REVIEW: Artificial Intelligence is always going to be controversial when used in place of human beings, but I’d argue there are times when it feels like the logical next step. Why have a bunch of people waste time rotoscoping or replacing mouths when AI can do it, and do it even better? It’s easy to judge a massive film studio, but independents are doing what they can to get their films made. Watch The Skies is a Swedish movie that uses AI to digitally replace mouths to make the English dub seamless. And this is the kind of AI that I can get behind: it doesn’t change the performances, instead giving the film a chance to be seen by a wider audience. Because the harsh reality is that general audiences don’t like subtitles and prefer watching content in their own language. And dubbing can be pretty rough. So this seems like a logical usage of the technology. But what about the film itself?

Watch the Skies follows Denise, a teenager who thinks her father was abducted by aliens. She joins up with a UFO club that’s filled with “lovable freaks” to try and hunt down her missing father. The involvement of UFOs means there are some grander organizations who are also on the same hunt. I’ll always root against corporations and the government, so the narrative immediately gives you a clear set of heroes and villains. Denise is headstrong but still likable, with Inez Dahl Torhaug really managing to strike an emotional chord through her. The whole UFO club is filled with fun personalities, making them easy to root for. Though I absolutely hated Gunnar; the old man who refuses change and wants to control everyone in the UFO club. It’s intentional, but I wanted to see more comeuppance for his character.

I was blown away with the technical prowess of Watch the Skies. The team at Crazy Pictures is ridiculously talented and are able to pull off just about anything. The stunts are masterfully handled, like a car accident, taking place entirely inside and looking both visceral and beautiful. Throwing a car through a barn has never looked better. And often, with these more grounded sci-fi ventures, they can lose any grounding once a more extraterrestrial element is introduced. Yet they avoid that here, by showing just enough, and keeping things more abstract when they need to be.

The song “Forever Young” by Alphaville gets prominent placement in the story, and it works so well, both with the theme of the film and also the song helps elevate its scenes. I’m sure it cost a pretty penny, but it shows where spending money in licensing can really help improve the overall quality of the film.

Now I’m not going to pretend that the mouth replacement is completely seamless. But the actual effect itself works pretty well 90% of the time. Especially when the alternative is a dub that feels completely disconnected from the reality of the scene. It’s more of an issue that the performance doesn’t exactly match the actor, like many dubs. And it seems like there were times when the mouth isn’t super visible, so they neglected to do the process to them.

Watch the Skies is a great look at UFOs in a respectfully realistic way. The narrative never goes too overboard and even makes it so skeptics can have a good time with it. The ending enters Sunshine territory of “You’re either going to be on board or it’s going to lose you,” and thankfully, I was fully onboard. Rarely am I blown away by a film to the degree where I don’t know how they pulled off certain effects. But I constantly found myself befuddled by how much they were able to accomplish here. Truly a remarkable cinematic feat. Here’s hoping that the AI element doesn’t become the entire narrative.

watch the skies

GREAT

8

The post Watch the Skies Review: The “Right Way” To Use Artificial Intelligence in Film appeared first on JoBlo.

REVIEW: Clown in a Cornfield is based on a well-received series of young adult novels by Adam Cesare. Having not read any of the books, I went into this adaptation relatively fresh, not knowing exactly what to expect. My interest was mainly piqued thanks to the fact that it’s directed by Tucker & Dale vs Evil’s Eli Craig, having been a big fan of that horror comedy gem.

Clown in a Cornfield has a similar mix of humour and horror, although it leans slightly more towards the latter, with it owing a lot to eighties slasher flicks, albeit done through a Gen-Z lens. What makes the movie work so well is the fact that the cast of teen characters are hugely likeable, with the young cast delivering winning performances. Once they start getting picked off, which happens with surprisingly regularity (this goes for a hard-R rating), you’re almost sad to see them die off. That hasn’t happened to me in a slasher for a little while, with the characters typically underdeveloped and tailored to certain types.

Clown in a Cornfield plays with and subverts stereotypes, with the local, gun-toting quiet boy, Rust (Vincent Muller) having surprisingly heroic qualities, and the local rich kid, Cole (Carson MacCormac) ends up being an all-around solid dude with a relatable secret. The movie centers around Katie Douglas’s Quinn, who immediately finds a new group of friends when she moves to Kettle Springs, and she delivers a nicely vulnerable performance.  Typically, in movies like this, the parents are clueless, but Quinn’s father, played by Aaron Abrams, is smarter than most and figures prominently once Frendo’s gory reign begins.

Clown killers definitely seem to be having a moment, thanks to Terrifier, and Frendo should strike a chord with audiences, even if the way the plot pans out takes him in a different direction than you might expect. While working with a low-budget, Clown in a Cornfield looks great and has a fun supporting cast, with Kevin Durand chewing scenery as the town mayor, while Will Sasso is the clueless local sheriff, who immediately earns Quinn’s dislike by constantly referring to her as a sweetheart. 

Most importantly, the gore is top shelf, with it done in old-school, practical ways. There’s no CGI carnage, it’s old-school makeup and red corn syrup, and the kills are pretty gnarly, even if, given the hoped-for teen audience, they stop well short of being anywhere near as disturbing as anything from Terrifier or In a Violent Nature.

The book this was based on inspired a whole series, and if the movie does well enough, I could see it turning into a nice little franchise for Shudder, who’ll be putting it out in theaters this May before it bows on their service. If you like the lower-key eighties slashers like Prom Night, Terror Train, or My Bloody Valentine, you might get a big kick out of this. 

Clown in a Cornfield

GOOD

7

The post Clown in a Cornfield Review: A fun slasher for teens appeared first on JoBlo.

REVIEW: Sometimes movies have to overcome really bad posters in order to get a fair shot. That’s certainly true when it comes to Unit 234, a thriller about a woman who’s stuck in a storage facility and has to escape the criminals who want the contents of a specific unit. But the poster tells me nothing other than it stars, and a dead body on a gurney. What is supposed to intrigue me about that? Especially when the film itself is a fun little thriller with an ending you won’t see coming?

Unit 234 follows Laurie (Isabelle Fuhrman) as she has to stay and watch over her storage facility instead of going on the trip she planned with her boyfriend. During her shift, a group of criminals shows up at the facility, trying to break into a specific unit. She discovers a man, seemingly in the midst of having his organs stolen, and decides she needs to protect him against those who wish him harm. It’s a nice cat-and-mouse thriller as she tries to escape the criminals while saving the man they’re after.

I’ve enjoyed Fuhrman since Orphan, and she really impresses when given the opportunity to. Laurie is pretty basic in her presentation, but there are so many ways it could have gone wrong. With a weaker actor, the character could have been very frustrating. Don Johnson seems to be having a blast as the head of the criminals taking over the facility. He has a lot more to work with than initially expected. And Jack Huston proves how valuable he is in any role, bringing so much to the table, and ultimately making the narrative work.

While I really enjoyed the many twists and turns of Unit 234, it’s hard to ignore some of the asinine ways the story progressed. The reasoning behind Laurie having to stick around the storage facility is very weak. While the intention is to show that Laurie will take any excuse not to visit her boyfriend in Nashville, it just comes across as poor writing to keep her around for the festivities. And Johson’s coughing up of blood leads nowhere, making its inclusion a bit baffling. Many things happen circumstantially or due to sheer luck. It can be very convoluted but it never diminishes the entertainment value of the story.

I would usually complain about the number of offscreen deaths, but it’s definitely intentional here. They’re trying to hide an element of the kills to help with the reveal later on, so it worked for me. What didn’t work was how certain moments were brushed over. I would usually blame this on director inexperience, but Andy Tennant has been in this game a long time, so it could just be a stylistic choice I didn’t vibe with. Even the ending just sort of happens, wrapping up way too quickly, and avoiding a satisfying conclusion, despite having all the pieces in place for it. I was just hoping for some moments to breathe a bit.

Unit 234 does a good job of playing with expectations and doing something a bit different. But it can also be a bit formulaic and generic at times. On a technical level, I was constantly impressed. This was clearly a very talented crew, and they were able to stretch the dollar pretty far. It can be hard to keep a film set in one location interesting during the entire runtime. They pull it off quite well, and the film is never boring. It’s just not as impactful as it should be, which is too bad, as the performances are fun, and it wraps up in a cool way.

UNIT 234 RELEASES TO THEATERS AND ON DEMAND ON MAY 9TH, 2025.

Unit 234

GOOD

7

The post Unit 234 Review: A Surprisingly Solid Thriller With a Shocking Twist appeared first on JoBlo.

PLOT: A group of friends trapped in a time loop, where mysterious foes are chasing and killing them in gruesome ways, must survive until dawn to escape it.

REVIEW: It’s always going to be a controversial decision when you adapt a video game and then decide to not follow its story. But if any adaptation was going to do it, the game where you make different decisions to try and survive a slasher, with varying outcomes, seems like the place to start. After all, everyone has a unique game experience so you’re going to piss off some sect of fans by following a certain throughline. Until Dawn gets rid of that issue by introducing an entirely new story, yet still carries plenty of connections with the game. The real question is… does it work?

Until Dawn follows Clover (what a name) and her friends as they’re out looking for her missing sister. It’s pretty stereotypical, but that seems to be what the movie is going for. Once at her sister’s last known location, they find themselves in a time loop, where they die to various horrific villains over and over. We also get an appearance from Peter Stormare, the only actor who actually reprises his role from the game. I was a little skeptical of his inclusion at first, but he’s worked into the narrative seamlessly, and his role gets even better in retrospect.

I know there was a certain sect of the game fandom that was upset about the diversion with the story, but I’ve always found that a bit silly. I’ve quite enjoyed my multiple playthroughs of the game, but I don’t need one with different actors. We’ve already seen that storyline done before, why would I want to see it again, only on a path that maybe I’m not a fan of? Instead, the filmmakers are able to tie it into the game in an interesting way, while still giving it enough room to breathe on its own. It just can feel a little stale at parts, as the time loop almost works against the narrative. While I would argue this probably fits in more with the Dark Pictures games, this could actually expand the Until Dawn series (which, despite its fervent fanbase, is still just the one game). Obviously, I won’t get into why, but the time loop aspect allows them to go back to this well, even in video game form if need be.

Ella Rubin does a decent job as Clover (and looks eerily like Dixie D’Amelio), but no one in the cast has much to work with. All of these characters are paper-thin, and it’s mostly the high concept that keeps the story moving forward. Ella has a sister that the group is for, and there are some basic dynamics between the friends. Outside of that, they keep the details to a minimum. But I found myself less rooting for the teens and more just wanting somebody to escape the loop. Oddly, I quite enjoyed Abe (Belmont Cameli) as his character ended up being more useful and pragmatic than we’d usually see from his type.

For a movie where a bunch of characters die over and over, I found myself a bit disappointed in the kills here. There are a couple that make an impact, but otherwise, they feel very generic. Don’t get me wrong, they’re all done well on a technical level, but given David F. Sandberg‘s experience in the genre, I was really expecting it to be a bit more over the top. Instead, far too many people are killed off-screen or where we’re just seeing the aftermath. Thankfully, there are some body explosions that were handled extremely well that almost made up for it. But when you’re dealing with this kind of concept, not giving us a massive kill montage feels like a missed opportunity.

Overall, I didn’t hate my time with Until Dawn, I just found it was an all-too-familiar journey. One moment it felt like they were picking apart tropes and the genre, and the other times it felt like it was perfectly in line and stereotypical. If you’re going to break down the genre, then you need characters and story beats that actually subvert the norm. Instead, we get bland characters that, appearance aside, are indistinguishable from one another, and a completely uninteresting story. I enjoyed the connections to the game, and the actors make the most of their vanilla characters. And hell, I’ll support any movie that give Peter Stormare a paycheck. The man is a national treasure.

UNTIL DAWN IS IN THEATERS ON APRIL 25TH, 2025.

Until Dawn (2025)

AVERAGE

6

The post Until Dawn Review: Does This Video Game Adaptation Work? appeared first on JoBlo.

