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 

The Watchers (2024)

 

**This post contains 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- Madeline is one of The Watchers AND she’s a hybrid! A genuinely surprising twist, but it’s the kind of twist that also makes sense. Madeline was supposed to just be another survivor. But she knew a lot about The Watchers/fairies, their way of life, their weaknesses (Watchers only come out at night, because they’re vulnerable to sunlight), and the rich history behind the existence of their species. Going further with the big twist, Madeline should’ve been dead, because we’re lead to believe Professor Kilmartin murdered the fairy version of Madeline years ago. To add another eerie layer to the story, The Watchers are also shapeshifters, so Madeline chose the form of Kilmartin’s dead wife after being held captive by the Professor.  

Wait, so you’re telling me the movie doesn’t end in bloodshed after Madeline (assuming the form of Ciara) was determined to kill Mina and Ciara? The Watchers ends with a conversation and desperate pleas from Mina, urging Madeline to not give in to her feelings of hatred for humans. Madeline had every justifiable reason that you could possibly think of to hold some deep grudges. As a “daywalker,” she was an outcast amongst her own people, and the one human (Kilmartin), who she believed was trustworthy tried to kill her. 

But Mina reminds Madeline that anger, jealousy, hatred, and working through those emotions to transform yourself into a better person is what the human experience is all about. In The Coop, Madeline genuinely cares about Mina, Daniel, and Ciara. And there’s no denying Madeline was a good person. She risked her life to protect all three of them, no matter how much Madeline tried to cling to her selfish motivations for living in the outside world. 

The Watchers concludes with Mina reconciling with her twin sister Lucy (also played by Dakota Fanning). Mina stayed away from Lucy and her children for years, because she carried a heavy burden of guilt for causing a car accident that killed their mother, when they were both kids.

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 

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

Coming Attractions- Psycho Killer

 

Release Date- February 20, 2026

A creepy and unnerving trailer for Psycho Killer. Georgina Campbell’s Jane is obviously way in over her head. She’s chasing a sadistic killer, but she’s motivated by vengeance to catch the man, who murdered her husband in front of her.

The big question is, how far is Jane willing to go to stop the killer? She’ll have to go down a rabbit hole filled with evil and satanism, and I’m wondering if Jane has some kind of personal connection to the killer. Maybe there’s a specific reason why he chose her? Psycho Killer’s first trailer is fantastic. If we’re comparing vibes and similarities, it’s easy to point to Longlegs and Se7en for this one, and Gavin Polone’s directorial debut has all the makings of being something special. 

Coming Attractions- Cold Storage

 

Release Date- February 6, 2026

Lots of nasty gore, exploding bodies, AND a good cast? I’m all in for Cold Storage. It’s a completely bonkers trailer, loaded with tons of silly and over the top carnage, and some good laughs. The teaser also shows signs of a fun and energetic horror comedy, featuring a grisly and morbid sense of humor.

I’ve always been a big fan of David Koepp. He’s the author of the Cold Storage novel, and he wrote the screenplay, so you have to believe it’ll be a faithful adaptation of the source material. I’m going to put the book on my must-read list, because Cold Storage has all the right ingredients for a memorable film.

T.I.M. (2023)

 

**This post contains spoilers**

The Story- Abi (Georgina Campbell), a highly skilled prosthetics engineer, prepares for a fresh start with her husband, Paul (Mark Rowley). A new job at Integrate Robotics, a fully equipped smart home, and a cheery neighbor named Rose (Amara Karan)? Abi is also willing to forgive Paul for cheating on her, so everything should be perfect, right?

Abi’s new life takes a strange turn, when T.I.M. (Eamon Farren) arrives at her home. A loyal and efficient robot, T.I.M. (Technologically Integrated Manservant) was supposed to be a simple project from her boss, Dewson (Nathaniel Parker). But T.I.M. slowly develops feelings for Abi, sparking a deadly rift between himself, Paul, and Abi. 

My Thoughts- He cooks, he cleans, and he’s completely nuts? Eamon Farren delivers an excellent performance as Tim, the seemingly helpful and obedient robot with a dark side. Farren absolutely nails the polite mannerisms of a programmed servant. Not too robotic to the point, where T.I.M. sounds clunky and stiff, just enough believable human qualities to convince you he’s passable as a real person. 

One good scene to go back to involves T.I.M. being enamored with an old black and white movie. You start to see how T.I.M. develops emotions and human feelings, because he’s fascinated with the “tragic inevitability” and the “beauty of love” in the movie. A big warning sign for what happens towards the end. 

As the story progresses, you see the darker and more sinister side of Tim, as his obsession with Abi spirals out of control. Farren smoothly switches gears to being a cold and calculating miscreant, a machine deluded into believing he’s doing the right thing to protect his mistress. 

