Episodes
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This week we review Stuart Gordon’s 1985 schlock classic: Re-animator. Does it go too far for modern audiences? Listen to find out.
Synopsis
Loosely based off of H.P. Lovecraft’s short story “Herbert West - Reanimator” this film stars Jeffery Combs as Herbert West, a weird genius science student that just arrived at the Miskatonic University. He immediately clashes with his professor in asserting superior knowledge over theories surrounding brain death, and makes him an enemy.
Also in his class is Dan Cain, who rents a room to Herbert. Dan is dating the dean’s daughter and is mainly in this movie to be choked.
As Herbert West experiments with a new serum, he discovers he has unlocked the secret to reanimating the dead. After confirming it’s efficacy with small animals, he seeks to experiment on dead humans.
Review of Re-Animator
Re-animator pure B-movie schlock done right. It pulls no punches with intense gore, nudity, and dark humor. It’s the spiritual sci-fi counterpart to Evil Dead, which came out four years earlier.
Dennis Paoli, the writer, came from the world of experimental theater in Chicago, and he brought a solid foundation with a surprisingly tight script. Both him and the director Stuart Gordon wanted to create an homage to Frankenstein, and succeeded with Re-Animator. It really does recapture some of the straight faced humor of the original 1930s Frankenstein, but turns up everything to 11.
The special effects are sometimes laughably bad, but still endearing. Particularly the reanimated psycho cat is like something off of a cheap SNL sketch, but still ends up being very entertaining.
They didn’t even try to get a rating, since it would most likely get an X. Somehow they still toe the line for decency, editing some shots just right before they get too exploitative to ruin the fun.
Mainly that’s what this movie is: A lot of fun. This film should be studied for how to pull off low-budget campy horror.
Score
10/10 -
Synopsis
Red Christmas follows a blended family headed by matriarch Diane (Dee Wallace) as they prepare to celebrate Christmas together. When an unexpected cloaked figure pops up on their doorstep and insists on reading a letter he wrote for his mother to the family, long time secrets Diane has been keeping are revealed, along with a suspicious murderous spree.
Review
There is a fine line between a campy movie and a really bad movie, and this film toes that line swimmingly. The movie is insane, it makes no sense at times, it’s funny, it’s wacky, it has really good kills, and it’s a Christmas movie. What better way to get into the Christmas spirit than to watch someone get axed hotdog style. I like this movie for its campiness, it’s very entertaining and while a lot of the plot is not logical, it is a fun slasher movie that you can enjoy with a cup of hot cocoa and some figgy pudding. It’s not the best movie of all time but it’s not trying to be. It’s trying to be a campy slasher romp, and that’s exactly what it is. If you can ignore the screwed up ‘message’ of the movie and just focus on how lovely Dee Wallace is, then you can enjoy this film.
Score
7/10 -
Missing episodes?
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Do you want to feel like you are watching someone play a video game when you watch a movie? Well Silent Hill is the right movie for you.
Synopsis
Rose Da Silva brings her adopted daughter, Sharon, to the eerie ghost town of Silent Hill, hoping to find a cure for Sharon’s mysterious condition and learn why she is having nightmares about the town. Following a police chase and a brutal car accident, Sharon vanishes. Rose finds herself in a spooky ookie alternate dimension that occasionally turns into an even spookier OOKIER dimension filled with unimaginable horrors. As she frantically searches for her missing daughter she meets the townsfolk and finds out the towns LORE.
Review of Silent Hill
Having not played the video game this film is based on, I can already tell you that’s its a faithful adaptation. Because watching the first half of this film is like watching someone play a video game. And unfortunately they are not very good at it. I was left craving more cut scenes or maybe more scenes cut.
Some of the iconic imagery from the game of Pyramid head and the nurses are wedged in as non-sequiturs. I assumed that the film would make some kind of effort to explain them, but nope. I still have no idea what their significance is to the story.
The thing that the movie really has going for it is production design, and vibes. The film is very moody and feels oppressive.
