Tag: 2016

Playing with Dolls: Bloodlust (2016)

Directed by Rene Perez [Other horror films: The Dead and the Damned (2011), Demon Hunter (2012), Alien Showdown: The Day the Old West Stood Still (2013), The Snow Queen (2013), The Dead the Damned and the Darkness (2014), The Burning Dead (2015), Playing with Dolls (2015), Little Red Riding Hood (2016), The Obsidian Curse (2016), Playing with Dolls: Havoc (2017), From Hell to the Wild West (2017), The Dead and the Damned 3: Ravaged (2018), Cabal (2020), Cry Havoc (2020), Legend of Hawes (2022), The Vampire and the Vigilante (2024)]

Well, the first Playing with Dolls was utterly abysmal, and I can say that Bloodlust is a better movie. It’s not that much better, though – this is still a far cry from even average – and I wouldn’t think it’d appeal to too many people, regardless.

Unlike the first film, though, there’s something of a plot here – people are lured to an abandoned cabin to be part of a horror reality TV show. I have no idea if these people signed contracts, but if so, they’d have a good lawsuit on their hands, because this is one terrible reality TV show idea.

On a side-note, I’m not sure why most horror films that revolve around reality television tend to be absolutely terrible – I’m thinking movies like Reality Check, Cruel World, and, to a lesser extent, My Little Eye, which certainly wasn’t terrible, but was underwhelming. The only reality show-themed horror film I’ve ever cared for was Wrong Turn 2: Dead End, and that’s not even that great a movie.

Regardless of why this seems to be the case, Bloodlust certainly doesn’t help improve my view any, as it’s legit awful.

Sure, it does have more of a plot, and perhaps more importantly, more than one protagonist, but only one of the performances is decent, and we still don’t have context as to why any of this is happening. The same rich guy (Richard Tyson) is recording the same killer (credited as Prisoner AYO-886, because the movie’s trying to be cute) as he kills people, and apparently it’s because that’s the only truth. It’s that same type of philosophical rambling that makes absolutely no sense, and gives absolutely no insight into his character at all.

These movies just bug me. The gore here is okay – someone gets their head smashed in with a sledgehammer, someone gets their arm cut off, someone gets their leg cut off, someone gets one of their toes cut off (this movie is big into dismemberment apparently) – but gore without proper context doesn’t interest me, and as such, this didn’t do a hell of a lot for me.

I can’t stand Richard Tyson’s character, because, like in the first movie, he doesn’t have much of one. Karin Brauns (who died in 2022 at the age of 32) was pretty poor (her character had an accent, but unlike Natasha Blasick’s character from the first, there’s no in-universe reference to this), Elonda Seawood wasn’t particularly interesting, and Andrew Espinoza Long, despite potential, didn’t bring much to the table. I will admit to liking Colin Bryant here, and Marilyn Robrahn (who was also in the first film) had an okay moment or two, but for the most part, there’s little here to praise.

Oh, and it’s worth mentioning that there’s no ending to this film. Two characters are fighting each other, two other characters are watching, and then the movie ends. The first movie didn’t have much in the way of a conclusion either, but at least that one felt like it could have worked, whereas this was just pathetic in every way, which, honestly, is on point.

I’m sitting here and realizing just how much of a waste of time I found this. The worst part is, I’ll likely be watching the sequels (Playing with Dolls: Havoc and Cry Havoc), so I’ll have ample time to complain in the future. All I’ll say is that Bloodlust was better than the first movie, but not by much, and neither are movies I was glad to have seen.

4/10

A Cure for Wellness (2016)

Directed by Gore Verbinski [Other horror films: The Ring (2002)]

When I first saw A Cure for Wellness, I was quite impressed. I didn’t entirely understand everything that was going on, but the very fact the film is about two hours and 30 minutes yet it kept me engaged throughout was definitely a positive.

I was definitely interested in revisiting it, especially since I don’t really hear that many people speaking about this one at all. Part of that, I would suspect, is due to the film not doing well in theaters, understandably so, given the length and somewhat ambitious nature of the movie.

