Movie Review: Addams Family Values (1993)

Two years ago I covered the first “Addams Family” movie for Month of Spooks. And in my review I made it clear that I had a thoroughly good time with it. And then people started saying “Watch the sequel, it’s great!”. So I suppose that’s we’ve done now.

Ladies, gents, and non-binaries… “Addams Family Values”.

Things are about to get hectic for the creepy, kooky, mysterious, and spooky family as not only do they see the arrival of a new baby, which sets Wednesday (Christina Ricci) and Pugsley (Jimmy Workman) off a bit. But things also start changing drastically when Fester (Christopher Lloyd) falls for the family’s new nanny (Joan Cusack), who may or may not have ulterior motives. Cue homicide attempts, interaction with chipper outsiders, and batshit insanity… and I loved the tale being told here. It’s a darkly comical, whimy cartoon of an adventure/caper, weaving fun antics and some surprisingly layered writing about family and well… values into a hilarious and clever journey that I found myself smiling and laughing at from start to end.

What is there to say about the characters in this family that hasn’t been said before. They still have their delightfully off-kilter personalities that are so much fun to experience, but they’re also tested in some interesting ways throughout the goings on of the movie. And any newcomers are great additions as well, every part is written in such charming and funny manners that never fails to entertain. And the cast is of course perfect. Raul Julia, Anjelica Huston, Christopher Lloyd, Christina Ricci, Jimmy Workman, Carel Struycken, Carol Kane, and Christopher Hart are all still flawless in these roles. As for newer additions, we of course have Joan Cusack (love her in everything), David Krumholtz, Peter MacNicol, Christine Baranski, Mercedes McNab, and more, all killing it. There is no weak link in this cast, everyone’s simply fabulous.

The score for the movie was composed by Marc Shaiman and it’s delightful. Big, bombastic, spooky, playful, pompous, pfun… doesn’t work, but you get it. It has such a bouncy vibrance that fits in line with the cartoony, creepy, kooky shenanigans. It makes the already broad antics pop even more while also being a general musical delight.

Based on the classic comic strips by Charles Addams, “Addams Family Values” sees the first film’s director, Barry Sonnenfeld, returning to helm this one. And once again, he absolutely nailed it. He captures the gothic, yet goofy vibes so damn well, while bringing a certain playful energy that makes the cartooniness somehow not feel completely out of place within the live action space. And on a related sidenote: I feel like these movies and this darkly playful nature is what also made him such a perfect fit for “Men in Black”. That’s all, I just wanted an excuse to talk about “Men in Black”… I guess. Anyhow, back to *Snap, snap*. So Sonnenfeld killed it, but I also gotta give massive props to production designer Ken Adam whose set design is simply a marvel to look at.

This movie’s been pretty well received. On Rotten Tomatoes it has a 75% positive rating and a “Fresh” certification. On Metacritic it has a score of 61/100. And on imdb.com it has a score of 6.8/10. The movie was also nominated for 1 Oscar in the category of Best Set Decoration.

So yeah, I loved “Addams Family Values”, it takes what the first movie did and build on it in hilarious and charming ways. It has a really good story, great characters, fantastic performances, great music, and fantastic directing/production design. Time for my final score. *Snap, snap*. My final score for “Addams Family Values” is a 9.45/10. So it most certainly gets the “SEAL OF APPROVAL!”.

My review of “Addams Family Values” is now completed.

Aaaand that wraps up the Month of Spooks for 2023. Have a good night and a Happy Halloween, friends!

Movie Review: Project Wolf Hunting (2022)

Last few years we’ve managed to get at least one South Korean movie into the Month of Spooks pipeline. So why let this year be any different?

Ladies, gents, and non-binaries… “Project Wolf Hunting”.

