Reviews

Robbie: " Hey guys! Wanna make a horror movie im the desert?"

Cast: "Sure! What's it about?"

Robbie: " I dunno, maybe something about us making a video in the desert "

Cast: "Ooooo! What a concept. Very meta. Can we see the script?"

Robbie: "No script, well just make it up as we go."

***weeks of filming later***

Cast: " This has been kinda fun, but when do we film the scary bits?"

Robbie: "Ummm...."

Cast: "Y' know there's other stuff we could be doing. Do you still need us?"

Robbie: "Nah, it's cool. I have a flashlight and 200 gallons of red corn syrup. I can finish the last part without you."

Cast: "Great! You're the best, Robbie! Oh, by the way, what's the scary part actually about?"

Robbie: "See, that's the funny thing, I still have no clue. I figure I'll just use my world class shaky-cam technique to film a bunch of random stuff in close up, throw some of that corn syrup around and light everything with only this tiny flashlight. After, I'll add some random screeches and moaning, then slice it all together using a D20 to decide the shot sequence. I'm sure somebody will find a way to read meaning into it and they'll praise me as the newest horror auteur."

Cast: "Good for you, Robbo! You keep dreaming the dream. Oh, and when you're ready to make another movie, please lose our numbers."

This is basically a gender swap of Mark Wahlburg's "Family Plan", but without the same level of humor or action. The lead actors are fine, the action sequences are well done but waaaay too short. The story is predictable, the humorous bits garner a chuckle at best. It's great to see Kaley branch out, but this doesn't come close to her performance in "Flight Attendant" on Apple TV. I think she deserves a bigger audience, and I'll continue waiting for her to find that true breakout role so she'll no longer just be Penny from The Big Bang Theory. As others have said, it makes for some fine background noise, but ultimately is pretty forgettable.

If you're a gore-hound or formula-junkie, stay away, this movie is not for you. But if you like a more cerebral film with a side order of viscera, check this one out. Yes, it can be a little predictable, and the ending is not totally unexpected. But the script is overall quite strong, and you can find some deeper meaning if you want to look for it (eg, how some men manipulate women into staying in abusive relationships). If nothing else, watch and appreciate the performances from the two lead actors. You'll be hard pressed to find performances this strong in most other genre films. A solid outing for the right audience.

I agree with most of the other 5-6-7 star reviews. Read those for an idea of what you're in for. But dang, that "soundtrack" is terrible. Rather than using music that elevate the scenes, the film forces us to listen to entire songs -wuth lyrics - at almost every turn, and those songs have little to do with what's happening on screen. Like the director took a demo tape from his buddy's garage band and said "Sure, this'll do". Really the weakest part of the movie.

What starts as yet another found-footage horror film, turns into an effective rumination on power, friendship, loyalty, duty and sacrifice. Some of the early setup scenes are a bit clunky, and the three leads start off as pretty flat, stereotypical characters: the popular jock, the nerd, the All American Boy. But once the main premise is established, the film really finds its footing. We watch the characters grow in a believable way as they feel their way through the extent of their discovery, how it effects each of them personally, and how their relationships with each other change over time. Some might find the ending a bit of a trope, but I found it effective. Give this one a chance, it may surprise you!

On it's surface, it's a decent supernatural "coming of age" story of a young girl, raised in isolation by her doting mother, who slowly learns of her true nature. It's a slow burn, with steadily increased tension as the pacing ramps up to a suitably bloody and chilling close. Extremely nice camera work and visuals and decent acting, even with some fairly clunky dialog. The soundtrack - with songs performed by the characters - are impressively good for the genre. But the real standout aspect of this film is that the three female leads and one secondary male character are an actual family: The father, John Adams, wife Toby Poser, and daughters Zelda and Lulu Adams. John, Toby and Zelda are listed as writers/directors. John composed the songs which apparently Zelda and Toby performed (though I'm not certain on that part, it could have been dubbed). This is a real family effort, and they are to be admired for it. I can only imagine what fun this crew has making these movies, and hope they continue. They have a real knack for the genre, and are a lot of fun to watch.

Full disclosure: I'm a huge Springsteen fan, going back to the Wild/Innocent days. His music - some of it great, some of it not so much - has followed me through most of my life, and is a touchstone for countless memories. I've only seen him live 4 times (that's not much by Springsteen standards) so I was psyched to finally get to peek behind the creative curtain and witness the recording of "Letter to You".

To call this a documentary is fairly misleading. Yes, it features behind-the-scenes footage of the recording sessions, interspersed with voice-over montages featuring old clips and photos. There are some snippets of Bruce teaching the band the basic structure of the new songs, a few false starts as they rehearse, some give and take with the recording engineers and musicians about how the song should go, sharing memories about growing up, etc. And that's all really good stuff.

