Reviews

This is a movie that I watched years ago on my phone while working. I didn't know anything about it and at the time, I believed at that time it was on Shudder. What struck me that first time around was the cast. It features Michael Gambon, Helen Mirren, Alan Howard, Tim Roth, Ciarán Hinds, Roger Ashton-Griffiths and Alex Kingston. It came to the Gateway Film Center so I decided to catch this on the last day it was showing.

Where I want to start is by saying that this is a wild movie. It isn't an easy watch for the fact that it is uncomfortable. The setting for the most part is this restaurant, Le Hollandais. There is the back where the loading doors for supplies, the kitchen, the dining area and the bathroom. Each have their own distinct color scheme. The cook here is Richard Borst (Richard Bohringer). The owner is the thief, Albert (Michael Gambon). He's a gangster who causes a scene each night. His wife is Georgina (Helen Mirren). She starts having an affair with Michael (Alan Howard). These events take place over less than a week of time. It will change everyone involved forever.

What is great here is the interactions between the characters. Albert is brash and foul mouthed. This bothers everyone around him, but it is only Georgina who speaks up. She is shouted down though. Due to happenstance, she starts an affair with Michael due to a meeting in the hallway to the bathroom. They sneak out from there to places in the kitchen to make love, with the help of Richard. This can only go on for so long without being noticed. Albert is a gangster, who is selfish and needs to punish those from taking from him.

This is all about the performances and the filmmaking though. The story is quite simple. Seeing how great Bohringer, Gambon, Mirren and Howard are in the lead roles is great. No one talks nearly the amount Albert does. He doesn't think. The other three are calculated in what they say, partially to keep from getting a tantrum from Albert. It also could get them hurt if they don't. Then having the likes of Roth, Hinds, Ashton-Griffiths, amongst others, in minor roles is great. There isn't a bad performance here.

There are two big things with filmmaking I need to bring up. The first is one that I noticed with the color palette for the major sets we see. I had a feeling it was done on purpose. Since this revolves around eating and food, the other was the long tracking shots we got. I didn't realize it was there to simulate food moving through the digestive tract. That shocked me, but it makes sense. It also makes me wonder then if when they reverse it, does that signify being sick? I'd bet it did. There were no issues for me with how this was made, aside from I don't know if this needs to be over two hours. This is an arthouse film and it seems to run that length to make the viewer uncomfortable. It did succeed.

I don't think there is too much else to say. I did leave out that we have a younger Mirren here who is completely nude. As is Howard. So, if that sways your decision, just wanted to provide it. This won't be for everyone, but if you are into artsy films and want to see one that is uncomfortable, this is for you.

My Rating: 8 out of 10.

This was a movie that I learned through a press release hit Shudder. I was offered a screener to see this, but since it was already streaming, I just went ahead and watched it there. I knew coming in that this was filmed in found footage. Seeing that this was also partially comedy, which made me leery. I still wanted to decide for myself.

Synopsis: a failed YouTuber's weekend in the Poconos turns into a nightmare when a demon joins the party.

We started this off in the past. Someone is filming as a boy knocks on the door of a house. I'm guessing that Frank (Neville Archambault) is that man that emerges. The boy says that his cat is in a tree and needs help. The man doesn't see anything and soon realizes that this is an attempted prank. He drags the boy inside.

It then shifts to the present. We see two guys enter a house, Andy (Will Madden) and Tom (Daniel Rashid). There is a chair, with a microphone and a camera that is set up, recording. Andy sits down and goes into his introduction for his YouTube channel. As a disclaimer, he's the failed person in the synopsis. He goes by Amazing Andy.

The vacation that he's going on with Tom is to visit Andy's former best friend, Bryce (Jeff Ryan). He's highly successful and it gets under Andy's skin. He says that it doesn't, but we see otherwise. Coming along is Tom's girlfriend of Nikki (Michelle Veintimilla) and a producer for the channel, Joey (Maria DeCotis). I get the idea that her and Andy might be a couple, but that's never confirmed. They also pick up another friend, Dew (Will Martin), who is upset that Nikki is with them. He thought it was going to be a guy's trip.

Our group gets to the Poconos and stop at a visitor's center. They get spooked when they find a bloody postcard stuck to their windshield. There is also someone in a creepy mask and robe in the tree line. They're just staring at the group. This isn't the only local that is off. We see later that there's something wrong with the bartender as well.

The group then arrives at Bryce's place. It is large and modern. They notice that there's religious iconography all over. There is also a locked room that has a plate with words on the door. Bryce is welcoming, but he also has ground rules. This is supposed to be a fun, relaxing weekend. Andy can't keep his snide remarks to himself and Bryce does well at staying calm. Not always though. Andy's anger blinds him though and he misses that something is going on here that isn't quite right. It will turn this weekend vacation into a nightmare that will change them forever.

That is where I'll leave my recap and introduction to the characters. Where I want to start then would be that this is a fun movie. I've been on trips like this and I know people that are like these characters. Not necessarily to this extent, but close enough. Since this is filmed in the style of found footage, we are supposed to think that these people are old friends. I get that. I've been the Andy where I'm bitter at someone so I'll make remarks. Deep down, I hope they take it without things getting physical. I also want a reaction. Bryce knows he's in the wrong, but I love that there is a deep seeded issue that he's been harboring as well.

I should then just talk about the acting. Madden, Ryan and Martin feel like they've known each other since high school. Dew is that over-the-top character who drinks too much and just does stupid things. I've been this guy in my friend group. Rashid as Tom is interesting. He was religious growing up, but it seems like he has distanced himself. That's not necessarily the case. He brought his bible and there are pages marked with tabs. He has a beautiful girlfriend in Nikki. It seems like he's ready to break out of who he was. I like that she is trying to befriend Joey. DeCotis' character isn't a girly girl, where Nikki is. Everyone's dynamic here is good. I also like the fact that Tom is dating Nikki. She's a bit out of his league. There is worry that Bryce could steal her and Tom isn't worried until things progress. Everyone feels like their character. I also thought the supporting cast worked for what was needed.

Now then to shift back to the story. We have a simple premise here. Our group comes to the Poconos where Bryce has a house. Andy can't get over the fact that he lost his friend. The rest of the group gets annoyed and us as the viewers, we are with them. There's a supernatural angle here though. Something happens to Dew that we see. Since the synopsis says there's a demon that joins them, he becomes possessed. It is from there that we see others are as well. What is great there though, we get a baseline of them before they change. I like how the opening video factors back into this later. This is slow burn that we see where the characters don't and I like that.

Let me then go over to filmmaking to finish this out. I thought that the found footage reasoning as to why they're still filming works. Andy is trying to make it big. It annoys Bryce and others that he always has a camera. That adds to realism for me. He is trying to prove his point and in doing so, needs to have evidence. Now since this is a slow burn, I thought that since it has around a 90-minute runtime, I never got bored. It takes time to develop but doesn't lag. My issue is that I got annoyed with Andy. He is so whiney and it never goes away. That was an issue I had, but I know he is that way by design. There is a great question posed to him and I like where that ended. The effects we got were good. I'm guessing there was CGI. Being that this is found footage, they were able to hide them so I'll give credit there. We do have music included, but since we're seeing the edited footage, that's fine. They do creepy things with sound design. My only issue is who is this movie for? Since there's possession, are they just playing this off as 'fictional'. A movie that Andy made and it caused him to make it big? I can work with that concept, but that's me rationalizing.

In conclusion, I didn't hate my time here. This is a solid found footage horror film that is using the idea of vacation and possession. The only issue there is that we've seen similar things before and they have been done better already. I'll still credit them for making an enjoyable movie. The story isn't deep, but this is more about the characters and their motivations. Madden, Ryan, Rashid, DeCotis, Martin and Veintimilla were all solid. No bad performances in my opinion. This is also made well enough. It makes sense why it is found footage and no glaring issues. The only problem I have is how whiney Andy is and it grated on me a bit. Still worth a watch to fans of this filming style.

My Rating: 6.5 out of 10.

This was a movie that I caught part of the trailer when I was seeing something at the Gateway Film Center. What captured my attention was seeing that this was directed by Caitlin Cronenberg. I'm a fan of her father, David, and her brother, Brandon, so I wanted to see what she could do. Featuring Jay Baruchel, Emily Hampshire and Peter Gallagher also worked in its favor.

Synopsis: in the wake of an environmental collapse that is forcing humanity to shed 20% of its population, a family dinner erupts into chaos when a father's plan goes awry.

Building from the synopsis, I thought this did well in setting up the world that we're in through a news report. Climate change was ignored and now due to overpopulation, resources need to be rationed. A new worldwide ordinance was put in. Countries have a quota to fill of euthanizing citizens to not consume the remaining resources. I also got the idea to start fixing issues with the environment as well.

We are following a specific, wealthy family. The patriarch is Charles York (Gallagher). He was a host of a mainstream news station, ala Walter Cronkite or Peter Jennings. He has two sons and two daughters. Jared (Baruchel) is an anthropologist working with the government. He makes harsh comments on the news that upsets his son and ex-wife. The next child is Rachel (Hampshire) who I get the idea that she works for a pharmaceutical company. Bad decisions and information were given which resulted in people getting hurt by one of their products. She also has a daughter, Mia (Sirena Gulamgaus).

The other two children aren't as successful. Ashley (Alanna Bale) is a struggling actor. Noah (Sebastian Chacon) was adopted and he is a recovering addict. He has a live-in girlfriend of Grace (Blessing Adeijo) who he met in a meeting. Noah was a prodigy with playing the piano before his addiction. He also was in a car accident while high that caused him to walk with a cane and has a scar on his face. There's one other member of the family, Dawn (Uni Park), who is the stepmother after Charles' first wife passed away. She is a famous restaurateur.

Now I'm going to avoid spoilers, but Charles calls his children to the house for a dinner party. Dawn owned a restaurant before it was burned down. There is hate toward Asians as they're blamed for the overpopulation of the world. Charles only wanted adults to attend, but Rachel brought Mia due to not having someone to watch her. What I'll say is that Charles has volunteered to be euthanized. He thinks that Dawn is on board with the decision. This blindsides his children and even more so when the unit shows up that night. Charles didn't read the fine print and what happens from here starts a nightmare. We truly see what happens when you're faced with your mortality and what you'll give up to survive.

That is where I'll leave my recap and introduction to the characters. Where I want to start is that I can see this movie turning people off due to the social commentary that is built into the fabric of the story. I don't think you can ignore it. Personally, it didn't feel to me to be in your face. I took this as you need to just know these elements of the world to understand what is happening. The biggest one though is if you don't believe in climate change, you might just be turned off to this movie. Just wanted that disclaimer here.

With that out of the way, I do like the approach to discussing global issues here. We also have commentary on the government, information and what we can trust. I'm not a conspiracy theorist, but I also don't blindly believe what the government tells us either. This sets up that the ozone layer has been damaged to where extra protection is needed from the sun. I like how this is subtly done with plastic over windows. We see people getting their water ration at the start. I loved this duality to the dinner that is being made by Dawn. Jared comments on it when he shows up as well. It is early that we also learn that each country is tasked with killing off 20% of their population. That is the 'quota'. Like the military back for the world wars and the cold war, volunteers are asked for first. If that doesn't work, a draft will be done.

