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Beezel (2024)
Commendable Effort for a Low Budget Movie
If you approach this movie understanding it is a low budget project, and don't have expectations of high end CGI etc., it is an enjoyable 80 odd minutes. The acting is passable, if a little clumsy at times, the story is not radical, but original enough. It is roughly split into four segments, but all one story as it develops through the years. I think, of the four segments, I enjoyed the first one, with the documentary maker the most. The last segment, and the longest one, did seem to drag a little, and had the most unrelatable characters, as I really didn't care if they survived or not. The ending was disappointing, and really didn't leave me satisfied. But having said that, I did enjoy, and would definitely check out another movie from the same team.
Salem's Lot (2024)
Devastatingly Disappointing
It is hard to express how badly I wanted to love this movie. Salem's Lot is my all time favourite Stephen King book, and the first I read on it's release. I read it in one sitting finishing in the early hours of the morning and it has stayed with me ever since. I did enjoy the 70s mini series, although still question the choice of David Soul as Ben. And the 2000 Rob Lowe version was good to a point, including a lot of scenes missed form the 70s version. But disliked the drastic change to the ending. Which brings me to this new version.
I really don't know where to start. Bad acting, dodgy scenery, laughable SFX, lack of any atmosphere or suspense and drastic changes to the story which were needless.
This was such a great opportunity to make THE great Stephen King adaptation. If they had managed to combine the good elements of the two previous attempts they would have had a winner. But this was just a mess, and bordering on unrecognisable to the original story. So disappointed.
X-Rated: NYC (2022)
Each Season Gets Worse.
I enjoyed season 1, although clearly scripted to some extent. It still had some high drama, mostly of the manufactured kind. Plus there are some hot bodies to ogle, albeit more of the older generation. But it has gradually become more and more obviously scripted, not just the odd scene as in the beginning, but every vignette, every interaction feels so false. And being porn stars, they are really not the greatest actors. If left in the raw, this could be a fascinating and evocative documentary. However, it has become a vaudeville pantomime and often a cringeworthy watch. Having said all that, like a car crash, I can't stop watching.
Squirm (1976)
Underrated Creature Feature, not to be taken Seriously.
This was one of the very first horror movies I saw, and it has just stuck with me. There are some very squeamish moments with worms burrowing into human flesh and all the nastiness that follows. Yes the acting is beyond hammy at times, but that is part of what makes this such a great cult movie. I recently rewatched this and to be honest it hasn't aged well, but it is a '70s movie and should be watched with this in mind. The scene with the millions of worms surging through the floor, in retrospect is a thin layer of worms on some plywood being chucked around to make it look three feet deep. Just a fun Saturday night cult movie, have a few beers, a lot of laughs and just enjoy.
The Deliverance (2024)
Shoulda Coulda,been good
I'd heard some good things about his movie, and was quite excited to see it. There was so much potential here, and some reviewers had commented that if you were a fan of the Exorcist you should watch this movie. But apart from the theme of possession, the movies have little in common. The first hour or so is spent setting the scene and back story. But it is repetitive and does nothing to move the story along. The middle section loses focus and things escalate so quickly the second part almost feels like a different movie. Reportedly based on true events a la The Exorcist it just feels a little needy.
Longlegs (2024)
Surprisingly Disappointing
I had long been looking forward to this movie, having heard a lot of good things about it, and it has very been heavily promoted. And maybe because of all the hype, and the fact it was being pushed as a horror movie, I was quite disappointed after watching it. It is probably more in the realms of Silence of the Lambs type horror, than an out and out horror. There is an underlying supernatural thread, but this is not the main theme.
Don't get me wrong, this isn't a bad film, the performance from Maika Monroe is brilliant, and an almost unrecognisable Nicholas Cage is his usual, over the top, brilliant self.
I knew very little about the story before seeing it, and so was expecting something much more supernatural from the clips I'd seen. It is a slow burner, but not a lot really happens for a lot of the film. It does gradually crank up the suspense and there is an ominous air throughout, but for me, it was just missing... something, but I'm not sure what.