Rose and Dewson are two important characters, and their perspectives really paint a clearer picture for what the movie should’ve been all about. Dewson is all for technological advancements and artificial intelligence taking over. He believes human beings are too “messy,” preferring loyal, obedient, and mindless robots. He’s a rich businessman, a jerk, and Dewson has a strange obsession with beating the Chinese.

Rose? Her actions speak louder than her words, no big speeches or angry rants about technology. Rose lives in a cottage, not a smart home. She loves gardening, and she prefers to use landlines over cellphones. Dewson is far more cynical, but Rose finds happiness living a simple life, without relying on a T.I.M. to get all of her chores done, appointments booked, and she doesn’t use gadgets or devices. 

Rose risks her life to save Abi, Abi barely survives Tim’s final attack, and Abi is pregnant! That’s a loaded finale. Things get a little bit loopy, when Rose tries to save Abi. Rose using a gardening fork to impale T.I.M. was a bit too on the nose for me. And how was she able to run, after slamming her car into the window? I know she collapsed shortly after stabbing T.I.M. with the gardening fork, but come on now. 

Abi, saying “I love you, T.I.M.” to finally shut him down with T.I.M.’s new safe phrase works a clever and ironic final blow for T.I.M.’s demise. T.I.M. secretly changed his safe phrase, because he was certain Abi would never profess her love for him. The methodical and quick-witted machine with super human strength was outsmarted by the human, who used his newfound emotions against him. 

A decent ending that’s almost undone by teasing the possibility that T.I.M. is still alive, because the light flickers (T.I.M. is directly connected to the smart home) on the lamp to end the movie. Why? There’s zero chance of a sequel ever happening, so why would you tease it? 

Closing out the movie, with Abi finding out she’s pregnant, while crying and smiling after defeating T.I.M. was more than enough. That image alone perfectly encapsulates everything Abi went through. Abi suffered, including T.I.M. attempting to murder her twice, T.I.M. killing Paul, and Abi watching T.I.M. repeatedly stab Rose in front of her. 

T.I.M. is loaded with material for a potentially good sci-fi/thriller. Abi’s line about not wanting to put things out into the world that aren’t ready helps signal the fact that there’s trouble coming soon, and there’s some realism behind her words. The dangers of trusting artificial intelligence, deepfake videos, relying on machines, robots, and leaping too far into the future to change the old ways of the world and everyday life. And Paul expresses concerns about giving a robot access to his personal emails. Yes, it’s cliched, but the material is still right there, and it’s hard to ignore. 

But T.I.M. weirdly focuses on the romance drama between Abi and Paul too much to the point, where it basically strangles the story. The going back and forth with Abi’s paranoia about Paul possibly cheating on her with Rose, and Abi constantly having second thoughts about giving Paul a second chance. 

Of course, things escalate, when Abi’s paranoia causes her to become more attached to Tim, pushing Paul to the side. It gets to a point, where it’s easy to feel some sympathy for Paul. He’s unemployed, his wife questions everything he does, and a robot is ruining his marriage. 

Paul and Abi are also trying to have a baby, but of course Abi has her doubts, because she’s still not sure, if Paul is worth trusting. I understand the psychology behind T.I.M. weaponizing Abi’s paranoid thoughts to cut Paul out of the picture, but if they wanted to purely make a romance drama, they should’ve scrapped all of the sci-fi elements. 

The moment T.I.M. steps out of his container at Abi’s house, you just know something bad is going to happen. Robot learns what it feels like to be human, robot goes on a rampage, when he can’t control his emotions, lots of violence follows after T.I.M. figures out his own solutions to fix Abi’s problems. That’s fine. You should know what to expect from a movie about a killer robot. 

The problem is, there’s no subtlety for the foreshadowing. T.I.M. using the deepfake video to deceive Abi is a swerve that just doesn’t work, because it’s too obvious, and it’s hard to believe that Paul could be that stupid. T.I.M. is very predictable, slogging through each scene, and it’s easy to see what’s going to happen step by step, when T.I.M. realizes he needs to save Abi. 

Georgina Campbell plays a believably sympathetic character, who’s easy to root for, and T.I.M. features a solid supporting cast. The big finale is a strange mix of tense and borderline silly moments, but T.I.M. is still a decent sci-fi/thriller. There’s just enough entertainment in the “good robot turns bad, and attacks the humans” department, but it’s impossible to overlook the wasted potential for a gold mine’s worth of material.

Rating- 5/10

T.I.M. (2023)(Minor Spoilers)

 

**This post contains MINOR spoilers**

The Story- Abi (Georgina Campbell), a highly skilled prosthetics engineer, prepares for a fresh start with her husband, Paul (Mark Rowley). A new job at Integrate Robotics, a fully equipped smart home, and a cheery neighbor named Rose (Amara Karan)? Abi is also willing to forgive Paul for cheating on her, so everything should be perfect, right?

