Two Graves

Every year we get new criminal drama TV series or mini series released on streaming. You have so many really well made crime TV series from Scotland, Ireland, England, France, Germany, and Denmark as well. It doesn´t really matter if it´s about murder cases, sexual molestation cases or any other very serious crime i always find it fascinating seeing how police detective´s investigate each case. I am a fan of criminal TV series in general and i do have a personal favourite on Netflix and that is the 2017 psychological crime thriller TV series known as Mindhunter. One of the reasons why this series is so damn good is because of director´s such as David Fincher ( director of classic thrillers such as Seven and The Game ) and Tobias Lindholm ( who directed the powerful Danish 2015 war drama film A War, definetely worth renting on VOD or pick up a physical copy ). Each director add something unique to each episode that they directed and they clearly understood the importance of capturing the time period to look realistic. The biggest reason why Mindhunter is such a well crafted TV series is the main plot. We follow FBI Agents Holden Ford ( Jonathan Groff ) and Bill Tench ( Holt McCallany ), along with psychologist Wendy Carr ( Anna Torv ). Together they launch a research project to interview imprisoned serial killers to understand their psychology with the hope of applying this knowledge to solve ongoing cases. Knowing that this criminal TV series is based on retired FBI agent John E. Douglas interviews with well known serial killers makes this TV series even more interesting. It must have been incredibly rough hearing these serial killers describe details about their disgusting crimes, and even if we don´t hear too much details in each interview we get a wider picture of each crime. The three main actors Jonathan Groff, Holt McCallany and Anna Torv all deliver strong performances. Definetely worth watching both seasons of Mindhunter on Netflix. Let´s stay within the Netflix community for a while. I sat down and watched a Spanish criminal TV mini series called Two Graves that looked like something i might appreciate. I am a huge fan of Spanish films in general but have not seen that many Spanish TV series yet. Is this a must watch before Christmas arrives or should you watch something completely different on Netflix?

During a night out on town 16-year-old Veronica ( Nadia Vilaplana ) and her friend Mandy disappear. While police begin an investigation trying to track down where the girls were last seen, Veronica´s grandmother Isabelle ( Kiti Mánver ) is completely devastated. Not knowing if her granddaughter is alive or not, she decides to dig deeper into the truth doing her own investigation since police doesn´t seem to find many answers. The more details she finds about the real truth, this also put her in a very serious situation were certain criminal people don´t like nosy people.

One of the things i feel is very important when you are telling a story of a criminal case is that you make the case interesting. Im not talking about you have to show any dead body, but you have to be able to build suspension regarding the investigation. This helps the mystery of the case become more interesting for the viewer. In the case of this Netflix mini series Two Graves i will say that i think they did a pretty good job telling the story regarding a mystery of two teenage girls. At first you may think you know what exactly happened, but as we get to dig deeper into the investigation we see the real truth finally coming out to the surface. Even though the story is well told there is especially one detail that really makes this TV mini series work and that is the acting performance from Spanish actress Kiti Mánver ( who i especially remember from the 2003 Spanish domestic abuse drama film Take My Eyes  ) as the grandmother Isabel. Ever since her grandchild is gone missing she constantly looks for her, at any hours of the day and i personally feel that actress Kiti Mányer manage to capture the tortured soul of a grandmother who want nothing more than her granddaughter to be home back safe. I can´t even imagine the pain you would feel going through something like this, so this performance feels both realistic and powerful. Another really good performance comes from Spanish actor Álvaro Morte playing the criminal character Rafael. This is the kind of character a TV mini series like this needs, especially showing a character that have no sympathy and just want to get the job done. The young female actors also does a good performance so in general i can´t really say anything negative about the acting. It´s a well made TV series that capture the colors of Spain as well as the atmosphere of the rich Spanish family culture. The only detail i do feel could have been more interesting is if we got to see some more intensive police interrogation, there are a few scenes but for some reason i was hoping for a little bit more with some more edge put into the police interrigations. Overall i would say this is a solid TV mini series if you enjoy criminal cases and especially if you enjoy Spanish quality acting. Director Kike Maillo clearly know how to tell a story of a criminal case and proves this by delivering a quality TV mini series on Netflix. Worth a watch if you are looking for something in this category of TV series.

Rating: DDD

Osiris

One of the genres in cinema history that clearly have been struggling at the box office is science fiction. Not every science fiction film is a flop, there are a couple of exceptions of course. But if you take a look at a lot of sci fi films in general there are not many box office hits, while some films only get a very limited screen time or even might head into streaming instead ( because the studio knows they won´t get tickets sold ). I am still a fan of this genre though and even to this day i still appreciate sci fi box office bombs such as the 2008 sci fi action horror films Outlander and The Mutant Chronicles ( which you can see Hellboy actor Ron Perlman in both of these films ). I personally feel that both of these films are worth watching on digital or physical media for different reasons, but if i were to choose one of them just for the fun of it i would go with Outlander. This is almost like a viking version of the 1987 sci fi action classic Predator with some differences of course. To see actor Jim Caviezel as a spaceman who lands of Earth in 709 AD fighting against an alien among viking villages, you got to admit this is a cool concept for a film. What this film does right is to combine viking combats ( to a certain degree ) with modern technology. I will admit the CGI effects on the alien creature may not look as good today, but if you can let that go and just enjoy the film for what it is then you might actually enjoy this one. This is actually the last full feature film that director Howard McCain have done so far, he only directed the short film A Boy´s Life in 2014 after this project. I am hoping to see him return someday, if it is possible. Speaking of science fiction action most movie lovers have seen The Terminator and of course Terminator 2 - Judgement Day by now. One of the most iconic characters in both of these films ( except for Arnold of course ) is Sarah O´Connor played by actress Linda Hamilton. It was especially in the second Terminator film we got to see actress Linda Hamilton become a true action female icon. She did return to the franchise Terminator - Dark Fate which unfortunately became a big box office flop, still worth a watch if you enjoyed previous films in this franchise. Linda decided to do another science fiction action film called Osiris, a film that looked like something similar to Aliens and was released this year. I got myself a physical copy to see if this would be any good. Is this the perfect film for Halloween weekend this year or should Osiris be dumbed in the nearest trash can?

Special Forces commandos are on a mission in the middle east fighting against terrorists, when suddenly the night sky lights up and a space ship abduct the whole Special Forces team. They wake up on board the space ship not knowing where they are or why they are abducted. Who are these visitors and what do they really want?

I might as well warn you if you are not a fan of sci fi action films such as Aliens, Pandorum, Event Horizon or The Last Days Of Mars ( a film that seems to be forgotten in movie discussion forums, which is unfortunate ), then you are definetely not going to enjoy Osiris. This is a sci fi action horror film that is clearly made for fans of Aliens and similar films, and considering how Hollywood is obsessed with making sequels, prequels and remakes i definetely feel that this is the right time for a film like this to get some respect. Let´s just do a classic throwback to the sci fi action films of the 80´s without taking everything seriously, where we throw in big guns, cool looking characters and some cheesy fun dialogue to spice things up. I just have to talk for a moment about the beginning of this film and how the beginning surprised me. It starts of like this is Ridley Scott´s film Black Hawk down where American soldiers take down Islamic terrorists in the middle east and these action scenes are actually quite intensive. Lots of shooting and physical violence, a great way to open a film like this that you think would start inside a spaceship. We do get to the spaceship right after this gun battle and let me tell you i am impressed. The interior design of this spaceship looks cool but most of all the practical make up effects on the aliens looks way better than i expected from make up effects designer Todd Masters ( who worked on the 2008 remake of The Day The Earth Stood Still ). What we do get eventually is almost like a Doom inspired movie ( you remember the popular Doom games from the 90´s and early 2000´s ? ) with battles between army soldiers and aliens. The acting is perhaps not top class all the time from the military force but i think it works considering films like these usually have some characters with terrible acting. I especially enjoy the performance by actor Max Martini ( who played the cool character Herc Hansen in the sci fi action film Pacific Rim ). Actress Brianna Hilderbrand ( from the popular TV series Lucifer ) is the bad ass character Ravi who takes shit from no one. Of course actress Linda Hamilton deliver as always, even though i wish she had more screen time. Osiris is a pure love letter to sci fi horror fans who love the 80´s and if you feel a connection with these words then you are guaranteed to have a good time. Director William Kaufman did a really good job with this film and i would love to see what he works on next. Osiris could be on my list of favourite sci fi films of 2025, not completely without flaws but i had a great time with this film. Old school sci fi action is always the best way to go.

