Bodies Bodies Bodies (2022)

 

**This post contains spoilers**

The Story- Sophie (Amandla Stenberg) brings her new girlfriend, Bee (Maria Bakalova) to a hurricane party at her best friend David’s (Pete Davidson) mansion. At the party, Sophie reunites with Jordan (Myha’la), Emma (Chase Sui Wonders), and Alice (Rachel Sennott). 

Before the storm hits, the group agrees to play Bodies Bodies Bodies, a murder mystery party game. But the game takes a dark turn, when a real death happens. Alice’s new boyfriend, Greg (Lee Pace) is the primary suspect. And Max (Conner O’Malley), another friend in the group, is nowhere to be found after a heated altercation with David. Mistrust and nasty finger-pointing slowly tears the group apart, as they struggle to answer one crucial question: Who is the killer?

My Thoughts- Bee is struggling to fit in, but at least she’s trying? If I had to go with a pick for the best performance, Maria Bakalova easily takes the top spot. It’s easy to believe and buy into Bee’s personality. The shyness, Bee being afraid to speak up, Bee nervously voicing her opinions, and the awkwardness Bee feels, as she tries to loosen up. 

Sophie and her friends? They’re vultures ready to pick any bones clean, after the first dead body pops up. Bee? You can see she’s scared and nervous, carefully choosing her words, because Bee knows someone is waiting to snap on her during all the mud slinging. Bakalova does a good job of building sympathy for Bee. She’s a genuinely good person, who just wants to make friends, and she doesn’t want to disappoint Sophie. But she’s stuck in a mansion with a bunch of overly dramatic and whiny narcissists and cry babies, who are actively looking for a reason to shit on each other.

The overall cast features a number of good performances. Pete Davidson plays a goof, but David is also a jealous, deeply insecure, and thin-skinned young man. Lee Pace is hilarious as Greg. On the surface, Greg comes off as a laid back guy, with a hippie/surfer dude personality. But if you push Greg’s buttons too much, he flips the switch to activate a more mean and serious personality. 

Myha’la, playing an angry and agitated character, really nails Jordan. Taking Jordan’s side during the arguments works as the logical choice. She’s not afraid to speak unfiltered truths, but on the other side of that, it’s hard to not roll your eyes, because she’s clearly a bitter and mean-spirited person.

Rachel Sennott delivers a lot of laughs as Alice, complete with some genuinely funny hysterics. Alice is perky, and she’s kind of an airhead, and Sennott’s comedic timing is excellent. Also, Chase Sui Wonders delivers a solid performance as Emma, the actress, who makes herself an easy target in shark infested waters, because she’s too emotional.

Who is the killer? Well, David accidentally slit his own throat with a sword. That’s right. No mystery, no killer, David offed himself, because he was trying to prove he could pop a cork on a champagne bottle. Greg effortlessly did it earlier in the movie, and of course, David couldn’t handle another man upstaging him, or watching all the attention and praise go to someone else.  So David’s solution was to show he’s also capable of doing the sword trick, but it cost him his life.

Truly a surprising ending. I didn’t see it coming at all, but David doing something stupid is believable. Imagine that. Four friends said hurtful and unforgivable things to each other. Pointed fingers with serious accusations, and destroyed their friendships, because they believed one of them was a killer running around in the dark. David and Emma’s deaths were freak accidents, Bee murdered Greg, and Jordan accidentally shot and killed Alice. The stupefied looks on Sophie and Bee’s faces during the end, when Bee realizes she has reception on her phone, after watching David’s video with the champagne bottle and the sword is just perfect.

Bodies Bodies Bodies does a good job of balancing the comedy and serious moments for the appropriate reactions, whether it’s laughs or a jaw-dropping moments, cleverly interweaving the tonal shifts, when it’s necessary. It’s almost impossible to not laugh at the cast of characters here. There’s a chance a killer is on the loose, you’re stuck in a mansion with no power during a hurricane, but you’re wasting time arguing over petty bullshit? Please, take one second and look at the big picture!

You can feel sympathy for the victims here, but it’s also hilarious once you realize the bloodshed (excluding one death) could’ve been avoided, if everyone just came together as friends, one unit working TOGETHER to figure out what’s going on. What happened instead? A bunch of spoiled and rich youngsters wasted too much time trying to belittle and one-up each other for their manufactured “struggles.” 

One of my favorite scenes in the movie happens towards the end during the big group argument. Alice coldly reminds Jordan that she comes from an “upper middle-class” background…and Jordan gets upset? So someone else reminds you that your journey in life hasn’t been difficult, and that’s enough to piss you off? Seriously?

They threw in the car won’t start cliche for this one. There’s a good reason for it, and you can see it coming from a mile away. Personally, I’m just not a big fan of car trouble mishaps in horror movies. Still, Bodies Bodies Bodies really works as a funny and entertaining whodunit black comedy slasher-esque horror film, complete with a genuinely shocking finale for the big reveal. 

Screenwriter Sarah DeLappe does a phenomenal job of convincing you that anyone is capable of being the killer, leading to a conclusion that’ll either make you laugh, or at least crack a smile at how a seemingly normal party descended into chaos. The casting is great. Everyone is a perfect fit for their characters, and you can easily pick one highlight reel worthy moment from each member of the cast throughout the movie. 

Bodies Bodies Bodies hits all the right checkpoints as a riff on people (usually the younger crowd), who will go to great lengths to convince themselves that their alleged hardships in life are too much to deal with. They’re stuck in a loop of always complaining and feeling sorry for themselves, because they can’t break out of their victim complexes. Also, I’m always a big fan of horror films with isolated settings. The big quiet mansion out in the middle of nowhere. A hurricane is roaring outside. No power, it’s dark indoors, and the remaining survivors are slowly turning on each other? Truly a good recipe for a chaotic, nutty, and hilarious film.

Rating 8/10

Bodies Bodies Bodies (2022)(Minor Spoilers)

 

**This post contains MINOR spoilers**

The Story- Sophie (Amandla Stenberg) brings her new girlfriend, Bee (Maria Bakalova) to a hurricane party at her best friend David’s (Pete Davidson) mansion. At the party, Sophie reunites with Jordan (Myha’la), Emma (Chase Sui Wonders), and Alice (Rachel Sennott). 

Before the storm hits, the group agrees to play Bodies Bodies Bodies, a murder mystery party game. But the game takes a dark turn, when a real death happens. Alice’s new boyfriend, Greg (Lee Pace) is the primary suspect. And Max (Conner O’Malley), another friend in the group, is nowhere to be found after a heated altercation with David. Mistrust and nasty finger-pointing slowly tears the group apart, as they struggle to answer one crucial question: Who is the killer?

My Thoughts- Bee is struggling to fit in, but at least she’s trying? If I had to go with a pick for the best performance, Maria Bakalova easily takes the top spot. It’s easy to believe and buy into Bee’s personality. The shyness, Bee being afraid to speak up, Bee nervously voicing her opinions, and the awkwardness Bee feels, as she tries to loosen up.

Sophie and her friends? They’re vultures ready to pick any bones clean, after the first dead body pops up. Bee? You can see she’s scared and nervous, carefully choosing her words, because Bee knows someone is waiting to snap on her during all the mud slinging. Bakalova does a good job of building sympathy for Bee. She’s a genuinely good person, who just wants to make friends, and she doesn’t want to disappoint Sophie. But she’s stuck in a mansion with a bunch of overly dramatic and whiny narcissists and cry babies, who are actively looking for a reason to shit on each other.

The overall cast features a number of good performances. Pete Davidson plays a goof, but David is also a jealous, deeply insecure, and thin-skinned young man. Lee Pace is hilarious as Greg. On the surface, Greg comes off as a laid back guy, with a hippie/surfer dude personality. But if you push Greg’s buttons too much, he flips the switch to activate a more mean and serious personality. 

Myha’la, playing an angry and agitated character, really nails Jordan. Taking Jordan’s side during the arguments works as the logical choice. She’s not afraid to speak unfiltered truths, but on the other side of that, it’s hard to not roll your eyes, because she’s clearly a bitter and mean-spirited person.

Rachel Sennott delivers a lot of laughs as Alice, complete with some genuinely funny hysterics. Alice is perky, and she’s kind of an airhead, and Sennott’s comedic timing is excellent. Also, Chase Sui Wonders delivers a solid performance as Emma, the actress, who makes herself an easy target in shark infested waters, because she’s too emotional.

Bodies Bodies Bodies does a good job of balancing the comedy and serious moments for the appropriate reactions, whether it’s laughs or a jaw-dropping moments, cleverly interweaving the tonal shifts, when it’s necessary. It’s almost impossible to not laugh at the cast of characters here. There’s a chance a killer is on the loose, you’re stuck in a mansion with no power during a hurricane, but you’re wasting time arguing over petty bullshit? Please, take one second and look at the big picture!

You can feel sympathy for the victims here, but it’s also hilarious once you realize the bloodshed (excluding one death) could’ve been avoided, if everyone just came together as friends, one unit working TOGETHER to figure out what’s going on. What happened instead? A bunch of spoiled and rich youngsters wasted too much time trying to belittle and one-up each other for their manufactured “struggles.” 

One of my favorite scenes in the movie happens towards the end during the big group argument. Alice coldly reminds Jordan that she comes from an “upper middle-class” background…and Jordan gets upset? So someone else reminds you that your journey in life hasn’t been difficult, and that’s enough to piss you off? Seriously?

They threw in the car won’t start cliche for this one. There’s a good reason for it, and you can see it coming from a mile away. Personally, I’m just not a big fan of car trouble mishaps in horror movies. Still, Bodies Bodies Bodies really works as a funny and entertaining whodunit black comedy slasher-esque horror film, complete with a genuinely shocking finale for the big reveal. 

