Mike (Josh Hutcherson) is a loner in desperate need of a job, seeing as he got into trouble at his last post for mercilessly pummeling a dude he thought was kidnapping a kid. (He’s obsessed with finding his little brother, who was kidnapped, by lucid dreaming about the incident as often as possible.) His meanContinue reading “‘Five Nights at Freddy’s’: Prepare for Disappointment”
Tag Archives: ghosts
Nia DaCosta’s ‘Candyman’: Not for Everyone, but Beauty is in the Eye of the Bee-holder
A sequel to the 1992 film, it continues the story of baby Anthony as a grown man (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II), now a painter living with his girlfriend Brianna (Teyonah Parris). He’s drawn to create an art installation about Candyman, complete with a piece that invites museum-goers to call him themselves. Candyman’s turf Cabrini-Green has beenContinue reading “Nia DaCosta’s ‘Candyman’: Not for Everyone, but Beauty is in the Eye of the Bee-holder”
Scott Derrickson’s ‘The Black Phone’: I Have Mixed Feelings
Based on the story by Joe Hill, who’s credited as an executive producer, and made by Blumhouse. Colorado, 1978. A small town is menaced by The Grabber (Ethan Hawke), a serial killer who targets adolescent boys. Our Final Boy is Finney (Mason Thames), who’s brave but needs to learn to stand up for himself. HeContinue reading “Scott Derrickson’s ‘The Black Phone’: I Have Mixed Feelings”
‘The Turning’: You’ll Be Turning it Off
Loosely based on the Henry James novel The Turn of the Screw. It’s 1994, and Kate (Mackenzie Davis) is a perky schoolteacher who is hired on to be a nanny for young orphan Flora (Brooklynn Prince), who lives in a giant, giant house with only her maid, Mrs. Grose (Barbara Marten). The previous au pair,Continue reading “‘The Turning’: You’ll Be Turning it Off”
‘Mary’: More Like ‘Meh-ry’
We open with a title card about a witch coming to steal kids at sea, and move on to Sarah (Emily Mortimer) being held by the police, who speculate “God only knows what happened out there.” Sarah is dehydrated and bruised, and her husband David (Gary Oldman) is conspicuously absent, though their daughters Lindsey (StefanieContinue reading “‘Mary’: More Like ‘Meh-ry’”
‘Polaroid’ is an Average but Amusing Teen-Centered Romp
Bird (Kathryn Prescott) is your typical vanilla final girl whose friend Tyler (Davi Santos) gives her an old Polaroid camera from a yard sale. Unfortunately it’s a haunted camera–that’s bad. But it comes with film–that’s good! It also dooms everyone who has their picture taken–that’s bad. Can Bird solve the riddle of why the cameraContinue reading “‘Polaroid’ is an Average but Amusing Teen-Centered Romp”
‘The Gallows Act II’: Fun and Occasionally Creepy, Especially for the Under-18 Crowd
Loosely following the plot of the first movie (if you need a refresher you can read an exhaustive synopsis here, or if you’ve never seen it and want a quick spoiler-free plot outline, here are some), it opens with a rainbow of doomed teenagers (’cause it’s okay to bother casting a racially diverse group ofContinue reading “‘The Gallows Act II’: Fun and Occasionally Creepy, Especially for the Under-18 Crowd”
‘YellowBrickRoad’ is Disturbing, Engaging, and Creative
1940. Friar, New Hampshire. The entire population, obsessed with The Wizard of Oz, walks off into the woods. Some are found frozen, some are murdered in grisly fashion, but most vanish entirely. A lone survivor is recorded, terrified and nonsensical. Cut to 2008. An intrepid band of explorers set out on a book-writing expedition: writers TeddyContinue reading “‘YellowBrickRoad’ is Disturbing, Engaging, and Creative”
‘The Messengers’: Meh
Directed by Danny and Oxide Chun Pang. Jess (Kristen Stewart) is a teenage girl getting a fresh start on a South Dakota farm with her family: little brother Ben, mother Denise (Penelope Ann Miller), and father Roy (Dylan McDermott). She’s at odds with her parents for an incident of drunk driving, so when she beginsContinue reading “‘The Messengers’: Meh”
‘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”
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