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John’s Horror Corner: Cemetery Man (1994; aka Dellamorte Dellamore), a zany Italian alternative zombie movie, and a horror comedy, and a horror love story.

August 5, 2021

MY CALL:  This film is a cult classic that plays out well and even yields an earned and satisfying ending. Even though the comedy is overt, it is very dark. I enjoy it still.  MORE MOVIES LIKE Cemetery Man: For more horror love stories, try The Bride (1985), Meridian (1990), Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992), Return of the Living Dead 3 (1993), Let the Right One In (2008), Crimson Peak (2015) or The Shape of Water (2017).

With a brand of humor most closely resembling a toned-down Evil Dead 2 (1987) or Dead-Alive (1992), we open this dark horror comedy as Francesco Dellamorte (Rupert Everett) somewhat humorously executes a man who has risen from his grave in the neighboring cemetery. Well before The Walking Dead (2010-2021) coined such terms as walkers, biters, geeks and the like, Francesco referred to his risers from the grave as “returners,” and that’s what they did exactly seven days after their burial in his cemetery. Francesco is charged with keeping them in their resting place… so… killing them again.

Like Romero’s zombie folklore, these undead are dispatched by significant head trauma and Francesco wonders if this isn’t the beginning of an epidemic reaching far beyond the gates of his graveyard. But when a beautiful young woman (Anna Falchi) grieving for her lost husband falls for Francesco, succumbs to a zombie bite and dies, Francesco’s life takes a yet stranger turn.

The zombie effects are quite passable, and the gore is impressive when it’s called upon. I was overjoyed when a school bus of kids rose as zombies to have huge gaping holes blown in their heads. Huge gaping headwounds and massive injuries abound in this film.

The comedy is overt even if very dark. Francesco’s assistant Gnaghi (François Hadji-Lazaro; Brotherhood of the Wolf) removes the head of a cadaver and forms a relationship with it. The sex scene nudity was rather extensive and provided a long one-scene callback to Mathilda May strutting around in the buff in Lifeforce (1985).

Director Michele Soavi (The Sect, The Church) somehow never moved on to do much more. Not sure why. This film is a cult classic that plays out well and even yields an earned and satisfying ending! I enjoy it still.

Pig (2021) – Review: A Beautiful Film That Features Another Inspired Performance From Nicolas Cage

August 4, 2021
Poster courtesy of Neon

Quick Thoughts – Grade – A – Pig is a beautiful film that will definitely be included in my year end “best of” lists. I can’t think of the last time I was so engrossed in a movie. Also, Nicolas Cage is excellent, and between Pig, Joe, Mandy, and Color Out of Space, he’s been putting in some great work in movies that place him in a wooded area.

The best thing about Pig is that you have no clue where it’s going. The trailer with it’s classical music, and eerie score makes you believe that it’s a thriller/psychological drama about a man trying to find the truffle pig that was stolen from him. To a certain extent, that’s true, but the lurid editing (I don’t blame the marketers, they had to sell it) hides how truly soulful it is. If you are looking for a contemplative, thoughtful and beautifully shot experience, I totally recommend you rent (or buy) Pig. If you can, turn off the lights, and enjoy the 92-minute film that features excellent work from Nicolas Cage, Alex Wolff, and Adam Arkin.

Directed by Michael Sarnoski, Pig tells the story of Rob (Nicolas Cage), a truffle hunter heading to Portland in hopes of finding his pig that was stolen from him by two opportunistic thieves. The thieves were hired by a Portland bigwig, who heard about the pigs mythical ability to hunt down truffles that are sold to the Pacific northwest elite in haughty restaurants that deconstruct pretty much anything. Joining Rob in his journey, is his buyer Amir (Alex Wolff), who drives him to the big city after Rob is attacked and left bloody in his isolated shack (he never cleans himself up, and it’s great). From there, the two find themselves exploring the seedy side of Portland, and it would be a shame to tell you more. Why? Pig is a movie that you should know very little about, because it will take you to places you’d never expect. 

The cinematography by Patrck Scola (who has shot music videos for The Weeknd, Vampire Weekend, Alt-J and The Neighbourhood) is beautiful to look at, as it uses doorframe, trees, and Nic Cage’s face to wonderful results. It would be disappointing to not see Scola nominated for any awards because his work is constantly inventive, and the use of focus and depth of field is inspired. Also, the script by Sarnoski and Vanessa Block keeps you engaged as it takes you from the isolated woods to an urban landscape that feels almost as dangerous and foreign as the Oregon woods. It’s also nice that the movie doesn’t go the Taken or John Wick route, as violence is mostly avoided, and aside from a couple beatdowns, the film mostly relies on tense dialogue scenes that are far more suspenseful than people punching each other in their faces.

