After spending the last month catching on 2024 action films for an upcoming MFF podcast episode, I wanted to write a quick list of cool action movies that are worth checking out. Enjoy!
One-Percent Warrior (Tubi)
One-Percent Warrior is one of my favorite 2024 films and I can’t think of a movie watching experience that made me happier. The meta-action film features a movie star named Takuma Toshiro (Tak Sakaguchi) going up against a gang of Yakuza members when they arrive at a remote island that he was scouting for a movie. On top of featuring some outstanding action set pieces, One-Percent Warrior (or One Percenter) is wickedly funny as it takes on action choreography that resembles dancing and the idea of action cinema itself. There are several wild twists and turns I didn’t see coming and it all added to a delightful viewing. I’ve recommended it to several people (after a cool person recommended it to me) and they’ve all enjoyed the experience, so I feel confident telling you to check it out.
Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In (Amazon Prime)
Between One-Percent Warrior, Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In, Striking Rescue, 100 Yards, The Last Stop in Yuma County, and Baby Assassins 2, Well-go USA gave the world an excellent slate of action films and thrillers in 2024. One of their highlights is Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In which features beautiful production design, a load of action legends and a final fight for the ages. The final fight between four warriors and a magical maniac named King (Philip Ng) is an over-the-top action explosion that you need to see to believe. Director Soi Cheang used his 20+ years of action directing to full use here and he’s created a big and bold experience.
Life After Fighting (Amazon Prime, Hoopla)
Director, writer and star Bren Foster first popped up on my radar when he appeared in 2021’s Deep Blue Sea 3 (a very good movie). Foster brought in a fun athletic element to the creature feature and I’m very happy that he gave himself a showcase with Life After Fighting. The highlight of the film is a 30ish minute final battle that features his character Alex Faulkner battling a plethora of child traffickers who are looking to re-kidnap the kids that he frees from being kidnapped (that should make sense). The final battle is a thrilling example of how to maximize a budget while delivering some inventive and brutal action choreography.
The Shadow Strays (Netflix)
Timo Tjahanto (The Night Comes for Us) is one of my favorite directors working today and The Shadow Strays features all the things that make Tjahanto great. There’s absurd violence, kids in danger, badass henchmen, epic brawls, and a final fight for the ages. On top of featuring gruesome decapitations and gross people who wear leather masks, The Shadow Strays features an awesome female action legend (seriously, watch The Night Comes for Us if you haven’t yet – The Operator is awesome). The lead character Nomi (Aurora Ribero) is an unstoppable tank who plows through an endless amount of villains and takes an inhuman amount of punishment in her quest to rescue a kid. She’s probably my favorite action character of 2024 and the world needs more like her.
Kill (Available for rental on all the steaming websites)
Whenever I think about Kill I smile because it’s an audacious and wildly violent action film from director Nikhil Nagesh Bhat. I don’t want to spoil any of the fun, just know that at the 45th minute the movie transitions from a standard action film into an ultra-violent bloodfest of cheeky proportions. The lead actor Lakshya is a formidable onscreen fighter and he kills dozens of overmatched villains in ways that shock the other villains who legitimately look frightened and sad that one of their friends (or family members) just got stabbed 43 times and then had their face bashed into a metal sink. Finally, my favorite thing about Kill is that it features the best title card drop of 2024.
One More Shot (Netflix)
After the success of One Shot, director James Nunn and Scott Adkins decided they wanted another shot at making a movie that looks like it was filmed in one shot (does that make sense?). The final result is an ambitious action that focuses on Scott Adkins battling villains inside an empty airport. What’s great about One More Shot is that it gives Adkins a showcase for his ass-kicking abilities as they kicks, punches, knees, shoots, stabs, elbows, and headbutts to henchmen and Michael Jai White. This alone is worth the price of admission and if you are into inventive action films that allow Adkins to murder villains – you need to watch it.
