20 Years Anniversary Review Of The League Of Extrodinary Gentlemen

I have a lot of things to thank my grandfather for in my childhood but there is especially one thing i am very grateful that he did. He used to record the James Bond films with legendary actor Sean Connery on VHS from TV and it was with my grandfather i watched these films. Since he knew i had not seen any of the films at that time we started watching from the very beginning with the 1962 action film Dr. No, continued with From Russia With Love and of course we continued with ( in my opinion one of his best James Bond films ) Goldfinger. After this experience at my grandfathers home i started to watch more of the James Bond films with Roger Moore. I did enjoy his films as well but there was just something special about Sean Connery. He had a screen presence that you could not explain and i loved his Scottish accent. During the late 80´s i got into more of Sean Connery´s films and i remember buying the 1986 film Highlander on VHS. I feel in love with this film not only because of Christopher Lambert´s character Connor McLaeod but also thanks to the performance from Sean Connery as the character Juan Sánchez-Villalobos Ramirez. They were a really good match in their scenes together, and the film Highlander itself is a really good fantasy action adventure where director Russel Mulcahy managed to capture the Scottish landscape as well as Scottish historical time periods really good through these characters. A must see if you enjoy 80´s films and definetely worth buying on physical media. The sequel Highlander 2 - The Quickening is nowhere near as good as the first film, but i do recommend that you watch the Renegade Version just if you want to see a more futuristic version of Highlander. The sequels that followed after these films are not worth talking about honestly. In the early 2000´s it turned out that legendary actor Sean Connery was ready to retire from acting but would do one last lead role in the action adventure known as The League Of Extrodinary Gentlemen. At the time when this film came out critics were not all happy but fans of the comic book series of the same name were excited. I have seen this film several time since the film came out in 2003 and i notice that it has gone 20 years since this film came out. I thought it would be good timing to celebrate 20 years with this review. Is this film still enjoyable after all these years or have The League Of Extrodinary Gentlemen aged much more than i expected and lost the charm this film once had?

In 1899, a terrorist group led by The Fantom breaks into the Bank of England to steal Leonardo da Vinci´s blueprints of Venice´s foundations. They also kidnap several German scientists while blowing up a zeppeling factory. The British Empire sends Sanderson Reed ( Tom Goodman-Hill ) to Kenya Colony to recruit adventurer and hunter Alan Quatermain ( Sean Connery ), who had retired after the death of his son. However, after a group of assassins try to kill him in the colony, Quatermain changes his mind and decides to accept the mission and travel to London and meet M ( Richard Roxburgh ). M tells Quatermain about The Fantom and his plans to start a war by bombing a secret meeting of world leaders in Venice. To prevent this, M is forming the last generation of The League Of Extrodinary Gentlemen, consisting of Quatermain, Captain Nemo ( Naseeruddin Shah, vampire chemist Mina Harker ( Peta Wilson ), and invisible theif Rodney Skinner ( Tony Curran ). Together they must travel to recruit the rest of the team to stop The Fantom from starting a new war.

Since this film tried to bring in so many different characters into the same film you might think it is impossible to make this work. I actually think The League Of Extrodinary Gentlemen managed to introduce each character in a simple but effective way. Does this mean that each character is great? I would have to say no. But before we get into what characters does work and what characters should have been more effective, let us get into what i enjoy about this film. This really feels like an old school action adventure, even though some CGI scenes do look a bit cheesy after 20 years. I can accept that for the most part since i feel that some of the action scenes are entertaining and match well with the plot. The time period in the late 1800´s is captured well especially with costume design and the set designs. There are of course a lot of CGI scenes where you see some locations are just backgrounds but i still feel some of these scenes are still entertaining if you see this film for what it is, an old school cinematic adventurous experience. Ok so let´s get into some of the characters that work, and it comes to no surprise that legendary actor Sean Connery as Allan Quatermain is the best character in this film. Not only does Sean Connery deliver another solid performance but i also feel that he is a perfect match for this character. I do enjoy the performance from actor Naseerudin Shah as Captain Nemo and he seems to know what this character needed to work in this film. He is charming, have a natural way to deliver dialogue and also can look serious in certain scenes. There are a few more good characters but we need to talk abot the bad details as well. Actor Stuart Townsend as the character Dorian Gray is really boring to watch, he doesn´t really give anything into this group of criminals and heroes. Some of the CGI scenes look pretty cheap and you wonder if they could not have at least tried make it look cool for the fans of the comic books. I think the main villain The Fantom was used too little because he actually have a pretty cool look and it feels like he had potential to be an entertaining villain. Overall i still feel that The League Of Extrodinary Gentlemen is a fun action adventure that feels like a combination of Indiana Jones and Fantastic Four combined into the late 1800´s. Director Stephen Norrington doesn´t hold back on the action scenes and he actually manage to give us a film that definetely feels like a comic book coming to life. The League Of Extrodinary Gentlemen is one of those films that may actually remain a cult film in the future because it stands out from the usual comic book film adaptations, and Sean Connery´s last film also helps his legacy to live on. A film definetely worth owning on DVD or Blu Ray for the whole family to enjoy.

Rating: DDD

Santa Isn´t Real

Back in the 90´s i used to celebrate Christmas with the whole family, even if there were moments of chaos where people argues or just had to make drama situations out of nothing. But i especially remember one Christmas Eve in 1995 when i was 18 years old i was having drinks with my grandfather. Across the street a neighbor knocked on our door because he needed someone to be Santa Claus. He asked me if i could be their Santa this year and i told him:- I have been drinking maybe not the best idea. But he didn´t care he just needed a Santa right away. So he got me the Santa clothes and i dressed up carrying the presents in an old sack and i told myself to at least try to act as Santa. As i entered the door the children were really happy. I remember that one of the girls wanted to sit on my lap and tell me what she wished for this Christmas and then she said:- Santa you smell strange from your breath. I answered:- Ho ho ho, Santa had a different kind of coffee. I gave the children the presents and everything seemed alright. Until i got up and was about to go out since i was drunk. Another child asked:- Santa why are you walking strange? I answered:- Ho ho ho, Santa have been doing lots of exercise lately and is tired in my legs. As i walked out waving to the children, i slipped on some ice and hit my head. Now, remember i was drunk so it didn´t make things easier but i eventually got up and headed inside the Christmas party. My grandfather asked me how it went and i said:- It went good let´s have another drink. I could have said it went really bad but at least the kids seemed to be pleased. Horror films with Santa Claus is something i have always appreciated ever since i first saw the 1984 horror classic Silent Night, Deadly Night from director Charles E. Sellier Jr. It was this Christmas horror film that really made me feel like they captured Santa Claus as i would like him to be, taking out victims who doesn´t appreciate the magic of Christmas. Silent Night, Deadly Night is a fun slasher horror film especially for you who like the Christmas holidays. I have not seen all the sequels but i have a feeling i will try to watch them all at some point. This year we had some Christmas horror movies released and one of them i did decided to check out is called Santa Isn´t Real. A low budget horror film that looked like fun through the official trailer. Is this the Christmas horror film we all need to end this year of 2023 or should you avoid this one and watch Silent Night, Deadly Night instead?

On Christmas Eve while enjoying her holiday, Nikki ( Kaya Coleman ) is brutally attacked by a masked Santa Claus and pass out. She wakes up almost a year later out of a coma and decides to go with a group of friends to a remoted cabin. Even if she needs time to heal the group try and adjust to make this Christmas enjoyable. The further this weekend goes the more they will realise that everything is not what it seems to be.

In some ways you could say that Santa Isn´t Real does feel inspired by Christmas horror classics such as Silent Night, Deadly Night since you can sense that while watching this film. It is almost as if director Zac Locke ( who is actually one of the executive producers of the great serial killer film Bloodline with Sean William Scott, worth checking out ) have listened to what fans of this genre appreciate, seeing Santa killing victims the old school way. I do have some issues with this film but let´s talk about that later and bring up the positive regarding Santa Isn´t Real. I definetely enjoy the Santa mask and it really fits in with this killer Santa. The mask does look like it´s almost influenced by the Halloween weekend as if Santa didn´t want to wait until Christmas and he needs to do some more killing. I also feel that the Christmas spirit is captured in this film with Christmas decorations, Christmas music and a group of friends gathering to enjoy the holidays. Even though the plot have been done so many times before in a cabin out in the middle of nowhere, i do feel that it works in this film considering that the main character Nikki ( played by wonderful actress Kaya Coleman ) have woken up from a coma and needs to be at a calm location. Speaking of Kaya i do feel that she is a great choice for her character Nikki and she feels natural in her role. So it´s time we talk about the problems with Santa Isn´t Real and i have to start with actor Trey Andersson as Nikki´s boyfriend Nathan. Considering he is supposed to be a boyfriend he acts like he doesn´t feel anything for her at all, and i just can´t buy that he is supposed to love her. I don´t know if Trey thought that this would be a good portrait but it doesn´t work. This film has far too little kills when it is supposed to be a slasher. The few times we do get some kills i enjoy them but we would have needed some more. If you leave some of the problems aside and just look at Santa Isn´t Real for what it is a low budget slasher film, this is the kind of film that fans of B movies would appreciate. Director Zac Locke may not have made a Christmas classic but deliver a low budget horror that´s charming enough to bring out the true joy of Christmas with Santa Isn´t Real. A film for you who especially love lots of snow and a cabin with no neighbors, how can anyone say no to that combination?