A group of dangerous criminals are being transported from the Philippines to South Korea via cargo ship. The seemingly simple journey is however made a hell of a lot more difficult when said criminals manage to break free and begin violently slaughtering anyone they find on board. But the violent criminals aren’t the only threat on board, as there’s something sinister lurking below deck. Part “Overlord”, part “Con Air”, part mind numbing monotony. I don’t mind the premise behind this movie, and there are a few decent ideas going on throughout, but instead of using it to build a really tense, claustrophobic thriller, it resorts to nigh non-stop violent carnage. If you know me, then you know I don’t mind a bit of gory violence, and at first I found the rampaging a bit interesting in this, but after a while of it going on with little to no change in pace or style, it sort of just ends up kinda dull. And even when it threatens to bring out some interesting plot developments, its interest lasts maybe five minutes, or it’s too little too late. It’s not horrible, and its fast pace does keep it from dragging, but I found the narrative too monotonous and undercooked to fully thrill.

The characters in this are… I guess that’s it, they just kind of are. A few of them have glimpses of being interesting, but much like the plot, there’s not enough development put to them for me to really care. I’m not even asking for them to be the greatest, most nuanced characters ever, but I’d like to at least have SOMETHING more to them. Something to make me care, something to make the violence perpetrated by or against them interesting. At least I can safely say that the entire cast is great, all delivering damn solid work. Seo In-Guk, Jang Dong-Yoon, Jung So-Min, Choi Gwi-hwa, Sung Dong-il, and more all deliver good work.

The score for the movie was composed by Kim Jun-sung and Jo Ran and as I write this sentence, I can’t recall it at all. It just sort melts into the the background as the sound of screaming, gun shots, and hammers cracking skulls drowns out anything else. It didn’t leave any real impression for me.

“Project Wolf Hunting” was written and directed by Kim Hong Sun, and while I’ve made it clear that I found his script a bit on the underwhelming side, I do have to give some kudos to his skills as a director. The way he frames the hallways of the ship, or how he shows the carnage going on is genuinely quite good. All the violence and action is shot and edited really well, which does keep the blood-soaked carnage somewhat interesting, even as its constant barrage does reduce a fair bit of impact. Speaking of violence, if you don’t like blood, then this isn’t for you. I read somewhere that the director claims they used like two and a half tons of blood during production, which I fully believe. Hell, if they had to redo a take, then he may as well be selling it short. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen this much crimson liquid spraying in a movie, it’s honestly kind of impressive. Almost makes me want to see an excel document of how the budget was used in the movie, just to see what percentage was spent on blood.

This movie’s gotten some mixed reception. On Rotten Tomatoes it has an 88% positive rating and a “Fresh” certification. On Metacritic it has a score of 53/100. And on imdb.com it has a score of 6.1/10.

While it’s a bit too repetitive to give a glowing recommendation, I’d still say that “Project Wolf Hunting” is pretty good. It has a fine story, meh characters, great performances, forgettable music, and great direction. Time for my final score. *Ahem*. My final score for “Project Wolf Hunting” is a 6.23/10. So while quite flawed, I would still say it can be worth a rental.

My review of “Project Wolf Hunting” is now completed.

Row, row, row your boat, look at all this blood.

Movie Review: The Batman vs. Dracula (2005)

I think this might be the only year we’ve had two animated features within the Month of Spooks. First “Resident Evil: Death Island” last week and now a feature about two winged rats. So that’s fun, I guess.

Ladies, gents, and non-binaries… “The Batman vs. Dracula”.

On a cold Gotham night, a recently escaped Penguin (Tom Kenny) finds himself accidentally bringing the one and only Dracula (Peter Stormare) back to life… unlife… undeath? The vampire then begins wreaking havoc on the citizens of Gotham, and it’s up to the Caped Crusader (Rino Romano) to find a way to stop him. The plot here is fine, a perfectly passable story of a hero battling a classic monster. I will give it some credit for going considerably darker and leaning more on horror tropes than I anticipated. Now, this movie builds on from a cartoon that was running at the time, and from the little I’ve seen, that show did have some darkness to it. But this movie wasn’t afraid of really going horror dark, or as far into horror dark as they dared while still trying to have it be family friendly. So while I do appreciate it having that added edge, it otherwise doesn’t do much special/standout. Narratively it generally feels like an extended episode of an alright cartoon, but with a *slight* horror edge.