Rating: DDD

Guns Up

The year of 2022 became a little bit special for me for personal reasons. You might wonder what on Earth could it be that year that made me happy? Well, there are a couple of reasons such as Wales rock band Stereophonics released their 12th studio album Ouchya! ( that may not be their best studio album but still better than their 6th and 7th album ). This was also the year when action director Roland Emmerich released his box office disaster Moonfall, a film i actually enjoy just for being a disaster film with lots of CGI effects and had a good cast with actors Patrick Wilson ( The Conjuring franchise ), John Bradley ( who played the character Samwell Tarly in the TV series Game Of Thrones ) and Hale Berry ( the James Bond chick Jinx in Die Another Day ). Oh, we do get to see legendary actor Donald Sutherland as well for a short while. The bigger reason why the year 2022 felt special was that legendary action icon Bruce Willis was in a trilogy of action films called Detective Knight: Rogue, Detective Knight: Redemption and Detective Knight: Independence. Now, i know at the time these films were released we found out he have an illness known as the cognitive disorder afasia. And even if you can tell at certain moments he is not as he used to be, i do enjoy these tree films for being simple action movies. I actually ordered all three films on physical media from the UK. The first film Detective Knight: Rogue tells the story of Detective Knight ( Bruce Willis ), a very dedicated cop on the streets of Los Angeles, who will make sure justice is prevailed. As the city prepares to celebrate Halloween, mask-wearing armed robbers critically wounds Knight´s partner in a shootout following a heist. With Detective Knight in hot pursuit, the criminals behind the heist flee from L.A. to New York as they are hoping to succeed their mission. To say that Detective Knight: Rogue have anything different to offer than any other police action films would be wrong. What this film does manage to do is just deliver simple action entertainement if you just want a streaming evening with popcorn and sodas, especially if you grew up watching Bruce Willis on VHS back in the day. All of these three film is directed by Edward Drake and i found out this summer he released a new action comedy called Guns Up with comedian / actor Kevin James and actress Christina Ricci. Since i used to enjoy action comedies in the 80´s and 90´s, would this film be a positive surprise or is Guns Up just as forgettable as Los Del Rio´s dreadful 1996 Christmas single Macarena Christmas?

Mob henchman Ray Hayes ( Kevin James ) is fed up with his job working for criminals. He wants to start an ordinary life with his wife Alice Hayes ( Christina Ricci ) and their two children Sihobán Hayes ( Keana Marie ) and Henry Hayes ( Leo Easton Kelly ). Their plan is to run their own family diner to actually pursue their dreams. But as it turns out, leaving the mob is not the easiest way to go.

One of the issues i had with the Detective Knight trilogy was that some of the action scenes were not always that fun to watch. It was like director Edward Drake didn´t go all in to make certain scenes more effective. Thankfully in the action comedy Guns Up he seems to have made a decision to make much more memorable action scenes than in the Detective Knight franchise. I do have some issues with this film but let´s talk about the positive first. Actor Kevin James ( who i used to watch a lot in episodes of his comedy TV series The King Of Queens ) as the character Ray is quite different from some of his movies in the past. Much more tougher while he also seems to be a respectful man in his profession plus being a good family man. I like the combination of this character that he´s not only stone cold and can kill, there is a different side of his personality. Actress Christina Ricci as Ray´s wife Alice is in my opinion one of the better acting performances in this film. Always been a fan of Christina and love her ability to take on any kind of character. The strength of Guns Up is the most fun action scenes and when the action scenes becomes a bit over the top. On a technical level i think this is director Edward Drake´s best looking film, where he especially manage to capture some really nice action sequences. Now, we have to talk about what doesn´t really work. This is supposed to be an action comedy and they do attempt to try and be funny in certain scenes. If you are making a combination such as this you need to have comedy material that matches the action scenes and this is something that Guns Up unfortunately doesn´t have. It is basically some of the characters and the action scenes that makes this film work, where it misses out on certain important details. To be completely honest this is not a film that many people will remember because of the plot, you will be entertained for the moment and that´s good enough if you just want something not too complicated to watch. If you want shootouts, fighting and 90´s styled action film then Guns Up should fall into your taste. Director Edward Drake clearly knows how to make violent action films so im actually hoping for a sequel. What can i say im easy to entertain.

Rating: DDD

Flesh Of The Unforgiven

There are those who believe there is no heaven up there, that when we die we end up on the other side where we will face something else than God. Some believe we may face demons, while some believe that we will face something even more sinister such as evil spirits full of so much hate. I personally want to believe that we who are good people will end up in heaven, at least that´s what im hoping to do. But what if you could open a portal to another dimension into a world that we believe is known as Hell, would you do it? That is exactly what happened in the 1987 British cult horror classic movie known as Hellraiser from director Clive Barker, a film that is still today considered to be one of the best British horror films of all time. The original film begins in Marocco, where a hedonist named Frank Cotton ( Sean Chapman ), buys a puzzle box said to open the door to a realm of outerworldly pleasures. At home in his bare attic, Frank solves the puzzle and hooked chains emerge, tearing him apart. Frank´s brother Larry Cotton ( Andrew Robinson ) moves into the same house hoping to rebuild his relationship with his second wife Julia Cotton ( Clare Higgins ). Larry is unaware that Julia had an affair with her brother Frank before her marriage to him. When Larry accidently cuts his hand moving furniture, his blood drips on the attic floor and ressurect Frank in a ghoulish form. To fully become himself again Frank needs fresh human bodies to drain them. Hellraiser really is a very unique film and it´s mostly because of the character Pinhead ( brilliant played by Doug Bradley ). I love the design of the Cenobites that lives in Hell and feed of human souls and the puzzle box looks really cool as well from a design perspective. I do enjoy some of the Hellraiser films in this franchise, for example the 2018 horror film Hellraiser: Judgement turned out to be a positive surprise. Considering the low budget of this film they did a good job capturing the look of the Hellraiser universe. I highly reccomend you pick up a physical copy of Hellraiser: Judgement and see if you agree with me. During later summer this year i heard about an independent horror film called Flesh Of The Unforgiven, that clearly seemed inspired by films such as Clive Barker´s Hellraiser. I have not seen the work of director Joe Hollow before so i thought this would be a interesting first introduction to hiw work as a director by watching Flesh Of The Unforgiven. Is this a horror film that may actually find an audience outside of the Hellraiser fan community or is this film not what i expected at all?

Jack Russo ( Joe Hollow ) is working desperately to find inspiration to a brand new novel and he only have a couple of days to finish it or his publisher will drop him completely. His marriage to his wife Sienna Russo ( Debbie Ruchon ) is clearly struggling and especially after she cheated with one of her husband´s friends. While trying to find ideas to write a new story, Jack recieve a strange VHS tape that will open a whole new world for Jack that he never expected to visit.....

While i was watching Flesh Of The Unforgiven i was reminded of another film than just Hellraiser and that film is called Secret Window by director David Koepp. In the film Secret Window we follow a struggling writer named Mort Rainey ( played well by actor Johnny Depp ) who is trying to write his latest book alone in a cabin after finding out his wife had an affair with a friend. There are some big differences between Secret Window and Flesh Of The Unforgiven, but you can get a feeling that the author character Jack Russo ( played by actor Joe Hollow ) could be inspired by similar characters such as Mort Rainey, I do feel that it´s interesting seeing the progress of writing once Mort find inspiration to write, especially when things begin to fall out of control completely and Mort find himself in a completely different mental state. The best part of this film is when we finally get to see the most gory disturbing scenes done with practical make up effects, where you get a sense of the inspiration from the Hellraiser franchise. The more disturbing it gets the more i feel fascinated in the storyline. The struggling writer Mort is of course the center of this story and actor Joe Hollow tries to capture a character in his most vulnerable situation. I like the chemistry between actor Joe Hollow and actress Debbie Rochon ( playing his wife Sienna Russo ) as you can clearly see they are struggling through marriage. How do you move on in life when you lost that spark that you used to have together? The character Death Dealer ( Joe Hollow ) clearly have inspiration from Hellraiser characters such as Cenobites without being grotesque. Flesh Of The Unforgiven is a horror film that tries to show how demonic powers can transform individuals, while also bring out dark thoughts that they never would have imagined seeing within themselves. Especially when it comes to sexual fantasies and the pleasures of torture combined, there is something very deeply disturbing and yet fascinating about this combination where you can tell the BDSM influences are very clear in this film. Director Joe Hollow deliver a fascinating horror film that´s not for the sensitive audience that will be appreciated if you enjoy the Hellraiser franchise, with a little bit of influences from A Nightmare On Elm Street as well. A film for those who love disturbing twists and dark sexual fantasies, if this sounds fascinating then by all means give this film a chance.

Rating: DDD

The Bunker

I know that some people don´t like the idea of living inside a bunker underneath the earth, i actually wouldn´t mind living that way. As long as i have electricity, clean water, some kind of kitchen, canned food, rice, pasta, books, magazines, if possible a TV and a DVD player, enough clothes to make it through seasons when i have to go outside and a bathroom, i don´t think i would need much else. Well ok, i might put up my signed Dolph Lundgren poster from The Expendables 3 just to make it feel like home, other than that i should be just fine. It would be nice to be able to plant something down there, but most plants need sun so that would be a problem. If it was war outside the bunker i would have to rely on canned food instead. Bunkers have been a subject in many different kinds of films over the years no matter if we are talking about traditonal war movies, horror movies or perhaps drama movies as well. One good example of a solid film that takes place inside a bunker is the 2013 post-apocalyptic sci fi action film The Colony from director Jeff Renfroe ( director of 6 episodes of the crime TV series Cardinal, worth a watch ). The year is 2045, the whole world have turned into a new ice age. The only way to survive the extreme cold weather is to live underground in bunkers, where the remaining civilization tries to build an ordinary lifestyle. Inside the bunker known as Colony 7 there are two soldier leaders, Briggs ( Laurence Fishburne ) and Mason ( Bill Paxton ). After receiving a distress call from another bunker called Colony 5, Biggs decides to go there to see what happened with two other men Sam ( Kevin Zegers ) and Graydon ( Atticus Mitchell ). As they enter Colony 5 they realize that something is terribly wrong. The Colony is a well made post-apocalyptic sci fi film with descent acting with effective action scenes, and i have to say for the most part the film looks good ( except a few CGI scenes ). I do like the argument scenes especially between Laurence Fishburne and Bill Paxton, not getting along at all. Worth a watch on streaming or rent on VOD. I was recommended a film called The Bunker, a sci fi horror film that stars two horror icons legendary actors Tony Todd and Tobin Bell. Clearly with a cast such as this i was excited to check this film out. Is this a must watch this autumn or is The Bunker unfortunately not as good as i was hoping it would be?

