Thanks for the compliment. Would you recommend the book?

The Amityville Horror 2005 ★

Seeing a certain logo already made me weary, and sure enough, it's as classy and subtle as you expect from Platinum Dunes. Bland jump scares, bland wife/girlfriend,... a snoozefest not interested in scaring the audience.

Heck, they even managed to make Ryan Reynolds look douchy. Ryan Reynolds. He could play Ted Bundy and part of you would still want to root for him.

The only positive thing I can say is that part of me wants to see Ryan Reynolds and Jason Lee in an odd couple style sitcom.

School of Rock 2003 ★★★

Why only three stars? Because that is as good as these archetype feel good movies get. The structure is way too predictable and by the numbers for me to be surprised and the big finale is too much nonsense for a fortysomething to still buy into. Also, his roommate is dating Sarah Silverman and somehow, Jack Black is the one who gets to bragg about a hot date. Oh, movies.

Does that mean that it's bad? Far from it.

It executed the idea well, hearing the classic songs sent the required shiver down my spine and it had a number of good jokes. It got a few laughs from me and did not overstay its welcome, which is all a comedy has to do.

Jack Black is tailor made for this role. He lives the character and you cannot help but see and hear mannerisms and the musical influences of Tenacious D in the songs he and the kids write and play together. Joan Cusack shows off her comedic chops as the headmaster. Would not mind seeing her in more comedies. Any suggestions?

Fall 2022 ★★★★½

Fall was a fun ride. Pity I missed the theatre screening, because you can trust me on this one: I'm sure this should be a theatre experience. Also, it would easily have been a contender for a top five spot.

The story mainly focusses on two ladies climbing a very high tv broadcast tower in the middle of nowhere. There is a bit of Jeffrey Dean Morgan in here, but by his standards, he is very restrained. No Neganing or smartallicky stuff. Just a sad father reaching out to his daughter. Frustrated whe she tells him to go away. The daughter in question, Becky, is still grieving over the death of her husband, nearly a year after he fell to his death during a tragic rock climbing accident.

So what pulls her out of this slump? Her vlogger friend Hunter dares her to go on another and after some cajoling, she is convinced. And that's where everything goes wrong.

Is it predictable? Kind of. You can see the disaster coming a mile away. But at that moment, it's not about the climax and more about the set up and that is done extremely well. You can fell the tension mounting. Same thing goes with the things they use later on.

Once they are up there, things start happening. Because there is not much to do as such on top of a tower with no way down. So the two friends start using their wits to find a way to escape, as well as the objects at their disposal: their phones (duh), the drone Hunter brought, the backpack, a flare,...The script makes good use of the props available, thus reminding me of this Thai movie called The Pool I saw a few years ago. For various reasons, the attempts fail at first. Too low battery levels on the drone or just people being, well... people.

Also, tensions from the past come up, creating tension between Hunter and Becky. Critics can argue that they gloss over that pretty easily, fans would argue that is a testament to the strength of their friendship. I can easily see both sides as well as my personal opinion piggybacking back and forth between the two depending on my mood at said moment.

That said, that is still nothing to the big reveal. Set up perfectly, this brings a genuine “whoa”-moment. I especially loved it because it's been a while since I have seen one of these. I guess it goes back to Seoul Station.

Another major quality is that the movie understands the principle of “show, don't tell”. The prime examples being the scene where Becky and Hunter retrieve the backpack, Becky's fight with the eagle or the catch they make in order to save the drone,...

For some reason, imdb puts this in the thriller category, but I am sure horror fans in particular as well as cinema fans in general will love this. Well recommended.

Dreams in the Witch House 2022 ★★

Rupert Grint plays a guy who is only a child when he loses his sister Samantha. I'm sorry, I meant Epperley.

He becomes so obsessed with seeing her again that he drops some acid before getting sucked into this lower budget version of the Upsidedown. And needless to say, it all ends up going terribly wrong.

The effects in the other world look good and I am certain the Lovecraft story it was based on is solid. But the director did not use the tension well and Grint is simply not that convincing in this role.

The second star is for the effects and the rat crawling out chestburster style.

And then back in.
Mister Takei?
Oh my.

Lake Mungo 2008 ★★★½

Lake Mungo was a solid effort in the faux documentary/found footage genre. An entertaining bit of horror about the disappearance of a girl.

While it did not live up to the reputation garnered on the internet, it did manage to instill an overall eerie atmosphere with characters likable enough to empathize with them. Which is something you should not take for granted in this subgenre.

Also... The Tunnel, The Museum Project, Lake Mungo,... What is the deal with Australia and found footage?

Dominion: Prequel to The Exorcist 2005 ★★

A prequel to one of the all time classics can be nothing but underwhelming. And this one was underwhelming.

I can understand bringing in Nazis to give the main character a cross to bear.

But offscreen kills? 30 years after the groundbreaking effects in The Exorcist? Or The Omen? No sir, that will not do.

One of the better things was the recycled captain Rhodes-character, who now is a major. Otherwise, there is nothing much memorable about this flick.

13 Fanboy 2021 ★★★★

For fans of the series, this indie spin off is the bee's knees.

In short, 13 fanboy is Friday's answer to A new nightmare, where the monster crosses over to real life. In this case in the person of an obsessive fan stalking (and kidnapping and killing) the actors from the movies.

A few of the logistics don't completely make sense and this movie has no art house pretensions. But all that does not matter.

What matters is seeing all the old lovies back in a Friday-film: Tracie Savage, Lar Park Lincoln, Debbie Voorhees, Kane Hodder, CJ Graham, Judie Aronson,... Or the nods to the series.

The fun of seeing Corey Feldman as a sleazebag producer. Or seeing that Vincente Disanti seems to be drawing from the same casting style as Brad Jones. And look, it's James A. Janisse.

Or the fun of seeing your name on the screen as a one of the Kickstarter sponsors.

Casual moviegoers can easily give this a skip. This is for the fans.

And now I want to see that found footage "Snuffed Out".

The Pale Blue Eye 2022 ★★★

A pretty much by the numbers detective flick in the same style as a few good men. Entertaining, but nothing really great. Bale is solid as usual, but Gillian Anderson overdoes her posh British accent. Other actors were not too memorable.

The final reveal was kind of well done and I did like the inside joke about Poe writing a poem about Landor. Which, in fact, is true.

In cinema terms, it is the definition of a matinee. A perfect fit for a subscription, but don't pay extra to rent this one.

Halloween Kills 2021 ★★½

This may not have been overwhelmingly great, but it's certainly not as bad as some other reviews claim it to be.

It's one of the okay-ish Halloween-sequels. It moves along at a good pace. The tension is solid and Michael coming out of the burning house does make for an impressive shot. The subplot of Tommy Doyle and Lonnie wanting to kill Michael added some good characters as well. Also a shoutout to the writers for adding Big John and Little John.

And the kills? Well, I used to associate Michael with the typical Scream-like stabby fun time. So seeing him pierce eyeballs was cool and the fluorescent lamp kill was a nice change from the norm.

So is it all positive? Far from it. The overly dramatic dialogue felt forced and the harping on the evil dies tonight even downright laughable. I get the idea that a Halloween-movie needs trick or treaters, but the subplot with the annoying kids could be skipped or given a more satisfying conclusion where they all get what's coming to them. The lynchmob subplot could serve a purpose, if it had not been for its ridiculous conclusion. Not to mention the bar scene with Tommy the buzzkill.

Because after all, we are (supposed to be) in a trilogy and how do we set up part 3 without any kind of bollocks? Come on screenwriter, bring an idea. That cocaine is not going to snort itself. Let's not and say we did. Great idea, man.

Velvet Buzzsaw 2019 ★★★

It's always fun to see Jake Gyllenhaal in a movie. He's one of those actors who deliver a solid performance in pretty much everything they're in. And most of the stuff he's been in is pretty good too.

This one? Hmm, on a lot of levels somewhere in betweenish.

As a horror, it's somewhere in betweenish. It's not really all that scary, but it has a few good moments. Specifically towards the end, with the paint crawling up on Antonia or when Gyllenhaal's character snuffs it.

The story where the art kills anyone making money from it? In betweenish. I like the idea. Not saying it's overly original. I remember at least one X-Files episode that ventured into this territory. And now that I think of it, there are probably episodes of the Friday the 13th tv series (you know, the one with the antique shop with the cursed objects) that did so too. As a premise to poke fun at the pretentious, shallow art (dealers) world? Where it's sometimes just as much dog eat dog as in most other sectors? Meh, why not? Triangle of sadness tried something similar and at least here the satire worked better on me. In betweenish.

Is it because of the cast? Maybe. As mentioned before, Gyllenhaal is good in all his roles and here, he's great as the snooty art critic Morf. In my opinion, he had the most interesting character arc, going from snooty and confident to hurt and desperate. Other good performances from the girl playing the art dealer Morf falls for and the young man as the up and coming artist Damrish.

It was good seeing Rene Russo again too (it's been a while since I've seen her in anything) and she fits the part as the tough as nails art house owner with the punk rock past. She can be charming when she wants to be, but the claws can come out just as easily and efficiently. Also, can I say that Toni Colette is underrated? She already was great in Hereditary, but she also makes the most out of the character she has her. Good stuff. And what's left to about Malkovic? The role of the seasoned artist with creative struggles fits him like a glove. No surprise there, we know what he can do with this material.

Pret à porter for Netflix, Tubi and other streaming portals. Maybe a tad too pedestrian for people who expect more genuine scares from their horror.

Malevolent 2018 ★★★½

Malevolent is a well told haunted house story. With a good dose of comeuppance thrown in the mix.

Three friends run a scam where one of them, Angela, can supposedly communicate with the dead. At the start of the movie, we see her flex her “talent” at the house of a well meaning family, convinced by their performance.

We then get a few Hollywood tropes: Angela wants to quit because she saw stuff, her brother wants to keep on going because he is in trouble with sleazy types and needs money and then one more job comes along.

This old lady, however, sees right through them. And there turns out to be a lot more to this house than they could imagine.

The build up works well, though it might feel like a slow burn to some. Especially the second half picks up with a good cat and mouse game, revealing over time who is really in control. And some nice torture scenes for those that are into that.

The acting is overall solid. Especially Florence Pugh as Angela shows that she can carry a movie, but the overall acting is solid, with a specific mention for Scott Chambers as the lovelorn Elliott. Funny sidenote: Celia Imrie is your standard scary antagonist, but she does manage to make posh English sound scary.