Screenwriter Sarah DeLappe does a phenomenal job of convincing you that anyone is capable of being the killer, leading to a conclusion that’ll either make you laugh, or at least crack a smile at how a seemingly normal party descended into chaos. The casting is great. Everyone is a perfect fit for their characters, and you can easily pick one highlight reel worthy moment from each member of the cast throughout the movie. 

Bodies Bodies Bodies hits all the right checkpoints as a riff on people (usually the younger crowd), who will go to great lengths to convince themselves that their alleged hardships in life are too much to deal with. They’re stuck in a loop of always complaining and feeling sorry for themselves, because they can’t break out of their victim complexes. Also, I’m always a big fan of horror films with isolated settings. The big quiet mansion out in the middle of nowhere. A hurricane is roaring outside. No power, it’s dark indoors, and the remaining survivors are slowly turning on each other? Truly a good recipe for a chaotic, nutty, and hilarious film.

Rating 8/10

Character Spotlight- Joel- Smile & Smile 2

 

*This post contains spoilers**

Dr. Rose Cotter (Sosie Bacon) is cursed. She needs help, fast. Can she rely on her sister, Holly (Gillian Zinser)? Too much tension, bad blood, and bitterness on Rose’s side. And you can put the final nail in the coffin for the duo of two sisters working together after Holly’s son, Jackson (Matthew Lamb) receives the gory surprise of Rose’s dead cat, Mustache in a box for his birthday present.

Rose’s fiancé, Trevor (Jessie T. Usher)? He doesn’t believe Rose’s stories about “ghosts,” and he’s quick to remind Rose about the realistic possibility of suffering through a psychotic episode, and a history of mental illness in the family going all the way back to Rose’s mother.

What about Rose’s ex-boyfriend, Joel (Kyle Gallner)? Joel steps in and steps up, when everyone else in Rose’s circle shuns her, or questions her sanity. And luckily for Rose, Joel is also a detective!

You can see Joel is hesitant to believe Rose’s story about a curse, but he also realizes Rose is clearly struggling. She’s losing it, so Joel does anything he can do to help. Joel reluctantly allows Rose to look at graphic crime scene photos, surveillance footage showing a curse related death at a gas station, and Joel sets up a meeting with Robert Talley (Rob Morgan), a former victim of the curse, so Rose can find the answers she’s looking for.

Is there a chance Joel was hoping for a second shot at a relationship with Rose? Remember, Joel returned to the hospital to check on Rose, and he wasn’t interested in Nurse Wanda’s (Ura Yoana Sanchez) direct advances. Joel cared about Rose. He realized she needed help, someone to lean on, and he never turned his back on her. 

Rose believed she finally defeated The Monstrosity. She needed to feel safe, and Joel’s apartment was her first stop, after a long car ride. Why? Because Rose trusted Joel. But the reunion with Joel turned out to be another one of the entity’s clever tricks. Rose, after putting up a tough fight, finally cracked. She needed Joel, and the entity used her emotions against her one last time, while Joel (as the entity) laughed and slowly flashed a devious smile.

Fast forward to Smile 2, and Joel is a complete mess. The curse drains its current target. You can see the desperation and exhaustion on Joel’s face during the opening shot of the movie. He’s struggling to escape the curse, so Joel comes up with a plan to pass the curse to a gang of drug dealers.

It’s strange, but you have to admire Joel trying to hold on to some integrity during his final moments. Joel was desperate. He witnessed first hand what happened to Rose, dumping gasoline on herself and lighting the match to commit suicide. But Joel wanted to make sure he found the worst of the worst, so he wouldn’t feel bad about passing the curse. Find a bunch of lowlifes, who deserve a death sentence. Make sure they’re harshly punished for their crimes, and maybe Joel will have a shot at a normal life, when it’s over. Sounds simple enough, right? 

Of course, Joel’s plan horribly backfires. He unknowingly passes the curse to a petrified Lewis Fregoli (Lukas Gage), a small-time drug dealer, who obviously just stopped by to pick up his merchandise. To make matters worse, Joel is killed trying to escape a shootout, when a pick-up truck runs him over. 

Kyle Gallner easily delivers one of the best performances in both Smile films. Playing a somewhat timid, shy, and awkward guy, Gallner’s sympathetic performance adds another emotional layer to Smile and Smile 2. Also, Joel adds a few good laughs to the original Smile film, a movie that’s heavy on the drama and a handful of serious moments. 

Through a weird twist of fate, Joel reconnected with his ex-girlfriend under some bizarre circumstances. He could’ve walked away after Rose told him about the curse. Rose didn’t have anyone else to turn to. But Joel was willing to stand by her side, no matter how ludicrous the story of a curse that causes people to smile and kill themselves sounded. 

Joel paid the ultimate price in the end. Assuming Joel was just living quietly and peacefully, without too much stress, helping Rose cost him his life. The stunned and horrified look on Gallner’s face during Smile’s finale, when Rose’s body is engulfed in flames is just perfect. It’s a startling confirmation for Joel, because he realizes Rose was always telling the truth. 

Did Joel have any regrets about helping Rose? Yeah, you could say Joel’s response would be a resounding no, if he had to go back and do it all over again, knowing what’s coming once the curse grabs a hold of you. Or, you could lean in the direction for Joel and Rose being more prepared to fight together, to find a way to save themselves, possibly preventing the curse and The Monstrosity from claiming another victim. Joel and Rose clearly trusted each other, and that’s the kind of bond you’re going to need to stop a curse that feeds off of emotional pain and a dark past. 

Character Spotlight- Dr. Rose Cotter- Smile

 

**This post contains spoilers**

Dr. Rose Cotter (Sosie Bacon) probably expected a normal work day. But Rose’s life takes a dark turn during a tragic session with a newly admitted patient named Laura Weaver (Caitlin Stasey). Laura unknowingly passes a deadly curse to Rose, after she commits suicide in front of the good-hearted therapist. Plagued by a series of strange occurrences and creepy smiling faces, Rose’s life quickly spirals out of control.

Rose can rely on her fiancé, Trevor (Jessie T. Usher) for help and support, right? Well, maybe not. Trevor is noticeably rattled and irritated by Rose’s wild explanations for what’s happening to her.

What about Rose’s sister, Holly (Gillian Zinser)? Rose is still bitter about Holly leaving her alone with their mother, who suffered from mental health problems during their childhoods, so that’s another name to cross off the list of potential helpers. And Holly and Rose’s relationship hits another rough patch, when Holly’s son, Jackson (Matthew Lamb) finds Rose’s dead cat, Mustache in a box that was supposed to contain a toy train set for his birthday.

Noticing a pattern? Rose is relentlessly stalked by an evil entity. She needs help! Or, Rose at least needs someone that’ll listen to and understand her side of the story. Rose’s therapist, Dr. Madeline Northcott (Robin Weigert) tries to reach out after a disastrous attempt at an intervention planned by Trevor. But Rose was already at a point, where she was too paranoid to trust certain people. And the entity fooling Rose by impersonating Dr. Northcott complicated an already bizarre situation.

Joel (Kyle Gallner), Rose’s ex-boyfriend and a detective assigned to her case, tries to help, but Rose just couldn’t conquer the demons from her past. The big one? Rose’s mother. Remember, we’re talking about an entity that feeds on trauma, and Rose couldn’t move on from a stressful and traumatic childhood with her mentally ill mother. 

Trevor mentions Rose’s mother and the possibility for a hereditary connection for her problems. Mental illness is in Rose’s DNA, and she’s reached a point in her life, where it’s finally becoming a problem. Trevor’s theory kicks opens another door. Yes, Rose is cursed, but you can understand why others are quick to dismiss her side of the story.

To make matters worse, Rose is dealing with the unbearable stress of being stalked by a relentless entity, AND she’s basically being labeled as a crazy person. Rose’s primary job is dealing with and trying to help people, with mental illnesses, but now she’s on the other side of the finger-pointing. That’s a jarring whirlwind for having your world turned upside down, and you can’t go to your own sister and fiancé for support. Instead, pleas for sympathy and understanding are met with harsh accusations, scolding, and cold shoulders. Rough stuff.

Rose’s story has an ironic and tragic ending. She died in her childhood home, the place, where it all started, and the direct source for the deep wounds from her past, facing the entity in the form of her mother. Rose Cotter was a good person, a selfless workaholic, who wanted to help as many people as she possibly could. 

But you could also say Rose tried to push herself too hard. She was burnt out, working long hours, and her boss, Dr. Morgan Desai (Kal Penn) urged Rose to take a break after witnessing Laura’s suicide. Is there a chance Rose could’ve survived the entity, if she had a stronger support system? Who knows, but Rose was a prime target for the curse. Her mind was clouded by a troubled past, and you have to believe Rose dedicated her life to being a good therapist, because she couldn’t save her mother. Help others, fix their problems, be the source of comfort she never had as a child, no matter what. Maybe that’s the best way to sum up Rose’s mindset, but she still couldn’t find the closure she was looking for.

Sosie Bacon delivers an excellent performance as Rose Cotter. You can see and feel everything Rose’s is going through. The short scene, where Rose is getting ready for Jackson’s birthday party shows Rose is struggling to hold it together. You’re watching a frazzled character falling apart in real time, and the close-up shots in the mirror are just perfect.

There’s also something that’s important to remember: Rose could’ve easily avoided the curse. Go back to the early stages of the movie, and you’ll notice Rose is getting ready to leave work. Coat on, door closed behind her…..but the phone rings. And of course, Rose eventually meets Laura. Why did she go back to answer the phone? Because Rose believed she could help one more person before the end of the day, always prioritizing the patients over her own well-being. 