The characters here are enjoyable, giving us some fun spins on classic “Batman” characters, along with giving us a fairly classic, solid rendition of the prince of darkness. Voice cast is great too, Rino Romano does a really good Batman, Tom Kenny’s a fun Penguin, Tara Strong is good as Vicky Vale… but the standout here is of course Peter Stormare (one of the best actors of my home country) as Dracula. He’s so creepy and plays the character with a charismatic intensity that made me hang onto every word he spoke. He’s stellar. Entire cast is good, but he is just… wow.

The score for the movie was composed by Thomas Chase and I thought it was rad as hell. It blends a broody guitar with some hero brass and high pitched, gothic strings to create a series of tracks that create such a fun, unique atmosphere that marvelously blends horror, superheroes, and the inner turmoil of Brucey. It’s wonderful.

Tying into the 2004 cartoon series “The Batman”, based on the DC Comics character created by Bill Finger (and also a Bob Kane, kind of), “Batman vs. Dracula” was directed by Michael Goguen. And I think the direction here is pretty good. The animation itself is pretty good, it has an art style which is hit or miss for me, depending on the character. But otherwise the animation flows nicely, especially in the action scenes. But what I appreciate most is that there’s some really fun horror-inspired imagery going on through this, using shadows, silhouettes, and various intense colors to really lean on the spookiness of Dracula coming into the eternal hellscape that is Gotham City. It makes it pop and allows the filmmakers to have a bit of extra fun.

This movie’s gotten some mixed reception. On Rotten Tomatoes it has an audience rating of 66%. And on imdb.com it has a score of 6.6/10.

While it’s not one of my favorite bits of DC animation, I still found “The Batman vs. Dracula” to be a pretty fun little spooky adventure for the Dark Knight. It has an okay story, pretty fun characters, great performances, great music, and solid directing/animation. Time for my final score. *nananananananana*. My final score for “The Batman vs. Dracula” is a 6.77/10. So it’s worth a rental.

My review of “The Batman vs. Dracula” is completed.

I’ve honestly intended to have this for Month of Spooks for a few years, so it’s nice to finally have it cleared.

Movie Review: Halloween 2 (1981)

Friends, it has once again become time to talk about a spooky movie. I know, I’m as shocked as you, but it’s the truth. So let’s ge- oh, and spoilers for the end of the first movie, as that leads into what happens here. So if you’ve somehow not seen the 1978 original and rather not be spoiled, you know what needs to be done.

Ladies, gents, and non-binaries… “Halloween 2”.

While Laurie (Jamie Lee Curtis) gets brought to a hospital so she can be treated for the injuries that were given to her by Michael Myers, a frantic Dr. Loomis (Donald Pleasence) must go on a chase across Haddonfield in order to find Myers, who seemingly survived the Doctor’s ballistic intervention at the end of the previous movie. I found the story here to be pretty enjoyable, a decently tense horror romp that builds on the ideas set up in Carpenter’s original, though also not without its own set of flaws. While the main thrust of the narrative, the hunt for Michael Myers and Myers’ hunt for Laurie, is a fun, intense ride, some of the specifics surrounding certain plot beats and reveals that just feels like it undermines some of the creepiness and suspense that made the first film’s plot so good. The way they craft some of the set pieces I really like, and they roll into each other quite nicely, but some specific details in story evolution and in some of the kills just keeps it from being as solid of a narrative as it could be. Fun and tense, but also a bit contrived.

The characters in this are fine, you get the gist of them all fairly quickly, but most of them feel a bit underdeveloped. Though you also have the returning Dr. Loomis, a man hellbent on stopping Michael, but who also seems to harbor some regret behind his eyes, about how he couldn’t help Myers. And Donald Pleasence is stellar in the role. Laurie doesn’t do much here, but when she does get shit to do, Jamie Lee Curtis is really good in the role. Charles Cyphers, Jeffrey Kramer, Lance Guest, and a bunch of the other supporting actors are good too. Then you have Dick Warlock as Mikey My-My. He does bring a pretty good physicality to it, though I do miss the eerily cold and efficient movement of the first movie’s Shape. All in all, solid cast.

