Curse Of The Blair Witch (1999)

 

**This post contains MINOR spoilers**

The Story- Curse Of The Blair explores and examines the mysterious disappearances of Heather Donahue, Joshua Leonard, and Michael C. Williams, after their journey into the Black Hills Forest to record footage for The Blair Witch Project documentary. 

My Thoughts- Is this real? Did the legend of The Blair Witch destroy this quiet little town in Maryland? Curse Of The Blair Witch looks and feels like a real documentary. The presentation is spot on, and the talking heads are phenomenal. 

Bill Barnes (Bill Dreggors), a Burkittsville historian, easily steals the show here. Dreggors is an excellent fit for the old timer, who’s also a great storyteller. Bill Barnes is a bit crusty, but it’s not to the point, where he’s yelling and shaking his fist, because a bunch of kids are on his lawn. No, Barnes is the old dude, who still has some fire left in him, and it’s easy to crack a smile, or laugh during some of his segments.

Lucan Johnson, a self-proclaimed Wiccan, is a close number two for the best interviewees throughout the documentary. Johnson is eccentric. He comes off as a weirdo, and there’s a chance you’ll think he’s completely full of BS, but Johnson strongly believes in his words. 

Curse Of The Blair Witch is a damn good mockumentary. News clips, interviews with professors and other experts, and family members sharing stories. There’s a strong effort to bring authenticity and a sense of realism to produce a “real” documentary. Curse Of The Blair Witch also does a good job of humanizing and adding more depth to Heather, Josh, and Mike’s personalities. And it’s no real surprise if you’ve seen the movie, but Mike’s brother reveals he was a rebel with some anger issues during his younger years. 

You’ll also learn more about Elly Kedward (the witch) and Rustin Parr (Frank Pastor). Parr eerily looks like a normal guy, and there’s some good black and white footage from Parr’s arrest, his trial, and Parr’s explanation for what happened in the woods. 

Curse Of The Blair Witch is an informative and thought-provoking mockumentary about a small town that just couldn’t escape decades of black clouds, and a series of bizarre and violent events. Remember, they never found the bodies, so the case is still open, adding another mysterious and haunting layer to the mockumentary. 

It’s worth checking out for Heather, Mike, and Josh’s backstories, and more in-depth explanations for the origins of Burkittsville and The Blair Witch curse, if you’re a fan of the films. I honestly wish I could go back and watch this one without any knowledge of the films. Whether you believe in supernatural stuff or not, Curse Of The Blair Witch is more than capable of at least planting some seeds of curiosity. Also, ending the mockumentary with a missing persons flyer featuring Heather, Mike, Josh, and contact information for the local authorities, was a nice touch.

Curse Of The Blair Witch is available on You Tube, and you can check it out below, if you’re interested!

Rating- 6/10 

Jason Universe: Sweet Revenge (2025)(Minor Spoilers)

 **This post contains MINOR spoilers**

The Story- Harold (Chris Carlson), the caretaker, welcomes  Eve (Ally Ioannides), her fiancé, Kyle (Toussaint Morrison), Troy (Tim James White), and Dana (Natassia Wakey) to a secluded cabin in the woods. But the group’s planned peaceful getaway is violently interrupted, when Jason Voorhees (Schuyler White) appears….

My Thoughts- Writer/director Mike P. Nelson squarely puts the spotlight on Ally Ioannides’ Eve. Eve starts out as someone, who’s shy and a little bit insecure, because she’s not quite sure why Kyle chose her. 

Of course, Eve has to go through her phase of being the frazzled victim after Jason’s first attack. Towards the end, Eve makes a big transition to being a fierce and resilient fighter. She completely snaps, but there’s no screaming, or over the top hysterics from Eve. No, it’s more of a silent and strangely focused form of rage from her. Some good facial expressions and a solid performance from Ally Ioannides, and when the credits start rolling, you’ll understand why Eve is a “force of nature.”

Jason Voorhees is back! Honestly, I didn’t have a big problem with the look, Jason’s wardrobe, or the mask. Jason showed up, brutally murdered a lot of people, and he terrorized a group of friends, who just wanted to have some fun? Sweet Revenge easily checks off the important boxes for one of Jason Voorhees’ killing sprees. 

