The Top 3 Worst Movies Of 2020

Cheers everyone!

What a shitty year this have been, with the pandemic both taking lives away from us, a lot of people are now struggling with economy, no jobs and have no idea what the future will bring. Hopefully, my movie reviews have helped some of you out there get through some really bad days. 2020 offered both some really good films, but also some films that may not have been what i expected. Every year i love to hear other film critics lists of worst movies of the year. So of course i had to pick out a couple of films, that were really bad. Remember, it is ok if you don´t agree with me, this is just my personal opinion. So here we go, and the worst movies of 2020 are…..

1. 365 Days

-----------------

Have you ever felt so ill, that you barely could get out of bed, not even for a glass a water, not knowing if you will survive at all? That is the exact same feeling you will feel if you choose to watch 365 Days. This film is not only the biggest trash you can see this year, but this film also shows you a perfect example of a story that makes no sense at all, have no realistic characters, and most of all....have actors that can´t even act ( even real porn actors act better than the actors in 365 Days ). This is a film that have absolutely nothing to offer, not even from an erotic perspective. If you hated Fifty Shades Of Grey, then trust me, you will despise 365 Days even more ( who would have thought that is even possible? )

2. The Reliant

----------------------

What do you get if you throw in Trump supporters, gun supporters and evangelical Christians who clearly don´t know how to act in a serious drama film ? You get The Reliant, a film filled with so many clichés, that it feels like this film was made for one reason, and they could not even get the message out correctly. The American patriotism is seen everywhere, and as this film tries to make you feel sorry for Trump supporters, you end up feeling nothing at all. I don´t really see the point with The Reliant, it´s like sitting at a park looking at a tree, and nothing happens. You get exactly the same experience with The Reliant, sounds exciting right?

3. Latin Hitman

-------------------------

There was a time when actor Damian Chapa proved himself to be a great actor in the criminal drama film Blood In, Blood Out. That was in 1993, and now in 2020 he have a new action film out. If you hear the title Latin Hitman, it may sound pretty cool. But once you watch this film, you soon realise that this is not what you thought it would be. Imagine a hitman movie that includes fake shootings, bad edited fights, horrible songs in the background, and you pretty much have Latin Hitman. A film that is not supposed to be a comedy, but turns out to be so funny, while it tries to be too serious and dramatic. If you are looking for a film to help you get in a better mood, Latin Hitman should be what you are looking for.

There you go, my personal picks for the 3 worst movies of 2020. I hope you found this list helpful, and im looking forward to 2021 ( even though we still don´t know if some films will have a premiere yet ). Have a happy new year everyone,  and see you all in 2021. 

Cheers from Daniel 

Latin Hitman

1993, a year i think a lot of people in my age ( i am 43 right now, that means i have lived through the last century and seen the stone age ), remember for different reasons. I personally remember this year, especially in the music industry and film industry, because we got some really good stuff being released in 1993. Let us begin with a CD album that really felt magical this year, and that is the debut album from British acid jazz soul funk band Jamiroquai, and the album is called Emergency On Planet Earth. This is one of those albums i can still listen to today, and feel the love in the music. Songs such as When You Gonna Learn, Too Young To Die, Blow Your Mind, If I Like It I Just Do It, they all bring the magic of acid jazz music of the 90s. One of the things that i believe makes this album feel just as important today, as it felt in 1993, is that this album really stand up against how badly the world is treated, through different environment issues, and the importance to respect different human cultures. And considering how the world is struggling now, this is still an album that should be played. When it comes to films that was released in 1993, this turned out to be a really good year with a lot of really good titles. And one of those films that comes to my mind, is the criminal drama film Blood In, Blood Out, from director Taylor Hackford ( who also directed one of the highlights of Keanu Reeve´s career, the film known as The Devil´s Advocate ). Bloon In. Blood Out tells the story of a local Vatos Locos gang, where new member Miklo Velka ( played really well by actor Damian Chapa ) get to prove his loyalty to the gang. Blood In, Blood Out manage to tell a very effective story on the lives of criminals, and how families are affected in many different ways. One of the things i really appreciate about this film, is that it takes it´s time to show us how hard life can be, if you basically have nothing and have to fight to survive. Actor Damian Chapa continued his acting career, making a lot of films. To be honest, i have not seen any of his films since 2011, so i decided to check out a film called Latin Hitman, that he is the lead actor in, and he is also the director as well. Is this one of the unexpected highlights of 2020, or should Latin Hitman be avoided at all cost?

Half Italian hitman Ramos Ferrari ( Damian Chapa ) is discriminated by the mob because of his Latino Mothers roots. As a result of not beeing 100% Italian, the mob sends Ramos out on some jobs, including killing a young girl. But when Ramos does not follow instructions from the mob, letting the girl live, they put out an hit on Ramos.

Wow………….

I don´t know if i have seen anything as funny as Latin Hitman in a long time. You see, this movie is so bad, that you will roll around laughing on the floor, because this is the worst action film you could possibly find in 2020. Just so you know folks, i have seen a lot of bad movies over the years, and some of them i can actually enjoy. But this film is on a whole different level of bad, that you did not expect to find. Just to give you some hints of why this film is so bad, they use CGI fire on the guns that looks like it was made from a Commodore 64 computer ( that was popular in the 80´s ). The violence scenes look so horrible, that it feels like watching a school film project gone terribly wrong, thanks to the horrible editing. The strange soundtrack playing in the background to a lot of scenes, does not make a lot of sense. There are even some really bad audio moments, where some of the dialogue feels added in the last minute, where vioces of the characters don´t match with the voice they had earlier. Lead actor Damian Chapa have been around the movie industry for a very long time, and i really respect his performance in the classic 1993 film Blood In, Blood Out. But that was 27 years ago, and to see him in a film as Latin Hitman clearly shows that he is not the same powerful actor he was in 1993. And believe me when i say this, Damian is actually the best part of Latin Hitman, and he still can´t make this film any better, with all the bad editing and the silly fights. We have to mention actress Alexandra Prokhorova as the character Sveta. Let me put it this way, if you thought you have seen some bad acting this year, just wait until you see Alexandra act in front of the camera. If you had a bad day and need a moment of laughter, then this is what you need to see. I am sure she is a wonderful woman in every possible way, and this is nothing personal against her, but she clearly needs to work on her acting. As an action drama, Latin Hitman miss every possible mark to make this a good hitman film. The action does not feel exciting, the violence is just hillarious to watch, and you can´t take this film serious at all. I understand that director Damian Chapa probably set out to do a cool gangster film, but with so many details that are missing, this is most likely the funniest film i have seen this year. Latin Hitman might become a cult film, if film fans of really bad films find this one on VOD. And i would love to see this film being played on a festival, because we all love to see bad films getting respect on independent festivals. Considering how bad 2020 turned out for everyone, this might actually be exactly what we need to finish this year off with. I really needed to experience Latin Hitman, because this film made me realise that there is no other film this year that made me laugh hysterical, that has to be a sign of hope right? I beg you all, please rent Latin Hitman, you will not regret it.

Rating: D

Cyborg: Deadly Machine

I believe i would be the best wedding planner ever. How can i know that? Well, i have a very good sense of how a wedding should look like. Old traditional weddings are not as popular anymore, so i know exactly how the perfect wedding would look like. I would throw away all those fancy napkins, all the candle holders and traditional wedding clothes. Imagine making a wedding chappel that looks like the background of sci fi action film American Cyborg: Steel Warrior from 1993, now there´s a perfect wedding scenery. The bride and the groom would of course play the film´s main characters Austin and Mary, while the best man can be the evil cyborg assassin. Just imagine these three running through the wedding chappel with laser guns ( with real lasers of course ), and try and survive the apocalypse. You see, i told you i am the perfect wedding planner, so contact me if you ever need plans for the perfect wedding. When we think about cyborgs ( or Androids ), we have plenty of films to choose between. One of my personal favourites has to be director Albert Pyun´s 90´s classic Nemesis. This is one of those films that you can really say have everything you need. Imagine an action film with so much violence, that you can´t stop hugging your Blu Ray player, how often does that happen? Exactly, not very often. Nemesis is a futuristic apocalyptic action film, where illegal Androids have become a part of the society, while criminals enhance themselves with cybernetic components. To keep things in order, LAPD bounty hunter Alex Raine ( played by legendary action actor Oliver Gruner ) is forced to take some extreme measures to get the job done. Nemesis is one of those films you have to have seen before you pass away, because this film have everything you could possibly ask for. And i personally feel this is the best film from director Albert Pyun, since he managed to do something different and unique with Nemesis. There are a lot of sequels to Nemesis, but you don´t need to see them honestly, the first film is still the best. What if you combined Albert Pyun´s Classic Cyborg with James Cameron´s cult film The Terminator, what would you get? It is possible this combination is what inspired the makers of Cyborg: Deadly Machine, a Kickstarter project that became reality thanks to fans of 80´s action films. As soon as i saw the trailer for this short film ( landing in about 60 minutes ), i knew this would be something to see. The question is, does Cyborg: Deadly Machine deliver as much as i hoped for, or is this just as bad as Nemesis 4: Death Angel ?

In an apocalyptic future, Stacy ( Aurelie Aloy ) is a resistance fighter who is trying to locate chef Alex Rayne ( Dave Trix ), who may hold the key to destroy the cyborgs created by Magnatron Corp, the ruiling organization run by the machines. They are being hunted by the C-9000, the last cyborg of his generation. And the C-9000 will not stop until they are terminated.

