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The Haunted House on Kirby Road (2016)
Sorry excuse
I feel sorry for Stuart Stone, who puts his name on this as director, co-writer and even a small acting part. A haunted house on Kirby Road, as the urban myth goes, is the scene where a depressed man killed his wife, her lover and his own kids before committing suicide. And as the legend goes, if you see his reflection in any of the mirrors in the house...you can plan on your own demise rather quickly.
Looking for one last adventure before graduating, six friends decide rather reluctantly to investigate the local urban legend. Stupid is as stupid does; the sometimes at odds friends soon discover this night could very well be their very last. Any horror had little realism. Attempts at comedy was sick. The movie as a whole just didn't work. The only thing I found redeeming was Nina Kirl, the beauty that played the lead.
Tales of Halloween (2015)
A fun Halloween anthology
Some gore, jump scares and just enough horror in this spunky anthology. Adrienne Barbeau is the memorable husky voiced radio DJ sharing stories of Halloween's past in an American suburb. Her sultry voice putting Trick 'r' Treaters weaving together tales of witches, ghouls, aliens, axe murderers and even greedy candy eating parents and big mouthed pumpkins that have a thing for swallowing people. This is the night to terrorize radio listeners.
A nice amount of fun scares, even though not as dark and mean as they could be. Pacing good enough to sustain interest. The cast also features Clare Kramer, Barry Bostwick, Tiffany Shepis, Mick Garris, Ben Woolf and John Savage.
There's Someone Inside Your House (2021)
Do you want to know a secret?
There's Someone Inside Your House is entertaining and worthwhile Halloween viewing; but has nothing to do with a hider in the house. Newcomer Makani (Sydney Park) relocates in corn country Nebraska trying to escape a dark secret from her past.
Among her new friends are a gay football player, a drug addict, an artsy fartsy type, an outcast bad boy, a transgender NASA hopeful and the town's largest corn tycoon's son. And all are hiding their own deep secret. Their lives are upended when a killer begins terrorizing the local population. The killer wields a large knife and wears a mask of his next victim's face. A small group of misfits try to be heroes.
El club de los lectores criminales (2023)
So you want to be a writer
A group of eight teens are all part of a book club. Although close-knit, they have spats at times based on who is dating whom and what couple has split. But in common is they all like horror books, and a few would like to be writers of such.
A professor shows interest in one of the students named Angela (Vecki Velilla) as a strong writer and actually sexually assaults her. The group decides to prank the professor all wearing clown costumes, because they are currently reading a book about a murderous clown.
While terrorizing the instructor, something goes very wrong. The events that follows afterward makes for a slasher clown killing spree. One by one the club gets smaller. Some grossly disturbing scenes.
Miss Velillia is not just attractive, but leads the cast featuring Ane Rot, Priscilla Delgado, Carlos Alcaide and Antonello Novellino.
Ticks (1993)
An investation that kills
Who doesn't go for a low-budget cheesy creature feature? A group of problem Los Angeles teens reluctantly sign up for a wilderness retreat knowing very little about survival in the woods.
Local marijuana growers are using herbal steroids to speed the plant growth and this is going to be a big problem. Leakage of the steroids creates mutant ticks the size of...footballs; and they have an insatiable taste for human flesh. These large bloodsuckers begin terrorizing the campground leaving the inexperienced campers unsafe in the woods.
You can't take Ticks seriously, if anything it is a grossly good time. Starring are Rosalind Allen, Ami Dolenz, Alfonso Riberio, Rance Howard, Seth Green, Peter Scolari and Clint Howard.
Tarot (2024)
Death will become you
The original title was to be Horrorscope, nevertheless we have Tarot that follows a group of college friends that mess around with dark magic and get more than they bargained for. This diverse mix of college friends get together for some fun and find an old box containing a box of Tarot cards. These cards are anciently hand painted and totally unlike any modern cards. Astrology enthusiast Haley (Harriet Slater) is reluctant to mess with the cards because of an unwritten rule when it comes to Tarot cards. But she is pressured into doing everyone's readings.