Unfortunately, the writing and acting is distractingly bad at times. Honestly, it felt like they spent all the budget on the production design, and then midway realized they never bothered with a script.
The last half of the movie redeems itself in some ways. The action and horror ramps up, the exposition finally gives us something to hold on to, and it actually ends up telling a story.
Overall, I felt like the film was too slow and uneven. There was some great body horror and memorable scenes, but unfortunately they are wrapped in a pretty forgettable movie.
Score
4/10 -
Synopsis
Stir of Echoes is about a lovely couple named Tom and Maggie. Tom, played by Kevin Bacon in maybe his greatest role ever is put in a hypnotic trance by Maggie's sister at a dinner party. After having him put a needle through his hand which is super not cool, Tom is awoken from his mystic slumber. But something is off. He can see... ggggggg-Ghosts! Through his newfound second sight, Tom is about to do some miraculous things and fight crime. Just kidding he doesn't fight crime but he does do some pretty incredible things. Meanwhile, their son Jake is also a psychic and stirs up some trouble in the neighborhood when he claims to have visions of a young girl who went missing six months prior.
Review of Stir of Echoes
I went into Stir of Echoes cautiously. It did not look good; I had never heard of it, and the first act was beginning to confirm my doubt. It feels a little convoluted and messy, and you dont really know where the movie is headed. Certain scenes initially felt random and confusing, but as the movie progressed, I began getting more and more invested. While Stir of Echoes is not a very scary movie, the mystery did reel me in and by act 2 I was pretty invested in uncovering the truth. Kevin Bacon does a really good job of portraying a decent into madness and for half of the movie basically acts like a homeless schizophrenia person. It's a joy to watch. Without giving anything away about the ending I will say that by the time the movie was over everything felt like it was wrapped up well and I no longer felt that the movie was convoluted.
Score 7/10 -
Synopsis
30 Days of Night is a movie about Eben and Stella, a married couple in Alaska going through separation and a possible future divorce. Eben, the sheriff, is preparing his small town for the 30 days of night, where the sun doesn't rise for a full month. Explain that flat-earthers. When trying to leave Alaska before the impending darkness Stella misses her flight, trapping her in the town. Although the 30 days of darkness is typically a challenge, Eben is wholly unprepared to deal with the invasion of deadly monsters that lie in wait. As darkness descends the creators wreak havoc (some might even say ravish) the town, and in the end, everyone gets more dark than they bargained for.
Review of 30 Days of Night
This movie reminds me of Midnight Mass with its secluded small town and monsters to terrorize it. And I LOVE Midnight Mass. But 30 Days of Night is a much more straight-ahead story. There is no bigger picture or message being told, it's just vampires, blood, and guts. I appreciated the family and character dynamics introduced in the first act, but honestly by act two when people start dying I didn't really care who they were or how they were important to the story. It's vampire time baby! The tension between Eben and his estranged wife Stella doesn't really translate well, and they seem to have no tension between them at all once the danger presents itself. I respect the vampire lore in this movie a lot more than I do of movies that turn vampires into this sexy, mystical creature which at least for me takes the fear out of the design. Here the vampires are fast, strong, and animalistic with sharklike razor teeth. Much more interesting if you ask me.
Score
6/10 -
Watch as Bryce and Max jump at the opportunity to talk about their missions as Sydney and Jordyn look on with glazed eyes.
Synopsis
Two naive Mormon missionaries, sister Barnes and sisterPaxton knock on the door of Mr. Reed, a lead that expressed interest in learning about the church of jesus christ of latter day saints. Mr. Reed, played by High Grant, is charming and warm to the ladies, but begins directly challenging their beliefs. As the Sisters get more and more uncomfortable they discover that they have been trapped inside the house and are given the monty hall choice of exiting through the door marked belief or the one marked disbelief.
Review of Heretic
I can recognize this as not a fantastic movie, however, I was thoroughly entertained for my own reasons. Having served a mission for the church of Jesus Christ of latter day saints, I was pumped to see a Hollywood movie premise around the experience, which is very unique. Most of my enjoyment was from picking apart what they got wrong and what they got right, so your mileage will vary.