Then to delve deeper into the specific group we're following, this family hates each other. It is interesting as they grew up rich and had every opportunity afforded them due to their status. I do like that commentary there about how they don't struggle the same way as 'normal' people. Jared and Rachel are highly successful, but they're horrible people. Noah is a good guy, but he also took the route of drugs. I get that happened due to the pressure of being a 'prodigy' with the piano. He couldn't handle it. Ashley is a struggling actor. Since she doesn't truly need to work, she is skating by. There is tension between Jared and his father. Charles was critical of the government where Jared seemed like a mouthpiece. Noah brings up a conspiracy about the lying surrounding the numbers who volunteered. Jared wants that person's name as they should be 'punished'. That's a fascist approach and trending on their right to free speech. We're seeing the United States here turning into a scary place that builds a good atmosphere. It isn't out of the realm of possibility which helps. I also saw parallel to the numbers of COVID deaths during the lock down.

There's another angle I want to explore and it comes with this group who euthanize people. They're led by Bob (Enrico Colantoni). He's friendly, but there's a scary side to him as things get said. His unit also comes armed. There's an interesting reveal here that the first people to 'volunteer' were prisoners. That meant that guards were let go. They seem to transition over to this unit here. What is terrifying is that it gets revealed that without prisons, these guys lost their income. There is a new way they can make money and won't be easily swayed. This adds tension and horror to me.

That should be enough for the story. The story we are following is simple to be honest. There is a lot going on under the surface, but what we're getting is a variation on home invasion. It is more about trapping our family inside with an impossible decision. I love seeing the true colors of these siblings come out. Baruchel and Hampshire are horrible characters, but their performances are great to bring them to life. I like Gallagher who seems so noble, but Charles is too concerned with how he will be remembered. I like Chacon was this adopted child who is trying to make up for things he did in the past. It isn't easy with how judgmental everyone else is. I also like Bale who doesn't have much to show for a career. Her greed drives her as well. Colantoni, Martin Roach and all his group were solid. They're this borderline military force that is keeping everyone trapped. I like Gulamgaus, Park and the rest of the cast to round this out for what was needed.

All that is left then is filmmaking. First, I will say that I love this world it is set in. This feels like things that her brother and father do so well. It feels like our world is just slightly different. It is that bit that makes it work. The cinematography is good. I love how it captures this setting where our group is trapped. I'll credit there for sure. If I do have an issue it comes with how it ends. I feel like it slightly pulls its punch. I've been sitting on it and writing this the day after seeing it. What I've concluded is that it fits this family and their sensibilities. What does work though are the effects. This isn't body horror, but it shows attacks and wounds with brutal realism. I liked that. I also thought the sound design worked and the music fit what was needed.

In conclusion, I enjoyed this movie. The social commentary might turn people off, but I thought that it helped create the world this is set in. I also think it asks interesting questions. The performances here are good across the board. Baruchel, Hampshire, Gallagher, Chacon, Bale and Colantoni set up the story and bring their characters to life to make it work. The contained atmosphere helps build tension. I thought this was well made. The cinematography, framing and effects were good there. I just wanted a bit more with the ending, but it fit the narrative. I can see this being divisive due to the underlying messages and themes. If you can just enjoy what you're getting here, I recommend it.

My Rating: 8 out of 10.

This was a show that intrigued me when it came out. I had just gotten caught up on all the Marvel properties so I knew that I needed to find time to check out this television mini-series. What I found interesting is that we've hadn't had a Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) property yet. He featured heavily in Captain Marvel, but that is her origin story for the Marvel Cinematic Universe to gear up for Avengers: Endgame.

What we're getting here is an espionage style story. It is in the vein of a James Bond or the like. This is much different though dealing with an alien race that can look like us, the Skrulls. This allows them to infiltrate world governments and important positions. We are exploring here the story of the deal that Fury made with Talos (Ben Mendelsohn) who is their leader. We see how he credited the villain, Gravik (Kingsley Ben-Adir), since things that were promised didn't come true. He leads a terrorist group that wants to take over Earth, since their planet was taken over by the Kree.

There are great characters here like Sonya Falsworth (Olivia Colman), who I believe is with British intelligence. This falls into Captain America films in that we're exploring a story that is relevant today. Gravik brings the world on the brink of World War III by doing things in Russia and making it look like they're working together. This introduces G'iah (Emilia Clarke) who is the daughter of Talos. Where she ends up in this series is intriguing and I wonder if she will be back for a later property with the changes to her character. There's also the idea of the outsider and how as humans, we fear it. Our nature is to destroy instead of come together so I like that we explore that here.

I'll say that overall, this was solid. I think that the story is stretched too much and it never fully hooked me. I'm glad that I watched it now to see where things go from here. Again, also glad that Fury got his own show now. The cast is great around him as well. Clarke, Don Cheadle, Ben-Adir, Mendelsohn, Colman, Charlayne Woodard, Dermot Mulroney and Christopher McDonald, all are solid. We also have a cameo by Martin Freeman. I'd also say this is well-made. The cinematography is good. There are drab sequences, showing how bleak the outlook is for Fury's mission. This is once again a CGI-fest, not as much as others. There were slight issues here and there where this took me out.

I'd recommend this if you are a MCU fan to continue the story that runs through everything.

My Rating: 6.5 out of 10.

This is a movie that I heard about through podcasts. Not one that I heard about regularly, but it has been covered by a couple so it went on a list of movies to check out. I selected this, knowing that it was directed by a woman. The deeper I investigated it, Marina de Van, also wrote and starred here. That made me think that when this was developed, she knew what she was setting out to do. I had a feeling that as I was settling in, that this was going to fall into the New French Extremity movement.

Synopsis: a woman grows increasingly fascinated with her body after suffering a disfiguring accident.

For this movie, as I said in my opening, we are following Eshter (de Van). She lives with Vincent (Laurent Lucas), who is her boyfriend. She is working and I get the idea that she is in marketing or something along these lines. Her best friend is Sandrine (Léa Drucker) who she also works with. They go to a party together. It seems this could be work related.

Esther decides while at this party to go outside and walk around the yard. There is junk in the back, which is like metal and things. She ends up taking a misstep and cuts her leg. She doesn't think it is that deep and goes back inside. We then see that she continues with the night, dancing with a guy who is getting a bit forward. Sandrine wants to leave so they're in line for the bathroom. Esther sneaks off, going upstairs to see if there is another one. That is when she realizes that she has a deep gash in her leg and it is bleeding everywhere. She tries to stop it and hides when she hears someone coming. It is Sandrine, looking for her and alerted her that the guy who owns the place noticed the blood. They thought they'd find someone dead. Sandrine doesn't realize that this is from her friend.

The two of them then go to a bar. It is after this that Esther seeks out a doctor. He is shocked by what he finds. He can't believe that she didn't notice it when it happened. It is also odd to him that she took so long to get it treated. He is concerned with her nerves around the wound. Esther doesn't want additional procedures to fix it. She just wants it cleaned and covered so it can heal. She seems fine with it scarring.

Like the synopsis said, this starts a change within her. We see her in the bathtub where she is pulling at her skin. There's a moment at work where she sneaks off, removes her pants to stab metal into the wound and the leg around it. She tries to hold it together for an upcoming business deal, but we see that she could be descending into madness. She has an experience at a work dinner where she believes her left hand is no longer attached. We then see her as she stabs into it with a knife and fork. She reveals things to Vincent and Sandrine, who are concerned for her. She doesn't want their help though, which complicates her life further. Work is affected as she disappears and the more that she harms herself, the more difficult it is to hide.

That is where I'll leave my recap and introduction to the characters. Where I want to start is that this is an interesting little character study of Esther. I'm going to start with a positive and negative here. I love that this doesn't waste any time getting into it. We see her with Vincent, then we get a brief look at her before going to this party where everything starts. I do have a negative here though. I wish that this would just give us slightly more of a baseline for Esther before she starts harming herself. I can infer that this is the first time she's ever done this. This accident sparks that.

Now that I've set that up, let me delve a bit more into Esther. I should say here that this feels like it is borrowing heavily from Crash by David Cronenberg. Esther does something simple like gash her leg on metal and then this starts her spiral to harm herself more and more. This goes just deeper than that though. I do get the idea that she is dealing with depression. It seems to me like she is losing gripes on reality and uses the pain the ground her. She also cannot go too long without harming herself. I do think that we need a bit more here to connect all the dots. This seems to go more for the shock value of it. I will credit de Van here. She is great as our lead. I love seeing her as she loses control of herself as she does herself harm.

I'm going to shift gears and talk about the rest of the cast. What I like here is that they're here for different things to push Esther as we go. Vincent and Sandrine want to help her. She doesn't want their help though. Vincent and her live together. They're also planning their future together. I do like seeing him get frustrated with her as she spirals. Lucas plays his role well. Drucker on the other hand is a good friend. She shuts out Esther though when she sees there's nothing she can do. Dominique Reymond and Bernard Alane are good as two clients that are the dinner with her as well as her boss is there. That scene was tense. I thought that the acting here was good to push her to where she ends up. Sometimes despite their help.

All that I went to then go into would be filmmaking. The strongest part here are the effects. We can see at times that she isn't hurting herself really. That is fine because what we saw made me cringe. I like the fact that this went practical with what they used. Something that helps is the framing and the cinematography. They simulate all this for the most part to look real enough. I credit them there to help preserve that. Other than that, I'd say that the soundtrack fit for what was needed.

In conclusion, this doesn't have the deepest story and it doesn't necessarily need it. We see that a fateful accident has messed with Esther and she descends into madness where she can't stop harming herself. She even turns to self-cannibalism. De Van's performance is great. The rest of the cast pushes her to where she ends up. I thought that this is well made from the effects to cinematography and framing. If I do have an issue though, this is a slow story wise since there isn't much to it. This does make up for it with the shock value. Not one I'd recommend to everyone. If you like French Extreme films and can manage realistic effects, then give this a watch. Not one that I would watch regularly though.

My Rating: 7 out of 10.

This was a documentary that I got turned on to when searching Letterboxd/The Internet Movie Database for horror/documentaries to watch at work. This caught my attention for the fact that while I was reading Paperbacks from Hell, the novel Michelle Remembers popped up. It was a book that was passed off as fact originally. The repercussions that came from that was felt for the next decade.

Now as I started to watch this, I texted my mother to see if she had read the book. She had read it and my guess there; she thought it was real when it came out. This documentary does well in setting up who the subject of this documentary is. Michelle Smith is the subject of the book and her therapist that helped uncover these repressed memories was Lawrence Pazder. He uses reel to reel tape recorder and then had a team dictate what they heard. I'll say, listening to the tapes made me uncomfortable. Hearing the pain that Michelle went through or what she thought she did, got under my skin.

The bigger thing here are the repercussions of what they did. I like that we learn about both lead characters from their childhood to where they ended up in the wake. Both were married. Michelle was raised in a troubled home. Her mother was doing what she could to raise her and they had a father who was addicted to alcohol and gambling. He caused them to move regularly and there would be nights when he was on a bender that were terrifying. We hear things from friends and Michelle's sisters.

What I want to share about Lawrence was that he loved technology and was a doctor who did missionary trips to Africa. While there, he was not well liked by the nuns. He did film local rituals, but from what we hear through this doc, he didn't seem to fully understand them. This is brought up as it feels like it factors into what went into the book. Lawrence is important for starting the recovered-memory therapy and things that were pushed, helped usher in the 'Satanic Panic' era.

