Tag Archives: thriller

31 Days of Horror: Godzilla Minus One (2023; PG-13; 124 mins.)

Posted on October 19, 2026 | Leave a comment

I grew up watching black and white Godzilla movies on Sunday afternoons, torn between rooting for the people and the monster. In this more recent installment I didn’t have such qualms about hoping Godzilla got its due and the people–especially the romantic leads–could move on with their lives. Sorry Godzilla.

The movie begins in Japan in the last throes of WWII, with a kamikaze pilot landing on an island for plane repairs he doesn’t really need, knowing his mission is useless anyway and just wanting to live. When Godzilla attacks the island that night, his cowardice once again shows up and shame follows him back to the wreckage of his village, where his family and all but one person have been killed during air raids. He soon meets a girl who is caring for an orphaned baby and allows them to take shelter with him. As the village slowly begins to rebuild, the pilot and the girl and child grow closer, but the pilot carries such shame, he will not allow himself to truly live again and embrace these relationships. While the pilot begins to work with other veterans removing the thousands of mines placed on the ocean floor around Japan by both the U.S. and Japan during the war, Godzilla grows stronger, bigger, meaner. What is causing this to happen? As Godzilla sets his sights on reaching the city and wreaking utter devastation, and with no other countries willing to step in and help, the veterans must work together to devise a plan to stop the monster. Perhaps then the pilot can finally put his own monsters to rest once and for all.

Top Scare: Godzilla

Heartbeats: 2 out of 5

Gore Factor: 1 1/2 out of 5

Scare Factor: 1 out of 5

Recommended for: 13 and up

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

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31 Days of Horror: Nope (2022; R; 130 mins.)

Posted on October 9, 2026 | Leave a comment

Sometimes a movie comes along that defies, um, logic/explanation/reviewability, and I’m not quite sure how to proceed (or even exactly how I feel about said movie). This is one of those times.

In Jordan Peele’s Nope, a California family that supplies horses to Hollywood has hit hard times. The patriarch has passed in a freak event, so the son OJ is trying to keep the ranch afloat. When his (extremely annoying) sister Emerald arrives for a visit, the two realize something has set up shop near their ranch, something otherworldly. VEEEERY slowly, the plot progresses as they talk to a nearby ranch owner Jupe–who experienced a morbidly odd event as a child star featuring a live monkey who went rogue and viciously attacked Jupe’s sitcom family it supposedly lived with as Jupe hid nearby watching–and install cameras to capture the phenomena with the help of a local sales clerk, all in an effort to get on Oprah and become rich.

Little by little, glimpses of the visiting craft are given, as are moody shots of the (gorgeous) land, various (beautiful) horses that spook, Emerald being more annoying, and OJ barely talking, until the visitors kick things up a notch or five and try to get what they’ve come for while OJ et al try to capture it all on film. Can they figure out how to outsmart this predator? Will they be able to capture it on film after trying and failing SO. MANY. TIMES? Why the gory monkey throwback scene? How patient can one brother be? And why is this considered a horror movie? All great questions and ones you can try to figure out if you have the desire to sit in a catatonic state of boredom for two-plus hours. My recommendation: NOPE.

Top Scare: None

Heartbeats: 1/2 out of 5

Gore Factor: 1 1/2 out of 5

Scare Factor: 1/2 out of 5

Recommended for: 15 and up due to language and some gore

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

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31 Days of Horror: The Silence of the Lambs (1991; R; 118 mins.)

Posted on October 6, 2026 | Leave a comment

When I realized I hadn’t yet reviewed this classic from the early 90s, I was shocked. I’ve viewed this movie probably twenty times at least, and it’s a touchstone for so many horror fans, including myself. With fantastic performances by Anthony Hopkins, Jodie Foster (I’ll never NOT watch something she’s in!), Ted Levine, Brooke Smith, and Anthony Heald, this Serial Killer vs. FBI Profiler 101 class-in-action checks all the boxes and more.

When FBI cadet Clarice Starling is called upon by her Behavioral Science mentor Jack Crawford to interview the cannibalistic serial killer/psychiatrist Dr. Hannibal Lecter–who is being held in a prison’s dungeon-like cell–the ultimate hope is of gaining insight into the currently uncatchable serial killer Buffalo Bill, a previous patient of Dr. Lecter’s who is abducting, starving, then skinning his victims. The creepy prison warden, Dr. Chilton, is angry the FBI won’t share their research on Dr. Lecter, but allows Clarice to talk with Dr. Lecter as long as she follows a strict set of rules. However, Dr. Lecter refuses to help Clarice unless she also shares information with him: personal information about her past, which she does even though she knows it’s against the rules. Meanwhile, a new victim has been snatched, a senator’s daughter named Catherine, and is being held in an underground well-like structure by Buffalo Bill.

As the clock ticks quickly foward, Clarice receives clues from Dr. Lecter which she must follow and reveals to him her early memories, Catherine pleads for her life and plots an escape, a clue is found on a previous victim, the serial killer’s motivations are slowly revealed, Dr. Chilton tries to take command of the hunt for the serial killer with deeply unexpected consequences, Dr. Lecter’s true psychoses are shown, and Clarice must face her fears while using her knowledge and skills in a final showdown in order to survive.

Top Scare: Basement

Hearbeats: 4 1/4 out of 5

Gore Factor: 3 out of 5

Scare Factor: 3 3/4 out of 5

Recommended for: 16 and up due to nudity, gore, themes

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31 Days of Horror: Send Help (2026; R; 113 mins.)

