“Bats” (*1/2 out of four) was a rabidly bad horror flick about a mysterious thunderstorm that causes an alien virus to return and causes bats to wreak havoc and morph into giant monster carnivores and two feisty women (Megan Purvis and Georgia Conlan) attempt to fight back and stop them from taking over and achieving world domination. Plenty of blood for those who want it but don’t look for anything resembling style or story coherence and film is even drably shot. No relation to the equally awful 1999 horror thriller of the same name.

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“For The Sake Of Vicious” (*1/2 out of four) was mirthless horror show about an exhausted nurse (Lora Burke) who returns to her home to find a maniac (Nick Smyth) with a severely beaten hostage (Colin Paradine) and then other intruders come to the house and she has to fight them all off to stay alive. By-the-numbers story of home invasion and retribution done without much style or invention and thus wears you out pretty quickly. For the sake of your own entertainment, re-watch “The Purge” or “Desperate Hours” again instead.

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“Gaia” (*1/2 out of four) was a bizarre horror thriller about an injured forest ranger (Monique Rockman) who is rescued by two iconoclastic survivalists (Carel Nel and Alex Van Dyk); at first she welcomes their help and hospitality but soon discovers too little/too late that they are cultists with a horrific devotion to the forest and against anyone who they perceive as an unwelcome threat. Give director Jaco Bouwer points for attempting to make an artful and different type of horror movie but the results are weird and unpleasant in equal measure. Filmed in South Africa

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“The Hike” (* out of four) was a rockbottom horror show about a young couple (Kandi Thompson and Vinnie Vineyard) who go for a hike in the wilderness of the Smoky Mountains to discuss their relationship issues where they stumble onto (what else?) a redneck murderer (Luke Walker) who stalks them to the death. Yet another low-grade D.I.Y. horror movie in which the script, direction, and even the songs were by the three main actors but they’re hindered by bargain basement production and cliched storyline. Horror fans would best take a hike from this and re-watch “Wrong Turn” or “Deliverance” again instead.

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“Last Of The Grads” (** out of four) was an overcooked horror show about a group of high-school graduates (Jadon Cal, Matt Catanzaro, Sara Eklund, and others) celebrating their last night together at an annual school lock-in but an uninvited guest shows up to crash the party and turns out to be a demented and lurid killer and the group has to fight back to determine who will make it out and stay alive. Takes too long to get going and then goes on too long although some of the kills are stylish and inventive and film is unapologetically gory and bloody at times. Not exactly worthwhile but nowhere near the worst and certainly won’t be the last of its genre.

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“Good On Paper” (** out of four) was a wildly uneven Netflix comedy about a stand-up comic (Iliza Schlesinger) who meets a guy (Ryan Hansen); initially her guard up and she is resistant but he gradually wins her over with his self-mocking charm and confidence but soon finds he might be too good to be true. Both Schlesinger and Hansen give it their all and work well together, but after a funny beginning, film declines alarmingly and becomes contrived and silly. Schlesinger also wrote the script and this itself might have looked “good on paper” before the cameras started rolling.

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“Lansky” (** out of four) was a disappointingly conventional melodrama about the final days of legendary gangster Meyer Lansky (Harvey Keitel) as he recounts his stories to a writer (Sam Worthington) who actually becomes a federal informant trying to uncover his millions of dollars which he made from his days as the boss of Murder Inc. and the National Crime Syndicate. Tired collection of underworld and mobster cliches and doesn’t tell you much else about Lansky you wouldn’t already know from other (and better) movies. Keitel has his usual effortless charisma and style but even he himself already played similar roles as Mickey Cohen in “Bugsy” and Bugsy Siegel himself in “Virginia Hill.”

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“The Unhealer” (*1/2 out of four) was an ungainly sci/fi melodrama about a bullied teacher (Elijah Nelson) who is accidentally given supernatural powers by a local shaman (Lance Henriksen in a token appearance); when his dedicated mother (Natasha Henstridge) is accidentally killed by these bullies, he begins to use his newfound superpowers to embark on a bloody revenge. Heavy-handed mixture of horror and supernatural elements and teen melodrama needed to be well-directed and well-told to mesh properly but it’s not. Henstridge and Henriksen do what they can in minor roles but at this point- both their careers appear in need of some healing.

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“Calm Like A Bomb” (* out of four) was an absolutely dreadful timewaster set over the course of one night in which one man (Gianfranco Giglio) seeks vengeance for the death of his girlfriend and engages in repeated bouts of sex, drugs, and violence in order to enact revenge and kill anyone and everyone in his path. If you want a perfect example of style over substance (and coherence), look no further than this mess which has almost no dialogue and almost feels like an extended music video at times except those are typically over in 2-3 minutes. Allegedly inspired by the Rage song of the same name but other Rage titles like “Settle For Nothing” and (especially) “Wake Up” suggest more what it’s like sitting through this.

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