Saw 2004 ★★★½

I have a strange relationship with Saw. The first time I saw it, I did not think that much of it. but on a second or third rewatch, I start to notice that it's growing on me.

I can perfectly see how the opening scene intrigued audiences on its release. The story is set up well and the flashbacks are not as confusing as some of the Youtube videos I saw on this film would have you believe.

Though they were on point about the music video style editing. Sheesh, why not have Marilyn Manson play the killer? And you could cast Josh Saviano as Tapp.

Is the acting great? Well, some of it is. Danny Glover is very good as the obsessed cop and Tobin Bell is excellent as Jigsaw. Career making performance.

If I could time travel, some of my destinations would include premiers of horror classics. See how people responded to, say, seeing the chestburster for the very first time. And you know what? After last night, Saw might just be one of them.

Don’t Come Knocking 2005 ★★★★

Wim Wenders produced a beautiful movie about reconciliation and making amends.

Sam Shepard plays a washed up actor named Howard Spence who turns out to have not just one, but two children he did not know about.

One is the country singer Earl, played by Gabriel Mann, who is confrontational in more than one way. In the process also confronting Howard with his past by being eerily/sadly like him. A case of the apple and the tree becoming awkward.

The other is Sky, played by the delightful Sarah Polley. Showing the softer, more contemplative side Howard seems to want to reach/show. I'm glad she chose these indie roles because she really excels at them.

It's a beautiful story about love and warmth and overwinning obstacles and regrets. Being well dosed at the same time. It does look into Howard's excesses without going into gratuitous detail. You see all that you need to see and you can piece together the rest. And the conclusion in my opinion more hopeful than it looks at first sight.

All of this is well performed by a great cast with amongst others Jessica Lange, Fairuza Balk and a small role for George Kennedy as a director who is both disgruntled and trying to patch things up. And Tim Roth is funny as the relentless insurance agent Sutter.

Worth checking out. Definetily.

The Viewing 2022 ★★★★

The viewing was a quite enjoyable trip. A rich old man invites four media personalities for a “viewing” of an object. Four characters who don't have much to set them apart. Charlotte is an Asian scientist with a Velma-like haircut. Randall is a music producer with an afro. Guy is a guy with a bit of a seen it all arrogance and Targ is a British sounding fella who dabbles in the psychic.

Together, they are invited by Lionel Lassiter. Performed by Peter Weller, giving off a bit of David Carradine and some Christopher Lambert at times as well. After they get together under the watchful eye of Lassiter's vague henchmen and some obvious foreshadowing, they do a variety of drugs.

It takes it's time to set up for a finale that pays off. With solid special effects and nods to Scanners, Raiders of the last ark and The blob.

In short: more style and pretty visuals than a coherent, original story. But I was totally on board for it.

JFK 1991 ★★★★½

Sure glad this one popped up on Netflix. Talk about an ensemble cast: Costner, Matthau, Rooker, Bacon, Sutherland senior, Spacey, Pesci, TLJ, Metcalfe, Newman from Seinfeld,... did I recognize HalHolbrook at one point? The list goes on and on.

This epic masterpiece fills your entire evening. Only at the start, Oliver Stone floods you with names and traces and it's hard to keep track. But once it's warmed up, it really sucks you into the intense ride that is the Kennedy investigation.

Even while knowing the historical background and what came of it... Halfway through the movie, you will find yourself rooting for Garrison.

You want him to catch the killers.

You want Pesci's character to live long enough to tell his tale.

You want Clay Shaw to be convicted.

You empathize with the gang (when Rooker's hothead character snaps and leaves) and Garrison's family (please let them make it through this).

All the actors are great, but two scenes stand out, even above these. Of course, there is Costner in the court, particularly his ending speech. And the scenes where Donald Sutherland makes Costner realise just how far this thing really went. This type of monologue puts the cherry on top of epic.

A movie made for those people who still get a lump in their throat on november 22nd or when thinking of the figure JFK and what he stood for.

And for cinephiles in general, it's worth going out of your way in order to see it. Just keep in mind that the running time is 3.5 hours.

Don’t Look Down 1998 ★★

My DVD blocked somewhere in the middle and I was no too motivated to go on.

Billy Burke delivers a decent performance, so he gets the movie its second star. And I'm sure the director did what he could on this budget.

But the green screen during the death scene was a bit too obvious and the flashbacks/hallucinations were the same levels of silly as the truck in the Nicolas Cage version of The Wicker Man.

Maybe I'll pick up later to see if it picks up. Hopes are not all that high.

Chasing Sleep 2000 ★★★

A movie for those people who complained that Seven was too cheerful and sunny. I mean, goodness gracious.

On the plus side, it is entertaining and well done with the small budget it probably had. And I got to see a completely different side of Jeff Daniels. That's nice too.

Room 731 2015 ★★★½

An interesting short about a Japanese doctor Mengele type figure and his experiments, which are shown in a surreal, nightmarish atmosphere.

At first, he seems to get away with it. Before then getting a supernatural comeuppance.

Short enough so that the waste of time simply does not apply here. Hence worth checking out.

M3GAN 2022 ★★★½

My first recent release of the year in cinema. And it was certainly enjoyable.

This movie achieved a lot of the goals set by the Child's Play remake with Mark Hamill and did better. The whole technology thing is fleshed out better and looks more believable. M3gan and her grasp of technology look more believable than remake Chucky.

I also liked the performances. Allison Williams shows her versatility as the awkward aunt Gemma. And can you blame her? All of a sudden, she goes from a life with nerds, work and Tinder to taking responsability for a child. No mean feat.

So, the same way my generation's parents plopped us in front of the tv, she goes the extra mile and invents a perfect friend for Cady. With a solid "what have I done"-moment and an end with a saviour not unlike the ED209.

Sadly, the flaws are the same as with the average PG13-horror. Afraid to go further in the creepiness and kills that could have been great if they were more explicit. Maybe a place for the sequel to pick up?

It's at least worth one read.


HIRED GUN (2016). Very enjoyable doc about the musicians who play on sessions or form the touring personnel for an established performer. They are expected to be on the "A" game every time, not much recognition, pay can be dicey and not much in the way of job security.

Many interviews with established "Guns" like Rudy Sarzo (Quiet Riot, Ozzy Osbourne-very soulful interview with him), Kenny Aronoff (John Mellencamp, John Fogarty), Ray Parker Jr, Steve Lukather, Liberty DeVito (Billy Joel), Derek St Holmes (Ted Nugent), Eric Singer (Black Sabbath, Badlands, Alice Coper and currently KISS), Jason Hook (Hillary Duff, Five Finger Death Punch)and Nita Strauss (Alice Cooper, Demi Lovato).

From watching this, it seems that working for Alice Cooper and Pink would be the ideal gig to land, both artists have had the same lineup for years. But if You are a Billy Joel fan, don't watch this-He does not come off well AT ALL.

Similar to STANDING IN THE SHADOWS OF MOTOWN, 20 FEET FROM STARDOM and THE WRECKING CREW, all three which I recommend. ****

First thought: this has to be on Tubi. And... son of a bitch, it is.::big grin::

Trick 2019 ★★½

An overall decent slasher with some good kills here and there. With one particular kill reaching Final Destination-levels of convolutedness, but okay. The killer had a nice looking mask, which is always a plus too. And his facepaint made him look like the guy on the box cover of The Purge: Anarchy.

His motivations are never really clear. At one point, I sensed a bit of a Columbine-like vibe in his motives (the outsider with no sense of belonging), but it turns out it's just evil. Omar Epps was pretty good as the obsessed cop.

The ludicrous reveal at the end and the too obvious sequel bait keep it from its third star.

Only for slasher fans looking for a bit more gore than the average PG13 tripe.

The Andy Baker Tape 2021 ★★★

This is an enjoyable FF. Like a lot of entries in the genre, it takes its good time to set up and get going.

Personally, I don't feel the creepiness right away. On the contrary. Until the “towel scene”, Andy does not come across as creepy. And are we supposed to feel sorry for Jeff? Because he comes across as smug and arrogant and aggressive. Andy perhaps looks inept in front of a camera and a tad klutzy at times, but that's also because Jeff placed him in a position where a lot of people would look bad.

Therefor, I cannot really follow the comparisons with Creep that I see here. The cameraman in Creep never really “asked for it”, whereas here, you can make a case for the theory that Jeff pushed/helped push Andy over the edge. However close Andy may have already been at the start of the movie. Also, the performance Mark Duplass delivered in Creep is head and shoulders above these two. Which is more of a compliment to him than a detriment to these two guys.

Once it gets going, it does pick up enough steam to keep you involved. Especially the scene with the injection needle and the ending are adequately creepy. And that's what you watch a found footage for. Would have been cool if they had been able to raise a bit of extra budget to hire a make up artist and add some gore. Bit of torture porn. With Andy taking a page from 24.

No top-5 material for me, but certainly not the worst in the genre. For fans of slow burns and found footage. And I'm guessing those two are (kind of) the same, lol.

Penance Lane 2020 ★½

Scout Taylor-Compton reunites with Tyler Mane, over 10 years after the Rob Zombie Halloween. Except that now, instead of trying to kill her, he somehow is fond of her and protects her.

A by the numbers monster movie about a gang with a stronghold on a small town. And their hills have eyes-ish henchmen. And the sheriff is corrupt and his son is a douchebag. Tyler Mane is not terrible and there are small parts for Booker T and DDP.

Dual 2018 ★★★★

This short by Justin Staggs was a lot of fun.

It wasted no time whatsoever and used its 10 minute runtime very well. The monsters were well designed (especially the bear looked amazing), their origin is not overly explained and the ending was pretty funny.

Look out for it on Youtube.

Train 2008 ★★★

Thora Birch stars in this torture porn flick that prides itself as being similar to Hostel and Saw. Hostel is clear because of the torture scenes involving the surgery and the gore. The similarities to the latter are a bit foggy to me, as the villains are not really John Kramer-smart.

We follow a team of American wrestlers on their way to a tournament in Odessa, Ukraine. On the way there, they have to take the train through places with vague Slavic accents that are ten to one not realistic. They themselves do the Greek-Roman type of wrestling, but they still manage to have heel intelligence and Roman Reigns level likability. The scene with the guy running down the hall “naked” was predictable and I wonder why they did not think of having “what's my age again” on the soundtrack. Nice swerve, though, with the guy who looked like a relative of Denis Leary. Throw a bit of shade on him in the beginning and then make him one of the least douchy characters. Nice job.

