Horror Movie Talk

Oof. Seriously though, while watching this movie, I was quoted as saying to Bryce and my poor wife, “I didn’t realize they still made this kind of movie.” Dead Night is a movie that gets lost on it’s way to the end – where that is, I’m still not sure. https://youtu.be/tyKyboTBsU4 I was decently excited to watch this. The poster and summary had a “cabin in the woods” quality to it, and I love horror set in the deep woods. I think my brain did some subliminal math with the title and the poster as well. I saw the two-word title starting with “dead” and the snowy woods in the poster and remembered Dead Snow (a Nazi zombie flick that’s great fun). Don’t let your brain make the mistake my brain made. Want To Watch It? Click the Picture to watch on Amazon Dead Night is for people who love bad horror. If you like to laugh at continuity errors, zany and confusing plots, large portions of unexplained but seemingly important elements – this is your swan song. I would liken the feel of this movie to something that would be shown in the middle of the day on the Sci-Fi network in the 90’s. It starts off with fun dialog, a decent setup, and mildly interesting characters, then at some point a switch is flipped, and everything goes so far off the rails that you are left confused as to how things ended up this way. My Rating 2/10 Spoilers The movie starts out showing a couple making out in a convertible in the woods in 1961. The young lady hears something, and of course, the young man goes to check it out. A horrifying figure makes swift work of them both. An alien looking monolith is in the shot for a moment, and we are left wondering. Cut to 2015. The Pollack family is on a trip for rest and relaxation, but more importantly because James Pollack (AJ Bowen) has something incurable and his wife, Casey Pollack (Brea Grant) has it on good authority that their vacation rental was built on restorative minerals. Their son Jason (Joshua Hoffman) and daughter Jessica (Sophie Dalah) are less than enthusiastic to be going on this vacation. Jessica has her friend Becky (Elise Luthman) along for the ride. Jason and Becky clearly have a little bit of a crush on each other. The family gets to the cabin and begins to get ready for their stay. At this point in the movie, the framing, dialog, and lighting are done well – so well in fact, that it tricked me into believing this was going to be great. It has plenty of artsy shots on the cabin and surrounding woods that last a little bit too long but are sometimes indicative of hints at later plot points. Check Out Our Review of Slender Man https://www.horrormovietalk.com/2018/08/13/slender-man/ As the movie progresses, I began to realize that all those artsy shots were for naught. The husband heads out of the cabin to find some firewood and eventually stumbles upon Leslie Bison (Barbara Crampton) who is pretending to be passed out in the snow and ends up being the main antagonist. A switch flips. Enter mid 90’s made-for-tv Sci-Fi channel vibe. For brevity’s sake here is the quick and dirty rundown of the second and final act: It turns out that a coven of witches don’t like the way things are going in this part of Oregon, so they decided to give Leslie Bison, who is running for some office, some powers in hopes that she would take the election and sway the future in their favor. Powers Leslie has bestowed upon her are: Control over alien monolith that produces rocks that zombify people when applied to their body The ability to teleport The ability to induce hallucinations Other things? Casey, the mother, doesn’t like that Leslie is zombifying her family, so she tries to fight back but ends up killing most of her zombie family with an ax at the behest of the witches. Oh, yea, she met with the witches, and they told her that the only way to make this stop was to kill her family. Check Out Our Review of Gremlins https://www.horrormovietalk.com/2018/12/26/gremlins-review/ Some minor explanations are made using a crime investigations show that pops up throughout the movie. How Dead Night Stacks Up If you want that 90’s Sci-Fi channel nostalgia or love seeing super cheesy made-for-streaming horror movies – this is for you. Barabara Crampton really hams it up in this, and she is a seasoned vet in the horror movie industry, so if you dig her maybe check it out. Everyone else, remember, some of the biggest stars in all of Hollywood got their start in garbage horror movies that you wouldn’t like to watch. I look forward to being able to say, “I saw so and so in Dead Night, and it was terrible!”

The Gremlins are back, and this… new batch…is crazier than ever. Yeah, yeah, yeah it’s barely horror, but it’s horror adjacent and stupid fun. Can you just give us this? Gremlins 2: The New Batch movie poster Gremlins 2 can be found streaming on Shudder as of the recording of this podcast, but I don’t know if it’s still on for you. You’re a big boy, you can Google it. https://youtu.be/AdCp0qLqnCY Gremlins 2: The New Batch Trailer Gremlins 2 Synopsis Years after the events of Gremlins, Billy Peltzer (Zach Galligan) and KAte Beringer (Phoebe Cates) have moved to New York and are working in a new high tech, highly automated, highly satirical skyscraper. Guess who else is in the skyscraper? That’s right, Gizmo the Mogwai. Rules get broken, hijinks ensue. Watch Gremlins 2: The New Batch Gremlins 2: The New Batch Full Movie Click Here to Watch Review of Gremlins 2: The New Batch If you liked the Gremlins part of Gremlins, then you will love this movie. We got all kinds of Gremlins. Bat Gremlins, googly eyed gremlins, Gremlins with 8 legs. We got brainy gremlins, dumb gremlins, electrical gremlins, hell, we even have a vegetable gremlin. More Gremlins than you can shake a stick at. Check Out Our Review of Gremlins https://www.horrormovietalk.com/2018/12/26/gremlins-review/ Where the original films tone was inconsistent, Gremlins 2 comes out very early on and establishes itself as a goofy as fuck comedy/horror. While it’s tempting to say that this movie was a hot mess, I honestly can’t. It is ridiculous, yes. But it’s not supposed to be taken seriously. There are a lot of fun moments in this movie that break the fourth wall. The film acknowledges and pokes fun at the logical inconsistencies of the original, including Kate’s weird asides about personal tragedies on holidays. There is also some top quality satire of 80’s business tropes that ranks up there with Robocop. Score for Gremlins 2: Muppets Take Manhatten 6/10 Spoilers for Gremlins 2 Pretty much everything can be covered in this Key and Peele sketch: https://youtu.be/wHtH_SHhc6E Key and Peele Gremlins 2 Sequel Script Doctor Sketch Should You Watch Gremlins 2? This is a great example of a movie that you should watch if you flip by it on cable (do people still have that?). I wouldn’t go out of my way to watch it, but if it is in front of you, you will enjoy it. It’s goofy fun, and is entertaining in intentional and unintentional ways.