That being said, it’s a unique premise, and the themes of religion, belief, and doubt are rarely given this much thought and analysis in a horror movie.
I thought the performances were great. I love Hugh Grant as a character actor more than as a romantic lead. He is properly menacing as a spider entrapping these women in his web. The female leads both did very well, especially Sophie Thatcher portraying the awkward earnest humor of a Mormon Missionary.
The writing and pacing is very inconsistent. Some stretches of exposition dumps come off as heavy handed and preachy. There were some character inconsistencies, and I’m sure there are plenty of plot holes to fill.
The first act is definitely the best, and most of it you see in the trailer. The dread and terror as the Sisters slowly realize that they are in real danger and try to navigate politely out of the situation is really spot on.
Score
6/10 -
Synopsis
Possum is about a disgraced puppeteer named Philip who is fired from his job after an unknown workplace incident and returns to his childhood home to destroy his puppet and face his past. While Philip wanders around his old town trying to make sense of his traumatic past, a local schoolboy goes missing. Philips's uncle Maurice lives a lifestyle of squaller and filth as a squatter in Philips's old home, and the two have a lovely and passionate reunion. Uh just kidding Philip hates Maurice, and the two have many strained and uncomfortable conversations over the course of the movie. Philip attempts multiple times to rid himself of his creepy puppet who he calls possum, and learns more about his past along the way.
Review of Possum
Possum is a very slow burn with minimal dialogue and odd acting styles. The actor playing the main character, Philip, looks like he has no idea how to stand like a normal human being, and I love that. The movie is low-budget, and it definitely shows. The whole thing was basically just filming a man running around with a puppet. Not much happens for the majority of the movie, and sometimes it feels like you are watching pretty much nothing. But, there are layers to this film. It is all about running from your trauma, and how you can't escape it unless you face it. The puppet is creepy, the house is disgusting, Maurice is disgusting-er, and I was left with a rotten and hollow feeling after watching this movie.
Score
7/10 -
Synopsis
Oz Perkins’s debut feature film follows two girls, Kat and Rose, who attend a Catholic boarding school in upstate New York. When both of their parents fail to pick them up for February break, Rose is put in charge of taking care of Kat. We also follow an older girl named Joan, who seems as if she has escaped a psych ward and is on the run, when she meets a respectful couple who offer to take her to where she needs to go. Kat believes her parents have died and they are no longer going to pick her up, while Rose struggles with the possibility of being pregnant and does not look after Kat like she was supposed to. Suspicions about Kat’s late night unsupervised hijinx and Joan’s motivations for traveling rise as the mysteries unfold to the viewer’s unsuspecting but curious eyes.
Review
I love this film. This is either the third or fourth time I’ve watched it and I always forget how it ends. The mystery of all of the characters and their motivations is intriguing and special. Right off the bat with the scary dream sequence as the first scene of this film, I was hooked. The vibe is foreboding, horrifying, creepy, just all around a feeling of dread through the entire 95 minute runtime. It is tight, it is full of suspense and grief, and it is a genius way to tell the story like writer director Oz Perkins does. There is honestly nothing wrong with this film in my eyes, it is fully perfect. It is horrible, but you feel for each of the characters. You want to dive into their brains and Perkins does a good job at letting you know their feelings and motivations at every stop. The twist near the end is damn near perfect. I will always love this movie. Better than Longlegs in my opinion.
Score
10/10 -
Synopsis
The smile virus/demon from Smile is back and is tormenting a young pop star named Skye Riley. Skye is a recovering addict attempting to relaunch her career with a world tour. While visiting her former dealer to score some pain killers for a back injury, she witnesses him commit suicide in front of her and infect her with some kind of ancient evil. Adding to the pressures of fame, rehearsals, and recovery; she is beset by hallucinations of people with creepy smiles out to get her.