I enjoyed seeing a genuine gorefest, though. Apart from torture porn and a few other exceptions, that has become pretty rare in the age of ghosties, haunted dolls and ditto houses. Contrary to lesser entries in this style, the script at least tries to give the villains a type of motivation (helping sick people and what not) and gives the final girl a “don't you feel like a total dick right now”-moment.

The gore and the effects were well executed and had one or two good fight scenes. I also liked how the “responsable coach” is the first one to die. More than a few bits (like the scene with the hook and the corrupt soldiers) are however pretty predictable and the foreshadowing on the wrestling are pretty on the nose too. And the ending scene with the wrestling match? Either you cut it all together or you show her really going her all out on her opponent. Now you end up with half assed stuff that does not help anyone.

Overall enjoyable, though. For those who feel like their inner gorehound has not been fed for a while.

Backstroke 2017 ★★★½

I have to admit that I am getting more and more into these horror shorts. Straight to the point, no messing about.

We follow two young runaway lovers who flee to Florida. As a voicemail message at the start of the film suggests, following some sort of family altercation between a rebellious daughter named Amber and a meddling/overbearing mother. Maybe after she shit the bed. Who knows?

Now skinny dipping has never been the best idea in the world when you are in a horror film, but I do like how they use it here.

It creates a nice dynamic between the girl in the water and the creepy guy on the shore. Right from the start, you can tell that he is up to no good. Props to the actress for the way her character tries to hide her insecurity and unease. Not to mention the fear surrounding the fate of her boyfriend. You can sense the tension throughout the scene, especially as her attempts to gain the upper hand fail.

A nice short film with a solid payoff. You get what you expect.

The Last Matinee 2020 ★★★★

Latino Giallo
Ah-ha-ha-ho
Scooping out eyeballs
Ah-ha-ha-ho
Girlie so groovie
Ah-ha-ha-ho
Don't know about you
But I am un chien Montevideo

Thanks Pixies.

Dracula 2000 2000 ★★

Bland, forgettable vampire film that does not really add anything.

But it was nice to see Jonny Lee Miller. As a character called Simon. Again.

How about that?

Room 441 2020 ★½

Found footage at its most dull.

Something is not creepy just because you say it is.

There is no real build up and the scared screaming at the end does not make up for that.

Reservoir Dogs 1992 ★★★★★

30 years after its first release, Tarantino's debut still stands as a genuine masterpiece. From the opening Madonna-banter to the final shootout.

It wastes no time in setting up the tension between the main characters. Who's the rat? Who set us up? The genius in the robbery - they don't know each other, so they can't tell on each other - now works against them. They don't know each other, so they can't trust each other. With one poignant dialogue between mister Pink and mister White as an example of Tarantino's infamous writing. In that aspect, I like the fact that they used the opening scene to set up mister Pink as a bit of a dick. As a viewer, you unconsciously take that baggage with you and side with mister White, even though mister Pink, from a a rational point of view, is right.

And of course, there is the infamous torture scene showing off both Quentin's love for excessive violence and the amazing soundtracks that would continue to dominate his movies. The opening shot with George Baker... yeah baby. Or Madsen into the cut off ear: was it as good for you as it was for me? I thought that was kind of funny. Also, who would not want to drive to and from work with K-Billy's sounds of the seventies?

Another thing I noticed was the smart casting. I know the guy playing mister Blue was a real life criminal, but no seasoned actor. So he does not get much lines and just looks the part. And he does give himself a part, but keeps his part to the thing he is good at: spouting pop culture banter. The people who have to ensure the tension and the credibility (Keitel, Buscemi, Madsen) are all seasoned pros delivering a great performance. Also, this seems like one of the better Tim Roth performances, but that might just be me. Though it did not really make sense to me why he outed himself as a cop at the end. What are your thoughts on these questions?

Two random thoughts:
1) Michael Madsen plays Vic Vega, the supposed brother of Travolta's character in Pulp Fiction. I recall Tarantino had plans for a movie about the two of them, but I'm not sure if that ever really became more than pie in the sky.
2) Between this one and Con Air, Steve Buscemi already had two roles as the sleazebag who somehow weasels through the mazes and gets away and he's pretty good at it.

Five star classic.

Terrifier 2016 ★★★★

After seeing articles about the commotion on the sequel (handing out barf bags, whooptidoo), I got around to watching the first one. One of those let's find out what all the hoopla is about- nights.

Honestly, this turned out to be a very pleasant surprise. What stops me from giving five stars is the lack of plot, resulting in too many characters that in other franchises would be described as randos. Let's drop in a few more characters so that Art has somebody more to kill. That sort of thing.

That said... I loved it. The main asset to this movie is the amazing looking killer. That Art is one scary dude. Masterfully shown in his staredown with Tara at the start. Or the lackadaisical, Jasonesque walk, showing off how much he feels in control. For me, this is also the reason why the jump scares are done so well in this movie. More than once, Art popping up out of nowhere really gives a fright.

And the kills are awesome. Just the type of bloodiness I was looking for, with Jason levels of variation and beyond. Art never repeats himself, so I'll give the gun kill a pass.

I get the criticism on how the movie is mean spirited, but this did not bother me all that much. The snark never became annoying and the dialogue never veered into Rob Zombie-territory. Just kids being kids and getting into all sorts of shenanigans.

Good stuff for the people who don't expect more than a decent hamburger.

Red Letter Day 2019 ★★

Not sure why or how, but I just got a bland collection of graduation day songs, with often easy and lazy sarcasm, going over the highschool stereotypes.

The second star is for the one or two chuckles this got from me.

Terror Train 2022 ★★★

A pretty faithfull remake of the late seventies slasher with Jamie Lee Curtis, with a few updates for this generation. Even the kills follow a rather similar pattern. The mask the killer wore was a bit too Pennywise-obvious scary clown for my liking, but this comes from someone who is a big fan of the Groucho Marx-mask in the original.

The actors were okay. Not that they were bad at all, but to say that anyone stood out would be exadurated either. Robyn Alomar could make for a good scream queen. From what I remember, they made Doc's douchiness more explicit than in the original and Matias Garrido portrayed that well.

The makers add a bit of a twist to the end, but one shot at the start of that scene lets the cat out the bag and spoils the surprise. Besides, you mostly watch slashers for the kills and those are well done. Bloody, while remaining faithfull to the original. And Doc gets the spectacular kill the viewer roots for. Also cool to name the killer Kenny. If I had a dollar for every screening where someone in the theater screamed out the South Park-line(s) … Also, in this time with movies filled to the rim with references, a character named Mo should be killed on screen with the killer going “whee-ee!”

A fun flick for a weekend evening. I've seen (a lot) worse.

Butterfly Kisses 2018 ★★★★

Buterfly Kisses is one of the best found footages I have recently seen and one of the better entries in the subgenre overall.

Its biggest qualiy is how it shows Gavins growing frustration at the disbelief and scepticism he encounters.

The jump scares were well executed, the makers manage to build up the fear surrounding the Peeping Tom and the scene where Sophia takes a desperate measure was pretty intense.

The Stepfather 2009 ★

The type of unnecessary remake that's still released, because... money. And that fans like me watch, because... it's on Netflix and I have a subscription.

It does not really add anything to the original and only delivers a watered down version of the opening scene and the Who am I here-moment. I'm sure Dylan Walsh is a good actor, but his performance has nothing on Terry O'Quinn.

Oh yeah, and Amber Heard was in this one.

The Murmuring 2022 ★★★★

A worthy conclusion to Guillermo Del Toro's Cabinet of curiosities. With an entry proving that horror can very much be an actor's medium. The two actors share a very good chemistry as a loving couple immersed in their work. Both the meet cute glances and the understanding are well portrayed, as well as their growing frustration once they move into the house on the island. Not all that surprising when you find out who the two leads are and where they earned their chops.

The haunted house story was ok, but you could tell it was a bit more in the background in favor of the couple mourning the loss of their child. I'm also sure the birds have some sort of metaphorical value, but I cannot think of what just now.

And there you have it. Guillermo Del Toro's Cabinet of curiosities. Not saying they're all zingers, but the hits certainly outweigh the misses enough to check it out. Looking forward to a possible season 2.

Slut 2014 ★★★

Not really sure what the slut in the title is getting at. The best thing I can think of is that it serves as an eyecatcher or that the girls are sluts in the eyes of the killer. Other than that …

Maddie – need a little touch up work, my ass – is the type of movie ugly girl who stays at home taking care of her sick grandma. She then ventures out into the world and blossoms, both personally and sexually.

Meanwhile, our killer and his methods are introduced. Not very explicit, but sure as shit brutal. The confrontation between Maddie and the killer is action packed, with a predictable reveal and a nice case of premature celebration.

Good stuff. Available on the Alter channel on YT.

At this point, there's about four months of catching up left to do. ::shocked::

The Black Phone 2021 ★★

Overhyped and overrated.

Ethan Hawke's mask looked good, though.

Fight for Your Right Revisited 2011 ★★★★

A pretty funny sequel to the classic music video for "Fight for your right". The "Beastie Boys" keep up the shenanigans in a comedy short featuring an impressive cameorama. See how many celebs you recognize.

Must watch for Beastie Boys fans. And it's available on Youtube.

She Walks the Woods 2019 ★★½

The trailer intrigued me and the opening looks promising. I mean, how can it not with a group of paintballers/soldiers/generic men in kaki clothing either chasing or being chased by something. A quite Aliens-like scene come to think of it. except that there is no Ripley monitoring and by the end, everyone is dead.

The downside: afterwards, it's followed by a by the numbers found footage flick about a group of survivalists creating a web series (your excuse to keep filming). They go filming with a former classmate of one of them, a guy named Dennis. Turns out she is more interested in Dennis than in the series. Fair enough.

But this might be useful in the tension. Now the most use they get out of this subplot is that Mike and Brad seem less eager to save Dennis and rebound on Hope. The movie also never shows how they find the footage of the opening scene. While that could well serve as (one of) the first wtf-moment(s).

Does that make it all bad? Of course not. For the little we see of it, they get a good looking monster. With a limited budget, they also managed to squeeze in one or two solid gore effects. That's notable in a genre like found footage.

The Dollmaker 2017 ★★★

I've noticed this one has been getting positive reviews here. Not saying that it's bad, but I do have more of a case of mixed feelings about it.

