The Dreadful follows Anne and her mother-in-law Morwen who live a solitary, harsh life on the outskirts of society – but when a man from their past returns, he will set off a sequence of events that become a turning point for Anne.
The Dreadful is directed by Natasha Kermani director of Shattered (2017), Imitation Girl (2017), Lucky (2020) and Abraham’s Boys (2025).
The Dreadful is one of those movies where soon as the movie ends you almost immediately forget what you watched. Outside of the atmosphere and the actually quite beautiful cinematography, there is just not a whole lot going on here making the whole experience feel empty and dreadful (I had to throw in at least one joke here) to sit through.
Kit Harington and Sophie Turner are not horrible here, but they aren’t exactly great either. Their performances just aren’t strong enough to overcome the movie’s terrible script that feels like a slog to get through. Their characters Jago (Harington) and Anne (Turner) are not interesting enough to make the viewer care for the story. What adds fuel to the fire is the two just don’t have very good chemistry, individually the performances aren’t horrible but together there is a ton of awkwardness that starts to rub onto the viewer and never goes away.
The atmosphere tries to do some heavy lifting and bring some scenes to life, which at times it does feel like I’m in this movie’s world especially when you combine it with the cinematography from cinematographer Julia Swain. Swain really tries to make everything work, she brings some beauty to certain scenes with the gorgeous cinematography that is quite detailed. Unfortunately the rest of the movie fails to compliment or take advantage of this, it’s frustrating because the ideas that the camera presents is far more interesting than the ones written in the script.
The pacing is painful, despite the movie only being 94 minutes long. It feels more like a 2 hour long movie that is purposely going as slow as possible, nothing invests the viewer throughout the movie. It’s a very dull and forgettable experience that the viewer will almost certainly check themselves out of by the time the movie is over.
Overall The Dreadful is terrible and there is just not a whole lot to comment on here. At the very least it’s forgettable so it won’t stick with you for that long when it’s over.
Two officers, trying to cover up a tragic accident, uncover a terrifying supernatural conspiracy, blurring the lines between reality and nightmare.
Bodycam is directed by Brandon Christensen director of Still/Born (2017), Z (2019), Superhost (2021), The Puppetman (2023) and Night of the Reaper (2025).
Right off the bat Bodycam has a good idea going for it, being a found footage movie that uses body cams to tell the story. Unfortunately this movie fumbles the ball almost immediately and never takes advantage of its own ideas. Instead it opts for jump scares, a laughably bad ending and a huge lack of atmosphere that tries to pull from video game franchises such as Resident Evil and Silent Hill which ends up being a complete and total mess.
The only major positive here is the performances from the movie’s two leads Jamie M. Callica and Sean Rogerson, the two do what they can with such a ridiculous and very shallow script. There are moments where they are able to make some of the dialogue salvageable, which ends up being some the only decently thrilling scenes the movie has going on. Unfortunately those don’t last for very long due to the movie’s need to fall in the incredibly ridiculous territory.
What ultimately really hurts this movie is the script, lack of an atmosphere and the ending. The script as I said before is incredibly shallow and has very little going on here. A lot of it is the typical found footage movie cliches and the overall story being incredibly undercooked, it’s a giant mess that hardly ever gives the viewer an idea as to why certain events are happening in the first place.
The lack of an atmosphere becomes apparent when you see that the movie resorts to jump scares…which is basically the entire movie. As I said before the movie tries to pull the atmosphere and feel of Resident Evil and Silent Hill however the movie does not have the psychological touch that the Silent Hill video game franchise has and it doesn’t have the fun and thrills that Resident Evil has. It’s a complete and total mess that tries to be a terrible replica but can’t even do that correctly.
Finally there’s the ending which is laughably bad, we do end up getting the reveal of what exactly is going on here in the end. But what we do get is this CG creature that feels incredibly out of place, it’s one of the most ridiculous endings to a movie I’ve seen so far this year and completely takes the viewer out of a movie that if it hadn’t taken you out of the experience before it sure will now.
Overall Bodycam is terrible, the performances from Callica and Rogerson are decent enough but that is nowhere near enough to save this complete and total mess of a movie.
