Reviews

"Smile 2" begins with a title card that reads, "Six Days Later." That leads us to find out what happened to Joel, whose fate was left up in the air at the end of "Smile." We then move to follow Skye Riley, a pop star who is on a comeback after a horrific accident killed her boyfriend and left her hospitalized. Trying to get her life together, Skye is trying to repair both her reputation and damaged relationships, but a visit to an old friend turns everything on its ear...

"Smile 2" absolutely knocks it out of the park, led by a absolutely bravura performance by Naomi Scott as Skye. In some ways, this is like "Aliens" and "Terrifier 2" in that it takes the storyline and mythos from the first movie and makes it bigger and broader. Everything about "Smile 2" works -- it has the same discomforting pattern of not really knowing what's real and what's not and the "demon/entity" remains truly scary. Word of caution -- writer/director Parker Finn ups the gore content here, but every bit of it is within the context of the film. And while a lot of movies ending just sets up a sequel, "Smile 2" has an absolutely "HOLY S***!" ending that I'm not totally sure could spawn a sequel!!

Unqualified recommendation. Hard to describe just how good Naomi Scott is in this movie, if it were even within the realm of possibility for a low budget horror film to get award nominations, Scott would be there. It's a wonderful time to be a horror fan, there is a strong likelihood that in back to back weeks the top two movies on the box office will be "Smile 2" and "Terrifier 3" -- movies whose combined budget is probably less than the meal budget on a Marvel film!

As the third film in the series, Terrifier 3 is good but (why does it feel needless to say "needless to say") the weakest of the three films. We still get Art The Clown wreaking havoc all over with extreme graphic violence, but it just doesn't seem as powerful this time. Part of that is that in the first two films, there was some sort of method to Art's madness -- by chance, Art ran into Tara (in "Terrifier") and Sienna (in "Terrifier 2") and that chance meeting kicked everything into gear. And of course, in "Terrifier 2" we learn that Art's encounter with Sienna was *not* totally random, and that she and Art have a deeper connection. And all the violence flows from these encounters. In "Terrifier 3", everything just seems much more random. Art just shows up someplace and KAPOW! Even the opening segment (which will likely make casual viewers who are expecting a "fun clown movie" run screaming from the theater), is completely unrelated to anything else. Much of the film just doesn't have the same feel, it almost feels forced.

There is a lot of good, though -- Lauren Lavera is great as the Sienna, trying desperately to get her life together. David Howard Thornton continues to be the single scariest clown in the history of movies. The storyline is pushed forward -- although not as much as you might expect. And when the movie finally gets down to its core story -- Art vs Sienna -- it absolutely ROCKS. And, of course, the level of graphic violence is exactly what you'd expect, and the practical special effects continue to be out of this world.

Solid recommendation from me. But temper expectations. As I mentioned, a good chunk of the victims are random so you won't feel as invested. Leone tries to make a couple of sequences the "big scene" to try to compete with the "big set piece" from the first two films (won't spoil them, but IYKYK!) and does not succeed. And the movie doesn't really have an ending, it just sort of "stops" and pretty much announces a Part 4 to find out what happened.

"The Death That Awaits" is a film that I found really entertaining, but it so completely falls apart at the end that it's a bit stunning considering how good everything up to that was.

"The Death That Awaits" follows Cassie, who goes to a remote house (with, of course, limited to no phone service) to be a caretaker for 19-year old Nina, who is pretty unhappy about having a "babysitter" at her age. Her parents tell her that she should stay in the guest house because Nina has night terrors and would likely wake her, but we find out early on that it is much more than that -- Nina literally loses control at night and thrashes and screams. Cassie tries to be friendly and helpful and understanding to Nina, all the while fighting off advances from her brother and worrying about "treatment" that a local doctor is providing...

