V/H/S/Mixtape (2026) Film Review

It presents a new anthology in which music and sound become a source of terror.

V/H/S/Mixtape is the ninth installment in the V/H/S franchise.

As someone who usually gets a kick out of these movies, I must say that V/H/S/Mixtape is a disappointment and is easily the worst entry since V/H/S: Viral (2014). I’m not exactly sure what happened here but this one in particular feels cobbled together like science fair project that was worked on the night before it’s due. There has been a new installment to the franchise every single year since 2021 with a new installment already announced for 2027 which is V/H/S: SCP that will apparently get a wide theater release. Which funnily enough everyone (including myself) thought because of this announcement, the series was going to skip this year…and maybe they should have. Mixtape truly feels like they felt obligated to just release a new installment every year.

As per usual with these movies, I’m going to talk a little bit about each segment, give them a score from 0-5 and then give my final thoughts of the overall movie. Do not expect this to be as long as other entries though, there is not a whole lot here with most of these segments. Let’s start with

Premature Burial (wrap around segment) directed by Tobias Forge director of Ghost: Rite Here Rite Now (2024) – An absolute low point for the franchise, look I understand what they are trying to do with the whole MTV parody thing but the humor is incredibly juvenile and way too try hard to be funny. The wrap around segment also includes the band GWAR which I personally did not care for, I’m not even quite sure if fans of the band would be interested either. It’s mainly just poor acting and making jokes about jerking off (which is within the first couple minutes of the movie). The segment does not really add anything to the other segments it’s basically this whole “let’s see how you react to this one!” which I guess is fine enough but overall feels pointless. Overall quite terrible and as I said a true low point for the series….0/5.

Another Cabin (music videos) directed by Flying Lotus director of Kuso (2017) and Ash (2025) and Tobias Forge (already listed what he has directed) – In between the main segments there are a few music videos which are a decent enough palette cleanser from some of the main segments. There really is not a whole lot to discuss here as they are just that music videos. I am a sucker for stop-motion (who isn’t?) so I do like that one fine enough. Overall the music videos only last for a few minutes, visually pretty solid but not much else. It’s a shame to because Flying Lotus directed “Ozzy’s Dungeon” a segment for one of the franchise’s previous installments V/H/S/99 (2022) and that segment was quite great. Shame he was restricted to music videos rather than an actual segment….3/5

Dance Dance Dance Dance directed by Rachel Zhan (who has her upcoming directorial debut Baobao in pre-production.) – The first actual segment of the movie and this is a promising start, it’s yet another take on the whole “show from your childhood is actually evil” sort of thing but I do think what mainly supports this segment is the puppets, I am also a sucker for puppetry it’s a talent that does not get the recognition it deserves of how much talent, focus and passion is put into it. That really shows here and it also is genuinely funny at times, the kills are quite gnarly and help the atmosphere be playful yet creepy, the acting is unfortunately what holds the segment back from being great (although Barbara Crampton is solid.) Overall the segment is quite straightforward, had it not been for the puppetry this one would be very forgettable…3/5

Heartbeat directed by David Moreau director of Them (2006), MadS (2024) and a few others – Unfortunately I did not like this one, it’s a great concept on paper which is about YouTuber urbex influencers that get trapped in a sonic military facility. The problem here is the segment does not do a whole lot with it, seeing the characters slowly but surely go insane due to the sound is interesting enough. But there is basically no story or anything to really make you care for these characters. I think this would have made for a decent longer horror short that you would see on YouTube, but as it stands this one is very forgettable and does not have enough meat on the bones…2/5

The Music Of Mr. Sze directed by Ernest Dickerson (who has done mainly done TV work.) – A man is filming for his documentary and meets another man called Mr. Sze who is a musician, from there events get weird and chaos ensues. Easily the most forgettable of the main segments, it takes way too long to get into the interesting bits and the acting is once again incredibly lacking. It does not help that this one is very much on the predictable side of things, we have seen plenty of those “something weird is going on in a certain room” sort of plots before and done far better as well. I’ll give it points for the last 2-4 minutes but that is not nearly enough to save it…..2/5

