BARE BONES: REMINISCENCE (2021)

REMINISCENCE (2021)

Reminiscence tells of a near future Miami where global warming has raised the ocean levels to the point of leaving Florida’s now flooded hot spot looking more like Venice, Italy. In this water-logged city operates private investigator Nick Bannister (Hugh Jackman) who uses technology to help folks find their lost memories. Nick soon finds himself in need of his own skills, when he falls in love with a client named Mae (Rebecca Ferguson) who then disappears. Nick begins searching his own mind and the minds of others to track her down, but he might not like what he finds.

Flick is written and directed by Westworld’s Lisa Joy and is a Blade Runner-esque mix of science fiction and film noir detective story. Jackman’s Nick Bannister is very much a noir private eye type, as his search for femme fatale Mae gets him in a lot of tough spots and uncovers a conspiracy involving kidnapping, drugs, high-society, criminal activity, betrayal and murder. It’s an entertaining enough 116 minutes and Jackman makes a fine film noir style hero, as does Ferguson make a fine femme fatale when onscreen. The reveals and resolution were a bit of a letdown and a little too cliché, but the bittersweet finale is oddly fitting and effective. Nothing special, but does pass the time entertainingly enough if you go in with moderate expectations. Flick was released simultaneously in theaters and on HBO MAX.

-MonsterZero NJ

WEEKEND BOX OFFICE ESTIMATES AUG 27-29

(Remember, clicking the highlighted links brings you to the reviews here at The Movie Madhouse!)

1. “Candyman” $22.4 Million

2. “Free Guy” $13.55 Million

3. “PAW Patrol: The Movie” $6.6 Million

4.  “Jungle Cruise” $5 Million

5. “Don’t Breathe 2” $2.8 Million

6. “Respect” $2.1 million

7. “The Suicide Squad” $2 Million

8. “The  Protege” $1.65 Million

9. “The Night House” $1.2 Million

10. “Black Widow” $885,000

-MonsterZero NJ

source: Box Office Mojo

HAPPY 40th ANNIVERSARY TO HELL NIGHT!

HAPPY 40th ANNIVERSARY TO HELL NIGHT!

Something sinister awaits at Garth Manor!

40 years ago today the horror flick Hell Night was released in theaters and a cult classic was born! It was a fun chiller starring horror icon Linda Blair and it spookily combined slasher flick with haunted house movie! It was also one I saw on opening night, 8/28/1981, at the Oritani Triplex in Hackensack NJ! Hell Night was directed by Tom DeSimone from a script by Randy Feldman! Stream it for free on Tubi!

HAPPY 40th ANNIVERSARY HELL NIGHT!

A group of college kids are in for a hell of a night locked in a haunted house in Hell Night!…

-MonsterZero NJ

Photos: IMDB

 

BARE BONES: THE OLD WAYS (2020)

THE OLD WAYS (2020)

Troubled Latina reporter Christina (Brigitte Kali Canales) returns to her Mexican hometown village of La Boca to research a story about witchcraft. She finds herself kidnapped and held by the local bruja Luz (Julia Vera), her assistant Javi (Sal Lopez) and Christina’s cousin Miranda (Andrea Cortés). The bruja believes Christina is possessed by a demon, a malevolent entity that must be removed and banished at all costs.

Flick is directed by Christopher Alender from a script by Marcos Gabriel. The Latin background to the proceedings gives it a bit of a fresh feel and director Alender gives it atmosphere and a spooky visual style. What holds it back a bit is that it basically takes place in one room for most of the runtime and, for the most part, is a slow and drawn-out 90 minute exorcism in multiple parts, with Christina doing some soul searching in between. The pretty reporter does bare her soul in more ways than one and the exorcism scenes are effective, but it really feels like an hour long episode of a TV show stretched out to feature length. This is especially evident when about two-thirds in, the demon is expelled, but finds another host and we repeat the main exorcism all over again. It becomes repetitive and tedious. Leading lady Brigitte Kali Canales is very pretty and tries hard, but could have been a bit stronger in the role of Christina. Supporting cast was very good, so that helped. Not a waste of time and can be effective and atmospheric, but definitely needed a bit more story to properly fill it’s hour and a half runtime. Flick is now streaming on Netflix.

-MonsterZero NJ

BARE BONES: LET HER OUT (2017)

LET HER OUT (2017)

Helen (Alanna LeVierge) is a young woman lucky to be alive, as her mother committed suicide while she was pregnant with her. Working her job as a bike courier, Helen has a severe accident that seems to trigger blackouts and strange behavior. As her condition gets worse, she finds out there is a mass inside her head caused by an unborn twin. Soon Helen comes to believe this is not just leftover genetic material, but another person living inside her body who finally wants control—a person who is vicious, insane and very dangerous.

Flick is directed by Vicious Fun director Cody Calahan, from his script with Adam Seybold. It is an effective horror thriller, as the emerging consciousness of her unborn and unhinged twin, fights to take over Helen’s body. It puts those around her at risk and there are some very violent moments when the evil personality gains control. Lead Alanna LeVierge does a good job being likable and sympathetic as Helen and coming across as dangerous when the other takes control. She also plays well the scenes of she and her deranged twin sister battling each other for dominance. A lot of this stuff could have gotten silly, but director Cody Calahan keeps it creepy and unsettling. It also comes to an effective and blood-soaked conclusion, with well-done practical make-up FX throughout. Not a bad 90 minutes, especially as it is now streaming free on Tubi.