PLOT: Elvira (Lea Myren) has one all-consuming obsession: to win the affection of her kingdom’s handsome prince and live happily ever after. Yet, she lives in the shadow of her beautiful step-sister, Agnes (Thea Sofie Loch Næss), who seems fated for the happy ending she’s always dreamed of. But, in a kingdom where beauty is prized above all things, Elvira will get what she wants, no matter what…

REVIEW: The Ugly Stepsister is the gruesome, body horror Cinderella reimagining you never knew you wanted. Given the many variations on the classic tale, it’s incredible to think that we’ve never gotten a hard-R-rated flick in the vein of The Brothers Grimm’s version of the story. Let’s not forget that the take on Cinderella ends with the evil stepsisters mutilating their feet to fit into Cinderella’s slipper. Director Emilie Blichfeldt conjures up a version that puts the Grim back in Brothers Grimm, delivering us a truly memorable new movie of the classic tale that should be another major hit for distributors IFC & Shudder, who’s been on a huge roll since Late Night with the Devil.

The Ugly Stepsister made its world premiere in the midnight section of the Sundance Film Festival (which is where we caught it) and earned a raucous reaction in Park City. Blichfeldt’s film is a highly stylized, deliberately over-the-top take on the classic tale that should earn favourable comparisons to The Substance. Both films center around one woman’s obsessive quest for physical perfection, no matter the cost.

When the movie starts, Elvira’s mother, Rebekka, has just married into a wealthy family whose patriarch immediately dies. As it turns out, he was penniless, so she hatches a plan to transform her oddball daughter Elvira, who everyone mocks as ugly (even if she’s far from it), into a perfect physical specimen who can marry into wealth. She makes Thea Sofie Loch Næss’s ethereal (but cruel) Agnes into a servant, lest she overshadow her daughter.

Lea Myren delivers a fantastic performance as Elvira, who’s obsessive and unhinged right from the get-go and far from an unwilling participant in her own transformation. She willingly submits to some of the film’s most gruesome moments, such as when she has a primitive nose job done or has eyelashes sown to her eyelids by a plastic surgeon raving about a new substance he’s discovered called “cocaine”. She goes even further than her mother thinks, with cringe-worthy moments involving an ever-growing tapeworm that leads up to the grand guignol finale. 

Myren should garner a lot of attention for her fearless performance. Thanks to her nuanced take, Elvira still maintains our sympathy, even as her lunacy grows as the movie progresses. Blichfeldt’s found a terrific lead in her and someone whose performance perfectly fits into the heightened vibe being created.

Technically, this Norwegian-language film is impeccable, with gorgeous photography by Marcel Zyskind, who also shot Michael Winterbottom’s The Killer Inside Me and Viggo Mortensen’s The Dead Don’t Hurt. I especially liked the synth-based soundtrack by composer Kaada and Norwegian artist Vilde Tuv, which Blichfeldt, in the press notes, says was inspired by seventies genre soundtracks by Goblin, Roy Budd, and Francis Lai, albeit with a contemporary twist.

While one might rightly ask whether the world needs another version of Cinderella, you can rest assured this demented take, which is NOT for the squeamish, isn’t like any fairy tale movie you’ve ever seen before. The only one that compares is the now-obscure Snow White: A Tale of Terror or Neil Jordan’s classic The Company of Wolves. Hopefully, IFC gives this a solid theatrical push, as it’s beautifully made and could easily become a midnight movie cult classic. I had a blast with it. 

Sundance 2025

GREAT

8

The post The Ugly Stepsister Review: The Body Horror Cinderella You Never Knew You Wanted! appeared first on JoBlo.

PLOT: A widowed mother (Meghann Fahy) goes on a date with a handsome stranger (Brandon Sklenar) she’s been chatting with on dating apps. While at dinner, she receives an escalating series of anonymous messages, with them soon revealing that they are holding her sister and son hostage and will kill them unless she poisons her date.

REVIEW: Christopher Landon’s Drop is a slam-bang thriller that absolutely brought the house down at SXSW (which is where I first saw it). A contained thriller in the vein of Wes Craven’s underrated Red Eye, Landon’s film hits all the right notes, giving him a solid, Hitchcock-flavored romp in the vein of his own Disturbia, that should be a big hit from Blumhouse when it comes out next month. 

Contained thrillers, where most of the action is limited to one locale, have become increasingly in vogue, but Landon’s movie feels less claustrophobic as he has a really neat location to work in. The movie is set at a sprawling high-class restaurant on the top of a skyscraper in downtown Chicago. This gives the director plenty of real estate to use, with excellent production design and a fun supporting cast of characters wandering in and out of the plot.

Tonally, the film hit just right with Landon doing a good job mixing suspense, a tiny bit of camp, and sudden, jarring jolts of hard-edged violence, with the movie rougher than expected for a PG-13 thriller. Notably, though, the movie also works nicely – and perhaps unexpectedly as a romance.

Drop is led by two breakout streaming stars, with Meghann Fahy having stolen The White Lotus Season 2, while Brandon Sklenar became an instant star thanks to his role in 1923. Fahy is relatable as Violet, a widow who’s dipping her toe back into the dating world. She has to overcome past trauma, with her dead former husband being horrifically abusive, while she also has a very young son she’s devoted to. Fahy is the kind of heroine who’s easy to invest in, and she looks stunning in the jaw-dropping dress she spends most of the film’s running time in. Sklenar plays Henry, a photographer who, in addition to his heartthrob looks, happens to be a sweet, easygoing guy; with him so thoughtful a date, he’s even brought her a gift to give to her young son. 

Fahy and Skelenar have such good chemistry that you really find yourself investing in the date aspect. While all of the audience’s focus would naturally go towards the thriller side of the plot, where Fahy has to somehow figure out a way to save her family, I was surprisingly caught up in the date itself. I wanted the two of them to somehow end up together. 

Drop really does hit all the right notes, especially in the final act, when it takes a bit of a detour into action territory, with a couple of nifty showdowns, and some hair-raising set pieces that put the main couple in danger. Landon really is an ace at movies like this, with the film also benefitting from a score by the terrific Bear McCreary. The film is so well done that it’s not hard to imagine it becoming a significant date night hit, although I do hope Blumhouse is able to resist doing a sequel, as a movie like this is better as a one-off. It’s certainly one of their best movies in a long time and the kind of tightly-paced, ninety-minute thriller we need more of. I had a blast. 

Drop (2025)

GREAT

8

The post Drop Review: A slam-bang, contained thriller that hits all the right notes appeared first on JoBlo.

PLOT: Be our guest on a New York City ferry ride that turns into a hilarious nightmare when a mischievous mouse – Steamboat Willie becomes a monstrous reality. Can the unsuspecting passengers survive the creature’s miniature murder and mayhem?

REVIEW: When Steamboat Willie’s copyright ran up, it was only a matter of time before we received a horror version. It’s happened with nearly every major IP at this point. And while Screamboat isn’t part of the Poohniverse, it shares qualities with their better efforts. Because at no point does this take itself seriously and there’s only one clear goal: bloody fun.

The story of Screamboat is pretty simple: a trip on the NYC Ferry turns into a bloody rampage as a mysterious creature is released and unleashes horror on them! The ferry is pretty much the only setting for the film so it can be a little: rinse and repeat. The setup takes a little long, with so many characters being introduced that it makes you wonder why they aren’t split up with a kill to keep the momentum going. It’s obvious this is just fodder for kills, so it can be a little monotonous. Screamboat comes to life a little bit once it’s revealed the true crux of the film: Screamboat Willie’s love for our lead, Selena. It’s here that you’re either going “that sounds gloriously stupid, I must know more” or this is where you step off this boat ride. As with any of these “so bad they’re good” horror  films, they’re not going to be appreciated by everybody. But those that like these style of films are eating well with a very fun horror villain at the forefront.

Screamboat Willie himself is a mixture of David Howard Thornton in the suit and a small puppet. I was actually surprised how much screentime the puppet gets, as the Willie character is on the smaller side. But Willie really comes alive when Thornton is under the makeup. He has an almost Freddy Krueger-type quality. And, despite being essentially mute, Thornton has made his mannerisms and movement considerably different than his other famous villain, Art the Clown. It can be a little frustrating how much he’s just green-screened into scenes versus actually being there, but I assume this was due to scale. The composite isn’t awful, but it’s certainly noticeable.

The film is at its best when its actually parodying Steamboat Willie. Thornton whistling the classic tune while dancing on someone’s corpse is exactly what these films need to be doing: giving a horror twist to regular properties. There are some fun tropes on display, like the big triumphant rallying speech ending in a sudden and violent explosion of death. This may be from the producers of Terrifier 2 and 3, but that doesn’t mean it’s got that level of gore. Don’t get me wrong, it still gets plenty wet and is creative while doing it but it avoids realistic for funny.

I really got a kick out of the miniature they used for flooding the ship. It’s a simple effect that could have been cheaply achieved with CGI so I appreciate that they went all the way and gave us a physical miniature. Digital fire still sucks, but at least they don’t look like stock flames. Outside of Thornton, the cast is filled with unknowns who do a serviceable job. Tyler Posey‘s role is brief and, with his brother as one of the leads, it’s not a shocker the production was able to get him. Day of the Dead‘s Jarlath Conroy shows up in a fun role, reminiscent of Crazy Ralph from the first two Friday the 13th movies.

Going into these public domain horror movies with the right expectations is the only way to have a good time. If you’re going in expecting high art, then I don’t know what to tell you. Maybe don’t watch the horror adaptation of a Mickey Mouse short. This is far from Oscar caliber cinema but that doesn’t meant it can’t have entertainment value. These kinds of films are on an entirely different scale. But if you just want to have some dumb fun watching an old Disney creation murdering people in a variety of ways, then this is exactly the movie for you.

SCREAMBOAT IS PLAYING IN THEATERS ON APRIL 2ND, 2025.

Screamboat

GOOD

7

The post Screamboat Review: more comedy than horror, but still schlocky fun appeared first on JoBlo.

PLOT: A mysterious woman repeatedly appears in a family’s front yard, often delivering chilling warnings and unsettling messages, leaving them to question her identity, motives, and the potential danger she might pose.

REVIEW: I’m not sure there’s any company that’s been struggling in the horror space more than Blumhouse. Their logo is starting to be a tarnished mark on a film, but I’m always rooting for a comeback story. And the marketing for The Woman in the Yard featured some slick visuals and enough mystery that it could go either way. Unfortunately, it never moves past its concept to deliver something that truly makes an impact, with messaging that is questionable at best.

The Woman In The Yard follows a family in the countryside on a day when their power goes out. They struggle with the recent death of their father, and the mother, Ramona (Danielle Deadwyler) has been neglecting her duties for a variety of reasons. This all comes to a head with the strange appearance of a woman sitting in their yard. She’s dressed all in black, draped in fabric, and sitting in a chair; not exactly normal for a yard in the countryside. She proceeds to torment the family, but it certainly takes its time getting there. I’m a fan of a slow burn, but the payoff needs to be worth it, and this is more about performances than anything else.

Danielle Deadwyler is really great as Ramona, but the writing has her in circles. It feels like everything is so mapped out that it’s just about letting the characters catch up. With the death of his father, Ramona’s son, Taylor, is trying to take on the role of the “man of the house.” But he’s only a young teen, and he’s clearly very misguided in what that means. Uneven acting and some really questionable character choices make Taylor a frustrating character to deal with.

I’m not sure what it is about Blumhouse movies in particular that love their loud noises so much, but dear lord, does someone need to tell them there are other ways to scare people. The usage of sound here was strange, with a full stretch of dog barks that made me wish my ears had an OFF setting. And it’s all for a payoff that doesn’t even ultimately matter. As much as the film is a slow burn, there’s hardly any tension that exists. It’s simply a couple of well-done shadow scares and a harrowing psychological breakdown that is completely betrayed by the ending. Deadwyler really deserved better than this.

Director Jaume Collet-Serra has always had an interesting visual style, and he goes the Sam Raimi route here. At times. We get some fun Dutch angles and slick camera work. But those moments are few and far between. There are some good visuals with the woman in the yard looking quite striking. And I really enjoyed the shadow element that came into play. They just don’t use it to any significant degree. There are some implications of the Woman having some Nosferatu-like shadow powers, but it’s hardly ever utilized outside of the visuals. And then it seems to want to have its cake and eat it too, by having both a psychological element, as well as an actual entity that’s doing the dirty work. Makes it all convoluted and messy.

