Love Lies Bleeding (Minor Spoilers)(2024)

 

**This post contains MINOR spoilers**

The Story- Working as the manager at a local gym in New Mexico, Lou (Kristen Stewart) meets Jackie (Katy O’Brian), an aspiring bodybuilder. Lou finds happiness with Jackie during a rocky romantic relationship, but the sudden appearance of FBI agent O’Riley (Orion C. Carrington) disrupts Lou’s quiet lifestyle. Lou struggles to juggle murder, dead bodies, and tumultuous relationships with her father, Lou Sr. (Ed Harris), her sister Beth (Jena Malone), her husband, JJ (Dave Franco), and a kooky woman named Daisy (Anna Baryshinkov).

My Thoughts- Kristen Stewart believably plays a quirky and awkward young woman, who’s dealing with a lot. You can tell she wants to distance herself from her family, but she loves Beth too much to ignore her abusive relationship with JJ. Stewart also brings an emotional side to Lou. The weight of working a dead end job in a small and hopeless town is clearly crushing Lou’s spirit. But Lou is still willing to help others, while she navigates a lot of tricky paths in her own life. The big test? Lou has to choose between her family, standing up to her father, and her relationship with Jackie. 

Jackie appears, and we’re not exactly sure what’s going on with her. Is she just a drifter and a shameless opportunist? Does she actually love Jackie? All the questions surrounding Jackie are definitively answered as the story progresses. Jackie is tough, she’s strong, and she doesn’t put up with bullshit. But you can also see someone, who’s hurting inside, because Jackie has a few vulnerable and emotional moments.

Katy O’Brian does an excellent job of portraying Jackie. She starts out as this happy and positive lady, who’s determined to chase her dreams. But she gets sucked into a whirlwind of chaos, as she struggles to hold herself together before she completely cracks. 

Jackie and Lou together? Well, there’s no denying it’s a toxic relationship. Jackie ran away from her hometown, chasing a new life. Lou is miserable. She hates her father, she misses her mother, and Lou knows there’s a low ceiling for her future, if she doesn’t leave New Mexico.

It’s love at first sight, when Jackie walks into the gym, but things go downhill quickly, when Lou gives Jackie steroids. Jackie quickly spirals out of control, but Lou NEVER gives up on her. The romance between Lou and Jackie is truly one of Love Lies Bleeding’s greatest strengths, filled with turbulent ups and downs. And kudos to Katy O’Brian for shifting gears to a more frazzled and angry version of Jackie during the ‘roid rage fits.

Ed Harris does it again with another good performance. Lou Sr. is a mean and crusty old bastard, a devious manipulator, who won’t stop until he gets what he wants. On top of all that, Lou Sr. is oddly fascinated with bugs. Harris plays a powerful man, but it’s hard to ignore the truth: Lou Sr. is a relic of the past. He’s an old man, who’s desperately clinging on to the power of being a big fish in a small pond, because without his status as a scary big shot, his life is empty. It’s kind of sad and pathetic, when you step back and look at the big picture.

Hats off to Dave Franco for his performance. JJ is scum. He’s a cheater, he beats his wife, and JJ is a sniveling coward. Franco does a fantastic job with JJ’s body language, his demeanor, and some good facial expressions. You can take one look at JJ, and you’ll instantly know this guy is a bad dude, with a cold and nasty mean streak.

It’s almost impossible to not feel any sympathy for Jena Malone’s Beth, a caring mother and a dedicated wife. She takes care of everything around the house, but she’s married to a monster. They don’t actually show JJ beating Beth, but the aftermath is equally horrifying. The scars, the bumps, the bruises, and Beth lying in a hospital bed with that huge knot on her face is an unpleasant sight. Also, the dinner date scene with JJ, Beth, Lou, and Jackie is genuinely uncomfortable to watch. You can feel the awkward tension at the table, and the situation reaches a boiling point, when JJ overreacts after Beth accidentally drops food on his lap.

Anna Baryshinkov could’ve stole the show here with more screen time. Daisy is a nutty and obsessive stalker. The lovey-dovey feelings she has for Lou are not reciprocated. She loves Lou, she’s willing to do anything to have a relationship with her, but Lou can’t stand Daisy. The mere sight of Daisy annoys Lou to the point, where it’s easy to believe she disgusts Lou. To top it off, Daisy’s story has an unfortunate ending before the credits start rolling.

Rose Glass’ work behind the camera is just phenomenal. Love Lies Bleeding looks and feels like a hypnotic fever dream. So many shots with great details, and the small New Mexico town is a perfect setting for this one. Lou’s hometown is a desolate and quiet hellhole out in the middle of nowhere. It’s a dreary and depressing place that kills any hopes and dreams. Escape is the only way to make it, because it’s a town that’s populated by too many people, who are stubbornly stuck in their own ways, and the bad guys hold too much power.

I’m also glad they didn’t lean into 80’s nostalgia too much. It’s a more subtle approach with the wardrobes, the hairstyles, the cars, and the phones. I can clearly see the movie is set in the 80’s, without constant in-your-face reminders in every scene, or every other scene. That’s enough for me.

Love Lies Bleeding fires on all cylinders. It works as a crime drama, it works as a thriller, and there’s some good black humor during the final moments of the movie. The overall cast is excellent. Kristen Stewart and Katy O’Brian share great chemistry as two people, who are willing to do anything for each other, no matter how risky the consequences are after the smoke clears. 

A bloody and strange fairy tale filled with violence and some gruesome gore, Love Lies Bleeding lives up to its title by delivering a wild and chaotic love story. Lots of bumpy ups and downs for Lou and Jackie, setbacks that should’ve marked the point of no return for both women. 

Going with the happy ending was the right move. Why? Because after all the bloodshed, the betrayals, and dealing with messy family drama, it’s safe to say Lou and Jackie truly earned their freedom from Lou Sr., a man who’s clearly hell-bent on being a tyrant and a nasty control freak. And there’s always a chance Jackie will get another shot at entering a different bodybuilding competition! 

Rating- 9/10

Love Lies Bleeding (2024)

 

**This post contains spoilers**

The Story- Working as the manager at a local gym in New Mexico, Lou (Kristen Stewart) meets Jackie (Katy O’Brian), an aspiring bodybuilder. Lou finds happiness with Jackie during a rocky romantic relationship, but the sudden appearance of FBI agent O’Riley (Orion C. Carrington) disrupts Lou’s quiet lifestyle. Lou struggles to juggle murder, dead bodies, and tumultuous relationships with her father, Lou Sr. (Ed Harris), her sister Beth (Jena Malone), her husband, JJ (Dave Franco), and a kooky woman named Daisy (Anna Baryshinkov).

My Thoughts- Kristen Stewart believably plays a quirky and awkward young woman, who’s dealing with a lot. You can tell she wants to distance herself from her family, but she loves Beth too much to ignore her abusive relationship with JJ. Stewart also brings an emotional side to Lou. The weight of working a dead end job in a small and hopeless town is clearly crushing Lou’s spirit. But Lou is still willing to help others, while she navigates a lot of tricky paths in her own life. The big test? Lou has to choose between her family, standing up to her father, and her relationship with Jackie. 

Jackie appears, and we’re not exactly sure what’s going on with her. Is she just a drifter and a shameless opportunist? Does she actually love Jackie? All the questions surrounding Jackie are definitively answered as the story progresses. Jackie is tough, she’s strong, and she doesn’t put up with bullshit. But you can also see someone, who’s hurting inside, because Jackie has a few vulnerable and emotional moments.

Katy O’Brian does an excellent job of portraying Jackie. She starts out as this happy and positive lady, who’s determined to chase her dreams. But she gets sucked into a whirlwind of chaos, as she struggles to hold herself together before she completely cracks. 

Jackie and Lou together? Well, there’s no denying it’s a toxic relationship. Jackie ran away from her hometown, chasing a new life. Lou is miserable. She hates her father, she misses her mother, and Lou knows there’s a low ceiling for her future, if she doesn’t leave New Mexico.

It’s love at first sight, when Jackie walks into the gym, but things go downhill quickly, when Lou gives Jackie steroids. Jackie quickly spirals out of control, but Lou NEVER gives up on her. The romance between Lou and Jackie is truly one of Love Lies Bleeding’s greatest strengths, filled with turbulent ups and downs. And kudos to Katy O’Brian for shifting gears to a more frazzled and angry version of Jackie during the ‘roid rage fits.

Ed Harris does it again with another good performance. Lou Sr. is a mean and crusty old bastard, a devious manipulator, who won’t stop until he gets what he wants. On top of all that, Lou Sr. is oddly fascinated with bugs. Harris plays a powerful man, but it’s hard to ignore the truth: Lou Sr. is a relic of the past. He’s an old man, who’s desperately clinging on to the power of being a big fish in a small pond, because without his status as a scary big shot, his life is empty. It’s kind of sad and pathetic, when you step back and look at the big picture.

Hats off to Dave Franco for his performance. JJ is scum. He’s a cheater, he beats his wife, JJ is a sniveling coward, AND it’s revealed he’s an informant for the FBI. Franco does a fantastic job with JJ’s body language, his demeanor, and some good facial expressions. You can take one look at JJ, and you’ll instantly know this guy is a bad dude, with a cold and nasty mean streak.

It’s almost impossible to not feel any sympathy for Jena Malone’s Beth, a caring mother and a dedicated wife. She takes care of everything around the house, but she’s married to a monster. They don’t actually show JJ beating Beth, but the aftermath is equally horrifying. The scars, the bumps, the bruises, and Beth lying in a hospital bed with that huge knot on her face is an unpleasant sight. Also, the dinner date scene with JJ, Beth, Lou, and Jackie is genuinely uncomfortable to watch. You can feel the awkward tension at the table, and the situation reaches a boiling point, when JJ overreacts after Beth accidentally drops food on his lap.