The subject matter is interesting to me as an atheist. I only bring that up here since I look at all religions as something that is good for people, but I also see how it is used as weapon. It causes people to bring in their own biases, which is problematic. This is a bit too slanted toward looking at religion as the main problem here. I did like that they used archive footage of Anton LaVey, the writer of the Satanic Bible and founder of the Church of Satan. He has passed away now, but I did like that Blanche Barton is standing for this church to share information as well. Having that side represented was good. What I will credit here is that I get the feeling there are Christians interviewed here, but they are also rationale people as well.

Other than that issue, I thought this was well-made. It is interesting and harrowing. If these things did happen to children, it would be sickening. Looking at it from that angle, I agree. Knowing that these people that are interviewed on the daytime talk shows probably have mental illness that is being encouraged and exploited is also terrifying. I thought that this does well in conveying its information and looking professional. If anything, it has me interested in reading Michelle Remembers as a fictional work to see what was put down to paper. This was an interesting documentary for sure.

My Rating: 7.5 out of 10.

This is a movie that I'm not entirely sure where I first heard about it. I know that thanks to podcasts, it went on my list of movies to check out. This is a documentary where they're taking clips from a plethora of horror movies and splicing them together. Something interesting to include, I've heard that voices in the community used this to clear up blind spots. There were a handful of movies here that moved up lists or got added to check out as well.

Our framing story here takes place in a movie theater. There are two hosts, Donald Pleasence and Nancy Allen. What I like about them is that they're telling a story or explaining troupes in horror movies. The editing here is amazing to take a few different movies that showcase what they're saying to get their point across. I read a review of this where that person said they would go to the movies more if they had a sneaky Donald Pleasence around them. It is a shame that he's passed away because I would love that.

There are other featured movie goers. I recognized Ángel Salazar from Scarface. Diane Stilwell looked familiar as well. There is a ton of clips used from the 1930s all the way up to the mid-1980s, when this was made. You'll see the likes of Abbott and Costello, Brooke Adams, Alan Arkin, Linda Blair, Veronica Cartwright, Nick Castle, Lon Chaney Jr., Bette Davis, Keith David, William Finley, Debbie Harry, Dustin Hoffman, Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi and Michael Ironside. There are so many more that I didn't include as well.

This is a documentary that feels like they're doing a bit of tricks to be a movie. I love all the clips that are compiled. How they are edited together, in a way where it flows so nicely. Not everything here is horror. There are science fiction and darker crime films as well. That wasn't an issue for me personally, but if you are going by strict genres, it is a cheat. I'd highly recommend this as a fun documentary from the 1980s that breaks down troupes, story ideas and the like about a genre that I love.

My Rating: 8 out of 10.

This was a movie that I saw was coming to the Gateway Film Center and I was intrigued. It has a solid cast with Melissa Barrera, Dan Stevens, Kathryn Newton, Kevin Durand and Giancarlo Esposito. I also like our directing team from Ready or Not and Scream from a couple years ago. I saw too much of the trailer which gives the reveal. It was also all over the Internet Movie Database site. This would have been more fun if it wasn't spoiled, but I digress.

Synopsis: after a group of criminals kidnap the ballet dancer daughter of a powerful underworld figure, they retreat to an isolated mansion, unaware that they're locked inside with no normal little girl.

We start this off with good filmmaking. The team of criminals are getting into place. Joey (Barrera) is picked up by Peter (Durand) and Frank (Stevens). Another team is at the destination. Rickles (William Catlett) has a sniper rifle; he's watching the house. The getaway driver is Dean (Angus Cloud) and Sammy (Newton) bringing down the security system. The target is Abigail (Alisha Weir) who is practicing. They are waiting for her to come home.

Their plan goes on without issue. They take her to the remote mansion that is creepy. She is taken up to a room with a blindfold on and handcuffed. At the place, they're met by Lambert (Esposito) who wants them to stay on guard. They need to hold her for ransom for 24 hours. There is food and drinks stocked for them.

Now the only one who comes in to see and talk to her is Joey. She calms the girl and even makes it more comfortable for her. She removes the blindfold and handcuffs her in the front. Joey does wear a mask. This group isn't supposed to share personal information, but while they are having drinks and playing games, Dean tries to guess everyone's backgrounds. Joey points out that he's wrong and then she guesses everyone correctly. Frank reveals a dark secret about her.

Abigail has one of her own as she alludes to her father being powerful. Joey doesn't want to know, but she tells Frank about her concern. He goes into her room for information, not realizing that she isn't blindfolded anymore. This is just the start of fear he has. She reveals to him who her father is. He's ready to leave and give up his cut of the money. That isn't as easy as he thinks as Abigail has an even darker secret of her own.

That is where I'll leave my recap and introduction to the characters. Where I want to start with a movie that I saw praise being given to from voices in the community that I respect. It was interesting as well because it was from professionals and other podcasters. That made me excited to give this a watch. What I'll say here is that this is a popcorn movie. We have a good premise where we strand a group with something that is faster, stronger and more deadly than them. We then show them fighting for their life.

Something to then bring up was that a buddy in a group chat said this feels like Ready or Not. Seeing that the directors of that helmed this, makes sense. We have a large mansion where are characters are looking around for whatever is killing them. These are also professional criminals. Rickles is a former marine. Peter is muscle. Frank was a former detective. It turns out Joey was in the army. Sammy is good with computers, which doesn't play here. Dean is the only non-professional, but he's a great wheelman from what we see. I'm a fan of playing with the idea of going up against something that is too much for people that are better equipped. I'll also say that I love the isolated setting and trapping the characters inside. That reminded me of Demons and its sequel.

The next bit is something that I'm going to go vague as I won't spoil what Abigail is. I'm guessing that anyone reading this knows though. What I'll say is that she's a creature. I do like how they manage the lore here. Joey knows what she is first. Sammy saw what this thing could do but doesn't believe it. Rickles and Frank know that something is wrong and it doesn't make sense. Peter refuses to believe. I love that everyone tosses out what they know and they use these elements. I'm a fan when something with established lore is used and then a movie gives what their rules are. I also love the look as well.

I think then I'll shift to acting next. I'll say again that we have a good cast here. Barrera is fine as our lead. She doesn't necessarily stand out to me though. Not bad by any stretch though either. Stevens was good as this detective turned criminal. I love that his back-story is muddled. Catlett is good as this former marine. I like Newton as a rich girl who decided to do crime for the thrill. Durand is funny as this big dumb muscle. Cloud adds levity with being a street criminal who is good at what he does. I like Weir in her role. The use of ballet dancing adds an interesting element. This is something that is beautiful and graceful while combining it with the brutal. I like that dichotomy. Other than that, I like the cameo by Esposito and Matthew Goode as well.

All that is left then is filmmaking. I thought that the cinematography was good to capture this location and bring it to life. The isolated location and not being able to get out raises tension. Then having something hunt our characters builds even more. I thought that the attacks were framed well. This is a combination of CGI and practical effects from what I could tell. I don't love the former, but this had a budget so it doesn't look bad. What is intriguing is that an effect from Ready or Not was brought over here with exploding bodies. That ramps up the gore. Other than that, I love the classical music used, especially when Abigail is dancing. That makes it even more eerie with what happens from there. No issues here.

In conclusion, I thought this was a solid movie that I enjoyed my time with. This isn't doing anything new necessarily. There are good elements like using something that is tender like ballet dancing and having vicious attacks works for me. We have a solid cast here. This is well-made. I thought the setting, cinematography, framing and the music were good. If I have nitpicked, it is with the computer effects. Doesn't ruin this by any stretch though. I'd say to give this one a watch. I had fun watching this one.

My Rating: 7 out of 10.

This was a movie that I saw streaming on Disney+ but didn't know anything about it. My wife had our niece and nephew over to stay with us. They picked this movie. What intrigued me was seeing that this features the voices of Jake Gyllenhaal, Gabrielle Union, Dennis Quaid, Lucy Liu, Karan Soni, Alan Tudyk and Abraham Benrubi.

We start this off with Jaeger Clade (voiced by Quaid) leading an explorer party. There is a theme song to fill the story. With them is his son, Searcher (voiced by Gyllenhaal). His father is an explorer where his son wants to be a farmer. They are crossing mountains and Searcher notices glowing plants. He thinks this could change things as a power source. Jaeger wants to continue, which he does.

This then shifts into the feature where Searcher is now married to Meridian (voiced by Union). Together they have a son, Ethan (voiced by Jaboukie Young-White). He is different from his father, wanting to explore like his grandfather. He also has different views on the environment.

They run into problems where the plants they're using aren't producing as much power. This brings a member of Jaeger's party to need Searcher's help, Callisto Mal (voiced by Liu). He is convinced to join the party to see what is going on. Ethan sneaks onto the ship which causes Meridian to look for him. They find a crater that leads to a new, uncharted area. This seems like the hollow Earth conspiracy theory. This is just the start of a journey to heal the land and discover the truth of their strange world.

Where I want to start are the things that set this apart for me. The first is that I read this was one of the first from Disney to feature an openly gay teen, Ethan. He has a crush on Diazo (voiced by Jonathan Melo), but he doesn't know how to tell him. It is obvious thought that this other boy has feelings back. What I like here is that it is normalized. Searcher, Meridian and even Jaeger don't make a big deal out of it which is great to see. That was something I wanted to bring up first.

This is also a veiled allegory for how we treat the environment. Jaeger is a hunter and an explorer. He is ready to kill anything he perceives is going to kill him. Searcher is a farmer, which is good. He also has similar beliefs as his father in that, if he thinks a lifeform is going to kill his crops, he will protect. Ethan is a big fan of a card game where the goal is to find ways to coexist with the plants and wildlife around you. I love this approach as it makes the most sense. You also aren't changing the environment but adapting. This outlook helps as this movie goes on as well.

Now I'm not going to go into spoilers, but this features Native American and Asian lore. It is wild that I looked it up while watching this movie and it made sense. What I'll say is that if you pay attention to the 'hollow Earth' environment of the movie, it mimics life under the water. There is a reason for it and goes to other works I've read as to the explanation. Jaime and I were picking up things that we noticed as well. I love what they're doing there and what the major reveals as to the world they live in. It did cause my niece and nephew to argue with me until I could show them what we were saying. They aren't ready for these big ideas.

I've said that our voice acting talent is great. Gyllenhaal and Quaid work as the opposite side of the same coin with how they deal with things. What is great there though is that Young-White takes on a character who is better than his father. I love this idea as it shows growth and making your children better. Union is good as the mother. I didn't recognize Liu's voice, but she is great along with Soni and Tudyk. To be honest, everyone fit what was needed.

I'll finish out that this lacks the charm of what the hand drawn animation of the past had. That's not to say this doesn't look great, especially if you're streaming in 4K. I love the things they do to bring this alien world to life while also making it feel similar to Earth. The different worlds they go to and what they do there is great. I love the message that this conveys through it as well. Other than that, I thought the soundtrack fit what was needed. I do have to give credit to the cheesy theme song to tell us about the Clade family as well.

I'd recommend this one for sure. What is interesting is that I don't remember this one coming to theaters. This one I had fun with for sure.

