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.
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.
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.
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.
January flew by and now we are suddenly February! There’s a lot to look forward to this month as well with tons of new releases! I do have 6 2025 films left to review which I’m aiming for those reviews to be done by the end of the month. Sundance reviews will also be coming this month! Anyway here is the list
When a young woman faces a deadly diagnosis, she seeks dark magic from a witch in the woods; but every cure has its cost.
Mother Of Flies is directed by John Adams, Zelda Adams and Toby Poser directors of The Deeper You Dig (2019), Hellbender (2021), Where the Devil Roams (2023), Halfway to Zen (2016), Hell Hole (2024) and a few others.
The Adams family are back with a really solid and atmospheric experience with Mother Of Flies. A film that unlike their last film Hell Hole (2024), manages to keep the eerie atmosphere and deliver tons of chilling scenes that capture the feel of abandonment with its setting. The film does take a bit to get going and there are some rough moments with the acting, but in the end the film delivers on its premise and leaves the viewer satisfied.
The performances are about the same as they have always been in any of the Adams family’s films. In other words it can range from being decent to rough territory, however the charm of them being a family and doing these films together seriously helps out in the long run. Despite some of the rough acting, you can feel the passion that John, Zelda and Toby spread on screen. It definitely works a lot better in this case since the film feels a lot more intimate which does give the viewer some touching father and daughter moments between Jake (played by John Adams) and Mickey (played by Zelda Adams). Toby Poser as Solveig is a pretty formidable witch, she has this calm yet intimidating energy to her that the viewer feels right when she’s introduced. The film’s slow burn feel heavily relies on Poser’s performance which ends up working to the film’s benefit.
The atmosphere is dark and has the feel of abandonment, it’s the same type of feel that Hell Hole (2024) tried to capture but unfortunately fizzled out as the movie went on. Luckily that’s not the case here with Mother Of Flies, whether it because Toby Poser’s calm yet threatening performance that ultimately tries to get Mickey by herself, or the cinematography from cinematographer Fabian Gamper is just visually more interesting and tackles the feel of abandonment much more sharply.
The film does admittedly take a bit to get going, it’s a film that takes its time to build the world around it and I would say the wait is worth it. The film’s script definitely has it’s weak points particularly with the second act of the film where there does seem to be some repetitive moments going on here. However as the film’s mystery becomes slowly realized by Jake and Mickey things get much more investing and brings the viewer into it all.
Overall Mother Of Flies is a solid film from the Adams family, it’s a huge improvement over Hell Hole (2024) and brings the atmosphere front and center.
Lucy’s tropical island homecoming turns deadly when her family’s clever chimpanzee, Ben, becomes rabid. With her father away and no help coming, paradise becomes a prison as Lucy and her friends fight for survival against a pet they once trusted.
Primate is directed by Johannes Roberts director of The Other Side Of The Door (2016), 47 Meters Down (2017), The Strangers: Prey At Night (2018), 47 Meters Down: Uncaged (2019), Resident Evil: Welcome To Raccoon City (2021) and a few others.
Primate is a very solid start to 2026 when it comes to theatrical released films, it’s a very simple killer animal film with a very mean edge to it that helps it stand out. Combine that with a fantastic synth score that is very John Carpenter like and some gnarly kills with decent acting and you have yourself a quite fun experience.
The performances are solid, not everyone here sticks the landing but Johnny Sequoyah, Jessica Alexander and Troy Kotsur do great here. Even with the limited screentime Kotsur has he is still able to leave this connection to the viewer which makes you care about his care. Sequoyah and Alexander are fun here as well, there is not a whole lot going on here in the character writing department. But the film does make up for it by stacking up what follows.
Primate’s secret weapon is its gnarly kills and its beautiful 80s like synth score. Starting with the kills they are quite brutal from the opening scene all the way to end, have this extra sense of darkness added to them due to Ben the chimpanzee being unpredictable. Much like in real life chimpanzees are very unpredictable, making this all the more haunting and shrouded in this air of mystery of what’s going to happen or what is he going to do? Of course if you have seen any killer animal film you probably do know what’s going to happen, but even then, it still works in the film’s favor simply due to how much the kills show the brutality of it all.