Barbarian (2022)(Minor Spoilers)

 

**This post contains MINOR spoilers**

The Story- In Detroit, Tess (Georgina Campbell) and Keith (Bill Skarsgard) share an Airbnb after an odd double-booking snafu. Tess urges Keith to leave the house after she makes a startling discovery in the basement, but Keith insists on investigating further to find more answers. 

Meanwhile, AJ (Justin Long), an actor and the owner of the house, arrives in Detroit. Tess, Keith, and AJ are all unaware of the dangers lurking beneath the house, a violent and dark decades-long history dating back to Frank’s (Richard Brake) tenure as the original home owner….

My Thoughts- Underground tunnels, cages, a video camera, and a filthy mattress soaked in blood and other bodily fluids? The madness starts, when Tess opens the secret passageway in the basement. 

The Mother’s (Matthew Patrick Davis) first appearance is a real jaw-dropper. Physically, The Mother is a grotesque abomination, a monster with super human strength. But her backstory is a heartbreaking tragedy. Forced to live underground and in darkness, The Mother just wants to be….well, she just wants to be a mom. The Mother wants a baby, and poor Tess quickly becomes one of her ideal candidates to fill that role.

I would love nothing more than to sit here and praise Barbarian as the perfect horror film, but I can’t do it. Why? Way too many stupid horror movie mistakes, and just one bad decision after another. 

Tess takes one look at a room that’s apart of the underground house of horrors, and that was enough for her. She was ready to GO. No more questions, no second guessing anything, just run far away, and never look back. Keith’s reaction to Tess’ discovery? He’s confused, and Keith questioned Tess’ story. He wants to see everything with his own eyes first before he decides to leave! Really? Tess, clearly shaken up and scared out of her mind, is begging and pleading with Keith to leave, but he wants to go down into the creepy basement in a house that he’s never been to before, a house in a rough neighborhood, because he needs more proof? Unbelievable. 

Tess endures a lot here, but it’s safe to say she also has poor survival instincts. Okay, Tess arrived at the house at night, during a rainstorm, in the cover of darkness, so she couldn’t fully see the entire neighborhood. That’s fine, BUT when sunlight hits, you can clearly see this rundown neighborhood, full of broken and abandoned homes, and you willingly drive back to the only house that’s weirdly normal and intact? Come on now. Tess had numerous chances to escape, but she could’ve avoided a lot of problems, if she just simply left and stayed away after waking up.

So let me get this straight, AJ owns the house, but he didn’t know about the secret passageway in the basement? Not buying it. I know they portrayed AJ as being a dunce, but you’re trying to tell me he never thought about throughly looking around a house that’s also an investment for him, not even once? 

Barbarian is not perfect. The movie definitely has its problems, but overall, Barbarian is still one hell of a twisted roller coaster ride. One shocking reveal isn’t enough here. Writer/director Zach Cregger successfully throws one surprising haymaker after another. You might have a good idea, where the story is possibly going, and then BAM! Barbarian takes another shocking turn, topping the previous reveals with more depravity and malice. Lots of tense thrills and close calls for the last thirty minutes during a hard fought battle for survival, and Barbarian features a good amount of nasty and bloody gore. 

The visuals and the set pieces are fantastic. The quiet abandoned neighborhood is appropriately creepy at night and during daytime hours. Barbarian’s underground house of horrors adds another layer to the madness here. During Tess, Keith, and AJ’s descents through the tunnels, it just gets worse the deeper you go. Darkness, the flight of stairs, the torture rooms, and the shelf with rows of VHS tapes? It hits a lot harder, when you know, or at least have a good idea about the sick and disturbing footage on those tapes. Oh, and I can’t forget about the nursery room and THAT particular breast feeding scene.

A good all around cast for this one. Georgina Campbell’s Tess makes A LOT of questionable decisions. Still, Campbell believably plays a resourceful and scrappy survivor, who knows when to play along with the mother for her role as the baby, because it’ll work to her advantage in the long run. Tess is a good person, who cares about helping others, even if she puts herself at risk during dangerous rescue missions. Also, maybe things would’ve worked out differently for Tess, if the two arrogant and pompous cops actually did their jobs. Instead, Tess was on the receiving end of ridicule and a half-assed effort.

Bill Skarsgard delivers a solid performance, playing the genuinely nice and somewhat nervous guy, who makes an earnest attempt to break the ice with Tess. Richard Brake’s screen time is short, but he still makes a strong impact, because you’ll know very quickly that Frank is an evil and deeply disturbed man. 

Kudos to Matthew Patrick Davis for his portrayal of The Mother. It’s a strange conflict, because The Mother is a hideous monster, but you can still feel sympathy for her. She’s a tragic character, who never had a chance at a normal life, and during the final moments of the movie, you’ll see a more compassionate side of The Mother. 

And I can’t forget about Jaymes Butler. Butler, playing a homeless man named Andre, fills the role of the harbinger of doom here. Limited screen time for him, but Butler is an excellent storyteller. It’s all the little things, including the pain in Butler’s eyes, and his strained voice, when he tries to warn Tess, and when Andre tells AJ and Tess the truth about The Mother. Remember, Andre is a shaken and haunted man, the sole survivor, who’s carrying around the dark secrets behind the history of the house, as the last surviving resident of what’s basically a ghost town. 

But Justin Long really steals the show here. AJ is a morally bankrupt asshole, a slimy douchebag with a bad case of butterfingers at the worst possible moments, who refuses to take any kind of accountability for his actions. You’d think an actor, who’s about to lose his career over some serious allegations would learn his lessons, turn over a new leaf, and put some real effort into turning his life around? Nope. Not AJ. 

Justin Long does a remarkable job of convincing you that AJ is a despicable human being. There’s a scene towards the end, when you think maybe AJ has finally realized the error of his ways. He sounds remorseful, and he regrets his mistakes. But The Mother appears, and he quickly turns into a weasel, who’s only concerned with saving his own ass. AJ got what he deserved in the end, because his cowardly plan backfired, horribly. A fitting ending for a nincompoop, who quickly ran out of lucky breaks during the home stretch.

Rating- 8/10

Barbarian (2022)

 

**This review contains spoilers**

The Story- In Detroit, Tess (Georgina Campbell) and Keith (Bill Skarsgard) share an Airbnb after an odd double-booking snafu. Tess urges Keith to leave the house after she makes a startling discovery in the basement, but Keith insists on investigating further to find more answers. 

Meanwhile, AJ (Justin Long), an actor and the owner of the house, arrives in Detroit. Tess, Keith, and AJ are all unaware of the dangers lurking beneath the house, a violent and dark decades-long history dating back to Frank’s (Richard Brake) tenure as the original home owner….

My Thoughts- Underground tunnels, cages, a video camera, and a filthy mattress soaked in blood and other bodily fluids? The madness starts, when Tess opens the secret passageway in the basement. 

The Mother’s (Matthew Patrick Davis) first appearance is a real jaw-dropper. Physically, The Mother is a grotesque abomination, a monster with super human strength. But her backstory is a heartbreaking tragedy. Forced to live underground and in darkness, The Mother just wants to be….well, she just wants to be a mom. The Mother wants a baby, and poor Tess quickly becomes one of her ideal candidates to fill that role.

As soon as Richard Brake stepped out of the house during the flashback, I instantly knew he had to be responsible for horrible and unspeakable crimes. Brake’s demeanor gives off creepy and unsettling vibes, and as the movie progresses, you’ll know he’s the true monster of the story, not The Mother.

Barbarian ends with Tess barely surviving The Mother’s final pursuit. Tess gutting it out and limping away as the sole survivor wasn’t a big surprise, but you can feel a strong sense of relief that she made it. She’s obviously dealing with boyfriend or husband problems (Who is Marcus?), and Tess truly SUFFERED throughout the movie.

Tess shoots and kills The Mother during the final scene. It was a somber moment, because Tess hesitated a bit before she pulled the trigger. The Mother’s death was basically a mercy killing. The Mother could’ve easily murdered Tess, but she didn’t do it. Frank committed suicide, and when The Mother realized Tess wouldn’t go back to the house with her, she had nothing else to live for. The Mother, in her own unusual ways, said her goodbyes to Tess, and you have to believe The Mother didn’t want to hurt or upset her baby, someone, who she genuinely cared about. 

I would love nothing more than to sit here and praise Barbarian as the perfect horror film, but I can’t do it. Why? Way too many stupid horror movie mistakes, and just one bad decision after another. 

Tess takes one look at a room that’s apart of the underground house of horrors, and that was enough for her. She was ready to GO. No more questions, no second guessing anything, just run far away, and never look back. Keith’s reaction to Tess’ discovery? He’s confused, and Keith questioned Tess’ story. He wants to see everything with his own eyes first before he decides to leave! Really? Tess, clearly shaken up and scared out of her mind, is begging and pleading with Keith to leave, but he wants to go down into the creepy basement in a house that he’s never been to before, a house in a rough neighborhood, because he needs more proof? Unbelievable. 

Tess endures a lot here, but it’s safe to say she also has poor survival instincts. Okay, Tess arrived at the house at night, during a rainstorm, in the cover of darkness, so she couldn’t fully see the entire neighborhood. That’s fine, BUT when sunlight hits, you can clearly see this rundown neighborhood, full of broken and abandoned homes, and you willingly drive back to the only house that’s weirdly normal and intact? Come on now. Tess had numerous chances to escape, but she could’ve avoided a lot of problems, if she just simply left and stayed away after waking up.

