|
Review by Steve Barton II  Zombies in pop culture have had quite the lifetime of highs and lows. While many people may consider George A. Romero to be the father of zombies in film, he didn’t actually make the first one. White Zombie with the incredible Bela Lugosi was released in 1932 and while they weren’t exactly the zombies we know today, they still had the basic premise of being mindless, undead beings moving slowly in an eerie creep. After Romero’s modernization of zombies with Night of the Living Dead and Dawn of the Dead, the zombie craze infected pop culture and its had a prominent impact on the horror genre since. While the subgenre isn’t as popular as it was 10+ years ago with The Walking Dead, the hunger for zombies still isn’t satiated and it’s a worldwide phenomenon. Yeon Sang-ho is a South Korean filmmaker who was heavily inspired by Romero along with others and created the modern classic Train to Busan back in 2016. With that film having a perfect balance of horrific violence and terrific characters that bring emotional tension, it’s highly regarded as a masterpiece and one of the best of the genre. From that success, Sang-ho has directed several films since, but the zombie subgenre is always the home he comes back to. Colony is the newest addition to Sang-ho’s zombie film series where we follow a professor Se-jeong (Gianna Jun) as she’s trapped in a conference building with a rapidly mutating virus and hundreds of people are already infected. With Se-jeong and a small group of survivors sealed into the building to stop the spread, it’s up to them to help find the cause of the infection and find their way out.  Due to Colony being birthed by the same mind as Train to Busan, this film had preconceived expectations before it was ever screened. Surely, many people will expect the brutal horror and emotional depth, but Colony only delivers on one of those. After making zombie movies for almost 10 years on and off, Yeon Sang-ho knows how to shoot and direct zombie action to make it look intense and realistic to where it gives you a physical reaction. While there are quite a bit of digital effects being used, the practical effects and the sets themselves are incredibly well designed and executed. The part that’s missing is making the characters feel real or relatable in almost any way. Unlike Train to Busan, Colony doesn’t have a main character that you may dislike at first and slowly become more familiar with who they actually are and connect deeply like Seok-woo and his daughter. They attempt to give Se-jeong some emotional stakes right away with her divorce and working with her ex, but she doesn’t deliver on the same emotions as Seok and his journey. Se-jeong and the rest of the survivors are very one-dimensional in Colony and it makes it hard to get invested in their relationships or their journey through the chaos.
Colony doesn’t reach the same heights as Train to Busan, but it’s still an entertaining movie that has some creative ideas. Koo Kyo-hwan as the mad scientist Seo Yeong Cheol was the most memorable part of the entire movie with his intense energy without showing too much emotion. Unlike Train to Busan, Colony isn’t as rooted in reality and takes some almost supernatural or science fiction elements that may turn off some audiences. While it may turn off some fans, others may notice that they do borrow some elements from the original idea of zombies and how rather than a virus, they were controlled by a being using voodoo. Colony does an odd combination with the original and modern zombie concepts and it makes for an interesting and entertaining experience. Colony begins to infect theaters August 28th! Rating: 3.5/5
0 Comments
Review by Chadd Clubine  Spanning nearly 50 years, director Ridley Scott has officially made 30 films with The Dog Stars. Unfortunately, the film falls short of the heights we’ve come to expect from a filmmaker with such an accomplished career. Then again, Scott’s filmography has had its fair share of highs and lows, yet he remains one of the most respected directors working today. With a reported $110 million budget, The Dog Stars feels frustratingly aimless, raising questions about how the film could possibly recoup its enormous investment. Considering the string of box-office disappointments throughout Scott’s later career, coupled with his advancing age, the film unfortunately feels like a sign that it may finally be time for the legendary director to hang it up while he still can. Two things can be true at once: Jacob Elordi is a star, and this is still a bad movie. At one point, Paul Mescal was set to star in the film before dropping out, paving the way for Elordi to take on the lead role. While Elordi does the best he can with