Anna Baryshinkov could’ve stole the show here with more screen time. Daisy is a nutty and obsessive stalker. The lovey-dovey feelings she has for Lou are not reciprocated. She loves Lou, she’s willing to do anything to have a relationship with her, but Lou can’t stand Daisy. The mere sight of Daisy annoys Lou to the point, where it’s easy to believe she disgusts Lou. To top it off, Daisy’s story has an unfortunate ending before the credits start rolling.

Jackie, as a GIANT, pulverizes Lou Sr.! It’s a bizarre ending. Yes, Lou Sr. got what he deserved, and I’m glad Lou didn’t pull the trigger. She obviously wanted her father to rot in prison, because killing him would’ve been too easy. A small part of me was hoping for a more serious tone during Lou Sr.’s beat down. Lou Sr. was truly an evil man. He deserved to suffer, but Giant Jackie playing around with Lou Sr., while Lou watches with a smile on her face crossed the line for being too silly for me. 

Although, I guess you have to look at the ending through Lou’s eyes. She deeply loves Jackie, and it’s obvious Lou admires her. For Lou, Jackie is someone, who’s larger than life itself, so it makes sense that she sees Jackie as a giant, who’s beating the crap out of her father, a man, who’s directly responsible for a lot of heartache in Lou’s life. 

To add to that, I have to believe steroids played a big part in Jackie’s hallucinogenic transformations. Going back to the scene, where Jackie brutally murders JJ, you’ll notice Jackie is taller, towering over JJ’s mangled corpse.

Rose Glass’ work behind the camera is just phenomenal. Love Lies Bleeding looks and feels like a hypnotic fever dream. So many shots with great details, and the small New Mexico town is a perfect setting for this one. Lou’s hometown is a desolate and quiet hellhole out in the middle of nowhere. It’s a dreary and depressing place that kills any hopes and dreams. Escape is the only way to make it, because it’s a town that’s populated by too many people, who are stubbornly stuck in their own ways, and the bad guys hold too much power.

I’m also glad they didn’t lean into 80’s nostalgia too much. It’s a more subtle approach with the wardrobes, the hairstyles, the cars, and the phones. I can clearly see the movie is set in the 80’s, without constant in-your-face reminders in every scene, or every other scene. That’s enough for me.

Love Lies Bleeding fires on all cylinders. It works as a crime drama, it works as a thriller, and there’s some good black humor during the final moments of the movie. The overall cast is excellent. Kristen Stewart and Katy O’Brian share great chemistry as two people, who are willing to do anything for each other, no matter how risky the consequences are after the smoke clears. 

A bloody and strange fairy tale filled with violence and some gruesome gore, Love Lies Bleeding lives up to its title by delivering a wild and chaotic love story. Lots of bumpy ups and downs for Lou and Jackie, setbacks that should’ve marked the point of no return for both women. 

Going with the happy ending was the right move. Why? Because after all the bloodshed, the betrayals, and dealing with messy family drama, it’s safe to say Lou and Jackie truly earned their freedom from Lou Sr., a man who’s clearly hell-bent on being a tyrant and a nasty control freak. And there’s always a chance Jackie will get another shot at entering a different bodybuilding competition! 

Rating- 9/10

Y2K (2024)(Minor Spoilers)

 

**This post contains MINOR spoilers**

The Story- On December 31, 1999, Eli (Jaeden Martell) and Danny’s (Julian Dennison) planned night of fun turns into a disaster, when the Y2K bug hits at a New Year’s Eve party. Eli teams up with Laura (Rachel Zegler), Ash (Lachlan Watson), Garrett (Kyle Mooney), and CJ (Daniel Zolghadri) to fight back against Amalgamation, a sinister algorithm, and a violent horde of sentient machines. A plan is in place to stop Amalgamation and the machines from enslaving humanity, but the group runs into a series of setbacks during the last stand to save the world….

My Thoughts- Eli is the shy and socially awkward nerd, who’s chasing Laura, the girl of his dreams. Danny? Well, he’s a geek, but he’s far more outgoing and confident, if we’re comparing him to Eli. Ash, and her group friends, including Farkas (Eduardo Franco), proudly fill the roles of the “rejects,” or the “freaks.” And Chris (The Kid Laroi) is the douchey big man on campus, a jock, who arrogantly sticks his chest out as king of the cool kids. 

Y2K is loaded with the usual archetypes for high schoolers, but Rachel Zegler’s Laura slightly breaks the mold to stand out a little bit. Yes, Laura is popular, but she’s not cocky, selfish, or conceited, and she’s not a mean girl. Laura is genuinely surprised by any negative reactions, or assumptions about her character. She never went out of her way to become popular. She didn’t cut anyone down, or step on anyone, who she might’ve believed was beneath her. In her own words, Laura’s rise in the social hierarchy “just happened” without her putting in any real effort to be on top. That’s right, she got there by just being herself, no matter how much her personality rubbed certain people the wrong way.

If you’re looking for 90’s nostalgia, Y2K has just about everything that you could possibly think of and more. The music (The Thong Song takes center stage here), dial-up internet, AOL (you’ve got mail!), Tae Bo, a Men In Black reference, Limp Bizkit, and Fred Durst! The grainy POVs from Ash’s treasured video recorder adds to the nostalgia to give you the feeling you’re watching something straight out of the 90’s. On top of that, Garrett works in a video rental store, and a VHS recording of Varsity Blues is used a deadly weapon in one scene. I’m a 90’s/early 2000’s kid, so it was easy to spot numerous “I remember that!” moments and callbacks throughout the movie.

Outside of one big and surprising death, Y2K goes through the motions. It’s not hard to predict how the story of the nerd (Eli), who’s pursuing the girl (Laura), who’s supposed to be out of his league will end. But Y2K is still an enjoyable post-apocalyptic horror comedy. It’s a silly and harmless coming-of-age movie, with a satisfying conclusion and a happy ending. Also, the kills and the death scenes are hilarious, including the microwave, a blender attacking someone’s private parts, and a can of hairspray being used as a flamethrower.

The casting is excellent, because everyone is a perfect fit for their characters. The dynamic between Eli’s parents provides a few laughs. Howard (Tim Heidecker), Eli’s father, is clearly more uptight, nerdy, and proper. On the flip side of that, Robin (Alicia Silverstone) is a free spirit, but she’s still a kind and loving mother.

A big thumbs up for Kyle Mooney playing the eccentric hippie stoner, and Mason Gooding’s Jonas is basically cut from the same cloth. The big difference between Garrett and Jonas is, Garrett is bold and kind of reckless. Jonas takes a safer and more laid back approach to dealing with the machines. He helps out on crowd control to give Eli a chance to deliver his big rah-rah speech at the school. Garrett? Well, let’s just say running towards a machine for a one on one fight is not a good idea, if you want to stop the global uprising. 

Lachlan Watson easily delivers one of the best performances as Ash. Watson plays a conflicted teenager. Ash is an outsider, but you can also see she’s angry. She’s confused, and Ash is hesitant to let her guard down around certain people, so she clings to the trash-talking punk kid side of her personality. Truly a good performance from Watson, especially during the scenes, when Ash shows the vulnerable and emotional side of her personality.

The story of a group of unlikely heroes (including Fred Durst) teaming up to stop a seemingly unstoppable and powerful force? It’s a formula that’s almost impossible to screw up. You’re going to get something out of it, and Y2K mostly gets it right. The core group of characters change in different ways after the big showdown at the high school. Everyone’s journey comes full circle after a bloody and gory humans vs machines battle with high stakes, proving the fighting human spirit will always have an advantage over crafty technology and machines. 

Rating- 6/10

Y2K (2024)

 

**This post contains spoilers**

The Story- On December 31, 1999, Eli (Jaeden Martell) and Danny’s (Julian Dennison) planned night of fun turns into a disaster, when the Y2K bug hits at a New Year’s Eve party. Eli teams up with Laura (Rachel Zegler), Ash (Lachlan Watson), Garrett (Kyle Mooney), and CJ (Daniel Zolghadri) to fight back against Amalgamation, a sinister algorithm, and a violent horde of sentient machines. A plan is in place to stop Amalgamation and the machines from enslaving humanity, but the group runs into a series of setbacks during the last stand to save the world….

My Thoughts- Eli is the shy and socially awkward nerd, who’s chasing Laura, the girl of his dreams. Danny? Well, he’s a geek, but he’s far more outgoing and confident, if we’re comparing him to Eli. Ash, and her group friends, including Farkas (Eduardo Franco), proudly fill the roles of the “rejects,” or the “freaks.” And Chris (The Kid Laroi) is the douchey big man on campus, a jock, who arrogantly sticks his chest out as king of the cool kids. 

Y2K is loaded with the usual archetypes for high schoolers, but Rachel Zegler’s Laura slightly breaks the mold to stand out a little bit. Yes, Laura is popular, but she’s not cocky, selfish, or conceited, and she’s not a mean girl. Laura is genuinely surprised by any negative reactions, or assumptions about her character. She never went out of her way to become popular. She didn’t cut anyone down, or step on anyone, who she might’ve believed was beneath her. In her own words, Laura’s rise in the social hierarchy “just happened” without her putting in any real effort to be on top. That’s right, she got there by just being herself, no matter how much her personality rubbed certain people the wrong way.

Danny’s death at Chris’ house did catch me off guard. The best friends have to make out alive in the end, right? That’s what I believed early on, because Y2K is a film that largely plays it safe, but Danny’s death adds a good emotional layer for this one. Eli, without his one true friend, is forced to push forward with a heavy heart, so he can stop the attack before it’s too late.

Eli uses the one condom gifted to him by Danny, allowing Laura to safely upload the kill code without being electrocuted? Hilariously clever. It’s a nutty ending, when you realize Eli and Laura needed protection to safely penetrate a giant computer, using one of Danny’s condoms, a condom that Danny was saving for Eli to use for his first time with Laura.

If you’re looking for 90’s nostalgia, Y2K has just about everything that you could possibly think of and more. The music (The Thong Song takes center stage here), dial-up internet, AOL (you’ve got mail!), Tae Bo, a Men In Black reference, Limp Bizkit, and Fred Durst! The grainy POVs from Ash’s treasured video recorder adds to the nostalgia to give you the feeling you’re watching something straight out of the 90’s. On top of that, Garrett works in a video rental store, and a VHS recording of Varsity Blues is used a deadly weapon in one scene. I’m a 90’s/early 2000’s kid, so it was easy to spot numerous “I remember that!” moments and callbacks throughout the movie.