Death Tone directed by RZA director of Love Beats Rhymes (2017), One Spoon Of Chocolate (2025) and a few others – Quite easily the best segment of the pack, the acting might be rough around the edges. But between the segment’s style, gore and Neela Jolene’s performance this is quite a lot of fun. An obsessed young sound engineer/musician samples sounds of real-world violence to make this track left behind by her late father is such an interesting premise and it works wonderfully here. It’s quite brutal and truly makes you wish that most of the other segments were as interesting. The story side might be a bit weak but the segment does not overstay it’s welcome and accomplishes what it’s sent out to do…4/5

Overall, V/H/S/Mixtape is disappointing. There are lot of great ideas here but unfortunately a lot of the segments fail to utilize them in interesting ways. The lack of atmosphere is very noticeable in mostly all of the segments with the exception of Dance Dance Dance Dance and Death Tone, easily one of the weakest installments of the franchise.

V/H/S/Mixtape is available on Shudder.

3/10 D-

Ice Cream Man (2026) Film Review

An idyllic summer town descends into madness when an ice cream man serves kids sweet delights with horrifying results.

Ice Cream Man is directed by Eli Roth director of Cabin Fever (2002), Hostel (2005), The Green Inferno (2013), Knock Knock (2016), Thanksgiving (2023), Borderlands (2024) and a few others.

I really do not think you needed me to tell you that Eli Roth’s Ice Cream Man is hands down the worst movie of the year, Eli Roth had a slight comeback with Thanksgiving (2023) but that was mainly due to how solid the cast was. Borderlands (2024) had a ton of production issues so if you wanted to give Roth the benefit of the doubt you could. But with Ice Cream Man it is quite clear that Roth is stuck in this edgy phase that has long since died out.

First and foremost the acting is terrible there’s no other way to describe it. Dylan Hawco and Ari Millen are the closest you get to tolerable performances, but even they struggle to make the script worthwhile. The development the characters do get is a complete and total mess with moments that take themselves way too seriously (especially towards the end), it’s almost baffling to see the “twist” this movie went for because it adds almost nothing to the plot.

The movie also feels like it’s straight out of a bubble gum commercial and not in a good way, maybe that was the intention of taking this sort of style and putting killer kids over it. But from the way it’s presented it feels incredibly cheap, lifeless and the use of AI during the villains entire back story is nothing short of pathetic and worthless.

Lastly, Ice Cream Man is basically if you took Cooties (2014) and made it one of the worst movies of the year. I’m not going to sit here and say Cooties (2014) was some sort of masterpiece, but at the very least it was fun, had personality and it was actually quite decent. Ice Cream Man does not offer that at all, the most you can say is that the gore might be fun but even it does not add anything to this movie’s world.

Overall, Ice Cream Man is horrendous, especially in a year where the horror genre has been quite fantastic this one sticks out like a sore thumb.

Ice Cream Man is available on all VOD platforms.

No Redeeming Qualities…Just Garbage F

Quick Reviews Buzzkill and Bloody Tennis (2026)

A group of sorority sisters who end up trapped with a murderer. Nora’s tipsy memories hold the clues to figuring out who is killing their friends, but she can only remember them when she’s drunk.

Buzzkill is directed by Jem Gerrard director of Slay (2024), Invasive (2024), Invasive 2: The Getaway (2025), Takeout (2025) and a few others.

I don’t typically talk about Tubi movies but I made the exception for Buzzkill since it did seem somewhat fun and well that’s exactly how it turned out.

Buzzkill is a modern slasher movie that sure does exist, there is not anything inherently terrible or good about it. To be quite honest the most surprising thing about this is the acting actually not being that bad, the cast really tries to salvage what they can. The movie’s lead Siena Agudong is likable, has some solid comedic timing and plays a pretty convincing drunk who is wandering from room to room trying to solve a mystery. It helps that her character Nora is pretty fun as well and has this likability factor to her character.

