Review by Cole Groth As the holiday season gears up, it’s time for Hallmark to bombard us with dozens of cheap, schlocky Christmas rom-coms. The market is so oversaturated by them that when a genuinely good one comes out, it’s a shock. This year, Amazon’s Freevee looks to enter the market with their rom-com, EXMas, starring Robbie Amell and Leighton Meester. This is a good watch with some genuinely great laughs and a satisfying story. EXMas tells the story of Graham (Amell), an overworked gaming developer, whose ex-fiancee, Ali (Meester), is celebrating Christmas with his family. Her oddball parents, Dennis (Michael Hitchcock) and Jeannie (Kathryn Greenwood), alongside siblings Mindy (Veronika Slowikowska) and Elliot (Steven Huy), have taken in Ali as one of their family members, much to Graham’s dismay. In an effort to get Ali out of his life, Graham tries to get her to be hated by his family. Will the two make up and find solace in each other? Probably. That’s for you to find out. The script, while unabashedly generic, is hilarious. The dynamic between Graham and his sister, Mindy, stands out as the funniest pairing of the group. Most other family members are underwritten, standing in as very generic family members. So many of these Christmas rom-coms stray away from inappropriate humor. While this is still a family-friendly time, some sharp gags put this above the crowd. Graham and Ali have a great dynamic, although it’s sometimes hard to picture them as a romantic couple. The chemistry just isn’t there for most of the movie. As a holiday rom-com, there’s not much to talk about from a technical perspective. All of these movies struggle because they feel mostly the same, with the stars and script being the stars of the show. The cinematography, editing, music, etc., are all decent. Nothing stands out from a cinematic perspective, but it’s all done well enough to be at least not distracting. Simply put, you should know that you won’t get anything more than simple laughs and basic romance out of this.
Robbie Amell stands out as the star of the show here. He’s effortlessly funny and has plenty of charm. Leighton Meester is pretty good, too, but she doesn’t fit the role of the love interest nearly as well as Amell. Veronika Slowikowska is another star, too. Known mostly for her Instagram page (@veronika_iscool), Slowikowska does a great job of being Graham’s funny and kind sister. The rest of the family and some additional players performed pretty well. If you’re looking for something nice, breezy, and cheerful to kick off a holiday binge, EXMas would be a good option. It won’t stand out among the true holiday classics, but it’ll definitely be better than most of the Hallmark slop shoveled out every year. It’s a simple watch buoyed by fun performances and a funny screenplay. EXMas releases on Freevee on November 17. Rating: 3/5
0 Comments
Review by Cole Groth Meg Ryan is no stranger to rom-coms. When Harry Met Sally…, You’ve Got Mail, and Sleepless in Seattle are just a few of her critically acclaimed turns as a romance lead. With this fantastic filmography behind her, it comes as no surprise that she’s picked up a lot of information on how to make a good rom-com of her own. What Happens Later is a beautiful new modern reflection on aging romance. Written, directed by, and starring Ryan alongside David Duchovny, What Happens Later tells the story of two ex-lovers, Willa (Ryan) and Bill (Duchovny), who become stranded at an airport overnight. It’s been years since the two have seen each other, and through a long night of contemplation, the two unpack the riddle of their previous relationships as they forge a bond from the ruins of their connection. Based on the play Shooting Star by Steven Dietz and with additional writing from Kirk Lynn, this film feels an awfully lot like the stage play it’s based on. I mean that in a very positive way. While it’s not terribly thrilling content narratively, there’s something enthralling about just watching two people bond after years apart. Where this succeeds is in its characters. Bill and Willa are fully realized people who feel more thought-out than the average person put to screen. As a dialogue-driven movie, it’s nice that the two actors feel like they were in love in real life. The two have a lot of chemistry, and their conversations are realistic. While there’s plenty of sentimentality to be found in this, the comedy is also solid. It’s dry and witty, and feels straight out of the '80s in the best way possible. One of the gags is the airport announcer directly speaking to the two through his announcements, and it’s a delightful running joke. For older audiences, this works because it provides a unique experience to romance movies, and for younger audiences, it’s still accessible on all fronts.