I’m sure there are multiple ways to take the ending of The Woman In The Yard, but none of them are satisfying. If anything, the only word that comes to mind is offensive. It abandons Ramona’s journey of redemption and instead opts for a stupid ending tag. I was rather middle of the road, mostly focusing on Deadwyler’s great performance. Then that ending hit, and I couldn’t help but feel like I’d just completely wasted 90 minutes. This is becoming increasingly common with Blumhouse, but it definitely had me tricked at times. What seemed like an interesting psychological thriller devolves into jump scares and dog barks.

The Woman in the Yard

BELOW AVERAGE

5

The post The Woman in the Yard review: another Blumhouse dud appeared first on JoBlo.

PLOT: A lawyer (Paul Rudd) and his daughter (Jenna Ortega) accidentally hit and kill a unicorn on the way to spend the weekend with his clients, a wealthy big-pharma family with a dying patriarch (Richard E. Grant). Once the family realizes the unicorn possesses healing powers, they try to use its body to their own illicit ends, only to discover these mythical creatures are far more dangerous than mythic lore suggests.

REVIEW: Death of a Unicorn has a lot more unicorn-based carnage than I expected. Going into the film, I told myself that if I saw at least one person impaled by a unicorn horn, I’d be happy, but I didn’t realize the movie was a lot more ambitious in that regard. People do get impaled, but they also get ripped to pieces, split in half, crushed under hoofs and much gorier. 

While I definitely enjoyed watching the unicorns have their day of vengeance (how could I not?), Death of a Unicorn still ultimately fell flat for me. It aspires to be satire, with the wealthy Leopold family clearly modelled on the Sacklers, but the movie falls flat in that regard, shockingly laugh-free and toothless. 

Paul Rudd plays to type as the everyman hero, being a lawyer who’s willing to sell out his scruples to provide for his daughter, with him being a single father who raised her alone after the death of his wife. In classic morality tale fashion, this ambition has spoiled his relationship with Jenna Ortega’s Ridley, who’s now an art history major at college and finds her father a bore. Rudd always manages to hold on to an audience’s sympathy, and of everyone, it’s him and Ortega that come off the best, as they’re the only ones not playing caricatures.

Indeed, the depiction of the Leopold clan fell flat, and they’re all so one-note, lacking any kind of pathos. There’s Richard E. Grant as Odell, the dying patriarch, and Tea Leoni as his younger trophy wife, Belinda. Much of the conflict revolves around Will Poulter as Shepard, the coked-up family scion, who’s as close as the movie comes to a villain, with us meant to at least partially root for the unicorns as they start picking off members of the Shepard household. Of everyone, the only cast member who really registers meaningfully is Barry’s Anthony Carrigan as Griff, the family butler. 

One has to give writer-director Alex Scharfman credit for ambition, with this clearly meant to be something akin to Succession meets Jurassic Park (Jurassic Unicorn?), but it’s not clever enough to work. That said, Scharfman does have a handle on the carnage aspect, and he might be one of those indie guys who manages to come into his own as a franchise director, as the sensibility is there. The CGI for the unicorns is never entirely convincing, but I believe they are meant to be at least somewhat cartoony, while Dan Romer and Giosuè Greco score playfully mixes fantasy-style themes, with more John Carpenter-esque synth work (the director was at one point attached to score the film).

While not painful to watch, Death of a Unicorn is the second large-canvas A24 genre movie in a row to fall flat (following Opus). One has to give them credit for allowing untested directors to take big swings, and as a concept, I’m sure Death of a Unicorn had promise. While the movie has its moments, it doesn’t come together as a whole and feels ultimately forgettable. 

sxsw 2025

BELOW AVERAGE

5

The post Death of a Unicorn Review: Falls flat as a satire but has some fun unicorn carnage appeared first on JoBlo.

PLOT: A group of college students embark on an investigation into the legendary Sailor Man. Unfortunately for them, they find him.

REVIEW: He’s Popeye the Sailor Man! For decades, the animated character has delighted young fans. From the cartoons to the live-action Popeye featuring Robin Williams and Shelley Duvall, he is an iconic and beloved character. And just like Winnie the Pooh, the copyrights have lapsed, sending the spinach-guzzling hero into the Public Domain. And my, oh my, Popeye is kinda pissed. With his puffy, bloated face and ridiculously cartoonish arms, Jason Robert Stephens is undoubtedly having a good time killing off numerous victims in wacky ways.

Popeye the Slayer Man is what you’d expect from a B-movie horror flick. It tells of the local legend rumored to be stalking the abandoned Anchor Bay Cannery – look for more than a few fun Easter Eggs. After plans surface that the city is tearing it down, a group of “college-age” kids decide to go inside to investigate the creepy stories of The Sailor Man. Sean Michael Conway is Dexter, and the gang he brings with him includes his BFF Lisa (Marie-Louise Boisnier) and a mysterious girl named Olivia (Elena Juliano). This crew of amateur filmmakers makes the work of Heather, Josh, and Michael from The Blair Witch Project appear near Kurosawa-level in their talent.

Once the group arrives and discovers that Olivia has the talent to pick the lock to get in, they find what you’d expect: a spooky warehouse. As they wander around with ‘Director Dexter,’ he sets up a few cameras, and they begin investigating. Meanwhile, Joey (Steven McCormack), Olivia’s jealous boyfriend, brings his buddies along to see what his girl is really up to. All the fodder lines up for a nice bit of slaughter, and the sailor man begins his reign of terror. And when it comes to the practical effects, they are certainly loaded up on some goofy gore.

If you are looking strictly for the red stuff, it may not be at Terrifier 3 levels, but it’s got the bloody goods. You’ve got a scalping, a man beaten by his own severed arm, twisted heads, and much more. Yet it’s not gonna keep you up at night with fright. Nah, this Popeye is happy with over-the-top gore and a couple of groovy cameos. As gruesome as it can get, the kills do tend to feel the same after a while. Popeye loves smashing heads. Regarding weird cameos, my favorite moment is a man seeking a cheeseburger at the local pub. I won’t spoil anything more about who that happens to be, but the reveal was too much fun for this viewer.

As far as a creepy location, Popeye offers that. And yes, the Anchor Bay shout-out delighted me to my core. And I even found several of the actors to be quite charming. Sarah Nicklin gives a solid performance, and I enjoyed Steven McCormack as “bad boy” Joey. Sean Michael Conway and Elena Juliano do fine work. And strangely, I found the odd relationship between Lisa (Boisnier) and Seth (Thomas) fun all the way up until their final scene together. Funny stuff. The two worked rather well together. While nobody will be sneaking away with “a surprise Anora win” at the next Academy Awards, they do what they need to do.

It sure sounds like a blast, doesn’t it? Well, as much fun as it can be, sometimes it felt like spoiled spinach. The characters occasionally make jaw-droppingly dumb decisions. Many of the kills are repetitive. Tonally, it was a bit of a mixed bag. Regarding the balance of humor and horror, it worked much better when it focused on the silly stuff. 

As for Popeye himself, Jason Robert Stephens is rather menacing when needed. I wouldn’t want to face this fellow in a dark alley. Although, as a whole, the character’s look didn’t necessarily send shivers. The script by John Doolan, with story credit going to Cuyle Carvin and Jeff Miller, has a few funny moments, but it ultimately felt a bit predictable. However, it has affectionately goofy moments of Popeye lore. And that’s when Popeye is the most fun. The Robert Michael Ryan-directed flick is best when it isn’t taking itself too seriously.

Popeye

AVERAGE

6

The post Popeye The Slayer Man Review: our fave sailor is back, and he ain’t happy appeared first on JoBlo.

PLOT: An astronaut (Eiza Gonzalez) wakes up on a distant planet and discovers her entire crew has been killed. Suffering from amnesia, she soon meets a fellow astronaut (Aaron Paul) who says he was part of her team, but she’s unsure whether she can trust him.

REVIEW: Space horror is a reliable sub-genre of the sci-fi universe. Alien is the king of the castle as far as it goes, but the vastness of space is always a good place to set a horror flick, and it’s a genre that I have a particular weakness for. Event Horizon is a favourite of mine, and I even like the not-great ones, like the campy Saturn 3 or The Black Hole. Ash owes a lot to the genre classics, with director Flying Lotus clearly having a deep bench of genre knowledge. However, his influences aren’t limited to film, with many noting Ash has several striking similarities to the video game Dead Space.

It gives Eiza Gonzalez her first major leading role after many years as a supporting player in big movies like Ambulance, The League of Ungentlemanly Warfare, and Baby Driver. She delivers a solid performance as Riya, who has found herself stranded on a new planet, Ash, not knowing how or why she’s there. Even worse is the fact that she has violent visions of dispatching her crewmates, and she begins to wonder if perhaps she was the one who killed them all.

Much of it is a two-hander, with Aaron Paul showing up as the mission’s commander, who was away on another part of the planet when the killings happened and is now trying to evacuate them. Having a suspicion that a parasite might have been responsible for what happened to her crew, Riya isn’t sure they should be leaving, but with their oxygen running out, they don’t have much choice.

Both Gonzalez and Paul are solid, even if Flying Lotus’s film, which Jonni Remmler wrote, is rather thin in substance. It’s nothing you haven’t seen before. However, despite a low budget, Flying Lotus has done a nice job of giving the movie a sense of scale, and the violence, when it hits, is hardcore.

For those not in the know, Flying Lotus, who also appears in the movie, is a rapper/DJ but has been toiling away in the genre for some time now, having helmed the well-received “Ozzy’s Dungeon” segment of V/H/S/99, as well as the horror flick, Kuso. The movie looks terrific, with neon-soaked visuals, excellent sound design, and an impeccable score by the director himself. 

But, what really makes the movie worth seeing for horror fans is how violent it is, with the gore notched up to eleven during the climax. With Iko Uwais in the cast as one of Riya’s doomed shipmates, there’s even a little bit of fighting, and Lotus has a keen sense for staging action, especially when you consider how limited his resources likely were.

While Ash probably won’t make a huge dent theatrically, I could see it pleasing a whole lot of fans once it makes its Shudder debut (they’re distributing it with RLJE Films). Imagine a somewhat lesser version of Event Horizon or a MUCH better version of Supernova, and that’s about what you get with Ash. 

Ash

AVERAGE

6

The post Ash Review: A sci-fi horror flick in the vein of Event Horizon appeared first on JoBlo.

PLOT: A thief breaking into a luxury SUV realizes that he has slipped into a sophisticated game of psychological horror.

REVIEW: Locked is my favorite kind of film: one that relies solely on its lead and an interesting concept to fill out the entire runtime. It never goes off the beaten path and breaks the promise of the premise, which would have been so easy to do. Instead, it executes the basic premise in a way that excites and thrills over its 90-minute runtime. Add in some fantastic performances and you’ve got the makings for one of the most entertaining thrillers of the year.

Locked starts with Eddie (Skarsgård) as he’s looking for an easy score. He seems to find it in the form of an unlocked SVU parked in a random car park. But when he gets in, he discovers that all the doors are locked, and he’s completely trapped. Despite carrying a gun with him, bulletproof windows make escaping impossible. To make matters worse, the owner of the car, William, calls and torments him, upset that his car has been targeted yet again. He claims the police won’t handle it so he’s taken matters into his own hands. What follows is a sick game of torture, all confined within the small space of an SUV.

Bill Skarsgård continues to be such a chameleon that the mere mention of his involvement is a signal of the role being interesting in some way. The man seeks out intriguing characters that have quite a large arc. Eddie is no different, putting short-term gains above the things that actually matter in his life. The situation can either break him or cause him to finally be the person his family needs him to be. It’s a nice sentiment and immediately has us rooting for Eddie, despite his criminal history. His stubbornness defines him and it’s beautiful all the ways that this manifests in the screenplay.

Not since Hannibal Lecter has Anthony Hopkins taken on such a psychotic role. Like Lecter, William uses his intelligence to get what he wants but there’s a more unpredictable side to him. He has a very fast cadence, going against his more measured delivery. It really works as it sounds like Hopkins is having a blast tormenting Eddie. Most of his role is just as a voice, so it’s easy to expect him to just coast along but he really puts his all into it. I loved the conflict between the two, and there are sure to be people on both sides. William clearly takes it too far, but the message of criminals not being properly punished is a salient point.