Even so, I found it just as engrossing this time around as I did the first time I saw it. Personally, while the narrative structure is occasionally mystifying (such as the death of the central character’s mother), I found most of the story quite enjoyable. It’s true that you could easily guess some of the twists – if you’ve seen any classic Hammer horror, it’s not too far removed – but the journey to the finale, while perhaps long-winded, was still worth seeing.

The cinematography is absolutely stellar, and a large reason I’d recommend this. A Cure for Wellness is a beautiful movie – even during some of the more horrific scenes (such as someone being tied down, a tube shoved down their throat, and eels swimming down into their body), there’s a beauty. Much of the medical facility/spa looks sparse, and even scenes with a large body of people (such as the dance toward the end) possess a certain charm to them too.

Horror-wise, you have both the oppressive feeling of being in a situation you can’t get out of, along with a more traditional element of gore. Being caught in a seemingly idyllic spa with no way to communicate to the outside world is indeed horrifying, especially when mixed with the idea that something is very wrong at the spa; not only are hallucinations plaguing the main character, but their teeth are falling out. Oh, and there seems to be a moose/deer loose in the steam rooms.

On the gorier side, there’s a stillborn calf cut out of cow – not only do a bunch of eels come out of the cow’s stomach alongside the calf, but there seems to be tiny eels moving under the stillborn calf’s skin. There’s a lot of eels in general – from a quality scene with a water tank to an unfortunate location for a young (????) woman to menstruate – you better enjoy your eely friends, as they’re everywhere. Oh, and someone gets one of their teeth drilled into, in what has to be one of the most painful scenes I’ve seen in some time.

I personally love how the story of the baron and baroness is slowly uncovered, piece by piece. It has a predictable conclusion, to be sure, and there’s really nothing that surprising during the finale, but I still think most things came together okay. I especially enjoyed the dance the staff was having, though it didn’t end that well for some of them.

I don’t really know Dane DeHaan (who also starred in Life After Beth), but despite how atrocious his character is to start with, I can’t help but sympathize with him from early on. The fact he looks like a clone of Leonardo DiCaprio helps. Jason Isaacs (of Harry Potter fame, along with roles in Event Horizon and The Patriot) is about as fun as always. Mia Goth (Marrowbone, X) didn’t have a ton of agency until the finale, but she was still quite good in her role.

For the right type of horror fan, I think that A Cure for Wellness can be a rewarding experience. Admittedly, for a movie that’s about two and a half hours long, anything less than rewarding might justifiably be criticized to Hell and back, but even so, I think there’s a lot to like here, from occasionally creepy scenes and brutal sequences of drills and teeth, to stellar cinematography and a familiar, yet interesting enough plot.

A Cure for Wellness won’t be for everyone. Personally, I think the film has a lot going for it. I find so much of it an enjoyable, if not necessarily fun, ride. It’s atmosphere is quality, and the steam rooms look comfortable. It’s not a film for everyone, but I enjoy it.

8/10

KILD TV (2016)

Directed by William Collins [Other horror films: N/A]

While I wouldn’t call KILD TV a stellar film, I will say that it exceeded my expectations, and ended up being a decently fun movie.

The current rating (disclaimer: this review was written on October 29th, 2021) this film has on IMDb, with 258 votes, is 3.9/10, and that’s just a disgrace. KILD TV may not be overly original, but the plot is sort of fun, and the mystery here is moderately engaging. The gore isn’t great, but it’s also not bad, so I don’t know what people were expecting from the movie to give the film such a low rating.

Taking place overnight at a broadcasting station, the film follows the crew of a local Svengali-type program as they’re killed off one-by-one by a mysterious killer. Like I said, it may not be original, but most of the important characters are decent, and the idea that, when they go on air begging for people to call the police, and the audience thinks it’s part of the program, was a nice touch.

None of the kills are overly memorable, though I did like this one individual who got crushed between two vehicles, and there was another fellow who met a grisly end from a boxcutter. I think KILD TV is more about the story and the mystery of the killer than the gore, but for what they have, it’s not that bad.

