undertone (2026) Film Review

The host of a popular paranormal podcast becomes haunted by terrifying recordings mysteriously sent her way.

undertone is directed by Ian Tusaon which is his directorial debut.

undertone is the very definition of a film that is just not going to be for everyone, the film relies much more heavily on its technical aspects than a lot of other horror films do, mainly the sound, atmosphere and camera movements (which I will get into all of those.) The film does have an ending that is admittedly on the weaker side but for the most part this is a quite effective ride.

Nina Kiri gives quite a great performance here, we get to see her character Evy slowly realize what is exactly going on with the 10 audio recordings and how horrifying they really are. Kiri does a fantastic job of capturing the film’s atmosphere, I do think some of Kiri’s best moments are with Michéle Duquet who plays Mama (Evy’s mother). These are some genuinely sad scenes and quite tragic that Kiri really excels at, I do wish the film elaborated just a tad more on this. However from what we got it is very effective and keeps the viewer invested.

The film’s main weapon of choice is the technical aspects as I said before. Starting with the sound, it’s effectively used to terrify the viewer with each of the audio recordings getting more and more intense. The sound brings you into this world that is very close together as it starts to bring itself in the sounds of Evy’s house such as the floors creaking and stained breaths, Evy starts to become incredibly terrified of every sound even ones that normally you would write off. It brings this level of rawness to the mix that even when you are watching the film you may check around you to hear for noises.

The camerawork from Graham Beasley is very well done, it’s at a much smaller scale and can feel claustrophobic at times. The cinematography has this fear of the unknown type of feel that you have no idea what is going to happen or why anything is happen but you still get this very uneasy feeling. When you combine this with the sound, you get some genuinely terrifying scenes that stick with you as the film goes on and even when it ends.

Finally there is the atmosphere which brings the whole film together, almost immediately you are placed in this world where things just don’t feel right at all. As the film goes on we see more and more of this add up until the ending where admittedly the film does drop the ball. The ending does feel very abrupt and leaves the viewer with way more questions than answers (and I’m not exactly sure if it’s in a good way.) However the rest of the film is a very atmospheric ride that keeps stacking up until some very terrifying moments during the third act.

undertone is definitely a film I recommend going into knowing as little as possible (I kept this review very brief because of this.) If it sounds like a film you are interested in I do recommend giving this one a go!

undertone is available on all VOD platforms.

9/10 A

The Bride (2026) Film Review

In 1930s Chicago, Frankenstein asks Dr. Euphronius to help create a companion. They give life to a murdered woman as the Bride, sparking romance, police interest, and radical social change.

The Bride is directed by Maggie Gyllenhaal director of The Lost Daughter (2021).

The Bride is not what you expect at all, sure it does take inspiration from the 1935 film Bride of Frankenstein. But rather than just being yet another Frankenstein adaption, this one chooses to go a very different route with some choices that are admittedly some huge swings. Not everything here works, but the elements that do really help this film stand out.

Jessie Buckley is quite fantastic here which isn’t really a surprise given how great of an actress she is. She actually plays a dual role, she plays The Bride and plays Mary Shelly, the ghost of the author of Frankenstein. She plays both these performances quite well, Buckley delivers an incredibly unhinged performance that has this unpredictable energy where it’s hard to read what she is going to do next. One minute she is having a somewhat normal conversation with someone and the next she’s twitching, yelling and saying the most bizarre sentences you could think of. In some cases this would be points against the movie, however Buckley does such a fantastic job of really capturing the bizarre atmosphere the film asks for that it ultimately works.

Christian Bale meanwhile plays Frank (or Frankenstein’s monster) who looks beaten up and has been through this multiple times before. He is sad, lonely, strangely gentle at times and can even get terrifying when needed. It’s a very different take on the character that is admittedly really neat and something that we the audience typically don’t lean into. I do think Bale’s best moments are when he and Buckley are causing chaos together. There is this nice yin and yang type of feel going on here with The Bride and Frank (at least in the beginning) that the film does explore.

