In 1986 paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren travel to Pennsylvania to vanquish a demon from a family’s home.
The Conjuring: Last Rites is directed by Michael Chaves director of The Curse Of La Llorona (2019), The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It (2021) and The Nun II (2023). The film serves as the ninth installment in The Conjuring film series, the film is also the wrap up story of Ed and Lorraine Warren.
I have long since lost any sort of excitement for The Conjuring series, the first two Conjuring films were quite excellent and then you had Annabelle: Creation (2017) that was decent enough. But outside of that, the series has failed to evolve and has been met with varying degrees of terrible quality. That unfortunately has not changed with The Conjuring: Last Rites a movie that is a supposed final goodbye to Ed and Lorraine Warren’s story but ultimately feels like just another one of these movies both in spirit and in the terrible quality that’s been present for a while.
The performances are by far the best part of the movie, Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson are once again very charming as the Warrens. Their scenes together have passion, Mia Tomlinson makes a nice addition to the series and works well with Farmiga and Wilson, she has some decent character moments here and there. But unfortunately there’s just not a whole lot going on here with the characters.
The jump-scares are incredibly lazy this time around, this series has always had jump-scares but at least with the first two films there was build up to them, you felt the atmosphere hitting you in the face during those moments and those first couple of films brought you into the background. You just don’t get that here with The Last Rites there is nothing immersive going on throughout the majority of the movie, even during the final act when something does actually happen that is still not enough to really save this movie.
The writing is just not there at all, while it might not be as bad as some of the spinoffs of the series, it’s about as equal to The Devil Made Me Do It (2021) meaning it’s not interesting and feels very empty, you would think after so much build up for these characters that the writing would at least try to deliver something unique or special into the mix. But unfortunately you just don’t get that here.
Overall The Conjuring: Last Rites is a very empty movie, it’s a forgettable installment and it’s a bad final note for Ed and Lorraine Warren’s story. I wish there was more to talk about here but that’s just how forgettable and bland this movie really is.
The Conjuring: Last Rites is available on all VOD platforms.
After learning that one of their victims, Maya, is still alive, three masked maniacs return to finish the job. With nowhere to run and no one to trust, Maya soon finds herself in a brutal fight for survival against psychopaths who are more than willing to kill anyone who stands in their way.
The Strangers: Chapter 2 is directed by Renny Harlin director of A Nightmare On Elm Street 4: The Dream Master (1988), Die Hard 2 (1990), Deep Blue Sea (1999), Devil’s Pass (2013), The Legend Of Hercules (2014), The Strangers: Chapter 1 (2024) and many others. The film serves as the fourth installment of The Strangers series and the second installment of the new trilogy.
The Strangers: Chapter 2 achieves a quite baffling accomplishment….it somehow ends up being WORSE than its predecessor and that is truly saying something considering how much of a mess the last movie was. This movie doubles down on all of the flaws of the previous movie and even introduces a backstory to The Strangers themselves.
The only positive this movie has going for it is Madelaine Petsch who I really admire for carrying these movies, she captures the final girl spirit well enough and even tries to make the atmosphere feel a bit more threatening with her solid performance. But the rest of the movie is just not agreeing with her and diddle-daddles to the point where it takes the viewer right out of the movie.
The writing somehow gets even worse with this movie, whereas the first movie could be written off as a terrible slasher movie that may have some entertaining moments. Chapter Two for some reason decided to give the villains of the movie The Strangers themselves backstories, an element that completely defeats the purpose of this series in general. Isn’t the whole idea of these movies is to know as little about these antagonists as possible? To show the point that sometimes random psychos target people who they have no connections with, why are we suddenly giving these antagonists backstories? The childhood flashback origin stories are not only poorly done but they feel pointless, they take away a lot from the movie and end up resulting in a complete and total mess.
The rest of the movie is a mess, way too many off screen kills that completely take away from the movie’s atmosphere. Dialogue that is not only terrible but has no interesting character moments for Maya (played by Madelaine Petsch) and a movie that is essentially one long chase scene that quickly bores the viewer.
Overall The Strangers: Chapter 2 is one of those bad movies that is not even interesting in a bad way, it’s boring, not investing and a poorly put together mess that has very little personality. I am deathly afraid to find out how terrible the final movie of the trilogy truly is.