At one point, the film becomes Christine, as the car gets remotely controlled, putting Eddie in a slightly different environment. On the outside at least. William’s homicidal tendencies come through in his driving, with several people being the target of his road rage. This really helps to breathe new life into the film, and prevent it from ever feeling stale. I’ve never seen the Argentinian film 4×4, of which Locked is a remake of, but I’m extremely impressed with the narrative structure here. It’s all executed in such a logical but still entertaining way that it’s so easy to get invested. Shooting so practically also puts you in the car with Skarsgård, never properly breaking from the reality of the situation.

I had such a blast with Locked that I’m surprised I hadn’t heard of it sooner. Because this is the kind of film they should be marketing like crazy as it’s such a fun time, I can’t wait to experience it in a theater with a big crowd. Skarsgard and Hopkins have such good banter back and forth and the energy of the film always feels ramped up. There were moments of tension that nearly had me pacing, and an ending that bookends the story beautifully. This is one that you definitely don’t want to miss.

LOCKED IS AVAILABLE IN THEATERS ON MARCH 21ST, 2025.

Locked

GREAT

8

The post Locked Review: This “Locked in a Car” Thriller Rules! appeared first on JoBlo.

PLOT: After a military experiment gone wrong, much of the population of Australia has been killed by a chemical weapons discharge. Yet, among the dead, some of the victims have come back “online” where they’re not exactly living, and not exactly dead. An American woman (Daisy Ridley) searching for her husband volunteers to be part of a body retrieval unit but soon goes off the grid.

REVIEW: It’s tough to make an original zombie flick (although hopefully that will soon change). Ever since 28 Days Later reinvigorated the genre back in 2003, we’ve been inundated with movie after movie, not to mention hundreds of episodes of The Walking Dead (and its spin-offs) and others. Into the fray comes the Australian We Bury the Dead, which is an attempt to make an elevated, realistic exploration of the genre. In this one, the undead are never referred to as “zombies” and are unlike any we’ve seen on film before. These undead victims aren’t particularly vicious, nor do they have a hunger for human flesh. They also can’t infect survivors. Instead, when they’re back “online” (which is how the film describes them), they’re relatively passive and sometimes have tiny remnants of who they used to be baked into them. 

Daisy Ridley plays Ava, an American woman whose husband, Mitch (Matt Whelan) was away on a company retreat in Tasmania when an American chemical weapons test went awry and killed millions. She volunteers to be part of a body retrieval unit so that she can have some measure of closure, but soon, she convinces another volunteer, Clay (Brenton Thwaites), to take her to a quarantined area so she can try to find the body of her husband. 

Much of the movie is a road odyssey through the infected parts of Australia. There’s very little in the way of horror, with it more focused on the human aspect. Ridley’s Ava is riddled with guilt over how, in the days before her beloved husband went on his fateful trip, their relationship had begun to curdle for some reason. She’s hoping that if she finds him, and he’s back “online,” she can help him have a more dignified end than what she’s seen, with the military simply shooting anyone who happens to come back. 

Ridley does a great job of evoking the character’s profound grief over both her husband’s death and her need to find out what happened to him. Brenton Thwaites steals scenes as Clay, the party-boy Australian who spends his nights hooking up with other volunteers and doing drugs to deal with the trauma of what they see day by day. 

As a drama, We Bury the Dead works well, with the Australian countryside beautifully photographed and the movie sporting an effective soundtrack by electronic musician Clay. Yet, the film goes awry at times, with writer-director Zak Hilditch unable to avoid falling prey to some cliches of the genre. One of the worst offenders is a lengthy aside featuring an intense soldier, Mark Coles Smith’s Riley, who seems wound too tight to be sane and is soon revealed to be a total psychopath. It’s such a familiar trope of the genre that when it hits, not only is it utterly predictable, but it’s also disappointing, as it makes the movie, for a good chunk of its running time, nothing you haven’t seen before.

As such, We Bury the Dead, for all its ambitions, can’t help but occasionally feel like a retread. With so much zombie content out there, it’s very difficult to add anything new to the genre. Inevitably, this movie doesn’t manage to overcome the familiarity of the genre, but even still, it is mostly entertaining for much of its running time thanks to the ace technical packaging, and good performances from Ridley and Thwaites. It’s solid but unspectacular. 

sxsw 2025

AVERAGE

6

The post We Bury the Dead (SXSW) Review: A grim, “elevated” zombie flick appeared first on JoBlo.

PLOT: A co-dependent couple (Alison Brie and Dave Franco) relocate to the countryside but discover their devotion to each other may be even more extreme than they thought when their bodies start to merge.

REVIEW: Together rocked the house here at Sundance (and did the same weeks later at SXSW). Premiering as part of the midnight section, it’s a rock-solid body horror romp that’s further evidence of the genre’s revival and makes an arresting debut for writer-director Michael Shanks. Sporting the kind of electric energy too often missing from horror movies these days, with a propulsive pace and style that reminded me of the best of eighties horror flicks, this will likely be a hot ticket item for any big distributor hitting Park City. Hopefully, anyone who buys it will give it a theatrical run, as it plays like gangbusters with an audience.

In it, Tim (Dave Franco) and Millie (Alison Brie) are a couple at a crossroads. They’ve been together for a decade and still absolutely love each other, but as the old saying goes, familiarity breeds contempt. They haven’t been intimate in months. Tim still holds onto dreams of being a rock star, despite being thirty-five and largely unemployed. At the same time, Millie has a normal job as an elementary school teacher and pushes him to settle down into a life in the countryside away from the city. Not even being able to drive a car, Tim starts to feel like a hostage, while Millie starts to feel like she’s married to an eternal adolescent.

One day, while hiking, they fall into a cave and discover a hidden, subterranean chapel. When they make the mistake of drinking from an underground body of water, they start to find themselves inexplicably drawn to each other’s bodies, and every time they try to separate, their skin doesn’t want to let go.

While Together could have been a quiet, one-location piece, Shanks’s film has an impressive scale, with excellent production design and some truly nifty scares. Some of the best scenes depict Tim and Millie’s bodies uncontrollably contorting as they’re attracted to each other like magnets. They use extreme tactics to separate themselves, which had the audience hooting and hollering.

The casting of real-life couple Dave Franco and Alison Brie is incredibly potent, as their chemistry is so strong. In another, more conventional horror film, the couple would start to hate or turn on each other as the horror gets more extreme. Instead, you never doubt Tim and Millie’s deep love for each other. Anyone who’s ever been in a long-term relationship will relate to the couple’s squabbles, as even in the most loving relationship, the fear of losing your own identity in favour of coupledom is a real thing. Shanks’s movie makes it literal, as their bodies start to become one. Gore hounds will not be disappointed by some of the more nauseating scares, with excellent practical effects and some well-placed jump scares peppered in.

It’s a strong pivot to horror for Franco and Brie, who previously dipped their toe into the genre with The Rental, which Franco directed. They produced this one and seem to have a real love for the genre. What’s refreshing about Together, especially in comparison to more cerebral recent fare, is just how fun it is – which is the aspect that made this feel a little bit like an eighties film. It wants you to have a good time, and the audience I saw this will eat it up. Horror fans are going to have a blast. 

Sundance 2025

GREAT

8

The post Together (SXSW) Review: Dave Franco & Alison Brie’s body horror flick is a blast! appeared first on JoBlo.

PLOT: A motivational speaker is tormented by an unrelenting itch on the back of her head.

REVIEW: Body horror is all the rage right now and thankfully, with so many films being released every year, some are able to capitalize on the trend. I’ve been of several of the Hulu Horror ventures like The Mill and Mr. Crocket, so I’m excited to see another release from them. And the fact that it’s body horror is all the more intriguing. Because there are always plenty of different avenues to take a film that relies on making your skin crawl. Control Freak combines the metaphorical with a real life monster to give us a very unique experience.

Control Freak follows motivational speaker Val, as she finds herself being tormented by an itch on her head that won’t go away. With a complicated family history, she has to look into her past in order to solve the problem. Her husband, Robbie, really wants a kid, but she’s not willing to commit to that decision yet. Like many self help professionals, Val spouts all of this stuff about finding her true self. In doing so, she tries to avoid her own family history, thus avoiding her true self. It gives her an interesting obstacle to overcome but it all feels so self-inflicted. But this is really a performance movie.

There’s something about Kelly Marie Tran’s performance that feels a bit uneven at first. I really liked her more thoughtful and investigative side but her motivational speaking lacks in truth. She sounds a bit awkward and robotic in those instances. If it was a choice, it didn’t work for me and clashes with her believability. Thankfully, that’s really just the beginning and she settles nicely into the role. She’s great when it’s all about her descent into madness. I’ve been a fan of Miles Robbins since Halloween (2018) and Daniel Isn’t Real so it’s nice to see him pop up here. He’s often cast as a supportive partner, as is the case here, and he pairs well with Tran.

We rarely see ants get such a prominent placement in horror. It’s often spiders that get to have all the fun but Control Freak proves that ants are just as deserving of a spot in the creepy crawly cinema hall of fame. We get plenty of glimpses of the insects throughout, and they’re sure to get your skin crawling. But, despite what the poster may make you think, they’re really just a conduit for something else. The FX work ranges from hokey to quite impressive. I wasn’t a fan when the monster was in its more “ant-like” state as it looked a bit corny. But I liked it once it started to just be this long-limbed, dark creature. I won’t deny its weirdness, but it worked for me.

They hit multiple horror tropes like the “wake up from a dream multiple times” schtick, which feels so damn tired by this point. But it never gets too out of hand with checking boxes. If anything, I was impressed with how writer/director Shal Ngo pulled off the climax. Even if it was a bit choreographed, that didn’t diminish the overall impact of the message. Every time I thought the film may just be going too far in one direction, it reels itself in. Though, speaking of reels, there’s this crazy device that reels a person’s arms in and locks them in place as they sleep. I’m hoping that this isn’t a real device as even the idea of it gave me anxiety.

Control Freak doesn’t break any new ground narratively, but it showcases wonderful performances from its burgeoning cast and boasts some fantastic visuals. I like a dose of weird with my body horror and while it doesn’t go too crazy, it does go far enough that I’m sure it’ll lose some more pedestrian viewers. While it has some missteps, I liked the journey of Control Freak. What seems like a story about internal struggle erupts into a monster movie with some truly unsettling moments.

CONTROL FREAK RELEASES TO HULU ON MARCH 14TH, 2025.

Control Freak Review: Body Horror that goes an unexpected route

GOOD

7

The post Control Freak Review: Body Horror that goes an unexpected route appeared first on JoBlo.

PLOT: A group of journalists are invited to a remote compound where a reclusive pop star (John Malkovich) plans to unveil his first album in thirty years. However, when they arrive, they realize the artist has built himself a cult, which may or may not mean harm to the assembled journalists. 

REVIEW: You can tell that Opus’s writer-director, Mark Anthony Green, is a former entertainment journalist (he spent years working at GQ). Having participated in my share of junkets and set visits as part of my work with JoBlo, I certainly find it surreal to be taken into an entertainer’s orbit. It’s an exhilarating experience, and Green, who’s clearly experienced this many times himself, mines it beautifully in the film’s first half, where a young writer at a music magazine, Ariel (Ayo Edebiri), unexpectedly gets invited to singer Alfred Moretti’s (John Malkovich) compound as he unveils what’s supposed to be a musical masterpiece.

The first hour of the film, which is light on the horror aspects being teased by A24, works well as a kind of satire on modern entertainment journalists and their relationships with the entertainers they write about. Malkovich is at his best in an atypical piece of casting. Who would ever imagine him as the world’s greatest pop star? Yet, Malkovich, who actually cut several tracks with Nile Rogers (of CHIC) and The Dream, pulls it off, with him looking like he’s having the time of his life playing a kind of New Wave version of Vincent Price. 

Everyone seems in on the joke, with the performances fairly broad, with Murray Bartlett a veteran entertainment journalist (and Ariel’s boss) who’s an old hand at rock star debauchery. At the same time, Juliette Lewis plays a gossip columnist who has a history with Moretti. 