Review of Smile 2
This smile demon concept is like the lovechild of The Evil Dead and It Follows, and frankly, I’m a fan. This film was artistically made, delved deep into themes of trauma and mental health in a unique and terrifying way. I couldn’t help but think of the public mental breakdowns of celebrities like Brittany Spears while watching this movie. It really gives perspective into the pressures of a job where hundreds of people are relying on you to perform. That and the inherent creepiness of parasocial relationships with fans that are obsessed with you. It made it hard to tell where the demon ended and where this pop star’s surreal reality began.
I thought Naomi Scott was great to watch as Skye. She has very expressive eyes and portrayed the terror and helplessness of her situation very well. Parker Finn, the writer/director of this and the previous film is a talent to watch. I can’t wait to see what he comes up with outside of this franchise.
Score
9/10 -
Synopsis
Terrifier 3 is a sweet hallmark-esk Christmas movie about a middle-class family working through the stress of the holiday season. Mom is bored with her suburban lifestyle and Dad is constantly tired at work because he keeps being woken up by sweet little Suzy who has crazy dreams when she has too much sugar before bed. Oh yeah, and a clown dressed as Santa possessed by the devil wielding an ax is there as well. In reality, terrifier 3 is the continuation of the Terrifier franchise featuring Art the Killer Clown. After resurrecting once again Art meets up with an old friend and begins a brand new killing spree. With Christmas just days away the hustle and bustle of holiday commercialism does a fantastic job of masking the fact that there is an eclectic killer dressed in bizarre mime clothes killing multiple people everywhere he goes in gruesome and disturbing ways. It's clear that Art is dead set on finding new and inventive ways to kill people and in this installment Art really goes for new territory. He's like the Luis and Clark of killing, he's just gotta map out that new lush land. Sienna from the last movie is back as well and trying to recover from her trauma but doesn't really have time to do that since she is about to experience trauma anew.
Review
Terrifier 3, terrifier 3. What more can be said about Terrifier 3 that has not yet been said. My utterance is yet a meager portion. For the true understanding lies in the viewing experience. I will never be able to explain this movie to you in a way that will give you the visceral experience I had in the theater watching flesh rip from bone. Maybe herein lies the perfect word to describe Terrifier 3. It separates. Skin from muscle. A lower jaw from the upper jaw. Left butt cheek from right butt cheek. Every way in which a body can be torn asunder, Terrifier 3 will separate. Separate the boys from the men. The weaklings from the strong. The feeble from the stable. And the queasy from the iron stomachs. I had a great time watching this disgusting movie. However, I won't pretend it was a perfect movie. It was pretty predictable. I knew Art would kill people and that Art killing people would take up a significant portion of the runtime, most of which doesn't add much to the actual plot. But hey, that's just terrifier baby.
Score 8/10 -
Synopsis
A woman called Darling is hired to house sit at a fancy, old, big haunted house in the middle of New York City. As she spends her days alone, she figures out the house’s ghostly past and slowly succumbs to the madness of the house’s, and her own, lore.
Review
I first watched this movie back in high school and thought it was the epitome of slow burn, creepy, woman-goes-insane horror films. As I have a lot more horror movie experience now (and film experience in general), I realize that this is basically a rip off of Repulsion (1965). This isn’t to say it’s a bad movie by any means; the many jump cuts and jump scares keep you on your toes (it could be argued that there are too many of these quick scenes), and there is an overall eerie feeling that is hard to shake once you finish. But, it’s not the best movie of a woman going insane. There are plenty of those, horror or not, that execute the trope a lot better than this one did. The first act is boring as all hell but the second and third ramp up the action just a little bit, and the main actress Lauren Ashely Carter is a very good Kristen Stewart type. Contrary to how I sound, I do enjoy this film, just not as much as I did when I was 16.
Score
6/10 -
Synopsis
The Devil’s Rejects is about three people that embody what Democrats imagine Trump voters to be. In this sequel to House of 1000 Corpses, the Firefly family are on the run from the law. Along the way, they wantonly murder and torture innocent victims for their enjoyment. And that’s pretty much it really. No themes are explored. No lessons are learned. It’s mostly just everyone yelling “fuck you” to each other for an hour and 46 mins.
