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Pearl (2022)
An okay movie
In 1918, second-generation German immigrant Pearl lives with her strict mother, Ruth, and catatonic father on a farm. Pearl's husband Howard is away fighting in the First World War. Fed up with her controlling mother and the farm lifestyle, Pearl aspires to be a dancer and moves to a city. Pearl exhibits anti-social and psychotic behaviors. She treats the farm animals as her audience and feeds the goose she kills to a crocodile. On a trip to get medicine for her father, Pearl stops by the theater and is mesmerized by the dancing girls on the screen. The projectionist, John, befriends Pearl and gifts her a cutout picture from the film reel. On her way home, Pearl chases after the picture through a cornfield that is blown out of her pocket. Pearl comes across a strawman and acts out her dance move with it. Pearl later also acts out a sex scene with it and steals its tall hat. Mitsy, Pearl's sister-in-law, informs her of a dance competition at the local church. Ruth discovers Pearl's interest and scolds her. During an altercation, Pearl pushes Ruth against the fireplace, and Ruth's dress catches on fire. After putting out the fire, Pearl pushes Ruth down the stairs and locks her in the basement as her father watches in horror. At night, Pearl sneaks out of the house to meet with John. John shows her a pornographic picture, and the two sleep together. John offers to drive Pearl home the next morning. He investigates the noise from the basement, but Pearl assures him it is the family dog. Later, Pearl forgets her lie about the dog, and John becomes suspicious. As John gets ready to leave, Pearl kills him with a pitchfork and feeds the body to the crocodile. Pearl is confident she will win the audition and not return to the farm, so she kills her father. Pearl later is devastated that Mitsy wins the dance audition. After confessing what she has done, Pearl kills and dismembers Mitsy and feeds her to the crocodile. The movie ends with Howard returning home from the war and seeing his deceased in-laws propped up at the dining table. Pearl looks totally unhinged at Howard, smiling creepily as her eyes begin to well up.
I give the movie a 6/10, and here is why. The picture is colorful, and the acting is solid. Mia Goth does a phenomenal job portraying a psychotic farm girl who aspires to be a big star and does not hold back from pursuing her dream. I particularly enjoyed the scene where Pearl confided in Mitsy about her mental disorders and desire to kill. The final scene where Pearl smiles at Howard also attests Goth's acting skill.
Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022)
Concise plot summary
In the current universe, the Wangs get into trouble with the IRS for improperly claiming non-business-related expenses as business-related. Husband Waymond from another universe warns wife Evelyn that something bad is about to happen. Evelyn discovers the power of universe jumping on her own and learns that she can channel skills from different versions of herself from other universes to fight. The evil among universes is Jobu Tupaki, who created an everything bagel that represents the source of negative energy. In the current universe, Jobu Tupaki is Waymond and Evelyn's daughter Joy. Joy is fed up with her tiger mother and her mother's disapproval of her lesbian lifestyle, leading to the creation of said bagel. The universes each contain possible life paths for the main characters if they had made different life decisions. For example, in one universe, Evelyn doesn't marry Waymond and becomes a successful actress. In another universe, Evelyn becomes a hibachi chef who competes with another chef who hides a raccoon under his tall hat. To jump from one universe to another, the character has to do something that's completely out of the ordinary to break the algorithm. In the current universe, Evelyn fights a small army led by Evelyn's elderly father and Jobu Tupaki. Waymond, however, is passive in his approach. Instead of fighting, Evelyn decides to reconcile with Joy. The conflict between Evelyn and her father comes from his disapproval of her marrying Waymond, a poor man. The point of the story is that both Evelyn's father and Evelyn should acknowledge their flawed parenting and accept their child as is.