I guessed the "plot twist" fairly early on, and after that it all seemed a bit meh. The ending seemed invertible, and I even watched through the credits for a sting in the tail, but there was none. If I had gone into this with not pre conceptions it might have been a 7*, but spoiled for me by the misleading hype.
Doctor Who (2023)
Hopeful, but Ultimately Disappointed
Like many people on here, I was raised with the '70s Drs. John Pertwee and Tom Baker are the seminal Drs for me. Christopher Eccleston was hugely underrated and brought the series into the 21st centaury, and David Tennant is probably the ultimate Dr.
My concerns initially arose with the Christmas special. Dr Who with a musical number. Plus a story line which seemed like it had come straight from a children's book.
I did feel that Ncuti Gatwa had the potential to be a great doctor, and I'm really not sure what went wrong. For me, the writing has been particularly weak, and seem to be mostly Earthbound. I have probably found at least half of the episodes, well, boring. Another issue for me was the lack of chemistry between the main characters. The Doctor has always been about his relationships with his companions and associates, and I really didn't feel this. I do hope Ncuti gets another season, but just with some decent, epic intergalactic storylines. And If Ruby isn't Rose Tyler's Daughter then the entire writing team needs firing for missing a beautiful throwback.
Abigail (2024)
A Good Time Horror Movie That Balances Humour Well.
I wasn't sure what to expect from this movie. I had seen the clips so had a vague idea of what was coming. So the premise is that rag tag gang of villains kidnap a girl for a ransom. However, all is not as it seems. I had a lot of fun with this movie, and it reminded me in some ways of Dusk 'til Dawn. The first half was fairly straight down the line criminal kidnapping. Then it hits the vampire stuff and goes off. There are a few great comedy moments scattered throughout the film, which are not intrusive or jarring, but fun. I really enjoyed this, it won't be to everyone's taste, but for me maintained the right balance of Horror, Comedy and drama. I think I you enjoyed From Dusk 'til Dawn, you'll enjoy this.
The Program: Cons, Cults, and Kidnapping (2024)
Raw and Revealing
I really wasn't sure what to expect from this documentary. I purely downloaded it for the title. As I have a morbid fascination in cults, and their mind control and manipulation. But what I got was a raw, emotional genuine insight into the horror of teenage correction facilities in America. I cannot believe that any parent would knowingly put heir child through this program if they were aware of its true nature.
It is hard to believe these places still exist and are willingly supported. They have been shown to be a multi billion dollar industry, manipulating parents to spend 10s of thousands of dollars on teens who they are deliberately holding back for financial gain.
It is hard to imagine any parent sending a child to one of these facilities, where their children are dragged from their beds in the dead of night, handcuffed and dragged off to who knows where, while their parents stand by and watch.
I don't know if this is an exclusively American phenomena, but I haven't come across any other examples. An interesting social question, is it truly rebellious teens, or just lazy, or God forbid, bad parenting.
Whatever the case, there is so much more gravitas because the documentarian is a former victim and truly passionate to expose the truth.
Fear (2023)
Disappointing
Nothing frustrates me more than a horror movie that has so much potential but fails to deliver. Fear would be fairly high on that list.
A man takes his girlfriend away for a surprise birthday weekend and has arranged for a group of their friends to be at the old lodge in the middle of nowhere. This happens to coincide with the outbreak of a Covid like pandemic, forcing them to remain isolated at the lodge.
There are several things in this movie that just don't make sense, but it is hard to go into them without giving away spoilers. A great deal stems from the lack proper back story. A few morsels of history are thrown in, but not enough to make sense.
The first half of the movie relies heavily on the paranoia caused by Covid as its premise. The slightest cough or sniffle has people turning against each other.
Early on, the characters decide to share their greatest fears, and of course that comes back to bite them on the bum.
The acting is okay, with a couple of weak links, but the script leaves a little to be desired at times.