Review of The Devil's Rejects
Is it “good”? No. It’s not good, But I will say it’s about 50% better than House of 1000 Corpses. It has a higher budget, is more artistically shot, and has a few ok moments in it. However, like House, this is really a big bag of nothing. It’s just like watching pigs wallow in the mire. Instead of pigs, it’s annoying and psychotic white trash, and instead of a mire, it’s gore and swearing. I tapped into my Mormon brain while watching this, and thought to myself, they are so disrespectful.
It literally took me 5 hours to get through between the forced ad breaks, and my self imposed breaks. It’s just a slog and doesn’t really have any redeeming artistic merit to justify itself. Anything really interesting is stolen from another movie that did it better.
Why Patrons do you do this to us? Why?
Score
3/10 -
Synopsis
The Substance follows Elisabeth Sparkle, a big time celebrity host of an 80s workout tv show, who turns 50 years old and gets sacked in pursuit of someone younger and “hotter” to host the show. After getting in a car crash, she meets a mysterious stranger who tells her about the substance, which can create a younger, more beautiful, better version of yourself. Lizzie decides to go through with this, and the results change the rest of her life forever.
Review
This movie is a doozy. It’s fun and stylistic and seemingly poses an important question about misogyny in Hollywood, women not being allowed to age, the emphasis on beauty no matter how painful, etc, but the commentary falls flat. In Coralie Fargeat’s first film, Revenge, I noticed a very similar occurrence. There is potential in The Substance for important discussions, but it turns into an extremist monster-esque chaotic clusterfuck instead of really giving us some answers, or at least worthwhile commentary. The film is more concerned about style than substance (which is ironic because of the name) and I think that works in its favor in certain areas, and works against it in others. Overall it is interesting, definitely a new trope and the setup is promising, there are some incredible shots and set dressings and the color scheme is captivating. Demi Moore gives an all time performance. There are some really great scenes but ultimately the execution of this film and its message or lack thereof is not where I’d want it to be or expect it to be.
Score
6/10 -
Synopsis
While on vacation, or holiday as the British say, the American expat Dalton family meet another family of three headed by Paddy (James McAvoy). After they return to their flat in London, they receive a postcard from Paddy inviting them to spend a long weekend with their family at their farm in the Western countryside of Britain. Initially hesitant, since they barely know each other, the Daltons decide to go. As the weekend progresses, Paddy’s jovial irreverent demeanor reveals a more overbearing and nefarious personality underneath. By the time they find out how much danger they are in, it’s too late, and the Daltons fight to escape. If you think that that synopsis is too spoilery, you should see the trailer!
Review of Speak No Evil (2024)
As many of you know, this is a remake of a Danish film of the same name that only came out two years ago. I was the only one here that hasn’t seen it before my viewing, so my experience with it is different from Max and Sydney. I think it gives my review less of a bias.
I think this movie is really good. On it’s own it is a very compelling thriller that is well crafted and acted. James McAvoy really shines as Paddy, and perfectly strikes the tone of an overbearing line pusher with a barely contained rage underneath.
Scoot McNairy and Mackenzie Davis playing ben and Louise act as the perfect foil to Paddy and each others characters.
I found the set up and character development throughout the film to be rich and interesting, and it made the awkward and disturbing situations more interesting because it felt very real.
The fans of the original will have a real beef with the ending, which is way more Hollywood and safe for a thriller, but for me it still works great.
Score
8/10 -
Synopsis
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice picks up thirty years after the events of the first film, with Delia Deetz being a famous artist, Lydia having her own ghost adventures type show, and her daughter Astrid being a goth angsty teen. The Deetz family has to deal with the sudden loss of the paternal figure in their lives while also grappling with their own individual battles. When Astrid, played by Jenna Ortega, gets stuck in the afterlife and Beetlejuice’s ex wife Delores, played by Monica Belluci, starts stalking him, Lydia makes another glorious deal with Beetlejuice to save her daughter and get Monica Belluci off Beetlejuice’s back. Chaos ensues.
