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Synopsis

In post revolutionary Iran in the 80’s during the Iran-Iraq war, Shideh is no longer able to study to be a doctor because of her political beliefs. Meanwhile, her husband is conscripted to the war and she is left alone with her daughter. While bombs threaten to topple their apartment building a malevolent entity starts to haunt them.

Review of Under the Shadow

This is the tried and true family haunting formula used in a novel setting of a repressive and war torn nation. It creates a unique conflation of traumatic stressors. A evil Djinn, is often the least of the protagonists worries compared to the imminent threat of death from an unseen foreign entity as well as the horror of losing your autonomy from a regressive dominant culture and government.

This is listed as Rotten Tomatoes #2 on the 200 best horror movies of all time. I wouldn’t agree with the placement, but I do think this is a fantastic and interesting iteration of some familiar horror tropes. 

I can’t find anything to complain about, but I wasn’t necessarily blown away by it. I was also sick while watching it, so that probably brought down the overall enjoyment. 

Score

8/10

Synopsis

After giving birth to an unnatural vampire-human hybrid, Bella herself becomes a newborn as she has finally transitions into a vampire. Bella is stronger and faster than expected and with the support of her chosen family she learns the ins and outs of vampirism and motherhood. But her bliss only lasts so long when the Voltori finds out about the child and her potential threat to vampire and human kind alike. In lue of this threat the Cullens must search for allies in the vampire community to plead their case or conversely fight alongside them to protect the child.

Review of Breaking Dawn Part 2

This is clearly the best one 

Weird child, fun vampires, battle scene 

See more into the vampire community as a whole 

So little going on but so much at the same time.

Score

4/10

Synopsis

Matt Hagen, played by Tom Harries, is a wildly successful actor who has just been nominated for an Academy Award. Riding the high of his nomination, he attends a club where he meets a woman and ends up spending the night with her. This woman turned out to be the girlfriend of an extremely notorious crime boss in Gotham, but that did not dissuade Matt. She was just too hot! But this catches up with him as he wakes up to find a group of thugs surrounding his bed who cut up his pretty face until it is unrecognizable. With his moneymaker destroyed, he loses his fame as well as all his…well… money. In an attempt to regain his career, he meets with a scientist named Caitlyn to undergo an experimental procedure on his face. After injecting AI-trained nanobots into his skin, he starts to gain new powers as a side effect of their healing capabilities. Now Matt must fight not only for his beauty, but for the soul of Gotham itself. 

Review of Clayface

Clayface is the third movie installment in the new DC universe following Superman and Supergirl. With the screenplay written by Mike Flanagan, the movie has a much different flavor than other comic book adaptations. I found the story to be pretty predictable and cookie-cutter for the most part. It isn’t breaking barriers with the plot. But I still really enjoyed the ride nonetheless. It is really fun to see Matt use his new abilities to enact revenge on those who did him wrong, all while spiraling into madness as Caitlyn does her best to keep him on the rails. The movie has a pacing problem, especially in the beginning. This had me worried that the entire movie was going to be too rushed to have any hope of being enjoyable, but I was wrong. The second and third acts are strong, and I had a lot of fun with the body horror and monster aspects of the film.

Score: 8/10

Synopsis

Breaking Dawn part one begins with the wedding of Edward and Bella. Over their honeymoon Bella becomes pregnant with an immortal vampire child (and possibly the antichrist? Its unclear). With the mortal Bella wasting away as the child feeds on her from within, Edward must find a way to save his new bride.

Review of Breaking Dawn Part One

This movie is legitimately one of the weirdest films I’ve ever seen. My jaw was on the floor the entire time and I could not believe my eyes in every scene. It is so strange, and there are moments where it is difficult to believe this was ever made in to an actual movie. Its terrible.

Score: 10/10

Synopsis

A shark obsessed serial killer is on the loose and young American surfer Zephyr is his latest target. After being kidnapped and held captive with little hope of rescue, Zephyr uses every ounce of her resolve as she fights for survival in an attempt to allude not only her captor but also the hungry sharks lurking in the waters surrounding her. 

Review of Dangerous Animals

This film takes the sharksploitation subgenre in an unexpected direction, revealing that the sharks aren’t really the villains, instead you are faced with a deranged serial killer on the hunt for his next victim

Released in 2025 directed by Sean Byrne the film explores themes of human versus animal predation, facing your demons, and even humans eternal search for connection 

Subverting expectations you are taken on a ride filled with action and suspense as well as a stand out performance from Jai Courtney who plays tucker our villain

Dangerous Animals succeeds in making a solid connection to the characters with interesting plot devices driving the story forward.

The pacing is great and keeps you engaged

 although, the suspension of disbelief gets harder to get behind into the third act. 

Overall the movie is fun and brings a new premise to a genre that is well overdue for a revamp.  

Score

7/10 

Synopsis

In a world where being a hot, sexy vampire is more important than being a good person, Bella is still dating Edward even though he is objectively abusive and controlling. When times get tough, Edward must do the hardest thing he has ever done in his undead life: Trust his girlfriend around the presence of another male. No, but seriously. That’s the main conflict of the movie. But also, there are some evil vampires kind of just causing mayhem. If any of that is interesting to you, tune in to the spoilers section of this episode.

Review of Eclipse

In the third installment of the Twilight series, we are greeted by a lot more of the same stuff we got from the previous 2 movies. Bella likes Edward, but Jacobs six pack is slightly tempting. But not enough to cause any real problem in the relationship. The problems almost exclusively stem from how possessive Edward Cullins is. I get that the movies are doing what they can to attract viewership from teenage girls and stick to the source material. I cant fault them for doing exactly what they are attempting to do. But I can say without a hesitation that this series is boring me to tears. My eyes have disconnected from the optical nerves from rolling so hard at every line of dialogue. It really feels like the story wanted more edward and jacob drama and squeezed a story about rogue vampires in to make it more interesting. They failed in that regard.

Score

2/10

Synopsis

8 year old Bella loves her parents and in her spare time does what every little girl loves to do. Commune with a shape shifting trickster demon. Her playmate takes the form of her mother and Bella calls her, you guessed it, Other Mommy. The trickster demon does what every little girl loves to do. try to enter a victims heart and tear their life to pieces.

Review of Other Mommy

I wasn’t expecting much from watching the trailer and getting exposed to the intense marketing campaign for this movie. I expected another low effort Blumhouse one trick pony jump scare vehicle. Instead of conforming to the cookie cutter Conjurjng template, this movie borrows more from the pacing and meanness of the Evil Dead franchise. From the start it hits the gas, and never lets off.

Director Rob Savage previously directed the excellent low budget found footage movies Host and Dashcam, but also recently directed the family based supernatural film The Boogeyman. He creates something unique here, and is contamtly putting the audience off balance.

One could say this movie is predictable, but almost every cliche from the family-based supernatural horror subgenre that is included in this film is subverted eventually.

Regardless of the tropines, They stuffed a ton creativity in the form of interesting set pieces and visual effects that spanned the uneasy and uncanny, to the explosive and gorey.

The script is very thin, preferring action over words, but the acting is high quality regardless. Jessica Chastain sells Other Mommy very well, and Annabella Olivia Clark as Bella is an impressive talent as well.

Overall, I had a real good time and was pleasantly surprised at how much I liked it.

Score

8/10

Synopsis

After the events in Twilight 1, we find Bella and Edward in a difficult position. Edward no longer believes that their relationship is safe, and decides that the only way to protect Bella is for him to leave forever. Broken hearted, Bella builds a friendship with Jacob, and kind and boy with long hair and a six pack. After Bella rejects Jacob’s romantic advances, she notices him grow distant and strange. He roams with a pack of outcasts and seems to be keeping dark secrets. Its not long before the truth comes out, her new friend and potential love interest is a monster. Again. Bella will need to decide if her love for Edward can survive his absence, or if the alpha will take his place.