For being set in one location, What Happens Later does a great job of not feeling claustrophobic. It’s very nicely shot, and the production design is fantastic. I love how the airport is set up and explored by the characters. We rarely get a glimpse into what anybody else is doing while the two are trapped in the airport, and in many ways, it feels like their relationship is almost a dream. Bill and Willa quietly move through various lounges and other ends of the airport, turning what’s typically a liminal space into a fantastically romantic place. By the end of it all, Meg Ryan’s sophomore directorial effort is a great one. It’s full of romance, excellent writing, and humor. The poetic journey the two characters go on is full of great introspection, and after watching it, I feel changed in my views on romance. Providing the perspective of two people in their 50s as romantic leads, this film effectively reinvents the rom-com. If you’re a fan of the genre, this is a must-watch. What Happens Later releases in theaters on November 3. Rating: 4/5 Review by Cole Groth The Hell House franchise has been a rollercoaster of quality. The original installment was a great new found-footage movie with an exciting premise and some good scares. The first sequel is probably one of the worst horror movies ever made. The third entry, though, picked up a bit and wasn’t quite as bad as its predecessor. Fortunately, Hell House LLC Origins: The Carmichael Manor is much more in line with the original. With a quick pace, good scares, and believable characters, it might be the best film in the series. Like the rest of the series, this film is shot like a documentary. Intercut with the found footage are talking head interviews about the wild disappearances of the film’s subjects. A common element in any found-footage movie is scares placed in the corner of frames, something the Hell House franchise loves to lean into. Typically, this series plays too heavily into scares like that, but they’re reasonably scarce in this one. Expect lots of yelling, confusion, and other elements you expect from this type of movie. At the beginning of The Carmichael Manor, we’re told the results of what we’re about to watch. Couple Margot (Bridget Rose Perrotta) and Rebecca (Destiny Leilani Brown) are internet investigators. Tasked with the daunting challenge of exploring the Carmichael Manor, where several grisly murders happened in the eighties, the two, along with Margot’s brother (James Liddell), stay for four nights in an attempt to solve the murders, only to go missing themselves. Over the film, we see the insanity in the manor, all captured by the victims themselves. Writer-director Stephen Cognetti has stayed with the series since its beginning. His writing skills and the quality of actors he puts in his films have drastically shifted from film to film. The fourth entry features the strongest script and best performances. Perrotta and Brown are surprisingly fantastic and make for some of the most likable and authentic protagonists in a found-footage movie. Most films of this genre — especially in this series — focus on annoyingly loud people, the removal of which makes this a lot better.
To all my loyal followers, you’ll notice that my reviews are much harsher on Shudder films than other writers. Usually, I don’t find their movies scary; if they are scary, they end up being highly unpleasant watches. Fortunately, The Carmichael Manor stands out as a consistently satisfying and scary horror flick. During the regular, unscary scenes, the pacing is fast enough not to feel dragging. When the third act begins and the insanity peaks, the scares are powerfully uncomfortable and well done. Even though the characters’ fates are known from the beginning, it’s still surprisingly riveting to see what will happen next. This immense praise isn’t to say the movie is without flaws. Cognetti’s story is hard to follow, and it seems the only thing that will save the plot is a complete reset in the future. There’s a whole flashback subplot that’s pretty confusing, too. Looking past a confusing story, you’ll find a great new horror movie in Hell House LLC Origins: The Carmichael Manor. This series seems to be on the right track for the first time since the first film. There’s a lot of potential in the franchise, and hopefully, Shudder will push through with a sequel that manages to be the same quality. Hell House LLC Origins: The Carmichael Manor releases on Shudder on October 30. Rating: 3.5/5 Review by Cole Groth Have you wondered what comes after death? Of course you have. The concept of life after death is foundational to religion, and it’s one of those few things in life without true explanation. Angel Studios looks to explain the thought process of what happens after death in their faith-based documentary, After Death, which explores near-death experiences. It does a remarkable job of appearing as a scientific and well-intentioned documentary, and for the most part, it is. Unfortunately, it falls into an agenda by the end and loses a lot of the goodwill it starts with through preachy appeals to Christianity. After Death gathers dozens of well-documented survivors of near-death experiences. Raymond Moody, Michael Sabom, Don Piper, and Mary Neal make up just a few of the reputable subjects in this documentary. It’s a functionally simple film that brings people together to talk about their near-death experiences, basking in their thought processes. We learn about how common these experiences are, what they can tell us about the human brain, and how the field of psychology has changed because of these experiences. I’m not particularly religious, so I’m naturally cautious of any faith-based documentary, as they tend to turn into propaganda-ridden and fact-less films. In a medium all about facts, that’s just about the worst thing you can do. Because of this skepticism, I made sure to do some research of my own while watching this. Rest assured, this is a primarily scientific documentary. There’s plenty of research to back up claims of near-death experiences, and with that in mind, it’s mighty interesting. Getting a glimpse into the stories of people who experienced these insane things with a close brush to death opened my eyes to psychology and my views on death. Each person’s story is recreated with actors. Sometimes, it works pretty well. Other times, it winds up being needless and cheesy. There’s something a little bit stupid about watching a person describe an emotional low in his life — all while some actor overacts in some sappy scene. The portrayals of these out-of-body events are done in a pretty exciting way, though, designed to be trippy and interesting. Overall, the production value can be seen as a mixed bag. Some polish would’ve made it feel more like a theatrical release, rather than a Lifetime-esque crime/thriller.