Outside of one big and surprising death, Y2K goes through the motions. It’s not hard to predict how the story of the nerd (Eli), who’s pursuing the girl (Laura), who’s supposed to be out of his league will end. But Y2K is still an enjoyable post-apocalyptic horror comedy. It’s a silly and harmless coming-of-age movie, with a satisfying conclusion and a happy ending. Also, the kills and the death scenes are hilarious, including the microwave, a blender attacking someone’s private parts, and a can of hairspray being used as a flamethrower.

The casting is excellent, because everyone is a perfect fit for their characters. The dynamic between Eli’s parents provides a few laughs. Howard (Tim Heidecker), Eli’s father, is clearly more uptight, nerdy, and proper. On the flip side of that, Robin (Alicia Silverstone) is a free spirit, but she’s still a kind and loving mother. 

A big thumbs up for Kyle Mooney playing the eccentric hippie stoner, and Mason Gooding’s Jonas is basically cut from the same cloth. The big difference between Garrett and Jonas is, Garrett is bold and kind of reckless. Jonas takes a safer and more laid back approach to dealing with the machines. He helps out on crowd control to give Eli a chance to deliver his big rah-rah speech at the school. Garrett? Well, let’s just say running towards a machine for a one on one fight is not a good idea, if you want to stop the global uprising. 

Lachlan Watson easily delivers one of the best performances as Ash. Watson plays a conflicted teenager. Ash is an outsider, but you can also see she’s angry. She’s confused, and Ash is hesitant to let her guard down around certain people, so she clings to the trash-talking punk kid side of her personality. Truly a good performance from Watson, especially during the scenes, when Ash shows the vulnerable and emotional side of her personality.

The story of a group of unlikely heroes (including Fred Durst) teaming up to stop a seemingly unstoppable and powerful force? It’s a formula that’s almost impossible to screw up. You’re going to get something out of it, and Y2K mostly gets it right. The core group of characters change in different ways after the big showdown at the high school. Everyone’s journey comes full circle after a bloody and gory humans vs machines battle with high stakes, proving the fighting human spirit will always have an advantage over crafty technology and machines. 

Rating- 6/10

Death Of A Unicorn (2025)(Minor Spoilers)

 

**This review contains MINOR spoilers**

The Story- During a business trip with his daughter, Ridley (Jenna Ortega), Elliot (Paul Rudd) hits a unicorn with his rental car. Nervous and determined to make a good impression on his boss, Odell (Richard E. Grant), his wife, Belinda (Tea Leoni), and their son, Shepard (Will Poulter), Elliot decides to hide the body in the back of the car, but the unicorn suddenly awakes, sparking a series of chaotic events. Survival becomes the main goal, when the unicorn’s parents arrive at Odell’s ranch, determined to retrieve their child. Can Ridley’s research save Elliot, Odell, his family, and the others?

My Thoughts- Blood, guts, and unicorns! I’ll admit, I’m not an expert on unicorns, or the mythology behind them, so putting those words together sounds strange. Whimsical, mysterious, or majestic? Going by everything I’ve seen over the years, whether it’s in movies, TV shows, or commercials, that’s what pops into my head, when I think about unicorns. 

Sure, you can see the awe-inspiring aura for the unicorns throughout the movie. There’s no denying that, but when the parents enter the picture, things change. We’re introduced to two large and ferocious beasts. Yeah, you CAN wound the unicorns. Maybe you can slow them down to buy yourself some more time to run and hide. The “if it bleeds, we can kill it” approach doesn’t work here, adding another layer to how the unicorns are presented as an unstoppable force. Lots of purple blood from the unicorns is spilled after Elliot hits the child, and guess what? The humans (the bad ones) pay the price with their lives.

It’s impossible to ignore the hilarity of watching everyone running from unicorns, because, well, they’re unicorns. But writer/director Alex Scharfman still manages to toe the line in a way, where escaping the unicorns never looks too silly or goofy. The unicorns are a dangerous and deadly threat. It’s true you can look at the galloping creatures with a big smile and a stunned wide-eyed expression, but they’re also capable of easily ripping your guts out. Unicorns in Death Of A Unicorn are treated with the highest levels of respect. Also, the lore and the mythology for the unicorns is just excellent, telling the story of a mystical and brutal past, filled with rich details and clever tales about the history between humans and unicorns.

Elliot? In the early stages of the movie, you’ll get the impression the guy is just a shameless ass-kisser. He’s a pushover, who’s willing to do anything to get the seal of approval from Odell and his family. But towards the end, you’ll see a man and a father, who’s just trying to do his best. Maybe he went about doing it the wrong way, but Elliot swore to honor a promise to Ridley’s mother.

Paul Rudd is genuinely hilarious here. Elliot is goofy. He’s constantly nervous and walking on eggshells, and Elliot is kind of a klutz. But Rudd has more believable serious moments, when he has to protect Ridley, and when Elliot finally realizes he’s just an expendable asset for Odell, Shepard, and Belinda.

Jenna Ortega’s character is a bit cliched. Ridley is a bratty teenager, who’s not afraid to speak her mind, and she’s into vaping! But you’ll also see there’s more to her character as the story progresses. Ridley is smart. She’s not afraid to speak her mind, and Ridley quickly realizes Odell and his family are nothing more than rich and greedy snobs. She’s rebellious, but we’re also talking about a kid, who’s still hurting inside, because she misses her mom. 

Ortega delivers a noticeably confident performance, and she brings some good humor to Ridley. The awkward and rocky bonding experience between Ridley and Elliot is one the bigger highlights for this one. Lots of good laughs, and a satisfying full circle ending during the home stretch of the movie.

Odell, Shepard, and Belinda? They’re all terrible people. It’s easy to feel sympathy for Odell. He’s old, he’s sick, he’s dying, and he’s a fragile dude, who’s one bad fall away from kicking the bucket. But Odell shows his true colors after receiving a big boost from hefty amounts of blood from the baby unicorn. He’s a nasty and greedy old man. A dying man should use his second chance at life to be more appreciative and cherish the world around him more, right? Nope. Odell is too wrapped up in his massive ego. After everything that happened in the woods, Odell thinks it’s perfectly okay to try and touch the unicorn’s horn? Idiot. 

Tea Leoni plays the sympathetic figure in the family. Yes, she’s complicit in the family’s ill deeds, and she’s a pompous and pretentious character. But Belinda actually cares about her husband and her son. Leoni hams it up with Belinda’s exaggerated accent to the point, where you’ll either laugh, or start shaking your head at how silly it is, but she still delivers a solid overall performance. 

Will Poulter easily steals the show here. Poulter embodies everything you’d expect from a rich and spoiled brat as Shepard. He’s entitled, whiny, a coward, and on top of all that, Shepard’s personality is a mix of an annoying douchebag frat boy and a cocky dude-bro. From one scene to the next, Poulter’s performance is truly fun to watch, as the situation spirals out of control. The guy actually gets hooked on snorting and smoking unicorn parts to replace his bad drug habit. Priceless.

Odell and his family had the chance to do the right thing. You find UNICORNS, creatures that have blood that’s full of magical healing powers, blood that also has the ability to cure cancer. Saving lives should’ve been the top priority, but they only had one main goal: profit. But what else would you expect from a group of wealthy elitists, completely disconnected from the real world, while living in a large estate with servants, who are ready to obey any commands without any real resistance.

Odell, Shepard, and Belinda? They all got what they deserved in the end. Poetic justice hits hard for Odell and his family. It’s also hilariously ironic, when you remember the nature preserve is named after Odell. Protecting the unicorns would’ve been so much easier and simple, but having a god complex was his downfall. 

The CGI and the special effects for the unicorns loses its wow factor during the daytime scenes, but Death Of A Unicorn is still a good film. Paul Rudd and Jenna Ortega share terrific chemistry as a father/daughter duo. The cast is excellent from top to bottom, including performances from Sunita Mani, Stephen Park, and Jessica Hynes. Anthony Carrigan’s Griff is one of the more entertaining characters here. Griff is a jittery mess, the butler, who’s scared of disobeying his employers. But Griff has his moments towards the end, when he finally decides to stand up for himself. 

Consistent laughs, a handful of gnarly kills and death scenes, lots of blood and gore, and an emotional story about a father and his daughter trying to live a normal life again after a tragedy. Death Of A Unicorn checks off more than enough boxes for a wild and bizarre horror comedy.

And I can’t forget about the strong similarities to Jurassic Park, just Replace raptors with unicorns, complete with bloody and graphic death scenes. There’s also a scene that’s eerily similar to a scene from The Lost World. Julianne Moore, Jeff Goldblum, and Vince Vaughn are together. They’re nervous, and they’re trying to return the baby T-Rex to his parents, hoping it’ll be a smooth peace offering transaction. Well, Ridley comes up with a plan that mirrors what happened in The Lost World. But the big difference is, poor Dr. Bhatia (Sunita Mani) doesn’t have the luxury of relying on a skilled and experienced team to save her.

Rating- 9/10

Death Of A Unicorn (2025)

 

**This review contains spoilers**

The Story- During a business trip with his daughter, Ridley (Jenna Ortega), Elliot (Paul Rudd) hits a unicorn with his rental car. Nervous and determined to make a good impression on his boss, Odell (Richard E. Grant), his wife, Belinda (Tea Leoni), and their son, Shepard (Will Poulter), Elliot decides to hide the body in the back of the car, but the unicorn suddenly awakes, sparking a series of chaotic events. Survival becomes the main goal, when the unicorn’s parents arrive at Odell’s ranch, determined to retrieve their child. Can Ridley’s research save Elliot, Odell, his family, and the others?

