Natalie (Amy Forsyth) is visiting her best friend Brooke (Reign Edwards), who along with Brooke’s pal Taylor (Bex Taylor-Klaus) coax Natalie into going to Hell Fest with them. Seems Natalie’s crush Gavin (Roby Attal) has VIP passes for the lot of them to experience the joys of the Halloween theme park without all the lines. Also alongContinue reading “‘Hell Fest’ is Pretty Decent”
Author Archives: GhoulieJoe
Top Ten Performances by Actors in Drag
It’s been a long road for depictions of LGBTQ people in the movies. From the beginning of film history, men who dressed as women were depicted as a joke. As Quentin Crisp said, “There’s no sin like being a woman.” There is still a lot of room for improvement, especially in the department of genuineContinue reading “Top Ten Performances by Actors in Drag”
‘3 from Hell’ is Well-Made, but Still Crushingly Disappointing
3 from Hell is Rob Zombie’s newest film in the series documenting the Firefly/Driftwood/Spaulding family, following 2003’s House of a 1000 Corpses and 2005’s The Devil’s Rejects. The end of the latter shows the remaining family members riding sorely unmatched into a shootout with the police, so I’m guessing the 14-year lapse had at least partly to do withContinue reading “‘3 from Hell’ is Well-Made, but Still Crushingly Disappointing”
‘Ouija’–The Sequel is Better, but This One’s Grown on Me
Laine (Olivia Cooke) has just lost her friend Debbie (Shelley Hennig), who has seemingly killed herself. She longs to find out what happened, and decides that she, her sister Sarah (Ana Coto), their friend Isabelle (Bianca A. Santos), her boyfriend Trevor (Daren Kagasoff), and Debbie’s boyfriend Pete (Douglas Smith) should try to reach her withContinue reading “‘Ouija’–The Sequel is Better, but This One’s Grown on Me”
A Side Trip into Neuroticism: Some Thoughts on The Belko Experiment and Surviving
*No spoilers* Sometimes I struggle with what is called existential depression, when I ruminate on whether anything truly has a point. I recently did not get a job that I interviewed for and really really wanted. One of my coworkers was angry for me, but she went back to her daily routine, as did theContinue reading “A Side Trip into Neuroticism: Some Thoughts on The Belko Experiment and Surviving”
Jordan Peele’s ‘Get Out’: Terrifying, Funny, and Provocative–Sorry, I Wrote an Essay (not sorry)
Chris (Daniel Kaluuya) is a young Black man who’s wary about meeting his white girlfriend Rose’s (Allison Williams) super-rich family for the first time. Her parents (Catherine Keener, Bradley Whitford) seem friendly and welcoming. However, Chris is in over his head as a gathering takes place with a sinister purpose in store for him. TheContinue reading “Jordan Peele’s ‘Get Out’: Terrifying, Funny, and Provocative–Sorry, I Wrote an Essay (not sorry)”
A Side Trip into Neuroticism: Some Thoughts on ‘Lights Out’ and Depression
Warning: *Spoilers* In Lights Out, Sophie is a woman with a history of depression, for which she had to be hospitalized as a teenager. While there, she met another teenager, Diana. Diana had a skin condition that precluded her from being in light of any kind (though she seems to do fine in the sunContinue reading “A Side Trip into Neuroticism: Some Thoughts on ‘Lights Out’ and Depression”
A Side Trip into Neuroticism: Some Extra Thoughts on the Movie ‘Feed’
Feed is a movie about a detective (Phillip) tracking a serial killer (Michael) who kills women by overfeeding them until they die. He takes bets on when they’ll die and exploits them sexually. I wrote a review about the technical aspects of the movie, but I had a more personal reaction to the film thanContinue reading “A Side Trip into Neuroticism: Some Extra Thoughts on the Movie ‘Feed’”
M. Night Shyamalan’s ‘The Visit’: I Swear the Twist is Great and Somewhat Unpredictable
Becca (Olivia DeJonge) and Tyler (Ed Oxenbould) are two teens whose mother (Kathryn Hahn) has shipped them off to stay with her estranged parents for a week. Nana (Deanna Dunagan) and Pop Pop (Peter McRobbie) seem nice enough, but their behavior soon turns odd. Pop Pop is paranoid and quick to anger, while Nana tendsContinue reading “M. Night Shyamalan’s ‘The Visit’: I Swear the Twist is Great and Somewhat Unpredictable”
3 Bellezas: Naughty, Fun, and Dark *No Spoilers
Venezuelan movie, AKA 3 Beauties. Perla (Diana Peñalver) is a former pageant “miss” who is living through her daughters Carolina (Fabiola Arace) and Estefania (Josette Vidal). She pushes them to compete against each other, with Carolina as her favorite. Meanwhile, her son Salvador (Fabián Moreno) is neglected. The sibling rivalry continues into adulthood when CarolinaContinue reading “3 Bellezas: Naughty, Fun, and Dark *No Spoilers”
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