The kills are not too bad here, they are much better than you would expect and have this attention to detail to them (somewhat at least.) There really is not anything flashy going on here but the kills work all around.

When the movie gets into the final act that’s when the plot gets a little too stupid for its own good, it does not help that it’s quite predictable and anyone who was following along before hand can have a pretty good shot at predicting what is exactly going to happen.

There really is not a whole lot more to say here, from what is presented it’s fine enough. But there just is not enough meat on the bones for the viewer to really sink their teeth into. You could probably get a good laugh out of this one from your viewing before almost immediately forgetting about it.

Buzzkill is available Tubi

5/10 C

Sophie, who is admitted to an elite tennis academy hidden in the South of Europe, where she must contend with fierce competition and the school’s increasingly sinister undercurrents.

Bloody Tennis is directed by Nikias Chryssos director of The Bunker (2015), A Pure Place (2021) and Rave On (2025).

Bloody Tennis is if you took Suspiria (1977) and Challengers (2024) then somehow made them dull and not interesting at the slightest. It’s a shame because there are some good ideas here with Bloody Tennis they just take a while to get going and even when they do finally start it’s way too late.

Sandra Guldberg Kampp gives a fine enough performance here but it is nowhere near enough to carry the movie to the finish line, very little is known about her character Sophie and the movie does not do itself any favors by not giving her any sort of character development. The rest of the cast are not great, to be absolutely fair to them the script lacks any sort of depth so it was an uphill battle from the start.

The movie has its moments of promise such as the last 10 minutes or so when the plot finally gets into the somewhat interesting territory. For a majority of the movie the plot goes for this whole “how far would you go to succeed” type of story which we have seen plenty of times before. It’s the bare bone version of that with not really adding anything new to the conversation. It is a shame because the last 10 minutes lead into something actually pretty sinister before the credits roll.

Overall Bloody Tennis is a very forgettable ride that has some intriguing ideas, but never utilizes them and only ever gets somewhat interesting until the movie is nearly over. A very bare bones experience that you will immediately forget about.

Bloody Tennis is available on Shudder.

3/10 D-

Most Anticipated Films Of October 2026 + Important Update

Before we get into the list I think a few things are in order to talk about. The first one being that I am currently doing the New York Film Festival, so expect a ton of reviews for films that I see very soon.

The second thing being a lot more lengthy to talk about. So last week I was pretty much on track to be caught up reviews with only having 6 or 7 films left and then I got sick. I felt like garbage throughout the whole week and since then I have watched a lot more films, luckily I’m a lot better now and was well enough to attend NYFF (thank god or else I would have probably lost my mind.) so looking at the rest of this week, next week and the week after (my last day for the NYFF at the time of writing this is October 12th) this is going to add a lot more films, that is also factoring in any theatrical releases that I see, some films going to digital I need to catch up on ect.

So as you can imagine that’s going to be quite a lot of films and reviews, which do not get me wrong I absolutely love but at the pace I was going I just cannot see myself being able to review all of these films in a reasonable time. This is obviously not me saying that we need to rush out reviews (that’s the exact opposite of what I want) but I also do not want to end up in a situation where I’m reviewing Evil Dead Burn in December.

So what’s the plan here? I think what’s going to happen is that some films are still going to get the usual long reviews, while others are either going to get very short reviews or have the sort of approach I did with my 2025 Wrap Up reviews that are still decently long but they don’t fit in the same mold as the usual reviews I do. Right now it’s to be determined on which films I’m putting in which categories.

Anyways reviews are likely going to return next week I just wanted to update on where I’ve been. Now let’s get on to the list.