Schuyler White? Just going by White’s movements and his demeanor as Jason, you can see he put a good amount of effort into staying true to the character. White does his best to capture the fine details for Jason. There’s no denying that, and you really can’t compare him to the likes of a Kane Hodder, or Ted White (my personal favorite pick for the best version of Jason Voorhees). It’s a short film, and Jason makes his first appearance at a little bit past nine minutes for a movie that goes slightly over fifteen minutes. No short glimpses, or physical teases before the scene, where he grabs Eve. That’s it.  

And let’s not forget, Sweet Revenge is sponsored by Angry Orchard Hard Cider! I expected the product placement throughout Sweet Revenge to be shameless to a point, where it’s impossible to ignore, but it’s really not that bad. Sure, you can clearly see the Angry Orchard branded bottles in more than one scene, but I did get a good laugh out of one scene, where Eve finds a corpse with a freshly picked apple stuffed into the victim’s mouth. 

What’s important for me is, Sweet Revenge simply helps reintroduce Jason Voorhees. You’re reminded of how dangerous Jason is, a brutal force to be reckoned with. Hopefully, Sweet Revenge is the first sample sized serving for a potentially bright future, because Jason Voorhees is too big of a name in the world horror movies to just sit on the sidelines. 

I would’ve preferred to see Jason’s return on the big screen. But the Friday The 13th remake was released in 2009. Sixteen years is way too long. Voorhees is more than worthy of a spot on anyone’s Mount Rushmore for horror icons/villains, so I’m just glad they finally gave us SOMETHING new. 

Sweet Revenge sort of spirals out of control towards the end. One bonkers series of events after another, there’s a handful of ridiculous moments (Jason stabs Eve through her chest with a machete….and Eve miraculously pulls it out without bleeding to death), and it’s painfully easy to predict the sole survivor, or the final girl. 

Still, it’s a harmless slasher short. A good amount of bloody violence, nasty gore, and the not so subtle foreshadowing (you know something bad is going to happen, when the motor for the fishing boat makes an appearance) sets up two gruesome kills. Chris Carlson’s Harold is a creepy old pervert, but his character also works as the harbinger of doom here. And there’s a good callback to the original Friday The 13th film, when Jason snatches Eve out of the canoe. 

I’m not a huge fan of the modern trend, where almost everything needs to be some kind of shared universe, but I’m looking forward to the Crystal Lake series. For the first time in years, it looks like we’re actually seeing progress for Jason Voorhees. A short film, the Crystal Lake series, a new video game, and hopefully a full length feature film in the near the future? This is how it’s supposed to be done. Do a big rollout, and go all out for the kind resurrection that’ll drive Tommy Jarvis crazy!  

Rating- 5/10

Jason Universe: Sweet Revenge (2025)

 **This post contains spoilers**

The Story- Harold (Chris Carlson), the caretaker, welcomes  Eve (Ally Ioannides), her fiancé, Kyle (Toussaint Morrison), Troy (Tim James White), and Dana (Natassia Wakey) to a secluded cabin in the woods. But the group’s planned peaceful getaway is violently interrupted, when Jason Voorhees (Schuyler White) appears….

My Thoughts- Writer/director Mike P. Nelson squarely puts the spotlight on Ally Ioannides’ Eve. Eve starts out as someone, who’s shy and a little bit insecure, because she’s not quite sure why Kyle chose her. 

Of course, Eve has to go through her phase of being the frazzled victim after Jason’s first attack. Towards the end, Eve makes a big transition to being a fierce and resilient fighter. She completely snaps, but there’s no screaming, or over the top hysterics from Eve. No, it’s more of a silent and strangely focused form of rage from her. Some good facial expressions and a solid performance from Ally Ioannides, and when the credits start rolling, you’ll understand why Eve is a “force of nature.”

Jason Voorhees is back! Honestly, I didn’t have a big problem with the look, Jason’s wardrobe, or the mask. Jason showed up, brutally murdered a lot of people, and he terrorized a group of friends, who just wanted to have some fun? Sweet Revenge easily checks off the important boxes for one of Jason Voorhees’ killing sprees. 

Schuyler White? Just going by White’s movements and his demeanor as Jason, you can see he put a good amount of effort into staying true to the character. White does his best to capture the fine details for Jason. There’s no denying that, and you really can’t compare him to the likes of a Kane Hodder, or Ted White (my personal favorite pick for the best version of Jason Voorhees). It’s a short film, and Jason makes his first appearance at a little bit past nine minutes for a movie that goes slightly over fifteen minutes. No short glimpses, or physical teases before the scene, where he grabs Eve. That’s it. 