Review
As I’ve said many times, I am not a big fan of sequels. I was not very excited to see this, since it is a sequel so many years after the first I figured it was another cash grab. That very well might be true, but I unexpectedly had a really fun time watching this. Michael Keaton soars as the titular character once again, and with this star studded cast, it is almost a perfect comedy. Catherine O’Hara remains one of the funniest women who has ever set foot on screen, and the welcome additions of Willem Dafoe and Justin Theroux also put in the work to get some laughs. A few complaints are that I think I liked the practical effects and primitive CGI in the first movie a lot better than I liked the new CGI stuff in this one. It looked corny and even though this movie isn’t geared towards kids, the sandworm looked like something out of a Nick Jr. tv show. Also, there were a lot of moving parts that could have been cut down to one A and one B plot. All in all it is a very fun, new take on the Beetlejuice universe, and I loved it.
Score
8/10 -
Synopsis
Incantation is a classic tale of three ghost hunters who travel to a secluded village in order to learn more about their spooky traditions and gather footage for their Youtube channel. However their journey quickly goes from silly to incredibly horrifying. Years later, the curse of the mother Buddha deity still remains.
Review of Incantation
Incantation is one of my favorite horror movies in recent years. Its kind of a hidden gem with no theatrical release. A lot of people in the horror community talk about wanting to find a movie that is actually scary and I really do think that this is it. I don't want to hype it up too much for those of you who haven't seen it because I don't want you to have unrealistic expectations, but when I watched this movie for the first time I had to pause it and turn on the lights because I got too scared. It pulls the viewer into the story making you apart of the nightmare and for that this feels more like an experience than a movie. It wastes no time and gets scary within 5 minutes. If you haven't checked it out please do yourself a favor and watch Incantation.
Score: 10/10 -
Synopsis
On a live broadcast during Halloween on sweeps week in 1977, a failing late night talk show starring Jack Delroy (played by David Dastmalchian) interviews a cult survivor supposedly possessed by a demon. The audience is amazed and horrified by the demonstration and Delroy soon finds himself out of his depth. But instead of heeding caution, he doubles down on the bit to save his show from cancellation to disastrous consequence.
Review of Late Night with the Devil
This movie has a great premise. What if you showed Regan from The Exorcist on a talkshow next to obvious fake psychics and debunkers that often appeared on late night. The talk show is a format that everyone is familiar with, and even the guests previous to the possessed little girl should all be recognizable stand ins for real life talk show guests such as Uri Gellar and James Randi.
The biggest setback is that the writing and acting a little too on-the-nose, and it ends up feeling a little cringe. In what could be a super compelling and real-feeling found footage film, the artificiality really pulls you out of the moment and you definitely feel like you are watching a movie. It’s like when you see a movie or show about a stand up comedian, and the actor isn’t able to be convincingly funny but is met with uproarious laughter from the fake audience. It’s a type of uncanny valley that is created when actors aren’t able to match the charisma and timing of a seasoned professional, in this case, talk show host.
They made the genius move to explain that this is a failing talk show, so Jack Delroy’s wooden presence and indiscernible personality actually sells the “why”.
That being said, this movie does have some good bones. The plot structure and utilization of the talk show format is great. It lends a new backdrop to the horror cliche of demonic possession.
The tension ramps up convincingly, and the inevitable trainwreck that is foreshadowed is satisfying.
I just wish they would have aimed for more realism in the writing and acting.
Score
6/10 -
Synopsis
Alien Romulus is about a young woman named Rain, and her Robot Brother Andy are stuck on a slave labor planet that never sees sunlight. On the day they finish their slave sentences and have technically earned their freedom, they are told that another 6 years have randomly been added. This is incredibly devastating for Rain, but not so much for Andy cause he is a robot and has zero emotion the whole movie. Anyways, Rain's friends convince her and Andy to join them in a dangerous plan to hijack an abandoned ship in their planet's orbit and use it to travel to a free planet. Upon entering space and eventually the abandoned ship, things start to become more and more eerie. Dead bodies are everywhere, gravity randomly turns off and back on, and the ship is in ruins. The deeper into the ship the group travels, the more Alien they experience, and everyone gets just a bit more Romulus than they were hoping for.
