May 31 2021

Caveat (2020) Movie Review

Caveat – Isolated Effective Horror

Director: Damian Mc Carthy

Writer: Damian Mc Carthy (Screenplay)

Starring: Ben Caplan, Conor Dwane, Jonathan French, Leila Skyes

Plot: A lone drifter suffering from partial memory loss accepts a job to look after a psychologically troubled woman in an abandoned house on an isolated island.

Runtime: 1 Hour 28 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: Caveat starts when Isaac (French) reluctantly accepts a job from his landlord Barret (Caplan) to watch over his niece Olga (Skyes) on a remote home on an island, while she is dealing with her own psychological problems.

As Isaac prepares for the job, he learns he must wear a chain harness around the home and as he looks to put the missing pieces of his own life together, he starts to learn the truth about what happened on the island.

Thoughts on Caveat

Characters & Performances – Isaac is the man hired to watch over the house, he has lost his memory and is left feeling uncomfortable with the idea the house is on an island and that he must be harnessed. He must navigate the house when he starts to learn what has happened there. Jonathan French does do a great job in the leading role, feeding us with a character that is always on edge through the film. Olga is the niece that has psychological problems because of what has happened in her past can spend one moment like any other woman, but then be stuck in a catatonic state the next. Olga does fill in gaps from the past, which she will reveal slowly through the film. Leila Sykes does bring us a disturbing character that you just know has something not right about her.

Story – The story here follows a man who takes a role watching over a house with a psychological disturbed young woman in, only for the rules to make the experience turn into a slow uncomfortable experience for the man, as the truth about the house is revealed. This is a real slow burning story that is more about what has happened before, slowly getting revealed to bring extra twists into the actions of the characters. It is done in an effective way that show how to balance the line between not giving us much and not given us enough, grabbing the attention to see where the story will go next.

Themes – Caveat is an atmospheric horror that slowly builds up the tension through the film, while we might spend a lot of time in darkness, which is one of the weaknesses in the film, the isolated location and trapped figure add to the movie.

Caveat is a great tension filled horror experience.

May 31 2021

Flashback (2020) Movie Review

Flashback – Overly Confusing

Director: Christopher MacBride

Writer: Christopher MacBride (Screenplay)

Starring: Dylan O’Brien, Maika Monroe, Amanda Brugel, Hannah Gross, Keir Gilchrist, Emory Cohen, Sima Fisher

Plot: After a chance encounter with a man forgotten from his youth, Fred literally and metaphorically journeys into his past.

Runtime: 1 Hour 37 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: Flashback starts when Fredrick (O’Brien) has a chance encounter with a stranger from his past, one he can’t remember, which will send him on a journey through his past to try and figure out who the man is and what happened in his past.

Here Fred remembers his high school life with Cindy (Monroe) and how he was pushed into trying a new drug doing the rounds, Mercury. With this his starts to remember the terrifying past he left behind.

Thoughts on Flashback

Thoughts – Flashback is a sci-fi film that shows a young man that starts to look back on his life, only to learn not everything has gone in the plan or order he remembers, leading him down a path of uncertainty. This story is very confusing, the story has loads of time jumps, which is part of the mindset Fred is going through, but it makes things even more confusing for the audience. It does becomes too much to try and keep up with, leading to a film that will leave you scratching your head and looking to try and cure the headache it has given you. The acting isn’t bad though, Dlyan O’Brien once again takes a role which is maturing him as an actor, only he does look too old for the high school moments. This is an attempt to make an edgier sci-fi film that does look to have a deeper message about everything going on in life, which must be praised, it just doesn’t get executed to the heights we would imagine.

Vertigo Releasing presents Flashback on digital platforms 4 June 2021

Flashback is an overly confusing sci-fi film that jumps way too much.

May 31 2021

Werewolves Within – Release News

Signature Entertainment presents Werewolves Within on Digital Platforms and DVD from 19^th July

Synopsis: Werewolves Within is a witty whodunnit horror directed by Josh Ruben (Scare Me) from a screenplay by Mishna Wolff, based on the video game of the same name. The film takes place in the small US town of Beaverfield, where a snowstorm has trapped a group of residents inside a local inn. Forest ranger Fin (Sam Richardson, Veep) and postal worker Cecily (Milana Vayntrub, Marvel’s New Warriors) seek to maintain peace among the residents and uncover the truth behind a mysterious and dangerous creature. The fun new film boasts a hilarious comedic ensemble cast also including Broadway star Cheyenne Jackson (American Horror Story), Sarah Burns (Big Little Lies) and Harvey Guillen (What We Do In The Shadows TV). Produced by Ubisoft Film and Television (Assassin’s Creed). The Hollywood Reporter recently described the film as a “hidden gem: John Carpenter meets Clue”.