Side Effects (2013)
Plot summary
Emily Taylor colludes with Dr. Victoria Siebert, her psychiatrist and secret lover, to stage an episode of drug-induced sleepwalking and murder her husband, Martin Taylor. The killing of Martin leads to an increase in the lovers' stock prices. Before the killing, to avoid suspicion, Emily faked a failed suicide attempt and captured the attention of psychiatrist Dr. Banks, who suggested to be prescribed a particular depression medication. Dr. Banks obliged, leading to the death of Martin. After the trial, Emily is sent to a mental asylum while Dr. Banks loses his career and his wife. Suspecting the murder might have been pre-meditated, Dr. Banks gives Emily a truth serum injection. Not knowing that it only contains saline water, Emily pretends to be sedated and insists that she is innocent, revealing the sinister truth. Dr. Banks further discovers that Dr. Siebert recently visited with Emily. Seeing the stock market reaction after Martin's death, Dr. Banks puts two and two together and creates a plan to put these two evil women behind bars. Dr. Banks persuades Emily to betray Dr. Siebert. After being released from the asylum, in exchange for turning on Dr. Siebert, Emily visits Dr. Banks. Outraged at Dr. Banks' drug prescription, Emily tells the truth of how she and Dr. Siebert collaborated and fabricated the murder, proving Dr. Banks' innocence. Soon, Emily is arrested after the police hear the anger-induced confession outside Dr. Banks' office.
Carnival of Souls (1962)
A decent thriller made in the 1960s
Mary Henry and her two friends crash into the railing of a bridge and fall into the muddy lake underneath after participating in a drag race against another vehicle. Mary survives the accident and emerges from the lake covered in mud, looking dazed. Soon after, she accepts a job to play the organ at a church in Utah. Mary begins seeing the phantom of a pale zombie-looking man. On her way to Utah, Mary is mesmerized by an abandoned carnival site. After arriving at the hotel, she is greeted by Mrs. Thomas, the landlady, and John Liden, another patron who immediately develops a romantic interest in Mary. Mary becomes plagued by the phantom and encounters strange episodes where she appears invisible to others around her, as if she is in a different dimension. Soon, Mary falls under the spell of the zombie man and plays an obscene tune, resulting in her getting fired. On her way back home from the church, Mary is drawn to the carnival site, where she sees herself as a zombie dancing with the man among a crowd of zombies gleefully. It turns out that the whole movie is Mary's fantasy shortly after the accident, and she was killed in the lake.
Stir of Echoes (1999)
Stir of Echoes plot summary
The movie centers around the supernatural experience of Tom and his young son Jake after Tom being hypnotized by his sister-in-law at a neighborhood party filled with music and alcohol. The event completely changes Tom, who previously was just an ordinary construction worker preoccupied with attending to his family. The hypnosis opens Tom's ability to see the dead, which terrifies him. Initially he sees a dead girl and senses unpredictable buzzes. Gradually he becomes able to see the future in his dream. Tom has a dream one day in which his friend and neighbor Frank warns him that "they are going to kill you and your family" and witnesses Frank's son Adam committing suicide. Tom jerks awake and then has the exact experience, minus Frank's warning. Tom's wife Maggie searches for a babysitter to watch Jake when the couple goes out on a date. Jake suggests that Maggie contacts Debbie because Samantha told him that Debbie is available. Debbie shows up to babysit. After hearing Jake whispering through the baby monitor, Debbie decides to investigate. After questioning Jake, Debbie learns that he was talking to Samantha, Debbie's little sister who disappeared years ago. Debbie then abducts Jake so she can question him further about the whereabouts of Samantha. In the meantime, Tom has a vision of Jake being taken. He follows the buzzing and chases the pair to the train station where they retrieve Jake. Extremely disturbed by all the strange happenings, Tom visits with his sister-in-law to receive another hypnosis to hopefully return to normalcy. This time, Tom is instructed in his hypnotic episode to "dig." Unfortunately, Tom's supernatural ability remains, and he predicts the death of Maggie's grandmother. Soon Tom begins digging in his backyard, which angers Maggie. When Maggie and Jake are away to attend the funeral, Tom buys a breaker hammer and starts drilling into the concrete floor in the basement. He accidentally knocks loose a portion of the wall and discovers Samantha's decomposed body. Tom reaches out and holds Samantha's hand and he learns through a vision that Adam and Kurt, Tom's landlord and friend Bobby's son, attempted to rape and then accidentally killed Samantha in the same house years ago. Tom rushes to Frank's house to inform him why Adam committed suicide to bring closure to Frank's family. Franks follows Tom to Tom's house and waves a gun at him and a shot is fired. Bobby and Kurt show up at Tom's house attempting to kill him. At the exact moment, Maggie arrives to pick Tom up to go be with her family. Sensing something strange, she grabs a pocketknife for self-protection before entering the house. As soon as she steps in, she is overpowered by Bobby, and he intends to kill both Tom and Maggie. Frank emerges and kills both Bobby and Kurt and proclaims that "they were going to kill you and your family," just like Tom's previous dream predicted. The movie ends with the family moving away from the house, signaling a new beginning in their life.