The Killing of a Sacred Deer is artsy, cold, clinical, and touched on a disturbing theme that many will find difficult to deal with. This is subject matter that we have discussed on a few other movies we have reviewed as being deeply disturbing. The Killing of a Sacred Deer Trailer https://youtu.be/CQFdGfwChtw I dare you to watch this trailer and not want to watch the movie after. If you want to watch The Killing of a Sacred Deer, please consider renting or purchasing the movie through this amazon link to help us support the podcast. Currently, you can find this on Amazon Prime for free with a Prime subscription. The Killing of a Sacred Deer is, as far as I can tell, a modern-day retelling or rendition of the Greek tragedy of Agamemnon and Iphigenia, where Agamemnon accidentally kills a sacred deer and ends up offending the gods because of it. The goddess Artemis demands that he pay for the killing with blood from his own family as payment in what is called blood for blood. Check Out Our Review of Midsommar! https://www.horrormovietalk.com/2019/07/10/midsommar-review/ The interesting thing about this movie is that it takes a Greek tragedy, which I think we can all agree, seems distant and hard to relate to at best, and makes it relevant to today’s audience in a very real way. What’s even more interesting is that while they are making this hard to relate to Greek tragedy more relevant and easier to relate to, they simultaneously make the whole movie very cold and clinical. So it’s a bit of a mixture, making it more relatable and also harder to comprehend. Because it isn’t a literal retelling of the story of Agamemnon, it becomes a unique story of its own. The Killing of a Sacred Deer is, at its core, a psychological thriller. The acting is delivered in a way that makes you feel mildly alarmed because it’s so deadpan and void of real human expression. There is a bleakness that pervades the whole script, even the sets, camera angles, and framing are set up to invoke minimalism and clinical feelings. Alicia Silverstone is still sexy as hell There are plenty of topics that The Killing of a Sacred Deer touches on that are meant to make the viewer at the very least intrigued, and usually, a little bit disturbed. Lot’s of strange sexual undertones pervade this movie but never make it to the surface. The overall effect is an oily residue that coats your brain with the thought of, “that was awful and strange… I want to know more.” The actors did a great job of doing what they were told to do by the director – act detached. The Killing of a Sacred Deer centers around Dr. Steven Murphey (Colin Farrell) who is a surgeon, and his wife Anna (Nicole Kidman) who is a clinic owner, and their two children, Kim (Raffey Cassidy) and Bob (Sunny Suljic). A key role is that of Martin (Barry Keoghan), a teenage boy whose father died in the hands of Steven on the operating table. Young Martin has taken an interest in Dr. Murphey’s profession, and Dr. Murphey obliges Martin by allowing him to do a kind of job shadow thing when it’s convenient. Like These Cold and Clinical Movies? Check Out The House That Jack Built Review! https://www.horrormovietalk.com/2018/12/05/the-house-that-jack-built-review/ Interestingly, Martin’s mother is played by Alicia Silverstone, who has made a fabulous transition from being my teenage heartthrob to being my middle-aged heartthrob. Bravo, Alicia! Although it’s a small part, her character is effective and deeply sexual. This scene is like most of the aesthetic, cold and clinical The Killing of a Sacred Deer was directed by Yorgos Lanthimos, who did The Lobster, which was also an A24 distribution, and starred Colin Farrell. Lanthimos and a Greek man named Efthymis Filippou wrote The Killing of a Sacred Deer. My Rating 8/10 If you love psychological thrillers, this is a must-see movie. Spoilers The whole movie feels “off” from the start. There are tons of sexual undertones that are brought up to hang in front of the viewer like tawdry details of private moments that shouldn’t be discussed in public. The Killing of a Sacred Deer sets out to make its audience feel odd, and it does a great job of it. Nicole and son, Bob The basic premise of The Killing of a Sacred Deer is Dr. Murphy accidentally killed Martins father during surgery that he was performing on the man’s heart. Martin has become close to Dr. Murphey under the guise of being interested in becoming a surgeon himself. As it turns out, Martin is only interested in setting a cursed upon Dr. Murphey’s family that goes a little something like this: “You killed a member of my family; now you gotta kill a member of your family to balance things out, I can’t tell you who to kill, that’s for you to decide. But, if you don’t they will all get sick and die.” Paralysis of the limbs Refusal of food until starvation Bleeding from the eyes (once this starts death is not far away) Death Soon, Dr. Murphey’s kids begin to show signs of the curse, and eventually, he is forced to choose which member of his family is sacrificed to save the rest. Super Interesting video with Yorgos Lanthimos and Colin Farrell https://youtu.be/C29iACkyfYY There is a lot of art, intent, and symbolism going on in The Killing of a Sacred Deer, and it worked well on me. The weird sexual tones, the sterility of the acting and the characters themselves, it all worked toward making this a film that seeped into my mind and gave me a long-lasting memory. This movie forces it’s viewers to come face-to-face with some very disturbing concepts, and I appreciate it even though it may strike many as lacking heart. Poor Bob The Story of Iphigenia For anyone who is interested in learning the story of Iphigenia, the Greek myth that this movie is based upon, check out GreekMythology.com. They do a good job of providing the story in a wiki format that is clear and concise. Is The Killing of a Sacred Deer Worth Watching? If you don’t mind facing some disturbing material and themes, I would recommend anyone who is looking for a seriously solid psychological horror movie to see The Killing of a Sacred Deer. It’s a great movie that will stick with you. Also, mom’s spaghetti. If you want to watch The Killing of a Sacred Deer, please consider renting or purchasing the movie through this amazon link to help us support the podcast.

Midsommar is the antidote for “spooky house syndrome“. If there is a more idyllic horror movie, I don’t know of it. This slow burn pagan horror film will stick with you and give you plenty to talk about afterwards. It certainly gave us a lot to talk about. This episode of Horror Movie Talk comes in at just over two hours. https://youtu.be/1Vnghdsjmd0 Midsommar can be found in theaters now. Midsommar Synopsis Writer/Director Ari Aster has followed up his dark drama-filled cult-based horror movie with this bright drama-filler cult-based horror movie. Midsommar stars Florence Pugh  who plays Dani, an anxious young woman who experiences a horrible family tragedy, and then accompanies her boyfriend and anthropology doctoral student Christian (Jack Reynor) on a trip to Sweden to experience a traditional summer festival of a certain rural commune. Watch Midsommar Full Movie Midsommar Click here to Watch Christian and his friends Josh and Mark were invited on the trip by their friend and classmate, Pelle who grew up in the small Swedish commune. Unbeknownst to Dani, Christian has been planning to break up with her for a while, and unbeknownst to everyone but Pelle, the once in a lifetime midsommar festival is actually a vicious pagan cult ritual. My Review of Midsommar Midsommar was everything I wanted it to be, and I had high expectations. It’s a breath of fresh air in the horror genre, and like Hereditary, takes a lot of concepts from older horror movies and melds them to create a new and compelling story for today. Ari Aster’s strength is his focus on character and relationship drama, and the characters and relationships in this movie are very familiar and believable. They serve to ground the horror elements so that they also seem very real. The bright and idyllic setting of the movie does a lot to mask and inoculate the viewer to the horrific rituals that occur in the festival. Also, the framing of the events as a rare and sacred cultural event, along with the generous drug usage creates a logical reason for why the American characters are slow to react to the more extreme elements of the festival. Check Out Our Review of The Ritual https://www.horrormovietalk.com/2018/11/28/the-ritual-review/ If you like pagan or ancient rituals in your horror, check out our episode on The Ritual. It’s a slow burn, and while there are horrific and surprising scenes, they are intentionally dampened with the over saturated visuals and muted sound design. The tension and anxiety that I felt ramped up very slowly throughout the movie, to where I didn’t realize how much I was being affected. Towards the end I was on the edge of my seat with a lot of nervous energy watching the inevitable and dreadful fate of the American party.  