“Headgame” (*1/2 out of four) was a gory, ugly horror thriller about a group of young folks (Leonard Roberts, Carly Steel, Jame Hill Fuller) who awaken inside a locked warehouse with cameras screwed into their heads (!) and soon find that they are competitors in (what else?) a deadly reality game in which they have to kill each other to survive. Umpteenth rip-off of “Saw” is only for those who thought that series was too tame and intellectual; movie also has the gall to rip off “The Hunger Games” as well.

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“Permission” (*** out of four) was an absorbing story about a couple (Rebecca Hall and Dan Stevens) on the brink of marriage who decide to have an open relationship before spending the rest of their lives with each other but this subsequently leads to their trust and emotional boundaries being shattered and in turn affects their relationship. Imperfect, with some supporting characters who seem unnecessary and throw the film off-tangent, but has enough compelling scenes and camaraderie between the two main actors to make it worthwhile. An interesting effort from writer-director Brian Crano with obvious nods at times to mid-period Woody Allen

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“In The Cloud” (**1/2 out of four) was an imaginative futuristic thriller about a tech company (headed by Gabriel Byrne) which is developing software capable of uploading a person’s consciousness and memories to virtual space and how a group of kids (Neilish Ambu, Nora Arnezeder, James Artaius) become caught up in this rush and then try to stop it. Many interesting and compelling ideas obviously inspired by “The Matrix” and “Total Recall” and the works of Phillip K. Dick, are vividly directed by Robert Scott Wildes but it loses its way and doesn’t gell as a whole. Still worth checking out. Terrific music score by Jay Auborn and John Matthias gives this an extra pulse.

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“Victor Crowley” (*1/2 out of four) was a gruesome and dumb fourth entry in the “Hatchet” series about the resurrected Crowley (Kane Hodder) who bears a passing resemblance to Harry from “Harry And The Hendersons”; in any event, he returns to slaughter a new generation of curious fans and thrill-seekers. That doesn’t mean, however, that you in the audience have to be curious about this schlock because it has no thrills or any scares for that matter. Hodder gained fame playing Jason several times but his fame has sadly passed him by.

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“My Friend Dahmer” (** out of four) was a perfunctory biography of Jeffrey Dahmer (Ross Lynch) showing him in high school as a shy young man who struggled to belong and was beset by bullies at school and family problems at home and turned to drugs, alcohol, and later insane violence. Curiously remote and unrevealing story presents Dahmer as an outcast in the mold of “Carrie” but doesn’t tell you much about him you probably don’t already know. Performances are fairly one-note as well, much like the film itself. For a more striking and gripping film about same subject, watch 2002’s “Dahmer” with Jeremy Renner instead.

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“The Cloverfield Paradox” (** out of four) was an in-name only third entry in the series about a group of scientists (Gugu Mbatha-Raw, David Oyelowo, Daniel Bruhl and others) who test a device to solve an energy crisis while orbiting a planet on the brink of war but they soon find themselves face-to-face with a dark alternate reality that threatens to end their voyage and destroy the world as we know it. Lumpy mix of sci/fi and horror is well-made but never gathers significant momentum. Not much relation to the original “Cloverfield” but owes more than a bit to “Alien” and also “Event Horizon.” Mbatha-Raw is strong in the lead role and makes this worth watching for at least a few minutes.

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“Eruption: L.A.” (**1/2 out of four) was a reasonably entertaining action thriller about a struggling screenwriter (Matthew Atkinson) who finds himself in the center of his own movie when volcanoes begin erupting all over L.A. and he has to team up with a novelist (Harry Van Gorkum) and a spoiled actress (Lexi Johnson) to stop them and save the city. Yes, it’s another disaster movie and is filled with the usual cliches and silly characters but it’s fast paced, never stops moving, and is jammed with visual effects. Better-than-most disaster movies over the last few years although this can’t measure up to 1997’s “Volcano” which it sometimes resembles.

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“Scorched Earth” (*1/2 out of four) was a slipshod action thriller set in yet another post-apocalyptic Earth that look like leftover sets from “Mad Max” and “28 Days Later” starring Gina Carano in her umpteenth role as a bounty hunter tracking down criminals who are attempting to destroy civilization. Little to recommend it, even for fans of Carano or MMA. John Hannah does what he can in a minor supporting role as Carano’s friend but he deserves far better than this dreck.

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“Living Among Us” (** out of four) was a fairly anemic vampire horror thriller set in the future in which vampires have made themselves public and a friendly sect (William Sadler, John Heard) attempt to ingraciate themselves with the public by inviting documentary filmmakers (Andrew Keegan, Thomas Ian Nicholas) into their lair but these filmmakers soon find that these vampires may not quite be as friendly as they seemed. Initially appears to be a different attempt at making an intelligent vampire movie (in the mold of “Interview With The Vampire”) with some humorous social commentary but soon lapses into routine basics and gore. Heard and Sadler gives this somewhat of a boost.

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