Flowers in the Attic (1987)
Plot summary
The movie is narrated by Cathy Dollanganger, the daughter of Chris and Corrine Dollanganger. Cathy has an older brother Chris Jr. And two younger twin siblings Cory and Carrie. Chris dies from an accident and leaves no money behind. Due to financial problems, the family is forced to move into Corrine's parents' extravagant mansion. Years ago, Corrine married her half uncle and was written out of her father's will. Corrine hopes to reconcile the relationship with her deathly ill father and be written back into the will. Corrine and her mother lock the four children in a room with access to an attic, so the father doesn't discover them. Initially Corrine visits with the children frequently but soon she starts dating and neglects her motherly duty. Chris and Cathy attempt to escape from the attic but to no avail. Cory catches a mouse in the attic and keeps it as a pet. Cory soon becomes very ill and is taken away by Corrine and the grandmother. Corrine tells the other three kids that Cory died from pneumonia, but Chris learns later that Cory was poisoned because the pet mouse died from eating a piece of sugar donut Cory fed it. The children are heartbroken, and Chris successfully breaks out of the prison through removing the door hinge and they finally confront the mother at her wedding ceremony. Corrine pretends that she doesn't know the kids fearing that she would lose her heritage. Cathy wrestle with her mother and pushes her down the balcony killing her.
The Town That Dreaded Sundown (1976)
An average crime thriller
Plot summary:
The movie begins with a narrated description of the town Texarkana and its population. The narrator informs us that the story happened after the Second World War and many of the town folks were veterans who went back to school, which is never mentioned again later in the movie. The phantom killer (who wears a white hood over his head the entire movie) begins his first killings by attacking a young couple in a parked car. The police discover that the killer bit the woman's breasts, back, and butt. 21 days later, he kills again. Deputy Ramsey happens to be near the crime scene and goes to investigate after hearing gunshots. He doesn't catch the killer but sees the killer's vehicle.
Unable to solve the crime, the town sheriff brought Captain Morale from Texas into the investigation. At this point, the movie sort of turns into a comedy. The sheriff appoints Deputy Sparkplug as Morale's driver, which turns out to be a mistake since Sparkplug drives like a maniac. Deputy Ramsey informs Morale that the 2 killing events were 21 days apart. 21 days after the second round of brutal killings, Morale instructs some police offers to dress as couples and park their car at the crime scene as decoys to lure the phantom killer in. At this point, the movie inserts another comic relief (guys crossdressing in an exaggerated way). The killer doesn't show up, to the police's disappointment. They subsequently meet with a crime specialist to gain insight into the killer. The specialist concludes that the killer is mentally ill and he fulfills his sexual desire through biting. The movie then cuts to the next killing: the phantom killer stocks a woman outside a grocery store and follows her home. The killer waits until dark, kills the husband through the window, and injures the woman. The woman runs through a cornfield and frantically knocks on the neighbor's door. Luckily, she survives but didn't catch a look at the killer. The police investigation has not gained much progress. Just when Morale declares that they will never solve the crimes, Ramsey hears over the radio that there's a parked car nearby that looks exactly like the phantom killer's. Morale and Ramsey rush to the car and find the killer on a top hill. They chase him down, but a train comes through sandwiched in between the killer and the two cops. The cops shoot under the moving train and a bullet hits the killer in the leg. After the train passes, the killer is gone. The narrator finally concludes the movie by telling us that killer has never been caught.