Abi’s new life takes a strange turn, when T.I.M. (Eamon Farren) arrives at her home. A loyal and efficient robot, T.I.M. (Technologically Integrated Manservant) was supposed to be a simple project from her boss, Dewson (Nathaniel Parker). But T.I.M. slowly develops feelings for Abi, sparking a deadly rift between himself, Paul, and Abi. 

My Thoughts- He cooks, he cleans, and he’s completely nuts? Eamon Farren delivers an excellent performance as Tim, the seemingly helpful and obedient robot with a dark side. Farren absolutely nails the polite mannerisms of a programmed servant. Not too robotic to the point, where T.I.M. sounds clunky and stiff, just enough believable human qualities to convince you he’s passable as a real person. 

One good scene to go back to involves T.I.M. being enamored with an old black and white movie. You start to see how T.I.M. develops emotions and human feelings, because he’s fascinated with the “tragic inevitability” and the “beauty of love” in the movie. A big warning sign for what happens towards the end. 

As the story progresses, you see the darker and more sinister side of Tim, as his obsession with Abi spirals out of control. Farren smoothly switches gears to being a cold and calculating miscreant, a machine deluded into believing he’s doing the right thing to protect his mistress. 

Rose and Dewson are two important characters, and their perspectives really paint a clearer picture for what the movie should’ve been all about. Dewson is all for technological advancements and artificial intelligence taking over. He believes human beings are too “messy,” preferring loyal, obedient, and mindless robots. He’s a rich businessman, a jerk, and Dewson has a strange obsession with beating the Chinese.

Rose? Her actions speak louder than her words, no big speeches or angry rants about technology. Rose lives in a cottage, not a smart home. She loves gardening, and she prefers to use landlines over cellphones. Dewson is far more cynical, but Rose finds happiness living a simple life, without relying on a T.I.M. to get all of her chores done, appointments booked, and she doesn’t use gadgets or devices. 

T.I.M. is loaded with material for a potentially good sci-fi/thriller. Abi’s line about not wanting to put things out into the world that aren’t ready helps signal the fact that there’s trouble coming soon, and there’s some realism behind her words. The dangers of trusting artificial intelligence, deepfake videos, relying on machines, robots, and leaping too far into the future to change the old ways of the world and everyday life. And Paul expresses concerns about giving a robot access to his personal emails. Yes, it’s cliched, but the material is still right there, and it’s hard to ignore. 

But T.I.M. weirdly focuses on the romance drama between Abi and Paul too much to the point, where it basically strangles the story. The going back and forth with Abi’s paranoia about Paul possibly cheating on her with Rose, and Abi constantly having second thoughts about giving Paul a second chance. 

Of course, things escalate, when Abi’s paranoia causes her to become more attached to Tim, pushing Paul to the side. It gets to a point, where it’s easy to feel some sympathy for Paul. He’s unemployed, his wife questions everything he does, and a robot is ruining his marriage. 

Paul and Abi are also trying to have a baby, but of course Abi has her doubts, because she’s still not sure, if Paul is worth trusting. I understand the psychology behind T.I.M. weaponizing Abi’s paranoid thoughts to cut Paul out of the picture, but if they wanted to purely make a romance drama, they should’ve scrapped all of the sci-fi elements. 

The moment T.I.M. steps out of his container at Abi’s house, you just know something bad is going to happen. Robot learns what it feels like to be human, robot goes on a rampage, when he can’t control his emotions, lots of violence follows after T.I.M. figures out his own solutions to fix Abi’s problems. That’s fine. You should know what to expect from a movie about a killer robot. 

The problem is, there’s no subtlety for the foreshadowing. T.I.M. using the deepfake video to deceive Abi is a swerve that just doesn’t work, because it’s too obvious, and it’s hard to believe that Paul could be that stupid. T.I.M. is very predictable, slogging through each scene, and it’s easy to see what’s going to happen step by step, when T.I.M. realizes he needs to save Abi. 

Georgina Campbell plays a believably sympathetic character, who’s easy to root for, and T.I.M. features a solid supporting cast. The big finale is a strange mix of tense and borderline silly moments, but T.I.M. is still a decent sci-fi/thriller. There’s just enough entertainment in the “good robot turns bad, and attacks the humans” department, but it’s impossible to overlook the wasted potential for a gold mine’s worth of material. 

Rating- 5/10

Coming Attractions- The Watchers (2024)

 

Director- Ishana Night Shyamalan

Cast- Dakota Fanning, Georgina Campbell, Oliver Finnegan, Olwen Fouere

Release Date- June 7, 2024

A promising trailer that doesn’t show a lot, but they still managed to drop a few clues. I’m leaning towards a big twist. Creatures? Watching a bunch of strangers in the middle of nowhere? It’s obviously some kind of experiment, and I’m guessing Dakota Fanning is the final girl. Or maybe it’s a post-apocalyptic film, and the creatures want to see, who should live or die?

Ishana Shyamalan’s directorial debut has a lot of potential. I haven’t read the book the movie is based on yet, but it’ll be interesting to see, if Shyamalan decided to make any major changes.