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Episode 3 of Welcome to Derry dropped yesterday, so far the series has been great overall but for sure there are moments that make you feel both good and kinda frustrating, Im not talking about the production but whats going on the story, aside from the fact that I havent read the books so this is just pure mainstream audience opinion. The show throws this massive nine minute scene that goes back in 1962 with a traveling carnival coming through town and yeah it looks beautiful, the production value is insane as always but the whole thing just feels like one giant explanation for why General Shaw is so obsesed with hunting down Pennywise, although he doesnt necessary knows wtf he is looking for, like we really needed all this backstory just to understand that this dude has some serius daddy issues and wants to prove himself to his dead father or whatever. The young Francis Shaw meeting Rose as a kid is actually pretty cool though and their friendship works way better than I thought it would, these two kids have some decent chemistry and when that creepy skeleton thing comes crawling out of the woods trying to kill Shaw and Rose saves his ass with a slingshot that moment actually hits because it gives that weapon some real meaning for later when Dick Hallorann grabs it during the plane ride and gets dragged into that insane vision, but we will get to that part in a minute because that whole sequence is probably the best thing in this entire episode.

• IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt19244304
• Platform: HBO MAX

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Source Chris Chalk is doing amazing work as Dick Halloran and every scene with him just feels more interesting than everything else going on, when he touches that slingshot on the plane and gets pulled into Pennywises lair with all those floating bodys and his dead grandmother telling him to run that shit gets dark real fast. You can see the terror on his face and when he almost jumps out of the damn plane before Leroy grabs him it feels like actual danger for once, this is the kind of intensity the show needs more of because it reminds you just how powerful and messed up Pennywise really is even when we are not seeing the clown directly. The vision itself looks incredible too with that whole underwater sewer vibe and the dead kids just hanging there in the air, its one of those moments where the show stops messing around with teases and actually delivers something that makes your skin crawl. Dick realizing he just touched something way beyond his understanding and that this thing can reach into his head whenever it wants to, thats the kind of horror this show should be leaning into way more often instead of dancing around it with all these side plots that do not go anywhere fast enough.

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Source The kids storyline with Lilly, Ronnie, Will and Rich doing their little graveyard scene to try and catch Pennywise on camera is where this episode starts losing me a bit because the idea is solid but the execution feels super rushed and not thought out, I really though Rich was going to add more context as he is the one who brought up the Santeria part of it but then they just jump directly into the scene at the graveyard. They go to this cemetery at night with a camera trying to summon ghosts or whatever and yeah some creepy stuff happens with gravestones cracking and dead kids showing up but it all feels like we have seen this before already, another scene where the show is holding back on actually giving us a proper look at Pennywise and just teasing us with blurry images and I get they just holding up the juicy part so the audience doesnt loose that fear generated by the Clown once is out there, its like watching Freddy after every movies it loose impact. When Will gets that photograph at the end showing the clown in the crypt it should feel like this huge reveal moment where finally the kids have proof that this thing is real but instead it just feels like another step in a process that is taking way too long to get where its going. I get that they are trying to build suspense and not blow their load too early with showing Pennywise in full clown mode but at this point I am just tired of waiting, we are three episodes in and the show is still playing this game of hide and seek when we all know what we are here to see. The kids actors are doing fine work and I like the dynamic between them but this whole plot about getting evidence to prove Pennywises existence is moving at a snails pace and its starting to drag down what could be a really tight and scary show, now been a more realistic I probably feel like this because of the movies to tv series transition, on a tv series things go slower than on a movie so I guess its totally normal if you feel this way too, its not that the series is bad.

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Source The 1962 stuff does add some interesting context about how Pennywise operates and why he seems to be traped in the forest during that time period, Rose mentions something about the creature not being able to leave the woods and that makes sense with what we know about the Native American tribe trying to contain him. Seeing young Shaw and Rose become friends and then having to deal with this monster together gives their present day reunion some extra weight, when adult Shaw shows up at Roses shop in 1962 pretending he is just there to talk about water pipes you can tell she knows he is full of shit and that he remembers way more than he is letting on. The slingshot becomes this artifact that connects the past to the present and its a clever way to tie the timelines together even if the execution of getting there feels a bit clunky, like did we really need nine whole minutes of carnival footage to set this up or could they have done it in half the time and gotten to the good stuff faster. I appreciate what they are trying to do with the dual timeline structure but it only works when both timelines are equally interesting and right now the 1962 stuff with Dick and the military is way more engaging than watching kids run around a graveyard taking blurry photos.

This episode is not bad by any means but it is definitely the weakest one so far out of the three we have gotten, too much setup and not enough payoff for my taste but its true that FINALLY the military story side is starting to connect with the rest, on the first two episode felt like a totally separated story. The show is juggling like four diferent storylines right now with the kids, the military, Shaws backstory and Roses tribe and some of them are working way better than others, Dicks visions and his whole story with the military feels like he has a lot to loose and in constant danger while the kids plot feels like its on a treadmill trying to stretch out a story that could have been told faster. I want to love this show and there are moments in every episode that remind me why I was so excited for it in the first place but then there are also moments where it feels like the show is stalling for time and hoping we do not notice that its not moving forward as fast as it should be. Episode 3 gets like a 7 out of 10 from me, still worth watching but not as strong as the first two episodes and I am really hoping episode 4 picks things back up and gives us more of that intense horror and less of the slow burn setup that is starting to feel a bit too slow.

#skiptvads, #inleo, #hive, #pennywise, #derry, #horror, #stephen, #king, #clown, #episode, #review, #series, #television, #scary, #sewer, #kids, #military, #shaw, #dick, #hallorann, #shining, #vision, #graveyard, #camera, #ghost, #monster, #hbo, #max

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Ballad of a Small Player came out on Netflix October 29 and this thing wore me out way more than it entertained me, Im not the type of guy who commonly stops movies but I was about to. Edward Berger went from directing Conclave to basically trying his best Baz Luhrmann impression and it does not land at all, like what was he thinking with this one. Colin Farrell plays this sweaty disaster of a gambler named Brendan Reilly who goes by the fake name Lord Doyle while he is hiding in Macau and he cannot stop betting even tho he sucks at it, you watch him loose over and over again and it starts feeling like you are stuck in this endless loop with him, its exhausting as hell to sit through and there is no end to it, this guy just cant catch a break. The movie visually looks so good like they really invested in the production, all those neon lights and wild camera angles make it feel super flashy but thats its, thats why on the title I use All Looks No Substance because the story is a complete mess, like a beautiful wrapping paper around an empty box. Tilda Swinton shows up as this private investigate tracking Doyle down and there is another woman named Dao Ming who is a credit broker at the casino and might be his only chance at getting out but none of these relationships feel real or developed enough to actually give a damn about what happens. The whole thing tries so hard to be this deep look at addiction but it just comes off as repetitive and confusing, I could not tell you what was real and what was in his head half the time and not in a cool way just in an annoying way that had me with the finger on the fast forward button. Farrell is great as always but even he cant save this from feeling like style over substance, by the end I was just tired of a repetitive story that was getting no where, watching him going into this addictive cycle spiral down for nearly two hours without any reward, Berger clearly has talent but he forgot to give us characters worth caring about or a story that goes somewhere meaningful.

• IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt32063098/
• Platform: NETFLIX

Rottentomatoes Rating

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If you have seen the trailer its a very simple setup, Doyle is this disgraced Irish guy who embezzled millions and ran off to Macau where he pretends to be royalty, he walks around acting like some nobleman even tho everyone sees through his bullshit and its kinda pathetic to watch after a while. He gambles at baccarat tables and loses constantly but keeps going back because thats what addicts do, they never know how to stop, the movie wants you to think he is tortured and complex but really he just comes off as annoying after the first thirty minutes or so, witch makes the rest of the movie feel like a chore you have to sit through. When Dao Ming comes in during the Hungry Ghost Festival things get weird, shes this quiet mysterious credit broker who sees through his lies and tries to help him but the chemistry is very poor and their scenes fall completely flat on there face, you never understand why she cares about this loser or what she gets out of trying to save him witch becomes frustrating. Berger shoots everything with extreme closeups of sweat on Farrells face and long shots from behind peoples heads where everything else is blurry. The cinematography is technical impressive but that alone cant safe the movie, it looks very neat and clean but aint enough, there is no emotion just pretty visuals that dont serve the story at all and it becomes more obvious as things drag on. Every scene looks like it could be in some fancy art magazine but none of it connects to anything deeper, it is all surface beauty without heart underneath it, the gambling scenes should be tense but they drag on forever witch is the opposite of what you want, you watch Doyle bet and loose and bet again until it becomes this monotonous rhythm that puts you to sleep instead of keeping you interested in whats going to happen next. After taking money from Dao Mings shed Doyle goes on this stupidly and incredible winning streak before his final big bet but even that feels hollow and empty, its this hallelujah moment but just feels like the rest another fake moment, his character is very similar to Vince in the Black Rabbit who in fact had a similar gambling night and blow it up in a single final bet, when you watch that scene there was an adrenaline rush.

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Source Then there is this whole supernatural aspect of the movie where Dao Ming might be a ghost or she might be real or maybe both, the movie never commits to anything witch is frustrating because you spend the whole time trying to figure out whats going on instead of just experiencing the story and letting it happen like the movie is on cruise control. After Doyle has a heart attack he wakes up next to Dao Ming, he finds a big stash of her money hidden in the shed and goes gambling, winning like crazy at the tables. Suddenly his luck turns around completely and casino people whisper that a ghost is helping him win witch sounds cool but the execution is poor and it looses all impact. The movie wants to be this meditation on guilt and redemption but doesnt earn any of that, Doyle never does anything to make you root for him or care if he finds peace or whatever hes looking for in this damn casino, he is just self destructive without learning anything. The movie had some crazy editing cuts and loud music and colorful lights but none of it adds up to anything meaningful, its like watching someone show off technical skills without having a good story to tell witch is a waste of everyone time. The Hungry Ghost Festival stuff should add more to it both cultural and spiritual weight but it feels tacked on, like Berger thought it would look cool to have people burning offerings without actually integrating those beliefs into the story in a way that matters to anything happening on screen. Tilda Swintons character shows up periodically to remind Doyle that people back home want their money but also gave him a deadline to pay back embezzled funds or face deportation to stand trial, these scenes feel random and disconnected from everything else, she appears out of nowhere to then disappears until the script needs her again witch is lazy.

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Source Things get worst as the movie goes on and in fact close to the end its when things fall apart, Doyle steals Dao Mings money from her houseboat and uses it to gamble, he wins big and pays off his debts first but then he burns the rest of the cash in this symbolic gesture thats supposed to represent him letting go of addiction but it feels unearned because we never saw the journey that would make this moment land with any kind of impact or weight, you just cannot turn the table around from one minute to another. The movie tries to make this big statement about hungry ghosts and Buddhist mythology but barely scratches the surface of any of it, I mean the Festival of the Hungry Ghosts is all over the background but does that really give us enough depth to understand what Berger is trying to say about Doyle being one of those hungry ghosts, not really. You got Colin Farrell and Tilda Swintons characters dancing together during the credits in this awkward scene thats supposed to be about something but it feels random and out of place after everything else thats happened witch makes no sense at all, like why are Doyle and Blithe dancing when she spent the whole movie hunting him down. The score is actually pretty good, one of the few things that works but even that feels disconnected from whats happening on screen like it belongs in a different better version of this story that somebody forgot to make, witch is a shame. Nothing about the ending feels satisfying or earned, Doyle burns his remaining money and walks away and you are supposed to think he found peace but the movie never showed us the internal journey that would make that moment work or feel real, Berger wanted to make a redemption story without actually showing someone changing or growing or learning shit about themselves witch is the whole point. Farrells performance is the only thing holding this together and even thats not enough to save it, he commits fully to playing this broken mess of a man but the script does not give him enough to work with beyond just looking miserable and sweaty.

Look I wanted to like this so bad, Berger is talented and Farrell always brings it but Ballad of a Small Player is just exhausting to sit through and not in a good way that makes you think about it after. The movie is supposed to be this psychological thriller mixed with a ghost story and black comedy but ends up repetitive and hollow without landing any of those things right, Doyle is a disgraced Irish financier who stole money and ran to Macau where he drinks and gambles away everything while this investigator named Cynthia Blithe hunts him down, the problem is the movie never makes you care about any of it even though the setup is there. The ghost story part with Dao Ming is intentional because she actually drowned and is a hallucination but it still feels confusing and messy even knowing that, the pacing drags forever and by the time you get to the ending you are actually glad it ended. Maybe if the movie had focused more on making the characters interesting instead of just looking good this could have been something special worth talking about, this are many things to ask I think, this is one of those movies that just did not work for me at all. I would give it a 6 out of 10 because it looks beautiful and Farrell tries his best but everything else feels empty with no flavor, if your a fan of Bergers other work you might find something here but for me it was just a disappointment from start to finish that left me wishing I watched something else. Netflix has been putting out interesting stuff lately but this one I have no clue what happen with them, its the kind of movie that makes you appreciate when directors balance style with substance instead of choosing one over the other and forgetting what actually matters. I dont see a reason to watch this movie even if you are into gambling, I went into this movie thinking that it will be more interesting on the gambling side, so safe your time.

#skiptvads, #inleo, #hive, #netflix, #ballad, #player, #colin, #farrell, #gambling, #macau, #casino, #addiction, #edward, #berger, #review, #movie, #tilda, #swinton, #baccarat, #ghost, #supernatural, #cinematography, #drama, #disappointment, #streaming, #2025, #thriller, #critique

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Annabelle came out in 2014 right after The Conjuring was this massive hit and honestly this whole thing felt like Warner Brothers saw dollar signs and just rushed a spinoff out there to make some quick cash, the entire movie is about this young couple John and Mia who get this creepy looking doll as a gift and then these cult members break into there house one night, one of them bleeds all over the doll and boom now its possessed or whatever but heres the thing nothing really happens for like the first hour of this movie. You just get endless shots of the doll sitting there looking freaky and yeah sure the doll looks creepy as hell but that does not make a good scary movie, you need actual scares and tension and buildup and this movie just does not deliver any of that at all, the whole first half drags so damn much that I almost fell asleep watching it witch is not a good sign for a horror movie that is supposed to keep you on edge. The husband throws away the doll after the attack but then it magically shows up again in there moving boxes when they relocate to a new apartment and Mia just puts it back with her other dolls like nothing happened, I was sitting there thinking why the hell would you keep that thing after everything that went down but I guess the movie needed her to make dumb decisions so the plot could keep going.

• IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3322940/
• Platform: PRIME VIDEO

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Source When scary stuff finaly starts happening its all the same tired horror crap we have seen a billion times before, doors closing on there own, weird noises down the hallway, the TV turning on by itself and Mia walking towards every creepy sound like she has never watched a single horror movie in her entire life. The demon shows up a few times and there is this one decent scene in the basement with the elevator that actually got me a little bit, the elevator keeps bringing her back down to the basement where she saw this demon thing standing in the corner and that part was kind of effective I will give it that, but by the time we get there you have already sat through like fifty minutes of absolutely nothing happening so its hard to really care anymore. The husband John is played by this actor who has zero emotion on his face the entire time and his performance is so wooden and dry that it brings down every scene he is in, even when his wife is telling him about all this supernatural shit happening he just stands there looking bored like he would rather be anywhere else and I do not blame him because I felt the same way watching this.

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Source The movie tries to build up this whole backstory about the cult called the Disciples of the Ram who are trying to summon demons and steal souls or whatever, they show news reports about the Manson Family murders to set the time period in 1967 but honestly most of the movie does not even look like the sixties at all it just looks like modern day California. Mia ends up meeting this bookstore owner lady named Evelyn who is played by Alfre Woodard and she is honestly the best part of the whole damn movie, she actually gives a shit about her performance and brings some real emotion to her scenes especially when she talks about losing her daughter in a car accident that she caused, that whole conversation between her and Mia was probably the only time I felt anything watching this because Woodard is a great actress and she elevates the material even though the script is pretty paint by numbers. Theres also this priest character Father Perez who tries to help them get rid of the doll and the demon literally just tackles him like a WWE wrestler and sends him flying backwards, I am not even kidding it looked so ridiculous that I started laughing because it reminded me of those over the top wrestling moves where someone gets speared out of nowhere.

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Source The ending is where everything falls apart even more because after spending the whole movie establishing that this demon wants the babys soul they suddenly switch it up and say no actually it wants Mias soul instead, so Mia decides she is going to jump out the window with the doll to sacrifice herself but then Evelyn shows up out of nowhere and jumps instead because I guess she felt guilty about her daughters death and wanted to atone for it or something. It happens so fast and feels so unearned that I just sat there confused about what the hell just happened, one minute Evelyn is giving Mia advice about demons and the next she is yeeting herself out a window to save a family she barely knows, the movie tries to make it feel emotional but it just comes off as lazy writing because they did not know how else to end the story without killing off the main characters. After Evelyn dies the doll just disappears and then we get this quick scene at the end showing one of the girls from the begining of The Conjuring buying the doll from an antique shop as a gift and thats it, roll credits and your sitting there thinking wait is that all we get after sitting through ninety minutes of boredom.

Looking back at Annabelle now its pretty wild that this thing made over 250 million dollars worldwide on a 6 million dollar budget because Warner Brothers knew people would show up just because of The Conjuring name, the director John Leonetti who also did the cinematography for The Conjuring clearly got this job because of that connection and not because he had any good horror movies under his belt considering he directed Mortal Kombat Annihilation witch is one of the worst sequels ever made. This whole movie feels like a cash grab that was rushed into production without anyone stopping to ask if we actually needed to know how the doll got possessed, the answer is no we did not need to know that because the mystery of it in The Conjuring was way scarier than whatever this tried to do, the cast is mostly forgettable except for Alfre Woodard who deserved a way better movie and Annabelle Wallis who plays Mia does an okay job when she is by herself but gets dragged down by her costar who has the charisma of a brick wall. The movie is not even about the three people who were interviewed about the doll in The Conjuring witch would have been way more interesting to see, instead we get this boring couple that has zero connection to anything and the doll barely does anything for most of the runtime, if your going to watch any Annabelle movie skip this one and go straight to Annabelle Creation because that one is actually good and fixes a lot of the problems this first one had. I would give Annabelle maybe a 4 out of 10 and thats me being generous, its not the worst horror movie I have ever seen but its definitely not worth your time when there are so many better options out there that will actually scare you instead of putting you to sleep.

#skiptvads, #inleo, #hive, #annabelle, #horror, #conjuring, #spinoff, #demon, #doll, #possessed, #cult, #scary, #movie, #review, #2014, #boring, #cashgrab, #supernatural, #haunted, #warren, #prequel, #jumpscares, #thriller, #cinema, #entertainment, #film, #disappointing, #warnerbros

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Mission Impossible The Final Reckoning, took me some time to watch because Im not really attracted to this franchise anymore honestly but I knew at some going I was going to watch, this movie is one of those movies where Tom Cruise does some absolutely insane shit on screen and you sit there thinking how the hell is this guy still alive at sixty two years old because the stunts in this thing are no joke and worth the price of the theater ticket but it has some holes in it, the movie. The submarine part where he is diving down into this Russian sub thats rolling down an underwater mountain is probably the best action sequence in the entire franchise and then that plane part at the end where he is hanging off these old biplanes doing flips and fighting Gabriel mid air while trying to save the world is just nuts, but here is the problem with this movie, everything else around those crazy stunts feels like a two hour and 49 minute meeting where people just keep talking and talking about what they gotta do next or what just happened or what could happen if they dont do this or that. The whole thing tries way too hard to tie the entire franchise together by bringing back stuff from Mission Impossible 3, none of it needs to be there at all because it just makes everything more confusing. Christopher McQuarrie clearly wrote the action scenes first and then scrambled to build a story around them and it shows big time because the pacing is all over the place, the first hour could have been thirty minutes shorter if they cut out all those repetitive flashback scenes and exposition dumps that slow everything down.

• IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9603208

Rottentomatoes Rating

Source For the most part the movie is not bad so here some of what actually works here because there is some impressive stuff happening when the movie shuts up and lets the action do the talking, like that submarine sequence is just spectacular and you can tell its all real water and practical effects with Tom Cruise actually doing this stuff himself at the bottom of a tank or wherever they filmed it, at least that was my first impression. The way the sub spins around while Ethan is inside trying to grab this thing called the Podkova, witch is basically a hard drive with the AI source code on it and torpedo are sliding around and he has to time his movements perfectly or he dies, its just insane filmmaking that reminds you why this franchise has lasted so long in the first place. You feel the weight of the water and the pressure and the danger because its all actually happening in front of the camera instead of looking like a video game cutscene like most action movies these days, and the same goes for that biplane sequence at the end where Tom Cruise is literally on the outside of these planes flying around at sixty two years old doing stuff that should not be possible for anyone much less a guy whos been doing this for almost thirty years now. The guy is in better shape than most people half his age and he is out here risking his life for our entertainment, you got to respect that level of commitment even if the story around it is a mess, these are the moments that make Mission Impossible special and this one delivers on that front big time even if nothing else works.

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Source The problem with Final Reckoning is that it spends so much time trying to connect everything from the past movies that it forgets to tell a good story in the present, like the first hour is just constant old data dump reminding you about stuff that happened in previous movies. They show you clips from Mission Impossible 3 about the rabbits foot witch turns out was actually the proto AI that created the entity, so now Ethan is personally responsable for this whole mess witch could have been interesting if they actually did something with it but they dont, its just there to make you go oh wow everything was connected all along when really it just feels force. Then they bring back that scientist from the very first Mission Impossible and make this big deal about how a knife getting dropped during that heist ruined this guys life for thirty years but then the guy is like actually it was great I found my wife so no hard feelings and its just like why did we spend ten minuts on this if it doesnt matter at all. The movie keeps doing this thing where it introduces a character or a plot point and then immediately has to pause everything to explain it with flashbacks, so you never get into a rythm because you are constantly stopping to look backwards instead of moving forwards and they even do flashbacks to stuff that happened in Dead Reckoning Part One, like we remember Rebecca Ferguson dying you dont need to show us clips of it again we were there, I know I'm actually ranting a bit for a movie that I did enjoy watching but I'm ranting about the story that was suppose to build up during the movie, its over two hours so you expect character build up not tons of flashbacks.