The Dead Center (2018)
Average Movie, Bad Acting
The movie begins with the returning to life of Michael Clark, after pronounced dead from suicide by cutting himself. Clark is discovered by nurse Travis in a patient bed in another patient's room. Upon Dr. Forrester's request, Travis moves Clark into his own locked room for further examination. In the meantime, forensic pathologist Dr. Graham who is assigned to examine Clark's dead body learns that the body has disappeared. After checking photos of Clark's cut wounds, Graham is intrigued by the back story and goes to the suicide scene to investigate. In the motel room where Clark committed suicide, Graham discovers Clark's driver's license with his name inked out and the bathtub filled with bloody water with a swirl carved into the bottom of the tub. The swirl resembles one of the cuts on Clark's body. Graham then goes to Clark's parents' house to investigate. Graham learns that Clark has been pronounced dead once in a house fire but came back to life, making it the second time he's come back to life recently. In Clark's room, Graham sees the wall covered with cut out newspaper articles of mass murders across the globe with gruesome pictures of these dead bodies. All the deceased in the clip pictures have wide-opened mouths and veiny faces. On the floor in Clark's room, Graham sees a black burned-out swirl.
In the meantime, Forrester treats the amnesic and apparently mentally ill Clark, not knowing his past and his recently suicide. Clark insists that an evil deity intends to take over his body and kills everyone. The demon inside Clark goes on to kill Travis and another patient by vomiting black blood into their mouths. These two murder victims' deaths both have wide-open mouths and veiny faces, resembling the deceased Graham sees in the clip pictures. After a few sessions, Forrester pieces evidence together and realizes the danger of Clark.
Sarah Grey, the hospital CEO, finds out that the patient has never signed any consent. Fearful of a potential lawsuit, she decides to release Clark against Forrester's protest. Clark then kills Grey with his usual method. Graham finds out Clark's whereabouts and goes to the hospital to warn everyone.
Clark's father picks him up from the hospital and brings him home. Graham chases them to their house but is killed by Clark. Forrester arrives at Clark's parents' house and sees that the family and neighbors have been killed. Forrester comes across a house with flickering lights. Low and behold, the possessed Clark is killing again. Forrester bashes Clark's face with a pipe. The movie ends with Forrester sitting in an ambulance with dark veins appearing on his face, implying that the demon has found a new host.
The story has potential, but the execution is poor. The acting is also atrocious. 6/10.
The Evil Inside Her (2019)
Don't watch this movie, it's trash
It's thoroughly amazing how little happens in this movie. It begins with a middle-aged woman killing her dad by dumping sizzling hot bacon grease on his face and bashing his head with a heavy skillet. Then the movie cuts to a coffee shop where an old guy offers to pay for a young couple Vicky and Mike's orders. Before handing Vicky her drink, he drugs it. Then the couple joins another couple, Emma and TJ, for vacation in a local cabin in the woods. Soon Vicky starts to feel sick and she begins to act very strangely by putting her hand on the hot burner and peeling the skin of her forearm. The next morning, Vicky goes missing and the rest of the group goes looking for her. TJ finds her but soon gets stabbed. Vicky then kills Emma. When Mike kneels down checking on Emma's bloody body, a cop shows up and points his gun at Mike. After a few quick exchanges, Mike recognizes that the cop is the guy who picked up their drink orders from the beginning. Then this evil old guy instructs Vicky to kill Mike and later herself. Apparently, this elderly gentleman disapproves the young generation, in order to demonstrate his disapproval, he invents a pill that can turn anyone into a killer. The ending of the movie proceeds to this old man pretending to be a janitor at an elementary school, insinuating that he soon will be targeting young children. If you have made it this far reading my review, you already know the entire plot of the movie. Do yourself a favor and skip this stinker.
