‘The Dead Don’t Die’ boasts an A-list cast including Bill Murray, Adam Driver and Chloë Sevigny as small-town cops Cliff, Ronnie and Mindy who realise that Centerville is under the threat of zombies as a result of polar fracking causing the earth to spin off its axis. That’s basically the entire plot summed up, and it’s the most that can be said without spoiling it, so I don’t know how I managed to enjoy the film as much as I did when there’s little to no point in the story. It also includes subplots of juvenile delinquents Stella (Maya Delmont), Olivia (Taliyah Whitaker) and Geronimo (Jahi Di’Allo Winston) trying to survive while stuck in a detention centre and Selena Gomez on a road trip through the town with her friends, but there are points where these are completely forgotten about and aren’t necessary as they don’t really add anything to the film.

The beginning takes some time to get going – a lot of time is spent making sure you know that “this is not going to end well”, and that it’s very weird that it’s eight o’clock at night but it’s still not dark. While there’s some humour to be found in the repetition as it adds to the feeling that something’s really not right beyond what you already know about the story, it can go on a bit too long at times. The most enjoyable aspect of the film is without a doubt the cast, who bring charisma to their roles and who clearly aren’t afraid to have fun and be a part of something as ridiculous as this. Having only previously seen Adam Driver as Kylo Ren, I was more than happy to see a comedic and self-aware side of him. Driver is one of the highlights of the film for me, as well as Zelda (Tilda Swinton) who is hilariously strange and out of place as a Scottish mortician armed with a samurai sword. 

Overall, this film will definitely be a divisive one as it does have its flaws. It treads the line between being funny and fourth wall breaking to the point where it will annoy some people, but I’m on the side that found it fun and entertaining once it gets past cementing the initial concept of the film into your mind. If you want to see Adam Driver and Bill Murray in a buddy cop scenario or like weird, nonsensical plot twists then this could be the one for you. Good luck getting the titular song by Sturgill Simpson out of your head though, because it gets played a million times throughout and is still catchy and strangely soothing as hell.

The Hole in the Ground’ is the feature film debut from Irish writer/director Lee Cronin about single mother Sarah (Seána Kerslake), who is trying to build a new life with her son Chris (James Quinn Markey) in a fixer-upper house near a forest with a big sinkhole that for some reason, no one seems to be at all concerned about despite the health and safety risk it poses. Although the marketing of the film pushes it as the next ‘Hereditary’ (2018), it seems to have more in common with ‘The Babadook’ (2014).

It does tick a lot of the horror film clichés with the blaring ominous string music, slamming doors and creaky floorboards, but gradually becomes eerier because of the paranoia Sarah is feeling as she comes to believe that her son has been body-snatched when she notices subtle changes in his behaviour. There is a lingering uncertainty throughout that she could be mentally ill, except I couldn’t help but trust her instinct anyway which made it all the more unsettling as she’s unable to get anyone on her side. Kerslake is a likeable protagonist and manages to balance a playfulness with sincerity and her growing fears. Markey also gives a good performance and doesn’t overstate the changes in his character. 

However, the film sometimes feels slow paced and I was hoping another element was going to come into play in the narrative; it’s heavily implied that Sarah has comes out of an abusive relationship with Chris’s father and that she’s moved to get away from him. It seemed like this could have been a bigger part of the story that was never fulfilled, although it could be argued that Chris’s behaviour – acting like an angel before turning aggressive – mirrors that of abusive relationships, thereby making history repeat itself for Sarah.

Overall, although it’s sometimes slow paced, I would recommend ‘The Hole in the Ground’ as I feel that the third act makes it worth the patience. Despite subscribing to a lot of horror movie gimmicks, there’s a lot to like in it from the actors to the earthy colour palette. There was a scene near the end involving claustrophobic tunnels that has got to be enough to put anyone over the edge and genuinely made me feel panicked. The film also gets extra points for not going for an obvious “plot twist” that would have been incredibly tempting and cheap, but instead opting to show the aftermath of Sarah’s traumatic experience. 