The party breaks up and the friends head back to college, but uh-oh, a few from the group meet their death by way of the Tarot readings. A dark figure stalks each of the group as they start getting killed off one by one. Can the readings be reversed before there are no survivors? Yes, there is some very brutal and frightening kill scenes. Disturbing, but sustainable?
I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House (2016)
If incomplete...don't close the door
Your attention may wander, just don't go to sleep. There is something here. There is at least two attractive girls in the house. I didn't say....living. This cryptic ghost story is written and directed by Osgood Perkins. Atmospheric, eerie and a bit tedious.
A young attractive nurse named Lily (Ruth Wilson) takes on the job of caring for the elderly horror authoress Iris Blum (Paula Prentiss). Miss Blum keeps mistaking Lily for Polly (Lucy Boynton), who is believed to have suffered a brutal death in the tranquil New England mansion. After Lily begins hearing tapping on the walls and discovers mold growing in the house, Iris recommends Lily read one of her best selling novels that happens to be about a woman buried behind walls of an old house.
This movie at times crawls along and has a few mild jump scares.
Some pretty creepy background music is provided by the writer/directors brother Elvis Perkins.
The Irishman (2019)
Have you ever worked for organized crime?
This is no less a Martin Scorsese master showpiece edging on masterpiece. Sitting in a nursing/retirement home, elderly Irish-American World War ll veteran, Frank Sheeran (Robert De Niro), recounts his time as a hitman for the Italian-American Mafia.
Sheeran worked in Philadelphia in the 1950s as a union delivery truck driver for Philly crime boss Angelo Bruno (Harvey Keitel). Accused of theft, union lawyer Bll Bufalino (Ray Ramano), gets charges dismissed and Sheeran begins working for the South Pennsylvania underworld ran by Russell Bufalino (Joe Pesci) "painting houses", meaning contract killing.
Frank will soon be introduced to Jimmy Hoffa (Al Pacino), head of The Brotherhood of Teamsters Union, and will become his confidant and chief bodyguard. This gangster flick only gets better and better. Deserves all of the numerous accolades.
Others in this very crowded cast are Anna Paquin, Bobby Cannavale, Jesse Plemons, Sabastian Maniscalco, Gary Basaraba, Lucy Gallina , Steven Van Zandt and Stephen Graham.
A wonderful soundtrack featuring The Five Satins, Glenn Miller & Orchestra, Fats Domino, Marty Robbins, Jo Stafford, Santo & Johnny, Bill Doggett, Jerry Vale and Johnny Ray.
Acolytes (2008)
The rules keep changing
Three high school students, James, Mark and Chasely, stumble upon a freshly buried body in the middle of the woods. The three want to notify the police, but who can they blame it on. First choice is the local bully Gary who has a history of abusing young school boys and besides, he has already served some days in jail. James and Mark agree to find a hit man to "take care" of Gary. The boys don't want to pay the high fee, so they scheme to blackmail the hit man. Young, curious and thinking half-cocked, the boys realize they have rushed and made some seriously stupid decisions. The world gets sideways real quick. Some interesting twists and turns. The only redeeming acting comes from Hanna Mangan Lawrence, who plays Chasely.
Silent Retreat (2013)
Experimental clinic with consequences
Janey (Chelsea Jenish) is a troubled young woman who sentenced by a judge to attend a mediation retreat for women. She arrives and "The Doctor" (Robert Nolan) explains the harsh rules that includes no talking allowed. The clinic is set in small cabins in the middle of out-of-the-way woods. Isolated with no personal possessions with constant brainwashing involving hypnosis. The doctor runs the clinic with his two sons. There is something sinister going on and the patients are threatened with being left alone in the woods with something that makes ungodly noises during the night.
Also in the cast are Sofia Banzhof, Jen Pogue and Angela Newell as "The Creature".
On the Line (2022)
You're on-the-air with Elvis!
He loves hearing his own voice and has been on Los Angeles night time radio for a long time. Elvis Cooney's (Mel Gibson) attitude and opinions are a bit outdated, but he embraces his on-air persona of making raw and sour comments to his coworkers and call-in listeners. He proudly tells it like it is and hates competing with social media.