The Strangers: Chapter 2 is available on all VOD platforms.
Diego and Sage’s romantic vacation at a secluded lakeside estate gets upended when they’re forced to share a mansion with a mysterious and attractive couple. Their dream getaway soon spirals into a nightmarish maze of sex, lies and manipulation as terrifying secrets come to light, triggering a bloody battle for survival.
Bone Lake is directed by Mercedes Bryce Morgan director of Fixation (2022) and Spoonful of Sugar (2022).
Bone Lake has some great ideas at play here, but unfortunately does not quite have the firepower to last very long especially when it comes to its script.
The performances are decent here but there really isn’t any particular moment that stands out. Maddie Hasson definitely gets the bigger end of the stick when it comes to the rest of the cast, but even her performance is left with more of a need to explore.
The movie attempts to touch on modern relationship dynamics and expectations which is all well and good, but the major issue here is the characters lack any sort of development to turn these themes into something investing for the viewer. The characters are very much what you would expect from this type of horror movie and just have very little going on in the development department.
Lastly there’s the writing which plays it very safe, even under the erotica genre this is not as crazy or explicit as much as the movie tries to make itself out to be. There are suggestions and glimpses of more hardcore elements but never anything shocking or daring, there are moments of fun to be had but those are very far and few in between.
Overall Bone Lake is very forgettable, outside of a few decent scenes and some okay performances this is one you will almost immediately forget about after watching.
Married couple Daphne and Darcy Davenport are two musicians who moved from London to a cottage in Wales to complete their new album. By accident they record a mystical sound never heard before and gradually disconnect from reality.
Rabbit Trap is directed by Bryn Chainey which is his directorial debut.
Rabbit Trap is one of those movies that has a lot of the right ingredients to make for an interesting little movie, but unfortunately drops the ball when it comes to adding detail to the story. Especially with its heavy use of being way too cryptic with the story.
The performances are all strong here, Dev Patel has a lot of charisma as an actor and here is no different. It might not be one of his absolute best performances, but he does capture the mysterious atmosphere the movie is going for and does a really solid job with his chemistry with the rest of the cast. Rosy McEwen offers great support for Patel (although I really do wish the movie went a bit more into her character), even if she is given the least amount to work with. Finally there’s Jade Croot who gives a quite terrifying performance, as soon as Croot enters the movie you feel the atmosphere completely change into something haunting. That’s present throughout the entire experience and is by far the movie’s best asset, it’s a mesmerizing performance that gets under the viewers skin very quickly.
When it comes to technical aspects, Rabbit Trap is quite strong. Sound designer Graham Reznick hits it out of the park, he takes the simple concept of sound and made it quite terrifying. There’s a mix of folklore here as well which does bring in some interesting moments. Cinematographer Andreas Johannessen and production designer Lucie Red give the movie this hauntingly beautiful feel and look that helps it standout a bit more. There’s this atmosphere that captures this feel of mystery where anything can happen or appear out of nowhere, the folklore like feel is also there something a lot of movies who try to go for this feel often miss.
Unfortunately Rabbit Trap suffers from a lot of writing issues. As great as the acting is, there’s just not a lot of strong character writing here and the lack of development really shrinks the impact the movie attempts to go for. The story’s cryptic and confused results lead to the viewer getting completely taken out of the movie.
Rabbit Trap falls short in what could have been a hidden gem that’s an atmospheric ride, but ultimately becomes quite forgettable.
Rabbit Trap is available on all VOD platforms.
5/10 C
Haunted by visions and recurring nightmares years after a near-death experience, Vanessa Shepherd finds herself living in the town of Abaddon, unable to break free from its unexplainable hold on her. When people around her suddenly and inexplicably begin to die, she soon uncovers her terrifying connection to the Abaddon Hotel, the Carmichael Manor, and the mysterious murders that have been occurring for decades.
Hell House LLC: Lineage is directed by Stephen Cognetti director of every installment in the Hell House LLC franchise (2015-2025) and 825 Forest Road (2025). Hell House LLC: Lineage serves as the fifth and final installment to the franchise.