Mysterious alien spaceships are floating in several cities across the world. No one knows what they want or why they have decided to visit Earth. To be prepared in case the aliens are not here for a friendly cause, Dr, Michelle Riley ( Chelsey Edmundson ) and a group of scientists are drafted in by the U.S. military to create a bio-weapon to use on the aliens. Each scientist is placed in their own bunker to communicate through video calls. While working on the bio-weapon, Michelle begin to experience strange events in her bunker as well as seeing her scientist working colleagues hurting themselves.

I think you should know that The Bunker is not a typical alien invasion sci fi film that you have seen so many times before. This is a sci fi film that tries to tell an actual story instead of just focusing on violence and special effects. If you do like science fiction films that focus more on characters then this film should please you. We follow a team of scientiests with very different personalities, and i like the idea of each of them being inside their own bunker while staying in contact online as a working team. How do you adjust life living on your own for the most part? Does that affect you mentally in some ways not being able to see your loved ones or not living an ordinary life? The main plot is simple and yet matches well with the characters, it´s not difficult to understand what the company require their workers to achieve- The most interesting part of the film is when suddenly team members begin to struggle mentally. Are they being used as an experiment? Is someone controlling their minds? The best acting performance comes from legendary horror icon Tony Todd as the character Major Frank Lawrence, it is actually nice to see him do a character such as this that feels different from films in his past. I will say lead actress Chelsea Edmundson ( who i recognized from the great wrestling drama The Iron Claw ) as the character Dr. Michelle Riley gives a solid performance as a female scientist whos having a really rough time in her bunker. Horror icon Tobin Bell have no problem delivering his dialogue in his own unique way that only he can do. The violent scenes looks good and i appreciate the gore effects that´s actually more bloody than i expected. To the negative i would probably say that a few dialogue scenes feel a bit drawn out. In general though i would say im pleasantly surprised over how well The Bunker works as a sci fi mystery film. Director Brian Hanson clearly know how to make good looking films in this specific genre, as well as telling a story that´s fascinating. The Bunker should be appreciated by true fans of science fiction films.

Rating: DDD

28 Years Later

We all would like to live in a world where we help each other, support each other and make a better society together. Unfortunately this is something that is very difficult to do as long as we have political violence, wars and racial hate across this beautiful world. Thankfully in my almost 26 years working in health care i have met people from all over the world who are trying to make a difference. Especially in war zones such as the Russia-Ukraine war where i personally know both nurses and doctors who travelled to Ukraine to help hospitals with patients who have been seriously hurt during the war. People like these are incredbly important to give families hope, a chance to heal and come back to ordinary life. But what if you woke up one day and find yourself one of the few remaining human beings in society, whiley you find out that the rest of the people are infected by a aggresive contagious virus? This is exactly what happened in the now known cult British horror film known as 28 Days Later from legendary director Danny Boyle. I remember the Swedish premiere week of this film in cinemas because there were massive posters everywhere, really promoting this film to be the next big cinema release. This was in February in 2003 and i even remember the cardboard popcorn buckets had 28 Days Later markers on them. I have read about this film for several months in movie magazines right before the release so i was very excited to see this film. It turned out to be better than i expected and it was without a doubt one of my personal favourite films of 2003. What made this film work so well was how this film was filmed almost to look like a documentary, which in my personal opinion made the horror scenes very effective. Really good acting performances from Cillan Murphy, Naome Harris and Brandon Gleeson. The infected people were really effective in their attack scenes and the atmosphere of the dead big cities worked really well and made a powerful impact. In 2007 we had a sequel released called 28 Weeks Later this time directed by Juan Carlos Fresnadillo. Not as effective as the original film but i enjoyed this film for what it was, a fast thrilling zombie horror film with a solid acting performances from actors Robert Carlyle, Jeremy Renner and Idris Elba. After many years of waiting it was announced that director Danny Boyle would return with a brand new film in the 20 Years franchise and here we are with the latest chapter 28 Years Later. Is this a worthy sequel to this franchise or is this not as good as fans was hoping it would be?

28 years have passed since the outbreak happened. There are no more ordinary cities or ordinary society that we used to have in the past. On the British Isles of Lindisfarne, the people are protected naturally by the path being flooded by the tide. Only at certain hours of the day they can cross to the main land until the tide comes back again. In this society lives scavenger James ( Aaron Taylor-Johnson ), his son Spike ( Alfie Williams ) and his very sick wife Isla ( Jodie Corner ). Since there are no doctors in this community Spike wants to find one for his mother on main land, where he heard of one known as doctor Ian Kelson ( Ralph Fiennes ) to help her become healthy again. With the infected controlling the main land, this will make things more complicated with a seiously ill citizen.

I personally believe it is best to see the previous films 28 Days Later and 28 Weeks Later to understand the premise of this latest film in the 28 Days franchise. It has been a while since we saw a Danny Boyle zombie film and i can happily say that he still proves that he knows how to tell effective horror stories. What makes this film different from the previous films is that we finally get to see how society have changed trying to adjust itself against the infected. The community that lives on the island of Lindisfarne is an attempt to rebuild a society again where everyone helps, and i love the fact that the population is very supportive of each other. Considering society have changed so much since 28 Weeks Later i think this was a good idea to approach how humanity have moved on to adjust itself during these dark times. What else can you do? You have to be able to feel some kind of meaning in life, nothing will ever be the same again so having a community that works is clearly very important. The two main characters Jamie ( well played by Kraven The Hunter actor Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Spike ( Alfie Williams ) have a great father and son chemistry on screen and it is interesting to see their family arguments over Spike´s ill mother Isla ( played really well by actress Jodie Corner ( who i recognized from the 2021 historical drama The Last Duel ). There are some emotional scenes between mother Isla and her son Spike, where you see how vulnerable seriously ill people are when there is no hopital to get help. The most interesting part of 28 Years Later comes later in the film when we get to meet the odd doctor Ian Kelson ( played really good by actor Ralph Fiennes ). He have managed to surivie out in the mainlands in a very unique way. The impressive skeleton head monumental where Dr Ian lives is quite unique and gives a deeper meaning to what he was trying to achieve with this location. I think this skeleton monumental gives a deeper meaning to this film how we honor the dead ones that are no longer with us. I would say he is the most fascinating character of this film. The horror scenes in general works well with the infected but is this as strong as the original film 28 Days Later? Unfortunately not, but i still feel this is a well made horror film and tell a fascinating story about survival and how to honor your family. Director Danny Boyle still knows how to make quality cinema films and 28 Years Later is definetly worth a watch. Already looking forward to the sequel coming in January next year.

Rating: DDD

Jurassic World Rebirth

Everyone have nostalgic memories from their youth, no matter if it is a certain movie that you loved or perhaps a favourite cinema that you used to visit. In my case there are a lot of nostalgic movie moments since i have been going to cinemas since the late 80´s. But the biggest nostalgia memories are actually from the 90´s if im being completely honest, mostly during the summers since there were so many wonderful box office blockbusters. Let us go back to the year of 1993 for a moment and let me tell you about my experience in cinema. It was the Swedish premiere of legendary director Steven Spielberg´s latest film Jurassic Park ( based on the novel by the same name from author Michael Crichton ). I had seen dinosaur B movies in the past on VHS but this film would prove to be something completely different from what we have seen before. The concept of Jurassic Park felt like it was inspired by B monster movies of the 1950´s and the 1960´s, but with a much higher budget and a really good cast included with actors such as Sam Neil, Richard Attenborough, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum and Samuel L. Jackson. The dinosaur effects look incredble for a film being made in the early 90´s and i remember having a blast in the cinema at the age of 16. I can still watch this film today and enjoy it just as much as i did back in 1993. The sequels that followed all had something to offer, i don´t have a problem either with the 1997 sequel The Lost World: Jurassic Park ( hearing Swedish actor Peter Stormare swearing in Swedish was a highlight ) because it had some enjoyable action scenes and actress Julianne Moore included in the cast. The more modern sequels Jurassic World, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom and Jurassic World Dominion all became huge box office hits and did really well on physical media as well. I only reviewed Jurassic World back in 2015 ( a review im not very happy about today, could have been a lot better ) and i enjoyed that film. During this summer we had a new Jurassic World film released in cinemas called Jurassic World Rebirth. My plan was to actually see this film in cinema and plans changed for some reason. So i decided to rent it on VOD instead to see if this would be something i might appreciate. Is this the best Jurassic World film in many years or is this just a desperate cash grab to make money and give fans nothing in return?