There are a few ways that this could be explained, and "The Death That Awaits" does a wonderful job of not letting us know what is going on. The actors all do a really nice job. And then, just when they are ready to explain the mystery, the movie goes and dumps a steaming turd of an ending on us. I mean, I wanted to throw something through my TV as it unfolded. I can't imagine what they could have been thinking.

Up until then, I thought I had discovered a new little gem of a film. But given how much it falls apart at the end, I can't recommend it.

"MaXXXine" is a direct sequel to "X" (unlike "Pearl" which sort of stands alone). In it, Maxine Minx gets a role in a legitimate film called "The Puritan 2" (a sequel to "The Puritan") and is anxious to finally become a real star. However, her past from the events of "X" start to catch up to her when a detective (who is working for a mysterious man) finds her, and among the backdrop of the "Night Stalker" slayings in Los Angeles, people around Maxine are starting to die...

"MaXXXine" is far the weakest of the three "X" films. That's not to say it's bad, but it doesn't have the real horror and novelty of "X" and the "can't look away" suspense of "Pearl." The person behind everything is pretty obvious, and there are really many threats that are simply too quickly and easily resolved, so much of the suspense is limited. Goth is great, as always, but there really isn't anybody else in the cast that really stands out. And there is a real lack of actual "horror" in this movie. "X" was a great, flat out horror movie. "Pearl" was more horrifying, perhaps, as opposed to pure "horror." But I'm not sure "MaXXXine" really qualifies as a "horror movie" at all. And the ending... meh.

I have no hesitation recommending "MaXXXine" -- the story is interesting, Ti West is a wonderful filmmaker, Maxine Minx is a great character, and Mia Goth is great in the role. But as is the case in more trilogies, the first is clearly the best and each one decreases in quality.

"House of Screaming Glass" (which is a cool name, even if it has no relation to the actual film) had potential to be a creepy little horror film but is undone by really bad pacing and editing, and as a result is much too long and confusing to really have impact.

The movie begins with Elizabeth Cadozia (played by Lani Call) letting us know that she has just turned 27, her mother has just died, her grandmother left her an old schoolhouse, and she is now driving to live there. And we have our first confusion -- why is she going to "live" in a schoolhouse? Why does she get the inheritance from the grandmother when her mother dies (and she is very clear -- the grandmother left the house to HER, not her mother). She gets to the schoolhouse and when she gets there, she discovers that her grandmother was either a witch or perhaps some sort of patron of the dark arts, and in addition, she herself is either going crazy or haunted or possessed or something, because weird things seem to keep happening to her...

Although there are some pretty creepy and disturbing sequences and Call (who is literally the only character in the movie, all the dialog is just her voice overs) gives a bravura performance, "House of Screaming Glass" is fatally damaged by horrid pacing and editing. Scenes seem to go on forever and then are followed by sequences that don't flow from the previous one, and as a result the movie is way too long and doesn't seem to have any sort of narrative flow. For example, there is one scene where Elizabeth is sitting at a piano at night playing poorly (lots of wrong notes and chords). She sits there playing for a very, very long time and then she thinks she hears something. She gets up and spends another long amount of time walking around the house. Then something happens, and we immediately cut to the next afternoon (I assume it's the next day, but who knows?) and Elizabeth is now in a room we never saw before and she starts to look at a couple of trunks, with the events of what I assume is the previous night completely ignored. So many scenes just go on too long; she spends long, tedious scenes walking around, turning the pages in books, looking over the edge of a bridge...

There are definitely sequences that are creepy and disturbing and there was a mystery to unravel. I was trying to figure out how much of this movie could be cut out to make it leaner and meaner, and I think you could easily cut a good 20 minutes and make this a tight and disturbing little film. Unfortunately, because of the poor pacing and editing, it was impossible to get engaged in the movie and a movie like this -- which is not going to answer questions and requires attention -- will suffer irreparably if viewers are watching and repeatedly thinking, "Man, this is dragging... will this scene ever end?" I definitely sense a good movie here, but it needs another editor to make a strong run at it.

