“Fog City” (** out of four) was a one-note horror thriller about a group of friends (Jonny Beauchamp, Luke Benward, Juliette Goglia, and others) who have to seek shelter when a mysterious fog overtakes their town and turns them all against one another in gory and mischievous ways. Not a remake of “The Fog” but easily could have been since it has essentially the same story. Film is good-looking and proficiently made but never rises above mediocrity. In fairness, though, and come to think of it- this is far better than the 2005 remake of “The Fog.”

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“Herd” (** out of four) was a glum horror thriller about a young couple (Ellen Adair and Mitzi Akaha) on a vacation in the countryside who find themselves in the midst of a zombie outbreak and an oppressive militia who may be even worse than the zombies. Director Steven Pearce and cinematographer Brennan Full show some promise and beautiful imagery but they’re swallowed up by a storyline and themes that need fresh blood. Guys, it’s time to give the zombie/militia genre a rest because I honestly don’t know much more that can be done with it at this point.

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“Night Of The Hunted” (*1/2 out of four) was a static horror thriller about a young woman (Camille Rowe) who goes to a gas-station store and is trapped there physically and psychologically by a vindictive sniper (Stasa Stanic) who refuses to let her leave. In-name only remake of Jean Rollin’s pre-AIDS story and also a remake of 2015’s “Night Of The Rat” but the film it may remind you most of is 2003’s “Phone Booth” which was far slicker and more skillful. Rowe tries but film is suspenseless and empty.

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“In The Shadows” (*1/2 out of four) was a slapdash horror thriller about a young boy (Brooks Roseberry) who is sentenced to a mental institution after violently stabbing his mother to death; 35 years later, he escapes with bloodthirsty revenge on his mind while a series of cops (Michael Pare, Jennifer Banko, and others) and a doctor (Richard Romanus) attempt to apprehend him. Needless rip-off of “Halloween” with some shades of “Friday The 13th” thrown in. Pare ambles his way through his umpteenth role as a cop and one-time horror child icon Banko is wasted as his partner. For lifetime subscribers of Fangoria Magazine only.

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“Outpost” (** out of four) was an uninvolving horror thriller about a woman (Beth Dover) recovering from a violent attack who seeks solace on a retreat but soon finds herself in more personal hot water from a redneck (Dylan Baker basically playing a grown-up version of the character he played in “Planes, Trains, And Automobiles”) who won’t leave her alone. Just a compendum of horror cliches that are re-stirred and re-heated but still feel like a rehash. Inauspicious feature-film debut from tv director Joe Lo Truglio.

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“Look Who’s Stalking” (*1/2 out of four) was a synthetic suspense melodrama about a successful doctor (Alissa Filoramo) who moves after being stalked by an unknown person and takes a new job in private practice but soon finds that the stalking starts up again and she has to double-check everyone she knows in life and who she can trust. Cleverly titled “Fatal Attraction” clone unfortunately has not much else that’s clever and certainly nothing that’s original. Filoramo’s strong performance helps but this still is hardly anything worth taking a “look” at.

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“The Bell Keeper” (* out of four) was a banal collection of horror cliches about a group of friends (Kathleen Kenny, Reid Miller, and others) who go to a campground and are menaced by the title character (Randy Couture) and try to escape by any means necessary. Result is so by-the-numbers and wooden that you may as well play counting cards instead, it’s just as scary and entertaining. One-time wrestling star Couture is still trying in vain for an acting career but it’s unlikely to be saved by this “Bell.”

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“Dangerous Waters” (*1/2 out of four) was a waterlogged suspense melodrama about a young girl (Odeya Rush) on a seafaring vacation with her mother (Saffron Burrows) and her mother’s boyfriend (Eric Dane) and soon finds out that he has a dark past that threatens them all while they are out in the middle of nowhere. “Dead Calm” told virtually the same story with a lot more tension and terror and sheer filmmaking skill over 35 years ago; this drifts aimlessly and off-course for nearly 2 hours. Ray Liotta died during filming and is barely in the film despite top billing.

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