In 2008, InGen is operating a dinosaur genetics laboratory on Ile Saint-Hubert in the Atlantic Ocean, housing transgenic and mutated dinosaurs that deemed ghastly by their owner. One of these creations, a deformed six-limbed Tyrannosaurus dubbed  "Distortus rex" escapes containment. It kills an employee who carelessly responsible and wreaks havroc, forcing the personnel to abandon the island. In 2025, most of Earth´s climate has become inhospitable to sustain the de-extinct dinosaurs. The remaining animals survive in locations around the equator, which resemble Mesozoic climate, making them no-go areas. Martin Krebs ( Rupert Friend ), an executive at pharmaceutical company ParkerGenix, recruits Zora Bennet ( Scarlett Johansson ), an ex-military covert operative, to collaborate with Dr. Henry Loomis ( Jonathan Bailey ) on a top-secret misson. Their goal is to retrieve biomaterial samples for the three colossus specimens, which hold the key to a new cardiovascular disease tretment. With the right team chosen for this mission they travel towards Ile Saint-Hubert.

I think it is fair to say that if you are walking into a film such as Jurassic World Rebirth you can pretty much guess what you are going to get. This is dinosaur action that reminds me of the 2017 action horror film Kong: Skull Island but without the Vietnam war and with a completely different plot instead. If this doesn´t excite you then you might as well stop reading here. If you happen to enjoy Kong: Skull Island and similar films then you might atually have a good time with thís one. By now we can pretty much say that both the Jurassic Park films and the Jurassic World films have used the formula of the original film pretty much to the highest degree. How do you make anything different from the past and still keep the influences of the original film for the fans of this franchise? What this film Jurassic World Rebirth manage to do is use especially more water scenes than in the previous films, especially in the first 40 minutes of this film. That´s actually not a bad idea since we usually see dinosaurs on land for the most part, and it´s nice to see that they tried to approach this story by using a different location than we are used to see. Sure, they do travel to an island eventually but adding action scenes on the ocean was a positive change. When it comes to the characters in this film there is a mixed bag, where some of them work while others are just....there. I personally enjoy actress Scarlett Johansson as the character Zora Bennet, she has a good heart but shes also a strong woman who is not afraid to take on any challenges. It´s nice to see actor Mahersala Ali ( especially brilliant performance in the 2018 comedy-drama Green Book, a must watch ) as the character Duncan Kaid. The CGI scenes of the dinosaurs look good and there are some good looking action scenes as well. My biggest issue with this film is that there isn´t anything special about this sequel that makes it stand out compared to the previous films. I enjoy this film for what it is, a basic dinosaur action film but other than that i can´t really find anything that makes this film unique in this franchise. Director Garet Edwards ( who did direct the great looking British sci-fi horror film Monsters ) clearly know how to make monster movies and he proves that with Jurassic World Rebirth. I just wonder how will they manage to move on from here and dare to do something original? If they do decide to make another one, i hope they take a completely different approach. Worth a watch if you are a fan of this franchise, just don´t keep your expectations too high.

Rating: DDD

Ballerina

One of the greatest time periods for action franchises definetely started in the 80´s. You had Sylvester Stallone as Vietnam war veteran soldier John Rambo in the Rambo franchise, and then you had Mel Gibson and Danny Glover kicking ass in the Lethal Weapon franchise. Obviously i have to mention the Die Hard franchise as well with Bruce Willis as bad ass cop John McClane with several sequels included. All of the films in these classic action franchises are definetely worth a watch, especially if you love lots of guns, explosions and 80´s hair. Since i grew up in the VHS era i have seen so many classic action films from this time period. Who didn´t fall in love with other 80´s classics such as The Terminator, Commando, Cobra, Tango & Cash and many more wonderful titles? If we move into more modern days we do have some action franchises that have been able to survive, at least for a while. A perfect example of that is of course Sylverster Stallone´s love letter project as a tribute to action movies of the 80´s known as The Expendables. 4 films were made completely with a incredible cast in each film ( especially in The Expendables 2 ). I would highly recommend you buying all four films on physical media, these are the kind of action films you can rewatch and enjoy every single time. Let´s focus especially on one specific year for a moment and that is the year of 2014. It was this year a brand new action franchise started known as John Wick with actor Keanu Reeves taking on the role as the hitman John Wick. At the time when the first film came out it really gave actor Keanu Reeves a brand new audience worldwide, especially after making smaller low budget films for a while. The first film was a box office success, but the sequels that followed in the John Wick franchise would become ever bigger ticket sellers worldwide. I enjoy all of the John Wick films for different reasons and you should definetely watch them all. I remember a over a year ago i heard there is a spin-off film from the John Wick franchise called Ballerina. I was lucky to watch the film in cinema at the last week it was running in cinema here in Sweden, and just about a week ago got my physical copy to prepare for this review. Is this a film worthy the John Wick franchise or is this an action film that no one asked for?

Eve Macarro ( Victoria Comte ) is the daughter of assassins Javier ( David Castaneda ) of the Ruska Roma crime syndicate and his Cultist wife. As a child, Eve was taken away from the Cult by Javier, which led to the death of her mother- To retrieve Eve, the Cult and their leader Chancellor ( Gabriel Byrne ) raid their home, Javier dies as he helps Eve escape. New York Continental manager Winston Scott ( Ian McShane ) brings Eve to the Ruska Roma, an assassins society under the cover of performance dancers, where she meets The Director ( Anjelica Huston ) and agrees to enlist. Over the next 12 years, Eve ( Ana de Armas ) trains as a ballerina, assassin and bodyguard. Eve seeks revenge of the murderer of her father, but The Director says she is not allowed to do this. To honor her father she will go on with her mission.

In recent years i have been struggling finding some really good action films that reminds me of classic films of the past. I can happily say that Ballerina manage to land in the John Wick franchise in a respectful way while exploring some different sides of the John Wick universe. If fans of this beloved franchise was worried that this film wouldn´t be anywhere as good as the previous Keanu Reeves films i will be honest and say im actually quite surprised. Not that this film is ground breaking in any way or deliver a lot of new things to action films in general, but what this film does right is to keep the essence of the John Wick franchise while making some interesting changes along the way. I think it was very good that they tried to tell the story of Ballerina in a completely different way through the main character Eve Macarro ( played really well by actress Ana de Armas, who i personally remember from director Denis Villeneuve´s 2017 sci fi action film Blade Runner 2049, definetely worth owning on physical media ), who is a very brutal and effective assassin. Now, you might think that just because she is an assassin we only see her kill and we don´t find out anything about her personality. There are a couple of scenes where we get to understand why Eve became the woman she is today, and all the struggles she had to go through. Ana de Armas does a really good job portraying a female assassin and i am especially impressed by her physical performance in certain action scenes. We also get to see characters from the previous John Wich films such as Winston Scott ( Ian McShane ), The Director ( Anjelica Huston ) and the final acting performance by actor Lance Reddick as the character Charon. The action scenes are very well made, i also appreciate the very beautiful cinematography by Romain Lacourbas that matches the most colorful scenes. One of the highligts is without a doubt the flame thrower scenes that looks gorgeous and is quite effective. The main villain Chancellor played by legendary actor Gabriel Byrne deliver some really fun moments and Keanu Reeves does show up for a short while as John Wick. Director Len Wiseman ( who directed the first two Underworld films ) proves once again why he is a really talented film maker in this specifc genre. The action scenes are far better than most films in this genre and i had a really good time with Ballerina. Maybe not as good as all of the John Wick films but definetely pretty close, Ballerina deserves to be owned on physical media or on digital release.

Rating: DDDD

30 Years Anniversary Review Of Desperado

Even if summer is my favourite period of the year i can appreciate beautiful autumn days, walking along a forest with yellow leaves falling down. If it´s raining outside i do enjoy cozy evening with a low budget horror film. I could easily mention at least 10 b horror movies that should be seen during autumn season, but let´s just talk about one title for a moment. One specific recommendation i have for you is the 2018 independent horror film Inner Ghosts from director Paul Leite. It reminds me in some ways of the Insidious franchise, especially the character Elise Rainie played by actress Lin Shaye. In the film Inner Ghosts you have a character called Helen ( Celia Williams ), she is a brain researcher who used to be a medium until the death of her daughter. At the university Helen works at her supervisor do not appreciate Helen´s methods combining science with the supernatural. Even though she recieves a warning Helen decides to train her own daughter, Elsa Williamson ( Elizabeth Bochmann ) and another young woman Rachel ( Iris Cayette ) to become psychics. Inner Ghosts may not be a original low budget horror film but have an interesting plot of training psychics and facing a demon. I have to mention the practical make up effects on the demonic creature looks good. A film worth a watch, especially if you are a fan of the Insidious franchise. Let´s go back in time to the autumn of the year 1995, it was the Swedish cinema premiere of Kevin Costner´s dystopian sci fi action film Waterwold. This turned out to be the movie so many magazines talked about, everything from the incredible high budget of this film and how difficult it was making the film with several issues during production. Waterworld turned out to flop at the box office, but there was a completely different film that actually got praised by critics and the audience as well. And that is the 1995 action film Desperado by director Robert Rodriguez, a remake of his full feature debut film El Mariachi from 1992. I did see Desperado in cinema back in the day and i realised this film turned 30 years in 2025. So i decided to do a 30 years anniversary of this film to see how i feel about it today. Is this film just as good today as it was in 1995 or have this film aged more than Donald Trumps hair piece?