Badland Hunters (Netflix)
The highlight of Badland Hunters is watching Ma Dong-seok knock people out in a post-apocalyptic setting filled with mad scientists, blood-thirsty gangs, and mutated creatures. On top of featuring some fun wasteland shenanigans, Badland Hunters feature the best punch of 2024. There’s a moment when Nam-san (Ma Dong-seok) is up against an old foe and during their fight Nam-san lands the mother of all body blows and his opponent yells out “Wait. Damn, that really hurts.” For anyone who has ever absorbed a body blow like that you know exactly how it feels and it really hurts. It’s a beautiful moment in a fun action film.
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The Movies, Films and Flix Podcast – Episodes 598 and 599 : The 2024 Random Awards and the 2024 Horror Awards.
You can download or stream the pod on Apple Podcasts, Tune In, Podbean, or Spreaker (or wherever you listen to podcasts…..we’re almost everywhere).
If you get a chance please make sure to review, rate and share. You are awesome.
The 2024 Random Awards and the 2024 Horror Awards are here! Listen in as we hand out awards to our favorite moments, movies, performances and swimming pools. Enjoy!
If you are a fan of the podcast, make sure to send in some random listener questions (we love random questions). We thank you for listening, and hope you enjoy the episode!
You can download the pod on Apple Podcasts, Tune In, Podbean, or Spreaker.
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John’s Horror Corner: Creep (2004), a British “train horror” about a murderous troglodyte.
MY CALL: A well-made, sufficiently entertaining, and somewhat forgettable “monster stalks scared woman” type flick. The gore is decent, so is the acting and general production value. But still, you’re not missing anything if you skip this entirely. MORE MOVIES LIKE Creep: For more subway/train horror, consider Death Line (1972; aka Raw Meat), Terror Train (1980), Beyond the Door III (1989; aka Dark Train, Death Train), Hellraiser VII: Deader (2005; some cool train scenes), Midnight Meat Train (2008), Stag Night (2008), Howl (2015), and the trainiest of all “train horror” Train to Busan (2016).
On her way to a chic party to meet George Clooney, Kate (Franka Potente; The Conjuring 2, Anatomy 1-2) falls asleep at the subway and misses the last train. Now trapped in the London train station for the night, Kate finds that she is not alone in the train system corridors. There seems to be some kind of killer stalking her in the darkness, and brutally killing any hapless homeless person or night security guard she may hazard upon.
The cat and mouse game played by this “Creep” (Sean Harris; Possum, Prometheus, Isolation, Deliver Us from Evil) and Kate plays out like a top-tier B-movie. Victims trying to help Kate are dragged to their doom into the darkness, pulled up through ceiling openings by their head, or meet some other demise.
At first, it’s like one of the Morlock troglodytes from The Descent (2005) relocated to the subways. But deeper into the film, it feels a lot more like a Wrong Turn (2003) inbred hillbilly took to the sewers instead. The Creep has a lair, keeps captives in his sewer prison, harvests chunks of meat from victims to feed his swarm of rats as if it was a house chore, and plays doctor mutilating victims.
The blood and gore are worthy of mention. Some serious gashes, wound work, throat slashing and ripping, and a lovely head impalement transpires. But this movie is more about a weird, deformed, homicidal sewer dweller than it is a creature feature. We eventually learn the odd medical origin of the Creep; an underground facility sealed in within the sewer and train system.
Writer and director Christopher Smith (Severance, Triangle, Black Death) has made a well-produced, capable horror film that sufficiently entertains. This movie is nothing special at all—it brings nothing new to the table, no jaw-dropping reveals, and no death scenes or gore gags that you simply “must” see. But it’s really decently made and perfectly entertaining. I also really enjoyed the use of the dog (my favorite character).
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The 2024 Random Awards! Celebrating the Best Movies, Moments, Swimming Pools and Performances of 2024
The 2024 Random Awards are here! It’s been a fun year for cinema and I had a great time putting together a plethora of random awards that will hopefully put a smile on your face and introduce you to some cool movies. Enjoy!