My Rating: 7 out of 10.

This was a movie that I learned about thanks to a movie set that I won from a podcast. It was part of the 8 Midnight Horror Movies - Hatchets & Cleavers, even though almost none of the movies' feature either. The Killing Mind is a mystery thriller television movie. If anything, this is closer to a police procedural.

We start this with a young Isobel (Danielle Harris) seeing a woman, dressed as a ballet dancer, dead on a fence. She screams. We then shift to the present where Isobel Neiman (Stephanie Zimbalist) is returning to Los Angeles. She used to work for the FBI but has decided to take a position with the LAPD. She is met at the train station by Sylvia (Candy Ann Brown), who allows her to sleep on the couch until she can find a place.

There's a specific reason for the career change. Isobel wants to solve this case that traumatized her as a child. It has gone cold. She joins an investigative unit that is led by Captain Harris (Stan Ivar). On the team are Dennis Jepson (Daniel Roebuck), Fred Robinson (K. Todd Freeman) and Ron Donoho (Lee Tergesen). They don't think that Isobel should waste her time on this specific case, but she is determined.

Isobel gets herself in hot water when she meets Thomas Quinn (Tony Bill). He's a reporter. He reveals in his column what she is working on and this draws scolding from her captain. That doesn't stop her though. Updates in technology creates a lead in this ballet dancer murder, but it also could make her a target of the killer.

That is where I'll leave my recap and where I want to start is that this has interesting ideas. I know that criminal profiling started back in the 1970s. Being that this is 1991, it was already done in movies like Manhunter. I like having Isobel move from a job like the FBI to take her talents to the LAPD. She has this case that has haunted her and she's now ready to take it on. I like that by doing so, she gets in over her head. She also does things differently, which draws issues with her new co-workers. I did think this worked in its favor though.

I do have an issue. I guessed who the killer was almost at once. Now I'm not going to spoil it, but there were things that Isobel said that made it click for me. There is a couple red herrings that get brought up, but I just felt they were there to help pad out the runtime for the movie. Knowing that this was made for TV, I'm not shocked there. There's a limited budget. You can do less, especially since this came out in the early 90s.

What shocked me was this cast though. We have character actors I recognized here like Roebuck, Tergesen and Tim DeZarn. They were all young at the time, so that makes sense. There's also small roles here by Gordon Currie and Harris. Crazy to see her so young since this would have been not too long after the Halloween sequels she was in. I also thought that Zimbalist and Bill were solid for what was needed. The acting isn't great, but it works.

I'll end this out by saying that this is made well enough for the resources they had. It does feel like this was shot in LA. They do well with exteriors. I also liked where this unit that Isobel joins is set up. It is in the basement and quite huge. They feel like a group that is a dark secret, which we learn was set up to fail, but they've been able to solve cases due to the resources. This has limited effects. It also doesn't need them as it isn't that type of movie. A drawback though, this comes off as a boring. I think for me, since I guessed the reveal, this doesn't do enough to sway me and hook me back in unfortunately.

Not the worst in this set of movies, but not great by any stretch. Tweaks and this would be better. Still worth a watch if you like these films and want to dive a bit deeper.

My Rating: 5 out of 10.

This is a movie that I forgot about. Back in 2020, this is one that I heard multiple podcasts talk about. It then clicked that this was Blumhouse teaming up with Amazon where they did four movies. What made me select this was looking for horror films that have a Black cast or director. This was done in celebration of Black History Month. Other than that, I came into this one blind.

Synopsis: after losing his wife and his memory in a car accident, a single father undergoes an agonizing experimental treatment that causes him to question who he is.

We start this with seeing a mother and father bringing their daughter home from the hospital. There is Nolan (Mamoudou Athie) and Rachel (Najah Bradley) with their daughter Ava. It then turns out that this is Nolan watching an old video. There has been tragedy since that time. Rachel passed away in a car accident. Nolan was brain dead and no one thought he was going to make it. That was until Dr. Lillian (Phylicia Rashad) saved him with experimental treatment.

There are side effects though. Nolan has problems remembering. Ava (Amanda Christine) is doing more than she should as a child her age. She is trying to help her father get back to the person that he was. We see that he gets angry and that scares her. He even punched a hole in the wall, which was out of the normal for him.

Nolan does have help though. His best friend is also a doctor, Gary (Tosin Morohunfola). He thinks that his friend is doing too much and rushing things. Nolan also keeps getting calls from Dr. Lillian who believes she can help him. This makes Nolan leery, but he keeps forgetting things. He is scolded by a teacher at Ava's school for forgetting to pick her up. He also cannot get the publisher to agree to using his work. This doctor claims she can help get him back to being who he was. There could be something more to what she is claiming though and help explain why Nolan doesn't feel like himself anymore. It involves hallucinations that he has as well as using this experimental treatment that allows him to explore memories. They might not be his though.

That is where I'll leave my recap and introduction to the characters. Where I want to start is that this does things well. It is fitting that this came out from Blumhouse as this shares a concept with another of their movies that is considered a classic. That's all I'll say there to not spoil this or that movie if you haven't seen both. While you are watching this though, it makes sense. Another thing that I enjoy here is the heart that it develops with Nolan and his struggle about how the accident changed him.

I believe that is where I'll start. Nolan was a photographer. He was quite good as well. We learn through him talking to Gary that he and Rachel were happy. They never seemed to fight and their lives were perfect with Ava. That is when this accident messed up everything. Now he cannot remember little things, like his secret handshake with Ava or even picking her up from school. My thoughts were that the accident messed with is short term memory. That is part of it, but there is something more. I thought that Athie does a great job here with his range of emotions. He has frustration that leads to anger. There is love that he has for his daughter and then as he starts to discover the truth about himself, he changes into a different person. This worked for me.

Now I want to talk about the people that surround him. Ava is doing everything that she can to help. What bothers me here is that she is being too grown up for a child. That's too much responsibility for someone her age. What I love though is that she wants them to stay together. Kudos to Christine here for her performance. I love that Gary is there to help as well, but Nolan is proud and refuses. There is also Dr. Lillian, but there could be ulterior motives there.

That leads me to the next point. This is a mad scientist sort of movie. She has created this technology that allows her to investigate the minds of patients. This is how she got Nolan to wake up. There's more to this though and she might even be able to save the consciousness of patients as well. This is how Nolan came out of his coma and needs to work through memories to cure his condition. It is doing this that he runs into the Backwards Man (Troy James). This is done by a contortionist and is quite creepy if I'm honest. I liked how that built tension.

Now I've pretty much run through all the stars of this movie. I'll reiterate here that Athie, Rashad, Christine and Morohunfola are good. They carry this movie as it is a character study of Nolan and his life. I'll also credit Charmaine Bingwa who is Miranda. She factors into Nolan's life through memories, but he isn't sure why. There is also Thomas who is played by Donald Elise Watkins. I like how he factors in here. Bradley is good along with Nyah Marie Johnson. There isn't a bad performance here as they all push Nolan to where he needs to go and help build the emotion.

I'll end this out with filmmaking. I thought this was well-made. The cinematography and framing are good. I love that Nolan is exploring memories to fix his problem so that brings a dreamlike feel. Then going along with this, he can't remember faces. That is what he needs to solve to help himself, but this could also be what hurts him. How the Backwards Man factors in was good there as well. There is CGI here, but it was fine. Since we're in the mind for this, it makes sense since it's like a dream. I'd also say the soundtrack was solid. My issue is that this isn't exploring new ideas. We've seen this done elsewhere using different concepts so it feels a bit generic. If it didn't bring emotion through the character development, this would be forgotten.

In conclusion, this movie is fine. I want to like it more than what I did. That is because Athie was so good as Nolan. I love how the characters around him push him to where he ends up. This movie tugged at my heartstring seeing certain decisions. We get mad scientist aspects, which I'm a fan of. The problem is that there are concepts and things done that we've seen elsewhere to this just doesn't feel original enough. I'd still recommend it though if you're a Blumhouse fan. This isn't a bad movie and worth at least a watch in my opinion.

My Rating: 7 out of 10.

This was a documentary that I watched while working. I treat these like a podcast where I'll follow what they're saying and if I don't have anything pop up, I'll watch the accompanying video. Pet Sematary is a movie that my sister and I would watch regularly. It always seemed to be on the movie channels. It is one that I've also gotten the chance to see at the theater, thanks to the Gateway Film Center.

What I like about this documentary is that tracked down both actors and people that worked behind the scenes to make this movie happen. We are getting things that happened during pre-production. Something that I never knew was that this had struggles being made. It was thought that Stephen King properties wouldn't sell. Due to a writer's strike, Paramount said they need scripts that were ready to go. The producer who was pushing this to get made saw her chance and it still took convincing.

Something else I didn't know was that Mary Lambert was selected to direct this because she was the 'it' person from her music video work. I'm glad she did as she brings a unique perspective. We hear from her about things that she decided as well as other behind the camera crew members. This includes people who selected locations, special effects people and the like. I also didn't know that King helped push to get this filmed in Maine. They also used local people for extras and other positions which was cool to learn.

Now a big thing here as well as the actors that were interviewed. Brad Greenquist, Susan Blommaert, Denise Crosby, Miko Hughes and Dale Midkiff, just to name the major people in the film. There is also Blaze Berdahl, who I didn't realize had a twin who helped out with taking on the role of Ellie Creed, Beau Berdahl Oliver. We even get interviews with Heather Langenkamp, whose now-husband, worked on this film. They also talked to Marky Ramone.

I'll say to end this out that it was well made. I love hearing stories about how they did certain things to help bring this world to life. Lambert was strategic and it seemed like had a good team. This is constructed well. The flow of pre, during and post-production makes sense. If you're a fan of Pet Sematary, I'd highly recommend giving this a watch. It gave me a deeper appreciation for sure.

My Rating: 8 out of 10.

This was a movie that my buddy, who isn't a horror movie fan, asked me if I heard about. Charlie is a member at the Gateway Film Center so his excitement for this intrigued me to check it out. I caught the last showing before this movie left the theater as well.

Synopsis: a father and his twin teenage sons fight to survive in a remote farmhouse at the end of the world.

We start with what I'm assuming is the world ending. There is gunfire, but we don't see what they're shooting at. We follow Paul (Nicolas Cage) as he navigates the landscape, trying to avoid being seen. He goes into a cave of sorts where there are two babies. They're the twins from the synopsis. He comforts them the best he can.

This then shifts into the present. The two boys grow up to be Joseph (Jaeden Martell) and Thomas (Maxwell Jenkins). The former is clever and might be a genius. It is difficult though growing up in a post-apocalyptic world as he must teach himself. His brother craves more human interactions. He volunteers at a local farm due to having a crush on their daughter, Charlotte (Sadie Soverall). This causes him to be late as they need to be inside before it is dark.

Paul and his sons secure the house. Once done, they settle in to have dinner. They then need to go about entertaining themselves. We see that the brothers butt heads and Paul does what he can to calm them down. They get spooked when something tries to break through a door. Thomas is annoyed that Joseph doesn't help. It turns out though, he was recording the attacks. There were three. The first one was assessing durability. The second to get in and when asked about the last, it seemed to be frustration.