There’s nothing more annoying than having an agenda pushed on you. If you’re planning on seeing this in a theater, you’re probably already a Christian and will love the come-to-Jesus moments that the interviewees go through. Now, this film doesn’t go as far as to proclaim Jesus as the one and only savior. Similar to Sound of Freedom, while the religious or political motivations may be clear of the creators, it’s not so egregious that only Christians can watch this. There are some interviewees who reveal themselves as hardcore born-again Christians, and these people are easily the weakest ones interviewed. It feels like a bait-and-switch when these people all explain they became Christians after seeing God in the afterlife, and it manages to be a pretty eye-rolling way to end the documentary. Throughout the credits, the filmmakers beg audiences to participate in a pay-it-forward thing, where you can pay for other people’s tickets. It’s a smart marketing strategy because rich audience members can spend a disproportional amount of money on tickets and let dozens of other people watch the film in a theater. I can’t help but think that the whole thing is a bit of a grift, though. The film isn’t presented to be nearly as important as the subject matter of Sound of Freedom, so why is a huge QR code shown on screen throughout the credits? After Death has a bit of a credibility issue. To be clear, the documentary is still good for the most part, but without the religious stuff, it would’ve been leagues better than the final result. After Death is playing in theaters now. Rating: 3/5 Review by Cole Groth Divinity is a cinematic journey that thrives on style, boldly embracing abstraction and allegory. It's a visual masterpiece, an ethereal monochromatic daydream that captivates with its unique approach to storytelling. At the same time, it may come across as somewhat pretentious, but its brevity and brisk pacing work to its advantage, complemented by striking cinematography and performances that are difficult to put into words. To put it plainly, this will divide viewers. I won’t be able to do justice to the plot of Divinity. Its bizarre storytelling methods, from writer-director Eddie Alcazar, will confound the average viewer. In a desolate and futuristic world, a scientist (Scott Bakula) had created a groundbreaking serum — called "Divinity" — that allows immortality. After his death, his son (Stephen Dorff) took over his empire. Unsurprisingly, this drug took over the world, leading to society’s collapse. After two brothers (Moises Arias and Jason Genao) kidnap the son, they go on a journey to bring down the power Divinity holds over the world. Alcazar’s audacious embrace of abstract storytelling and allegorical elements creates a captivating, dreamlike experience that's impossible to ignore. It’s endlessly fascinating in presentation, but suffers from being too difficult to unpack. This is one of those movies where the vibe is more important than the specific story points. I’d have to watch this at least two more times before I could confidently outline the story. Is that a bad thing? Not necessarily. The cast of Divinity delivers performances that feel almost otherworldly, as if emerged from the pages of a graphic novel. Stephen Dorff, Scott Bakula, Moises Arias, Jason Benao, Karrueche Tran, Bella Thorne, and Emily Willis (known for her adult film work, but making her feature debut here) all play delightfully complex characters. Each one feels particularly inhuman in a great way, serving as symbols that point toward a deeper social commentary aimed at society's insatiable appetite for the unattainable, no matter the cost.
