Category: Horror/Thriller

Horror/Thriller Suspense/Thriller

“Long Legs”

By Brett_G on

8.5

In a word – unsettling.

The whole damn thing. Front to back. The opening scene of this film is one of the best in recent memory and legitimately grabbed each and ever person in the theater and didn’t let them go until the credits rolled. The atmospheric dread that each and every scene is steeped in is a work of art in and of itself.

As expected, Nic Cage and Maika Monroe turn in fantastic performances that you lose yourself in as the story unfurls.

Definitely not your typical modern horror film. It’s a season’s worth of “Mindhunter” procedural married with the discomfort of “Silence of the Lambs,” all packaged neatly within the hour and forty minute runtime. Did the second to third act bridge get a little clunky? Sure. But it’s more than made up for by everything else here firing on all cylinders. I didn’t expect to be this terrorized by a film heading in. I’m still processing it 4 hours later.

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Action Blockbuster Horror/Thriller

“A Quiet Place: Day One”

By Brett_G on

7.8

Where the Purge series seemed to shy away from going full purge – welcome to A Quiet Place grabbing you by the shirt collar and never letting go for 2 hours of nonstop anxiety inducing terror. You’re dropped right alongside our main characters in never feeling safe the entire time. What this series does better and more consistently than most is environmental immersion and character. This film really rounds out the trilogy by maintaining and even growing these strengths. Lupita Nyong’o and Joseph Quinn really hold down the fort as leads, and give such rich performances that it lends itself to intensifying the terror when even the slightest sound is made, inciting the potential violence that lurks just out of frame. You care so much about the characters that it really makes everything else that much more effective. A great example of attention to detail and care.

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Horror/Thriller

“Maxxxine”

By Brett_G on

7.9

Better than “Pearl,” but doesn’t quite recapture the magic of “X.” It’s still one hell of a horror trilogy by Ti West and another powerhouse performance by Mia Goth.

The atmosphere is electric, as the performances of the entire cast fire on all cylinders. There isn’t quite as much gore as the first 2 installments, but the impact and purposefulness of the violence gets tighter as the films have progressed to this grisly climax. Ms. Minx holds her own with the unsettling poise we’ve come to know and love.

With a soundtrack drenched in neon charm, we’re transported to what “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” would have looked like in the 80’s. There was a kinship between those two films that grew as the runtime unfurled. There’s an undeniable magic about Tinseltown. Even if it’s been haunted by some of the most notorious evil-doers in the nation’s history. Whether it be Manson in Tarantino’s love letter or the Night Stalker in this ode to a lost era. The use of the Universal lot, especially the “Psycho” house alongside the winking nod to the classic “Hitchcock Blonde”… *chef’s kiss. 2024 is shaping up to be a continuation of the modern horror renaissance and I am HERE FOR IT!

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Horror/Thriller Shudder

“In A Violent Nature”

By Brett_G on

7.5

It’s certainly violent, and the is definitely a lot of nature. Delivers on both in bulk.

There were a couple of times it seemed to drag like a log through the woods by way of the logging chains our killer seems to prefer, but most of these served to stretch the tension to a breaking point, which was so opposite of most of todays movies. It was comfortable doing uncomfortable things. “Pull your head out of your ass” will never be the same for me now.

A very creative, brutal, risk taking endeavor that really paid off by the time the credits rolled. Ignore the fact it’s basically a “Friday the 13th” ripoff and enjoy the return of the stomach churning slasher to the multiplex.

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Horror/Thriller Hulu Uncategorized

“The Stranger”

By Brett_G on

6.8

Maika Monroe just can’t catch a break… first she was stalked by the invisible, unstoppable force in “It Follows” (one of my all-time favorite thrillers), and now she’s stalked by the ever-nefarious Dane DeHaan in this “Uber gone awry” horror thriller.

Hulu really has this market cornered after Netflix lost its way.

I was sad to see things come unwound as we made the turn into the third act. The person who recommended this one and I were equally perplexed by some of the creative decisions the creative team made along the way that subtracted from what could have been an amazing film, taking it down a notch to good.

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