El Mariachi ( Antonio Banderas ) arrives to a smaller Mexican town as rumors start to spread that El Mariachi is a guitar player who have a guitar case filled with guns. El Mariachi is looking for drug lord "Bucho" ( Joaquim de Almeida ) who runs this whole town, demanding money to protect stores. El Mariachi gets help during a shoot out in town by book store owner Carolina ( Salma Hayek ), she patches him up and go with him on his journey to face Bucho and his thugs.

It´s been quite a long time ago since i watched Desperado so i was actually looking forward to watching it again. I have to say that even though this film have turned 30 years old it looks damn good still today. No CGI effects, no AI, everything is done with practical make up effects and the action stunts are done by professional stunt men. This is something i wish we had more of in modern cinema, i want to see people punch each other and fly through the air in a old school way. We have to talk about the camera work of director Robert Rodriguez and how he capture so many beautiful scenes on camera. He finds the perfect locations for certain scenes, captures the atmosphere of chosen areas and he is really talented shooting powerful action scenes. It is really over the top in certain scenes where it feels like you are watching a comic book coming to life but that´s the whole point, this film feels like it is inspired by director Sam Raimi. If you remember how over the top the action scenes are in Sam Raimi´s classic film Darkman, i can tell you that they are even wilder scenes in Desperado to the point where it becomes hillarious. Actors Antonio Banderas and Salma Hayek are the perfect cinema couple as the crazy characters El Mariachi and Carolina, and their action scenes together are very well choreographed. There are some really fun cameos in this film from actors Cheech Marin, Steve Buscemi and especially the urine scene with Quentin Tarantino. Actor Danny Trejo is really cool as the Mexican assassin Navajas, using some really cool designed throwing knifes. Actor Joaquim de Almeida gives a fun performance as the main villain character Bucho. The plot of Desperado may not be anything unique or interesting, but it is the action scenes that really makes this film come to life. The more violent the film becomes it feels like watching the best Mexican opera concert ever. Director Robert Rodriquez really understood what the audience wanted when he created this film. It´s really wild, really violent and at times really funny as well. Desperado will live on into the future as one of the true 90´s classic, this is definetely a must watch for the whole family to enjoy.

Rating: DDDD

Diablo

Every Thursday my mother Lena watch the Swedish TV morning show Nyhetsmorgon on TV4 to listen to Swedish film critics talk about the cinema premiere´s of the week. After the TV morning show she always send me a text message about what films that were reviewed plus the ratings of each film. This tradition my mother started several years ago and she continues to do this. Why you might ask? Since her son is a independent film critic plus i read a lot of movie reviews, she became interested in all of this as well. So we will continue this tradition for many years ahead, while i give movie recommendations to her as well. One thing i have noticed when it comes to British film critics is how positive most of them are while they review films of action star Scott Adkins. For example if you listen to British film critic Screen Stars review of the 2018 action film The Debt Collector, you will clearly hear how much he enjoyed this film in his YouTube review. If you want to read a very positive American review of The Debt Collector i highly recommend visiting The Action Elite´s web review of this film. Have i personally seen this title? Yes i have, i actually bought a physical copy of this film from Great Britain. The plot of this film is basically focused on two characters French ( Scott Adkins ) and Sue ( Louis Mandyor ) as debt collectors travelling across America to get paid back money that people borrowed. This is actually a charming film, especially because of how good chemistry Scott Adkins and Louis Mandyor have on screen and the action scenes deliver a good time as well. Director Jesse V. Johnson ( who have directed several of Scott Adkins films in the past ) manage to combine both action and comedy in a way that reminds me of films in this genre from the 90´s. Definetely worth a watch if you just want to be entertained for a moment. Speaking of Scott Adkins one of the films he released this year called Diablo ( directed by Ernesto Diaz Espinoza, the director of the 2014 action film Redeemer ) is out on VOD on different platforms, so i just had to rent this film since i am a fan of his work. Is this an action film that proves once more that Scott Adkins is the future of action films, or is Diablo not as good as you might have hoped for?

Kris Chaney ( Scott Adkins ), a recently released ex-convict embarks on a perilous mission. He kidnaps Elsa ( Alanna De La Rossa ), daughter of Vicente ( Lucho Velasco ), a very powerful gangster leader in Colombia. This also causes more problems when Vicente´s hitman El Corvo ( Marko Zaror ) goes looking for them both. 

How many of you remember the 1973 action film Live And Let Die, the very first time legendary actor Roger Moore played British spy James Bond? All of you? I must admit i am impressed. In this classic film you have a Bond villain known as Tee Hee Johnson ( played by legendary actor Juius Harris from the 1972 blaxploitation crime drama film Super Fly ). This villain have a pincer-tipped prosphetic arm that has a claw instead of a hand. In the film Diablo you have an assassin known as El Corvo ( played by actor Marko Zaror who i recognized from the Scott Adkins film Undisputed III: Redemption ), who have a prosphetic arm with a knife, covered with a fake hand that he can remove. This character is one of the highlights of this film. He have no sympathy for anyone and communicate in brutal ways to deal with anyone standing in his way. Scott Adkins does exactly what you would expect him to do, delivering cool martial arts scenes mixed with classic VHS video violence from the past. Scott´s character Kris Chaney reminded me of John Rambo in the 5th Rambo film known as Rambo: Last Blood. In that film John travels to Mexico to rescue his daugher from trafficking, while in this film Diablo we find out hes the faher of a young woman named Elisa ( Alanna De La Rossa ) living in Colombia, trying to save her from a future filled with criminal activities. The chemistry between father and daughter characters works well and when they argue it feels natural. There are a couple of dialogue scenes between them that i enoyed as well, being a little bit more serious. Diablo is not original perhaps but if you want a really violent action movie, filled with really good looking fight scenes then you will definetely have a good time with this one. This is the kind of film that knows exactly what audience it was made for and i honestly had a good time watching Diablo. Bring out some snacks, have some cold beer ( whiskey is welcome as well ) and rent Diablo on VOD. I promise you will not be disappointed if you do.

Rating: DDD

Rob1n

If you talk to director´s, film producers and actors what year they really struggled then i guarantee some of them will definetely mention the year of 2020. The year the pandemic started made it impossible to have normal red carpet premiere´s, cinemas were shutting down everywhere and film projects were delayed. Obviously they had to be careful so people wouldn´t get infected with Covid-19, and this also caused a lot of economical damage to new films coming out. Thankfully many films were able to have digital releases earlier than planned ( films that i was sure would get a cinema release ), so we were able to see films in our homes instead. Let´s mention one of the releases that went straight to streaming instead of cinemas and that is the 2020 historical legal drama film The Trial Of The Chicago 7 from director Aaron Sorkin. Originally planned to be released in cinemas from Paramount Pictures, the distribution rights of this film were sold to Netflix due to the Covid-19 pandemic. I did watch this film during the pandemic and it is really good. It is very interesting from a historical perspective taking place in 1968, have some really powerful acting performances from Eddie Redmayne, Frank Lagella, Michael Keaton, Mark Rylence and i was very surprised how good comedian actor Sacha Baron Cohen is in this film. I love the costume design, really good cinematography from Phedon Papapmichael and director Aaron Sorkin proved once more what a fantastic film maker he is. Definetely worth a watch on Netflix if you have not seen this one. During the pandemic some films did get some attention on physical media such as the British independent horror film The Jack In The Box from director Lawrence Fowler. A demonic clown coming out of a toy box is a fun concept and this actually worked well in this film. The demonic clown design looks really good and i enjoyed this film in general. The two sequels that followed are ok, but it´s the original film you should watch. Speaking of director Lawrence Fowler he released his latest film Rob1n during spring this year, a horror film that looks similar to films such as M3GAN or the 2019 remake of Child´s Play. Is this one of the titles that you should watch this autumn or is Rob1n a horror film that will be easily forgotten?

11-year-old Robin ( Maximillian Cherry ) is celebrating his birthday by killing the guests including his own mother. Robin is shot dead at the crime scene. 34 years later Robin´s father robotics expert Aiden ( Simon Davies ) channels the grief of losing his son into creating Rob1n, his robotic companion to keep him company in his old mansion. Aiden´s nephew Leo ( Ethan Taylor ) and his fiancé Lexi ( Leona Clarke ) travel to visit Aiden to repair their family relationship plus invite Aiden to their upcoming wedding. It is here at the mansion they are introduced to meet Rob1n, who may seem harmless until you get to know him,

While i was watching Rob1n i was reminded of the 2022 animated Netflix film Pinocchio from director Guillermo del Toro. Not that there are many similarities between these films, except for one specific detail. In the 2022 animated version woodcarver Gepetto loses his son Carlo to an aerial bombardment. Twenty years later, he uses the pine wood in Carlo´s grave to create a puppet that reminds him of his dead son. In the film Rob1n we see a more modern version of Gepetto, here known as Aiden played by actor Simon Davies who wants his dead son back through a robot that he built. This concept works well with the plot and i do think the modern twist was needed to make it work. The biggest highlight of Rob1n is without a doubt the robot itself. I think the design of the robot looks great with a different facial structure and i do enjoy seeing him kill different victims. When it comes to the human characters i personally feel that the character Aiden is the most fascinating one. What secrets of the past is he covering up? Actor Simon Davies deliver a charming gentleman performance in true classic British style. Actors Ethan Taylor and Leona Clarke have a nice chemistry on the big screen. Director Lawrence Fowler have proved in the past he is a good horror director and once more we get to see him deliver another tasteful treat with Rob1n. It may not be as good as the original The Jack In The Box film, but i still feel that Rob1n have a lot to say, especially how heavy it is griefing your dead child and the process to find a reason to go on. If you are a fan of classic horror films such as Child´s Play then it is possible you will appreciate Rob1n. A very simple constructed slasher horror film that actually works, Rob1n would be a perfect retirement home friend for me in the future.