Dropping the found footage element of your series with its supposed final installment is an incredibly questionable move. I’m not going to sit here and act like the Hell House LLC franchise are these masterfully written movies, they are flawed but outside of Lake Of Fire (2019) they are at the very least fun and capture this Halloween (not the film) type of feel that works in the series’s favor. The documentary style combined with the found footage element made this series more interesting and enjoyable as the viewer tried to unravel what exactly is happening in these movies. Lineage unfortunately strips all of this a settles for a dull, boring (I hate using that word but it’s very accurate here) and mixed with poor acting, direction along with terrible pacing.
The performances are terrible, everyone here is trying their best but with such an empty script and lifeless direction you can only do so much. The one who looks best walking out of this movie is Elizabeth Vermilyea (that’s not exactly saying much.) Lineage is incredibly lore heavy and attempts to expand the mythology of the franchise, but by this point it’s way too late. We get so many long a drawn scenes of incredibly dull dialogue that fails to bring the viewer into the movie.
I do think the movie’s attempts at trying to breathe new life into the franchise are somewhat admirable but ultimately end up being incredibly misguided. While there are some great shots thanks to cinematographer Brian Keenan, that does not end up meaning all that much when the rest of the movie is a complete and total mess. The direction just does not have the same charm or excitement that the rest of the series had in the past, say what you will about Lake Of Fire (2019) but at the very least the charm was still there. With Lineage it feels like the energy of the franchise is gone, the atmosphere that made the previous movies fun is just not present here.
Overall Hell House LLC: Lineage is easily the worst of the franchise, it’s a very confused and closing ending to the series that offers incredibly little to fans or casual watchers of the series.
Hell House LLC: Lineage is available on Shudder.
1/10 F
An upscale suburban mom brings a new nanny, Polly Murphy, into her home, only to discover she is not the person she claims to be.
The Hand That Rocks The Cradle is directed by Michelle Garza Cervera director of Huesera: The Bone Woman (2022). The movie serves as a loose remake of the 1992 film of the same name.
I had some sort of hope for this one considering Michelle Garza Cervera impressed with Husera: The Bone Woman (2022) a few years ago, unfortunately this feels like it was directed by an entirely different person. It’s also one of those remakes that completely fails to add anything interesting or try to tackle the story with a different approach.
Maika Monroe and Elizabeth Winstead are great here, but unfortunately the Lifetime Channel like script bogs down any sort of power that the two’s performances could have brought to the movie. There are moments here where you even wonder “how did this not end up on the LifeTime Channel?” the thinly layered script gives the movie absolutely no room for any sort of suspense or atmospheric moments, it’s all just one implausible situation after another.
The 1992 version is not a film I would say is one of my favorites, but it had the script, firepower and the atmosphere to back it up. All of that combined made it into a thrilling little ride that does not overstay its welcome. The remake however is dull and just does not have anything interesting going for it.
The Hand That Rocks The Cradle is available on Hulu.
This is something I’m going to experiment with, the “Lightning Round” will be for films that I will give quick reviews due to not having a whole lot to say about them.
Desperate to reclaim her career, once-beloved actress Samantha Lake is drawn into the glamorous world of wellness mogul Zoe Shannon -only to uncover a monstrous truth beneath its flawless surface.
Shell is directed by Max Minghella who previously directed Teen Spirit (2018).
I was considering on giving Shell a full review but then I realized I would just be echoing what the hundreds of other reviews are saying…that it’s a clone of The Substance (2024) and there’s just no way around that.
The positives here mainly come from the performances and the visuals, Kate Hudson is clearly having a blast throughout the movie and Elisabeth Moss as usual delivers a solid performance. The visuals are striking with this retro futuristic style which ends up giving the movie at least some legroom to standout. The cinematography from Drew Daniels compliments this very well with sharp and detailed touches.
Unfortunately the writing is where Shell struggles, halfway through the movie the pacing becomes incredibly uneven, the humor in the writing is a complete hit or miss (with most of it missing), plot threads are either not explored anywhere near enough to leave an impact or are just left dangling. The character motivations are also completely muddled and do not give the movie’s satire-like atmosphere any meaningful strength.
The final act switches gears and becomes a B-grade monster movie that might have worked if the buildup was far stronger and actually matched the tone of the movie. Instead it feels completely out of place and leaves the viewer with a giant question mark over their head.
Shell is a worse version of The Substance (2024) and you can easily spot this within the first 10 minutes of watching.
Shell is available on all VOD platforms.
