I would call this movie hokum, but it's not entirely... bad. Adam Scott is excellent as Ohm, and everything from his demeanour to the baggage he carries can always be felt by his performance. The narrative isn't that memorable, with fantastical things making their way into what would otherwise be a drama of sorts, and generally feels like it's plodding along. The side characters are good, but their stories get pushed quick without much substance. But I have nothing but praise for the atmospheric and deliberate cinematography. Every shot and cut is intentional, and every SINGLE time you never know what's going to show up on the screen. You're always on the edge of your seat, and the tension is palpable. If only the story would've had more to tell.
Hokum
Candyman
As a fan of the original, the remake-slash-sequel is pretty decent. Yahya is great as usual, and the story is par for course. But where the sequel becomes incredible is the style and direction of DeCosta. Her creative vision makes for an incredibly stylish and visceral experience, with every camera shot feeling deliberate and pointed. The rigid panning, cuts and zooms paired with smart angles adds depth to every scene, and really makes the element of horror stand out more than most flicks.
Candyman
Terrifier 3
It's not as a good as the second, and even less so than the original. Art isn't as darkly comical as before, and this time there's too much fluff and backstory to try and simulate classic franchises. With Vicky in the mix, the horror is brutal, but it's also a little less prevalent - why? And not to mention, we get another "heroic" arc with Sienna, who is a bit more compelling this time around, but marred down by more fluff. The ending's way too abrupt, and whatever story it's trying to tell gets completely lost along the way.
Terrifier 3
Terrifier
Such a fun and crazy movie. Art the Clown is totally nuts, and Thornton's portrayal of the psycho clown is so good it's amazing to watch. Without saying a word, he manages to bring entertainment, both comedy and horror, to the screen in gory fashion. My absolute favourite thing about this movie, though, is how INCREDIBLY WELL it sticks to classic horror tropes, styling and pacing. It legitimately feels like it was a part of the 80s and 90s era of slasher flicks, all the way down to the way it's shot. This is probably one of my favourite horror movies ever.
Holy fucking shit, this is an experience EVERYONE has to see at least once. This is my first dip into Gaspar Noe's world, and I'm completely sold on it. Yeah, there's not much in the way of plot (dancers dance, and drink sangria with LSD unknowingly and start to go bonkers), but this film is all about the arthouse-style, moderna movement spectacle of cinematography and sensor overload that you experience as the view. It's almost as if you're doing LSD - turn the lights off, glue yourself to the television, and you're mesmerised by the pulse of French house music and colours that burn themselves into your retinas. This is a film that sticks with you long after you watch it.
Climax
Clown in a Cornfield
Standard fare for a slasher, Clown In A Cornfield doesn't do anything out of the ordinary. But, it still managed to be a decent flick to watch if you need a healthy serving of gore and blood, spilled in fantastical ways. The characters are incredibly boring, but Kevin Durand absolutely transforms in this movie and he's fantastic to watch. The spectacles are pretty fun too - lots of crazy ways of people being gutted, though I will say - just like I do for pretty much every movie - people have GOT to start killing protagonist characters off. Having peopole magically survive is just annoying, and really takes away from the horror aspect of it.
Clown in a Cornfield
Bodies Bodies Bodies
I can't believe this even got greenlit. It's almost a spin on Knives Out, but with insufferable teens that bring their angst and PC-ness to the chat, making every single line of dialogue unbearable. The casting is just pitiful, with mediocre performances all around - especially from Davidson, who's irritating to watch as usual. All of it boils down to an "oops, my bad" type of ending, which makes you wonder why you even bothered in the first place. Only redeeming thing about this movie is the music, because the great Disasterpiece is behind it.
Bodies Bodies Bodies
The Babadook
The Babadook is a beautiful movie about grief and coping, and Essie Davis nails her role, embodying the culmination and physical manifestation of "fuck life". Every moment throughout the film you can her pain is palpable, and the climax is proof that dealing with things isn't easy - or permanent. The film is let down by the silly effects and horror gimmicks, but that's to be expected from an indie film.