If you were worried that nothing good would turn out of the year of 2020, do i have some good news for you. Cyborg: Deadly Machine feels like a throwback to the glory days of 80´s video violence, where you get big guns, fighting, cyborgs, fun dialogue and of course….fantastic acting. This is one of those films where you can feel that the whole team have a big passion for the 80´s, and that they really tried hard to capture the feeling of a cyborg movie, inspired by films such as The Terminator. The plot is really simple, but this is something that i really appreciate about this short film. It is more focused on delivering action scenes, than trying to make a complicated plot. We have to talk about actress Aurelie Aly in this film. She feels like another version of Linda Hamilton´s iconic character Sarah Connor from The Terminator franchise, with her own character Stacy. She is bad ass, is not afraid to stike back against the evil cyborg. Aurelie Aly should have her own film in the future, where we get to see her kick more ass, no matter if it is fighting cyborgs or criminals, i would love to see her in a new action film. She does a wonderful job with her acting performance in Cyborg: Deadly Machine, and i look forward to see what she will bring us in the future. Another really cool character is Alex Rayne ( played by actor Dave Trix ), who reminded me of legendary actor Michael Biehn in The Terminator. Alex is a very macho male character, who fits right in with the plot as he fights against cyborgs, any possible way to make sure they will be terminated. The action scenes are very violent, and you can feel the 80´s heat in the air of this film, thanks to the brilliant soundtrack. Director Mathieu Cailliere proves that there is still hope for action films in the future, by bringing us this delightful action feast that have all the right ingredients for 80´s nerds like myself. Cyborg: Deadly Machine may be one of the best short films i have seen since Kung Fury, and for that i believe Mathie and his team should be treated with a lot of respect, they have done a wonderful job. If you don´t know how to celebrate New Years Eve, i suggest you do it in the best possible way, in the company of Cyborg: Deadly Machine.

Rating: DDDD

P.S. You can watch Cyborg: Deadly Machine for free on YouTube on the following link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKzhu3YCEXg

30 Years Anniversary Review Of Troll 2

Men all over the world, let´s be honest. I don´t think we will ever be able to understand women completely. And the reason for that is because women are more intelligent than men ( not every woman of course, but for the most part this is the truth ). That does not mean we can´t have female friends, or find a great partner, of course we can. But always know that women will always be ahead of us on many different levels. So when did i start to learn this? Well, we will have to go back 28 years in time, to the year of 1992 to let you all know how i figured this out. I was 15 years old at that time, and i was probably one of the biggest VHS rental store nerds you could ever find. During this time i always thought that if i was going to understand women i have to watch the 1990 romantic comedy called Pretty Woman with Julia Roberts and Richard Gere. So i did, but i did not really understand women more with the help of this film. I know this film is seen a classic " chick flick " for a long time, but it wasn´t until later that year when i was about to find out how to understand women more. And that was with the help of a completely different film, that i never would have guessed would help me understand the mind of a woman. And that film turned out to be Troll 2, directed by Claudio Fragasso. A film i was lucky to see through my school classmate Jonas, who got a VHS copy from England ( i don´t think i saw this film released on VHS in Sweden during this time ) So what is Troll 2? Well, this is one of the most unique films ever made, that clearly inspire women worldwide to become independent, strong individuals, to take on the whole world. If you ask me, i would probably say this is the best feminist film ever made, so that must be wonderful right? This film was released in 1990 in USA ( and i did not see the film until 1992 ), so that means this film turns 30 years old this year. And i feel that we must celebrate this, with a 30 years anniversary review. Is this still a film that is one of a kind 30 years later with a lot to offer, or have the magic faded over the years and left Troll 2 to be forgotten?

Joshua Waits ( Michael Paul Stephenson ) is listening to his grandfather Seth ( Robert Ormsby ) reading a bedtime story about goblins. But his grandfather is no longer here, he have been dead for some time, but Joshua is still in contact with Grandpa Seth. Joshua´s father Michael Waits ( George Hardy ) have always dreamed about becoming a farmer, and now he has a chance to make his dream come true, by taking the whole family to the small community of Nilbog. Joshua is constantly warned by Grandpa Seth, that Nilbog is not a good place to visit. What secrets are kept hidden in the community of Nilbog ?

I have to admit that Troll 2 is one of those films, that should be on the list of films you have to see. You can not really explain the magic about this film in any simple way, but Troll 2 has pretty much everything you could possibly wish for. So why is this the film where men can understand women much more than Pretty Woman? Well, there are three scenes in this film that will guide you on the right path to knowledge:

* If a woman gives you green vomit food in the forest, it is to seduce you

* If a woman hit you in your nuts, it is to make you a homosexual

* If a woman turns you into a plant, it is her way to help the world to save the environment from pollution.

But if you throught that Troll 2 will teach you more about women, there is so much more to this film that you can learn from. Just look at goblins as a perfect example, how they behave and handle different situations. Every choice they do in this film makes perfect sense, even when they are running through a forest chasing a beautiful woman. Even when they feed on a melting female body, you get a sense that they are completely in control. We have to get into the characters for a while. One of the actors that really go all in for his character is actor George Hardy, who plays the character Michael Waits. A family father who is not only very caring about his family, but he knows exactly how to deal with unexpected events, such as when a local grocery story have not opened and he sits outside reading a cook book on vegatarian food. Of all the books you could carry with you, you choose a vegetarian cook book to read. I especially love the scene where Michael carry his son Joshua ( played by actor Michael Paul Stephenson ) to teach him manners, by reading name signs on every door, that he can not even see, because he is carried the other way around. Details such as these is what make Troll 2 so enjoyable, and we have more characters to mention. Actress Connie Young as Joshua´s big sister Holly, is the perfect American teen girl in every possible way. And it is thanks to her we learn why a woman hit a man in his nuts, and for that we will always be grateful. The screaming scene with actor Jason Wright as the character Elliott Cooper, may be one of my favourite screaming scenes ever made. Actress Deborah Reed as the odd lady Creedence Leonore Gielgud, is without a doubt every man´s fantasty. The plot of Troll 2 is all over the place with really crazy ideas, and this is why i love this film. When you think you know what will happen, the film switches scenes and bring surprises when you least expect it. The practical effects are amazing, even if you can tell it was all created on a very limited budget. If you love quality cult films, you can not find anything better than Troll 2, and this film should have a festival in every country every year, to celebrate the legacy of Troll 2. Director Claudio Fragasso clearly knew exactly what the world needed by creating this golden gem of cinema history. A film that deserves more respect in the film communities worldwide, and will everyone please nominate actor George Hardy for a Nobel prize in 2021? If someone deserves to win it is him for his outstanding contribution for a peaceful world, through his performance in Troll 2.

Rating: DDDD

Bad President

America, where anything is possible. And that is probably true, considering this country seems to have something for everyone. And for each year i have heard some very unique personalities in America, that i am no longer shocked or surprised anymore. I could probably give you a whole list of great examples, but let´s narrow it down to two personalities that are worthy to mention. Let us begin with New York Pastor James David Manning, who have confirmed that the world´s biggest coffeehouse chain Starbuck´s, have gay male semen in their coffee. How does he know you might ask? Because he knows how it tastes like. If that does not prove why Americans should be proud, i don´t know what will. But let us move on to our second personality, that should be mentioned. And that is of course legendary Christian TV host Pat Robertson, on the 700 Club. In this show he have a segment called Ask Pat A Question, and this is where the fun begins. In one of his most iconic answers, he told a wife that her husband will only have sex with men when he is drunk, because that´s the only time a man sleeps with another man, it would never happen if he is sober. This makes perfect sense right? So i can understand why Americans are proud of America, when we have personalities like James David Manning and Pat Robertson helping everyone to lead the way. But let´s be honest, since the Presidential election 2016, we have seen a lot of things happning with America, since Donald Trump was elected president. What a disaster these years have been, especially from the beginning of 2020. A president who does not care about a pandemic, and tweeted about everything else instead? It´s like letting a spoiled child into the control room for nuclear weapons, let him do whatever he wants, and he don´t care about the consequences. Since Trump have made some really strange things in these 4 years, comedians like Alec Baldwin have done a brilliant portrait of Donald Trump on Saturday Night Live, that you all should see. But that´s not all, we actually have other comedy films made, making fun of Trump as a president. One of those films is known as Bad President, who film producer Joe Willamson asked me to review, so of course i said yes. Is this one of the funniest comedies of 2020, or is Bad President as bad as Donald Trump´s hair piece?

Luther ( Eddie Griffin ), also known as the devil, is not happy with the state of the world. He wants chaos, and America needs a president that no one would have believed would make it all the way to The White House. While Luther is talking to his followers, one of them suggest that Donald J Trump ( Jeff Rector ) should be running for president. Luther realise that Trump is a perfect choice, and now he needs to make sure that Trump will run a presidential campaign

If you are a Trump supporter, there is a chance you may not like this film. But if you don´t like Donald Trump as a president, i guarantee you will find a few funny moments in Bad President. Just the idea of telling the story of how Trump really became the president through the help of Luther ( played by legendary comedian / actor Eddie Griffin ) is a great idea. Because i honestly think if Satan could choose a president, his first choice would be Donald Trump. Let´s talk about the characters for a bit. Luther is without a doubt one of my personal favourite characters in this film, since Eddie Griffin manage to match his performance well. Jeff Rector, who plays Donald Trump, does manage to capture some of the familiar facial expressions and the way Trump treat people through his acting. It is not the greatest Trump interpretation i have seen, but he does manage to pull off some funny dialogue. My biggest problem with Bad President is that the comedy scenes are not always as funny, as a political comedy. They have a great idea about making fun of Donald Trump, and they do bring him into some odd situations. But the comedy level does not reach as high as i would have hoped for, and i find myself not laughing as much as i would have liked to. Making a political comedy is not easy, and you have to be able to balance political issues in a way that matches funny situations. I will say though that Bad President do get it right in some scenes, especially with Eddie Griffin who knows how to deliver comedy material. One character i feel failed in this film, is actor Kevin Indio Copeland who plays Putin, he does not give us a portrait of Putin that we recognize, unfortunately. If you want to see a film that makes fun of Donald Trump, i do believe you will find moments in this film you will enjoy. But if you are looking for a hysterical funny film, you won´t find it here with Bad President. Director Param Gill have made a political comedy that tries to stretch out in all directions, and in some places he does manage to find the right strings. If only he would have gone a bit more crazy with the political satire, i think this could have been an even funnier film. Maybe if a sequel is made, we might get an even more crazier film. Now that would be something to look forward too.