4/10 D+
Alice returns home after her mother’s death to find the house unchanged-and haunted by a dark presence. As fear builds, buried trauma resurfaces, and a terrifying truth is revealed.
I was pretty excited to see that David Moreau who previously directed MadS (2024) had another film releasing this year, sadly this was a misfire that I left more confused and not in the intriguing sort of way.
Other strangely likes to withhold information from the viewer and treats that like it’s crafting a mystery when in reality it’s only making the viewer quickly lose interest. There’s the repeated point of Alice (played by Olga Kurylenko) still dealing with childhood trauma, but the movie never elaborates on that or does not even explore it either, it’s like a pop up that is constantly telling you the same thing over and over again.
Kurylenko’s face is the only we see clearly throughout the movie, which in theory sounds like a neat stylistic choice. However the way the movie goes about with the execution is incredibly dull, the other characters who are supposed to leave this impact on the viewer do not end up doing so. Olga Kurylenko gives a fine enough performance but it’s not enough to make up for the botched execution.
Lastly there’s the writing which does not have any of the creepiness or thrills that MadS had, it’s a very confused mess that is way too cryptic for its own good and has nowhere near the amount of disturbing or engaging material to connect the viewer to the experience.
Other is available on Shudder.
4/10 D+
A woman spends the night fighting for her existence as she slips down a rabbit hole contained inside a gift from a late-night visitor.
Bryan Bertino director of The Strangers (2008), Mockingbird (2014), The Monster (2016) and The Dark and the Wicked (2020) is back with Vicious and the best way to describe this movie is it feels like this horribly put together Frankenstein’s Monster combination of all of his previous films.
First off there’s the nonconsensual premise of Mockingjay (2014) which at first is a bit interesting before Vicious starts to run into a wall with incredibly stupid decision making on Polly’s (played by Dakota Fanning) part. Next we have the claustrophobic feel of The Strangers (2008), there is a few moments here that do capture that feel decently well. But for the most part it comes off as a desperate attempt to aim for something that worked because it felt far more grounded, constantly trying to reach for it throughout the movie takes away from the writing and ultimately makes the movie suffer for it.
There’s also the supernatural violence and dark atmosphere of The Dark and the Wicked (2020), Kathryn Hunter tries her best to bring this sort of energy into the movie but the script flat out refuses to give any meaningful story or interesting developments with the supernatural parts of it to work with. It’s a very basic haunting type of movie that attempts to throw in a bit of Saw (2004) which quickly ends up being more ridiculous than anything else.
Finally there’s the anxieties and the thrills of The Monster (2016) something that once again this movie does not capture at all, there’s one or two jumpscares that are somewhat effective but a large majority of the movie is forgettable and has no investing way to bring the viewer into the movie.
Dakota Fanning and Kathryn Hunter give solid performances but they are nowhere near enough to save this movie from ultimately being forgettable, I can absolutely see why the plans to release this in theaters was changed.
Vicious is available on Paramount+
3/10 D-
A ruthless thief and his expert crew stumble onto the heist of a lifetime.
Play Dirty fails to capture the charm of Shane Black’s earlier crime films. While LaKeith Stanfield and Rosa Salazar do what they can with such a shallow script, the rest of the movie is yet again another terrible straight to streaming action thriller movie that offers very little to the genre.
There’s a few entertaining action scenes that somewhat attempt to bring back what made Shane Black a solid crime film director in the first place, but those are quickly overshadowed by Mark Wahlberg giving yet another phoned in performance that leads no depth to his character. This is yet another case of the supporting characters being more interesting than the protagonist and where you wish the movie was about them.
Whatever Shane Black had with The Nice Guys (2016) is long gone.
In modern Transylvania, vampire hunts and labor strikes mix with sci-fi, romance, and AI tales. Multiple storylines blend folklore, horror and contemporary elements for a fresh take on Dracula’s legend.
Dracula is directed by Radu Jude director of Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World (2023), Sacred Hearts (2016), Everybody in Our Family (2012) and many others.
To say that Radu Jude’s Dracula is a very odd film would be the understatement of the year, the very first moments of the film is a bunch of AI-generated renditions of Dracula saying a variation of “suck my dick” the film is a take on how AI is sucking the life out of filmmaking and even how people think. It’s an excellent satire that although a bit too long is still incredibly effective.
