Mandrake, 2022. 6/10

Director: Lynne Davison

BRUTAL (2007). >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
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I found this hard going, especially when We find out who the killer is so early. The interplay between Jeffery Coombs and Sarah Thompson was awkward-He's her supervisor/lover and despite being a Huge jerk and married/kids, She's practically leaping at the chance to rekindle-WHY??
Just nothing exceptional here, although it was nice seeing Michael Berryman playing a halfway sympathetic character for a change. **

Glad to see this board is up again. :-)

Time to do some catching up.

Witchboard III: The Possession (1995) ★★½

Your average ouija board/ghostie fun, though not as scary as you would expect from the subgenre.

But it does have one or two things going for itself, like a few good kills and fun moments. The lacklustre ending keeps it from earning a third star.

Troll Hunter (2010) ★★★½

Interesting stuff, this.

One of the new elements is that the film lets up every now and again. You are so used to found footage not letting up once the scary stuff sets in that you feel odd to see a bit of down time between scary moments.

Based on the subject matter, you would expect a lot of blurry images. But this one shows the trolls in all their glory. A good chunk of the two million dollar budget must have gone to special effects. CGI in a found footage film? Could that be a thing?

The biggest surprise? The big villain is not the trolls, but mankind. Cool or womp womp? Not entirely sure.

Two points of criticism, though:

The idea of letting up makes the ending more sudden and a whole lot less scary than it could have been. Secondly, the casting of Norwegian comedians is a cool inside joke. But then again, it does not really add to the credibility of the found footage idea.

A fun watch, though.

50 BEST HORROR MOVIES YOU'VE NEVER SEEN (2014). PJ Soles narrated TUBI offering that is a decent watch, but better for a neophyte Horror fans. Lots of clips (Thankfully little to no spoilers) and comments by many quite enthusiastic people, including some "Scream Queens"-Linnea, Brinke and Michelle.

While I question some of the choices-INSIDE, FOOD OF THE GODS, CASTLE FREAK, SILENT NIGHT DEADLY NIGHT- ,it's good to see some films that deserve another look-PUMPKINHEAD, WRONG TURN, THE DESCENT, TRILOGY OF TERROR, HARD CANDY.

Some of the films listed I had not heard of -ALONE WITH HER, JOSHUA, GRACE-and some others I hadn't seen in some time-REPULSION, HALLOWEEN 3:SEASON OF THE WITCH, VISITING HOURS, VISITING HOURS. If nothing else, it gave Me some ideas.

The #1 film they pick...Well, it wouldn't be cricket to tell You. I wouldn't place it so high, but there is no denying its legacy. ***

From Dusk Till Dawn (1996) ★★★★½

I will never get tired of this.

FDTD set the standard for badassery in the past 30 years. Regardless of wether it is in terms of cast or in terms of set pieces.

It's a pity Clooney only did this one before going more mainstream. Then again, he did do the one, so there's that. Then there's the casting of cult heroes typical of Tarantino, like Fred Williamson, Cheech Marin or Michael Parks. Or launching the careers of Danny Trejo and Salma Hayek.

Tom Savini delivers what's probably his coolest role since Dawn of the dead and his turning scene is simply hilarious. As much as the banter between the Gecko's. Bitch, bitch, bitch.

26 years old and not getting any less cool.

Is this the one?

Fear Street: 1666 (2021) ★★

With the declining level of part 2, I went in with less than stellar expectations. More of a let's get this thing over with-feel.

In all fairness, it was not all that terrible. At least not Transformers-terrible. The dead kids-moment was pretty good and the first reveal had a good set up.

The rest was laid on too thick. With the "goode is evil"-line as the lame topper. And since this is the last part, we are up to our ears in full circle stuff. Not terrible, it just did not do much for me.

The Last Broadcast (1998) ★★★½

The Last Broadcast was a precursor to what we now know as found footage. Contrary to other found footage films, however, this focuses more on the crime investigation behind the deaths of the makers of Facts or Fiction.

I did like how they managed to hang an eerie, foreboding atmopshere over the footage the guys shot. Also, the film did not actually show what happened to Locus and Steven, but we do get an unexpected twist and kill. Granted, it did come from out of nowhere, but it also raises questions like "why would this person do that?"

Nevertheless, it was pretty entertaining overall and it managed to create tension in a different way than the ones that came later. Not the best in the genre, but certainly not the worst.

Yes, that is the one.


NOBODY (2021). Decent actioneer of a Guy who just seems to go through the motions at work and in all phases of home life until a minor incident pushes Him over into "Kick Ass and Take No Prisoners" mode. Christopher Lloyd is great in here, especially during a "Company Coming" scene. ***

Patient AKA Cursed To Kill

The Man in Room 6, 2022. 8/10

Director: Trevor Juenger


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The Christmas Shoes

Exhumed. 2011. 7.5/10

Director: Richard Griffin


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Leprechaun 2 (1994) ★★

A bland hero with an eighties vibe, a love intrest somewhere between Alicia Silverstone and Nicola Peltz and a villain with a few groanworthy puns. That's your Leprechaun-sequel*recipe.

Good for a few ironic chuckles and one or two fun*kills.