The score for the movie was composed by John Carpenter and Alan Howarth, and it’s fantastic. Takes the motifs and musical ideas from the first film and builds on them marvelously. From the remixed main theme to some of the new, creepy tracks, it’s an absolute feast for my ears and I loved every second of it.

“Halloween 2” was written by John Carpenter and Debra Hill, with directing duties now being handled by Rick Rosenthal, who I think did a really good job. His direction brings a similar creepiness as Carpenter did, crafting some really awesome and intense wide shots that uses shadow and negative space in really unsettling ways. Doesn’t hurt that Dean Cundey’s cinematography looks spectacular as well, marrying with Rosenthal’s direction beautifully to create a really visually rich movie that also manages to maintain the grimy, low-fi aesthetic of the first one.

This movie’s gotten some mixed reception. On Rotten Tomatoes it has a 33% positive rating. On Metacritic it has a score of 40/100. And on imdb.com it has a score of 6.5/10.

While the writing is a little bit of a letdown at times, I very much enjoyed “Halloween 2”. It has a fun plot, okay characters, great performances, fantastic music, and great directing/cinematography. Time for my final score. *Creepy breath*. My final score for “Halloween 2” is an 8.44/10. So while flawed, I’d say it’s worth buying.

My review of “Halloween 2” is now completed.

Hospitals really make for a good horror setting.

Movie Review: Resident Evil: Death Island (2023)

Oh hi there. Time for another Month of Spooks post, this time covering a franchise that started in the mid 90s and is somehow still going. Hell yeah.

Ladies, gents, and non-binaries… “Resident Evil: Death Island”.

When evidence of a new strain of T-Virus leads them to Alcatraz island, Jill (Nicole Tompkins), Chris (Kevin Dorman), Leon (Matthew Mercer), and Claire (Stephanie Panisello) find themselves having to team up in order to prevent this new outbreak from spreading and wreaking absolute havoc. The setup is fairly standard “Resi” stuff, and most of it is honestly just an excuse to get all of these beloved franchise characters together “Avengers” style and have them take part in silly shenanigans… and I wouldn’t have it any other way. The tone switches from a few dark and macabre scenes to absolute silly buggers, from a villain with somewhat understandable motives to characters dropping some “Commando” level quips. It’s the kind of insane series of events that fans have come to expect from this series since at least 2005, in particular if you’ve followed along with these animated spin-offs, and I am all for it. Is it technically a good, well written story? Not exactly, but the sheer entertainment value and the way it had me grinning ear to ear made me not care.

The characters in this are a delight, following in line more with the old timeline and other animated movies, rather than with the arguably more nuanced remakes. Not that I don’t love the characters in those, but there’s something about the adorably over the top sincerity of the original that I always find myself a bit more drawn to. But it’s also nice to see these characters all interacting and I do think everyone’s used well. The voice cast is entirely great too, mixing actors from original game timeline, remakes, and also two of the actors from “Resident Evil: Vendetta”. Nicole Tompkins, Kevin Dorman, Matthew Mercer, Stephanie Panisello, Erin Cahill, and Salli Saffioti are all great. As for the supporting cast, they’re good too. Cristina Valenzuela, Lucien Dodge, Daman Mills, Frank Todaro, and more all do very well.

The score for the movie was composed by Rei Kondoh and it’s solid. Instrumentally speaking it skews more towards typical orchestrations, but what I did enjoy is that is keeps a fairly consistent kineticism that adds to the fun vibe of the movie. It’s pretty good stuff.

Building onto the “Resident Evil” video game series by Capcom, “Resident Evil: Death Island” was directed by Eiichiro Hasumi and I love every bit of the directing in this. Kinetic, over the top, silly, and just leaning on every bit crazy of action filmmaking you can think of. Sure, this means it lacks the scariness or intensity of some of the games, but I’m fine with it because of just how fun it is. What further helps is just how good the animation is. Character models are ludicrously well detailed (LEON HAS ARM HAIR NOW), environments look really nice, and movement is fluid. This crazy production value makes all the shenanigans pop off the screen quite a bit and it just put the biggest, silliest grin on my face. The crew of this movie did such a good job with crafting it and I have to give them the biggest possible applause.