The performances are all quite fascinating, each of the cast goes all out with what the script requires and are not afraid to add their own flavor into the mix. They also capture the satirical atmosphere well and bring the viewer into the film quickly due to just how bizarre they act. There are some genuinely meaningful moments during the film’s final moments which lead to some of the best acting of the film.
The main part of what makes Dracula successful is the themes and how they are executed, as mentioned before there’s the theme of AI and how it’s ruining filmmaking. This is not a case where the movie just ends up saying “AI bad” the film points out how ridiculous AI is in this humorous way, people’s line of thinking is lost since they do not have that special connection of filmmaking especially when relying on ChatGPT and OpenAI.
This is made clear with the character simply known as “The Director” (played by Adonis Tanta) who talks to the camera about using generative AI which creates a bunch of subplots that are nonsensical, the director is used as a vehicle for Radu Jude to explore the themes of technology and society, such as how modern society or AI is bloodsucking and taking away from human connection and filmmaking. Adonis Tanta does such a fantastic job with his performance as the director, he’s unhinged and completely matches the film’s overall atmosphere.
Then there’s the film’s final moments which says that the nature of being human is starting to feel less human each day, which is an incredibly scary thought to think about and explore. But it’s done in this way that is truly meaningful and while it can feel like a whiplash after you have sat through the majority of the film’s bizarre nature, you still feel impacted and it’s a genuinely clever place to end on.
Do not go in expecting a faithful adaption to Bram Stoker’s material, you are just not going to get that here. However if you are looking for something completely different this is definitely the film for you!
When all but one child from the same classroom mysteriously vanish on the same night at exactly the same time, a community is left questioning who or what is behind their disappearance.
Weapons is directed by Zach Cregger director of Miss March (2009), The Civil War on Drugs (2011) and Barbarian (2022). Barbarian (2022) was one of many excellent horror films that came out in 2022. That year is widely considered to be one of the best years for the horror genre in recent memory due to the number of incredibly well received films by critics and fans. Barbarian (2022) was one of the most surprising of the bunch and put Zach Cregger on the map and many asked the question “what will he do next and how is he going to top this?”
Cregger answers with Weapons a film that is just as bizarre as Barbarian (2022) and even keeps a lot of the elements of what made Barbarian (2022) so thrilling and fascinating in the first place. The character writing is strong, the atmosphere is tense right from the beginning and the ending is truly insane and completely captures the world of this film.
The performances all around are fantastic, each of the cast brings something special to the film and their respective characters. The film is told in a nonlinear narrative with the film showing various characters perspectives. Julia Garner plays Justine an elementary who’s being blamed for the missing children, Garner gives a strong performance here and fits well with the rest of the cast especially with Josh Brolin. Garner definitely plays the most straightforward character out of the cast but that’s not necessarily a bad thing, she displays her acting talent incredibly well and during the more quiet moments she matches the film’s tense atmosphere.
Josh Brolin plays Archer the father of Matthew, one of the missing children. Brolin gives one of the best performances of the film, he delivers this strong balance of a worried parent and someone who is angry and looking for answers. We see some of that anger get released towards the end of the film where one scene in particular is genuinely hilarious, he works incredibly well with Julia Garner and the films atmosphere. There’s moments of where the film plays with Archer’s concern for Matthew and combines that with the darkness of the atmosphere, it makes for some genuinely terrifying moments that help build the film’s world. Plus it adds a lot of character to Archer with strong attention to detail.
Aiden Ehrenreich, Benedict Wong and Austin Abrams are all fantastic in their roles, while they are not exactly given long and lengthy character arcs they are still written in this fun and raw way. Austin Abrams plays this homeless drug addict who just so happens to get caught up in the events going on, the main comedic moments come from Abrams’s performance. Abrams has well executed comedic timing and the tone is still thrilling, whenever he is on screen there is never a dull moment. Aiden Ehrenreich plays Paul who is a police officer and Justine’s ex-boyfriend, admittedly Ehrenreich’s character is the one who is given the short end of the stick when it comes to character writing. But still there are some solid moments with Austin Abrams. Benedict Wong plays Marcus, the school principal who gives one of the film’s most bizarre moments.