the material, it’s hard not to wonder if Mescal could have brought something more effective to the role, particularly in the scenes involving Margaret Qualley’s character. The film boasts an impressive ensemble, but Scott seems unsure of how to utilize them, resulting in a tonally misguided collection of performances. Josh Brolin’s dialogue is atrocious. Qualley’s characterization is barely developed. Allison Janney appears to be acting in an entirely different movie. Benedict Wong seems to be here for an easy payday. It looks like Guy Pearce can finally stop beating himself up over thinking he gave a bad performance in Memento. The film isn’t outright awful, but Scott makes a number of baffling choices with these characters, many of which feel like the unfortunate result of poor pacing and underdeveloped storytelling. Without going too in-depth with the source material, the film feels like someone giving a book presentation after reading only the SparkNotes version. It’s already concerning that the film doesn’t even hit the two-hour mark, but the real problem is how quickly it jumps from one scene to the next without ever giving the audience time to settle into the story. If you go in knowing nothing about the plot and haven’t seen any of the trailers, good luck figuring out what this movie is even about. There’s simply too much material crammed into such a short runtime, ultimately making a strong case that this story would have been far better suited as a miniseries.  The film starts off average and only gets worse as it progresses, largely due to its breakneck pacing, constant tonal shifts, and rushed storytelling. There are still a few redeeming qualities that may win some viewers over. For a film with a $110 million budget, the world Scott creates is genuinely intriguing, particularly in how it depicts the aftermath of the apocalypse. Unfortunately, we don’t get nearly enough of it. The film is at its most immersive when it allows us to see what this world has become, making it all the more frustrating that Scott doesn’t spend more time exploring it. It’s difficult to understand where the film is going as it constantly jumps from one idea to the next. Even the Letterboxd synopsis doesn’t entirely reflect how the story unfolds. Instead, Elordi’s character is primarily on a journey of self-discovery, which ultimately becomes the film’s most compelling element. Elordi’s performance, particularly toward the end, is where the movie is at its most effective, showing how a world this bleak can slowly destroy even the best of people. Unfortunately, rather than giving us more of that character journey—something audiences could genuinely connect with—the film takes too long to get there. By the time it finally does, it’s simply too little, too late. Overall, The Dog Stars is a misguided disappointment, especially when you consider the sheer amount of talent involved. It’s difficult to understand exactly what the film is trying to accomplish, but its biggest flaw may be that this story simply feels better suited to a miniseries, where its characters, themes, and world could have been given the time they desperately need. The themes are present, but the film never fully develops them or reaches the emotional impact it seems to be aiming for. There’s an interesting world at the center of The Dog Stars, but Scott never makes it captivating enough to leave a lasting impression. The Dog Stars premieres in theaters August 28th! RATING: 2/5
Review by Steve Barton II  If you grew up in the wacky, vibrant world of the 1990s, you were certainly aware of Power Rangers and the grip it had on children of the era. Kids were stunned and hypnotized by the bright colors, creepy practical monsters and hand-to-hand combat with a killer soundtrack. While many parents complained about the show making their children violent and wild, the show powered through and created several spin-offs and movies that are still produced almost 40 years later. As many actors and actresses have worn the colorful costumes, Jason David Frank always stayed close to his Green Ranger outfit. Jason loved his time as the original Green Ranger so much that he was trying hard to make his own movie with the character as an adult years later. While unfortunately he couldn’t get the rights to do so, he did gather a talented group of filmmakers and crowd-funding to make Legend of the White Dragon. Legend of the White Dragon follows Erik Reed (Frank) after he’s lost the crystal that makes him the White Dragon and in turn the city has succumbed to the criminal activity. After being blamed for events out of his control, Erik sets out to clear his name and find his crystal. Legend of the White Dragon is clearly a passion project from everyone