Rating: DD

One Night In Bangkok

While i am sitting here thinking back on my travelling years around the world, i realise that i have visited 18 countries. I think this is too little, i would want to visit at least 15 more countries. But since no one really knows what will happen with this pandemic, i might as well stay in Sweden for now and just find other ways to enjoy my holidays. What can you do? You just have to make the best out of this situation. So at this moment, i had a flashback moment to december of 2014, when i visited Thailand for the first time. This is one of the best trips i ever did with my wife, because so much fun happened here ( not counting in the thai lady boys, those were not planned ). We had our own private chauffeur, who drove us everywhere in Bangkok ( and it was not expensive either ). I did puke all over his car, so he stopped on a gas station on the highway and flushed me off with water, while i was just standing in my underwear ( now that´s what i call great service ). I could probably tell you at least 10 more stories, but i wanted to talk about Bangkok in general. I will personally say that i feel that Bangkok have a lot of fun to offer, no matter what you like. If you enjoy thai boxing matches, you can find them there. If you enjoy thai girls dancing, there are a lot of shows running in many clubs. And the thai food have som much to offer in Bangkok, you can basically find anything you will enjoy, no matter if you are a vegetarian or a meat lover. Thailand in general have something for everyone, all ages, so if you have not been here, you should go there ( when it is safe of course, it might take some time in this pandemic ). When you hear the name Mark Dacascos, what is the first thing that comes to your mind ? Some of you might say TV series Hawaii Five-0, while my first encounter with him was in the American action film American Samurai from 1992. Mark continued to make low budget action films, and i especially enjoyed the 1997 film Drive, that had a lot of violence and gun battles. He is still making films and still have a big fan base worldwide. I have read about one of his latest films since this summer, known as One Night In Bangkok, and the trailer looked like fun. I finally got a chance to sit down and watch this film. Is this one of the better Mark Dacascos films in recent years, or should he retire from the action genre for good ?

Kai ( Mark Dacascos ) lands in Bangkok, Thailand. Armed with a gun, he gets a cab that is driven by Fha ( Vanita Golden ). He offers her a lot of money, if she agrees to drive him to several locations. Since she can´t turn down the offer, she accepts and drive him wherever he needs to go. But what Fha does not know is that Kai is out to kill certain individuals, who have a connection to his past.

One of the first things that comes to my mind with One Night In Bangkok, is that this film feels similar to the Tom Cruise film Collateral. In that film you had taxi driver Max ( played by Jamie Foxx ) who gets a unique customer known as Vincent ( played by Tom Cruise ), who offers Max a good amount of money if he drives him around to different locations. The plot is basically the same in One Night In Bangkok ( with a few differences only ), and if you can accept that, then i have some positive things to say. Mark Dacascos as a hitman in Bangkok is actually a good idea, since we know he is physically well trained to do a character such as this one. His character Kai may not be the most charming man to meet, but you can clearly see that he takes his mission very seriously. And this is the kind of character that Mark Dascascos knows how to deliver, without copying the character of Tom Cruise in Collateral. The fact that this film takes Place in Bangkok is also positive, because you can sense the night life of Bangkok ( if you have been there you will understand what i mean ). I also enjoy actress Vanida Golten as the taxi driver Fha. She seems to have a a very good heart, taking care of her ill brother, and she does give us some interesting facts about her background story, and why Thailand is such an important part of her life. The action scenes are actually not all bad, even if you can tell this film was made on a limited budget. Mark Dacascos knows how to perform physically action scenes, and that is one of the reasons why i enjoy seeing his films. As a standard action film, One Night In Bangkok may not deliver any surprises. But if you appreciate this genre, i have a feeling you want to check this film out. Director Wych Kaosayananda ( who directed the Antonio Banderas action film Ballistic ) use the settings of Bangkok in a simple but effective way, while combining this with a classic action concept. One Night In Bangkok is a good choice while ordering home thai food, you might actually feel comfortable with this combination.

Rating: DDD

The Mothman Legacy

Let´s go back 18 years in time, to the year of 2002. I remember this year for a number of reasons, and especially the summer of 2002 when American metal band Korn released their fifth studio album Untouchables. I used to play this album on repeat, everyday for months, and the song Here To Stay is still one of my favourite Korn songs of all time. If you would ask me today how i feel about the album in 2020, i would say that this album is a classic and should be bought on CD or Vinyl. This was also the year when American artist Beck released ( in my opinion ) his best studio album so far called Sea Change. Songs like The Golden Age, Paper Tiger and of course Lost Cause all helped this album to become the most powerful album that Beck has created. I do enjoy his cult classic album Odelay ( i know you all dance when you hear the song Where It´s At ), but Sea Change is still my favourite Beck album so far. But there was one thing that really stood out for me in 2002, and at that time i had no idea what an impact it would make on me, until i saw a unique film. That film is known as The Mothman Prophecies, released in June here in Sweden that year. I remember reading about the film in newspapers, because this film was based on the book ( with the same name ) by author John A. Keel. I never read the book itself, but since this film is based on actual events that occured in 1966 and 1967 in Point Pleasent, this made me very curious. I did see this film in cinema and i am happy that i did. The Mothman Prophecies have a very interesting story to tell, and in my opinion this is one of the better films with actor Richard Gere. The film basically tells the story of John A. Keel ( played by Richard Gere ) who researches the legend of the Mothman ( a well known folklore ). A film you need to see, because there is clearly a mystery behind this story of the Mothman. You should be able to find this film for a great prize on DVD, it is worth picking up. I recently came across a documentary on VOD called The Mothman Legacy, that i have never heard of before. Considering i find the film The Mothman Prophecies interesting, i was curious to see if The Mothman Legacy would add some more details about the mystery of the Mothman, that i never knew about before. Is this one of the better documentary films of 2020, or should you avoid this film and see The Mothman Prophecies instead?

Point Pleasent in West Virginia is a small town, with beautiful forest locations and is perfect for those who want to relax, and get away from the big city. But this city have a past, especially the well known 1967 accident with the Silver Bridge, that collapsed and killed 46 people. It was during this time and into the early 70´s reports were coming in of people who have seen a creature known as the Mothman.  More witnesses stepped forward over the years, but the question is, who is he and why does he appear on different locations?

Considering that i only knew a few details about the Mothman, this documentary gives you some more details, especially from witnesses who say they encountered Mothman in different time periods. You get to hear some interesting interview clips with Jeff Walmsey, the owner of the only existing Mothman museum. He clearly knows a lot about different stories about the Mothman, and he is clearly educated in the historical events surrounding Mothman as well. I also enjoy the interviews with Richard Hatem, who is the screenwriter of the film The Mothman Prophecies. You get a sense that he is very interested in the stories of Mothman, as he also tell us how the script to the film developed, that would later become a very interesting film. He also tell us that it was the novel The Mothman Prophecies from author John A. Keel that got him interested in the paranormal, and other mysteries such as the Mothman. When all of the witnesses and the people who have investigated about the Mothman for many years, sit down and tell us the most interesting details about this mystery, you have to ask yourself if this is just a mythical creature, or are people telling the truth? I am one of those who always want physical evidence to believe in something, or it would be very hard to believe. In the case of the Mothman, i have to say i am curious though, since there are a lot of witnesses and everyone seems to have very detailed information about what they saw. As a documentary film, The Mothman Legacy manage to deliver a story that will most likely make people fascinated in a mystery, that have been around for a very long time. Director Seth Breedlove tells this story in a smooth and simple way, so it is not hard to keep up with the timeline. Will people become more interested in the story of the Mothman with the help of this documentary film? It is possible, since this is a mystery that we may never find all the answers to. If you enjoy documentary films that have an open mind for the unknown, The Mothman Legacy could be what you are looking for. A fascinating story, that leaves more questions than answers, but maybe that´s a good thing, so everyone can have their own opinion.

Rating: DDD

If you are interested in seeing The Mothman Legacy on a physical copy on DVD or Blu Ray, you can find this documentary film on the following web page:

https://www.smalltownmonsters.com/shop/mothmanlegacydvdbluray

A Bennet Song Holiday

Every year in Sweden, we have a thing that Swedish TV channel SVT does as a tradition. And that is to have a Julvärd ( Christmas Host ) to present classic Christmas TV programs such as Kalle Anka Julafton ( Donald Duck Christmas Eve ), Sagan Om Karl-Bertil Johanssons Julafton ( The Story Of Karl-Bertil Johanssons Christmas Eve ) and many more shows. The tradition of a Julvärd have been around for many many years in Swedish TV, and the most legendary TV host on Christmas Eve is of course legendary TV host Arne Weise. I have so many memories as a child watching Arne Weise light up the Christmas candle for so many years, listening to his wise Christmas speech that gave hope to millions of swedes, especially for those who are poor, old or alone, that needed someone to speak out to them. This year we have a new Julvärd know as Lars Lerin, the famous painter and author, a great choice if you ask me. Looking forward to see him on Christmas Eve, spreading some joy to everyone. Sometimes you need a swede to light up the Christmas spirit around the world, because there is something magical about us swedes. This is why i came up with an idea for SVT to reach out to billions of people worldwide with a new Christmas special every year, and that would be called…….

