Author: Darren Lucas

Big Film fan and general entertainment fan

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Movie Review

Girl at the Window (2022) Movie Review

Girl at the Window – Movie Review

Girl at the Window

Director: Mark Hartley

Writer: Terence Hammond, Nicolette Minster (Screenplay)

Cast

  • Radha Mitchell (Silent Hill)
  • Ella Newton
  • Vince Colosimo (Chopper)
  • Karis Oka

Plot: It is based on a mother and daughter who deals with an uncertain threat that brings them closer together as a blend.

Runtime: 1 Hour 25 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: Girl at the Window starts as we meet Barbara (Mitchell) and her daughter Amy (Newton) getting a new neighbour. Amy starts to believe that their neighbour Chris (Colosimo) is a notorious serial killer in the area. When the latest killing and kidnapping happens, Amy looks to solve the case, as the police try to unfold the mystery themselves.

Amy’s race to learn the truth intensifies when Chris starts dating her mother. Barbara starts to question how affected Amy has become by her father’s death, while the race to stop the killer continues.

Verdict on Girl at the Window

Characters

Amy is a teenage girl that has been dealing with the trauma from her father’s death, something she feels guilty over. She has moved into a new home with her mother and starts believing he is a notorious serial killer in the area. Amy starts recording everything that happens outside of the home as she tries to discover the truth while balancing her own reality.

Barbara is Amy’s mother who is trying to start a fresh life too. She has started dating the neighbour and gets torn between her own dating life and her daughter’s behaviour.

Chris is the neighbour that Barbara and Amy have moved next door to. From the outside, it looks like he is being suspicious of his action but there is a question over whether he is the killer or not.

Performances

The performances are carried by Ella Newton, who must go through the most during the movie. She must balance the potential hunt for a serial killer or the potential of her guilt catching up with her. Radha Mitchell falls more into the caring mother who will do whatever she can for her daughter.

Story

The story follows a teenage girl that believes her neighbour is a notorious serial killer. She must prove she is correct as her own mind leaves questions about her past, as nobody else believes her.

This story borrows heavily from ‘Rear Window’ with the concept of questioning a neighbour’s behaviour. The smartest part of the story is balancing the battle between Amy’s own mind. She is filled with guilt about her father’s death, which is seen in how people react to everything. Outside of this, we get to see everything coming off quite calm with the approach, with the movie lacking the urgency it hints heavily at. There are also a few moments in the story that lacks the direction given to them and it feels like they get lost in the system.

Themes

Girl at the Window is a mystery thriller that takes the Rear Window formula and blends it with a guilty conscience. The problem comes with the idea that tries to balance reality with imagination, despite going heavily into showing what the killer is doing. It might well keep you guessing but it is more about who the killer is than whether there is even a killer at all.

Final Thoughts – Girl at the Window is a good psychological horror.

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Movie Review

Lyra (2022) Movie Review

Lyra – Movie Review

Lyra

Director: Alison Millar

Plot: Follows the life of Northern Irish investigative journalist Lyra McKee by telling her story through her own work and words.

Runtime: 1 Hour 32 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Verdict on Lyra

Lyra is a documentary following the career of Northern Irish investigative journalist Lyra McKee. The movie starts with the tragedy that shocks the journalism world when Lyra is killed reporting on a riot in Northern Ireland.

This gets to show us how her hard work gave her a massive reputation for highlighting important issues. She tackled understanding how Northern Ireland lived in the shadow of the previous battles.

This is a tribute to the work she achieved the messages she sent out and the importance. It shows how the country was still not as together as it wanted to be after her death.

Final Thoughts – Lyra is a dedicated tribute to inspiration to a younger generation.

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Movie Review

The Killing Tree (2022) Movie Review

The Killing Tree – Movie Review

Killing Tree

Director: Rhys Frake-Waterfield

Writer: Craig McLearie (Screenplay)

Cast

  • Sarah T Cohen (Jurassic Island)
  • Sarah Alexandra Marks (Help)
  • May Kelly (Winnie-the-Pooh Blood and Honey)
  • Kelly Rian Sanson (Curse of Jack Frost)
  • Ella Starbuck

Plot: On Christmas Eve, a widow casts a spell to resurrect her executed husband. However, when the spell goes wrong, the husband is brought back as an Evil Christmas Tree and is hell-bent on getting revenge on the one who caused his execution.

Runtime: 1 Hour 12 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: The Killing Tree starts when the widow of a serial killer looks to bring him back to life. However, things go wrong and his soul gets placed in a Christmas Tree. As a Christmas Tree, he goes in search of Faith (Marks) the woman who got him executed after he killed her family.