Finally there’s Amy Madigan who plays Gladys, as soon as she appears on screen there is this intimidation factor that sets in. Her performance is truly horrifying, strangely comedic and fits like a glove when it comes to the film’s atmosphere. It’s the type of performance where even when she is not on screen you still feel her presence looming over the film, its world and the other characters. The build up to her character is simple yet fascinating, the character building of Gladys is carefully put together with no lazy reveals just thrilling moment after thrilling moment. Madigan gives this performance an incredibly haunting feel that immediately brings the viewer into the film’s world.
The writing is incredibly well done, between the film’s several thrilling moments and the more humorous ones. They all combine together to create something truly terrifying, the void like atmosphere where sure the film’s world may seem gigantic but as you explore the film you get that feel of how contained it is. This all builds up for the final act where every turning every corner is terrifying in it’s own way, the writing allows all of this thanks to just how down to earth a lot of these moments are. Which only make later scenes all the more horrifying and powerful.
The cinematography from Larkin Seiple is incredibly well detailed and captured the film’s world perfectly, the score has this nice blend of quiet and booming moments and finally the film brings this entertainment campy factor into the mix that does not take away from the more serious moments of the film. The film’s final moments are flat out insane and is what the film was ultimately building up to, the chaos and atmosphere are in full force. It’s so much to the point where it starts to become genuinely funny which is not a bad thing at all, it perfectly captures all of the elements of the film incredibly well.
Overall Weapons is a fantastic experience that delivers in all fronts, Cregger captures so much in this film and makes you want to explore the film’s world even more.
Karsh, a creative entrepreneur who lost his spouse, develops a machine designed to communicate with deceased individuals.
The Shrouds is directed by David Cronenberg director of Scanners (1981), Videodrome (1983), The Dead Zone (1983), The Fly (1986), Crash (1996), A History Of Violence (2005), Crimes Of The Future (2022) and many others.
The Shrouds is a very different film from what Cronenberg usually does. You could argue this is body horror in a very different way, that way being that the film explores what happens after a body which has no life left and is slowly decaying is left alone after a funeral. The film ties this with technology and artificial intelligence surveillance over a decaying dead body, tech companies taking advantage of this and exploiting said body. The film also has this theme of dealing with grief in the digital world (I’ll get into this in a bit), all of this combined together makes one of the most interesting and best of Cronenberg’s work.
The performances are all fantastic across the board, Diane Kruger and Guy Pierce are fantastic who both get plenty of great moments. However it’s Vincent Cassel that really makes this film as powerful as it is, there’s this feel of Cassel playing Cronenberg its to the point where you would almost think this is actually biopic. Even if you take that away Cassel on his own gives a powerful performance that easily matches the film’s atmosphere. Whether it be moments of humor, sadness, grief and such Cassel is able to quickly adapt to these moments. There’s this sense of loneliness to Cassel’s character Karsh and how he communicates with the rest of the characters it’s to the point where he will use conversation about anything to cope and avoid pain. Karsh is a fascinating character that feels very real and a large part of that is thanks to the brilliant performance from Cassel.
The film’s themes are incredibly well done, how we use the basic premise of conversations about anything to cope and avoid pain (as mentioned earlier), plus how we deal with grief in the digital world. The film points out the major differences of grieving in the digital world and in the real world incredibly well, plus it shows the two clashing which brings in the AI and the companies pushing it way too far to the point where it feels dystopian. There’s this balance of digital grieving and real world grieving and the artificial intelligence companies break it.
The humor comes into play when the film points out how tacky or cheap the AI using the dead bodies looks, it’s this sort of humor that’s very cleverly written and in execution works wonders. For example the “gravetech” that the film takes a look at basically has the look and feel of a fast food restaurant screen, this is supposed to be THE next huge thing in the film’s world and yet it already feels outdated. These moments of humor that point out these facts are some of the film’s best and have this tone of “this will not replace the power that is the human emotion when it comes to losing loved ones.”
The film also has this beautiful therapy session feel, some may feel like because Cassel feels like he’s playing Cronenberg that the film may result in being closed off from the viewer. However that’s not the case here, in fact The Shrouds is a very inviting film that’s telling and showing you the ways people grieve and how you may grieve as well. Cronenberg is essentially giving the viewer somewhere to explore their pain and what causes it, the cinematography from Douglas Koch especially captures this with sharp and detailed shots that are hauntingly beautiful.