This first part of the film is a ton of fun, but for me, it starts to go off the rails when the horror aspect kicks in. As the trailer reveals, Moretti’s the head of a kind of New Age cult, and soon, the journalists realize they’ve been lured to the retreat for sinister reasons. However, we’ve seen many cult movies over the years, from Midsommar to The Sacrement, and both did the horror part better. When they kick in, the genre parts almost feel like an afterthought, like Green shoehorned his rather fun satire into a horror film, and the mix is uneven. It’s better when it plays as a kind of music-driven version of The White Lotus. 

Ayo Edebiri, who’s incredible on The Bear, does her best with what amounts to a fairly two-dimensional “final girl” role, with her as the only journalist at the compound who finds the fact that this nineties pop star has a cult of personality built up around him unusual. Despite being our protagonist, she’s also a frustratingly passive heroine, even once Moretti’s retreat becomes deadly. The one who’s really having fun in this one is definitely Malkovich. 

Another problem with Opus’s detour into horror, other than the lack of originality, is the fact that it’s not scary. Nothing here happens that you haven’t seen before, and once the carnage gets going, it becomes predictable, with very little in the way of inspired chaos. It also has a very anticlimactic ending that tries to explain away the motivations behind the entire plot, but this doesn’t amount to much, ending the film on a sour note.

Considering the talent involved, Opus turned out to be a bit of a disappointment. It’s still a decent first film for Green, who certainly has a promising voice as a director, but the fact is that the last forty minutes of the film don’t live up to the promise of the film’s first hour, which is a ton of fun. As such, Opus is a letdown, but it is still worth watching, especially for A24 fans, of whom there certainly are many. If you go in expecting more of a satire, you’ll probably like this more than if you were to go in expecting anything scary. 

Sundance 2025

AVERAGE

6

The post Opus Review: A24’s latest genre entry is a mixed bag appeared first on JoBlo.

PLOT: Follows a dangerously persistent stalker (Ray Nicholson) who invades the home of a ‘90s pop superstar (Samara Weaving) with grand delusions of a wedding. With her life on the line and help from her loyal bodyguard, she must escape the stalker’s sinister grip before they tie the knot

REVIEW: Samara Weaving is a staple of the horror genre at this point. It’s not a matter of if she’ll star in a new horror movie, it’s always when. Because there are few actresses that have shown the genre as much love as Weaving, and fans have returned the favor. Now, she’s taking on a less flashy role and allowing the actors around her to really shine. Borderline rides the line between more than just damaged personalities, and skirts so many genres, it almost takes on the same quality of its stalker lead. And as such, it may prove difficult to find a big audience.

Borderline is a tale of a man, Duerson, hopelessly in love with a pop star named Sofia…resulting in him stalking her and routinely making trips to her home. Thankfully Duerson is caught, but when he escapes from a mental hospital, his true plan can finally be set in motion, with the end goal being a marriage to Sofia. As you can guess, things do not go well for anyone in Sofia’s orbit, as Duerson proves to be quite persistent. And there’s an oddly likeable aspect of him that makes the events all the more confounding as a viewer. I was obviously on Sofia’s side, but I still found myself rooting for Duerson due to his charisma.

Samara Weaving’s Sofia is a self-obsessed musician who comes across a bit dull due to the personalities surrounding her. She’s more of the straight man here, allowing the others to go crazy around her and accentuate their wonderful performances. It means her role is a bit less showy, but she still rocks it. I was also very impressed with Eric Dane, who plays Sofia’s bodyguard. The narrative falters a bit when his family gets involved, but Dane does a great job through it all. The introduction between he and Duerson is the best scene in the film, and sets up the narrative brilliantly.

Ray Nicholson is absolutely phenomenal in Borderline to the point where I feel like this may be his coming out party. He plays Duerson as someone who is so lost and delusional, yet still manages to be likeable. Ironically, I’d even say there are shades of his father’s performance as The Joker present. There’s a phenomenal showcase moment for him that reminded me of a shot from Strange Darling where we see Willa Fitzgerald go through a range of emotion. Just like that scene, this feels like the first time we’re truly seeing the real Duerson, and it’s a showcase for Nicholson’s acting ability.

Alba Baptista comes into the movie like a freight train, with her character Penny maybe even more unpredictable than Duerson. While he clearly plans things out, Penny acts on impulse and can change her mind in an instant. She feels like even more of a threat than the massive cousin (Patrick Cox) due to her being an absolute psychopath. There’s a moment with a bit of fire that cements her as one of the craziest women in all of cinema. There should be a mental ward named after her. 

Writer/Director Jimmy Warden (who is also Weaving’s husband) makes his directorial debut here and does a decent job. I’m not entirely convinced that the film needed to be set in the 90s, as it could practically be modern day with how it’s presented. Cell phones always complicate horror films, so I understand that aspect, just seems like the 90sness could have been more at the forefront. There are some dumb moments like the power going out and being explained away with a simple “They were supposed to fix this weeks ago!” Or the random duet between Weaving and Baptista that goes on way too long. It’s stuff like this which really holds it back from being truly great and makes for an uneven experience.

Borderline doesn’t quite reach its potential, but it still has a lot going for it. Wonderfully psychotic performances from Nicholson and Baptista really give this the film its identity. The opening is absolutely spectacular and sets up the movie perfectly. It just loses that momentum and struggles to get it back outside of short bursts until the ending, which does manage to work as a great bookends to the chaos.

BORDERLINE IS PLAYING IN THEATERS ON MARCH 14TH, 2025.

Borderline

GOOD

7

The post Borderline Review: Ray Nicholson and Alba Baptista steal the film! appeared first on JoBlo.

PLOT: A couple rents a countryside house for a weekend with their parents and then discover it’s inhabited by a 400-year-old poltergeist.

REVIEW: Horror/comedies can have a difficult time in balancing between their two targeted genres. Do too much of one, and you lose the identity of the other, so it’s always been a delicate balance that needs to be struck. I’m not sure it’s appreciated just how much skill it takes to pull it off and pull it off well. Because in order to accomplish that, you have to know both genres intimately and understand the common tropes and pitfalls. The Parenting seems to understand the comedy due to its hilarious cast, but when it comes to the horror, this may as well be a Disney movie.

The Parenting follows Rohan and Josh as they go on a weekend getaway, where their families are set to meet for the first time. They were able to get an insane deal on a mansion because, unbeknownst to them, a horrible set of murders happened years prior. Now, whatever it is, is coming after the family. I think one of the biggest drawbacks is that the Rohan and Josh relationship feels sloppy. Rather than proving that these two are meant to be together, the film gives us every reason why they don’t really fit. But in the name of the “we come from different backgrounds and now we’ve found love” trope, they forgot to give them some kind of legitimate connection. It doesn’t help that the film is so boring when following these two, and only really comes to life when introduced to the supporting characters.

I’m pretty sure if I just say: Parker Posey is in this in a very strange and unusual role, then most of you can have a pretty clear idea of it. She’s worked well within this niche and provides some laughs. She’s so over the top that it can clash a bit with the others but that’s her style. Lisa Kudrow and Edie Falco are fun as the mothers who could not be more opposite. This allows the laughs to come from different angles, which makes it a bit less tired. We’ve seen them play similar characters in the past, but that’s why they work so well here. In fact, most of the actors feel like their casting was based on past work and the audience’s familiarity with them versus actually writing intriguing characters.

I half-expected Brian Cox to be an offshoot of his Logan Roy character from Succession, but he’s a bit more loose here. He’s intimidating but in a different way. Once he’s possessed, he seems to be having a blast as the older patriarch. It’s nice to see him in a less serious role. He really relishes in the evil, even if it’s presented in such a corny way. I won’t deny that Dean Norris feels a bit wasted, as he doesn’t have a ton to do outside of commenting on the stuff going on around them. He and Kudrow feel like they met for the first time on set versus a long-term couple. At least Falco and Cox have that Old Money swagger to them.

The horror in The Parenting is where the film really drops the ball. I don’t think you need to be pristine when it comes to this style of comedies, but the fatal flaw is coming across as dreadfully corny. It’s hard to ever take any of the possession seriously. Especially when there aren’t really any consequences to what’s happening. They even kill off multiple animals and it hardly even makes an impact. I get it, they’re going for laughs. But when everything is treated so lackadaisically, it’s hard to invest as a viewer. The makeup felt very cheap and so did the FX work.

Ultimately, The Parenting doesn’t seem to know what it wants to be. The comedy is entirely reliant on the performers being naturally funny versus anything situational. That’s not inherently a bad thing, but when the supporting cast brings the only bit of life, it makes the times we follow the leads a bit plodding. Their romance doesn’t really work and they feel completely disconnected from the people playing their parents. The focus is on the wrong characters and, as such, makes for a boring film overall. Casting funny people isn’t enough these days, you need to actually give them something to work with.

THE PARENTING IS STREAMING ON MAX ON MARCH 13TH, 2025.

The Parenting

BELOW AVERAGE

5

The post The Parenting Review: This Possession Comedy Is Dead On Arrival appeared first on JoBlo.

PLOT: Two parents (Rosamund Pike and Matthew Rhys) receive a panicked phone call from their college-age daughter, who’s just hit and killed someone while intoxicated on a remote road. The two rush to her while grappling with the decision about how to handle a situation that will likely land her in prison and ruin her life.

REVIEW: How far would you go to protect your children? That’s the question Babak Anvari’s (Under the Shadow) Hallow Road asks. While it’s a familiar one, what makes Hallow Road unique is that the parents in this movie aren’t necessarily racing to save their children from an external force but rather from a deadly calamity of their own making. 

Running a taut eighty minutes, Hallow Road takes place mostly in a car, as Rosamund Pike and Matthew Rhys race the clock to drive out to the remote road of the title to save their daughter, Alice (Megan McDonnell), who’s just made the biggest mistake of her life, fresh off of having a massive blow-out with her folks. What’s unique about the movie is how flawed everyone is, with Alice no pure-hearted victim, as she’s willing to do what she has to avoid paying the consequences of her own actions.

Of course, something happens about halfway through the film, which brings it more in line with Anvari’s other, more genre-based films, when it becomes something of a morality tale/ fable about the protective gene baked into parents, which provokes them to do amoral things to save their children. It asks you to consider the fact that, by constantly protecting children from the consequences of their own actions, you wind up with kids who, even as adults, still rely on their parents for everything and have little to no scruples of their own. 

It’s a terrifically paced two-hander, with Pike and Rhys superb in their roles. Of the two, Pike is playing the slightly more conscientious parent, being a burnt-out paramedic who has some empathy for Alice’s victim. By contrast, Rhys’s character is solely focused on getting their daughter out of danger; consequences to himself (or anyone else) be damned.

Yet, the movie also doesn’t judge either of the parents, allowing you to make up your own mind about their actions. Pike and Rhys are two of the best in the biz, and throughout the scant running time, they give a masterclass in acting, with this one of the best-contained thrillers in recent memory.

However, the more genre-based twist seems prone to divide audiences a bit. While I was watching it, I wasn’t sure it entirely worked, but a mid-credits Easter egg changed my opinion as I walked out of the screening. Since it ended, it’s a movie that I’ve been chewing on, having made a bigger impression on me than I initially thought.

Anvari does an excellent job keeping the film visually interesting despite the contained nature of the film. One really cool addition to the film is the score by Lorne Balfe and Peter Adams, which uniquely uses a symphonic rendition of the Depeche Mode classic “Behind the Wheel” as the movie’s main theme. As a major DM fan, I found this aspect delicious.

It’ll be interesting to see how genre fans react to Hallow Road when it comes out. While it’s not directly labeled as a supernatural thriller, there are elements of that at play here, and they work quite well. The movie almost felt like a feature-length version of a Twilight Zone or Outer Limits episode, albeit done with a lot of style. It’s the kind of morality tale a guy like Rod Serling would have appreciated. 

sxsw 2025

GREAT

8

The post Hallow Road (SXSW) Review: Rosamund Pike and Matthew Rhys are superb in this contained thriller appeared first on JoBlo.

PLOT: Confined to a secluded rest home and trapped within his stroke-ridden body, a former Judge must stop an elderly psychopath who employs a child’s puppet to abuse the home’s residents with deadly consequences.

REVIEW: John Lithgow may just be the most versatile actor working today. He manages to be loveable goofballs and awful killers with an ease that inspires disbelief. He fully commits and has you believing whatever he wants. So it’s exciting to see him returning to the horror genre in The Rule of Jenny Pen, a film where he takes up the mantle of main villain. Because if there’s one thing that’s terrifying, it’s elderly abuse. But rather than focusing on that, and really getting under the viewers skin, this film is more interested in giving us creepy shots of a doll that go nowhere.