"Followers" is the sequel to "Follower," a 2022 film about three girls who go hiking and are stalked by an mask-wearing incel who stalks them for "internet fame." All three of them survive the first film and are dealing with the aftermath of the events -- Sam has massive PSTD, Riley seems to be just moving on with her life, and Heather is milking the traumatic events for fame, including producing a documentary about the events. They are no longer as close as they used to be, so Heather invites the other two (along with their significant others) over to her boyfriend's house for New Year's Eve, unaware that they are being stalked again and these guys are determined to make them pay for thwarting their friend's plans...

I liked "Followers" more than I thought it would. Some awfully good direction and editing makes "Followers" fun to watch -- special kudos to one shot where Sam and her boyfriend are driving to Heather's house and there is a fade-cut that makes it look like they are going to drive off the edge of the earth, a wonderful foreshadowing shot. The acting is pretty good, there are some really tense moments, and it absolutely nails the ending.

Unfortunately, there's still plenty of eye-rolling things. People tend to be able to brush off major injuries. The plot requires two characters (not just one) to become sniper-level marksmen out of nowhere. And there is an attempt to make a twist that you likely will have considered earlier and said, "Nah, that'd be dumb."

Also, "Follower" was only an hour long. "Followers" is an hour and fifteen minutes long. But.... the first fifteen minutes is literally just the first film cut down to fifteen minutes. Then there's a documentary about the events of the first film with scenes from it. Then there are flashbacks to the first film (sometimes with alternate takes). So if you watched the first film (like I did) there's a bunch of filler. On the plus side, though, there's no need to have watched the first film before you see the sequel since so much of it is included.

But overall, "Followers" get a solid recommendation. Moves along quickly, entertaining to watch, and what else can you ask for?

OK, mea culpa, I am not a huge anime or manga fan, so I can't tell how faithful this movie is to the source, but I can confirm that "Lion-Girl" is an absolute blast from start to finish.

It starts out with a bang, one of the best movie openings in a long time and never really lets up for the entirety of its run time. The action takes place sometime in the future where a rain of meteors have not only wiped out most life on earth, but these meteors also exude radiation that will kill most people... and if it doesn't kill you, it turns you into monsters called "anorocs" that hunt humans. Only Tokyo has survived, and an evil overlord has taken power over the surviving humans imposing his will over everyone (his motto is "Don't live long, and die working.") Luckily, Lion-Girl exists, equipped with powers, to fight to save the people from both the anorocs and the evil overlords. And this movie is her story...

Filled with violence, outrageous costumes and effects, and lots of nudity, "Lion-Girl" is great fun. It does have some social commentary, but it never gets preachy and it's all nicely integrated into the bizarre world. And even at a two-hour running time, the story never lets up or drags.

Pretty highly recommended, haven't had this good a time watching a movie in a while.

"Night of the Missing" is a fairly typical anthology film -- it's a collection of random short films grouped together with a loose attempt at a common theme.

The movie begins with the discovery of a weird woman in a police station. The sheriff comes in and starts yelling at the woman (identified only as "The Woman"). The Woman says she wants to report a missing person, but instead of doing so, she instead looks at "Missing" photos hanging on the wall and tells the story of four of them, which lead to the short films.

The first one is a super-short film from 2020 called "We All Scream." It's about a boy who wants some ice cream. Short but pretty creepy.

The second film is a short from 2022 called "Nite Flirt" starring the beautiful Gigi Gustin (who gets a "Story" credit on it). This one is a little unusual -- Tammy (Gustin) goes about her business while weird, supernatural things happen. Then she is suddenly doing some sort of sex-talk phone service. Then that's dropped and we're back to supernatural stuff to finish off the short. Confusing as all heck, but Gustin is very appealing in her role (and definitely a force to be reckoned with in future films), and the short is satisfyingly weird and creepy.