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‘Dolls’ is a horror film about Robert (Thomas Downey), an alcoholic children’s book author – and we know this because he must have had at least ten drinks in the first ten minutes - who is trying to get back on his feet by starting a new book in his recently deceased mother’s house. He is joined by his rebellious teenage daughter Sammey (Trinity Thompson), who is struggling to come to terms with her mother’s decision to separate from Robert. The inspiration for Robert’s new book comes from three creepy dolls they found in the attic, but Sammey starts to notice strange things happening while her back is turned. 

The one positive to take away from the film is that considering that it’s a small budget production, it manages to get a decent cast together. In the world of mega low-budget films where it’s usually necessary for filmmakers to use their friends with little to no experience in acting, it can be a make or break. Fortunately, the actors did a good job in the film for what it was (even managing to bag Dee Wallace as Margaret, the obligatory crazy lady who warns of the horrors to come). Even Thompson did a decent job, and she doesn’t have any acting credits previous to this. However, it’s the writing of the film that lets it down. The pace is far too slow, leaving you waiting for the next scary thing or just anything to happen (and not in a way that builds tension). It’s difficult to find things to say about the film because so little seems to happen beyond the dolls not being where Sammey last left them. It’s understandable that perhaps due to budget constrictions it wasn’t possible to show the dolls doing too much (I wasn’t exactly going in expecting ‘Child’s Play’ level puppetry), but even having them play more mind games would have made them seem more threatening. They do look rather disturbing, however, so it gets a few extra points for that.

Overall, I enjoyed the actors in the film and although Dee Wallace wasn’t a huge part of it, her appearances do make the scenes she’s in more effective. The design of the dolls was also good, and they do manage to look quite creepy. Unfortunately, it’s dragged down by the story and horror being too empty which makes it feel longer than it actually is. The pacing is a big issue at the start of the film, as it takes too long to get to the action but also doesn’t use this time to effectively build any tension. Although simplistic films aren’t always a bad thing, it’s a big problem for ‘Dolls’. 

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From Adam Robitel, the director of the truly terrible Insidious: The Last Key, comes the only Saw like film to actually look good. Escape Room is the story of Six Strangers, all with past traumas of some kind, who are invited to take part in an immersive Escape Room experience. They all think it is someone in their lives trying to give them something nice, a way to help them battle whatever they are dealing with, however what they get is a series of seemingly impossible rooms  designed by a mysterious games master hell bent on seeing is these soul survivors are just lucky.

I do Like me an Escape Room, we even reviewed one a World War 2 one a few years back, Its a fun experience for all the family, but you really wouldn't want to be stuck in these rooms of death. The designs of the rooms are what make this film overall, I love the amount of detail the production and effects team must have put into making them. The first room really sets the tone of the film, The massive oven like room that wants to bake you alive was awesome. It what makes the film as interesting as it is over some of the more sigh worthy moments. I'm not a huge fan of the overall reveal that this is really a huge organisation, it has Hostel vibes about it where really it would work better for me if it was more of a Saw situation. On the subject of Saw this is what you will think when watching the film. This is basically a less violent less brutal Saw film. The rooms may look stunning but there is a lacking you get with the way Saw does the whole rooms of death. 

Acting wise it was nice to see Daredevil star Deborah Ann Wolf pop up in the role of the kick arse ex-military player Amanda Harper, while Logan Miller (Love Simon, Ultimate Spiderman animated series) plays the role of the kind hearts but damaged Ben. The rest of the cast are hit and miss, it is a shame to see Nik Doani's (The Good Neighbour, Atypical) character Danny die so quick, especially as he was the escape room lover. It would have been nice to see him swap with Ben and have him survive instead but I can see they went with the most guilt ridden of the group.

As a whole Escape Room is a fun watch, it's Saw Lite in many ways but you don't need extreme amounts of gore to sell this idea. I wasn't a fan of the ending, in was a little bit to Hostel and later Purge films for me with the shadowy figure who is providing death games to the rich, but you will not be disappointed overall.