Score for Midsommar Score 9/10 Midsommar Spoilers Expand for Spoilers and Deeper Discussion… The opening act of Midsommar The film’s opening act is really about setting up the relationship between Dani and Christian. Dani is very needy and has a lot of family drama so she leans on Christian very heavily. Christian isn’t as self sacrificing and long-suffering as he portrays to Dani, and is actually working up the courage to finally break up. Ari Aster has described this movie as a “break up movie”. So it’s very important to frame this relationship early on. Check Out Our Review of It Chapter Two https://www.horrormovietalk.com/2019/09/11/it-chapter-two-review/ The latest scare for Dani is that her sister isn’t returning her emails, and after she calls and and expresses her worry to Christian, he (after the call) commiserates with his buddies, and they encourage him to finally break it off. Well, Dani’s fears become very real when it is revealed that her sister poisoned herself and her parents with carbon monoxide in an apparent murder suicide. Cut to shot of Dani screaming in utter dispair, ala Hereditary. Obviously not the best time to break up. Dani is Invited Christian finds himself in a tough spot when Dani finds out about a long trip to Sweden that he is taking with his college friends in the coming week. Dani and Christian get into a super believable argument, and Dani ends up being invited on the trip. Christian’s friends all seem to be studying anthropology and specifically rural pagan festivals. One of the friends, Pelle, came from a rural village in Sweden and he invited them all to a once in a lifetime midsommar festival. He describes it as a “nine day festival with lots of pageantry“. Traveling to the Midsommar Festival The trip to the midsommar festival features a lot of great shots by Aster. These include a great transition between an apartment bathroom and an airplane bathroom, and an homage to The Shining‘s opening sequence driving through the woods. Once they arrive at a field outside the entrance to the festival, they are given psychedelic mushrooms, and there are some trippy visual effects. As foreshadowing, Dani doesn’t want to take the drugs yet, but gives in to peer pressure. Both Dani and Mark have really bad trips. When they enter the village (festival grounds?), they are greeted with the warmest, friendliest Swedes in existence. Skål! They are introduced to the villagers that describe the festival as happening every 90 years. We are given small hints that there is more to the festival than just singing, dancing, and drinking. There are many tapestries and drawings throughout the buildings that show depictions of ancient blood rituals. This means something… this is important. There is one particular yellow house that is described as a sacred temple that no one is allowed to enter. Here is said temple. The First Big Ritual: Ättestupa The first time we really see confirmation that this festival involves human sacrifice, is at the Ättestupa. Everyone waits at a rune shaped table for an older couple to arrive so that they can eat. The older couple is then transported on carried chairs to a large cliff. Down below the villagers and tourists look up. I believe I can fly… After the old people’s hands are cut, their blood are smeared on some runes on a rock. Runes smeared with blood. Then the couple both freely throw themselves off the cliff to kill themselves with varying levels of success. Luckily, there is an alternate plan for the old man that doesn’t die on impact. The alternate plan The over-exposed filmwork and the muted sound design are an attempt to numb the impact of these deaths for the audience, but it’s impossible not to be affected by the imagery nonetheless. The reactions to the ritual are mixed. The anthropology students are intrigued, Dani is horrified and wants to leave, and the English couple is angry and wants to leave as well. Using Cultural Differences as a Source of Dread The real source of dread for this movie is from the feeling of being a foreigner in a foreign land. It puts you in a weird relativistic mindset where you aren’t sure what to think about what you are witnessing. Both the characters in the film and the audience watching it are experiencing the same thing. Check Out Our Review of Ready or Not https://www.horrormovietalk.com/2019/08/28/ready-or-not-review/ The real danger is getting lulled into the idea that the things you are seeing aren’t actually horrific, they are just related to an alternate worldview and moral framework that is just as valid as yours. The Symbolism in Midsommar Throughout the film, Josh and others are learning a lot about the symbolism and meaning behind the rites of the festival. Josh learns from an Elder that in their sacred books, they write a type of “emotional sheet music” from nine symbols that represent the nine different emotional states. These symbols are decided by the oracle that dictates them. In this case, the oracle is named Ruben. Ruben is severely retarded from intentional inbreeding. You read that right. They intentionally inbreed an oracle, because then, they will be “untainted by normal cognition”. Meet Ruben The Ending of Midsommar Person by person, all the foreigners in the group mysteriously disappear and Dani and Christian are the last outsiders left. Christian is tempted into having sex with a sexy sexy redheaded swede. You know what to do… Dani is pulled into the dance competition and eventually is crowned the May Queen. After which, she discovers Christian’s infidelity by peering through Sweden’s largest keyhole. What’s the point of a keyhole so large you can reach through it? The film ends with all of the horrific murders being revealed and the explanation that the village needs 9 people to sacrifice in the culmination of the festival. All but three are accounted for. Two Swedes volunteer for the honor, and the last soul is decided by what can be described as a sacrificial powerball, and then finally by the May Queen herself, Dani. Dani is given the choice between sacrificing Christian or sacrificing another villager. She chooses Christian. Christian is then sewed up into a bear suit, and propped up inside the temple along with (in varying levels of decomposition) Mark, Josh, the English couple, the two elderly villagers, and the two volunteers. Just making some room. The temple is then burned, and the last shot is Dani cracking a smile. Who Would Like Midsommar? There are definitely people that won’t like this movie. It won’t satisfy horror purists with it’s toned down gore. However, if you like realistic interpersonal drama set in a compelling and fascinatingly dreadful situation, you should enjoy this film quite a bit. Check Out Our Review of Paranormal Activity 2 https://www.horrormovietalk.com/2019/08/07/paranormal-activity-2-review/ It is a singularly unique film despite it’s quotations from and homages to other horror films in the pagan horror subgenre. Much like Hereditary in 2018, you’ll be hard pressed to find a horror film of similar quality and vision this year. Ari Aster is the film auteur to keep an eye on. It Came From Social Media We were lucky enough to watch Midsommar with the cult! Ok, it may have been more of a group of friends who bake and prepare delicious food who happen to enjoy top tier horror, but who the heck can tell? Check out some of the pics that we got from them! Follow them on the Instagram @awkwardasshole and @kret2! Thanks cultists! They forced us to thumbs up with threats Idilic look on fleek They worship cookin’ The full spread Videos mentioned on the podcast https://youtu.be/SxI7B758XBQ How to Cook For Forty Humans https://youtu.be/lm1N5_XeVIk Are y’all with the cult? https://youtu.be/EVCrmXW6-Pk Not the bees!!!