I think my biggest detractor is the finale of the film. I don’t mind who the killer turns out to be, but I always hated endings where a character was acting completely normal up to a point, and then, once revealed as the killer, becomes insanely manic. It bugged me in Urban Legend, for instance, and it bugged me a bit here. Otherwise, I did appreciate how they didn’t do some last-second scare – such as the killer opening their eyes and then cutting to the credits – which might be faint praise, but praise nonetheless.

Easily the best performance here is from D.C. Douglas (Isle of the Dead, Deadwater, Killers 2: The Beast, and Aquarium of the Dead), who played the late night Svengali-like host, Dr. Perseco. He was as corny and hammy on-screen as you’d expect from those personalities (reminding me of Trent Haaga in Slices), but outside of character, he was great too. More than anyone else, he tried to keep a calm head and figure out who the killer was, looked for clues, and insisted the group stick together. An all-around great character, Douglas was great here.

Other than Douglas, I don’t know if too many performances stand out. Grace Johnston (Bloodlines) started out a bit shaky, but she grew on me. Jared Doreck (Backstabber) had a fun stoner personality, but didn’t do a whole lot. Others, such as Heather Williams, face the same fate. Astrea Campbell-Cobb has strong and weak moments, and though it took a while, Dan Braverman (The Hours Till Daylight) turned into a pretty solid character.

One thing I wanted to note – being a late night horror presentation, they show clips of a movie throughout KILD TV, but what surprised me is that the movie they’re showing is real, being a 2013 film titled Conjoined. At first, I thought perhaps Conjoined was also directed by William Collins, who directed this film, but that’s not the case. I suspect it’s because both films were made in Texas, and it’s a way to promote the Texas horror scene, which I can appreciate.

KILD TV isn’t likely to win any awards, but I thought it had decent production value behind it, the story was pretty good, the mystery highly appreciated, and though it’s not a great film, I didn’t think it was half bad at all, and I think if you’re a slasher fan, it may have something to offer you.

7.5/10

Saltwater (2016)

Directed by A.B. Stone [Other horror films: Lake Placid vs. Anaconda (2015)]

And yet another Syfy shark original. More commonly known as Atomic Shark, Saltwater is pretty much the movie you might expect if you’re thinking about sharks that have been infected with atomic radiation.

First off, though, I have no idea why the original title of this is Saltwater. When I first watched this movie, IMDb had Atomic Shark listed as the original title (which makes sense), but sometime after that, they changed it. They list “Saltwater: Atomic Shark ” as a reissued title, but the film itself says “Atomic Shark” on the title screen, and more to the point, what does saltwater have to do with specifically with atomic sharks? I just don’t get it.

To complicate matters, IMDb has a listing for Atomic Shark (2016), a separate movie. Saltwater (2016), on IMDb, is listed as directed by A.B. Stone. Atomic Shark (2016) is listed by director Lisa Palenica. At the time of this writing (October 19th, 2021), Atomic Shark has 296 votes with a 2.7/10, and Saltwater has 696 votes with a 3.6/10. Both films have identical plots, though that’s likely an user error. No idea what’s going on, but Saltwater was the film I watched, and if Atomic Shark is similar, I don’t have an interest in it.

Regardless, the story is rather generic. A bunch of lifeguards on the California coast have to deal with a mysterious shark that’s glowing red, because, as you may have guessed it, it’s been around a lot of atomic radiation. So have a lot of the fish life – burnt, dead fish keep washing up on the shore (and apparently are served at a local restaurant, as there’s a scene in which a food celebrity blows up after having some of the cuisine), which is good fun.

I couldn’t help but think of a couple of other movies when watching this. First that came to mind is, and I don’t think I could have helped this comparison, Toxic Shark. Actually, I’m somewhat sure I first saw both of these films around the same time (October 2017), so that doesn’t help. Toxic Shark has a much more interesting set-up, but has elements I didn’t care for (such as zombies caused from the toxins), and there’s also Malibu Shark Attack, which has the same idea (lifeguards deal with sharks), but I tend to think that one’s more based in reality than what we got here.