A Christmas With Harley Wallen

So why would this be the greatest Christmas show on SVT ever? Simple, because Harley Wallen is originally from Sweden, and that includes him as a Christmas miracle. He is also a professional actor, a professional director, and he have that Christmas look that would be perfect for the show A Christmas With Harley Wallen. So what would the show have to offer? Everything you could wish for, how about Harley Wallen making Christmas cookies with Dr Alban, or seeing Eric Saade decorating the Christmas tree with Harley ? One segment i know would be successfull is Harley Wallen making snow ball fights with singer Charlotte Perrelli, Jonas Gardell and Leif GW Persson, who would not want to see that? Yes indeed folks, Swedish TV channel SVT have to make this show reality, because i know the whole world wants to see this. I have reviewed 2 films from director Harley Wallen in the past, Eternal Code and Abstruse, and for those who want to find out my thoughts on these films, can find reviews of both films in my blog. I have been talking to very friendly film produer Joe Williamson for quite some time, and he mentioned if i could review A Bennet Song Holiday, so of course i said yes. I had no idea that this film is a sequel to Bennet´s Song, so i had no idea what to expect with A Bennet Song Holiday. Is this the best Christmas movie of 2020, or is this film just as sleepy as watching Swedish horse races known as V75?

The Bennet/Song family is facing a very difficult time. Their local community center who help children in many different ways to develope their talents, could be closed for good. Ruthless businessman Aiden Neville ( Corbin Bensen ) give the community center 40 days to get the money they need to stay open, or he will make sure that they shut down for good, with the help of his brother and companion Paul Neville ( Fred Buchalter ) and Paul´s fiancée Tessa Anderson ( kaiti Wallen ). The Bennet/Song family can not let this happen, so with the help of Cole Bennet ( Harley Wallen ), his wife Susan Song ( Aphrodite Nikolovski ) and many others, they come up with an idea to make a christmas themed evening in music to gather enough money to the community center, to make sure they can continue helping children.

If you are not a fan of Christmas movies, then this film will probably not change your mind. However, if you love everything about Christmas, and you love the films of Harley Wallen, then this should be exactly what you want to see during the holiday season. This is no ordinary Christmas movie, in that sense that this film is actually focused on some very important issues. Especially the community center for kids, that could be shut down if businessman Aidan ( Corbin Bensen ), who i am sure most of you have seen in the 90´s classic The Dentist ) get his plans in action. Corbin gives one of the stongest acting performances in this film, and i have to mention legendary actor Dennis Haskins ( who you also can see in the Harley Wallen film Abstruse ) as the character Sam Bennett, who bring us a charming character that fits right in with the plot and the characters. Swedish actor / director Harley Wallen is without a doubt one of the biggest reasons why you should see A Bennet Song Holiday. His character Cole Bennett is the guy you would want to celebrate christmas with, a laid back dude who cares about everyone but also knows how to charm everyone. One of the best scenes in this film is when Cole is being laid out for an bachelor auction, where he says a great dialogue in Swedish language ( not revealing what it is, you will have to see the film to hear it yourself ;) ). A Bennet Song Holiday is a film that shows the true meaning of Christmas, in many different situations. Help the people who need help, show that you care any way you can in those who needs someone to talk to, and most of all how important it is to be with your family, no matter how big or small the family is. I especially think this film also manage to show that it does not really matter what our background is, or if you are wealthy or poor. Everyone should be loved for who they are, and no matter where they originally come from. If you enjoy charming Christmas films, i have a feeling that A Bennet Song Holiday will get your Christmas spirit filled with a joy and a warm heart as well. Well done director Harley Wallen, you clearly know that this world needed a positive film this year, and you prove this with A Bennet Song Holiday. One advice though Harley, if i can see you sing a cover music video of Wham´s classic song Last Christmas next year, i will have the best christmas ever ( i guarantee that ).

Rating: DDD

Abyssal Spider ( 海霧 )

Fishing boats seems to be really hard work. Especially when we are talking about really big fishing boats and the weather they have to struggle in. I don´t know if you have ever seen reality TV series Deadliest Catch on Discovery Channel, but this show basically tell the stories of crab fishermen who works out in the Bering Sea. This show have been on air since 2005, that´s 15 years and still going. I can´t remember all the fishermen´s names, since i have not followed the show a lot. But i did find it interesting to see them try and get as many " snow crabs " as possible, and how difficult it seems to be in the weather conditions. A show worth a watch, if you are interested in fishing, and especially in extreme difficult work conditions. When it comes to films that takes place on a boat ( or a ship ), we have quite a lot of titles to choose between. Especially in the horror genre, where you can find both good ones, but also some bad ones as well. I decided to pick out one title that maybe a younger generation have not seen, but i guarantee that if you are around my age, you might have seen it on VHS back in the 90´s. I am of course talking about the 1998 sci fi horror classic Deep Rising with legendary actor Treat Williams. The story is very simple, Captain John Finnegan ( Treat Williams ) and his team are hired by mercenaries, to go on board a luxary cruise ship. But John is not told the real reason until later, to rob the passengers and get the content from a vault, as they are attacked by a mysterious creature. Deep Rising combines a fun mix of science fiction, with action and horror influences, and director Stephen Sommers ( who also directed The Mummy from 1998 ) proved that you can combine these genres, and deliver a fun B movie time with Deep Rising. The creature effects may look a bit cheesy today, but still works. It has been a while since i watched any horror films from Taiwan, so that is why i decided to Watch one film that looked interesting, a film called Abyssal Spider. Basically about a fishing boat crew being attacked by a giant spider, sounds like fun right? Is this the perfect Christmas Movie after all the presents have been given to the whole family, or should Abyssal Spider sink to the bottom of the sea for good?

AJie ( Sunny Wang ) is struggling to give his daughter Juan a good life. He is still suffering after an accident at sea, that he witnessed and can not forget. Since he is badly in need of money, he asks his father to get a job on his fishing ship. At first he is not welcome, but he finally accept his son to work, but demand that he will work really hard. AJie have no other choice, he really needs the money. The tensions between AJie and his father is still very deep, as they both try and handle this situation. But on board this ship there is a crew that will not forget that AJie is still blamed for the accident at sea, and they don´t want him on board. All AJie needs to do is focus on doing his job, and try to avoid conflicts with the crew. But during a successfull fishing night, they manage to bring something else up as well, that no one expected.

One of the things that make Abyssal Spider stand out from the ordinary insect horror film, is that this film actually have a bigger depth than most films in this genre. The plot is actually a lot deeper than you might think. You have a young father AJie ( played by actor Sunny Wang ), who will do anything for his young daughter, while he is still hated for an accident he is blamed for. And this is where the film become interesting, as AJie goes on board the ship, as not many people can´t stand him, not even his own father. Imagine being out on a big fishing ship where people hate you, and you know you still have to work hard to earn the money you need, not an easy situation. I like the fact that this film does not follow the same pattern that many insect horror films ususally does, and do something different instead. There is not a lot of fishing scenes, so we basically spend more time on the fishing ship hearing the crew discussing different subjects, until they finally get a big load of fishes. And this is where the fun finally begins, with the big spider attacking ( that grows within time, as it feeds on humans ). The spider design feels like a combination of spiders we have seen in the past, but it is still quite fun to see. I especially enjoy seeing the spider feed on humans, lifting them up on the top of the ship. Unfortunately, we don´t get to see a lot of attacking scenes, and if we could have had some more of that, i think this film could have been even more entertaining. There are a few scenes that feels drawn out with a bit too much dialogue, but as an insect horror film, Abyssal Spider definetely stands out in the genre, trying a different approach with a more serious plot. Director Joan Chien have made an insect horror that will not become a cult classic, but he have tried to go in a different direction with Abyssal Spider, and for that i have to respect him for trying something else in this genre. If you are a fan of insect horror films, you should probably check out Abyssal Spider. But don´t expect a lot of attacking scenes with the big spider, this film focus more on human issues than insect attacks. If you can accept that, then you should still find this film interesting.

Rating: DDD

Unhinged

Everyone have experienced some really bad days, no matter what happened. It could be a tragedy, or personal issues that causes your day to feel really bad, where you feel like you are about to explode. And i am pretty sure some of us have memories of days we wished would not exist at all. But what if you took that anger and expressed it out in public, and things get even more worse? That is exactly what happened in Joel Schumacher´s cult classic thriller Falling Down, with a brilliant acting performance from legendary actor Michael Douglas. Released in 1993, i still consider this to be the best film from director Joel Schumacher, and there are not many thriller films that manage to pull of a combination as Falling Down does. You have the story of mentally unstable character William Foster, who will do anything to come to his daughter´s birthday, no matter what he has to do to get there, and you also have the story of aging LAPD sergeant Martin ( played brilliant by legendary actor Robert Duvall ) who will do this final job and track down William. The combination of these characters, together with a really well told story, makes this film unique in the thriller category. And i have to mention that the cinematography from Andrzej Bartkowiac ( who also worked with cinematography on classic films such as Q & A with Nick Nolte ) looks really good in Falling Down. There are a lot of powerful scenes with the main character William Foster, and one of my personal favourite scenes is the breakfast meny at a fast food chain, when William want´s breakfast, and he just missed it, since they switch over to the lunch meny, something that William can not accept. Falling Down is a must own on DVD or Blu Ray, and in my opinion delivers one of the best acting performances from Michael Douglas. Earlier this year i read online about a new thriller that seemed to have some influences from Falling Down, a thriller called Unhinged with a great cast included. Since i could not see this film in theatres, i picked up this film on Blu Ray instead. Is this one of the best thrillers of 2020, or is Unhinged doomed to be forgotten ?