It has a good pitch – with a (slight) parallel to Pet Semetary: a character can not let go of a loved one and finds a replacement in a doll. Near the end, there is a totally unexpected twist that really throws you off balance.

Sadly, having this story confined to the duration of short film perhaps puts a strain on it. Now the one dialogue about letting go comes across as forced. As if they want to cram a lot of wisdom in a ten minute short. It seems to me that you can make a feature film out of this. With a lot more space for the build up, for character development, the isolation that are living in or get into,...

Good stuff, though. Thumbs up.

Chris Rock: Selective Outrage 2023 ★★★★

I would like to start off by looking for a word. What do you call that? You are wondering what to do, what to watch. You have playlists and watchlists to last you for more than a year. Hell, at the time of writing, one YT-playlist can pretty much suffice there. But then something catches your eye. Something everyone is talking about and you are drawn in, wether you want to or not. It happened to me with Leaving Neverland and it did with this one. And my lizard brain is too weak to resist the urge to watch it as much as it is to come up with a term for this shit.

Do I like Chris Rock? Yeah, I do. Certainly as a comedian. It's easy to recall bits of his that I liked verymuch: the bullet control bit, the rap bit,... And he is enough of a showman to know what everyone wants to hear about. So he keeps it until the end. And at the same time, he drips in little lines to keep you invested. Oh, it's coming, folks. It's coming, alright.

Throughout all that, he goes through a whole series of topics. The Kardashians, woke, his relationship with his daughters, children, his dating life,... To quote his colleague Jerry Seinfeld: the laughs don't lie. And Chris Rock gets a lot of laughs. From me as well. Sometimes a chuckle and sometimes a hearty laugh. And that's what it's all about. Getting laughs.

Wether you agree with him philosophically or politically, is secondary. And I wonder if there's any point in trying to go into the essence of the incident. Bill Maher already used his “explaining jokes to idiots” segment to brilliantly explain what was going on. That the GI Jane joke was much about alopecia as the chicken crossing the road jokes are about bird flu. Some people did not get that back then. Some people still don't. And some people never will.

And I think Chris Rock understood that. He's not there to get applause or make friends, he's there to get laughs. And he gets those, so... mission accomplished.

Natural Born Killers 1994 ★★★★

In the final stretch towards its thirtieth anniversary, Natural Born Killers still stands as a visually stunning masterpiece and a document of its time. Its message about glorifying people who should not be also still stands, certainly in the age of 4chan and what not. Also, the mental image of Mickey and Mallory asking you to “like and subscribe” should be enough to keep this one from getting a reboot.

The actors all do an amazing job. Woody Harrelson starts venturing away from the happy go lucky role in Cheers by delivering a career defining performance. RDJ is simply great as Wayne Gale. Juliette Lewis shines as Mallory. A bit of a glance of innocence on her face, a bit traumatized, a bit weird, a bit funny, a bit undefinable,... Fun fact: it was only when going thorugh imdb that I noticed that the actress playing Mallory's mom also was the school secretary in Ferris Bueller's Day Off. Also: Is this the creepiest Rodney Dangerfield ever?

A genuine rollercoaster ride of a movie, enhanced by the great editing and the amazing soundtrack. Hard to name a scene that stands out, but Woody Harrelson shooting up a prison with Rage against the machine blasting away in the background certainly makes for a good candidate. One of those great symbioses of image and sound. Also: between this one and Shaun of the dead, there are at least two great films to have L7 on the soundtrack. How about that?

Great cinema and well worth a (re)watch.

Ps: RIP Tom Sizemore.

Frozen 2010 ★★★★

One of those horrors that shows how you can make a lot from what like seems like very little. Sadly, also forever doomed to live in the shadow of its animated counterpart.

Three friends gets stuck on a skilift and have to find a way off before the cold and frostbite kill them. That's it. That's all there is to it. The set up is not really noteworthy, so it all has to come from this.

That said, it worked out well. What keeps me from going in and giving the full five stars? The story could not help but lag a bit sometimes and the heart to hearts between Parker and Joe were not all that captivating. You could tell they needed something to bridge the time until another action set piece. And the script did not really seize the opportunity to use props on hand to the extent that movies like Fall and The Pool did.

Does that mean it was poorly acted? I certainly would not go that far. The leads make the friction and unspoken tension between them believable. It's enough to make you care for them and what happens to them. And it has a Kane Hodder-cameo, which always adds to the fun.

What matters though, are the action bits and they certainly work. The gore is used sparsely, but effectively. Although I have never suffered from frostbite, the effects looked credible and the bit with Parker and her hand looked pretty damn painful.

The action bits, however... they keep you on the edge of your seat, biting your nails. Like when Joe tries to crawl over to the next pole. I sat on the edge of my seat, rooting for him to make it. Or them debating wether or not to let Dan jump off. Stupid decision, sure. But hey, every horror film is entitled to one, I guess. Or the bit when Parker finally reaches the ground. It's been a while a movie managed to do that and for that alone, I already recommend seeing it. Mostly for horror afficionados. But judging from the box office returns, this gem already found an audience. Deservedly.

And I cannot finish this without a quick mention for the production company. A bigger boat. With the yellow Jaws-barrel and everything. Ah yeah. Great stuff. Mark out moment.

Raw 2016 ★★★★

I went in for a rewatch and boy, did it not disappoint.

Would it be an understatement to place Raw in the pantheon of Euro horror classics? I think not. If [Rec] has its place there – and why the f*** not, really? – then this one has too.

From the very first shot, you are in this surreal, dreamlike state. Julia Ducournau immediately shows why she has the potential to become the new David Cronenberg.

I love how she uses the cannibalism as a metaphor for discovering yourself: who you are, your sexuality, your nature, your character,... As an example, there is the contrast between the mousy outfit in which Justine arrives in college and the dance in front of a bathroom mirror to a rap song I can only describe as French Peaches.

I wonder how much the hazing ritual was chosen on purpose. Knowing that the French language does not (really) distinguish between a hazing and a baptism, the metaphor for coming of age, rebirth and discovery are not difficult to see. But Julia Ducournau also manages to create an isolated atmosphere where Justine and Alexia live in a world completely different from the sheltered family life they are used to. And yes, this has to be the worst campus in the world, but okay. Fine.

Justine's discovery starts after being force fed a raw kidney. With her sister turning against her – wonder what Freud or other psychologists think of that. As someone who enjoys meat – and LOVES a good rack of spare ribs – I do find it striking how quickly her track goes. From shoarma to raw chicken and then... Well, what else is left but human meat? I mean, once you had the stuff that all other things taste like, where else is there to go? Lol.

Short answer: from chicken legs to human fingers. In a scene that genuinely made me squirm when I first saw it in a theater and still makes me unconfortable as hell. Great job, love.

Throughout all of this, she finds an odd kind of mentorship in both her sister Alexia and her roommate Adrien. Who is introduced with the kind of dialogue that would have a lot of other directors burned at the stake. Adrien is the closest thing to a friend Justine has at this campus. Both outcasts in their own particular way who somehow find solace in each other's company.

Justine quickly becomes isolated from the other students. Not that her own actions (the make green scene) or those of her sister are helpful either, but okay. And the one professor we see over the course of the film is the one who hates brilliant students. Gee, thanks. Tah muchly, professor.

The reveal at the end is a tad predictable. Once the father starts talking, you pretty much know what's coming. But it is well executed and the resultuing imagery is both beautiful and bewildering. Making for probably the most Cronenberg-esque shot of this movie, an image reminiscent of Crimes of the future.

Did I mention that this movie is awesome? And that you should really see it?

The Lonely Host 2020 ★★★½

An interesting short that uses modern day technology and possibilities to its advantage.

A woman rents an airbnb on her way to visit a friend. We never see said friend and all their conversations occur via text (with seemingly accurate spelling, mind you). She uses her phone as a light. Long story short: if you are annoyed by that kind of stuff, it's probably best to skip this one.

But before you do, consider this: if you manage to look past all ofthe technology, the story at the core and the dynamic between the two main characters is as timeless as any horror story. Olivia, torn between awkwardness and wanting to be nice. And her host, who for some reason reminded me of AOC. Well, the Cathy Bates Misery-version of AOC. So lonely and desperate to reach out to other people that it can very easily look threatening.

Fun stuff and it only takes up roughly 15 minutes of your time. Check it out.

Room for Rent 2019 ★★½

I seem to be a bit more mild/less though than my fellow critics. Mostly because I like how Lin Shaye portrayed the sadness and the loneliness of the main character. At first, you really feel for her. Good idea to add the selfish boyfriend in an early scene. Good move.

That said, it does have the flaws of a low budget production. The story had a few flaws here and there. Not everything makes sense. And the acting is what you pay for. But I kind of enjoyed the transition from sad to mad, even leaving open wether or not her late husband died of natural circumstances.

Not great and no list material. But enjoyable nonetheless.

The Haunted Hotel 2021 ★★

Haunted house anthology with a case of too much.

Too many stories, too speedy follow-up and no time to catch your breath.

Trim down the number of stories (keep the writer and the chamber maid and 2, maybe 3 others), flesh out the stories that you keep and make work of a decent wrap around story.

M.O.M. Mothers of Monsters 2020 ★½

This is a dollar store version of We need to talk about Kevin where the found footage style adds nothing whatsoever.

The 50 Best Horror Movies You’ve Never Seen 2014 ★★★

A fun little overview of good (and less good) horror movies. A lot of talking heads, but you can tell that they love the genre.

A fun game is ticking off a check to see how many of these you saw (at the time I am only around 12).

Enjoyable for what it is and bound to provide you with some viewing material.

Ps: I was sick at the time and needed something I could fall asleep to.

The Belko Experiment 2016 ★★½

A fun little romp about a fictitious company named Belko that locks in all of its employees on a blue whatever day. And then makes clear that their mission is killing each other.

Oh, first, it's only two. Sure. But the more fast witted people in the ranks immediately figure out the long game.

The characters reach across the spectre from the main baddie who kills to survive to all rood good guy Mike. But the main heel is Wendell. A grade-a a-hole who you cannot trust under any circumstances. Lacks the courage to take responsability but will kill his friend to save his own hide.

No fancy dinner but okay for what it is.

Hatchet 2006 ★★★★

Hatchet is a solid slasher that delivers on all the levels. Wether it's on the kills or the gore, it never fails to deliver. I have to say that that's a nice pace of change after a slew of PG 13 slashers where some of the kills were hardly more than a paper cut.