As I said earlier the film is unhinged and it’s proud of it, there are times where the film definitely does not go far enough. However I do think the ideas presented are fascinating, the whole Mary Shelley’s ghost element strangely works incredibly well and fits into the narrative being told. Rather than showing how tragic these characters are, Gyllenhaal goes for a much more playful energy where these characters are chaotic and they are trying to figure out love, identity and revenge. Which I do think benefits the film far more in the end, sure thematically there is a bit of a mess going on here. But it’s the sort of mess that you can’t help but have fun with and genuinely appreciate.

The technical aspects are really strong here, especially the cinematography from cinematographer Lawrence Sher who goes for this large in scale 1920s film that mixes gangster movies and gothic movies. It’s an incredibly strange hybrid that works in the context of what the film is presenting. The score from Hildur Guðnadóttir fits the mood of the film and really brings the viewer into the experience.

Overall not everything in The Bride works but in the end it does end up being such a fun and genuinely great film. I admire the film for taking the swings it took and really not caring what anyone else thinks.

The Bride is available on all VOD platforms.

8/10 B+

Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die (2026) Film Review

A man from the future takes hostages in a diner to find a team to help him fight a future AI apocalypse, leading to a chaotic, time-loop-adjacent adventure.

Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die is directed by Gore Verbinski director of The Ring (2002), the first three films of the Pirates of the Caribbean (2003-2007) series, Rango (2011), The Lone Ranger (2013), A Cure For Wellness (2016) and a few others.

Gore Verbinski is back with quite a very odd film that is perhaps even stranger than A Cure For Wellness (2016), Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die is a film that pokes fun at the whole AI landscape that is currently going on, it’s a hilarious ride that does have it’s flaws but overall sticks the landing quite well.

Sam Rockwell gives such a bizarre, hilarious yet charming performance that you can’t help but love in the end. His interactions with the rest of the cast is what really makes his character (who is simply known as man from the future) truly work especially when you combine the amount of fun that Rockwell is clearly having. Rockwell has excellent comedic timing that balances well with the film’s more dramatic moments, jokes that would otherwise not work entirely are elevated thanks to Rockwell’s timing.

Juno Temple who plays Susan a woman who is grieving after her son is killed in a school shooting ends up allowing from him to be cloned into an AI deadbot is quite fantastic. While there is a bit of humor here and it’s very clearly satire, there is some genuinely touching moments we see and that’s thanks to Temple’s performance, she conveys pain and suffering as well as wanting to do anything to bring her son back. Pain and suffering can consume a person over time to the point where you are willing to do almost anything and that is displayed incredibly well here.

Haley Lu Richardson is quite fantastic as Ingrid, we gradually learn more about her as the film goes on and the character writing is quite strong here. We get to see her backstory plus her joy, happiness, sadness and disappointment which all combined together shape her into a quite interesting character that yearns for closeness, Richardson’s performance is touching and has this beautiful balance of humor and dramatic moments that really display Richardson’s talent as an actress. She is definitely the heart of the film and that is especially expressed during the film’s final act.

The writing has this strong balance of humor and sci-fi bizarreness, there is one scene in particular during the film’s final act that does a pretty spectacular job of summing this film and its world up in a nutshell. The character writing isn’t perfect by any means, but it does have extra little details that the film could have easily skipped over, a lot of these characters could have easily been forgettable (some of them still are) but the film does give most of them some sort of backstory that helps fill the interest from the viewer.

The design of the AI and the many robots that show up in the film are bizarre yet incredibly intriguing, very creative ideas that interact with the characters incredibly well. There is this genuine charm that really sticks to the viewer and keeps the design fresh in your mind as you explore this film’s bizarre world.

The film does have its flaws, the ending definitely does feel like they ran out of time so they slapped something together very quickly. Plus I do think the film goes on for a bit too long, with that being said I do think the film is able to overcome its flaws quite easily due to the rest of the film being so creative and fun.