Eve kills Dana before a teased one on one showdown with Jason! Sweet Revenge ends with a bloody and chaotic finale. Eve catches Kyle kissing Dana, so Eve gets her revenge by killing Dana, when they’re trying to escape Jason together. Eve, jamming the knife through Dana’s skull, while she’s speeding down the road, is a gnarly scene. 

On the surface, you could say Eve killing Dana was a bit random, but not entirely. Dana bailed on Eve TWICE during Jason’s rampage inside the cabin. On top of that, Eve saved Dana from Jason, and Dana would’ve left her at the cabin, if she had the keys to the car! Yeah, you can understand why Eve was pissed. And there’s a brief shot of a Camp Crystal Lake sign, when Dana is driving. Good timing for the official reveal for Crystal Lake, one of the final pieces of the story that ties Jason’s lore together after the massacre. 

There’s more spotlight on Eve during the finale. The spaced-out and catatonic look on Ally Ioannides face is perfect. You’re witnessing a woman, who’s been through hell. Betrayal, violence, murder, and the sight of mangled corpses. Eve endured a lot, and she was still ready to fight Jason alone, with a smile, and the dried-up blood on her face was a nice touch. Sweet Revenge ends with a cliffhanger before the fight between Eve and Jason starts, and you have to wonder if Eve will somehow return, or at least play a role in the new Jason Universe. 

And let’s not forget, Sweet Revenge is sponsored by Angry Orchard Hard Cider! I expected the product placement throughout Sweet Revenge to be shameless to a point, where it’s impossible to ignore, but it’s really not that bad. Sure, you can clearly see the Angry Orchard branded bottles in more than one scene, but I did get a good laugh out of one scene, where Eve finds a corpse with a freshly picked apple stuffed into the victim’s mouth. 

What’s important for me is, Sweet Revenge simply helps reintroduce Jason Voorhees. You’re reminded of how dangerous Jason is, a brutal force to be reckoned with. Hopefully, Sweet Revenge is the first sample sized serving for a potentially bright future, because Jason Voorhees is too big of a name in the world horror movies to just sit on the sidelines. 

I would’ve preferred to see Jason’s return on the big screen. But the Friday The 13th remake was released in 2009. Sixteen years is way too long. Voorhees is more than worthy of a spot on anyone’s Mount Rushmore for horror icons/villains, so I’m just glad they finally gave us SOMETHING new. 

Sweet Revenge sort of spirals out of control towards the end. One bonkers series of events after another, there’s a handful of ridiculous moments (Jason stabs Eve through her chest with a machete….and Eve miraculously pulls it out without bleeding to death), and it’s painfully easy to predict the sole survivor, or the final girl. 

Still, it’s a harmless slasher short. A good amount of bloody violence, nasty gore, and the not so subtle foreshadowing (you know something bad is going to happen, when the motor for the fishing boat makes an appearance) sets up two gruesome kills. Chris Carlson’s Harold is a creepy old pervert, but his character also works as the harbinger of doom here. And there’s a good callback to the original Friday The 13th film, when Jason snatches Eve out of the canoe. 

I’m not a huge fan of the modern trend, where almost everything needs to be some kind of shared universe, but I’m looking forward to the Crystal Lake series. For the first time in years, it looks like we’re actually seeing progress for Jason Voorhees. A short film, the Crystal Lake series, a new video game, and hopefully a full length feature film in the near the future? This is how it’s supposed to be done. Do a big rollout, and go all out for the kind resurrection that’ll drive Tommy Jarvis crazy!  

Rating- 5/10

Laura Hasn’t Slept (2020)(Minor Spoilers)

**This review contains MINOR spoilers** 

The Story- Plagued by a series of alarming dreams, Laura Weaver (Caitlin Stasey) seeks help from Dr. Parsons (Lew Temple), but Laura’s therapy session takes a bizarre turn for the worse….

My Thoughts- Caitlin Stasey immediately catches your attention during the opening moments. She’s completely fried, and desperately looking for answers. Laura knows something is wrong, but she can’t escape the smiling faces. Caitlin Stasey delivers a believable and good performance as Laura. The confusion, the sadness, the anger, and the frustration for not being able to fully understand what’s going on. Stasey does a wonderful job of quickly hitting all the checkpoints for Laura’s speedy descent into madness, truly an impressive feat.