This movie gotten a little bit of a mixed reception. On Rotten Tomatoes it has a 67% positive rating (on both critic and audience sides). And on imdb.com it has a score of 5.7/10.

“Resident Evil: Death Island” is one of those movies that I don’t know if it will appeal to any uninitiated people, or even some franchise fans… but I had an absolute blast with it. The story is so much fun, the characters are wonderful, the performances are great, the music’s good, and the direction/animation is genuinely stellar. Time for my final score. *s.t.a.r.s*. My final score for “Resident Evil: Death Island” is a 9.77/10. Which does mean that it gets the “SEAL OF APPROVAL!”.

My review of “Resident Evil: Death Island” is now completed.

Do you ever have those movies where you tell yourself “This was made specifically for me”? Well, this is that for me.

Movie Review: Child’s Play (1988)

Heeeey, how ya doin’? Ready for more Month of Spooks ramblings? Ready for me to talk about what quite a few people consider a slasher classic? Well, ready or not, here I go.

Ladies, gents, and non-binaries… “Child’s Play”.

Karen Barclay (Catherine Hicks) is a struggling single mother who on her son’s (Alex Vincent) manages to get him the one thing he wants, a Good Guy doll. What Karen didn’t know however is that this doll is inhabited by the soul of a vicious serial killer. So we follow the family as they deal with strange, violent events around them, not really having any clue about the truth surrounding them. I found this story to have a bit more than I anticipated, as it blends in elements of a whodunnit and a bit of a gaslighting aspect to proceedings, and doing it in quite the effective way. It adds weight to the slasher shenanigans, which made me care about the characters’ struggles. But it also helps that there’s a bit of dark humor to it all, adding to the emotional spectrum and overall fun of the story. It’s a script that balances fun, thrills, and drama well. Did I find it amazing? No, but I did really like it and I found it to have a bit more nuance than anticipated.

I liked the characters in this, they’re charming and believable and I did find myself caring about them, the writing does a good job of making them people I want to be on the side of. What also helps are the performances, all of them killing it. Catherine Hicks brings a beautiful blend of vulnerability and determination, Alex Vincent does really well, the ever reliable Chris Sarandon plays the main detective looking into the Barclays and he’s stellar, Dinah Manoff is good, and Brad god damn Dourif is just perfect. Not a weak link in this cast.

The score for the movie was composed by Joe Renzetti and I thought it was fun. It mixes some typical slasher stings with a certain playfulness befitting of the toy/child angle, and I think it works well in setting the mood for this movie. Fun, creepy, a little emotional, it’s good stuff.

“Child’s Play” was co-written by Don Mancini, John Lafia, and Tom Holland (no, not Spider-Man, you youngins), with Holland serving as director. And I think the craft here is solid, it does a good job of making every scene feel a bit claustrophobic, even if we’re out in the open air. It really sells how the threat is always sort of lingering around, even if it just looks like a dead bit of plastic at times. Holland and his team really sell that element wonderfully and it gives the film such a fun vibe. And some of the effects in this are great, just wonderfully constructed and implemented.

This movie’s been decently well received. On Rotten Tomatoes it has a 73% positive rating. On Metacritic it has a score of 58/100. And on imdb.com it has a score of 6.7/10.

I very much dug “Child’s Play”, it’s a fun and surprisingly nuanced little horror flick. It has a really good story, good characters, great performances, good music, and great directing. Time for my final score. *Ahem*. My final score for “Child’s Play” is an 8.80/10. So I’d say it’s certainly worth buying.

My review of “Child’s Play” is now completed.

How much does a Good Guy cost? A Doll-ar.

