(Christophe Gans, 2001)
Mix of fantasy, horror, and martial arts focusing on the efforts to eradicate a bloodthirsty beast in an 18th century French province. The special effects haven't aged particularly well, and there was something very odd about the transfer on this DVD. At 140 minutes, it's probably too long, but this is still a pretty entertaining ride. And despite the genre blends, it flows pretty seamlessly. I think a lot of people compared the "twist" to The Village and despite the pulpiness on display, that message is a little more subtle in this. Vincent Cassel, Jérémie Renier, and Monica Belluci appear. GRADE: B-
GOOSEBUMPS 2: HAUNTED HALLOWEEN
Surpisingly enjoyable sequel in which the ubiquitous dummy from the books wreaks havoc on a small town by making the Halloween decorations come to life. Jack Black provides the voice of the dummy, also appearing later on reprising his role as R.L. Stine. I was surprised just how much his dummy voice work sounds like The Crypt Keeper. If there's ever a reboot ofTales From the Crypt, Black would be a great choice to do the voice. In the meantime, his talents are well utilized in what is basically the pre-teen version of Tales. There's some meta gags later on, including a reference to how they should have saved some of the books' popular characters for the sequel instead of using them all in the first movie. It's a half step up from most cable kids Halloween movies, but it's still way more entertaining than House With a Clock In Its Walls. Wendi McLendon-Covey and Ken Jeong also appear. GRADE: B-
(David Gordon Green, 2018)
I have to agree with something I read online: this should have been called Halloween Reborn. I have no problem with the franchise's "Choose Your Own Adventure" method of storylines, but giving it the same title as the original (and its remake) is a little silly. That aside, this delivered. In this timeline, Michael has been imprisoned for 40 years while Laurie Strode, now a mentally unstable survivalist, waits for him to finish what he started decades prior and finally come back to kill her. Jamie Lee Curtis remains a force of nature and one of the genre's best leading ladies. She gets strong support from Judy Greer (finally given some material to chew on!) and newcomer Andi Matichak. And how's this for a nice surprise: the characters are actually mostly likable and memorable. Add that to some crowd-pleasing moments, well placed humor, John Carpenter's reworking of his own iconic score, twists and a high body count, and you've got the best slasher movie in ages. GRADE: B+
HOUSEBOUND
(Gerard Johnstone, 2014)
New Zealand horror/comedy about a woman placed under house arrest in her parents' home after committing a crime. There, she finds it's not just her family inhabiting the home as there seems to be a supernatural presence. The twist, which a recent horror movie I won't name also utilized, is clever, and there's some fun to be had in the characters' interactions, but the movie is very slight. Like a few of the films I reviewed this month, it runs a little too long. I will say this seems like something I'd enjoy if I gave it a rewatch in a few years. Morgana O'Reilly stars. GRADE: C+
(Stephen Susco, 2018)
A group chat turns deadly when one of the participants begins a sinister chat with a stranger who links them to some of the most disturbing videos on the dark web. I watched the original a few years back and I have the same complaint again: OMG I can't fucking read the chat window. It seemed even smaller this time. I'm sure this could have been remedied by seeing it on the big screen, but my TV isn't exactly small. This ruins a lot of the suspense. The vastly superior recent Searching seemed to have much bigger chat windows so it'll be interesting to see how that plays on a smaller screen. Betty Gabriel, a fave of the Blumhouse films, appears. GRADE: C
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