-MonsterZero NJ

BARE BONES: THE LAST MATINEE (2020)

THE LAST MATINEE (2020)

South American horror finds young student Ana (Luciana Grasso) working the night shift at a rundown movie theater, where she and her father are the projectionists. While a sub-par horror flick plays to a small, disinterested audience, Ana studies in the projection booth, unaware a killer (Ricardo Islas) is stalking the theater and has started to kill it’s patrons. Will Ana, or any of them, make it to the end credits?

As directed by Maximiliano Contenti, from his script with Manuel Facal, this is a stylish and colorful tribute to the Italian Giallo flicks, especially those by Dario Argento. With its leather-gloved killer and colorful cinematography, The Last Matinee hits the mark paying tribute to those films, while also giving a few nods to the classic slasher films of the 80s, with it’s very slasher-like plot. Our rain-coated killer, is known in the credits only as Asesino Comeojos, which translates to “Eye-eating Killer.” He is very effective and let’s just say he’s appropriately named. This mysterious stalker dispatches his victims in very gory ways and the FX portraying those deaths would make Lucio Fulci proud. There are some fun chases, once Ana realizes what’s going on and is pursued, along with the few survivors, throughout the theater. The film is very moderately paced, like the movies it pays homage to, but balances that out by not overstaying it’s welcome at only 88 minutes long. There is a nostalgic and atmospheric electronic score by Hernán González and some very Giallo-esque neon cinematography by Benjamín Silva. A loving tribute that does a good job capturing the tone, visual style and feel of the films it pays homage to. Maximiliano Contenti definitely shows promise. Now available to stream on Amazon Prime.

-MonsterZero NJ

SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME FINALLY GETS A TEASER TRAILER!

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A trailer has finally arrived for the next epic Spider-Man adventure! Spider-Man: No Way Home is directed by Jon Watts, opens December 17, 2021 and looks like will feature a lot of familiar faces!

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-MonsterZero NJ

Source: Youtube

BARE BONES: DEMONIC (2021)

DEMONIC (2021)

Demonic finds a woman named Carly (Carly Pope) finding out her mother Angela (Nathalie Boltt) is no longer in prison for committing mass murder, but now in a coma under study at the Therapol institute. They contact her and ask her to participate in a procedure where a virtual reality simulation will make it possible for her to communicate with Angela’s sub-conscious. The more she enters her mother’s mind, though, the more she begins to believe her mother’s problems are more malevolent than medical and that the mysterious doctors at Therapol may have a hidden agenda.

As written and directed by Neill Blomkamp (District 9, Chappie), there are some interesting ideas here mixing technology and religion. The idea of the Vatican using modern VR technology to track demonic entities, so they can be destroyed, is novel and intriguing. Despite some clever concepts, though, Blomkamp basically delivers yet another run- of-the-mill demonic possession thriller and not an overly original or effective one, once we get passed the intriguing first act set-up. Strip away the contemporary technology coating and it’s just another supernatural horror flick with someone forced to battle a demonic entity to save themselves and the ones they love. There are some spooky moments and the action is well directed, but after the interesting first third, it digresses into a movie we have all seen many times before. It’s worth a look, but it’s nothing overly scary, or memorable, and a routine film that disappointingly doesn’t make full use of what original ideas it does have.

-MonsterZero NJ

WEEKEND BOX OFFICE ESTIMATES AUG 20-22

(Remember, clicking the highlighted links brings you to the reviews here at The Movie Madhouse!)

1. “Free Guy” $18.8 Million

2. “PAW Patrol: The Movie” $13 Million

3.  “Jungle Cruise” $6.2 Million

4. “Don’t Breathe 2” $5 Million

5. “Respect” $3.8 million

6. “The Suicide Squad” $3.4 Million

7. “The  Protege” $2.9 Million

8. “The Night House” $2.8 Million

9. “Reminiscence” $2 Million

10. “Black Widow” $1.15 Million

-MonsterZero NJ

source: Box Office Mojo

BARE BONES: BLOOD RED SKY (2021)

BLOOD RED SKY (2021)

German horror streaming on Netflix finds, widowed mother Nadja (Peri Baumeister) on a flight to New York with her young son Elias (Carl Anton Koch). Before the plane takes off, a group of terrorists board and hijack the flight. Now Nadja must unleash a dark and terrible secret to protect her son from these dangerous and violent intruders.

As directed by Peter Thorwarth, from his script with Stefan Holtz, this is basically Passenger 57 if you removed Wesley Snipes’ security expert John Cutter and substituted a female vampire instead. It’s an amusing concept as Nadja reveals herself to be a bloodsucker and sets out to battle the bad guys to protect Elias. Things gets complicated when psychopathic terrorist EIghtball (Alexander Scheer) uses some of Nadja’s blood to turn himself and starts to turn others. It’s vampires vs terrorists, passengers vs vampires and vampires vs vampires over the Atlantic ocean. It’s fun, at times, and very gory, though is held back by a far too long 121 minute runtime. There is a lot of exposition and quite a few flashbacks to Nadja’s turn into a creature of the night and while interesting, it slows the film’s momentum considerably and makes the flick about twenty to thirty minutes longer than it should be. Overall, despite it’s flaws, it is still an entertaining and bloody enough action/horror for an evening on the couch. Also stars Blade Trinity’s Dominic Purcell as a terrorist.

-MonsterZero NJ