So let me get this straight, AJ owns the house, but he didn’t know about the secret passageway in the basement? Not buying it. I know they portrayed AJ as being a dunce, but you’re trying to tell me he never thought about throughly looking around a house that’s also an investment for him, not even once? 

Barbarian is not perfect. The movie definitely has its problems, but overall, Barbarian is still one hell of a twisted roller coaster ride. One shocking reveal isn’t enough here. Writer/director Zach Cregger successfully throws one surprising haymaker after another. You might have a good idea, where the story is possibly going, and then BAM! Barbarian takes another shocking turn, topping the previous reveals with more depravity and malice. Lots of tense thrills and close calls for the last thirty minutes during a hard fought battle for survival, and Barbarian features a good amount of nasty and bloody gore. 

The visuals and the set pieces are fantastic. The quiet abandoned neighborhood is appropriately creepy at night and during daytime hours. Barbarian’s underground house of horrors adds another layer to the madness here. During Tess, Keith, and AJ’s descents through the tunnels, it just gets worse the deeper you go. Darkness, the flight of stairs, the torture rooms, and the shelf with rows of VHS tapes? It hits a lot harder, when you know, or at least have a good idea about the sick and disturbing footage on those tapes. Oh, and I can’t forget about the nursery room and THAT particular breast feeding scene.

A good all around cast for this one. Georgina Campbell’s Tess makes A LOT of questionable decisions. Still, Campbell believably plays a resourceful and scrappy survivor, who knows when to play along with the mother for her role as the baby, because it’ll work to her advantage in the long run. Tess is a good person, who cares about helping others, even if she puts herself at risk during dangerous rescue missions. Also, maybe things would’ve worked out differently for Tess, if the two arrogant and pompous cops actually did their jobs. Instead, Tess was on the receiving end of ridicule and a half-assed effort.

Bill Skarsgard delivers a solid performance, playing the genuinely nice and somewhat nervous guy, who makes an earnest attempt to break the ice with Tess. Richard Brake’s screen time is short, but he still makes a strong impact, because you’ll know very quickly that Frank is an evil and deeply disturbed man. 

Kudos to Matthew Patrick Davis for his portrayal of The Mother. It’s a strange conflict, because The Mother is a hideous monster, but you can still feel sympathy for her. She’s a tragic character, who never had a chance at a normal life, and during the final moments of the movie, you’ll see a more compassionate side of The Mother. 

And I can’t forget about Jaymes Butler. Butler, playing a homeless man named Andre, fills the role of the harbinger of doom here. Limited screen time for him, but Butler is an excellent storyteller. It’s all the little things, including the pain in Butler’s eyes, and his strained voice, when he tries to warn Tess, and when Andre tells AJ and Tess the truth about The Mother. Remember, Andre is a shaken and haunted man, the sole survivor, who’s carrying around the dark secrets behind the history of the house, as the last surviving resident of what’s basically a ghost town. 

But Justin Long really steals the show here. AJ is a morally bankrupt asshole, a slimy douchebag with a bad case of butterfingers at the worst possible moments, who refuses to take any kind of accountability for his actions. You’d think an actor, who’s about to lose his career over some serious allegations would learn his lessons, turn over a new leaf, and put some real effort into turning his life around? Nope. Not AJ. 

Justin Long does a remarkable job of convincing you that AJ is a despicable human being. There’s a scene towards the end, when you think maybe AJ has finally realized the error of his ways. He sounds remorseful, and he regrets his mistakes. But The Mother appears, and he quickly turns into a weasel, who’s only concerned with saving his own ass. AJ got what he deserved in the end, because his cowardly plan backfired, horribly. A fitting ending for a nincompoop, who quickly ran out of lucky breaks during the home stretch.

Rating- 8/10

Smile (2022)(Minor Spoilers)

 

**This post contains MINOR spoilers**

The Story- Laura Weaver (Caitlin Stasey), with an unusual smile on her face, commits suicide in front of Dr. Rose Cotter (Sosie Bacon). After Laura’s death, Rose experiences a series of strange occurrences, haunted by smiling faces and fatal threats. Frantically scrambling to find answers, Rose eventually learns she’s been cursed by an unknown entity.

Joel (Kyle Gallner), a detective and Rose’s ex-boyfriend, steps up to help after Rose realizes she can’t trust her fiancé, Trevor (Jessie T. Usher), her therapist, Dr. Northcott (Robin Weigert), her sister, Holly (Gillian Zinser), Holly’s husband, Greg (Nick Arapoglou), and her boss, Dr. Desai (Kal Penn). Can Rose and Joel solve the mystery behind the deadly curse before it’s too late?

My Thoughts- Rose slowly sinks into a deep hole after the curse latches on to her. Sosie Bacon does a wonderful job of showing how Rose unravels step by step. Rose starts out as this hardworking therapist with a good heart, but towards the end, she’s a complete mess, because the curse sucks the life out of you. The confusion, the anger, the paranoia, the desperation, and the sadness puts a stranglehold on Rose’s spirit. Rose is dealing with a whirlwind of emotions, fighting off bad memories from her childhood, and Bacon superbly captures each stage of Rose’s downward spiral.

Kyle Gallner’s Joel comes off as someone, who’s kind of dopey at first, and a bit awkward. As the story progresses, you’ll quickly realize Joel still genuinely cares about Rose. Joel is a good and down to earth guy, and Joel settles into the role of an unconventional sidekick, who wants to do whatever he can to help. A solid performance from Gallner, complete with a handful of funny moments, when Joel is clearly confused about what’s going on with Rose.

SMILE! After the first trailer for Smile was released, I was kind of worried the smiling faces would be too silly or goofy, but that’s not the case here. The scene, where Laura commits suicide sets the precedent, a clear visual of insanity that signals the victim is too far gone. There’s just something eerie and very creepy about the smiling faces throughout the movie. Seeing those wide cheek to cheek smiles serves as a warning sign that something bad is about to happen, or it’s another sign the entity is tightening its grip on the current target. 

A big thumbs up for writer/director Parker Finn’s approach to the curse and the entity. Why? Because there’s no way you can see it coming. 

The cursed characters in Smile didn’t take unnecessary risks, and they didn’t knowingly do something stupid. Going to a haunted house, digging up someone’s grave, or reading passages from an evil book, or any of the other usual horror movie missteps that could’ve been easily avoided. Just imagine this, you’re minding your own business, or going through your normal routines, and BAM! Someone, who’s cursed violently commits suicide in front of you, and now you’re stuck with the curse. 

Through the performances from Sosie Bacon, Caitlin Stasey, Rob Morgan, and  Judy Reyes, you can see how the curse is capable of ruining someone’s life at different stages. With Bacon, you get to see how everything spirals out of control from start to finish. 

Surviving the curse? Yeah, that’s not all that it’s cracked up to be either. Robert (Morgan) is a broken mess of a man, stuck in prison, because there’s only one way (kill another person to pass the curse to a living witness) to truly escape the curse. If you’re in Laura Weaver’s spot before her demise, then it’s too late. Not enough time to explain the complexities of the curse, or enough time for anyone else to grasp what’s going on. Simple as that. 

But let’s not forget about what the curse does to family members and spouses. Victoria Munoz (Reyes) witnessed her husband, Gabriel’s (Felix Melendez Jr.) descent into madness firsthand. She’s still heartbroken and depressed over Gabriel’s death, and the flashback scene, where Victoria has to identify Gabriel’s corpse, including his mangled and disfigured face? Yikes! One of the more memorable gruesome and gory moments throughout the movie. 

“You can’t escape your own mind, Rose!” Another good layer for the curse comes into play, when it’s revealed the entity feeds off of trauma to grow stronger. Rose is still haunted by what happened to her mother during her childhood. It’s not too hard to connect the dots for Rose being a workaholic, specifically as a therapist, to her mother dealing with mental health issues. Rose couldn’t save her mother as a child, BUT maybe she can save her patients as an adult. 

It doesn’t matter how far you run, or if you try to hide and isolate yourself from other people. If you’re still holding on to traumatic events, or the loss of loved ones, the entity will sniff it out and relentlessly attack. That’s truly terrifying.

Smile takes a layered approach to mental illnesses, and how people react to someone with mental health problems. Rose starts losing it. She’s cursed, but she should be able to rely on Trevor and her family for support, right? Nope. Rose is almost instantly dismissed as a crazy person. Trevor, instead of showing compassion, scolds Rose for possibly having mental health issues. To make matters worse, Trevor is paranoid about the hereditary connection between Rose and her mother, and Rose possibly inheriting her mother’s sickness. 

Jackson’s (Holly’s son) birthday party is a great scene. Rose has a complete breakdown, after Jackson opens his present, and it’s revealed what happened to Rose’s cat, Mustache. No one asks if Rose is okay. No one tries to help her, including her own sister and her brother-in-law. They’re scared of Rose, and nobody wants to go near her.

Smile does a good job of showing how other people, even those closest to you, won’t hesitate to shun or completely shut you out of their lives, if they know, or even suspect your dealing with mental issues. You’re basically treated like someone, who’s suffering from a deadly virus: go away, far away, and don’t come back until you’re normal again. 

Remember, Rose is a therapist. Rose treats people with mental illnesses for a living, so how does she feel, when she’s accused of being a nutcase, or having to deal with being labeled as someone, who’s sick in the head? It’s a jarring experience for her, you can see how much it hurts Rose, and kudos to Parker Finn for working a big mindfuck into the story. 