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Source Gabriel is suppose to be this big scary villian but he is one of the weakest ones in the franchise, he just shows up and talks in this weird way about how everything is written and the entity has a plan for everyone, but then halfway through the entity abandons him so now he wants to control it himself for some reason that never gets explained properly. The actor does his best with what hes given but the character just isnt interesting at all, he doesnt have any real motivation beyond being evil and serving this AI, and when he finally dies at the end its in the most boring way possible where he just falls off a plane and hits the tail and thats it, no big fight or emotional payoff just dead. Compare that to how they handled villain like Solomon Lane or even Sean Ambrose from the second movie, those guys felt dangerous and had actual reasons for doing what they did, Gabriel is just there because the script needs someone for Ethan to fight every now and then, and the entity itself is also boring as far as AI threats go. Its just doing the standard take over all the nukes and destroy humanity thing witch feels like something from a ninety s action movie, there is no new ideas here and the movie doesnt have anything interesting to say about AI or technology even though we are living in a time where AI is everywhere, they had a great chance to make some kind of statement but instead just went with the most generic plot possible witch is disappointing.

The best parts are when Ethan is underwater fighting for his life or hanging off planes, lest face it the movie is all action no story just flashbacks, thats only time when the movie comes alive and you remember why people still care about this franchise after all these years but they needed a way better script to hang all these amazing stunts on instead of this mess, if Im not mistaken they did this movie to kinda kill it because its just too much, even for the Fast and Furious there was a time they had to pivot and create the monster that it is today, there has to be a stop. The emotional side of the story dont land at all because we dont spend enough time with anyone, like Luthers death should have been this huge moment but it feels rushed and we barely get time to process it before moving on to the next stunt, same with Benji getting shot and having to talk someone through defusing a server while he is getting emergency surgery, witch should be super tense but its just one of like seven impossible things happening at the same time so it loses all its impact. The movie throws so much at you in the final hour that it stops being exciting and starts being silly and over the top, there is a nuclear bomb counting down and a server that needs unplugging at exactly one hundred milliseconds and an assassination attempt on some president and Ethan flying planes all at once, instead of feeling cool it just feels like too much, you stop caring because its all so over the top and ridiculus. Sometimes less is more and this movie really fail that test, its like it just keeps stacking more and more until your brain shuts off from overload. I give Mission Impossible The Final Reckoning a 7 out of 10, its worth seeing for those two big action sequences alone specially on the biggest screen you can find but the messy story and weak villian and bloated final hour keep it from being anything close to great, if this really is the last one then its a decent enough send off but definitely not the epic conclusion the franchise deserved after almost thirty years.

#skiptvads, #inleo, #hive, #mission, #impossible, #reckoning, #cruise, #ethan, #submarine, #action, #stunts, #gabriel, #entity, #biplane, #mcquarrie, #sequel, #franchise, #podcast, #benji, #luther, #villain, #bomb, #underwater, #practical, #effects, #spy, #thriller, #disappointment

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The Conjuring 2 is one of those rare things where the sequel does not suck ass, which honestly surprised the hell out because most horror sequels just fall flat and become cash grabs. After that Annabelle disaster I was not expecting much from this whole universe thing but James Wan came back and reminded everyone how to actually do a proper scary movie, the man knows what he is doing behind the camera and it shows in every single scene, yesterday I put out the review for "The Devil Made Me Do It" that is not directed by Wan and you can notice the difference. This time Ed and Lorraine Warren head to England to deal with the Enfield case which involves a family getting terrorized by some spirit that latches onto this little girl Janet, just as the first one its a similar concept and even though it still works great, it goes straight into building tension from the start, just nonstop anxiety, one creepy moment after another without giving you much time to breathe. The scares here are not just cheap jump scares where something pops out of nowhere, the movie shows the ghost face right in front giving it body and character from the start not just an invisible entity opening doors, this gives the brain a second to process what is happening before it actually hits, that is what makes it feel organic and way more effective. The young actress playing Janet did a damn good job carrying a lot of the weight, if she had been bad the whole thing would have fallen apart but she nailed it, the second part gets into the investigation stuff where the movie plays with the idea of whether this is all a show or not, kids lie all the time so that doubt adds another layer to it. James Wan uses sounds from the time where the movie develops like the TV or the squeaky couch, its so immersive that even familiar situations scary again, he makes the whole thing work when it could have easily been another forgettable horror movie because again its the same concept as the first one just told different under different conditions, work out better than I expected, many sequels just sux because they cant do better than the first one.

• IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3065204/
• Platform: HULU

Rottentomatoes Rating

Source The Hodgson family situation is what makes this work way better than most possession movies, because you actually give a shit about these people, Peggy is a single mom who hasnt received child support in three months and she is barely holding things together with four kids in a house that is literally falling apart around them. The movie does such a good job showing how broke they are without making it feel preachy or over done, Billy always asking for cookies but mom cant afford them and you can see how much that eats at her, she wants to spoil her kids but she cant even keep the lights on half the time. This isnt some perfect happy family getting torn apart by evil like in the first movie, these people are already struggling before any of this supernatural crap even starts happening, which makes it feel so much worse when things go sideways and when that old man spirit Bill Wilkins starts possessing Janet and throwing furniture around the family cant just pack up and leave because they got nowhere else to go. The neighbors see whats happening, the cops show up and actually witness the paranormal activity which never happens in these movies, usually the ghost hides when authority figures arrive but not this time, Bill Wilkins does not give a damn who shows up, he is making his presence known to everybody. Peggy is doing her best to protect her kids while also dealing with people thinking she is crazy or that her daughter is faking everything for attention, Madison Wolfe who plays Janet really sells the exhaustion, the pain and fear of being terrorized night after night by the end of the movie she looks like she has aged many years from all the stress and trauma, and its one of the best child performances I have seen in the franchise.

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Source On this sequel you can tell James Wan had access to way more money to work with compared to the first movie, I would assume this based on the camera work that is insane with all these long takes that glide through rooms and hallways building up tension without needing to cut away every two seconds. The way he uses shadows and lighting to hide things in plain sight is brilliant, just like when Bill appears on the couch in plain day light, there are moments where you swear you see something in the background but when you look closer its just a shadow, then other times its actually the demon and it messes with your head. The opening sequence with the Amityville case is intense as hell even though it has nothing to do with the main story, Lorraine gets pulled into a vision where she experiences the murders, and sees this demonic nun Valak who threatens to kill Ed if they dont stop investigating paranormal cases and finding out that was the vision that messed Lorraine up so bad in the first movie was a nice touch. The chemistry between Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga is still incredible, you believe they are a couple who love each other and the scene where ed plays guitar and sings an Elvis song for the Hodgson family is probably the most emotional moment in any of these movies, its such a small quiet moment but it shows who Ed really is as a person and why Lorraine needs him so much. They could have easily just made the Warrens these ghost hunting badasses without any real meaning but instead they feel like real people with real emotions and real fears about losing each other, although I have also complain in the past how this turns into a weakness for the franchise as most cases get solve by the love they have for each other or their families, then transfers to the victims in their cases too, which is what separates these movies from all the other generic horror movies but then again this is entertainment, everybody has a different taste.

