NickKnack68 Reviews

The Sadness (2021)

Fine debut feature, although a bit over-hyped

[6/10 · 13 May 2022]

This is surely gory and crazy, but after a year of heavy hype I was actually expecting a lot more. Those claiming this to be the goriest most depraved zombie film ever obviously haven't seen too many horror films. Plus, this is NOT a zombie film. THE SADNESS is a fine blend of 28 DAYS LATER and SHIVERS.

Great job by the first time director and I'm eager to see what he spews forth next.

Those who were "triggered" and offended by this are advised to stay far away from most novels by Edward Lee, Bryan Smith and Wrath James White.

Agnes (2021)

Would've been rated higher if not packaged as a horror film

[4/10 · 25 April 2022]

The first section of AGNES plays out like your standard exorcism flick, complete with a disgraced veteran priest, an eager rookie, and a couple of mismatched nuns, including one who is allegedly possessed.

Then the film switches, without warning, to the future where Mary, friend of the possessed title character, has left the convent and is trying to find her way in the world among sleazy bosses and a muppet-looking stand up comic.

Packaged as a horror film, AGNES is more of a serious drama on religious contemplation, with the exorcism section acting as a prologue, and hence I don't think too many horror fans will be happy with it. As a quirky drama it's fine, and the goofy Father Black is worthy of his own film, but as it is AGNES is a case of either false advertising, or perhaps was packaged as a horror film as the distributor had no idea how to label it.

For nun/exorcism completists only.

The Northman (2022)

The best CONAN film yet.

[8/10 · 23 April 2022]

This review's headline is facetious. But it's pretty much the same CONAN story you've seen before (and *that* lifted from both Shakespeare with some Norse mythology mixed in). But this time it's done under some fine direction with absolutely stunning cinematography. Fans of this stuff will love it and I'm sure metalheads into "Viking Metal" are going to go berserk over this.

Loved the brief Dafoe cameo, as well as his "appearance" later on in the film.

It's a blast.

Death to Metal (2019)

Cheap and fun

[6/10 · 6 April 2022]

Fun super-low budget hybrid of THE TOXIC AVENGER and DEATHGASM, full of terrible acting and gore FX, some homegrown metal music, and one seriously pissed off Catholic priest. Fine way to blow 80 minutes as you await the release of the next Deicide album.

Morbius (2022)

Fun but typical

[5/10 · 2 April 2022]

Plenty of plot holes, goofiness, action, and a double set-up-the-next-film ending. Pretty much your standard comic book movie, predictable but entertaining. Could've been a lot worse.

The Sound of Scars (2022)

Deeper than usual rock doc

[8/10 · 27 March 2022]

I was never a big fan of Life Of Agony, despite having seen them many times as they often played with some of my faves. But this doc gave me a big respect for them (they truly lived up to their name) and Mina's story is quite intense.

Gritty, honest, and at times uplifting, here's a look at a hard working band full of likable members who all have something relevant to say. Loved the old footage from Lamour and was great to see LOA playing in front of some huge audiences.

X (II) (2022)

Proof a homage can become its own thing

[8/10 · 27 March 2022]

An obvious homage to Tobe Hooper's TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE and EATEN ALIVE, X manages to pay tribute to its influences yet quickly develops its own feel. Fine performances all around and an interesting choice for the killer(s), any slasher film fan thirsting for a good old school romp should be satisfied.

Big plus here for a couple of gator scenes that are truly suspenseful. Those producing the silly CGI SyFy monster films should take note.

Fresh (2022)

Fun and twisted

[7/10 · 10 March 2022]

Kind of like THE UNDERTAKER AND HIS PALS and MICROWAVE MASSACRE meets a chick flick, FRESH is more disturbing than your average made for cable fare and features great lead performances. Definitely worth a view.

The Strings (2020)

Painfully lifeless

[1/10 · 27 February 2022]

No idea who thought having a musician deal with their creative process in an isolated cabin would be a good scenario for a horror film (and perhaps it could've been), but here it's an exercise in patience as NOTHING happens for 99% of the running time.