Rating: DDD

Elevator Game

Shopping malls, what would life be without them? You can find basically anything here no matter what you are looking for no matter if you need clothes, shoes, perfume, a new cell phone or perhaps just enjoy a fresh made dinner. I personally love the biggest shopping malls i can find. Why? The bigger it is the more stores you can look at and it doesn´t have to big too much customers lining up everywhere ( unless it is before Christmas weekend of course ). The biggest shopping mall i have been to so far was in Bangkok called Central World where the shopping mall have over 500 stores and over 100 restaurants. I also remember that they also had a huge cinema with 15 films showing each day on 15 huge screens. I actually found a DVD and blu ray store at this shopping mall so that´s where i invested in some nice releases. Shopping malls like Central World are needed because it is much more simple to go to a huge shopping mall like this than running to different stores downtown. Plus if you need to eat something you can basically find any food you want, no matter if you are a vegetarian or a meat lover. One of the things i like to do in shopping malls is go by elevator because i find it relaxing. Not many people use the elevator compared to using the escelator, so it´s nice just to go for a ride. But what if you are completely stuck inside an elevator trying to figure how to get out? That is exactly what happened in the 2010 horror film Devil from director Nelson McCormick ( director of the 2009 remake of The Stepfather ). 5 people are stuck inside an elevator in a skyskraper trying to wait for rescue workers. But inside this elevator something strange is going on when one of them suddenly dies. Devil is a simple but effective horror film where an elevator is a great location to use from a claustrophobic perspective. How do you handle a situtaion like that when you are not alone inside the elevator and unexpected things happen out of nowhere? I do like the surprise twist towards the end that explain why this happened to this group of people. Devil is definetely worth checking out on streaming or on physical media. Speaking of elevators i came across a horror film called Elevator Game on VOD and is supposed to be a horror film that have a connection to an elevator. I didn´t know much more about Elevator Game and decided to know as little as possible going into this film. Is this a horror film that´s better than i expected or is Elevator Game just as exciting as watching American Crossword Puzzle Tournament ?

A group of high school graduates run an online web series debunking urban legends. They welcome Ryan Keaton ( Gino Anania ) into the show to help them out. When one of the web series sponsors are ready to drop out unless they come up with a better idea for their next episode, Ryan suggest they should look into the new online phenomenon called Elevator Game. The group decides to do this hoping their sponsor will stay and continue to collaborate with them. Once they start playing the Elevator Game, they will find out that this is not only a game.

Those who know me personally know that im not a big fan of social media influencers, especially if you are trying to chase likes, impress people with how much money you have or if you met a celebrity and have to make yourself look cool. So i understand now that this Elevator Game is a game a lot of social media people have played just to see if it works. I have no idea if anyone would claim that it works but this film is clearly inspired by this game itself. In a way i find the idea behind Elevator Game interesting for a horror film because using an elevator is a great tool to build up horror tensions. It worked well in the 2010 horror film Devil so it might work with a completely different story set inside an elevator. Let´s start with the details that i enjoy about the Elevator Game and i have to say that this film looks good. Director Rebekah McKendry ( director of the 2022 horror film Glorious that i did enjoy ) clearly knows how to make a horror film capturing different effective angles inside ( and outside ) an elevator, and this actually helps the film become a bit more interesting. Since the elevator is such an important detail for this film it feels like Rebekah understood that this has to work. Ok, that was the positive about Elevator Game and i have several negative things to say about this film. First of all the social media show that we are supposed to believe is a real show looks really bad. If they would expect me to believe that young people would watch this show i can´t buy that. It looks incredibly cheap, no great host of the show and the ghost stories they bring to each episode doesn´t make you feel interested at all. The cast of this film is also another big problem, there really are no great characters in Elevator Game. This is nothing against the actors in general but they didn´t perform good or made any attempt to make their character interesting. What about the horror elements in Elevator Game? I wanted this to work because it is an interesting concept for a horror film, but i feel like they didn´t really try that hard. The horror scenes outside the elevator are very predictable, dull and honestly not effective at all. It´s a shame that the Elevator Game doesn´t really work as a horror film since there is a good idea behind the plot. If only director Rebekah McKendry could have fixed some very important details and this could actually have been a fun watch. As it stands now i doubt you will remember Elevator Game once you watched it.

Rating: DD

Mob Land

When i was a little kid i used to visit a small community called Bengtsfors here in Sweden. This was where my father Thomas grew up and his parents lived here all of their lives. Bengtsfors had like 2 clothing shops, one shoe shop, a bakery, 2 different super market stores, a cinema and a few restaurants. That´s about it, apart from a gas station and a alcohol store. I remember in the 80´s i used to go to the bakery in Bengtsfors because my grandparents wanted something sweet for their coffee, so we would pick up some fresh baked sweets. One thing my grandfather also did on a weekend was gambling on horses, so while he watched horse races on his old TV me and my grandmother would enjoy the baked sweets. Life was simple in the community of Bengtsfors and even if there wasn´t a lot to do in the central part of Bengtfors you could always find stuff to do along the lake. In winter time we used to go ice skating or skiing around Bengtsfors. I remember one time when my cousing Christian ( this was sometime around 1993 i believe in Bengtsfors ) had gotten a motorcross bike. I tried driving it and almost crashed into a wall, so i can understand why they didn´t want me to drive it again. I also remember in the 90´s that the cinema in Bengtsfors at least tried to improve with more screenings of films, even though you could tell they couldn´t afford too big changes. Smaller communities such as Bengtsfors may not have much but they have everything they need. What matters is that the people living there enjoyed their community. But what if your smaller community would suffer from crimes and how would you deal with that where you don´t have a lot of back up from police? This is one of the subjects that is brought up in a crime drama thriller called Mob Land from director Nicholas Maggio. When i first saw the trailer of Mob Land i thought it looked similar to many other American crime thrillers but the cast of John Travolta, Kevin Dillon and Stephen Dorff seemed very interesting in the same film. I just had to get myself a blu ray copy and see if this film would be any good. Is it possible Mob Land is one of the better crime thrillers this year or should you pick up and watch Officer Down with Stephen Dorff instead?

Shelby Connors ( Shiloh Fernandez ) is a hard working man in need of money. When his extra shifts suddenly vanish that he though he would get, he meet criminal Trey ( Kevin Dillon ) who is well known for causing troubles. Trey suggest they rob a chosen location that should be easy while Shelby doesn´t want to get into trouble being in a serious relationship with his wife Caroline Connors ( Ashley Benson ) and their daughter Mila Connors ( Tia DiMartino ). Shelby finally accept to go along and help out but the robbery doesn´t go as planned. Innocent people are killed and even if they did get the money plus drugs, this causes some bigger issues for the both of them.

You could try find anything original about Mob Land and i promise you will not find anything that will surprise you. This is as traditional as you can expect with a pretty basic story regarding a robbery gone wrong, and there is even some car chasing scenes that we have seen a million times before. Now, what makes Mob Land a solid crime drama is actually the acting especially from 3 actors and that is Stephen Dorff, Kevin Dillon and actually John Travolta as well. I am especially suprised over Travolta this time since he had a couple of films that were not that good, but here it seems he feels inspired to act more in Mob Land and he´s actually not bad. I would also say that lead actor Shiloh Fernandez is not bad either as the criminal Shelby. Thanks to these characters in a very predictable plot, this actually helps Mob Land become more interesting. Different people with different life situations and problems is exactly what this film needed to work. If this film would have focused just being another criminal action film i think Mob Land would have easily been forgotten quickly. The dramatic tone of this film helps the story along the way and i especially enjoy seeing main character Shelby struggling, when he knows that he is in a really bad situation. Mob Land uses the small town location very well and capture the local community in a realistic way that could have taken place anywhere. I have to mention the beautiful cinematography by Nick Matthews ( who also worked on the latest Saw film called Saw X ) who clearly knew what this film needed to make a small American town be captured well on screen. Ok so we do have some problems with Mob Land, i can not deny that. The car chase scenes didn´t give this film anything interesting and i do feel that some of the shooting scenes could have been done better. Overall i do still enjoy Mob Land more than i expected since director Nicholas Maggio manage to make this film work through the dramatic performances. If you love crime thrillers you could do a lot worse than Mob Land and i may actually watch this film again soon. Mob Land may not hit any homeruns but definetely found a place for fans of this genre.

Rating: DDD

The 3 Worst Movies Of 2023

2023 is coming to an end!

A whole year of films in many different categories, genres and styles as well. I personally feel that this year had a couple of really good films that came out, i am especially thinking about Oppenheimer and Martin Scorsese´s latest film Killers Of The Flower Moon ( a review will be published in January ). I also really enjoyed the German Netflix film Blood & Gold, a film i feel is not being mentioned this year since it came out in spring. A very well made war movie with clear influences of legendary director Sergio Leone. If you have not seen this film this year you should definetely give it a watch.

So here we are folks, we have to mention the 3 worst films i did watch in 2023 who were all released this year as well. These are three films that i had a very hard time to finish and tried to find something positive to say about. So let´s get into it shall we?

1. Skinamarink

I am always positive for creative films who dare to do something different and i actually appreciate films who doesn´t follow the same Hollywood pattern that we are used to. When i first saw the poster of Skinamarink seeing some critics praising this film, i was actually curious to see it. I can honestly say that no matter how creative they tried to be on this film, this is a really, really boring horror film. And when i mean boring i falled asleep 3 times trying to finish this film. Skinamarink feels like a student film project that was more a experiment than an actual film, where director Kyle Edward Ball thought it would be a brilliant idea to film a wall for a very long time in case something will happen here. I understand what the film is trying to do from the eyes of a child at night time, but Skinamarink have nothing interesting to offer for horror fans or for independent film fans. The best way to explain what Skinamarink really is you have to imagine the following. Imagine you are watching lake water barely moving with no big wind, no fishes are jumping and nothing is happening for 100 minutes. Skinamarink is a big nothing and i question why this film does exist. Do yourself a big favor and avoid this film, there are far better choices if you want to see something closer to an indepenent film.