involved, but especially Jason David Frank and first time directors Sean and Aaron Schoenke. With Jason’s unfortunate passing in 2022, he wasn’t able to see his idea materialized, but his vision and passion is all over this film. If Jason’s end goal was to make a Power Rangers fan film inspired by the old school action and effects, they nailed it. Unfortunately, that doesn’t make for a large scale theatrical movie. The digital effects don’t look great, but they fit into this 90s inspired action flick. The fight choreography is its strongest component with several trained martial artists that made those sequences alone elevate the entire experience. When Jason faces off with a legend like Mark Dacascos and they show off their skills, you forget you're watching a movie about a crystal powered hero.  The main plot of Legend of the White Dragon is thin and familiar tasting, but you stay for the cast of characters. Jason David Frank as Erik Reed is a fun action leading man when it comes to fighting, but his acting wasn’t completely convincing. When he’s called on to show sadness or emotion, it struggles to break through on screen. While he’s fighting or delivering the “intense action man” dialogue, the charm and charisma peaks through. The rest of the cast is filled with several Power Ranger actors over several of the spin-offs and a few familiar faces. Accompanying Jason as former Rangers are Jason Faunt as his buddy Connor, Ciara Hanna as Vanessa and Cerina Vincent as Erik’s wife. While they are all still working actors, it was surely nice for them to have a reunion of sorts and play in a familiar feeling for a while. Rounding out the cast with David Ramsey from Arrow, Vine star King Bach and the legendary Michael Madsen made Legend of the White Dragon feel larger scale then it truly is. Although seeing Jason and Michael go back and forth in the jail scene does tug at your heart strings because both men have since left us, but they did so leaving a nice piece of work to remember them by.
In the end, Legend of the White Dragon is a fine film that pays homage to the Power Rangers franchise and fans while also showing that Jason David Frank was an adventurous and bold artist. Jason had a goal to make something that honored his career defining role and this surely does that. It isn’t going to be the next blockbuster hit or an independent darling like Obsession, but this certainly has an audience. As first time directors, Sean and Aaron show promise that they know how to shoot action and make a compelling story. With some stronger character development and a deeper, more impactful plot, this movie could’ve been next level fun. While it’s far from the most impressive film of 2026, Legend of the White Dragon knows what it is and was made for the fans. Legend of the White Dragon will explode its way into theaters starting August 28th! Rating: 2.5/5 Review by Adam Donato  Casper Kelly is responsible for the iconic viral video Too Many Cooks. Here he is back with another twisted television show parody with Buddy. It’s about a kids show host that looks like an orange unicorn version of Barney the Dinosaur. What begins as a typical kids show quickly becomes sinister as Buddy’s dark side starts to show. Now this innocent group of kids must escape with their lives, meanwhile a mother begins to notice there’s something missing with her family? Can Kelly recapture the magic and bring horror to nostalgic kids shows? It tracks that Kelly is known for his short form content because Buddy feels like a silly short that’s been stretched out to a feature length. Unfortunately, it’s glaringly obvious what’s going to happen in the movie from the jump. So when nothing is added to the concept, it’s quite the let down. The section of the narrative that includes Cristin Milioti and Topher Grace adds context to the events that are happening in this evil kids show, but this doesn’t expand the concept in a satisfying way. Too Many Cooks feels like it takes a familiar concept but twists it in every way possible. Buddy fails to explore the interesting corners of this concept. So this is one of the rare situations where knowing a director’s style may hurt the viewing experience.  The target demographic appears to be preteen boys that are totally over kiddie crap. Wouldn’t it be cool if Barney was evil and killed the kids! Buddy is way closer to Five Nights At Freddy’s than anything else. Often feeling more cringy than scary. At times it feels embarrassing because it’s clear they’re trying to be menacing and it’s just not translating. This would be a fun movie to show to a mom because that’s the only demographic that might find this content shocking. It just feels like the absolute bare minimum was accomplished here.