Shot in a beautiful black-and-white wasteland, this is a fantastic experience for the senses. Cinematographer Danny Hiele — whose work consists of music videos for Nicki Minaj, Kendrick Lamar, Kanye West, and other famous musicians — has created something visually stunning that you won’t be able to look away. It also sports terrific sound design and moves quickly enough to be continually stimulating. At times, it’s easy to get lost in the visuals. While the story left me far behind at many points, it’s easy enough to sit back and absorb the fantastic shots. Toward the end, as the film ramps up the craziness, there’s this stop-motion animation sequence that takes the viewing experience and ramps it up to eleven. Even if you can’t piece together Divinity’s story, it’s undeniably one of the coolest movies of the year. At only 88 minutes long, this is an easy way for somebody to get into the world of avant-garde filmmaking. It’s full of body horror, sex, and drugs. Anybody looking for something weird as hell will find a great new movie in this. Divinity releases in theaters on October 13. Rating: 4/5 Review by Cole Groth Few horror films this year are as strange as Anna Zlokovic’s Appendage. Adapted from her 2021 short film of the same name starring Rachel Sennott, this body horror film is a monstrously uncomfortable watch. Through the strange twists and turns, though, lies a satisfying ending that will leave horror fans happy. Hannah (Hadley Robinson) is a young fashion designer. Thanks to a nasty boss (Desmin Borges), an overbearing mother (Deborah Rennard), and suspicions of an affair between her boyfriend (Brandon Mychal Smith) and best friend (Kausar Mohammad), the stress of her life leads to her appendix bursting. What appears to be an ordinary health crisis spirals out of control as a monster — linked to her being a twin in the womb — bursts out of her and threatens to ruin her life. While the world seems grounded at first, it takes a freaky and silly turn as Hannah joins a group of others dealing with their appendages. Hannah’s life turns into a complete mess, and dealing with the stress of an external being that’s a literal monster doesn’t help. It’s a great exercise in body horror that doesn’t take itself too seriously, winding up a solidly entertaining journey. The screenplay is over the top and ends up embracing the metaphorical nature of Hannah’s appendage in a way that’s too on the nose. If you’re streaming this, ensure you aren’t eating anything, as Appendage will make you lose your appetite. Writer/director Anna Zlokovic uses puppet work to enhance the viscerality of the appendage. The horror work is well done and disquieting. From a technical perspective, it’s a shame that it doesn’t stand out more. Beyond the puppeteering, the special effects, cinematography, score, editing, and writing are nothing to write home about. None of these elements is poorly done, but it could be much better overall.
The second act of the film is a tough one to watch. It tries to keep up the silliness of the original concept, but ends up being a little bit boring. On top of being disgusting, it’s hard to watch in a boring way. There’s a scene where Hannah picks at her nail and eventually rips open her skin a little bit. Appendage is derivative in that way. These scenes are disturbing, but often not in an original way. The predictability of Hannah’s life spiraling out of control isn’t too interesting because it’s not fun to watch. In the realm of body horror, Anna Zlokovic's Appendage emerges as a truly peculiar and unsettling experience. Unfortunately, this is a movie that appeals to a very particular crowd. Outside of horror enthusiasts, this will fail to resonate with audiences. It winds up as a metaphor that goes for too long and would’ve been better served in the short form Zlokovic’s story was originally presented in. Appendage is streaming on Hulu now. Rating: 2.5/5 [Fantastic Fest 2023] TOTALLY KILLER -- Kiernan Shipka Kills it in Time-Twisty Horror-Comedy9/29/2023 Review by Cole Groth There’s nothing quite as cool as a good time travel movie. Taking an already interesting genre — whether it be a rom-com, sci-fi, or horror film — and throwing in time travel is a great way to make something distinctive and unique. Totally Killer is a time-traveling blast that combines excellent slasher elements with solid humor to make something consistently interesting. Nahnatchka Khan’s sophomore feature follows Jamie (Kiernan Shipka), your typical angsty teenage girl, who travels back to the past after a notorious serial killer makes his return by murdering her mother (Julie Bowen). While in the past, Jamie has to work with the also-angsty teenage version of her mother (Olivia Holt), all while trying to stop the first round of killings from ever happening, eliminating the killer from history. For the amount of fun promised by the premise, it’s nice that the screenplay — written by David Matalon, Sasha Perl-Raver, and Jen D’Angelo — follows through on plenty of what it promises. What starts as an average slasher takes a fun turn after an unexplained time travel photo booth is brought into the mix. After being sent to 1987, Jamie struggles to adapt to the world around her. Here, the writers insert lots of social commentary about how the times have changed. Much of it is very funny, but some of it gets a little tiresome, when the writers seem a little too self-serving in their commentary. What’s not tiresome are the kills. As a slasher, this works very well. Each sequence of murder is well-choreographed and plenty of fun, with Christopher Landon vibes oozing throughout this, and I mean that to be top praise. There are a few minor plot points that are frustrating, such as Jamie having access to a cell phone, but not using it to prove that she’s from the future. It’s always a bit funky to see how screenwriters deal with time travel, and it’s bothersome to see the main character fail to explain that she’s there to prevent a series of gruesome murders. The teenagers are pretty frustrating, but whether that’s an issue with the screenplay or something very intentionally done is a matter of debate. The CGI holds this back from being a perfect visual experience. It’s nicely shot and well-lit for the most part, but whenever CGI is implemented for sci-fi scenes or toward the climax, it’s weak.