2. A Royal Christmas Crush

When it comes to watching predictable movies you can´t go wrong with a Hallmark production. You don´t even have to read the plot or watch any trailer to any of their films because you know exactly what will happen. Every year they throw out at least around 30 new christmas produced films and try to get some legendary actors as well if possible. For a very few times i could at least accept a christmas film such as The Mistletoe Secret in 2019 with DALLAS actor Patrick Duffy saving that film. But then we have Hallmark christmas film that are so terrible that you are wondering what you are really watching. That is exactly how i felt after watching A Royal Christmas Crush from director Marita Grabiak. A Royal Christmas Crush is done so extremely soft and sparkling that it feels like watching a horrible soap commercial dubbed in German, except that they try to speak British in this film instead. And that´s just one of the problems with this film, we also have terrible characters, horrible acting from pretty much all actors, no dialogue with any emotions at all and the christmas vibe doesn´t really feel that jolly at all. A Royal Christmas Crush is like having a bad headache that never goes away, i guarantee you will feel that same feeling if you actually watch this film.

3. Left Behind - Rise Of The Antichrist

How many of you remember the Kirk Cameron film Left Behind from the year of 2000? I actually had some fun with that film, especially when there were action scenes that looked like they were insired by Rambo 3 with Sylvester Stallone. Unfortunately the action scenes ended too fast and we are left with a very dull faith based Christian drama. However, in 2014 it was about to get even worse with the 2014 film version of Left Behind with Nicolas Cage, Lea Thompson and.... a lot of other names i can´t remember. The 2014 film version of Left Behind is one of the worst faith based dramas i have ever seen and is filled with so many problems. So in early 2023 it was time for the next Left Behind chapter and this time it turned out to be Herculers actor Kevin Sorbo in the lead role in Left Behind - Rise Of The Antichrist ( he also is the director of this film ). I will begin to say that at least this film is better than the 2014 film, and i do enjoy actor Neil McDonough short performances. But that´s where the positive ends for this film and let´s tell you why this is a bad faith based drama. This film takes itself way too serious and tries to make us believe that end days are here. Kevin Sorbo acts exactly the same as he always does, not many facial expressions and the rest of the cast ( except for legendary actor Corbin Bernsen ) looks like they are just reading dialogue from a paper and give no human emotions at all. If you want to watch a good faith based film i suggest you watch Nefarious with Sean Patrick Flanery. The only thing Left Behind - Rise Of The Antichrist will be remembered for is how many times Kevin Sorbo looks confused on camera.

There you go all my movie review readers worldwide this was my pick for the 3 worst films of 2023. I hope you all enjoyed this list and i will be publishing the final reviews of this year before this year ends. Have a wonderful christmas and enjoy all the wonderful food i sure am looking forward to some brännvin ( Swedish moonshine ) as well. See you all soon with my final reviews of this year.

Cheer from Daniel

I Slay On Christmas

Christmas, the most wonderful time of the year!

And in some ways that is true because what other time of the year do you get to see family when everyone is busy with work, school or having seizures from the latest news of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle? I personally enjoy Christmas dinner where i can enjoy lots of food, have some brännvin ( like moonshine, the Swedish version ) and end up in a snow wrestling fight with your annoying neighbors. That´s the kind of Christmas i want every year, no family drama just have some fun instead. We have plenty of stress all over the year anyway so we definetely need a break now and then. Speaking about Christmas i am not the biggest fan of romantic Christmas films at all. Most of them look exactly the same and the plot seems to be written in 3 minutes. This is why i prefer to turn towards Christmas horror movies instead because they actually show the true meaning of Christmas. This is where it is ok to split your Uncle´s head with an axe or chop off your Post office workers arm because he delivered your letters late. There are so many wonderful Christmas horror movies to choose between and it might be difficuly knowing what title to choose. I would personally recommend the Christmas horror anthology movie A Christmas Horror Movie from 2015. This film have different Christmas stories from 3 different director´s and manage to bring the stories together in a surprisingly charming way. I actually enjoy all of the stories in this film for different reasons, but to see Santa Clause ( George Buza ) fight against Krampus is definetely a highlight. We even have legendary Star Trek actor William Shatner in this film as radio host DJ Dan. If you love anthology horror films you should definetely pick up A Christmas Horror Story on DVD or Blu Ray. Recently i sat down to go through new Christmas horor movies that have been released this year so far and decided to watch a film called I Slay On Christmas. The title itself seemed to be exactly something in my taste, since that´s exactly what i do when we bring out the Christmas Turkey and cut it up with an electric saw. A Christmas anthology film with several stories, could this be the horror film to watch this holiday of is it possible I Slay On Christmas is just as bad as The Island Boys ( rap pop? ) singles?

Different Christmas stories where each pine cone found in the forest tells a story for each one you touch. It will be a Christmas like no other, that you will most likely never forget.

If you have been worried that we won´t have any new Christmas movie to enjoy this year i can tell you that you have nothing to fear. I Slay On Christmas is exactly what we need this time of the year, a cheesy splatter tribute to the VHS violence era with lots of kills and naked women as well. It is almost as if they made this film knowing that Extreme Radical Swedish Feminists would go insane that this film does exist and for that i am very thankful. In many ways you could say that I Slay On Christmas have certain elements of inspiration of the 1984 classic Silent Night, Deadly Night without Santa Claus as the main character. The axe as a murder weapon is here and the Christmas spirit is also here as well. When you combine those two details together you know it´s a perferct holiday season for the whole family. When it comes to acting in a low budget film such as this one you know that it will be on a limited quality level. Let us begin with the most fun character and the greatest acting performance in this film as well. And this is where we find actor Joel D. Wynkpoop as the crazy character known as Drudge. Imagine the following combination of Tourette Guy on YouTube and a more pissed off version of Homer Simpson and this would describe the character of Drudge pretty good. When he really goes insane that´s where this film becomes almost like a satire of a serial killer. I Slay On Christmas tries to tell different stories where some of the stories works pretty good, but we also have a pretty weak segment as well. I personally enjoy the segment known as " Christmas Revenge ". Santa Claus here in this segment played by actor A.J. Laird gives a matching performance, the kind of Santa you would want to visit before Christmas dinner. So any problems with this film? Of course this is a very limited budget film and all the practical effects may not be perfect. Some of the acting from some actors are terrible as well. But i can accept this since i know this is meant to be an entertaining Christmas anthology horror film that doesn´t take itself too seriously. There are 5 directors in this film and the one i recognize mostly is of course Phil Herman, director of the Horrortales 666 Part 2 & 3. I think director Derek Braasch did the best segment of this film called Christmas Revenge where the practical effects work better than in the previous segments. Overall i would say that I Slay On Christmas is a fun anthology horror film if you don´t have a problem with low budget horror. Need something to watch this Christmas that doesn´t include a sparkling Hallmark production impact? Then i have a feeling that I Slay On Christmas might be what you are looking for.

Rating: DDD

35 Years Anniversary Review Of Fright Night Part 2

There are some horror films that manage to be just as good as they wear when they were released in cinema, no matter how many years have gone by. It doesn´t matter if it´s a creature feature horror film, a psychological horror film, what matters is that the film have a very powerful message and very memorable characters. Just look at the 1982 horror classic The Thing from director John Carpenter that is now 41 years old in 2023, but is still better than a lot of new horror films coming out this year. I have probably seen this film 20 times since the first time i saw it on VHS in the 80´s and it is still a damn good film for a number of reasons. I highly recommend you buy the Arrow blu ray release of The Thing because it has some really nice special features, and the film looks really good on this release. Now, let us focus on one specific year for a moment and let us go back to the year of 1985. The same year that British pop duo Eurythmics released their 4th studio album Be Yourself Tonight. What was so unique about the year of 1985? It was the year when director Tom Holland released his directorial debut horror film Fright Night. When it comes to vampire horror films this is one of the most beloved horror classics of the 80´s if you talk to horror fans worldwide. Fright Night have always had a special place in the horror community for being a bit different from other classic vampire films. Fright Night tells the story of 17-year-old Charley Brewster ( William Ragsdale ) who becomes very suspicious of his new neighbor Jerry Dandrige ( Chris Sarandon ). Especially when he witness that he is actually a vampire and try to tell his girlfriend Amy Peterson ( Amanda Bearse ) as well as his friend Edward "Evil Ed" Thompson ( Stephen Geoffreys ). They can´t take him very seriously so Charley decides to contact horror actor Peter Vincent ( Roddy McDowall ) to help him prove that his neighbor is a vampire for real. Fright Night is a film full of very powerful characters, classic vampire scenes and a very erotic undertone in certain scenes. 3 years after the success of Fright Night we got ourselves a sequel Fright Night Part 2, where both Willam Ragsdale and Roddy McDowall returned in their roles from the first film. I enjoyed the film back in the early 90´s when i first saw this sequel but i felt that it would be a good time to revisit this film this year, since the film turn 35 years old. Does this sequel still hold up after 35 years or have Fright Night Part 2 lost some of it´s magic and faded away?

Three years have passed since 20-year-old Charley Brewster ( William Ragsdale ) is trying to get back into a normal life after fighting vampires with Peter Vincent ( Roddy McDowall ). However, he is going to psychiatric therapy where he is trying to learn that he never really faced any real vampires, that in fact Jerry Dandridge ( Chris Sarandon ) was nothing but a serial killer posing as a vampire. Charley is now going to college and have a new girlfriend, Alex Young ( Traci Lind ). They both go and visit Charley´s friend Peter Vincent ( Roddy McDowall ) to spend an evening together. Right outside Peter´s apartment he notices three large crates being offloades from a truck. It seems Peter Vincent will have a new neighbor moving into this house of apartments. But it´s not only one woman known as Regine ( Julie Carmen ) moving in, it seems to be several mysterious people as well.