The score is what makes this film so effective, it’s a synth 80s score that feels very John Carpenter like and it compliments the film’s atmosphere wonderfully. The score is from Adrian Johnston who funnily enough also did the score for one of director Johannes Roberts previous films The Strangers: Prey At Night (2018). Which also had a wonderful score that fit the atmosphere, Johnston does that again here with Primate. It has that feel of 80s B movies you would catch on a random tv channel, when you combine the score with the film’s atmosphere and suspenseful moments you get some truly fascinating results that end up being a ton of fun.
The film does admittedly take a bit to get going, there are definitely some scenes here that the film could have easily went without using. However that does not take away from the film’s buildup and atmosphere that never takes you out of the film, you can almost overlook the film taking a bit to get going simply due to it’s atmosphere feeling dark and rich.
Overall Primate is a fun time, it’s got the kills, score and acting to back it up. Plus Ben the chimpanzee is fun here as well.
After a life-shattering tragedy, Trish tries to comfort her best friend, Maddie, by taking her on a spectacular adventure to a private lagoon halfway across the world. However, their peaceful retreat soon becomes a terrifying fight for survival when a killer whale seeks vengeance for a life in captivity.
Killer Whale is directed by Jo-Anne Brechin director of Zelos (2017), Paper Champions (2020), One Perfect Match (2023) and Designing Christmas With You (2023).
Killer Whale is the first truly terrible movie in 2026 and it’s not even really close. For a film that is about a killer whale, it’s quite dull and has very little engagement. Even if you like killer animal films (such as myself), you will not find any enjoyment out of this one due to how uninterested the movie really is at going all out and instead tries to be other films of the genre.
Virginia Gardner is the only part of this movie that’s great, she tries her absolute best to work with a script that is severely lacking in character and excitement. She’s able to turn some scenes into scenes that would be otherwise terrible into something a bit more tolerable. The acting from the rest of the cast is terrible, it almost feels parody like at certain points which might have been funny if that was what the movie was going for but unfortunately that’s not the case at all here. The bad acting truly takes you out of the movie and away from the little suspense the movie had (I’m being generous when I say little suspense.)
The writing attempts to go for what made The Shallows (2016) and even Fall (2022) which funnily enough Virginia Gardner was also in Fall (2022) and like this movie it was distributed by Lionsgate. Anyways, to say the movie fails to capture what made those two films great would be an understatement, the writing is just not there and as I said before it often feels like a parody. Combine that with some terrible decision making and this poor attempt at trying to give these characters some depth and you have yourself a poorly written movie.
A lot of this comes down to a lack of experience of the genre from director Jo-Anne Brechin, she’s mostly directed Hallmark movies in the past and while it’s nice to see a director try to do something out of their comfort zone (I’ve said in past reviews that I like seeing directors do this.) There comes a point where if you aren’t able to capture a single element of the genre you are tackling maybe it’s best to call it quits, the lack of an atmosphere and thrills are prime examples of this and you can quickly tell they are absent by watching the first 10 minutes of the movie.
Overall Killer Whale is terrible, dull and not engaging, even for a low budget killer animal movie this is severely lacking in what makes the genre fun.
Happy 2026 everyone! Before we get to the list I have a one thing to mention!
I have 6 reviews left from 2025 which include: 28 Years Later, Sentimental Value, Bugonia, Die My Love, If I Had Legs I’d Kick You and Hamnet. Those reviews I plan on hopefully finishing by the end of next week.
Anyways 2026 looks like a very strong year for film and we are starting off pretty strong with January! Sam Rami returns with Send Help, Primate I’ve heard is pretty strong, The Testament Of Ann Lee, Dead Man’s Wire and The Chronology Of Water all expand this month (all of which are getting very good reviews), Charli xcx debuts with her first leading role with The Moment, We Bury The Dead seems like a solid zombie film and finally 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple has gotten very strong early reactions and sounds like it matches with the previous film!
A brilliant but egotistical scientist brings a monstrous creature to life in a daring experiment that ultimately leads to the undoing of both the creator and his tragic creation.