Rachele Brooke Smith made for a pretty solid lead, and probably one of the most competent protagonists I’ve seen in a shark movie in a while. Bobby Campo (The Final Destination and Seance: The Summoning) and Jeff Fahey (Psycho III) had their moments also, but pretty much everyone else was insufferable. Mariah Bonner’s (Mask Maker) character was awful, Isaiah LaBorde was awful, Adam Ambruso, again, awful. Jessica Kemejuk reminded me of Chelan Simmons’ character from Malibu Shark Attack (both are terrible lifeguards with other concerns), but unlike Simmons, Kemejuk got virtually no redemption before she was #Eaten (and that’s actually a joke – her character was concerned with becoming viral, and so used terms like “hashtag” and “you jelly” seriously).

None of the special effects were good, but hey, at least we got an atomic shark, so that’s cool. When the shark blows up, there’s a mushroom cloud, which you can probably expect, but the mushroom cloud has the shape of a shark’s jaw and teeth, so that was somewhat stupid. Not surprising, but stupid.

Overall, Saltwater isn’t a great movie, but it’s no worse than a lot of the other mediocre shark movies Syfy churns out, so take that as you will.

6/10

The Night Before Halloween (2016)

Directed by Sheldon Wilson [Other horror films: Shallow Ground (2004), Kaw (2007), Screamers: The Hunting (2009), Carny (2009), Mothman (2010), Red: Werewolf Hunter (2010), Killer Mountain (2011), Scarecrow (2013), Shark Killer (2015), The Unspoken (2015), The Hollow (2015), Neverknock (2017), Stickman (2017), Dead in the Water (2018)]

In some ways, this Syfy original feels likes a mixture between Sorority Row/Tamara and It Follows, with a group of friends covering up an accidental death and contending with some evil entity or something (and I do mean ‘or something’ – we never learn anything about this entity aside from the fact it takes the form of CGI flies). It’s not the worst Syfy original I’ve seen in my many years, but it’s far from the best.

One of the problems is a similar problem to what Sorority Row had – at the beginning of the film, five friends decide to cover up the circumstances of an accident (that in reality, only three of the friends were involved with), and they have the exact same conversation they had in Tamara and Sorority Row. “Oh, this will ruin our futures,” and “Fine, you can call the police if you want to spend the next 20 years in prison,” that tripe. I’m not saying this isn’t theoretically realistic, but I am saying that as soon as that deal is made, my sympathy for any of the characters, even the hesitant ones, is thrown out the window entirely.

So when people start dying, be it the bitchy girl (Kiana Madeira) or the ‘nice girl’ (Bailee Madison), I don’t care, because these people are all horrible and whether they die or not is the least of my concerns. 

It doesn’t help that the entity isn’t made clear – apparently it can use cell phones (and it uses smileys when it texts, so yay for technological demons, I guess) – but we never learn anything about it’s origins, and we don’t even know if “the curse” that gets passed onto them is legit, because it seems that whether or not you complete it’s specifications (if those even are it’s specifications and not something previously -cursed people thought would help), you can be killed by it anyway.

None of this is the fault of the cast, who are all reasonably fine playing hateable characters. Kiana Maderia later showed up in one of Syfy’s better original movies, being Neverknock. Bailee Madison was sort of cute, but also played a horrible person. Anthony Lemke (American Psycho, of all places) played an almost-interesting but ultimately generic cop, so no award there.

When everything’s said-and-done, there are worse Syfy original movies out there (look at 2018’s Karma, which even had a similar idea to this), but there are plenty of better, more memorable films, and I’d probably say the only thing I’ll remember about this one was the okay twist. Otherwise, it’s just not a good movie.