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Source The demon nun Valak is creepy as hell even if I wish they had stuck with the original demon design that looked way cooler but I get why they went with the nun, because it works as a mockery of Lorraines faith and religion which makes the scares more complex at the same as it ties together with the Nun movies within the Conjuring Universe. Valak knows exactly how to mess with Lorraine by taking the form of something holy and twisting it into something evil, the painting scene where ed unknowingly paints the nuns face is very creepy because it shows the demon can get inside his head too without even letting him realize it and the name reveal thing where Valak hides its name throughout their house in random places is clever. Bill Wilkins himself is an interesting character because for most of the movie you think he is the main threat, he is the one possessing Janet and scaring the family, but then you find out he is just a pawn being used by Valak to keep the Warrens away and the old man just wants to see his family but he is trapped and cant move on. When Janet starts speaking in that deep voice as Bill it sounds nothing like an eleven year old girl could produce, even the skeptics in the movie cant explain how she is pulling that off without some kind of supernatural force being involved and the movie does a great job keeping that doubt alive, there are moments where it looks like Janet might be faking, but they keep questioning how it can be proof she is faking it because if they cant prove its real then the church wont help them.

The scares in this movie work because James Wan understands timing and atmosphere better than most horror directors that have work on the franchise, he doesnt rely on loud noises and things jumping at the camera every five minutes, the buildup is where the real fear comes from, getting to now better the characters specially those affected and tormented by the demon, there is something really special this time and is that you end up caring for Bill too even though the old man is a bastard when ever he wants to. That scene where Janet is home sick and the tv keeps changing channels by itself feels heaving within the atmosphere with rain outside and the house feeling empty and isolating, you know something bad is about to happen, but Wan takes his time letting the tension build until Bill Wilkins finally shows himself in the reflection of the tv screen. The crooked man stuff is the only part that feels unnecessary and out of place but still works so good mainly because of the lighting and the isolation of the place, it shows up twice to scare the little brother Billy, but it has nothing to do with the actual story, does feels like it was added just because they had the budget for it, that weird effect where the dog transforms into the crooked man looks cool too even though the movie is not focus on it. The climax gets a little too over the top with all the special effects, after spending two hours building this slow burn horror atmosphere it suddenly turns into this big action scene with Valak roaring and Ed almost getting him fall on a giant spike, a vision Lorraine had but its a classic cliche that the worst vision usually never end up happening, good vs evil at the end of the day. It was still intense and well done but it does feel like a downshift from the rest of the movie. Lorraine figuring out Valaks name and using it to banish the demon back to hell is satisfying even if the execution is a bit corny, the way she yells the name while Ed is dangling out a window is pure exorcist energy without having to just copy paste it, I mean we have seen almost everything about a possession from Hollywood movies so I doubt now days there is anything they can come up with that surprise anyone, as I mention its a about the build up and getting to know the characters that does the heavy lifting. The movie wraps up with everything being fine which feels a little too clean considering how brutal the haunting was, overall this is a solid 8 out of 10 for me, its not quite as tight as the first Conjuring but it does more with character development and emotional connection, which makes up for the slightly weaker pacing in the middle section and I would definitely recommend it to anyone who enjoyed the first one or just wants to see a well made horror movie that actually tries to first make you care about the characters and then try to be scary.

#skiptvads, #inleo, #hive, #horror, #sequel, #conjuring, #enfield, #possession, #demon, #valak, #nun, #scary, #haunting, #supernatural, #england, #warren, #ghost, #paranormal, #thriller, #suspense, #family, #investigation, #2016, #jameswanm, #creepy, #terror, #exorcism, #spirit

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The Hand That Rocks the Cradle 2025 just dropped on Hulu a couple of days ago, I CAN NOT RECOMMEND this one, this is the type of script that Maika Monroe should know to just walk away, she does have a few movies I like, there is "It Follows (2014)" and most recent "Longlegs (2024)" and after sitting through this thing I got to say it feels like one of those remakes nobody really wanted, you know what I mean. The original back in 1992 had Rebecca De Mornay doing her thing as this psycho nanny and people still enjoy the drama out of that movie today because it worked, it had real tension, real scares and that whole evil woman moving into your house vibe was perfect. This new version directed by Michelle Garza Cervera tries to do something different, witch I can respect because we are in the era of lets reboot every movie from the 80s and 90s under the sun and call it "not a remake" so they add their own sauce to it and Im all in for that but honestly it just does not land the same way this time, not even close. Its got Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Maika Monroe in the lead roles and there both solid actors, no complaints about the performances but the script feels super lazy and you can see most of the twists coming from a mile away, its like most Fatal Attraction inspired movie, you already know wth going to happen but there are some that as I said at their own sauce and works, but this one just ruins all the suspense been so obvious and predictable.

• IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt33502160
• Platform: HULU

Rottentomatoes Rating Source The pacing drags hard in spots where it should be building tension but instead your just sitting there waiting for something interesting to happen and it takes forever. They tried adding this modern spin with queer themes and social commentary stuff that had some potential, but it comes off forced and does not add much to the story. So the basic setup is what you expect from these nanny from hell movies, Caitlin played by Winstead is this uptight pregnant attorney who represents clients in housing disputes. She meets this woman Polly played by Monroe they first meet when Caitlin is assigned to represent Polly as her attorney in a housing dispute with her landlord, then they cross paths again at the farmers market where Polly asks for the nanny job. From the start you can tell something is way off with Polly, shes got this dead look in her eyes and says weird shit that should be red flags, but everyone ignores it because the script needs them to act like sheep and just go with the expected flow.

Source Source Monroe does her best with what she was given, and she brings that creepy energy, she was doing something with her performance that gives you chills but its not Rebecca De Mornay level, nobody here is on that level honestly. Winstead plays Caitlin as this super controlling type A mom who freaks out about everything, she is obsessed with what her kids eat, staying fit and micromanaging every aspect of her familys life, witch makes her annoying to watch I guess that was good to a certain point because the movie is making you feel at least something but then there is nothing that tame her down, nothing in contrast to keep things balance. The husband Miguel played by Raul Castillo is my biggest issue with this movie because this dude is the weakest, most spineless character I have seen in forever. Every time Caitlin tries to tell him something is wrong with Polly, he brushes her off, acts like she is paranoid, even when she has legit concerns, he is like nah your crazy and it gets frustrating watching it play out. I get the movie is showing maritial problems and how Polly uses that against them but damn this guy needed to have his wifes back once. There was a scene where the nanny gives there 10 year old daughter fireworks and the kid almost blows her hands off in her bedroom and Miguels response is basically well you hired her, like are you serious, your daughter almost got hurt bad and your defending the nanny, it makes no sense. The script tries giving him depth by making him Mexican, throwing in lines about feeling like an outsider but it goes nowhere, its just there to check boxes. The mystery of why Pollys doing this takes forever to get revealed and when it happens, its not terrible, turns out Caitlin used to be named Jennifer as a teenager.

Source Source She burned down Pollys family house killing everyone except Polly, because Pollys dad was sexually abusing both Jennifer and his own daughter for years and nobody believed Jennifer, so she changed her name and moved on, while Polly grew up in foster care plotting revenge for like 30 years and some change, its dark as hell, worse than the original motivation. But the movie does not do enough with it, by the time you find out you are like men its too late for surprises because after that the movie feels like its over there is nothing to carry the momentum because the pacing dragged so long and nothing shocking happened to keep you interested enough. Polly spends most the movie doing small sabotage like switching Caitlyns meds with meth, adding sugar to the kids food, starting little fires, witch feels tame compared to the original. There was also this thing where Polly might be attracted to Caitlin , because Caitlyns bisexual and that adds psychological manipulation that could of been interesting and they could have added some kind of obsession potentially sexual to mix things up but I guess then wanted to stick to the original story, but the movie does not commit to be revolutionary or changes things up, it teases it then drops it.

