Brett_G

“Influencer”

By Brett_G on October 6, 2023September 23, 2023

6.7

This film was recommended to me as “it’s a solid horror film, but there’s nothing under the hood.” That was the perfect sales pitch. Like a dream from “Inception,” the viewer is thrust into the narrative with little preparation or explanation of where we are, why we’re here, or why we care. It’s through context (and having watched enough movies to know the gist of what we’re doing here) that I was able to put the pieces together in order for things to start falling into place. It helps that the characters are as one-dimensional as they come. Clear motivations and questionable morals/decision making. The recipe for a solid slasher movie. Just don’t ask too many questions. You won’t be able to get back into it if you do.

I will say that the deeper commentary here regarding social media and sense of self-importance is timely. The execution was clunky, but I greatly appreciated the message being delivered.

Horror/Thriller

“Insidious: The Red Door”

By Brett_G on October 5, 2023September 22, 2023

7.1

A return to form of sorts for the franchise. We’re back to the family dynamics that gave the first two films their gravitas. A stronger entry, but far from the strongest. Patrick Wilson’s debut behind the camera is fairly strong in parts, but overall you can feel pieces that could have benefitted from some experience. For a fifth entry, it was better than I expected, and some of the scare sequences are downright nerve-wracking.

Open the red door, and let’s tip toe through the tulips into the further once more… and if anyone can tell me what the hell was meant by this ending, I’d appreciate it. It had me doing a double take like “It Follows.”

Comedy Horror/Thriller

“Slotherhouse”

By Brett_G on October 4, 2023September 20, 2023

6.6

I don’t know why I got my hopes up, but I did. This movie’s rotten tomatoes score is bananas. It’s a killer sloth. There’s nothing much past that. Better than “Black Christmas,” I guess? If you enjoy slashers, especially those set around the slaughter of sorority girls, then you’ll enjoy this one. That being said, it’s as ridiculous as it sounds. Sloth going full Wolverine, slicing and dicing everyone in its path was not on my 2023 bingo card, yet here we are.

Action Suspense/Thriller

“To Catch a Killer”

By Brett_G on October 3, 2023September 16, 2023

6.8

I think they were going for “Seven” here… but ended up with a by the numbers cop drama. It never got that deep, despite it’s best efforts.

Ben Mendelsohn and Shailene Woodley carry a lot of water to get this one across the finish line. it has it’s moments where it goes full “shock and awe,” and some potentially intriguing threads, but they fail to fully pull those threads or veer off the beaten path enough to have piqued my interest above general intrigue. It was a solid movie, just not as good as I was hoping it would be.

Drama Romance Science Fiction

“The Pod Generation”

By Brett_G on October 2, 2023September 16, 2023

7.9

Are you afraid of the future?

Do you question the motives behind maternity processes?

Do I have the film for you! I myself do not have children, and I’d be fascinated to know the way it would change my perspective on this one. From gender to societal roles and implications, this film takes a deep dive into much broader territory than I was expecting. There’s so much going on, yet it feels perfectly natural and palatable as the story unfolds and our characters journey on into the unknowns of a changing relationship with themselves, each other, and the world around them. Here I thought I’d never get to use “nature vs. nurture” in one of these things, yet here we are. It’s a fitting distillation of this film’s core.