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Movie Review

The Clock (2024) Movie Review

The Clock – Movie Review

The Clock presents a family's unsettling experience with a cursed grandfather clock, featuring some scares but lacking emotional impact.

First Reaction – The Clock has a few scares but not enough to be scary.

Watch The Clock on Tubi.

Director: Rick Danford

Writer: Rick Danford (Screenplay)

Cast

  • Aimee Rolfsen (Harlow’s Haunt)
  • Shawn Ray
  • Kaitlyn Kemp (Fighting the Fire)
  • D’Andre Noire (Jesus Revolution)
  • Krista Grotte Saxon (The Penthouse)

Plot: After Mike and Sara bring home a grandfather clock, strange and frightening things begin to happen. As the incidents become more sinister, they learn that their clock, may be much more than they bargained for.

Runtime: 1 Hour 20 Minutes 

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: The Clock starts when Sara (Rolfsen) and Mike (Ray) buy a grandfather clock from a garage sale. They want to bring something more traditional to their home, with their teenage daughter Isabel (Kemp), becoming more distant.

However, once they set the clock up, strange things begin happening to their friends and neighbours. They turn to an expert who looks into the history of the item, learning the disturbing truth.

Verdict on The Clock

Recap

The movie follows a family who purchases a grandfather clock to decorate their home. However, they discover the clock is cursed, and soon their family and friends target them as the possession takes over.

Best Parts

The idea an item is cursed and an unsuspecting family unleash the curse is an interesting concept. It is a basic horror one, but effective because things can go in multiple directions. When the story remains around the family and the creepier moments, it is effective and enjoyable.

Worst Parts

A lot of the scares are placed upon family friends and neighbours, which can take away from the emotional impact of the events on the core family. By the time the family gets placed into the scary situations, nothing feels as big of an impact.

Final Thoughts –The Clock has a good idea, but the scare comes in the wrong places.

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Movie Review

Doom Asylum (1988) Movie Review

Doom Asylum – Movie Review

Doom Asylum must watch with alcohol to get the most out of it.

First Reaction – Doom Asylum must watch with alcohol to get the most out of it.

Director: Richard Friedman

Writer: Rick Marx (Screenplay)

Cast

Plot: A horribly disfigured lawyer, wrongfully pronounced dead after a terrible car accident, is taken to an asylum for dissection, only to come back alive, kill everyone, and make the asylum his killing grounds.

Runtime: 1 Hour 19 Minutes 

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: Doom Asylum starts when a group of friends Kiki (Mullen), Mike (Hay), Jane (Davis), Darnell (White) and Dennis (Price), head to an abandoned asylum. It has a reputation of a disfigured lawyer, Mitch Hansen (Rogen), lurking in the corridors in hope of revenge.

They clash with a group of rockers Tina (Collins), Rapunzel (Farin) and Godiva (Alvan), but only pranks. However, Mitch sees this as a chance to continue his killing spree and the youths make an easy victim.

Verdict on Doom Asylum

Recap

The movie follows a group of friends wanting to party at an abandoned asylum. However, they discover a serial killer is lurking in the corridors, waiting for the chance to find more victims.

Best Parts

The location and the idea behind the serial killer are the highlights of the movie. It creates isolation and the killer is driven by wanting to escape their nightmare.

Worst Parts

The movie struggles with a mixture of bad editing and poor performances. We seem to have one person say their line, before a long pause for the next line in a conversation. Elsewhere, it falls into the bad decision horror where nobody seems to have half a brain cell. This ends up falling into so bad it is actually funny.

Final Thoughts –Doom Asylum is a must-watch drunk movie.

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Movie Review

Grim (1996) Movie Review

Grim – Movie Review

"Grim is a low-budget horror film featuring spelunkers trapped by a creature. It lacks significant scares but has a creepy atmosphere."

First Reaction – Grim is what you would expect from a low budget late night horror, easy to watch without many scares.

Director: Paul Matthews

Writer: Paul Matthews (Screenplay)

Cast

  • Emmanuel Xuereb (Bad Boys)
  • Jack Chancer
  • Kadamba
  • Michael Fitzpatrick (Unredeemed)
  • Tres Hanley

Plot: A team of spelunkers, when investigating a system of caves beneath a small town, come across a hideous creature that can move through walls.

Runtime: 1 Hour 28 Minutes 

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: Grim starts when Rob (Xuereb), Steve (Chancer) Penny (Hanley) and Trish (Crenshaw) join other spelunkers. They want to investigate the cave system beneath a small town, when they clash with a hideous creature. However, they become trapped and must look for the missing members of their team while eluding the creature.

The caves become more difficult to navigate than they expected, forcing them to make tough decisions. However, it is what they find along the more disturbing way.

Verdict on Grim

Recap

The movie follows a group of Spelunkers who descended to a cave system below their small town. However, they discover a creature lurking in the system and must try to find a new way out. It because a race against time to make it out alive.