Confusing is also a good word for the third short, 2020's "Miniature." "Miniature" stars Jenna Kanell (of "Terrifier" fame) along with Gustin again. They are really tiny and in a "Model Town" (think the model town in the attic of "Beetlejuice"). An intriguing little short, although no real connection to the overall theme of "Missing people."

The "Missing Person" theme is completely abandoned in "You Promised," the final (and weakest, not counting the wrap-around) of the stories. This drug-deal-gone-wrong story that morphs into the supernatural doesn't seem to fit in at all with the others.

We end up completing the Sherriff/Woman story, although to be honest, I really had no idea what was going on with those two. The whole wraparound story definitely left something to be desired and is the least effective part of the film.

I like short horror films, so I did sort of enjoy "Night of the Missing." Three of the shorts were good, and that's a pretty strong success rate in these type of movies. Check it out if you're a fan of these type of films.

'Chucky' has mastered the incredibly difficult challenge of balancing gruesome horror and comedy, and 'Jennifer's Body' is one of the best episodes yet. Funny, creepy, and disturbing, the episode explains this season's biggest mysteries so far -- how Chucky got in the White House and why, what happened to Lexy's sister Caroline, and what happened to Tiffany. It's a great ensemble cast, and Jennifer Tilly and Fiona Dourif in particular have insane chemistry together and knock it out of the park.

Rare to give anything 10 out of 10, but 'Chucky' remains the biggest and best surprise on television from the past few years.

"Megalomaniac" is one of the most disturbing and powerful horror films I've seen in a while. This French-language Belgium production fits comfortably in the European Extreme horror film genre -- like "Martyrs" and "Frontier(s)" among others. You'll feel like you were punched in the gut after you're done watching it. And although it's not for everyone, it's one of the best horror films of 2023.

As the film begins, we are told the story of "The Butcher," who killed 15 women over the course of six months. We then fast forward to meet his two grown children, Felix and Martha. They live in the family home, and Martha works as a janitor, where she is treated awfully, to support them. Felix appears to be continuing his father's work, and Martha seems to know about it. She also appears to be trying to get help for her clear mental issues by having a social worker visit her occasionally.

Martha's treatment at work becomes truly horrible, and we think that we are going to see her embrace the madness that runs through her family and lash out. But "Megalomaniac" is far too clever for that. Martha's descent into madness is far more horrifying than we could ever expect and you will never get me to spoil what happens, other than to say it becomes one of the most disturbing and nihilistic films I've seen in a long time. And the movie becomes even more powerful when every now and then, it hints that things may not be completely as they seem... but never takes any shortcuts or gives easy answers.

The acting is absolutely spectacular. Eline Schumacher as Martha and Benjamin Ramon as Felix command the screen every time they are on it. The film doesn't shy away from graphic violence but also doesn't revel in it and that makes it even more intense. And intense it is, "Megalomaniac" does not let up for the entirety of its running time, there is not a single light moment or laugh in it.

To be honest, I am a little surprised this film actually got a wide, mainstream release. You will feel this movie as you watch it and after it's done. It will generate long discussions, including what the title refers to. It's a pleasure to give a rave review and hopefully get it some more viewers, so if you're a fan of these types of intense horror films "Megalomaniac" is recommended without reservation.

I love horror shorts, which means that I like "horror anthologies" more than most people, and so caveat emptor on this review. I suspect that I enjoyed "Beneath the Old Dark House" more than a lot of people will, but there's a lot to like about it. Although the shorts are of varying quality, they do have some solid chills and do not scrimp on the beautiful, scantily-clad women.

In fact, the film opens on a beautiful naked woman. We follow her around for her day, and then when she gets back home she gets grabbed by some weirdo apparently wearing a skin mask who is called "Coffintooth" (although we would only know that if we look at the credits or the film's description, you wouldn't know it from the actual movie). Coffintooth ties her to a chair and forces her to watch three short films.