The Rule of Jenny Pen follows Judge Stefan Mortensen after he suffers a stroke in court. He’s shipped off to a rest home to recover. But while laid up, he notices that one of the other residents has been tormenting the others. He does so while carrying around a creepy hand puppet which he refers to as Jenny Pen. The immediate question becomes: is this supernatural? Is Crealy even in control of his own mind? Unfortunately, the doll is nothing more than a tool for creepiness and metaphor. This is simply a tale of elder abuse and the terrible things that human beings are capable of, which makes the doll element feel like a red herring.

There’s a great parallel between the pompous judge that Stefan was in life, with the feeble man who can’t even rely on his own mind in the nursing facility. Stefan has clearly been able to talk his way out of and around any event that he sees fit. But now, no one believes him, and he can hardly even trust his own faculties. The film certainly plays off of our fears about being placed into a retirement home and having all sense of free will taken away. Is that truly living? However, this is only focused on in a superficial way, with more time spent making the doll seem important. Thankfully, Geoffrey Rush is phenomenal in the role and give nuance to otherwise simple moments.

John Lithgow‘s performance as Dave Crealy is wonderfully maniacal. He’s managed to play some all time great villains and this may just be the most evil of them all. There are no redeemable qualities in Crealy and he truly evokes an intense desire to see him get his comeuppance. I can’t remember the last time I felt hatred for a character, and he continued to do despicable acts after despicable acts. From his crooked, yellow teeth to his hunched over posture, Lithgow really loses himself in the role. It made me wonder why they felt that he needed a creepy doll on his hand to further hammer home the point of his lunacy. It could have worked if they then didn’t go for absurdist imagery with it, undercutting the personality aspect.

While I really enjoyed the tormenting angle, as it really plays off of universal fears, the more abstract horror doesn’t really work here. There’s some montage that felt like it was added late in the process, just meant to give us some creepy imagery. After all this buildup with Crealy and the awful things he’s done to the old folks in this place, the story goes out with a bit of a whimper. The audience is robbed of a truly satisfying payoff and instead it simply feels like a joke without its punchline. I think this can sometimes happen with horror when its looked down upon.

While The Rule of Jenny Pen boasts some great performances from both Lithgow and Rush, it tries to do too much. Rather than focusing on the horrors of elderly abuse and this madman, there’s too much mystery around this stupid doll. The horror feels a bit plain and uninspired, relying more on silly tropes like a creepy doll and authority not listening to reason. I really enjoyed several elements of Jenny Pen and think there’s an awesome movie within the story, it’s just presented in a way that make it feel skippable.

THE RULE OF JENNY PEN IS IN THEATERS ON MARCH 7TH AND STREAMING ON SHUDDER ON MARCH 20TH, 2025.

The Rule of Jenny Pen

BELOW AVERAGE

5

The post The Rule of Jenny Pen Review: Lithgow Gives A Chilling Performance appeared first on JoBlo.

PLOT: As a serial killer targets women on dating apps, a true-crime junkie must figure out which of her three dates is a f-boy, marriage material, or is trying to kill her.

REVIEW: The world of dating apps can be a bit scary, especially for women. You just never know when the person you’re meeting up with is actually a serial killer. It’s an intriguing launching off point for a film, so I’m not surprised to see several horror movies taking advantage of it. I’m not sure I’d quite classify F Marry Kill as a horror movie, but it certainly has elements.

F Marry Kill is really more of a rom com than anything. We follow Eva, post-breakup, as she navigates the world of online dating. She happens to be joining at a bad time, as there’s a “Swipe Right” killer on the loose, taking out women who use the app. But the killer is more of an afterthought as he’s never really shot in a threatening way. Even when we see the deaths, there’s no tension and they just kind of happen. Eva finds herself dating three different guys and you can probably guess where the title comes into play.

The narrative is mostly presented in a whimsical way, with flashy editing as each of Eva’s suitors is investigated. The “F Marry Kill” label is interchanged between Eva’s various dates, with different events happening to put suspicion on one or another. There’s an irritating quality to the dialogue, with most coming out like it’s a standup comic trying to get a laugh. It hardly ever feels natural and comes across as extremely awkward. Even when there’d be some plot development I’d like, there’d be dialogue attached that would just make me cringe. It constantly felt like being talked down to.

I struggled to like Eva as she’s so dismissive of the fact that she’s dating so many different people. She’s dishonest in how she’s going about it and comes across as very vapid. She identifies early that one of the guys is just good for sex, and uses him for such, while still dating others. I get that it was going for a women empowerment angle, and the title needed to come into play, but it just makes her come across as a bit heartless. It’s not Lucy Hale‘s fault, as she does her best to make Eva likeable. The script is just constantly doing her zero favors and doesn’t try to set events in motion in a way that allows for likeable characters.

F Marry Kill is obsessed with being funny. Only one problem: it really isn’t. I think one of the biggest issues I had with the humor is that, this is trying to be relatable yet most of the laughs are at the character’s expense. Take for example a scene where Eva helps Kelly out with some anniversary photos and they result in nothing but terribly awkward looks and faces that all feel overly staged. Or when a side character yells out the film’s title, proving they’re the most obnoxious group in the bar. It’s just really hard to like these people.

I did get a kick out of Eva’s sister Valerie (Brooke Nevin) as her obsession with true crime podcasts felt very apropos for the story. She got some of the only genuine chuckles out of me. Virginia Gardner also has some great scenes, as her Kelly is loyal but out there. It’s funny to see how offended she is at the promiscuity of her friends. As much as F Marry Kill is being marketed as “genre-bending,” the horror is so light, that it’s hard to even consider it adjacent. This is a comedy, yet it’s mostly just characters saying their dialogue loudly to get a reaction. There are some fun performances, but the dialogue constantly undercuts any tension or what it’s actually going for: laughs. I didn’t hate the concept, but there needed to be plenty of care to make Eva likable and that just doesn’t happen. Not even the monologue heavy, Scream-style ending could get me to like this one.

F MARRY KILL RELEASES ON MARCH 6TH, 2025.

F Marry Kill

BELOW AVERAGE

5

The post F Marry Kill Review: This serial killer comedy is no game appeared first on JoBlo.

PLOT: It follows a mother and two sons vacationing in Japan. Their younger son almost drowns in a lake, and soon after the accident, the parents realize that something is wrong with their boy.

REVIEW: Screenlife: a form of visual storytelling told entirely through a computer, phone or tablet screen. Hollywood has already found plenty of success with this found footage offshoot with films like Missing and Searching. Now they’re taking that same concept and giving it more of a supernatural twist. Not that we haven’t also already seen that as well. But hey, lack of originality isn’t always a death knell as it’s really about the execution. So does Bloat manage to excel where others failed? Eh…

Bloat is seen through the eyes of Benjamin McKenzie’s Jack, a soldier who’s away on leave. Thankfully, he’s behind a desk, so he gets plenty of screentime to stalk his family. I mostly say that in jest but it is kind of strange how well he takes to the stalker lifestyle. His family has an incident while vacationing in Japan where one of the sons almost drowns. He starts showing signs of being possessed, and starts acting out. Jack has to contend with all of this through his screen, making him look and feel like an absentee father.

I’ve never really found Benjamin McKenzie to be very believable but he’s convincing at times here. I was very impressed with Bojana Novakovic, who has the much more interesting role of the mother being put through the ringer with her newly possessed son. As much as they want us to care about Jack’s distance from his family, it adds a barrier that is hard to overcome. He’s such an outsider participant in their lives, that he may as well just be another audience member. And when he does finally interact with them, he screws the pooch royally. Makes him a lead that’s really hard to root for.

This is the type of film that is built almost entirely in the edit. It sounds kind of silly to say since all films technically fall into that category but with this being screen based, it may as well be an animated movie with how much they’re just having to create from scratch. The edit is what gives the film all of its energy as there are plenty of ways to just show a screen, but to show it and tell a story takes some skill. And as an editor myself, I tend to like this style of film to identify some of the tricks they’re doing. Outside of the edit, it was hard to find much else of interest.

I was surprised to see this has an actual connection to Unfriended, a film that I consider to be underrated. But unlike that film, which utilized its supernatural element in an intriguing way, Bloat stops dead in its tracks the moment the spooky stuff is introduced. Still, the fact that this is technically a spinoff blew my mind a little. I like that they pulled from folklore for their demon and the Kappa has a cool name. There are moments where I wish it was executed better so that it could have been better utilized. It’s really just a generic demon that likes bugs and gross stuff.

Ultimately Bloat is a failure. The horror comes across as humorous and most of the intrigue comes from Jack’s research. The performances feel restricted by the screen gimmick and come across awkward. The supernatural element is terribly handled and completely craters any good it had going for it. I enjoy the concept of these types of films so much yet so few manage to cross the finish line in a satisfying way. Which is really too bad, as I would have loved a series of films following a different monster.

BLOAT IS IN THEATERS, ON DIGITAL AND ON DEMAND ON MARCH 7TH, 2025.

Bloat

NOT GOOD

4

The post Bloat Review: A Surprise Unfriended Spinoff? appeared first on JoBlo.

PLOT: A sorceress travels to the Lost Lands in search of a magical power that allows a person to transform into a werewolf.

REVIEW: Collaborations between Milla Jovovich and her husband Paul WS Anderson are the norm at this point. While we watched them create Resident Evil movies together for years, they’re now turning to the world of George RR Martin for their seventh collaboration. And with all that Game of Thrones hype behind him, you’d expect Martin to provide a new and interesting fantasy world for the two to play in. It’s funny what they say about assumptions, eh?

Jovovich stars as Gray Alys, a witch who is on a mission to find a werewolf who is murdering people. As much as the trailer makes it seems like something grander, that’s really all it is. She hires Boyce (Dave Bautista) to help her navigate the Lost Lands. Her power is feared, so she’s being hunted down by a group of bad guys, headed up by Ash. They’re hot on the trail of Gray and Boyce, with the intention of killing them before they reach their destination. The world is a pretty simple post-apocalyptic backdrop with a scale that really doesn’t make a lot of sense when you break it down. Almost feels like someone saw Dune and wanted to copy it.

Dave Bautista is his usual self and brings the film the only bit of life it can muster. Even then, the script does him no favors and no one really comes out of it unscathed. Boyce makes plenty of stupid decisions and comes across as a bit of a dummy. Then there’s Milla Jovovich who seems half interested most of the movie, completely clashing with the supposed stakes at hand. Given that her character of Gray Alys is intended to be the person that carries over from film to film, I can’t imagine why she’s so bland. 

When it comes to a sci-fi/fantasy movie like this: I look for two things: the action and the worldbuilding. Seeing as how the world is just a green-screened Mad Max dystopia, no points in that category. But what about the action? I’d say this is where In The Lost Lands disappoints the most. I could not tell you a single action set piece outside of a train falling into a gorge, Back to the Future 3-style. Most of the hand-to-hand combat feels like something you’d see in 300. Which is fine for that film, but it’s been nearly 20 years and to say it’s a dated style would be a massive understatement.

It doesn’t help that In The Lost Lands is so dreadfully boring. Most of the film is just watching Boyce and Gray on their journey, but they don’t have an interesting dynamic with each other. And there are long stretches where it feels like we’re no closer to our end goal, and the script is simply throw obstacles in order to stretch the run time. This is made all the more frustrating when they then have to exposition dump at such a rapid pace it’ll make your head spin. So much information is dropped in a very small time frame, bringing up the obvious question of why couldn’t these things be revealed using nuance and inference versus simply having a character tell us everything verbatim. They’re trying to spoonfeed us like we’re babies and it does not work.

The aesthetic of In The Lost Lands feels like larger-than-life Mad Max, with its sprawling cities in total disarray and desert appearance. I was often reminded of Zack Snyder’s Rebel Moon, with its stale CGI backdrops. For those unaware, comparisons to that film are never a good thing. There are some shots that look fine and others look like a bad videogame. As much as it’s trying to create a whole new world, this feels like one we’ve seen time and time again. And it doesn’t help that the greenscreen work looks like it belongs in a movie produced by Asylum, not a major studio.