Best Parts

The cave system is creepy and atmospheric which keeps us wanting to see what could be around each corner. Elsewhere, the creatures motivation has plenty of questions around it.

Worst Parts

While the location is good, the scares are weak, they don’t hit hard enough to deliver on the levels you would expect. Elsewhere, the performances are not the best, leaving us laughing at the more serious moments of the movie.

Final Thoughts – Grim is a typical late night horror without too many scares.

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Movie Review

Raptor (2001) Movie Review

Raptor – Movie Review

Raptor is a 101 B-movie.

First Reaction – Raptor is a 101 B-movie.

Director: John Blush, Jim Wynorski

Writer: Jim Wynorski, Michael B Druxman, Frances Doel (Screenplay)

Cast

Plot: When Sheriff Jim Tanner investigates a string of unexplained and grisly killings, he uncovers a prehistoric terror.

Runtime: 1 Hour 21 Minutes 

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: Raptor starts when Sheriff Jim Tanner (Roberts) faces an unexpected series of deaths. Barbara Phillips (DeMarco) offers expert advice on the unusual tracks at the death scene. Elsewhere, Dr Hyde (Bernsen) sees his experiment escape into the wild, and one of his created raptors is hunting the local area.

When the attacks continue to get worse, Jim must guide the local authorities to a safe solution before more bodies turn up. Meanwhile, Dr Hyde looks to cover up his mistakes before he gets blamed.

Verdict on Raptor

Recap

The movie follows a small town which comes under attack from an accidentally released dinosaur. A sheriff and animal expert must work together to investigate before it spreads too far and causes too much damage.

Best Parts

The small town environment, seeing them come together for an attack, is interesting. It also plays into the idea that scientists will use remote locations for dangerous experiments.

Worst Parts

When it comes to the rest of the movie, it is not great; the effects are not very impressive. Elsewhere, the story, while simple, doesn’t seem like there is ever any urgency to solve the problem. It feels like there would be a much bigger rush to solve this, rather than anything else.

Final Thoughts –Raptor is a simple B-movie with basic creature features.

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Movie Review

Bare Skin (2026) Movie Review

Bare Skin – Movie Review

"Bare Skin is a long thriller about trauma victims discovering unsettling connections during therapy sessions, lacking sufficient suspense."

First Reaction – Bare Skin is a long-drawn-out thriller without a hard enough punch.

Director: Mico Montes

Writer: Mico Montes (Screenplay)

Cast

  • Rachel Alig
  • Torrey B Lawrence
  • Ariana Livingston
  • Ryan Wayne
  • Alberto Henriquez

Plot: Victims of extreme trauma are invited to a group therapy session to share their experiences in a safe setting, but as their stories are told, an unsettling truth reveals that they may all be connected in their misfortune.

Runtime: 2 Hours 22 Minutes 

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: Bare Skin starts when a group of victims meet for a group therapy session. Dr Hedonia (Alig) brings the group together, as they begin to express their former traumas. As the victims express their pain from the traumas, they reveal the wide range of horrors they have been through.

However, the more they reveal, the more disturbing the connection becomes. It leads to them addressing the deep wounds, as they look to overcome the traumas like they never imagined.

Verdict on Bare Skin

Recap

The movie follows a group of trauma victims coming together for a group session. They reveal their traumas and soon discover they have been selected for a reason, but what is the reason?

Best Parts

The sense of the bigger connections keeps us wanting to know why they have been brought together.

Worst Parts

Overall the movie feels a lot longer than it needed to be. Elsewhere, the individual stories felt more like attempts at bringing the edgy style of Saw games, without much meaning behind them. It holds the bigger picture up too much, leaving us waiting to know, rather than on the edge of our seats.

Where to Watch

Bare Skin is on UK digital 23 February from Miracle Media

Final Thoughts – Bare Skin is an overly long thriller with little suspense.

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Movie Review

The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar (2023) Short Movie Review

The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar – Movie Review

Discover the captivating storytelling of The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar. Watch this fast-paced movie on Netflix and be amazed.

First Reaction – The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar is fast-paced and captivating storytelling.

Watch The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar on Netflix

ABC Film Challenge – Oscar Nomination – W

Director: Wes Anderson

Writer: Wes Anderson (Screenplay)

Writer: Roald Dahl (Story)

Cast

Plot: Chronicles a variety of stories, but the main one follows Henry Sugar, who is able to see through objects and predict the future with the help of a book he stole.

Runtime: 40 Minutes 

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar starts when Roald Dahl (Fiennes) introduces the incredibly wealthy Henry Sugar (Cumberbatch). Henry has inherited the fortune and is out of place with society around him. His fascinating stories led him to learn about Imdad Khan (Kingsley) and his incredible gifts.

Verdict on The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar

Recap

This short movie follows a rich man who never earned his riches, but now he finds a way to remain rich. It leads him down a path where he discovers a way to stay rich, but it comes at a cost.