The best part about this movie is the production design. They do a great job of making this set look like a functional kids show. The costumes and puppets are all fun characters to bring this world to life. There’s moments of gore that scratch the surface of how sadistic this concept can be, but never fully realize it. Nothing is done to make the outside world look interesting or play around with how the show and the real world interact. The mystery behind why this kids show turned evil is nonexistent. It’s not like the lack of explanation is scary like Backrooms, it’s just boring. Everything began and ended with evil Barney. Maybe in a packed theater for a midnight screening would be fun, but there’s nothing below the surface here. I don’t love Buddy, no I don’t. It fails at being scary or funny. Incredible disappointment compared to the director’s previous work. As the summer turns into fall, spooky season is almost upon us. This back to preschool type horror film may be fun for younger audiences, but adults can steer clear. If you enjoy this movie, Five Nights at Freddy’s 3 comes out in theaters next year. Buddy hugs into theaters August 28th! Rating: 2/5 Review by Steve Barton II  When James Wan first busted into the horror movie world, the state of the genre was less than ideal. The mainstream studio movies were mostly remakes of popular 80s icons or imitations of Scream with no originality. After the global success of Wan’s feature debut Saw, James had free reign to make more original films and he birthed two more huge franchises. In collaboration with longtime friend Leigh Whannell, they created The Conjuring universe and Dead Silence, but Insidious is the one that has created nightmares for over a decade. The first Insidious film burst into theaters in 2010 taking in over $100 million and each sequel continues to hit and overtake that benchmark. Many people thought the series would’ve ended completely with Insidious: The Red Door in 2023 with the completion of the Lambert family story, but The Further had other plans. Insidious: Out of The Further picks up several years after the events of The Red Door with Gemma (Amelia Eve) as a single mother raising her daughter in her family home where tragedy struck her as a child. As Gemma learns more about her past and present, she finds she can travel to The Further and bring things back over to the world of the living and the demons know too. If there’s one thing the Insidious series can do without failure is scare the wits out of you without drenching the screen in blood and guts. Using clever sound and set design, great camera work and strong directing made this a thrilling experience that’s akin to a haunted house POV walkthrough. While real jump scares are still present and rudely effective, the best scares are when the scary thing is in the background out of focus and the character has no idea. The tension that builds when you cut around and they’re gone gives you temporary relief, then immediate paranoia. While the scares do come in the normal settings like the family home or a dentist office, The Further is the star of the show. When the smoke covers the floors and the haze fills the room, the surreal nightmare begins and it almost feels like you could see Freddy Krueger in his boiler room if you made a wrong turn. We do see several familiar faces from previous Insidious installments, the new demon star Cyrus takes center stage. With his long hair and slender demeanor, his approach to possession is more like Dracula with intoxicating energy and quiet whispers of violence. He’s certainly nowhere near the scariest or creepiest of the franchise, but he’s an interesting addition to The Further team.  One aspect that felt very out of place were the several comedic beats during Insidious: Out of The Further. In the past, Specs and Tucker were mainly the only comedic relief, but it wasn’t too much where it became distracting. Brandon Perea as Officer Nick steps into their role as Gemma’s boyfriend, but several other characters decide they have jokes too. While comedy and horror share many qualities and comedic relief is necessary to rebuild tension, Out of The Further can’t decide who is the funny one when in reality, only Brandon is. There’s even a mid-credit scene in The Further that is awkwardly played for laughs (and no one in my theater did) and it fully captures the awkward tone that director Jacob Chase must’ve been shooting for. They also fall into the overused trope of “old people are scary” with nothing new or creative to say. While these particular elderly actors do strike fear in you from their makeup and performances, they still don’t come remotely close to being as scary as any of the demons from The Further.
In full, Insidious: Out of The Further does keep the overall feel of Insidious, but it’s nowhere near the spooky level of the original. While we don’t have the Lambert family anymore, we still have the incredible Elise Rainer played masterfully by the legendary Lin Shaye. Even into her 80s, Lin brings an energy to Elise that is motherly and intimidating and it makes her a wonderful spirit guide for our protagonist. Out of The Further, while not having the most original plot, it does display a child dealing with an addict parent very accurately through demonic possession. Everything from the loss of time and the home literally decaying from neglect helped build the world and the sadness our main characters live in. In the end, if you’re a fan of the Insidious universe and want to venture deeper into The Further, go check out Insidious: Out of The Further today! Insidious: Out of The Further is spooking up theaters starting August 21st! Rating: 3/5 |