Who would have guessed that after that train wreck of a sequel, Annabelle: Creation, we would get this awesome ray of horror themed sunshine? Not me! Annabelle Comes Home is a spooky, funny, and jump-scare-riffic addition to the conjuring universe that holds it’s own on almost every front. Annabell Comes Home Trailer https://youtu.be/bCxm7cTpBAs Synopsis of Annabelle Comes Home This entry into The Conjuring franchise takes place almost exclusively within Ed (Patrick Wilson) and Lorraine (Vera Farmiga) Warren’s house. While the Warren’s leave to fight demons and ghosts, they hire the hottest babysitter in the universe, Mary Ellen (Madison Iseman) to watch their daughter, Judy (Mckenna Grace), and watch their house for them.  While The Warrens are away the children do play and Mary Ellen’s friend Daniela Rios (Katie Sarife) invites herself over to hang out at the Warrens. Daniela breaks into the Warren’s ‘no touchy’ room storing all their super-haunted shit, and ends up letting Annabelle out of her cage. Pretty quickly these girls find themselves with more doll than they bargained for! Mary Ellen’s crush, Bob (Michael Cimino) also shows up to provide a great amount of comic relief. I included Bob in this synopsis because his role is critical to this being a good movie and Micahel Cimino did a great job in the role. Other Conjuring Related Movie Reviews? The Nun! https://www.horrormovietalk.com/2018/09/12/the-nun-review/ Review of Annabelle Comes Home While the Annabelle series had a strong start with the original Annabelle, the sequel (Annabelle Creation)was nothing short of bad. Annabelle Comes Home was enjoyable in almost every way. It had a strong script with believable and lovable characters who were acted well by a very capable cast of young adults and children, which is a tall order. While the pacing was a bit too fast for my taste, the movie didn’t suffer from it too much, and it did an admirable job of hearkening back to the long-drawn-out dread tension build’s of The Conjuring 1 & 2. These actresses were great. The premise was solid. The execution was skillful. The experience was very enjoyable. If you are looking to have a fun time with some jump scares and fake-outs, this is an even better option than Child’s Play 2019, although not as goofy. Watch The Original Watch it on Amazon Annabelle Watch the Sequel Watch it on Amazon Annabelle Creation Score for Annabelle Comes Home 8/10 More Conjuring? Our Review Of The Curse of La Llorona! https://www.horrormovietalk.com/2019/04/24/the-curse-of-la-llorona-review/ Annabelle Comes Home Spoilers Annabelle Explained The movie starts out with the Warrens acquiring Annabelle from some dirty hippies, or at least that’s what I wanted them to be. They were probably more like young adults out of college?  The Warrens have a long drive to get home and Annabelle is sitting in the back seat, enjoying the ride with that nice smile on her face. The Warrens are diverted from the normal highway route by some late night construction, which seems questionable, but go with it! As they pass the creepiest graveyard in the creepiest part of the creepiest state (Connecticut), the car breaks down. Creepy car breakdown in front of creepy graveyard means its creepy As Ed happily hops out of the car to check the timing belts, Lorraine notices a bunch of creepy happenings transpiring, and before you know it, the whole graveyard student body is present! A zombie/ghost kicks unknowing Ed in front of a suddenly there semi-truck which manages to swerve just in time! Remember the Buzz About Bird Box? Check Out Our Review! https://www.horrormovietalk.com/2019/01/02/bird-box-review/ Lorraine then summarizes Annabelle by saying, “This doll is a beacon for other spirits.” Now we know, Annabelle is a tuning fork for bad stuff. Or maybe an amplifier for evil? Something like that. The Warrens go to great lengths to contain Annabelle in their artifacts room because she is causing all the other artifacts to act up. As the priest is sanctifying the room and Annabelle they contain her in a glass case (you know the one) made out of glass that they obtained from some church before it was remodeled. Now, as long as no one messes with her, we will be fine… Look at all those haunted objects! You just know the samurai is gonna do something cool! They Mess With Annabelle! Of course they mess with her! It wouldn’t be much of a movie if they just left her in her glass house – something, something, throwing rocks? Daniela, Mary Ellen’s friend, is obsessed with the Warrens and what they do, she can’t help it. She lost her dad tragically when she was young and has blamed herself for the incident ever since. Daniela decides that there must be something in the Warren’s artifact gallery that can give her closure with her deceased dad, so she break into it! Smart, Daniela… She fiddles with every crazy and mundane object in the room before coming to Annabelle, who she goes to great lengths to pull from the case marked with everything but a radioactivity sign. At this point, shit hits the fan pretty quickly. let me discuss a minor pacing problem with this movie before I continue with the plot. Pacing Problems Annabelle Comes Home hits the scares and spooks early and often and doesn’t really let up. This is the format that The Conjuring is most notable for, and it’s a standard that horror movies aspire to right now – it’s a trend. Is it a trend that will end? I hope so. Annabelle’s shadow getting frisky It’s nice when horror movies do their due diligence and give you a light beginning to introduce you to the characters. They give you some time to settle in and then they pull the rug out from under you. This new Conjuring-esque thing where they just try to scare the pants off of you out the gate doesn’t work for me because at the start of the movie I haven’t bought the premise yet. It’s a minor issue with this movie and they make up for the abrupt pacing with characters and acting that are charming and fun. What Annabelle Comes Home Does Well I’ve already gushed about the acting and the characters, so what else does this movie do well? It handles tension in a great way. Instead of lots of quick, cheap jump-scares, it intermingles long held tension over a couple minutes at a time before releasing it with a scare, or even letting it breath and not doing anything with it. Knife wielding bride? Check! This movie also has some nice camera work. There are lots of up-close shots on characters that do a good job of keeping the audience trying to look for what’s going on in the background without letting them see too much. There are a few Alfred Hitchcock homage shots, but I would never venture to say that Annabelle Comes Home aspires to such heights. Instead, it uses the camera to build tension in an effective way that I appreciated and noticed. Annabelle Unleashed! Once Annabelle is released from her cage, the house comes alive, or maybe dead? Maybe the house comes dead alive? Whatever, suddenly all of the artifacts in the house feel pretty good, and all of the humans feel pretty bad. a veritable smorgasbord of convincing and menacing baddies and objects lurk about. Annabelle’s undertaker friend is quite effective, but a bit of a stingy bitch Everything from a knife wielding bride to a haunted board game hits the scene and the scares really ramp into a fevered pitch. When Daniela opens Annabelle’s cage the artifacts be like… https://youtu.be/pSANTRnEBgg?t=76 One of my favorite scare tools in this movie was a television that foretold the future directly in front of the television by about 4 seconds. It sounds hokey, but man, it works! There is an undertaker who drops coins around the house, a toy monkey that makes horrible music and even a werewolf/hellhound that chases my boy Bod around the outside of the house. Of course, Annabelle shows up a few times too. Final Recommendation This is an easy movie to recommend because it is entertaining, fun, and manages to avoid committing many sins. If you want a scary date night, Annabelle Comes Home is the movie for you, and if you are big into The Conjuring you really can’t miss this entry.