#skiptvads, #inleo, #hive, #hulu, #remake, #thriller, #horror, #review, #disappointing, #nanny, #psycho, #winstead, #monroe, #lazy, #predictable, #streaming, #forgettable, #original, #comparison, #weak, #rushed, #ending, #sabotage, #revenge, #mystery, #violence, #generic, #filler

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The Conjuring The Devil Made Me Do It had its moment when it dropped back in 2021, two out of three is not bad for a trilogy if you think about it. I have been watching the entire franchise after the Last Rite drop, in fact I though would be the ending of it but now they working on spin offs, the Devil Made Me Do It starts strong with a powerful exorcism scene with this kid David getting possessed, its wild how things start off but then everything just sort of tame down after that and never really comes back up. The trailer got me thinking this was going to have some serious courtroom action mixed with all the horror stuff, almost like they were going for that Emily Rose vibe but turns out the court part was just there to kick things off and get Ed and Lorraine running around playing detective for most part of the movie. Not like the first two entries that had everything contained inside a house, a family dealing with paranormal crap in these super tense spaces where every corner could have something waiting for you. When a horror movie takes place in a home it sticks with you because we all live in houses / apartment, you know what I mean, but this third one goes in a completely different direction by turning it into this investigation where the Warrens are jumping from place to place trying to track down some witch who put a curse on people. The detective angle could have been interesting if they had done it right, but this movie just dragged and nothing about it felt scary to me. Most of the supernatural stuff was just effects happening to remind you there is still demons involved, like the possessed people just bend backwards and scream which gets old real fast. The witch part had some cool moments but when thats the best thing about a Conjuring movie you know something went sideways during production.

• IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7069210/
• Platform: PRIME VIDEO

Rottentomatoes Rating

Source The movie is all over the place with no clear direction or focus on any one idea, at least thats my perception. The startup scene I was talking about is David getting an exorcism performed on him, the movie seem to try way too hard to copy The Exorcist with those camera angles and the way they framed certain shots that makes it look frame by frame like the exorcist. Ed is doing his thing reading from religious texts, Lorraine is having her visions like always, the kid is doing that wall crawling routine I have seen in every possession movie ever made. Then you got Arnie who is dating Davids sister Debbie and he goes ahead and does probably the stupidest move possible by telling the demon to take him instead of the kid, I get it he did out of good heart because he couldn't take the pressure anymore, every single horror movie tells you not to invite evil into your body but this guy does it anyway without thinking twice about it. The demon obviously jumps at the chance for a new host because why wouldnt it, free fresh meat, then Ed has a heart attack right in the middle of everything which the movie uses as a way to keep him on the sidelines even though he bounces back pretty quick and starts investigating like nothing happened. After this first drive through exorcism happens then the whole movie shifts into this procedural format where its less about scaring you and more about watching Ed and Lorraine investigate clues like some kind of supernatural police, for some time its entertaining but then starts to drag, I know Im complaining a bit on this post but the truth is that this entire franchise is a hit and miss, what helps is that there are multiple movies on it to cover up. Arnie winds up stabbing his landlord Bruno to death while he is under the demons control, at least thats what we are suppose to believe but the murder scene plays out with Call Me by Blondie playing in the background to be all creepy. Using an 80s pop song during a killing is not scary at all, then the rest of the movie is just the Warrens attempting to prove Arnie was possessed so he doesnt get executed for murder. This could have been a cool legal thriller mixed with horror but they barely show any courtroom scenes, just one part where the lawyer brings up demonic possession as a defense and everyone acts shocked before cutting back to more detective work. They go around finding these little curse totems, talking to priests about satanic shit, visiting crime scenes where Lorraine uses her powers to see flashbacks of previous murders, none of it feels like something new to the franchise or even exciting.

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Source The big twist ends up being some witch named Ilsa who is behind all the cursing and murdering, she just happens to be the daughter of this priest Father Kastner who they consulted earlier in the movie. Like what are the chances that out of every expert they could have gone to for help they pick the one guy whose kid is the actual villain, thats the kind of lazy writing that makes you think why they decided to make the answer so lame instead of working on a more complex mystery. Ilsa has been using these totems to curse random people and make them kill each other as sacrifices for a demon, Isla's whole deal in the movie is pretty straightforward but also kinda messed up, she is basically obsessed with Satan and the dark arts, and she was trying to complete this curse to gain power. The curse requires her to deliver souls to a demon through human sacrifices, specifically three people need to die, one by murder and one by suicide from three different "components". They try to make it seem mysterious by having Kastner say you cant understand satanists because they just do evil stuff for no reason, which is honestly the weakest excuse for a villian I have heard in a while because even in horror movies the bad guys need proper motivations that make sense. The climax takes place in these underground tunnels beneath Kastners house where Ilsas altar is all set up with candles and pentagrams and typical satanic looks, Ed has to smash the altar with a sledgehammer while Lorraine fights off possessed Ed who is trying to bash her head in with that same hammer, the scene was very intense until we fall for the same thing over and over, love. She breaks the possession by reminding him about their love story and how they met at a movie theater and had ice cream at some gazebo, its corny as hell but it works because the power of love beats demons apparently. Ed destroys the altar, the curse lifts, Arnie stops freaking out in his jail cell, then the demon shows up to punish Ilsa for not delivering the souls she promised by snapping her arms backwards and dragging her off to hell. That arm breaking effect was probably the only decent scare in the entire movie, everything else was pretty tame and predictable compared to what the earlier movies delivered.

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Source The ending has Arnie getting convicted of manslaughter even after the curse gets broken so the entire investigation was worthless because they couldn't get him out of jail, but its also the most realistic part of the whole thing because no judge or jury is going to accept the devil made me do it as a valid defense no matter what evidence you present, we taling about factual events, you might get less years and send to an institution but you are going to complete your time one way or another. He marries Debbie while locked up and they stay together which is kind of sweet but also depressing when you remember he is serving time for killing someone while possessed by a demon that wasnt his fault. The movie wraps everything up with Ed building Lorraine a gazebo replica from their first date decades ago, they kiss and act all happy despite just finishing one of their most dangerous cases according to the story. Problem is nothing ever feels dangerous or tense during the movie but Im not sure if thats exactly what they were going for with the investigator role they added, the scares are weak, the story jumps around without any smooth flow, the villain Ilsa just looks like some angry librarian instead of an actual terrifying supernatural threat. She doesnt do anything particularly that sticks with you, just stands around looking pissed off and doing witch stuff in the shadows.

What made those first two Conjuring movies work so damn well was James Wan behind the camera, he understood how to build real suspense and create moments that made you jump or feel genuinly unsettled long after watching. This third one got directed by Michael Chaves who also did The Curse of La Llorona which was one of the worst entries in the whole Conjuring universe, you can tell the difference immediately because this one has none of that Wan style or those carefully crafted scares that made the originals so effective, this one is more telegraph and obvious. Its not the worst horror movie that I have seen by no means but Im a fan of the franchise so its just obvious that Im going to demand more from it, for a Conjuring movie it falls way short and close a the trilogy on a pretty weak note back then if this was the last time we see Ed and Lorraine as main characters, years latter we find out it was not the case and probably why decided to drop the 2025 addition. Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga still bring their A game like they always do, their chemistry together remains the best part of these movies and probably the only thing keeping it from being complete trays, sorry but not sorry. Even with their solid performances they cant save a script this messy and dull that doesnt give them much to work with besides walking around investigating stuff and having romantic flashbacks. I would give it maybe a 7 out of 10 at best, its not that bad bad bad or unwatchable but its not the best Conjuring movie out there, thats the problem with sequels, we all expect that its going to top off the previous movie, although this one just exists as this average horror movie that doesnt scare you or leave any real impression once the credits roll, I have seen horror movies that are not scary but intense as fuck, they could have also took that route but didnt.