My Thoughts- Blood, guts, and unicorns! I’ll admit, I’m not an expert on unicorns, or the mythology behind them, so putting those words together sounds strange. Whimsical, mysterious, or majestic? Going by everything I’ve seen over the years, whether it’s in movies, TV shows, or commercials, that’s what pops into my head, when I think about unicorns. 

Sure, you can see the awe-inspiring aura for the unicorns throughout the movie. There’s no denying that, but when the parents enter the picture, things change. We’re introduced to two large and ferocious beasts. Yeah, you CAN wound the unicorns. Maybe you can slow them down to buy yourself some more time to run and hide. The “if it bleeds, we can kill it” approach doesn’t work here, adding another layer to how the unicorns are presented as an unstoppable force. Lots of purple blood from the unicorns is spilled after Elliot hits the child, and guess what? The humans (the bad ones) pay the price with their lives.

It’s impossible to ignore the hilarity of watching everyone running from unicorns, because, well, they’re unicorns. But writer/director Alex Scharfman still manages to toe the line in a way, where escaping the unicorns never looks too silly or goofy. The unicorns are a dangerous and deadly threat. It’s true you can look at the galloping creatures with a big smile and a stunned wide-eyed expression, but they’re also capable of easily ripping your guts out. Unicorns in Death Of A Unicorn are treated with the highest levels of respect. Also, the lore and the mythology for the unicorns is just excellent, telling the story of a mystical and brutal past, filled with rich details and clever tales about the history between humans and unicorns.

Elliot? In the early stages of the movie, you’ll get the impression the guy is just a shameless ass-kisser. He’s a pushover, who’s willing to do anything to get the seal of approval from Odell and his family. But towards the end, you’ll see a man and a father, who’s just trying to do his best. Maybe he went about doing it the wrong way, but Elliot swore to honor a promise to Ridley’s mother.

Paul Rudd is genuinely hilarious here. Elliot is goofy. He’s constantly nervous and walking on eggshells, and Elliot is kind of a klutz. But Rudd has more believable serious moments, when he has to protect Ridley, and when Elliot finally realizes he’s just an expendable asset for Odell, Shepard, and Belinda.

Jenna Ortega’s character is a bit cliched. Ridley is a bratty teenager, who’s not afraid to speak her mind, and she’s into vaping! But you’ll also see there’s more to her character as the story progresses. Ridley is smart. She’s not afraid to speak her mind, and Ridley quickly realizes Odell and his family are nothing more than rich and greedy snobs. She’s rebellious, but we’re also talking about a kid, who’s still hurting inside, because she misses her mom. 

Ortega delivers a noticeably confident performance, and she brings some good humor to Ridley. The awkward and rocky bonding experience between Ridley and Elliot is one the bigger highlights for this one. Lots of good laughs, and a satisfying full circle ending during the home stretch of the movie.

Odell, Shepard, and Belinda? They’re all terrible people. It’s easy to feel sympathy for Odell. He’s old, he’s sick, he’s dying, and he’s a fragile dude, who’s one bad fall away from kicking the bucket. But Odell shows his true colors after receiving a big boost from hefty amounts of blood from the baby unicorn. He’s a nasty and greedy old man. A dying man should use his second chance at life to be more appreciative and cherish the world around him more, right? Nope. Odell is too wrapped up in his massive ego. After everything that happened in the woods, Odell thinks it’s perfectly okay to try and touch the unicorn’s horn? Idiot. 

Tea Leoni plays the sympathetic figure in the family. Yes, she’s complicit in the family’s ill deeds, and she’s a pompous and pretentious character. But Belinda actually cares about her husband and her son. Leoni hams it up with Belinda’s exaggerated accent to the point, where you’ll either laugh, or start shaking your head at how silly it is, but she still delivers a solid overall performance. 

Will Poulter easily steals the show here. Poulter embodies everything you’d expect from a rich and spoiled brat as Shepard. He’s entitled, whiny, a coward, and on top of all that, Shepard’s personality is a mix of an annoying douchebag frat boy and a cocky dude-bro. From one scene to the next, Poulter’s performance is truly fun to watch, as the situation spirals out of control. The guy actually gets hooked on snorting and smoking unicorn parts to replace his bad drug habit. Priceless.

Odell and his family had the chance to do the right thing. You find UNICORNS, creatures that have blood that’s full of magical healing powers, blood that also has the ability to cure cancer. Saving lives should’ve been the top priority, but they only had one main goal: profit. But what else would you expect from a group of wealthy elitists, completely disconnected from the real world, while living in a large estate with servants, who are ready to obey any commands without any real resistance.

Odell, Shepard, and Belinda? They all got what they deserved in the end. Poetic justice hits hard for Odell and his family. It’s also hilariously ironic, when you remember the nature preserve is named after Odell. Protecting the unicorns would’ve been so much easier and simple, but having a god complex was his downfall. 

I never believed Elliot was truly dead after Shepard stabbed him, not for one second. Jenna Ortega did a fantastic job of selling Ridley’s devastated reaction, but after everything they went through, Elliot dying would’ve been too much of a downer for the ending. Was it predictable? Yes, there’s no ifs, ands, or buts about it. Still, it’s a feel-good moment to see Elliot and Ridley together, rounding out the surviving trio. And I did get a good laugh out of Shepard being on the receiving end of a fatal mule kick from one of the unicorns. Similar to his father, a crazed ego cost Shepard his life.

The CGI and the special effects for the unicorns loses its wow factor during the daytime scenes, but Death Of A Unicorn is still a good film. Paul Rudd and Jenna Ortega share terrific chemistry as a father/daughter duo. The cast is excellent from top to bottom, including performances from Sunita Mani, Stephen Park, and Jessica Hynes. Anthony Carrigan’s Griff is one of the more entertaining characters here. Griff is a jittery mess, the butler, who’s scared of disobeying his employers. But Griff has his moments towards the end, when he finally decides to stand up for himself. 

Consistent laughs, a handful of gnarly kills and death scenes, lots of blood and gore, and an emotional story about a father and his daughter trying to live a normal life again after a tragedy. Death Of A Unicorn checks off more than enough boxes for a wild and bizarre horror comedy.

And I can’t forget about the strong similarities to Jurassic Park, just Replace raptors with unicorns, complete with bloody and graphic death scenes. There’s also a scene that’s eerily similar to a scene from The Lost World. Julianne Moore, Jeff Goldblum, and Vince Vaughn are together. They’re nervous, and they’re trying to return the baby T-Rex to his parents, hoping it’ll be a smooth peace offering transaction. Well, Ridley comes up with a plan that mirrors what happened in The Lost World. But the big difference is, poor Dr. Bhatia (Sunita Mani) doesn’t have the luxury of relying on a skilled and experienced team to save her.

Rating- 9/10

Run Sweetheart Run (2020)(Minor Spoilers)

**This review contains MINOR spoilers** 

The Story- After double-booking her boss, James Fuller (Clark Gregg) on his wedding anniversary, Cherie (Ella Belinska) agrees to fill in for dinner with a client named Ethan (Pilou Asbaek). Cherie’s dinner date takes a dangerous turn, when Ethan suddenly attacks her at his house. 

Ethan challenges Cherie to a game: Ethan will stalk and hunt Cherie until sunrise. If Cherie survives, Ethan will let her go. Cherie seeks protection and help from her ex-boyfriend, Trey (Dayo Okeniyi), and her ex-friend, Dawn (Carmela Zumbado). James’ wife, Judy (Betsy Brandt) quietly gives Cherie crucial tips for survival. But if Cherie plans on stopping and defeating Ethan, she’ll need to join forces with The First Lady (Shohreh Aghdashloo) before it’s too late. 

My Thoughts- Ethan is a monster! Not only is Ethan a cruel and heartless misogynist, he’s literally a monster, a ferocious and relentless beast. Ethan’s transformation scene is one of the bigger highlights in the movie, and it’s a scene that doesn’t work without Ella Belinska’s perfect horrified reaction. You don’t actually see Ethan transformation, because the focus and the camera is solely fixed on Cherie. You’re lead to believe Ethan’s true form is something that’s genuinely grotesque and shocking. The real Ethan is too unbearable to witness. That’s the idea, and a church was the perfect ironic setting for a demonic monster’s big reveal.

Pilou Asbaek knocks it out of the park as Ethan. During the early stages of the movie, Asbaek absolutely nails the suave, charming, and charismatic gentleman side of Ethan. But when Ethan reveals his true colors, Asbaek smoothly switches gears to playing a cruel and sadistic man, who enjoys torturing Cherie.

Cherie is a single mother, who’s just trying to do her best, a young and shy pre-law secretary struggling to make it in a man’s world. Cherie was HOPING the night out with Ethan would be something “nice.” She just wanted to let her guard down, and have a good time, so she could remember what it was like to have fun with life. 

There’s no denying Ella Belinska puts a lot of effort into playing Cherie. It’s a lot of screaming, begging, and pleading for help throughout the movie, but you’ll still see flashes of a potentially solid or good overall performance. 

But Belinska’s hysterics fits Cherie’s character, and what she’s going through. We’re talking about a woman, who’s forced to run around mostly barefoot a lot at night in some seedy parts of Los Angeles, while she’s being chased by a bloodthirsty maniac. That, and Cherie truly suffers here. Ethan beats her for his own amusement, she’s constantly covered in blood, and exhausted. Cherie is forced to endure a hellacious series of events. To make matters worse, she doesn’t have time to relax, breathe, or slow down, if she wants to survive, because Ethan is closing in and waiting for an opportunity to attack.

Run Sweetheart Run’s ending sticks the landing for an easy and satisfying conclusion, but it’s a questionable path to get there. Ethan is one mean dude. He’s all-powerful, and you could say he’s nearly invincible, so why didn’t he just kill Cherie earlier? I get it. Ethan loves the chase, the hunt, and he gets a kick out of toying with Cherie. But killing her was his main goal, right? So why didn’t he just do it, when he had numerous chances to finish her off? Yes, you could say Ethan got too cocky, and his ego was his downfall. But it’s just one too many self-inflicted missed opportunities for Ethan during his pursuit of Cherie.