The Shrouds is one of David Cronenberg’s best films, it most certainly won’t be for everyone. However if this is indeed Cronenberg’s last film then The Shrouds feels all the more fitting and is such a powerful film to end on.
A man moves into a new home that has supernatural forces lurking in the shadows. As dark entities start to threaten him, his brave dog comes to the rescue.
Good Boy is directed by Ben Leonberg which is directorial debut.
Right off the bat what we have here with Good Boy is such a unique idea for a film, using the dog’s point of view helps create such an interesting film. Some might be quick to say that this is exactly Courage The Cowardly Dog a popular cartoon that aired on Cartoon Network from 1999-2002, while you would not be entirely wrong the film does manage to do its own thing and do wonderfully at it.
Indy who plays himself and is actually director Leonberg’s dog gives one of the greatest animal performances in recent memory. The film took 3 years to make and a lot of that was dedicated to capturing footage of Indy, Indy isn’t a trained dog actor so it took extra time however that’s not necessarily a bad thing at all. The filmmakers wanted to capture authentic moments of Indy’s behavior and reaction to his surroundings, the end result gives us a genuinely powerful performance that really makes the film surprisingly moving. It’s a performance that the viewer quickly grows attached to and feels as real as how any other dog would act.
The location is actually director Ben Leonberg and his wife Kari Fischer’s home making the film feel a lot more raw and personal for Leonberg, due to this you feel a bit more brought in like Leonberg and Indy are bringing the viewer up close to witness what’s taking place. Indy’s nightmares are another strong part of this film, the human world including the atmosphere is already thrilling and haunting enough. But when we get pulled into Indy’s nightmares they have this feel of the unknown almost like a dark void where almost anything can reveal itself, it’s frightening to both the viewer and Indy an experience that’s both large in scale and chilling to watch.
The cinematography from Wade Grebnoel is outstanding, what he is able to do with the film having this first and third person view from Indy’s perspective is nothing short but fascinating. The scaling when it comes to making certain objects, noises and such more scary than how a person would look or react to them is completely intact and incredibly well done. The cinematography also does a fantastic job of slowly but surely creating this sense of dread, especially when you mix it with the raw atmosphere.
The secret weapon of Good Boy is how raw it all feels, whereas the writing might not exactly be the strongest in some areas. The film makes up for it with its rawness. As I said before Indy gives a very real performance and it helps that he’s our main character so we as the audience get to feel that rawness throughout the experience, the film also has this sad yet beautiful feel. This is a film that really does feel like it’s coming from the heart and with that heart there’s a particular sad moment that is all the more effective due to the build up.
Overall Good Boy is a fascinating film that executes its premise incredibly well, where it may lack in some writing areas it completely makes up for in just about every other category.
Good Boy is currently playing in theaters in America and will be released in theaters in the U.K. on Friday!
A collection of Halloween-themed videotapes unleashes a series of twisted, blood-soaked tales, turning trick-or-treat into a struggle for survival.
V/H/S/Halloween is a sequel to V/H/S/Beyond and is the eighth installment in the V/H/S franchise!
It’s that time of year again folks, a new installment in the V/H/S franchise, a series of films that I really quite like. Last year’s installment Beyond ditched the year theme that the last couple films were going for and instead focused on this sci-fi theme that worked in the film’s favor. This time around it’s centered around Halloween and the film does that incredibly well, this film not only has some of the goriest segments of the franchise but it could be argued that we get some of the best as well.
As usual with these anthology films I’m going to discuss a little bit about each segment and my overall thoughts, there’s going to be some overlap when it comes to pointing out positives or negatives so keep that in mind. Anyway let’s start with…
Diet Phantasma directed by Bryan M. Ferguson (who has not directed a feature film.)
This one serves as the frame narrative and as usual I’m going to blast through this one since there’s just not a whole lot going on here. The main idea here is these test subjects are given this soda and the camera is documenting the side effects, as you can probably guess the side effects end up being bizarre. Outside of some neat effects there is just not anything exciting here, it’s definitely better than the frame narrative from the last installment Beyond (2024) (outside of that I loved the film), but that’s really not saying all that much. Let’s move on to…
Coochie Coochie Coo directed by Anna Zlokovic director of Appendage (2023)
This one starts the segments off strong, this one has a simple setup. Two teenagers are trick or treating when they enter a house where a spirit known as “The Mommy” lives in an urban legend who supposedly kidnaps children.