Elvis' after-hours radio show is interrupted by a very angry caller with a grievance. He threatens the shock-jock with serious threats toward his wife and child. The caller named Gary (Paul Spera) challenges Elvis to a survival game to protect his family as well as saving the radio station from being bombed. Elvis' trusty right-hand woman Mary (Alia Seror O'Neill) keeps the challenge live on-the-air.
Raw language filled with suspense. I really liked it! It has been awhile since Gibson has had an intense role.
Gosti (2019)
Party interrupted
A young waitress, Katya (Angelina Strechina), is invited by a group of guys that like special fun---organizing parties in other people's empty houses. Katya knows of an old country house by the sea that hasn't been occupied for years. The secluded house was once home to a spiritualist in the last century, that made his living doing seances.
A group of young people gathered and was ready to party; drinking, petting and dancing loudly and in the midst of this activity, someone stumbles into the party. A mystery man doesn't seem to be a problem until two ghostly persons begin hiding in the shadows, corners and closets. Very few scary situations and lack of eerie atmosphere.
Before Someone Gets Hurt (2018)
Could this get worse?
Tim (Michael Welch) and his group from Ghost Investigations are on a current fast track in the ghost hunting community. With sarcastic attitudes and pranking off camera may be keeping them from being produced by a real TV network.
The group goes to 311 Lenox Ave to investigate a house that has seen fourteen unsolved murders. Even before some poor camera installations, the creepiness begins. The whole team is assembled and some mild sinister activities start, but it can be mistaken for their notable pranking. Activity is heard in several rooms, but are they going to get evidence on tape for the show. Is the footage they do get, is it good enough to impress?
Nonsensical, horror is off-screen and any acting is hard to find.
Berkshire County (2014)
Familiar home invasion for Halloween
Originally titled Berkshire County. Kylie Winters (Alysa King) is an attractive, but shy bullied teen that reluctantly takes a babysitting job on Halloween night. She arrives at the isolated mansion in the hills and meets her two little charges. An ordinary night turn into a terror filled game of cat-and-mouse. Or this little piggy comes home. A rapping at the door is a small boy wearing a pig mask holding out a trick-or-treat bag.
The action begins as pig mask wearing thugs invade the home. Kylie must gather enough fortitude to hide the children and stand up to the vicious interlopers. Somehow Kylie is going to have to be smart enough to fight off the invaders. Suspenseful and creepy. You will jump and dodge a few times.
Shock Docs: Demon in the White House (2021)
A nice imagination starter
This is an episode from the Shock Doc TV series. Very interesting on a slow day. Believe what you want, but 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue may just be a most haunted location. First imagine a demon being a minion of the devil. And several first ladies may have unwittingly invited unwanted guests into their temporary homes. And spirits may just be tormenting and influencing American presidents, their families and advisors even now.
The first ghost mentioned in the White House was around 1853, when President Pierce and his wife witnessed seeing their dead son. Abraham Lincoln and his first lady admitted seeing ghosts, one being their dead son. President Taft's staff frequently saw ghosts. And President Harry Truman is claimed to have said "Sure as shootin' there are ghosts here'".
Presidents Lincoln, Franklin Roosevelt and Ronald and Nancy Reagan are mentioned to welcoming seances. Even President Nixon was said to refer to mediums.
Demons are said to deposit grief that imprints energy. A haunting is just the past visiting the present. Maybe I got more into this than I wanted.
There's Something in the Barn (2023)
A funny horror flick
Is this a comedy or horror film? Both. Bill Nordheim (Martin Starr) inherits his uncle's house in Norway and decides to move his California family there. The goal is to turn the estate's old barn into an Airbnb. Bill's young son Lucas (Townes Bunner) discovers the barn already has a resident, a "barn elf" (Kiran Shah), that doesn't like change, artificial light, or loud noises.
Lucas makes friends with the elf plying him with chocolate chip cookies. The Nordheims go into town, but doesn't get much approval from the townsfolk. The new comers decide to throw a big party in the barn to try and gain some acceptance. This enrages the gnome, who gathers other elfin buddies to wreck bloody mayhem on the Nordheim family and a gory Scandinavian culture clash is inevitable.