But when they get to the actual songs, what we see and hear are not the same. We SEE clips of the band playing live, but we HEAR the released/mixed version of the song from the CD. Sometimes this works - especially when it focuses on Bruce singing ("One Minute You're Here" is absolutely riveting) - but other times the disconnect is just jarring. Max's drum hits and cymbal crashes are often totally out of sync. Stevie and Nils are playing riffs that don't look anything like what we hear. This doesn't happen all the time. Some tracks are pretty close to being in sync, but other times it's so out of sync you're taken totally out of the song. Once I noticed, I couldn't stop looking for it, which spoiled the enjoyment for me. A few times I just closed my eyes so I could listen to the music undistracted.

I'm glad I watched it for the "real" parts, but overall disappointed at the rest. I would have much preferred raw, unmixed live versions of these deeply moving songs. It's too bad, this could have been a real revelation into the creative process.

I thoroughly enjoyed the first two films in this franchise, and have been looking forward to this preqel for a long time. Sadly, while it is from the pen and camera of Matthew Vaugh, it has almost none of the appeal of those earlier films. The story is convoluted and the pacing is dreadfully slow. There is none of the humor I expected, and only a few hints at the highly stylized action sequences that made the first two so fun. As for characters, Conrad drew only mild sympathy, Shola had hints of greatness, and Rasputin was comic-book villain at his best, but the rest of the cast fell flat. If this has been the first film of the franchise, I doubt I would have had any interest at all in the others. Taken on it's own I guess it's a fine middle-of-the-road action flick, but if you're expecting a Kingsman movie, you'll probably be disappointed.

This was a very good horror film, except where it wasn't. It could have been so much better with a more coherent plot and satisfying ending. Definitely worth watching for the acting, cinematography, sound design. It will absolutely creep you out in some places. The overwhelming dread builds slowly to a crescendo, but then it's just kinda over, and you're left wondering if it was worth it after all. If you're a horror fan, definitely watch it, but be prepared to feel a bit disappointed when it's over.

Is it horror?? Not really. Is it action packed? Erm...I guess. Is it suspenseful? Mildly. The characters are weak, stupid, and generally unlikable. Seriously, how many people does it take to change a frickin' tire? At one point it looks like the dude is actually trying to remove the tire from the rim. I mean WT-Entire-F??? The plot is simple, the effects are acceptable. As we near the end, it seems like it'll be a total waste of time. But then, the end happens. And I loved it. In just those few seconds, this went from 2-3 stars to a solid 6 stars. It's worth the watch if you have a mildly sick sense of humor and appreciation for irony.

I watched this just because it was free on my XFinity account. Knowing nothing about it, I expected it to be pretty cheesy, but was surprised by how cleverly it was done. I appreciated that it was more than just "I gotta find my sister" - the B plot involving her was just as compelling as the main plot. I understand that a few months ago they announced funding for an oft-rumored and well-overdue sequel - if they can keep the creative team intact, it should be a winner.

It's a simple premise, well acted, with some satisfying twists and turns. You can enjoy it just for the surface story, or you can really dig in to what's going on and try to unravel the paradoxes, if that's your thing. Not nearly as complex as something like "Primer", but a fun ride nonetheless.

Very good take on the standard exorcism flick. The lead actress does a great job flipping between human and demon, and the two male leads deliver fine performances as well. The plot has some holes, of course, but if you can ignore those and just go with it you'll have a good time. One of the scariest parts is the footage over the closing credits - with just 6 days to go until the election in the US, it feels like a preview of news reports we'll be seeing a week from now.

I wanted to like it more than I did. Strong beginning, interesting concept, but it started dragging after about 30 minutes, and I just couldn't get reinvested. The characters are pretty stiff, the story has potential, but overall it felt like a long, bad episode of Walking Dead. The plot twist with the brother wasn't a bad idea, but by that time I really didn't care what happened to any of the characters.

Sal predicted your reaction to this movie perfectly. If all these thoughts don't go through your head, you're not paying attention. This film presents itself as one thing, then subverts, twists and contorts itself until you realize the chaotic "nonsense" makes more sense than you ever could have expected. Watch this movie and hate it, that's fine, and not an unreasonable reaction. Watch this movie and love it, also acceptable. Watch and be confused, bewildered, annoyed, tickled, entertained, bored, inspired, amused, befuddled, any or all of the above. But by all means, watch this movie.

Take a simple concept and execute it perfectly - that's what this film does. Trapped on a trail full of zombies, a father fights to keep his daughter safe. The action is non stop, the acting is impressive, there's just the right amount of humor mixed in to ease the tension, and they manage to pull off a satisfying, touching ending. You won't regret watching this.