There’s that funny meme on the internet about how fiction always warned us about quicksand but very few of us rarely come across it. It’s funny also how there aren’t many movies revolving around the idea of being stuck in quicksand. Andrés Beltrán approaches the idea with a survival thriller that’s quite good, but doesn’t re-invent the wheel. When it comes to films of this ilk, everything you think is going to happen does happen, and the movie doesn’t mind hitting on those tropes along with handing us an ambiguous finale that felt kind of like a cop out.
Tag Archives: Horror
Insidious: the Red Door (2023)
It’s a real shame that the “Insidious” series would go back to its roots with “The Red Door” and end up being probably the worse entry in the franchise yet. Patrick Wilson is a fine enough director, but “The Red Door” is such a misfire that you can’t even really call it a cash grab. It feels a lot like the studios attempts to add some sense of closure to the Lambert family, but rather than this emotional journey through the Further, all they hand us is a half baked rip off of “The Babadook.” And that’s saying a lot since I’ve been such a fan of the “Insidious” series since it arrived in 2011. But these films have done so much better, even with “The Last Key.”
Insidious: The Last Key (2018)
Elise Rainier has been one of the most fleshed out horror movie heroines of the modern era and I’ve enjoyed her quest throughout the “Insidious” series. After dying at the end of the first film, every subsequent film has backtracked to not only explore Elise more, but also give us a bigger wider bridge to the first film. “The Last Key” is perhaps the most personal quest featuring Elise as it does fit in to the general mythology of “The Further” but is more intimate and lower stakes. The movie can be seen more as a stand alone one shot featuring Elise in where she not only garnered full control of her powers, but also foresaw her fate in the first “Insidious.”
Evil Dead Rise (2023) [4K/Blu-Ray/Digital]
It’s hard to believe that it’s been a decade since we’ve seen a proper “Evil Dead” movie. After the fantastic remake—boot (?), Warner brought in newcomer Lee Cronin to lend a new flavor to the universe. What was originally intended as an exclusively streaming release on their subscription service, Warner chanced it by bringing their movie to theaters exclusively. Thankfully their risk pulled off beautifully as their low budget return to the horror universe that Sam Raimi built ended up being a box office and crucial powerhouse. For good reason, too.
Five More Great Minority Movie Heroes, Part VI
This week was a big one as we welcomed the arrival of Juneteenth as well as the premiere of the “The Blackening” the raucous horror comedy starring a cast of predominantly people of color. Since it’s the right time to tap in to our “Minority Movie Heroes” series, I thought it’d be a great time to feature five more great minority movie heroes.
Creepshow (1982): Collector’s Edition [4K UHD/Blu-Ray]
“Just tell him to call you Billy!”
The one, two, three punch of George A. Romero, Stephen King, and Tom Savini is one of best, if not the best example of the horror anthology to date. While many have come before it, “Creepshow” really set the bar high in 1982. “Creepshow” (and its sequel) were basically the Boomer generation snapping back at the censors and government that helped bring down EC Comics and destroy what was a pretty excellent institution that was almost obliterated by puritans and the like. Thankfully “Creepshow” celebrates the whole spirit of EC Comics with a series of stories that practice in the formula of EC with themes about karma, revenge, poetic justice, and crime.
Suitable Flesh (2023) [Tribeca 2023]
A young man with what seems to be multiple personalities shows up unexpectedly in a psychiatrist’s office triggering an obsession in her that leads her into a world of madness in this H.P. Lovecraft adaptation.