Tag Archives: Horror

31 Days of Horror: Blood Red Sky (2021; TV-MA; 121 mins.)

Posted on October 28, 2024 | Leave a comment

If you’re willing to invest over two hours on a paranormal-ish movie set 90% on an airplane, this might be one to give a try. I’m not saying it’s a fantastic horror movie, but it’s also not the worst you could choose, either.

Nadja and her son Elias are traveling on a transatlantic flight to New York so Nadja can receive medical treatment for an unspecified blood disorder. In the airport, Elias meets Farid, a kind fellow passenger who also likes science, and they strike up a bit of a friendship. As the flight gets underway, though, it is soon hijacked by terrorists, including a psychopath who is only too willing to kill anyone in their way, and the copilot, who redirects their flight to crash land in Europe (the hijackers have plans to escape by skydiving).

In a panic, Elias tries to take off and hide in a cargo hold, and when Nadja runs after him, she is shot and left bleeding on the floor. Farid and other passengers try to help both Elias and others who have been hurt already, while most of the terrorists are in the cargo hold trying to put the bomb together. This is where we flash back to an event in Nadja’s past, when Elias was just a baby, which caused her blood disorder, and also where we discover how her husband died. As the story moves back to the present, we see Nadja in a new light, and realize she is stronger than she seems, and might be able to save Elias and the plane full of people from crashing after all. But time is working against her, and she will need help from both Elias and Farid in order to be able to finally put an end to this terror once and for all.

  • Top Scare: Psychopath
  • Heartbeats: 2 1/4 out of 5
  • Gore Factor: 4 out of 5
  • Scare Factor: 3 out of 5
  • Recommended for: 16 and up

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Posted in 31 Days of Horror, Entertainment, Halloween, horror, Horror Movie, Movies, Paranormal, Reviews, scary movies, Streaming, Vampires

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31 Days of Horror: Don’t Move (2024; R; 92 mins.)

Posted on October 26, 2024 | 1 comment

Another day, another smart/clever/strong woman trying to escape a psycho man; this horror movie trope seems to be going as strong as ever with the new Don’t Move.

When Iris–who is still grieving the accidental fall death of her young son in the Big Sur mountains–heads back there to tend his makeshift memorial and “join him,” a man named Richard talks her down from the cliff (literally and figuratively) while sharing his own grief story. But Richard is not who he seems, and has soon injected Iris with a paralytic that will take twenty minutes to fully render her unable to move or talk, as he drives her back to his cabin in the woods for a little one-on-one weekend.

During this window of time however, Iris is able to use a hidden Swiss Army knife to free her hands and cause Richard to wreck, eventually escaping into the woods. As she counts down the twenty minutes, growing slower and less able to function, Richard stalks her. He’s already told her all about “the others,” so she knows what awaits her if she isn’t smart and fast and resourceful. Using every bit of serendipity, luck, and strategic planning that either comes her way or she creates over the next hour or two as she waits for the paralytic to both fully kick in and then fully wear off, Iris fights to not only escape Richard, but to also reclaim the life she’s decided she wants to live after all.

  • Top Scare: In Cabin
  • Heartbeats: 2 1/2 out of 5
  • Gore Factor: 2 out of 5
  • Scare Factor: 1 3/4 out of 5
  • Recommended for: 15 or 16 and up

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Posted in 31 Days of Horror, Entertainment, Halloween, horror, Horror Movie, Movies, Reviews, scary movies, Serial Killers, Streaming, Thriller

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31 Days of Horror: Till Death (2021; R; 88 mins.)

Posted on October 25, 2024 | 5 comments

What’s more romantic than a surprise getaway to your lakeside house filled with lit candles and rose petals for your 11th anniversary? Well, definitely not awakening in bed the next morning, handcuffed to your controlling husband, as he lifts a gun and kills himself, then discovering he has thought of everything: landline is out, cell phone destroyed, all the drawers in the house are empty. Oh, and it’s the dead of winter far away from others, only your wedding dress is in the closet, and he’s left notes and other fun discoveries for you throughout the house.

Of course, being the badass survivor you already were after being attacked years ago (that’s how you met your lawyer husband after all, during that mess), you’re determined to survive this too. But wait, did that horrible husband of yours also include others in this revenge plot of his? Yes, yes he did. And did you say “revenge”? Yes, yes I did. See, he knows about him. And he’s maybe not the best person to begin with, either. When you put those together with some other stuff going on in his life, it all adds up. And, though he may have thought of most everything to get his revenge, you decide you also deserve your own bit of it as well. And you’re smart and strong and gutsy. So if you play your cards right, you just might show him who’s really in charge in the end.