Non-existent plot, nothing even slightly scary, THE STRINGS is an epic waste of time. Just ... wow.

Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2022)

Loaded with stupidity but kind-of entertaining

[4/10 · 21 February 2022]

The original TCM is my all time fave horror film. I despised the 1986 sequel as well as the third film from 1990, and I didn't care much for any of the others aside from the 2003 remake (and even that fell short).

This 2022 sequel to the original has countless script issues and shoved several political agendas down the viewer's throat, which instantly turned me off. It's also difficult to accept a 70+ year old Leatherface acting more brutal than a young Jason Vorhees. Yet it was kind of entertaining to see such a gory slasher film on Netflix. Just wish they would've used a different franchise to do this.

Please just stop these already. None of the sequels have done a THING to compliment the original.

Jackass Forever (2022)

Laughed my a$$ off

[9/10 · 13 February 2022]

What else do you need? I laughed through the entire film. More 50+ year-olds should be this much fun! The whole theater was in stitches.

The animal scenes are as funny as cringe worthy, and all animals were handled by animal-loving professionals. Best opening scene of the franchise!

Lovecraft: Fear of the Unknown (2008)

Nice primer

[7/10 · 6 February 2022]

Not sure seasoned fans will gain much here, but newcomers will surely get a good grasp on what drove Lovecraft to write. Was nice listening to modern authors and filmmakers give their views on him and some of the shared illustrations are the doc's highlights.

Witchfinder General (1968)

Fine Price outing

[7/10 · 5 February 2022]

Gaining some interest lately thanks to the WOODLANDS DARK documentary, Price shines in this classic witch hunt film set during a British civil war. Perhaps graphic for its time (if viewers had yet to discover HG Lewis), the film is a decent drama sprinkled with some sequences of Price and his boys "testing" people to see if they're witches. Those who fail the test are drowned, hung, and in the film's more disturbing scene, lowered into a flaming inferno.

A must for Price fans, and I'm guessing those seeking an old witchcraft film will enjoy so long as they're patient.

Lingering (2020)

Tedious

[2/10 · 30 January 2022]

The script is a ball of confusion and the horror element takes a back seat to way too much family drama. The struggle/fight sequences are unconvincing.

How do films like this get financed? Incredibly dull all around.

Pieces (1982)

So bad it's INCREDIBLE!

[8/10 · 29 January 2022]

First saw this on opening night in 1983 Recently revisited and it's just so much cheesy/gory fun: atrocious acting, suspects all over the place, a killer in giallo gear, amazing chainsaw murders, and arguably the most absurd ending in slasher film history. Gotta love it!

Nobody (I) (2021)

"A History of Violence" meets Saul

[8/10 · 22 January 2022]

Pretty much a suped-up version of Cronenberg's A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE. Lots of fun, loved Lloyd as the shotgun toting dad, and the bus sequence was beyond cathartic. Add a plus for the booby-trap finale that played out like a HOME ALONE from hell.

Mayhem (2017)

Gory fun

[6/10 · 17 January 2022]

Although pretty much the same film as THE BELKO EXPERIMENT a year earlier, MAYHEM was a great showcase for the former WALKING DEAD star Yuen as well as rising star Weaving. Lots of dark humor that any office worker can relate to, and plenty of gory and comic violence makes this a great way to kill off an afternoon. Makes a great double feature with the aforementioned BELKO EXPERIMENT.

May (2002)

Great study of a deranged mind

[8/10 · 17 January 2022]

Despite having a similar plot to PIECES (which came out 20 years prior), MAY digs deep into the mind of a girl who has been shunned since childhood by both her parents as well as potential grade school friends. And unlike PIECES, there's nothing goofy or campy here, although there is some finely placed dark humor. Angela Bettis shines in the title role.

One of the better horror films of the 2000s, MAY has aged quite well.