Best Parts

This uses Wes Anderson’s intense non-story style of storytelling, where the narrator barely takes a second to breathe. It elevates this story to be interesting around every corner and feel like we are watching a play. The revolving sets and stagehands appearing on camera make it feel great. We get fantastic performances, which play into the style of the movie. In the end, this showed the storytelling abilities of Roald Dahl to give us a captivating character in famous tales.

Final Thoughts –The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar is an incredibly entertaining story.

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Movie Review

Dead Space (1991) Movie Review

Dead Space – Movie Review

Dead Space disappoints with insufficient scares despite a compelling concept, following a crew battling a deadly virus in space.

First Reaction – Dead Space fails to have enough scares for the concept of The Thing in Space.

Director: Fred Gallo

Writer: Catherine Cyran (Screenplay)

Cast

Plot: A deadly virus attacks the crew of a Saturn space station.

Runtime: 1 Hour 12 Minutes 

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: Dead Space starts when Dr Salinger (Tate), Dr Darden (Cranston) and Dr Stote (Chapman) learn their experiment has got out of control. Commander Krieger (Singer) answers their Mayday call. However, once he arrives, they want to keep clean and maintain their experiment.

Krieger must lead the defence, but the spread of the creature and the virus it holds takes over the crew. It becomes a battle to survive and a decision-making process to keep the rest of the universe safe.

Verdict on Dead Space

Recap

The movie follows a scientific facility coming under attack from a created virus. He must help them track down the problem before it spreads too far and causes lasting effects to the universe.

Best Parts

The isolated location is the highlight of the story.

Worst Parts

There is one moment which feels completely out of place for the horror movie and seems to have more care than any other part of the film. Elsewhere, the horror never feels that scary, leaving us feeling like we wanted more. In the end, this feels like a weaker ‘The Thing’ in space.

Final Thoughts –Dead Space struggles to get enough scares for the bigger picture.

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Movie Review

Hellraiser: Bloodlines (1996) Movie Review

Hellraiser: Bloodline – Movie Review

Hellraiser: Bloodline extremely confusing for the bigger picture.

First Reaction – Hellraiser: Bloodline extremely confusing for the bigger picture.

Director: Kevin Yagher

Writer: Peter Atkins (Screenplay)

Cast

Plot: In the 22nd century, a scientist attempts to right the wrong his ancestor created: the puzzle box that opens the gates of Hell and unleashes Pinhead and his Cenobite legions.

Runtime: 1 Hour 25 Minutes 

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: Hellraiser: Bloodline starts as we see Pinhead (Bradley) having a new pawn in Angelique (Vargas). She has travelled generations searching for the family of the puzzle box. Each journey sees them interact with different families and ruin lives to create the deadly outcome.

The victims must decide whether they want to help Pinhead or save their loved ones. However, it comes at a bigger price for anyone involved in twisted games.

Verdict on Hellraiser: Bloodline

Recap

The movie follows Pinhead travelling through generations searching for members of the creator’s family to get revenge on. He wants to end the bloodline and get his freedom, but he must sacrifice different members along the way.

Best Parts

The biggest positive is still the effects which look almost flawless in what is being created.

Worst Parts

The movie struggles with the number of timelines we jump through; it never lets anyone feel established in the bigger picture. This is confusing for the most part but ends up leaving us feeling short and you can see why the director disowned the movie.

Final Thoughts –Hellraiser: Bloodline is an overly confusing twisted series of stories.

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Movie Review

Y2K (2024) Movie Review

Y2K – Movie Review

Y2K, directed by Kyle Mooney, fails to deliver sufficient horror or comedy, focusing more on teenage drama than on an engaging narrative.

First Reaction – Y2K struggles to give us enough horror, comedy or overall feeling of being in the year 2000.

Director: Kyle Mooney

Writer: Kyle Mooney, Evan Winter (Screenplay)

Cast

Plot: Two high-school nobodies make the decision to crash a Y2K party. The night becomes even crazier than they could have ever dreamed when the clock strikes midnight.

Runtime: 1 Hour 31 Minutes 

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: Y2K starts when outsider teenagers, Eli (Martell) and Danny (Dennison) want to celebrate New Year’s in 2000. They crash a high school party of Eli’s crush, Laura (Zegler) and the party creates chaos.

When the clock strikes midnight, the party goers get attacked by technology gone wrong. They must work together to escape the night and stop the apocalypse. However, the problem comes from seeing how everyone else reacts to the events.

Verdict on Y2K 

Recap

The movie follows a group of teenagers who discover the world coming to an end when the Y2K apocalypse begins. They must work together to overcome the problems and defeat the rising technology.

Best Parts

The highlight is the music, which takes us back to 2000 and the great music we used to get.

Worst Parts

This feels more like an attempt to capture the magic of ‘This is the End’ again. However, it doesn’t click very well and focuses too much on the teenage drama. There aren’t many laughs, and the bigger moments of horror are way too over the top for what the movie is trying to send us.

Final Thoughts –Y2K feels more like a weaker ‘This is the End’.