Before you get to the awards, here are my favorite films of 2024. I included them in my list because they feature excellent acting, memorable moments, and feel like the creators genuinely loved creating them.
Best Bike Riding During a Zombie Apocalypse Award – MadS
Watching Laurie Pavy cruising around town while turning into a zombie is one of my favorite 2024 moments.
Best Town Meeting Award – Evil Does Not Exist
Evil Does Not Exist is one of my favorite 2024 films and the town meeting scene is a big reason why. Watch it!
Best Hoarding of Snail Memorabilia Award – Memoir of a Snail
I haven’t been able to shake Memoir of a Snail from my thoughts and I’ve actually considered starting a snail collection.
Best Gooey and Squishy Noises Award – The Substance
The sound editing, sound mixers and foley artists got put to work while making and editing The Substance. There’s an absurd amount of squishy noises.
Most Badass Actor Award – One-Percent Warrior
One-Percent Warrior is a cheeky and meta film about an actor who uses a fighting method called “Wave” to destroy dozens of unlucky villains. Watch it!
Best Concrete Award – The Brutalist
The Brutalist might be the most ambitious films of 2024 and I love all of its big ideas and architecture.
Best Online Poker Award – Red Rooms
You will never watch a more stressful game of online poker in your life.
Best Wrestling Match Inside a Hotel Room – Babygirl
Nicole Kidman is a force of nature in Babygirl and it’s fun watching her engage in an odd wrestling match with Harris Dickinson inside a dirty hotel room.
Best Usage of Monopoly Board Games Award – Heretic
Hugh Grant’s Monopoly monologue is hilarious and brilliant. I’m happy he got nominated for a Golden Globe for his performance in Heretic.
Best Placement of Rocks Award – A Real Pain
When it comes to placing rocks near doorsteps, A Real Pain wins the 2024 award.
Best Quiet Performance of the Year Award – Small Things Like These
I’d love to see Cillian Murphy win all the awards for his quiet and perfectly calibrated performance in Small Things Like These.
Best Usage of Sharks in a Movie not About Sharks Award – Gladiator II
Sharks! Catapults! Front kicks! Gladiator II was made for me.
Best Hug Award – The Nickel Boys
Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor is excellent in The Nickel Boys, and she gives a very memorable hug. Watch it!
Best Local Store Clerk Award – Longlegs
With a little bit of screen time, Beatrix Perkins steals Longlegs from Nicolas Cage.
Best Breakfast Award – Strange Darling
Lots of butter, eggs, and about 14 other ingredients. According to writer/director, JT Mollner, the breakfast is a representation for the happiness, indulgence and contentment that a couple of side characters feel. Their happiness doesn’t last long, but the breakfast will live on forever.
Best Action Movie Bicycle Riding – Rebel Ridge
I got tired watching Aaron Pierre ride a bicycle during Rebel Ridge. The guy put in a lot of work to make sure his character could pedal for hours.
Best Line About Looking At a Person’s Face Award – My Old Ass
My Old Ass hits hard and it features one of the best endings of 2024.
Best Vampire Dancing Award – Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person
There’s a moment in Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person there is wonderful. Sara Montpetit played the moment perfectly and she put a huge smile on my face.
Best Outburst About Animal Poop Award – Hard Truths
I hope that Marianne Jean-Baptiste receives awards recognition because she’s perfect in Hard Truths.
Best Performance of Romeo and Juliet – Ghostlight
Watch Ghostlight! The ending will wreck you (in a good way).
Best Awkward Scene Inside a Parked Car Award – Between the Temples
I don’t want to spoil anything, just know that Jason Schwartzmen has a wonderfully awkward experience in a car that’s parked in a cemetery.
Best Voss Drinking Award – Smile 2
Some may chalk it up to product placement, but the drinking of Voss water in Smile 2 is actually necessary for the plot. Trust me.