If you’ve already watched both Smile films, there’s a good chance you’ll know what’s next after Dr. Parsons reveals his true identity. But Laura Hasn’t Slept is still a good horror short. Parker Finn crafts a speedy and tense nail-biter, while Laura is trapped in a spooky and claustrophobic setting. Finn quickly takes the story to a boiling point within a tight time frame (just a little under twelve minutes), and Lew Temple’s cold and sinister performance really works as the essential lynchpin that holds everything together.

Caitlin Stasey is terrific in the leading role. Limiting the cast to two people was the right approach. As the story develops, it’s clear Laura can’t trust Dr. Parsons, playing into Laura’s paranoid mindset and her fears, because Laura desperately needed Parsons’ help. Now? She’s alone. No help, and no one else truly understands what’s going on with the entity.

Laura Hasn’t Slept is worth checking out, if you’re interested in the origins of Smile, and how the seeds were planted for both full-length feature films. A demented smiling face, you’ll see more of Laura Weaver, and the inspiration for a scene (Dr. Desai ripping the skin off his face) from Smile (2022). I know it’s a short, but so far, the Smile series doesn’t have any bad films. No stinkers, not one. Hopefully things stay that way! 

Rating- 7/10

Laura Hasn’t Slept (2020)

 **This post contains spoilers**

The Story- Plagued by a series of alarming dreams, Laura Weaver (Caitlin Stasey) seeks help from Dr. Parsons (Lew Temple), but Laura’s therapy session takes a bizarre turn for the worse….

My Thoughts- Caitlin Stasey immediately catches your attention during the opening moments. She’s completely fried, and desperately looking for answers. Laura knows something is wrong, but she can’t escape the smiling faces. Caitlin Stasey delivers a believable and good performance as Laura. The confusion, the sadness, the anger, and the frustration for not being able to fully understand what’s going on. Stasey does a wonderful job of quickly hitting all the checkpoints for Laura’s speedy descent into madness, truly an impressive feat.

Right off the bat, it’s easy to see something is off during Laura’s therapy session. Dr. Parsons is supposed to help Laura, but his responses are weirdly too snarky. So what’s going on? Laura is still dreaming! All of the clues are right in front of you, so the reveal/twist wasn’t a big shocking moment. Laura is pleading for help, but Parsons responses are dismissive and cold? You can see it all coming from a mile away.

Parsons’ reveal didn’t jump off the screen as a big surprise, and if being honest, I’ve watched and rewatched Smile and Smile 2 more than once, so I already had a good idea, where they were going. But the execution for Laura realizing she’s stuck in a dream still works. Dr. Parsons’ office changing into a nightmarish death trap that mirrors Laura’s dark thoughts, is a nice touch, because it signals the fact that Laura can’t escape her own mind.

Another freaky moment, when Parsons rolls his eyes into the back of his head, but nothing tops Parsons and Laura tearing off their faces! There’s a scene in the first Smile film that’s similar to what happened with Laura and Parsons here. It’s the scene, where Rose is stuck in a dream, where she murders her patient, Carl in an attempt to pass the curse to her boss, Dr. Desai.  

If you’ve already watched both Smile films, there’s a good chance you’ll know what’s next after Dr. Parsons reveals his true identity. But Laura Hasn’t Slept is still a good horror short. Parker Finn crafts a speedy and tense nail-biter, while Laura is trapped in a spooky and claustrophobic setting. Finn quickly takes the story to a boiling point within a tight time frame (just a little under twelve minutes), and Lew Temple’s cold and sinister performance really works as the essential lynchpin that holds everything together.

Caitlin Stasey is terrific in the leading role. Limiting the cast to two people was the right approach. As the story develops, it’s clear Laura can’t trust Dr. Parsons, playing into Laura’s paranoid mindset and her fears, because Laura desperately needed Parsons’ help. Now? She’s alone. No help, and no one else truly understands what’s going on with the entity.

Laura Hasn’t Slept is worth checking out, if you’re interested in the origins of Smile, and how the seeds were planted for both full-length feature films. A demented smiling face, you’ll see more of Laura Weaver, and the inspiration for a scene (Dr. Desai ripping the skin off his face) from Smile (2022). I know it’s a short, but so far, the Smile series doesn’t have any bad films. No stinkers, not one. Hopefully things stay that way! 

Rating- 7/10