Tom Hunter ( Russel Crowe ), a mentally unstable man, invades the home of his ex-wife and killer her and her boyfriend as well, and finish everything by burning the house down. Rachel Flynne ( Caren Pistorious ), a newly-divorced single mother living in New Orleans, drives her 15-year-old son Kyle to school in rush hour. She is running late to work, as she honks to a pickup truck that does not go forward as the green light shows. The driver of this car turns out to be Tom, and he is in a really bad mood. Rachel is about to find out that she made a big mistake.

Since this year have been a mixed bag of movie releases in cinemas, Unhinged is actually one of the better thrillers that managed to get a cinema release. That does not mean that this film is original in any way, but what Unhinged manage to do is show that if you run into the wrong person, your life can change completely. In all honesty, you never know who is driving on the highway, and if you have bad luck you run into an insane person such as Russel Crowe´s  mentally unstable character Tom. We have to talk about Russel Crowe for a while, because this film would never work as well without his powerful performance. To see him do a very unstable mentally ill person, shows once more why he is such a professional actor, who dare to go outside of his comfort zone. To be able to capture the facial expressions, and the personality of a very disturbing personality, is very difficult. But Russel Crowe manage to pull this off in his own unique way. Actress Caren Pistorious ( who playes the character Pandora Shaw in sci fi action film Mortal Engines ) also delivers a strong performance as Rachel Flynn, who Tom have chosen to follow and make her life a living hell. One of the things that this film manage to do so well, is to show what a very disturbed mentally ill person is able to do, if he is not taken of the streets. He is like a ticking bomb, with no remorse and no respect for anyone. And this is the strength of Unhinged, that this character have a lot of screen time, and this helps this thriller become more effective. There are some disturbing scenes, especially for those who do not like realistic violence. I have not seen an effective thriller for quite some time this year, and Unhinged actually works better than i expected. Director Derrick Borte ( who some of you might remember for his film The Joneses ) may not have made a thriller that break any new grounds, but he does know how to make an effective psychological thriller. If you want to see a great thriller this Christmas, then i suggest you give Unhinged a chance. This film shows you why not to talk to strangers on the highway, because you never know if someone had a really bad day.

Rating: DDD

Tremors: Shrieker Island

30 years ago in 1990, it was a time that helped me become more open minded to the world, especially when i did my first foreign trip that year to Spain. Back in those days we did not need cellphones, we had real friends, and not like social media friends as in today´s society. We would gather a group of friends and do a lot of stuff together, especially outside in forest areas. 1990 had so many good things about this year, not only in film releases but in music as well. Australian rock band INXS released their seventh studio album X, that includes the hit single Suicide Blonde. I used to play this album a lot, since i was a big fan of INXS in those days ( i still listen to them now and then, not often though ). This was also the year when American heavy metal band Megadeath released their classic album Rust In Peace. I remember this album especially for my school class mate Tom ( who was a big Mötley Crue fan ), who used to play this album in class for us. But let´s be honest, 1990 was a fantastic year for films and there are so many titles i could mention. I think it would be better if we just pick out two titles. Let us begin with Predator 2, directed by Stephen Hopkins. This is the sequel to the 80´s cult classic Predator with Arnold Schwarzenegger. I know the sequel have very divided opinions from fans of the first film, but i really enjoy Predator 2, even if Danny Glover is in the lead role. I personally think that he did a really good job with his character, and it is also fun to see the Predator run around Los Angeles looking for prey. If you are a fan of the first film, you have to see Predator 2. It is filled with action, funny dialogue, a lot of great actors and most of all, lots of wonderful violence. The next film that came to my mind is known as Tremors, directed by Ron Underwood. A really fun cult classic horror comedy with actors Kevin Bacon, Fred Ward and Michael Gross who are fighting against burrowing sandlike monsters. Tremors is one of those films i can Watch 100 times and never get tired of, this is truly one of the best films of 1990 and have both great characters and great pratcical effects. Since this film came out we have had a lot of sequels, and i actually enjoy them all for different reasons. So here we are in 2020 with the latest sequel called Tremors: Shrieker Island. Of course i bought a Blu Ray copy of this film, since i have all the films so far in the Tremors franchise. Is this one of the better sequels, or is the Tremors franchise running out of ideas with this film?

Big game hunter Bill ( Richard Brake ), owner of Avex-Bio Tech, leads a hunting party with his partner Dr. Richards ( Matthew Douglas ) and best hunter Anna ( Cassie Clare ), where he takes wealthy participants to hunt down Graboids on Dark Island. Dr. Jasmine Welker ( Caroline Landrishe ) and her collegue Jimmy ( Jon Heder ) leaves Dark Island together with friend Ishimon to investigate a dead Graboid. They find out that the Graboid have given birth to Shriekers, and soon they are under attack as Shriekers take Ishimon. Dr. Jasmine knows how dangerous Shriekers are, and instruct Jimmy to locate legendary Graboid killer Burt Grummer ( Michael Gross ) to help them fight these bastards, before they kill the population of this island.

If you have seen the previous films of the Tremors franchise, you pretty much know what you might expect from this latest film. There is especially one detail that i appreciate about Shrieker Island, and that is that they have borrowed influences from the first Predator film in the jungle. You see the creature stare at the victims with body heat thermal view, and it´s almost like seeing a different version of Predator. There is even a rattle gun in here as well ( as they had in the first Predator film ). The colors of this film looks great in the Thailand forest, and this actually match well with the hunting scenes. One of the best things about this film is that the cast is so divided this time, with some fresh faces as well. Legendary actor Richard Burke is here as hunter Bill, and i have to say that he is actually better than i expected. I enoyed him in several films in the past, but it is nice to see him in a Tremors film, and that he brings us a fun character as well. Jon Heder ( who will always be known as Napoleon Dynamite ) is also here as the corky character Jimmy, and he also matches well with the cast. One of the coolest characters is without a doubt Anna ( played by wonderful actress Cassie Clare ), who kills these beast with her bow and arrow. She is confident, and no one will ever mess with her. Of course we have to talk about legendary actor Michael Gross, who have been in the Tremors franchise in many years as the legendary character Burt Gummer. He might be a little bit older, but he is still kicking ass in his own unique way. Michael Gross is as always charming to see, and only he can do this character in such a lovely way. The creatures known as Graboids, do they look good this time around as well ? I would say they look ok, even if i wish we could see them a little bit more than what we get to in this film. If you might remember in the past, you actually saw Graboids attack more physically in some of the previous films. They do attack here as well, but maybe not as often as you would hope. Either way, as a sequel i still had a good time with Tremors: Shrieker Island thanks for the diversity of the cast. And to make this film in Thailand turned out to be a great idea. Director Don Michael Paul ( who directed 2 other Tremors sequels in the past ) knows his material, and gives us a fun B movie moment with nostalgic feelings. Maybe not the best film in this franchise, but still a fun sequel. I suggest you go out and buy this film on DVD or Blu Ray, so we can have at least 5 more sequels in the future. Because let´s be honest, the future generation of kids needs to learn the legacy of Tremors, how else will they finish school with good education?

Rating: DDD

Force Of Nature

When you hear some actors name, you know exactly what films they have been in, and you know what film you loved most. It does not matter how old the actor is, or how many films the actor has done, you have your personal favourites to pick from that particular actor´s career. At this moment i would like to mention one of those actors, and that is legendary actor Mel Gibson. What an incredible movie career he have had, with some really classic films. I believe the first time i saw a Mel Gibson film might have been in 1986, and that was Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, after a barbecue evening at one of my parents friends home. They rented the film on VHS, and i stared at the VHS cover like it was the coolest cover ever. I remember thinking Mel Gibson was so cool as Mad Max, and this film is still fun to watch today. At that time i did not know that this was the third film in the Mad Max franchise, so when i found out i had to see the other two films. I especially loved the second film The Road Warrior, who i still see as one of the true classic action films in Mel Gibson´s career. Mel have done a lot of different categories, but i think we can all agree that the Lethal Weapon franchise with Danny Glover will always be loved by many generations ahead. There are so many films i could talk about, but i decided to talk about one specific film that may not be one his most classic films, but will turn 19 years next year, and that i appreciate. And that is the Vietnam war movie We Were Soldiers, released in 2002. This film is actually directed by Mel Gibson as well and tells the story of US Army Lieutenant Colonel Hal Moore, who is chosen to train and lead a battalion, to prepare for the war in Vietnam. We Were Soldiers is a powerful war movie, and Mel Gibson clearly wanted to tell this story to let people remember how horrible this war was, and he does that really well with a great cast. If you have not seen this film, you should. Since this summer, i have known about Mel Gibson´s action film called Force Of Nature, but it was not until now i decided to pick it up on Blu Ray. Is this another highlight in Mel´s career, or does this film prove that he is getting too old for action films?

Police officer Cardillo ( Emile Hirsch ) and police officer Jess ( Stephanie Cayo ) are ordered to evacuate people from an appartment building, while a Category 5 hurricane is moving across Puerto Rico. As they arrive at the appartment building, they find out that in one of the appartments, they have a retired cop known as Ray ( Mel Gibson ), who clearly have health issues. They all need to be taken to a shelter, but when one of the people get shot by a criminal gang, led by John The Baptist ( David Zayas ), Cardillo and Jess are forced to stay in the building to protect the people living there. John is looking for a very exclusice painting, that is supposed to be in this building, and no one will survive unless they give it to him.