Pedro (Hendler) is asked to look after his ex’s senile mother, Alicia (Maura), but she traps him in her home, turning a simple favor into a fight for survival
Crazy Old Lady is directed by Martín Mauregui director of Love (Part One) (2005).
Crazy Old Lady automatically hits you with this claustrophobic atmosphere as soon as it begins which is mainly thanks to cinematographer Julián Apezteguía’s camerawork. It’s a film that does meander a bit but it ultimately does reach the finish line with a solid conclusion.
The performances from Daniel Handler and Carmen Maura are what really make the film. Especially Maura who gives a genuinely intimidating performance, she’s able to capture this sense of dread in each scene. She effortlessly switches between personalities that really does make you wonder which one is going to take the front seat in the scenes of Alicia (played by Carmen Maura) and Pedro (played by Daniel Handler) exchanging dialogue. Maura captures the film’s claustrophobic atmosphere immediately when she enters the film and keeps it that way throughout the experience. Daniel Handler does a great job of displaying fear and realizing how insane the situation really is. He compliments Carmen Maura’s performance incredibly well and serves as this stone to build the movie’s haunting atmosphere.
The writing might not exactly be fantastic and there are cases where the movie is lacking a bit of depth, however the performances from Maura and Handler are able to elevate the material and make it a bit more interesting. With that being said the movie does meander a bit which does end up hurting the pacing at times, the pacing can feel breezy or it can feel rough it’s a very strange case of the movie using both.
Finally there are some backstory elements that are introduced but are not fully explored, the movie does make up for it with some symbolic elements such as the decaying house. The house actually does get development when it comes to the cinematography being so well detailed and with the lighting.
Overall Crazy Old Lady is a decent little film that does hold back at times, but it delivers when it comes to performances, cinematography and atmosphere.
A father trains his daughter to survive monsters from an alternate dimension that have invaded Earth, but they are eventually found, forcing them to fight for survival.
Worldbreaker is directed by Brad Anderson director of Session 9 (2001), The Machinist (2004), TransSiberian (2008), The Call (2013), Fractured (2019) and many others.
Not a whole lot to discuss here which is why this one is not getting a full review. The main notes I took during this movie were.
It’s an incredibly formulaic post apocalyptic movie, at times there is decent world building but not nearly enough to save this movie or make it interesting.
Luke Evans gave a solid performance, most of the movie it’s him training a teenage girl how to swing a sword. Yet he somehow squeezes a good performance out of it (whatever it takes to get a good performance I guess.) It might be because Evans is just naturally a great actor but there are some parts of his dialogue that are interesting enough.
Mila Jovovich is barely in this movie, if you are going into this movie as a Jovovich fan you are going to leave incredibly disappointed. Despite the poster making it seem like she’s a huge part of the movie she barely shows up, it’s kind of hilarious but at the same time it’s an incredibly odd choice.
My final note was simply “how did they get Brad Anderson to direct this movie?” Not every single one of Anderson’s films have been great, but Worldbreaker in particular feels very phoned in. At least with some of Anderson’s weaker films you can tell there was some sort of attempt to bring some charm, you simply don’t get that with Worldbreaker. The ending in particular is especially laughably bad, it really does feel like we watched a prologue scene from a bad video game and as soon as you get into the actual game it just ends.
Macy, a young woman, is abducted by a monstrous figure intent on raising her as their own child.
Dolly is directed by Rod Blackhurst director of Here Alone (2016) and Blood For Dust (2023).
Depending on your familiarity with 60s and 70s exploitation films, Dolly could come off as disturbing for some people. It’s very gory, it has a very empty atmosphere that the film automatically throws the viewer in and the film being shot on 16mm only adds to the effect of the film. With all of that being said, there are some very heavy missteps here that while does not make the film bad. It does leave you wanting a lot more and the film being too simple for its own good nearly costs it.
The performances are not bad here, they have this sort of aggressive and rawness to them that really brings the viewer up close to the action. Fabianne Therese is by far the stand out here, she gives a very raw performance that really captures the feel of the viewer during each scene, there is some pretty gross moments that Therese’s character Macy has the look of complete and utter disgust that really do a fantastic job of explaining scene with just facial expressions. Max the Impaler is intimidating as Dolly and does a great job of showing how the character is feeling without saying a word or the need to see Dolly’s face. It’s effective work that is shown throughout the film.
