I think with the massive reputation James Wan has built, as well as the large success he’s had with genre films, the modern horror icon’s weaker works have aged well. “Dead Silence” was initially considered one of Wan’s lesser genre fare, but in light of a lot of his contemporary entries, “Dead Silence” has come full circle. It’s now become a somewhat underrated genre gem, and I think in spite of its obvious flaws, it’s another of James Wan’s ace horror films.
Tag Archives: Horror
The End of the Squirrel (2022)
Death is inevitable. And it’s not too often we can stare it in the eyes and welcome it with open arms. “The End of the Squirrel” is a refreshing, kind of heartbreaking take on the zombie apocalypse, where everything goes wrong and its heroes simply… accept their fates, once and for all. They’ve done everything they could do, and now it’s a matter of how they go out.
Malum (2023)
I have to admit that I never did catch Anthony DiBlasi’s original 2014 film “Last Shift.” Despite its acclaim and reputation in the horror world, it never quite caught my attention. Anthony DiBlasi does what many indie filmmakers do, and uses this opportunity to not only remake “Last Shift,” but expand upon it with bigger scares, more gore, and a greater emphasis in to the mystery of John Malum. The results are ultimately a mixed bag of horror highs and lows. I tend to appreciate with director Anthony DiBlasi and writer Scott Poiley do here, taking “Last Shift” and giving it a polish that allows their universe to breathe better.
Living with Chucky (2022)
Director Kyra Elise Gardner’s “Living with Chucky” is a great summarizing of the entire movie series that started from its humble origins, and then explores the reboot which saw the emergence of a new dawn for the series. It’s interesting and garners some unique anecdotes from its cast and crew. There’s a lot of good information and nuggets of wisdom to be mined with “Living with Chucky” and for a one hundred minute movie, it’s sad that it only kicks in in the last twenty five minutes or so.
Five Great Movie Series Fours
With “John Wick 4” smashing the box office the last weekend much to many’s surprise, there seems to be no stopping the epic hit man on a rampage action series. With Keanu Reeves returning to the titular role to much acclaim, I thought I’d list other movie series with Part Fours that are also very good. There aren’t many movie series with great Part Fours, but I narrowed down some of the best, I think.
Mukbang (2022)
One of the big sensations of the youtube age are Mukbangs: where people or a person sits on in front of a camera to eat food for the audience. Sometimes they’re usually discussing an issue or completing a challenge, but most times the attraction is watching someone eating food. “Mukbang,” from ACM Official, is a great twist on this formula that takes this trend and turns it in to a bonafide tale of horror.
Phenomena (1985) [Two Disc Special Edition 4K UHD]
One of the latter day Dario Argento movies is a mind melding, bizarre series of inexplicable plot points that amount to one twisted slasher film. “Phenomena” is Argento at his wildest, directing a script that feels concocted by someone on an acid bender. “Phenomena” is one part “Carrie,” one part giallo slasher, one part revenge thriller, and a whole lot plot elements that make zero sense. Everything that unfolds is so inexplicable and out of left field that I was absolutely baffled most times. And it speaks a lot to the reputation of Dario Argento because a movie like this would have prompted me to shut it down mid-way. But the movie begs the audience to keep going, even though we’re never quite sure what other nonsensical plot point is going to be tossed in at the last second.