“The Fearway” (*1/2 out of four) was an enervated horror suspense thriller about a couple (Shannon DaLonzo and Justin Gordon) who embark on a road trip on the freeway but soon find that they are being stalked and hunted by another driver who won’t allow them to get off the road and soon things start to get really ugly on the highway. Just a collection of cliches from other and more suspenseful movies, Steven Spielberg’s “Duel” in particular. In fact “The Twilight Zone” used to have stories like this in 30 minutes flat. David Gordon’s burnished cinematography is one of film’s few virtues.

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“The Fearway” (*1/2 out of four) was an enervated horror suspense thriller about a couple (Shannon DaLonzo and Justin Gordon) who embark on a road trip on the freeway but soon find that they are being stalked and hunted by another driver who won’t allow them to get off the road and soon things start to get really ugly on the highway. Just a collection of cliches from other and more suspenseful movies, Steven Spielberg’s “Duel” in particular. In fact “The Twilight Zone” used to have stories like this in 30 minutes flat. David Gordon’s burnished cinematography is one of film’s few virtues.

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“The Covenant” (**1/2 out of four) was a relatively sturdy action potboiler set during the war in Afghanistan in which an injured sergeant (Jake Gyllenhaal) risks his life to return to enemy territory to save the interpreter (Dar Salim) who previously saved his life when he was wounded behind enemy lines. Newly serious effort from pulp director Guy Ritchie succeeds as an action thriller but falls short in terms of script and story, leaving this sometimes explosive thriller with a cloudy sense of detachment. No relation to the 2006 Renny Harlin movie of the same name.

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“Evil Dead Rise” (*** out of four) was a groovy sequel to the 2013 remake about two estranged sisters (Alissa Sutherland and Lilly Sullivan) who reunite in a cabin in the middle of the woods but their reconciliation is cut short by the presence of flesh-eating demons which threaten to devour them both and turn them both into ravenous killers. Writer/director Lee Cronin ably duplicates the gonzo and frenetic style of original “Dead” creator Sam Raimi and features buckets of blood and gore in high style and with a twisted tongue-in-cheek sense of humor. Not for the squeamish but definitely entertaining for horror fans and fans of the series. Original “Dead” star Bruce Campbell can be heard on a recording as a priest.

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“Murder Anyone?” (* out of four) was an abysmal comedy about two hapless playwrights (Maurice Lemarche and Charles Howell IV) who are tasked with creating the next in horror and comedy phenomenon and soon find that subsequent events begin to resemble their life and that the play they’re working on is overtaking them and threatening to become a reality. Attempt at doing a twisted psychological satire on playwrighting and its effects on the playwrights themselves falls almost completely flat. Nary a chuckle is to be found and the 2 writers themselves are annoying to begin with. Based on a play but it’s unlikely that this film adaptation will make “anyone” want to check that out.

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“A View To Kill For” (*1/2 out of four) was a drably routine suspense thriller about a young woman (Tiffany Montgomery) who inherits a beautiful estate from her deceased father and her and her husband (Samuel Whitten) move in and are elated but soon find it’s too good to be true, as a prowler breaks in and starts harassing them to leave. Paper-thin script and characters and by-the-numbers plotting make this something definitely not worth “viewing”. Watch “A View To A Kill” again instead.

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“The Bricks” (** out of four) was a fairly routine urban-pulp thriller about a detective (Dakarai Akil) who goes undercover in the bowels of Houston to uncover a nest of trafficking and drug distribution but finds that he may be in over his head when he is faced with temptations, divided loyalties, and diversions of his own as all this may lead back to a nefarious kingpin (Khalil Kain) who is still in prison and a woman (Dee Hill- who is a dead-ringer for Ciara) he knows on the streets. Built brick-for-brick (no pun intended) on the cliches of countless other urban thrillers although it’s fast-paced enough to make it watchable. Genre fans will recognize Khain as one of the co-stars of “Juice” but this film pales in comparison to that film’s “juice” and electricity.

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“The Tank” (**1/2 out of four) was a better-than-average horror thriller about a seemingly happy married couple (Matt Whelan and Lucianne Buchanan) who inherit a beautiful coastal property; initially, they’re exhilirated until they soon realize that they have unearthed- and unleashed- a demonic creature who has been buried for centuries and now is ravenous and blood-thirsty. Ultimately too derivative of too many other horror pics (“The Descent” in particular) and too protracted at nearly two hours but is suspenseful and well-made and does feature some scares and chills. A mixed bag overall but good of its kind and worth it for horror junkies.

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“The Obscured” (*1/2 out of four) was an insipid psychodrama about a woman (Jocelyn Saenz) suffering from bipolar disorder and other mental health issues who must rely on fragmented memories and flashbacks to gradually piece together the murder of her lover (Mark Simich) while she starts to unravel in the middle of an endless desert. Impressive sun-baked cinematography by Colten Currey is a highlight throughout but film is muddled and obtuse without much of a payoff and it doesn’t end, so much as stop. The film equivalent of a jigsaw puzzle not worth putting together. Saenz tries in a difficult role but this one should plummet into “obscurity” pretty soon.

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“Acidman” (** out of four) was a wan melodrama about a young woman (Dianna Agron) who feels lost in life and tracks down her estranged and reclusive father (Thomas Haden Church) and they begin to make progress at cultivating a relationship for the first time after years of being apart. Both Agron and Church are good and work well together but script and story are more meandering than incisive. After a while, there’s just not much to sustain story interest and involvement. Might have worked better as a two-character play than as a feature film.

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