Score: 4/10

Synopsis

When 2 20 something wanna be content creators find an opportunity to get views, Ben and Tina travel to a remote location to film their experience in an underwater home. After extreme flooding, the building sank into a local lake, making it the perfect spot for inexperienced divers to explore for YouTube. As things start to go south while deep in the house, the couple learns that this is no ordinary house, but a deep house. A Deep house with deep secrets.

Review of The Deep House

The Deep House is a novel idea with poor execution. Almost the entirety of the film is done underwater, which must have been incredibly hard to accomplish. I heard that most of the movie was filmed in a large swimming pool, which gives it a unique vibe. Unfortunately, it seems that the filmmakers were wholly incapable of capitalizing on this. There is almost no plot, and the plot that is there is so minimal that the characters hardly have time to explain it to you. There’s a house underwater, some evil happened there, and evil will continue to happen. Why? Cause it’s a spooky haunted house horror movie. That’s what is supposed to happen. It feels shallow, pun absolutely intended, and I couldn’t wait for it to be over. Side note, lighting the set underwater must have been a nightmare, but as much as I want to give the crew their flowers, they did not do good enough. I couldn’t see what was going on in so many scenes, and that is probably because a flashlight underwater does not show up well on screen, but they should have done something because what the actual hell. The movie is so dark. I hope they do better in Deep House 2: Deeper House.

Score: 2/10

Synopsis

Bella is a 17 year old girl who just moved to the small town of forks to live with her father. As she begins to make new friends at her highschool she runs into a very handsome and very mysterious Edward Cullins. He is tall, pale, and very moody. The perfect speciman. As Bella begins to fall for Edward she learns about his dark and sparkly secret. He is a 120 year old vampire. The insane age gap aside, the two begin dating, but soon a traveling group of vampires come to the town to tear the love-bats apart.

Review of Twilight

Twilight is an objectively bad movie. Luckily I think it falls into the category of “so bad its good”. The dialogue is awkward, the acting is so bad it hurts. Its specifically geared towards teenage girls who fantasize about unhealthy relationships with undead monsters, making it an uncomfortable watch for a 27 year old man. But I do think those things are what makes it charming. I was watching this with my wife and we were laughing and talking throughout the whole movie, making it a pretty enjoyable movie experience. It isnt a good movie, but it can be a good time.

Score: 3/10

Synopsis A small town lawyer Kevin Lomax is on a winning streak when he is recruited by a big New York City law firm. With significant wealth, and a beautiful place in the city on the horizon Kevin leaves with wife Mary Ann to pursue his dreams. It seems like he could really have it all, but beneath the glamour of his new life, Kevin discovers that winning comes at a price. His ambition grows into an obsession, and the more he indulges in his newfound wealth and power the further he drifts from the man he used to be. As Marry Ann’s mental health begins to deteriorate Kevin struggles to hang on to his humanity as he is tested by his biggest competitor yet, the devil himself.  Review of The Devil's Advocate The film definitely speaks to the times especially horror and suspense in cinema. Thematically it’s a reflection of our inner most struggles in humanity in a dark yet fun way. The acting teeters between spot on and over the top depending on the scene. But undoubtedly brings a star studded cast. Al Pacino is at his most Pacino bringing life and energy to every scene he is in. Keanu does his best but at times can come off a little cheesy losing points for me. Charlize puts her all into the role and you can really tell. I love the relationship Kevin and his wife have. It’s beautiful, loving, passionate and then the depiction of its deterioration packs a punch  While the supernatural elements are eloquently sprinkled throughout the film it does not rely too heavily on it, it's more implied and told in intentional small parts.  The film does run long at a 2 hour and 20 minute run time. I feel like quite a bit could have been taken out and a different ending could have made the film better but overall it’s very enjoyable with great performances and a universal message that as a human is easy to connect with. Score 8/10 

Synopsis A medical courier named Bryan accepts one last job to deliver to Raccoon City hospital. on his way he is beset by many misadventures involving zombies and monsters.  Review of Resident Evil (2026) Zach Cregger was fingered to direct this after the wild success of Barbarian and Weapons. Here he enters the hollywood machine of rehashing tired IP, and in this instance comes out not just unscathed but triumphant. Resident Evil doesn’t have the complexity of his previous movies, but maintains his excellent timing and humor. He basically takes the junky character from weapons and gives him a job inside a video game and we watch the wacky high jinx. Bryan is a couple steps above simpleton and largely has single words as dialogue for the movie, but Austin Abrams gives a great performance as the everyman. I laughed out loud several times in the movie at the reactions of Brian as well as some of the absurd situations throughout. It also has some great jump scares that aren’t endlessly telegraphed like in most jump scares vehicles. The monsters and body horror are all well done and disturbing. It also is extremely well paced and comes in at a nearly extinct runtime of an hour and 30 minutes. Overall it’s a really fun movie and despite the nitpicks of Resident Evil fans it is objectively the best live action film in the franchise.  Score 9/10

Synopsis Based on the Richard Bachman/Stephen King novel of the same name, Thinner tells the story of an overweight lawyer who is cursed by a Gypsy to lose weight at an alarming rate.  Review It’s a simple premise that makes you wonder, huh what are they going to do with that! The answer is nothing. This is a big ol nothing burger of a movie. I remember seeing it when I was younger but I always assumed it was a made for tv movie, and now I understand why I thought that. The production quality and acting was so bad that it induced incredulity. The movie focuses so much on moving the plot forward that it fails to include a story with characters with clear motivations. It is so focused on getting to the next stage of thinness that it never takes a moment to really communicate what the characters think or feel about the situation. It ends up feeling as hollow as the protagonist's former pants. Score 2/10

Synopsis When young couple Brad and Janet become stranded in the rain, In search of a phone they run into a mysterious castle run by the alien sweet transvestite Dr. Frank-N-Furter. In the midst of an outlandish experiment the couple is given shelter and introduced to a variety of eccentric characters. Through the course of the night, they are put in situations that challenge their sense of self, sexuality, and their relationship.  Review of The Rocky Horror Picture Show With the recent passing of Tim Curry I wanted to review a movie this week that truly captured his presence as a person and an actor.  Every production he was in commanded attention and showcased something special that not all actors have, but I think no role of his is as unforgettable as Dr. Frank N Furter The red lips, the corset …it’s giving  Originating as a theatrical production the Rocky Horror Picture show has a rich history which is why it is still so huge in pop culture today Taking inspiration from the 70’s sexual liberation movement, british glam rock and THE David Bowie, this film is the definition of campy and comes through with stunning over the top performances  Tim Curry is simply magic and this is a true testament to his range as an actor  The music if fun, and the visuals chaotic yet cohesive at the same time and you are truly brought into their world of sex and exploration with nods to horror classics I have a deep appreciation for this film’s intent and execution although it’s not necessarily my cup of tea     I think it transcends the need for a rating due to the cultural and historical impact, the safety it gave for the queer community at the time, the continued representation, and the balls to do something outlandish and fun.  Score 8/10

Synopsis In this 2007 French film, a pregnant woman on Christmas Eve, the night before her induced labor is mourning the recent loss of her husband in a car crash when she is terrorized by a nameless woman in the dark.  Review This movie is something else. it uses the equation of vulnerable person + unstoppable psychopath = dread to the maximum effect. It would be bad enough with just the pregnant woman as the protagonist, but we also the the In Utero POV showing the baby suffering from the trauma. It’s very rare that a horror movie makes me actually feel something. I’m a jaded horror movie reviewer. I’ve seen it all. This film gave me a visceral reaction so deeply that I regressed to childhood and was watching parts of this movie through my fingers. This movie goes hard. Even with the rather cheesy CGI of the early 2000s, you can’t help but still be disturbed by the ideas that said CGI is portraying. While I can’t say I enjoyed this film, I can say it is a good film and achieves what it sets out to do. Score 10/10