Consistency with Ethan’s vulnerability is another problem here. Cherie knocks Ethan down with brick, one brick, but Ethan walks away without a scratch after the attempted ambush at Trey’s house? Mind you, Dawn was armed with a shotgun, and everyone else had weapons, including a sword! Maybe you could say Ethan was too fast, and he used super speedy techniques to avoid any damage, but I’m not buying it. The priest also wounded Ethan at the church with a sword? Yeah, the priest caught him off guard, but it’s still a bit strange.

Luck, convenient luck, is also on Cherie’s side. When she learns the truth about James Fuller, Cherie runs outside, and there’s a bus passing by. After the big car crash, a dog shows up to protect Cherie from Ethan. It’s a big deal, because Ethan really hates dogs. But the timing of everything is hard to ignore. Ethan is about to murder Cherie (again), and a dog just walks right up to Ethan, seemingly out of nowhere?

For me, Run Sweetheart Run has a handful of annoyances, but there’s also a lot of good to focus on here. Cherie is a young woman and a single mom, who’s struggling to find her way in the world, a world dominated and ruled by condescending and misogynistic men. Pay close attention, and you’ll notice every time someone calls Cherie “sweetheart”, whether it’s Ethan or James, it’s not used in an endearing or complimentary way. The men surrounding Cherie view her as this naive little pet, someone, who obeys or should obey commands without any real resistance. Ethan also refers to Cherie as a “cocktease,” who wore a “fuck me” dress to meet him. 

Cherie is justifiably terrified of Ethan. Judy? She walks around on eggshells, because she knows who Ethan truly is, and she knows the dark secrets behind James’ connection to him. Fear is used to keep women in line, and Ethan is the boss, dishing out brutal violence to ensure the system he put in place stays on the tracks.

Cleverly breaking the fourth wall happens in three noteworthy scenes. You’ll either see Ethan turn the camera away, or he’ll put his hand up to stop filming, because what he’s about to do to Cherie is too terrible to witness. Is it possible Ethan is giving commands to the camera, because he wants the audience to know he’s in complete control? It makes sense. Ethan has the ability to control other men with his powers. The guy is an egomaniac, so he gets to decide what we can or can’t see, when his character is on the screen.

But things change towards the end. Cherie takes control of the camera during the big final showdown. Why? Because a weakened Ethan is not calling the shots anymore. He’s not in a position to tell Cherie what to do, threaten her, or make any last attempts to boss her around. 

Run Sweetheart Run mostly delivers an entertaining film, telling an ambitious young woman’s story about fighting back against the most evil forms of sexism and a patriarchy with a horror twist. The movie takes some time to breathe with a bit of levity, when Trey appears. Some decent laughs during the fiasco at Trey’s house, because Run Sweetheart Run hits a point, where you’re introduced to more carefree and relaxed characters, who aren’t afraid to crack jokes. And they’re having fun watching the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre! 

Good music and a nice, fitting soundtrack for this one, and a fair amount of blood and gore here, including a few nasty scenes. The overall cast is solid from top to bottom. Shohreh Aghdashloo brings a commanding presence to The First Lady. Aghdashloo plays a powerful character, but she’s also someone, who doesn’t take herself too seriously. She has a good sense of humor, isn’t afraid to curse, and you know she’s a woman, who’s dead serious about killing Ethan.

Director Shana Feste deserves a lot of credit for turning Los Angeles into a scary place, during daylight and nighttime hours. Eerily quiet and spooky streets, the wanted posters plastered everywhere, sordid characters roaming around, and showing numerous desolate settings littered with trash and rows of tents really drives home the idea that Cherie is truly all alone in a big city.

But surely Cherie can count on good samaritans to help her, right? Well, no. There’s the scene outside the movie theater, where two women, obviously believing Cherie is an hysterical alcoholic, hesitate to help her. And a woman looks away and goes back to minding her own business during the scene on the bus, when Cherie is sexually assaulted by the creepy weirdo. 

The police? Instead of doing something useful for Cherie, after she barely escaped an attack from a psycho, they treated her like a criminal, a loony drunk wandering the streets late at night. And there’s the scene in the underground club, where a soldier, feeling disrespected because she didn’t enlist, turns into a jerk and tries to intimidate Cherie, while she’s wearing a bedazzled military jacket. 

I have a lot of problems with the gaps in logic for Ethan hunting Cherie. But there’s no denying that Cherie can’t escape one nagging problem: she’s not safe anywhere. Not on the streets, not at a police station, her ex-boyfriend’s house, or the bathroom at a convenience store. Throwing a bloody tampon on the back of a pickup truck buys her some time, but it’s not enough to stop Ethan. Cherie can’t escape the monster lurking in the shadows, because no matter where she goes, or who she turns to for help, it’s only a matter of time before Ethan finds her.

Rating- 7/10

Run Sweetheart Run (2020)

 

**This post contains spoilers**

The Story- After double-booking her boss, James Fuller (Clark Gregg) on his wedding anniversary, Cherie (Ella Belinska) agrees to fill in for dinner with a client named Ethan (Pilou Asbaek). Cherie’s dinner date takes a dangerous turn, when Ethan suddenly attacks her at his house. 

Ethan challenges Cherie to a game: Ethan will stalk and hunt Cherie until sunrise. If Cherie survives, Ethan will let her go. Cherie seeks protection and help from her ex-boyfriend, Trey (Dayo Okeniyi), and her ex-friend, Dawn (Carmela Zumbado). James’ wife, Judy (Betsy Brandt) quietly gives Cherie crucial tips for survival. But if Cherie plans on stopping and defeating Ethan, she’ll need to join forces with The First Lady (Shohreh Aghdashloo) before it’s too late. 

My Thoughts- Ethan is a monster! Not only is Ethan a cruel and heartless misogynist, he’s literally a monster, a ferocious and relentless beast. Ethan’s transformation scene is one of the bigger highlights in the movie, and it’s a scene that doesn’t work without Ella Belinska’s perfect horrified reaction. You don’t actually see Ethan transformation, because the focus and the camera is solely fixed on Cherie. You’re lead to believe Ethan’s true form is something that’s genuinely grotesque and shocking. The real Ethan is too unbearable to witness. That’s the idea, and a church was the perfect ironic setting for a demonic monster’s big reveal.

Pilou Asbaek knocks it out of the park as Ethan. During the early stages of the movie, Asbaek absolutely nails the suave, charming, and charismatic gentleman side of Ethan. But when Ethan reveals his true colors, Asbaek smoothly switches gears to playing a cruel and sadistic man, who enjoys torturing Cherie.

Cherie is a single mother, who’s just trying to do her best, a young and shy pre-law secretary struggling to make it in a man’s world. Cherie was HOPING the night out with Ethan would be something “nice.” She just wanted to let her guard down, and have a good time, so she could remember what it was like to have fun with life. 

There’s no denying Ella Belinska puts a lot of effort into playing Cherie. It’s a lot of screaming, begging, and pleading for help throughout the movie, but you’ll still see flashes of a potentially solid or good overall performance. 

But Belinska’s hysterics fits Cherie’s character, and what she’s going through. We’re talking about a woman, who’s forced to run around mostly barefoot a lot at night in some seedy parts of Los Angeles, while she’s being chased by a bloodthirsty maniac. That, and Cherie truly suffers here. Ethan beats her for his own amusement, she’s constantly covered in blood, and exhausted. Cherie is forced to endure a hellacious series of events. To make matters worse, she doesn’t have time to relax, breathe, or slow down, if she wants to survive, because Ethan is closing in and waiting for an opportunity to attack.

Cherie, with some help from The First Lady and her crew, defeats Ethan! Honestly, Ethan suffering before his grisly death is the only way this one could’ve ended. Cherie is put through the wringer in the worst ways imaginable. Ethan’s demise can’t look like a fluke, or a scenario, where Cherie just happened to land a lucky shot. No, Ethan’s defeat needed to be ugly and decisive to balance out Cherie’s struggles and close calls. A man who thrives in darkness was defeated by sunlight. Cherie’s triumphant victory and the sight of a weakened Ethan, screaming and oozing black blood, while he’s engulfed in flames, works as one of the feel-good moments to close out the movie. 

Cherie using her blood to lure Ethan into the trap was a nice touch. At James’ house, Judy warns Cherie about her blood carrying a powerful scent, making it easier for Ethan to locate her. Stay clean, and you’ll have a better chance of surviving. That’s the message Judy was trying to deliver. Cherie is embarrassed by the blood running down her legs in more than one scene here, but The First Lady tells Cherie she needs to embrace it. The blood, no matter where it comes from, is Cherie’s superpower. The scene near the carousel, where Cherie smears blood all over herself, daring Ethan to come out and face her, is one of the bigger highlights in the movie, because it signals the moment, when Cherie decided to stop running. She was ready to stand tall and fight. 

And you’ll notice no men were involved in the trap that killed Ethan. No direct participants or helpers at all. Cherie lures him in, and The First Lady, supported by her team, are the ones who surround Ethan. It’s a group effort to put the final nail in Ethan’s coffin. And a big thumbs up for the cool shot, with The First Lady smiling at Cherie after what they accomplished together, complete with a trail of flames, and Ethan’s charred corpse on the ground.

Run Sweetheart Run’s ending sticks the landing for an easy and satisfying conclusion, but it’s a questionable path to get there. Ethan is one mean dude. He’s all-powerful, and you could say he’s nearly invincible, so why didn’t he just kill Cherie earlier? I get it. Ethan loves the chase, the hunt, and he gets a kick out of toying with Cherie. But killing her was his main goal, right? So why didn’t he just do it, when he had numerous chances to finish her off? Yes, you could say Ethan got too cocky, and his ego was his downfall. But it’s just one too many self-inflicted missed opportunities for Ethan during his pursuit of Cherie.  

Consistency with Ethan’s vulnerability is another problem here. Cherie knocks Ethan down with brick, one brick, but Ethan walks away without a scratch after the attempted ambush at Trey’s house? Mind you, Dawn was armed with a shotgun, and everyone else had weapons, including a sword! Maybe you could say Ethan was too fast, and he used super speedy techniques to avoid any damage, but I’m not buying it. The priest also wounded Ethan at the church with a sword? Yeah, the priest caught him off guard, but it’s still a bit strange.