Rating: DDD

Bogieville

Horror in so many different categories can be difficult to know what to choose , especially if you don´t know what category of horror film that you want to watch. Considering i have been watching horror films since the autumn of 1986 ( that´s when i saw my very first horror movie A Nightmare On Elm Street 2 ) i have seen so many titles and different categories that i know what i enjoy most. One category i especially enjoy is known as vampires and there are so many good films to choose between. You have classics such as the 1979 horror TV miniseries Salem´s Lot from legendary director Tobe Hooper ( the director of the original The Texas Chain Saw Massacre ) and i have to mention the 1992 horror film Bram Stoker´s Dracula. I could easily talk about both of these titles but let´s focus on a completely different film. Some of you might have heard of the 2007 horror film 30 Days Of Night from director David Slade. If you have not seen this film it takes place in the town of Barrow, Alaska. This town is preparing for its annual period of the winter with a month-long polar night. A stranger arrives from a large ship and sabotages the town´s communications and transports. Barrow´s sheriff, Eben Oleson ( Josh Hartnett ) investigates what happened while a band of vampires, led by Marlow ( Danny Huston ) attacks and murder most of the population of Barrow. 30 Days Of Night turned out to be one of the best vampire horror films of 2007 with a really good cast, very well made practical make up effects and a powerful survival story included. Danny Huston as the vampire leader Marlow is one of his best acting performances, in my opinion. A horror film definetely worth buying on digital or physical media ( a lot of nice special features included ). Speaking of vampires i have been curious about the horror film Bogieville ever since i watched the review of this film from Geek Legion Of Doom. Is this vampire film better than i expected or is this film not worth a watch?

Small town couple Ham ( Arifin Putra ) and Jody ( Eloise Lovell Andersson ) are both out of work  and have no other option than leave town for other opportunities. They suddenly end up in a road  accident, thankfully not injured badly. While they look around the area they discover a trailer park area that they have never heard of. They are about to meet the trailer park residents, who are not your typical neighbors.

I barely read anything about this film before i watched Bogieville and i am happy that i made this decision. This is definetely a different approach in the vampire genre and i really appreciate the effort. To see a trailer park where vampires live out in the middle of nowhere, that helps the mystery of this location become more interesting. There are especially three details that i feel makes this a solid horror film and the most important detail is the practical make up effects. I have to say these vampires look much more creepy than your standard vampire design. I also feel that the vampire characters works surprisingly good in this film, especially the young vampire girl Lily ( with a solid performance from actress Poppie Jae Hughes ). The scenes where Lily get an oppurtunity to show how she function for each day, really give her character a deeper meaning. The third detail is actually the CGI effects and considering this film have a limited budget i am impressed over how good the vampire kills look. In general i would say the acting is alright, where especially caretaker Crawford ( played well by actor Jonathan Hansler ) stands out as one of the most interesting human characters. The horror scenes are quite effective thanks to the vampire cast and the conflicts between certain vampires is actually a bit fun to watch. This film is surprisingly long coming close to 1 hour and 50 minutes. For the most part it works, except in a couple of stretched out dialogue scenes between actors Arifin Putra and Eloise Lovell Andersson. At the end of the day i would say Bogieville is one of this year´s better vampire horror films. It has some minor flaws but im honestly surprised how good qualities this film have to offer fans of horror. Director Sean Cronin ( director of the wonderful drama film Our Kid ) proves with Bogieville that the vampire genre is alive with a great looking horror film. A great choice if you want to be prepared for Halloween weekend.

Rating: DDD

40 Acres

During this summer i went to visit a local farmer that i personally know for almost 20 years. I actually got to know his wife first because we worked together in health care for several years, we try to see each other now and then. Since this couple know how much i love fruit pies they have invited me to dinner for several years, and we usually have home made apple pie with apples from their own apple trees. Since it was too early for apple harvest during my visit they used other ones from a store, still tasted really good. This farmer basically grow everything from potatoes, carrots, white cabbage, tomatoes, cucumber and much more. They have lived on this farm for over 30 years and it´s really charming to visit, and one important detail that this farmer have worked hard for is to have plenty of food before winter arrives. That way they are well prepared in case their local store run out of supplies ( they don´t like Super Markets in bigger cities ), or if they need food for unexpected guests. What i love about farms such as this one is that all food is grown naturally not using any pesticide, and they make pickled vegetables as well. What if a world war breaks out or if humans were being attacked by mysterious creatures? We would need a safe location to survive, while having access to food and clean water. This scenario happened in the 2018 post-apocalyptic horror film A Quiet Place from director John Krasinski ( who plays the character Jim Halpert in the American sitcom TV series The Office ). A Quiet Place tells the story of The Abbot family who tries to survive in a post-apocalyptic world inhabited by blind aliens. What makes this horror film unique is that these aliens can hear even the smallest sounds, which makes life very complicated while trying to survive. Really good acting from actress Emily Blunt and especially a strong performance from deaf actress Millicent Simmons. A Quiet Place is a very well made survival horror film that have a lot to say why we need to support each other in crisis. The sequel is really good and the spinoff prequel A Quiet Place: Day One is also worth a watch. One film i have really been looking forward to see is the post-apocalyptic thriller 40 Acres. Is this a film you need to watch this autumn or is 40 Acres doomed to fail finding a larger audience?

The world is no longer the same and society have fallen apart completely after civil war broke out.  In a farmhouse out in the middle of nowhere, a family known as The Freemans are trying to make life worth living together with a couple of survivors. Mother Hailey Freeman ( Danielle Deadwyler ) is making sure everyone is on guard for unexpected visitors, while having radio contact with another farm where her friend Augusta Taylor ( Elizabeth Saunders ) lives. Thanks to food scarcity, they have to find options just to hopefully have a sucessfull harvest. Each day they have to be prepared for cannibals trying to seize their resources.

I am a huge fan of post-apocalptic films in general so i had a feeling that 40 Acres would be something i might appreciate, i did not expect to enjoy this film as much as i do. This film is filled with redeeming qualities such as really strong acting performances, the technical level of film making from director R.T. Thorne, powerful dialogue and how effective the story is told in a psychological way. We have seen similar films in the past that reminds us of films such as The Book Of Eli or TV series The Last Of Us, however what makes 40 Acres different is the family dynamic between these characters. While the world is falling apart and hope seems to fade away, they have each other while struggling to survive. There are no monsters here like they have in A Quiet Place, instead we have human cannibal savages looking for fresh meat ( one way to survive when you are short on food supplies ). Speaking of characters we have to talk about actress Danielle Deadwyler ( who i really enjoyed in the 2021 Netflix western film The Harder They Fall, worth checking out ) as the character Hailey. I have to be honest and this is one of my favourite acting performances i have seen this year so far. Danielle manage to portrait a very broken mother who have problems trusting anyone, except for very few people in her life. You can see the pain in her beautiful eyes as she have a lot of anger issues all over her body. Truly remarkable acting performance you don´t see very often. Actor Michael Greyeyes ( who i enjoyed in the 2019 Canadian horror film Blood Quantum ) also gives a strong performance as the father figure Galen, who especially have a good chemistry with actress Danielle Deadwyler. 40 Acres is a post-apocalyptic thriller that may not be original but manage to tell a strong, emotional survival story where we truly see the importance of caring for a family in difficult times. For being the directorial full feature debut film of director R.T. Thorne i am very impressed. 40 Acres is a delightful surprise and deserves to be seen by a larger audience. Definetely a film you should be watching this autumn, no matter if you choose VOD or a physical copy.

Rating: DDDD

Morgan: Killer Doll

Toy stores, parents worst nightmare right before Christmas. Perhaps not for all parents but we all know how wild families can become in there. Personally i don´t like toy stores right before Christmas but it´s not because of the children. It´s more about all the stressful people, the same Christmas hits playing in the speakers and people complaining about things that feels unnecessary. All of this combined makes me appreciate toy stores online, at least if you want to make Christmas shopping a bit more simple. I don´t mind physical toy stores in general, it´s just before holidays i try to avoid them. One thing i do appreciate though is creepy dolls in horror films, no matter if we are talking about classic franchises such as Child´s Play or Puppet Master. Both of these franchises have some great films, but then you have doll horror movies that never had any sequels and is still appreciated by horror fans worldwide. A perfect example of this is the 1991 horror film known as Dolly Dearest. Directed by Maria Lease ( who is the script supervisor for the classic legal thriller drama TV series The Practice, who i watched on TV for several years ) this film tells the story of married couple Marilyn Wade ( Denise Crosby ), Elliot Wade ( Sam Bottoms ) and their two children. Elliot is the new CEO of a doll factory. It turns out that this doll factory lies next to a Sanzian grave and the dolls become possessed by an old, evil spirit. Even if Dolly Dearest is nowhere near as good as the Child´s Play films, this is still a enjoyable doll horror film if you appreciate low budget releases. I recommend the blu ray release of Dolly Dearest from Vinegar Syndrome if you are curious about checking this film out. You may have heard of the independent film production and distribution company The Asylum, who is of course known for releasing low budget films. I decided to watch their summer release Morgan: Killer Doll, perhaps because the title sounded like something i might appreciate. Is this one of the better horror films released by The Asylum or should you watch one of the Puppet Master movies instead?