All the elements are there to make a good, if not great horror movie, but lack of details renders the story a bit muddled and confusing.
Oh, and the ending sucks big time.
Late Night with the Devil (2023)
Refreshingly Different
A lot of my reviews start off with this phrase, but this movie will not be for everyone. It is definitely a movie of three parts. The struggling late night TV host. The sceptic and the possessed girl. Then the ending. There is clearly a very pointed dig at the exclusivity of Bohemian Grove, if you are unfamiliar there are several really good documentaries out there regarding the very secret and exclusive society, whose members include presidents, actors and various people of power. The first half is a very well paced slow burn, setting the scene and back stories. The middle section shocks and surprises. Then the ending, at least for me, came out of left field and I was not expecting it. I will have to watch this again, as I'm sure there are several easter eggs scattered through the first half of the film indicating the direction it will take.
My Wife, My Abuser: The Secret Footage (2024)
A Frightening Insight Into The Mind Of A Psycho Woman
I knew nothing about this case when I started watching the documentary, and by the end of it, I was so angry the wife only got 4 years in prison. If this and been reversed, and it was a man attacking a woman over 20 years, I'm sure the sentence would have been harsher. She was purely evil, a calculated, angry, evil piece of work. I'm no shrinking violet, but some of the things she said and did were so beyond just domestic abuse, especially in front of the young children was just shocking. I was genuinely horrified by her behavior, the attack on him with a wine bottle could have been fatal. It was heartbreaking to watch, and the fact that he knew some violence was coming and he went to change his clothes to keep his decent stuff was so sad. He had normalised all this horrific behaviour, and never wanted to fight back. But it was the secret footage where she was physically and mentally abusing him I found the most upsetting. She had absolutely no thought of her kids as they watched this horrific scene unfurl.
X-Men '97 (2024)
Okay, But Could Have Been Better.
I have been a fan of, and collected Marvel comics since the late 70s, and in particular the X-Men, and I loved the original animated series. One of the reasons I loved it, was because, even though they did deviate slightly from the comics storyline, particularly in the later series, they mostly stayed fairly true to the original, albeit missing out large chunks.
So, I was really looking forward to this new incarnation, and continuation of the original. However, X-Men '97, although continuing where the original left off, seems to carve its own storyline. And some of the voice actors don't fit the characters, or are just too overdramatic, particularly Storm. This is often not helped by the cheesy dialogue.
Having said all that, I di enjoy it, but not as muh as I was hoping.
Beware the Boogeyman (2024)
Predictable and Amateurish
I don't really know why I was expecting anything from this movie. I watched it mostly just because I love supernatural/paranormal themed horror films.
It is clearly trying to cash in on the success of the recent Stephen King movie, Boogeyman, but fails badly.
The set up is that a doctor goes to a psychiatric establishment, hoping to secure a position on the staff. During her meeting with one of the resident doctors, she discovers the centre has some patients, all with the same delusion, they are afraid of the Boogeyman. She proceeds to read through their case histories, and so the movie unfolds into a series of backstories, showing how each patient came to be there.
The acting is pretty average at best, and all the stories are predictable and unoriginal. And as for the "twist" ending, I had two in mind, and this was one of them. As for the titular Boogeyman, I've seen better Halloween costumes made by an eight year old.
Blur (2022)
Better Than I was Expecting
This was a curious little movie, which had some really original and interesting ideas, and for the most part executed them really well. Considering it is an independent movie, with a smaller budget, the effects are fairly convincing and the acting was pretty good from all concerned, and very believable.
It is a slow burner, but does ramp up in the second half, and has some great scenes.
The Storyline is a little confused at the beginning, by which I mean it is not explained very well. Basically, an Archaeologist/museum curator finds an old statue in the deserts around Iran, and when she returns to Australia, strange things start to happen.
The only real criticism I have is that it was almost like two separate stories, the initial one with the archaeologist, and then the second part with her friend
Also They seemed to make a big deal about the soldier who was accompanying the archaeologist in the beginning, but then he sort of disappears and is not involved again.. There were a few plot points which either didn't quite make sense or remained unexplained, but I would definitely recommend this to lovers of supernatural horror.