Luck, convenient luck, is also on Cherie’s side. When she learns the truth about James Fuller, Cherie runs outside, and there’s a bus passing by. After the big car crash, a dog shows up to protect Cherie from Ethan. It’s a big deal, because Ethan really hates dogs. But the timing of everything is hard to ignore. Ethan is about to murder Cherie (again), and a dog just walks right up to Ethan, seemingly out of nowhere?

For me, Run Sweetheart Run has a handful of annoyances, but there’s also a lot of good to focus on here. Cherie is a young woman and a single mom, who’s struggling to find her way in the world, a world dominated and ruled by condescending and misogynistic men. Pay close attention, and you’ll notice every time someone calls Cherie “sweetheart”, whether it’s Ethan or James, it’s not used in an endearing or complimentary way. The men surrounding Cherie view her as this naive little pet, someone, who obeys or should obey commands without any real resistance. Ethan also refers to Cherie as a “cocktease,” who wore a “fuck me” dress to meet him. 

Cherie is justifiably terrified of Ethan. Judy? She walks around on eggshells, because she knows who Ethan truly is, and she knows the dark secrets behind James’ connection to him. Fear is used to keep women in line, and Ethan is the boss, dishing out brutal violence to ensure the system he put in place stays on the tracks.

Cleverly breaking the fourth wall happens in three noteworthy scenes. You’ll either see Ethan turn the camera away, or he’ll put his hand up to stop filming, because what he’s about to do to Cherie is too terrible to witness. Is it possible Ethan is giving commands to the camera, because he wants the audience to know he’s in complete control? It makes sense. Ethan has the ability to control other men with his powers. The guy is an egomaniac, so he gets to decide what we can or can’t see, when his character is on the screen.

But things change towards the end. Cherie takes control of the camera during the big final showdown. Why? Because a weakened Ethan is not calling the shots anymore. He’s not in a position to tell Cherie what to do, threaten her, or make any last attempts to boss her around. 

Run Sweetheart Run mostly delivers an entertaining film, telling an ambitious young woman’s story about fighting back against the most evil forms of sexism and a patriarchy with a horror twist. The movie takes some time to breathe with a bit of levity, when Trey appears. Some decent laughs during the fiasco at Trey’s house, because Run Sweetheart Run hits a point, where you’re introduced to more carefree and relaxed characters, who aren’t afraid to crack jokes. And they’re having fun watching the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre! 

Good music and a nice, fitting soundtrack for this one, and a fair amount of blood and gore here, including a few nasty scenes. The overall cast is solid from top to bottom. Shohreh Aghdashloo brings a commanding presence to The First Lady. Aghdashloo plays a powerful character, but she’s also someone, who doesn’t take herself too seriously. She has a good sense of humor, isn’t afraid to curse, and you know she’s a woman, who’s dead serious about killing Ethan.

Director Shana Feste deserves a lot of credit for turning Los Angeles into a scary place, during daylight and nighttime hours. Eerily quiet and spooky streets, the wanted posters plastered everywhere, sordid characters roaming around, and showing numerous desolate settings littered with trash and rows of tents really drives home the idea that Cherie is truly all alone in a big city.

But surely Cherie can count on good samaritans to help her, right? Well, no. There’s the scene outside the movie theater, where two women, obviously believing Cherie is an hysterical alcoholic, hesitate to help her. And a woman looks away and goes back to minding her own business during the scene on the bus, when Cherie is sexually assaulted by the creepy weirdo. 

The police? Instead of doing something useful for Cherie, after she barely escaped an attack from a psycho, they treated her like a criminal, a loony drunk wandering the streets late at night. And there’s the scene in the underground club, where a soldier, feeling disrespected because she didn’t enlist, turns into a jerk and tries to intimidate Cherie, while she’s wearing a bedazzled military jacket. 

I have a lot of problems with the gaps in logic for Ethan hunting Cherie. But there’s no denying that Cherie can’t escape one nagging problem: she’s not safe anywhere. Not on the streets, not at a police station, her ex-boyfriend’s house, or the bathroom at a convenience store. Throwing a bloody tampon on the back of a pickup truck buys her some time, but it’s not enough to stop Ethan. Cherie can’t escape the monster lurking in the shadows, because no matter where she goes, or who she turns to for help, it’s only a matter of time before Ethan finds her.

Rating- 7/10

It Comes At Night (2017)(Minor Spoilers)

 

**This post contains MINOR spoilers**

The Story- During a worldwide pandemic, Paul (Joel Edgerton) lives in a secluded house deep in the woods with his wife, Sarah (Carmen Ejogo), his son, Travis (Kelvin Harrison Jr.), Sarah’s father, Bud (David Pendleton), and the family dog, Stanley. After a tense interrogation, Joel reluctantly allows an intruder named Will (Christopher Abbot) to stay at the house in exchange for supplies, and Sarah believes the family has better chances of survival with more people protecting the house. 

Will brings his family, including his wife, Kim (Riley Keough), and his son, Andrew (Griffin Robert Faulkner). Both families peacefully enjoy living under the same roof. But Paul has doubts about Will’s motives, after Will slips up with a few inconsistencies in the story about his past, and his life with Kim during a late night conversation….

My Thoughts- The story focuses on several characters, but there’s a good amount of spotlight on Travis. You could say It Comes At Night also weirdly works as a coming-of-age film, because Travis is pushed into manhood under unprecedented circumstances. Travis can’t afford to make careless mistakes. Paul sternly reminds Travis that he can’t allow his emotions to get in the way. Will and his family are nice people, but family comes first, and you can’t just blindly trust everyone. 

There’s a big conundrum for Travis’ accelerated path to adulthood that goes beyond learning how to chop firewood and handling a gun. Travis is still a seventeen year old kid, who’s under enormous pressure to adjust and deal with an isolated lifestyle in a post-apocalyptic world. Kim? Travis clearly has feelings for her. He’s a young man, who hasn’t seen another woman in who knows how long, so it’s not a big surprise for Travis to have a wide-eyed reaction to her. 

Paranoia and mistrust are two big themes here. Paul is one jumpy dude, who will kill anyone that threatens the safety of his family, if he has to. Paul wanted to trust Will and his family. They needed the food and the help, and socializing with other people after a seemingly long period of being cooped up and isolated in the woods provides a big sense of relief. But Paul raises his eyebrows, when Will’s stories don’t add up. And the situation takes a sharp turn to the left, after Paul catches Will in a lie.

Did Will know the two men, who ambushed and attacked Paul and Will on the road? Will’s reaction to Paul’s accusations is noticeably awkward. And where did Will get THAT gun from? Yes, there’s a good chance Will fed Paul a bunch of lies and a sob story about a dead brother. At its core, It Comes At Night is a story about two men willing to go to great lengths to protect and provide for their families. It’s all about survival, and resources are scarce in a world, where everyone is trying to either outrun or hide from a deadly disease. 

A handful of It Comes At Night’s unanswered questions accomplished their goals, feeding into the thought-provoking paranoia and trust issues throughout the movie. But there’s two scenes that are real head-scratchers for me. Stanley, clearly anxious and disturbed, starts wildly barking, he bites Paul, and Stanley runs into the woods, chasing after an unseen assailant.

In one of Travis’ nightmare sequences, it’s implied that who, or whatever bothered Stanley was some kind of beast, or an animal that was much bigger and stronger than Stanley. That, or it’s another case of Travis’ heightened paranoia driving him crazy to the point, where he believed something truly horrible must’ve happened to Stanley. 

Stanley returns…but he’s basically on his deathbed. Who or what attacked Stanley? Why did they run away and leave him in the house? Were the perpetrators trying to send a message, or a warning to Paul? Who opened the backdoor? I guess you could say the unanswered questions and the mystery surrounding Stanley’s unfortunate trip into the woods amps up the levels of terror and the growing tensions between Paul and Will. But I don’t see a big problem with sprinkling in a few more clues and  hints to put the pieces of the puzzle together. 

It Comes At Night is a strange one for me. One too many scenes with different characters sitting around and talking, and some of the conversations are kind of boring and dull. But there’s no denying writer/director Trey Edward Shults crafts an eerily quiet and overall tense post-apocalyptic horror film. Mixing psychological horror elements with the story of Travis’ growing pains, tight family bonds, and numerous characters choosing bloodshed or violence over more peaceful resolutions, fueled by paranoia and the desperate need to survive, produces a film with a lot of emotional depth.

It Comes At Night starts off with an emotional gut punch, and the movie ends in a whirlwind of bloody violence and chaos. Happiness and the slight chances of hope during the short-lived union between Paul and Will’s families briefly tips the scales on the positive side, but it all comes crashing down during the big finale, after a series of devastating events. 

A solid overall cast, and the nighttime scenes and Travis’ nightmare sequences are appropriately spooky and tense. There’s also a strong effort to present the disease as something that’s truly terrifying. No known cures, vaccines, or antidotes? It’s an ugly and contagious death sentence that brings out the absolute worst in people. 

Paul and Will’s perspectives are relatable, because if you were in their shoes, you’d understand the mindset behind doing whatever it takes to make it from one day to the next. Yeah, Paul had serious trust issues. MAYBE he should’ve let Will and his family quietly walk away, but when it’s all said and done, one thing’s for sure: Paul made a mistake. Being a good person and following your moral compass for helping others is the right thing to do. But on the other side of that, trusting strangers during a global outbreak opens up the risks for deadly and catastrophic consequences. 

Rating- 7/10

 

It Comes At Night (2017)

 

**This post contains spoilers**

The Story- During a worldwide pandemic, Paul (Joel Edgerton) lives in a secluded house deep in the woods with his wife, Sarah (Carmen Ejogo), his son, Travis (Kelvin Harrison Jr.), Sarah’s father, Bud (David Pendleton), and the family dog, Stanley. After a tense interrogation, Joel reluctantly allows an intruder named Will (Christopher Abbot) to stay at the house in exchange for supplies, and Sarah believes the family has better chances of survival with more people protecting the house. 