Overall Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die is an incredibly fun and creative film that is able to deliver some great performances. It’s definitely not going to be for everyone but I still do recommend giving this one a go!

Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die is available on all VOD platforms.

8/10 B+

Wuthering Heights (2026) Film Review

A passionate and tumultuous love story set against the backdrop of the Yorkshire moors, exploring the intense and destructive relationship between Heathcliff and Catherine Earnshaw.

Wuthering Heights is directed by Emerald Fennell director of Promising Young Woman (2020) and Saltburn (2023).

Wuthering Heights film adaptions have always existed, you have the 1939 film with Laurence Olivier, the 1992 version with Ralph Fiennes and Juliette Binoche, the 2011 film directed by Andrea Arnold and there is a TV movie plus a mini series. Emerald Fennell’s version is definitely more stylized which leads to both some really interesting elements and some elements that do hold this one back.

Before we get started I do want to say that I have not read the source material, I’m going to judge the film from what was presented. If you are interested in the controversies surrounding the film such as the casting choices I highly recommend looking that up as there are people who talk about this that are far more knowledgeable with the source material than myself. Now with that said, let’s get the ball rolling.

The performances are all quite solid although some are definitely better than others. Margot Robbie does have a few moments where she can feel a bit out of place with the film’s time period, despite that however she is able to land a great performance. I definitely think it’s one of those cases where as the film goes on the better her performance becomes, she adjusts to the film’s atmosphere and is able to make a decently compelling performance. Jacob Elordi is in the same spot as Robbie where I do think it takes him a bit of time to fit in with the atmosphere. But once he does, he is able to land some quite strong moments especially towards the end.

Robbie and Elordi are at their best when they share a screen together, these are by far the film’s better and more investing moments. Their dialogue bounces off of each other decently well and there is some firepower behind certain scenes. The chemistry has some quite strong moments that do bring the viewer into the film’s world, there are definitely some hiccups which mainly comes from how long the film is. But overall I do think the two are able to match the tragic picture that’s being painted.

Hong Chau and Alison Oliver are also pretty solid here, Hong Chau’s more quiet performance compared to the rest of the film being on a more louder scale makes for an interesting contrast. Alison Oliver provides the film’s more bizarre angle, she has this comedic relief aspect that slowly becomes more dark as the film goes on. Oliver captures this quite well and is not afraid to go all out.

The film’s best aspects have to be its cinematography combined with the music. The cinematography from Linus Sandgren is undeniably gorgeous, it matches the atmosphere the film requires and brings this large scale to the story. Even the film’s more simple shots have a whole lot going on in them, there is a striking amount of beauty going on here that does capture the film on this wondrous scale. The music from Charli xcx works incredibly well here, each of the songs are able to stand on their own and they complement their respective scenes. The music definitely does a lot of the heavy lifting when it comes to bringing the viewer into the experience of it all, a few notable mentions go to “Always Everywhere”, “My Reminder”, “Out Of Myself” and “Funny Mouth”.

Overall I do think Wuthering Heights as it stands is a decent film, it does go on for a bit longer than it should and it does have a very bumpy start. But I do think it gets better as it goes on resulting in a decent enough film.

Wuthering Heights is available on all VOD platforms.

7/10 B

Hoppers (2026) Film Review

A 19-year-old animal lover uses technology that places her consciousness into a robotic beaver to uncover mysteries within the animal world beyond her imagination.

Hoppers is directed by David Chong director of We Bare Bears: The Movie (2020).

On the surface Hoppers may not seem like much, however once you get into the film there is a whole lot of heart as well as so much to love here. Between the animation immediately attracting the viewer’s eyes, to the well written characters that you instantly invest in and to the film’s familiar yet strong pro-environmental message. There is so much to really explore and appreciate here with Hoppers.