Kiernan Shipka is a top-tier young actress who gives her all in everything she’s in. Here, she kills it as the leading lady. Along her side is Olivia Holt, who plays the snide teenage girl role perfectly. It’s great to see the roles swapped between mother and daughter, as Jamie has to baby her mother to survive the night. Like Shipka, Holt shows that she can, too, be a scream queen. The rest of the teenage cast, along with Julie Bowen, deliver stellar horror performances. Everybody gives it their all, and it’s an all-around thrilling time. Totally Killer proves to be a delightful and entertaining addition to the time-travel genre. Nahnatchka Khan's slasher takes the intriguing concept of time travel and blends it seamlessly with elements of humor and horror, resulting in a unique and engaging cinematic experience. Shipka is a force to be reckoned with, and deserves more roles as the leading lady after this. It’s a wild ride that’s certainly worth a watch. Totally Killer screened at the 2023 Fantastic Fest, which ran September 21-28 in Austin, Texas. Rating: 4/5 Review by Cole Groth Sleep paralysis demons are a great topic to be covered by horror, but Kjersti Helen Rasmussen’s Nightmare squabbles that topic in a film that’s neither interesting nor scary. It’s a dull mess of a movie that won’t stand a chance against the endless pool of scary films in Shudder’s library. Mona (Elli Harboe) is a 25-year-old woman who becomes afflicted with sleep paralysis that threatens to take over her life. While her illness progresses, she becomes increasingly violent to herself and others. Her sleep paralysis demons force her to walk the line between reality and fiction, driving her deeper into insanity as the film progresses. As the nightmarish manifestations of her condition become more vivid and terrifying, Mona's grip on reality slips further, blurring the boundaries between her inner demons and the waking world. This is a fundamentally frustrating movie. The genre of films about people (mostly women) going insane is an entirely bloated group. These movies suck because they all play out the exact same. Scary stuff happens, then nobody believes said scary stuff is happening. It’s an endless cycle that’s incredibly frustrating, and Nightmare doesn’t escape the annoyances of that. The audience is actively lied to at many points, so whenever an important plot point happens, it’s easy to write off the moment as not happening. It’s more satisfying to read a plot synopsis than it is to watch the movie. As far as performances go, this film isn’t great. As an American who doesn’t speak any Norwegian, it’s hard to tell if the performances are that good or not, but there weren’t any moments that were too unbelievable from an acting standpoint. Elli Harboe is good at acting terrified. On the other hand, her boyfriend, played by Herman Tømmeraas, is unbelievably dull. His performance matches the dullness of his character. A few of the supporting actors are forgettable, too. Like the movie, an impression won’t be left by the acting.
The only point where this film manages to be interesting is its discussion of the issue of abortion. After Mona moves in with her boyfriend, she realizes that she’s pregnant. The baby slowly growing inside of her can be seen as a manifestation of the sleep paralysis demons, which is an interesting alley to go down. Unfortunately, the movie doesn’t explore it further. It all leads to an ending that’s shocking, yet a brazenly stupid answer to questions brought up by the abortion problem. Nightmare falls far short of its potential in exploring the intriguing concept of sleep paralysis demons. While it attempts to blur the lines between reality and horror, the film ultimately descends into a monotonous and frustrating cycle that fails to distinguish itself in a saturated genre. Though Elli Harboe's portrayal of fear manages to stay within the realm of credibility, she’s overshadowed by an annoying plot. Simply put, Nightmare is a nightmare to view. Nightmare is now streaming on Shudder. Rating: 1.5/5 Review by Cole Groth Growing up on the cheesy insanity that were the Robert Rodriguez-directed sci-fi/family Spy Kids films, it’s no surprise that Spy Kids: Armageddon didn’t do much for me. I’m not old enough to love the family element, nor young enough to easily ignore the generally weak filmmaking. Still, through a bad script and confusing performances, there’s much fun to have in the latest entry of the series — especially for children. Spy Kids: Armageddon follows the children of two spies, who are forced to work independently to save the day after a mission goes rogue. The conflict here is similar to Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over: a villainous game developer, Rey Kingston (Billy Magnussen), has unleashed a computer virus in a video game, leading our new pair of spy children to go on a CGI-heavy adventure. This time around, the titular spy kids are Tony (Connor Esterson) and Patty (Everly Carganilla), the children of Terrence (Zachary Levi) and Nora (Gina Rodriguez). This will undoubtedly elude older audiences like many of Robert Rodriguez’s movies. It’s a loud movie that moves at a nonsensically fast pace. The script is one of the most notable factors holding this back from being a better movie. Each line of dialogue is clunky and inhuman, bringing this to land in occasionally parody-esque territory. It’s infrequently funny but will land much better for children, who will appreciate the simplicity of the script. It was an excellent decision to replicate much of the third film because both that and this installment do a good job of incorporating video games while avoiding a lot of the annoyances of generic video games in film. Robert Rodriguez’s filmography is famous for how ugly it is. An overreliance on CGI that frankly looks awful makes one of his films instantly recognizable. This film lacks a lot of that. It’s odd that an improvement in CGI could be almost perceived as a negative, but it does feel like something is missing in a Spy Kids movie that doesn’t look like garbage. It’s still not very good, and there are plenty of sequences that have too much CGI for their own good, but that doesn’t stop it from being a notable improvement in cinematic quality.