Smile has one predictable jump scare that you’d expect from a mainstream horror film, but it’s still a damn good movie. Consistently tense, just the right amount of bloody violence and gruesome gore, and the fake-outs are superb. There’s a scene where Rose, trapped in an illusion/nightmare, imagines herself killing Carl (one of her patients) to pass the curse to Dr. Desai, and Desai slowly rips off his own face! A good gory surprise, and it’s a callback to two similar moments (Dr. Parsons and Laura tearing the skin off of their faces) from the short film Laura Hasn’t Slept.

It’s not always easy to tell the differences between reality, and the entity’s mind games. Smile’s crafty methods for stringing you along until the reveal happens works, because each scenario is noticeably different throughout the movie. 

“Holly’s” head hanging upside down with a smile on her face is my only complaint for the fake-outs. Not because it’s bad, but they gave it away in the trailers! WHY would you give that one away? It would’ve been a great surprise. I understand the need to sell the movie, but come on now. 

Still, Smile is a refreshing horror flick, featuring a creative story, that’s loaded with some good emotional depth, because Smile is one of those horror films that simultaneously works as a psychological drama AND a horror film. Sosie Bacon is amazing in the leading role. A solid supporting cast, including Caitlin Stasey, Judy Reyes, Jack Sochet, and Kal Penn all delivering impactful performances with sporadic appearances, or a limited amount of screen time. Also, Smile easily has one of the best monster/demon reveals you’ll ever see.

Usually, I’m more on the one-and-done side for horror movies similar to Smile. Something good, with a fresh story, and a genuinely shocking ending? Leave it alone, and don’t touch it! That’s usually my first reaction, because it’s almost impossible to catch lightning in a bottle with more sequels. But Smile’s premise is full of potential to explore with more films, and different characters. I’ll always support more Smile sequels, and maybe a TV series? Okay, that’s probably going too far.

Rating- 8/10

Smile (2022)

 

**This post contains spoilers**

The Story- Laura Weaver (Caitlin Stasey), with an unusual smile on her face, commits suicide in front of Dr. Rose Cotter (Sosie Bacon). After Laura’s death, Rose experiences a series of strange occurrences, haunted by smiling faces and fatal threats. Frantically scrambling to find answers, Rose eventually learns she’s been cursed by an unknown entity.

Joel (Kyle Gallner), a detective and Rose’s ex-boyfriend, steps up to help after Rose realizes she can’t trust her fiancé, Trevor (Jessie T. Usher), her therapist, Dr. Northcott (Robin Weigert), her sister, Holly (Gillian Zinser), Holly’s husband, Greg (Nick Arapoglou), and her boss, Dr. Desai (Kal Penn). Can Rose and Joel solve the mystery behind the deadly curse before it’s too late?

My Thoughts- Rose slowly sinks into a deep hole after the curse latches on to her. Sosie Bacon does a wonderful job of showing how Rose unravels step by step. Rose starts out as this hardworking therapist with a good heart, but towards the end, she’s a complete mess, because the curse sucks the life out of you. The confusion, the anger, the paranoia, the desperation, and the sadness puts a stranglehold on Rose’s spirit. Rose is dealing with a whirlwind of emotions, fighting off bad memories from her childhood, and Bacon superbly captures each stage of Rose’s downward spiral.

Kyle Gallner’s Joel comes off as someone, who’s kind of dopey at first, and a bit awkward. As the story progresses, you’ll quickly realize Joel still genuinely cares about Rose. Joel is a good and down to earth guy, and Joel settles into the role of an unconventional sidekick, who wants to do whatever he can to help. A solid performance from Gallner, complete with a handful of funny moments, when Joel is clearly confused about what’s going on with Rose.

SMILE! After the first trailer for Smile was released, I was kind of worried the smiling faces would be too silly or goofy, but that’s not the case here. The scene, where Laura commits suicide sets the precedent, a clear visual of insanity that signals the victim is too far gone. There’s just something eerie and very creepy about the smiling faces throughout the movie. Seeing those wide cheek to cheek smiles serves as a warning sign that something bad is about to happen, or it’s another sign the entity is tightening its grip on the current target.  

A big thumbs up for writer/director Parker Finn’s approach to the curse and the entity. Why? Because there’s no way you can see it coming. 

The cursed characters in Smile didn’t take unnecessary risks, and they didn’t knowingly do something stupid. Going to a haunted house, digging up someone’s grave, or reading passages from an evil book, or any of the other usual horror movie missteps that could’ve been easily avoided. Just imagine this, you’re minding your own business, or going through your normal routines, and BAM! Someone, who’s cursed violently commits suicide in front of you, and now you’re stuck with the curse. 

Through the performances from Sosie Bacon, Caitlin Stasey, Rob Morgan, and  Judy Reyes, you can see how the curse is capable of ruining someone’s life at different stages. With Bacon, you get to see how everything spirals out of control from start to finish. 

Surviving the curse? Yeah, that’s not all that it’s cracked up to be either. Robert (Morgan) is a broken mess of a man, stuck in prison, because there’s only one way (kill another person to pass the curse to a living witness) to truly escape the curse. If you’re in Laura Weaver’s spot before her demise, then it’s too late. Not enough time to explain the complexities of the curse, or enough time for anyone else to grasp what’s going on. Simple as that. 

But let’s not forget about what the curse does to family members and spouses. Victoria Munoz (Reyes) witnessed her husband, Gabriel’s (Felix Melendez Jr.) descent into madness firsthand. She’s still heartbroken and depressed over Gabriel’s death, and the flashback scene, where Victoria has to identify Gabriel’s corpse, including his mangled and disfigured face? Yikes! One of the more memorable gruesome and gory moments throughout the movie.  

“You can’t escape your own mind, Rose!” Another good layer for the curse comes into play, when it’s revealed the entity feeds off of trauma to grow stronger. Rose is still haunted by what happened to her mother during her childhood. It’s not too hard to connect the dots for Rose being a workaholic, specifically as a therapist, to her mother dealing with mental health issues. Rose couldn’t save her mother as a child, BUT maybe she can save her patients as an adult. 

It doesn’t matter how far you run, or if you try to hide and isolate yourself from other people. If you’re still holding on to traumatic events, or the loss of loved ones, the entity will sniff it out and relentlessly attack. That’s truly terrifying.

Smile takes a layered approach to mental illnesses, and how people react to someone with mental health problems. Rose starts losing it. She’s cursed, but she should be able to rely on Trevor and her family for support, right? Nope. Rose is almost instantly dismissed as a crazy person. Trevor, instead of showing compassion, scolds Rose for possibly having mental health issues. To make matters worse, Trevor is paranoid about the hereditary connection between Rose and her mother, and Rose possibly inheriting her mother’s sickness. 

Jackson’s (Holly’s son) birthday party is a great scene. Rose has a complete breakdown, after Jackson opens his present, and it’s revealed what happened to Rose’s cat, Mustache. No one asks if Rose is okay. No one tries to help her, including her own sister and her brother-in-law. They’re scared of Rose, and nobody wants to go near her. 

Smile does a good job of showing how other people, even those closest to you, won’t hesitate to shun or completely shut you out of their lives, if they know, or even suspect your dealing with mental issues. You’re basically treated like someone, who’s suffering from a deadly virus: go away, far away, and don’t come back until you’re normal again. 

Remember, Rose is a therapist. Rose treats people with mental illnesses for a living, so how does she feel, when she’s accused of being a nutcase, or having to deal with being labeled as someone, who’s sick in the head? It’s a jarring experience for her, you can see how much it hurts Rose, and kudos to Parker Finn for working a big mindfuck into the story. 

Rose returns to her childhood home to face the entity! After a struggle, Rose FINALLY defeats her demons, or did she? One final good fake-out to end the movie shows Rose’s plan failed, and she eventually succumbs to the entity’s constant attacks and mind games. 

Teasing a peaceful Rose enjoying her triumphant victory, and Rose letting go of the guilt about her mother’s death (as a child, Rose could’ve called for help as her mother was dying, but she ran away)? It was a perfect ending, maybe too perfect, and that’s why the big swerve really works. 

Rose returning to her childhood home, where the trauma started, and choosing to bravely fight the entity wasn’t enough. Rose finally cracks, when the entity, posing as Joel, reveals itself to her. That was it. Joel was the last person Rose felt comfortable enough to trust, so the last line of defense in her mind was gone. The image of Rose lighting herself on fire to commit suicide, while a horrified and stunned Joel watches to end the movie is something to remember.

The reveal for the entity’s true form was phenomenal. The pale, tall, and lanky version of the entity, resembling Rose’s mother, works as a physical manifestation of the big bad demon that continued to haunt Rose well into her adult years. The entity’s true form? A massive jaw-dropper. The monstrous size, the rows of mouths stacked on top of each other, and the look of wet, fresh blood covering its entire body! Great practical effects, and the appearance of the entity is truly a horrifying sight, definitely worth saving for the final moments of the movie. 

Smile has one predictable jump scare that you’d expect from a mainstream horror film, but it’s still a damn good movie. Consistently tense, just the right amount of bloody violence and gruesome gore, and the fake-outs are superb. There’s a scene where Rose, trapped in an illusion/nightmare, imagines herself killing Carl (one of her patients) to pass the curse to Dr. Desai, and Desai slowly rips off his own face! A good gory surprise, and it’s a callback to two similar moments (Dr. Parsons and Laura tearing the skin off of their faces) from the short film Laura Hasn’t Slept.

It’s not always easy to tell the differences between reality, and the entity’s mind games. Smile’s crafty methods for stringing you along until the reveal happens works, because each scenario is noticeably different throughout the movie. 

“Holly’s” head hanging upside down with a smile on her face is my only complaint for the fake-outs. Not because it’s bad, but they gave it away in the trailers! WHY would you give that one away? It would’ve been a great surprise. I understand the need to sell the movie, but come on now. 

