“Circus Kane” (*1/2 out of four) was a slavish imitation of “Saw” and “The Haunting” about a reclusive circus-master (Tim Abell) who invites a group of social media stars to his haunted house and offers a grand prize of $250,000 to anyone who can make it out alive but they soon find out this is one tough house to make it out of. Full of various death traps, gore, and terrible acting. Strictly for masochists and those who can’t wait for “Jigsaw” to come out later this Fall.

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“Gun Shy” (** out of four) was a zany, contrived comedy about an addled and aging rock star (Antonio Banderas) whose wife (Olga Kurylenko) is held hostage and he is kidnapped while on vacation in Chile and this escapade subsequently involves the C.I.A. and deranged former fans. Tiresome story has a few laughs at the beginning but soon sputters and runs out of steam. Banderas is game as usual and seems to have modeled his performance on Slash, Ozzy, and Weird Al but this is a far cry from “This Is Spinal Tap”.

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“The Dark Below” (* out of four) was an inept horror thriller about a young woman (Lauren Mae Shafer) who struggles for survival beneath a frozen lake while a demented serial killer (Zachary Beck) stalks her from the surface. Anyone who makes it to the end of this mess will have the real feeling of a struggle for survival. Amazingly, only 3 words are spoken in the entire film but believe me- you won’t be clamoring for anything more. You’ve got to give the filmmakers credit for attempting something this bizarre but the results are confusing, unpleasant, and unwatchable. One-time “Alien” co-star Veronica Cartwright has a head-scratching role as one of the killer’s other victims.

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“Escape Room” (*1/2 out of four) was a laughably dumb horror thriller well-worth escaping from about the owner (Skeet Ulrich) of an escape room who purchases a box containing an evil demon from a malicious store owner (Sean Young); when four teens come to partake in the room, they find themselves being systemically stalked one by one. Badly written and directed, with irritatingly stupid characters who you’ll be rooting for to get slashed after a while. Plenty of tongue-in-cheek horror movie jokes thrown in for good measure but it sure would help if they were creative or funny.

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“Wind River” (**1/2 out of four) was a respectful, if not enthralling, murder-mystery set on a Native American reservation in Wyoming in which an eager F.B.I. agent (Elizabeth Olsen) teams up with a veteran game tracker (Jeremy Renner) and the local sherriff (Graham Greene) to solve the mystery but find there numerous clues to unravel with the local townsfolk and also local law enforcement. Film has beautiful cinematography, a stirring Muzak music score (reminiscent of “Fargo”), and takes you to a different place and culture but never fully catches fire. Final plot twist and murder scene is harrowing but film overall has limited impact. Renner is strong as always and Olsen is first-rate.

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“The Vault” (**1/2 out of four) was a taut, stylish thriller about two estranged sisters (Taryn Manning and Francesca Eastwood) who rob a bank to help their ailing brother but soon come to realize that this is no ordinary bank and that evil and death awaits them when they break into the bank’s underground vault. Well-directed and well-acted but story uneasily combines elements of a heist thriller, horror story, and sci/fi and doesn’t fully gel and final twist at the end is pretty hard to believe or make sense of. Better than most direct-to-Netflix schlock overall but still comes up empty in the stretch. James Franco has a key role as the bank’s assistant manager.

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“My Cousin Rachel” (** out of four) was a sterile drama about a young Englishman (Sam Claflin) who journeys to the countryside seeking vengeance against a beautiful woman (Rachel Weisz) who he believes was responsible for his cousin’s death but he soon finds himself falling in love with her instead. Beautifully photographed but both plodding and aloof, and end result isn’t satisfying. Claflin is strong in the lead but Weisz is surprisingly blank and her and Claflin don’t have the fiery chemistry that film needs.

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“Dead Again In Tombstone” (** out of four) was a logy Western about a fallen Mexican soldier (who else but Danny Trejo?) who returns from the dead to protect a stolen relic from falling in the hands of a ruthless gang (led by Jake Busey) and protect his daughter and at the same time saving the town in which he has found refuge. Standard issue Western full of the usual brown-and-red dust, bars, and standoffs. Neither the best nor worst of its kind but fails to bring the Western genre back from the dead again, as “Lonesome Dove” and “Unforgiven” did decades earlier. Both Trejo and Busey are good but can play these roles in their sleep by now.

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