Whenever you make a sequel to a true classic you have a lot of pressure from the fans of the original film. And i can not imagine how director Tommy Lee Wallace must have felt at the time knowing that he might be critizised for doing anything different with the sequel. Is this sequel different from the original film? Yes, there are some big differences if we compare both films, but i don´t feel that this damage this film too much. I think director Tommy Lee Wallace knew he could not make the sequel look exactly like the first film so he did something he felt could make this sequel fun. Keeping the characters of Charley and Peter Vincent is of course the highlight of this films seeing them work together. The chemistry between William Ragsdale and Roddy McDowall is very clearly working in this sequel as well. Is the acting performances from them both as good as the original film? I would say that perhaps the performances are stronger in the first film but i still enjoy their performances in this sequel. Let us talk about something that i especially appreciate with Fright Night Part 2 outside of the main characters, and that is the monster gang lead by seductive vampire queen Regine ( played by actress Julie Carmen ). Each of the character of this gang have different personalities and abilities to attack humans. There is no question that the character of Regine is the most interesting evil character, but i do enjoy the roller blades vampire character known as Belle, played by actor Russel Clark. We even have a werewolf here as well in the gang called Louie ( played by actor Jon Gries, mostly known as Uncle Rico in Napoleon Dynamite ). Now we have to talk about some of the problems with this sequel. It becomes very clear that Fright Night Part 2 is nowhere near as good as the original film. The scares in this film are weaker and the horror elements that made the original film so good doesn´t work in this sequel. I also feel that director Tommy Lee Wallace could not capture the true atmosphere from the original film either as director Tom Holland did. With all of this said i can still appreciate this film for at least trying to tell a different story of Charley and Peter Vincent. Fright Night Part 2 does have some issues but thanks to the vampire queen Regine i can actually have some fun with this sequel. Director Tommy Lee Wallace made a sequel to Fright Night that will most likely entertain 80´s vampire fans and especially Fright Night addicts. If you can accept some flaws with this film and take it for what it is you might actually enjoy yourself. Fright Night Part 2 knows what audience it is aiming for and im definetely a part of that audience.

Rating: DDD

Fear The Night

I don´t know about you but there are some TV series that stick on my mind for a number of reasons. TV series that you enjoyed watching, epsecially because of the main actor of the whole show. That is exactly why i enjoyed watching the 2010 Tv series known as Nikita with actress Maggie Q ( yes the bad ass chick from Die Hard 4.0 ). Nikita was exactly the kind of TV series i could just turn on just to enjoy myself watching classic assassination action. It was in no way intelligent or ground breaking, it was just pure action entertainment. I should probably mention that Nikita TV series is based on the 1990 cult classic French action film Nikita from director Luc Besson. If you have not seen Nikita TV series with Maggie Q i would recommend that you check it out. Speaking of actress Maggie Q she have done quite a lot of films in her career so far. And it´s not only action films, she have tried other genres as well such as the 2020 comedy The Argument. She have also tried doing horror films as well and especially one of them that i enjoyed is called Death Of Me. Released in 2020 from director Darren Lynn Boseman, this film tells the story of a couple on vacation in Thailand who discover a very strange video of themselves killing each other. Did this really happen or is there another explanation to this video? Death Of Me is actually quite a different kind of horror film than i usually see. Is it original in any way? Perhaps not but i do think the plot of this film is interesting. I know some movie critics would disagree with me but i would actually recommmend you to check it out. Maggie Q released a new film this year called Fear The Night that seemed to be a home invasion thriller, and since i am a fan of this genre i was curious to see if this film would be any good. Is it possible Fear The Night is one of the better home invasion thrillers in recent years, or should you watch the excellent home invasion film You´re Next ( my favourite film in this specific genre ) instead?

A group of female friends gather to celebrate a bachelorette party in a cabin out in the desert. What they don´t know is that a grop of criminals are looking for something hidden in their cabin and they are willing to kill anyone who stands in their way.

If you for some reason were hoping for a surprising twist or anything original in Fear The Night, i can tell you right away you are not going to find it here. This is a quite a typical home invasion thriller that we have seen in the past, the only difference is that this is actually a bachelorette party that gets invaded by strangers. Not a bad idea itself since there are plenty of films taking on the subject of a bachelorette party. Since i know actress Maggie Q have done several action films and she have proved herself to be good at doing physical action roles, i will have to say that Fear The Night is actually a disappointment. The idea surrounding criminals attacking a house out in the middle of nowhere with crossbows to attack is actually a fun idea. Why use a gun if you can kill people with arrows and no one will hear you shooting someone? On a positive note this film starts off pretty good with the women gathering to go celebrate together. Even the bachelorette party also starts off promising. I especially enjoy the performance of actor Geoff Pierson ( who you might recognize from TV series Dexter ) as Sheriff Bullard, too bad he wasn´t in more scenes in this film. Ok so let´s get into the problems with this film and let us begin with the criminals. If you want to make the attack scenes more effective you have to have cool evil characters. These men in this film are not good at portraying dangerous criminals. You don´t really feel threatened by them that much at all, perhaps only their leader might be the only one that at least does some kind of effort to look unstable. What about the acting? I wouldn´t say all of the actors are completely terrible, it´s just that their characters are not very interesting. You don´t really connect with any of the girls really other than Maggie Q´s character Tess. Speaking of Maggie Q i feel that she´s holding too much back in this film. She should have been killing more, show her survival mode even more than what we get in Fear The Night. Is this a horrible survival thriller? No, it´s just a little too boring to be honest. If you want to make a home invasion thriller work you have to put in some effort into the attacking scenes. Director Neil LaBute ( who directed the great thriller Lakeview Terrace ) have some cool ideas surrounding Fear The Night. It´s a shame he didn´t work harder on them and we might actually have a cool home invasion thriller here. As it stands now i don´t think many people will remember Fear The Night once they have watched this film.

Rating: DD

No One Will Save You

I remember back in the 90´s when my father made a phone call to me. This was a couple of years after my parents divorced and he was living in a summer cabin that he turned into a new home. So to this phone call, i remember how surprised i was when he told me what he just had experienced. It was early morning when he called me and this apparently happened at night time. A red light have been covering the cabin and my father witnessed some kind of flying object over his cabin. The specific details regarding the red light seemed very important since it was quite strong what i could understand. I tried to see if my father could remember any details regarding the flying object but what i understand it was difficult to see precisely since the red light was so strong. Either way it was a story that fascinated several family members for many years to come. Did he actually see a flying object over his cabin or was it something else? I have no idea honestly, i wasn´t there so i can´t say what this was. If i remember correctly he also mentioned this in a 90´s magazine who interviewed him regarding his experiences with spirits. All i remember was that a neighbor called Stig living on my mother´s street showed us the magazine, and i had no idea he would be in it. My father have since then met other flying objects, especially in a wheat field like a glowing bowl of some kind. Is this an alien life form visiting us? I am sure UFO experts would believe this is true, and i can´t say it´s all a lie since i wasn´t there. I am though fascinated about life on another planet and i wouldn´t be surprised if there is some kind if life form somewhere in a galaxy. Speaking of aliens most of you know how much i love the 1993 sci fi abduction drama Fire In The Sky. But there is an alien film i feel doesn´t get mentioned very often called Extraterrestrial from director Colin Minihan. A film about a group of friends going to a cabin over a weekend to enjoy themselves and are suddenly attacked by an alien life form trying to take them. Extraterrestrial may not be the best alien abduction film but definetely one of the more fun ones to watch. It´s actually really good looking and i think the alien scenes are effective. I especially enjoy legendary actor Michael Ironside as the character Travis who seems to know about these visitors. If you love alien horror films you should pick this film up on DVD or Blu Ray. Speaking of aliens not that long ago this autumn a new alien film called No One Will Save You Was released on streaming. I heard some positive reviews on this film and was curious to see if it would be any good. Is this a film that most horror fans will appreciate or is No One Will Save You not worth your precious time at all ?

Brynn ( Kaitlyn Dever ) lives alone on the outskirts of town, finding solace from her loneliness thrugh crafts, penning letters, and picking up new hobbies. One night she wakes up hearing strange noices from outside. She soon finds out that shes not alone in this house, that someone else have entered. It becomes clear this is no human either which makes things far more complicated.

I think it was a very clever choice to have a main character in No One Will Save You that really stands out in a smaller town. The character of Brynn really loves living in the past with her old fashioned dress, making her own dresses and building a smaller miniature village. This really make her more interesting since she clearly doesn´t like new technolgy and prefer writing letters by hand and creating things the old school way. She does have a TV but clearly doesn´t like using it since she keeps herself busy being creative. Actress Kaitlyn Dever ( who i especially remember from the really good Netflix mini series Unbelievable ) gives a solid performance as this young woman who is forced to not only try to survive but deal with a lot of trauma after losing her best friend in the past. It could have been another ordinary alien film but No One Will Save You make a different approach where this film is a mix of a home invasion film combined with influences from classics such as Invaders Of The Body Snatchers. The alien design looks like something similar to grey aliens with some body changes, who are also able to communicate with each other without using telepathy. Ok, so we have talked about some of the positive details about this film so we might as well get into something negative. Some of the CGI alien attack scenes could have been done better, i wouldn´t say it looks terrible but there is especially one scene where Brynn is attacked by an alien and you can sense that they must have done a lot of editing to fix that specific scene. The humans who have their bodies invaded by this alien life form should have been used more effective, where i would have liked to see something similar to the 1998 classic The Faculty. Overall, i still find myself having some fun with No One Will Save You. It is definetely not the best alien films i have seen, or will become a future cult film for UFO fans but will most likely be appreciated if you enjoy sci fi. The best way to describe who this film is for is fans who loves stories regarding space and extraterrestrial beings. Director Brian Duffield is clearly interested in the possiblility of another life form in space. Even though No One Will Save You have some issues this is still a film that´s far more better than any Kevin Sorbo faith based films, and that alone tells you why you should give No One Will Save You a chance. 