Movie Review: One Cut of the Dead (2018)

Alright, time for another Month of Spooks review. And what would a month long horror binge be without something zombie-related? I mean, it’d probably still work, but it’s nice to cover all bases, ya know.

Ladies, gents, and non-binaries… “One Cut of the Dead”.

Somewhere in Japan, an independent film crew are shooting a low budget zombie feature. This venture takes a dire turn however when real zombies stumble into the set to wreak bloody havoc. And from this point, “One Cut of the Dead” provides one of the most clever and entertaining narratives I’ve seen in a while. It’s a funny and fiendishly smart tale filled with heart that, using horror as an ode to filmmaking, cinema, and the little guy. What also adds so much is that it’s meta without being smug, aware and audience-winking without making you feel like you’re being talked down to. And I found it all to be so much fun and highly engaging. It’s also very hard to talk about this story without revealing too much, so I’m gonna cut this segment here.

The characters in this are all so wonderfully written, with a lot of little nuances to them that make them so entertaining to follow. They perfectly ride the line between feeling real and theatrical, making for some believable and fascinating developments. The cast are great too. Takayuki Hamatsu, Yuzuki Akiyama, Harumi Shuhama, Kazuaki Nagaya, Manabu Hosoi, and more, all kill it.

The music for the movie was composed by Shoma Ito, Kyle Nagai, and Nobuhiro Suzuki, and it’s just so much fun. Highly energetic and filled with a strong can-do drive, it has this way of creating a really fun and wonderfully kinetic feel that gives the proceedings a real strong vibe that just works incredibly well for the movie.

Inspired by a play by Ryoichi Wada, “One Cut of the Dead” was written, edited, and directed by Shinichiro Ueda, and I have to say that he killed it. His filmmaking style isn’t necessarily flashy, but there’s a clear passion for what he’s doing that makes his direction stick out. Much like its story and characters, it’s both grounded and a bit theatrical, which keeps it feeling snappy and engaging. Speaking of which, considering the meager $25,000 dollar budget, it’s impressive to see a few of the things they pull off here. It’s pure passion and effort and I salute Ueda-san and his crew.

This movie’s been really well received. On Rotten Tomatoes it has a 100% positive rating and a “Fresh” certification. On Metacritic it has a score of 86/100. And on imdb.com it has a score of 7.6/10.

“One Cut of the Dead” is a stellar and really clever horror-comedy. It has a great story, really good characters, great performances, really good music, and great directing. Time for my final score. *Ahem*. My final score for “One Cut of the Dead” is a 9.77/10. So it gets the “SEAL OF APPROVAL!”.

My review of “One Cut of the Dead” is now completed.

The Japanese film industry is two for two this Month of Spooks. Rad.

Movie Review: Bloodline (2019)

More Month of Spooks content comin’ your way. So what’s on the menu today? *checks notes* Murder? Can’t be more specific? Serial murder? Well that sure clears it up, let’s see if the movie itself can make more sense.

Ladies, gents, and non-binaries… “Bloodline”.

Evan Cole (Seann William Scott) seems like your everyday guy. Loving husband and father, caring and deeply liked high school counselor. But what is not known to the public around him is that he harbors a deeply violent bloodlust within him, which starts erupting when he finds out about some of the horrific things that happen to his young patients. I found the story here pretty interesting, a psychological horror-thriller that never really tells you how to feel about the violence or people you witness. This does bring a certain hypnotic tension to it, which keeps it somewhat engaging. I say somewhat though, because it’s not flawless. The pacing here is really strange. Now, if you’ve followed me for a while, then you know I like a slow burn, but “Bloodline” can feel outright sluggish at times, but at times it feels like some things can be too quick and underdeveloped. Generally I do think it’s an interesting chain of events and I do think its turns and big swings are enjoyable, but that pacing keeps the story from greatness.