Faith is looking to have one last party with friends before she moves out, while the Christmas Tree is heading their way. As the Christmas Tree kills anyone in its path, Faith must face her past one last time to survive.

Verdict on The Killing Tree

The Killing Tree is a horror comedy that sees a serial killer come back to life inside a Christmas Tree. He has returned to come after his last victim and is killing anything that gets in his way.

This is a movie that understands the tone perfectly, never taking anything too seriously and using the tree decorations as added weapons. It creates laughs and fun slasher kills that feel more unique to the movie we are seeing. Child’s Play looks like a clear inspiration for this movie, which you can see with the concept of a serial killer in an everyday object. This is a lot of fun and never takes things too seriously.

Final Thoughts – The Killing Tree is a fun, wacky and enjoyable horror comedy.

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Movie Review

Bridge of the Doomed (2022) Movie Review

Bridge of the Doomed – Movie Review

Bridge of the Doomed

Director: Michael Su

Writer: Adrian Milnes (Screenplay)

Cast

  • Michael Pare (Gone)
  • Robert LaSardo (Death Race)
  • Kate Watson (Battle Star Wars)
  • Sarah French (Blind)

Plot: A group of soldiers are ordered to hold a bridge during a zombie outbreak, but what lives underneath the bridge, proves to be even more deadly.

Runtime: 1 Hour 22 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: Bridge of the Doomed starts when the world has been taken over by a mysterious virus. One that has been turning people into ravenous zombies that are running riot through the land. General Vasquez (LaSardo) is trying to get his military resources to contain the problems.

When the military runs into a group of survivors, tensions start to rise as the two sides find themselves in a battle to survive against the undead armies.  

Verdict on Bridge of the Doomed

Bridget of the Doomed is a survival horror movie that uses the zombie enemy to create a chaotic world. in this world, we see the battle between the two sides as they believe they have bigger rights, instead of working together.

This ends up going down the path of most zombie movies, where the biggest weakness ends up being human decisions. It offers very little new to the zombie chaos sub-genre of horror, where it can become difficult to remember who the most important character throughout the movie is. Nothing really gets going in this movie and it all ends up being a weaker version of what we have seen before.

Final Thoughts – Bridge of the Doomed is a by-the-book zombie movie, without bringing anything original to the table.

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Movie Review

Barbarian (2022) Movie Review

Barbarian – Movie Review

Barbarian

Director: Zach Cregger

Writer: Zach Cregger (Screenplay)

Cast

  • Georgina Campbell (Black Mirror)
  • Bill Skarsgard (IT)
  • Justin Long (Drag Me to Hell)
  • Matthew Patrick Davis
  • Richard Brake (Doom)

Plot: A woman staying at an Airbnb discovers that the house she has rented is not what it seems.

Runtime: 1 Hour 42 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: Barbarian starts when Tess (Campbell) goes to check into her Airbnb. She finds it has been double booked with Keith (Skarsgard) and they come to an arrangement to sort it out. The next day, Tess goes about her business before making a shocking discovery in the basement. This sees the pair explore and making an even more disturbing discovery.

Meanwhile actor AJ (Long) is facing career ruin because of his actions. Looking to clean up some business, he looks to sell his property. He also learns the truth about the basement and what is lurking in there.

Verdict on Barbarian

Characters

Tess is checking into an Airbnb for a job interview, she arrives in the middle of the night and addresses the potential red flags when another guest is there. She falls for the charms, and it feels more like a romantic comedy that she is going to be in. After exploring the house more, she learns of the terrors waiting in the basement, doing everything anyone in a horror movie says not to do.

Keith is the man at the home already, he does the gentlemanly thing and lets Tess stay with him. He is nervous about how it seems and tries his best to not make it awkward by making it awkward. His curiosity in the basement.

AJ is a disgraced actor who owns the home. He is looking to arrange to sell and after discovering what is in the basement, sees a jackpot. AJ feels like a character that is looking to make up for his mistakes, only for him to be one of the ones that are causing more problems in the world.

Performances

When it comes to the performances, Georgina Campbell shines in her role and works so well with Bill Skarsgard. Justin Long on the other hand brings a creepy presence, very similar to his Tusk character, who isn’t afraid to step on a few people to get what he wants. Elsewhere, the creepy and disturbing performances bring the movie to life.

Story

The story follows a woman whose planned Airbnb trip turns into a nightmare. After she discovers something about the basement and the secrets it is hiding.