Synopsis Gemma is a mother and a dentist (the two hardest jobs of them all), living in her childhood home with her daughter Maya. When Gemma was a child she watched her mother battle with mental health and eventually kill herself by bashing her own head into the shower wall repeatedly. Why does Gemma continue to live in that house and use that shower? Cause the plot needs her to. After experiencing some insidious events, Gemma must protect her daughter as she tries to reconnect with her past. What happens next will shock you, but spoilers…it's insidious. Review of Insidious: Out of the Further Insidious is a franchise that has been near and dear to my heart. It was one of the first horror movies I really got into as a teenager, probably because it was rated PG-13 and I was too young to buy my own rated R tickets. The first two are gems, the third is okay, and the fourth is so terrible I don't even want to consider it a part of the franchise. Some studios would have let it die. But not Blumhouse. Blumhouse will NEVER let this franchise die. Insidious 5: The Red Door came out a few years ago, and you know what? I didn't hate it. But now we get a 6th addition to the story, which is mostly disconnected from the story in the other films and follows its own path. The story is about as good as I expected from a 6th Insidious installment, and it was able to make some lore additions that I found fresh and interesting. If you are looking for a great movie, maybe go rewatch Obsession, Hokum, or the Backrooms. This movie is pretty alright, and I think that is all we can ask of another insidious movie.

Synopsis From a young age, Maren (played by Taylor Russell) has carried the innate urge to consume human flesh—a hunger that has shaped nearly every aspect of her life. Shortly after turning 18 and finding herself on her own, she sets out across the country in search of her estranged mother. Along the way, Maren encounters a colorful cast of outsiders and drifters, including Lee (played by Timothée Chalamet), with whom she develops a budding romance. Through this coming-of-age story, Luca Guadagnino explores themes of queerness, identity, loneliness, and life on the fringes of society.  Review of Bones and All Bones and all is a great romance movie for horror lovers  It’s artsy and at times weird for the sake of being weird but through the use of cannibalism we get a representation of the intense otherness that some feel   The approach to queerness is very interesting as how characters are shown in a more dynamic way where it’s a part of the character than their whole identity. (for example unlike stereotypes)  On the horror front the gore is very well done and visually striking every time The characters are weird, and interesting to watch with great performances from all the actors involved  It makes you want a bigger look of what this world make look like in different situations This is a great adaptation of Camille DeAngelis’s book by the same name in that it keeps the source material close to home but makes enough changes to make it artistically distinct.  The only criticism I really have is that the film lingers a little too long on the bliss of romance and falling in love on the road without really diving into what makes them love each other besides both being outsiders.  I also  would have loved the film to get even darker and perhaps show more horror-esque scenes.  Score 9/10 

Synopsis Fire In The Sky tells the based on a true story of Travis Walton, a logger in Arizona traveling home with his crew getting abducted by an alien UFO. Now I know what you’re thinking they can’t possibly stretch out a single abduction story into a full feature length horror film. Well do I have news for you. You’re right. But! You can stretch it out to about 3/4 of a drama and 1/4 of a horror movie. Review This movie came out just months before the pilot of The X-files that all featured an alien abduction. Alien abduction was in the air in the early 90s and this movie came out at the prime time with a wide release and failed at the box office. I saw it in theaters when I was just 11, so I definitely have thick nostalgia glasses on. It is not a prefect movie. In fact narratively it is a real oddity. It spend most of the movie exploring the fallout and doubt around Travis’ friends story of his disappearance. In the last 1/4 of the movie we are treated with some of the most intense sci-fi body horror put on film, and I think that 20 mins still holds up. Instead of the cold sterile and clinical scenes with grey aliens that are described by most alien abductions, this film shows a terrifying matrix like goo cocoons with menacing and indifferent wrinkle monsters conducting horribly invasive surgeries. The terror of Travis is palpable and visceral. After the reenactment of the abduction the movie just kind of stops. Score 7/10

Synopsis Beginning her first year of Vet school, Justine is a vegetarian who has never had meat. Luckily her older sister goes to the same school and is there to show her the ropes. During an initiation ritual she is pressured into eating a raw rabbit kidney, and soon learns that, “hey, I really like meat!”. After the initiation her body starts to go through withdrawals, and she is desperately craving more. But breaking her lifelong commitment to abstain from meat leaves her insatiable, and animal meat just isn't doing the job anymore. She needs something more real. Something more human. Review of Raw Raw, or in french Grave (yes its a foreign film) is a 2016 horror movie directed by Julia Ducournau who also directed the movie Titane. The movie focuses on the coming of age story of Justine played by Garance Marillier. The acting is great, and each character has life and nuance, making them fun to watch and interact with each other. The score of the film uses music so perfectly that I got chills in some scenes when the sound and the character’s facial expressions express the emotions of the characters so well. There are parts of this movie that give me a full body cringe because of how nasty it is, and that is really impressive to do, considering the body horror isn't even that extreme. The true horror comes from the lengths the characters are willing to go to in order to satiate their unnatural desires. 

Synopsis In this horror comedy, we're introduced to three sorority sisters looking for a fun, boys-free getaway at a riverside cabin. Of course, the boys show up anyway, bringing plenty of relationship drama along with them. But the real trouble begins when toxic waste creates a colony of bloodthirsty zombie beavers that just won't stay dead. What started as a carefree getaway quickly becomes a frantic fight for survival  Review Zombeavers is one of those movies that has a huge following, and is incredibly hard for me to review objectively because it is so not for me. I understand the type of movie it is and it’s intent but I feel like things still could have been improved to make it more watchable: better dialogue, characters, pacing. I honestly like the idea of zombie beavers, but it has to be done a little better than this.  The movie is very self aware in that it really is parodying horror tropes in general which makes you feel in on the joke but when the majority of the characters are hard to connect with in anyway you lose the attention of your audience. Around half way through I was waiting for something more to happen, develop the characters or don’t this fell somewhere in limbo. When the action starts it’s pretty consistent. Goofy special effects are actually something I liked about this but something can be goofy and silly but have decent dialogue. I know there are die hard lovers of this movie but the whole time I was just wishing I was doing something else. The movie definitely doesn’t take itself too seriously so you shouldn’t either but that being said it’s still a two out of ten movie for me. Score 2/10

Synopsis The late Sam Neill plays John Trent, an insurance investigator tracking down the whereabouts of Sutter Cane a famous horror novelist who has gone missing right before the release of his new novel. Trent suspects that the whole thing is a publicity stunt for the novel’s release, but as he searches for Kane, he finds the line between Kane’s fictional world and reality start to fray and overlap in disturbing ways. Review John Carpenter goes full Lovecraftian, melding his trademark independent film sensibilities and impressive practical effects with cosmic horror. If you look at his Rotten Tomatoes or IMDB ratings, you will also see that this is his last major film with significant critical and audience praise. It marks the end of an era where scrappy 80s gore and body horror was supplanted by slicker high budget meta narratives. This movie ushered in the new era with the likes of Candyman, The New Nightmare, and Scream. standing between two eras, this definitely has more of an esthetic aligned with the scrappy indy vibe of Romero and Carpenters previous work. The idea takes center stage and isn’t handled preciously. It presents itself as a cool thing and lets the audience take a little ride without delving deep into the psychological or taking itself too seriously. Kind of like a Stephen King novel actually. I picked this one because of the passing of Sam Neill and he does a great job here being the everyman descending into, you guessed it, madness. We also get Happy Gilmore’s grandma being freaky af, Vigo the Carpathian, and a very young Hayden Christiansen. Like I said before, it’s a fun ride that doesn’t take itself too seriously. My only criticism is that it does rely on some repetitive cinematic moves such as jump scares and arbitrary time loops. But it’s all to service the films uneasy vibe and give impact to the singular moments of cosmic horror. Score 7/10