At the end of the day, it’s hard to dislike this movie. It’s satisfying in many cliché ways and is a respectable trip down memory lane. Tony and Patty are rootable leads, and Billy Magnussen is excellent as a goofy villain. It takes the vital route of not taking itself seriously and brought a smile to my face throughout much of the runtime. If you find yourself a fan of this series and want to see what a sequel looks like two decades after the original films, this will be a surprisingly decent watch. Unlike Rodriguez’s horrific sequel to The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl, We Can Be Heroes, Spy Kids: Armageddon manages to recapture much of the magic that made the original series so great. While the grit makes this feel a little too sterile at times, families and children will undoubtedly find a new movie to rewatch. If Netflix continues to develop more films in this series, they’ll have a solid franchise to add to their filmography. Spy Kids: Armageddon releases on Netflix on September 22. Rating: 3/5 Review by Cole Groth Poorly shot, weakly acted, and backed with a bad script, Elevator Game goes against the formula of interesting horror movies from Shudder. It’s clear that there was no budget backing this, and while sometimes it’s commendable to watch a movie made for little money, this one is a particularly pathetic piece of filmmaking that’s surprisingly mean and bothersome to watch. Elevator Game tells the story of a group of obnoxious friends (although two heroes are identified early on so we know who to root for) who participate in a deadly ritual in an elevator, bringing chaos to their lives and ultimately ending many of them. It’s built on the basis of those scary stories friends tell each other, like Bloody Mary, with the titular game being popularized in South Korea. As the friends get killed off one by one, they must band together to outsmart the otherworldly demon lurking in the elevator. This story sucks. It’s derivative and immediately predictable, but only takes risks to end the film on an awful note. Sorry to disappoint, but this film's ending will leave you entirely unsatisfied as nothing gets resolved. The group of friends includes Becki (Megan Best), Ryan (Gino Anania), Madison (Izzy Simpson), Chloe (Verity Marks), Matty (Nazariy Demkowicz), and Kris (Alec Carlos). It almost feels mean to mention them here because, unfortunately, they’re all terrible. It seems like the script gave them no room to be good, though, so maybe with a better project, they’ll stand out as more interesting. Film is a visual medium. There’s nothing worse than watching a painfully ugly movie, and out of all the ugly movies one could watch, this is one of the ugliest. The cinematography is bland and uninspired, but to top that off, a weird filter covers the whole screen and leaves it looking like an oversaturated, unfocused mess. The only exciting thing is the monster, as even the kills are poorly done and shot awfully.
If the actors didn’t quite deserve to be called out, director Rebekah McKendry and the writing pair of David Ian McKendry (the two are a married couple) and Travis Seppala deserve to be named. The screenplay here is abysmal, even for a low-budget horror movie. None of the characters act like teenagers, with this instead coming across as a caricature of young people written by somebody who hasn’t spoken to a teenager in years. As mentioned before, the dialogue is hilariously stupid, and the story is terrible. If you want paranormal horror that’s done better, watch anything else. Hell, any awful Paranormal Activity sequels are leagues better than this. Those are visually much more interesting, somehow. Shudder churns out so many low-budget horror movies that it’s surprising more of their original movies aren't like this. However, their catalog is mostly original and exciting, fueled by a love for horror movies. This is a movie driven by incompetence. This is easily one of the worst movies made this year, and hopefully, it’ll be quickly forgotten after its release. Elevator Game releases on Shudder on September 15. Rating: 1/5 |
Archives
May 2024
Authors
All
|