Will brings his family, including his wife, Kim (Riley Keough), and his son, Andrew (Griffin Robert Faulkner). Both families peacefully enjoy living under the same roof. But Paul has doubts about Will’s motives, after Will slips up with a few inconsistencies in the story about his past, and his life with Kim during a late night conversation….

My Thoughts- Bud is sick, so It Comes At Night Opens with a mercy killing. A somber and heavy scene, when Paul takes Bud outside in a wheelbarrow, shoots him with a pillow covering his face, and Paul burns his body. Travis standing right next to Paul, as he watches his grandfather’s grisly death adds another strong emotional layer to the scene, because you have to remember Travis is still a teenager, and he shared a close relationship with Bud. You instantly know you’re about to watch a bleak and serious film, so the opening scene really works as a great tone-setter.

The story focuses on several characters, but there’s a good amount of spotlight on Travis. You could say It Comes At Night also weirdly works as a coming-of-age film, because Travis is pushed into manhood under unprecedented circumstances. Travis can’t afford to make careless mistakes. Paul sternly reminds Travis that he can’t allow his emotions to get in the way. Will and his family are nice people, but family comes first, and you can’t just blindly trust everyone. 

There’s a big conundrum for Travis’ accelerated path to adulthood that goes beyond learning how to chop firewood and handling a gun. Travis is still a seventeen year old kid, who’s under enormous pressure to adjust and deal with an isolated lifestyle in a post-apocalyptic world. Kim? Travis clearly has feelings for her. He’s a young man, who hasn’t seen another woman in who knows how long, so it’s not a big surprise for Travis to have a wide-eyed reaction to her. 

Everyone dies! Well, almost. Paul and Sarah murder Will, Kim, and Andrew in the woods, after it’s revealed Andrew is sick. To make matters worse, Travis, Paul, and Sarah are all sick, too. We don’t actually see Travis, Paul, and Sarah’s deaths, but it’s heavily implied they’re done for after Will and his family are executed. It’s an effective and somber image to close out the movie, with Paul and Sarah sitting at the dinner table, sharing stunned and horrified looks of hopelessness in silence, because they know the clock is ticking.

Paranoia and mistrust are two big themes here. Paul is one jumpy dude, who will kill anyone that threatens the safety of his family, if he has to. Paul wanted to trust Will and his family. They needed the food and the help, and socializing with other people after a seemingly long period of being cooped up and isolated in the woods provides a big sense of relief. But Paul raises his eyebrows, when Will’s stories don’t add up. And the situation takes a sharp turn to the left, after Paul catches Will in a lie.

Did Will know the two men, who ambushed and attacked Paul and Will on the road? Will’s reaction to Paul’s accusations is noticeably awkward. And where did Will get THAT gun from? Yes, there’s a good chance Will fed Paul a bunch of lies and a sob story about a dead brother. At its core, It Comes At Night is a story about two men willing to go to great lengths to protect and provide for their families. It’s all about survival, and resources are scarce in a world, where everyone is trying to either outrun or hide from a deadly disease. 

A handful of It Comes At Night’s unanswered questions accomplished their goals, feeding into the thought-provoking paranoia and trust issues throughout the movie. But there’s two scenes that are real head-scratchers for me. Stanley, clearly anxious and disturbed, starts wildly barking, he bites Paul, and Stanley runs into the woods, chasing after an unseen assailant. 

In one of Travis’ nightmare sequences, it’s implied that who, or whatever bothered Stanley was some kind of beast, or an animal that was much bigger and stronger than Stanley. That, or it’s another case of Travis’ heightened paranoia driving him crazy to the point, where he believed something truly horrible must’ve happened to Stanley. 

Stanley returns…but he’s basically on his deathbed. Who or what attacked Stanley? Why did they run away and leave him in the house? Were the perpetrators trying to send a message, or a warning to Paul? Who opened the backdoor? I guess you could say the unanswered questions and the mystery surrounding Stanley’s unfortunate trip into the woods amps up the levels of terror and the growing tensions between Paul and Will. But I don’t see a big problem with sprinkling in a few more clues and  hints to put the pieces of the puzzle together. 

It Comes At Night is a strange one for me. One too many scenes with different characters sitting around and talking, and some of the conversations are kind of boring and dull. But there’s no denying writer/director Trey Edward Shults crafts an eerily quiet and overall tense post-apocalyptic horror film. Mixing psychological horror elements with the story of Travis’ growing pains, tight family bonds, and numerous characters choosing bloodshed or violence over more peaceful resolutions, fueled by paranoia and the desperate need to survive, produces a film with a lot of emotional depth. 

It Comes At Night starts off with an emotional gut punch, and the movie ends in a whirlwind of bloody violence and chaos. Happiness and the slight chances of hope during the short-lived union between Paul and Will’s families briefly tips the scales on the positive side, but it all comes crashing down during the big finale, after a series of devastating events. 

A solid overall cast, and the nighttime scenes and Travis’ nightmare sequences are appropriately spooky and tense. There’s also a strong effort to present the disease as something that’s truly terrifying. No known cures, vaccines, or antidotes? It’s an ugly and contagious death sentence that brings out the absolute worst in people. 

Paul and Will’s perspectives are relatable, because if you were in their shoes, you’d understand the mindset behind doing whatever it takes to make it from one day to the next. Yeah, Paul had serious trust issues. MAYBE he should’ve let Will and his family quietly walk away, but when it’s all said and done, one thing’s for sure: Paul made a mistake. Being a good person and following your moral compass for helping others is the right thing to do. But on the other side of that, trusting strangers during a global outbreak opens up the risks for deadly and catastrophic consequences. 

Rating- 7/10

 

31 (2016)(Minor Spoilers)

 

**This review contains MINOR spoilers**

The Story- On Halloween night in 1976, a group of carnival workers are ambushed and kidnapped. In a secret and undisclosed location, Charly (Sheri Moon Zombie), Roscoe (Jeff Daniel Phillips), Levon (Kevin Jackson), Panda (Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs), and Venus (Meg Foster) are all forced to play 31, a deadly game, where numbered contestants must survive a twelve hour period of fighting off attacks from violent clowns called Heads.

A group of aristocrats led by Father Napoleon-Horatio-Silas Murder (Malcolm McDowell) are the masterminds and organizers behind 31. The group is determined to fight back against the Heads, but the savagery takes another dark turn, when Doom-Head (Richard Brake) arrives….

My Thoughts- “I’M NOT CRAZY; I’M IN CONTROL!”

Doom-Head finally shows up towards the end, drastically decreasing the remaining survivor’s chances to escape the madhouse of horrors. Rob Zombie does a good job of building up Doom-Head as the final boss villain. The Heads/Clowns are all depraved nutcases, but it’s clear Doom-Head is the worst of the bunch. Doom-Head’s villainous aura starts with his appearance, including his dirty teeth. You get the feeling this guy hasn’t showered in weeks, and Doom-Head punching himself in the face until he bleeds to add red to the clown makeup was a nice touch. 

Richard Brake is fantastic. The unhinged facial expressions, the believable nasty mean streaks, and it’s easy to buy into the fact that Doom-Head is a man, who genuinely loves his job. Lighting up a cigar before he delivers the final blow, Doom-Head wants to savor every moment before a big kill. Doom-Head is eerily calm, while he taunts his victims, spouting off about his views of the world, his personality, and his victims, while he enjoys being the final voice you’ll ever hear.

Sheri Moon Zombie has a few moments as Charly, the free-spirited woman, who slowly emerges as one of the leaders and fierce fighters in the group. Charly truly cares about her friends, and she wants to do her best to make sure everyone makes out it alive. It’s a decent overall performance, and Rob Zombie created a character, where Sheri doesn’t have to go too far outside of her comfort zone.

The aristocrats are real sickos in this one, a rich and morally bankrupt family. They get a kick out of watching innocent people, people who are nothing more than peasants in their eyes, die in horrible and unimaginable ways. The presentation for the aristocrats is spot on. You can see there’s a noticeable effort to take things seriously with the costumes, the pasty white makeup, and they employ literal servants to wait on them. There’s also a more sinister twist for the aristocrats setup, where they gleefully watch brutal murders, and they actually gamble and bet on the outcomes of the game! Dastardly fiends through and through, no doubts about it. 

I always roll my eyes, when the game starts. Charly and the others are terrified of the little guy. Sick-Head (Pancho Moler) is cosplaying as a Nazi. I guess it’s supposed to be one of those scenarios, where the jokes write themselves, or silly humor that you’re not supposed to take too seriously, but Charly and the others could’ve easily overpowered Sick-Head. 

Visually, 31 is not as festive or detailed as other Halloween horror films, but it’s still one of my favorites. After the wacky stuff with Sick-Head, 31 slowly ramps up the brutal violence by introducing Heads/Clowns, who fill the roles for more serious threats, with everything leading to Doom-Head’s arrival. I don’t think I’ll ever understand Rob Zombie’s obsession, or the need to put characters, who resemble backwoods hillbillies in his movies. But Psycho-Head and Schizo-Head using their chainsaws to terrorize the group is one of the better fight sequences in the movie, and a highlight that truly stands out. 

Thirty-One is a twisted mix of zaniness and sadistic carnage, a horror film, where you’ll find yourself rooting for a group of close friends to fight back against the bloodthirsty maniacs. There’s plenty of blood and gore here, a fair amount of nudity, and the scene, where Roscoe and Panda are unknowingly feasting on the corpse of someone from the group? Yikes! Truly a good and shocking gross-out moment. 

A cast of colorful characters from top to bottom for 31. Jeff Daniel Phillips, Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs, and Kevin Jackson are all hilarious in their own ways, and Richard Brake easily takes the top spot for the best performance. The soundtrack is excellent. Any horror movie that uses California Dreamin’ usually gets a thumbs up from me, because there’s no denying the music and each song used throughout the movie is a perfect fit for certain moments and scenes here. 