After Color Out of Space, Mandy, Willy’s Wonderland, Mom and Dad, and Now Pig, Nicolas Cage has been turning in excellent performances in solid movies that have been missed by the mainstream (Watch Mandy now!). The narrative may be that he is stuck in direct-to-DVD purgatory, but that can’t be further from the truth. His work is interesting, unique, and in the case of Willy’s Wonderland, mostly silent. Mandy might be one of the best horror films of the 21st century, and a big reason for that is Cage’s performance, as he’s asked to be an ultimate badass who endures worlds of hurt, suffering, and pain at the hands of supernatural gross people, and cult members who have no clue who they are up against. If you get a chance, check out one of these films, they are well worth your time. 

Final Thoughts – Watch Pig. Do it now.

Great White (2021) – Review: An Underwhelming Shark Movie That Lacks Bite

August 4, 2021

Quick Thoughts: – Grade – D – Great White is an underwhelming shark film that doesn’t have any bite. The characters aren’t likable enough to carry the film, and the occasionally beautiful cinematography can’t carry the action scenes that rely on contrived moments to create tension.

Directed by Martin Wilson (famed commercial director who made his feature film debut with Great White) and starring Katrina Bowden, Aaron Jakubenko, and Kimie Tsukakoshi, Great White is a shark movie that takes itself too seriously, and let’s itself down when it moves inside a soundstage for the night scenes. The idea is sound, as placing several people (who are either pregnant, wildly jealous, or afraid of sharks after an attack) in a life raft and having them be harassed by sharks is always fun, but the movie falls apart when it isn’t showing us beautiful overhead footage of the Australian Coast. 

The worst part about Great White is that you feel horribly for the great whites. In the best shark films like Jaws, Deep Blue Sea and The Shallows, the sharks are comically evil, genetically modified, or oddly vindictive, and they are treated like horror movie villains, and not like actual great whites (who are beautiful creatures). Great White keeps things grounded, which means when the sharks eventually die, you feel bad for them because they were just doing their thing, and they end up getting killed. Also, since the characters are thinly drawn, and only two of them come across as actual humans (Bowden and Jakubenko are solid), the kills don’t mean anything because there is no connection to them. For instance, Benny (Te Kohe Tuhaka), a likable character, dies when Joji (Tim Kano – stuck with a wildly underwritten character) who is annoyed that Benny is assisting his wife Michelle (Kimie Tsukakoshi), pushes him into the water, and before Benny can make it back to the raft, he is killed. So, essentially, Joji is a murderer, who probably should go to jail if he survives the ensuing attacks. It’s unnecessary moments like this that do nothing for the film, and start making you consider laws about shoving people into water and causing them to be eaten by a shark. 

If you’ve been following MFF for a while, you know that I love pretty much every shark movie ever made (We started Deep Blue Sea – The Podcast). I bought Great White without ever seeing a trailer, and I regret buying it because it does nothing for the genre, as the obviously fake soundstage work (which was necessary for the budget), wonky lighting, occasionally bad VFX, and lack of memorable characters make it hard to enjoy. I really wanted to love Great White, and if I didn’t, I was fully prepared to defend it by saying “A bad shark movie is better than most other movies.” However, Great White is a middling film that does nothing to warrant a cult audience, or “so bad, it’s good” consideration.

Final thoughts Great White is a subpar shark film that should only be watched by shark movie completists. 

Bad Movie Tuesday: Winterbeast (1986 or 1992, who knows?), a wacktastic, very low budget B-movie loaded with stop-motion monsters.

August 3, 2021

MY CALL: If you love really bad b-movies with stop-motion monsters, then this nonsense is for you!  MORE MOVIES LIKE Winterbeast: The Alien Factor (1978) feels similarly bad and diverse in its creatures. The Strangeness (1985) likewise features some great stop-motion monster fare.

From IMDB: “People are being killed off near a popular mountain lodge, with a legend claiming that the mountain is haunted by a deadly Native American demonic curse.”

