March 5, 2021 “Fanboy” (* out of four) was a grating horror thriller about a rock band Xenos (Alberto Jurado, Alia Jyawook, Arabella Harrison, and others) on tour and a desperately deranged fan (Ben Johnson) who follows and stalks them on the road. If you’re looking for irony or insight into the world of a touring rock band, don’t look here; film is wretchedly scripted, acted, and directed. Star/writer/director/casting agent Johnson bears almost all the blame for this ugly and unredeeming film. Not likely to develop many “fans” of its own. Continue reading →
March 3, 2021 “The Dead Of Night” (** out of four) was a languid horror thriller about a rogue young man (Jake Etheridge) and his sister (Colby Crain) who are alone and isolated at a family ranch and are soon terrorized by a group of nomadic killers who arrive on their property in the middle of the night. Beautiful cinematography by Troy Scoughton Jr showcases moody Midwestern vistas but story and script are meandering and cover all-too-familiar terrain. Film only comes alive in its final third but it’s too far gone for it to matter by then. Yet another movie strongly influenced by “The Strangers” which has oddly become a heavily influential horror film. Continue reading →
March 2, 2021 “Crimson” (* out of four) was a miserable time waster starring FaZe Rug playing himself as a self-made millionaire who moves into his new mansion only to find that a clown who lives next door is (what else?) a real sicko who wants to make his life a living hell. Die-hard FaZe fans may find something more of substance here but it’s tedious and tough-going for anyone else; relentlessly jumpy hand-held camera movements don’t help and neither does the bargain-basement production and direction. Maybe it’s about time horror movies realized that clowns just aren’t all that scary anymore. Continue reading →
February 28, 2021 “Cashing Out” (*1/2 out of four) was a losing hand about an aspiring poker player (Tyler Mills) who begins to find out that the real money exists in robbing helpless gamblers and he gets sucked into the vicious criminal underworld of robbery and theft as he still continues to try and make a stake for himself in the poker field. Title is sadly ironic since mostly everyone on hand seems to be here for cashing a check. Writer/director Alex Srednoselac seems to be trying for a gritty cross between “Mean Streets” and “The Gambler” but his ambition outweighs his craft. Continue reading →
February 27, 2021 “Body Brokers” (***1/2 out of four) was a mesmerizing melodrama about a criminal junkie (Jack Kilmer) who is rescued by a former addict (Michael Kenneth Williams) and sent to a residential rehab center but soon discovers the ugly side of the rehab business and that it is a multi-billion dollar industry which thrives on addiction and relapses! A searing indictment of the multi-tentacled treatment business which is powerful and thought-provoking. Kilmer is OK in the lead but Williams is sensational as a rehab “recruiter” and so is Frank Grillo in a brief role as the oily CEO. A bullseye effort from writer/director John Swab who is a former addict himself. Continue reading →
February 27, 2021 “Sleepless Beauty” (*1/2 out of four) was a lackluster snooze about a young woman (Polina Davydova) who is kidnapped by a mysterious organization called Recreation; they then speak to her through a loudspeaker and start to take over her mind and she soon realizes she is being used as a twisted and tormenting psychological experiment. Much of film has no dialogue, only mood and music, and film soon sputters to a halt. Davydova is good under the circumstances but is unable to enrich or enliven this unpleasant material. Continue reading →
February 27, 2021 “Ice House” (** out of four) was an ineffectual thriller about two friends (Greg Berman and Roger Wayne) who spend the night in an ice house on a frozen lake in Minnesota which leads to them unearthing dark secrets about one another that lead to hidden agendas and duplicity. Snowbound Minnesota locations and Steve Friederichson’s sleek cinematography are definite plusses but they easily outweigh the weak script and story which goes on far too long at nearly two hours. Might have worked better as a two-character play. Continue reading →
February 27, 2021 “Safer At Home” (* out of four) was a maddeningly tedious horror melodrama set 2 years into the pandemic about a group of friends (Alisa Allapach, Adwin Brown, Katie L. Hall, and others) who throw a wild online party in which they all take ecstasy but soon find that what is going on in the outside world may be more terrifying to them and that perhaps they need to stay indoors and introspect. More of an experiment than an actual film (almost the entire film is online) and on that level runs out of steam (and story) pretty quickly. Viewers will likely feel much “safer at home” avoiding this and uploading something else on Netflix. Continue reading →
February 27, 2021 “Armageddon Tales” (*1/2 out of four) was a disjointed post-apocalyptic horror thriller about 4 tales set in a worldwide pandemic; two men with two entirely different agendas, two women from a survival colony, a young girl and a young man as they form alliances as they walk across the survivalist landscape, etc. Many of the stories vary in quality and interest but none are strung together with any cohesion or cohesiveness. Gritty and eerie cinematography (from 3 cinematographers no less) provides film’s only worthwhile component. Continue reading →
February 27, 2021 “Last Call” (*** out of four) was a minimalist but affecting drama about a suicidal and lonely alcoholic (Daved Wilkins) who is depressed after a night at the bar and calls a help-prevention hotline and accidentally speaks to a janitor (Sarah Booth) and they proceed to make a connection with one another that helps and saves both of their lives. Improbable two-character storyline is given fierce conviction by first-rate acting from the two leads which makes this unexpectedly endearing and moving. Entire film is shot in split-screen in one take without any cuts. Continue reading →
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