August 16, 2020 “His Deadly Affair” (** out of four) was an underwhelming suspense thriller about a violinist (Helina Mattson) who develops feelings for the intellectual conductor (Max Ryan) of the orchestra but soon realizes that he has a violent and obsessive wife (Gina Holden) who is waiting to enact revenge on anyone she thinks may get in the way of her and her husband’s happiness. Far from the worst of this genre but oh-so predictable by now and second-half has some pretty noticeable plot holes. Mattson’s sincere performance helps keep you watching but this still isn’t exactly an affair to remember. Continue reading →
August 16, 2020 “Curse Of The Blind Dead” (*1/2 out of four) was a tired supernatural horror thriller about a group of Satan worshippers called The Knight Templars who were executed in the 14th century but rise from the grave centuries later to wreak havoc and a father (Aaron Stielstra) and his daughter (Alice Zanini) try to fight back and stay alive. Cheesy and corny in equal measure and not helped by its grating soundtrack. Based on a short story by Gustavo Adolfo Becquer and short is what it should have stayed. Continue reading →
August 15, 2020 “The Bay Of Silence” (*1/2 out of four) was an enervated thriller about a devoted husband (Claes Bang) who refuses to believe that his wife (Olga Kurylenko) is guilty of their son’s suspected murder but soon comes to realize there is much more about her mysterious past that he never knew which forces him to question her innocence and question their marriage together. Hitchcockian-like thriller is encumbered by snail pacing and characters who are frustrating and aloof. Former Bond beauty Kurylenko is solid but this is unlikely to provide much “solace” to her career. Continue reading →
August 15, 2020 “A Daughter’s Plan To Kill” (** out of four) was a superficial melodramatic thriller about a seemingly perfect husband and wife (Claire Coffee and Matt Dallas) who take in his estranged daughter (Jordan Lane Price) to their household but soon realize all-too-late that she intends on wrecking havoc including foul play and murder. Yet another predictable thriller whose plot basically telegraphs itself within the first 10 minutes; any one who can’t guess the story and plot twists needs to get a new hobby. Handsomely shot and lit and competently made but otherwise not worth making “plans” to see. Continue reading →
August 15, 2020 “Cut And Chop” (* out of four) was an embarrassingly awful black comedy about a method actor (Drew Hale) with obvious mental health problems who gets carried away with his new role as a butcher and (yes) starts butchering and dismembering others to get into character and make the role his own. Ugly, to say the least, and without any saving graces of style or humor as it mashes your face in unpleasantness and gore. Hale also wrote/directed and co-produced but based on this effort he may want to take himself back to the chop shop. Continue reading →
August 14, 2020 “Beast No More” (** out of four) was an over-the-top horror thriller about a young biologist (Jessica Tovey) who has suffered the loss of a child and ventures to the Australian outback when she encounters a mysterious man (Dan Ewing) who offers her the chance to be a mother again but a huge cost of which she never imagined. Interesting and arty story is more morally complex than most films of this genre but it still wallows in excess and unpleasantness and eventually wears you out. Film’s ending is jarring and abrupt but by that point you likely won’t want to watch this “no more” anyway. Continue reading →
August 14, 2020 “Skin Walker” (* out of four) was an incomprehensible horror story about a troubled young woman (Amber Anderson) who tries to escape from the dark secrets of her family (Udo Kier, Jefferson Hall, and others) but is forced to confront them when she has to return to the family’s estate and has to relive her various traumas to uncover the many secrets of her and her family’s past. The film equivalent of a jigsaw puzzle that you simply don’t care about putting together, as film plods through unpleasant characters and cerebral plot twists that make hardly any sense. A film that cries out for (and imitates) the hypnotic artistry of Guillermo del Tormo. Continue reading →
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