Synopsis Alice is a French woman who loves to smoke cigarettes. And her husband, Will, is an asshole. When the two get into a big fight at Will’s younger brother Joseph's birthday bash, Will drunkenly drives full speed into a pedestrian, flipping his vehicle. The car catches fire and Will dies a horrific death. As the family gathers together for the funeral, Alice must face the scariest thing of all…in-laws. But not just any in-laws, but in-laws who are slowly taken over by the forces of Evil who want to burn your flesh off the bone like a candle stick. Review of Evil Dead Burn Evil Dead Burn is a stand alone film, and while it definitely seems to be connecting itself to some events in Evil Dead Rise and Evil Dead (2013), it does so in subtle ways. You don't really even need to see any previous Evil Dead movie to enjoy this film. If you enjoyed the tone and style of Evil Dead Rise, you will find that exact vibe in Evil Dead Burn. It is incredibly violent from start to finish, with almost no breaks in the gore. The movie starts off horrific, is horrific for 2 hours, and then ends horrifically. I had a really good time with this movie, but I was stressed out the entire time. It can be exhausting to watch people get their head bashed in for the entire runtime, so if you are someone who struggles with the really nasty gore scenes in horror movies, I would probably sit this one out. Its hard to say if this film is more violent than the previous 2 in the franchise, but it certainly isn't less so. The major difference I noticed in Evil Dead Burn was that a lot of the violence was akin to that of a physically abusive partner (throwing you around, punching you, and hitting you with things). The past films have focused a lot more on ripping and tearing the flesh (which of course we do get in this movie) but I think that the type of violence on display in Evil Dead Burn fits really well with its overall theme of overcoming an abusive partner, as well as breaking the cycle of an abusive family. Score 8/10

Synopsis May is about a young woman named May who grew up in a strict home with an overbearing mother. Since she was a child May has had a lazy eye. Mortified that her daughter might have a physical flaw, May is forced by her mother to wear an eyepatch to elementary school. I'm sure you can see this villain origin story beginning to form. Now and adult, May’s social skills are a bit stunted. She is lonely, with her only friend being a porcelain doll given to her by her mom. The bulk of the movie is about May looking for love and friendship. But maybe May is just too weird for those things. Review of May May (2002) is an odd movie for sure. Every scene feels a little awkward, by design. Every character is just a bit weird, and I think that plays to the movie’s themes well. May of course is the weirdest one, but her downfall is much more about being an absolute psycho than social awkwardness. More than anything I think this movie can be used as evidence towards the point Bryce made on a recent episode that Hollywood ugly and normal person ugly are not the same thing. I find it funny when a movie takes a gorgeous actress and puts her in glasses with messy hair and tries to convince me the woman is not still gorgeous. I think this movie would be really interesting with a gender swap using a fairly ugly man because I think ugly men are one of the things we as a society fear the most sometimes. The entire movie is laced with some pretty erotic imagery that made me feel weird in my tummy at times I probably shouldn't have felt that way. I think overall the movie is definitely interesting, and has some strong moments. But I wouldn't say it was great. Just good.

Synopsis After cocktail waitress Frida and her friend Jess meet tech billionaire Slater King, they are invited to join him on his private island. Along with his friends and a few other women they are brought to a beautiful island filled with bottomless drinks, great food, and a party that never seems to end. Although this vacation truly seems like a dream, things are a little...off. This dream soon begins to unravel and what’s revealed is a true nightmare.  Review of Blink Twice I chose Blink Twice to review this week because it’s a film that I sort of stumbled upon the first time I saw it, so I didn’t really know much going in, and I was just so pleasantly surprised.  Now watching it for my 3rd time not only does it hold up but I found it almost more enjoyable due to being able to appreciate a lot of the effort put into the foreshadowing that you don’t catch until you know what happens.  The themes of different power dynamics within our society are explored in a satirical way while also bringing real world intense horror elements that aren't your typical dark figure in the corner  Kravitz was able to visually capture this well using day and night as a tool as well as some memory devices that help the audience and the characters keep track of time and the different worlds the characters are living The cast is great, it is incredibly well acted and believable and the pacing may be a problem for some viewers but it kept me engaged waiting for the reveal so to say. I like that you know something is going to happen you just aren’t sure how yet or exactly what it is going to look life  Overall it was very fun to watch, it’s beautiful, dark and at times extremely horrifying Score  9/10 

Synopsis Two young men who are either 16 or 25 discover they like kissing. Their parents don’t like them kissing. So they call the gay exorcist, the kind that exorcise the gay out of gays, not the normal type of gay exorcist. The zealous christians who adhere to the Old Testament beliefs about gays use witchcraft (which they seem to be fine with) to curse the two mates with a sex demon. Review of Leviticus I was interested to see how they would handle the deep and complex issues of religious trauma for gays. Unfortunately, they handled these issues as clumsily as a back of the bus handjob between two teenagers. There really didn’t seem to be much depth behind the characters or relationships that would have made this movie really interesting.  Instead we get a repetitive and oppressive reliance on the gimmick of the movie revealed in the trailer. A supernatural entity that appears as the person you lust over to lure you in, so that it can harm/kill you. If you are expecting more, it’s not here.  There are a couple of lines in the movie that act as ciphers for interpreting the message of the film, but they don’t give much depth to the themes. I’m sure that this movie will be meaningful to many people that watch it, and it being released during pride month is obviously intentional, but for me it was a miss. Score 4/10

Synopsis In South Korea there are 7 super-haunted locations, and Gonjiam the abandoned asylum is one of them. This movie follows a team of ghost hunting live streamers as they attempt the biggest stream of their lives. Picking up 3 female volunteers and one bro volunteer, the Horror Time crew breaks into the haunted asylum and begin streaming it to the world. But things do not go as planned for the jaded paranormal investigators, and they are quickly in over their heads as real occurrences present themselves. You could even say they are experiencing some sort of incident in a ghostland. Review of Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum This is my second viewing of Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum. I first heard of this movie from our facebook group a while back and checked it out with zero expectations and was pleasantly surprised. For a movie I had never heard of before, it was actually pretty fun to watch. Coming back to the film about a year later I am able to see some of the flaws a little clearer. Mikayla mentioned that found footage is hard for her because the camera motion makes her feel nauseous. Well that really becomes a problem for this movie as there are like 20 moving cameras switching back and forth. Each character is equipped with a go pro looking directly at their face, a pov cam, and some of the crew even have handheld cameras just to bump that multicam number up. One of the dudes has a wide fisheye camera that is so confusing to look at that you literally can't even tell what's going on when they cut to it. It also takes about half the movie’s runtime for anything scary to really happen. With those negatives out of the way, I think this movie provides some seriously scary scenes, creepy atmosphere, and visuals that will stick with me for a long time. I still like this movie, it just isn't quite as good as I remember it being. If you like found footage style horror and foreign films it's worth a watch in my opinion. Score 6/10

Synopsis Picking up 26 years later we see our four original characters Brenda, Cindy, Ray and Shorty reunited but for all the wrong reasons. They are once again being targeted by a masked killer. With the introduction of some new characters and new spoofs, the audience is taken on a journey to find who the killer is before it’s too late.  Review of Scary Movie 6 Scary movie 6 being released after the longest gap in the franchise with the return of the Wayans brothers was promising a lot, I’m not quite sure if we got all that was promised  The movie does deliver with with multiple parodies of more recent popular horror films like the substance, weapons, smile and a lot more but some jokes fell more flat than others  I find it really hard to give a score to a comedy as it is often super subjective and I’m just not into the scary movie franchise all that much, not really my kind of comedy  It wasn’t a miserable experience and just for the nostalgia I’m sure there are plenty of people that liked this film but for me it was a major miss There were plenty of bits/points that I found funny but more that weren’t than were  Score 4/10 