The voice cast all do a fantastic job and really bring out the character’s personalities. Our protagonist Mabel Tanaka especially, she has a heart of gold who much like her deceased grandmother had this beautiful appreciation for nature and animals. Piper Curda does such a fantastic job adding so much detail to Mabel Tanaka, she brings the right amount of comedy and dramatic moments to make Mabel memorable as a character. Jon Hamm does a solid job at voicing Jerry Generazzo a greedy neighbor, Dave Franco gives a hilarious supporting performance as Titus and Bobby Moynihan gives a surprisingly nuanced performance as King George the Mammal King.

The animation is where Hoppers really shines, it’s the type of animation that instantly brings you into the film’s world. You feel like you are sitting on a park bench watching the animals interact with one another, or when Mabel transfers her mind into a lifelike robotic beaver you can feel the scale change. The world gets even bigger and the animation just seems to really keep pushing with the detail.

The writing is also quite strong, you can very easily tell the writers and the voice cast had a blast with this film. That’s all you really need sometimes to create something special, the film has some bizarre ideas that actually work in the film’s favor. But what it does deliver on the most is being able to communicate its central thesis that bringing back this focus onto ourselves in this wider community while also connecting to nature will help us become closer, it’s quite a beautiful message that combines both humor and more sad moments to effectively tell its story.

Overall Hoppers is a very solid film that has this fun and heartfelt energy that brings the film together. Some ideas might be familiar however in the end the film is worth the watch.

Hoppers is available on all VOD platforms.

8/10 B+

How To Make A Killing (2026) Film Review

A disinherited man, Becket Redfellow, systematically murders his way up the line of succession to claim his family’s fortune.

How To Make A Killing is directed by John Patton Ford director of Emily The Criminal (2022).

How To Make A Killing has its flaws, but it’s an overall entertaining ride with a solid cast that does lift the material in entertaining ways.

Glen Powell shows a lot of charisma here, he plays Becket Redfellow in this humorous and charming way that you can’t help but feel invested into him as a character. He works with the cast quite well particularly with Margaret Qualley and Jessica Henwick. Margaret Qualley brings this charm to the film as well and brings this femme fatale into the mix that is quite effective, Jessica Henwick has great chemistry with the cast. Her story can feel a bit out of place with the chaos happening, but she manages to make it work in the end.

The writing has some very humorous moments and brings this satirical edge to the mix as well. There definitely are moments where the film does get a bit too ridiculous and admittedly the ending does give off the vibe of rushing something together due to not really knowing how to close out the film. But I do think everything that came before the ending does work together decently well.

The pacing can be very inconsistent at times, some sections of the film have this nice atmospheric and fun feel, while others have this rushed feel that doesn’t flow together all that well. The character moments are fine enough and although brief, the flashback scenes do give us a bit more information about Julia Steinfeld (played by Margaret Qualley.)

Overall there really isn’t a whole lot to say here, How To Make A Killing isn’t really saying anything new. But it is admittedly a very entertaining ride that does have a fun cast, great humor and works purely on charm.

How To Make A Killing is available on all VOD platforms.

7/10 B

Psycho Killer (2026) Film Review

A police officer tracks a serial killer known as “the Satanic Slasher” after he kills her husband.

Psycho Killer is directed by Gavin Polone which is his directorial debut.

Before you ask no Psycho Killer by Talking Heads is not in this movie. Anyways Psycho Killer is such an absolute mess of a movie that it’s almost impressive. This is basically one of those detective tries to catch a serial killer movies but done incredibly poorly. Which is sort of funny since writer Andrew Kevin Walker (writer of Seven (1995)) is involved with this movie.

First and foremost the characters are not interesting at all, outside of a few decent moments from Georgina Campbell who really tries her best to salvage what she can. The rest of the cast just can’t help this movie at all, I’m not exactly sure how they made the antagonist of the movie the Satanic Slasher incredibly boring but they somehow did it. The voice they decided to go with for the character sounds like an edgelord (I hate using this term but it’s truly the best way to describe it) of Bane from The Dark Knight Rises (2012). Which leads to the character not being taken seriously at all from the viewer, especially when you don’t have the suspenseful atmosphere to back it up.