5.5/10

Scare Campaign (2016)

Directed by Cameron Cairnes [Other horror films: 100 Bloody Acres (2012)] & Colin Cairnes [Other horror films: 100 Bloody Acres (2012)]

I didn’t go into this one knowing too much about it, aside from the fact the plot sounded interesting and Olivia DeJonge (The Visit and Better Watch Out) was in it. Otherwise, I went in pretty blind, and overall, I’d say that Scare Campaign was a pretty decent movie. Not amazing, by any stretch, but good.

The plot, dealing with a Scare Tactic-like television crew, was pretty unique and, at times, meta (such as DeJonge’s character’s love of horror films). I think it gets a bit more muddled than necessary toward the end, but it was still decent. I do applaud the fact that they kept the movie played straight, when they easily could have moved to a more comedic direction (think Fear, Inc.), so kudos there.

Olivia DeJonge wasn’t the main star here, but I think she did really well in her role. There were some aspects to her character that didn’t really hit as hard as was probably intended, but she still did great. Meegan Warner (who I know only from the woeful The Veil) played a compelling main character, especially with the direction the movie went in during the second half.

I don’t know Ian Meadows, but I liked him here, despite the fact that his character is pretty on the fence between being pleasantly annoying to being an outright dick. Josh Quong Tart’s character was an interesting one, because some of our expectations are a bit subverted, giving his character a bit more depth than we first might think. Most of the other performances are solid, but few stand out like these four did.

As far as the gore goes, Scare Campaign isn’t mind-blowingly awesome, but there were some occasionally great scenes. There’s not really a stand-out scene of gore, at least in my view, but there’s still enough here to keep the casual slasher fan happy.

Though I think the movie is far from perfect, I don’t have any major critiques of the story. I do think some reveals toward the end were a bit weak, but that doesn’t mean they weren’t welcomed, just that they were anticipated. The turn-of-events about halfway through the film, though, really took me for a ride, and I utterly loved it, so Scare Campaign definitely did some things right.

The movie isn’t amazing, but this Australian film is still pretty solid, and definitely worth at least a single watch.

7.5/10

This is one of the films covered by Fight Evil’s podcast. Listen below as Chucky (@ChuckyFE) and I discuss Scare Campaign.

Seoulyeok (2016)

Directed by Sang-ho Yeon [Other horror films: Busanhaeng (2016), Busanhaeng 2: Bando (2020)]

Commonly known under the title Seoul Station, this animated prequel to Train to Busan was an interesting experience. It’s my first experience with an animated horror movie, and while I appreciated some aspects of it, overall, I just found this one pretty meh.

I guess it’s worth talking about the animation, which was okay. At times, it seemed somewhat sparse (showing a lot of empty streets with zero zombies shambling about seemed off), but that’s fine. The character designs weren’t great (the faces were what most bothered me), but animation’s not my forte, so I wouldn’t say it really impacted my feelings one way or another.

This movie is oddly somewhat poorly sourced on IMDb, so I don’t really have names to going with the voice actors, but some of these characters were very prone to over-exaggeration, such as the homeless man (who apparently was never named), especially during his “I have no home” wail, which, while somewhat dark, did rather crack me up. I understand that over-acting might be common in animation, but it didn’t make it feel any more realistic to me, which was problematic.

Certainly, I appreciate the attempt to pull in some societal issues to the forefront, such as the division between the homeless and the police (when one officer just assumed all the zombies were just angry homeless people, there’s a problem with the system they live in) and the atrocious reaction of both the city police and the military (a bunch of uninfected people easily could have been saved, but instead they’re just hosed back into their area by police, because fuck the people, amiright?), but I don’t think either of these points are really examined as well as they could have been. Even the tragic lives of sex workers is hinted at, but despite potential, this isn’t expanded on as much as it could have been either.

It could be said that the dismal nature of the story was a bit much (there are few characters who actually survive through the film), but for a zombie movie, I can’t imagine that this is really a surprise. Shim Eun-kyung’s character (Hye-sun) was okay, but I was really hoping for a stronger female lead than what she brought with her. Her boyfriend, Ki-woong (voiced by Joon Lee), was pretty pathetic throughout, and Hye-sun’s father, Suk-gyu (voiced by Seung-ryong Ryu), who brings an actually surprising twist toward the end, was decently efficient. Of course, we see him differently by the end, but at least he was good at killing zombies.