Hoooooly shit. Okay, so “scene 1” of this clunky B-movie lets you know from its first line reading that it’s terrible. But it also lets you know from its first creature effects that it’s deliciously terrible as some sort of stop-motion skinless tentacle monster flails about while some possessed mutant peels away a bleeding chunk of flesh from his ribcage. Why does this all happen, you may ask? Haven’t a clue. Next scene! Now a diminutive wheezing skull is chest-bursting out of some guy for about 10 seconds. Why? Screw it! Next scene! Okay now a few dialogue scenes incoherently spewing exposition that doesn’t seem to be leading anywhere. Yeah, this movie is special and I already like it! This is the most wonderful kind of bad.

I’ve got to admit, I love the bad movie charm of some wonky stop-motion critters. A stop-motion giant tree-man stalks some topless woman, then grabs her (she’s now a poorly rendered clay woman) through the window like King Kong and slams her against the house. Then a bug-eyed troglodyte-sasquatch bursts from the ground and drags two women away to their presumed rape-y demise. And a giant four-armed stop-motion alien(?) grabs a man (now another laughable clay figure) and rips off his little clay head. Oh, and a “mummy” rises from a “grave” in the middle of the woods somewhere in the United States. So a lot of sense is being made, for sure.

I’m not complaining or anything, but this movie just keeps giving us little vignettes of stop-motion monsters killing and abducting people interspersed with relatively meaningless lumbering scenes of a few park rangers searching for the missing people. Apparently these are all Native American Gods, totems or monsters of sort punishing people through a curse. The plot is inane, and the delivery is beyond incomprehensible. At one point we see what I can only describe as a spastic Dungeons & Dragons “ogre mage.”

The editing is atrocious and, as warned before the film started, portions of this movie were filmed years apart (and in some cases, with different actors playing the same character or the same actor with very different haircuts cutting back and forth mid-dialogue!). Mid-conservation you’ll see someone walk outside in daylight, then turn around and continue their conversation but the next cut… it’s clearly at night! Ed Wood would proud of the scrappy dedication it took to cobble this Frankensteinian set of 1986 and 1989 shots into a marginally passable B-movie, which even features what I can only describe as an awkwardly long, melancholy-slow, macabre dance number.

If you wanted so bad it’s good, you’ve positively found it. This is solid gold bad movie fodder. Strongly recommended especially to fans of stop-motion monsters.

Movies, Films and Flix Recommendations: Seven 2021 Films You Should Watch

August 3, 2021

Looking for some 2021 movies to watch? I put together a few movies, and also asked the MFF crew to recommend 2021 films that they love as well. The following list is quite ecclectic, and pretty great. We hope you enjoy some of these films!

Nobody This badass action film might be the most pleasant surprise of 2021. Sure, it was written by Derek Kolstad (who wrote John Wick and its sequels), and stars the always great Bob Odenkirk, however, I had no clue where it was going, and it’s neat how it subverts expectations, and brings the world some really cool brawls. Spoiling it would be criminal, just know that there are bus fights, warehouse fights, and house fights. Talking about this film on the MFF podcast will be a lot of fun because the Blu-ray is loaded with commentaries and extras that will be neat to explore (I make zero dollars by promoting the Blu-ray, I just love when directors/stars go out of their way to include commentaries).

Willy’s Wonderland Between Mandy, Willy’s Wonderland, and Pig, Nicolas Cage has been churning out some truly inventive and extremely memorable films. Willy’s Wonderland features him beating up evil animatronic puppets who reside inside a beaten down restaurant that he’s been hired to clean. The owners of Willy’s Wonderland think he’s just some rube who is going to be sacrificed to these evil monsters, however, once the attacks start, The Janitor (Cage) beats the ever living snot out of the jerky monsters, and causes chaos around the town as they are forced to deal with the aftermath of sending Nicolas Cage into a haunted restaurant. Willy’s Wonderland is pure joy, and I love every single choice that Cage makes. 

Summer of Soul – This documentary about the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival is lucky to exist, as the footage from the festival sat in a basement for close to 50 years, and could’ve been easily forgotten. What’s beautiful about this documentary directed by Ahmire “Questlove” Thompson, is how it blends epic musical performances, rich narration, and a welcome dose of history to create a thrilling experience. It totally deserved the Grand Jury and Audience Award at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival. Watch it on Hulu now!