Something in the Dirt (2022)
Too Weird, Even For These Guys.
I really tried to enjoy this movie. It starts of okay, two new neighbours bond over cigarettes and when they share an unexplainable event in one of their apartments, they become obsessed with trying to document the unexplained. But it is so disjointed, and lacking continuity it becomes a mess. There are bits of old footage inserted which seem irrelevant, and some apparent sub plots which go nowhere. I have no idea how I would categorise this movie. It is not horror or drama, maybe part fantasy, part Sci-Fi, part vanity project. There are long scenes of dialogue between the main characters which ultimately go nowhere. It chops and changes so much I really lost interest by the end, as there could be no logical conclusion, and there wasn't. And with a run time of almost two hours, it is way too long. It felt like a short story that should have been trilogy of novels, with time enough to explain everything.
The Bannocking (2023)
Nothing Really Happens
This series originally intrigued me as it was quite high on the downloaded series chart.
But for the life of me I can't see why. There are six ten minute episodes, and nothing really happens. There is very little in the way of story development throughout, and no explanation or background to the events.
Apart from the main female lead, the characters are either unmemorable or just plain annoying and the acting is amateur.
It comes off as a badly made pilot episode of a Walking Dead / Last of Us rip off series that no-one would ever watch, and would never get commissioned. Don't waste your time.
Carnifex (2022)
An Interesting Idea, but not fulfilled.
This is an Australian movie, and follows two conservationists and a reporter/photographer, who travel into the depths of the Australian outback to survey all the indigenous animals that have been displaced by the recent (at the time) devastating bush fires. During their journey they start to realise there may be something more than the usual species that have been forced out of hiding by the fire.
Now, if anyone has read any of my previous reviews, they will know I am a fan of the slow burner horror movie. I don't need to see heads exploding in the first five minutes of the film. However, this one is such a slow burner it barely raises above room temperature.
The first hour of the movie is just the main characters travelling around collecting trail cams, camping and not a lot else. And when it does finally start to ramp up, it does so in a very Limited way. The acting by the three leads is pretty good throughout, but they are let down by the slow pace, and considering this is slated as a "creature feature" the creature only appears on screen for five minutes or less. And the re is very little in the way of story, and what there is, is predictable anddisappointing.
Cabin Girl (2023)
Messy
So, the premise of the movie is a woman who runs a blog from her camper van takes up residence in a cabin, and becomes obsessed with the story of a local girl who took her own life close to the cabin.
My main issue with this movie was that there are so many jarring moments and changes in direction, that make the whole thing feel disjointed, like three or four stories going on at the same time, and it leaps from one narrative to another.
Yes, there is an underlying story, but it is lost in the confusion of trying to distract the viewer away from the truth. If I was to watch the opening and closing scenes side by side, it would be hard to believe they were from the same movie.
Project Almanac (2015)
Some People Have Taken This Way Too Seriously.
I'm not sure what people were expecting going into this film. It is not an in depth scientific investigation into time travel. Basically it is a teen movie with time travel as a back drop.
A Science buff in high school, finds his fathers plans for a machine that can travel back in time, and successfully builds it. Of course, after some trials, they try and use it for their own gain, but it has a limited range. As the movie progresses, things escalate and the teens become more reckless, fulfilling their own wishes. Of course, travelling back in time has consequences. Paradoxes and the butterfly effect.
The actors are all pretty good and likeable, but the shaky and off kilter camera work is a bit annoying at times.
Also, some of the things that happen, that the cast never think are odd, even knowing they have access to time travel and don't make the connection.
Despite its faults, I did enjoy this movie, but I did deduct a star for the unsatisfying ending. So 6 stars.
Eli (2019)
A Pleasant Surprise
This movie had been on my "To Watch" list for a while, and I finally got round to it. It was not at all what I expected, and definitely takes you places you are not expecting.