October 2nd

Verity (Theaters)

Digger (Theaters)

Beware Boiúna (Theaters)

Nickels (VOD)

The Influencer Project (Theaters)

October 9th

Other Mommy (Theaters)

Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother (Theaters)

Fjord (Theaters)

The Social Reckoning (Theaters)

V/H/S/Mixtape (Shudder)

October 14th

Love Of Your Life (Amazon Prime Video)

October 16th

You Can See Everything (Theaters)

Whalefall (Theaters)

Sense and Sensibility (Theaters)

Street Fighter (Theaters)

October 23rd

Wildwood (Theaters)

Possible Love (Theaters)

Wicker (Theaters)

Clayface (Theaters)

Fjord (Expands Theaters)

October 28th

Breeder (Theaters)

October 30th

The Mosquito Bowl (Theaters)

Gentle Monster (Theaters)

Hope (2026) Film Review

A mysterious discovery is made on the outskirts of the remote harbor town. The residents find themselves in a desperate fight for survival against something they have never encountered before.

Hope is directed by Na Hong-jin director of The Chaser (2008), The Yellow Sea (2010) and The Wailing (2016).

Hope is one of the strangest films I’ve seen so far this year, at first the film starts out slow that over the course of the film gets more and more insane and bizarre. The film reels you in with its small village mystery and then keeps you attached when it decides to go all out with the monster elements and the ultimately bizarre moments. Hope is going to be a bit more tricky to review, since I do not want to spoil anything, so I will just give a basic overview that won’t hurt your experience of the film.

The performances are quite shockingly great, particularly Hwang Jung-min, Zo In-sung and Jung Ho-yeon, even if there is little to no character writing here. We get a general idea of their characters and the film makes it work, it helps that the performances are a whole lot of fun that balance the film’s serious and more silly moments. The film captures the look of fear and flat out confusion in the characters faces, the slow movement in their walking is so well done especially during the film’s first act a scene that takes place in the village.

The cinematography is outstanding and really does a lot of the talking rather than the script, cinematographer Hong Kyung-pyo does a fantastic job of making every single corner suspenseful. The earlier mentioned village scene is a prime example of this, Hwang Jung-min’s character Ko Bum-seok is armed with his gun not exactly knowing what is terrorizing the village, every single time he reaches a corner there is potential for this beast to strike. You feel that with the cinematography focusing so Ko Bum-seok as well as the area around him, the atmosphere truly grabs onto the viewer and never lets go, it’s truly one of the film’s many best moments that truly makes an excellent example of how cinematography and atmosphere can do most of the talking.

The film’s build up to the monsters is truly fantastic, while yes the film does have a slow start I do think that overall benefits the film. The film is able to bring in its suspenseful atmosphere, get the viewer caught up about this small village mystery before it evolves into something far greater. You also feel this sense of exploration as well, like you are exploring the film’s world along with the characters.

The CGI is admittedly incredibly silly however I do think that was the intention, the film is definitely self aware that it looks ridiculous and goes all in with ragdoll physics that feel straight out of the video game series Grand Theft Auto, plus the CGI is strangely charming and has this incredibly fun feel that really matches the tone the film is going for.

Finally there’s the action scenes, particularly the horseback and car scenes. Once again the attention to detail that comes from the cinematography is truly fantastic and really builds the suspense of the scenes, the focus and sharpness of these moments that truly bring everything together.

Overall Hope is an insane ride from beginning to end, it’s the sort of film that you must go in knowing as little as possible to really get the full experience.

Hope is currently in theaters.

9/10 A

The Sun Never Sets (2026) Film Review

A woman’s relationship with her older, divorced boyfriend hits a rough patch just as her ex reappears in her life, leading to complicated emotions and messy entanglements in the Alaskan wilderness.

The Sun Never Sets is directed by Joe Swanberg director of Marriage Material (2012), All The Light In The Sky (2012), Drinking Buddies (2013), Happy Christmas (2014), Win It All (2017), Build The Wall (2020) and many others.

Of the films I’ve seen from Joe Swanberg I believe without a doubt that The Sun Never Sets is hands down his best to date, perhaps it’s due to Swanberg making the film based on his own experiences with relationships which gives the film a much more personal feel. When you combine that with strong performances, the story being told in such a grounded way and the execution, you have yourself a genuinely well done film.