Chaos (2005) ★

Bland action flicks, proving why this is not my genre. Nice to see Nicolas Lea again,*though.

The Dentist 2 (1998) ★★

A nineties slasher with a bit of an eighties vibe. Not too terrible, but it could have done better on both the kill count and the originality of the kills. The finale with the nail gun is okay. The end is a bit too cartoonish to be scary, but enjoyable in its own way.

The Conjuring The Devil Made Me Do It

Ticks

The Menu 8/10

I was hoping the story would escalate into something even more extreme, but the movie was good nevertheless.

VOODOO MOON (2006). Twenty years after a Demon destroys their town, a Brother and sister attempt to find answers and right wrongs.

This SYFY offering is dull, dull, dull, even with likable performers like Jeffrey Coombs, Charisma Carpenter, Dee Wallace and John Amos (who does the best job here).

Lots of long stretches and cheesy effects...VM isn't really worth Your time. *

Pledge Night

I saw Halloween Kills. Had some interesting scenes that you wouldn't see in other Halloween films, kind of out in the open scenes.

It was alright, in that at least it was different.

THE MOTHER (2003). Anne Reid is great as the long time housewife/mother who loses her husband while visiting her children. Her dormant sexuality is awakened, and in a big way, by a pre-James Bond Daniel Craig. Complications may arise owing to the fact that Dan is also seeing Anne's needy clingy daughter. ***

My Fellow Americans

LAST NIGHT (1998). The expected (and never explained) end of the world is coming and LN focuses on the final six hours of several Toronto residents. I had never heard of this, but Brother recommendation made Me decide to check it out. Very good with a powerful finale. ****

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P2

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Yay, you're back. ::smile::

OPERATION FINALE (2018). Very good film detailing how Israeli agents captured and spirited Adolf Eichman to Jerusalum for trial. Although I'm familiar with the history, tension creeps in as endless roadblocks pile up and Ben Kingsley is great as the manipulative unrepentant Nazi. ***1/2

Sometimes They Come Back… Again (1996) ★★★

In this bit of the extended Stephen King-universe, the dad from Family Ties saves Hillary Swank from the devil. The devil has a few good kills and, together with a few fun moments, that's enough to make it a good warm up on a Friday*night.

Not great, but overall*entertaining.

Slumber Party Massacre (2021) ★★★½

Finally got around to watching it and... it's a bit of a mixed*bag.

There's a lot of good about this film. The opening wastes no time in getting to the good stuff. No messing about, I like it. The kills are good and gory. Good stuff. Of course, this film has its share of fan service and nods to the original (the speech, the body in the fridge, the guitar) and there's also a nod to Pamela Voorhees and maybe even Nailgun Massacre. Putting the spin on the speech also was a good idea, same as with the shower*scene.

Adding the Scream-like knowedgeability and savviness may have been a good idea on paper, but here it just leads to a load of exposition which takes away from the storytelling. Along with the whininess of the killer(s), it somehow adds a bit of a "no biggie" atmosphere.*

Also: show, don't tell. Maybe it's me growing up with heroines like Ellen Ripley, but showing you're a badass is more entertaining than just saying it. Maybe it's a generational thing, but it seems to me that the viewer does not need to spoonfed what to remember or think. You don't have to shoehorn in what you want to say. We can figure out things on our own, you*know.

Overall a good remake, though. It pays hommage to the original, adds a few new elements and as a stand alone film, it works as*well.

Leprechaun (1993) ★★★

Ah, 1993. When you could stretch a goofy idea into a franchise. And when cordless ringing phones were considered scary. I'm your boyfriend now, Jennifer. Oh yeah, Jennifer Aniston is in this. Scream queen Jennifer Aniston would have been fun too, but I'm pretty sure her bank account*disagrees.

It's not that bad and overall entertaining. The Leprechaun gets one or two nice kills (with the pogo kill standing out) and you can tell that Warwick Davis had a lot of fun playing*Leprechaun.

Slender Man (2018) ★

Proof that relying on ominous music alone is not*enough.

Too little and too far*betwen.

Troll, 2022. 7/10


Director: Roar Uthaug


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SKELETON MAN (2004). Completely wretched SYFY offering...just awful on all counts, even Michael Rooker couldn't salvage it. The best way I can describe it is PREDATOR in the woods, but not nearly as good. 1/2

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Halloween Ends (2022) ... 'Halloween Without a Cause'
4/10

The last of the Jamie Lee Curtis' three-part reboot. At least they tried an interesting idea, that I can't reveal, as it's a spoiler. It's nothing new, and pretty obvious from the beginning of the film... but interesting none the less.

I don't think the main premise coincided well with the film's conclusion. The plots seemed to disconnect rather than merge or supersede.

Felt a bit like 'Rebel Without a Cause' meets 'Ben' and 'Scream'... but in a cliche, this-is-way-too-familiar way. Old stories can have interesting new aspects or straight up twists... or can simply be done really well. Can't say the film succeeded there.

Perhaps the worst failure, considering the Halloween horror handle, is that it's not a very scary nor suspenseful film.

I did like the cinematography, and the intriguing and nuanced performances from leads Rohan Campbell and Andi Matichak. I think we'll see bigger things from Campbell.