Darcy ( Bix Krieger ) have been abused physically and mentally for many years by her father, until she finally had enough and kill him one day while she is being abused. Darcy´s best friend Astrid invites her to her birthday party but some of her guests bully Darcy for her odd personality. Darcy leave the birthday party very upset while Astrid´s birthday card reveal that Darcy is in love with Astrid. The birthday gift is a doll that Darcy personally made. Humiliated and feeling worthless, Darcy see Astrid one final time before turning herself on fire with gasoline. Astrid feel a lot of guilt not being able to stop Darcy from taking her life. But something strange is  happening with the doll Morgan she was given as a birthday gift. It seems to be alive as if Darcy´s spirit is still around, or is there something else inside the doll´s body?

I have seen a lot of films distributed by The Asylum over the years and i know these are films made on a limited budget, and im perfectly fine with that. When it comes to Morgan: Killer Doll this film actually surprised me in a positive way since you get a sense that this film might be inspired by the 1976 horror classic Carrie. In that film we saw legendary actress Sissy Spacek play the extremely bullied high school student Carrie Fischer. In the film Morgan: Killer Doll you have a character known as Darcy, also an abused young woman who is bullied as well. This is definetely the most interesting character in this film and actress Bix Krieger ( who fans of the V/H/S/ anthology horror franchise might recognize her in the film V/H/S/Beyond ) deliver the strongest acting performance as the character Darcy. It´s hard not to feel sorry for this young woman, from all the mental and physical abuse by her own father and Bix Krieger manage to portrait this broken woman in a realistic way. I also enjoy the performance Shelby Wright as the character Astrid, the only friend Darcy have since childhood. Legendary actor Michael Paré deliver a solid performance as Astrid´s father John. Now, what about the doll Morgan? It looks alright i guess, but i do think the face of Morgan could have looked more creepy. The killing scenes with the doll Morgan are surprisingly brutal considering that this is a The Asylum produced film and i appreciate a more brutal approach in this genre. There is a really surprise twist towards the end i did not see coming, that worked well with the plot. On the negative side some bad CGI effects that could have been improved. Director Jose Prendes ( who directed the entertaining low budget film Headless Horseman ) proves with Morgan: Killer Doll that you can actually make doll horror movies effective with the right atmosphere and characters. Worth a watch, especially if you appreciate independent horror films just like me.

Rating:  DDD

Daniel´s B Movie Summer Madness: Pet Graveyard ( 2019 )

One thing i really appreciate during summer sitting outside in the sun is a fresh baked apple pie, especially combined with a fresh cup of coffee. I do love blueberry pie as well or strawberry pie, it´s just that apple pie have always been a personal favourite of mine since i was a child. In my youth i used to go to cafés to get coffee and pie, this was always standard for us if we for example visitied the city of Gothenburgh here in Sweden. This was before we would go into the cinema because i loved watching movies in this city, they had so much more films to choose between in cinemas compared to my hometown. Of course we spent hours as well in the physical movie shop Movieline ( Scandinavia´s biggest movie store ) that was found in the harbor of the city of Gothenburgh. It was here at Movieline i would buy most of my physical films and especially look for independent movies or low budget B movies. At some occations i would buy bigger budget films as well but i always appreciated low budget, especially finding titles that i have never heard of. For example it was in this store i bought my DVD copy of the independent horror film Boo in the summer of 2006. The film was originally released in 2005 but i had not seen it before so i decided to give it a chance. Boo turned out to be a horror movie taking place during the Halloween weekeend at an abandoned hospital. This is director Anthony C, Ferrante ( director of all the Sharknado movies ) first full feature film as a director, and considering this is a low budget horror film it looks pretty good. I especially enjoyed the abandoned hospital scenes, a great location for a Halloween weekend inspired horror film. If you want to check out Boo you can watch this film for free on Plex. As some of you might remember i have done a segment in this movie review blog several years during summer, and that is the segment known as Daniel´s B Movie Summer Madness. I decided to end this summer with a review of the 2019 independent horror film Pet Graveyard. Is this a  hidden gem among horror releases or is this simply a terrible horror film?

Social media influencer Jeff Newman ( David Cotter ) want his big break to get more viewers on his channel. He have learned about an online ritual. where you may visit someone you miss on the other side while killing yourself in a particular way. If you follow the ritual rules someone in the group will ressurect you back from the dead. Jeff decides to do this ritual with some chosen individuals on camera, not knowing the serious consequences.

The poster of Pet Graveyard kind of tricked me. When i first saw this movie poster my first reaction was:- This almost looks like a Pet Semetary rip off. And yes, i would imagine this was something they used for promotion for this film considering that they did release the 2019 remake the same year as Pet Graveyard ( plus this film title feels like a rip off as well from Pet Sematary ). Ok, so there is one similar detail to both of these films. Humans get resurrected from death in both films but in a completely different way. Other than that there are no other simiralities between these films. How would i describe Pet Graveyard ? Imagine a social media influencer version of the 1990 science fiction psychological horror film Flatliners, and instead of medical students we have young people who have no education ( except for one nurse student ) on how the human body works. And these are the people prepared to kill themselves to meet dead family members while not knowing if it works coming back to life? While i watched this film i thought to myself:- Why would anyone risk their life for a social media influencer? Maybe im getting too old or im not open for taking risks, i can´t say that this concept works for this film. The way they killed themselves looks pretty silly by using plastic suffocation, but apparently this is the only way to see your loved ones. The resurrection part also looks pretty silly. The best part of this film is actually when we see the characters crossing over to the other side, at least some scenes with a masked figure looking like the Grim Reaper have a small portion of fun horror scenes. What about the acting? In general pretty boring performances, where actress Jessica Otoole gives the only descent acting performance. I have to be honest this is not a good horror film. There is an interesting idea of ressurection and with a stronger plot it could have worked. Director Becca Hirani made a better impact on me with her acting in the independent horror movie The Loch Ness Horror than this film. Pet Graveyard is not completely terrible but extremely boring.

Rating: DD

Dangerous Animals

If there is one category of films that can be very divided it is serial killer films. Usually you find most serial killer motion pictures somewhere between psychological thrillers or as a horror film. Trust me when i say this, over the years i have seen many different constellations of serial killers in different films that i remember specific titles for different reasons. For example we have classics such the 1980 American psychological slasher film Maniac, and if we stay in the 80´s for a moment you also have the 1987 psychological thriller The Stepfather with a brilliant performance by actor Terry O´ Quinn as the very disturbed serial killer Jerry Blake. Both of these films are worth checking out on physical media if you have not seen them. Of course i should mention the 1995 classic crime thriller Seven from director David Fincher, that includes one of the best acting performances i have seen from actor Brad Pitt. One of my personal favourite serial killer films of all time is without a doubt the American satirical black comedy horror film American Psycho from director Mary Harron. Released in the year 2000 this is today considered to be a cult classic. This film is based on the 1991 novel American Psycho by author Bret Easton Ellis ( which i have been planning to read, hopefully at some point ) and tells the story of Patrick Bateman ( played brilliant by actor Christian Bale ), a very intensive New York City investment banker who lives a double life as a serial killer. What makes American Psycho such a unique film experience is not only the insane acting performance by Christian Bale, the dark almost satirical twists gives this film a completely different approach than any other serial killer film from the past. American Psycho almost feel like a deeply disturbed comic book in certain scenes and director Mary Harron cleverly use all the right strings to make a powerful impact. Definetely a must watch if you love a uniqe film experience. I have been reading some positive reviews online for a while about an Australian survival horror film called Dangerous Animals, that includes a serial killer. I decided to rent this film on digital to see if i would agree with other film critics. Is this one of the films that you should add to your watch list or is this film not as good as i was hoping it would be?

Tourists Greg ( Liam Greinke ) and Heather ( Ella Newton ) visit Tucker´s Experience, a shark cage attraction run by the eccentric boat captain Tucker ( Jai Courtney ).While riding out into the ocean, Tucker remarks on how he survived a shark attack as a child. After the two participate in a cage dive, Tucker suddenly kill Greg and abduct Heather. At the Gold Coast, American drifter Zephyr ( Hassie Harrison ) reluctantly helps real estate agent Moses start his car. They end up spending the night together having sex. Moses hopes they might turn this into a romantic relationship, but Zephyr drives away to surf at the beach. Here she meets Tucker at the parking lot, who later abduct her to his boat. It is on this boat Tucker prepare a special video show that he films on VHS.