  • Top Scare: Chase Scene
  • Heartbeats: 2 1/4 out of 5
  • Gore Factor: 3 out of 5
  • Scare Factor: 2 out of 5
  • Recommended for: 16 and up

5 Comments

Posted in 31 Days of Horror, Entertainment, Halloween, horror, Horror Movie, Movies, Reviews, scary movies, Streaming, Thriller

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31 Days of Horror: Abandoned (2022; PG-13; 102 mins.)

Posted on October 23, 2024 | 2 comments

For this National Horror Movie Day, I was ready for a ghost-ridden, haunted house-type movie, and happened upon this one. After some recent gore-laden films, spooky/eerie happenings in a remote farmhouse sounded like the right amount of creepy. However, I should have abandoned Abandoned after the first 20 minutes, and I’ll share why so you can choose a better scary show for yourself.

When Alex and Sara, along with infant son Liam, find a great deal (always with the great deal…red flag, people!) on a big farmhouse and barn, they decide to ignore the fact that a murder involving a baby occurred there in the past (the movie itself is set in an undetermined era…perhaps the ’70s or perhaps not). Alex is a farm animal vet who is working to get a new practice off the ground by driving around to find people with farms (weird), while Sara, a teacher in the past, stays home with Liam. Now, you can tell right away things are a bit off: the lighting is kind of muted, Sara always wears the same white dress and Liam only a diaper/cover, a neighbor walks on into the house but Sara doesn’t see it as too odd, the couple is quiet and don’t talk much, items seem to move from room to room (or do they?), and other unusual things. And Liam cries ALL THE TIME. Yes, this is actually part of the movie. Out of the over one hundred minutes of Abandoned, Liam cries probably 20%-25% of it!

Now, we also learn the family who lived in this house before were more than creepy. A father kept his daughter prisoner there, got her pregnant, and shot the baby when it was born. These spirits are still in the house, and they have different goals for Sara. As Sara seems to slowly lose more and more of her mind, she puts Liam in greater and greater danger. But it’s not just the spirits who are after Sara. See, the whole movie is also a big ol’ metaphor for the postpartum depression Sara’s suffering from. So, the question is, will Alex see what is happening to his wife and be able to save her and Liam before it’s too late? Will the mystery of the neighbor be solved? Will the spirits leave them alone and move on? Will Liam EVER STOP CRYING?? You could watch the movie to find out. But, truthfully, I’d pass and save your time (and ears) for better pursuits.

  • Top Scare: In Bedroom
  • Heartbeats: 1 out of 5
  • Gore Factor: 1 1/2 out of 5
  • Scare Factor: 1 1/4 out of 5
  • Recommended for: 13 and up

2 Comments

Posted in 31 Days of Horror, baby, Entertainment, Halloween, horror, Horror Movie, Movies, Paranormal, Reviews, scary movies, Streaming

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31 Days of Horror: The Babysitter: Killer Queen (2020; TV-MA; 101 mins)

Posted on October 22, 2024 | Leave a comment

So, I’ve not even seen The Babysitter, but this looked like a fun, mindless, tongue-in-cheek teen horror flick I figured I could jump right into without the back story, and I was right. All in all, this movie was a bunch of nonsense wrapped in good laughs with a great twist or two, lots of silly gore-filled scenes, actual beautiful scenery, and a great cast.

Apparently, at the age of 12, Cole survived a blood cult that had something to do with his babysitter (just guessing here, based on the first minute of this movie). Thing is, it’s two years later and he’s now magically a junior in high school and still no one believes him–not his parents, guidance counselor/school nurse, teachers, fellow classmates, etc., who all think he’s gone a bit loony–all except for his best friend Melanie, who experienced it too but knows better than to talk about it. When Cole finds out his parents are about to send him to a psychiatric high school, he skips school with Melanie and three friends to head to the lake for a party, where they have an actual houseboat waiting. A new girl in school, Phoebe, is at the lake too, but heads out instead on a jet ski. Nice lives! As the night goes on, a huge surprise awaits Cole, turning his world upside down. Eventually, he and Phoebe connect and work together to stay alive despite evil forces trying to kill them. Much gore and hilarity ensue, and things wrap up in a very satisfying way for Cole, Phoebe, and the franchise.

  • Top Scare: In Houseboat
  • Heartbeats: 1 out of 5
  • Gore Factor: 4 1/2 out of 5
  • Scare Factor: 1 1/4 out of 5
  • Recommended for: 17 and up, due to gore, language, drugs, violence, and sex

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31 Days of Horror: The Deliverance (2024; R; 112 mins.)