I like the idea behind Force Of Nature, cops trapped in an appartment house with civilians, while criminals looking for a real Van Gogh painting, while they have a big hurricane going all across Puerto Rico. So i have no issues with this part of the plot. My biggest problem with Force Of Nature is that this is supposed to be an exciting action film, and this is where they should have focused more on delivering solid action scenes. The shooting scenes does not really feel powerful, and as we all know in an action film, without great gun battle scenes, you loose some of the power that is expected in the action genre. There is one silly detail also, one of the people living in this appartment building named Griffin ( played by actor William Catlett, who at least gives a descent performance ), he has a pet inside a guest room, that looks like a puma and is trained to hate cops ( makes perfect sense ). There is a scene where Griffin is accidently attacked by his own pet ( just harming his leg ), but the puma eats a bad guy instead, i guess the animal is trained not to eat his owner, that part of the film did not really feel needed to be included here. The best part of Force Of Nature is without a doubt Mel Gibson as the character Ray, a retired cop. He have some funny dialogue, and he does fire his gun as well in a few scenes, but not as much as you would hope. I also enjoy seeing legendary actor David Zayas ( that i especilly enjoyed in TV series Dexter ) as the bad guy John. He is one of the few characters in this film that you feel fit in here. Actors such as Kate Bosworth, Emile Hirsch and Stephanie Cayo do have plenty of screen time here, but don´t leave a big impact. My best way to describe Force Of Nature is an action film that you won´t feel excited about, because of the lack of effort to make the audience excited. Director Michael Polish have some good ideas with this film, but does not match them well with the mellow action scenes. You should probably only see this film if you are a big fan of Mel Gibson, or just skip this one and watch his better action film Blood Father from 2016, a delightful treat for fans of Mel Gibson, perhaps one of his best action films in many years.

Rating: DD

Christmas Unwrapped

Ah yes, Christmas time. The one time of the year i can do my favourite hobby, and that is make Christmas candy naked. So why naked while making Christmas candy?  It is very simple, i follow the traditions of Denmark. You see, in Denmark they say that unless you are naked making Christmas candy ( only adults of course ), you never know what extra ingredients you might find. So, when i found out that this is an old Danish tradition i knew i love Denmark instantly. Well, there are other good things about Denmark as well of course, they have nudists there, good beer, and.......im sure i can think of more things, just give me a few minutes.

Christmas in general is that time of the year when we can gather family, tell everyone how much we hate each other and have fist fights, just like the good old days of Scandinavian celebrations. I have no problem with Christmas, as long as i don´t need to walk a long time in the snow. Just give me some alcohol and i love Christmas ( don´t tell my cousins anything else, or they might be pissed off ). Christmas songs, food, decorations, and of course Christmas movies, it is all part of the most wonderful time of the year. Speaking of Christmas films, i am sure that a lot of you have some favourites to choose between. I know a couple of ones that i enjoy, and especially one film from 2012 known as Silent Night from director Stevem C. Miller. This is a loose remake of the 1984 cult classic Silent Night, Deadly Night. One of the reasons why i enjoy Silent Night is because this is such a brutal horror film. How often do you see Santa Clause go around killing people with different weapons, including a flame thrower ? This film also have a wonderful cast included with legendary actor Malcolm McDowell, actress Jamie King, and of course Donal Logue ( who most of you remember from the 90´s classic Blade ). So if you want to get into the right Christmas spirit, pick up Silent Night on DVD. Since i realised that Christmas is only a couple of weeks away, i decided to do something different. Last year i reviewed a Hallmark Channel film called The Mistletoe Secret, just to do a completely different kind of film review. So, this year i decided to check what TV channel Lifetime had to offer in the new Christmas movie selection. So i just picked out one film called Christmas Unwrapped, without even seeing a trailer. Is this the film that will make this Christmas feel better, or is this a film that will make us all depressed ?

Charity Jones ( Amber Stevens West ) is a hard working reporter, who is assigned to write a story on the mysterious millionaire Erik Gallagher ( Marco Grazzini ), who gives away millions of dollars in personalized gifts every holiday season. No one really knows the background story of Erik, and Charity is determined to reveal his secrets.

Let´s be honest and say that if you hate Hallmark Channel and Lifetime movies ( for some reason ), i doubt you are going to change your mind by watching Christmas Unwrapped. You will recognize the formula of a TV movie like this, it is very friendly, and you won´t find any bad language either. And i get it, this is supposed to be seen by the whole family, so in that way it is a positive detail. Some of you might have read my review of The Mistletoe Secret from Hallmark Channel last year, and you might remember that i especially pointed out that actress Kellie Pickler did not give a good acting performance. I have some good news folks regarding the film Christmas Unwrapped, and that is that lead actress Amber Stevens West ( who i especially remember from the film 22 Jump Street ) gives a better performance in this film. I would say that she is the biggest reason why you want to see this film, because there is something charming about her personality of her character Charity Jones. I would describe Charity as a realistic woman, who works really hard to achieve her goal. Actor Marco Grazzini will definetely make women smile in this film, his character Erik Gallagher is that kind of guy who is wedding material for a lot of women. Just show your girlfriends a picture of him, and i guarantee they will be dreaming of him for months ( i meant years ). Chistmas Unwrapped have a bigger cozy feeling that The Mistletoe Secret, in the sense that the characters here feels more realistic. It is nice to see legendary actor Anthony Sherwood ( those of you that watched TV series Airwolf in the 80´s will recognize him ) here as Charity´s father. If you love this kind of Christmas films, then i am sure that Christmas Unwrapped will fit right into your taste. My biggest issue with this film is that i would have liked to see this film more fun, because it does not give us a lot of entertainment. It is a friendly Christmas film, and i enjoy actress Amber´s performance. Other than that, nothing really makes Christmas Unwrapped stand out from the typical Christmas movie. Director Bosede Williams have at least done a Lifetime movie that have some qualities to be thankful for, i only wish she would have taken more chances, considering the great cast.

Rating: DD

Arthur & Merlin: Knights Of Camelot

I remember when i was a young boy, i used to go a lot to the local library in my hometown in the 80´s. This was at a time when you had no internet, and you read actual books. It was often when i decided to read stories based on historical legends that i became more curious to read. One book that i did read was about the story of King Arthur, the British leader who battled against the Saxon invaders. Once you started to read about this legend, it was almost like being in the battlefields with King Arthur, battling side by side with this king, letting the sword drill into the bodies of the Saxon army. The book i read at the time ( can´t remember the title ) was almost telling the story of King Arthur as a folklore story, so i don´t know what facts are supposed to be true or not, but it was a good book. Moving on into the 90´s, and it was in 1998 i became fascinated again by the story of King Arthur, through a television miniseries called Merlin from director Steve Barron. Even if this television series was mainly focused on the character Merlin, you also had King Arthur ( played by actor Paul Curran ) who were a very important part of this TV miniseries. Merlin have a wonderful cast of legendary actors such as Sam Neil, Rutger Hauer, Isabella Rosselini, James Earl Jones, Helena Bonam Carter, Martin Short, Miranda Richardson and many more. With a cast like this to the story of King Arthur and Merlin, this was a delightful miniseries to experience. I actually have the DVD somewhere in my collection, and it is worth checking out ( should be easy to find for a good price on Amazon ). In 2004, it was time for Hollywood to bring King Arthur to the big screen with actor Cliwe Owen as the legendary king. Actually a pretty good film, and if you enjoy violence on the battlefield, then you have found the right film to see. Director Antione Fuqia managed to bring the story of King Arthur forward in a more brutal way than before, and i appreciate that. As i was going through DVD releases in the UK, i found that one film have been released this summer that i have missed completely. A film called Arthur & Merling: Knights Of Camelot, and of course i had to see what this film had to offer. Is this one of the better movie adaptations of the classic story of King Arthur, or is this just a film trying to cash in and fool the audience?

Arthur ( Richard Short ) have led battles across the land, leaving his illegitimate son Modred ( Joel Phillimore ) ruiling Camelot. But his son have corrupted the throne of Camelot. Athur finds out what Modred is doing, and he is forced to return to Camelot with the wizard Merlin ( Richard Brake ) and the Knights of the round table to reclaim his throne.

If you are looking for epic battles between King Arthur and his army on the battlefield, then this film might disappoint you. This is more of an attempt to tell the story of King Arthur in a dramatic way. If some of the actors would have given a better performance, this might have worked more effective. Unfortunately, this film suffer with some bad acting performances ( not from everyone, but too many ). So this leaves us with what is left with this film, a story of King Arthur who is clearly in pain, both emotionally and physically. One thing i believe would have helped this film become more fun, is more sword fights. We do get to see a few short scenes, but between these scenes there are a lot of dialogue scenes. But i have to say, of the characters that this film bring us, King Arthur ( played by actor Richard Short, who you might recognize from TV series Mary Kills People ), he is one of the few who give an acting performance with his character. And that is too bad, because if we only had more battle scenes with King Arthur and his men, instead of all the dialogue scenes ( that feels drawn out just to fill in the empty spots of the plot ), we might have had a stronger story of King Arthur. Legendary actor Richard Brake ( who you all have seen in some of Rob Zombie´s horror films ) plays Merlin here, but unfortunately he is not in this film much at all. And to be honest, he does not really give a strong acting perforance either. Arthur & Merling: Knight Of Camelot does have some nice cinematography from Andrew Rodger, perhaps the best part of this film. And some of the locations of this film do capture the look of the landscape of King Arthur´s home. But other than that, there are too many flaws with this film. Director Giles Alderson ( who directed the horror film The Dare ) have tried to make a more dramatic film about King Arthur, and that was a mistake, when this film needed epic battles instead to please the audience. If you love King Arthur films, i suggest you watch the 2004 film instead of this one. There is one scene though that reminded me of Jean-Claude Van Damme 90´s classic Lionheart, when King Arthur fist fight against a big musle man, i never thought i would see King Arthur doing a Van Damme classic, but this is actually a fun scene. Maybe that is the King Arhur we need to see next time, a raw bastard who will fight anyone.