The performances all around are fantastic, Dakota Fanning, Jake Johnson and Corey Michael Smith are all really excellent here and each contribute to the film and its themes. Jake Johnson brings this comfortable yet nuanced approach during the film’s dramatic moments and even balances the comedic ones masterfully. Corey Michael Smith brings this vulnerable and grounded energy to the film as well as the love triangle of the film.

Finally there is Dakota Fanning who quite honestly gives a career best performance that is compelling, raw, she does such a fantastic job of portraying this free spirited woman at romantic crossroads and she’s the emotional core of the film. Which Fanning makes use of by really going all out with her already beautiful performance. Fanning’s performance really spoke to me, I’m still not 100% sure why that is the case. Perhaps it’s due to the way Dakota Fanning’s character Wendy explores the world around her or the way she communicates with those around her.

The writing is truly well done, while there is not anything new being explored here. The way the film goes about exploring the love triangle is quite grounded, the film mainly explores the messiness of relationships and looking at old wounds. Old wounds particularly when it comes to relationships can be incredibly difficult, in this case once Wendy’s ex-boyfriend Chuck (played by Corey Michael Smith) remerges, this forces Wendy into this emotional limbo where past issues and present issues combine together. The way the film goes about executing this is quite well done and truly effective, especially due to Wendy’s character writing where we also start to feel what she is feeling.

The ending is quite fantastic and feels like a very natural choice, apparently Dakota Fanning is the one who pushed for the ending and I must say that it was a very smart move. The ending moves away from the typical tropes of the genre and instead has Wendy finding this quiet, uplifting moment of calmness after traveling through the film’s chaotic and messy love triangle.

Overall The Sun Never Sets is a beautifully done film that the more you really think about it the more you truly appreciate it. Between the excellent acting, directing and character writing, there is so much here to truly appreciate.

The Sun Never Sets is currently in theaters.

9/10 A

Finding Emily (2026) Film Review

When a lovesick musician is given the wrong number for his dream girl, he teams up with a driven psychology student to find her. Together, they spark a hilarious campus-wide frenzy that tests their own hearts and ambitions along the way.

Finding Emily is directed by Alicia MacDonald which is her directorial debut.

I have said before that I do not typically cry when watching romantic comedies, but something about Finding Emily really clicked for me and I’m still not 100% sure what exactly that was but It left me truly impressed. Perhaps it’s the beautiful performances, the direction or the strong balance of the film’s grounded and more crazier moments.

The performances from Angourie Rice and Spike Fearn are truly magnificent, the film’s best moments are when the two get to play off of each other in this natural and focused way that really brings the viewer along for the ride. You directly feel the two’s chemistry fly off the screen and invest the viewer, their personalities are wonderful and their characters Emily Raine (played by Rice) and Owen Brompton (played by Fearn) are charming and have this grounded nature to them. The supporting cast such as Cora Kirk, Kat Rooney, Nadia Parkes and many others are all great here and give memorable performances that contribute to the plot.

The writing is quite well done, not only does the film have its grounded moments which are mainly from the conversations between Rice and Fearn. But the film also has it’s more crazier moments that take some liberties of not being grounded but are still quite a lot of fun. The film understands that not every single moment needs to be grounded and that is perhaps it’s secret weapon, it has this beautiful balance of grounded and more crazier elements that mix surprisingly well together.

In a lot of ways Finding Emily does feel like a throwback to the 2000s romantic comedy era, one way being the soundtrack that really does capture the atmosphere and spirit of the film. It’s very clear that Alicia MacDonald really cares for the genre so she goes all in here and makes the best experience a fan of the genre could have.

Overall Finding Emily is genuinely fantastic, it’s a whole lot of fun with a strong story and cast. It’s one of the best films of the year and arguably one of the best romantic comedies of the 2020s so far.

Finding Emily is available on all VOD platforms.