Posted on October 16, 2024 | Leave a comment

Based on a true case out of Gary, Indiana, with demonic posession witnessed by police officers, doctors, and a social worker, this is the story of Latoya Ammons (Ebony in this version) and her three children who all experienced strange and violent incidents in their home which escalated over time. I was very much looking forward to this movie, after reading so much about the true story. But-despite some amazing acting from Day, Close, and a couple others-this version initially showed promise, dragged quite a bit in the middle, then rallied in the end for an overall so-so experience.

When very rough-around-the-edges Ebony (Andra Day) and her three children move to a new home with her mother Alberta (Glenn Close), who is fighting cancer and has recently “found Jesus,” all is not rainbows and roses. Ebony has a drinking problem and is a harsh mother and daughter, money is more than tight, and weird noises keep coming from the basement. When the youngest boy, Andre, starts talking to seemingly no one and wandering the house at night in a trance, Ebony angrily tells him to stop. Meanwhile, a social worker (Mo’Nique) stops in regularly to check on the kids, asking where all their bruises are coming from, and another unknown woman is often sitting in her car at the curb watching the house from the street.

As more and more odd and then violent occurrences take place in the house and then at school to the children, other social workers become involved, as well as the woman in the car. But no one seems to believe Ebony when she says she is not hurting her kids, and the kids don’t have memories of what has been happening. With the demon taking greater posession over time, Ebony must figure out a way to help both herself and her kids if she is to keep her family together, keep them all safe, and rid them all of this demon before it’s too late.

  • Top Scare: Hospital
  • Heartbeats: 1 1/2 out of 5
  • Gore Factor: 2 1/4 out of 5
  • Scare Factor: 2 1/4 out of 5
  • Recommended for: 16 and up

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Posted in 31 Days of Horror, Entertainment, Exorcism, Halloween, Hell, horror, Horror Movie, Movies, Paranormal, Reviews, Satan, scary movies, Streaming, Supernatural

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31 Days of Horror: We Have a Ghost (2023; PG-13; 126 mins.)

Posted on October 14, 2024 | 1 comment

Billed as a supernatural horror comedy, I thought this would be a fun addition to my 31 Days of Horror. And it was, though I’d say it was more drama than horror, a heartfelt story with fun thrown in and great acting from Jahi Di’Allo Winston as Kevin and David Harbour as Ernest the Ghost, along with Jennifer Coolidge and a for-once-not-annoying appearance by Tig Notaro.

When the Presley family-Frank, Melanie, and teens Fulton and Kevin-discovers a great deal on an enormous old house (does this ever bode well?), they snatch it up and move on in. But when Kevin explores the attic, he’s soon “scared by” a bowling shirt-wearing, middle-aged ghost with a comb over named Ernest (at least, that’s the name on the shirt). Except Kevin laughs instead of screams, leaving Ernest befuddled. The two soon begin to communicate (though Ernest can’t talk), and Kevin tries to help him figure out why he’s stuck in the house and who he really is. But big brother Fulton soon uncovers Kevin’s secret friend, and his video of Ernest goes viral (a montage of various social media reactions is hilarious and incredibly on point). When Frank, who has a history of bad business decisions, decides to try to cash in on the notoriety, it draws the attention of not only the world, but a government paranormal scientist (Notaro) as well.

As Kevin and his neighbor Joy work to help Ernest find his answers, and seemingly the entire world works against them, shenanigans ensue in which Ernest gets to have fun being a classic ghost, doing classic ghost antics. But will they be able to solve the mystery before the government catches Ernest to study him? Will Ernest ever find out who he really is and why he’s stuck here as a ghost? And most of all, will Ernest ever find the lasting peace he wants, or is he doomed to walk through walls for eternity?

  • Top Scare: First Contact
  • Heartbeats: 1 out of 5
  • Gore Factor: 1/2 out of 5
  • Scare Factor: 1 out of 5
  • Recommended for: 12 or 13 and up

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31 Days of Horror: Caddo Lake (2024; PG-13; 99 mins.)

Posted on October 11, 2024 | 3 comments

With a name like M. Night Shyamalan attached to this MAX movie, I was eager to dive into the creepy Caddo Lake of Texas for some thrills and chills. With gorgeous cinematography and a mind-bending plot twist, it ended up being a slow-building southern mystery more than the horror feature it could have been, but I still enjoyed it for its eerie vibe.

A community living around and commuting via Caddo Lake is dealing with a drought, making it harder to get around by boat. When a teenager who is fighting with her mother and stepfather boats to a friend’s house to spend the night, her 8-year-old stepsister goes missing. As the town looks for her, the teenager joins in, experiencing odd things on parts of the lake. Meanwhile, a man whose mother had a seizure years earlier while driving them and ended up submerged in the lake (he survived but she didn’t), is still trying to figure out why she had her seizure after six years without any. His girlfriend is about to move away, but puts that off while they spend some time together and he explores parts of the lake where he works after odd things begin happening to him there.