Best Survivor Survivor Award – Blink Twice
Adria Arjona is the MVP of Blink Twice and it’s fun watching her reality show hardened character survive some extreme real world (not the reality show) stuff.
Best Vending Machine Award – Despicable Me 4
The vending machine bit in Despicable Me 4 is always funny. I’ve watched it at least eight times and it always makes me laugh.
Best Friendship Award – Sing Sing
Colman Domingo and Clarence Maclin have excellent chemistry together and they make Sing Sing a memorable watch.
Best Dan Stevens Accent Award- Tie – Cuckoo, Abigail, Godzilla x Kong
Listen to the MFF podcast episode where we pit all of Dan Stevens’ 2024 characters against each other. Also, the onions bit in Abigail is beautiful
Best Deep Blue Sea Reference Award – Jackpot
Bless you Paul Feig for including a Deep Blue Sea gag in Jackpot.
Best Decapitation in the First Five Minutes of a 2024 Film Award – The Shadow Strays
The Timo Tjahanto directed The Shadow Strays is a gloriously violent exploration of what happens when an absolute badass goes on a killing spree to save a kid. It’s on Netflix, stop what you are doing and watch it now.
Best Possum Family Award – The Wild Robot
I’m a big fan of possums, and it’s nice not seeing them treated like feral maniacs.
Best Letterkenny Cast Appearance Award – Venom: The Last Ride
Watching Rosie (Clark Backo) from Letterkenny ripping it up in a Venom film made me very happy.
Best Dad Jokes Award – Alien: Romulus
I want a glitchy android like Andy (David Jonsson) who tells cheesy jokes and is incredibly loyal.
Best 2024 Supporting Characters Award – Flow
Flow is one of my favorite films of 2024 and I think it features the best supporting characters of 2024.
Best Hair Work – Arianna Grande – Wicked
Arianna Grande does some A+ hair flipping in Wicked – She’s great.
Here are more random awards from the MFF crew!
Megan Hofmeyer
- Best song I need to hear ‘Funky Crab Legs’ – Moana 2
- Best title card drop – KILL
- Most insane pancake breakfast – Strange Darling
- Ticking fucking time bombs award – Blink Twice
- Best hand based reactions by a senate – Gladiator 2
- Best use of a Nespresso during a serious discussion – Conclave
- Best cat feeding – Nosferatu
- Best dancing while laying on the floor – Wicked
- Rock your baby award – My Old Ass
- Best coat – The Beast
2024 Honorable Mentions:
- Best Regrets: Can’t we just give her back and say sorry? – Abigail
- Best Cavil-rine – Deadpool & Wolverine
- Best Acronym Work – Rebel Ridge
- Hyperacid Award – Venom: The Last Dance
- Stop bleeding everywhere Award – Killers Game
- Best Minionese – antipasto! – Despicable Me 4
Jonny Numb – Follow Jonny on BlueSky
- When the Working Day Is Done, Oscar Winners Just Wanna Have Fun” Award: Cate Blanchett & Jamie Lee Curtis, BORDERLANDS
- Dumbest Movie About a Future We All May Wind Up Inhabiting” Award: CIVIL WAR
- Best Reboot (Sequence): David Jonsson, ALIEN: ROMULUS
- Most Expressive Hair Color: Willa Fitzgerald, STRANGE DARLING
- Fictional Character Who I Wish Really Had a Late-Night Talk Show, Because I Would Totally Watch It” Award: Jack Delroy (David Dastmalchian), LATE NIGHT WITH THE DEVIL
- Best Hissing, Snarling, Snapping, and Blood-Smearing: MadS
- Worst Case of Little Kids Playing Dress-Up” Award: SATURDAY NIGHT Best Fan Service: GHOSTBUSTERS: FROZEN EMPIRE
Zanandi Botes – Follow Zanandi on X.