The first short is about a nerdy guy. We watch him go about his day, which is basically to stalk a gorgeous waitress at a Mexican restaurant. This short is really strong, might be the best of the lot.

The second short deals with a woman who inherits a house from her grandmother. She also inherits everything in the house, which includes a creepy doll. Creepy dolls seldom fail to be, well, "creepy" and this one doesn't disappoint. Another very strong entry -- scary and fun and it really naied the ending.

The final short is the weakest, by far. It's about a man who goes to visit a famous author, played by Brooke Stevens. There just wasn't a lot going on here and it didn't do anything for me, although it's almost redeemed by the fact that Kaylee Williams -- one of the most beautiful women in the horror genre -- is completely naked for parts of this short.

The wrap-around story then "wraps up," although there is a post-credit scene that, to be honest, was totally unnecessary and was just there to add some shock value and middling SFX.

All in all, nothing special, but more to like than to dislike. If you're a fan of horror shorts, worth checking out.

In "Bad Things", Ruthie has been left "The Comley Hotel" by her grandmother. Her grandmother's death has brought her back in contact with her mother, who just wants her to just sell the hotel. She's not so sure, but she travels to the hotel with her girlfriend Cal (who thinks Ruthie should keep the hotel and run it), their friend Maddie, and Fran, who seems to have an odd relationship with the other three women (although on the other hand, is absolutely gorgeous). The hotel is closed, and there are rumors that it is haunted by the ghosts of guests who have died there. And sure enough, once the women arrive, they start to see things that may or may not be real and begin to behave strangely...

The pitch for "Bad Things" is clearly "The Shining... but with lesbians." Writer/director Stewart Thorndike doesn't hide this, and the influences are clear -- she makes the hotel an important character in the film, duplicates some of Kubrick's tracking shots, and recreates/updates some of the classic images from the original film. And it's pretty effective and creepy, to be honest. But it's not at all a remake, so while the familiarity sets a mood, "Bad Things" moves in a quite a different direction. And the tension starts early on and doesn't really let up until the end. None of the characters are really "likeable" and the one that is closest to being likeable is the one that the other three treat the worst. As an aside, some viewers may be divided by the characters and how they behave. A lot of movies with LGBQT characters make sure they are all appealing, but not "Bad Things.") I'm not sure it truly "nails" the ending, but it certainly will generate plenty of conversations.

Technically, you really can't fault anything. Acting is uniformly excellent among the small cast, and the direction -- as noted above -- is solid and clever.

If you want a fun, creepy film that will get under your skin a bit, check it out.

"Dark Windows" tells the story of four friends -- Tilly, Monica, Peter, and Ali. They are out for a ride one night and there is an accident and Ali is killed. The other three friends feel awful, especially Tilly, who was driving the car. After an uncomfortable situation at Ali's wake, Tilly, Monica, and Peter go out to Monica's grandparents' old house to spend a few days and blow off some steam. But strange things seems to be happening once they get there ...

"Dark Windows" was a one of the great low-budget surprises that show up once in a while if you're a genre fan. Given the familiar storyline, I was just sort of hoping it would be serviceable but it was so much more that that. It lets its secrets unfold slowly and organically, and plays very cleverly on our expectations. It knows what we are expecting and then delivers something different.

Technically, it's great -- well lit and clear sound. We spend most of the film with just our main three characters and the acting is uniformly excellent among all of them. And it nailed the ending, playing out in a way that was totally unexpected to me and was far nastier and harsher than I anticipated.

Recommended without reservation.

"Into the Devil's Reach" involves Jennifer Mueller (Kayla Swift), a Chicago police detective. After a botched attempt to arrest a possible suspect, she goes to the little city of Oakdale because it's possible something evil is going on there. And indeed, it is...

"Into the Devil's Reach" is entertaining at times, but it has some pretty serious flaws. First of all, there are several fight scenes and all of them are hilariously awful. At one hour and 45 minutes, it's way too long and you could easily cut out 20 minutes and make it a much tighter film. Plot-lines start and then are almost instantly dropped.