We have another brilliant Netflix original here ladies and gents as we head into a post apocalyptic world where all human life is apparently gone, expect for one girl. A girl raised by a robot who calls her self Mother (Voiced by Rose Byrne - Bad Neighbours, Insidious). Known in the film only as Daughter (Clara Rugaard - Teen Spirit) this young woman has lived her whole life in a bunker, protected from a supposed virus that has destroyed all mankind, or has it? When a human woman (Hilary Swank - Logan Lucky, The Horseman) turns up out of nowhere everything Daughter once believed is left confused and warped. This leads to a series of events that changes Daughter forever and puts the fate of the future human race in her own hands.

Robots are sinister aren't they? The soul-less metallic case with AI IQ better than your average human. I AM MOTHER plays on this perfectly especially at the films conclusion. I personally found it like playing out a little like a Fallout side quest (not in a bad way) in a world not to dis-similar. The look of the film is brilliant, I love the design of the droids (again very Fallout) and Rose Byrne is perfect for the soft caring, yet sinister in a way voice of Mother. It is a slow burn but it doesn't feel dragged out at any point, holding you with a griping plot. Is Mother really behind the death of millions of humans? or is the Woman at their door playing with her mind and using Daughter for her own agenda.

The film leaves you with a few unanswered questions, enough to make to discuss it further after watching it. Was the woman APX01, how many more people came before Daughter? what is the reasoning behind the droids and their actions i.e looking after the food supplies when there is no humans left. 

Overall I loved this film. Clara Rugaard is brilliant in this and you will see more of this young lady in the future. It is good to see a rare film appearance for Hilary Swank as well, see plays the part to perfection of a woman trying to survive. This is a definite must watch over on Netflix.

I think I did the same thing most people did when I first heard that there would be a remake of the 1988 classic ‘Child’s Play’ – I let out a disappointed sigh, and figured it would probably be bad, although the optimist in me still wanted to hold on to a little hope.  Then the trailer didn’t do it any justice and painted it to seem more like a straight up horror without the humour of the original. The cast of the original films also expressed their disinterest in this new take on Chucky. However, much to my surprise I’m actually happy about this remake (I doubt I’ll ever say that about any remake ever again) as it didn’t just copy the original story but instead put a twist on it and made it its own, building on the characters without compromising on the comedy that was much-loved by fans of the first film.

Chucky’s origin differs from the original plot of murderer’s soul possessing a Good Guys doll to reflect real modern fears around AI. Karen (Aubrey Plaza) gifts a damaged Buddi doll to her son Andy (Gabriel Bateman) for his birthday, and it just so happens to be the one whose AI had been tampered with, thereby taking away his behavioural restrictions and safeguards. After imprinting on Andy, Chucky gradually shows more and more red flags in his behaviour as he attempts to do what he believes will make Andy happy. What I love about this change is that Chucky isn’t just a blatantly evil person looking to hurt people, but instead has more behind his motives and actually makes you feel empathy for him. Mark Hamill was the perfect casting to voice him (Mark Hamill is always perfect casting, that’s just a general rule) and he manages to tread the line between being sweet and endearing, as well as funny but also creepy and terrifying in the right places. He actually managed to make me sad at points which was completely unexpected, but it’s all put down to the naivety and the strange sense of innocence that he brings to the character despite everything he does. The violence in the film should also live up to fans’ expectations. There are some gasp-worthy moments (the poor woman next to me in the cinema was squirming at one point) and I liked that the gore isn’t constant, but does make it count when it happens so it doesn’t become desensitising.

Aubrey Plaza is likeable as a young single mother, and it’s interesting to see her in a role different to any other she’s played before. Gabriel Bateman also deserves a lot of praise as he does a great job with portraying the conflict Andy feels as Chucky becomes more dangerous. He previously starred in ‘Lights Out’ (2016) and he was good even then especially for such a young actor, but has shown that he’s improved a lot in this film. He already has a decent amount of horror in his filmography, so hopefully he’ll continue to do more as he’s already doing great work.

I can honestly say that ‘Child’s Play’ has made it into my very short list of good remakes that actually had something to add rather than just trying to copy the original. Of course, it paid tribute, but didn’t do it in an overwhelming way that relied on nostalgia for it to be enjoyed. The casting is good, and the balance of horror with comedy is just right. I look forward to seeing the inevitable sequel in the hopes that it’ll be just as good as this one. Maybe two hits in a row is asking for a little too much…but I want to be proven wrong about that.