Rating: DD

In Early 2021, I Will Be Doing Two Reviews Of Friday The 13th Fan Films.... Never Hike Alone, And.... Never Hike In The Snow

 Greetings movie lovers!

This is your favourite Swedish movie critic Daniel speaking, and yes, i know you are all excited to see me here. I love you all my readers as well, and for this reason i have decided to do something for next year, especially for fans of the Friday The 13th franchise.

As you may know, those who are big fans of Friday The 13th, there have been several fan films made over the years, where especially one of them did get positive reviews and respect from fans of this genre. And that is a Friday The 13th fan film known as Never Hike Alone, released in 2017. I actually have not seen this film myself, but ever since i heard about this project i was curious to check it out. But it was actually this year i discovered this film, through an Indiegogo campaign for Never Hike In The Snow, wich is a prequel to Never Hike Alone. So to make it more fun for all you fans of Friday The 13th, i will be doing reviews for both of these films, in early 2021. I can not say exactly when, depending on when i get the chance to see them. But you know that these reviews will be made, sometime during early 2021. How exciting is that? Yes i agree, it is more exciting than former pop band East 17 member Brian Harvey´s conspiracy videos on Youtube.

Stay tuned for more information, and i have more reviews coming your way before the year ends, and....this year i will also do a Top 3 Worst Movies Of 2020, isn´t that wonderful folks? Yes i believe so, this should be appreciated by all readers for sure. So if you are a fan of Friday The 13th films, now you know you have something to look forward to in 2021.

Take care everyone, and remember, support independent films and B movies, so we can get more films made in the future, the most important lesson for today.

Cheers from Daniel 

A Request Review From Joe Williamson: Abstruse

When you have written reviews as many years as i have ( probably for 20 years, and almost 10 years on this blog ), you get to see a lot of different types of films. And that is exactly what i love about writing reviews, every film is different from each other in some ways. Some of them may be in a similar genre, or have an actor that i have reviewed several films from, but i try to mix it up to make it more fun. Not just for me, but for my readers as well. One thing i especially love to do is watch films that are made on a limited budget, known as independent films. And over the years i have seen a lot of different films, made by independent directors. When Hollywood is focusing a lot on doing remakes, sequels and prequels with big budget, this is where independent films usually have a lot to offer. They can make films with a lot more ideas than the big budget films usually do, with a completely different freedom to mix up genres, and take chances. Even if i have reviewed quite a lot of independent films, there are films that i never reviewed that i was planning to do. One of those films that i was planning to review, but never did, is the 2018 independent film Living Space, also known as Nazi Undead from director Steven Spiel. This was one of those independent horror films that looked interesting, and i knew i had to check it out. Living Space ( Nazi Undead ) tells the story of college sweethearts Brad ( played by actor Leigh Scully ) and Ashley ( played by actress Georgia Chara ) are travelling across Germany to visit especially one historical location. But their vacation is about to take a different turn. Nazi Undead is actually a nice surprise, and i especially enjoy the dead nazi general played by Andy McPhee. You can find the film here if you are interested to check it out:

https://www.amazon.com/Nazi-Undead-Various/dp/B085KRPBL4

Speaking of independent films, i was asked a while ago from film producer Joe Williams if i could review a film called Abstruse. Of course i said yes, since i am always curious about seeing independent films in all genres ( there is no connection between Nazi Undead and Abstruse, except that they are both independent films. So i finally got a chance to see if Abstruse would be any good. Is this a masterpiece that everyone should see, or is Abstruse as forgettable as Anna Books underwear sales online for fans ?

Justin Stevens ( Kris Reilly ) and his friend Daniel ( Dennis Marin ) are excited about having a good time with some girls, when Justin flip out during a sexual game, and he ends up killing a woman. Amanda London ( Kaiti Wallen ) become a witness to this horrific crime, and tries to tell the truth to Detective Caldwell ( Harkey Wallen ) and Detective Morris ( Jerry Hayes ). When they find drugs in her blood samples, they are not sure if she is telling the truth, especially after 2 cops searched Justin´s appartment for evidence. How will Amanda clear her name, knowing that she is telling the truth?

One thing that strikes me right away about the film poster of Abstruse is that it looks like a straight action film. But this is actually not an action film, i would probably call it more of a crime drama. And i have no problem with that, because if this would have been an action film, it would have needed a lot of action scenes, since this film is almost 2 hours. Abstruse delivers a plot that we have seen before, but that´s ok. What matters is that we get a story that is interesting, and in some parts of the plot we do have potential. But the biggest problem of Abstruse are two things. First of all the length of this film is too long, for such a simple plot. Crime thrillers can be good for 2 hours, but you need something to make the film feel intensive, or at least make sure that something exciting happens. The film do pick up a bit better after around 90 minutes, but that´s a long time to wait for something to happen. My second problem with Abstruse is that some of the female characters are not very good ( except for actress Kaiti Wallen ), so this film basically holds up better through the male actors. Now to some positive, and that is especially two actors. Actor Kris Reilly as the serial killer Justin Stevens is actually a highlight in this film, and even if i have never seen him act before, i get a sense that he might be up to something good, if he works on his acting. He does leave an impact in this film, and that is of coure a good sign. The best acting performance comes from legendary actor Dennis Haskins ( you all remember Mr. Richard Belding in 90´s TV series Saved By The Bell? ) as Senator Stevens. Dennis is the one who is clearly taken his role seriously, and makes sure to show it through his performance. I have to mention legendary actor Tom Sizemore who is here as well, and he does ok. Waving a Swedish flag of course for actor Harley Wallen as Detective Caldwell, i got to say that he should be the detective we need in Sweden to get things in order. Abstruse is not a bad film, because there are parts of the film i do enjoy. But with a length of almost 2 hours for such a simple story becomes too long, that could have easily been 1 hour and 40 minutes instead. Director Harley Wallen have made good films in the past, such as Eternal Code, and i am curious to check out his upcoming projects. Abstruse shows that director Harley Wallen have potential to make a good crime thriller, but in this film it is not enough to make it solid thriller. A good attempt though, i will admit that.

Rating: DD

Borat Subsequent Moviefilm: Delivery Of Prodigious Bride To American Regime For Make Benefit Once Glorious Nation Of Kazakhztan ( Borat Gift Of Sexy Monkey To Vice Premier Mikhael Pence For Make Benefit Recently Diminished Nation of Kazahkstan )

Comedy is not what it used to be. There used to be a time when you could joke about anything, that includes homosexuals, transexuals, different personalities in society, different religions, different nationalities. And why is that? I think there are many reasons why it is harder to joke in society today. I remember the good old days, when me and my friend Robert could sit at the strip club and joke with strippers, and they had a great time with us. We respected the girls, and did not touch them, but we did joke a lot, and they were all in on this. Today, you can´t joke on the same level, and that is because of a movement we have in Sweden called " Swedish Extreme Feminist Savages ". If you ever meet these women, you should follow the following rules:

* If you are a man, hide in any building, and don´t go out until they have gone, or you might not have your " Schleizerneinen " anymore.

* Do not say you love Magnum P.I. with Tom Selleck, this is the thing that Swedish Extreme Feminist Savages hate most of all, because of hairy chest and mustache.

* If you see any of these women burn DVD´s of Road House with Patrick Swayze, you know this is their way of saying:- Men should not exist.

But there was a time of hope that i still remember, that changed everything to the better. And that was the year of 2006, when one film gave all men hope for a better world. And we can all thank the comedy film called Borat: Cultural Learnings Of America For Make Benefit Glorious Nation Of Kazakhstan, with comedian actor Sacha Baron Cohen in the lead role as Kazakh journalist Borat Sagdiyev. Borat is still one of the funniest comedy´s in the last 14 years. This film made fun of everyone, Americans, Jewish people, Homosexuals, Christians, Feminists, basically everyone. And this is why i loved this film, because we needed a comedy film that was not afraid to offend everyone, and Sacha Baron Cohen is brilliant as Borat. The first film showed us his journey to America, where he planned to learn the Culture of America, and he finds his Dream wife Pamela Andersson who he nust kidnap. There are so many funny scenes in this film, but the wrestling scene between Borat and his friend Azamat while they are naked, will be a future classic. If you by any chance have not seen the first Borat film, you have to see it. No one expected to see a sequel to Borat be released this year, but they actually made a film in secret. So of course i was really happy to see the greatest Journalist from Kazakhstan return, and travel back to America one more time. This film had it´s premiere on Amazon Prime, so of course i just had to get it to watch this film. Is this sequel almost as good as the first film, or is the charm of Borat gone forever with this sequel ?

14 years ago, the movie Borat humiliated the population of Kazhakstan, causing Borat Sagdiyev ( Sacha Baron Cohen ) to be imprisoned for life. 14 years later, the country´s Premier, Nursultan Nazarbayev ( Dani Popescu ) releases him, with a mission to deliver Kazakh Minister of Culture Johnny The Monkey ( Kazakhstan´s most famous porn star ) to Donald Trump in an attempt to redeem the nation. Borat goes to America, but since he took a dump right in front of the Trump International Tower outside, he can not deliver the gift to Trump personally. So he must bring Johnny The Monkey  to Vice President. But there is a major problem, when the delivery of Johnny arrives to America, he is dead, and inside the box is his daughter Tutar Sagdiyev ( Maria Bakalova ). If Borat do not succeed with his mission, he will be killed in Kazakhstan, so he must find another way to make everything alright.