Things all change when Thomas takes too long to leave. In his haste, he falls and becomes trapped. There isn't time to get out before dark so he must bunker down. Joseph is also late due to the vehicle he put together having issues. Paul can't leave Thomas out there, so he goes out to find him. Joseph also has a plan to capture one. Tonight start a series of events where these creatures that come at night might be smarter than they realize.

That is where I'll leave my recap and introduction to the characters. Where I want to start is that even though this isn't the first time that we've seen a story like this, I'm still a fan. This does well in setting up our world. It is a rural setting, so we know that means limited people to start. We have Paul doing what he can to keep himself, his sons and their dog alive. Nearby is the Rose farm, where there are the parents, played by Samantha Coughlan and Joe Dixon, their daughter and helpers surviving. This was reminiscent of A Quiet Place. That had the gimmick of needing silence though.

Let me then shift over to the creatures. This is something that we get interesting aspects about, but I want more. There is dialogue that felt like a poem that these creatures came after humanity due to pollution. I'm not sure if that's true, but these things look like trees. We only get glimpses at first and then as this goes on, we get more. I'll be honest, they look to be done with CGI. It wasn't great. I would have preferred a practical approach, but I can't fault them either. There's a point where it looks like they swallow a character. They also move their head fast where it vibrates before attacking. These monsters aren't explored, but I think that's because our characters don't know. We only get what they figure out so I appreciate that. I'd be good with a sequel to learn more. Something to share, these things bring cockroaches with them which made my skin crawl.

I'll finish with filmmaking. Even though I want practical effects, the cinematography and framing were good. They give quick glimpses until later in the movies. That helps to hide them. It also allowed my imagination to fill in what I thought I saw, which was good. There is solid blood and effects for wounds that happen. That worked for me. I thought the sound design was good to help ramp up tension. This world is also dreary so credit to them as well. Being filmed in Ireland was well done to capture the countryside. No other issues.

All that is left then is acting. Cage was good as this single father doing what he can to raise his two sons the best that he can. We see that he's afraid, but he also has confidence to keep the boys from getting freaked out. As a father, I commend that. Martell works as the smarter of the two. He comes up with plans and works on technology that is available. I like Jenkins as the one that craves human interaction. Soverall and him are cute together. I like Coughlan and Dixon as the farm owners who have more. With the state of the world, they must worry about themselves, making it difficult to share. I thought the rest of the cast rounded this out for what was needed.

In conclusion, I enjoyed this movie for what it is doing. It isn't the most original. I can think of a couple movies that I've seen in the last few years that are similar. Having the creatures come at night is good. There is something about having the safety of daylight and as it is sets, fear grows. The acting was good across the board. I thought this was well-made with credit to the cinematography, framing and sound design. I didn't love the CGI used, but the practical effects were good. I have a bad feeling that this movie is going to get forgotten though. It doesn't do a lot to stand out. That's not to say it is bad by any stretch. If you like these types of movies, I'd recommend it.

My Rating: 7 out of 10.

This was oddly one of the early Disney films that I had never seen. Part of it was that we didn't own this on VHS. I'm not sure why that was the case. I'll include here that I had a weird childhood where I was watching movies for adults earlier than most. It then got to the point where I knew that I would eventually watch my blind spots once I had children or a significant other wanted to. The case here was that my wife, Jaime, loved this movie and watched it growing up. We decided to put this on to see if our daughter, Mackenzie, would watch this.

Now this is a classic story. Even though I never saw the Disney cartoon version, I know the story decently well. I will admit, I get aspects of this, Snow White and Cinderella confused. It takes me time to sort them out. What we're getting here is King Stefan (voiced by Taylor Holmes) and Queen Leah (voiced by Verna Felton) have a daughter, Princess Aurora. They invited three fairies who bestow gifts on her. The first is Flora (also voiced by Felton), Merryweather (Barbara Luddy) and Fauna (voiced by Barbara Jo Allen). They are to make Aurora beautiful, have an excellent singing voice and before the last one can, a fairy that has turned dark shows up. This is Maleficient (voiced by Eleanor Audley). She is annoyed that she wasn't invited so she places a curse over Aurora, that before the sunrise rises after her sixth birthday, she will prick her finger on a spindle and die. This causes the last fairy to use her gift to make a clause, she will fall asleep and a true love's kiss will save her.

To protect her, the three fairies have her leave with them to live in the woods. Flora also wants them to give up their magic until after her 16th birthday. Aurora grows up to be a beautiful young woman. As this fateful birthday approaches, the fairies get lax. Maleficient is turned on to where she is and uses her own magic to make the prophecy come true. Before returning to the kingdom, Prince Phillip (voiced by Bill Shirley), fell in love with Aurora. He doesn't realize that she isn't a peasant girl and the one he's betrothed to.

Now I'm guessing anyone reading this knows the story and probably has seen this at least once in their life. What I want to commend here was how good the art looks for the backgrounds. Seeing this streaming on my 4K, it looked amazing. My daughter didn't appreciate it as much as I did, but Jaime did. There is charm to Disney from this era.

Then going from there, this film is dark. Maleficient is the most powerful of the fairies and that has turned her evil. She is out to kill the princess due to the slight of not being invited to her birthday. I love her look and there's a dragon in this that looks good as well. That fits what we think when it comes to fairy tales so I wanted to give credit there. They do well in bringing this story to life.

The only other thing to bring up is how good the voice acting is here. Costa is what I expect when hearing the adult Aurora speak. Audley conveys such an evil feel to Maleficient that fits. Felton is someone I didn't realize was in a few of these early Disney films. She works taking dual roles. Luddy and Allen do well in playing off her as the other two fairies. Holmes and Bill Thompson are good as the two kings who are marrying their children together, making their alliance stronger. Other than that, Shirley also works as our prince. He does have a limited role in my opinion despite being the 'hero' to save the princess. Everyone fit what was needed.

Despite how long it took me to finally see this movie, I'd recommend it. It is a classic for sure and having now seen it, I can see why. This is a good one for children. It is also an interesting version of how they bring the story we all know to life.

My Rating: 8 out of 10.

This was a movie that I saw was being shown at the Gateway Film Center. Now I went to another film the night before that was hosted by a local podcast, Fright Club. They revealed that producer and co-star of this, Joe Swanberg, was going to be in attendance, so I made that showing. It wasn't until settling in to watch this that I noticed it was the new film from Mickey Keating.

Synopsis: a young woman arrives in the Chicago suburbs and begins to suspect that something terrible has happened to her missing cousin, but soon realizes that her greatest fears don't even begin to scratch the surface.

We have a simple story here and it is effective. It starts with a house being destroyed by Joe Swanberg. His character doesn't have a name from what I can see. I'll refer to him as the Invader. It is from the destruction that we see him in an upstairs room asleep. He hears sirens so he leaves.

The movie then shifts us to a young woman getting woke up on a bus. She fell asleep and it arrived at the terminal station. She is played by Vero Maynez. They hit traffic so instead of arriving at midnight, it is four in the morning. She tries to get ahold of her cousin, who she is staying with, but there's no answer. She calls who I'm guessing is her father and he says that he'll try to get in touch with them. He does give her the address.

Something to include here is that Maynez's first language is Spanish. She is in a major city that she's never been to. It is the early morning hours. Her phone doesn't have a full battery. She decides to call a cab and the driver freaks her out. She flees from him, which makes for a terrifying sequence. Our young woman then decides to walk. When she arrives at the address, it doesn't seem like anyone is home. Maynez goes about trying to figure out what happened to her cousin and it becomes a fight for survival she wasn't expecting.

That is where I'll leave my recap and introduction to the characters. Where I want to start is that listening to Swanberg talk about behind-the-scenes aspects helped me to enjoy this more. What makes this work for me, we have a tight 70-minute movie. There isn't any fat on this. We get subtle things that are introduced that help us understand the Invader, our lead and then another character played by Colin Huerta who wants to help. This has a breakneck speed to it as well that made me anxious in the best way possible.

What was interesting to include here was listening to Swanberg answer questions about the making of this. It sounds like he challenged writer/director Keating about different things and figured out why decisions are made in the world of the movie. An example is that the Invader later wears a leather gimp suit. He found this in the opening house he was destroying. That makes sense then why he's wearing it. What makes this terrifying is that we never learn why the invader does what he does, outside of a very The Strangers explanation that you were home. That unnerves me in a good way.

There's another aspect here with Maynez and then even a bit of Huerta. For her, she isn't from Chicago. She arrives and there is no one there to pick her up. She also cannot get in touch with them. Swanberg revealed that he helped push for this because much like me, he has traveled to a different country, alone and where you don't know the language. If I went to Chicago, New York or Los Angeles, I could get around since I speak English. Maynez's character is limited to her understanding and vocabulary. This feels like when I went to Barcelona. Like the character here, I needed to rely on my phone to help get around.

The last bit for the story that I want to include is that I love the tone that is set with the opening scene. Seeing the invader just destroy this house with no reasoning is terrifying. It makes you see how unhinged he is. We don't know what the limits that he's capable of. I'll pull in filmmaking here as well. The cinematography is tight on the characters throughout. That makes it feel like you are there with them. They will also use long shots where we are looking through a window at what characters are doing. It is swaying so it feels like we are standing there just watching and not doing anything. What they do with how this is shot and framed, that adds tension. Another aspect is sound design. The Invader walks with heavy footsteps, which makes him seem bigger than he already is. The soundtrack is also effective since there is a sequence with loud music where the base almost hurt my chest. That worked well for tension. Other than that, we have limited effects, but it doesn't necessarily need them either. What we got looked real.

There isn't much more to go into here, so in conclusion, I liked what this movie does. We have a simple story that is terrifying. We have a tight runtime and with how this was made, is just an assault in the best way possible. It made me uncomfortable. Part of that is the performances. Swanberg in what we see is terrifying and I want to help Maynez from the opening scene of her bus arriving. This works so well for what it is trying to do. I think people might have issues with the almost found footage filming style. It can be hard to see things, but that is by design. I'd recommend it if what I said sounds good.

My Rating: 8 out of 10.

This was a movie that I knew was coming out, but not when. I saw a review was out from a local critic, who I respect their opinion on horror films. It was one on the list to keep an eye out for. Since I don't watch trailers, I didn't know if this was following a spider or a snake. Regardless, I got to go to the Gateway Film Center to check it out.

Synopsis: after raising an unnervingly talented spider in secret, 12-year-old Charlotte (Alyla Browne) must face the facts about her pet and fight for her family's survival when the once-charming creature rapidly transforms into a giant, flesh-eating monster.

Now this starts in a way that I'm not always a fan. It jumps in the middle of things going on. Helga (Noni Hazlehurst) hears something in her vents and walls. We see that she has dementia or Alzheimer's. There is a note on the wall by the phone that says her name and address. She is called Frank (Jermaine Fowler) who is an exterminator. The page in the phonebook is earmarked so this isn't the first time. I should say here that he knows this building and that there is also a horrible winter storm.

We then shift days into the past to show us what led there. Charlotte uses the vent system of this rundown apartment building to get around. Her grandmother is Helga and she lives with her sister, Gunter (Robyn Nevin). This one owns the building and she's cheap, so everything is in disrepair. There is also an infestation of cockroaches. We saw prior to this girl sneaking into the room, a tiny meteor breaking through a window and landing in the dollhouse. It hatches a spider. Charlotte finds it and takes it with her, making it a pet that she names Sting. I'll come back to this.