But... I was sort of entertained and wanted to see how it turned out. Kayla Swift works hard and is extremely attractive, and although she stays covered (thanks in one scene to a "magic towel", and if you see the movie you'll know what I mean), one of the supporting actresses give us one of the most gratuitous "out of the blue" nude scenes I've seen in a long time.

Can't give it a general recommendation to all, but if you're a fan of low budget flicks (like me) you might find it worth a rental.

"Reality" is a recreation of the serving of a search warrant to Reality Winner, a former Air Force translator, by the FBI in June 2017. The details of what Winner did is public knowledge, but I won't spoil it for those who'd prefer to see the film's reveal. And "Reality" never really tries to come down for or against what Winner did (although I think many people would agree with her motives if not her actions), and we do find out what happened to the real Reality.

As a drama that is all about dialog and reactions the entire movie depends on the performances, and Sydney Sweeney (as Reality) nails it in what could be a career-defining performance. In a decidedly non-glamorous role, Sweeney exudes real vulnerability (an underappreciated skill missing in a lot of actors) and is completely believable as she more and more realizes what is happening. One of the better performances of the year.

Personally, I found it fascinating and engrossing. If you are looking for action and violence and stuff like that, look elsewhere. But it gets a solid recommendation from me.

Kiel (Markus Silbiger) is bringing his girlfriend Harley (Christine Spang) to a palatial estate out of the beaten path. But when they get there, there are others waiting to spoil their good time...

"Wicked Games" is another entry in the "Home invaders get more than they bargained for" sub-genre. Unfortunately, it makes the two biggest mistakes you can make in this type of movie -- it makes the heroine not very likeable and makes is impossible to be fearful for her. Early on (and this isn't a spoiler since we see it in action in the first fifteen minutes), we learn that Harley is a Rambo/John Wick combo who is easily able to defeat men much larger than herself, and in addition shows herself to be a psychotically violent sadist when she is pounding some guy into oblivion.

So there is, quite literally, no peril for her when the events start happening. We never for one second fear for her safety because we just assume she will easily and gruesomely dispatch the home invaders (who quite accommodatingly enter the house one at a time). And without us rooting for the heroine to overcome insurmountable odds, the movie is just sort of... meh.

The film does explore her backstory very briefly, and has an "anti-twist" (which is a twist that you see coming a mile away but you hope against hope that you're wrong).

All in all, a disappointment.

"Adalynn" is a really well done psychological thriller that is engrossing, anchored by a very strong performance by Sydney Carvill as the titular character.

"Adalynn" begins as Adalynn and her husband Bill return from the hospital with their new infant daughter. We learn right away (in consistent voice-overs by Adalynn and her actions) that Adalynn has some mental issues which seem to be getting acerbated due to post-partum issues. She convinces her husband to go to a conference, saying that she can take care of their new child, and he reluctantly does. But alone, Adalynn begins to descend more and more into instability which may be made worse by events, either real or imagined...

One of the things I like about "Adalynn" is that it doesn't try to trick us -- it puts its cards on the table pretty early on and while it takes some zigs and zags to get the ending, it's never dishonest. And that makes it far more intriguing and disturbing than it might have been otherwise. The performances are uniformly excellent, especially (as I mentioned previously) Ms. Carvill, who is on screen for almost the entire film. And I really like that the movie actually fully explains what's going on at the end.

Pretty strong recommendation on this one from me.

Most anthologies are "hit or miss" but this one is extreme in that and, unfortunately, mostly miss. What's even more depressing is that a project bearing the name of Mel Brooks, the Grandfather of Bad Taste, shows so little of his trademark edgy humor. The funniest bit -- far FAR -- is a horribly offensive and utterly hilarious version of Jesus's capture by the Romans entitled "Curb your Judaism." THAT'S the Mel Brooks I know and love! Some bits, like the Russian Revolution, Shakespeare, the Oslo Accords, and the actual "Hitler on Ice" promised at the end of Part I show some of the old Brooks magic. But, sadly, such moments are few and far between.