The Twin (2017)
What more do you expect, it's a TV movie
This movie is bad and cringy, which is exactly why it's a TV movie. The plot is somewhat interesting, but the execution is poor. The story begins with Derek manufacturing a car crash that kills his parents and girlfriend; and ending up in a mental institution soon afterwards. Derek's twin brother Tyler joins girlfriend Jocelyn, neighbor Jake, for her mother Ashely's birthday dinner. During dinner, the young couple reveal that they're going overseas for an independent study trip in Japan. During the hospital visit, Derek attacks Tyler, swapped their clothes, and escapes. Now Derek, the evil twin, pretends to be Tyler and returns to the real world. Of course, everyone is too lacking in intelligence to be able to figure this out or do something about it. They just go on about their life until Derek drugs Jocelyn and takes her to his family cabin in attempt to rape her and murder her. The mental institution then discovers that the locked up one is actually Tyler not Derek because of a distinct birth mark. At this point, you may wonder, how have these people not figured this whole thing out already. Let me kindly remind you that this is a TV movie, kay? Moving on with the story, Derek then ties Jocelyn up in the cabin. At this crucial moment, the mom, Jake, and Tyler arrive soon and save the day.
Hard Candy (2005)
Garbage
This is a low budget torture porn, worse than something like Hostel in which something actually happens. I don't understand how so many people praise it. It's utter garbage. Spend your time watch sponge bob and you'll be so much better off .
Malicious (2018)
Malicious plot summary
This is just another average horror movie that you see and immediately forget about. I just watched it a moment ago, about ten minutes in I realized that I'd already seen it but couldn't recall the plot, so I sat through the whole thing again. I am not calling it a bad movie, it's just something that doesn't stick.
The movie begins with a short opening that shows this guy James killing his wife Emily. Then fast forward, we see Adam and his pregnant wife Lisa on their way to their new country house. Adam is a math professor and his position offers him the fully furnished house. Upon arrival, the couple receives the housewarming gift from Lisa's sister Becky, a wooden box (a.k.a., fertility box). Adam fails to open it and the couple brushes it off and goes on about their day. The next day when Adam goes to work, Lisa puts together the crib and she opens the fertility box. As we horror movie goers all know, a box in a horror movie should never be opened, hence crap hits the fan. Soon Lisa starts to hallucinate, and she has a brief conversation with the ghost of Emily in the woods during a jog. Lisa then suffers from a miscarriage and the couple is devastated with the news that Lisa can no longer bear children. Lisa's sister Becky visits the couple and stays with them for a few days until she experiences the creepy ghost playing tricks on her.
In the meantime, Adam frequently speaks to a colleague named Clark who believes in supernatural happenings. Adam invites Clark and their mutual student David over and Clark senses the evil of the fertility box. Being skeptical, Adam dismisses Clark and throws away the box. Soon after, Adam jumps in the shower and a creepy looking ghost woman takes the form of Becky and makes out with him. This steamy shower make-out episode convinces Adam that something supernatural is truly going on. They bring back Clark and David, and through the recorded conversations, the group learns that Lisa opening the box killed the baby and released the evil spirit. The spirit roams freely and refuses to return back to the box.
Adam and Lisa then pay a visit to James in prison and ask for solutions to deal with the evil entity. James indicates that only killing Lisa would put the entity back in the box. Adam certainly is not too thrilled about the news. On their way home the couple has a car accident. After coming to, Adam finds Lisa missing and he walks home searching for her. Through the window Adam sees Lisa having sex with David by a truck, which is of course just a hallucination induced by the ghost. Adam rushes to the truck and finds David's dead body in the truck bed. Back in the house, Lisa stabs Adam in the gut with a knife. Adam refuses to kill his wife. Then he is attacked by the same ghost woman from the shower earlier and he stabs her with a spear. It turns out that the ghost woman is Lisa. Lisa begs Adam to kill her to stop the evil and two ghostly figures start to form. Adam takes over and kills Lisa. The scene ends with Clark visiting Adam in prison and inquiring about the whereabouts of the box. Then it cuts to the pregnant Becky arriving home to the box sitting on her dining table, Becky stares at the box with curiosity.