- Best “Yeets a Guy Into the River” Scene – MadS
- Most Memorable Tattoo Work – I Saw the TV Glow
- Best Spit Bucket Gag – Hundreds of Beavers
- Best Anti-Food Porn – The Substance
- Best Kitchen Scene – The Coffee Table
- Best “This Guy Comes With a Soundtrack” – Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire
- Best Android – Alien: Romulus
- Best Onion Scene – Abigail
- Best “Everyone Has a Gun” Scene – The Last Stop in Yuma County
- Best Needle Drop – Deadpool & Wolverine
Aaron Neuwirth – Listen to the Out Now With Aaron and Abe Podcast!
- Best Post-Apocalyptic Musical – The End
- Best Roller-Blading-related Death – Y2K
- Best Car Chase in a Non-Action Movie – The Seed of the Sacred Fig
- Best Capybara – Flow
- Best Ayahuasca Sequence – Queer
- Best Depiction of Lobsters – La Cocina
- Best Documentary to add a Metaphysical Subplot – Dahomey
- Best Library – Wicked
- Best Use of Audio Mixing To Emphasize Blood Sucking – Nosferatu
- Most Dickensian Movie – Blitz
- Best Crime-Comedy/Trans-Positive Musical – Emlia Perez
- Best Desert Fakeout – Heretic
- Best Use of Ben Franklin – Here
- Best Grocery Checkout Line Argument – Hard Truths
- Best Piano Design – The Piano Lesson
- Best Film To Feature a Replacement for Lions and Tigers and Bears by Use of Baboons, Rhinos and Sharks – Gladiator II
- Best Public Pop Star Meltdown – Smile 2
- Best Use of Santa Clause – Terrifier 3
- Best Reason To Head to the Cluuuuuuub – Megalopolis
- Best Truck Purchase – Rebel Ridge
- Best Tribute to Body Swapping Comedies From the 80s – The Substance
- Most Disgusting Newborn – Alien: Romulus
- Best Life-Size Wooden Man – Oddity
- Worst Hat: Kevin Costner – Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1
Joey Lewandowski – Listen to the 2 Fast 2 Forever podcast!
- Best New York Movie: Anora
- Best Superhero Movie: The People’s Joker
- Best Video Game Adaptation: AGGRO DR1FT
- Best Period Piece: Rap World
- Smallest Movie with the Biggest Heart: Sometimes I Think About Dying
- Most Beavers: Hundreds of Beavers
- Best Local Government Meeting on Film: Evil Does Not Exist
- Most Coreys: Coreys
- Best Live Performance in a Theater: Megalopolis
- Most Fast & Furious Movie: Bad Boys: Ride or Die
- Best Journalism in a Movie: Civil War
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John’s Horror Corner: Deus Irae (2023), this Argentinian exorcism movie that pushes the limits and touches upon Lovecraft’s Outer Gods.
MY CALL: This is the heavy, gory, nasty exorcism movie for people tired of the same old exorcism movies. MOVIES LIKE Deus Irae: For more Argentinian horror, try Terrified (2017; Aterrados) and When Evil Lurks (2023; Cuando acecha la maldad). Additional Spanish language horror recommendations include The Passenger (2021; La Pasajera), The Platform (2019; aka El Hoyo), Pan’s Labyrinth (2006) and [REC] 1-3 (2007-2012)—but not [REC] 4 (2014).
Far behind us are the replayed gags of green projectile vomit and demonic voice-box voices from our possessed victims. The gory, brutal, macabre, torture-like imagery from these exorcisms is full tilt. Falling out teeth and bloody barb wire bindings are viewed so readily that these themes feel casual to the life of an exorcist. And my, but aren’t these little demonic possession vignettes so much more graphic and almost Lovecraftian compared to even the most intense exorcism films of the past? Arachnid legs emerging and bursting out of a ruptured skull, fingernails peeling themselves off as if by infernal telekinesis, a monstrous form like a ribcage with bony spider legs emerging from a carcass (a la The Thing) and crawling after you… this is next level nightmare fuel. The monstrosities are chonky, gooey horrors with bones and limbs adorned with almost ectoplasmic chunks of tissue and viscera.
