Horror Movies – Matthew Liedke on Film

REVIEW: ‘Obsession’ wastes interesting ‘Monkey’s Paw’ concept

I honestly wish I had just played “Yandere Simulator” for two hours instead.

For those unaware, yanderes are characters appearing in Japanese anime and manga who have a major obsession with their love interest, usually to a violent point. That sort of character is represented in Nikki over the course of “Obsession,” where she’s played by Inde Navarrette. However, the film centers on Baron “Bear” Bailey (Michael Johnston).

Bear has long been wanting to ask Nikki, his coworker at a music store, out on a date, but hasn’t worked up the courage. He finds a solution, though, in a small trinket that says it can grant any wish. He wishes for Nikki to fall completely in love with him, and expects it to do nothing. However, it works better than Bear could have imagined.

REVIEW: Though fun, ‘Psycho Killer’ plays premise too straightforward

Slasher meets police procedural? Sure, why not.

That’s what’s offered up in “Psycho Killer,” where the film’s protagonist, Jane (Georgina Campbell), is hunting a murderer who’s slaying across the country. The latest in his rampage took the life of Jane’s husband and fellow Kansas state trooper. Vowing to bring him to justice, Jane launches a national endeavor of her own, trailing the suspect.

As she tracks down the man, known only as the Satanic Slasher for the symbols he leaves behind, the killer manages to find new victims. With a major deadly event planned by the killer to finalize his effort, the pressure is on Jane to stop him.

Continue reading “REVIEW: Though fun, ‘Psycho Killer’ plays premise too straightforward”

Halloween Adventures in B-Movie Horror 2025: Part 1

Halloween is this week and I am excited! I have a good mask on the way and plan to head to a local brewery for some spooky inspired beers.

In anticipation for the big day, like always, I’ve watched a few horror flicks. As is tradition, their budgets are low, and the camp is high. First up for this year, a trio of flicks all related in one way or another to the medical field.

One takes place at a hospital, the second centers on a killer hunting a specific nurse, and the third includes a criminology student who suspects her doctor boyfriend may have committed murder. They also are all from the 1980s.

Continue reading “Halloween Adventures in B-Movie Horror 2025: Part 1”

REVIEW: ‘The Black Phone 2’ misses unique shine of first film

Four years after the line was disconnected, the ring has returned.

That’s true both in and outside of this movie. “The Black Phone 2” is a sequel to the 2021 picture, and inside the film, four years have also passed. Finney (Mason Thames) is now a teenager and isn’t in the best place since his experience surviving the Grabber. He gets into fights and is dabbling in drugs, worrying his sister Gwen (Madeleine McGraw).

That’s not her only concern, though, as she begins having vivid dreams of murder victims at a secluded camp. Feeling an urge to learn what the dreams are trying to tell her, she enlists Finney to join her in going to the camp, telling the staff there that they’re interested in being counselors. When they get there, in the middle of a blizzard, they soon encounter a terror from their past.

Continue reading “REVIEW: ‘The Black Phone 2’ misses unique shine of first film”

REVIEW: ’28 Years Later’ is an exhausting follow-up

What does this film have in common with its predecessor and 2013’s “The Purge?” Read on to find out!

After directing 2002’s “28 Days Later” and sitting out of its 2007 sequel, Danny Boyle has returned to helm the third movie in the series, “28 Years Later.” As the name implies, this takes place nearly three decades after the rage virus spread throughout the British Isles. Fortunately for the rest of the world, it has been contained to the islands.

Communities still exist on those islands, though, with enclosed towns on smaller islands loosely connected to the mainland. Only a few venture onto the mainland to scout and scavenge, such as Jamie (Aaron Taylor-Johnson). On his most recent trip, he brings his son, Spike (Alfie Williams), who’s come of age to participate.

Continue reading “REVIEW: ’28 Years Later’ is an exhausting follow-up”

Adventures in B-Movie Horror 2024: Coast to Coast

This year’s Adventure in B-Movies was a tale of two cities.

The three movies watched for the 2024 edition took place in the nation’s largest metros on both coasts, New York City and Los Angeles. Yes, terror and mayhem take the Big Apple and the City of Angels by storm this year, to varying degrees.

The first two films have an Empire State of mind, while the third shows some California love. So, let’s dive in.

Continue reading “Adventures in B-Movie Horror 2024: Coast to Coast”

REVIEW: ‘Late Night With Devil’ is a solid spin on found footage horror

If this movie was real, I feel like the host would definitely be invited on Coast to Coast AM with Art Bell in the 90s to talk about his experience.

The film centers on Jack Delroy (David Dastmalchian), the host of a late-night talk show. His series has its fans and is mostly well received, but always comes in second to the classic king of late-night, Johnny Carson. Stuck with declining ratings and a personal tragedy, Delroy is looking for a turnaround.

He decides he needs to do something big for the Halloween special of his show. The solution is inviting a teenage girl on his show who could possibly be possessed by a demon, among other guests. From there, what begins as a fun night of evening television turns into something terrifying.

Continue reading “REVIEW: ‘Late Night With Devil’ is a solid spin on found footage horror”

REVIEW: Slasher fans will be thankful for Thanksgiving’

The Macy’s parade, turkey, football, and this year, a slasher movie.

In this new seasonal horror flick, inspired by a fake trailer made for the 2007 “Grindhouse” films, a killer is on the loose in a small Massachusetts town. The slayings get underway a year after a deadly riot broke out at the local super market during a massive Black Friday deal.

In the present, whoever is doing the killings appears to be going after those who were responsible for the riot. That puts a target on the back of Jessica (Nell Verlaque), a high schooler and daughter of the store owner, who was there that night with her friends.

Continue reading “REVIEW: Slasher fans will be thankful for Thanksgiving’”

REVIEW: ‘Five Nights at Freddy’s’ squanders fun concept

It’s a tale as old as time, or at least as old as the early 90s. A concept works quite well as a video game, but doesn’t quite translate well to film.

The latest example is “Five Nights at Freddy’s,” a horror game franchise with a lot of popularity that has been made into a movie. The film stars Josh Hutcherson as Mike, who has to spend his nights at Freddy’s, a defunct brand similar to Chuck E Cheese, known for its animatronic mascots.

His stay there is out of desperation, as the security guard role at the dilapidated family restaurant is the only job he can get, and he needs it to continue being a guardian to his sister Abby (Piper Rubio). As Mike soon learns, working at the property can be rather creepy, as it has a dark history that lives on through the seemingly shut down animatronic animals.

Continue reading “REVIEW: ‘Five Nights at Freddy’s’ squanders fun concept”

REVIEW: Sans dialogue, ‘No One Will Save You’ succeeds with suspense

Those who’ve played Nintendo games where protagonists are speechless other than grunts should find themselves in familiar territory with this mostly dialogue-free film.

Kaitlyn Dever stars in the picture, now on Hulu, as Brynn, a young woman living in a rural house near a small community. Brynn lives a simple, quiet life, appearing to be trying to recover from a trauma in her past.

After a fairly typical day, she goes to sleep, but is woken up by noise in and around her home. The intruder, though, is no burglar, but rather an extra-terrestrial, and there’s not just one that Brynn has to escape from.

Continue reading “REVIEW: Sans dialogue, ‘No One Will Save You’ succeeds with suspense”