A young boy, named Eli is hyper allergic, and lives in a plastic bubble, or rarely ventures out in a hazmat type suit, or he will die from extreme allergic reactions. His parents discover a scientist who claims to be able to cure Eli, so they scrape together the money, and move into her hermetically sealed clinic. Here Eli can move around unhindered by protective suits. Things start to get a bit weird, and Eli begins to question everything.
I would have rated this a bit higher, but I did question some of the scenes and how people did or didn't react. I also found the boy playing the lead a bit unconvincing at times.
But all in all a very decent movie, with a few scares and lots of twists and turns. Definitely worth a look.
The Black Gloves (2017)
This Might Be The Only Genuine Review Currently On Here
I cant believe there are so many 8-9 star reviews on here. They must have watched a different movie. With all the raving about Moloch the Owl Man, he barely features in the movie at all. The overacting is so hammy and overwrought it was hard to watch. There are also some outrageously bad accents from the two leads, one Scottish, and the other, well I'm not quite sure what it was supposed to be. This definitely had a 50s B movie feel about it, but very little in the way of horror. The use of black and white only serves to highlight the inadequacies in the direction and effects. There is little in the way of storyline, apart from the a very basic one, and even that is disjointed and poorly delivered. All in all an extremely underwhelming effort.
Devoured (2012)
Should Have Been a TV Episode.
The basic story is a Hispanic woman is working in the US to raise money for an operation to save her sons life. Her son is with her mother back in their home country. She works as a cleaner/Waitress in a small restaurant, where her boss and the chef are relentless unpleasant to her for some reason. A few weird things start to happen around the workplace. Things moving on their own, things glimpsed out the corner of her eye, the usual fare. Every night she calls her mother and speaks with her mum, although her mother becomes reluctant to let her.
Their are really only 3 actors, the main one being on screen for 95% of the movie. Thankfully she does a convincing job. The other 2 are the owner manager lady and the chef are decent enough.
My main issue with the movie is it is very repetitive. Lady goes to work, staff are mean to her, something weird happens, she calls her mum, then goes home and dreams. This happens 3 or 4 times in the movie and never advances the story much further.
There is, of course, a twist at the end, but if you don't see it coming you really need to watch more horror movies.
If they could edit out all the crap and repeated scenes, it would have made a fairly decent half hour TV episode.
The Haunting in Rosemary Lane (2024)
Just Awful. Minus One Star
Ignoring the ten and nine star reviews from those involved in this atrocity, its real score should be -1 star. It is obviously just two unemployed guys with nothing better to do, who got drunk together and decided to make a movie.
From the dialogue and slurred speech it sounds like they remained drunk throughout the making of this. At 58 minutes run time, it is 59 minutes too long, and looks like it took 60 minutes to make. It sounds like most of the dialogue, when understandable, was improvised, which was a mistake, as they just repeat the same phrases over and over again as they stumble through the woods.
Avoid at all costs.
No One Will Save You (2023)
Close Encounters of the Unfriendly Kind
Well, that was different, and not what I was expecting. A deeply strange movie, in more ways than one, and I loved it!
It does take a little while to get going, setting the atmosphere and back story. However the directors decision to have minimal dialogue in the film, (and when I say minimal, I can only recall a handful of words throughout) rather hinders that objective.
Without wanting to give too much away, the main character, Brynn, lives alone in a large house in the middle of nowhere. She is apparently a pariah in her local town, and it is believed she had something to do with the death of her best friend when they were 12.
Come forward 10 years, and one evening an alien enters her house and a cat and mouse pursuit begins. Needless to say it escalates from here quite dramatically. I did get some serious Close Encounters vibes, particularly when the aliens were trying to break into the house.
Unfortunately it seemed to lose its way towards the end. What started as a Si-Fi horror, ended up a bit mawkish and sentimental. If I'm honest, I really didn't understand the ending and it managed to out weird the rest of the film.
I was going to give 8*, but the ending just jarred with the rest of the movie, so a solid 7*.