The Babadook
Barbarian
This movie was nowhere near as good as most folks say it is. Characters are as flat as old soda, make incredibly stupid decisions and and just generally bumbling idiots wandering around. The "evil" has no context and a deplorably pathetic backstory, which is summarised in about 10 seconds.There's nothing new about this movie, but it doesn't even get the classic tropes right. I'd love to say otherwise, but this one a hard pass.
Barbarian
Backrooms
Having never seen the webseries or played the game, this was my first foray into the liminal horror space and... it's very good. Ejiofor easily steals the entire movie with a spectacular performance, and the liminal space is used so well you'll scratch your head trying to figure out how they set it all up. It's got some symbolism and deeper themes, and those are a bit of a miss. Still though, good movie.
Absolute dogwater of a movie. There's no backstory, no context, no lore - just Nic Cage (who is asleep for half the romp) and two boys living day to day. But one boy fucks everything up, and everything goes to shit. Maxwell Jenkins is about as emotive as a piece of stale toast; but Jaeden Martell is the only saving grace of this terrible waste of time, since his boyish charm are good. The "monsters" add to the general confusion, because they don't seem follow a pattern or be consistent at all. This was just as bad as movies can honestly get - Sharknado would win awards compared to this.
Arcadian
Soulm8te
We all know where these kinds of movies go, and SOULM8TE is no different. But, the astonishing performance by Sullivan, from the mechanical movements to the facial expressions, combined with the generous display of blood and viscera makes for quite an entertaining watch.
There is no one worse than one who stands by and does nothing. And that's exactly what Leviticus capitalises on. Bird and Clausen give some spectacular performances, and the fact there is no "monster" - just the faces of each other - makes for a genuinely unsettling fear mechanic. The religious undertones and ignorant adults fuel the fire, making it seem like no matter where these two boys turn, respite is never to be found. Absolutely awesome film.
This might be Tatum's best performance yet. Roofman is incredibly charming and heartfelt, and every step of the way you genuinely like every character (except for Dinklage's Mitch) and care about each one. So much of the movie is spent rooting for Jeff and Leigh, and it's one of those feel-good movies that sticks with you.
Roofman
Normal
Normal is pretty... normal. It's so generic that I can't find another way to say it. You get a cop in a small town who happens to fall into some conspiracy, and that's it. Odenkirk is decent, but I can't really tell since there's not much in the way of character development. One thing though - the action sequences aren't special, but it definitely cranks up the blood and viscera, which is really nice.
I would call this movie hokum, but it's not entirely... bad. Adam Scott is excellent as Ohm, and everything from his demeanour to the baggage he carries can always be felt by his performance. The narrative isn't that memorable, with fantastical things making their way into what would otherwise be a drama of sorts, and generally feels like it's plodding along. The side characters are good, but their stories get pushed quick without much substance. But I have nothing but praise for the atmospheric and deliberate cinematography. Every shot and cut is intentional, and every SINGLE time you never know what's going to show up on the screen. You're always on the edge of your seat, and the tension is palpable. If only the story would've had more to tell.Hokum
As a fan of the original, the remake-slash-sequel is pretty decent. Yahya is great as usual, and the story is par for course. But where the sequel becomes incredible is the style and direction of DeCosta. Her creative vision makes for an incredibly stylish and visceral experience, with every camera shot feeling deliberate and pointed. The rigid panning, cuts and zooms paired with smart angles adds depth to every scene, and really makes the element of horror stand out more than most flicks.Candyman
It's not as a good as the second, and even less so than the original. Art isn't as darkly comical as before, and this time there's too much fluff and backstory to try and simulate classic franchises. With Vicky in the mix, the horror is brutal, but it's also a little less prevalent - why? And not to mention, we get another "heroic" arc with Sienna, who is a bit more compelling this time around, but marred down by more fluff. The ending's way too abrupt, and whatever story it's trying to tell gets completely lost along the way.Terrifier 3
Such a fun and crazy movie. Art the Clown is totally nuts, and Thornton's portrayal of the psycho clown is so good it's amazing to watch. Without saying a word, he manages to bring entertainment, both comedy and horror, to the screen in gory fashion. My absolute favourite thing about this movie, though, is how INCREDIBLY WELL it sticks to classic horror tropes, styling and pacing. It legitimately feels like it was a part of the 80s and 90s era of slasher flicks, all the way down to the way it's shot. This is probably one of my favourite horror movies ever.Terrifier