I knew it would be tricky making a sequel to such a classic film as Borat, but i have to say this is a solid sequel. Is it as funny as the first film? Unfortunately no, but there are still a lot of funny scenes who will piss off a lot of people, and that is exactly what we want in a film like this. Borat go on with his wonderful personality, and he does not care if he offends anyone, just as it should be. One thing that makes this film unique, was that it was filmed during the pandemic, so this gives Borat a completely different experience in America. Some of the funniest scenes is when Borat goes home to Trump supporters, or when he tries to give Vice President Mike Pence his own daughter as a gift. There are a lot more scene i could mention, but im gonna leave those surprises until you seen the film yourself. One thing that i actually think turned out to be a good idea for this sequel, is the relationship between Borat and his daughter Tutar ( really well played by Bulgarian actress Maria Bakalova ). This is no ordinary father / daughter relationship, and how can it be when we know that Borat is the father? There are some really funny scenes between these characters, and i guarantee you will laugh, especially in the scenes when Tutar tries to learn to behave like an American lady, and of course that can´t end well. Sacha Baron Cohen does a really good job portraying Borat again, and we know that no one can do this character the way that he does. How does this sequel manage to bring in some polictical messages in this time around ? I would say that there are some scenes where we get a glimpse of political satire, especially towards Donald Trump. Since there are not many comedies out there today that can make me laugh, Borat 2 does exactly what i wanted this film to do, give me a really good time. It´s not a classic as the first film, but this could be the funniest comedy of 2020. Director Jason Woliner manage to bring out some of the things we would expect to see in a new Borat film, and still bring in some fresh ideas as well. If you are an extreme feminist you will hate this movie, and that makes me love this film even more, high five……

Rating: DDDD

Sputnik

For the rest of the years that i will be alive on this Earth, i may never get an answer if we have alien life forms in space. This may take a very long time, but at some point in the future, we may have the technology to find answers, that we can not find today. Do i believe that there are other life forms out there? I would probably say yes, since we have no idea what could be living in all the planets that we have not discovered yet. Some of you might have read about the planet called K2-18b, where articles last autumn mentioned that they have discovered water on this planet. Fascinating of course, and who knows what else they might discover as they continue to look into this planet. When ever i think of space and films, i always return to one of the best sci fi horror films ever made, and that is of course the 1986 film known as Aliens from director John Carpenter. I know a lot of Alien fans love the first film more than this sequel, but i personally prefer the sequel to the original film for a number of reasons. Aliens does not only include fantastic special effects, but this film is very well made, and is in my opinion the best film from director James Cameron. His camera technique in this film is brilliant, and he manage to capture the claustrophobic atmosphere really well. I have to say that this film also manage to combine action and horror in a much more effective way than we have seen before. The cast in this film does a wonderful job as well, where especially legendary actress Sigourney Weaver is fantastic as Ripley. If you for some reason have not seen Aliens, then you should pick this film up right away on DVD or Blu Ray, but see the extended cut, it is the best version of Aliens. Earlier this year, around spring time, i got to see a trailer for a new sci fi horror film from Russia called Sputnik. This film looked really good, and seemed to be a throwback to sci fi horror films of the 80´s and 90´s. Not knowing bascially anything about the cast or director, i have been very excited about watching Sputnik. Is this the best sci fi horror film for many years, or does Sputnik fail to please me ?

In 1983, two cosmonauts are on a mission in space. Suddenly, something goes terribly wrong and they crash land on Earth. One of the cosmonauts, Konstantin Veshnyakov ( Pyotr Fyodorov ) is the only survivor, as a Kazakh horseman discover the crashed space shuttle. Konstantin is taken to a military base, where Colonel Semiradov ( Fedor Bondarchuk ) need psychologist Tatyana Klimova ( Oksana Akinshina ) to travel to the base and interrogate Konstantin. What she does not know, is that Konstantin did not land on Earth alone, something else came along with him.

If you have been worried that we will have to wait forever to see a great sci fi film, then do i have some good news for you. Sputnik combines 80´s nostalgia with old school alien ingredients, but focus more on telling the story from a military facility. And this is where the 80´s references fits in so well, with all the old gadgets, costumes, guns, and the offices as well. I also think the colors of this film feels a bit like the 80´s in Russia, since it was a rough period for the country at that time. The characters that we are introduced to through out the film, does a good job portraying their characters, and especially actress Oksana Akinshina ( who i especially remember from my favourite Lukas Moodyson film Lilja 4-ever ). Her character Tatyana in the film Sputnik is confident, intelligent and looks fantastic. A psychologist who clearly takes her job very serious, and is also very professional. Actor Pyotr Fyodorov, who plays the surviving cosmonaut Konstantin, makes sure that we are given a solid performance. There are other actors who do a good job as well, but we have to talk about the biggest problem of Sputnik. And that is there are so many dialogue scenes. I can understand that there needs to be dialogue scenes between Tatyana who tries to get information from cosmonaut Konstantin, but when you let these scenes go on far too long, you sort of loose some of the interest in the investigation. The strength of Sputnik is without a doubt understanding the Alien, who takes Konstantin´s body as a vessel, and comes out certain moments. And this is where we get to see the behavior of the Alien, and how Tatyana tries to connect with the Alien. The design of this creature looks really good, so they did a good job with the CGI effects. There are some brutal scenes later on in this film, and i think it is good that they decided to go in this direction, because this will definetely please fans of sci fi horror. Director Egor Abramenko have made a film that does not only respect the sci fi genre, but also give us a film that takes itself very serious. Egor uses his camera technique to give Sputnik some depth, and he also manage to capture the essence of the 80´s as well. Sputnik may not be as brilliant as i was hoping for, but this is still one of the better Alien films, at least this year. If you love sci fi, then you need to see Sputnik. If there is one film that will convert Fifty Shades Of Grey fans to become normal again, it is Sputnik that is the shining light that they have all been looking for.

Rating: DDD

Blood Vessel

When ever you hear about nazis, you instantly think about World War II. Nazi Germany killed so many people, for what? Nazis would guaranteed try and tell you one good reason for what they did, but we all know they are all garbage. They still exist in this world, unfortunately. All you need to do is look at some of the European political parties, such as NPD ( National Democratic Party Of Germany ), and you will find connections to nazis for many generations of members in this political party, and they still keep going with their racism mentality. Of course they will never stop, since they believe they know what Germany needs to do to become a great nation again ( this is a warning sign for sure, right? ) Nazis in films can be found in many different kinds of films, and in many different genres. But when it comes to horror films with nazis, we do have some highlights to choose between. I decided to pick out one specific film that may not show World War II, but is connected with the history, when dead nazis return to life in the 2008 horror film Outpost. I still remember when Outpost was released on DVD 12 years ago, and i picked this film up right away. The story of Outpost is about a group of soldiers, who go on a mission in Eastern Europe to scoop out an old military bunker. And this is where things go terribly wrong. Outpost combines a more modern military film, with World War II horror influences in a surprisingly good way. I have to mention that director Steve Barker did a great job with the location of the bunker. It feels like he took the time to make the bunker look realistic, and it also feels like a bunker that could have looked like this in World War II. I also enjoy the scenes where Steve film the dead nazis standing in the woods, as they are looking for their prey. Outpost is definetely worth a look on DVD if you love war films combines with horror ingredients. Since i have seen quite many titles over the years with nazis in horror films, i saw the poster this summer of a new horror film called Blood Vessel. It looked really interesting, and i loved the idea of vampires with nazi influences, how can anyone say no to that? Is this the best horror film of 2020, or is Blood Vessel unfortunately not as good as i was hoping it would be?

 At the end of World War II, a group of soldiers who are drifting out in the sea, come across an abandoned ship. It turns out to be a ship that is owned by nazis. But everyone is found dead on board, except for a small girl. What happened on board this ship?

I have heard some positive things about Blood Vessel from other critics, but i am really impressed how this film team managed to pull this off in such a good way. It is not very often you see a really good nazi horror movie ( Overlord may be one of the best in this genre ), and especially not when vampires are included. But this film does not only manage to show us old school vampires that looks really good, but the combination of having them on a nazi ship is a really good idea. And for that i got to say that i seriously doubt there is any other vampire film this year that can deliver such an entertaining film as Blood Vessel. The ship itself looks great, and especially the details on board the ship such as nazi equipment, vampire weapons, nazi gold and much more, that lands really well with the plot. One of the things i an really thankful for, is that the cast of Blood Vessel do a really good job with their characters. And one thing i have to mention, is that each character are very different from each other, and that is something you appreciate seeing when they are stuck on a ship like this. They all have knowledge on different things, and that may be their biggest help in this horrible situation. Let´s get into the characters for a bit. Alexander Cooke ( who some of you might recognize from Australian TV mini series Sunshine ) plays the character Alexander Teplov, a man you can clearly see have had a rough Life, wich Alexander manage to bring out through his performance. Mark Diaco plays the character Jimmy Bigelow, a man who fall easily for temptations, and Mark gives us an image of this personality that a lot of us can relate to. Actress Alyssa Sutherland ( that you all know from TV series Vikings ) is exactly what this film needed, a woman with both intelligence and a big heart. The make up effects on the vampires are the best i have seen in many years, so this is a really big surprise for me. They have clearly worked hard to make sure the vampires would leave a big impact. Director Justin Dix have not only made the best vampire film of this year, but he manage to combine this story with World War II and vampires in a much more effective way than we have seen in many similar films. Blood Vessel may be a low budget film, but looks a lot better than a lot of big budget horror films, have a lot better acting, and most of all really professional make up effects. A must buy if you love vampire films, Blood Vessel is one of the big winners this year in the horror genre.

Rating: DDDD