The characters in this are… fine, nothing really special. Our protagonist, Evan, is arguably the most interesting, and I did find him interesting to follow. The rest though feel like they could use a bit more development. Now, obviously this is mainly intended as a character study for Evan, but the others get enough play that I started to feel like we could’ve gotten to know them a little better. Where I can give complete praise here however is for the cast, all of which are solid. Seann William Scott has been great in the comedies I’ve seen him in, but this is the best I’ve seen from him. An understated, nuanced, complex performance that I couldn’t stop watching, the guy was fantastic. Mariela Garriga is good, Dale Dickey is great as always, Raymond Cham Jr is really good, Kevin Carroll’s solid. Not a bad performance in this cast.

The score for the movie was composed by Trevor Gureckis and it is great. What we get are a series of driving synth tracks that add to the strangely hypnotic vibe of the movie, almost adding a bit of a weird dreamlike feeling that works really well to keep me engaged. It’s just great.

“Bloodline” was directed and co-written by Henry Jacobson, and I think he did a great job. His direction is very clearly inspired by De Palma, a lot of interesting angles, split diopter shots, and even a pretty cool split screen sequence are used throughout. There’s also a lot of stark colors, which is a bit akin to the works of Argento. Jacobson, along with cinematographer Isaac Bauman, wear these influences on their sleeve without making it feel like they’re just ripping them off or not doing anything of their own with it, because they do use these influences in interesting, gorgeously shot ways that don’t just feel like they don’t have their own vision. Add on top of that some stellar moment to moment editing by Nigel Galt, along with some gore that actually took me aback a few times, and you get some really good craft on behalf of the crew.

This movie’s gotten some mixed reception. On Rotten Tomatoes it has a 50% positive rating. On Metacritic it has a score of 50/10. And on imdb.com it has a score of 6.0/10.

While it is flawed, I still think “Bloodline” is solid and makes for an interesting debut from director Jacobson. It has an alright story, okay-ish characters, great performances, great music, and fantastic directing/cinematography/editing. Time for my final score. *Ahem*. My final score for “Bloodline” is a 7.66/10. So while flawed, I’d still say that it’s worth renting.

My review of “Bloodline” is now completed.

Seann William Scott in… Dude, Where’s My Murder?

Movie Review: Evil Dead Rise (2023)

Oh hey, it’s the movie that I themed this year’s Month of Spooks poster/art from, but didn’t see until now because of terrible showtimes for horror movies at the cinema all year ’round! Yes, I’m salty, but that’s not important right now. What’s important is that I can talk about this movie now.

Ladies, gents, and non-binaries… “Evil Dead Rise”.

On a dark night, in a tall apartment building in the city, a sinister force gets unleashed, turning people into violent, flesh-destroying monsters. Caught in the middle of this disaster is a family who have to try their damndest to survive this bloody terror. I had fun with the story here, it takes some of the ideas established throughout the franchise, while evolving them into something slightly new and fresh. From the new apartment setting, to it being a loving family instead of random teens/Ash Williams, the story finds ways of giving us fun, creepy new ways of delivering deadite carnage, without making it feel like it doesn’t belong in this franchise. Is it my favorite chain of events in an “Evil Dead” movie? No, it does have some mild pacing issues early on, and overall I don’t find the narrative *quite* as enjoyable as some earlier entries, but it’s still a fun, compelling, blood-soaked ride.

I found the characters in this to be pretty enjoyable, they’re believably written and I do feel for them when they’re in the middle of the shit. They’re not necessarily the greatest horror protags ever, but they work well for this story. What doesn’t hurt either are the performances, all of which are great. Lily Sullivan, Alyssa Sutherland (who gives my favorite performance here), Morgan Davies, Gabrielle Echols, and Nell Fisher all deliver damn good performances. Not one weak link here.

The score for the movie was composed by Stephen McKeon and it was alright. Fairly standard stuff, nothing that sticks out. A few decent string/brass strings, some okay droning, a couple string pieces I didn’t mind. On the whole it’s not something I can say much about because it’s neither here nor there. A passable horror scoreor.