May 30 2021

Skylines (2020) Movie Review

Skylines – Bigger & More Open

Director: Liam O’Donnell

Writer: Matthew E Chausse, Liam O’Donnell (Screenplay)

Starring: Lindsey Morgan, Jonathan Howard, Daniel Bernhardt, Rhona Mitra, James Cosmo, Yahan Ruhian, Alexander Siddig

Plot: When a virus threatens to turn the now earth-dwelling friendly alien hybrids against humans, Captain Rose Corley must lead a team of elite mercenaries on a mission to the alien world in order to save what’s left of humanity.

Tagline – To save our world she must invade theirs

Runtime: 1 Hour 53 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: Skylines starts in the aftermath of Rose (Morgan) leading the fight back against the aliens, winning the war but at a cost, one she must live with. Rose has gone into hiding, until Radford (Siddig) sends out for searching party for her, looking for her to go on a final mission.

Rose must lead a group on a mission to the alien world this time, one that will stop their next invasion and offer up the cure to the alien bodies that have been living on Earth, hand in hand with the humans, that have become infected with an unknown virus.

Thoughts on Skylines

Characters & Performances – Rose is the leader of the fight back against the aliens, her abilities discovered in the previous film are what makes her the deadliest weapon against the aliens. She does live in regret about what happened in the war, which led to millions dying, she is forced out of hiding to come back on a new mission to fight for humanity on the alien world. Lindsey Morgan takes over the leading role in this film, where she is strong with what she needs to do, being the most interesting of all the mission based characters, with her performance. When it comes to the other soldiers on the mission, they are mostly forgettable, seeming to be easy to mix up and with the random invasion angle on Earth, the characters we meet just don’t get much screen time.

Story – The story picks up in the aftermath of the last movie, showing us how the world has changed since the war was one, but now a new threat is coming, with the soldier that led the fight back, needing to step up and finish it all off. This is a bigger story that anything we have seen before, with the battle being more in the opening, with little going on, turning into the aftermath and potential next invasion. It shows that even in the aftermath of a war, the two sides will still see tension between them, which can cause problems. We do get a side story on Earth, which can feel like filler. The most amazing part of the story comes from the fact we could still see more in the future.

Themes – Skylines has gone big with everything this time, bringing a new level to the sci-fi action we are witnesses, using the new environment of the home world of the aliens and new version of them on the planet. The world does give us the true experience that we are no longer on Earth, bringing a level of horror back to the proceedings.

Skylines is a bigger more ambitious world creator that is always looking to continue the bigger battle between the species.

May 30 2021

Howard Original (2021) Movie Review

Howard Original – Clever Comedy

Director: Natalie Rodriguez

Story and Written By: Kevin Sean Michaels and Natalie Rodriguez

Starring: Kevin Sean Michaels, Ivon Millan, Alessandra Manon, Natasha Galano, Iliyana Apostolova, Jasmine Richards

Plot: In this award-winning comedy-drama satire about the entertainment industry, a washed-up screenwriter encounters multiple life crises when his pet cat comes to life.

Runtime: 1 Hour 34 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: Howard Original starts when down on his luck screenwriter Howard (Michaels) is looking to make his script Space Cats a film, he has found his own inspiration in his new neighbour turned girlfriend Hannah (Galano). Howard goes through the audition process where he gets to meet a string of actresses for the role, as he continues to learn the different problems he will face when it comes to making a movie.

Thoughts on Howard Original

Thoughts – Howard Original is a comedy that will take a look at the movie making process from the early stages through the eyes of a screenwriter trying to get their vision across to people, be it getting the words on the paper, or have performers say the lines like they imagined it. This will highlight just how determined writers will have to be to make their work seen by the audience and how they want it their way, while showing us the other side of life, what it can take out of people. The deeper side to what has been happening to Howard is filled with the struggles of life. The performances through the film are strong, with the truly funniest scenes being the castings, which bring a different approach to the same scenes.