I’m not sure what about this story intrigued George RR Martin enough to focus on this versus finishing up Winds of Winter, but it’s genuinely baffling. There’s not a hint of originality within the world and it feels like pieces of so many other (and better) science fiction and fantasy worlds. There’s a twist that occurs that feels so obvious, that it’s truly an insult to anyone with any modicum of intelligence. The fact that we missed out on Winds of Winter for this makes me dislike this movie even more.

I haven’t enjoyed a Paul WS Anderson movie in some time, so my expectations were already rock bottom yet even still it managed to disappoint. Not only is it one of the worst of the year, it sits firmly near the bottom of Anderson’s filmography. If anything, I just feel bad for Dave Bautista, who puts his all into his work, even when those around him seem to be going through the motions. Because as evidenced by Event Horizon nearly 30 years ago, the Anderson can make great cinema. It’s just been a long time since he reminded anyone of that.

IN THE LOST LANDS IS PLAYING IN THEATERS ON MARCH 7TH, 2025.

In The Lost Lands

TERRIBLE

3

The post In The Lost Lands Review: A Tired Fantasy Action Flick? appeared first on JoBlo.

PLOT: A young woman lost in a series of meaningless connections falls for a charismatic and sensitive man, who hides a dark secret that turns her affair into a dangerous obsession.

REVIEW: Romance and horror go together like peanut butter and jelly. At their core, they’re just similar enough at their base levels that they can intertwine and make a beautiful chorus of emotion. Because what goes better with both genres than obsession? The Dead Thing blends both in a way that is both satisfying and frustrating depending on which part of the narrative. Thankfully all of it is anchored by a standout performance from lead, Blu Hunt.

The Dead Thing is very sexual on the surface, as even the opening title card plays over a scene of a guy going down on Alex (Hunt). But it makes sense as the entire first act is just Alex going on various one-night stands. But it opens itself up to so much more, exploring the lengths people go through to fill that void within them. Alex’s life changes when she meets Kyle, a seemingly sweet and sensitive guy with a very dark secret. She becomes absolutely obsessed and replaces her dating time with those of the stalking variety.

Blu Hunt‘s performance as Alex is subdued but don’t get it twisted: she carries The Dead Thing on her back. It’s hard to play depressed and not just come across like a mopey baby, yet you can feel Alex’s deep sadness within her. Whether it’s the endless supply of guys she’s sleeping with, or the job she meanders her way through, her life is nothing but an unsatisfying blur. She’s fearless and willing to go to some dark places. Ben Smith-Petersen‘s Kyle is a stuntman turned actor so his performance is a bit stiff but he still manages a believable relationship with Alex. And with the slow pacing, I was very happy to see John Karna (from the Scream TV series) liven things up a bit here.

Dating apps have been the subject of multiple films at this point so it’s hard to present something new yet The Dead Thing somehow manages it. Obviously judging by the title, you’re going to know there’s some dead element but I’ll avoid saying what it is. I’ll just say that I enjoy how it’s handled for the most part, though the execution is a bit all over the place. Whenever the supernatural is more hinted at, then it works well. But as soon as we see it in action, the film becomes a bit hokey.

The script from Elric Kane understands the horror genre well, which isn’t a surprise given the man’s longstanding relationship with film. He hosts Fangoria’s, as well as the New Beverly’s, official podcast (that’s Quentin Tarantino’s theater for the uninitiated) so he clearly has the intense knowledge to be in that position. But I’m not sure I entirely understood the rules of the world within The Dead Thing. Physical touch is okay one moment, and there’s a massive inconsistency the next. I always contend that you need to know the parameters of the horror, otherwise, there’s nothing to be scared about. We need to feel like there are consequences to an action and not merely plot armor. The ambiguity diminishes the tension.

The Dead Thing is a mystery that takes you on a fairly unique journey. Every time I thought I knew where the story was going, they threw me a curveball. The story progresses in such an interesting way, developing seamlessly as you think it’s going to be one thing, only to become something else entirely. Even still, I found the supernatural element to be pretty corny at times. And the message feels like it gets lost at one point, though it does manage to come back around. If you’re into depressing love stories, then this is an interesting one to cozy up next to.

THE DEAD THING STREAMS EXCLUSIVELY ON SHUDDER ON FEBRUARY 14TH, 2025.

The Dead Thing

GOOD

7

The post The Dead Thing Review: A New Twist On Dating Apps appeared first on JoBlo.

PLOT: The infamous Heart Eyes killer has been targeting couples on Valentine’s Day for many years. Soon, two co-workers (Mason Gooding and Olivia Holt) mistaken for a couple find themselves spending what’s supposed to be the most romantic night of the year running for their lives.

REVIEW: Watching Heart Eyes, I wondered why there haven’t been more romantic comedy/ horror mash-ups. After all, the horror genre is a perennial date night staple, as nothing breaks the ice on a date like being frightened and clutching your date’s arm when a jump scare happens. Director Josh Ruben, who previously helmed the well-received Scare Me and Werewolves Within, dives head-first into both genres with a gory slasher film that leans more heavily into the rom-com aspects than you might expect, given the film a unique flavour.

To be sure, Ruben and his team of writers (including Happy Death Day’s Christopher Landon) purposefully lean into all the rom-com tropes with their two leads. Olivia Holt’s Ally is a driven career woman with a broken heart and no time in her life for romance. Mason Gooding’s Jay is her new, high-flying co-worker who, despite his ladykiller vibe, wants to settle down and find “the one.” They work for a fashion brand trying to build a campaign around romance, so to do some “research,” they book a table at the most romantic restaurant in town. Alas, the Heart Eyes killer, who we learn has been terrorizing couples for years, has recently arrived in their city, mistakes them for a particularly happy couple, and becomes focused on doing away with them.

Now, Heart Eyes may not be for the more hard-core horror fan. While some nifty gore moments earn it a hard-R rating, the vibe is kept light throughout. Even when running for their lives, Gooding and Holt, a likeable pair, trade quips and never seem especially afraid, even if a maniac is chasing them. Gooding is a rising star in the genre thanks to his role in the Scream movies and he settles nicely into a leading man part. While newer to the genre, Holt makes for a solid final girl, and their chemistry is strong enough that you hope they’ll end up together in true rom-com fashion by the time the credits roll.

However, it should be said that the Heart Eyes killer’s reign is definitely secondary to the romance. I’d definitely classify Heart Eyes as a rom-com that just happens to have horror elements, and despite the high body count, the killer’s reign never seems to be taken too seriously. Given that it’s a comedy, all the side characters are played for laughs, with Devon Sawa and Jordan Brewster’s Heart Eyes-hunting cops knowingly named Hobbs & Shaw in a cheeky nod to Brewster’s most popular franchise. Sawa chews the scenery as the ultra-macho Hobbs, while Brewster’s Shaw complains about never being able to find a man (a bit of a stretch given how jaw-droopingly gorgeous she is). Neither is played straight, but they have bigger roles than you’d think, with mistaken identity and a violent trip to the police station ranking among the film’s goriest highlights.

Heart Eyes should prove to be a solid sleeper when it comes out, as it is perfect for the audience it’s targeting – couples. Hard-core horror aficionados might be more challenging to please, but if you don’t mind the heavy emphasis on comedy and romance, you’ll still find plenty to like about the slasher flick, including practical gore effects and a superb design for the killer’s mask. I had a good time with it and wouldn’t be adverse to seeing this turn into a perennial Valentine’s Day tradition, where the killer stalks a new couple in each sequel. 

Heart Eyes

GOOD

7

The post Heart Eyes Review: A Horror Rom Com perfect for date night appeared first on JoBlo.

PLOT: A billionaire’s death sets off a chain of events for Iris and her friends during a weekend trip to his lakeside estate.

REVIEW: There are two different types of people I’m speaking to with this review. The first are those that either haven’t seen anything or just viewed the teaser trailer for the film. The second are those that watched the second trailer that released on January 8th and even Jack Quaid warned against watching. Now to that first set of people, Companion is a great thriller about relationships, power dynamics, and morality. Please stop reading here as you were fortunate enough to have a very clean experience with this movie. Go watch Jack Quaid, Sophie Thatcher and Lukas Gage kick some performance ass and give us one of the greatest horror films of the year.

To the second people, you’ve already had a large portion of the film spoiled for you by the film’s marketing. Sorry but that’s the cold hard truth. And given that was a major trailer, I feel that its contents are fair game. However, I also hate spoilers myself and would hate to be the reason that someone wasn’t able to go into this experience as fresh as possible. So those who don’t know, jump to this timecode for the wrap-up and rating.

Again spoilers to follow, but I’m only getting into what was shown in the trailer. All other stuff is safe.

Companion follows Josh and his girlfriend Iris as they go on a weekend trip with a bunch of friends. There, it’s revealed that Iris is actually a sex robot, and the weekend takes a decidedly darker turn when Iris does the unthinkable. The film is able to make intriguing points about our relationship with technology and how neglectful it can make us to the human experience. And also just how much shitty people would exploit this kind of tech. Despite its high concept, the filmmakers are really able to make the world feel grounded and lot of that can be attributed to its wonderful cast.

The performances in Companion are absolutely brilliant with everyone involved getting their chance to shine. Sophie Thatcher is obviously the star of the show, getting to play with so much nuance as a robot suddenly becoming self-aware. She’s in such control of her facial ticks and movement that it’s easy to be convinced she’s a robot. And I love that she gets a moment that is clearly a nod to The Terminator. Jack Quaid continues to be a charismatic lead, all while showing the character of Josh is a bit of an asshole. There are certainly some parallels with his character here and the one he played in Scream 5, though Josh seems a bit more toned down. It’s funny how the nicest guys can play the biggest jerks with ease. Megan Suri, Harvey Guillen, and Rupert Friend help to color the world and populate it with interesting people. I was most impressed with Lukas Gage who, after his incredible turn in last year’s Smile 2, is really showing a ton of range.

Writer/Director Drew Hancock provides a look at a world that could easily become a reality. I’m sure there will be some people that view this world with rose-tinted glasses but I found the concept horrifying. True relationships result in growth and two people blend their own lives in a way that requires sacrifice from both parties. And Companion shows how much making someone into your ideal mate, while ignoring all elements of their true self, results in an experience lacking in truth. And Hancock is able to weave exposition into the dialogue in a way that doesn’t feel too obvious.

Between this film, Hellraiser (2022), and The Boogeyman, I’m discovering I’m a big fan of cinematographer Eli Born. I love a shallow depth of field, smooth camera movements, and a widescreen presentation, all of which Born does beautifully. The score/sound design has this tranquil quality, really lulling you into the heightened world. There are also more than enough moments of levity, with the horror more being in the concept and events, than the tone and vibe. This is definitely one you can watch in group settings.

Honestly, the biggest slam against Companion is its marketing. Why on earth would you give away the hook in the trailer when there was already enough mystery that, that didn’t need to happen? The January release also doesn’t show much faith in the movie by the studio, which given the quality of the film, is genuinely baffling.

Ultimately, I loved my time with Companion. And given its baffling marketing, I’m genuinely not sure how the reaction will be. I loved the journey of the first act, as you’re trying to figure out what the hell is happening and it’s a shame that some people will be robbed of that. But ultimately, a film is judged based on its quality from start to finish and not how it was promoted, and I absolutely adored it. Featuring some of my favorite actors of the genre delivering utterly fantastic performances to the twists and turns, this is one I can’t wait to revisit time and time again. Here’s just hoping this future is further away than it looks.

COMPANION RELEASES EXCLUSIVELY TO THEATERS ON JANUARY 31ST, 2025.

Companion (2025)

AMAZING

9

The post Companion Review: The Best Movie That Marketing Spoiled appeared first on JoBlo.

PLOT: Friends, colleagues, filmmakers, and fellow actors share personal stories and discuss the dichotomy between the maniacal chainsaw-wielding character he played on-screen and the very intelligent, creative, soft-spoken man he actually was in real life.

REVIEW: Documentary retrospectives are a great way to honor someone who made an impact on others through film. Whether it’s Dario Argento Panico or even David Lynch: Life of Art, any kind of insight is a gift to fans. And while most horror film fans know Gunnar Hansen as Leatherface from the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre, he was so much more than that. With insight from Bruce Campbell, Barbara Crampton, Kane Hodder, and many other horror greats, Dinner with Leatherface sets out to show how he was never defined by the character and shine a light on his creative pursuits which may be unknown to many.