Child’s Play 2019 is probably the first movie that we’ve reviewed that I can whole heartedly say is so bad that it’s good. This movie has almost nothing to do with the original movie, and makes a bunch of bizarre choices, but in the end it is very entertaining. Child’s Play 2019 Poster https://youtu.be/ZFy8ZgLd574 Child’s Play can be found in theaters now, and you can also watch the original for a limited time for free on amazon prime. Synopsis Child’s Play 2019 is a hard reboot of the 1988 film of the same name. However, it bares little resemblance to the original. Basically the only elements that hold over are… kind of the design of the doll, and that there is a doll, and that it’s name is Chucky. Child’s Play 2019 tells the story of a child’s doll for teenagers that looks like an anime version of a little person, and has the voice of a middle aged man talking in a child’s voice. This doll isn’t like any ordinary doll, though, it connects to your home automation system! Because that makes sense. Also, the doll has an advanced AI that it uses to learn how fun it is to kill people.  Check out Child’s Play 1988 Watch the Original on Amazon Child’s Play 1988 Check out Child’s Play 2019 Watch the Full Movie on Amazon Child’s Play Remake Review of Child’s Play 2019 This movie is kind of a hot mess, but it still kind of works. It’s the first movie that we are reviewing that I can give a heavy stamp of “So bad it’s good”. This movie goes beyond head scratching horror movie logic, and into the realm of the absurd. Watching the trailer and hearing about many of the elements of this film before hand, made me think several times “that’s a weird choice”. I assumed that upon watching the film that it would all come together and make sense as a whole. Nope. All those things still seem like weird choices still.  Why would you give a child’s doll home automation integration?  Why would a teenager have/want a doll?  Why Aubrey Plaza?  Why that face?  Why Mark Hammil as the voice?  These and other questions are answered with “because”. The movie suffers from the “and then this scene happens” syndrome, with very little happens in term or story arc after the initial set up of the plot. But who are we joking, it’s a movie about a murderous doll. This is not a thinking man’s movie, and really, in terms of entertainment value, this movie was enjoyable to watch. I laughed and winced several times throughout the movie, and I consider that a win in any horror movie. There are a lot of effective death scenes, and the schlock value is high enough to let me laugh off the bad jokes and ridiculous elements of the story. Remember The Original Child’s Play? Check Out Or Review! https://www.horrormovietalk.com/2019/06/24/childs-play-1988-review/ Score Score: 7/10 Child’s Play (2019) Spoilers Expand for Spoilers First of all, lets talk about the company that makes Chucky: Kasdan. This company has the worst business model that I can think of in recent movie history. What is the target market for a child’s toy that integrates with your home automation and Uber equivalent? I try not to be a snob about movie logic, but in this case it actually pulled me out of the movie. But like I stated previously, this is not the thinking man’s movie, and really, neither was the original. Instead of having a doll literally possessed with the soul of a serial killer, in this version, Chucky is a poor innocent AI that has had his safety protocols removed by a disgruntled Chinese factory worker. Want a Well Done Scary Movie? Our Review of Evil Dead 2013! https://www.horrormovietalk.com/2019/05/01/evil-dead-2013-review/ Throughout the film, we are shown Chucky in earnest trying to learn how to best “play” with Andy. Since Andy and his group of friends are teenagers, they are kind of dicks. Through observation, Chucky learns that they enjoy swearing and more importantly, watching death. After Chucky is exposed to Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 and sees the gleeful expressions of Andy and his friends, he starts to imitate the psychotic behavior he sees on TV. Since he has “imprinted” on Andy, Chucky also gets insanely jealous of Andy’s time and attention. This results in many deaths because side characters (including a cat) are bothering Andy or just keeping him from playing with Chucky. The original film didn’t have a lot of humor, but when this one tries, it really falls flat. After the black detective finds Andy’s Mom’s Boyfriend’s body mangled in a watermelon patch, he states, “White guy dead in a watermelon patch, poetic”. I still don’t understand why that is supposed to be funny. Also, there is a scenario taken straight out of a sitcom where Chucky returns the boyfriend’s face to Andy, and Andy accidently(?) wraps it in wrapping paper and gives it to a neighbor. Then wacky hijinks ensue when he has to get it back. Who wrote this? There are a couple of gratuitous deaths, include the demise of the poor man’s Jack Black. The end is where the carnage ramps up. At the release of the Buddy 2, everyone is crowding around like it’s Black Friday, and of course, since Chucky is connected to the cloud, his evil is infectious to the other buddies (and buddy bears). A doll army is released among the hapless shoppers, and blood and gore is splashed across the screen in a manner that could satisfy most zombie genre fans. Chucky’s death feels tacked on at the end, and feels pretty contrived. Andy’s mom acts as the damsel in distress, and Andy saves the day. Big whoop. Final Recommendations, “who would like this” If you like schlock, and laughing at ridiculous scenarios and premises, then you will enjoy this movie. Read About Other Scary Dolls https://www.horrormovietalk.com/2019/09/19/scary-doll-puppet-horror-movies/

Tom Holland‘s original Child’s Play (1988) holds up well even by today’s standards. I think people tend to forget what the original Child’s Play is, which is harsh and disturbing. It’s easy to see why it has become a cult classic that has spawned so many sequels, because it’s a niche horror movie that really doubles down on terror. Read below or listen to our review. Child’s Play 1988 movie poster Child’s Play (1988) Trailer https://youtu.be/sjiyV8mtXiU Child’s Play 1988 trailer #1 Child’s Play (1988) Plot Synopsis Andy and Chucky in bed…yeesh! Child’s Play is a movie about a serial killer named Charles Lee Ray (Chucky) who, in his dying breath manages to transfer his consciousness into a Good Guy brand doll, which ends up in the home of Andy Barclay – A sweet young boy who just wants a friend. As the story progresses Chucky cuts a swathe of terror through the Chicago neighborhood where the Barclays live and Andy finds himself with more doll than he bargained for! Own The Chucky Anthology Add all the old school Chucky Movies to your collection. Buy on Amazon Is Child’s Play (1988) Worth Seeing? Yep. This is a classic that set the stage for one of the most memorable slasher series ever made. While the sequels can be hit or miss, the original is strange and interesting from start to finish. Charles Lee Ray before he transfers his consciousness into the Good Guy doll. The original Child’s Play is not for the faint of heart because it goes heavy in the paint when it comes to disturbing and suggestive themes. Mostly, I was shocked because of how sweet and innocent young Andy was, and how much he loved this doll who has a psychopathic serial killer living within him. While young Andy (Alex Vincent) is not the best actor, he is charming and believable to the point that I felt tons of empathy for him. The empathy that I felt for Andy and his mother , Karen (Catherine Hicks) really went a long way in making this a disturbing movie, because it felt like they were in true danger and didn’t even know it. Child’s Play 1988 Add Child’s Play 1988 to your collection Watch/Buy On Amazon Child’s Play 2019 Interested in the Goofy, New Child’s Play? Watch/Buy On Amazon While the original Child’s Play is not the most gruesome or splatter driven slasher from the late 80’s it is a superb exercise in audience manipulation. While the premise is a bit goofy, the execution is taken deadly serious by writer/director Tom Holland, and it ends up paying off. Catherine Hicks thinking about making things HOT HOT HOT! The one thing that Child’s Play lacks is levity of almost any kind. There are a few brief moments of minor lightheartedness, but mostly this is a deadly serious movie that could have a lot more fun than it does. Our Score for Child’s Play (1988) 7/10 Child’s Play (1988) Spoilers The film starts with the police chasing a wanted criminal through the mean streets of Chicago. Charles Lee Ray is the criminal and he is wanted for being the worst kind of criminal – a serial killer, namely a strangler. The chase ends up in a toy store and Charles takes a few bullets in the chest before he falls to the ground cursing the detective and promising vengeance. With his dying breaths, Charles grabs a Good Guy doll and begins whispering some incantations. Immediately the sky begins to roil and turn black with storm clouds. These were some serious clouds, even for the Windy City. Lightening hits the building and the whole toy store explodes in a complete fireball… which seems extreme, but we are talking about a movie where a killer sends his soul into a doll, so… Child’s Play 1988 toy store explosion. Next We Meet The Unsuspecting Family From here we head on over to Andy, the lovable little boy who brings his mom a balanced