Posted on October 2, 2026 | Leave a comment

I was looking for Horror Lite to start my 31 Days of Horror, so I thought this Dark Comedy/Psychological Horror movie would fit the bill nicely. Boy was I wrong! With a slogging storyline, almost laughable special effects, a romcom feel for much of the movie, and only a couple jump scares and a couple more gory animal-related scenes to qualify it for horror, this was more like Horror Not-Quite.

When nerdy, overworked and overlooked analyst Linda Liddle is passed over for a promised promotion by her new boys’ club boss Bradley, she still insists on joining all of the “club members” for a business trip to Bangkok. Of course, the plane mysteriously crashes near Thailand, and Linda–a wannabe Survivor contestant–survives and helps the only other survivor, badly injured Bradley, to find food, water, shelter, etc. on the deserted island where they wash up with jackets and slip-on loafers intact. As days turn into weeks, Linda and Bradley must find a new way to work together to survive, one that may not be what each of them is hoping for, and the power dynamics, devious plans, and scheming take dark and darker turns until a final showdown of meh proportions.

Top Scare: On beach

Heartbeats: 1 out of 5

Gore Factor: 2 out of 5

Scare Factor: 1 1/4 out of 5

Recommended for: 16 and up due to gore, themes

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

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31 Days of Horror: Presence (2024; R; 84 mins.)

Posted on October 12, 2025 | Leave a comment

I enjoy slow-building, psychologically-bent paranormal tales, especially if they pick up speed and end with a big bang. This movie was defitinely slow-building, but in the end was not only paranormal lite, but the big bang lasted mere seconds. Such a disappointment.

When the Payne family moves to a new home for a fresh start after teenager Chloe’s friend dies, we slowly see the family’s life play out (the entire movie takes place inside the home from the ghost’s POV): mother Rebekah is a shady business woman and pushy mom; dad Chris is heartfelt and trying to be a good parent; older brother Tyler is a cocky athlete; and Chloe is distant, until she starts secretly hooking up with Tyler’s friend Ryan when no one else is at home. The presence residing in Chloe’s room soon reaches out to her before making itself known to the whole family. While the Paynes grapple with how to handle the “ghost” situation, we learn more about all these people, plus their motivations, intentions, things done in their pasts, and more, leading to a final thirty-second showdown and a ho-hum ending. This story had promise, but didn’t follow through with scares enough to be called a horror movie.

Top Scare: None

Heartbeats: 1/2 out of 5

Gore Factor: 1/2 out of 5

Scare Factor: 1/2 out of 5

Recommended for: 15 and up

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

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31 Days of Horror: The Rental (2020; R; 88 mins.)

Posted on October 31, 2024 | 1 comment

In what was billed as a horror movie, this low-key yawn-fest had me actually using the vacuum while streaming it, I was so disinterested in its outcome.

When brothers perfect-Charlie and lazy-Josh, Charlie’s wife Michelle, and Charlie’s co-worker Mina (who is also dating Josh), decide to rent an extravagant oceanside house for a weekend, they arrive to find an unfriendly and odd host there to give them their key. As their weekend gets underway, they have to work first to hide Josh’s dog, which he wasn’t supposed to bring because pets are not allowed, then calm Mina down through various huffy fits she has because of the host’s seemingly racist attitudes. Deciding to liven things up with some drugs, Michelle offers them around before deciding she’s too tired after all and goes to bed. Okaay.

As the weeekend progresses and Mina discovers spying devices hidden in the rental–too late to hide some things that have already occurred–plans are formed and reformed among the four as to how to handle the host, secrets that are both kept and revealed, new threats, and more. In the end, viewers will learn who wins in this match of ho-hum and who-cares.

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

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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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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

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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: Outside (2024; TV-MA; 142 mins.)

Posted on October 19, 2024 | Leave a comment

I was excited to find a new zombie movie, but wary when I saw the length of this one. As it turns out, this was only about 10% zombies tops, and 90% family dynamics, so yeah, the 144 minutes length was waaaay too long for a “nice” zombie movie.

The story begins with the family of Francis, Iris, Josh, and Lucas in a bloodied van, arriving at Francis’s family’s countryside mansion after seemingly escaping a zombie apocalypse. Already we realize the parents are not getting along/lovey-dovey, and that the boys are traumatized from whatever they’ve been through. After finding his father already dead, and helping his zombified mother out of her misery, the four move into the house, find a fresh well, discover chickens, and settle in a bit. Francis likes this life and wants to stay put, but Iris wants to follow rumors to head north where some say there’s a camp with food, medicine, regular folks, etc. This dispute will take up about 25% of the rest of the movie, along with flashbacks Francis has of his horrible father (10%), a secret Iris holds about one of the children (10%), Iris being unhappy and/or mad and/or pouty (20%), Francis becoming more and more weird (20%), and a frenzied final stretch of madness with both zombies and family (10%).

So, if you’re looking for some great zombie thrills and chills, you’re not going to find it here. If, however, you’re looking for the story of how one already-falling-apart family gets through a zombie apocalypse while slowly losing their minds, this one more than fits the bill.

  • Top Scare: Kitchen
  • Heartbeats: 1 3/4 out of 5
  • Gore Factor: 3 1/2 out of 5
  • Scare Factor: 2 1/4 out of 5
  • Recommended for: 16 or 17 and up

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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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Posted in 31 Days of Horror, Comedy, Entertainment, Halloween, haunting, horror, Horror Movie, Humor, Movies, mystery, Paranormal, Reviews, scary movies, Streaming, Teenagers, Thriller

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