The cliffhanger works, because it’s not necessarily the kind of cliffhanger that teases a sequel. No, it’s more of a case, where things are left up to the viewer to draw their own conclusions for what might’ve happened. Who won? Did Charly have enough gas left in her tank to fight back? My money is on Charly finding a way to come out on top. Remember, we’re talking about a woman, who just watched all of her friends suffer. She’s alone, she’s pissed, and Charly’s got nothing to lose! 

Rating- 7/10

31 (2016)

 

**This post contains spoilers**

The Story- On Halloween night in 1976, a group of carnival workers are ambushed and kidnapped. In a secret and undisclosed location, Charly (Sheri Moon Zombie), Roscoe (Jeff Daniel Phillips), Levon (Kevin Jackson), Panda (Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs), and Venus (Meg Foster) are all forced to play 31, a deadly game, where numbered contestants must survive a twelve hour period of fighting off attacks from violent clowns called Heads.

A group of aristocrats led by Father Napoleon-Horatio-Silas Murder (Malcolm McDowell) are the masterminds and organizers behind 31. The group is determined to fight back against the Heads, but the savagery takes another dark turn, when Doom-Head (Richard Brake) arrives….

My Thoughts- “I’M NOT CRAZY; I’M IN CONTROL!”

Doom-Head finally shows up towards the end, drastically decreasing the remaining survivor’s chances to escape the madhouse of horrors. Rob Zombie does a good job of building up Doom-Head as the final boss villain. The Heads/Clowns are all depraved nutcases, but it’s clear Doom-Head is the worst of the bunch. Doom-Head’s villainous aura starts with his appearance, including his dirty teeth. You get the feeling this guy hasn’t showered in weeks, and Doom-Head punching himself in the face until he bleeds to add red to the clown makeup was a nice touch. 

Richard Brake is fantastic. The unhinged facial expressions, the believable nasty mean streaks, and it’s easy to buy into the fact that Doom-Head is a man, who genuinely loves his job. Lighting up a cigar before he delivers the final blow, Doom-Head wants to savor every moment before a big kill. Doom-Head is eerily calm, while he taunts his victims, spouting off about his views of the world, his personality, and his victims, while he enjoys being the final voice you’ll ever hear.

Sheri Moon Zombie has a few moments as Charly, the free-spirited woman, who slowly emerges as one of the leaders and fierce fighters in the group. Charly truly cares about her friends, and she wants to do her best to make sure everyone makes out it alive. It’s a decent overall performance, and Rob Zombie created a character, where Sheri doesn’t have to go too far outside of her comfort zone.

Charly is the sole survivor! Not a big surprise, but I still loved the final face-off between Charly and Doom-Head. Doom-Head let his ego and his narcissism get the best of him. He got too wrapped up in delivering one of his big farewell speeches, the clock ran out, and going by the rules of the game, Charly won her freedom. Doom-Head was forced to let her go, but that didn’t stop him from following her. 

It’s a cool moment to close out the movie, with Dream On playing in the background, while a bloodied Charly is ready to fight during a stare down with Doom-Head. The home movies and the credits start rolling right before Charly moves towards Doom-Head. The cliffhanger for 31 works, because it’s believable that Doom-Head takes too much pride in his work to simply allow a target to walk away. On the other side of that, Charly becomes a more scrappy and gutsy fighter towards the end, so she’s ready to stand up to Doom-Head.

The aristocrats are real sickos in this one, a rich and morally bankrupt family. They get a kick out of watching innocent people, people who are nothing more than peasants in their eyes, die in horrible and unimaginable ways. The presentation for the aristocrats is spot on. You can see there’s a noticeable effort to take things seriously with the costumes, the pasty white makeup, and they employ literal servants to wait on them. There’s also a more sinister twist for the aristocrats setup, where they gleefully watch brutal murders, and they actually gamble and bet on the outcomes of the game! Dastardly fiends through and through, no doubts about it. 

I always roll my eyes, when the game starts. Charly and the others are terrified of the little guy. Sick-Head (Pancho Moler) is cosplaying as a Nazi. I guess it’s supposed to be one of those scenarios, where the jokes write themselves, or silly humor that you’re not supposed to take too seriously, but Charly and the others could’ve easily overpowered Sick-Head. 

Visually, 31 is not as festive or detailed as other Halloween horror films, but it’s still one of my favorites. After the wacky stuff with Sick-Head, 31 slowly ramps up the brutal violence by introducing Heads/Clowns, who fill the roles for more serious threats, with everything leading to Doom-Head’s arrival. I don’t think I’ll ever understand Rob Zombie’s obsession, or the need to put characters, who resemble backwoods hillbillies in his movies. But Psycho-Head and Schizo-Head using their chainsaws to terrorize the group is one of the better fight sequences in the movie, and a highlight that truly stands out. 

Thirty-One is a twisted mix of zaniness and sadistic carnage, a horror film, where you’ll find yourself rooting for a group of close friends to fight back against the bloodthirsty maniacs. There’s plenty of blood and gore here, a fair amount of nudity, and the scene, where Roscoe and Panda are unknowingly feasting on the corpse of someone from the group? Yikes! Truly a good and shocking gross-out moment. 

A cast of colorful characters from top to bottom for 31. Jeff Daniel Phillips, Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs, and Kevin Jackson are all hilarious in their own ways, and Richard Brake easily takes the top spot for the best performance. The soundtrack is excellent. Any horror movie that uses California Dreamin’ usually gets a thumbs up from me, because there’s no denying the music and each song used throughout the movie is a perfect fit for certain moments and scenes here. 

The cliffhanger works, because it’s not necessarily the kind of cliffhanger that teases a sequel. No, it’s more of a case, where things are left up to the viewer to draw their own conclusions for what might’ve happened. Who won? Did Charly have enough gas left in her tank to fight back? My money is on Charly finding a way to come out on top. Remember, we’re talking about a woman, who just watched all of her friends suffer. She’s alone, she’s pissed, and Charly’s got nothing to lose! 

Rating-7/10

The Watchers (2024)(Minor Spoilers)

 

**This review contains MINOR spoilers**

The Story- Tasked with delivering a rare Golden Conure parrot, a pet shop employee named Mina (Dakota Fanning) runs into trouble, when her car mysteriously shuts off in a desolate forest. After hearing a series of strange noises, Madeline (Olwen Fouere) urges Mina to run to The Coop, a fortified shelter in the middle of the forest. 

Mina joins Madeline, Ciara (Georgina Campbell), and Daniel (Oliver Finnegan) inside The Coop. Madeline tells Mina about The Watchers, a supernatural species. The Watchers closely observe anyone inside The Coop through a large two-way mirror, and Madeline warns Mina about the dangers of breaking a set of strict rules fiercely enforced by The Watchers. The group learns more about The Watchers through a series of video recordings from Professor Kilmartin (John Lynch), a man who voluntarily secluded himself in the forest to study The Watchers (aka fairies). Determined to escape, Mina sets out to find answers, but a handful of mishaps threatens the safety of the survivors. 

My Thoughts- I was almost sure I could easily predict where the story was going, who would survive, and how The Watchers would end, but I was wrong, more than once. Writer/director Ishana Night Shyamalan throws a decent amount of curveballs at you. During the early stages of the movie, I was ready to dismiss this one as an ordinary post-apocalyptic movie. 

Mina, the rebel and the rule-breaker, shows up and she disrupts the tight bond between Madeline, Ciara, and Daniel. After living in fear of The Watchers, with survival in one single room (and some free time in the forest during daylight hours) as the daily objective, Mina will be the reason group escapes. That, or Mina will be directly responsible for everyone suffering horrible deaths at the hands of The Watchers. 

But The Watchers slowly unravels an intriguing mystery, full of good surprises, and the story is loaded with fine details. Also, the forest really works as a good spooky and quiet setting, a place that eerily attracts lost souls. 

The history of The Watchers/fairies, and their bloody conflict with humans, adds a lot of emotional depth to the story. Forced underground to live in darkness, a peaceful and harmonious relationship ended, because the humans reached a point, where they feared The Watchers’ supernatural abilities. And Mina naming the parrot Darwin is a clever little nugget, because you could say Darwinism plays a role in the story here.

 There’s a lot of good in The Watchers, but the CGI just looks so bad. The shape-shifting transformations are decent enough. Still, The Watchers are supposed to be fearsome monsters, but the CGI makes them look kind of goofy in certain scenes. And I rolled my eyes during that one scene, where Daniel is tricked by “John,”  Ciara’s husband. They already established The Watchers have shape-shifting abilities, so Daniel should’ve known better.

A few chinks in the armor, but overall The Watchers is a damn good sci-fi horror film. The casting is top notch, because everyone perfectly fits their characters. Dakota Fanning nails Mina, a lost and broken young woman, who doesn’t want to deal with a tragedy from her past. Mina playing dress-up to go out to a bar is a scene that sticks out for me, because she’s either not confident enough to be herself, or she doesn’t want to open up to anyone about the car accident. 

Olwen Fouere delivered a superb performance as Madeline. Madeline is believable as the stern mother figure, who wants to protect Mina, Daniel, and Ciara. But on the other side of her role as a guardian, you could also say Madeline is the only person, who’s holding the group back, killing any real chances for an escape and freedom, because locking yourself in one room day in and day out will surely drive anyone crazy.

The Watchers is not limited to horror elements, including creepy nighttime scenes, scares, and some good tense close calls. You can point to Mina, Madeline, Professor Kilmartin, and Ciara (to a certain extent), and you’ll see stories about regret, loss, revenge, guilt, and the need for closure. 

The Watchers ends with a peaceful resolution, emotional reunions, and full circle moments. Ishana Shyamalan could’ve taken the easy way out, ending the movie with brutal deaths and violence. But you have to listen closely to Mina’s words during the fiasco at Ciara’s house: life, and being a human being is a tricky and sometimes complicated journey. Giving in to bad thoughts and emotions is not the best option, because you’re blindly taking a chance of plunging yourself into more disastrous setbacks.

Rating- 9/10