The moment our two characters we follow Lacie and Kaleigh enter the house is when this segment gets incredibly bizarre. Not only is there some very strong creature design, but it’s genuinely terrifying as well as being quite disgusting (in this morbid fascinating way) this honestly reminded me of a bit of Fur Babies a segment from last year’s installment Beyond (2024). Mainly due to just how out there the idea is and how it’s surprisingly very well executed, the haunting atmosphere is there. The segment makes great use of the found footage element and as mentioned before the creature design is fantastic. It’s also worth noting that Samantha Cochran and Natalia Montgomery Fernandez give strong and convincing performances that really do make the whole segment work effectively.
What starts as a simple enough segment ends up being a bizarre experience that you really can’t help but love, what an incredibly striking way to kick off the main segments.
Ut Supra Sic Infra directed by Paco Plaza director of the first three films of the REC series (2007-2012) and Veronica (2017).
Next up we have the weakest of the main segments but that’s not necessarily a bad thing considering how strong all of the main segments are this time around. This one follows a sole survivor of a massacre who brings the police to the location of where the crime occurred in order to piece together what exactly happened.
This one starts by cutting back and forth between what led up to the massacre and the present where Enric is leading the police to spot of the crime. This one is very straightforward and has this classic ghost story atmosphere going on here especially when it’s revealed on the way this all occurred by answering a telephone (I’m pretty sure this is some sort of nod to a popular urban legend called The Telephone Game just changed quite a bit for more thrills.) The execution works well, the segment goes for this sort of mean spirited sort of ending which is a lot of fun. The main flaw here is that it’s just a bit weaker when you compare to the rest of the segments, it’s solid enough on its own just nothing particularly amazing going on here.
Fun Size directed by Casper Kelly director of Adult Swim Yule Log and its sequel (2022 and 2024).
This is another insane one, the premise is four teenagers are trick or treating when they find a bowl of candy. When they ignore its instructions to take one per person consequences start to occur.
A straightforward setup that ends up being so incredibly bizarre that you can’t honestly believe what you are seeing, right from the moment the segment switches its tone the segment never stops upping the ante. From the gore to the humor that builds over the course of the segment it has it all. The simple yet fun designs of the creatures called “Fun Size” are surprisingly menacing and the kills are quite strong here as well, a lot of the films in this franchise always like to have at least one very out there segment and while Coochie Coochie Coo could have made you think that this film already used up it’s bizarre segment, Fun Size makes you think again because this one is just as insane if not more.
I don’t want to say much else about this one as this one is better if you go as blind as possible.
KidPrint directed by Alex Ross Perry director of Nostalgia (2015), Her Smell (2018), The Sweet East (2023) and a few others.
This one is about a videostore offering “kidprint” videos which basically means tape recordings meant to ID children In case they go missing.
Reading the plot of this admittedly makes you probably predict correctly as to what’s going to happen, the video store does end up being the very thing it’s trying to prevent. Although I will say to the segment’s credit it’s quite disturbing at times and it gets quite dark rather quickly, it’s definitely the second weakest of the main segments but it’s certainly not bad either. This one is just a bit more on the predictable side of things. Stephen Gurewitz does give a pretty solid performance here.
Home Haunt directed by Micheline Pitt-Norman & R.H. Norman.
Finally we have our last segment, this one is about a family’s yearly Halloween tradition of creating this home-made haunted house goes horribly wrong when a cursed LP record is added in where monsters come to life.
This one is my favorite segment, much like the rest of the segments it’s incredibly gory and the creature designs are top notch. There’s this fun element added here that makes the whole segment that much more of a treat to watch, it’s chaotic and does not overstay its welcome. Its job is to wrap the film up and it does that effectively, it has some classic found footage elements that are used wonderfully and even quite comedically at times. While yes it’s a straightforward idea the execution alone makes it worth it and combining gore with effective creature design certainly helps.
Overall V/H/S/Halloween is yet another really strong installment in the franchise, I would love to see if they continue the whole Halloween theme for the next one because it’s done so well here that I can see this one going on to be a classic that people will watch during the Halloween season.
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