The star, of course, is Kane Hodder. He makes Victor Crowley look properly menacing and scary and even gets to expand a tad on his acting in the few scenes as Victors's father.

This is no Shakespeare, nor does it want to be. Hatchet knows what it wants to be and the people behind it know how that's done. Good job, mates.

Elvira’s Haunted Hills 2001 ★★★

The missing link between Young Frankenstein and Scary Movie sees a crossover between Morticia Adams and The Nanny get into all sorts of shenanigans in a haunted castle.

No brilliant comedy, but good for a few laughs.

The Den 2013 ★★★

You immediately buy into the premise of the happy go lucky college girl who just seems to roll her way through life and into new adventures. So she talks/charms her way into this project about on line culture and you're happy for her when she gets the grant. Throughout all of this, the fact that Melanie Papalia is not hard on the eye does not hurt the credibility either, but it's more a case of good casting rather than just good looks.

This is one of the undeniable qualities this movie has. You sympathize with the main character, it has a number of creepy moments and the ending does manage to surprise you a time or two. Right at the moment when you think “this extra scene is redundant, we can just stop right here, right now”, the story goes a different route. Specific mention: at one point, I expected a Megan is missing-like torture scene to ensue but it somehow turned into an action movie henchmen scene without being laughable. So yes, The Den does a lot of things well.

It's not a FF classic, though. For one, you simply need too much suspension of disbelief to be immersed on that level. Not to mention the practical objections (“why didn't she just...”). And it also does not help that I spent a good chunk of this movie thinking that this could have been perfectly filmed in the “regular” or “traditional” style and that it could have been a solid low budget horror as well.

Knowing 2009 ★★

The Cagemeister and the end of the world? Sign me up.

It was well done and the disaster scenes looked pretty explicit and cool. The type of fire stunts you don't see that often in this type of blockbuster. Compare to the average Emmerich production and you'll see what I mean. And Cage does a good job, keeping the Cage spazzing and screaming to a minimum.

That said, it had a lot of the topical blockbuster tripel, a wuuuh?-finale and a sappy farewell scene.

World War Z 2013 ★★½

On a rewatch, my impressions remain largely the same.

I don't know if it was meant to be a faithfull rendition of the book and I am not sure if it matters. This is meant to be a blockbuster with Brad Pitt as the badass hero who saves the world. And on that level, it kind of works. With only small tidbits of information being dripfed in the beginning, they quickly make it clear how serious the situation is. The attacks are well done and the action scenes – like the one on the plane to Cardiff – are pretty spectacular.

Needless to say, the plotholes are pretty obvious. And convenient stuff is convenient. And Brad escapes from a lot of stuff in ways that require a lot of suspension of disbelief. Example? The zombie wall against the wall is one thing. But a country alert enough to build a wall in record time that's not noticing this shit soon enough to pull the plug on that mic and tell these people to stfu? That's a bit too much.

That said, Brad Pitt can be an action hero and he does have the charisma to deliver the cheesy pancake lines. Most of the other characters are pretty forgettable in the bigger scheme of things, but they should get their proper due. Mireille Enos – who I for some reason always mix up with Julianne Moore – does a solid job as the wife. I also liked the performance by the actor playing Thierry. Also worth mentioning are small parts for Peter Capaldi and Moritz Bleibtrau.

Recommended? Only with enough beer and a nacho hat... and if you sing Nacho Man.

Nacho nacho man! I want to be! A nacho man!

Vengeance 2: Bloodlines 2022 ★★★★

For an average movie fan with little to no prior knowledge of the Friday-series, this might not be all that great. But as a piece of fan fiction, it's a ball of fun. For a Friday-fan, this is awesome.

The makers get to go all out on the gore and they really go to the levels of Dead Snow and Hatchet. Special mentions? Too many to mention. The stop sign kill, the pick axe kill,... Just the sheer number of times people are literally torn apart. Zombie Jason at it. And I am all here for it.

Needless to say, there are plenty of nods for the fans of the original series. Like the logo imitating part 2, or the cold opening with the origin of Burlap sack Jason. Or Nikki from part 6 driving in an RV because she's on her way to a bachelor party and... Who am I kidding? Because it's awesome, simple as that.

The characters are mostly forgettable and often times just help raise the body count. With a special mention for the Dollyrots-ish garage band. They looked cool. And Jason kills someone with a guitar because of course he does. Wow, talk about a blunt instrument.

A point of criticism? Having heard CJ Graham's voice, I don't really see the need to modulate it for the voice of Elias or what it added to the scene.

But that's all nitpicking. The fun is lapping up the gory kills and scanning the scenes for subtle (or less subtle) references to the original movies. And this one has plenty of that.

So head on over to YT and check it out.

The Good People of Orphan Ridge 2023 ★★

Indie band with big dreams ends up in a haunted house where they want to record their “last hurrah”. Please make your own parallel with a similar bigger recent release.

The key word here is discount.

The band has a bit of a discount Tenacious D vibe. Especially Day has the Jack Black vibe going on.

The coffee bar scenes are discount Scott Pilgrim. A fight scene with Molly is even a bit more on the nose. Also, the girls in this movie look and sound like they were based on a hybrid on Anna Kendrick and Aubrey Plaza.

Does that make it bad? Not... really. It has a few good and sometimes even sweet moments.

So there are things to enjoy. Just don't go in expecting too much.

Lucy’s Tale 2018 ★★★½

I love how the first half makes it look like a low budget version, only to then pull a (gradual) swerve on you.

And there's a lovely pun in ... oh, I don't want to spoil anything. Just head over to youtube and check it out. The blinder, the better.

Grace 2009 ★★½

While the idea is indeed promising, the execution leaves things to be desired.

The ending shows where things could have gone. However, it takes its sweet time to get really going and the meddling mother in law subplot was milked (no pun intended) a bit too much.

The teething line opens up possibilities for a subplot, but to use that line as a showstopper? Nah.

He’s Watching 2022 ★½

Can you make a found footage(ish) film with an artsy feel to it? Yes.

Does it work? Not really.

On the upside: They have the brother sister banter down and a few creepy moments throughout the film. In fact, one or two of the better moments look like they could go on the home videos in Sinister. And we get a good looking villain (that we hardly see, but okay).

Those just drown in scenes that go nowhere and filmschool student what-the-fuckery.

Feast 2005 ★★½

A stand off in a dive with Tremors-ish creatures out for blood. A premise that reeks of no budget until you find who's behind it. That also helps explain why they can afford people like Henry Rollins and Judah Friendlander. Heck, even Mewes gets a small part. Best of all, they're not even mentioned on the box cover.

It's exactly the type of campy, self aware romp you would expect. No character depth, but nobody's asking. A lot of kick ass action and bits of gore here and there. And the funny gimmick of introducing the characters with stats and their respective life expectancy. A movie that begs for popcorn, weed and stoner Beavis and Butthead style giggling.

Anything notworthy? We get to see Judah Friendlander without his trademark cap and Rollins is his usual intense self, going all in as an annoying and (slightly) skeevy motivational coach.

Kalley’s Last Review 2020 ★★½

A desperate beauty vlogger jumps at every opportunity. This one, in hindsight, being fatal.

And instead of going to see a real doctor when things awry, she goes through with the peeling and mucking about coconut oil. Guess those oils are essential then? Or more essential than trained medical care?

Oh well.

The Mare 2020 ★★★½

The opening of this Norwegian film probably decides how you feel about it. Either you feel that the dream in a dream in a dream-sequence is Freddy's Dead-levels of silly and decide that this is not for you. Or you stick with it and let it get to you. I did the latter.

The most commendable thing about The Mare is the eerie atmosphere that the makers managed to create in an otherwise peaceful little town. And the unreal mood inside the house. Where you don't even have to sleep to find nightmare fodder.

Which best reflects in the characters. Sure, the dad is your typical absent father. And leaving your son in a house where his (dead by suicide) mother lived, where her diary is,... That's not the best decision making either. But the grandmother is worked out well in a sense that you never really know what to think of her. Is she out to help Liam or to torture him? Is one half of this in his hallucinations and if so, which one? Or what about the grandpa? Dementia out the fucking wazoo, but keeps coming up with this line about not losing yourself.

Not to mention Liam himself. His descent into madness coincides with the movie's tone becoming more and more surreal. I don't want to spoil the ending, but suffice it to say that it's not all that roses.

A pleasant surprise, but it will not make you cheerful.

Feast II: Sloppy Seconds 2008 ★★

Sloppy seconds. Well, sloppy is an apt term here.

Second star is for the last 30 minutes. At times, it seemed like the monsters were an aftertought in their own frikking movie.

Evil Dead Rise 2023 ★★★★½

The stars aligned.

When you get a premiere so big and fat that the organizers do the whole pouches thing that's normally reserved for the Chris Rocks of this world. The multiplexes have the big posters out – coming soon! – but we're getting a headstart.

Not to mention the fact that it's the type of splatstick-ish gorefest best consumed with this type of rowdy crowd.

I'm not sure what speaks more in this movie's favor:

The opening sequence being a real close shave. Or the bridge at the end. But how are they going to... Oo-ooh...

The fact that the change in setting does not distract or annoy at no point whatsoever

The fact that the producers live up to their word and move to a genuine highrise apartment building (looking at you, Critters 3)

The fact that a DJ is to blame for everything – boomer rockers with Rush-shirts be like: Thank you! That's what I've been saying! – and that the Necronomicon moved to vinyl. Also, worst... Coachella... ever.

The fact that one scene manages to at the same time deliver a message against both running with scissors and picking your nose.

The fact that it deserves a place between the first two entries.

…

A super rollercaster ride. Top-5 contender to be sure.

Jobs 2013 ★★½

Do I know enough to judge the factual aspects of this movie? No.

Do I know enough to say Ashton Kutcher has the mannerisms down? No.

You: So you don't know much then?
Me: Well, there are a few essential things that the makers don't seem to know eiher. Judging from all those close ups on Jobs while the wheels are clearly turning... shots asking you, no pushing you as a viewer to think: what IS going on inside of that big brain?

Then what do I know?

That Kutcher has the smile down.

That he succeeded in conveying a certain view on Jobs. In this movie, Jobs comes across (at least to me) as a punk with a big mouth, a short temper and just enough of everything. Just enough technical skill to do stuff. Just enough swag and bluff to talk himself in. Just enough modesty to realise when he has to bring in other people. And a bit of dumb luck at times.