The Map of Tiny Perfect Things – Don’t let the fact that it’s another time loop film scare you away, The Map of Tiny Perfect Things is wildly pleasant and entertaining as the leads Kathryn Newton and Kyle Allen prove themselves to be likable onscreen presences whom you immediately like. Based on a short story by Lev Grossman (Watch The Magicians now!), the movie focuses on two people who are stuck in a time loop, and eventually meet when after years of thinking they are alone, bump into each other and form an alliance. Together they start exploring their town for perfect moments. I don’t want to ruin the rest, just know that it’s very warm and likable. Watch it on Amazon Prime. 

Zanandi Botes (@Zanandi on Twitter) check out her stuff on Cracked – 

Werewolves Within – In many ways, probably the most delightful comedy horror of the year (so far). Forest ranger Finn Wheeler (played by the most excellent Sam Richardson who also produced the film) takes up station in the small town of Beaverfield filled with colorful characters in conflict over a proposed pipeline. The tension escalates when a blizzard hits the community, knocks out the town’s power, and forces everyone to take shelter in the town’s lodge. Oh, and there’s also a werewolf ripping people to shreds. The delight comes from how these diverse, eccentric, hilarious folks deal with every single problem thrown at them: From the cold and distant Environmentalist doctor who arguably freaks out more than anyone else, to Wheeler listening to self-help tapes and chanting about his genitals to get some kind of masculine confidence or whatever. It’s a hoot of a satire filled with great acting all around, and the clever ‘Who Is The Predator’ premise swings wildly between its characters just like the VR game it’s based on. With movies like Jim Cumming’s The Wolf of Snow Hollow and now Josh Ruben’s Werewolves Within, it definitely feels like the Werewolf genre is getting some fresh new takes. We’re here for it, howling for more.

Jonny Numb (@jonnyNumb on Twitter) – Check out The Crash Palace Podcast

Werewolves Within –  Horror-comedy is a precarious balancing act; for every film that pulls it off, there are just as many that miss the mark. Throw a third genre into the mix, and you have a recipe for disaster…unless you’re the horror-comedy-whodunit Werewolves Within, which exceeds expectations by offering delightful twists on shopworn tropes.

Megan Hofmeyer Check out the 2021 Mid-Year Ranom Awards Episode!

Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar  – Why do I love this movie? Cue the Richard Cheese tunes…Barb & Star Go To Vista Del Mar is a charming, earnest and weird movie. I understand that the sense of humor may not be for everyone but this story really just lives on my wavelength…pun intended 🙂 What is not to love about a Florida beach caper comedy (yea you read that right, and it’s most definitely NOT filmed in Florida) that features beach ballads, two cool ladies that work in the hottest place in Soft Rock, and a super random gag with a horse saddle. Stars and writers, Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo bring the laughs with their physical comedy (hello crazy dance party, rope gag and all things culottes) and sharp writing – this is a must see 2021 movie!

David Cross – (@ItsMeDavidCross on Twitter) Listen to the Award Wieners Movie Review Podcast 

Pig – Going into Michael Sarnoski’s “Pig” I was under the impression that I’d be watching Nicolas Cage’s version of “John Wick.” What I got, instead, was a bittersweet meditation on loss and a subdued Cage in a completely serious role. Flirting with multiple genres, including revenge and satire, “Pig” follows a recluse truffle hunter named Rob whose prize pig is stolen. With the help of his seller, Amir (Alex Wolff), Rob hunts through the skeezy underbelly of Portland’s culinary scene to find the animal. It’s been a long time since we’ve seen Cage stretch his acting chops and “Pig” is a reminder that he’s an immense talent.

The Movies, Films and Flix Podcast – Episode 379: Death Becomes Her, Shovel Fights and Twisted Heads

August 2, 2021

You can download or stream the pod on Apple PodcastsTune 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 Niall discuss 1992 visual effects bonanza Death Becomes Her. Directed by Robert Zemeckis, and starring Meryl Streep, Goldie Hawn, Bruce Willis, and Isabella Rossellini, the film focuses on what happens after people consume an elixir that grants them immortality (a lot of shenanigans). In this episode, they talk about twisted heads, holes in stomachs, and wonderful visual effects. 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 PodcastsTune In,  Podbean, or Spreaker.

John’s Horror Corner: Beyond Dream’s Door (1989), a lame 80s horror movie that deserves to remain forgotten.

August 1, 2021

MY CALL: Overall this was really boring despite some worthy lower budget gore efforts. I was never more than momentarily amused by any scene in this entire movie. This is a hard pass, folks. MORE MOVIES LIKE Beyond Dream’s Door: Another incoherent movie about dream research, Nightwish (1990) comes to mind.