Secret Santa (2018)
It is a hilarious movie
Secret Santa is the movie version of an SNL skit. It's funny, over the top, and it doesn't take itself too seriously. It's perfect for a movie night where you want to turn your brain off, munch on some butter popcorn, spread out on the couch, and have a few laughs. I have to praise the opening credit where some letters in the names are highlighted to form spooky words. It's a creative way of informing the audience of what to expect and it sets the tone of the movie. The story is nothing new, it's just about a family reunion dinner on Christmas Eve that goes horribly wrong. Yes, "been there, done that", but this movie has a twist. You soon will notice that the family members are all particularly and brutally honest with one another and they speak their minds with all the fake politeness removed. Truth being communicated without a filter can be a dangerous thing because your truthful feelings can be offensive and hurtful. Has your friend asked you questions like "does this shirt make me look fat" or "am I a big loser"? In your mind you maybe think "yes you look like a whale" or "yes you dumb idiot", but you respond positively and encourage them with kind words. Now, imagine that you tell the truth when asked these questions at the Christmas dinner table. The answers will lead to violence because how terrible it is to be straightforward at moments like such.
Here comes the plot twist, most of the guests at the dinner have drunken the hard punch with added truth serum. The serum comes with the side effect of turning the consumer into a semi-zombie. Most characters have the drink with the serum, they turn on each other for speaking the truth. The infection is bloodborne so it is easily transmitted. By the end of the movie, everyone in the family dies either through direct consumption or indirect infection. Sounds like a simply plot, doesn't it? The dialogues are hilarious!
Greta (2018)
Greta Plot Summary
The movie begins with the lead protagonist Frances, a restaurant waitress, finding a decent looking green purse on a New York train. Being an innocent young lady, Frances decides to find the owner of the lost purse rather than claiming ownership over it as her roommate Erica suggests. The purse belongs to Greta, a French piano teacher who appears to be normal and friendly at first. Frances befriends Greta and the two begin hanging out. During a home cooking evening at Greta's apartment, Frances comes across a cabinet filled with purses all looking the same as the one she finds on the train. Frances closely examines the purses and discovers that on the back of each bag there's a sticky note with the returner's name and phone number. Apparently, Greta regularly intentionally loses the same purse containing the same items (including her ID, which is how Frances is able to locate Greta in the first place) in order to lure kind-hearted people in. Greta is particularly interested in young girls about her deceased daughter's age. Frances is initially drawn to Greta because herself has lost her mother not long ago and she's been upset with the loss. After learning about Greta's secret, Frances leaves and ends the friendship with Greta.
Obviously, Greta happens to be mentally ill and she refuses to leave Frances alone. In order to save the friendship, Greta shows up at Frances' apartment and work, and starts to stalk Erica also. The stalking terrifies Frances and she decides to get rid of Greta once for all.
Upon taking advice from Erica, Frances convinces Greta that she's going to be out of town, hoping Greta would give up on stalking and move on. However, Greta is aware of the plan and she drugs Frances' coffee and abducts her.
Frances wakes up in a human-sized wood box with kid's toys around her, leading to the revelation that Greta is a crazy mother who drove her own daughter to commit suicide and now is looking for a replacement. Greta lets Frances out of the box and keeps her under control with sedatives. At a cookie making session, Frances hits Greta's hand with a rolling pin and cuts of her pinky finger on a cookie cutter. She further knocks Greta out and seeks escape. To no avail, Frances is locked up again.
Frances's father hires a private detective to find his daughter, but Greta shoots a healthy dose of sedative into the detective's neck and manages to kill him with a handgun.