Yes, they did not shy away from his douchy side. His ruthless side. But when it comes to biopics, that's usually just a way for the viewer to tell wether or not the subject was involved in the production.

As far ar as the story itself is concerned? It did three things. One: it hit all the biopic tropes with the big music at the dramatic moments. Two: It proved that it'ss difficult to keep stories on businessmen from sagging. And lastly: It kept reminding me of what Bill Burr once said on Conan: But did he? Did he... really?

Jobs. I didn't buy it.

Feast III: The Happy Finish 2009 ★★

A worthy conclusion to one of the ultimate beer, buddies and but franchises.

Sprinkled with buckets of blood and guts, a whole lot of f-bombs and other vulgarities and a few over the top wtf-moments, like a, for lack of a better word, prison rape or the death of Mini Rey Misterio.

To be watched with a lot of beer and/or other stimulants that are legal in your neck of the woods.

The Elderly 2022 ★★★★

This Spanish movie is about a lot of things. It's about body horror and who feels this fear of physical decay more than old people? It's also very vocal about other fears. One of the characters literally says: being old is frightening. Nobody listens, nobody cares. Or about family dynamics. I can imagine a few people will recognise themselves in other things, like the fear of not being accepted. Or the heatwaves. With Spain feeling a lot of the grunt of climate change, the rising temperatures are not just a storytelling metaphore, but also in my opinion mirrors a fear of dying from heat. Not enough hydration for a bit and you're a goner.

The plot centers around an old (very recent) widower moving in with his son and the wicked witch. Which is what she calls herself at one point, and seeing the applause that her death got when I saw this, you can safely assume that moniker is correct. Not that the grandfather is much better though. The spiteful remarks about “your wife doing everything better” are not exactly helping either.

The makers may claim that this is a slow burn, but it sure has plenty of moodful images and effective jump scares to tide you over. And the last twenty minutes do indeed deliver, with an unlikely rampage and an image that for some reason reminded of Village of the damned. Except that the danger here is not in the eyes, but in the hearts. Leading to a Gozerian like final with shots of dark clouds and lightning. And that last shot, dios mio. Trying not to spoil, but suffice it to say that I did not expect that. At all.

Four stars well deserved. And, needless to say, well recommended.

American Manhunt: The Boston Marathon Bombing 2023 ★★★

A three episode miniseries captures the Boston marathon bombing and the subsequent investigation and manhunt.

While it manages to convey the tragedy behind the event, the victims and their families, it's not as captivating as, say, Trainwreck.

However, it does succeed at properly showing a few other aspects, like the ensuing media circus and how certain figures claim the events for their own purposes.

For those who either want to knew more or refresh their memory. A neutral viewer has better true crime content at his disposal.

The Joneses 2009 ★★★½

Went in for a rewatch. It was pretty much what I remembered.

Stealth marketing, aka influencers before that was a thing. People using peer pressure to hock shit, taking advantage of the people who desperately want to belong with the in crowd. Even if it kills them.

The main quality is the cast. David Duchovny and Demi Moore share good chemistry, especially when they do (semi-)ironic banter. I like Duchovny and this movie reinforces my belief that he is an underrated actor.

Ben Wellington's Mick is not the deepest character, but Wellington does do a good job displaying the cynicism of the young salesman. Oh yeah, and Amber Heard is in this one, but she does not get anything real to do, except when she gets dumped by her rich boyfriend.

As a comedy, it worked for me. I got a few laughs from the back and forths between Duchovny and Moore and Jenn's sex scene where she hocks perfume is pretty funny too. Or the neighbour – a more ditsy version of Annette Benning's character in American Beauty – who desperately wants to sell stuff. It's funny to see how she gets overwhelmed by the professionals and in a way ends up riding their curtails, and even succeeding. Before she gets a very rude awakening.

Which brings us to Duchovny's Steve who then has a “solyent green is people” moment. In all fairness, I can see why they did this (probably to keep the audience from seeing it as “too dark”) and what it sets up. That said, there is a whiff of morality to it. Like we need to get the movie's lesson thrown in our face. That keeps the fourth star at bay.

Demi Moore and Kate's change of heart are perhaps a bit too Hollywood, but it does get pretty close to what reality would probably be like. Even if two important people quit and leave, it keeps rolling and the system keeps going. Even with the son saying he “does not have to lie anymore”.

She Knows 2020 ★★★

Only five minutes. No time for fucking about.

Straight to the point, good atmosphere and solid ending.

Good stuff.

Infinity Pool 2023 ★★★★

This was my first Brandon Cronenberg flick and that saying about the apple and the tree, well...

for those watching this on a tv or home cinema, computer,... There is nothing wrong with your device, the movie has indeed started. You just don't see a damn thing. Causing one patron to scream out during my viewing: “There's a cap on the projector”. And hilarity ensued.

We get a few minutes of ease before the weirdness kicks in. But when it does... Good lord. Between a ritual fed by a tomato sauce-ish goo, an oddly timed handjob by Mia Goth, a hold up scene with a hint of A clockwork orange, a drug fueled orgy,... It's not difficult to lose your grasp on relity. What's real? What's not? Who's real? Who's pretending?

A surreal experience that leaves you questioning reality when you leave the theater. And I am all here for it.

And fans can rest assured. The Cronenberg legacy is very much alive.

Renfield 2023 ★★★★½

The premise already looked promising – the Cage as Dracula – and al I can say is that it more than lived up to the expectations.

A veritable splatter fest with plenty of action and compelling fight scenes. It's all over the top, with gore that is simply amazing. All of this accompanied by a good number of laugh out loud moments.

All of this fitting like a glove for Nicolas Cage suitably hamming it up. Awkwafina is great as Rebecca and Nicolas Hoult (and his Cosby sweater) adds a bit of a Hugh Grant-stammer to his action hero.

Great entertainment. Anyone who can handle their splatter.

The Dead Ones 2020 ★

Something something about a school shooting and some kids in an abandoned school, haunted by ghosties or a gang or whatever.

Bland characters and a non captivating plot.

Carnosaur 1993 ★★★★

Carnosaur is just what you are looking for if you want some campy b-movie fun.

Between the chickens hatching killer dinosaurs or a woman giving birth to said dinosaur, this movie has the ludicrousness you want.

The kills are plenty gory (thanks to the late John Carl Buechler) and the characters are just hammy and cartoony enough to blend in perfectly. And the ending is silly and awesome at the same time. Carnosaur vs excavator, hell yeah. Rainforest schmainforest, indeed.

Special mention for Clint Howard (and his voice) and Harrison Page (forever Captain Trunk) as the sheriff. Shame they killed his character, though.

No streaming available at this point, so enjoy it on Youtube while you can.

Death and the Winemaker 2021 ★★½

An animated film with clear elements of horror. In my opinion, the fantasy elements can be reduced to the parabel/cautionary tale like nature of the story.

This is not the slick drawing style of the Pixars of this world, so I can see how to some, this might feel as an acquired taste. I had the impression it fitted the storytelling style.

The story loyally followed the parabel style. Which means: if you have heard your share of these, the trick with death and the bottle was pretty predictable, as was the late ensuing chaos and misery. I did, however, enjoy the timing and the presentation of the curse and the cross the main character has to bear. They brought that very well.

As far as I am concerned, it's not so memorable as to give it four stars or so. But it has enough demonstrable qualities to make your seventeen minutes well spent.

Terror Train 2 2022 ★

Fans: Wow, an actually solid remake to Terror Train. Good job.

Absolutely nobody: You know what? You should do a sequel to that.

Coked up studio exec: Yeah, and you should make it totes wink wink nudge nudge and self aware, with all douchebag characters who do everything except literally wink to the camera.

Makers: And every streamer is a self obsessed asshole, right?

Coked up studio exec: Totes. Self obsessed asshole streamers are tight!

Makers: Cool, let's do that. But Copperfield and the main character can be still be somewhat nice, right?

Coked up studio exec racking up: Wut? Sure. Fine. Whatever.

Forest of Death 2007 ★★½

A solid Asian horror about ghosts in nature, misterious disappearances and suicide.

It was decent and the achting was okay, but the splitting trees kent the third star away.

The Changing Room 2022 ★★★

The Changing Room aka Samara for H&M.

Short run time, so no time to waste. Of course the requisite dumb decisions (really, the boot was no clue?), but it's not too long before it goes wrong. And the climax is okay(ish), with the budget constraints we have with short films.

Snake Dick 2020 ★★★½

In essence, this is the opening to an X-Files episode stretched out to a good 7 minutes.

It's lesson: a trouser snake is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get.

Soft & Quiet 2022 ★★

The real time principle may work for shows like 24, where there's always something going on. Here, however, it inevitably makes the movie lag. If you want to show how quickly this type of situation can escalate, time stamps do the trick just as well.

Right from the beginning, you get a sense that this mom group does not consist of nice people and once the meeting starts, you really get hit over the head with where these “ladies” stand with their views on society. The only silver lining being that they have to hide in this type of secret, little groups and that a softie priest suffices to send them packing.

The break in scene, the escalation and everything that came after was pretty predictable, albeit pretty bleak. Until the last shot, that is (Or will they?). The only “surprise” being the at first mousy, shy type taking charge and being very agressive about it. For some reason, I expected a Mister Orange-like twist, but no delivery there either.

The Roundup 2022 ★★½

Ma Deong-Seok (the zombie punching badass from Train To Busan) stars in an action that emulates the eighties flicks with Stallone and Schwarzenegger and basically everything leading up to The Expendables.

The story flows nicely, the action works and Ma Deong-Seok proves he is a decent lead. Only downside is that the dub took away from the delivery. I hope I can later (re)watch a non dubbed version.

Whiplash 2014 ★★★★½

Calling it a coming of age would be a bit cheap, as the character already gained some maturity. Though at the start of the story, he still has a bit of the shyness of a kid.

This was essentially a 2 hour duo performance, with a few background characters sprinkled in solely for the development of the main character(s). And I could not keep my eyes off of them.

Completely gorged up by the intense dynamic that they develop over the runtime. Floating back and forth between mutual respect for the respective pros (and their determination to be the best they can at what they do) and on the other hand disdain and downright hatred for the other when, in his eyes, he lets him down.

JK Simmons deserves all the praise he gets for an awesome performance as the charismatic Terence Fletcher. But Miles Teller is great as well in how he portrays the growth Andrew goes through: from a somwhat shy kid (think of the scene where he asks out Nicole) to a determined and sometimes even arrogant and/or pretentious artist, even evolving into a kind of a copy of his master.