Also living in this building is Charlotte's mother, Heather (Penelope Mitchell). She is seeing Ethan (Ryan Corr) and they have a son together. There is tension here as Ethan isn't Charlotte's dad. He loves her though and she feels similar back. They're working on a comic book together. There is friction here as one of the characters is based on her real father who she adores. He isn't showing up for her though. Also in the building is Maria (Silvia Colloca), who we get the idea that her family died and she's all alone with her dog. There's also Erik (Danny Kim), an odd biology student doing experiments with fish, as well as the two sisters. Ethan serves as the building's super.

Charlotte puts Sting in a jar and feeds it cockroaches. We see that it is more intelligent than any spider should be. It mimics a sound that Charlotte makes, ensuring that it knows when feeding time is. We see when she sleeps, that it can open its jar. It goes to Gunter's room and kills her parrot. It doesn't stop there. It continues to get bigger and sets itself on larger prey, the humans living in this building.

That is where I'll leave my recap and introduction to the story. Now as I said, coming in I knew that this was going to be an animal attack movie. Confirming that it was a spider ahead of seeing this, I was wondering how they were going to use this idea. Being that it comes from space, which is all I needed to know for this to work. I don't know if this is given in the trailer, but we learn this within the first 15 minutes of the movie. Another thing to set up here, the title has a double meeting. This spider uses a sting to inject venom, but its name also comes from the sword in The Hobbit to kill a spider. It doesn't necessarily fit. It still works though.

Let me then shift over to talking about this family dynamic. This is where the heart of the movie comes from. Charlotte is in a tough spot. Children that are in this position their parents break up also do. She loves Ethan, but he's still not her biological father. He doesn't think he's doing a good job and still learning. Heather points out true indicators that she does care. He still doesn't know. There are little comments made between Ethan and Heather about him caring more about the infant, since that is his biological child. This creates tension as stress mounts on Ethan. That causes him to lash out. It doesn't help that Gunter is rude to him and everyone else. There's also the added stress of Helga as well.

I think then I should get back over to what everyone is watching this for, this spider killing people. First though, I love that we're in this rundown apartment building. That gives us cannon fodder in other apartments. There is also this large vent system so Sting can move between floors and rooms with ease. I even like that it sets up that Charlotte does this before the spider even comes into the picture. Then we have this horrible winter storm so we are trapping our characters inside. They can't leave. It is interesting that the way this spider acts is in the normal range by creating webs, liquifying its victims and eating them while they're alive. That is terrifying. We are then giving it supernatural abilities being from space where it grows faster than it should and can mimic sounds. That also made this scary. My only issue here is that this comes off campy. Part of that is just the concept. This doesn't ruin it by any stretch, but just wanted to warn you.

Where I think I'll go next is filmmaking. I thought that the cinematography was good here to set up this apartment building. There's almost a labyrinth vibe to it with the duct system and the basement. Also, that creates places where Sting can hide victims who are trapped in webs. What is good there is that it continues to hunt, even when it has captured people. It doesn't want them to get away, which is good. Let's shift to the effects. CGI is used to bring this spider to life. When it is tiny, that makes sense. What I'll say is that this looks fine. They don't linger on it, which works in its favor. That makes it harder to critique. I love using the frame where we see it in the background, blurry before our characters do. I'm a fan there. Other than that, I thought the soundtrack was fine. This did good things with sound design, especially Sting mimicking things, which is messed up in the best way possible as we get deeper into this.

All that is left is acting. I like Browne as our lead. We see that things are confusing and tough when you're a young teen like she is. She starts feeding Sting, which I can't blame her. This makes her feel bad though as it gets larger. Corr is good as her stepfather. I feel bad for him and the stress that he goes through trying to make things work. Mitchell is good as our mother and significant other. She loves Ethan, but her children are her focus. Nevin works as this 'slumlord'. Hazlehurst creates issues with her mental state. Kim and Colloca are good as tenants. I also like Fowler as this exterminator. The acting here isn't great, but it creates quirky characters that feel real.

In conclusion, I thought this was a fun film. It feels like it is borrowing from The Giant Spider Invasion, just on a smaller and contained scale. We get a solid group of characters. They are trapped in a good setting, ramping up tension since they can't leave due to the winter storm. Then from there, I love the idea of this spider growing large and attacking them. This is well made. They needed to go CG, but it looks good enough. There is emotion underneath that helped me. This also stressed me out at a pivotal scene, so credit there. This could be too campy for people, but I enjoyed my time here. I'd recommend it if what I said sounds good.

My Rating: 7.5 out of 10.

This was a short that I got the chance to see thanks to Timothy J. Cox. He's an actor that I've seen in a couple things so I trusted that I would at least enjoy this. Seeing that this was a fan film around Halloween intrigued me. It's not my favorite of the slasher franchises, but there are great films within it. I was wondering what we'd get here as this is going back to the original. Other than that, I went blind.

Synopsis: after being shot 6 times at gunpoint by his psychiatrist Dr. Sam Loomis (Joe Sutton), Michael Myers (Mark Murtha) gets up and continues his night of terror. He stumbles across a babysitter doing her job which eventually leads to a Halloween house party. Are these party goers ready for the Boogeyman?

We start this right before the murders happen in 1978. It gives us Michael attacking the guard at the mental hospital and then escaping. We see that he uses a button to do so, releasing other prisoners like in the original movie.

It is from there that we jump into Haddonfield. I didn't realize that this was taking place right after the events of the first movie. It clicked reading the synopsis and the opening credits are paying homage to the theme, the pumpkin and in the background are clips from the movie. That makes sense now as to why they're shown.

Then like the synopsis says, Nancy (Alexis Nichole Neuenschwander) is the babysitter. She is supposed to be going to a party at Mike's (Timmion Lichtenberg). Ben Tramer (Louis B. Hauff) stops by to see if she is. This causes a funny scene where the girl she is babysitting pops out when she hears that there is drinking. Ben is dressed up as a variation of Michael, which makes sense as well. He heads off to the party. Not far behind is Michael, looking for others to kill.

That is where I'll leave my recap and introduction to the characters. Where I want to start is that I love this idea. There are parts of this short that feel like a companion piece to the original. We are seeing from the point of view of Michael when he is in the mental hospital. We see what he does to escape and why there are other patients when Dr. Loomis and the nurse show up. I'm a sucker for that. I'm even there for this taking place immediately after the events of the first one when Michael is shot and leaves. It is a cool premise that he kills others.

It is from there that it becomes its own movie. I do like that Ben Tramer is a character. He interacts with a young lady at the party, Lisa (Zolie Horvath), who likes him. She is trying to ask him to the upcoming dance. It is great that a movie reference pops up that he's going with Laurie Strode. This upsets her and causes her to venture off by herself. This is an easy reference to do, but having Ben as a character, I like it. A negative is that I don't love that this ignores Halloween II. What I'm forgiving about though is that this whole franchise is a mess so I won't hold it against it either. I'm just a fan of that sequel is all.

Where I think I'll go next is to discuss acting. Our cast works for a movie like this. Being that it is a slasher, they just need to be distinct for me. Hauff plays the character in a different way than I was expecting. It is funny to be honest and I enjoyed it. Neuenschwander works almost like our new Laurie. We leave her for long stretches is the only issue. Lichtenberg, Horvath, Jaylen Falls, Paige Hoover, Abigail Murray and the other party goers were fine. What is interesting is that there aren't a lot. How they frame it and the cinematography helps hide it so credit to them. Sutton is fine, taking on Dr. Loomis. Murtha works as the shape here. I love it when he's just in the background and you see him. That's creepy. He also has the moves down to mimic the character.

All that is left then is filmmaking. I've already said that I thought the cinematography and framing were good, especially with having Michael in shots where you don't expect. This is also well done to help hide the seams of attack scenes. There is a filter to make this look like it is shot on film. I'm not always the biggest fan of that, but I acknowledge that is a preference and a nitpick. Another gripe is that this is supposed to be back in 78. I did see that a house used had a Ring doorbell. That doesn't ruin this by any stretch though either. The effects went practically where they could. There is CGI that isn't great, but there isn't a lot of it so that helps. Other than that, I did love that they're using the original soundtrack in places. I'm a fan there.

In conclusion, this is a solid fan short film for the Halloween franchise. This marks the first one that I've seen for this series. There are elements I love, like showing us Michael escaping and taking place right after the original. I thought that Murtha was a good stand in as the shape. The rest of the cast works for their characters. I thought that this was made well enough. Cinematography and framing are the bright spots. I don't love the CGI and if they could have worked this into being a bridge to part 2, then I'm all in. I can't fault the short for what I want though and judge it for what we get. If you are a fan of the series, I thought this was a solid take on it.

My Rating: 6.5 out of 10.

This was an interesting film to cover. I remember seeing the cover in the video store growing up. I'll be honest though; I had no interest in seeing this. Even after learning that it was Johnny Depp, which wasn't enough for me. Jaime had never heard of this film and we decided on it due to it being next in line for our podcast, Depp Dive: A Depper Look at Johnny's Feature Filmography.

As we were settling in to watch this, I learned that this was a Jim Jarmusch film. I've seen two of his that border into horror with The Dead Don't Die and Only Lovers Left Alive. I warned Jaime that this was going to be surreal and an arthouse movie. That is what we're getting here. William Blake (Depp) travels from Cleveland to the wild west to take a job as an accountant. The problem is that by the time he arrives, that position has been given to someone else. He tries to reason with the owner, John Dickinson (Robert Mitchum), but to no avail.

He doesn't have much money left so he buys a bottle of alcohol from the local saloon. Leaving that bar, he meets Thel Russell (Mili Avital), who invites him to her room. They're interrupted by Charlie Dickinson (Gabriel Byrne). This ends in tragedy as Charlie kills Thel for a comment that she made about not loving him. William fires her gun back, killing the man. Charlie is the son of John, who hires bounty hunters to find William. He's wanted dead or alive.

What we're getting here is a coming-of-age story for William as he's hunted by Cole Wilson (Lance Henriksen), Conway Twill (Michael Wincott) and Johnny 'The Kid' Pickett (Eugene Byrd), amongst others. William gets help from an odd Native American named Nobody (Gary Farmer). His time out here hardens him and the more he kills, the more ruthless he becomes.

Now everything that I've given here is like the first thirty to forty minutes of this movie. This runs for almost two hours and I don't know if we need all that. I get that this is artistic and surreal. It is filmed in black and white. The stories and things we're seeing are given almost like vignettes. Jaime wasn't a fan, but I could work with it. My issue here is things drag on too long and it doesn't necessarily hold my attention. I enjoy the story. I love seeing the development of Depp's character. The problem though is that there's a bit too much fat on the bone here.

What is also great is that we're getting another movie with Depp and a great supporting cast. I like Farmer and his character. It did feel odd him playing a Native American, but how they explain it makes sense so no issues here. There's an appearance early here of Crispin Glover that is odd. He sets the stage for William before he arrives in the town that he's headed to. I like Henriksen, Wincott and Byrd as this group of bounty hunters. John Hurt plays John Scholfield who is the secretary to Mitchum. We also have Iggy Pop, Jared Harris and Byrne. Everyone plays such odd and quirky characters, but it just seems to work. That helps my enjoyment.