#skiptvads, #inleo, #hive, #conjuring, #horror, #possession, #exorcism, #demon, #witch, #thriller, #supernatural, #murder, #trial, #warren, #investigation, #curse, #satanic, #sequel, #totem, #courtroom, #ritual, #devil, #priest, #tunnels, #altar, #librarian, #disappointed, #mediocre

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Black Phone 2 came out swinging harder than most people expected and honestly it set his up for possible franchise almost trying to take Nightmare on Elm Street place and I would usually notice this but didnt even care about with Gwen and Finn were doing so great, yes there are areas where the movie lacks but the fight scenes were awesome and the chemistry between brothers was on point. When they first announced a sequel I was sitting there thinking okay how the hell are they going to pull this off, The Grabber died in the first movie so what now, are they going to resurrect him and make some weird ghost story that does not make sense, is the Grabber the new Jason?. But Scott Derrickson really knows what he is doing with horror because this thing actually worked way better than I thought, it makes you care about the character without the need to really scare you to death. The whole supernatural angle they went with feels like a mix of Nightmare on Elm Street vibes without being a straight up copy, they made it their own thing and those dream sequences were absolutely insane to watch, shot on grainy looking stuff that gave it this creepy old school feel. Madeleine McGraw as Gwen basically steals the whole damn movie, she loves to run her mouth on everyone else, she is the one dealing with most of the horror stuff this time around, her character goes through so much shit in this movie that by the end I was actually feeling bad for her. Mason Thames returns as Finny and the kid has grown up, not just physically but his whole vibe is different now, he is angrier and more closed off because of what happened in the first movie witch makes total sense when you think about it. The movie picks up four years after the events from the first one and both kids are still dealing with trauma but in very different ways, Finny beats up anyone who even mentions what happened to him and Gwen is having these crazy dreams that feel more intense than anything she experienced before.

• IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt29644189/

Rottentomatoes Rating

Source The first 45 minutes drag a bit but its mainly because the movie is setting everything up and reintroducing the characters witch is fine but it feels slow as hell before things actually start happening. You get this whole mystery about dead kids and phone calls and some camp called Alpine Lake that The Grabber used to work at back in the 60s, they use to call him Wild Bill Hickok although he kept saying that was not his name, he was the janitor there witch is such a cliche but whatever it works I guess. Once the mystery kicks in and we start learning more about The Grabber and his past though, that is when the movie gets you locked in and wont even think about taking a break. They do not ruin the character by explaining too much but they give you enough to understand how he came back and some of that backstory actually made me look at the first movie differently witch is always cool when a sequel can do that. The whole idea is that The Grabber killed three boys at this camp way back and their bodys were never found so their souls are trap and that is what gives him power to come back as this supernatural force, its like he is stuck between life and death and can mess with people in their dreams now and in real life, talk about hybrid situation. Ethan Hawke does not get as much screen time this round but when he shows up its effective, his voice work is really creepy and menacing even though you can not always see him on screen witch was an interesting choice.

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Source The movie realy goes hard with the gore and violence this time, like way harder than the first one with multiple scenes where kids get killed on screen even felt like a slasher at times, they show you the damage and its brutal as hell, one scene involves an axe to the face and another has someone getting dragged across a frozen lake and it looks pain full as shit. Gwen ends up at this Christian camp for a weekend with Finny and this new "boyfriend" named Ernesto who is actually the younger brother of Robin from the first movie witch I did not realize until he and Finn talk about Robin. The camp is closed because of a massive snow storm so they are stuck there with just a few counselors and of course that is when The Grabber starts showing up in the dream world but also messing with people in real life to. They do this thing where he has powers in both the death and the life realm and throws Gwen around a room and everyone can see it happening but they can not see him witch was a cool scene even though it raises some questions about the rules, so they did Krueger but change the rules?! I know many are going to pick up on this one and say hheeellll nah, but I have to admit it was entertaining, besides there is a big generation that dont even know who the F is Freddy Crugger. The Grabber can attack people in real life why does he even need the dream stuff, it felt like the movie was making up rules as it went along sometimes but I was having to much fun to really care that much. The way they shot the dream sequences on that grainy super 8 looking camera was perfect, it gave you a visual cue so you always knew when someone was dreaming versus awake and the music in those scenes was creepy as hell to.

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Source The final fight happens on this frozen lake where the three dead boys bodys are hidden under the ice and Gwen has to dive into the freezing water to pull them out, all this while she is dreaming, this so their souls can be free witch will take away The Grabbers power. Now here is where I had some issues because Gwen jumps into sub zero water and somehow does not die from hypothermia or drown even though she is under there for like five minutes because yes he is on her dreams and her body outside but if the rules apply when she gets cut by the Grabber during her dreams I mean her body bleeds too then why her body doesnt freeze too? they show her body getting all wet by water like water came out of her so this are some of the inconsistencies I can call on, the movie established that if you get hurt in the dream you get hurt in real life so why does that not apply here. The Grabber shows up wearing ice skates made of frozen blood on his feet and he is skating around the lake trying to kill everyone witch sounds ridiculουs but it actually looked cool as hell. Finny ends up fighting him even though he cant see him and starts bashing his face into the ice until he is just a bloody mess, then the dead boys grab him and drag him down to the bottom of the lake and that is supposed to be the end of him, BUT I notice before going down he grabs his mask, he doesnt leave it behind, what does that means?. The ending clearly explains that Gwen's dreams are her gift and not a curse and gives her some closure about everything that happened, it was a sweet moment and Madeleine McGraw really sold it with her acting even though we never see the mom on screen. I wish they would have killed more people honestly, the body count felt low for how brutal some of the kills were and The Grabber deserved to rack up more victims to really show how dangerous he still is even as a ghost or whatever supernatural thing he became, on the first movie they gave him all that body count but we never got to see anything about it.

Overall this movie worked for me way more than I expected, I know some people are going to hate that opinion but I am just being real here, its entertainment that you cant take too serious unless you are a hard core fan of Nightmare on Elm Street, if they keep making these and come up with smart ways to bring The Grabber back I would not mind seeing more. The first movie was great but it felt like a complete story that did not need a sequel, this one justifies its existence by going bigger and crazier with the supernatural elements. Scott Derrickson clearly loves Nightmare on Elm Street and you can feel that influence all over this movie, some people might say it copy to much from Freddy Krueger but when you have not had a thing from that franchise in so long you cant denied that even if Krueger never existed Black Phone 2 is a cool movie. The relationship between Finny and Gwen is still the heart of the story and watching them work together to stop The Grabber again was satisfying, they both grew as characters and dealt with their trauma in ways that felt earned by the end. I have to admit the setup takes to long and yes some of the logic does not make sense but once this thing gets going its a wild ride that kept me entertained the whole way. I would give Black Phone 2 a solid 8 out of 10, its not perfect but its a hell of a lot better than most horror sequels we get these days and if you liked the first one you should definitely check this out.