Our main exorcist has seen such horrors, and so often, that he questions that perhaps we are not the chosen of God, but just the lowest link of a cosmic food chain—i.e., blasphemy. And like those who have stared too long and deep into the void, things have looked back upon him, and perhaps infected him. Javier often has difficulty discerning reality from nightmare-like fantasy. The psychological madness we witness seems like the logical, even “grounded” consequence of communicating directly with demons. Javier’s grasp of reality reaches Fight Club (1999) levels of confusion as he interacts with the world, his demonically possessed charges, and his two exorcist colleagues, who desire making the demons fear them as mankind fears the demons.
The named demons faced—Azathoth, Yog-Sothoth and Shoggoth—are names of Lovecraft’s mythos of Old Ones and Outer Gods. So for fans of all things Lovecraft, you’re welcome. You have writer and director Pedro Cristiani to thank for this darkest pleasure.
This film is pretty damn good! I love that the director explored the depraved depths to give what, frankly, feels like perhaps the most credible movie about demonic possession I’ve ever seen.
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The Movies, Films and Flix Podcast – Episode 597 – The Penguin, DC Studios, and Florida Sewers
You can download or stream the pod on Apple Podcasts, Tune In, Podbean, or Spreaker (or wherever you listen to podcasts…..we’re almost everywhere).
If you get a chance please make sure to review, rate and share. You are awesome.
Mark and DJ Valentine (@TryingToBeDJV on X) talk about the 2024 DC Studios show The Penguin (2024). In this episode, they also talk about Jock Jams, villains being villainous, and the excellence of Cristin Milioti. Enjoy!
If you are a fan of the podcast, make sure to send in some random listener questions (we love random questions). We thank you for listening, and hope you enjoy the episode!
You can download the pod on Apple Podcasts, Tune In, Podbean, or Spreaker.
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John’s Horror Corner: Deathcember (2019), a Christmas anthology horror featuring 24 Advent-style shorts.
MY CALL: An above average horror anthology with some solid ideas to showcase in 5-minute intervals. Entertaining, and often bloody and funny. But the lack of build-up in a 5-minute short keeps the highs lower. MOVIES LIKE Deathcember: For more 20+ segment anthologies, aim for The ABCs of Death trilogy (2013, 2014, 2016).
This is essentially a holiday-themed ABCs of Death anthology in that we have 24 short films averaging 5 minutes each. So we see a lot of inklings and ideas, but not much in the way of meaningful resolutions. I like to think of this as a filmmakers’ portfolio of ideas for films that may one day be made.
The filmmakers hail from diverse backgrounds, delivering short films in German, English, Spanish, French, and Japanese; exploring the genres of Sci-Fi, fantasy, thriller, horror, dark comedy, crime, slapstick, and even silent film; and tackling iconic concepts like Advent calendars, nightmare Christmas shoppers, Santa suits, Christmas parties, Christmas carols, family gatherings, meeting the parents, Christmas miracles, letters to Santa, ice skating, and Christmas presents.
Despite their brevity, many of the horror segments include some shocking and gory bits. Ritual sacrifice, blood-drinking, fantastic consequence, monstrous reindeer, killing Santa, mean revenge, brutal handsaw dismemberment, and a completely fragmented stomped skull are among the effects-driven gags explored.
A few of these shorts are worthy of mention. All Sales Fatal (#2) features Tiffany Shepis (Victor Crowley, The Hazing, Sharknado 2) as a mega-Karen who tries to return a toy, fails, and throws a very violent (and hilarious) temper tantrum that snowballs into a great fight with stabbery, fisticuffs, and a nail gun. Similarly haphazard and laughably bloody was December 19th (#19), which featured several amusingly brutal ice-skating injuries.
