[3.75/10] Willy's Wonderland (2021)

Willy's Wonderland (2021)

Quick Review: Watching Nic Cage beating the sh*t out of a bunch of big bloodthirsty fluffy mascots under colorful neon lights in a dark space and accompanied by a crazy loud soundtrack may sound like tons of fun and even 'artful' in a way, but "Willy's Wonderland" turns out to be a real excruciating experience that feels more like a hard rock music video rather than a proper horror feature, which tries too hard to be stylish, and forgets all about acting, dialogue and characters.

[3.75/10] The Reckoning (2021)

The Reckoning (2021)

Quick Review: Marshall's weakest film yet, "Reckoning" is an uneven, tonally muddy and generic medieval pseudo-horror with uninspired 'witch accusation' plot, devoid of twists or surprises, and jumbled by loads of flashbacks and vain 'hellish' visions, and led by director's wife, Kirk, who fails to convey Grace's affliction, or breathe life into this drab, soulless, amateurishly-shot and clumsily put- together 'Dark Age' revenge drama with no visual authenticity that feels like a student's project.

[3.75/10] Seriously Single (2020)

Seriously Single (2020) 

Quick Review: More like seriously hackneyed and even more seriously desperate, this by-the-numbers rom -com features every genre cliche, and doesn't even hide it, but when you add same lame dialogues, over- the-top acting, dumbass humor, and obnoxious, if occasionally charming characters, the result is a sparkly, yet tasteless romance full of shallow social media gimmicks, with the only good thing about it being the cool Cape Town setting, since "Seriously Single" is South African.

[3.75/10] Fatal Affair (2020)

Fatal Affair (2020)

Quick Review: A rip-off of many other stalker thrillers, hence, fatally hackneyed, largely predictable, and devoid of any suspense whatsoever, "Fatal Affair" has a decent cast who all try their hardest with the flawed script and stereotypical characters they have to work with, but the plot is so derivative and straightforward, albeit awfully implausible in parts, that the film generates zero tension throughout becoming unintentionally comical towards the end, not to say Epps is entirely miscast.

[3.75/10] An Affair to Die For (2020)

An Affair to Die For (2020)

Quick Review: Far-fetched, hence preposterous, verging on ludicrous, lamely-scripted, and entirely taking place in a single fancy hotel room, which makes it limited, along with the just three characters it features, "An Affair to Die For" is a low-grade revenge film done in a not-so-clever cat-n-mouse style that offers cheap thrills, laughably absurd situations, little to no suspense at all, mediocre acting, and an abrupt ending that neither makes a lot of sense, nor it's satisfactory in any way.

[3.75/10] Motel Acacia (2020)

Motel Acacia (2020) 

Quick Review: Failing to take full advantage of its claustrophobic and eerie setting, and the creepy-crawly creature, as well as to clearly make a commentary on human trafficking and immigration, "Motel Acacia" is an overambitious, if underwhelming and utterly bizarre blend of politics and horror with abstract approach that's neither ghastly and scary, nor thought-provoking, as it is let down by a confusing, bland, and tedious story which aims to say quite a lot, but speaks rather softly.

[3.75/10] The Turning (2020)

The Turning (2020)

Quick Review: Director Sigismondi demonstrates some sense of style, the setting is cool, and Davis is an appealing lead, who gives it her all to cover the crudely-adapted script which fails to re-imagine the classic novella, turning "The Turning" into a vague, chaotic, overstuffed, rather cheesy, but never chilling, let alone scary ghost story, full of trite frights, whose quasi-psychological twist and jumbled, frustratingly abrupt ending make the whole thing further inane, messy and nonsensical.

[3.75/10] Black Christmas (2019)

Black Christmas (2019)

Quick Review: Putting an 'occult' twist on slasher horror, but with anti- climatic effect, and taking a 'no fun' antifeminist approach that demeans all women, "Black Christmas" plays it as a slow-burner which suggests a freaky climax, but instead, it ends up being a sluggish and murky-looking bore, filled with unlikable characters, lame dialogues, cheap jump scares, and a few random attacks thrown in, which culminates in a preposterous and chaotic finale with lots of PG-13 kills, but no actual thrills.

[3.75/10] Don't Let Go (2019)

Don't Let Go (2019)

Quick Review: As highly ambitious as it's ludicrous, not only "Don't Let Go" is one of the most ugly-looking flicks of 2019, due to its off-putting color palette, unpleasant tone, and tacky style, but its prevent-murder- from-the-future-which-happened-in- the-past premise and bad execution make this one a real convoluted and plain stupid nonsense of a mystery sci-fi thriller with decent acting and some moments of mild tension, but very few thrills, and weak twists that narrowly work in its favor.

[3.75/10] Super Troopers 2 (2018)

Super Troopers 2 (2018)

Quick Review: Hands down, one of the most pointless and unnecessary sequels in history, and undoubtedly the worst comedy of 2018, "Super Troopers 2" is basically watching a group of moronic American officers acting like kids, doing stupid stuff, and saying crude jokes, the latter of which barely evoke any laughs at all, and though the US vs. Canada conflict over a disputable land near the border sounds like fun, the end result is a far from amusing bummer that's hard to sit through.

