“Barbarian” (** out of four) was a lumpy horror thriller about a woman (Georgina Campbell) staying at an AirBNB who discovers that the house she is staying at is not what it appears; later, a disgraced actor creep (Justin Long) is trying to get his life together but soon stumbles upon her in the house and both their fates and consequences are intertwined. Confusing thriller stops-and-starts and has story threads in scattered directions. Works best in its final third where it has flashes of creepy dread and cleverness but not enough to make it work as a whole. Jordan Peele did uncredited work on film’s story and characters but he should have said “nope” to this and worked on other projects instead.

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“Confess, Fletch” (** out of four) was an unnecessary third entry/reboot/whatever of the title character (Jon Hamm) finding himself the prime suspect in a series of murders and trying to prove his innocence while searching for the lost art collection of his former wife. Scattershot chuckles throughout and Hamm tries but a little of this does not go a long way. Chevy Chase is nowhere to be found here but Kyle Maclachlan, Marcia Gay Harden, and Robert Picardo help give film a lively supporting cast.

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“What Josiah Saw” (** out of four) was an impossibly long and muddled melodrama about a family (Robert Patrick, Nick Stahl, Scott Haze, and others) who reunite at a family farmhouse after more than 2 decades but discover that old and unresolved family secrets still exist that threaten to tear their fabric apart until they are resolved. Film has some striking individual scenes and good performances from Stahl and Patrick but is eroded by its overlength and overall self-importance that weighs film down. After a while- you start asking what’s the point? Carlos Ritter’s burnished cinematography is an undeniable standout

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“The Red Book Ritual” (*1/2 out of four) was a paint-by-numbers horror thriller about three friends (Valeria San Martin, Agutsin Olcese, and Marlene Pedersen Chauviere) who get together in a creaky old house and decide to the play the title game unaware that this (yawn) unlocks the evil spirit of an ancient witch (Bruno Giacobbe) which causes all (or at least some) Hell to break loose. Moodily photographed by Michael Tessari but otherwise is muted and muddled. Somehow, 7 directors are credited for this!

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“Deus” (** out of four) was a congenitally derivative sci/fi suspense melodrama about a space crew (Claudia Black, Richard Blackwood, Phil Davis, and others) who discover a mysterious black sphere around Mars; they subsequently awake after eight months of hibernation and find that the sphere is mysteriously transmitting the title word in every language known to man and have to uncover why. Viewers who watch the film will have a lot less to uncover themselves. Virtually a catalogue of sci/fi cliches and story fragments- particularly from “Event Horizon” and “Sphere” and (naturally) also “Alien.” Not bad for what it is and does feature some stylish art design and direction but unable to transcend its obvious origins.

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“Bodies Bodies Bodies” (** out of four) was a pretty bland horror thriller about a group of hedonistic twenty-somethings (Amandla Stenberg, Maria Bakalova, Rachel Sennott) who gather at a remote family mansion to have a wild party but they soon begin to realize that one of them is (what else?) a backstabbing killer but can find they find out before it is too late. Suspense and scares are minimal and story and characters are too undernourished to have any resonance or conviction. Title is based on the improvisational game Murder In The Dark but this should otherwise be classified as a bored game instead.

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“Tiny Cinema” (*1/2 out of four) was an aptly titled timewaster about a weirdo stranger (Paul Ford) who tells multiple different tales of various strangers (Shelby Dash, Tyler Cornack, Kristina Clifford, and others) whose fates are somehow connected by otherworldly events which will alter their lives forever. Practically incoherent movie with different segments and story fragments that have no relevance to one another. Its movies like these that make you realize how much “Tales From The Darkside” and “Creepshow” were taken for granted back in their day. Cornack also wrote and directed and shows some style in a few scenes.

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“Paradise Highway” (** out of four) was a disappointing melodrama about a truck driver (Juliette Binoche) who is forced to smuggle illegal cargo in order to save her imprisoned brother (Frank Grillo) from a prison gang but she soon realizes that the cargo is a kidnapped teenage girl (Hala Finley) and that the police (led by Morgan Freeman and Cameron Monaghan) are on her trail. Well-directed by Anna Gutto and starkly shot by John Christian Rosenlund but never all that gripping or compelling and goes on way too long. Binoche is good and looks almost unrecognizable at first but Grillo is wasted and even Freeman looks bored and seems to be just going through the motions.

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“Night Watcher” (*1/2 out of four) was a boring horror thriller about a young woman (Allison Tyler) reeling from the unexpected suicide of her mother and finds a friendship with a new man (Zack Stewart) in her life; she subsequently receives a terrifying voyeuristic tape in the mail showing that her mother was being stalked and soon the bodies start piling up around her one after another. Both Tyler and Stewart do what they can with cardboard roles but there’s little worth “watching” here. Made in 2008 and started decomposing on the unreleased shelf before being unceremoniously dumped to Redbox machines.

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“End Of The Road” (**1/2 out of four) was an intelligent and efficiently done thriller about a family (Queen Latifah, Ludacris, Mychala Lee) who go off on a cross-country trip and become stranded in New Mexico and are harassed by white-trash rednecks and then stalked by a mysterious killer. Overall gripping movie holds you with its scares and suspense and good performances but doesn’t know when to quit. Worth watching but you may wind up wishing for the “end” to come before film finishes up. First screen collaboration for the Queen and Ludacris.

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