Of course building on from the horror franchise created by Sam Raimi over 40 years ago, “Evil Dead Rise” was written and directed by Lee Cronin, and I must say, I think he did a really good job here. He of course brings in a lot of the visual tricks we’ve come to know and love from Raimi’s entries in the series, without feeling like he’s cribbing wholesale. He takes those chaotic vibes, but pulls back a little bit in order to keep the somewhat claustrophobic vibes of this dark, eerie apartment complex. And I think he pulls it off really well, balancing the blood-soaked insanity and snappy camerawork with the cramped environments to give the movie an enjoyable, unique-within-the-franchise atmosphere. It also helps that cinematographer Dave Garbett knows how to help deliver on some good, visually playful shots. And as with most parts of this franchise, this shit is GORY as all hell. Showers of blood, chunks of flesh, this delivers on some creative, hella entertaining, and sometimes disturbing gore.

This movie has been pretty well received. On Rotten Tomatoes it has an 84% positive rating and a “Fresh” certification. On Metacritic it has a score of 69/100. And on imdb.com it has a score of 6.6/10.

“Evil Dead Rise” is another winning entry in this long-running franchise. It has a solid story, pretty good characters, great performances, okay music, great directing/cinematography, and some awesomely spooky violence. Time for my final score. *Moves up deaditely*. My final score for “Evil Dead Rise” is an 8.67/10. So I would say it’s certainly worth buying.

My review of “Evil Dead Rise” is now completed.

Still not seen the 2013 reboot. Maybe I’ll do that some day foreshadowing, foreshadowing

Movie Review: Onibaba (1964)

Heya. The descent into spookness continues. So let’s get on with it.

Ladies, gents, and non-binaries… “Onibaba”.

Medieval Japan. While civil war rages on, a pair of women (Nobuko Otawa, Jitsuko Yoshimura) try to make a living killing samurai and selling their gear. But when one of them starts having an affair with their neighbor (Kei Sato), tensions start to brew amongst the three. The narrative in “Onibaba” is a fascinating one. A slow genre-bending mood piece about the effects war can have on the people not directly involved, and the issues greed and lust can have. It blends elements of historical drama with a surreal psycho-sexual horror, making for a story I found really compelling. It’s really eerie and tense, like a strange nightmare that you just can’t escape from, and it gives the movie a vibe I’ve personally never really experienced before. Even the slow burn of it feels completely earned, as it’s brilliantly used to build suspense and further the surreal nightmare vibes of it all. ’tis good shit.

The characters in this are so fascinating. Complex, deeply flawed individuals who’s writing somehow makes their motivations feel both clear and obscure, making me question everything going on and never letting me feel like I can trust them or myself watching them. What also helps are the marvelous performances on display. Nobuko Otawa is my personal standout, giving a performance for the ages. But Jitsuko Yoshimura and Kei Sato are absolutely stellar as well. Just a fantastic trio of performances.

The score was composed by Hikaru Hayashi and I found it to be quite interesting. From a purely musical standpoint, it is pure fucking chaos, a cacophony of heavy percussion, piano, woodwind, and some other things I can’t quite pick out from memory. Anyhow, it’s an insane mix that on its own is just not something I’d listen to. But when paired with the rest of the movie, it works. It’s not played often, so when that brash cacophony comes in, it hits like a damn truck and sets an uneasy, at times terrifying mood that had me glued.

“Onibaba” was written and directed by Kaneto Shindo, and he killed it. Shindo had a way of framing scenes to make the limited sets feel fresh and unsafe at all times. From the small hut the women live in, to the swaying grass outside, to the nearby water, Shindo makes every environment become like a character on its own, and that turns each and every shot (beautifully captured by cinematographer Kiyomi Kuroda) into an unsettling bit of psychological torment.

This movie has been pretty well received. On Rotten Tomatoes it has a 90% positive rating. And on imdb.com it has a score of 7.9/10.

“Onibaba” is a fantastic erotic horror-drama. It has a great story, great characters, stellar performances, interesting music, and fantastic directing/cinematography.  Time for my final score. *Ahem*. My final score for “Onibaba” is a 9.80/10. So it most certainly gets the “SEAL OF APPROVAL!”.

My review of “Onibaba” is now completed.

If you make a horror movie with sexual themes to it, is that called a hornor?