Synopsis A failing furniture store owner and aspiring architect Clarke is trying to work on himself in therapy when he stumbles upon a hidden portal to a labyrinthian series of rooms. These “backrooms” have an uncanny nature about them. They don’t seem to have any logical floor plans, scale, or use case. They are like a memory of a room, and not a room itself. As Clarke explores deeper he is confronted with a danger within that might consume him if he stays too long. Review Backrooms as a concept started as a creepy and tongue in cheek 4chan comment and them was adapted and thrived on youtube as a series of shorts. Now the creator of that series helms a hollywood movie starring oscar nominated actors. It accomplishes a great feat in bringing a very specific flavor of horror to the masses. Liminal horror. the unsettling feeling of the spaces between spaces. whereas most horror would focus on the scary, or horrifying, or dread. The word the exemplifies Backrooms is uncanny. It’s the feeling of something being just off enough to capture your attention. The plot and the characters seem like secondary concerns compared to maintaining the weirdness of the production design, but are just complex enough to give the audience something to latch onto. The personality flaws and trauma of the protagonists seem like a key to unlocking the secrets of the backrooms. But by the end of the movie, it’s just as ambiguous and dreamlike as the beginning. It’s hard to list out what works so well in the movie, but I found it uniquely enjoyable and disturbing. Score 10/10

Synopsis Passenger is a road trip movie about two love birds who leave the city life for a chance at van living. Already sounds horrifying to me, but to each their own. After witnessing a brutal crash in the middle of nowhere, the couple begin to experience paranormal phenomena that keeps them on their tires. See what I did there? Through utilizing their resources of old van ladies, gym parking lots, and gas station info books they may just survive…the PASSENGER. Review of Passenger Coming into this movie right off the back of obsession was a bad look for passenger. I would have loved to judge this movie based on its own merits, but unfortunately I had just watched one of the best horror movies ever made a week prior. But anyways, passenger was truly boring to watch. The stakes of this movie just felt so low. Like, get off the road you two. The monster or demon of the movie just didnt scare me. I think so many horror movies are doing too much with their monsters these days. It is plenty scary to have an old man stare at you in the middle of the night in a parking lot, why are we also making his face look like an ancient demon? Why does he need to have weird glowing eyes and sharp teeth? That to me is just far less scary than a stranger who wont leave you alone. This movie leans heavily on jump scares. This doesnt always have to be a bad thing. I can appreciate a good jump scare. But I just felt like the jumps in this movie were cheap, and undeserved. Yes, a loud noise that comes out of nowhere will startle me, but did I have fun? Not really. There was one single scene that I thought was good, and even that had a needless jump scare shoehorned into it. Anyways, this movie was an hour and a half and it felt like it took up my whole night. I did not enjoy this. Score 3/10

We are Obsessed with Obsessed, Are you? Listen to our latest episode of Horror Movie Talk as we break down the finer points of this indie horror darling. Synopsis Bear is a shy and awkward guy who you could say is “obsessed” with his coworker and long time friend Nikki. Unable to profess his love to her, he looks for a little help from the “one wish willow” which will grant any wish. Upon making his one wish things rapidly change in his relationship with Nikki where the obsession isn’t just one sided. But… he soon realizes that there are unforeseen consequences to having her love, as things take a turn for the worst.  Review or Obsession This movie really had me torn on whether I liked it or not. Multiple times I thought “man I hate this movie”. That did improve during my viewing of the film and after but I did find that I was   trying to convince myself that I liked it when the truth is it just wasn’t all that enjoyable for me  With that said, I did like the concept and respect what they were trying to do, and there were some strong scenes that stood out in a good way  some of the humor lands but overall it’s just an uncomfortable experience that can get repetitive and honestly isn’t scary I do think it is worth a watch, there is some interesting social commentary but as a whole it would be a much better short film and frankly just isn’t worth all the hype.  Score 6/10 

Don’t go anywhere, We’re about to get crackalackin on our review of Misery, one of Stephen Kings most successful and critically acclaimed novel adaptations. Synopsis When world class author Paul Sheldon takes a spill he falls under the care of Annie Wilkes, his Nurse. As Paul regains his strength to learn to walk again, he also finds himself learning to love again. Little does he know that Annie Wilkes is his #1 fan. As Annie becomes his muse for his next novel, Annie tries to remain professional and hide her true feelings. From the Director Princess Bride and When Harry Met Sally comes the feel good romantic comedy of the 90’s, which asks, why unrequited love can lead to such… Misery. Review of Misery Misery is a horror movie that proves you don’t need all the bells and whistles of the genre to be truly terrifying. Sometimes all you need is one truly unhinged person and no escape. Kathy Bates performance is truly impressive and well deserving of her academy award win. She is convincingly able to portray a cavalcade of mental health disorders at the flip of a switch. Going from Manic fan girl to menacing anger, to unnerving disassociation. James Caan comparatively has light work being nonplussed at Annie’s theatrics. William Goldman’s adapted screenplay deserves a lot of credit for its tight pacing, the smart addition of a sheriff character, and great dialogue. Rob Reiner had a lot to prove with this film in expanding his credibility as a director outside of comedy. It undeniably is a great thriller, but my one criticism is that it is often visually uninteresting. It might be intentional, but the over reliance on monologue long closeups felt claustrophobic at times. It’s said that Reiner studied the films of Hitchcock before shooting Misery, but I don’t see anything close to that level of visual storytelling. Overall, this is a great movie. The tension never lets up and Kathy Bates performance is required viewing. Score 10/10

Synopsis Ohm is a writer struggling to let go of his past. In an effort to move on, he travels to Ireland to spread his parents' ashes. When he checks into the very hotel his mom and dad stayed at on their honeymoon, Ohm learns about the witch said to haunt the building. Some shady business is afoot. But, having some shady business to attend to himself he goes to his bedroom with a rope and a dream. Fiona, an employee at the hotel stops him from committing the ultimate L, and is later discovered to be missing. Ohm sets out to find the woman who saved his life and hopefully return the favor.  Review of Hokum Hokum is directed by Damian McCarthy, who also directed both Caveat and Oddity, which are both great movies. Hokum follows suit with the same feel and spooky imagery. If I could describe Damian McCarthy’s style in one word, I would call it unsettling. While I think I like the premise of Caveat and Oddity better than Hokum, the themes were better in this film. At hokum’s core there is a message about self-forgiveness and allowing yourself to heal what is broken within. The main character Ohm, played by Adam Scott, who you may recognize from Krampus (or like Parks and Rec and Severance), is a man who did something terrible and never let himself forget it. He became the villain in his own story and lets that show in the conversations and interactions he has with others. But just like the story he is writing, maybe our character will learn to do something selfless. It's beautiful, shocking, and unexpected. I will say that I was hoping for a little more out of some plot lines. The witch feels like a subplot that barely makes it into the movie, but maybe I'm just being nitpicky. Score 9/10

Synopsis Verónica takes place in 1991 Madrid, Spain, where, during a solar eclipse, a teen girl and her friends decide to try and contact their deceased loved ones using an Ouija board. Unfortunately, things do not go as planned, and one of the girls, Veronica, begins to experience horrifying supernatural events while trying to care for her 3 young siblings. As things ramp up and she becomes more isolated, it is up to her to try to right her wrong. Review of Veronica I was super happy when this won the Patreon poll. I saw this movie when it first came out, and it brings a lot of nostalgia for me. I was working on my bachelor's in Spanish, and it was definitely a hot topic among my classmates. With that nostalgia aside, it’s just a great movie. You get everything that you could want from a possession/haunting film and although there are a lot of horror movie tropes, they are well executed in unique ways. The addition of her 3 young siblings really ups the steaks especially considering that she’s only 15 and is constantly caring for them. The film is well-paced and takes its time, but gives you plenty of scares along the way. I love the design of the apparitions. I feel like you don’t see that a lot. I also like all of the mouth horror. The film also covers themes of isolation, self-doubt, and grief in a beautiful way. The cuts between scenes are well done, and the integration of the true story isn’t too heavy-handed. It’s honestly hard for me to find any big criticisms of this film. Score: 9/10