People complain on the sadistic, abusive nature of Terence Fletcher, but, interestingly, the dinner scene and the breakup scene with Nicole also show that Andrew might have more in common with Fletcher than you, as a viewer, might (want to) see.

Four and a half stars well deserved. If you have not sene this one, do.

Cabin Fever 2002 ★★

I can't say I was all that impressed by Cabin Fever. Douchy characters go on vacation and then get infected with, for lack of a better description, bad water.

The main thing then is that you, as a viewer, have an incentive to go: oh no, not him! Fuck no, not her! But you don't. Because you have no attachment to them whatsoever. Ryder Strong has the only somewhat likable character and then he blows his credit (along with his load) while his “crush” is being terminally ill in the next room. Real classy.

I am sure Eli Roth is a very good director and from hearing him talk, I am also (fairly) sure that he's a great crack to be around and that you will be hard pressed to find people whose love for the genre is as genuine as his.

You: Ok, ok, ok, but when is the but coming? Well, here it is.

The same way Elton John needed Bernie Taupin, Eli Roth could be so much better off by getting someone to write solid characters for him, allowing him to focus more on technical things like editing, cinematography, pace, build up,... In my opinion, that could make for a geat combination.

Half star added for the story about Eli spraying Ryder Strong with fake blood and the devilish, childlike glee with which he apparently did that. Now there's somebody I can relate to.

Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein 1994 ★★★

At the Hollywood production company...

Producer Guy: So, you have a movie for me?

Screenwriter Guy: Yes, sir, I do. I was thinking we could do an adaptation of Frankenstein.

Producer Guy: Amazing! So who would direct this thing?

Screenwriter Guy: Well, this is a classic horror story, so who better than Ken Branagh?

Producer Guy: A director who never has done horror?

Screenwriter Guy: That's what we're going for.

Producer Guy: Works for me. So tell me, will he turn it into a Shakespearean drama and cast himself as the lead?

Screenwriter Guy: He sure will, sir.

Producer Guy: Great. And do we get a backstory where they show how he gets to creating life?

Screenwriter Guy: Oh yeah, and we also get this subplot where his girlfriend/fiancé/wife is kind of, sort of his sister.

Producer Guy: Kind of, sort of his sister?

Screenwriter Guy: Yeah, yeah, yeah. But she's adopted, so it all works out.

Producer Guy: Won't that still give an incesty vibe?

Screenwriter Guy: Oh, whoops!

Producer Guy: Whoopsie!

Screenwriter Guy: We also get this subplot where he gets his inspiration from John Cleese.

Producer Guy: Yeah, we need to get a big cast with a lot of famous people in there.

Screenwriter Guy: We sure do, sir.

Producer Guy: Excellent. So what about the monster then?

Screenwriter Guy: The what now?

Producer Guy: The monster. Isn't he like an essential character?

Screenwriter Guy: Oooh! Oh no no no no no no no no... no.

Producer Guy: Oh.

Screenwriter Guy: Yeah, he'll be more an afterthought here for a big part of the movie.

Producer Guy: Oh, really?

Screenwriter Guy: Yeah yeah yeah, and he'll look like a victim of superbad plastic surgery.

Producer Guy: Ah, superbad plastic surgery is tight.

Screenwriter Guy: Gross. So Frankenstein abandons the monster and the monster goes to Geneva to get revenge.

Producer Guy: Why Geneva?

Screenwriter Guy: Because.

Producer Guy: Works for me. Does he kill anyone in the process?

Screenwriter Guy: Well, he kills a child in a nod to the original movie.

Producer Guy: Won't this take away the sympathy from the original monster?

Screenwriter Guy: I wouldn't worry about that.

Producer Guy: Well, it's just that, originally, the monster was a sad creature who kills a child unknowningly. Won't having him do that on purpose turn him into a douche?

Screenwriter Guy: Alright, listen, sir. I'm going to need you to get all the way off my back about the sympathy thing.

Producer Guy: Well, okay, then. Let me get off of that thing!

Screenwriter Guy: So... what do you think?

Producer Guy: Well, it has a Shakespearean actor, a big cast, a main character as an afterthought and backstories and subplots we did not really ask for. So I think it will win all of the awards.

Screenwriter Guy: Great.

Producer Guy: But I do have one last question.

Screenwriter Guy: What's that?

Producer Guy: It says here that he kills Helena Bonham Carter and turns her into a Beetlejuice-like weird monster who leaves Frankenstein to be with the monster.

Screenwriter Guy: What about that?

Producer Guy: Well, she's dating Tim Burton now. Won't that combination lead to over twenty years of typecasting?

Screenwriter Guy: I wouldn't worry about that.

Producer Guy: Ok! I won't then.

Check out Ryan George and Pitch Meetings at www.youtube.com/@PitchMeetings

Thank you to Ryan George for the idea for this and all the funny reviews. Keep up the good work!

This Land 2023 ★★★½

I kind of enjoyed this one, though they go a bit heavy on the ominous music sometimes.

As a result of a timeshare mishap, a blue family and a red family have to share a condo, only to find out they are meant to be the victims of a cult sacrifice. The blue family's mom Ava also bears the trauma of losing a child, which leads to some on the nose imagery.

It's a bit of slow burn, with the tension between the families leading to inevitable comparisons with Get Out. At least, they made things a bit more nuanced with the blue kid taking a liking to the red dad and the moms being polite to each other at first. Not to say that there are no clichés in there. The red dad is a cop and the blue dad is a pot smoking teacher. But I give this credit for showing/trying to show that life always turns out more complicated than you want it to be. Oh yeah, and the blood gag with Dakota? Totally classic Shelly.

Everything comes to a confrontation during a game of some Monopoly-ish game. And then things escalate with some typical cult stuff, a good climax and a solid, decent ending. With one cult member channeling Henry from The Purge. That was kind of funny.

A solid, entertaining flick that deserves some (more) love. Check it out.

Ps: In the category “if you know, you know”: Corbin is the third man.

third date 2019 ★★

Date from hell with not much else to offer.

The only moment that stands out is when she goes all Doctor Gordon on her hand.

Born to Be Blue 2015 ★★★★

Let's get this out of way first: I am “just” a fan. Someone who enjoys listening to Chet's music, his trumpet and his voice. Am I a connaisseur in any shape or form? No, I'm not. I have not really read any biographies or seen documentaries. So don't expect any claims about how wether or not Hawke has the mannerisms down or such and such.

What I can say, is that it's a beautiful tragic story about somebody with a unique, amazing talent and at the same time a self destructive personality stronger than himself. Than he can or wants to be.

I cannot say wether or not this portrayal of Baker is correct. A charmer with good looks who somehow always manages to get in his own way and unwittingly makes life hard for the people around him. With a final shot of Jane/Elaine echoing a line of the song “Hurt”: Everone I know goes away in the end. Which happened to be written by somone who, at that time, was struggling with his own drug demons.

But Ethan Hawke is certainly well placed to portray this type of character. He makes you sympathize with Chet, in spite of everything, and see what his few friends saw in him. At the end of the big dramatic scene, we see him in a dressing room with the choice between methadone and heroin. And I was struck by how part of me was going: don't do it, brother. Don't do it. Sidenote: as a fan of Pontypool, it was nice for me to see Stephen McHattie back as Chet's father.

It has a lot of beautiful music and performances. So the “superficial” Chet-fan has plenty to enjoy here too. And throughout the movie, I kept wondering wether Ethan Hawke did some actual singing here. Would give it an extra cachet, in my opinion. Leave a comment if you know more.

As I am writing this, I am struck by the fact that you can enjoy Born To Be Blue as a biopic, but also as a tragic love story, not unlike Leaving Las Vegas. So certainly worth your time, in perhaps more than one form.

Rorschach 2015 ★★

Spengler and Stantz in the field. No proton pack, no Venkman, no witty dialogue.

One or two somewhat disconcerting moments (hence the second star) between a lot of nothing and then... that's it? Alright.

Halloween Ends 2022 ★

As a stand alone film, this would/could work.

I can certainly see where they are coming from.

They are trying to do something different and that's admirable. They're also setting up the legacy for when Michael Myers should be biologically dead and I'm cool with that. Zombie Michael is no option, fair enough. So they go wih this. Tapping into contemporary issues like mental health and suicide: applaudworthy.

But this as the pay-off to the final trilogy? After two whole movies of build up? No. Just no.

Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery 1997 ★★★

Went in for a rewatch. It turned out to be just the kind of fluff I needed at that moment.

I'm surprised how many of the jokes still stand after all this time.

A solid comedy and a perfect fit for subscription platforms.

Duyster 2021 ★★★★½

Good lord, what a pleasant surprise.

I'm familiar with the expression “living up to expectations”, but can we make “living up to hope” a thing as well, along with “as good as I had hoped”? Because the premise certainly had given me hope. A FF made by people from my neck of the woods, even with a similar accent. Cool.

So did I in my heart of hearts want this to be good? Of course I did. Only natural.

So was I a bit biased going in? Maybe a tad, but also weary. Because it would be terrible if it sucked. And a lot of found footage does. Let's not mince words: this is the downside to democratizing the fillmmaking process the way this genre does, a virtue not unlike punk rock. When any random schmo can grab a camera, low budget talent will find a way to come to the surface. But many will also try and fail. The same way not every punk band can be The Clash or Bad Religion. And for every Bad Religion that pops up, there are ten bands that are simply terrible.

This is not the case with Duyster. From the opening shot, the characters and their dynamics are well and clearly set up. Anyone who has ever done a group project in secondary school, high school, community college or college can on some level relate to the dynamics within this trio. Or recognize themselves in either Milan, Nora or Bas. The film crew being down on their luck at first is a nice reminder of [Rec] as well. Wonder how intentional this parallel/reference was.

The scares are very well dosed throughout the movie, which in my opinion is a key factor to this subgenre. One thing I noticed is that the bad found footage go way too long without anything really happening. Props to Thomas Van Brabant and Jordi Ostir for their direction and timing here. No details because I don't want to spoil anything. But suffice to say that this is great stuff.

We do get a bit of the running and the screaming and the “oh my god” that typifies found footage movies, but then it pulls a swerve that you can not possibly see coming. All I can say is: the less you know, the better.

Make sure to find a copy with English subtitles, because this is really worth checking out. It's certainly going in my found footage top ten, I just don't know where yet.