The film has this grimy feel that blends incredibly well with the beautiful 16mm camera, a majority of the film takes place in a single house and that in turn leads to the filming to create tons of claustrophobic moments. Cinematographer Justin Derry does such a fascinating job of creating this “up in your face” sort of style that is quite effective, when you combine that with the film’s genuinely creepy atmosphere you really have yourself a genuinely terrifying film on a technical level.
The gore is quite gnarly and when combined with practical effects really turns things up a notch, the kills are quite brutal and do have the classic grindhouse movie feel. It’s clear the film also takes a lot of inspiration from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) especially when it comes to the kills, grimy feel and the overall look of the film. It’s a nice little love letter to the film mainly atmospherically.
The main flaws of Dolly mainly stem from being way too simple for its own good and running out of steam towards the end. Story wise there is just not a whole lot going on here, there are some hints at character stuff during the film’s final moments but by then the film is wrapping up and it feels very tacked on. The basic plot description is just about what you get story wise, seeing these events unfold are indeed haunting. But there’s no developments or any meat to build these characters.
With that being said, I had a blast with Dolly. If you are a fan of 60s and 70s exploitation films you are definitely going to like this. It’s very well made, has some genuinely solid acting and has the right atmosphere to make for an effective film.
When a highly dangerous fungus escapes from a secret laboratory, a former bioterrorism agent is called back into action. Alongside two young employees, he must confront an invisible and out-of-control threat.
Cold Storage is directed by Jonny Campbell director of Alien Autopsy (2006).
Cold Storage is a classic case of stumbling upon a late night B sci-fi horror movie and having a decent time with it. There is plenty of flaws here that you would think would bring the movie down, however there is a lot of charm here that helps keep the movie rolling along at a decent pace and ends up finishing with an expected yet fun outcome.
The cast is mainly what holds the movie together. Georgina Campbell and Joe Keery work very well together, the two’s chemistry is the heart of the film and why everything meshes decently well together. Georgina Campbell’s execution with her dialogue has some great humor and Joe Keery’s charming screen presence works wonders here. Liam Neeson is also quite solid here, while this can feel like he’s doing the same sort of deal with a lot of his action movie roles. There is some more heart put into this performance which I’m still not exactly sure why that is, maybe it’s due to part of Cold Storage being a comedy and Neeson does incredibly well with the genre. Whatever the case may be, Neeson turns in a great performance and works well with Campbell and Keery.
The writing is decent overall, there is some character moments here that are shockingly decently written. There isn’t any groundbreaking character work going on here, but it is nice to see these characters not feel like an afterthought. The self-aware humor can be a little grating at times but a majority of the time it’s used sparingly and the movie mixes it in with some gross out humor that is actually quite fun!
As far as atmosphere goes the film nails it well enough, Cold Storage is going for a much more comedic tone and throws in some sick looking mutations with slime, fungus and such to create some neat creature designs. It’s zombie adjacent but goes about it in its own way. The CG can be questionable but considering this is (assumably) on the lower budget side of things, this isn’t very surprising.
Overall Cold Storage is decent for what it is, it’s a very quick 99 minutes that isn’t trying to reinvent the wheel in the horror genre. It’s a fun little movie that has a good cast, some neat action and makes great use of its location. Give this one a look!
A woman’s hope for a miracle cure turns into a nightmare when she confronts the vengeful spirit of a cursed witch, determined to claim her as a vessel for her evil power.
Diabolic is directed by Daniel J. Phillips director of Awoken (2019).
What you see is what you get with Diabolic, it is about what you expect from a religion based horror movie. The idea here is interesting enough and actually did have some potential to be great, but unfortunately the film’s very undercooked writing really stops it in its tracks.
The characters are very underwritten which leads to no depth and no connection for the audience. It’s a shame because the performances here are quite honestly not bad, Elizabeth Cullen gives a decent performance as the leading role, there is a few moments here where she really blends in well with the film’s atmosphere which does lead into a few standout moments of the whole film.
The writing has a nice setup but falls short in execution mainly due to how predictable it all is and goes into several sub-genre cliches. There is definitely some Evil Dead (1981) DNA here, but the film never takes advantage of it and instead goes on a very dull route that the viewer immediately forgets about after viewing.