Frankenstein is directed by Guillermo del Toro director of The Devil’s Backbone (2001), Hellboy (2004), Pan’s Labyrinth (2006), Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008), Crimson Peak (2015), The Shape Of Water (2017), Nightmare Alley (2021), Pinocchio (2022) and a few others.
Guillermo del Toro and Frankenstein was a match made in heaven that was bound to happen at one point. There was talk for a long time about Guillermo del Toro wanting to make this passion project come to life and I’m glad we were able to see it do so because he absolutely hits it out of the park. From the performances, del Toro’s style fitting like a glove, the many beautiful technical aspects of the film and this deep understanding of Frankenstein’s monster how he sees the world plus finding beauty around him. Leads to such a beautifully done film that ends up being one of the year’s greatest.
Oscar Isaac as Baron Victor Frankenstein is fantastic, he captures the determined nature of the character to create the creature, over the course of the film we see this power get to his head and even treats the creature who saw Victor as a friend or this father figure. That’s especially the case with the final moments of the film, in which the creature ultimately sees Victor as this tragic flawed father figure. It’s a truly fascinating scene that really shares a lot about Victor as a character. Oscar Isaac does such a fantastic job of exploring Victor’s character, he especially shines when sharing the screen with Jacob Elordi (who plays the creature.)
Mia Goth plays a dual performance, this time as Lady Elizabeth Harlander and Baroness Claire Frankenstein. The latter performance we only get a few minutes of but it’s still a solid one from what’s presented. However Lady Elizabeth Harlander is where we get to see Goth’s talent really shine, while she is a bit absent during the film’s middle portion. She makes up for that with tons of memorable scenes, the love story going on here with the Creature is genuinely beautiful and has this tragic human feel that may actually make the viewer shed a tear. Mia Goth brings this beautiful and gothic like fairytale like performance that fits like a glove with Guillermo del Toro’s style and atmosphere, her chemistry with Jacob Elordi is phenomenal and the final moments of her character are devastating, even when she was absent for parts of the film. There is still this devastating and tragic nature that Goth nails down and is truly memorable.
Jacob Elordi as the Creature is a truly unbelievable performance, not only is this performance completely different from anything Elordi has ever done before. But it’s also one of those performances that leaves you in amazement, Elordi was already a strong actor but his performance as the Creature proves he can go even further with his talent. The Creature has this beautiful human theme going on here that Elordi perfectly captures, the Creature’s entry into the film with him being scared for a split second from water or him being fascinated by a leaf is truly beautiful, the body language that Elordi constantly displays as the Creature tells a story of its own. The Creature finding beauty all around him whether it’s intentional or not is heartwarming, Elordi’s dialogue is subtle and done in this beautiful way that makes the viewer see the film in the eyes of the Creature. It’s moments like these that truly bring out Elordi’s unbelievable talent, which ultimately leads to him delivering one of the best performances of the year.
The writing is phenomenal and only gets better over the course of the film. These themes of human connection, how the Creature sees the world, evolving as people, do not give into cruelness are all fantastic and explored perfectly. Some of which are done in a few short sentences, which tells the viewer everything they need to know as to what the film is tackling. The direction and screenplay from Guillermo del Toro brings the human element to the Creature in such a beautiful and touching way that captures the heart of the film. The attention to detail during the film’s quiet moments of the Creature just admiring the outdoors is fascinating and is quite honestly breathtaking.
The cinematography from Dan Laustsen is wonderful, it has the gothic look that immediately blends well with Guillermo del Toro’s style and brings the atmosphere front and center. The atmosphere starts out as this rich and building block like feel and slowly but surely evolved into something thrilling yet beautiful at the same time, it captures this new life feel that the Creature is going through, this whimsical and wonder touch that brings out the film’s strength which leads to the more emotional moments to pack more of a punch. Lastly there’s the passion of the subject matter, to say there is so much love poured into Frankenstein would be an understatement, Guillermo del Toro makes it known he is a huge fan of the subject matter and brings so much passion into the mix that helps create so many memorable moments that compliment the film.
Overall Frankenstein is another masterful film from Guillermo del Toro, it’s incredible that we got to see this passion project come to life. The cast are phenomenal, the story is masterfully told and the film itself is this beautiful exploration that you never want to leave.
Jerome Reviews... 