Asteroid City (2023)
Quirky humor at its best
Aesthetic, hilarious and quirky humor of director/co-writer Wes Anderson. Asteroid City is a small town in the middle of the desert containing a one pump gas station, car repair shop, a diner, a row of small white houses and a museum honoring the crater of an asteroid landing.
This is the meeting place of a group of young stargazers showcasing their scientific inventions. Their parents, and members of the space community and military end up being quarantined there by the government partly due to testing of atom bombs in the background. The festivities are put in a spin by a surprise guest of honor---from outer space.
The newly quarantined have time to ponder the meaning of life, love, death and even the world beyond the stars. A convergence of soft pastel palettes of a play inside of a play. Anderson's repertory is like the idiom of "cast of millions" featuring: Bryan Cranston, Edward Norton, Tom Hanks, Scarlett Johansson, Adrien Brody, Willem Dafoe, Jason Schwartzman, Matt Dillon, Margo Robbie, Liev Schreiber and Rita Wilson,
Hillbilly Elegy (2020)
Hillbilly, red neck, white trash
Famed director Ron Howard directs this adaptation of J. D. Vance's best-selling memoir. Former marine, Yale Law School graduate currently serving as a U. S. Senator from Ohio and the Republican Vice Presidential candidate for the 2024 election, Vance tells the riveting account of growing up in Kentucky's Appalachia region and Ohio.
A middle-class family struggling the poor Rust Belt's profound poverty. A passionate and personal essay of a white working-class dysfunctional family disintegrating. J. D. (Gabriel Brasso) grew up a chubby lad bullied by his closest of friends. There is contending his mother, Bev's (Amy Adams) addiction and overdoses of heroin. He was taken in by his Mamaw Bonnie, (Glen Close), raised by her stern obscenity and threat filled wisdom. His girlfriend, Usha (Freida Pinto) is his constant tutor in how to exist and navigate upper class condescension of so many American elite institutions. Bringing things into concept is something as simple as his sister Lindsay (Haley Bennett) bringing him a fried bologna sandwich.
Close and Adams are more than outstanding. And Howard doesn't touch much that he can't turn into a masterpiece. A vibrant soundtrack features "Yesterdays Gone" by Lynyrd Skynyrd, "Cruel Summer" by Bananarama and "Circle In The Sand" by Belinda Carlilse.
Supercell (2023)
Searching for the monster storm
Set in hot, windy west Texas seventeen year-old Will Brody (Damian Biemer) thinks back about his dad's death. Bill Brody (Richard Gunn) along with his wife Quinn (Anne Heche) were legendary storm chasers. She gave up her career to try and raise Will from following in his father's footsteps. Quinn herself was an influential weather scientist. The teenager gets his hands on his dad's old journals and an innovative storm audio capture device. Will leaves home to discover more about his father and teams up with Bill's former partner, Uncle Roy (Skeet Ulrich). Roy is using his former chasing skills to work for a scheming tour operator (Alec Baldwin) selling rides into tornadic storms. You would figure this movie would be filmed in Oklahoma, most active part of tornado alley; but nonetheless Supercell was filmed in Montana and Georgia. Special effects outshine bad acting.
Oppenheimer (2023)
Storytelling fireworks
Director Christopher Nolan presents an ambitious and tense motion picture that may be considered one the best ever for quite some time. The three hour run time will bring complaints of boredom. It does take some time to get rolling. Cillian Murphy is outstanding as the physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer, who became the daddy of "the bomb".
Interesting is his building a whole town in Mew Mexico for a secret place to build a bomb before Germany could. He would have moral quandaries being accused of having ties with the Communist Party. He had to be stoic taking insults during the Senate hearings to confirm Lewis Strauss (Robert Downey Jr.) as Secretary of Commerce and bullying fallout from the Atomic Energy Commission. I especially liked the few scenes with his lover psychiatrist Jean Tatlock (Florence Pugh)..
With so many other movies about Mr. Oppenheimer, it is hard to review without feeling like a proof reader for a world history professor. No doubt about it, this movie is a top of the line "must see". Other notables in the cast: Matt Damon, Emily Blunt, Jason Clark, Kenneth Branagh, Rami Malek, Josh Hartnett, Gregory Jbara and Alden Ehrenreich.
