“Faye” (* out of four) was an almost unendurable horror psychodrama about a successful personal growth author (Sarah Zannotti) struggling with the recent death of her husband and retreats to a cabin on the bayou where she finds herself unraveling personally and psychologically; the rest of the film alternates between her babbling and talking to herself and alternately talking directly to the audience. Why does this person think we like or even care about her? Her mom is played by character actress Kd Amond who also wrote, directed, co-produced, and edited and bears most of the blame for this bewildering movie.

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“Sound Of Silence” (*1/2 out of four) was a hackneyed horror show about a radio host (Penelope Sangiorgi) who discovers a cursed radio that is endangering the welfare of her and her family and threatens her sanity as she begins to enter into a delirious stage of terror. Boring story turns into one more ripoff of “The Shining” and has about as much shivers and scares as Woody Allen’s “Radio Days.” Incredibly, three directors are credited for this trifling film. Sometimes, “silence” truly isn’t golden.

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“Beautiful Disaster” (** out of four) was a hokey romantic melodrama about a college freshman (Virginia Gardner) trying to distance herself from her past but soon starts to fall for a bad boy (Dylan Sprouse) from the wrong side of the tracks and they have to work on overcoming their differences and backgrounds from each other. Neither beautiful nor a disaster- film is simply a precious and predictable love story although well-directed by Roger Kumble. First in the series of Jamie McGuire’s “Beautiful” book series.

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“Hidden Murder Island” (*1/2 out of four) was a subpar suspense thriller about two women (Andrea Borgart and Allie Forsberg) who are brutally assaulted while camping; only one makes it out alive and she subsequently attempts to uncover what really happened and who the attacker was. Inspired by true events but still rings all false and is unconvincing, despite decent performances. Director Damian Romay attempts to incorporate elements of PTSD and overall trauma but it’s more exploitative than explorative.

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“Assassin Club” (**1/2 out of four) was a stylishly done action melodrama about a world-weary assassin (Henry Golding) who is hired by his mentor (Sam Neill) to kill 7 different people but subsequently finds that these 7 people are also assassins who have been hired to kill him and they all have to outsmart one another in a chase around the world to the death. Good of its kind, with moody direction from Camille Dellamarre and sharp dialogue from Thomas Dunn and strong intrigue although it lags a little in its second half when film ought to be peaking. Neill is excellent as usual; Noomi Rapace is wasted as a mysterious female underworld figure.

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“Snag” (**1/2 out of four) was an over-the-top but somewhat entertaining action comedy about a young man (Ben Milliken) who is dismayed when the woman (Sofía Castro) he thought was dead is still alive and is being held captive and he has to risk all by taking on the savage underworld to save her life and get her back. Star Milliken also co-wrote and directed with style, flair, and bounce but a little of this goes a long way, as film starts to wear thin after a while. Still better than most other direct-to-DVD ilk and worth watching even as film hits a few “snags” of its own along the way.

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“From Black” (** out of four) was a turgid horror thriller about a recovering drug addict (Anna Page) who is beset by the recent unexplained disappearance of her son but then is presented with an opportunity to find out about what really happened to him and a chance for her own personal and moral redemption. Beautiful cinematography by Duncan Cole and initial moody direction from Thomas Marchese lead you to hope that this will be more than just an empty pileup of horror cliches- but it’s not. Film opens with dialogue and passages from “Star Wars: Revenge Of The Sidth”!

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“Last Sentinel” (*1/2 out of four) was an aimless suspense melodrama about a female corporal (Kate Bosworth who has never looked more like Rebecca De Mornay) and her squad of soldiers (Martin McCann, Thomas Kretchmann, and Lucien Laviscount) who are stranded on an abandoned military base in the midst of the water and are awaiting help and rescue but they soon start to wonder if help is actually on its way and they start mentally fragmenting and turning against one another. Meandering and tedious story about the fight for survival against uncertain odds and drifts on endlessly at nearly two hours. Bosworth does what she can with an underwritten role but let’s hope this is the “last” of her direct-to-DVD dreck and she gets the comeback role she needs.

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“The Stranger” (*1/2 out of four) was a moribund horror thriller about the owner of a small hotel (Jennifer K. Preston) who is already grieving after the death of her husband and finds that her existence is disrupted by the arrival of a mysterious visitor (Damien Ashley) who threatens her sanity and thus her life. Mostly lifeless collection of horror cliches lifted from endless and other better movies especially “The Shining” but has no relation to the 2008 cult classic “The Strangers.” Even still, this won accolades at the 2022 Dead Northern Film Festival and the 2022 Grimmfest Horror Festival but none from this FB reviewer.

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“Pillow Party Massacre” (* out of four) was a suffocating horror suspenser about five girls (Laura Welsh, Savannah Raye Jones, Jax Kellington, and others) who are haunted by a past April Fools prank that went awry and reconcile in the woods for a weekend of sex, drugs, and rock ‘n’ roll but don’t count on an uninvited guest showing back up to teach them a lesson. Throwback to ’80’s trash-horror (“Sorority House Massacre”, “The Slumber Party Massacre”, “April Fools Day”) with a few retro touches (“I Know What You Did Last Summer”) thrown in to the mix but it’s all for nothing, since the script and story are all tiresome and stupid. It’s movies like this that make you regrettably glad that the ’80’s eventually came to an end.

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