It’s frustrating because a lot of the technical elements are there, the atmosphere is genuinely creepy at times and the camera does have some well done shots that capture the film’s creepy atmosphere. The makeup is actually quite solid as well and shows some great detail on the witches. There’s just not a whole lot going on here writing wise which ultimately really sets this movie back.
There is just not a whole lot to comment on here, Diabolic fails to standout in a very crowded sub-genre. The filmmakers clearly know how to create a haunting atmosphere but unfortunately the writing fails to compliment it.
Hello again! So you might be wondering what is this? Well I have 6 films from 2025 I just never got around to fully reviewing. So I decided to do something interesting, instead of flat out just not reviewing them I decided to do a wrap up post talking a little bit about each film and moving on to the next one. I’m splitting it into two parts just to keep things a bit more organized, In the future I do plan on talking about some of these films in greater length. But for now I at least want to share my love for these films in brief detail. So let’s start with..
28 Years Later
Set decades after the Rage Virus outbreak, it follows a new group of survivors on an island who venture onto the mainland, discovering mutated infected and new threats.
28 Years Later is quite honestly one of the most hauntingly beautiful horror films of the 2020s. There is a whole lot to be said here about the theme of death and how the film goes about exploring it. Jodie Comer gives a phenomenal performance that has this human connection feel that is constant throughout the film, Alfie Williams is just as fantastic and connects instantly with the people he meets along the way.
Ralph Fiennes as Dr Ian Kelson gives us one of the best written characters of the 2020s, throughout the film we are made to believe that he is this crazy lunatic yet what we get is this calm and balanced man that has this beautiful understanding of life and death. It really brings tears to your eyes due to just how beautiful the dialogue really is here.
Combine that with a beautiful score by Young Fathers (especially their song Remember), stunning cinematography and brutal kills. You have yourself such a wonderful film that you will never forget.
28 Years Later is available on all VOD platforms.
10/10 A+
Marty Supreme
Marty Mauser, a young man with a dream no one respects, goes to hell and back in pursuit of greatness.
Marty Supreme is one of those films that continues to get better and better as it goes on, what starts out as a simple enough film turns into a chaotic film that ups the ante and never falls to the floor.
Timothee Chalamet is not holding back here at all and delivers one of his greatest performances (arguably his best), he fully embodies Marty Mauser (which the film is loosely based on. He balances this likable and unlikable aspect that hits this sweet spot that in turns makes him such a fascinating character.
Odessa A’zion gives such a heartbreaking performance during the second half of the film, it’s a soul crushing yet beautiful performance that sticks with you throughout the experience. Her chemistry with Chalamet is wonderful and even when she isn’t on screen you do feel her presence.
What makes Marty Supreme so fantastic is it has this group of characters who balance this realness and weirdness. They all fit so well together in this perfectly bizarre atmosphere the film has going on here, every single moment there is some perfectly normal interactions going on along with some bizarre ones.
Marty Supreme is a wild ride from beginning to end that truly captures every single moment it throws at the viewer.
Marty Supreme is available on all VOD platforms.
10/10 A+
If I Had Legs I’d Kick You
While trying to manage her own life and career, a woman on the verge of a breakdown must cope with her daughter’s illness, an absent husband, a missing person, and an unusual relationship with her therapist.
2025 Wrap Up Review
If I Had Legs I’d Kick You is like entering someone else’s head, seeing the struggles, thoughts and memories that constantly go on inside their head. If I Had Legs I’d Kick You and Die My Love can definitely be considered sister films mainly due to how similar they are thematically however they go about this in much different ways.
If I Had Legs I’d Kick You goes about this in a less deep in a void feel, it’s more clear and we can get a better idea of what is going on inside Linda’s (played by Rose Byrne) head. With that being said it’s still a very navigating experience (in a good way). It’s one of those experiences that ultimately feels very rewarding to go on and once you reach the end it’s genuinely stunning to watch.
So much has been said about how fantastic Rose Byrne’s performance is and the praise is absolutely earned. Rose Byrne gives a career best performance that feels next level, a performance that captures the constant thoughts of motherhood and how crushing it can be. Byrne perfectly matches the surreal atmosphere that demands this spiral and break free type of feel that truly leaves the viewer stunned. It’s an unforgettable performance that I still think about constantly.