The main problem here is the script, there is no originality here. Every single cliche you can think of that’s in a horror movie about a serial killer is here and each of these cliches are done at their worst, it’s almost impressive to see just how many cliches are packed into this movie. The incredibly clunky dialogue does the movie no favors at all, a lot of the conversations have no depth and fail to invest the viewer. The movie’s characters make observations that the viewer had long since made which in turn makes the whole mystery element irrelevant.

The only other positive outside of Georgina Campbell’s performance is the movie’s opening. It’s the only time during this 91 minute mess where you can actually feel the atmosphere be thrilling and what does end up happening is genuinely nasty, it gives the movie a nice little boost to hopefully take advantage of but then the rest of the movie happens.

There really isn’t much more to say here, Psycho Killer is by far one of the worst movies of the year so far. It’s baffling how much of a mess and truly awful this one gets as it goes on.

Psycho Killer is available on all VOD platforms.

1/10 F

Quick Reviews: Slanted (2026) and Whistle (2026)

A Chinese-American teen gets surgery to change her race to win prom queen, leading to body horror as she deals with the consequences

Slanted is directed by Amy Wang which is her directorial debut.

Slanted is one of those films where I do think the bizarre idea is more interesting than the film itself. That mainly comes down to execution and the film really not going far enough with its premise, despite that however I do think the movie manages to stick the landing in the end.

I do think this is McKenna Grace’s first performance since Gifted (2017) where she actually got a lot of depth for her character. There are some emotional moments here that wrap into the film’s themes and McKenna Grace is able to really capture said moments and make something devastating. Shirley Chen is also quite great here as well, the first bit of the movie we see Joan Huang (played by Shirley Chen) wanting to change. The acting from Chen is careful and quite devastating especially since the viewer does know what is going to happen. When we do get the change of Joan Huang becoming Jo Hunt the result has its character moments but does eventually dry up.

What hurts the movie the most is the writing, as a body horror movie it’s just not there at all. Outside of a few moments towards the end there really isn’t a whole lot of body horror going on here. As a satire that tackles themes of racial identity and self-hatred they are done decently enough, but the execution feels like it’s missing some power hitting moments. The whole idea of the race change through this technology is far more interesting idea than the movie itself, the more interesting moments come in with Joan Huang’s parents reaction to her change. It’s genuinely devastating to watch seeing them completely destroyed and disappointed.

Then you have the rest of the movie that just kind of feels there and does not really do much with the themes. I think for the most part the movie gets the job done, but for a movie that tackles quite a heavy topic it surprisingly feels lacking.

Slanted is available on all VOD platforms.

6/10 C+

A group of high schoolers finds a cursed whistle that, when blown, causes a supernatural entity to hunt them down, manifesting their future deaths.

Whistle is directed by Corin Hardy director of The Hallow (2015) and The Nun (2018).

Whistle is if you took any of the Final Destination movies and proceeded to make your movie far less entertaining. While Whistle is not the worst copycat out there, it is a very forgettable one that is slightly frustrating due to having some interesting ideas that are held back by terrible writing.

The cast try their best with the script that’s given, Dafne Keen being the movie’s lead gets the bigger end of the stick naturally. So she’s able to turn in a decent enough performance, Sophie Nélisse is also not bad here either. A far more interesting movie is hiding in the romance between Chrys Willet (played by Dafne Keen) and Ellie Gains (played by Sophie Nélisse.) The rest of the cast do what they can, I don’t think anyone here turns in a bad performance it’s just a matter of the script being terrible and not giving a lot of these actors anything to work with.

The writing is what flat out kills this move on arrival, the dialogue has a few laughably bad moments that the movie tries to play as being serious. The large amount of cliches and lack of tension completely take the viewer out of the movie and can easily be predicted as to what is going to happen.

There are some creative kills here, but just getting to them feels like a chore. Which is a shame because I do think the whole idea of the whistle causing the deaths of how someone is going to die is pretty interesting. Unfortunately the movie completely botches the idea and goes for the most generic direction possible.