Other memorable shorts include Xmas on Fire (#4) with a mass Santa-police shootout and musical number; a very Lovecraftian, inherited family tentacle monster in Family Matter (#8); a fantasy-comedy showcasing the magical power of letters to Santa in Milk and Cookies (#16); and an awkward family game night culminating with a wildly gross exploding head in Christmas Cracker (#23). But what really stood out to me as unique was They Once Had Horses (#18), a featurette of a kind dialogue between two old west types around a fire, one of them badly injured, both of them scared of a monster in the darkness. But they still took a moment to exchange a small Christmas present and affirm how much they valued each other’s friendship. That was nice.
Overall, this was maybe an above average horror anthology. Entertaining for sure. But the lack of build-up in a 5-minute short keeps the highs lower.
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Bad Movie Tuesday: Silent Night, Deadly Night 5: The Toy Maker (1991), perhaps the “best bad movie” of the franchise.
MY CALL: Wonky killer toys, campy tactics, cheesy effects and an insane homicidal toymaker? This is the very nuts and bolts of a solid Bad Movie Tuesday. MOVIES LIKE Silent Night, Deadly Night 5: Probably Dolls (1987) or Demonic Toys (1992).
CHRISTMAS HORROR MOVIES: For more holiday horror, check out Black Friday (2021), Black Christmas (1974, 2006 remake, 2019 reimagining), Await Further Instructions (2018), Holidays (2016; Christmas), Better Watch Out (2016), A Christmas Horror Story (2015), Krampus (2015), Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale (2010), Silent Night, Deadly Night 4: Initiation (1990; hardly Christmasy), Elves (1989), Tales from the Crypt Season 1 (1989; And All Through the House), Christmas Evil (1980), Silent Night Deadly Night (1984), Gremlins (1984), and Tales from the Crypt (1972; And All Through the House). I might skip Don’t Open Till Christmas (1984), The Oracle (1985), Silent Night Deadly Night part 2 (1987), Silent Night Deadly Night part 3: Better Watch Out (1989), and maybe even All the Creatures Were Stirring (2018).
This franchise has taken some interesting turns. Sure, we began with a proper psycho killer Christmas horror movie followed by the cheapest of throwaway sequel treatments in SNDN 2. But then we wandered into an ultra-basic Frankensteinian Michael Myers stalker movie in SNDN 3, and SNDN 4 feels like someone rewrote a witch movie to take place during Christmas for the sake of profiting on the recognized namesake. It seems that for SNDN 3-4, a bunch of weird crap just happens to occur around Christmas time (like Lethal Weapon 1987) instead of a proper Christmas movie (e.g., Die Hard 1988). But fret not, SNDN 5 is, at the very least, a Christmas horror movie! Even if it, like SNDN 3-4, has nothing to do with the source material.
One strange Christmas Season, young Derek (William Thorne; Demonic Toys) watches as a toy from a mysteriously delivered present murders his father (Van Quattro). Now mute since witnessing this tragedy, his mother Sarah (Jane Higginson; General Hospital, Slaughterhouse) is doing her best to have a normal Christmas for me. Their local, elderly toy store owner Joe Petto (Mickey Rooney; The Intruder, The Thirsting) and his son (Brian Bremer; Pumpkinhead, Dead Birds, Society) are behind the toy-related death, and more deaths to come. It doesn’t get explained, but these toys seem to be robotic intelligent.
Cheap, grotesque effects bring a smile to my face as an evil toy called Larry the Larva crawls through a victim’s mouth and eye socket. Very cheesy, hokey fun. I’m also left to wonder if this invertebrate monster is meant to be a tie-in to the gross giant larvae from SNDN 3. Additional off-kilter callbacks include a seasonal mall Santa Claus named Ricky (Clint Howard; Silent Night Deadly Night 4, Ticks, Ice Cream Man, Evilspeak, Leprechaun 2, Lords of Salem), though clearly not the same character despite being the same character name and actor; and Sarah’s neighbor Kim (Neith Hunter; Carnosaur 2, Silent Night Deadly Night 4), again the same character name and actor, but clearly not the same character.