#skiptvads, #inleo, #hive, #horror, #sequel, #supernatural, #thriller, #dreams, #grabber, #revenge, #ghost, #nightmare, #violence, #gore, #mystery, #camp, #frozen, #trauma, #psychic, #killer, #slasher, #suspense, #scary, #brutal, #terrifying, #death, #survival, #haunted

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The Black Phone turned out way better than I thought it would be based on the idea that it was another serial killer movie, this thing could have gone completely off the rails with that whole idea of a kid stuck in a basement getting phone calls from dead people but Scott Derrickson somehow made it work without turning it into some cheesy mess. When you first hear about the concept you think okay this sounds interesting but theres no way they can pull this off for a full two hour movie. Ethan Hawke is absolutely terrifying even though you never really see his face the entire time because of that creepy ass mask he wears with multiple stages like no mouth or nose, the smile, the sad face, the dude manages to be scary just through his voice and the way he moves around, very Mandalorian like when Pedro Pascal bring the character to life. You got these kids dealing with some really dark shit at home with an abusive drunk father who beats them with a belt and then on top of that you got this serial killer running around town snatching up children left and right, but the center of the movie is the relationship between Finney and his sister Gwen. Those two kids can actually act and you end up caring way more about what happens to them than most horror movies, specially Gwen who has this mouth on her that made me laugh because she is swearing out adults and talking shit to cops and praying to Jesus in the most hilarious ways, that moment she wakes up and pulls a "Jesus what the fuck, no dreams?", she has these psychic dreams that show her clues about where the kids are getting taken witch ties into their dead mother who also had visions and ended up killing herself because of it. The jump scares actually work here too, most movies just throw them in for no damn reason but in this one they feel earned and they add to the tension instead of feeling cheap and lazy, Scott Derrickson knows his way around horror because the guy made Sinister witch was creepy as hell so you know he understands how to build up that suspense and make you feel uncomfortable without going completely overboard with the gore and violence.

• IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7144666/
• Platform: PRIME VIDEO

Rottentomatoes Rating

Source Ethan Hawke dissapears into this role as The Grabber, you forget your watching the guy from Training Day because he becomes this twisted psycho who kidnaps kids and plays these sick games with them before killing them, the mask design is brilliant too because it comes in different pieces so he can change up his expression depending on what kind of mood hes in or what kind of game hes playing. The devil horns on top and then the bottom part can be a smile or a sad phase or nothing at all, that was a very creative touch, when Finney rips the mask off near the end and The Grabber just completely freaks out at first I though it was because he had to be disfigured or something but then I realize thats his safe place, the mask gave him some kind of power, he cant handle being seen without it because then he probably dont want to do those things in the first place, makes me think someone really abuse him as a kid. The whole movie has this vintage 1970s look to it that really works, it feels like your watching something from that era with the way they shot it and the colors they used, everything has this kind of washed out look that makes it seem more real and less like a polished Hollywood production witch adds to the whole atmosphere of danger and isolation, specially during Gwen dreams. The dead kids calling Finney through the disconnected phone could have been really dumb but it works even when kids disappear like they were just ghosts, each one gives him a different piece of the puzzle to help him escape, some of them work but others dont, its how each one of them try to escape, like one kid tells him about the hole in the floor, another one tells him about the cable in the wall, another one gives him the combination to the front door lock. Its like each of the dead kids are doing there part to make sure this bastard finally gets stopped so there deaths werent completely pointless and meaningless, the kid who plays Finney does a great job of showing how terrified he is but also how he was slowly building up the courage to fight back, you can see the change in him as the movie goes on from this scared kid who cant even stand up to bullies at school to someone whos willing to bash someones head in with a phone to survive.

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Source The movie does have some issues tho, like theres a bunch of stuff that gets left hanging at the end with no real answers or closure, you never find out why The Grabber is doing this, like what his deal is or why he targets these specific kids or what his childhood was like. The movie hints that maybe he was abused as a kid in that same basement but they never actually confirm it or go into detail, his brother Max is staying upstairs the whole time doing coke and working on this investigation into the kidnappings without realizing his own brother is the damn killer witch is pretty funny in a dark way but also feels like wasted potential because they could have done more with that character. He just seemed like a strange addition without much purpose except to show how oblivious people can be to whats happening right under there nose, the whole subplot with Gwens psychic dreams and the detectives feels like it belongs in a different movie sometimes because it takes away from the tension of Finney being trapped in that basement trying to survive. Every time it cuts away to her riding her bike around town looking for the house from her dreams it kills the momentum, but at the same time her character is so damn good that you dont mind it too much, she absolutely steals every scene she is in with that mouth of hers and the way she talks to adults like they are idiots. The pacing drags a bit in the middle too when your waiting for something to happen but Finney just keeps getting this calls that end up on failed attempts to escape, there are moments where it feels like the movie is spinning around instead of moving forward, but then it picks back up again when things start getting intense with Finney trying different escape plans that the dead kids give him through the phone.

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Source The ending is badass tho, Finney uses everything the dead kids taught him and sets up this improvise trap, he trips The Grabber into the hole with the cable, smashes his face with the dirt filled phone, rips off his mask and then strangles him to death with the phone cord while the ghosts of the dead kids talk to him through the receiver telling him to finish it, although it was kinda convenient for Finney that taking the mask did the trick because The Grabber totally breaks down when that happens and didnt even try to fight back but just covers his face. It was satisfying as hell to watch this kid who started out so scared and helpless turn into this survivor who takes down a serial killer, the whole sequence is brutal with Finney finally loosing it and going full savage mode, you really feel every hit and every moment of Finneys rage coming out after everything he has been through with his abusive father and the bullies at school and now this psycho trying to kill him. When he finally gets out of that basement Gwen was waiting for him right outside the house, well she though it was the house across the street, theres this sense of relief but also this understanding that things are never going to be the same for this family, they all went through hell and came out the other side but not without some baggage. When Finney goes back school was one of the most satisfiying moments as now everyone respects him without even saying a word even the kids who use to bully him, showing how the experience changed him and made him stronger even if it also messed him up, Scott Derrickson and Ethan Hawke make a hell of a team because there previous collaboration on Sinister was awesome and this one just set the bar higher for them.

I give The Black Phone like an 8 out of 10, its defintely worth watching if you want a horror movie that actually tries to be scary and tell a real story instead of just relying on cheap jump scares and gore, the acting is solid across the board especially from the kids who carry most of the emotional weight. The atmosphere and cinematography are on point, the villain is creepy and menacing without being over the top and it keeps you locked in for the whole movie even when it drags a bit in the middle during those slower moments, it is not perfect because of the pacing issues and the lack of answers about The Grabbers backstory leaving room for a sequel or even a franchise, plus that whole psychic sister subplot sound like unnecessary at first but latter on plays out very well, but overall this is one of the best horror movies to come out in recent years because it feels like it has some actual substance, story and heart to it instead of just being another forgettable slasher or evil possession story. The relationship between Finney and Gwen is really what makes the movie work because you care about these kids and want to see them make it out alive, the 1970s setting adds a lot to the dread too by making everything feel more isolated and dangerous since there are no cell phones or internet to call for help, just a disconnected phone that somehow connects to the dead witch sounds ridiculous but works surprisingly well , if your looking for a solid horror movie that will actually keep you interested and maybe even make you jump a few times then give The Black Phone a shot, just dont expect all your questions to get answered by the end because some things are left hanging there without closure.

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