Still, Smile is a refreshing horror flick, featuring a creative story, that’s loaded with some good emotional depth, because Smile is one of those horror films that simultaneously works as a psychological drama AND a horror film. Sosie Bacon is amazing in the leading role. A solid supporting cast, including Caitlin Stasey, Judy Reyes, Jack Sochet, and Kal Penn all delivering impactful performances with sporadic appearances, or a limited amount of screen time. Also, Smile easily has one of the best monster/demon reveals you’ll ever see.

Usually, I’m more on the one-and-done side for horror movies similar to Smile. Something good, with a fresh story, and a genuinely shocking ending? Leave it alone, and don’t touch it! That’s usually my first reaction, because it’s almost impossible to catch lightning in a bottle with more sequels. But Smile’s premise is full of potential to explore with more films, and different characters. I’ll always support more Smile sequels, and maybe a TV series? Okay, that’s probably going too far.

Rating- 8/10

Bones And All (2022)

 

**This post contains spoilers**

The Story- A young Maren (Taylor Russell) flees Virginia with her father, Frank (Andre Holland) after she tries to eat a friend’s finger at a slumber party. Frank, feeling the pressure of constantly covering up Maren’s cannibalistic attacks, eventually abandons his daughter. 

Maren meets another cannibal named Sully (Mark Rylance) during her journey. Sully, offering his help and guidance, informs Maren that she is an eater, and the urge to feed on human flesh is too strong to ignore, a problem that’ll only get worse as Maren ages. 

Maren crosses paths with Lee (Timothee Chalamet), another young eater, who agrees to help Maren find her estranged mother, Janelle (Chloe Sevingy). Maren and Lee develop feelings for each other, but Maren runs into trouble, when Sully returns with hopes of rekindling their partnership.

My Thoughts- Taylor Russell delivers an excellent performance, bringing the necessary vulnerability to Maren. There’s a noticeable layer of innocence to Maren’s character, but it’s also hard to ignore the fact that she’s willfully ignorant about the lifestyle of a cannibal. Russell did a good job of showing frustration and anger, because after all the eating and the deaths, Maren slowly realizes there’s no real moral high ground to stand on, when you’re attacking and killing innocent people. 

Timothee Chalamet plays the edgy bad boy loner type, but he’s also a kid, who’s hurting inside, a broken young man. Choosing the path of a self imposed exile from his family, Lee wants to reconnect and bond with his sister, Kayla (Anna Cobb), but he’s carrying around the heavy burden of being an eater and killing his father. Chalamet nails a wide variety of emotions with a good performance. Lee is dangerous, but he can also be endearing and charismatic.

Taylor Russell and Timothee Chalamet share believable chemistry together. Maren and Lee are two people, who need each other, sharing a dark secret and a highly unusual lifestyle that only both of them can truly understand. Lee and Maren’s relationship feels real. A lot of ups and downs, with Maren slowly trusting Lee to the point, where she feels safe enough to lower her guard.

Mark Rylance is phenomenal as Sully, easily delivering the best performance here. Rylance brings a charming  presence to Sully, complete with a soft southern accent. But there’s also a dangerous side to Sully, and there’s no denying he’s extremely creepy. 

Rylance smoothly switches gears between the seemingly wise and helpful old man and a menacing threat. Sully wants to be the mentor and father figure that Maren needs. You’re isolated and alone in the world as an eater, so that’s why Sully was heartbroken, when Maren ran away from him after they ate the old lady. Great facial expressions from Rylance. The scene where a frozen and shocked Sully watches Maren leave on the bus with that devastated look on his face is just perfect. 

Loneliness, abandonment, and how it affects people plays a big role in Bones And All. Frank was put in a tough spot, but you can understand why he left Maren. Still, it’s rough for a teenage girl to go out in the world alone after her father leaves without a warning, or any real preparations for survival. To make matters worse, Barbara (Jessica Harper), Maren’s adoptive grandmother, insists she honors her promise to never visit her again.

Sully is old. Living so many years alone with a secretive lifestyle will inevitably take its toll on anyone. That’s why Sully lashed out, when Maren sternly rejected his friendship. And it’s clear Sully was depressed about his family choosing not to look for him after he ran away as a child. 

A lot of important details to pay attention to, as Sully and Maren are eating the old lady. You’ll see a bunch of pictures telling the story of a woman, who once had a family and friends. Imagine dying alone in that big house, while two strangers literally eat what’s left of you, leaving your mangled corpse on the ground surrounded by flies. That’s a depressing ending for anyone. 

Maren has a rocky transition into adulthood, because she’s quickly forced to learn lessons about life on the fly. Maren runs away from Sully, and she runs away from Lee, when she panics for different reasons. Eventually, Maren realizes she can’t just run away from all of her problems. Confrontations and reconciling are cornerstones for adult life. Maren’s no longer in a position, where she can hide behind her father, while he takes care of everything. 

Two big moments for Maren, starting with telling Sully that she no longer wants to be around him, and patching things up with Lee at the lake. Standing up for yourself and burying the hatchet takes guts. It’s uncomfortable, and Taylor Russell did a good job of showing how nervous Maren was with Sully, while also realizing shutting him out of her life was something that needed to be done.

She starts her journey into the world alone, only to wind up alone after killing Sully with Lee’s help. The timing of Sully’s attack was impeccable. Maren and Lee are living a normal and peaceful life together, but it’s all ripped away from them in an instant. It’s an unfortunate ending, with Maren eating a dying Lee. If anyone was going to eat Lee, he’d obviously choose Maren to do it, someone who cared about and understood him. 

There’s also a callback to Jake’s (Michael Stuhlbarg) “bones and all” line at the campfire during Lee’s death scene. Lee wants Maren to eat him, bones and all, an experience that Jake romanticized as something special. According to Jake, leaving a bare bones corpse counts as the first real experience as an eater, passing the stage of foreplay, and transitioning to a legitimate achievement that’s basically a badge of honor. 

Did Maren and Lee actually deserve a happy ending? Yeah, you could say they were young, two people with a strange condition doing what they had to do to survive, but that doesn’t erase the fact that they’re also murderers. The ending works as a full circle moment and karma coming to collect. Sully and Lee got what they deserved, while Maren is left to deal with the emotional and devastating aftermath alone.

Too many examples throughout the movie that clearly showed there’s no real happy ending for an eater. Maren was disgusted by Brad (David Gordon Green) and Jake’s joyous approach to cannibalism, especially Brad, who’s not an eater, but he still gets a kick out of the lifestyle. Sully and Lee were both predators. The big difference is, Lee was more of a cerebral tactician, manipulating his victim’s emotions before he attacked. And you can’t forget about Maren’s mother, Janelle. She’s alone, heavily medicated and deranged, living out the rest of her days in an institution.

So when you look at the big picture, Maren’s options are she can either spend the rest of her life running, hiding, or basically living off the grid. It’s a vicious cycle to literally feed her addiction. One problem after another, and not spending the rest of her life in prison or an institution is the best that Maren could hope for. I’m sure one of the reasons why Sully made Maren’s skin crawl is, she didn’t want to follow the same path during the later stages of her life: a monster, who was too enamored with the lifestyle, collecting locks of hair (including Kayla’s hair) from his victims. 

Bones And All is a bloody and brutal love story, with a grotesque horror twist. All of the storylines and themes seamlessly connected for a smooth style of storytelling, leading to a gut-wrenching finale. Bones And All shows how having an addiction can ruin your life, and how it affects those closest to you. A bleak and genuinely emotional film, featuring a superb cast, and a number of creepy and unsettling scenes. Jake chasing after Maren and Lee in the darkness, and the sight of a distributed Janelle, including her mangled arms, because she couldn’t control her cravings and ate her own hands are two of my top picks.

And maybe I’m looking too deep into this, but I do wonder if the little girl at the diner was an eater? Sully did say eaters can locate each other by picking up on a peculiar scent. The child seemingly gave Maren a knowing look, so I guess it’s a possibility, an intriguing what if, without any definitive clues or hints.

So much blood and graphic gore, but Bones And All ironically feels homely and nostalgic. Placing the story in the 1980’s helps, while Maren and Lee traveled along the quiet backroads, passing through all the small and quaint towns. 

Rating- 10/10

Talk To Me (2022)

 

**This post contains spoilers**

The Story- Mia (Sophie Wilde) struggles to move on after her mother, Rhea (Alexandria Steffensen) commits suicide. A strained relationship with Mia’s father, Max (Marcus Johnson) complicates things, but Mia finds comfort with her best friend, Jade (Alexandra  Jensen), Jade’s younger brother, Riley (Joe Bird),  Jade’s mother, Sue (Miranda Otto), and her ex boyfriend and Jade’s current boyfriend, Daniel (Otis Dhanji). 

In an attempt to fit in, Mia plays an unusual party game called Talk To Me, with Hayley (Zoe Terakes) and Joss (Chris Alosio) filling the roles of the game masters. Powered by a pale severed hand, players have the ability to have direct contact with the spirit world, but refusal to break the connection after ninety seconds comes with severe consequences.

Riley seemingly makes contact with Rhea, but Riley is sucked into the spirit world after passing the time limit. Riley is possessed and controlled by the evil spirits, trapped in their realm as a prisoner, who’s constantly forced to injure himself. Can Mia save Riley before it’s too late?

My Thoughts- Her mother is dead. Outside of Jade and Riley, Mia struggles to make friends. She clings to Jade’s family for emotional support, and Mia’s relationship with Max is broken. That’s a lot of weight to carry around that’s capable of crushing anyone, let alone a teenager. 