As the two who are experiencing the odd occurrences in the lake explore further, the lake works against them in an unusual manner, making it harder for them to each solve their mysteries and move on with their lives. In the end, though, their stories pull together in a way that is both satisfying and haunting.

  • Top Scare: None
  • Heartbeats: 1 out of 5
  • Gore Factor: 1 out of 5
  • Scare Factor: 1 1/4 out of 5
  • Recommended for: 13 and up

3 Comments

Posted in 31 Days of Horror, Entertainment, Halloween, Horror Movie, M. Night Shyamalan, Movies, mystery, Paranormal, Reviews, scary movies, Streaming, Television, Thriller

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31 Days of Horror: A Quiet Place: Day One (2024; PG-13; 100 mins.)

Posted on October 9, 2024 | 1 comment

I am a huge fan of the A Quiet Place franchise, so I was very excited to finally get to watch this installment, to see how it all started. But I had hoped for a scarier, deeper dive into the genesis of the alien invasion, as well as how that first day played out for various people, and how the world responded. Instead, I got a story about one already dying woman with a cat (which, even as/despite being a service cat, never once meows or hisses at giant aliens, huge explosions, or other threats to her human, thus conveniently never luring the noise-seeking monsters), who befriends an anxiety-ridden Londoner and helps him survive.

Sam is on a day trip into the city from hospice to watch a show when the invasion begins. She has her cat Frodo with her on a leash, and as people around her are snatched up, she manages to survive. At first, she holes up with others including her male nurse, until she must move on. When she leaves the building, fires burn around her and roads are filled with debris, but instead of carrying Frodo, she has him walk everywhere on his leash while she carries a notebook in a canvas bag large enough to hold…well, a cat. But, I digress.

Sam seems to be a magnet for the lost and confused. She helps siblings by offering them a candy bar and leading them to a thoroughfare where hundreds of people are heading toward the harbor. Seems the authorities have announced that boats are waiting there to rescue people, if the people just all make their way there now. All at once. En masse. What could possibly go wrong?

Next, Frodo leads businessman Eric to Sam, and despite her best efforts, she can’t get rid of him. He follows her until she relents and they come to depend on one another for survival (him much more so than her). This is the part of the movie that becomes more about their developing friendship and less about the end of the world as we know it/alien invasion. And that’s pretty much the rest of the movie. The End.

So, if, like me, you are hoping for a scary, edge-of-your-seat alien invasion movie…sorry, only about 10 minutes will fit the bill. If, on the other hand, you’re looking for an inspiring drama about a new friendship with a silent cat as one of the stars, this one might be okay.

  • Top Scare: Eric’s appearance
  • Heartbeats: 2 1/4 out of 5
  • Gore Factor: 2 out of 5
  • Scare Factor: 2 out of 5
  • Recommended for: 13 and up

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Posted in 31 Days of Horror, A Quiet Place, aliens, Entertainment, Halloween, horror, Horror Movie, Movies, Reviews, scary movies, Streaming

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31 Days of Horror: Apollo 18 (2011; PG-13; 86 mins.)

Posted on October 8, 2024 | Leave a comment

I’m a big fan of found-footage horror movies, but had never heard of this one, so I thought I’d give it a go. However, the shaky, grainy black and white footage is just one of the issues making this film fall short of my (outerspace) dreams. Add in a plot that’s not too exciting, ho-hum scenes occurring mostly inside a poorly-lit spacecraft or on the surface of the moon, and under-developed characters, and this horror movie turned out to be more of a “naaah” than an “aaaaah!”.

It’s 1974 and the Space Race is still going strong. When the DOD decides to reboot the previously cancelled Apollo 18 flight, three astronauts set off for the moon on a secret two-day mission. Almost immediately upon landing near a large crater, audio interference begins, along with creepy sounds, blinking lights, and the discovery of an empty Russian spacecraft, among other unexplainable things. When the mission ends, the astronauts are more than ready to head home. But something is preventing their escape, something not quite of our world. Or is it? Who is really in control here? And what is the reason for everything that is happening to the astronauts?

  • Top Scare: Face
  • Heartbeats: 1 out of 5
  • Gore Factor: 1 1/2 out of 5
  • Scare Factor: 1 1/2 out of 5
  • Recommended for: 13 and up

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Posted in 31 Days of Horror, aliens, Entertainment, Halloween, haunting, horror, Horror Movie, Movies, Outer Space, Paranormal, Reviews, scary movies, Streaming

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