I'll then finish out with the filmmaking. I've already mentioned my issue with the length. That's the biggest gripe. I thought that cinematography does well in capturing the wilderness. What is intriguing there is that it feels like every time our characters turn a corner, they'll run into another group. That made me feel like something would come after the Coen Brothers with O Brother, Where Art Thou? Since I'm a fan of that movie, I like that journey and almost mythological feel. There are limited effects, but what we got there looked good. The soundtrack and design also fit what was needed without necessarily standing out.

What I'll say is that this isn't one that I can recommend to everyone. If you like movies like this or you're a Jarmusch fan, then give this a god. There are flaws, but on the whole, I enjoyed what we got here.

My Rating: 7 out of 10.

This was a film that I found due to it being in the Horror Movie Encyclopedia. I watched it years ago and thought it was solid. Something that struck with me was that this is a murder mystery where the werewolf is doing the killing. I remember that the main character was trying to figure out who it was before it was too late. This feels like an 'Agatha Christie - And Then There Were None' take. I also remember that it featured one of my favorite actors in Peter Cushing. There is also Charles Gray, Anton Diffring, Marelene Clark and a young Michael Gambon.

Synopsis: eight people are invited to an island estate for the weekend. One of them is a werewolf. Can you guess which one?

This begins with letting us know that someone in this film is a werewolf. This is a detective film where the viewer is taking on that role. Evidence is presented and then there will be something called a 'werewolf break' to allow you to decide who the killer is.

It then shifts to a man running through a field and into the woods. His name is Tom Newcliffe (Calvin Lockheart). He is followed by a helicopter that is piloted by Andrew Lodge. There is a man watching a map and tracking Tom. He is Pavel (Diffring). We see that there are cameras mounted in the trees and microphones set up on the ground as well. Tom is caught by a couple of hunters. He got out of the forest, made it to the lawn of a manor and held at gunpoint. They fire at him and we learn they're loaded with blanks. It is here that the group that was watching comes over and that this is staged.

We then learn that Tom invited all these people here. We have Dr. Christopher Lundgren (Cushing) who is an anthropologist that is an expert on werewolves. Lockheart's wife is there, Caroline (Clark). There is Jan (Gambon) who is a concert pianist and his love interest is Davina (Ciaran Madden). We also have Bennington (Gray) and the eccentric Paul Foote (Tom Chadbon).

It turns out that Tom has reason to believe that everyone here could be a werewolf. There is evidence of these individuals being in different places where attacks happened. He doesn't know who for sure, but he will have everyone stay here during the three nights of the full moon. Also, Dr. Lundgren has never seen a werewolf in person.

The people we saw earlier are helping Tom track the potential beast. There is a perimeter for cameras and microphones. A pressure plate also surrounds a set area to help as well. Pavel is there to look at the maps as well as the screens and to have the helicopter with its pilot on standby. The guests don't believe, but when violent attacks start, they start to change their mind. Like the synopsis said, who is the werewolf?

That is where I'll leave my recap and introduction to the characters. Where I want to start with an Amicus production. They tried to do something a bit different here. The gialli film would already be popular in Italy. Plus, murder mysteries were popular since the beginning of cinema. The United Kingdom would know how to do them well by this point. The detective film would also have been something that had been done for decades. Werewolf films would have been out as well, just not as often. I like the combination here since it is something a bit different.

Let's delve deeper into what we're getting here. First, let's start with Tom. It is interesting that he's black. He is rich and that fortune was self-made. He has important friends as we see. There's an intriguing dynamic here for the fact that from the beginning, Tom seems insane. He's convinced that one of his friends are a werewolf. There are facts that he uses. It seems like vicious attacks follow these people. Whether it is a coincide or they are the ones conducting the attacks, there isn't evidence. Tom hopes to prove that he's right. He is also a hunter so he wants to bag a creature that no one else in the world has. I like that the more we learn and as events unfold, he might not be as crazy as he comes off. Lockhart works so well in this role. He drives this film for sure.

Then going from there, I like how the rest of the group comes off as red herrings. I'll go ahead and discuss the acting since that helps bring the characters to life. Bennington thinks the tests are childish. He partakes only to alleviate the tension. Madden comes off as scared of Tom, for good reason. This makes her seem guilty to me. Plus, she can't always be accounted for at Jan's performances. Gambon works in his role. Wild to see him as young as he is here. One of the better performances is Chadbon. He loves to push Tom's buttons. It isn't smart, but enjoyable for what we're getting. Cushing is great as well. He's an expert on these monsters so that could allow him to hide in plain sight. Clark is also good in a more subdued role. I saw this before Ganja and Hess, so I like seeing her range.

I think I'll then go into the rest of the cast. Diffring works as this guy who is running the security system. There's confidence there that gets him into trouble later. I also thought that Lodge works as the pilot who takes Tom around. The cast here is solid across the board, including those that I've already brought up.

All that is left then is filmmaking. I thought that this was well made. I love the isolated location. It makes it hard to get away. It doesn't help as we see that Tom will hunt those down that try. That adds to the tension here. The cinematography and framing were good to capture this place so credit there. If I have a gripe, it is with the effects. I don't love that they're using a big black dog to be the werewolf. That confused me a bit. I did like going with the feral version though. We do get a de-transformation scene though, so that worked. Other than that, I thought that the soundtrack fit what was needed. The design of the wolf calls was good.

In conclusion, I'm glad that I gave this a rewatch. What I'll say is that I didn't remember who the werewolf was so that felt like a first-time watch. I didn't guess who the monster was either time. We have a solid cast here, being led by Lockhart. Cushing, Clark, Gray, Diffring, Chadbon and Gambon working in support. I love the setting and how that is captured with cinematography. My only gripe is with the werewolf not looking more menacing. This is an interesting concept film though. I'd recommend it on that alone. Being that this is from Amicus, which is another perk for me so if you're a fan, check this out.

My Rating: 7 out of 10.

This was a documentary that I learned about a few years ago but hadn't gotten around to seeing. I believe that I have this on the Blu-ray disc that I own. I ended up streaming this on Screambox while at work. To give more background as to what drew me to this, I love The Return of the Living Dead, the basis.

Where I want to start then is that this is a blast. It is amazing to see all the cast members and crew behind the camera that they could. There are the likes of Clu Gulager, James Karen, Thom Mathews, Don Calfa, Miguel A. Núñez Jr., Linnea Quigley, Beverly Randolph, John Philbin and Jewel Shepard for the actors. We then have Jules Brenner, James Dalesandro, Graham Henderson and others who managed the production. What I'll say here, I'm glad that they interviewed the older members for sure. This record is something that is great to have for a cult classic like this.

Now I've said that it was interesting to hear the different stories of the production and hearing their sides of it. It gives an intriguing perspective to these young actors and their interactions with Dan O'Bannon who co-wrote/directed this film. Hearing how to be butted heads with someone who was proven like Gulager was interesting. Despite the rigorous shooting schedule and the budget, they worked with, they created magic. That unique perspective helps me to appreciate the movie even more.

I'll say that this documentary is well-made. I like that it progresses pre-production, what went into getting this set up and the casting. They then progress through the movie, going into stories and what made the shoot difficult. It then goes into, briefly, how well this did and its legacy. I do like that they set up effects with almost a comic book feel as it fades out of their topic to the next. It feels a bit cheesy, but it fits the vibe of the film for sure. Incorporating in the soundtrack at times made me smile as well.

I'd highly recommend this if you're a fan of this movie. There is fun perspective and insights that you can get. I'd also say, if you like documentaries about how movies are made, this one doesn't go too deep into it. They do discuss challenges and work arounds that they did. This is more about hearing the stories of those that made this movie possible.

My Rating: 8 out of 10.

This was a movie that came out while I was in high school. By that time, I was no longer watching cartoons, especially Disney. Now a funny story is that I did catch part of this on a movie channel growing up. I figured out that I could make a decent impression of Stitch. Jaime suggested we watch this with Mackenzie to see if it would hold her interest. It did at times, but I was glad to tick this one off the list.

We start this on an alien planet. Dr. Jumba (voiced by David Ogden Stiers) is on trial for creating a new species. This is the one that will be known as Stitch (voiced by Chris Sanders). This experiment is sentenced to exile on a deserted asteroid but flees and steals a spaceship. Agent Pleakley (voiced by Kevin McDonald) is sent with the doctor to capture it.

Stitch crashes on Earth. To be more specific, Hawaii. It is here that we meet our other title character of Lilo (voiced by Daveigh Chase). She is struggling with fitting in and part of that is her parents have passed away. Her sister, Nani (voiced by Tia Carrere), is doing everything that she can to keep custody. It doesn't help that Cobra Bubbles (voiced by Ving Rhames) is keeping a close eye on her. Nani begs Lilo to stay on her best behavior. It doesn't help when they go to the local pound and Lilo adopts Stitch, thinking he's a dog. This draws the attention of the aliens that are out to bring the experiment back.

That should be a good recap and what I'll say is that this movie has good heart. We are getting that classic Disney set up. This is a broken family. Nani is struggling with doing everything that she can to keep her sister. It doesn't help that due to Lilo and Stitch, she loses her job. This makes her case even worse with Children Protective Services. That's complicated even more when the aliens show up and cause mayhem. We see that their house is destroyed and Lilo accidentally gets kidnapped. This is for children, so it has a happy ending. It is also heartwarming and made me tear up as well. I could connect with Lilo and Stitch when it comes to the idea of having a 'pet'. There are also fun reveals that I appreciated.

What also helps here is the great voice talent. It always shocks me to learn that Chase, who did the voice for Lilo also was Samara in the American remake of The Ring. She's also the little sister in Donnie Darko. She brings the character to life. It is interesting as well that Sanders is the co-director and co-writer taking on Stitch. That makes me feel like why this works so well since he's a driving force. I like Rhames as this quirky Cobra Bubbles character who has an interesting backstory. Carrere is good as the older sister who is stressed by everything. The rest of the cast rounded this out for what was needed.

Let's then finish with filmmaking. I prefer the older style of animation. This is still hand drawn from my understanding so that's a perk in its favor. They seem to just use computers to help speed up the process. This looked great on my 4K television so credit to Disney+. I like what they do here to bring the alien worlds to life and then give us a version of Earth that is a bit different. This feels like it could fall in the world of Men in Black to be honest. This was well-made for sure, as this was a fast watch.

I'd recommend giving this a watch if you haven't seen this or it's been a while. One of the stronger films from this era of Disney.

My Rating: 7.5 out of 10.

This is a movie that I'm not sure when I first heard about it. My guess would be through podcasts. It has been a while and not one that gets discussed much. This was one that came up on that list of recommendations so I tossed this out for an episode of Side Quest Podcast to discuss with my cohost Jake.

Synopsis: multiple couples head upstate to the country to watch a boat being built. Unfortunately, they are stalked by a murderer behind a ghoulish mask.

We start this in the country. There is a woman running through the woods as someone chases her. It turns out to be a man. We then see a running chainsaw that is picked up and he walks it toward the woman. This scene will be revisited later so I'm not sure if this was a dream or foreshadowing.