I highly recommend going into If I Had Legs I’d Kick You knowing as little as possible, it’s such a powerful film about the stress of motherhood and what constantly goes inside the mind during that period of time.
If I Had Legs I’d Kick You is available on all VOD platforms.
An L.A. cop discovers a local task force is hiding a secret that puts the residents of his childhood neighborhood in danger.
Night Patrol is directed by Ryan Prows director of Lowlife (2017).
Night Patrol is if you took Sinners (2025) and threw in some cops as vampires. Okay that’s a bit harsh, Night Patrol is at the very least trying to do its own thing. It has an important message underneath it all which I do find admirable, with that being said the movie is a mess which unfortunately really drags this one down with the ending result being a very confused mess.
The performances are fine enough of here, Justin Long is here and does a decent enough job. Jermaine Fowler, CM Punk, Flying Lotus, Freddie Gibbs, RJ Cyler, YG and many others are here which is undeniably pretty neat. To their credit they all do decent enough and try to make the script work as well as it can, there is this fun factor of just seeing all of these names together. But that only goes so far with their characters just not getting the writing they need.
The kills are effective, one of the film’s themes is racial injustice so seeing some of these brutal actions take place on screen is effective and gets the viewer uncomfortable. I would argue that these scenes are by far the film’s best assets. The opening scene in particular is incredibly effective and does give the film a strong start, unfortunately what follows pales in comparison.
What hurts the film the most is the writing, we bounce between dramatic and comedic moments that do not blend well together at all. Plus we have so much going on story-wise that it starts to overwhelm the viewer due to how much of a mess it really is, the third act is especially guilty of this as it throws just about every single element from the film at the wall to see what sticks with none of it sticking.
While I respect the film for mixing racial injustice with vampires it just does not have enough writing and firepower to really land, the dialogue bounces between being serious and comedic without trying to build a bridge for the two. There is this classic exploitation movie feel that you can see glimpses of but it never ends up fully coming together.
Overall Night Patrol is a mess, the fine enough performances and the kills are just not enough to salvage the script or its bizarre editing.
Follows two millennials who flip NY apartments they don’t own to new buyers who don’t know they are being scammed. The con works brilliantly until they run into an apartment owner with a dark secret who flips the game on them.
Twisted is directed by Darren Lynn Bousman director of Saw II–IV (2005-2007), Repo! The Genetic Opera (2008), Mother’s Day (2010), 11-11-11 (2011), Spiral: From The Book Of Saw (2021), The Cello (2023) and a few others.
Twisted is an odd one, it definitely feels like it’s trying to recapture the grimy, dark and gory atmosphere of what some horror movies were doing back in the 2000s. Yet this feels like a very watered down version of that, there are a few scenes here that are nasty but those can only push the atmosphere so far. This leads to a pretty underwhelming experience despite the movie’s name telling you that it will be a sick one.
Undeniably the best parts here are Lauren LaVera and Djimon Hounsou, Hounsou has this calm voice that can easily intimidate you and his character Dr. Kezian’s whole motive is genuinely interesting. Even if his backstory needed more stronger writing, Hounsou is able to salvage it by just giving a genuinely intimating performance.
Lauren LaVera gives another great performance here, by now she’s pretty much established herself as a modern day scream queen and here is no exception. She nails both the thrilling and dramatic moments, her chemistry with Mia Healey feels natural and is the heart of the film. These moments are not huge, but they are what mainly helps this movie not feel like a chore to sit through.
The main problem with Twisted is the writing, especially story and dialogue wise which is a bit of a mess, the dialogue does not have a whole lot going on here and is mostly saved due to the performances being surprisingly decent. The story is interesting and had promise, but the movie never takes full advantage of it. Outside of a few gross brain surgery scenes towards the end, the movie never fully commits to its ideas and instead settles on being strangely tame which does ultimately hurt the movie.
Overall Twisted is forgettable, there is just not a whole lot going on here. There is a bit of this giallo feel with some of the blood splatters and with the camera being set up in certain ways, but much like almost everything else in this movie it’s very watered down to the point where you just shrug your shoulders and move on. There’s definitely worse straight to VOD options out there but you can’t help but feel disappointed with this one.
Jerome Reviews... 