Dolly (2026) Film Review

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.

Dolly releases in theaters Friday!

6/10 C+

Cold Storage (2026) Film Review

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!

Cold Storage is currently in theaters.

6/10 C+

Diabolic (2026) Film Review

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.

Diabolic is available on all VOD platforms.

4/10 D+

Most Anticipated Films Of March 2026!

February flew by and we are already in March. Plenty of excellent looking releases this month, I have a lot of reviews coming this month so be ready for that! Let’s get into the list.

March 6th

The Bride (Theaters)

Dolly (Theaters)

March 13th

Undertone (Theaters)

Slanted (Theaters)

Bodycam (Shudder)

March 20th

Project Hail Mary (Theaters)

Ready Or Not 2: Here I Come (Theaters)

Forbidden Fruits (Theaters)

Do Not Enter (VOD)

March 27th

Alpha (Theaters)

She Dances (Theaters)

They Will Kill You (Theaters)

2025 Wrap Up Film Reviews (Part One) : 28 Years Later, Marty Supreme and If I Had Legs I’d Kick You

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.

10/10 A+

Night Patrol (2026) Film Review

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.

Night Patrol is available on all VOD platforms.

3/10 D-

Twisted (2026) Film Review

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.

Twisted is available on all VOD platforms.

4/10 D+

We Bury The Dead (2026) Film Review

After a catastrophic military disaster, the dead don’t just rise – they hunt. Ava searches for her missing husband, but what she finds is far more terrifying.

We Bury The Dead is directed by Zak Hilditch director of These Final Hours (2013), 1922 (2017), Rattlesnake (2019) and a few others.

We Bury The Dead attempts to go for the same sort of atmosphere that 28 Days Later (2002) has, at times it works but other times it definitely feels like a bit of a slog. However the film is decent enough and the story has just the right amount of power in its script to tell an interesting story.

Daisy Ridley is by and large the best part of the film, she gives this very human performance that captures the film’s sense of dread. Her interactions with the rest of the cast has enough firepower to leave impressions on the viewer, there is also this sense of loneliness in Ridley’s tone that works when given the context of the film.

In fact the whole film has this sense of loneliness which I always appreciate when a film does include that sort of theme, the cinematography compliments this well with tons of striking shots that immediately put the viewer into the film’s world. Cinematographer Steve Annis does a wonderful job of making the film’s world that much more sharper and real, this could have easily been another case of a generic zombie affair (in some ways it is but I’ll get to that.)

The score is haunting, the uses of Lascia Ch’io Pianga are very well done and expand the atmosphere, what’s also established early on is the film trades action for atmosphere which ultimately leads to be a positive for the experience. During the more quiet moments, the score captures the sense of dread surrounding the characters and builds to a decently well done climax.

The film does fall in a bit of cliche territory towards the end with some very typical zombie movie elements. However the story revolving around loss and wanting closure does make up for it and leads to a sad yet interesting experience.

Overall We Bury The Dead is a decent little movie, this is probably something you won’t ever go back to and does not stand out all that much from a crowded genre. However I do think it’s worth a look simply due to Ridley’s performance and the atmosphere.

We Bury The Dead is available on all VOD platforms.

6/10 C+

Sundance Review: Rock Springs (2026)

Centers on a grieving family who move to a new town after a tragedy, only to find sinister secrets lurking in the woods behind their house.

Rock Springs is directed by Vera Miao which is her directorial debut.

Rock Springs is a very admirable film, while not every single element works entirely the film is clearly made with a lot of knowledge and care about certain topics. Those being racism and trauma, more so about generational ties to trauma. The film mixes this incredibly with horrors of a massacre that actually did happen (based on the 1885 Wyoming incident where white miners murdered at least 28 Chinese miners.) all of this together creates a horrifying image that brings the viewer into the film.

The performances all around are great especially Kelly Marie Tran and Benedict Wong, Tran does a fantastic job of playing a grieving mother. It’s a stunning performance that really sticks with the viewer the whole way through, Wong absolutely nails his performance during the film’s more historical parts. The amount of power and striking atmosphere that goes into his performance is astounding.

The film bounces a bit with the past and present, but it’s done in this way where the film cleverly brings it to you, like we are discovering the dark history of Rock Springs itself. It feels like we as the viewers actually discovered something and now we are told to apply that information into the present day. Not every single part of the translation to past and present works entirely, however there are some genuinely atmospheric moments that do capture the dark history of Rock Springs.

The film’s themes of racism and trauma are well done here, the racism comes from the real event and the generational trauma comes from how the past and present are connected that trauma never really goes away. The script from Vera Miao has some powerful moments that clearly have this sense of knowledge behind them, these moments might not be anything incredibly groundbreaking. However I do think the careful nature of the script more than makes up for it.

I do think some of the editing does end up hurting the connection between the past and present, it makes a few scenes drag out for a bit longer than they should. It’s worth noting that the film does take a bit to get going, however the supernatural elements and the historical elements keep it afloat and really bring you into the experience.

Overall Rock Springs is a solid film, it’s admirable film that executes its ideas decently well. There is a few bumps in the road, however that’s not enough to stop the film from being incredibly intriguing.

Rock Springs currently has no release date.

7/10 B

Sleepwalker (2026) Film Review

Haunted by terrifying visions, Sarah’s sleepwalking episodes begin to intensify, accelerating her descent into darkness.

Sleepwalker is directed by Brandon Auman which is his directorial debut.

Sleepwalker is the very definition of a January released horror movie. It’s terrible, forgettable and makes little to no sense due to its botched filmmaking. Occasionally there’s a moment or two of good acting from Hayden Panettiere but that is nowhere near enough to save this movie from falling on its face.

As mentioned before, Hayden Panettiere occasionally has some decent moments where she’s able to work with the movie’s awful script and turn it into something somewhat salvageable. However those moments are very far and few in between, we get long periods of the actors trying desperately to make the script work but due to the empty and laughably bad script it all falls down quickly. Beverly D’Angelo’s character Gloria had potential here and attempts to tell some jokes but it ends up being more lame than anything else. Justin Chatwin as an abusive husband who ends up in a coma is quite terrible, his delivery during the more intense scenes is just not there at all and really lacks the tension and acting power needed.

The movie’s attempts at grief and abusive relationships while admirable, just does not work well at all. The grief attempts to combine it with sleepwalking which is admittedly a very solid idea, the execution however is a mess and not well done. Way too many jumpscares and a lack of a thrilling atmosphere make the movie fall flat immediately, as for the abusive relationships part while the set up is interesting that’s about as far as it goes. The dialogue does not do this movie any favors at all, it’s a shame because there is a few genuine good moments here that somewhat work. But all of that goes away when the rest of the movie carries on with its foolishness.

Lastly there’s how badly the movie is crafted. A lot of it is incredibly repetitive story wise, the ending is very abrupt and leaves the viewer with a lot more questions than answers (not in a good way.) The twist (if you even want to call it that) is very predictable and fails to land in any meaningful way.

Overall Sleepwalker has a decent idea here, but the execution goes horribly wrong in just about every way possible. Outside of the occasional decent moments, you are not going to get a whole lot from the movie as it fails to bring the viewer in.

Sleepwalker is available on all VOD platforms.

1/10 F