It is then in the city. We are in the apartment of Marie Sales Pettis (Marilyn Hamlin). She lives there with her son Jeremy (Adam Hirsch). Hanging out with her is her sister Shirley (Caitlyn O'Heaney) and her boyfriend Robert Fathwood (Jim Doerr). The boy's father is Marie's ex-husband. He shows up to pick up the boy for the weekend. His name is Greg (Jeff Pomerantz). There is bad blood here and he doesn't much care for Robert, for good reason.

Marie, Shirley and Robert are going upstate for the weekend like the synopsis said. Robert is having a boat built. It sounds like he bought it as part of an estate as the earlier owner was building it himself but ran out of money. Otis (William Sanderson) is overseeing the construction of the boat, but from dialogue, I get the idea that he's behind on the work. Robert has hired his friend Jay Alsop (Devin Goldenberg) to take over. He is coming up this weekend as well. Also joining them is a friend, Nicky (Christopher Allport). I get the idea that he's gay.

They make their way north and stop off at a local store for gas. It is inside that Shirley finds a creepy mask. Nicky heads over to the local bar where he makes inappropriate comments to the bartender and then gets in a tussle with two lumbermen. This gets him kicked out. He messes them up before that happens though.

From here, they arrive at the place where they're staying. They're given the lay of the land by Otis as well as a local lumberman, Mac Macauley (David Gale). The sexual tension ramps up. Jay is married or he could be divorced, but he catches the attention of Shirley. She soon realizes that he's a jerk. Mac is attracted to both sisters but comes on to Marie. Otis all the while is not happy with Robert for bringing Jay to take over the work on the boat. This is the least of their worries. Someone wearing the mask from the store starts to attack this group and picks them off one by one. Motives are generated as tensions raise as to who the killer could be.

That is where I'll leave my recap and introduction to the characters. Where I want to start is that this is an odd slasher. There are good things here like the setting. I also like that it is a group of adults and not teens. That's not to say that they don't act like children at times, but I digress there. I like the mask the killer is wearing and the deaths are solid. We don't necessarily get to see them all, but I come to expect that with slashers. I do have issues here that I'll get into later.

Now that I've set that up, I want to delve deeper into this. The set up as I've said is good. We see that Marie needs a weekend away. She and her ex are tense. It seems that he was the press secretary for a disgraced politician. That stress contributed to their divorce. They have a son so I'm sure custody is another thing that has been argued about. She needs to get away. I'll say that Hamlin was solid in her portrayal here.

Let's then get into the group around her and why they could be the killer. Nicky is interesting in that I feel this is showing he's gay, but there's also an interaction with Shirley later that had me questioning that. It could be that he's bisexual or even just metro where he likes to push buttons. There is quite a bit of him watching people from afar that made me wonder if he was the killer due to being 'left out'. There is also Robert, just because he's the new boyfriend. Jay is a jerk and a bit rough with Shirley at times, which made me think that there's more to that. The best performance of these men to me was Allport. I've seen him in more things lately and I think he's a solid, character actor from the era. Doerr and Goldenberg are solid as well.

Now there are two other potential killers that I want to include. First is Mac. He's a lumberman. Seeing the chainsaw that he's working with and then going back to the beginning sequence; I could see it him. He says weird things and comes on to Marie at one point forcefully. I know Gale from Re-Animator as the jerk professor so it was intriguing to see him in this role. There is also Otis who was the logical person that the movie is pushing as the killer. He has similar spying scenes like Nicky, but he's also upset at Robert for bringing Jay to take over the boat construction. I thought Sanderson and Gale were solid in their roles as well.

I'll then shift to filmmaking. What is interesting here looking at the date of release, this is a slasher film that came out after Black Christmas and Halloween, but before Friday the 13th. It makes sense to me now why the pacing is as slow as it is. It is closer to being a proto-slasher or gialli to be honest. It is a 'who-done-it'. Personally, I found the pacing to be uneven. I like the sequence to start this and then it hits a wall pacing wise. It isn't until the kills start back up that I got interested again. We focus too much on getting to know these characters who I don't care for. I think they're intriguing enough so I'll give credit there since that is one aspect, I grade slashers. The other filmmaking parts are that the cinematography is fine. They don't show many of the kills, but I'm guessing that could be budgetary. I think the array of weapons was good. I also thought the soundtrack was solid with that synth-wave feel it has.

There isn't anything more to go into so in conclusion, this is fine. We get a good set up with isolating our group of characters in the country. They need their car to get away and that gets taken away later. I don't necessarily like the characters but they're distinct enough. I want more from the kills, but I like the array of weapons used. The look of the killer was good as well. There is a reveal that I guessed a couple minutes ahead of it and I thought it worked to be honest. This feels more like the early slashers or a gialli than ones that would come after Friday the 13th. Not a great movie. There are good things and others not so much, like the pacing. I'd still recommend it for when it came out regarding the slasher boom. Not for those that dislike that subgenre though.

My Rating: 6 out of 10.

This was a movie that I had never seen all the way through. It is one of Jaime's favorites. We decided to put this on for Mackenzie, to see if she would enjoy it on a Sunday. My sister and I did have this on VHS, but I'm seeing now that it was missing parts for whatever reason. Our father recorded it off television.

An easy breakdown here is that we have Alice (voiced by Kathryn Beaumont) struggle to listen to her lessons from her sister, voiced by Heather Angel. She is playing with her kitten and notices a white rabbit fleeing into a hole. What is peculiar is that he is dressed in fancy clothes and says that he's late. She follows him inside. This leads her a down a rabbit hole, pun intended, to another world. Her journey leads her to meet the Mad Hatter (voiced by Ed Wynn), a hookah smoking caterpillar (voiced by Richard Haydn), the Chesire Cat (voiced by Sterling Holloway) and the Queen of Hearts (Verna Felton), to name characters that stood out to me.

It was now sitting down to watch this all the way through that I realized, the copy I watched wasn't missing a lot. It was fun seeing this with Jaime, who knows this much better, and Mackenzie. Now my daughter didn't pay attention much, but there were certain songs that caught her attention. Seeing her dance at those times made me smile.

Something that struck me was how absurd this is. That is the point. I'm not shocked to learn that the writer of the source material, Lewis Carroll, wrote this from a fever dream. If memory serves, it was under the influence of drugs. We have talking animals, crazy people and the logic in wonderland doesn't fully make sense. It translates well to a cartoon and the hand drawn animation is great. It also presents itself as vignettes, which I'd bet will hold my daughter's attention when she' a bit older, better than other movies.

The voice acting here is great. Beaumont fits so well for Alice. I love that Wynn's Mad Hatter was drawn with him in mind. He fits so well and has iconic lines. Haydn, Jerry Colonna, Bill Thompson, Angel and Joseph Kearns fit their characters so well. I liked noticing Holloway, J. Pat O'Malley and Verna Felton from other Disney movies. Most recently, The Jungle Book. This is all on point to bring the characters to life.

I'll end this by saying to check this out if you haven't or even if just haven't for some time. I can see why this is a classic. This is one that I'd be excited if Mackenzie or Jaime recommend again for sure.

My Rating: 8 out of 10.

This is a movie that I got the chance to see via screener thanks to Scott from Cinephobia Releasing. The title caught my attention. When I figured out that this was a horror film, I knew that I'd check it out. What I found interesting is that this got its official first screening at a film festival back in 2022. It got its wide release in 2024, so that gives me another to add to my list.

Synopsis: Jesús (David Pareja) and María (Estefanía de los Santos) are a couple going through a difficult time in their relationship. Nevertheless, they have just become parents. To shape their new life, they decide to buy a new coffee table. A decision that will change their existence.

We jump right into this with our couple from the synopsis at a store looking at a coffee table. I'll be honest, it is hideous. The salesperson is played by Eduardo Antuña. He is making the table sound better than it is. To give more information about it, it has two golden women, who are naked that are holding up the glass. This couple bickers in front of this salesperson. We learn that Jesús might not have been fully ready to have a child. María mostly decorated their house, with Jesús getting little details here and there. He was told that he could pick out any coffee table. Because she hates this one so much, he wants it even more. That is the one that is bought.

The movie then shifts to Jesús putting it together. It turns out that he's missing a screw. He called the store, saying that it wasn't in the box and that he needed it brought to him today. He cannot come back to get it. María decides to go to the grocery store since Jesús' brother and his girlfriend are coming over to meet the baby. The child is left in the care of Jesús.

This is when tragedy strikes and it rocks Jesús to his core. He can't even move. He doesn't know what to do. There is a couple of storylines that complicate things further. I've already brought up that Jesús' brother Carlos (Josep Maria Riera) along with his vegan girlfriend Cristina (Claudia Riera) are coming over. There is also Ruth (Gala Flores) who is 13 years old. Her mother tells María that she's been moody about a boyfriend. This turns out to be Jesús. This teen is convinced that she is in love with him and that he feels the same back. This day cannot get any worse and tragedy looms.

That is where I'll leave my recap and introduction to the story. Where I want to start is re-iterating that I came into this one blind. This movie was uncomfortable for me in the best way possible. It sets the stage about where this couple is currently. I've been here before with my wife. You just get in a rough spot and bicker constantly. Then this takes a nosedive into a dark event that rocked me to the core. I should say here, this affected me differently than most people, I'm sure. Please keep that in mind when going forward. I will also avoid spoilers.

Now that I've gotten that out of the way, this becomes a character study of Jesús for the most part. He knows everything that has happened. I could feel the weight of the pressure mounting on him. Things aren't good with María. By having their son, he has lost himself. A newborn completely changes things and we see that it has strained their relationship. What is interesting is the first reveal of what Ruth thinks, Jesús is annoyed and doing what he can to make her stop. She is misreading things. This is just another added wrinkle that complicates Jesús' life as he tries to figure out what to do after the event.

I'm going to shift over to talk about Pareja's performance here. He was great. Despite the bickering with María, I get the sense that he has a good sense of humor. He delicately manages talking to Ruth, keeping his cool there. After the event though, the amount of stress he's doing to not only hide what happened but try to figure out a way to reveal it. I've held on secrets and it can feel like the weight of the world on you. How this is presented made me feel that. I'm not always the biggest fan of comedy in my horror. Since this goes into the realms of dark comedy, it is perfect to help alleviate tension. It was well done.

Since this mostly focuses on Jesús and doesn't have the deepest story, let's shift to this to the other cast members. They push things to where it ends up. De los Santos and Pareja feel like an old couple. That helped me connect since I've been in that spot of a relationship. It feels real. The Rieras help complicate things even more when they come over. They are fun while also making it more difficult for Jesús to think. Antuña, Flores, Dilla and the rest of the cast also add their own quirky characters to this as well.

All that is left then is filmmaking. I thought this helped to build that atmosphere. We get the idea that the place they're living isn't big. That becomes even smaller when Jesús becomes stressed. I wanted to credit the cinematography and the framing there. Then to go along with this, they do good things with the sound design. There is a baby monitor that relays different conversations from earlier. They are almost haunting Jesús. That was good. We also have limited effects. They were good though. The blood looks real, which I appreciated.

In conclusion, I know I'm going to higher than others on this. This movie has a simple story. It sets up the characters and then tragedy strikes. From there it becomes a character of Jesús as he tries to come up with a plan of what to do with different complications. Pareja carries the weight of this film on his shoulders. The rest of the cast help push things to where they end up. This was well made with the cinematography, framing, sound design and effects helping there. I don't think this will be for everyone. It just hit me perfectly.

My Rating: 8 out of 10.