Sophie Wilde truly delivers an incredible performance. It’s impressive how Wilde is capable of nailing the roller-coaster of emotions Mia endures throughout the movie. Wilde continuously takes everything to the next level, as the story progresses. You can see the pain and the agonizing heartbreak she’s experiencing. The desperation Mia has for companionship plays a big role in her descent into madness. She made a terrible mistake allowing Riley to play the game, and while it’s understandable she clearly regrets everything that happened, it’s hard to ignore the fact that Mia is responsible for Riley’s severe injuries.

Miranda Otto plays the fiery and stern mother, with a sharp sense of humor. Sue wants to be the mother figure Mia desperately needs, but she crossed a line by putting her son’s life in danger. Jade is the supportive best friend. The problem? The calamity with Riley is obvious, but it’s clear Mia still has feelings for Daniel. And the spirit revealing Daniel’s disparaging thoughts about Jade didn’t help matters. At some point, you have to draw that line in the sand with friendships.

The coming-of-age side of Talk To Me works, featuring some good realism. Mia is socially awkward. She wants to fit in, but she’s ignored at the party early on in the movie. Hayley, one of the cool kids at school, wants nothing to do her, because she believes Mia is a weirdo. When you stop and think about it, a lot of trouble could’ve been avoided, if Mia never decided to play the game. But Mia was desperate for validation and the chance to make new friends.

Riley is a good kid, who’s currently going through the usual growing pains. He wants to prove he’s ready to put on his big boy pants, but he’s still scared to the point, where he doesn’t want to sleep alone after witnessing the spooky side of the game. There’s also the expected sibling rivalry with Jade, with Riley scolding her for being the mean big sister.

You can easily draw a connection between Mia and Duckett (Sunny Johnson). Duckett, another victim of the game, commits suicide in the opening scene of the movie. Duckett and Mia were both awkward outcasts, two shining examples of  how far some kids might go for the chance to be accepted.

Why didn’t Mia follow through with the mercy killing for the kangaroo? Riley is urging her to put the injured kangaroo out of its misery, but she decides to stop at the last second. It’s an important scene, when you connect the dots. Mia, clearly distraught, obviously recognized similarities between the dying kangaroo and her mother. Putting an end to the kangaroo’s suffering might’ve been the best option, but it’s possibly a reminder of Rhea’s mindset before she took her own life, so Mia just couldn’t do it. 

If we’re talking about the evil spirits and the possessions, Talk To Me gets it right.  Far too often possession or demonic horror films have too many unintentionally funny moments, when characters are possessed, but that’s not the case here. There’s a highlight reel of sorts, where things look silly during gameplay, but the main idea was to showcase Mia finally having fun and being accepted into the group.

When things are serious, you really get to see just how dangerous the game is, a quick escalation of harmless fun to life threatening trouble, while the clock is ticking. The little details, including the bulging black pupils, the rotting flesh for the participants and the spirits, and the crazed personalities adds that necessary layer of creepiness. Daniel kissing the dog and dry humping floor, and quickly reverting to a state of shock, when the connection breaks is a good example of showing how the game takes complete control over the current player.

There’s two strong cases of tragic irony during the finale. Mia, believing she had to kill Riley to set him free before ultimately deciding to commit suicide by jumping into traffic on the freeway, is a genuine gut wrenching moment. Mentally Mia was just too far gone towards the end. The whirlwind of emotions for her mother and the guilt of dealing with what happened to Riley was just too much. It’s a sad ending for Mia, going the same route as her mother and choosing suicide. To make matters worse, Sue and Jade were clearly ready to forgive Mia. 

Throughout the movie, Mia noticeably shuns her father, ignoring his calls and choosing to spend more time with Jade and her family. Max reading Rhea’s suicide note to Mia and embracing her afterwards is the only moment the two share together here. Imagine how bad things are between a father and his daughter, when they have to bond over a suicide note?

Mia avoids Max for the majority of the movie, but the irony hits, when Mia frantically calls out to him after she’s dead. The final moments serve as a stark reminder that Mia is just a kid, who’s begging her father to protect or comfort her, because she’s scared. Mia finally realizing that she’s dead, before she has a chance to fully process what just happened, and that frightened gasp from Sophia Wilde right before the credits roll? That is a damn good ending and a cliffhanger. Mia didn’t want to hurt Riley. She shared a big sister/little brother relationship with him, but her actions had irreversible consequences. 

I understand Mia’s clarity is obstructed by her grief, but Rhea’s ghost is obviously an imposter or a deceiver. If you’ve watched enough horror films, it’s easy to know the usual trick with the evil spirit or a demon appearing as a beloved family member or a friend to puppeteer a protagonist’s emotions.

But there’s no denying Talk To Me is a superb horror film. Talk To Me is a bleak and emotional story about death, suicide, and facing the harsh realities of life at a young age. Death is a natural part of life, but it really stings for Mia, because someone she adored and loved deeply chose to end her life, leaving her without a mother. 

The brutal violence and gross-out scenes are good for a handful of squirmy reactions. Duckett jamming a knife into his skull sets the tone, while Riley’s scenes when he’s possessed consistently deliver the more hard to watch moments. The scene with Riley bashing his head against the wall, and licking up his own blood? Yikes!

The entire cast is excellent, with Miranda Otto providing the robust presence of a veteran actress. That scene in the car, where Jade tries to hold Sue’s hand, only for Sue to reject her is filled so many nuances. Jade betrayed Sue’s trust. As a parent, it was Sue’s way of basically telling Jade she’s in timeout until further notice. 

There’s a lot of potential for the sequel. Mia could return to warn others about the game. Unlike the other spirits, Mia was presumably still fully aware of who she was, possibly having the advantage of someone who knows all the fine details about the game. Going the route of a standalone sequel also works. Talk To Me has a solid premise. A lot of different avenues to explore, especially the origins of the hand and its dark history.

Rating- 9/10

The Baker (2022)

 

**This post contains spoilers**

The Story- Peter (Joel David Moore) hits the jackpot, when he stumbles across a bloody and botched drug deal at the airport. Peter has big plans to cash in, and start a new luxurious life with his mute daughter, Delphi (Emma Ho), but he’ll need his father’s help. Pappi (Ron Perlman), living a quiet life running a bakery, reluctantly agrees to look after Delphi, while Peter plans to unload a bag full of heroin. 

But Peter runs into a bigger problem, when Vic (Elias Koteas) surprises him at home. Vic is the main enforcer for The Merchant (Harvey Keitel), a powerful drug lord. The Merchant wants his product, but unbeknownst to Peter, Delphi switched out the heroin in the bag with her clothes.

Pappi goes on a mission to find out what happened to Peter, while being pursued by Vic, his cronies, and Detective Petra Weintrager (Samantha Kaine) and her partner, Detective Luca Rispoli (Paolo Mancini). Will Pappi be able to keep Delphi safe?

My Thoughts- Ron Perlman plays the old grizzled tough guy role with ease, but Pappi is also a man, who’s haunted by his past. The intense bouts of PTSD, and you can tell Pappi wishes he had a better relationship with his son. Perlman does a fantastic job of nailing Pappi’s whirlwind of emotions, and he easily delivers the best performance here.

The relationship between Pappi and Delphi is the driving force behind The Baker. There’s a point, where Pappi offers money to Peter’s neighbor to look after Delphi, because he believes he’s just not cut out to raise her, if Peter is dead.

The uneasy grandfather and granddaughter dynamic between Delphi and Pappi is executed to perfection. Pappi is the old and grouchy man, who doesn’t like showing his emotions. And Delphi is the frustrated young brat, who desperately needs a father figure, especially after her mother’s death.

Delphi is mute, but Emma Ho does a great job of conveying her emotions through facial expressions and body language. There’s some good laughs between the two, as Delphi tries to have fun with Pappi throughout the movie. On the other side of the comedic moments, there’s also a believable emotional layer for their relationship. Peter might be dead. Delphi is upset, and Pappi might’ve lost his son. Pappi and Delphi truly need each other. You can clearly see the ups and downs, while they’re trying to form a bond, and considering the circumstances, it’s a tough process for both of them.

Elias Koteas is always reliable for a solid performance. Vic is cold and efficient, but a life full of murder and crime is starting to take a toll on him. He’s serious about his job, but he’s also tired of living in fear of what The Merchant might do, if he doesn’t get the job done. Vic is moved by Peter’s love and devotion to his daughter. It’s a heavy burden for Vic, because the father/daughter relationship plays a big part in changing how he views his current situation.

Harvey Keitel’s appearances are limited. It’s an approach that really works, because it feels like a big deal, when The Merchant appears, and Keitel still brings the strong presence of a veteran actor. Joel David Moore looks like a goof during his brief screen time. He’s kind of a klutz, but he’s also a man who loves his daughter. Moore showed a lot of emotion, when he was facing certain death. Peter was beaten and bloodied, but all he could think about was leaving his daughter behind without a mother and father to raise her.

It’s a somber ending, when Vic shows Pappi the location of Peter’s body. Pappi decides to spare Vic’s life, while Vic seemed content with being put out of his misery. A good emotional moment, where Pappi knows comforting Delphi after her father’s death is more important than revenge. There’s a flashback, where Pappi remembers how he almost lost Peter in the woods, when he was a kid. The flashback meshes together, with Delphi eerily standing in a similar position that mirrors a young Peter, and it’s enough to snap him out of his rage.

The Merchant and Papi coming face to face is a big scene that’s rightfully saved for the final moments of the movie. It’s supposed to be a special moment, with two strong characters coming to a peaceful resolution for both of their problems. 

