Horror/Thriller – Page 9 – Brett Garten, Movie Extraordinare

“The Exorcist: Believer”

By Brett_G on October 8, 2023October 7, 2023

6.8

Not as bad as the critics are making it out to be.

Is it as good as the original? No.

Did it need to be a part of the “Exorcist” franchise? Also no.

There were some really great sequences and scares here, but it gets bogged down by clunky pacing and misplaced focus at times. It also felt a tad too long. The exorcist lore seemed kind of forced.

That being said, there were some nice twists in the story and a few daring variations from the typical exorcism movie formula that really landed. I wasn’t blown away, but I also didn’t leave mad. The cast act their asses off.

Horror/Thriller

“Saw X”

By Brett_G on October 7, 2023October 7, 2023

7.3

Definitely the best film, technically speaking, since the first installment. They take their time to delve into John Kramer as a person far more than any other installment, and I felt like that was a welcomed change of pace and added a nice emotional weight to the film outside of the gore. The crusade felt much more justified this time around.

The traps weren’t anything to write home about, but got the job done. The homages to the other films elicited cheers from the audience when they realized what we were looking at taking shape before our eyes. The signature Saw twist ending was as strong as ever, and such a comfort to return to. A welcomed return to form for Jigsaw.

Horror/Thriller Shudder

“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.