Crawlspace (1986)

Lame waste of Kinski

[3/10 · 17 January 2022]

Revisited for the first time since seeing it in the theater in 1986: it's every bit as lame as I remembered. The ONLY interesting thing here is an quick opening uncredited role by Sherry Buchanan of DOCTOR BUTCHER, MD infamy. I guess those afraid of rats might enjoy this. Otherwise it's a lifeless peeping Tom story about a nut job who plays Russian roulette after each person he kills. Too bad the bullet didn't go off after the first murder.

Kid 90 (2021)

Ughh

[2/10 · 16 January 2022]

I think Punky was attention starved? Either way this is pretty much like letting everyone look at your personal diary. It's hard to feel bad for these kids who had it all and threw it away on drugs and alcohol.

Sad and unnecessary.

Zoo zéro (1979)

Underrated, rare, needs to be rediscovered

[8/10 · 16 January 2022]

ZOO ZERO isn't as hard to decipher as most reviews claim. It's obvious France has been overrun with rabies, and most of the population has been infected. The country looks like it's in ruins, so some kind of apocalyptic fate is at hand. We follow nightclub singer Ava (Played by Catherine Jourdan of THE GIRL ON A MOTORCYCLE (1968) fame) who performs in a club called Noah's Ark, as patrons in animal masks watch her sing a song about an interspecies affair. Stuffed animals decorate the club, and this whole opening sequence brings both CAFÉ FLESH and LIQUID SKY (both 1982) to mind. Before long, Ava is running through the city, howling like an animal, obviously convinced she's a lion or perhaps is actually turning into one (a mention of evolution on a radio broadcast had me convinced people were turning back into animals, but by the end I think they were all just going insane from the rabies). She's looking for a strange man who came to see her sing (Yave, played by Kinski, who also runs the local zoo) and she's eventually picked up in a limo by her dwarf manager and his weirdo driver, who likes to give history lessons as a ventriloquist with a bad looking Donald Duck puppet (if you're not getting excited right now you probably don't like bizarro cinema). As the three drive around, we encounter all kinds of off the wall characters before Ava finally meets up with Yave and they head to the zoo, where they eventually let all the animals loose, I'm guessing to help them reclaim the world we humans have taken from them.

Any way you slice it, ZOO ZERO is a very interesting film, gorgeously shot by the great Bruno Nuytten, who, among his impressive body of work is the mighty POSSESSION (1981). There's also a weird sub-story about Ava being part of a family of ogres (don't ask) in a hilarious sequence were Yvonne (played by famous Italian actress Alida Valli) screams and gives maniacal looks at the cast. So, yeah, if you're into out-there cinema you might want to seek this one out (it's available on YouTube and on DVD, but it easily deserves the Criterion treatment). Add a plus here for Kinski, dressed in a tux and constantly smoking and sipping champagne, speaking only through a keyboard-operated voice projector, making him sound like a 1950s robot.

Royal Jelly (2021)

Ridiculous

[2/10 · 15 January 2022]

At least INVASION OF THE BEE GIRLS (1973) had a camp thing going on. ROYAL JELLY takes itself way too seriously and the less than stellar acting brings it to a buzz-less crash. Tedious pace and beyond predictable.

Sleepwalk with Me (2012)

Quirky, just like it's star/director

[6/10 · 11 January 2022]

Not hilarious, but an interesting story that's partially based on real life events. I've enjoyed Birbiglia's stand up so I eased into this effortlessly. Not sure if non fans will enjoy it but I think it's worth a shot.

Looking Glass (I) (2018)

Forgettable mystery

[4/10 · 10 January 2022]

Starts weird, stays slightly interesting but ends up feeling like a standard TV mystery from the 70s (perhaps that's the feel they were going for with the crappy title fonts?). Only one scene of crazy Cage goodness in some redneck bar.

For Cage completists only.

Saint Maud (2019)

Solid religious horror

[8/10 · 9 January 2022]

Is Maud a bit too zealous in her faith, or is she a serial killer? We're never quite sure, and this drives SAINT MAUD along at a fine pace until it's perfect finale.

With a couple of truly startling moments, and a stellar lead performance, fans of religious themed horror should be quite satisfied.