After factoring in the pros of its professional polish and the cons of disposable character development, “A Classic Horror Story” comes down to how well its ending works.
FEAR STREET PART TWO: 1978 (2021)
If “1978” wasn’t part of the “Fear Street” event, it would barely be remembered as a so-so summer camp slasher dominantly distinguished by “having one of those ‘Stranger Things’ kids in it.”
BEHIND THE SIGHTINGS (2021)
“Behind the Sightings” shows up five years after the forgotten phenomenon it photocopies and two decades after the “found footage” fad hit its peak too.
TILL DEATH (2021)
The recipe for a successfully satisfying viewing requires seeing “Till Death” as an R-rated Lifetime drama that takes a sudden turn into Stephen King-style horror.
FEAR STREET PART ONE: 1994 (2021)
“Fear Street: 1994” sunbathes in scorching nostalgia, yet throws back the thrills with a neon-soaked style that’s still attractive to millennial audiences.
GAIA (2021)
Patience isn’t only a virtue. It’s also a mandatory requirement for making it all the way through “Gaia.”
VICIOUS FUN (2020)
“Vicious Fun” wears a “your mileage may vary” tag that hangs on how much an irreverently snarky, character-focused chamber play tickles your fright film funny bone.
BATMAN: THE LONG HALLOWEEN - PART ONE (2021)
A mob-focused mystery spotlighting less popular people doesn’t hold a whole lot of intrigue considering Batman exists in a wider world of wilder possibilities.
WEREWOLVES WITHIN (2021)
Its Goldilocks blend of low-cal porridge that’s not too wild or too mild serves easygoing snickers with a light line of lycanthropic cinnamon sprinkled on top.
AMITYVILLE VAMPIRE (2021)
Losing interest is a running theme with “Amityville Vampire.” In fact, my interest has waned so much that I don’t even feel like fin-
UNTITLED HORROR MOVIE (2021)
“Untitled Horror Movie” runs the risk of lowering your heart rate with so much quizzical boredom, your FitBit might assume you died.
CENSOR (2021)
“Censor” doesn’t always have the substance, but director Prano Bailey-Bond and her creative collaborators definitely supply the style.
THE CONJURING: THE DEVIL MADE ME DO IT (2021)
In switching from haunted house yarns to a post-possession tale, the movie gets stuck in the slowness of a procedural investigation padded with yawn-worthy exposition.
THE AMUSEMENT PARK (1973)
“The Amusement Park” remains a fascinating film for fans anxious to peek at a young George A. Romero still finding his filmmaking footing.
CAVEAT (2020)
Ignoring shaky late-stage storytelling, “Caveat” capably coughs up macabre moodiness and sinister suggestiveness like few low-budget fright films can.
THE DEEP ONES (2020)
The film’s unknown cast and shot-on-digital sheen give it more in common with the shagginess of “Gingerdead Man vs. Evil Bong” than with the late-night Lovecraftian allure of “Castle Freak.”
ARMY OF THE DEAD (2021)
“Army of the Dead” qualifies as “big, dumb fun.” Unfortunately, it’s disproportionately heavy on two of those terms while having nearly none of the third.
AMITYVILLE POLTERGEIST (2020)
“Amityville Poltergeist” is another disposable DTV’er that became an Amityville movie after the fact, meaning it has as much to do with Amityville as it does with Ypsilanti, Michigan.
SEANCE (2021)
Horror fans might afford “Seance’s” boilerplate boos a little more leniency when they realize it’s Simon Barrett’s feature film directorial debut.
OXYGEN (2021 - French)
An “I’ve been down this road before” ghost haunts “Oxygen,” holding back any ingenuity from feeling truly original or imaginative.
Although sleeker and perhaps scarier, “Smile 2’s” fault is that it’s arguably “more of the same” rather than a real advancement on what came before.