Horror in the High Desert 2021 ★★½

For the most part, I did not think all that much of it. Not that it was bad, it was just the faux documentary style we had seen before with things like Lake Mungo and, in a different style, The Poughkeepsie Tapes.

It's sad that this seemingly nice and smart young man disappeared, but for the most part it's just a recount of what happened. So yeah, put that in the slow burn category. Also, a score is already weird in a FF and here, it seemed overly dramatic. Like it was trying to mimic an overly sentimental missing persons program. Sometimes, it became annoying, like with one of the sister's last fragments. On those moments, it's better to let emotions speak for themselves.

Only late in the film do we find out he has a blog and that's where the found footage part kicks in. It has a few scary moments and the silence creates some tension, but it is difficult to keep it up. That said, the final jump scare is very effective.

There's better FF and there's a lot worse.

The VelociPastor 2018

In total, it's five stars, no doubt. In breakdown...

As a genuine movie, it's a half star for effort. Nothing went well.

As a schlock fest, it earns the other four and a half stars. This feast of ludicrousness was a thing to behold. You cannot keep from overdosing on the sheer relentless onslaught of silliness, non sequiturness and general what the fuckery.

Well recommended for those going in with the right expectations. Watch this with your (wittiest) friends and just get ready to cackle your ass off.

The Strangers: Prey at Night (2018)

The Passenger, 2023. 7.5/10

Director: Carter Smith




Insidious: The Red Door, 2023. 6/10

Director: Patrick Wilson




Talk to Me, 2023. 7/10

Directors: Danny Philippou,Michael Philippou




The Ghost Within, 2023. 7/10

Director: Lawrence Fowler


https://cfm.yidio.com/images/movie/2...op-640x360.jpg

NO ESCAPE-1994. Decent flick which borrows a lot from 1973's TERMINAL ISLAND and THE LORD OF THE FLIES. Convict Ray Liotta is not exactly a model prisoner (and seems to really be a glutton for punishment::shocked::) so is shipped to an island manned by convicts and after escaping from a nasty faction, finds himself with a more civilized group, but there are threats of attacks from the other group (all I could think of was LOST)-can "Lone Wolf" Ray join with another group to ensure a happier life?

While it's a little long, not a bad flick and worth a watch. ***

[IMG]https

Becky 2020 ★★★★

I really enjoyed this one.

It's a basic home invasion flick, but I was really entertained from start to finish. It has some great visuals like the opening montage flipping back and forth between the prison yard and the school yard.

The story itself is no great shakes, but it does give the film a nice excuse to see Joel McHale (if I'm to believe Tubi commercials, he's fricking everywhere these days) and Kevin James outside of their usual terrain. Maybe it's because, apart from the odd trailer, I have “missed” Paul Blart and the likes, but I bought Kevin James as a neonazi. Even though he's Purge Election Year-levels of subtle about it.

The main part, though, is the gore. A lot gorier than you would expect based on the actors you're most likely to recognize. I'm not going into detail, but you might be done with smores afterwards. And Paul Blart keeps his... eye out for somebody. The main course being the unlikely adversary going all Terry Funk on these criminals. With kills most likely to please Chucky-fans. Sure, it helps that the giant has a change of heart and that she has Diego by her side, but in the end, Becky does all of the heavy lifting here. You don't have to like Becky, but you have to recognize she's a badass.

For fans of either gore or home invasions.

Haunted Forest 2007 ★★

Hikers looking for some kind of treasure and some sort of tragedy involving the ghosts of native Americans. Not overly captivating, but I've seen worse.

In a word: meh.

Baby Blue 2023 ★★★

After one of their projects did not go so well, a trio of students takes the advice to get into true crime. Judging to what Netflix has to offer in that section (all the serial killer or things like I am a killer and what not), that's not such a bad suggestion. But, naturally, they get more than they bargained.

This was very enjoyable. For what look like a low budget film, the acting is pretty good, the characters are likable enough to sympathize with and you have a cool looking killer who seems to be channeling Bill Paxton in near Dark. The look with the sunglasses and the blood covered mouth will immediately take you back to the bar scene. A bit of a similar cheekiness too.

The script manages to build up tension. Sure, the guy doing the dumb shit is exactly the guy you would expect to do that, but it's a nice pay off to his character build up. Also, Beans had the most of a character arc compared to the others.

Certainly worth a check.

The Roommate 2011 ★

How to best describe this one? One of those conveyer belt “horror” where the studio execs show they “know” what the fans want.

Rip off a good chunk of Single White Female, add in some Fatal Attraction (but this time, it's a cat instead of a rabbit). Add some bland drama and you have your bland thriller with an equally bland cast. For me, the best performance was Billy Zane as Professor MeToo. This kind of cocky, somewhat sleazy character fits him perfectly. The others try their best with what they are given and that's not all that much.

Vanilla Cake 2016 ★½

Short film about a psychotic family's birthday party.

A “16 year old” stabs his mom getting him the wrong birthday cake. Talk about a temper tantrum.

And then that thing happened they alluded to at the start with the talk about the departed father.

Oh no!

(shrug)

Oh well.

Bill Hicks: Relentless 1992 ★★★★★

A relentless onslaught of laughs and insightful jokes. One of the greatest comedians ever on top of his game.

From the bullshit behind wars over aliens landing in fucking Fyfe, Alabama to a solid repertoire of dick jokes.

A much missed hero of comedy.

Friday the 13th: Death Curse 2019 ★★★

Maybe not much plotwise, but their heart is in the right place. You can tell that they love the series. The references to the series seemed more subtle: a quick photo of “aunt Ginny” (Amy Steel) and a reference to a line by Martin the caretaker. And that's about it.

More room for a fes solid kills and the final confrontation with, admittedl,y a good idea and an equally decent approach and execution.

Hard Candy 2005 ★★★★½

Good lord, was this intense.

The movie lives up to the premise. What you get is a very well crafted thriller about topics we as a society are not always equally comfortable talking about: torture, pedophilia, child abduction,... and even (slightly) touches upon topics like adulthood and age of consent at one point with Hayley's line about a girl being able to “imitate a woman” without necessarily being one.

The writing kind of solves the ethical dilemma by turning Wilson's character into a genuine monster where we only ever so often get a glimpse of what lurks beneath his socially adapted exterior. Page's character is painted as a sort of venging angel. In that aspect perhaps closer to Bronson in Death Wish than to the girl from Audition.

It's not gory, certainly when knowing that the film at one point involves a castration scene. Having said that, I doubt a lot of men were feeling completely comfortable when Hayley got to the actual cutting. Hence creating an atmosphere found in some great horror movies where your imagination fills in the blanks left by the movie.

Also, this is a movie that relies heavily on the performances by the main actors and they do it very well. Wilson and Page create a fascinating power dynamic where the upper hand shifts at several points in the film.

Great stuff. It got under my skin. Certainly recommended.