breakfast in bed. JK, he brings her pure sugar mixed with milk that splashes everywhere. Despite the fact that this milky sugar mixture has been splashed around her house, Andy’s mom hugs him and they head out into their living room to open up Andy’s birthday presents. It is revealed that Karen couldn’t afford the one thing that Andy really wanted, you guessed it, a Good Guy doll. But, she does find a street peddler who is selling a slightly off-brand Good Guy doll with some added features behind her work. Let this be a lesson to all you working moms out there, pay the big bucks for the real thing, it’s always worth it not to have a possessed doll in your house. https://youtu.be/lAxGx9qfFOk This is a re-imagined trailer mashup for the first two Child’s Play movies that I really enjoy. Once Chucky is in the House Things Get Alarming Once Chucky comes home, the tension really begins to ramp up very quickly. The way the camera follows this doll around the house, being touted by this sweet little boy is extremely effective in building dread. The audience knows the terrible evil within this unassuming little doll, which really turns this movie into a bit of a peepshow. It’s alarming to see this little boy bring his doll to be and tell it, “I love you Chucky” in an earnest way. Check Out Our Pet Sematary 1989 Review https://www.horrormovietalk.com/2019/04/03/pet-sematary-1989-review/ That same night, Andy’s “aunt” Maggie, who works with his mom, Karen, is watching Andy while his mom covers the late shift because her boss is an 80’s era dickhead. Maggie put’s Andy to bed at the exact moment when a news report on the recently deceased Charles Lee Ray comes on the nightly news. Obviously, Chucky is interested in this report, so he sneaks out of Andy’s room to see what’s on TV. Maggie becomes cross with Andy, who is as bewildered as her about Chucky, and ends up taking a claw-hammer to the forehead, forcing her out the 6th-ish story window and into the streets below. Poor Andy Had Nothing To Do With it! At this point, the police and Karen begin to suspect that Andy had at least something to do with Maggie’s death, and soon they notice that Andy’s pajamas have the same footprints as those found at the scene of the crime. It’s at this point where I really got a heavy whiff of how dark this movie is. There is a point that makes up the middle of this movie where one of the cutest child actors and sweet characters I’ve ever seen on the screen is being held and questioned by hardened cops about the murder of his beloved aunt Maggie. As if the idea of losing his aunt wasn’t enough, now a six year old has to be grilled by a bunch of mean men? It feels real, and dark, and sad. Like Slashers? Here is Our Sleepaway Camp Review! https://www.horrormovietalk.com/2019/01/16/sleepaway-camp-review/ At this point Chucky starts forcing Andy to take him to the bad part of town, and do things he wouldn’t otherwise do. If you’ve ever seen any of the Robocop movies, the setting of Chicago and the tone of Child’s Play feels remarkably similar. Kind of tongue in cheek depressing with a wink, if that makes any sense (it will if you are a fan of Robocop). Chucky after a tan Chucky’s Reign of Terror At this point Chucky goes off the rails. He seeks out the man who taught him the voodoo required to transfer his soul into the Good Guy doll and finds out that he will become the doll if he doesn’t make another transfer soon – and the only transfer that the voodoo magic will allow is for Chucky to inhabit the body of the first person he revealed himself to. Poor Andy. Child’s Play culminates in a standoff between Chucky, Karen, Andy and Detective Norris. This is a fantastic ending to a horror movie for a few different reasons, the first being the tried and true trope of, “He just won’t die!” Chucky is thrown in the fire, torn limb from limb, shot, and even shot in the heart, but he keeps getting up and giving it the old college try. Well, until the heart shot, that ends him…right? Can’t Get enough of Tiny Troublemakers? Our Gremlins Review! https://www.horrormovietalk.com/2018/12/26/gremlins-review/ The reason the end works so well is it’s convincing. Surely a doll can’t make it through burning in the fireplace! Wrong. Even when there is only an arm left, little Chuck is still trying to get to Andy. The practical effects are extremely well done and leave the audience with a bevvy of haunting visions. Who Would Like Child’s Play (1988)? Well, considering that this is the movie that started one of the five most iconic slasher series of all time, I think it’s safe to say that if you enjoy slashers this is for you. More than that, Child’s Play is a thoughtful slasher (which is weird to say about a movie whose antagonist is a doll) because of the artful way that it plays with tension and empathy. The first half of this movie is mostly about trying and succeeding to get the audience to buy in, which is more than most slashers can say. Like Scary Dolls? Read This Blog https://www.horrormovietalk.com/2019/09/19/scary-doll-puppet-horror-movies/

This movie is a lot of things. It’s hard to label it with genres without going into a run on sentence. You could call it a meta socially conscious zombie dark comedy horror film. Read below or listen to our review. Theatrical Poster for The Dead Don’t Die Trailer https://youtu.be/bs5ZOcU6Bnw The Dead Don’t Die Trailer #1 The Dead Don’t Die can be found in theaters now. Plot Synopsis for The Dead Don’t Die The film is set in Centerville USA, “A Real Nice Place” and follows two police officers, Chief Cliff Robertson (Bill Murray) and Ronnie Peterson (Adam Driver). Their sleepy routine of handling minor misdemeanors is disturbed when a grizzly double homicide at the towns one and only cafe. Since Centerville is such a nice place, the first assumption is that it was some animal…or several animals that did it, but Ronnie Peterson correctly guesses that it’s “zombies, you know, the undead…ghouls”. Apparently the “polar fracking” that they have been hearing on the news has inadvertently caused the earth to go off axis and…the dead to rise from their graves. Watch The Dead Don’t Die Check out the movie on Amazon The Dead Don’t Die Is The Dead Don’t Die Worth Seeing? What follows is a great mix of fourth wall breaking, social commentary, and sardonic comedy horror. This movie has a definite indy feel, which isn’t too surprising, since writer/director Jim Jarmusch has made a whole career staying on the edges of mainstream. This is actually his first film that opened in more than 300 theaters. Regardless, you have likely seen or heard of some of his other films, such as Broken Flowers, Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai, Dead Man, and Only Lovers Left Alive. This film actually features 8 actors that have worked in previous Jarmusch films, which has resulted in an embarrassment of riches, including Tilda Swinton, Steve Buscemi, Tom Waits, Chloë Sevigny, Rosie Perez, and RZA. The dialogue is as dry as a Mormon wedding, but the world and characters that Jim Jarmusch has created are as charming as the prototypical little american town that Centerville represents. It is a precisely written, directed, and acted. There is very little fat in this movie, but the story and dialogue is given plenty of room to breath. RZA! The Predator! What a Fun Movie! Check Out Our Review! https://www.horrormovietalk.com/2018/09/19/the-predator-review/ I’d hesitate to say that general audiences will enjoy this movie as much as Avengers Endgame, but I think there is truly something for everyone. There were many moments throughout that delighted me, and I found myself laughing out loud as well as feeling intense existential dread. While watching it, my score kept going up and up. I highly recommend it. Our Score for The Dead Don’t Die 9/10 The Dead Don’t Die Spoilers Expand for Spoilers The film opens on a graveyard with Officers Robertson and Peterson responding to a call that Hermit Bob stole one of Farmer Miller’s chickens. Already I’m on board. Any movie with a character name Hermit Bob is a movie that I’m on board with. As they drive back and have small talk about how much of an asshole Farmer Miller is, they begin noticing that “something’s weird”. They notice that it’s still daylight when it’s well into the evening hours, and that their watches and some of the electronics have stopped working. Officer Peterson comments: “This isn’t going to end well”. It should be noted that this film starts off very meta, very early on. After the opening scene, the credits role to Sturgil Simpson’s “The Dead Don’t Die”. https://youtu.be/xiukuoSjDj0 The Dead Don’t Die Theme Song. After the credits play and the song finishes, we return to the cab of the police car. Officer Peterson turns on “civilian radio” and once again Simpson’s song starts playing. Officer Robertson mentions how familiar the song is that is playing on the radio. to which Roberson points out that “it’s the theme song”. Polar Fracking News reports are caught in glimpses in the opening scenes that describe that there is a environmental disaster happening because of “polar fracking”. The “industry experts” are quoted as saying there is nothing to be alarmed about, but shots of tsunamis and burning forests tell a differnt story. Apparently, the polar fracking has caused the earth to go off it’s axis. This leads to the underlying thesis of the movie that ignoring global warming is essentially as dumb as zombie movie logic. Want To Know How