Rating: DDD

The Last Voyage Of The Demeter

A lot of people worldwide still love to read physical books, while some prefer sound books or digital books. I personally prefer physical books because i can pick it up anytime i want and read it without using any technology. Usually i do not read a lot of books every year, simply because it takes a long time for me to just finish one book. I am not one of those people who can finish a book over a weekend, i like to take my time and read one peacefully. I used to read more in the early 2000´s when i visited the local library more often, and looking back it was actually quite nice going there to find interesting books. It was here i saw the cover of the classic book Dracula from author Bram Stoker. I have seen the film Bram Stoker´s Dracula that is based on this book back in 1992 with Gary Oldman, Anthony Hopkins, Keanu Reeves in cinema back in those days but i didn´t read the book until later. So after looking at it at the library i decided to buy myself a copy. For those who have not read the book, Dracula is a book inspired by historical figures such as Wallachian prince Vlad The Impaler or the countess Elizabeth Báthory. The book tells the story of Jonathan Harker, a newly qualified English solicitor, visits Count Dracula at his castle in the Carpathian Mountains to help the Count purchase a house near London. When things go wrong with three vampire women at the Dracula castle Jonathan escapes and ends up delerious in a Budapest hospital while Dracula takes a ship called the Demeter for England with boxes of earth from his home. He have some big plans ahead of him. The story of Dracula is a very powerful story and very fascinating to read. Even though you know this is not based on any true story it is still to this day a really good book. Speaking of the book of Dracula, in August this year a film based on a portion of the Dracula book went up in cinemas called The Last Voyage Of The Demeter, specifically focusing on the Demeter journey with Dracula on board. I got myself a blu ray copy of this film curious to see if this is any good. Is it possible this is the perfect horror film to watch this Christmas, or should you throw this one in the sea and watch Bram Stoker´s Dracula instead?

On August 6, 1897, the merchant ship Demeter washes ashore in England. Among the wreckage found by the police is the log kept by her Captain Elliot ( Liam Cunningham ). One month earlier, the Demeter makes port in Varna, Bulgaria to pick up cargo for transportation to London. The shipment, consisting of multiple large wooden crates, is transported by locals from Romania. However, the locals refuse to load the cargo on the ship when they see a dragon sign on one of the boxes. That is a bad sign and the locals refuse to continue their work, and they insist that they must leave the area before sundown. Captian Elliot manage to get the men he needs and thier journey towards England begin. They have no idea what is waiting for the crew on board this ship.

This is the kind of horror film that is specifically enjoyable for fans of Dracula or for those who have read the book of Dracula. When you only use a specific piece of a story from a book you have to be able to make it work on the big screen. And honestly i do feel that The Last Voyage Of The Demeter manage to construct a whole film from just a piece of a story. Let´s get into some of the details i feel makes this film interesting. The time period surrounding 1897 is captured pretty good through costume design, and especially when we see the merchant ship Demeter that looks great. Details such as how men worked together on a big merchant ship is also captured well here. Draula himself have an interesting and actually pretty effective look when you think about how many films have been made telling a story about him. They could have done the Christopher Lee look just to make it look old school, instead we get to have some fun for a change and actually see Dracula attack in different ways. I enjoy the performance of legendary actor Liam Cunningham ( probably most known for playing Davos Seaworth in TV series Game Of Thrones ) as Captain Elliot. He really feel so natural in this character that it´s easy to enjoy his screen presence. I also feel that actress Aisling Franciosi ( who did a really good performance in the Australian psychological thriller The Nightingale, definetely worth checking out ) as the character Anna is one of the most interesting characters in this film. So what issues do i have with The Last Voyage Of Demeter? I personally feel that some of the characters on board this ship could have delivered stronger performances. You can almost sense that certain actors didn´t take their roles as serious as they should have and become pretty dull to watch some of their dialogue scenes. Thankfully this film is still good enough to at least be interesting because of the background story of the voyage with Dracula. Director André Overdal ( who directed one of my personal favourite horror film of 2016 called The Autopsy Of Jane Doe ) have made a beautiful horror film that´s actually effective at certain times, even though i would have liked this film to be a little more brutal. The Voyage Of The Demeter is no vampire classic in any way but is solid enough to entertain fans of this specific genre. I suggest you pick up a blu ray copy of this film as well, if you want a cozy Christmas in the company of pure evil. To me that does sound like my kind of Christmas celebration.

Rating: DDD

Soul Mates

Most people dream about finding that special partner who you feel is the one you want to spend your life with. Some people are very lucky finding someone while for some people it is much more difficult finding that special one. I have always believed that you should´t look too much but just see what happens. Let´s say if you go out dancing, don´t set up too high expectations and just enjoy the evening instead. If you do meet someone and you enjoy spending time with that person, just take it from there and see what happens. I remember during my single years in my early 20´s, i wasn´t even looking for relationships but ended up in one with a girl named Marie. She was obsessed in the James Cameron film Titanic and watched it every week, even played the sountrack CD constantly. After we broke up i promised myself that im not going into a relationship with a Titanic obssessed woman again, it was too much to handle hearing Titanic soundtrack on repeat. Speaking of relationships i enjoy watching short films now and then. I usually don´t watch a lot of them simply because i usually watch full feature films instead. You might think short films are easy to do but there is quite a lot of work behind a short film if you really want people to notice your film. It has to have a interesting story or have great characters included. One short film i remember from this year that i watched on the YouTube channel Omeleto is a short film called Vanilla. Directed by Chase Pearson this short films is about single man known as Clark ( Aaron Latta-Morissette ) who goes on a date with Helen ( Melanie Rains ). It turns out that Helen have a very strange request that Clark did not expect. Vanilla is a charming story about dating gone terribly wrong and if you enjoy short films you should check it out on YouTube channel Omeleto. I had an oppurtunity to see a short film called Soul Mates from director Michelle Tomlison. I have not seen any of her previous films so far, so i was curious to see what Soul Mates is all about. Is this one of the better short films this year so far or is it not as good as i was hoping it would be?

Sean ( Jim Sea ) arrives home from the hospital to tell his wife Abby ( Kristine Isom ) some bad news. He is ill and may not live very long, so they begin to plan vacations to enjoy their final moments together before Sean is ready to pass on. One day in bed Abby watches her husband fall asleep for good, which is breaking her apart. They have lived so many years together and now she has to adjust to a life on her own.

If you are not a fan of dramatic full feature films or short films in this category, this might not be what you are looking for. However, if you want to see a beautiful story being told about an older couple going through their last moment together i guarantee you will be emotionally affected. The scene where the character Sean ( Jim Sea ) tells his wife Abby ( Kristine Isom ) he doesn´t have much time left, you would have to be a very cold person if that scene doesn´t make you cry. I think what especially makes that scene strong is the performance by actors Jim Sea and Kristine Isom, they really try to capture this sad moment through their acting. I personally think this is the best part of the short film Soul Mates and i wish it would have lasted a few more minutes with the magical screen presence of Jim Sea and Kristine Isom, i really love their dialogue scenes. So when we get to the scene where the character Nigel ( Josh Horton ) meets Poppy ( Sydney Carvill ) it is a sweet story but it´s just not as powerful as the story of Sean and Abby. There is no doubt that Soul Mates is a beautiful short film that will definetely make you think about how important it is to live life filled with good memories, knowing that one day it will end. Director Michelle Tomlinson deliver a short film that does not only look really good but also have a very important message with Soul Mates that i believe a lot of people worldwide can relate to. If you love to see stories that are meant to make you feel the atmosphere and emotions from a powerful story, Soul Mates will definetely find it´s way into your heart.

Rating: DDD

A Royal Christmas Crush

A christmas without Hallmark Channel, is that even possible? I am afraid so since these films get millions of people watching every year. People love Hallmark christmas movies more than anything, and i mean love them i mean in every possible way. Even more than their own husbands, just ask any married woman and i can guarantee they will agree. No matter what you personally think about Hallmark Channel you can not deny they don´t know what they are doing. They produce these films knowing that this is for a certain audience who loves romantic stories and who dream of finding your lifetime partner. Over the last 20 years at least i have seen some Hallmark Channel christmas films on TV. While some have not been so good ther have been a few that you could at least watch without getting seizures. For example back in 2019 i reviewed the Hallmark christmas movie The Mistletoe Secret and didn´t give it a horrible rating, but that was because of Dallas actor Patrick Duffy and his charming character Mack Eubanks. In some ways you could say that Patrick Duffy saved the film The Mistletoe Secret from being another generic Hallmark film because of his screen presence. I might as well add that he did deliver the best dialogue scenes as well in this film. Every year i try to go through some titles from Hallmark Channel or Lifetime movies ( even though i personally prefer Lifetime thrillers ). Since i try to review some Christmas movie every year if possible, i decided to have a look aroun what Hallmark have released this year so far. After going through a whole list that never seemed to end, i decided to pick a film called A Royal Christmas Crush. I didn´t watch any trailer and only saw the poster for this film just to know as little as possible. Is this the greatest christmas movie of this year or should you run and hide underneath the avalanches, hoping you never see this film in daylight again?

Ava Jensen ( Katie Cassidy ) accepts the oppurtunity to work at the Royal Ice Hotel, where the Royal family of Friorland is coming to stay. While all the work is done and the Royal Ice Hotel is ready to welcome their guests, the Royal family arrives and Ava suddenly have eye contact with Prince Henry ( Stephen Huszar ). It might seem innocent at first but as they get to know each other on a personal level, something magical is about to happen.

Ok people, we need to talk.

I can accept bad acting and horrible dialogue if it´s done in a charming way. I can even accept a horrible story as long as the film is entertaining.

But come on, what the hell is this Hallmark Channel?

