I called a last minute audible for my horror watch when I saw the trailer for Black as Night, the sixth film in the Blumhouse/Amazon partnership under the Welcome to the Blumhouse series. Although it’s a bit reductive to look at this as a “what if Buffy The Vampire Slayer was about a young black girl in post-Katrina New Orleans” riff, it’s not exactly inaccurate, either. But that doesn’t do justice to the great lead performance by Asjha Cooper, or the subjects it tries to cover, from being comfortable in your body to the social ills plaguing the black communities abandoned after the real-world horrors of Katrina. So, a film not without its problem, but certainly not without its charms.

Reviews

Hooptober 8.0 – The Boy Behind the Door (2021)

Being Film #18 for Hooptober 2021

There’s no such thing as an objective review, but I don’t know another way to differentiate my thoughts on the new Shudder exclusive The Boy Behind the Door. I can watch this film and see how well executed it is. The performances are uniformly excellent, the direction is super tight, great, crystal clear cinematography, and yeah: it is scary as HELL. Subjectively? Every minute of this movie churned in my gut, and I’ll be happy to never think of it again. There is content I never need to see, and child abduction is simply one of those things.

ChrisOctober 6, 20211 Comment

Reviews

Hooptober 8.0 – Candyman (2021)

Being Film #15 for Hooptober 2021

The new Candyman is a lot of things. Reboot, sequel…sure. But it’s also a clever, brutal investigation into the nature of narrative. So much of a story is shaped by who tells it, who owns it. Watching Nia Dacosta take the original story and twist it into not only a horrific new film but also a savage indictment of the perpetuation of violence and the way the powerful shape the story to fit their plans is a marvel. This is not the planting of a new franchise. This is a a harrowing myth come to life, rich with ideas and fertile ground to explore, if you dare say his name five times.

ChrisOctober 3, 2021October 5, 20211 Comment

Reviews

Hooptober 8.0 – Jakob’s Wife (2021)

Being Film #13 for Hooptober 2021

We’ve had several vampire films where the theme of empowerment was front and center, so I’m surprised it took this long to get a film that grounds that in the framework of traditional gender and marriage roles. I’m doubly surprised that Jakob’s Wife not only uses this framework well, but knocks it out of the park thanks to a powerhouse performance by Barbara Crampton as a minister’s wife who, once bitten, starts to realize how her needs and voice had been silenced in a dominating marriage.

ChrisSeptember 30, 20214 Comments

Reviews

Hooptober 8.0 – Werewolves Within (2021)

Being Film #6 for Hooptober 2021

Did director Joel Rubin settle the question of “what’s the best video game adaptation of all time?” with Werewolves Within? Does it count as an adaptation when producers Ubisoft’s only real direction was “make it a good movie?” I have zero familiarity with the video game, although my family are staunch fans of the hidden role game Ultimate Werewolf, itself also based on the underlying concept of a small group of folks have to figure out who among them is a werewolf. And based on that I feel like Werewolves Within is a smashing success, a horror comedy where the mystery keeps up, the frights are fun, and the pacing brisk and madcap.

ChrisSeptember 21, 20211 Comment

Reviews

Hooptober 8.0 – Blood Red Sky (2021)

Being Film #3 for Hooptober 2021

Somewhere there’s a version of Blood Red Sky where Samuel L. Jackson is screaming “GET THESE MUTHAF-CKIN’ VAMPIRES OFF MY MUTHAF-CKIN’ PLANE!” and that is a movie I want to see. Instead what we have here is a German action/horror hybrid with a great premise that becomes a slog by the end of its 2-hour runtime. Sure you get a few cool moments, but I don’t want to have to sit through almost 130 minutes to get to them.

ChrisSeptember 18, 2021September 18, 20211 Comment

Cinema Dual (TEST SITE)

Examining a life through the media we consume. In other words, I’m reviewing all of my physical music media in alphabetical order, one day at at a time. Except when I don’t, as has been the case for the past few years. Still, we march onwards…Coffee essential, but not mandatory

Tag: 2020s

Hooptober 8.0 – Black as Night (2021)

Hooptober 8.0 – The Boy Behind the Door (2021)

Hooptober 8.0 – Candyman (2021)

Hooptober 8.0 – Jakob’s Wife (2021)

Hooptober 8.0 – Werewolves Within (2021)

Hooptober 8.0 – Blood Red Sky (2021)