The Baker does provide some joy during the ending. Delphi finally speaks. She was traumatized after witnessing her mother’s death in a car accident (mom wasn’t wearing a seatbelt), so it’s a sign that Delphi trusts her grandfather, and she’s ready to move on. I wouldn’t call it a happy ending. It’s more of a start for new beginnings, while Delphi and Pappi try and figure out their lives together.

Who killed The Merchant? There’s a mid-credits scene that shows The Merchant’s death, but we never see the gunman. It had to be Vic? The Merchant is not the kind of man that tolerates failure. Vic knows he was on thin ice, so he had to kill The Merchant, while he still had the chance.

There’s a lot of mystery surrounding Pappi. He obviously faked his death, so he could have a chance at a normal life. But we still don’t know all of the fine details about his character, and that’s a good thing. I’m glad they didn’t turn Pappi into an invincible killing machine. Yes, he has the lethal skills, but Pappi is also an old man. He struggles in some of the fight scenes. Pappi having to really work to defeat some of the bad guys adds a touch of realism, because he’s at an age, where he can’t just easily tear through his opponents.

The Baker is a solid action film, featuring a good emotional story. They could’ve settled on taking the easy way out with a comedic approach. The old man, who’s a baker, with military training protecting his granddaughter from thugs? It sounds completely ridiculous. But the premise still worked for a more serious film, and that’s an impressive accomplishment.

Rating- 7/10

Character Spotlight- Corey Cunningham- Halloween Ends

 

**This post contains spoilers**

We’re finally here! It’s time for the final showdown between Michael Myers and Laurie Strode, but what about Corey Cunningham? Corey becomes the number one outcast in Haddonfield after accidentally murdering young Jeremy Allen (Jaxon Goldenberg) during a disastrous night of babysitting. It’s a horrific sight, with Jeremy’s body laying in a pool of his own blood. Jeremey’s mother Mrs. Allen (Candice Rose) is frantically screaming for a response from Jeremy, while Corey helplessly stands at the top of the staircase with a knife in his hand. 

The tragedy was an accident, and time is supposed to heal all wounds, right? Corey tries to keep to himself. You can tell he wants to keep a low profile, but Terry (Michael Barbieri) and his gang of hooligans are determined to make Corey’s life a living hell after he refuses to buy them beer.

Little by little, you can see it. Corey is going to snap. He’s angry. Corey is tired of taking the abuse, but there’s still hope! Laurie (Jamie Lee Curtis) introduces Corey to her granddaughter, Allyson (Andi Matichak). 

The relationship between Corey, Laurie, and Allyson starts off well enough. Laurie sees this poor guy, who’s become a villain in Haddonfield. Laurie knows EXACTLY how that feels after the tragic fallout from being one of the main figures, who inspired a lynch mob against Michael Myers in Halloween Kills. Allyson is lonely after the death of her parents and her friends, and she’s one of the few people, who can say she fought and survived Michael Myers. Allyson can be the emotional support system that Corey needs, while Corey helps her recover from the heartache she had to endure in Halloween and Halloween Kills.

So Allyson takes Corey to a Halloween party. He’s having fun, dancing, and Corey is finally coming out of his shell and starting to enjoy himself. But things take a turn for the worst, when Mrs. Allen (Candice Rose) viciously berates Corey about Jeremy’s death. You can see that look of rage on Corey’s face, when he’s leaving the bar.

After another run-in with Terry and his gang, Corey comes face to face with Michael Myers. It’s an eerie scene, where Michael has Corey by the throat, and you see the flashbacks piecing Corey’s story together. This is the big moment, where Corey looked into Michael’s eyes and gave into all the anger and bitterness boiling up inside of him. Michael Myers is not someone to let his victims go free. It’s an unprecedented moment for Myers, because you have to believe he could feel the evil in Corey’s heart. 

Corey’s first kill? Well, you could say Corey murdering the deranged homeless man, who wanted Michael’s mask was self defense. Corey’s visibly upset and shaken up after the murder. But it’s only a matter of time before Corey crosses that fine line for standing up for himself and choosing vengeance. 

You’ll notice the pattern, when Corey takes a more sinister path for setting a trap for Officer Mulaney (Jesse C. Boyd). It’s the first kill, where the odd partnership between Michael and Corey truly starts to materialize. Corey officially gives up on trying to turn his life around, as he encourages Michael to kill Mulaney. The duo team up to beat and slaughter Mulaney. Corey wants Michael to show him how to kill, as Michael regains his strength, and Corey’s bloodlust gets stronger after this scene.

Corey increasingly becomes more brutal and smarter, with how he chooses to approach his murders. The trap he sets for Terry and his gang, and how he calmly slithered into the radio station to kill Willy The Kid (Keraun Harris) and his receptionist (Diana Prince), are two good examples of seeing how things escalate during Corey’s transformation into a cold- blooded killer. 

The big scene where Corey and Michael team up to kill Dr. Mathis (Michael O’Leary), and Deb (Michele Dawson) perfectly encapsulates Michael and Corey’s relationship and Corey’s story. Corey killing Dr. Mathis? It was sloppy and over the top. On the flip side of that, Michael’s approach to murdering Deb was clean and quick. Also, Michael looks at Corey before he stabs Deb to show him how to do it the right way. 

The master teaching the apprentice is a key moment during Deb’s death scene, but there’s a lot more going on here. There’s a look of admiration on Corey’s face, when he witnesses Michael murdering Deb. He’s clearly in awe of Michael, as he unwraps the bandages on his injured hand, another strange and ironic connection to Michael. Remember, Michael’s hand is severely injured after Laurie blew parts of it off with the shotgun in Halloween 2018. Corey was already too far gone, so he gravitated towards Michael. Corey sees Michael as a father figure, a role his stepdad, Ron (Rick Moose) failed to fill, no matter how hard he tried. 

Corey slowly becomes The Shape, mimicking Michael’s movements and mannerisms. There’s a great callback to the original Halloween film, when a stoic Corey is standing outside near Laurie’s house. He’s waiting for Allyson, and the shot with Corey standing behind the bushes is similar to Laurie seeing Michael standing outside of her house in the 1978 film. Seeing Corey in Michael’s mask was strange. If we’re going down the road of someone directly following in Michael’s footsteps or at least teasing it, you’d have to go all the way back to Halloween 4 and Jaime, and Laurie in Rob Zombie’s Halloween films. 

Corey’s mother, Joan (Joanne Baron) undoubtedly played a role in his troubles. Joan was overprotective and had an unhealthy obsession with her son. It’s a twisted mother/son relationship, because Joan couldn’t stand the thought of Allyson taking her sweet baby boy away from her. Corey murdered Joan after she slapped him. Unbeknownst to Joan, her innocent son had already reached a point in his life, where he was determined to punish anyone who disrespected him. 

“If I can’t have her, no one will.” Corey’s final words before an attempted suicide to pin his death on Laurie, driving a bigger and more permanent wedge between Laurie and Allyson. Corey and Allyson loved and trusted each other as the only two people in the world, who could make each other happy. Corey knew Allyson was frustrated with Laurie before he stabbed himself. That was his backup plan to punish Laurie with a life of misery and loneliness, if he couldn’t have Allyson. Luckily, his plan backfired, when Allyson came to her senses.

There’s some strong irony with Corey being Michael’s final victim and his final kill. Of all the people in this world, how can you be so stupid to betray Michael Myers? But Corey’s buffoonery after he failed to kill Laurie proved he was reckless, and he was a little bit too cocky for his own good. 

Corey could’ve left Haddonfield for good with Allyson. He could’ve had a happy and romantic life with Allyson after he killed the homeless man. That should’ve been his wake up call, but Corey chose vengeance over love and happiness. He wanted to light the match and burn it down. 

Early on in the movie, before she realized what he was turning into, Corey had support from Laurie. Laurie was actually willing to help Corey. As the story progresses, Laurie offered professional help for his “infection,” combined with the nonnegotiable condition of staying away from Allyson. He had a strong support system with Allyson, and Hawkins (Will Patton) believed Corey deserved a second chance after Jeremy’s death. The scene after the disaster at the Halloween party with Allyson is one to remember. Corey didn’t want Allyson to waste her time trying to fix him. Allyson had her hands out, with tears in her eyes, basically begging Corey to allow her to comfort him.

Rohan Campbell did a wonderful job capturing all of Corey’s emotions. You can see the rage, the confusion, and the conflict within Corey, and Campbell nailed the more geeky and innocent side of Corey’s character.

Corey made the choice to worship at the altar of Michael Myers, but there’s a chance Corey always had evil in his heart. He didn’t have to kick the door THAT hard, when Jeremy locked him in the room upstairs. It’s an incident that makes you think about what Jeremy’s father, Roger (Jack William Marshall) told Laurie. Roger wanted to forgive Corey for Jeremey’s death, but he saw a different person, when he looked into Corey’s eyes after he murdered the homeless man. It wasn’t the same nerdy kid who mowed his lawn. This version of Corey made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up, so maybe the darkness inside of Corey was always there.

Halloween Ends features two boogeymen, and who knows, maybe Michael would’ve eventually succumbed to his injuries and old age in the sewers, if he never crossed paths with Corey. There’s also the babysitter connection between Laurie and Corey. Laurie was a hero for protecting Lindsey (Kyle Richards) and Tommy Doyle from Michael in the 70’s, but Corey became a villain after his dreadful night of babysitting. 

Laurie sums up evil, and Michael and Corey’s stories with that final line in her book: evil never truly dies, it just changes shape. For a brief period, Corey was The Shape. There’s almost no chance for another evil infection spreading throughout Haddonfield with Michael and Corey dead, finally bringing peace to a small and quiet town that desperately needed it.