A Royal Christmas Crush is a 82 minutes long romantic christmas drama that may please housewife mothers, other than that i don´t believe you will find many more who will enjoy this film. This is one of the christmas Hallmark films that have such terrible acting that you will wonder who on earth thought this cast would be perfect for A Royal Christmas Crush? I got bored already after watching this film for 15 minutes and i knew i had to suffer at least 1 hour and 7 minutes more before the film ends. And when you feel like this after 15 minutes of play time i think that is a sign that this is a truly awful start. Let us begin talking about the character of Prince Henry ( i promise this is not a parody of Prince Harry ) played by actor Stephen Huszar. In this film it´s supposed to look like he is around 30 years old, when in fact in real life he is almost 40 years old. The problem with that is that you can tell he isn´t 30 years old and definetely looks much older. I realise that people may age differently so it´s not to judge someone´s personal look, but when it becomes obvious you are playing a character that doesn´t even seem to be younger than his own parents, it does look quite strange. The acting from Stephen Huszar is just as exciting as watching chestnuts roasting over an open fire. Actress Katie Cassidy ( who can be seen in the 2006 horror film Black Christmas as well ) is in this film and...not much else?. She looks lovely and i am sure she is a nice woman but her acting is not good. The other characters in this film don´t really bring anything special to their characters. What about the story? There is a story here but i promise you will not remember it after watching this film. Anything positive to say? The inside of the ice royal ice hotel does look nice and that´s about it. A Royal Christmas Crush will definetely go down in the year of 2023 as the most forgettable christmas movie of this year. Director Marita Grabiak directed 7 episodes of the classic TV series Angel between the years 2001 - 2003 and have directed quite a lot of christmas films since then. I would suggest that she should return to the Angel formula and give us a film similar to that TV series instead of films such as A Royal Christmas Crush. Whiskey anyone? If not i might need a lot of it after my experience with this film.

Rating: D

Sly

There are some actors who have a very magical screen presence, no matter what film category they choose to take on. To be able to have that something special you have to be able to play characters that people can relate to or feel a connection with. Just look at legendary actor Robert De Niro´s performance as Rubert Pupkin in Martin Scorsese´s classic The King Of Comedy. What can we relate with a character such as Rupert? I think if we especially know someone who is struggling with mental health, or had a difficult child hood not being like everyone else. The fact that Rupert is obsessed about becoming a star showed a realistic portrait of a man who is not in control, or know how to behave like a normal human being. Rupert is simply himself only, even though he should have gotten help a long time ago. If you have not seen this film on a physical copy or streaming you should check it out. Since i mentioned Robert De Niro we have to talk about a completely different legendary actor. One of those actors who have had an incredible career in Hollywood is of course legendary actor Sylvester Stallone. For most people he is of course mostly known for his iconic character Rocky Balboa, while some people think of Rambo of course. But there are so many other films Sylvester Stallone did in his career that it is easy to forget some of the classics you would find in the VHS rental stores. I personally like to think about the 1986 action film Cobra from director George P. Cosmatos ( who also directed Rambo - First Blood II ), where Stallone plays the cop character Marion Corbetti who protects witness Ingrid ( Birgitte Nielsen ) from a murderous cult. Cobra is filled with fun dialogue, plenty of action scenes and hits the right tone for a fun 80´s action film. Not that long ago we could see a documentary film on Netflix about action icon Arnold Schwarzenegger, and now it is time for Sylvester Stallone to get his very own documentary film as well in the Netflix documentary film Sly. Is this one of the better documentary films this year or is Sly not as powerful as we were hoping it would be?

In these days you barely see any Hollywood icons anymore. But back in the 70´s it was a whole different era of actors who made a huge impact on the big screen such as Clint Eastwood, Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Gene Hackman and many more. But one specific actor created 2 very big franchises that have been loved by many generations of movie fans worldwide. Sylvester Stallone created Rocky and gave us Rambo as well. In a new documentary film calle Sly he tells his story how it all started, and how he actually thought about leaving acting.

To fully enjoy a documentary film such a Sly i think it helps to be a fan of at least some of Sylvester Stallone´s films. He talks a lot about how much the character Rocky Balboa means to him personally, but he also tell us how important this character is for fans worldwide. I think the most interesting part of his Rocky conversations is when he gets to the film Rocky V from 1990. A film that actually didn´t do very well at the box office and the film critics did not enjoy the film. You can tell that Stallone was struggling during this time period, because he had some big issues in his personal life that affected a lot of choices they made during the making of Rocky V. I actually would have liked to hear the director of Rocky V known as John G. Avildsen ( director of the first Rocky film as well as Karate Kid 1 - 3 ) talk about the making of this film in a longer interview clip, since Stallone seems to have regrets how this film ended up being. Even though it is fun hearing stories surrounding the rest of the Rocky franchise i personally think it is more interesting where Stallone bring up films such as comedies as Oscar and of course Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot. It becomes very clear that this was a time period where Sly was struggling finding projects that he really enjoyed working on. I have seen both of these films and honestly they are not that good. Of course he knew he had to go back making action films again so he made a very wise decision taking on Demolition Man. We also find out some interesting details as well from Stallone regarding his praised performance in Cop Land, where he in my opinion made one of his best acting performances. I do feel that he should have said something more regarding Cop Land since this is a very unique film in Stallone´s career. Sly is definetely an interesting documentary film and to hear Stallone talking openly all the struggles in life. Remember how i mentioned the character Rupert Pupkin in The King Of Comedy? Stallone may not had the same mental problems as that character, but it becomes clear he suffered as well in many different ways. Sly shows from both sides of his life, his Hollywood life and his personal life filled with struggles. If he only could have given more depth regadring making Cop Land i might have given this documentary film a higher rating but it definetely is worth checking out. Sly is a personal portrait of a true Hollywood legend and will definetely give you a a different perspective on him as a family man. Not sure what to watch this weekend? I suggest you head over to Netflix and give director Thom Zimny´s well made film Sly a watch.

Rating: DDD

The Crisis For Superhero Films, Why We Need Independent Films!

Cheers everyone!

It´s been a very long time since i did one of these blog posts about a specific subject but i feel that this is a good time to bring this up before Christmas arrives. So i think we have all seen how superhero movies have been doing in recent years, where especially films such as Shazam - Fury Of The Gods, The Flash and now recently how the new film The Marvels is doing at the box office. Black Adam may not have done really good but at least wasn´t the biggest box office bomb. People are not interested in seeing superhero films anymore as they used to be and the tickets sales proves that. I know there are a lot of comic book fans out there who love seeing these new films, but clearly both DC Films and Marvel Studios doesn´t make films that pull in the ticket sales that they need to make some kind of profit. But i believe i know what to do about this situation what more cinemas should be thinking about. 

What do you do when you see empty cinema seats and you know the audience want to see a new film?

You bring in independent films into the bigger cinemas instead to show the audience that just because a film doesn´t cost 200 million U.S. dollars doesn´t make the film bad. In fact there is a lot of independent films that doesn´t get discovered because the bigger studios have the money to promote their films that independent film studios doesn´t have. What they do have though is great quality films that should be experienced on the big screen so actors you have never heard of might get a chance to be seen, as well as film makers also get a chance to show that they are actually talented directors. I have seen a lot of independent films over 30 years in all categories from a lot of different directors and honestly i am more interested in what independent films are doing these days than the bigger film studios. Just look at directors such as Harley Wallen and his latest film Beneath Us All that should be running on screens across all over Sweden and Scandinavia this year, unfortunately that is not the case. But my hope is that in the future we do see Harley Wallen films showing here, because he and many other independent film directors deserve more respect for the hard work they do making these quality films.

Will for example the new The Marvels become a box office bomb this year? As it looks now it seems to be doing poorly at the box office and i think it really shows a perfect example of why superhero movies isn´t as popular as they used to be. So cinemas worldwide i think we need a change, and give indpenendent film makers a chance to show their films and let you see talented actors that doesn´t get the respect they deserve. Hopefully we will see a change coming and i personally hope to do a cameo role in an independent film as well, since i review a lot of titles and would love to actually show up in a film. If that happens i guess we well see but i definetely think people should be supporting independent films. Watch them on Shudder, Tubi, Amazon Prime, most of all rent them if you can or buy physical films such as myself.

Until my latest reviews shows up in here, remember that Commando Ninja II - American Invasion is getting closer to get a release date so stay tuned and remember....the more bullets you use, the more clearer it becomes you are on the right path.

Cheers from Daniel!

Quicksand

Every summer i like to go to a lake and just relax. I go swimming for a while, try some fishing to see if im lucky and i always go look for dead wood just lying around to make a fire. Making a fire by the lake is such a pleasent moment. Usually i bring out hot dogs and make them by the fire and enjoy them with mustard, dried garlic, boston cucumber, cucumber mayonnaise and some ketchup. Since i usually drive to this lake i can´t drink any strong alcohol so i bring alcohol free beer instead. That´s ok because it is still beer that taste good. I think we need moments like these just to get out of the city traffic, focus on ourselves instead where you don´t need to stress. Just to experience nature surroundings and hopefully enjoy a day in the sun. What if you were caught in a very complicated situation in a forest where you have no other option but try and survive? This is exactly what a couple got to experience in the 2014 survival thriller Backcountry from director Adam MacDonald ( who directed 8 episodes of the great crime drama TV series Tribal, worth checking out ). Backcountry is basically about a couple who get lost in the forest and is forced to face a predatory black bear and try and find a way to survive. Backcountry is definetely a survival thriller that may have a simple plot but is effective, especially the survival battle. How do you handle a situation like this when you have no other option but fight for your survival? If you love nature films and thrillers as well, i think Backcountry is worth checking out. For a while i have read about a survival thriller that came out a while ago called Quicksand that looked interesting. I am a fan of survival film in general, as long as they have an interesting plot. Is Quicksand one of the films you should put on your watch list or is this film just as horrible as Take That´s cover version of Nirvana´s classic Smells Like Teen Spirit?