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‘Just Say Goodbye’ is about a teenager called Sarah (Katerina Eichenberger) who learns that her best friend Jesse (Max MacKenzie) is planning on killing himself at the beginning of summer break and is blackmailed into keeping it a secret. Jesse doesn’t see a future for himself or believe that things will get better and is desperate to permanently escape his alcoholic father, a school bully, and the guilt that he’s felt since his mother killed herself when he was 6 years old.

There are a lot of flaws to the film, but to me the problems are mostly overshadowed by its good intentions. This no-budget drama is the feature debut of director Matt Walting, so I think it’s necessary to take this into consideration as the cast and crew are very new to filmmaking and are still finding their feet. However, as I mentioned, the good intentions behind the film are clear (and it did a better job at representing suicidal teens than ’13 Reasons Why’ did in the process), and despite sometimes feeling more like a soap opera, it stuck the landing with the ending…as much as I hate to admit it, I got a bit teary-eyed too.

At times, some of the acting isn’t great as most of the people in it don’t have much experience, but Eichenberger and MacKenzie overall do a good job. As the film went on, Sarah’s frustrations with Jesse and the burden he’s put on her by sharing his plans becomes more and more tangible and the stakes feel higher. I really liked Jesse’s portrayal as being so nonchalant and matter-of-fact about his suicide plan, cementing the idea that this is something he feels has to be done and is inevitable for him. As an audience member, it’s easy to be put in Sarah’s position; she’s positive about life, encouraging Jesse to wait to see what the world has to offer him, except he just can’t see things the way she does.

In terms of the technical side of things, there’s some problems with dubbing (however, not the worst I’ve seen), and the lighting in some shots (particularly for interior scenes taking place in Jesse’s bedroom). Some people might also take issue with the handheld style some of the film uses, which tends to try and track the characters as they move, but I actually thought this style felt right for the tone and made it seem more personal.

Overall, despite its problems, I think ‘Just Say Goodbye’ deserves props for dealing with such a sensitive subject matter in the way that it did. It isn’t exploitative, and literally just seems to want to share the message that even if it takes horrible things to happen for people to want to change, it is possible, as well as identifying the warning signs in young people who may want to commit suicide. I respect Walting’s ambition and am excited to see what he does in the future as it’s obvious he has a lot of potential as a director.

American Poltergeist: The Curse of Lilith Ratchet (2018) is a horror movie directed by Eddie Lengyel. The film centres on a group of friends who inadvertently unleash a curse that picks them off one by one.

American Poltergeist whether it means to or not (I don’t think it does mean to) ends up being more comedy than horror. From the opening scene – which is reminiscent of Scary Movie 3’s opening sequence – the horror of Lilith Ratchet just doesn’t come off very horrory. This is ultimately down to the writing, which delivers an unoriginal premise and bad dialogue (the only thing truly scary in this film).  I am reluctant to criticise the acting too much as for the most part it wasn’t actually too bad, and the script they were working with surely didn’t help matters. In fact, the actors were able to make you care about some of the characters…to an extent.

An example of the writing not quite being up to scratch is how they handle the primary threat in American Poltergeist, which is of course the ghost of Lilith Ratchet. The film introduces her face on in the first few minutes of the film, not even trying to tease the audience or draw out any level of suspense. Her back story is then delivered in full quite soon after. Unfortunately, the mystery around the ghost (which is quite often the scariest thing) is completely taken away, which is a shame. This means that when she does start killing off our main characters it just feels blunt and not scary.

Furthermore, technically-wise it doesn’t have much to show. The make-up and effects of Lilith are in particular quite weird (although, being the wimp I am, still managed to creep me out a tad); the music is ok but unfortunately can’t save what’s happening on screen. Perhaps this would have made for a better short film or concept piece because as a feature film it all falls quite short,

I would say however, that despite (or for) the above I did enjoy it, or at least the first half. I can certainly see how this could become a cult it – it 100% fits under the so bad it’s good category. Weird effects, bad dialogue, funny and weird characters who you still care about. I could see this being a fun film to watch with a group of friends, or in a small cinema somewhere.
All in all, American Poltergeist is not a very good film, but it is entertaining, and sometimes that is all you need.