While holding on to Frances's captivity, Greta moves on to lure new girls in. A brown-haired skinny girl accidentally picks up one of the baits on a train and falls into Greta's trap. The new girl returns the purse and Greta invites her to stay for coffee. When Greta's not looking, the girl roofies her drink and reveals herself to be Erica. After locking up the passed-out Greta in the previously mentioned wood box, the two girls escape.
Upgrade (2018)
you'd likely enjoy it if you like fantasy movies with a dose of plot twist
I saw it the other day, I sat in a deserted theater for the late night showing on a weekday, and it was really a blast. I could fully enjoy it alone in a giant auditorium room. Nowadays, anything that could be done has pretty much been done on a movie screen, thanks to the advanced technology and human intelligence. With many good sci-fi movies out there, I have to give this one credit for being slightly different with a unique M. Night Shyamalan plot twist (I am referring to his early day films with unpredictable endings). I went in without watching the trailer or listening to someone's review first, and let me tell you, it was a great experience viewing it without any expectations or pre-dispositions. I thought I was pretty clever guessing who the bad guy was at the beginning (the Aaron character does not do the best job hiding his intention to test the stem, then later I realized that it was a plot device), then of course, there is the ultimate bad guy behind the anticipated bad guy, which is my favorite part of this movie. In addition to the whole surprise that is very well done, the acting is fantastic, all characters are in their right place without over or under acting. The leading role does it particularly well when he's being controlled by stem and performing tasks he wouldn't normally do otherwise. It's not easy to act out the actions scenes with the accurately expressed opposing feeling towards said action. Overall, I had a great time, I gave it a 10 (I am not that strict of a movie goer that counts off points for minor imperfections, not that I have problem with other people who do that). My conclusion is that I recommend this film (such a long statement leading to this point). Have a good one, y'all.
Book Club (2018)
Reviewing from the theater
I'm currently sitting in my local movie theater watching this movie. I've been cringing so hard. The whole idea is so cringy, the queens are so over acting, the plot is so cheesy, the story is so unbelievably simple. I'm debating whether I should just walk out, how can anybody like this movie??? It has a rating of 6 on IMDB. This is absurdly ridiculous.
Family Possessions (2016)
Really bad
I support indie movies, but this one is a sinker. If you enjoy wooden acting and exposition and incoherent crap, go check it out.
The Follower (2017)
I recommend this movie if you're looking to waste your time!
This is another found footage movie with a "nuance". This time, it's a YouTuber recording on his cameras! The story makes no sense, it's about this guy investigating a supposedly haunted house, but the owner of the house appears to be insane, then the dude leaves. Soon after he starts to experience strange things in his house, the ending is about the house owner's brother murdering her... it's really not worth the effort of tying. The acting is absolutely atrocious; it's comparable to the acting you see in a mediocre B movie.
To whoever was associated with the making of this movie: I understand that it's your passion project, or you got paid to participate in the making of this piece of poop, it's really, I MEAN REALLY, terrible.
Dead Story (2017)
Next level bad!
Here is the plot of the movie: under the help of modern medical technology, Bradley Cooper and Nickolas Cage have a son together, he plays "Herald" in this movie. The main female leading actor with sausage-sized lips play "Ann" here, Herald's wife. The couple move into a house on a range. The house is haunted by some female reptilian looking ghost who has a really bad haircut. The ghost somehow possesses Ann and makes her kill her mother-in-law. Herald feels depressed and takes a walk in the woods and out of nowhere a knife flies over and kills him. The end.
Does the story sound appealing to you? I don't think so either. You're welcome that I saved you 1 hour and 20 minutes.