When it comes to the story, it is told in three distinct chapters that come together by the end. It works in places because the opening almost romantic comedy takes a dark turn and leaves us with a shocking moment. The second chapter addresses abuse in Hollywood, how quickly someone can lose everything for their behaviour and still look for greed. While the third unlocks another level to everything.

This all comes together to give us a shocking conclusion, as well as well-created atmospheric moments. It feels like there is more to be unlocked too, which is the most interesting factor about it.

Themes

Barbarian is a horror thriller that takes us into a home filled with secrets. The house used is along a destroyed Detroit street, putting massive question marks on why it is still in such good condition. Once inside the basements, it is filled with nightmares that only get more intense with the lighting and the reality of what is in there. Anything outside of the basement does lose that special factor about it because it felt like there was so much more to see.

Final Thoughts – Barbarian is a disturbing atmospheric nightmare, creating brilliant tension and pure terror.

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Movie Review

Prey for the Devil (2022) Movie Review

Prey for the Devil – Movie Review

Prey for the Devil

Director: Daniel Stamm

Writer: Robert Zappia (Screenplay)

Writer: Todd R. Jones, Earl Richey Jones (Story)

Cast

Plot: A nun prepares to perform an exorcism and comes face to face with a demonic force with mysterious ties to her past.

Runtime: 1 Hour 33 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: Prey for the Devil starts when Sister Ann (Byers) starts working at an exorcism school. She starts by working on the medical side with Dr Peters (Madsen) and learns from exorcist expert Father Quinn (Salmon).

When it becomes clear Sister Ann has a closer connection to the potentially possessed. She is given the right to study exorcism, becoming the first female exorcist recruit in the school’s history. All this, while she is dealing with her own tormented past.

Verdict on Prey for the Devil

Characters

Sister Ann grew up believing her mother was possessed, despite medical records showing otherwise. She wants to give back, helping people who are in need, be it from possession or mental illness that connects the two. Ann has a connection unlike many other people working in the cloth. Letting her break down walls to help one of the most concerning patients in the hospital.

Dr Peters has studied both sides, she always looks to find medical reasons ahead of religious ones. She tries to help Ann address her own past believing it could stop her in her time of need.

Father Quinn brings us the true religious side of the happenings. He prepares new priests for the battle they will face, that includes Sister Ann.

Father Dante is one of the other trainee priests working there. He works with Ann when they find a new potential problem that isn’t being solved.

Performances

Jacqueline Byers is great in the leading role. When it comes to the acting, this has some high standard performances, from genre veterans including Virginia Madsen and Colin Salmon. Everyone involved gives us the authority figures they are playing down perfectly.

Story

The story follows a young nun who starts working in an exorcism school. She gets to see how they operate, learning the medical approach before turning to religion. It is an interesting glimpse behind the curtain and one that follows the typical exorcism story lines.

Where this movie can start to fall short, comes with the over-the-top possession sequences. This doesn’t help the open discussion the film is encouraging with the mental health aspect behind possession. Everything on that side of the discussion gets thrown out the window because no medical reasoning behind what is happening, happens. It fails to capture what made ‘The Exorcist’ a standout in the genre, it shows too much without giving enough behind it all.

Themes

Prey for the Devil is a horror thriller following a nun learning to balance possession with mental health problems. This should be interesting, but sadly, it ends up returning to a jump scare movie. The music doesn’t help, there is never a calm musical moment before something horror related happening. With the one good jump scare being the standout in the film. However, the location is fascinating, even if we don’t see everything. Getting a glimpse behind the curtain on how possession is studied helps this movie a lot.

Final Thoughts – Prey for the Devil is a jump scare heavy exorcism movie.

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Movie Review

The Area 51 Incident (2022) Movie Review

The Area 51 Incident – Movie Review

Area 51 incident

Director: Rhys Frake-Waterfield

Writer: Scott Jeffrey, Tom Jolliffe (Screenplay)

Cast

Plot: An outbreak occurs in the infamous Area 51 leading a group of survivors to an underground bunker. only to learn. they are not alone.

Runtime: 1 Hour 21 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: The Area 51 Incident starts when Trent (Jeffrey) and Jenny (Purvis) visit Trent’s father Doug (Wynn-Davies) on a secret military base. They visit just as the latest experiment is taking place, one that sees creatures from another world emerge.

This sees them taking shelter in a secret bunker, while Doug leads a team in search of family members. The battle to survive is on, while the creatures spread through England.

Verdict on The Area 51 Incident

The Area 51 Incident is a sci-fi horror that uses the concept of a secret base to create a nightmare scenario. It creates a base, which never feels that secure about what goes on. This can be seen in how calmly they let outsiders even if they are family in. When the invasion starts, the number of creatures is great, with plenty of different designs that offer up different nightmare visions.