Holy fucking shit, this is an experience EVERYONE has to see at least once. This is my first dip into Gaspar Noe's world, and I'm completely sold on it. Yeah, there's not much in the way of plot (dancers dance, and drink sangria with LSD unknowingly and start to go bonkers), but this film is all about the arthouse-style, moderna movement spectacle of cinematography and sensor overload that you experience as the view. It's almost as if you're doing LSD - turn the lights off, glue yourself to the television, and you're mesmerised by the pulse of French house music and colours that burn themselves into your retinas. This is a film that sticks with you long after you watch it.Climax
Standard fare for a slasher, Clown In A Cornfield doesn't do anything out of the ordinary. But, it still managed to be a decent flick to watch if you need a healthy serving of gore and blood, spilled in fantastical ways. The characters are incredibly boring, but Kevin Durand absolutely transforms in this movie and he's fantastic to watch. The spectacles are pretty fun too - lots of crazy ways of people being gutted, though I will say - just like I do for pretty much every movie - people have GOT to start killing protagonist characters off. Having peopole magically survive is just annoying, and really takes away from the horror aspect of it.Clown in a Cornfield
I can't believe this even got greenlit. It's almost a spin on Knives Out, but with insufferable teens that bring their angst and PC-ness to the chat, making every single line of dialogue unbearable. The casting is just pitiful, with mediocre performances all around - especially from Davidson, who's irritating to watch as usual. All of it boils down to an "oops, my bad" type of ending, which makes you wonder why you even bothered in the first place. Only redeeming thing about this movie is the music, because the great Disasterpiece is behind it.Bodies Bodies Bodies
The Babadook is a beautiful movie about grief and coping, and Essie Davis nails her role, embodying the culmination and physical manifestation of "fuck life". Every moment throughout the film you can her pain is palpable, and the climax is proof that dealing with things isn't easy - or permanent. The film is let down by the silly effects and horror gimmicks, but that's to be expected from an indie film.The Babadook
This movie was nowhere near as good as most folks say it is. Characters are as flat as old soda, make incredibly stupid decisions and and just generally bumbling idiots wandering around. The "evil" has no context and a deplorably pathetic backstory, which is summarised in about 10 seconds.There's nothing new about this movie, but it doesn't even get the classic tropes right. I'd love to say otherwise, but this one a hard pass.Barbarian
Having never seen the webseries or played the game, this was my first foray into the liminal horror space and... it's very good. Ejiofor easily steals the entire movie with a spectacular performance, and the liminal space is used so well you'll scratch your head trying to figure out how they set it all up. It's got some symbolism and deeper themes, and those are a bit of a miss. Still though, good movie.Backrooms
Absolute dogwater of a movie. There's no backstory, no context, no lore - just Nic Cage (who is asleep for half the romp) and two boys living day to day. But one boy fucks everything up, and everything goes to shit. Maxwell Jenkins is about as emotive as a piece of stale toast; but Jaeden Martell is the only saving grace of this terrible waste of time, since his boyish charm are good. The "monsters" add to the general confusion, because they don't seem follow a pattern or be consistent at all. This was just as bad as movies can honestly get - Sharknado would win awards compared to this.Arcadian
There is no one worse than one who stands by and does nothing. And that's exactly what Leviticus capitalises on. Bird and Clausen give some spectacular performances, and the fact there is no "monster" - just the faces of each other - makes for a genuinely unsettling fear mechanic. The religious undertones and ignorant adults fuel the fire, making it seem like no matter where these two boys turn, respite is never to be found. Absolutely awesome film.Leviticus
This might be Tatum's best performance yet. Roofman is incredibly charming and heartfelt, and every step of the way you genuinely like every character (except for Dinklage's Mitch) and care about each one. So much of the movie is spent rooting for Jeff and Leigh, and it's one of those feel-good movies that sticks with you.Roofman
Normal is pretty... normal. It's so generic that I can't find another way to say it. You get a cop in a small town who happens to fall into some conspiracy, and that's it. Odenkirk is decent, but I can't really tell since there's not much in the way of character development. One thing though - the action sequences aren't special, but it definitely cranks up the blood and viscera, which is really nice.Normal