Synopsis After the sudden disappearance of a journalist’s young daughter in Cairo, his family is left shattered. Eight years later, they receive an unexpected call that their daughter has been found, although she is not quite the same. What begins as a moment of overwhelming joy turns into something much more disturbing. As unsettling events begin to unfold, her father and others start to dig into the mystery of her disappearance to find out what really happened to Katie during all those years. Review of Lee Cronin's The Mummy I was really excited going into Lee Cronin's The Mummy, the intro had me hooked and invested in these characters and the film is beautifully shot, even the gory parts. It does feel more like The Exorcist and Evil dead than a mummy movie but it was a solid attempt at doing something different. The special effects are incredible, I genuinely felt nauseated at certain points and had to look away. Unfortunately this doesn’t make up for an unnecessary 2 hour and 13 minute run time. Parts became repetitive and there were many scenes that were unnecessary or could have been compiled concisely into other scenes.What really lost points for me more than anything was the awful ending that was also way too long and turned almost comical but not in a good way.  Score 5/10

Synopsis A single mother and her two teens travel to a rural house inherited from a family member. News reports tell of a serial killer that targets families, killing the parents, and living with and torturing the surviving teen girls. You can guess what happens next. But can you guess what happens AFTER that? Probably not. Review of Incident in a Ghostland This is an effective psychological horror that really plays with the audience in some impressive ways. It keeps you guessing exactly what kind of movie is this? Is this a torture porn slasher? Is it a supernatural horror allegory of unprocessed trauma? One thing is certain, this movie is fucking with your expectations. Incident in a Ghostland is directed by Pascal LAugier, who is probably most known for Martyrs, so the amount of brutality should be adjusted accordingly. It is a very dark movie, and only lets up briefly. It borders on too uncomfortable to watch and enjoy. However, it’s so darn interesting, that you have to keep watching. My one complaint is that the production design is cliche,a nd a little too over the top creepy with all the creepy dolls in the house.  Another shortfall, is that the main antagonists never really get fully fleshed out, and remain kind of 2 dimensional. They feel more like scary video game monsters to avoid versus characters whose motivations are known and can be interacted with. I can’t say it’s an enjoyable movie, but it is good. I enjoy it on the level that it truly did play with my expectations and perception, which for a grizzled horror movie reviewer counts for a lot. Score 7/10

Synopsis In this prequel to the movie Ouija, we are given a family struggling to make a quick buck in the 1960s as spiritual mediums. But they aren't just any regular spiritual mediums….they are frauds. Which I guess actually just makes them regular old spiritual mediums. But when 9 year old Doris discovers that she can speak to the dead for real using a ouija board the family business starts booming. As Doris’s spiritual talents begin to take on a sinister tone, the question on everyone’s mind becomes “who or what is Doris really talking to?” Review of Ouija: Origins of Evil I've been giving Ouija: Origins of Evil a hard time lately, because I remembered it being very bad. But then I rewatched it. And its still pretty bad. But not quite as bad as I remembered it being. The movie is directed by Mike Flannagan, a director who has brought us incredible movies and Tv shows such as The Haunting of Hill House, Hush, Gerald’s Game, Oculus, Doctor Sleep, and my personal favorite Midnight Mass. He has thoroughly proven himself to me as a director who can create something scary as well as emotionally impactful. This movie is not that. Its extremely cookie cutter, and doesn't really even attempt to break the mold of a stereotypical haunted house movie. If you've seen any of the conjuring movies, you've seen this. If you've seen any of the insidious movies, you've seen this. If you've seen any movie with the words “the haunting of…” in the title, you've seen this. I could go on, but you get the picture. What this movie does well is pepper in some truly creepy imagery and a couple fun jump scares, however it fails to do anything outside of the box or make a group of characters worth caring about. Don't get me wrong, the mother played by Elisabeth Reaser, and the priest played by Henry Thomas were great. But the kids in this movie are awful actors and I truly believe that with my whole heart.  Score 4/10

Synopsis The film begins 17 years after the events of The Exorcist and follows the characters Father Dyer and Lieutenant Kinderman who have kindled their friendship from the shared tragedy of losing their friend Father Karras.  A series of murders in Washington DC copycat the Gemini Killer, who has been dead for 17 years. Kinderman is befuddled that they include Gemini’s trademarks that were never revealed to the public. The investigation leads to a psychiatric ward and a supernatural suspect. Review of Exorcist III The Exorcist 3 certainly does a better job of carrying forth the themes and story of the first film, however it never comes close to matching its quality. That being said, it’s a vast improvement over the incomprehensible mess of Exorcist II: The Heretic. The film is written and directed by William Peter Blatty, the author of the original Exorcist novel. While the writing is good, and the characters and relationships strong, the direction is a mixed bag at best. It’s hard to put a finger on whether it is because of Blatty’s lack of experience, this being only his second film he directed, or because of the studio interference demanding a more direct sequel. The answer is probably both. The relationship between Dyer and Kinderman is the best part and the heart of the film. The dialogue between them genuinely feels like old friends sharing a laugh and challenging each other's philosophies.  Like the Exorcist, the dichotomy of good vs evil, and the nature of man is explored. Like the original, the forces of evil seem to be unhindered, and as such, the tone is oppressive and dark at times. The standout performance is Brad Dourif as the Gemini Killer. Rarely has Dourif been given the free reign to appear on screen as himself and deliver a truly scene chewing performance that displays his full range. It goes from calm meticulousness to unhinged rage within seconds. The things that hold back the film from being great are the unrefined visual style, and the obviously wedged in and tonally divergent exorcism in act 3. It goes from a tight and oppressive thriller to a bombastic supernatural bombardment in the last act.  Score 7/10

Synopsis & Review of Ready or Not 2 This film picks up right where the first one left off with our protagonist Grace dealing with the aftermath of her wedding night gone wrong, except this time she is reconnected with her sister Faith and they have to “run and hide” from even more satanists under the rule of Mr. Le Bail. The film brings us A LOT of gore and even more laughs with not so subtle societal commentary. With a star studded cast including many horror movie regulars and our returning scream queen the movie was set up for success. It’s genuinely hilarious, self aware of the absurdity at times and it just works. There are a few pitfalls that we will get into in spoilers but overall it’s a great time to watch, so I am giving it a  9/10 …. What do you guys think? Score 9/10

Synopsis Evy is a popular scary story podcaster recording a new episode from the home of her mother who is lying in hospice upstairs. As she takes care of her dying mother, Evy and her cohost listen to disturbing recordings sent in from an anonymous email. The more they listen to the recordings, the more Evy notices strange happenings in the house. Review I wanted to like this movie, but by the mid mark, I was just so bored. This is bad news for the movie, because it seems like it was tailor made for me. Having semi recently cared for a parent in hospice and being the host of a semi successful podcast with an annoying cohost, I was hooked immediately by the premise. I’ll even give credit where credit is due. The movie really does a great job of utilizing the theater of the mind of an audio format. However, it doesn’t pair the audio with anything particularly interesting to look at. I found myself thinking that truly this would have been better in an audio format as the camera Skinamarinked around aimlessly. If there was something interesting to see other than lighting changes for the first half of the movie, they were too subtle for my eyes. And by the time shadowy figures start appearing in the periphery, I was starting to doze off from the repetitive nature of the plot. I wanted to care more about the protagonist, but we aren’t given enough information about her motivations or history to really care about her. There were so many ripe emotionally fertile situations within the plot of the movie, parent dying, unexpected news, strained relationships, etc. However, when it comes down to it she seems like a cipher for the audience. Just a blank slate. I guess that might be what the filmmakers were going for, since the semi-stated thesis of the movie was the phenomenon of audio pareidolia, where the brain fills in random noise with recognizable patterns, such as speech. Unfortunately, I don’t think there's enough here to maintain the interest of the audience to have them try to fill in the blank spaces of the film with meaning by themselves. Score 4/10