47 Meters Down: Uncaged (2019)
Watery thiller, a cave and sharks!
This movie grossed three times against budget. HOW (I don't know)!
Mia (Sophie Nelisse) and stepsister Sasha (Corinne Foxx) are unhappy with their new school; Mia's dad Grant (John Corbett) plans a boat ride for the sisters to see some great white sharks.
The day of the boat trip, two classmates, Nicole (Sistine Rose Stallone) and Alexa (Brianne Tju) invite themselves along to temp the sisters to change plans and dive into a secret lagoon that has an entrance to a submerged Mayan temple. The girls scuba dive eventually reaching an ancient sacrificial chamber. When a stone column is knocked over a partial cave-in occurs. The terrified girls try to find the lagoon entrance before a blind shark chases them while looking for safety, as their air starts running out. I apologize for spoiling this; but then there wasn't much to spoil.
A decent soundtrack that features "Somewhere in My Heart" by Aztec Camera, "We've Only Just Begun" by Lynn Anderson and "Wild Side of Life" by Status Quo.
Polaroid (2019)
Take a look at terror
Bird Fitcher (Kathryn Prescott), a high schooler finds an old Poloroid camera at an antique shop. She has no idea of its dark past, and that whoever gets their picture taken with it will soon meet a gaudy tragic demise.
Bird can be described as a wallflower, overly shy and not having a crowd of friends. One fellow student, Tyler (Davi Santos), does take some interest and is willing to help Bird investigate the history of the camera. Soon classmates Kasey (Samantha Logan) and Conner (Tyler Young) helps Bird to find out why the Poloroid pictures taken are actually deadly. You will be jump scared several times before you find out the answer to this grisly mystery.
Director Lars Klevberg does not shy away from gore and disturbing violence. Cinematography and lack of a lot of lighting is critical to this horror flick. Other cast members: Priscilla Quintana, Keenan Tracey, Mitch Pileggi and Javier Botet.
I.S.S. (2023)
Why can't we get along?
A low-watt thriller, very interesting until it begins to drag a little. Worth a watch. Two hundred fifty miles above Earth is the International Space Station with three Americans and three Russians in a cramped workspace. Things are smiles and handshakes when newbies Kira (Ariana DeBose) and fellow American Christian (John Gallagher Jr.) arrive catching a ride on a Soyuz rocket to join a third American Gordon.
The two crews work close and are amiable until things get a bit touchy. Things become worrisome when a red-orange flash is seen on Earth. At first thought to be a volcano erupting, but not true. Three more flashes are seen near the same area. Communication failures to home ensue. Both crews close ranks and huddle in opposite corners. Obviously American/Russian relations on Earth have turned seriously bad. Now the crew of the I. S. S. Progressively become tense and guarded. No trust. No peace. More suspense than horror. Although a nail biter.
Konferensen (2023)
What is in your head?
Get settled for an outdoorsy night of frights. Bleary-eyed municipal employees gather for a conference to help build confidence and look for hints to improve the work environment. These Swedish workers seem to take a different attitude than Americans concerning their place in the pecking order.
The conference takes on a comedy/slasher route when accusations of corruption begin to circulate. Some of them gathered have not been on the "up-and -up" for awhile. Things get dicey as a mysterious masked figure begins stalking and killing the participants. An ugly bloody, entertaining and gripping story about unwitting heroes in the public sector. How can you find humor in murder?
In the cast: Katia Winter, Adam Lundgren, Eva Melander and Maria Sid.
Children of the Corn (1984)
According to the word of Isaac.
Based on a short story by the master Stephen King. A young man (Peter Horton) and his girlfriend (Linda Hamilton) are on the road to report for his new job. The couple make a stop in the remote town of Gatlin, Nebraska to report a murder. The town seems deserted. A young boy preacher, Isaac (John Franklin) , is leading a religious cult of children that believes everyone over 18 years of age must be killed.
The town's adults have been murdered to appease an entity ensuring a successful corn crop. Isaac's lieutenant Malachai (Courtney Gains) is rebelling and putting together a revolution to strip Isaac of all his power. More suspense than horror. Also in the cast are R. G. Armstrong, Julie Maddalena and John Philbin.