12 Feet Deep (2017)
So so movie, not that impressive
This movie is not bad, it's just an average low budget indie drama film shot in one single location. The story begins with this woman swimming and testing her own blood sugar level in between lap sections since she's diabetic. Then her younger sister appears, right off the bat you can tell that she's very sarcastic, bitter, and pessimistic. The younger sister finds out that the older sister is engaged, out of jealousy, she throws the ring in the pool and it gets stuck at the pool drainage cover. Not knowing that the younger sister tossed the ring in the water, the older sister jumps into the pool to retrieve it, then out of guilt, the younger sister tries to help.
The pool security guard doesn't see the sisters at the bottom of the pool and closes the pool for the long holiday weekend. The sisters are trapped in the pool and unable to get through the solid pool cover. The janitor discovers them and blackmails them. The older sister reveals her bank card pass code and hands the janitor her engagement ring in return for help. Not satisfying with what the sisters can offer financially, the janitor refuses to let the girls out.
After seeing her dying sister who is in immediate need for her diabetic shot, eventually the younger sister conjures up the power to lift up a metal drainage cover and uses it to dig a hold in the pool cover, and they are finally rescued.
All in all, the movie does have "heart" and this is presented through the dialogues between the sisters, and between the janitor and the sisters. The bitter, jealous, and argumentative younger sister becomes caring. The janitor who refuses to save them at first later comes to her conscience. This type of storytelling has been done before numerous times, the movie doesn't offer anything fresh, it's just another story added to the genre.
VooDoo (2017)
Don't watch this movie
I just saw the Bye Bye Man, which is a really terribly made and poorly directed movie filled with actors who can't perform. There's little redeeming quality to that piece of "film", plus there's a ton of information out there already on YouTube and movie review sites about it, it's not worth my time to repeat what the critics and independent movie reviewers have said about it. Now onto this piece of crap. The reason why I choose to review Voodoo is because the first half of the movie is unexpectedly intriguing and well shot. The movie begins with some voodoo demon worshiping ritual with a woman stabbing this already lifeless body. The screen fades to black and then we see the main protagonist lady arriving at LA and recording the entire trip on her camera. Let me refer to her as long-hair. Long-hair stays with her cousin, which I will now refer to as short-hair, and a bunch of roommates in a dark creepy house during her trip. The cousins go out celebrating their reunion and meets Ron Jeremy (a famous movie star with special talents in the adult industry, if you have no clue who he is). Everything goes well until poop hits the fan, first a psychic sees long-hair and senses she's got something insidious vibe going on, then her ex-boyfriend calls her on the phone to inform her that she's cursed. It is revealed early in the movie that long-hair dated this dude who's married and has an unforgiving wife who is able to practice witchcraft and put spells on people. The wife found out that the husband was cheating on her with long-hair, she got super mad and cursed long-hair. So far so good, and the two leading actresses are doing a fine job. In the first half, long-hair accidentally set her camera on night-vision and she's surrounded by spooky looking spirits that can only be captured on a camera. I thought that was one interesting way to sneak in some scary scene. My problem begins with the second half of the movie, which turns into complete chaos. One night, long-hair is disturbed by some loud noise downstairs and she goes to investigate. Then all hail (a note to IMDb if you're reading this, was this the "prohibited word" that I couldn't use? What is the definition of "prohibited words"? You have to clearly include it in your guidelines so your users don't spend an hour editing their movie reviews and scratching their heads about which words are naughty, Kay?) breaks loose, somehow she is dragged into this demon world and tortured by all the evil spirits. The camera is still rolling at this point and long-hair is right there in the frame, I guess I need to give this demon camera person some credit for doing an amazing job. The two halves don't mesh together at all and feel like two totally different movies. Plus the demon world is very incompetently captured. Where does it even come from? What kind of witchcraft is that? How can one person summon twenty demons all at once? Do these demons not have anything else going on, like scaring and haunting other families? The second half is a full-on demon festive, unbelievable. I guess the movie sends out two messages: one, don't be dating dudes who're married to crazy evil women; and second, it's not that hard to conjure up a bunch of demons at the same time (look at other movies, one freaking demon is usually enough to screw up the entire family, can you feel what long-hair is enduring in this movie?).