What you get out of Dinner with Leatherface is really dependent on your own history with horror. Because outside of a few select big titles, Gunnar resided in a decidedly low-budget side of the horror genre. Given my own appreciation for this style of film, it was great to see Gunnar getting such a highlight. His performances really stood out from the other hammy acting going on in them and it’s a shame we didn’t get him in bigger fare. The narrative of the doc moves all over the place, never too constrained by chronology and more focused on telling an interesting story. So while discussing the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre, they’re not afraid to get into the newer Gun Media video game.

As expected, Texas Chainsaw has a major presence in the doc but I was impressed with how much it doesn’t feel overbearing. It clearly was a massive part of Gunnar’s life but this mostly serves to show how much of a family the cast and crew had become in the years since. Conventions really seemed to draw them even closer. This can be said of many on the convention circuit at the time, as Gunnar formed a friendship with many of them, and they get in a word on the man himself.

I was happy to see the severely underrated Brutal Comedy get a shoutout in the film. I’ve always felt it was one of Gunnar’s best roles so it’s nice to see it get proper praise. Like much of Gunnar’s underseen work, I can’t recommend it enough. It also serves as a nice transition into who Gunnar was as, according to those he worked with, his character in the film is more like the real Gunnar than any of the psycho’s he played.

One element I really wasn’t expecting from Dinner with Leatherface is that it feels like it was made over a decade ago. Whether it’s the interview subjects or the footage being shown, they manage to recreate the mid-2010s horror documentary feel. But this aesthetic has its drawbacks, with plenty of digitally blown-up images that could have used a bit of polishing or some awkward lower thirds pop-outs. I appreciated the simplicity. The interview footage being utilized spans a pretty wide amount of time, making me wonder when they initially filmed for this project. Gunnar appears via archive footage and he lights up the screen every time he’s around. For someone who’s considered so scary on screen, the man really was just a giant teddy bear. It was fascinating to see all the non-film work that Hansen got up to in his life. Having just known him as an actor, it was inspiring to see his efforts as a historian or poet. His writing spanned from a book on the making of Chainsaw to poetry all the way to a historical look at the Barrier Islands.

One of the saddest parts of the doc is when all of his contemporaries go over the projects in the works at the time of his death. He sadly passed away at just 68 years old and left a lot on the table. The reaction to his death shows just how great of a person Gunnar was, as everyone had such praise for the man. And it’s all such genuine adoration, with plenty of tears and personal anecdotes about how he positively affected their life. I really enjoyed Dinner with Leatherface and, like any good documentary, introduced me to a layered human being that was more than just his role on the big screen. It doesn’t feel like they’re trying to sell me on anything other than the wonderful human being that he was. Gunnar Hansen was clearly a special person and someone worth striving to be. In the words of the man himself: “Gunnar Hansen: He had his own action figure.”

DINNER WITH LEATHERFACE RELEASES ON BLURAY/DVD/DIGITAL ON FEBRUARY 25TH, 2025.

dinner with leatherface

GREAT

8

The post Dinner With Leatherface Review: A Beautiful Look at the Life of Gunnar Hansen appeared first on JoBlo.

PLOT: A married couple (Dev Patel and Rosy McEwen) living in an isolated home in the Welsh countryside encounter a mysterious child (Jade Croot), whose sudden, intense devotion to them suggests something sinister is afoot.

REVIEW: Rabbit Trap is another entry into Sundance’s much-celebrated midnight section, a programme which has given us such horror gems as The Babadook, Hereditary, Talk To Me, and last year’s I Saw the TV Glow. Rabbit Trap, which comes from Elijah Wood’s Spectrevision label, is impeccably crafted and acted, but despite its programmed section, it doesn’t seem particularly interested in being a horror film. Instead, it’s more cerebral fare deeply rooted in Welsh folklore.

In it, Rosy McEwen plays Daphne, an experimental musician who composes atonal music using sounds recorded in nature by her audiophile husband, Darcy (Dev Patel). Set in 1976, they poor over their vintage audio equipment to put together these complicated soundscapes that evidently pay well enough for them to own a beautiful, remote house in the Welsh countryside. While there, they meet a mysterious child who ultimately endears themselves (their gender is left oblique, although the child is in fact played by an adult woman, Jade Croot). Soon, the child begins to view them as potential parents – but may not be of this earth. The child tells them of the Tylwyth Teg fairy ring, teaching them rituals and feeding them teas from plants in the area, only to take on a more sinister tone.

Rabbit Trap is purposefully oblique, with the entire film left open to interpretation. What’s happening in the film may or may not be real, with Daphne’s music not sounding of this earth, while Darcy is haunted by gruesome nightmares that are never really explained. They also live in a very remote area seemingly without any access to a car, food, or anything else to sustain them. Yet, the film’s visual beauty and immersive soundscape do indeed cast a spell, with this potentially being a cult hit that would be quite provocative if watched in the right headspace…and on the right substances.

Director Bryn Chainey makes an arresting debut and has assembled an impeccable cast. Patel and McEwen are a gorgeous pair, even if their relationship, like the rest of the film, is somewhat obtuse and dreamlike. Croot is even better as the otherworldly child who emerges into their world and starts to turn it into a nightmare.

It’ll be interesting to see if a distributor picks up Rabbit Trap, as Patel’s star power and the film’s aesthetic should make it an attractive pick-up for an adventurous distributor. However, given how the film plays out, it’s hard to say who the audience is exactly. This is the kind of movie that would play best in either the arthouse or at midnight screenings for a slightly stoned audience. It’s heady stuff that’s a lot to absorb, and already it’s turned into quite a conversation piece here at Sundance, with it a movie that could easily be interpreted in several different ways. For me, the film’s first hour, which leans into the pictorial beauty of DP Andreas Johannessen’s compositions and the innovative soundscape, is quite compelling. It starts to fall apart in the last half hour when it perhaps bites off a little more than it can chew, leaving many plot threads handing, but it’s also a film that would likely benefit from repeat viewings. While sometimes frustrating, Rabbit Trap is well worth seeing for the more adventurous filmgoer who wants something truly unusual.

Dev Patel

GOOD

7

The post Rabbit Trap (Sundance) Review: Dev Patel stars in this atmospheric folk-driven horror flick appeared first on JoBlo.

PLOT: A family moves into a house with a supernatural presence.

REVIEW: I’m sure I can be forgiven for rolling my eyes when I heard the logline for Presence. I’ve seen my share of haunted house movies and was wary of anything being added to this well-worn genre. However, director Steven Soderbergh and his writer David Koepp have once again subverted expectations, making this a supernatural tale that’s light on horror but heavy on heart.

The big selling point here will be that Soderbergh’s camera is always from the perspective of the presence itself (no one uses the term ghost here), making it an interesting visual exercise. The family is observed from an arm’s length, with us eventually realizing that the presence itself isn’t necessarily malignant, nor is it even aware of why it’s in their home in the first place.

The movie mostly centers around Callina Lang’s Chloe, who is mourning the death of her best friend from an opioid overdose. Her brother, Eddy Maday’s Tyler, has a cruel streak and chases popularity at school. At the same time, her mother, played by Lucy Liu, is often drunk and seems on the verge of being arrested for a white-collar crime (which we never learn the details of). Luckily, Chloe’s father, played by This is Us star Chris Sullivan (who worked with Soderbergh on The Knick), is supportive if also preoccupied with the notion that his wife’s crimes may make him guilty in the eyes of the law. Chloe is also pursued romantically by an older boy (West Mulholland), whom the presence seems to be trying to make Chloe stay away from.

More than anything, Presence seems like a filmmaking exercise for Soderbergh, with him using technological innovations over the last few years to give the film a unique identity. It continues the experimental vibe he kicked off following his short-lived early retirement, and I’ll take something like this over his watered-down Magic Mike’s Last Dance any day.

By its nature, Presence is a film you have to be patient with, and the style of the film takes a while to get into because of how unconventional it is. Yet, in the second half, as it becomes more emotionally grounded and the stakes get higher, Presence starts to really work. The cast is excellent, with Callina Lang a real find in the film’s most important role. Eddy Maday initially comes off as a near sociopathic bully, but as the movie goes on, the better side of his character starts to peer through. Meanwhile, Chris Sullivan is touching as the overwhelmed but loving father who also lives to regret his culpability in whatever his wife might have done. Lucy Liu is nuanced as the loving but preoccupied and anxious mother who knows her time might be running out and tries to make up excuses for her actions by drunkenly telling her favoured child that whatever she did, it was out of love for her family. To Liu’s credit, she never tries to water this character down and manages to hold our sympathy throughout.

While its experimental nature means that Presence will be one of Soderbergh’s more niche efforts, it’s still technically impeccable and moving once you settle into it. It’s an interesting exercise for a director who never fails to innovate.

Sundance

GOOD

7

The post Presence Review: Soderbergh’s ghost story isn’t scary, but is still quite good appeared first on JoBlo.

PLOT: A bright but socially awkward exchange student takes her craving for popularity to horrifying heights.

REVIEW: With The Substance getting all sorts of accolades since its release, it feels like we’re in a different era for body horror. No longer is it relegated to the dark corners of cinema and instead can be treated for what it truly is: a way to showcase metaphors/themes through the usage of truly disgusting images and transformations. And it’s why the subgenre has always appealed to me as we often get a story that makes you think combined with gooey goodness. Shudder’s Grafted throws subtlety out of the window in a way that may not appeal to all but it was right in my wheelhouse.

Grafted follows a young girl named Wei who witnesses the death of her father as he’s doing some experiments with skin grafting. Years later she moves in with her aunt and cousin and has been continuing her father’s work. The problem is that her aunt is never home and her cousin, Angela, thinks she’s super weird. Which she is, but it’s kind of comical how absurdly mean Angela is about it. This is really about body image and acceptance, eventually shifting into a place of revenge. Joyena Sun is fantastic as Wei, a girl who doesn’t quite know how to interact with the world around her. I love the interactions between Wei and a homeless burn victim. It’s heartbreaking how they bond over their deformities and I really wanted more of their connection. There’s a moment with them on a train that is some truly beautiful imagery. To say their story is tragic would be an understatement.

Angela and her friend Eve make for two of the worst human beings I can imagine. They are superficial women who don’t care about anyone except themselves. As soon as one does something that you can’t imagine will get worse, the other one goes ahead and outdoes it. They are almost to the point of being caricatures; they’re so evil. And the terrible nature of Angela makes Jess Hong‘s performance all the more impressive. She and Eden Hart deliver multifaceted performances that show they’re capable of more than just being “mean girls.”

And as someone who loves the “guilty get punished” trope in horror, there’s plenty of comeuppance to enjoy. There’s a moment where the film becomes a full-blown slasher and I thought I was in love. It still felt in line with the character’s motivations, while doing a bit of a shift in genres. I was in love with the look of the film, really taking advantage of a shallow depth of field and wide-angle lens. When the camera isn’t perfectly still, it glides along in an effortless way. The shots are composited together in a way that really brings a beauty to the horror.

In terms of body horror, I wouldn’t say it’s anything too gross. Maybe I’ve just been around the block too many times but it’s ultimately pretty tame aside from a few gooey moments. The brief moments of CGI bridge the practical FX together pretty well and never took me out of it. Its finale goes full Substance, to the point where I worry some may consider it a ripoff, but I still felt it was doing its own thing. Body Horror existed long before that film brought it back into the mainstream.

The timeline of the film can be a little wonky, with things happening very quickly in some instances and extremely slowly in others. This worked for the hyper-reality surrounding every scene. Just like Wei, the film is focused on the events happening in front of the lens and not the consequences of those actions. Ultimately I really loved my time with Grafted. Combining two of my favorite subgenres, it tells a story that feels familiar while still being unique enough to have its own identity. The performances are absolutely wonderful and everyone gets a chance to shine. But, from experience, slasher fans and body horror fans tend to be on the opposite ends of the spectrum, so it may cause this one to be polarizing.

GRAFTED IS STREAMING EXCLUSIVELY ON SHUDDER ON JANUARY 24TH, 2024.

Grafted

GREAT

8

The post Grafted Review: Body Horror That Goes Full Slasher appeared first on JoBlo.