Still, Seoul Station is a bleak movie, and while the same could be said for Train to Busan, I think that this is a lot darker, and there’s not near as many fun sequences here (not that many scenes in Train to Busan set out to be fun, but at least the budget they had made them feel more epic). I don’t hate the story they went with, though I do have problems with some aspects (such as the inconsistent time it takes for people to turn into zombies once being bitten).

For an animated zombie film, while I have nothing to compare this too, it’s not an especially poor film. It’s just not especially memorable or worthwhile either, which isn’t much a positive aspect. If you’re into zombie movies, this might be worth taking the time to watch, but I personally think seeing it once was enough, and it just couldn’t match the enjoyment I got from it’s live-action counterpart at all.

6/10

Busanhaeng (2016)

Directed by Sang-ho Yeon [Other horror films: Seoulyeok (2016), Bando (2020)]

It took me long enough to finally watch this South Korean modern-day classic, but I sometimes move through the genre I love in odd ways. Train to Busan was, as many have said, a very solid movie, and though I wasn’t really amazed or blown away at any point, it’s a strong zombie movie and definitely one worth watching.

One reason this works out a bit better than many modern-day zombie movies is the setting. The movie primarily takes place on, you guessed it, a train. It’s a enclosed, small space (though not as small as you might think – South Korea put far more money into public transportation than the USA ever has, apparently), and because of that, tensions are a bit higher. You can’t run from building to building here – you’re stuck in a car, and if zombies are on either side of your car, you’re pretty much not moving, unless you know how to navigate through hordes of zombies without alerting them.

Which actually happens later on in the film, when three characters need to go through three or so carriages to rescue family and reach the other survivors. It’s a pretty fun sequence, and it’s not even all-out action either, which I expected, but a mix of intelligent ways to get around the zombies using things they’ve learned about their perception. There’s a general sense that, at any point, the whole rescue mission could go horribly wrong, though, and it’s, as the kids say, aces.

I don’t think the performances here are the most memorable thing in the film, but most of them are pretty solid. It’s true that Gong Yoo makes for a somewhat unlikable focal point at the beginning, but he cleans up nicely. Ma Dong-seok is, of course, a lot of fun, and easily one of my favorite characters here. Seok-yong Jeong (captain of the train) looked really familiar, but I don’t know him. Still, a very strong character. Sohee was pretty cute throughout, which was another (small) plus, and Eui-sung Kim made for quite a despicable antagonist (perhaps worse than the zombies).

And as far as the zombies were concerned, I thought they were interesting. They only reacted violently when they actually saw people, otherwise, they just stood there, occasionally jerking and mostly harmless. The scene in which Gong Yoo and company (Ma Dong-seok and Woo-sik Choi) was a good illustration of this unique aspect of the zombies. You can distract them with noises when dark, and so, if intelligent, you can avoid them, which led to some tense scenes (usually when the train was passing through a tunnel, rendering the zombies less dangerous).

Remarkably, this movie never really feels like it’s dragging, even at almost two-hours long (which, for a zombie movie, is pretty ambitious). The ending isn’t really my favorite, but that’s due more to the fact I didn’t care that much for the remaining characters than anything else. Otherwise, though, from the brief stop at Daejeon to the climatic finale at Busan, it’s a fun, tense, and somewhat aggravating film throughout.

Train to Busan is a film that’s well-liked for good reason. It’s a high-quality film with fantastic cinematography and solid performances, and while it’s not really that gory a film, there’s enough to keep zombie fans happy. As I said, I wasn’t knocked off my feet at any time during this, but it was a very solid watch, and is certainly worthy of being thrown into a horror fan’s rotation.

8/10

Ozark Sharks (2016)

Directed by Misty Talley [Other horror films: Zombie Shark (2015), Mississippi River Sharks (2017), Santa Jaws (2018)]

Okay, this movie isn’t great. It’s barely good. However, I have to admit that I find Ozark Sharks oddly entertaining at times, and while it’s definitely a movie that’s below average, it’s easily something I can see myself going for again, and as I’ve seen it twice already, that may say all that needs to be said.