The New Child’s Play 2019 Was? Check Out Our Review! https://www.horrormovietalk.com/2019/06/26/childs-play-2019-review/ Zombi Iggy Pop Eventually the dead rise from their graves, starting with a couple of dead roadies played by Iggy Pop and Sara Driver. They invade the sleepy coffee shop and brutally kill and eat the two women working there. When the police come to investigate, Officer Peterson has the theory that it’s zombies. They then go about warning the townspeople and start preparing for the zombie apocalypse. The zombie trope of “kill the head” is underlined in the dialogue throughout the rest of the movie. Buscemi’s Farmer Miller is the only one not warned, because…he’s an asshole. Zombies as Consumers One of the unique aspects of the zombies in The Dead Don’t Die is that they all moan about what they craved in their former lives. The first couple zombies groaned “coffee!” Others seek after “toooools”, “candy”, or in Carol Kane‘s case, “Chardonnay”. By the end of the movie, Hermit Bob opines that “all them ghost people lost their souls, just hungry for more stuff,” and that they are “the remnants of the materialistic people, Guess they’ve been zombies all along.” Tilda Swinton as Zelda Winston This was the role that Tilda Swinton was born to play. She stars as a weird, new to town mortician that ends up being an alien. She is the most adept at handling the situation and is basically this film’s version of Michonne from The Walking Dead. However, the rest of the town is left in a lurch when her people come and take her away in a UFO ala Poochie. https://youtu.be/4tvAjX5ACPo Zelda’s planet also needed her. The Ending of The Dead Don’t Die Officer Peterson alludes throughout the movie that, “this isn’t going to end well,” and it doesn’t. One of the best moments of fourth wall breaking was when Officer Robertson asks “Why do you keep saying it’s not going to end well, how do you know?” To which Adam Driver responds “I’ve read the script.” In the end everyone dies except Hermit Bob, who we see walking off to continue living in the woods. Who Would Like The Dead Don’t Die? If you like dry dark comedies like those done by the Coen Brothers, you would likely appreciate this movie. I think it has something for everyone, but if you don’t like slower paced films, then you should probably move on. Horror Movie News Steven Spielberg is creating a horror show you can only watch at night Doctor Sleep Trailer Came out. The Shining Sequel starring Ewan Macgregor, directed by Mike Flanagan is coming out Nov 9th https://youtu.be/2msJTFvhkU4 Doctor Sleep Trailer Jordan Peele on Midsommar: “I think you’ve made the most idyllic horror film of all time.” – texted to Ari Aster “This hasn’t existed yet, and anything after Midsommar is going to have to contend with it. I mean, this usurps The Wicker Man as the most iconic pagan movie to be referenced.” Blumhouse Announces Black Christmas Remake, Sets 2019 Release Date Other Videos https://youtu.be/cv2OoejPPvY The Dead Don’t Die Trailer #2 https://youtu.be/TMwgNnoUijY Selena Gomez talks about how they did the decapitated head effect on The Dead Don’t Die. https://youtu.be/jipubtK81-g https://youtu.be/p9YvHkXJX04 Chloe Sevigny talks about working with Murray, Driver, and Swinton

For this week’s episode of Horror Movie Talk, we watched The Perfection on Netflix, and it is what I would consider goodbad. It had some nice visual flares, and definitely some unexpected twists. However, it’s major failing is not committing to the underlying schlock of the plot. Synopsis for The Perfection Netflix wants their own Get Out, so they hired Allison Williams from Get Out to star in The Perfection. Williams plays a former cello prodigy named Charlotte that was sidelined because she had to take care of her dying mother. When her mother dies, Charlotte calls up her former Dean at the prestigious Bachoff Academy of Music to try to re-enter the world of world class cellists. https://youtu.be/q57D6kF5B1k The Trailer for The Perfection, available for streaming on Netflix now. Lizzie (left) and Charlotte (right) playing together. She meets the latest prodigy, Lizzie played by Logan Browning and the become close very quickly…suspiciously quickly. When Charlotte and Lizzie take a trip to China, Lizzie becomes extremely sick, and Charlotte might have something to do with it! The rest of the movie swings back and forth in time and perspective to eventually reveal Charlotte’s true motives and the audience may or may not experience whiplash. The Nun was a pretty big 2018 hit – Here is our Review https://www.horrormovietalk.com/2018/09/12/the-nun-review/ The Perfection is Not Quite My Tempo The perfection is not a great movie, but to me it is on the precipice of greatness. I wish they had committed more to some of the more ridiculous and/or tasteless elements. Parts of this even reminded of my wistful favorite, The Human Centipede. Mainly the ridiculous reveals and the mustache twirling level villain. Stephen Weber does a great job of playing the pretentious dean of the Bachoff School of Music. In an age where no one is surprised by Shyamalan-esque twists, instead of upping the ante on the world building or character development, writer/director Richard Shepard ups the ante on the number of twists! Score for The Perfection I’m giving it a 6/10 The Perfection is not without it’s charm, and it gets a B+ for effort, but overall it’s a pretty average flick. The Perfection Movie Spoilers Expand for Spoilers First of all, lets talk about the elephant in the room. The Trailer gives way too much information about the plot away. It basically undercuts the first half of the film, since you know Charlotte has nefarious motives for Lizzie from the beginning. Not to worry though, there are plenty of twists throughout! Twist #1: Charlotte Poisoned Lizzie This is the least surprising since they pretty much give it away in the trailer. The whole bugs in vomit, and bugs under the skin was a red herring. Charlotte used some of her dead mothers’ medication to make Lizzie suggestible, purposely drove her to temporary insanity, and getting her to cut off her own hand. Remember The Ruins? You Should Read Our Review! https://www.horrormovietalk.com/2019/05/08/the-ruins-movie-review/ Charlotte accomplishes her purpose, because once Lizzie returns to Bachoff, she is unceremoniously kicked out of the school. Because… who has need of a one handed cellist? I guess since, the wound was self inflicted, Lizzie couldn’t prosecute Charlotte, but that doesn’t keep her from kicking her ass! Lizzie brings Charlotte to Anton, and soon after, the next twist is revealed. Twist #2: Bachoff is a Sex Dungeon Conservatory The namesake of the film is a certain room where Anton (Weber) touts as being accoustically perfect. As such, he demands that only perfection of anyone that plays in that room. If you make a mistake, the punishment is rape. This is the moment that the movie really goes off the rails and makes you wonder what type of movie that they were really trying to make. I posit that the reveal of the rape aspect of the school, would have been an opportune time to dive headfirst into schlock. This could have been the modern Human Centipede. However, they went the safe route and blurred out Weber’s junk. What a shame. The Most Disgusting Movie Ever Made? Check Out Kuso! https://www.horrormovietalk.com/2019/05/15/kuso-review/ Anton again demands that Charlotte play “The Perfection” and instead of threatening her with rape, he says he will rape the blissfully ignorant new young student. Charlotte apparently makes a mistake, but Anton reveals that raping the young girl was just a bluff, and that they were actually going to rape Charlotte after all. Two men and Lizzie approach, and Lizzie begins the motions to rape Charlotte with her stump arm. I know! This is when another twist occurs… Twist #3: Lizzie and Charlotte are in Cahoots! Apparently Lizzie had been working with Charlotte ever since she attacked her in her home. Apparently Charlotte explained that getting Lizzie to cut off her own arm was the only way to get Lizzie to escape Anton’s grasp. I dunno… maybe just start with a pinky? Anyway, after that reveal we return to the scene of the stump rape (which I guess is actually consensual?), there is a cringe inducing hip hop song in the soundtrack that signals they are about to kick ass. Also signaling they are about to kick ass… Twist #4: Charlotte actually has short hair!!!!!! I honestly don’t know why they made a big deal out of this reveal. It is up there with Anton’s wife Paloma as being completely unnecessary, but strangely featured throughout. The Ending of The Perfection They attack Anton, who uses a knife to completely destroy one of Charlotte’s arms. However, the girls come out on top and the final scene is of Anton sitting in a chair without arms and legs while Lizzie and Charlotte play the cello together, each using their one good arm. It was obvious that all the twists and turns were leading us to this visual, but it still seemed unearned. Who would like The Perfection? If you want a dumb campy horror movie with a much larger budget than it deserves, watch The Perfection. Special Thanks Thanks to our newest Patron, Garrett D. You can find him along with all the other Horror Movie Talk Founding Members on our supporters page Thanks again to Greg from We Shouldn’t Be Here for coming on the show. Thanks to The King of All Badgers for graciously creating our awesome Kill Count Theme.