Troubled by his nightmares, Ben seeks help from his psychology professor. But when Ben’s dreams come to haunt his professor in the daytime, they realize they’re both in over their heads.

Ben’s dreams include his non-existent kid brother, the death of his skinless decapitated parents, but mostly revolve around a monstrous creature with huge gangly claws which masquerades as a naked woman.

Even if very low budget, the visual of his grotesquely flayed and mutilated professor punches above the weight of this movie. His brains are squeezed from his ruptured head as I giggled with glee. Enjoy it, for it’s the only ‘good’ scene in this movie. Sure there are some noteworthy gory efforts. But for the most part, everything in this film falls flat.

With repeated use of sewers and red balloons, this was definitely influenced by Stephen King’s 1986 book “It.” Though it brings it no justice with the displaced homage. Nor does it do anything but disappoint with its depiction of zombies… ooof, that’s a lame scene. Why was that zombie scene even in this movie!?!?!

Having now seen two of the three films in my Home-Grown Horrors volume 1 pack from Vinegar Syndrome, I can confidently place this movie well below Winterbeast (1992). Sure, Beyond is much better acted and slightly less incoherently written. But the monster effects are too few and far between, the plot is poorly explored, and the main monster gets dumber as the movie progresses. Truth be told, I was never more than momentarily amused by any scene in this entire movie. This is a hard pass, folks.

John’s Horror Corner: Mirrors 2 (2010), a watchable sequel with enjoyable death scenes.

July 31, 2021

MY CALL: Unfortunately, this is one of those sequels that takes all its plays from the playbook of part 1, but simply uses a different (and cheaper) cast of characters in highly similar situations. But what the movie lacks in most respects, it makes up for with decent quality death scenes. I’d definitely give this a low priority recommendation if you liked part 1. I’m glad I saw it, but once was enough. MORE MOVIES LIKE Mirrors 2For more evil mirror movies try Mirrors (2008), Oculus (2014), Into the Mirror (2003) or Mirror Mirror (1990). But I’d skip Mirror (2014).

Still recovering from a terrible accident, Max (Nick Stahl; Disturbing Behavior, Dead Awake, Hunter Hunter) is recruited by his father to be a night security guard for the all-new renovated Mayflower, the very same cursed shopping mall of Mirrors (2008). As soon as his first shift begins, we are jump-scared by visions of a ghostly woman he sees in the mirror.

Following boldly in the footsteps of part 1’s director Alexandre Aja (Mirrors, Piranha 3D, The Hills Have Eyes, Crawl) who remade and one-upped the South Korean Into the Mirror (2003) with brutal pizzazz, Víctor García (The Damned, Hellraiser: Revelations, Return to the House on Haunted Hill) steps to the helm for this quickly released sequel.

Unfortunately, this is one of those sequels that takes all its plays from the playbook of part 1, but simply uses a different (and cheaper) cast of characters in highly similar situations. Moreover, this sequel plays on premonitions of presumably ‘preventable’ deaths in the manner of Final Destination (2000) and sequels.

Just like Mirrors (2008), we open with a night security guard (Evan Jones; The Book of Eli, Wishcraft) at the Mayflower Department Store who finds his reflection is quite malevolent and dies to the actions of his cast image. The methodology is a tad weak, but the death scene remains mean and gory.

The story lacks the development, tact or execution of its predecessor. Really, this feels like a completely standalone horror movie that just happens to take place in the same cursed store as before. Except now… the rules of the store and its haunting are completely different; basically unrelated in any way except for the involvement of angry spirits in mirrors killing people via possessed reflections. Oooooh boy, and the story involves rape, which is always charming, right? So there’s your trigger warning.

What the movie lacks in most respects, it makes up for with decent quality death scenes. Christy Carlson Romano’s shower scene death features extensive nudity, a lot of blood and some redeemingly shocking gore when her head is brutally guillotined by a broken pane of glass. No death could live up to Amy Smart’s (Mirrors) jaw-ripping demise in part 1, but this shower death scene remains incredibly satisfying for this gorehound. Likewise, Jon Michael Davis’ death is just plain mean and brutal complete with Achilles tendon gashes and disembowelment. So while this is clearly ranked below its predecessor, I still enjoyed watching it.

This movie had exactly the kind of cheap ending that, in my opinion, no one wants. But the bad people got what they had coming in the form of horribly murderous ghostly revenge, and that’s somewhat satisfying on its own. And the death scenes (though not numerous) were a disgusting joy. I’d definitely give this a low priority recommendation if you liked part 1. I’m glad I saw it, but once was enough.