I’ll still say more, though, because as a verbose guy, it’s in my nature.

A strong selling point to me about this one is the cast. Few here are really excellent, but who can’t love a cute main character (Allisyn Ashley Arm) with a dorky boyfriend (Ross Britz)? Sure, it’s not original, but Arm’s character is a lot of fun, being a cute bookworm who wears a choker, and Britz has some pretty amusing interactions with both Thomas Francis Murphy’s and Dave Davis’ characters. Davis, on a side-note, also starred in Leprechaun’s Revenge, another movie that I enjoyed more than I probably should.

Michael Papajohn and Laura Cayouette made for decently convincing parents, and Sharon Garrison likewise made a solid grandmother. None of the three were overly plot relevent, but their performances, as they were, were still appreciated. Ashton Leigh was another decently attractive actress, though unlike Arm, she didn’t really do that much during the film. Her character was strong enough, but I was hoping for a bit more from here.

Really, though, as decent as many of the performances are (I think that Britz and Murphy are perhaps the second place contenders), it’s Allisyn Arm that really makes this movie just a bit more enjoyable. Her personality rather amused me throughout, and her dead-pan quote about “enjoying nature’s splendor” is one that I’ve used in my day-to-day life. She’s a lot of fun, and without her, I don’t think Ozark Sharks would have been near as memorable.

As it is, this had simply atrocious special effects and a rather terrible finale. The sharks looked both bland and hideous in their CGI, to be sure, but what had to be the worst scene was one of the sharks getting stabbed with some fireworks. The combination of CGI shark and CGI fireworks was perhaps the worst my eyes have seen in some time. Seeing a shark getting dragged through a wood-chipper was fun and all, to be sure, but I don’t think the ending itself was as satisfying as it could have been.

Like other rather bad Syfy shark films (such as Swamp Shark and Toxic Shark), Ozark Sharks can be rather entertaining at times, and the performances here do bring the film up a bit. It’s still not a particularly good movie, though, and while I could watch it again, it’s not something I’d recommend to others unless I know they enjoy a bad special effect-laden shark film as much as the next guy.

6/10

Better Watch Out (2016)

Directed by Chris Peckover [Other horror films: Undocumented (2010)]

I pretty much knew next-to-nothing about this when I started it out. It seemed pretty clear cut at the beginning, a home invasion movie with a Christmas theme, but as the movie went on, I was taken on a rather unexpected and enjoyable ride.

To speak of some aspects of this movie and the story without spoiling anything might be hard, but I will certainly try my best.

Olivia DeJonge, who starred in the surprisingly decent The Visit, did great here as a babysitter with a few personal problems that she’s going through, and a crush on her by the kid she’s babysitting (Levi Miller) doesn’t make matters better, nor does the break-in of armed assailants. DeJonge did great in The Visit, and puts up a very fine performance here also, especially as she becomes more the kick-ass chick toward the end.

I can understand complaints about Miller’s performance, because it was a bit much at times, but he is a younger actor, and I certainly thought he did pretty well here, and Ed Oxenbould (also from The Visit) was fun too, as a sort of comic relief character (though not without his own drama, to be sure).

Also, I have to point out that Patrick Warburton makes a small appearance as Miller’s father. I know him from many things, be it voice-acting on Kim Possible, Family Guy, and Scooby Doo! Mystery Incorporated to small appearances throughout his career (such as on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.). It was just fun seeing (and hearing) him here, no matter how small the part.

Better Watch Out isn’t about the gore, and there’s not a whole lot here in terms of that, but there are still a few okay kills throughout. What matters more is the small cast and their solid performance, and that, mixed with the story, made the movie a very decent watch, and certainly worth seeing at least once.

7.5/10

This is one of the films discussed on the Fight Evil podcast. If you want to listen to Chucky (@ChuckyFE) and I discuss this one, enjoy.