For the Belgians and the Dutchmen reading this: Jordi also has a podcast on Spotify called Klokslag 12, where he and his cohosts Dennie and Lorenz discuss all things horror related. I really recommend giving that a listen on either Soundcloud or whatever other medium of your choice. Fun fact: Dennie and Lorenz have a cameo in the movie as well. See if you can spot them.

Tucker and Dale vs. Evil 2010 ★★★

A solid comedy of errors, somewhere between traditional comedies and self aware meta horror stuff like Scream, You might be the killer and so on. Not that surprising since both leads have a background in comedy.

Two lovable hillbillies run into some snooty college kids and hilarity ensues when the latter mistake for psychotic killers. Leading into very funny slapstick-like situations and kills.

But the sweet moments come from the heart to hearts between Tucker and Dale. When Tucker tries to crank up Dale's self confidence. And lord love him, it all works out in the end.

For people looking for something sweet and innocent and with no pretensions about what it wants to be.

Tucker and Dale vs. Evil 2010 ★★★

A solid comedy of errors, somewhere between traditional comedies and self aware meta horror stuff like Scream, You might be the killer and so on. Not that surprising since both leads have a background in comedy.

Two lovable hillbillies run into some snooty college kids and hilarity ensues when the latter mistake for psychotic killers. Leading into very funny slapstick-like situations and kills.

But the sweet moments come from the heart to hearts between Tucker and Dale. When Tucker tries to crank up Dale's self confidence. And lord love him, it all works out in the end.

For people looking for something sweet and innocent and with no pretensions about what it wants to be.

Kickstart My Heart 2022 ★★½

Kickstart my heart aka Final Destination: Interlude. What with a car running down our heroine not unlike the bus crash in FD1 and with special effects similar to the ending of FD4.

So then Jeanne-Caudia Van Damme ends up in limbo between life and death with a dead brother/son and a whole lot of ass to kick in order to survive cpr. And she does. Hurray!

Enjoyable in you don't ask (too many) questions.

Armageddon Time 2022 ★★★★

This review may contain spoilers.

Armageddon Time is a beautiful story about a young dreamer searching his way in life in the last days before Reaganomics and the war on drugs and what not.

Paul is touched by Kandinsky and wants to find his voice in art. therefor not playing by the rules of the schools he goes to. Also shown in his bonding with Jonathan/Johnny, a storyline depicting the racism of the seventies. The dreamer beating to a different drum. Though Paul, in a way, ends up betraying Johnny as well. Leaving him behind, partly as a conscious decision, partly because there was not much else he could do at that point. Only, as grandpa tells him, stand up to the bullies who say hateful things about his friends.

Also the dynamics in the family are very recognisable. With the bullying brother and most of all the parents, conflicted between the values they grew up and the changes they experience and have to face. How they mostly just want a better life for their children than what they have and thus (un)consciously end up pushing them towards conformity.

Anne Hathaway and Jeremy Strong deliver very good performances in their respective parts. Hathaway as the housewife wanting to expand and have an impact on society, complete with the wolf traps on her path (like the kid thinking he can do anything because “mom runs the school” when she's “only” in the PTA). Or the dad, torn between stern parenting and a looser style of raising his children. The clearest example being the scene after Paul and Johnny get caught smoking a joint in the school bathroom. Be nice to mom, or she'll set the dogs on ya. Anthony Hopkins is the kind, supportive grandfather, whose passing results in a cathartic moment for the family.

Throughout all of this, the 1980 election is playing. It just so happens that earlier in the day, I saw a Bill Maher monologue in which he claims Ronald Reagan was in fact the original teabagger and the source of many of today's problems surrounding income equality. In that aspect, it does not seem like coincidence that Fred Trump gets to speak at Paul's new school. Donald never makes an appearance as such, but I did sense an implied link. Though I'm pretty sure that The Donald, contrary to Reagan, never called any of his wives “mommy”.

A lovely document of its time and a feascinating cinema experience. Certainly worth seeing.

Ps: Curious to se emore of Jeremy Strong. If there are any roles of his you would like to recommend, feel free to leave them in the comments.

The Houses October Built 2014 ★★★

This review may contain spoilers.

A found footage that hovers around the solid mark.

Par for the genre is the slow start. The different haunted houses are good for a few jumpscares, but nothing really special. It's only after the altercation with the clown that things really go south.

The scene with the tongue is pretty scary and, as one character puts it, the scare of being in the dark and not knowing what's going on or where to go. A decent sommaton of the subgenre.

The ending certainly delivers and you feel for the protagonists as the carnies toy with them and finally bury them. What's beyond me, is a) why these people would drop everything around Halloween to teach these kids a lesson (instead of waiting until early november) and b) how the hell this got a sequel.

Solid FF. Maybe no top 10 material, but certainly on the list for people who just found the genre and want to do some exploring.

Healing 2020 ★★

A girl goes over to a spiritual healer in order to debunk his methods and expose him as a criminal.

The story depends mostly on the tension between the main actors, but I did not really sense that. Maybe partly because the dialogues were hard to understand and the Swiss accent did not really help.

A good and mysterious twist at the end, sure, but that does not save things.

This Is the End 2013 ★★½

Not as fun as I remember.

Some funny bits in there, like obnoxious Michael Cera, the masturbation argument between Franco and McBride or the womp womp moment when Franco gets "saved". And the Backstreet Boys at the pearly gates will remain cult.

But the overall mushy and lovie dovie atmosphere as a cover for the jungle of Hollywood is not as hilarious as the makers had hoped for.

Inside 2007 ★★★★½

Inside certainly earns its place in the realm of French extremes. A European, more extreme version of The hand that rocks the cradle, if you will. In that it appeals to similar fears, just in a very different way.

The opening has you in the right mood, but is positively tame compared to what comes next.

The tension is great. Who is this lady and how does she know all these things about our lead?

The knife on the pregnant belly shot goes up there with the finger in Raw. Good stuff.

Sure, they bring in a few extra characters to up the death toll. But it does manage in giving a false sense of security. And we get gnarly head shot and Sarah stabbing her mother in the throat with a hairpin. As you do.

Throughout all of this, you wonder how the ending will top all of this. And then the ending... fuck me, that ending. A great topper to a very violent and gory film about what are in essence very human things.

Well recommended for fans of more extreme stuff.

Bury the Bride 2023 ★★

Went into this one because of the premise. A bachelorette party terrorised by the groom. Sounds good. Oh, and Scout Taylor-Compton is in it, the lead from Rob Zombie's Halloween.

It's a mediocre vampire fest with a few obligatory jump scares and a bland ending.

The dialogue?

Redneck: Says some redneck stuff.
Sassy girl: Oh... my... god. You're so stupid.
Redneck: stfu (or something like that)
Sassy girl: something something f-bomb bla bla bla two more f-bombs yadda yadda

So that's a lot of who cares.

A few good kills are enough to earn this movie its second star.

Guest 2020 ★★★★

Nice little short with an eerie atmosphere.

We get no backstory on Stewie the stop motion puppet or on why he is scary as fuck. Which ends up making him more scary. Because reality will not be as scary as what you imagine.

Good stuff, this.

Piggy 2018 ★★★★

This review may contain spoilers.

This Spanish Carrie makes you feel sorry for the main character.

It also succeeds in being pretty mean spirited, as the only one not on her case is a High Tension-like killer. You have a sunny day too, sweetheart.

Though I did have the impression almost everything was said in 15 minutes. Apparently, this was turned into a feature length film last year. Curious how that turned out.

The Gathering 2001 ★★

Back to the DVD collection for something from the early 2000s.

An American girl goes (back) to England and before we know the whats and whys and hows she is run over by a car in the kind of town where you expect to run into Simon Pegg exchanging insults over crossword puzzles.

She gets away from the accident with amnesia (very handy) and soon starts having ominous visions (spooky). Between hooking up with Ioan Gruffudd (who does an amazing Rocco Siffredi cosplay here) and being harassed by townies, Christina Ricci and the screenwriter put the pieces together.

Because it's all related to a vague story about a buried church, which results in a solid opening kill, a piece of wood that allegedly belonged to the cross that held Jesus and an orphanage where child abuse took place... because of course it did.

At first, you still want to buy it, but when the screenwriter started tying in the JFK assasination and the KKK, it became a bit too silly for me to still follow. And of course the ending being par for the course. Oh no, that thing that we saw coming from the very start happened after all. Oh well.

But the pace is solid, the execution is not too bad and there are worse things than seeing Christina Ricci running around doing stuff.

Fun for people who like religious horror and Christina Ricci-fans.

No Time to Die 2021 ★★★

This review may contain spoilers.

Well, I never thought I would live to see James Bond have his Maury Povich moment.

James Bond, in the case of little Mathilde, you are (not) the father.

So yeah, that happened.

The whole movie felt like a final love letter to Daniel Craig. A way of hammering home in no uncertain terms in that it's really really really time to bid this Bond farewell and greet the new incarnation. Including a heroic sacrifice moment. They want you to be doubly sure that this James Bond is really, really dead and gone.

It goes together with an overall solid, entertaining action movie. We see Daniel Craig do all the narrow escapes and stunts and fighting. They keep you on the edge of your seat and the cast are well in their place. In my opinion, Ben Wishaw and Naomi Harris are growing in their respective roles as Q and Moneypenny. If he can do banter (and leave out the “boy, we sure are old” crap), Ralph Fiennes can make a good M.

The main downside is the darkness of it all. Both literally (so many scenes in the dark) and figuratively. There's not much to laugh here, apart from maybe the comic relief moments with Ana De Armas. And yet, the material is there. Their scenes from the earlier movies show that the dry wit banter between Q and Bond can work. Why not use that more here? To lighten the atmos and make the final sacrifice hit that much harder.

Apart from that, Rami Malek can sometimes be scary and yet, he does not make a memorable Bond-villain like Goldfinger or Blofeld. Also, with Christopher Waltz in the cast, the link with the interrogation scene in Inglorious Basterds is quickly laid and Rami does not match up.

Malek and Lea Seydoux's character are kind of characteristic for this movie. I can kind of get it and kind of see it, but a certain meh-factor inevitably always slips in.

Also, your opening bit lasted longer than a Simpsons episode. About 20 minutes until the opening credits. Maybe trim down a bit then.

That said, it still has its qualities: it's certainly entertaining and I can empathize with Craig-fans having to wipe away a tear at the end. For the rest of us, it's just a decent popcorn muncher. No more, no less.