Sofia ( Carolina Gaitan ) and her husband Josh ( Allan Hawco ) are getting a divore but have decided to go together to Colombia and Sofia follow her husband to go hiking in the Colombian wilderness. While walking around they notice that a stranger is trying to break into their car, Josh decides to try to talk to the man but he is armed and ready to shoot them both. Sofia and Josh run away as Sofia accidently falls into quicksand. She is almost drowning until Josh jumps into save her. Now both are stuck inside this quicksand not knowing if anyone will find them.

One thing that actually makes Quicksand interesting is that the couple in the film have decided to divorce, and knowing that they are both stuck in quiksand definetely makes things complicated. They don´t love each other as they used to and now they have to find a way to help each other out. I believe when we are forced to survive we have to find a way to get along, even if someone would be enemies and we can actually learn from that situation. That´s exactly what this couple are forced to do, understand why it is important to help each other even if life have changed between them. Especially when we find out they are parents then you understand instantly why they are forced to do everything they can to survive. For a survival thriller i have to say Quicksand works pretty good even though we mostly see scenes from the quicksand itself. The discussions between this couple makes you realise that they become very aware that they should be thankful about many things in life, especially when you are stuck like this not knowing if they ever will be found. The acting from actors Carolina Gaitan and Alan Hawco ( who you probably will recognize as the character Douglas Brown in the Netflix series Frontier ) is actually good and i do feel they have a good screen chemistry. There is a side story as well regarding a criminal who attacked the couple in this forest but that story is not as interesting as the survival plot. If you are looking for a original thriller i can tell you right away that Quicksand will probably disappoint you. However, if you enjoy survival films then this is definetely worth checking out. Director Andres Beltran use the nature scenes in a effective way and actually manage to capture the panic of being stuck, especially in a scene where a snake attacks. Even if this is no classic in any way in the survival category, Quicksand delivers a solid thriller that can actually show you the danger of being in nature. I think i will stick to my lake fires from now on and not go too deep into the forest after watching Quicksand.

Rating: DDD

The Nun 2

One of the three trips i did to Scotland back in the 2000´s i especially remember walking among some of the most historical parts of Edinburgh. There are some very interesting places to visit in this city and especially if you want to hear stories from the plague during the year of 1350. I remember visiting an exhibition that showed artifacts from this time period as well as giving information on what happened during this time period. Once i had looked around and this exhibition we continued to some other different historical buildings in other areas in the city. I remember passing by St Catharine´s Convent, a Catholic convent of the Sisters Of Mercy and a centre for the homeless in Edinburgh. As we were passing by i was thinking as i looked across this huge convent how important it is to have nuns like these helping people in need. Just imagine how much a meal matter to the people who have nothing, just being able to eat. Nuns have been seen in several films no matter if we are talking about a drama film, a comedy or even a horror film with nuns. I thought it would be interesting to bring up a film that probably not many of you remember or have seen at all. If i say the title Agnes Of God does that ring any bell ? If not it is actually a good drama mystery film from 1985 from director Norman Jewison ( director of the really good crime drama ....And Justice For All with Al Pacino ). Agnes Of God tells the story of psychiatrist doctor Martha Livingston ( Jane Fonda ) begin looking into what happened to a pregnant nun who were found dead at a Roman Catholic convent in Montreal. Agnes Of God is actually an interesting story where you see what might happen when faith can cause damage as well. Even if Jane Fonda does a great performance, a very young Jennifer Tilly steals the show as the nun Sister Agnes. Definetely worth checking out if you want to see a good crime drama. Speaking of nuns most of you have probably seen the Demon Nun ( Bonnie Aarons ) in The Conjuring 2 and later on in her own film The Nun back in 2018. I enjoyed parts of The Nun but remember having issues with some of the acting and lack of really scary scenes. So here we are with a sequel The Nun 2 that i sat down to watch on HBO Max. Is this a better sequel to The Nun is or this just as bad as Lindsay Lohan´s 2004 solo album Speak?

In 1956, Father Noiret ( Pascal Aubert ) and young Jacques ( Maxime Elias-Menet ) perform their daily chores in their church in Tarascon, France. While investigating a disturbance, Father Noire is raised into the air, set on fire, and burned to death before a terrified Jacques who then flees. Four years following the events at Saint Cartha´s monestary, Sister Irene ( Taissa Farmiga ) now serves in a convent in Italy. Suddenly Sister Irene is dispatched by the Cardinal to investigate a series of deaths across Europe, attributed by the demon Valak ( Bonnie Aarons ), due to her previous experience with the demon. She travels to Tarascon with the help of Sister Debra ( Storm Reid ) to face the demon again. 

One of the big issues i had with the first The Nun movie was that there were not a lot of scary scenes in the film. A couple of scenes were alright while other scenes felt too simple and should have been constructed more effective. I am happy to say that The Nun 2 does not only work better as a horror film but also deliver better acting than in the first film. There are some other details i also appreciate about this sequel so let´s talk about that for a while. I really enjoy that this film takes place in the year of 1960 in France. The costume design feels realistic and the old buildings match perfectly with the environment. I also feel that this films looks really good thanks to cinematographer Tristan Nyby ( who also worked on The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It ) who clearly knew what this film needed to capture the right look for this type of horror film. If the first film didn´t manage to scare as much with the character Demon Nun, i can happily say actress Bonnie Aarons works better this second time around as the evil nun. She may not use dialogue, but just the way she stares at her victims and use her face is quite effective. Lead actress Taissa Farmiga ( who also stars in the first The Nun film as well ) definetely gives a stronger performance in this sequel. It is like she listened to the feedback from the first film and actually improved her acting. There is especially one scene i love with a magazine and newspaper stand that looks really good. So anything negative to say? Perhaps there are a small details such as CGI effects that could have been improved. Otherwise i don´t have much to complain about since this film is actually better than i expected. Director Michael Chaves ( director of The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It ) proves that you can make a great sequel if you find a way to capture the right tone for a horror film such as this. The Nun 2 may not be a future classic but is definetely one of the better horror releases this year. 

Rating: DDD

Sound Of Freedom

Every child should have the right to have a normal childhood where they live in a safe home, with people who make sure they are taken care of and feel loved. A lot of parents worldwide take good care of their children as well as family members. But what happens when your child is suddenly taken by a stranger and no one knows where your child is? This has to be one of the worst nightmares possible for any parent, not knowing if your child is ok or even alive. Unfortunately child trafficking is still today a very big problem worldwide and a lot of pedophiles worldwide work together to find new victims. Not all of them work together of course, some of them work on their own and find children online. No matter what country these pedophiles operate or no matter what they do in society, everyone of them should be locked up for life. Personally i would all want them all to be tortured to death but i know that is not allowed. When it comes to films regarding sex trafficking there are a couple of titles i have seen in the past that are powerful and disturbing for a number of reasons. One of my personal favourite films is actuall a Swedish film from director Lukas Moodyson who in the year of 2002 released his sex child trafficking film Lilya 4-ever. A very disturbing and powerful drama film that tells the story of 16-year-old Lilya Michailova ( Oksana Akinshina ) who lives with her mother. One day her mother suddenly decides to abandon Lilya to move with her boyfriend to America and leave her daughter with her aunt instead. Things doesn´t go well between Lilya and her aunt either so Lilya hangs out with her best friend Natasha ( Elina Benenson ) where she tries to talk Lilya into becoming a prostitute. Lilya refuses but ends up being raped by a group of young boys. Lilya finally thinks she will find hapiness with a young man she met, Andrei ( Pavel Ponomarypv ), who becomes her boyfriend and convinces her to move to Sweden. What Lilya doesn´t know is that Andrei have tricked her into seeing a pimp who imprisons her and rape her. Lilya 4-ever is a very strong film that should be seen, in my opinion the best film from director Lukas Moodyson. A film that really show the evil world of child trafficking. This year a film known as Sound Of Freedom made a lot of buzz in the media and online after doing really well at the box office, beating out big summer movies such as Indiana Jones And The Dial Of Destiny. A film that takes on the very serious issue of child trafficking and how big this problem is worldwide. I got a chance to finally watch the film and the question is, is this one of the best films of the year or is this film hyped too much in media?

In 2013, Roberto Aguilar ( José Zúniga ) a poor father of two from Tegucigalpa, Honduras, is approached by a former beauty queen, Giselle ( Yessica Borroto ). She offers to sign his young children, Rocio Aguilar ( Cristal Aparicio ) and Miguel Aguilar ( Lucás Ávila ), to child modeling contracts. He accepts and take them to the photoshoot. When he returns to pick his children up they are gone. It is revealed that the children were sold to be used as sex slaves. In Calexico, California, Tim Ballard ( Jim Caviezel ) is a Special Agent for the Homeland Security Investigations ( HSI ). His job is taking a lot of toll on his personal life, considering how much horrible material he get to see finding pedophiles during the operations. He tricks a pedophile that they arrested Ernst Orshinsky ( Kris Avedisian ) that he also is a pedophile to get information out of him. Ernst believe Tim is also interested in children and give him very important information that helps Tim save the child Miguel from a pedophile. He meets Miguel´s father who thanks him for bringing his son back, but his daughter is still missing out there. Tim decides to take a very big risk and do an operation that is not approved by anyone, just to get Rocio and other children back to their families who are trapped in Colombia.