9/10 A

Quick Review: The Last Kiss (2026)

After a tragic class trip, a teen gains the ability to see people’s deaths through kissing. She races against time to save her classmates from their foreseen demises related to the incident.

The Last Kiss is directed by Yoko Okumura director of Unseen (2023).

The Last Kiss is the definition of a surprise release, the trailer only came out 5 days ago (at the time this was written) and as you would expect it’s a straight to VOD release. What caught my attention was that McKenna Grace was in this movie and well…she sure is the best part of this movie.

McKenna Grace tries with what she can with such a shoddy script that fails to turn it’s interesting premise into something great, unfortunately her character Laurel is just not given enough depth for the viewer to latch onto. We know very little about her outside of when she kisses someone she can see their death, that’s all we really get unfortunately. The supporting characters are your very standard slasher horror movie characters who have very little personality, the cast does a fine job acting wise but nothing really great here.

The writing is what completely breaks this movie, the horror elements feel almost like an afterthought, the script fails to make its interesting premise into something investing that the viewer can get put into and explore the movie’s world. Quite honestly, the movie feels much more like a supernatural mystery tv pilot rather than a horror movie, there is also a bit of teen comedy thrown into the mix that just isn’t very funny at all.

Overall The Last Kiss is very forgettable, you could do a lot worse as the acting is not that bad and there are occasional moments of promise. But overall this feels like a huge missed opportunity with such an interesting premise.

The Last Kiss is available on all VOD platforms.

3/10 D-

Obsession (2026) Film Review

After breaking the mysterious “One Wish Willow” to win his crush’s heart, a hopeless romantic finds himself getting exactly what he asked for but soon discovers that some desires come at a dark, sinister price.

Obsession is directed by Curry Barker director of Milk & Serial (2024).

Obsession undoubtedly one of if not THE biggest success stories of a film from 2026, I don’t think anyone involved with this film including Curry Barker, Inde Navarrette, Michael Johnston or anyone else expected the film to be as popular or massive as it went on to be. The film’s plot is straightforward, it’s a very classic “careful what you wish for” type of story but there’s a lot of elements here that really make this film stand out. When you combine the performances, the atmosphere and the filmmaking you truly get some incredibly thrilling results.

First and foremost the performances are all quite fantastic. Michael Johnston does a wonderful job at playing Bear a character who is charming at first but then quickly becomes selfish. Some of Johnston’s best moments as Bear is when he slowly realizes that the wish he’s made is backfiring onto him, being able to capture this character who is both slimy and now trying to fix everything that HE caused is truly effective. The supporting performances from Cooper Tomlinson and Megan Lawless are both strong here, they offer some strong moments and help build the film’s world.

Without a doubt the strongest performance here is Inde Navarrette who plays Nikki. There are times here where her performance is truly jaw dropping and makes you ask “how on earth did she do that?” It’s a performance that Navarrette clearly put so much commitment into and really compliments the film’s atmosphere and world. Some of Navarrette’s best moments are when pre-wish Nikki tries to cry out for help, it’s incredibly devastating and Navarrette captures the pain and betrayal in her voice masterfully. The more wild and bizarre moments of Nikki are effective as well, between the body movements and the speech patterns it’s all there that truly delivers one of the best performances of the year and one of the best horror performances of the decade.

Obsession’s secret weapon is it’s atmosphere, as soon as the film starts you immediately feel like you have been taken into this dark void that is trying to trick the viewer into believing they are in a regular town. It’s the type of atmosphere that slowly but surely creeps up on the viewer as the film goes on, the few comedic moments are used sparingly throughout which actually helps bring this film’s characters and world more closely together.

The film’s technical elements are beautifully done, the score from Rock Burwell is haunting, beautiful and even tragic. The score manages to compliment each and every scene in well defined detail, it has this touch of sadness that can be felt throughout the experience. The cinematography from Taylor Clemons is truly wonderful, there’s a few shots here of Nikki being covered in shadows with only her eyes shining. These moments combined with the dialogue are truly hauntingly beautiful and have this extra punch to them.

