Tag: Horror

REVIEW: ‘Us’ provides the thrills but is undercut by consistency issues

“Us,” definitely not to be confused with the drama show “This is Us,” is the latest picture from Writer/Director Jordan Peele.

The film tells the story of Adelaide (Lupita Nyong’o), who’s visiting a beach vacation home with her family, which includes her husband Gabe (Winston Duke), daughter Zora (Shahadi Wright Joseph) and son Jason (Evan Alex).

While Adelaide is has some reservations about being in the area again because of some bad memories from her past, she tries to make the most of her vacation with her family. Things seem to be going OK until night falls and the family is confronted in their vacation home by a group of doppelgangers.

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REVIEW: While not as fresh as original, ‘Death Day 2’ will entertain

“Happy Death Day 2U,” a follow-up to a 2017 thriller, is the kind of sequel that seems to be in search of a reason to exist. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s bad to watch.

The movie picks up right where the first movie left off. Theresa (Jessica Rothe), who casually goes by Tree, put an end to a time-loop where she was living the same day over and over and in doing so, made several changes to improve her life.

However, she soon finds out that her issues aren’t completely over. In the first act she learns that her boyfriend’s roommate Ryan (Phi Vu) is actually one of three students working at her university’s science lab. There, the students have created a device that can cause disturbances in space and time. As a result, Tree, and this time her new friends, are put into a position of having to make fixes to the space time continuum, while also dealing with a murderer on the loose.

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REVIEW: ‘Escape Room’ is poorly structured

You’ve probably seen “Escape Room” before. Maybe not the actual movie, but a lot of the elements included should be familiar to anyone who’s watched their share of thrillers.

Following a group of six strangers, “Escape Room” has a premise based on the live action mystery game that’s been growing in popularity in recent years. The group includes a truck driver named Mike (Tyler Labine), a grocery store employee, Ben (Logan Miller), an escape room enthusiast, Danny (Nik Dodani), a military veteran, Amanda (Deborah Ann Woll), a wealthy trader, Jason (Jay Ellis) and a college student, Zoey (Taylor Russell).

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10 Years of Horror: Looking back at 2015-2017

It’s the final day for the month of spook, Halloween has finally arrived.

As previously stated in the past few pieces I’ve written, I’m looking back at some of my favorite horror movies from the past 10 years, as I’ve been reviewing for about a decade. Here are the picks from 2015-2017.

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10 years of horror: Looking back at 2013-2014

Since I’ve been reviewing movies for a decade, I decided this year to take a look back at some of my favorite horror movies since 2008. So far, I’ve already taken a look at movies through 2012, so here’s the next few through 2014.

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REVIEW: New ‘Halloween’ doesn’t surpass original, but is arguably the best one since

This is a “Halloween” film that is a direct sequel to the original picture from the 1970s, meaning that it forgets about all of the other movies in the franchise. So fortunately, it’s as if that whole ordeal with Busta Rhymes no longer exists.

Because it’s a direct sequel, the film revolves around a now adult Laurie Strode  (Jamie Lee Curtis). Since the events of the original ordeal, S has retreated to an extremely secure home to prepare for a day where Michael Myers escapes. Her constant fear of Myers breaking out, though, has led to an alienation with her daughter, Karen (Judy Greer), and her granddaughter, Allyson (Andi Matichak).

Her fears are realized, though, as something goes wrong during a transportation of Myers from one security facility to another. As a result, Myers is out for blood again, meaning S, and Sheriff Hawkins (Will Patton) who was there to apprehend Michael that night so long ago, have to prevent a murder spree.

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10 years of horror: Looking back at 2010-2012

Here’s part two of my retrospective on horror movies from the past 10 years. I started reviewing films back in 2008, and since Halloween is close, I figured I’d take a look back at some of the best in horror.

These are the scary pictures that stood out in 2010, 2011 and 2012. For my look back at 2008-2009, click here.

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10 years of Horror: Looking back at 2008 and 2009

I’ve been reviewing films for more than a decade now and during that time, I’ve seen plenty of films in the horror genre.

I can admit that not all of them have been particularly good. In fact, some have ended up on my top 10 worst of the year lists. However, some have stood out, and seeing that it is the month of spook and Halloween, I figured I could revisit some of the good flicks I’ve watched and make some recommendations.

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REVIEW: Despite a nice concept, ‘Hell Fest’ feels largely generic

Want to visit a haunted attraction but have none close by? Well, you can always check out the latest horror film “Hell Fest.” Actually, don’t do that, because “Hell Fest” isn’t all that impressive.

This film follows a group of six college students who get together for a trip to Hell Fest. Basically, Hell Fest is a traveling horror amusement park that does the scary stuff better than anyone else in the business.

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REVIEW: ‘The Nun’ is a generic, one note picture that you can skip

I wasn’t sure if “The Nun” would be all that scary. But what I really didn’t expect was for it to be so boring.

“The Nun” is part of the “Conjuring” cinematic universe and actually takes place decades before the original movie came out. The story follows Father Burke (Demian Bichir) and a young nun in training, Sister Irene (Taissa Farmiga).

The two are sent to Romania by the Vatican to investigate the death of another nun at an old abbey. As they begin their investigation with the help of a local farmer (Jonas Bloquet), though, they soon learn that they have to face a horrifying entity.

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