[3.75/10] Dark Crimes (2018)

Dark Crimes (2018)

Quick Review: Premiered at a film fest in Warsaw in 2016, but actually released in this year, "Dark Crimes" or more like "Dull Crimes" is one of the most mind-numbing and totally edgeless mystery thrillers in recent memory. Shot and set in Krakow, this lifeless bummer attempts to be nasty and twisted, but despite its dramatic potential, it ends up being tiresome as hell, due to the flimsy script, unpleasantly bleak tone, lack of suspense, and and Carrey's sub- par central performance.

[3.75/10] Father Figures (2017)

Father Figures (2017)

Quick Review: Arguably the worst, and most painfully unfunny comedy of 2017, not only "Father Figures" lacks even the slightest bit of charm, but its lame plot is too contrived and ludicrous to care, and not even the veteran stars involved in it are able to handle the uninspired script they are forced to work with. Helms and Wilson's chemistry is on-and-off as the 'fatherless' middle aged twins, and the films desperate attempt at evoking emotions at the end is plain laughable, and ill-fitting.

[3.75/10] 10x10 (2018)

10x10 (2018)

Quick Review: This stalker turned abduction turned revenge wannabe thriller is Ewing's first feature movie, as well her first effort in more than a decade, and her lack of experience is written all over the screen - from the absurdly contrived hijack scene at the start, to the implausible twist, laughably over-the-top final act and barely intriguing mystery inbetween, "10x10" is a silly, badly-scripted and incompetently-directed nonsense of a story, whose gifted stars deserve a much better material.

[3.75/10] Selfie from Hell (2018)

Selfie from Hell (2018)

Quick Review: Dealing with dark nets, red and black rooms, and all sorts of mumbo-jumbo, "Selfie from Hell" is every bit as ridiculous as it''s silly title suggests. Moreover, this rip -off-ish cyber horror attempts to be current with all the cell technology and selfies craze, while shamelessly borrowing from such genre classics as "Shutter" and "The Ring", but it miserably fails to merge its gimmicky ideas, not to mention the acting and CGIs are equally as dodgy, and the scares are virtually zero.

[3.75/10] Overdrive (2017)

Overdrive (2017)

Quick Review: The very expensive glossy retro vehicles please the eye and some of the chases are fun to watch, thanks to the well-executed stunts, but that aside, "Overdrive" is a shabby and largely contrived flick with horribly corny steal-the-car plot conceived with zero originality, wit, or imagination, and dreadfully-acted one-note characters who share no chemistry at all. Even the otherwise charismatic Scott Eastwood fails to make an impression, acting like he doesn't care for his role.

[3.75/10] Goon: Last of the Enforcers (2017)

Goon: Last of the Enforcers (2017)

Quick Review: An often hideous, and totally unnecessary sequel to a forgettable original, "Goon: Last of the Enforcers" feels just as tired and exhausted as its central character, and fails to improve upon the first one on any level, continuing to use the violence as a gimmick to provide some sort of entertainment, besides all the annoyingly familiar and corny domestic melodrama as a backstory, but it neither amuses, nor it delivers emotionally or otherwise.

[3.75/10] The Shadow Effect (2017)

The Shadow Effect (2017)

Quick Review: Big on ambition, if short on imagination, "The Shadow Effect" is a well-conceived, but badly -excuted sci-fi bummer, whose tricky violent-dreams-become-reality story gets messier as the film progresses, leading to a payoff that is not only disappointing and terribly unoriginal, but also one that makes very little sense, if any at all. Not to mention the horrendous special effects, and mediocre script, which Gigandet and Meyers are both obviously having a difficult time working with.

[3.75/10] Fallen (2016)

Fallen (2016)

Quick Review: Basically "Twilight" with angels, and lots of cheese, it is a poor attempt at mixing fantasy and romance -- predictable, derivative, and made with little money and even less taste, "Fallen" does not even manage to take an advantage of its charming female lead, providing her with lame material to work with, and a screen partner she has absolutely zero chemistry with. All the fantasy elements lack until the final act, and there is nothing great to say about the use of CGIs, either.

[3.75/10] Max Steel (2016)

Max Steel (2016)

Quick Review: Suffering from an uninspired, and random plot with no purpose, very poor characterization, amateurish direction, and probably the worst editing you'll see this year, "Max Steel" is a rather lame attempt at superhero flick, and a 'wannabe' one, with an unpleasant tone, and close to zero entertainment value, that has no reason to exist. Max is alright, Steel is the best part of this flick, indeed, and the costumes are passable, but the action is rare, and completely unsatisfying.

[3.75/10] The Darkness (2016)

The Darkness (2016)

Quick Review:  Ancient evil spirits, strange noises, paranormal hunters, imaginary friends and handprints on the fogged-up bathroom mirror - yes "The Darkness" consists of all these 'same old' horror cliches we've seen countless times before, and better, without bringing anything different to the table and not containing a single proper scare, at least to hint there's some hidden potential in it. Besides, its dull tone is everything but eerie, and it is frustrating to watch such a gifted cast being wasted.