Synopsis You've heard the story of Frankenstein’s monster many times. Once just a few months ago in fact. But that is only half the story. Something has long been missing. What we really need is a femininominon. The Bride is about a woman named Ida who is (I think) possessed by the ghost of Mary Shelly. After causing a scene she is pushed down a flight of stairs to her death. Meanwhile our boy Frankenstein's monster, or as the kids call him, frank, meets with a therapist to talk about his loneliness. Just kidding he goes to a mad scientist and begs for a sexy wife. You can see where this is going. Now resurrected and missing her memory, Ida must make fundamental decisions about her life. Who is she? What is she? Was she really just created to be someone’s wife? And does she even want this life? For all this and more, watch the movie yourself or stick around for the spoilers section.  Review of The Bride! It wasn't too long ago that we were recording an episode about a different take on Frankenstein, and going into the movie I was feeling a little burnt out by the story. I love Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (and by that I mean the book, not the movie that is literally titled Mary Shelley's Frankenstein). But I am often left wanting when it comes to these movie adaptations. Luckily The Bride is a fairly unique take on the creature and the creates as they struggle in this world together. The movie has a strong emphasis on women’s rights. Based in 1938 we are shown lots of gender inequality in the workplace, as well as some pretty nasty misogyny and sexual harassment and assault of women. All problems that are still very relevant today. I enjoyed watching the Bride attempt to become her own person, while constantly being pulled in different directions from those around her, including the very wacky version of Mary Shelley that lives in her head.  Score 6/10

Synopsis Sidney Prescott is now a mother of a teen girl her age during the first film learns that another Ghostface copycat is afoot. When she gets her first call from the killer it’s revealed that it might be an old friend, or perhaps a deepfake. It doesn’t matter, we still get the nostalgia. Then pretty much everything that you expect happens: teens get killed, everyone is suspect, and the killer is finally revealed. You’ve seen one of these before, right? Review of Scream 7 As with all the Scream movies, this is a competent slasher. It remains visceral and mean, but this one lacks the fun and meta horror movie commentary that the originals had.  Sidney Prescott as a mother is a compelling character, even if it feels like a bit of a retread of Halloween 2018. Unlike Halloween, Sidney seems like a real person that is trying to move on and raise her daughter.  The first reveal of the killer is surprising enough and is explained through a semi convincing retconn, but comes too early for it to be trusted completely. So there remains enough doubt as to the killer and especially their accomplice to maintain the whodunnit aspect. Kevin Williamson, the original writer of Scream and countless other early 2000s classics, directs this episode. His only other directing credit is "Teaching Mrs. Tingle” a forgettable dark comedy thriller in 1999. He does fine here, although most directors could do one of these movies on autopilot. There isn’t much added flair, he just gives you what you want: tension and jumpscares. Overall, it’s alright, and I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t a good time, but I can’t say that the movie makes a case for more Scream movies. Score 5/10

Synopsis In a world full of evil and depravity, hope springs eternal. Against all odds, love is on patrol. That's right, Psycho Killer is a story about the beautiful love between two hardened cops. But that love is suddenly foiled when Husband Cop gets shot and killed by an infamous serial killer on a satanic rampage. Dead set on capturing Husband Cop’s murderer, Wife Cop (or Widow Cop if you prefer) does various detective work to bring down the psycho killer. But his plans may be bigger than a murder spree. Gates to hell, nuclear devastation, and orgy crashing are just a few things on his to-do list.  Review of Psycho Killer Psycho Killer had all the makings of a decent movie. Who doesn't love a good detective movie about an evil psycho path and Johnny Law’s yearning for justice? But the problem with Psycho Killer is that it fails to go beyond this premise even a little bit. The detective work is boring. There are no big reveals, or any real hurdles to overcome accept for maybe some jurisdiction issues. The killer is a by-the-books satanist trope who kills people in unremarkable ways and smears some blood around. There is an attempt at humor in the midsection with the addition of a more worldly group of satanists, but even that plot point does little for the story. I won't spoil the ending, but I will say that the evil plan of the serial killer is at least sort of novel, and I was interested to see how it played out. But I was unable to find myself connected to the story's protagonist. Unfortunately, the most boring part of the movie is when the wife cop has to actually look for the guy. I wanted to like this, but I just didn't.  Score 3/10

Synopsis Iron Lung is about Markiplier in a submarine. That’s the one thing that I can confidently say. there are a lot of other details, but none of them seem as salient. Sure all of the galaxy’s, universe's(?) suns have gone out, and there are factions of the remaining humans fighting for resources but that is really window dressing on Markiplier being in a submarine. Also, he’s exploring an ocean of blood on some moon. Now you may ask me Bryce, how could they possibly functions as a society without a sun? How are they making new oxygen? Doesn’t blood congeal or separate or something? how did they fine this moon without light? shut up nerd, Markilpier's in a sub, now sit back and be scared. Review or Iron Lung before i go further, let me answer the main question first, yes this is better than Shelby Oaks. I will say that it’s not as bad as I expected, but i wasn’t blow. away either. The movie is basically all shot in one room, so that limitation let all the energy go into the story and the performance. It dod hold my attention for the most part, but it didn’t deserve a two hour runtime. They could have edited out 40 mins and lose almost nothing. Markipliers performance was better than expected, but definitely leaned heavily into the melodramatic verging on overacting. The production design was well done except for the fact that it faithfully replicated the cartoonish UI of the video game, which I felt was a lazy choice. As far as delivering on suspense it did well. the movie was atmospheric and moody throughout. The ending goes full cosmic horror and feels like a good payoff. Score 4/10

Synopsis Peter Dinklage plays Winston, a janitor working for a super polluter company called Body Talk Healthstyle, who struggles to support his stepson Wade after his mother dies of cancer. When he is diagnosed with cancer of his own, he appeals to his boss for an insurance policy that will cover his medical expenses. Like all good bosses, he denies this, so Wade attempts to steal the money only to be caught by henchmen and thrown in toxic waste. But to everyone's surprise, the sludge only makes Winston more badass. Under the new name of the Toxic Avenger, Winston fights crime and kicks ass. Review of The Toxic Avenger (2023) I will admit that I may have originally misjudged The Toxic Avenger. Our Facebook group has mentioned this movie multiple times, and it just never looked very appealing to me. I am personally just not very interested in crass, overly explicit shock gore movies. But to be honest, I found myself laughing a lot more than I expected to. There are some genuinely funny moments in this movie, and the cast is stacked with actors like Kevin Bacon, Elijah Wood, and, of course, Peter Dinklage, who carry this movie on their backs. It's still not really my cup of tea, and I actually think the movie got progressively less interesting as it moved through act 3, but it's still a decent movie that affords some good times. Score 6/10