I have not personally heard more than two interviews with Timothy Ballard that this film is based on, regarding his work hunting down sex traffickers so i only know that this film is loosely based on the work that he did. What is true or not of the facts we find out in this film? It is possible that some details may have happened in real life and they decided to try and make a film trying to show how he and his team worked to catch criminals in action. I know he have been accused by five women of doing sexual acts on them during his operations. I have no idea if this is true or not so i choose to look at the film itself of what it is trying to say. The most important message of Sound Of Freedom is that no child should be living as a sex slave for anyone, no matter what age we are talking about. The film manage to get this message out there in a way that´s either too violent or show any sexual content. Since this is a very sensitive subject regarding child trafficking it´s hard not to be emotional by a film such as this. Especially when you find out how many children are victims out there worldwide, it is hard to believe we live in such an evil world where adults are attracted to innocent children. Lead actor Jim Caviezel ( perhaps mostly known from Mel Gibson drama film The Passion Of The Christ ) plays the character of Tim Ballard deliver a performance that may divide the audience. He doesn´t use a lot of dialogue in certain scenes but use more facial expressions and emotions as he tries to deal with the situation regaring missing children. I personally feel that Jim manage to portrait Tim in a way that matches well with the story and his profession. One of the performances that really stands out is the character Vampiro played by actor Bill Camp ( who is excellent in the Netflix mini series The Queen´s Gambit, a must watch ). Actor Gerardo Taracena also deliver a solid performance as the dangerous El Alacrán ( The Socrpion ). Sound Of Freedom may not be a film everyone can watch if they are too sensitive but it is a film that should be seen to show the crule world of child trafficking. Director Alejandro Monteverde clearly wanted this story to be told to make people aware of that you can´t trust anyone completely. Sound Of Freedom is a film that will affect you, i can promise you that.

Rating: DDD

Nowhere

I will never forget my visit at the sea border between Spain and Marocco back in 2002. We came by boat to Marocco and one of the first things i encountered at the beach border was seeing families wanting to leave Marocco to start a new life in Spain. Some of the families only had a plastic bag of clothes and nothing else. I remember especially one father of 2 children trying to climb over a barricade, where border patrol threatned him with guns if he didn´t get down. Imagine seeing this with your very own eyes, a desperate father just trying to make a better life for his children and wife, being threatened with guns. This is an image i have never forgotten and this is exactly 21 years ago. I remember i asked a man who was one the same boat as me, if this is something he sees very often. And he said:- Yes everytime i go back to the border, it´s not unusual to see families gather to try and get out. This man was a salesman living in Spain but made business in Marocco by selling clothes and shoes. So he would take this boat with supplies instead of flying, because it was cheaper as well. He did tell me that we should be thankful we have a home and we have food on our table. And i agreed with him and started to think about we really don´t have much to complain about. Speaking of refugees there are some very interesting films that i can highly recommend that brings up the subject of refugees. One of the most powerful refugee drama films i have seen is the 2018 drama film Capernaum from director Nadine Labaki. Capernaum tells the story of the young boy Zain ( Zain al-Rafeea ), a 12-year-old Lebanese boy who fled from his negligent parents and lived on streets. This is where he meets Ethiopian migrant worker Rahil ( Yordanos Shiferaw ), who provides him with shelter and food, as Zain takes care of her baby son Yonas in return. Zain get in legal trouble and is thrown in jail for commiting a violent crime, but Zain is not giving up seeking justice. This is a film that everyone should see that really capture how difficult life can be for refugees and how you survive on the street. No matter where you find Capernaum on streaming or a physical copy it´s a must watch for everyone. Not that long ago i watched a Spanish thriller called Nowhere that´s basically about refugees but have a very special twist in the plot. So the question is should you watch Nowhere on Netflix or should you find something else to watch there instead?

A young pregnant woman Mia ( Anna Castillo ) tries to flee pregnant with her husband as they are both refugees. As they manage to get on board a container that´s supposed to hide refugees, the border patrol find the secret door and kill everyone where Mia is stuck, while her husband is transfered to another container. Luckily Mia managed to hide up on a box and survive, but as the container is moved from a cargo ship Mia hits her head and faint. She wakes up and see outside the bullet holes in the container that it´s floating out in the ocean. She is all alone with her baby and no one else is anywhere to be seen.

Nowhere feels fascinating when it comes to telling a futuristic and dystopian story from a refuggee perspective. What do i mean by that? Well i would say for two different reasons. First of all the fact that the government give orders to wipe out elderly, children and mothers as well because of over-population and lack of space. This almost feels like we are back in World War II where the nazis wiped out Jewish families but in this film it is done as a more modern take on solving refugee problems. The second detail is that pregnant women are not allowed to be refugees, in fact our main character has to cover her belly to be able to get herself and her husband to safety. Imagine living in a world where a woman being pregnant is considered to be a bad thing, i can´t imagine accepting a society that is this cruel towards women. Just because a woman is a refugee and is pregnant doesnt make her any dangerous at all, in fact she bring hope with a child coming in the future. When the film switches to telling a story surrounding our main character waking up inside of floating container in the sea, this film becomes like a different version of Tom Hanks classis Cast Away. A very interesting idea for a survival themed film and something we have never seen before, at least nothing i have experienced in any survival films from the past. Leac actress Anna Castillo as the main character Mia does a really good performance considering her very difficult situation out in the sea pregnant. To see her try to find ways to get out of the container while being ready to give birth to her child makes the situation extremely difficult. Nowhere is a well made drama thriller that does not only look great but is actually intelligent as well as a survival thriller. Director Albert Pinto deliver a film that definetely give us a different portrait of a pregnant woman in a film that not only manage to capture our attention effective, but also tell a story that´s fascinating. Nowhere is a Spanish thriller that should be experienced on Netflix, especially if you want to see a strong female character in a very complicated situation.

Rating: DDD

Bloodthirst

Imagine living in a future where no one is really safe, where laws are not what they used to be since society has changed. Where clean water is no guarantee and you have to find different ways to survive. Living in an ordinary neighborhood doesn´t exist anymore and there are no traditional schools as they used to be. This may sound like a nightmare for most people but imagine if this was just a small part of how life was? This scenario is exactly what we got in the 2011 post apocalyptic horror film Priest from director Scott Stewart ( who also directed the great 2010 action horror film Legion ). What made Priest such a different film is that they combined action with horror where there is a theocrazy under an organization called The Chuch. Basically a church who serves one special purpose to save human lives. These are trained priests who are chosen to fight against vampires who have caused a lot of damage. The Priests managed to turn the tide. After the war ended between humans and vampires, the Clergy disbanded the Priests since they are no longer needed. One particular Priest ( Paul Bettany )  is approached by Hicks ( Cam Gigandet ), the sheriff of the free town of Augustine. Priest learns that his brother, Owen, and his wife, Shannon, were killed in a vampire attack while his niece Lucy ( Lilly Collins ) was kidnapped. It seems that there are still a group of vampires out there causing chaos and Priest asks the Church to reinstate his autority, but leader Monsignor Orelas ( Christopher Plummer ) does not believe there is any threat of vampires and decline his request. Priest is a fun film for a number of reasons. It is like a cheesy throwback to action films of the 90´s with horror influences included with religious messages. And i do like the idea of the battle between humans and vampires in this apocalyptic world, Definetely worth checking out on streaming or physical media if you appreciate similar films like this. I did not think we would see any apocalyptic vampire film in a while until i heard about Bloodthirst. I didn´t watch the trailer for the film just to avoid knowing as little as possible and just saw the poster instead. Produced by the very well known brothers Sonny Mahal and Michael Mahal who are really creative and have produced films such as Attack Of The Unknown, Death Count, Bridge Of The Doomed and Night Of The Tommyknockers. Bloodthirst is also directed by Michael Su who also directed one of my personal favourite western horror film in recent years Night Of The Tommyknockers. Considering several great titles in the past from Sonny Mahal and Michael Mahal, is Bloodthirst one of their best prodced films so far or is not not as good as i was hoping it would be?

In a post apocalyptic world run by vampires, the only ones who will survive are the ones who strikes back. John Shephard ( Costas Mandylor ), Vampire Hunter, is one of the humans who isn´t afraid to take on a fight against them. John´s main goal is to track down the Vampire Master ( Robert LaSardo ) and end his life, no matter what he has to do.

Imagine if you were inspired by certain ideas from classic films such as The Road Warrior and John Carpenter´s Vampires and made a completely different story. This is one way to explain the concept of Bloodthirst without giving away too much of the plot. Since i have always been of fan of vampire films in general i especially appreciate films that give us a apocalyptic approach. And this especially makes me happy to see that Bloodthirst tries to go the old school way just like James Carpenter´s Vamires did with the desert as a playground. Having vampires in the desert is actually a really good idea since they could easily attack from anywhere here, no matter if they are found in a house or a desert mine. One interesting detail that Bloodthirst does is that the vampires are not harmed by sunlight. They can attack at any hour of the day and that definetely makes them more fearful than the ordinary vampire. Since this film have plenty of characters i feel that we need to talk about some of them. Let us begin with a very well known actor known as Robert LaSardo as the character Vampire Master. I have to say i am impressed how well Robert manage to portait a vampire master, not only in his body language but especially his approach towards each victim. The way he make each victim understand that there is no way out if he have chosen to transform you comes across very clear in his attack scenes. I was especially surprised to see actress Tara Reid here as the character Vampire Queen since i have never seen her do any character like this before. I would have liked to see her do more human attacks considering she is the Vampire Queen but i still enjoy her performance. Outside of the vampire characters there is especially one character i think fits very well in the plot of this film. It is actor Costas Mandylor( who plays the character Hoffman in the Saw franchise ) as the character John Shephard. He almost feels like a combination of Mad Max and Walker Texas Ranger with a futuristic look. Always lovely to see actress Sarah French and im not surprised that she deliver another great character. Bloodthirst may be one of the more interesting vampire films i have seen in recent years for trying to combine different ideas and dare to try a different path in the apocalyptic horror genre. The vampires are effectful and the horror influences are fun enough to make this film entertaining. Director Michael Su deliver another solid film and proves that the vampire genre is surely still alive and doing well. Bloodthirst is not only for you who love some bloody fun but this is also a film especially for vampire fans in general.

Rating: DDD