We went and saw Meh, er, I mean Ma, in theaters and it it was nothing new or exciting. If you take the stalker subgenre of horror or thrillers, add an academy award winner and a cast of pretty teens, you have Ma. It’s very by-the-books. Ma is an interesting enough movie that features darn good acting and solid direction. My problem with Ma is that it’s not notable enough to spend your money on it. It feels like many of the straight to streaming entries that Netflix provides us with, solid but forgettable. She cares for you deeply… Ma Synopsis Ma follows Maggie (Diana Silvers), who is new in town, just having moved from the West coast to this town in the midwest where her mother, Erica (Juliette Lewis) is from. Maggie quickly befriends a group of gorgeous teens, and they begin their quest to party. The most important part of any party quest is finding an adult to buy you booze, and Ma (Octavia Spencer) fills that niche nicely. Want To Watch Ma? Check it out on Amazon! Ma Movie As the group continues in their quest, they realize that they need a safe place to party, another niche that Ma is happy to fill. Finally, their quest to party leads them back to Ma’s house over and over, but now it’s the teens who must fill a niche – Ma’s need for acceptance and control. As the group becomes less enthusiastic about Ma’s parties, Ma becomes more and more overbearing until she has a full break with reality and becomes unhinged. Ma Movie Trailer https://youtu.be/eIvbEC8N3cA Ma Movie Review I don’t know what I thought movie reviewing was going to be about when I started doing it. However, it’s not a terribly glamorous thing because of movies like Ma. This movie didn’t commit any mortal sins, and frankly, it was pretty well done. It’s just forgettable and uninteresting, which adds to the tedium of much of life. Ma hates beer…JK She just parties super hard Score for Ma 6/10 Ma Spoilers Here’s the lowdown on Ma, you’ve seen it. Remember Greta? Yea, same movie essentially. Have you seen The Gift? If not, you should watch that instead of Ma, because it’s actually scary and keeps the audience on their toes. Here is a list of movies that do a much better job of accomplishing essentially the same story as Ma, but did give you a more interesting product: Cape Fear One Hour Photo Red Eye Fear Misery Fatal Attraction Scream Hush The Gift is Really Good Watch The Gift on Amazon Click the button below to watch The Gift The Gift The Good That being said, I think Ma is a well put together movie that has a lot of good things going for it. Here is the good about Ma. The direction is solid. At no point in Ma did I feel like I was watching a poorly put together movie. All of the actors were on point; all the camera work made sense and accomplished what it set out to do. There wasn’t much artistry to the direction in Ma, except for staying out of the way of the story, which helped to make this watchable. Wanna Watch a Similar Stalker Horror Movie? Check Out Greta! https://www.horrormovietalk.com/2019/03/06/greta-review/ The acting was very good. All of the characters were acted well, of course, it helps to have probably one of the most notable Academy Award winners in recent memory, Octavia Spencer, as your star role. Octavia stole the show in terms of believability, and in this kind of stalker genre movie, that’s probably the most important part – having a believable stalker with a solid motivation. All of the other actors and actresses did a great job as well. Ma also has a fabulously solid soundtrack of disco and club hits from the ’70s and early ’80s. The party vibes feel simultaneously fun and foreboding, which is a plus. Check Out Our Review of Brightburn! https://www.horrormovietalk.com/2019/05/29/brightburn-review/ The Bad There was no way to make the stakes very high. The vast majority of this movie was Ma trying to get the kids to party with her. When the kids started pulling away, she resorted to lame high school level attempts to raise the stakes. Things like stealing your boyfriend, your jewelry, and show up at your house to talk to your mom – these aren’t scary. They don’t raise the stakes in Ma until the very end, at which point it’s almost like they realized that nothing had happened the whole movie and decided to throw the kitchen sink at it. This movie didn’t rely on jump scares; I think it had one or two. Mostly it relied on building tension, which it didn’t do well. Mostly the premise is pretty flimsy. You guys like IV drug use? How Ma Ends It is revealed midway through the movie that Ma has pent up shame and anger about how she was treated by her peers back when she was in high school. She begins to hatch the plan to get back at all of her old classmates by ruining the lives of their kids. There is a particularly disturbing flashback that Ma has about her high school crush asking her for a blowjob in the school janitorial closet. She obliges him, which I can only assume a girl would regret a bit, especially considering the janitor closet. To add insult to injury, he has the whole student body waiting outside of the closet to find out, “how she was.” Dig Blumhouse Flicks? Check out Happy Death Day 2U! https://www.horrormovietalk.com/2019/02/20/happy-death-day-2u-review/ As it turns out, Ma has a daughter whom she keeps locked up upstairs and convinced that she is sick, very similar to the real-life tale of Dee Dee Blanchard and Gypsy, which has recently been made into a miniseries called The Act. At the very end, she comes completely unhinged and traps the kids in her basement and subjects them to weird punishments before the house catches fire. She decides to burn to death with the father of one of the kids who subsequently was the guy who shamed her in high school for giving him a blowjob. Final Recommendations for Ma If you are looking for the movie equivalent of Mild Taco Bell sauce, this is it. Not offensive, not much to say, not very memorable, but good on anything.