There really isn’t much else more to say here, if you have seen any horror movie within the last 10 years. Then you have already seen Whistle and know exactly how it’s going to end. In a year that so far has delivered a lot of great horror movies, this one really feels out of place.

Whistle is available on all VOD platforms.

3/10 D-

Crime 101 (2026) Film Review

An elusive jewel thief’s final score puts him in conflict with a determined detective and an insurance broker, blurring the lines between hunter and hunted.

Crime 101 is directed by Bart Layton director of The Imposter (2012) and American Animals (2018).

Crime 101 is essentially Michael Mann lite, but it still is quite great in its own ways, even if the film may not be doing anything new. But it is still a quite fun time all around.

The performances are what really make the movie work. Chris Hemsworth gives a strong performance and brings nuance to his character, Hemsworth captures the film’s atmosphere almost immediately and only adds on to it as the plot starts to reveal itself. Mark Ruffalo is reliably intense and Halle Berry serves as the emotional weight of the film, she works incredibly well with the rest of the cast and has a ton of great moments with Hemsworth. Barry Keoghan much like Hemsworth (all be it in a much more louder way) fits the atmosphere and goes all out when required.

The visuals are quite strong with cinematographer Erik Wilson really bringing the film’s world to life, the classic L.A. crime setting pops out wonderfully and the attention to detail with the lighting is genuinely gorgeous. The tension during the film’s man car chase scenes are filled to the brim with atmosphere and thrills that are enough to keep the viewer invested, they never go over the top and try to remain as focused as possible.

Where Crime 101 suffers is the running time and a bit of a very thinly written story. The film goes on for a bit too long especially with scenes with Maya (played by Monica Barbaro) who is Mike/James Davis’s (played by Chris Hemsworth) love interest that just really do not add to the plot. The story isn’t exactly anything new, if you have seen any sort of crime thriller before you are going to recognize a lot of different elements almost immediately.

With that being said, Crime 101 is still a lot of fun. It’s not going to break any new ground, however it’s well directed, acted and made. If you are a fan of the genre you should give this one a go.

Crime 101 is available on all VOD platforms.

7/10 B

Sweetness (2026) Film Review

When a superfan learns that her rock-star idol is spiraling into addiction, she makes it her mission to save him, whether he wants her help or not. However, when her desperate plan spins out of control, she kidnaps him in a delusional attempt to fix him. What started as compassion soon turns into captivity as she locks him away in the name of love.

Sweetness is directed by Emma Higgins which is her directorial debut

Sweetness is basically Gen-Z Misery (1990), the main difference here is this movie released at a time where Stan culture is at its most insufferable. This one mainly focuses on the teenage celebrity obsession which the movie surprisingly executes quite well.

It helps that the Rylee (played by Kate Hallett) and her friend Syd (played by Aya Furukawa) actually do look like teenagers, it makes the movie a bit more on the grounded side and helps execute its themes a lot better. Hallett and Furukawa also give great performances as well and lead to some interesting dialogue exchanges. Hallett sells the transition from an awkward and lovestruck teenager to somebody who is very unhinged in this quite disturbing and realistic way. Without Hallett I don’t think Sweetness would have worked nearly as well as it did.

When it comes to tone and pacing , Emma Higgins nails it. She slowly builds this atmosphere around Rylee, she starts out friendly and being lovestruck then slowly but surely turns unhinged. It’s carefully done and does not feel rushed at all, there might not be as many powerful and striking moments as there were in Misery (1990) but it’s still quite impressive to see how well crafted and paced Sweetness really is with its tone.

There are definitely moments in the writing where you need to suspend your disbelief, but even then those moments make for an interesting satirical edge that grabs the viewer’s attention. The character writing for Rylee is actually quite solid, we get a quite tragic backstory as to why she became the way she did and it’s all told decently well.

Overall Sweetness is a decent little thriller, it’s definitely not going to reinvent the whole Misery (1990) premise but I do think the way the story is told and the performances make this one worth a watch.

Sweetness is available on all VOD platforms.

6/10 C+