Synopsis Send Help stars Rachel McAdams as a frumpy but invaluable office worker over looked for promotion by her asshole entitled boss played by Dylan Obrien When she is invited on a sausage fest work trip, the plane crashes and she and her boss are the only survivors on a tropical island She quickly demonstrates her survival knowledge and the power dynamic between her and her boss shifts. Review of Send Help Send Help has been described as a mix between Misery and Cast Away. I’ll agree with that and add that it’s also a poor man’s version of The Triangle of Sadness. Any way you compare it, this is a crowd pleaser. Sam Raimi returns to the horror genre for the first time since Drag Me to Hell. Though this is more on the thriller side of horror, he brings out a lot of the playful and over the top blood and gore that we are used to.  Rachel McAdams largely carries the film with her charisma and screen presence. I’ll admit, she’s largely the reason for me being excited about seeing the film. Dylan O’brien is serviceable, and properly over the top in portraying an entitled asshole. The script by Damian Shannon and Mark Shift is simple, yet plays with the audience’s expectations. It is better than I would expect from the guys that worked together before on the Baywatch Movie, Freddy Vs. Jason, and 2009’s Friday the 13th reboot. The character development feels a little undercooked, but is there enough to make their motivations understood. This felt like a movie straight out of the 90’s/early 2000s. This brand of mid-budget thriller was a dime a dozen back then, and for some reason has fallen by the wayside. I’m hoping that this film, along with films like The Housemaid will start a resurgence in mid budget date night thrillers. Also something I haven’t seen since the 90s/early 2000s is this quality of CGI. It wasn’t completely terrible, but is was distracting how overused it was. Many shots of the island and it’s design felt like I was looking at an obviously designed video game island (X mountains and all). Also, after seeing PRimate successfully pull of great practical effects with a monkey suit, I wondered why they didn’t use a puppet for the boar. They could have achieved the same level of boar gore, but make it less cartoony. The film doesn’t plumb the depths of the human psyche or explore every facet of the power dynamics in a survival situation, it prefers to keep it pretty surface level in service of moving quickly with the plot. And in my opinion, it works. I had a really good time, and laughed out loud several times at the humor as well as the exploitative gore that Raimi is the expert at bringing. Score 8/10

Synopsis When the young couple, Sage and Diego, walk into their Airbnb or Verbo or whatever, I dont really know, they can't believe how beautiful it is. For the low, low price of I dont know, a million dollars, they get to stay in this amazing lakefront mansion for the weekend. But trouble is afoot. A second couple, Will and Cin, arrive, claiming they have also booked the property for the weekend. Instead of leaving and demanding a refund from the host as any normal person would, they decided to share the large house for the next few days. But things become more turbulent as Will and Cin show their wild side, and are increasingly inappropriate with Sage and Diego. Your social anxiety might try to tell you that they are just quirky and weird, but there may be more beneath the surface. Review of Bone Lake When Bone Lake came out in theaters, I was excited to watch it, but due to conflicting schedules and its limited release, we were unable to review it at that point. This was disappointing because I had heard it was really scary (mainly from my wife, who saw the trailer and said it creeped her out, which is usually a good sign for me). So when I saw it was streaming on netflix I immediately texted Bryce and told him we were reviewing it this week. Oh, how I wish I could turn back time. This movie is pretty boring and has been done before (and better). The whole time I kept thinking “they already did this with Speak no Evil, a movie which did so well that it was immediately remade with an American cast". Bone lake does the same thing with a worse script and less tension. Thats not to say anything about Bone Lake is particularly bad. It's fine. But the main stressor throughout the film is “Will these characters sleep with each other,” and that's just kind of lame (unless you are super horned up). But even then its kind of a letdown. We’ve all had that one friend who makes the social situation a little more sexual than it needs to be, and while that is uncomfortable, it's not scary. I'll give it points for having some sort of funny, dark comedy kills in the beginning. But mostly I was waiting for it to be over. Score 4/10

Synopsis The Bone Temple, in addition to what I call my bedroom is the latest installment in the 28 days later franchise. It picks up almost directly after 28 Years Later leaves off. Spike (Alfie Williams) is forced to prove himself to join the Jimmies, a sadistic cult fashioned after the media personality Jimmy Savile, led by the leader Jimmy Crystal. Meanwhile, Dr. Kelson (Ralph Fiennes) furthers his research into the rage virus and befriends Samson, the Alpha. Review of 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple I found 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple enjoyable, but not particularly meaty compared to it’s predecessor. The humanity and reverence for death found in the last film are spare in this film, which mostly focuses on the chaos brought on by the jimmies, and Dr Kelson’s descent into hopelessness. The Script by Alex Garland, is high quality, but unfortunately just feels like a retread of similar story lines in The Walking Dead. Nia DaCosta’s Direction is respectful towards Danny Boyle’s style established in the previous films in the series, while showing her own style with stylistic flair.  The standouts in the film are Jack O’connel, who played Sir Jimmy Crystal, and of course Ralph Fienes as Dr Kelson. O'Connell balances the two sides of portraying a cult leader well. Maintaining a believable facade of delusion and inspiration, while also showing the con-man manipulator that lurks behind the curtains. O’connell takes the great dialogue and makes it come alive through his performance, and is as enjoyable to watch in this as he was in Sinners. Ralph Fienes gets to play around a little more in this film. Instead of the stolid and enigmatic character from the last film, we get to see his humanity, practicality, and loneliness filled out and explored in this film. The best part of the film features him getting to display his own theatrics to the Jimmies, which left me laughing out loud. If you didn’t like 28 Years Later because of the lack of zombies, you will be disappointed here as well, they play almost no part in this film with the exception of the tranquilized Samson. Overall it was highly enjoyable, although slightly less so than the last film Score 8/10

Synopsis Primate is about a college student named Lucy who comes home to her family house in Hawiia, along with a few of her friends. But this is no ordinary house, for it is home to humans and apes alike. Lucy’s father owns a pet/member of the family named Ben who is a fully grown chimpanzee. Im sure without explaining anymore you can already tell where this is going. When her father leaves for an important book signing, Lucy and her friends are left alone as Ben starts to act weirder and weirder, showing signs of rabies. By the time her father comes home, their fate may already be sealed.  Review of Primate The set up for Primate is very basic and has been done time and time again using various animals. If you'll recall movies like the Shallows, or Crawl, then you know all about Primate. But what separates this movie from the others is the many different ways chimpanzees can kill you. With a shark, you basically got one move. They bite. Chimps on the other hand bite, beat, rip and tear, and you can be sure to see all of that here. And it is every bit as horrifying as you can imagine. Within the first 5 minutes of the movie I was fully bought in, and honestly felt extremely tense throughout the entire film. Chimps are terrifying, but they also fit in this weird slot of uncanny valley where they can also be extremely cute and hilarious. I don’t think seeing a chimpanzee on screen with ever cease to amaze me, and I am totally here for it if they want to make a Primate 2 and 3. This movie had me genuinely scared. That being said, it is also super predictable. Its a paint by numbers movie where the main color is blood red. Which is fun, but not super thought provoking. Score 7/10

2025 Golden Talk Awards Listen to the episode for our top five and bottom five horror movies we reviewed this year as well as the top and bottom five new horror movie new releases.

Synopsis Bruce Willis plays a well-respected child psychiatrist named Malcolm living in Philadelphia. After a disgruntled old patient breaks into his home to confront him for his failure to cure him, Malcolm's life of success comes crashing down around him. As he tries to pick up the pieces, he takes on a new client, Cole, an isolated child who claims to see the spirits of dead people. Through helping this child, Malcom slowly starts to learn more about himself.  Review of The Sixth Sense The Sixth Sense is one of my all-time favorite movies directed by M. Night Shyamalan. While the movie centers around paranormal activity and Cole's connection to the afterlife, it really feels more like a drama than a horror movie. The characters are compelling and feel real, and the acting is knocked out of the park by Bruce Willis, Haley Joel Osment, and Toni Collette. Willis and Osment are truly the perfect duo for the film, and their interactions feel heartfelt and at times even tear-jerking. Though I didnt find myself crying on this watch, this movie has had a profound impact on me on several other occasions. When I was a kid, it was one of the very first horror movies I ever watched and has stuck with me ever since. There is truly nothing I can say bad about this movie. Score 10/10