I hate to use the "W" word, but not sure what other reason there is for spending so much time on Shirley Chisolm (a minor US politician from the 70's) and presenting her as such an important figure in the history of the entire world. She is presented in a seemingly endless, painfully unfunny, virtue signaling sketch based on "The Jeffersons." Another endless and unfunny bit is Jesus (who is Black, of course, along with Mary Magdelene and several Apostles) doing a takeoff on The Beatles "Get Back" documentary. There's a "Jackass" takeoff that is just awful. Other sketches just don't work, and too many attempts to comment on either the technology or social issues of today fall flat.

I'd like to say that they could make a decent 90 minute film out of the 4 hours of the show but I'm not sure. I know they could make an awesome 30 minute show... maybe a "Best Of" would work better?

If you haven't watched Mel Brooks, then don't make this your first impression -- go back and watch "The Producers," "The Twelve Chairs", "Blazing Saddles," "Young Frankenstein." Go and seek out "The 2000 Year Old Man" with Carl Reiner. Even minor works like "Spaceballs," "High Anxiety," and, of course, "History of the World, Part 1." If you have consumed all that, you can watch this and try to enjoy the good nuggets. But do NOT let this be your first impression of one of the greatest comic geniuses of all time.

The poster for "The Innsmouth School for Girls" shows two girls in school outfits running away from some monster. It says, "Recommended for Adult Entertainment." It's produced by "Gooey Productions" which has made a series of, let's say, less than top of the line films. As I settled down to watch, my expectations were set. But you know what? A funny thing happened on the way to watching what I expected to be a piece of shlock film-making -- a fair HP Lovecraft adaptation broke out.

"The Innsmouth School for Girls" is a pretty decent adaptation of HP Lovecraft's "The Shadow over Innsmouth." Barnabas Marsh and his family are there, Zadok Allen is there to give exposition, and the legend and story-line of Lovecraft's novella is there in spades. Hilda Sofia Bautista, in her first movie role (she gets the "Introducing" credit), stars as Roberta Olmstead who comes to stay at the titular school. When she gets there she and her fellow students realize that there is something odd with the staff and with the people in Innsmouth...

I was pleasantly surprised at how well this played as an actual Lovecraft adaptation. Just well done all around. Writer/director Joshua Kennedy seems to have more than just a passing familiarity with his source material (for example, the narrator in Lovecraft's tale is unnamed, but if you research Lovecraft you know that in notes he wrote about the story he named him as "Robert Olmstead", so the protagonist's name is a clever renaming) and handles everything really well for a low budget film.

All the actors give solid performances that belies how new they are to the task. Almost the entire cast is, apparently, new to movies and the film actually celebrates that with an extended end credit sequence. My biggest complaint is that the movie just sort of "ends" in the middle of things, not sure if they just ran out of money or time but it just sort of rushes to a completion and then stops.

All in all, "The Innsmouth School for Girls" get a solid, and surprising, recommendation.

Goliath is a family drama that suffers from an weak script that makes it hard to stay truly engaged. As the movie begins, Robin Walker, a successful journalist, gets a phone call telling her that her father has died after a long battle with Alzheimer's. She goes back to her home where she reconnects with her mother as well as her brother Garrett and his boyfriend Parker. She also tries to reconnect with their younger sister Violet, who she needs to convince to come to the funeral. And once they are all together, family drama and conflicts arise...