Review of Alien Romulus
Alien Romulus is a really good-looking sci-fi with great visuals and a tense atmosphere. The vibes on the ship feel creepy, and there are enough interesting moments to keep me entertained for the most part. My trouble with this movie is that we dont really care about any of the characters except for Rain and Andy, and there are like 5 other characters. The movie drops little hints about these people's lives like “Oh this person is pregnant” or “This person's mom was killed by a robot” but it never really explores these things and in the end, I just didn't care about any of these people. The movie also doesn't really add anything all that new to the franchise. The ending does have something new which I won't spoil, and I actually found pretty cool, but for the most part, the movie kept being like “hey! Remember face huggers!” or “hey! Remember the chest-bursting scene from the original! What if we did that again! Cool right?” and that was just starting to get a little boring. The movie is 2 hours long and while I was pretty engaged with it for the first half, the second half dragged a little for me. Its not a terrible movie, but I'm gonna give it a score of
Score 5/10 -
If I had a nickel for every horror movie starring a main cast member of Euphoria released this year, I’d have three nickels, which isn’t a lot, but it’s weird that it’s happened thrice. This episode we talk about Cuckoo a new limited release horror movie out now in theaters written and directed by Tilman Singer. Stay tuned whores
Synopsis
This movie is about an American girl dragged along to a resort in the Bavarian Alps. Something seems off about the way that random guests barf all the time, and how time loops back on itself for some reason. I mean, it could drive a person Cuckoo!
Review of Cuckoo
This one has a lot going on in it, and in the best of ways feels like an X-files episode. It’s hard to guess where it’s going. It was really twisty turny. I mean they usually do twisty turny, but this one is REALLY twisty turny.
Hunter Schafer plays the protagonist Gretchen, the moody teen overcoming a recent tragedy, and she does really well in this. Her performance is helped with some of the most convincing bruise and cut makeup as she is pretty beat up through the majority of the film
The scares are few, but the tension is high. Singer does a good job at maintaining the feeling of being trapped in various ways. First as being a teen dragged along with the family, then as a patient in a hospital, then as a prisoner almost of the resort.
Dan Stevens also is great as the smarmy resort owner bad guy.
It is engaging throughout, but starts to get a little sketchy towards the end where it feels like it has to wedge in all the necessary exposition. I’m still confused about why some stuff happened at the end and felt like there were still some loose ends with explaining the “Cuckoo”, but overall it felt satisfying.
Score
8/10 -
Synopsis
Trap is a movie that follows Cooper, a seemingly normal dad who takes his daughter, Riley, to her favorite artist’s concert. Once there, Cooper is told that the whole concert is a trap to catch a serial killer who is colloquially called The Butcher. Plot twist (but not a plot twist because it is given in the trailer) is that Cooper is the Butcher, and he needs to find a way to escape the heavily guarded arena without getting caught.
Review
I was very excited for this movie, I thought the trailer looked awesome and M Night has some good hits (The Visit, Signs, obviously The Sixth Sense). After about fifteen minutes of pure concert, I was completely checked out. This movie is boring, it is unfulfilling, the trailer gives away most of the interesting plot. Even though a serial killer trying not to get caught while surrounded by SWAT teams and the FBI is really high stakes, the movie doesn’t make that apparent whatsoever. The classic ending “twist” that M Night always does falls flat in this one, and at that point I was honestly just waiting for it to be over. Josh Hartnett is an impeccable actor, but with this crappy script he didn’t have much to work with, and most of the other actors are not up to his caliber. I didn’t care much for the characters and overall it was just boring. A complete drag. The only character that was redeemable was the vendor played by Jonathan Langdon, his performance solidified by the fun post credit scene. And when Josh Harnett took his shirt off, it gained a point back in my book. I can see this getting mixed reviews, like most of M Night’s films, and I am a part of the dislike club.
Score
3/10 - Show more