Many of the corrupted toy deaths are weak. The rollerblades scene was lame was even worse than Derek’s dad’s death. Larry the Larva is the only death scene with a cool-looking toy. But then there’s the sex scene toy massacre, which is ultra-campy with extra cheese. This marks a real turning point in the horror action, effects and entertainment value in this movie.
I keep waiting for the third act revelation that Kim and Ricky are the very same Kim and Ricky from SNDN 3, a newly initiated witch and a mentally disturbed witch’s son. But no such satisfaction is to be found. But at least we wander into some very odd territory involving intelligent robots and highly perverse daddy and mommy issues.
As it turns out, this might be my favorite of the SNDN franchise. It’s not great, by any means. But this is the most worthy “bad movie” from the series (just above SNDN 3). Finally, a SNDN that’s so bad it’s good. Merry Christmas to everyone!
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The Movies, Films and Flix Podcast – Episode 596 – The 2024 Movie Draft
You can download or stream the pod on Apple Podcasts, Tune In, Podbean, or Spreaker (or wherever you listen to podcasts…..we’re almost everywhere).
If you get a chance please make sure to review, rate and share. You are awesome.
Mark and Brandon Peters (@brandon4KUHD on X) draft their favorite 2024 films and talk about the greatness of Hundreds of Beavers, Red Rooms, Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person, Do Not Expect Too Much From the End of the World and more cool films. Enjoy!
Make sure to listen to The Brandon Peters Show wherever you listen to podcasts.
If you are a fan of the podcast, make sure to send in some random listener questions (we love random questions). We thank you for listening, and hope you enjoy the episode!
You can download the pod on Apple Podcasts, Tune In, Podbean, or Spreaker.
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MY CALL: Wow. This film is… a lecture hall experience. Hugh Grant is a charmer of a villain in this very intellectual horror. Probably not recommended for the devout, and more for the agnostic. MOVIES LIKE Heretic: Some other interesting forays into religious horror include Azrael (2024) and The First Omen (2024).
Eager to save and baptize souls on their Mormon mission, Sister Barnes (Sophie Thatcher; Maxxxine, The Boogeyman) and Sister Paxton (Chloe East; The Wolf of Snow Hollow) work through their list of names and addresses to make their way to the home of Mr. Reed.
Mr. Reed (Hugh Grant; The Lair of the White Worm) is every bit as exceedingly charming as the actor filling his shoes. And from the very outset of their soul saving introductions, Reed peppers them with his knowledgeable religious inklings interspersed with poignant yet directly personal questions about his would-be saviors. These questions quickly verge upon invasive, and his inquiries begin to arouse spiritual origins clearly outside of the purview of the Church of Latter-Day Saints… even directly challenging LDS practices and general common religious practices alike.
Not 15 minutes into their house call, Sisters Barnes and Paxton have come to realize that Mr. Reed has proselytizing plans of his own for them. They are trapped in his home and require his “help” to find their way home. And now, his challenges of their perception, family values, and denial that shape their religious beliefs put a perverse twist to their house call. Is this a game that can be solved and won? Is it simply a cruel punishment to these religious women?
In many ways, this film feels like one of the most engaging theology-philosophy-history lectures I ever had the privilege to enjoy. The whole script is thoughtful repartee. I find it all captivating, somewhat as an intellectual exercise contesting for or against religion, and somewhat as a hostage chamber thriller.
Sure, aspects of this story may challenge one’s suspension of disbelief. But I loved this. Hugh Grant is such a delight even when donning the antagonist’s hat. Scott Beck and Bryan Woods (Haunt, Nightlight) co-wrote and co-directed this theological curiosity, and I now cannot wait for their next project!
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