"Goliath" tries but there are too many things that just don't make sense. Characters act in ways that don't seem consistent with their backstories, and they seem to completely change personalities in different scenes -- in one they are reasonable and caring and at the drop of a hat they become miserable and cruel, and vice-versa. There's a random woman that the mother seems to hate, and a random guy who is one of Robin's old friends and spends his screen time trying to get her into bed (although to be fair, Robin is played by Jessica Sipos, who is absolutely gorgeous in this movie). And there's a final surprise near the end that, to be honest, makes no sense and no explanation why it would ever be kept as a secret from everyone.

Technically, "Goliath" is a triumph for a smaller film. The acting is top-notch, with the aforementioned Jessica Sipos carrying most of the film wonderfully, and she is well-supported by Michelle Mylett, Andrea Roth, and Jon Cor. Direction, lighting, and sound is all clear and crisp. But in this type of drama, the script and writing just needs to be crisp and tight, and when there are as many "What the heck?" moments as there are in this movie, it just takes you out of the story.

A lot to like about "Goliath," but it only gets a middling recommendation.

"Winnie the Pooh -- Blood and Honey" will probably shock a lot of viewers, given it is being characterized in the media as a "fun horror flick with Winnie the Pooh." Fact is, it's a pretty shocking, deadly serious slasher movie with a hefty dollop of graphic violence.

In a cartoon prologue, we get the "slasher event" that kicks off the horror -- in this case, Christopher Robbins leaving his friends at "100 Aker Wood." Unable the fend for themselves, they turn feral and become filled with rage. And when Christopher returns five years later he finds things have changed... a lot. At the same time, a woman named Maria is dealing with a stalker issue, and so she invites five of her friends to get away from the city. But unfortunately for them, they chose to go to a house at the edge of "100 Aker Wood"...

People who go to "Winnie the Pooh -- Blood and Honey" expecting a comedy or parody or light entertainment are going to be stunned. This movie is bleak and nihilistic and takes its scares and kills seriously. The violence is graphic and in your face. There isn't a laugh or joke of "wink to the audience" in the entire film.

Not to say that's bad -- quite the contrary. It's a fine addition to the horror genre, you just need to know what you're getting into. At the showing I went to, I sat in front of a group that was desperate for this to be a comedy, a couple of times they went into very forced laughter at a non-funny sequence and then were almost immediately stunned into silence.

The filmmakers took a risk -- the easy way is to make this a silly, lame "horror comedy." Making this a flat-out horror film took guts and the result is worth it. It's clearly set up for a sequel (the end credits proudly say "Winnie the Pooh Will Return") and we can all look forward to it. Definitely worth checking out for horror fans!

I am a bit conflicted about "Alone at Night." It clearly has some problems, starting with the title itself. The movie was apparently originally titled "18 & over" and the movie itself still sports this title. The re-titling appears to be a last minute marketing change to try to convince people that the movie is different than it actually is, and it's never a good sign when a movie does that.

"Alone at Night" is the story of Vicky (Ashley Benson), a young woman who just broke up with her boyfriend and was kicked out of their New York home. She travels to the town she grew up in to stay at her cousin's house in an attempt to mentally recover, and she will have a week all alone at the house. She is also a cam-girl (her cam girl act involves putting on a purple wig), and so she figures she can spend the week camming and making a whole lot of money. And we spend the week with her as she cams, hangs around, and hears rumors of a killer nearby...

As I said, the movie has issues. She is supposed to be isolated, and yet there is a seemingly endless stream of men who just happen to stop by this distant house, and each one is more annoying than the previous. Pamela Anderson plays the local sheriff and sort of seems like she's supposed to be comic relief but never really fits. And there is a weird subplot about a strange "Pandemic Reality Show" starring Paris Hilton that we spend an inordinate amount of time watching (it's supposed to be Vicky's favorite show).

But for some reason I enjoyed it a bit more than I should have. I suspect some of that is due to Ashley Benson, who makes a very appealing protagonist. And I was able to figure out the killer from actual clues that were given, which is always nice.

Hard to really recommend it, but I sort of enjoyed it and there are worse ways to spend 90 minutes. I know that's faint praise, but still...