Finally there is Curry Barker’s direction which is truly excellent. The direction here is incredibly confident and does not shy away from the film’s themes. The set up for each scene always has some sort of payoff, whether it’s the dialogue or the acting from everyone here. There is always at least something that’s going to catch your eye as you explore this film.

Overall Obsession is one of the best films of the year, this film automatically puts Curry Barker, Inde Navarrette, Michael Johnston and the rest of the cast and crew on the map and to see what they will do next.

Obsession is available on all VOD platforms.

10/10 A+

Masters Of The Universe (2026) Film Review

Prince Adam discovers that the strange memories shaping his life are real when the lost Sword of Power resurfaces, forcing him to return to Eternia and challenge the tyrant who shattered his family and kingdom.

Masters Of The Universe is directed by Travis Knight director of Kubo and the Two Strings (2016) and Bumblebee (2018).

Masters Of The Universe is one of the biggest surprises of the year, it is quite refreshing to see a blockbuster based on an IP not take itself incredibly seriously. While there are some writing flaws, I do think the film succeeds at capturing its source material and is the closest we are ever going to get to a genuinely really good Masters Of The Universe movie.

For starters the cast is quite great, they all do a splendid job of capturing the spirit of their respective characters. Nicholas Galitzine was a lot of fun and genuinely great as Prince Adam/He-Man, if there is one thing I took away from this film it’s that it sold me on Galitzine as an actor. Galitzine is able to really go all in on the humor while complimenting the serious moments the atmosphere asks for, his chemistry with the rest of the cast is quite great and he is overall quite charming. I also really do love Galizine’s take on the whole “Hero’s Journey” element, you as the viewer genuinely root for him and feel like you are exploring the world with him.

Idris Elba as Duncan/Man-At-Arms and Camila Mendes as Teela are both quite great, while not getting a whole lot in the character writing department. They do have plenty of really strong moments that give their characters something to do, the two also work incredibly well with Galizine making the trio quite fun throughout the film. Alison Brie goes all in as Evil-Lyn, she nails Evil Lyn’s voice to the point where it’s truly mind blowing. She sounds exactly like her and has the same sort of mannerisms, some of the film’s best moments are whenever Brie is on screen. Again not a whole lot in the way of character writing, but still a quite impressive performance.

Jared Leto perhaps gives his best performance in years as Skeletor, not only does the performance capture the source material. But there is strong balance of humor and seriousness, it does help that the design of Skeletor is quite fantastic and makes him pop out a lot more. Some moments towards the end do get on the incredibly goofy side of things, however Leto’s delivery is able to match the atmosphere and make said goofy moments genuinely entertaining.

What mainly helps the film is it knows exactly what it is and does not pretend to be anything else, although the film does have serious moments. The film never reaches to the point where it is taking itself so seriously that it takes the viewer out of the film. The writing remains quite consistent throughout and even some of the jokes that don’t always land still have a bit of charm to them.

The costume design from Richard Sale is absolutely well done, from Man-At-Arms to Evil Lyn to He-Man and so on they are all so well done and capture the spirit of the source material so wonderfully. The attention to detail is front and center here with the costumes and pops out almost immediately as soon as the film begins, it remains that way throughout the experience and truly elevates the film.

Finally there is the score from Daniel Pemberton which is one of my favorite scores from a film so far this year. Right from the beginning we are treated to “Eternia” a song that pretty much sums up the energy, power and fun of the film, the score does so much of the talking throughout the film in this such coolish atmosphere that it brings along with it. The first scene of Adam turning into He-Man is one of the film’s best scenes, the song “The Power Of Grayskull” plays which is yet another example of just how excellent the score really is.

Overall, Masters Of The Universe is a fun and genuinely fantastic film that captures the spirit of the source material while adding its own style into the mix. Hands down one of the most surprising films of the year thus far.

Masters Of The Universe is available on all VOD platforms.

9/10 A