Where some of this story doesn’t work as well, is in the character’s decision-making. From inside the base, nobody works together letting them make reckless decisions that cause more problems. It also wants to go too big with the creatures, having a wonderful introduction to them. Only to turn to a different concept halfway through, one that isn’t as entertaining.

Outside of the low-budget aspect, this is a highly ambitious movie that could open the doors to so much going forward.

Final Thoughts – The Area 51 Incident is highly ambitious but not as smooth as it could be.

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Recaps

Becoming Abi – Episode 5 – Leading is Easy? Recap & Review

Becoming Abi – Episode 5 – Leading is Easy? – Recap & Review

Director: Bolu Essien, Terrel Ejem

Cast: Bolu Essien, Juliana Olayode, Seun Ajayi, Biodun Stephen, Stan Nze, Ifeanyi Kalu, Opeyemi Akintunde

What Happened?

Abi is introducing Israel to Big Momma as they look to take their relationship to the next level. As Abi’s relationship is going well, she takes the focus off her career. This doesn’t stop her from getting another promotion to head the agency team.

As Abi takes a new role, she must deal with other problems between the employees. Dealing with fights between employees, needing to make the best decision for the team. This sees Abi address problems with clients and continue to show her leadership skills to her best friend at work Joyce. Only for it to leave Abi in a difficult position of needing to improve the employees around her.

Elsewhere Abi’s personal life is taking off, with a surprise from Israel. A dinner treat to celebrate her new promotion. The changes have shown how difficult Abi’s new role will become.

What to Expect Next Episode?

Can Abi handle the added pressure?

How will Abi and Joyce’s friendship change with the role change?

Final Thoughts: Leading is Easy? Ups the stakes in every aspect of Abi’s life. It shows how she handles the changes and leaves us waiting to see what happens next.

Categories
Movie Review

The Vanished (2021) Movie Review

The Vanished – Movie Review

Vanished

Director: Denis Dercourt

Writer: Denis Dercourt (Screenplay)

Writer: Peter May (Novel)

Cast

  • Olga Kurylenko (Black Widow)
  • Yoo Yeon-Seok (Old Boy)
  • Ji-won Ye (Old Miss Daisy)
  • Moo-Seong Choi

Plot: Alice Launey, a French forensic expert still haunted by her past, comes to Seoul to present her work. She will meet Jin-Ho, a detective who asks for her help on a murder case. Drawn into network trafficking, she needs to face her fears.

Runtime: 1 Hour 28 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: The Vanished starts when Jin-ho Park (Yeon-Seok) gets his latest case, a dead body they can’t identify. This sees him turning to forensic expert Alice Launey (Kurylenko) to help in the investigation. Alice discovers who the victim is, which sends Jin-ho down a dangerous path.

The pair start investigating a potential human trafficking scheme, where body parts are being sold on the black market. This starts to get closer than planned as Alice must deal with her own past traumas.

Verdict on The Vanished

Characters

Alice Launey is a French forensics expert working in Seoul. She is an expert in her field and holds talks about her work. Alice is brought in to help with identifying a body helping unlock the case. Her skills are needed to help with other bodies discovered along the way.

Jin-ho Park is a Seoul detective that turns to Alice for advice on identifying a body. He is a great detective and knows his city like the back of his hand. Sadly, we don’t learn much more about him, he is pretty much a generic figure in this world.

This is a problem with a lot of the cast, nobody seems to get anything to make them stand out in this movie. Even the criminal side of everything feels generic, calm and calculated figures we have seen hundreds of times.

Performances

Olga Kurylenko does the best she can with her tormented character. Only we could have gone a lot deeper into her past to get more out of the character. Yoo Yeon-Seok does everything he needs to but like Olga, we don’t get enough from the character.

Story

The story follows a detective teaming up with a forensics expert to solve the latest case he is facing. It takes down a dangerous path of human trafficking for body parts as the pair look to solve who is behind it.

This is an interesting detective story that feels like it could be an episode of ‘Bones’. It could have been a lot darker instead of how everything it approached, seemingly getting most of the investigation completed for the first body. Not enough goes into the case to show the pure scale of the operation that could have been going on.

Themes

The Vanished is a crime thriller that dives into an investigation of humans trafficking for body parts in Seoul. It does have some graphic moments while studying a dead body but otherwise it keeps everything at the investigation not the chase stage.

Where to Watch: Signature Entertainment presents The Vanished on Digital Platforms 7th November.

Final Thoughts – The Vanished is a by the book darker criminal investigation movie.