Tag Archives: 2020 film reviews
REVIEW: SCREAM, QUEEN! MY NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET is an honest portrayal of the price of screen infamy in 1980’s Hollywood
Posted by Victor Moreno
SCREAM, QUEEN! follows the life and career of actor Mark Patton and how his role in Nightmare on Elm Street 2 derailed his career due to his homosexuality in the AIDS panic of the 1980s. When you look at the
REVIEW: THE 2020 ETHERIA FILM FESTIVAL showcases a rich and diverse array of new female voices in the horror genre.
Posted by Victor Moreno
The online version of the yearly Etheria Film Festival serves up a great array of horror shorts from women in the horror genre that run the gamut from ruminations on the horrors of social media to a sassy computer waxing
REVIEW: UNDERTAKER: THE LAST RIDE is a fascinating look at the highs and lows of a legendary live perfomer trying to find the perfect moment to say goodbye.
Posted by Victor Moreno
WWE Network’s 5 part Limited Series gives a deep insight into Mark Calaway, the man behind WWE’s legendary Undertaker character and his quest to find a proper ending for his storied career and character. Pro Wrestling, despite its scripted nature,
REVIEW: SCARE PACKAGE is the rare horror anthology film that really works.
Posted by Victor Moreno
The past decade has seen a spate of low-budget horror anthologies from the ABC’s to V/H/S, SCARE PACKAGE succeeds at delivering a great and unique anthology concept with solid entries from start to finish. By and large, I’ve become less
REVIEW: 7500 is a tense psychological thriller that draws you in with a compelling lead performance
Posted by Victor Moreno
Director Patrick Vollrath presents us with a nail-biting real-time film with a tremendous lead performance by Joseph Gordon Levitt. In airplane emergency signaling, the code for an airplane hijacking is 7500. Director Patrick Vollrath illustrates what such a scenario could
REVIEW: BE WATER underscores the cultural impact behind the rising star of Bruce Lee in the 60s and 70s through today
Posted by Victor Moreno
Director Bao Nguyen’s 30 FOR 30 documentary on Bruce Lee traces the rise of Bruce Lee’s popularity through hard work in the ’60s and ’70s as juxtaposed through the tremendous social changes of the era and how that affected him.
REVIEW: Disney +’s ARTEMIS FOWL is a YA mess that is DOA
Posted by Victor Moreno
Director Kenneth Branaugh’s long-gestating adaptation of the 2001 Young Adult fantasy novel is an incoherent hodge-podge of a film that struggles to entertain. One of my favorite shows of the last year was HBO’s adaptation of Phillip Pullman’s His Dark
REVIEW: Josephine Decker’s SHIRLEY gives us a harrowing and haunting look at the price of genius and creativity.
Posted by Victor Moreno
Elizabeth Moss plays acclaimed horror author Shirley Jackson with fiendish aplomb in this fictionalized account of the creative process behind the writing of her novel Hangsaman. Shirley Jackson is one of the most acclaimed horror authors of the 20th century.
REVIEW: THE VAST OF NIGHT attempts to channel the spirit of The Twilight Zone with mixed results.
Posted by Victor Moreno
First-time director Andrew Patterson utilizes innovative cinematography and production design to make this low-budget period piece seem like a much bigger film, but the film’s methodic pacing makes it a very slow burn. As THE VAST OF NIGHT gets underway,
REVIEW: BLOOD MACHINES combines science fiction and the surreal in an explosion of retro-flavored Lovecraftian sci-fi/horror.
Posted by Victor Moreno
Director Seth Ickerman combines the driving retro synth-wave sound of Carpenter Brut to a fun 80’s sci-fi body horror throwback with shades of Alien, Blade Runner, and From Beyond. Director Seth Ickerman and synth-wave band Carpenter Brut have a soft
REVIEW: THE WRETCHED spins a tale of teen alienation with backwoods body horror with mixed results
Posted by Victor Moreno
Channeling films like Abel Ferrara’s 1993 BODY SNATCHERS with elements of CRITTERS and THE LOST BOYS, THE WRETCHED entertains with an interesting premise but feels more than a bit overstuffed. In the past couple of years, films dealing with the
REVIEW: SWALLOW examines the idea of taking physical control over one’s self to escape the claustrophobic psychological horror of existential dread.
Posted by Victor Moreno
Writer/director Carlo Mirabella-Davis’ unique feminist horror film examines the psychological damage from being forced to live as a trophy Stepford Wife versus the physical damage of the compulsive disorder used to make that burden palatable. In the past few years,
REVIEW: THE BANKER shines a compelling light on the injustices placed on many in search of the American Dream.
Posted by Victor Moreno
Directo George Nolfi leads a star-studded cast in this captivating true-life story of African-American entrepreneurs who hired a white frontman to enable them to succeed in the segregated worlds of banking and real estate of the ’60s. Period pictures have
REVIEW: GUNS AKIMBO is balls to the wall fun.
Posted by Victor Moreno
Samara Weaving and Daniel Radcliffe headline this insane living Fortnite game of a film that is equal parts Suicide Squad, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, Wanted, and American Ultra in an ultraviolent little package. You have to give props to
REVIEW: THE LODGE slyly plays with the idea of victim vs. predator in a film with an intriguing & compelling premise
Posted by Victor Moreno
Directors Severin Fiala & Veronika Franz (Goodnight Mommy) deliver a unique set-up in a film that is anchored by Riley Keough’s strong lead performance. The past several years have shown contemporary filmgoers a modern renaissance in the horror arena. From
REVIEW: SONIC THE HEDGEHOG treads familiar footing but with a fun nostalgic flavor
Posted by Victor Moreno
Sonic the Hedgehog is the rare video game movie that doesn’t take itself too seriously and serves up some formulaic premises but does so in a fun way that keeps you rooting for it. Growing up as a young kid
REVIEW: BIRDS OF PREY is a fun and comedic cinematic romp that rings true to the comics and satisfies as an R-Rated action film.
Posted by Victor Moreno
Margot Robbie delivers as Harley Quinn in a film that boldly delivers on the line between action and comedy that Suicide Squad failed to live up to. Harley Quinn is one of DC Comics’ most popular characters; right up there
REVIEW: THE RHYTHM SECTION combines the formula of the current Bond film series with a dash of La Femme Nikita & John Wick in a paint-by-numbers would-be franchise starter.
Posted by Victor Moreno
Blake Lively headlines this would be grounded take on a ‘Nikita as Wick’ revenge/spy/thriller from the producers of Bond. While it has some innovative scenes, it suffers from pacing issues & a thin screenplay. Producer Barbara Broccoli has minted gold
REVIEW: Richard Stanley’s COLOR OUT OF SPACE is an engrossing and immersive journey into the heart of madness.
Posted by Victor Moreno
Solid performances and exemplary editing and cinematography elevate Stanley’s mid-budget film into a unique and artistic exploration of H.P. Lovecraft, albeit one with shades of films we’ve seen before. Much has been made of the legend of director Richard Stanley
