Not quite an undiscovered gem, the film fares better as an entertainingly dated oddity fit for a bit of lukewarm 1990s nostalgia.
THE WRATH OF BECKY (2023)
The vague cartoon vibe is too erratically employed to really root “The Wrath of Becky” with a consistent horror to humor ratio.
MAZES AND MONSTERS (1982)
“Mazes and Monsters” earns bonus points for its camp value as a pseudo-historical artifact from when mothers spilled their marbles over a totally harmless fantasy game.
KISS MEETS THE PHANTOM OF THE PARK (1978)
“Kiss Meets the Phantom of the Park” is pure Wisconsin cheddar, as extra sharp as it can possibly be cut, that tastes terrific now that it’s aged with over 40 years of flavor.
MALUM (2023)
Based on my memory of “Last Shift,” “Malum” seems largely like a mirror image that’s just reflecting in slightly more polished glass.
THE AMITYVILLE HORROR (1979)
Even if the film didn’t write all of it, “The Amityville Horror” became the template followed by all haunted house chillers since.
THE THIRD SATURDAY IN OCTOBER (2022)
“The Third Saturday in October’s” period details are terrific, and the film recreates 1980 without swinging a sledgehammer in your face about it.
THE THIRD SATURDAY IN OCTOBER PART V (2022)
For as entertaining as the film can be, there’s a sense it only scratches the surface of something fresher and funnier if it were to risk pushing further.
EVIL DEAD RISE (2023)
If you just want a cinematic spectacle of deadite-driven gruesomeness, “Evil Dead Rise” delivers more entertaining amounts of gore than any fan could hope for.
THE POPE'S EXORCIST (2023)
Russell Crowe does his demon dousing with the delightfully drunken haughtiness of Oliver Reed plus the scenery-snacking sensibilities of Tim Curry.
FROM BLACK (2023)
No one appears to be phoning anything in, but when you build something with blocks whose only color is beige, the final form can’t help but be basic.
THE WICKSBORO INCIDENT (2003)
The movie fondly reminds me of smirking at quickie conspiracy theory series in the days before 1am programming slots were taken over by Joey Greco and “Cheaters.”
KIDS vs. ALIENS (2022)
You can either look at “Kids vs. Aliens” as a low-budget Amblin adventure, or as a big-budget backyard B-movie. The latter makes it far more fun.
65 (2023)
Like a grandma too timid to cross the street for fear of getting grazed by a bicycle, “65” sticks to playing it safe at all times.
COCAINE BEAR (2023)
Elizabeth Banks and Jimmy Warden basically build “Cocaine Bear” like a classic Roger Corman drive-in flick, just with big studio bucks and an all-star cast.
UNSEEN (2023)
I’ve decided to give it a “neither here nor there” 50/100 because review scores need numbers, not shrugging shoulders emojis.
WINNIE-THE-POOH: BLOOD AND HONEY (2023)
Welcome to the bottomless sewer of lo-fi indie fright flicks. Don’t feel bad. Winnie-the-Pooh apparently dwells down here now too.
CHILDREN OF THE CORN (2020)
Believe me, I agree I’m the last person I’d expect to find defending a widely derided “Children of the Corn” movie as “not that bad,” even “decent, actually.”
CONSECRATION (2023)
Too low-key to be of consequential value as a memorable thriller, the only way to take “Consecration” is as a middling one.
THE OUTWATERS (2022)
The only thing keeping “The Outwaters” from exile in a DTV wasteland is the suspicious spin from prominent people promoting it as a major event in horror entertainment.
“Kraven the Hunter” might as well be renamed “Kraven the Explainer,” as it’s much more of an unnecessarily tedious origin story than an action-intensive adventure.