Author: dlepikcom

“Creatures Of The Night” (*1/2 out of four) was a sodden horror thriller about a rogue drifter (Michael Socha) who wanders into a castle in the English countryside from a family (Andrew Readman, Ricky Tomlinson, Dean Ackerman, and others) and finds that it is inhabited by bloodthirsty werewolves and he has to fight tooth-and-nail to get out. He should have wandered to a video store and rented “The Howling” instead because that was a werewolf movie made with wit and style. One good rampage scene is film’s only pulse but that comes at the end.

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“Don’t Answer” (**1/2 out of four) was a mildly effective horror psychodrama about a criminal psychopath (Jack Amsler) who is released back to society due to overcrowding at the incarceration asylum; upon being released, he gets a job as a delivery driver where he resumes his violent impulses leading to the town on edge and his prison psychiatrist/officer (Annabel Storm) trying to track him down. Hindered by a low budget and horror-movie minimalism but is tense and creepier than most of its ilk and holds your attention. Film ends with scary statistics about delivery drivers and murders that may surprise you.

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“The Knock Knock Man” (**1/2 out of four) was a better-than-average horror show about a group of friends (Ty Bialik, Kamryn Emory, Callie Grayson, and others) who summon the title urban legend as a dare but are startled and terrified when he actually comes to life and starts killing them all one-by-one. Never transcends the horror-movie origins of “Candyman” which it was obviously inspired by but is solidly done B-material with stylish direction and some inventively gory kills. Overall a “knock” worth answering and MUCH better than most of its ilk.

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“Golden” (*1/2 out of four) was a shallow, derivative underworld melodrama about a master counterfeiter (Brian Austin Green) who finds himself in a maze of ruthless criminals (Glenn Plummer, Robert Miano, Josh Gilmer, and others) and has to outsmart them one-by-one to find his way out and stay alive. Uninvolving and unpleasant pretty much all the way through with an occasional touch of style to enliven things but not enough. Austin Green is still pretty bland in the lead; the great Plummer is wasted again. Film will not likely be the “golden” comeback ticket for either of them.

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“Black Shadows” (0 out of four) was an embarrassingly awful and unwatchable urban thriller hodgepodge about three separate stories of intersecting characters (Ayla Thompson, Michael Habibeh, Oscar Porter, and others) and their various dark fates as they try to outsmart one another and figure out whose playing who. Each story is worse than the next and in this case- less really would have been more. Film mashes your face in numbing ugliness and sleaze and looks like someone’s bad cell-phone footage. Avoid like COVID.

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“Song Sung Blue” (** out of four) was a one-note musical biography about the true story of Lightning & Thunder (Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson) who in middle-age started performing as a Neil Diamond tribute act and became one of the biggest cover bands/tribute acts of all time before heartbreak and tragedy cut their musical odyssey short. Both Jackman and Hudson work well together and do their own singing but film never shifts into high-gear and remains earthbound. Hardcore Diamond fans may like this a little better. Disappointing result from writer/director Craig Brewer who made the much more potent “Hustle And Flow” back in 2005.

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“Firebreak” (** out of four) was a pretentious and hokey psychological drama about a troubled widow (Belen Cuesta) who travels to a family forest summer house when her daughter (Candela Martinez) disappears sending her and her family (Enric Auquer, Joaquin Furriel, Diana Gomez, and others) into a frantic frenzy while a raging fire threatens to engulf all of them. A few scattered effective moments get swallowed up by film’s overwhelming symbolism and excessive length; by the end it seems largely pointless. Watch Drew Barrymore’s “Firestarter” instead.

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“The Well” (*1/2 out of four) was a dour melodrama set in yet another dystopian future in which there has been environmental collapse and a widespread battle over personal resources; a young woman (Joanne Boland) finds a wounded man (Jim Carey) and brings him home but when he finds that her family has access to unlimited water and other supplies, a personal and psychological battle to survive ensues. Half-hearted amalgam of half-baked ideas from dozens of other futuristic movies over the years and film even has the gall to rip-off “The Postman” (!) of all movies! Moody cinematography from Stuart James Cameron is one of film’s few assets.

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“Vanished In An Instant” (** out of four) was an instantly forgettable suspense psychodrama about a mother (Vinessa Antoine) whose daughter (Arista Arhin) disappears from a gas station without a trace and she begins investigating and discovers a widespread coverup involving various townsfolk (Natalie Lisinska, Aaron Poole, and others) underneath their picture-perfect facade. Proficiently made and directed and featuring strong work from Antoine in the lead but film is a bit too reminiscent of “The Vanishing” (right down to its title and gas-station setting) and also “Edge Of Darkness”. OK for what it is.

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