Deep Blue Sea – The Podcast – Episode 56: The Decapitator, Spin Kicks, and Jumping Sharks

July 31, 2021

You can listen to Deep Blue Sea – The Podcast on Apple Podcasts, SpreakerSpotify, Tunein, Podcast Addict, Amazon, Google Podcasts, and everywhere else you listen to podcasts. Also, make sure to like our Facebook page!

Please make sure to rate, review, share, and subscribe!

Jay and Mark are joined by Aaron “Spin Kick” Neuwirth (@AaronsPS4 on Twitter) to discuss the eighth chapter on the Deep Blue Sea 3 Blu-ray. In this episode, they discuss spin kicks, jumping sharks, and unexpected low blows. Enjoy!

Please make sure to rate, review and subscribe to the DBS podcast.

John’s Horror Corner: Séance (2021), a catty ‘Mean Girls’ high school horror splicing the haunting and slasher genres.

July 30, 2021

MY CALL: Familiar yet not terribly predictable, this haunter-slasher is probably best suited for a younger audience seeking a less intense horror selection.

Disclaimer: A screener was provided by a PR/Media group/company. However, I was not paid or compensated to write this nor were there any conditions to my receiving the screener other than my solicited review and the timing of its posting.

Short Summary from IMDB: “Camille, a young woman who arrives at the Fairfield Academy following one of the student’s untimely and violent death.”

Where can WATCH NOW? RLJE Films will release SÉANCE On Demand, Digital, DVD and Blu-ray on August 3rd. To watch on Amazon just CLICK HERE.

SOLICITED REVIEWS: On occasion I accept requests for solicited reviews. But make no mistake, I have a day job, limited time and I’m not a professional. My favoritism to accept solicitations leans towards those who offer a physical screener, but that favoritism does not de facto earn a favorable review—but a “fair” review. Examples of my solicited reviews include Belzebuth (2017; US release 2020), Scare Package (2019), Iron Sky: The Coming Race (2019), The Haunting of Sharon Tate (2019), The Unseen (2017; aka Amourosis), The Belko Experiment (2016) and The Barn (2016).

After the tragic death of an Edelvine Academy student, the prestigious girls’ prep school quickly produces an opening for Camille (Suki Waterhouse; The Bad Batch, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies) to replace her. Upon her arrival, the territorial Mean Girls vibe is most unhospitable with instant violent bullying. Without necessarily packing an overly strong young adult feeling, the character writing isn’t as mature as I’d prefer. The tone is somewhere in the neighborhood of Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (2019) or The Craft: Legacy (2020).

From the time of Camille’s arrival, she seems to be the only student experiencing a haunting in the old schoolhouse. Flickering lights, nightmares and visions of figures in dark corners cast an atmosphere of mild menace. But when the girls perform a séance to contact their recently deceased classmate, they are more successful than they anticipated and their classmates begin to disappear… or meet a stabby demise. Did they summon an evil spirit? Who or what is killing the students of Edelvine Academy?

Camille’s classmates include, but are not limited to Bethany (Madisen Beaty; The Clovehitch Killer), Helina (Ella-Rae Smith; Into the Badlands), Alice (Inanna Sarkis) and Yvonne (Stephanie Sy; The Grudge).

The deaths are largely rather toothless, making this rather unpleasing for well-seasoned horror hounds but perhaps well-suited for beginners to the genre (or those who prefer their horror and death scenes less direly intense). This really isn’t very creepy, scary or shocking at all, and it isn’t gory or brutal—at least, not until the very last two deaths which felt like they were from a different and better movie entirely. I was generally quite unmoved until those final death scenes.

This is not my favorite work of writer and director Simon Barrett (V/H/S 2 segment “Tape 49”, Blair Witch, You’re Next). This movie isn’t bad… but it’s definitely not for me. I don’t even feel I’m the right person to say if it’s good, regardless of the perceived target audience. That said, I was pleasantly surprised that it wasn’t very predictable considering how ‘familiar’ it felt in the beginning.

So take my review with a heaping handful of chunky grains of salt, for I am a graybeard horror fan reared on gory 80s classics. So, yes, I mean it when I say that I found not a moment of this movie shocking, scary or unnerving. But if I had sat through a few thousand horror movies less, I could see how it might please a greener, younger audience.