Since we get at least a couple of serial killer films released every year, you know most of them will most likely tell very traditional stories that we have seen many times before. Thankfully, this film takes a completely turn in this specific genre. What makes Dangerous Animals different is that this serial killer use sharks to torture and murder his kidnapped victims. I could be wrong, but i have never seen this combination in a serial killer horror film before. Why is this a important detail? To be completely honest we have not had many attempts to do something different in this specific genre and i welcome any kind of new ideas. The plot itself is very simple and this actually works with the sharks included. Let us get into the characters and i think it is fair to say that actor Jai Courtney ( who plays Captain Boomerang in The Suicide Squad, worth checking out ) as the serial killer Tucker steals the show of this film. He brings a really wild acting performance as this deeply disturbing man with different personalities, It is interesting to see the character Tucker loose control at certain moments, this is where you see he can´t control his emotions as if his eyes almost turns completely black of anger. Jai Courtney really capture the several layers of the behavior of a serial killer. Actress Hassie Harrison ( who i recognize from TV series Yellowstone ) deliver a strong performance as the character Zephyr, a young woman who have experienced a rough past. I really appreciate that we get to know her character on a deeper level, why she prefer being by herself. The horror scenes in general are effective and this film does show the playfull mindset of how a serial killer might behave in different situations. Director Sean Byrne continue to impress me after making the brilliant horror film The Devil´s Candy and i would say Dangerous Animals proves that he knows how to tell powerful stories. I personally enjoy his previous film The Devil´s Candy a little bit more than Dangerous Animals, but i still highly recommend this one. Who would have known a serial killer and sharks would match as good as it does in a film such as this? Life is sometimes full of surprises.

Rating: DDD

Marshmallow

Summer Camp, some of you might have experienced it in your childhood while some of you didn´t ( it´s ok if you never experienced it ). I did go to one summer camp at the age of 12 in 1989 in my hometown Uddevalla. This summer camp took place at a cabin camp location outside of Unda ( the name of the sea area ). The cabin camp was inside a forest area so if we wanted to go to the ocean for water activities we had to walk by foot. I remember we tried going out in a canoe each in the ocean while we didn´t have any big waves, it went pretty good. I also remember one day the summer camp arranged so we could go out on a large fishing boat, just to see how the fisherman worked and they let us try fishing. This summer camp back in the summer of 1989 was actually pretty fun, plus it was here i fell in love for the very first time in a girl named Linda ( also 12 years old at that time ). We were friends during summer camp but i never told her how i felt. I was really shy at this age so i was terrible at communicating with girls. Anyway, i had a good time at this summer camp and i hope many children worldwide enjoy their summer camp visit as well. Speaking of summer camp there are a lot of movies that takes place at a summer camp. For example you have classic comedy films such as Ernest Goes To Camp and Meatballs ( with a young Bill Murray ). Of course you have a lot of slasher horror films taking place at a summer camp. One classic slasher horror film i reccomend is the 1981 horror film The Burning from director Tony Maylam ( who also directed the 1992 classic Split Second with Rutger Hauer ). The Burning is a very traditional 80´s slasher horror film with fun practical make up effects and i like that the murder weapon is a garden shears. If you want to watch The Burning i highly recommend the Arrow Video blu ray release of this film. Early this year i read online about a summer camp horror film called Marshmallow that had a cool movie poster design. I am always open to check out horror films that looks inspired by the 80´s. Is this a must watch this autumn or will Marshmallow most likely be forgetten?

Morgan ( Kue Lawrence ) is travelling to his very first summer camp known as Camp Almar. Morgan get a rough start by the bully CJ ( Sutton Johnston ) while trying to fit in with other children. But as the days go by, Morgan is about to discover a secret in one of the cabins at night that will change everything.

I think it is fair to say that this film Marshmallow is clearly inspired by Netfllx TV series Stranger  Things, you can tell by the style of this film and especially the 80´s influenced music score. The cabin summer camp location is perfect for a horror film in this genre.  It is old school summer camp where children and teenagers are meant to be activated. Swim in the lake, play different sport activities or even read books. There is no TV set or any computers, mobile phones are locked inside by the summer camp leaders. At first this seems to be a pretty normal standard teen horror film ( that´s still good thankfully ), but the biggest surprise is where the film takes us towards the end. I did not predict that ending so im happy they decideed to do something different than i expected. The children cast gives solid performances in this film, especially lead actor Kue Lawrence playing the charactor Morgan. I think a lot of children can relate to this character being a bully victim, and there is especially one scene by the lake where it´s difficult not feeling sorry for him. Thankfully he get along really well with a kid known as Dirk ( played by actor Max Malas ). Of the adult actors i enjoyed the performance of actors Giorgia Whigham, Pierson Fode and Paul Soter ( yes the actor who played the character Foster in both films of Super Troopers, worth a watch if you love comedy films ). The strength of Marshmallow really comes towards the final 45 minutes of this film, when the horror elements finally finds it´s rightful place. I mentioned Stranger Things earlier and i really appreciate that director Daniel DelPurgatorio tries to keep the spirit of 80s horror alive in a modern film. The plot is told in a very simple way, just like a lot films from the 80´s. To be completely honest i don´t see any point mentioning any flaws with this movie. Marshmallow gives a nice nostalgic throwback to my childhood and i would recommend  this film, especially for old school horror fans.

Rating: DDD

Home Sweet Home: Rebirth

Back in the late 90´s i used to play a lot of PlayStation games. On certain weekends i would visit my gaming school friend Anders who owned a lot of video games with his brother Dennis on Super Nintendo, Sega Megadrive and especially PlayStation 1. This is the same Anders i mentioned in reviews in the past who ordered uncut VHS films from the UK. Anyway, since Anders bought a lot of video games on PlayStation i could just borrow some titles from him instead of buying new releases. I did buy about 20 PlayStation games, but compared to Anders i didn´t have a library of titles. I would guess he probably owned about 300 PlayStation games so i did enjoy trying a lot of titles. Of the games that i personally owned i especially had 4 favourite games and those titles are Tenchu - Stealth Assassins, Medal Of Honor, MediEvil and Syphon Filter. Let´s talk about Syphon Filter for a moment and why this was a cool game in the year of 1999. This is a third-person shooter video game where you play as special agent Gabriel. He is on a mission to apprehend a German international terrorist. What made this video game enjoyable was how effective the gameplay was while you were taking down criminals at different locations, and i have to mention how smooth it was to reload your weapons in gun battles. The game graphics of Syphon Filter may look old today compared to modern games but i still think this is a cool nostalgic video game. Speaking of video games there are a lot of video games turned into live action adaptations in Hollywood. We have several Mortal Kombat films ( the latest Mortal Kombat film is coming out this year on October 24 ) and you have classics such as the 1994 martial art action film Street Fighter, wich was legendary actor Raul Julia´s final acting performance. One film adaptation based on a video game i recently discovered is a horror film called Home Sweet Home: Rebirth. Based on the 2017 Thai video game ( a game i have not tried so far ) i was curious to see if this might be something i may appreciate. Is this a good choice to watch this autumn during a rainy day or is Home Sweet Home: Rebirth not worth your precious time at all?

Jake ( William Moseley ), a dedicated police officer, travel to Bangkok, Thailand, to enjoy a vacation with his wife, Prang ( Urassaya Sperbund ), and their young daughter, Loo ( Akeira Hadden ). Jake have a hard time letting go off work which his wife doesn´t appreciate. While visiting a shopping mall this trip takes a horrifying turn when a mass shooting erupts at this shopping mall. Jake confronts the shooter, Mek ( Michele Morrone ), who cryptically refers Jake as "The Keeper" before triggering an explosion that kills them both. Jake awakens in "The Hinderance", a purgatorial realm between life and death. Here, he encounters Chan ( Alexander Lee, a novice monk who reveals that Jake´s death was a part of a ritual to open the Gates of Hell. Chan explains that Jake is the prophesied "Keeper" destined to prevent the Apocalypse.

Since i never played the video game this film is based on i will give you my personal opinion about this film from my own perspective. The first thing that came to my mind while watching Home Sweet Home: Rebirth is that i could feel influences from the classic video game franchise known as Resident Evil. Obviously this is not a similar story or have any characters that are the same as in Resident Evil, but there are some horrror scenes where you get a sense that they may have been inspired by the classic horror video game franchise. For example in some scenes with actor William Moseley´s character Jake he tries to kill a possessed looking woman who still attacks no matter how many times his bullets enter her body, and we have seen something similar in Resident Evil games. Im ok with this since i feel a lot of horror films are inspired by many classic horror films or comic books as well. As a horror film in general i did find myself enjoying this film, especially for the apocalyptic approach with plenty of action scenes in general. If you remember the 2015 action thriller No Escape with Owen Wilson protecting his family in Thailand, Home Sweet Home: Rebirth have a similar plot with supernatural horror influences instead. One detail i really appreciate with this film is how they tell a part of the story in  "The Hindrance", the spiritual world of the dead. This is where we see demons, monsters and understand how this other side of the world works. I do like the chemistry between actors William Moseley and Alexander Lee in the spiritual world. Anything negative to say? There are some terrible acting performances from certain characters and some CGI effects are a bit cheesy, but if you can accept these things and just enjoy this film as simple apocalyptic horror film, you might actually enjoy this one. Directors Steffen Hacker and Alexander Kiesl have made a film that clearly feels like a throwback to demonic horror action films of the 90´s and i appreciate their effort. I welcome this genre with open arms, sometimes it´s nice seeing a film that don´t care about what´s trending on social media.

Rating: DDD

Final Destination: Bloodlines

No one can escape death. At some point in our lives our physical body will shut down and we have to accept death. I am personally not afraid to die, perhaps because i have seen dead people in health care jobs since the summer of 1999. No matter how you feel regarding death, try to look back at the best moments in your life and appreciate those moments. But what if you found out by sudden premonitions that you are warned about future major disasters, where you may be chosen by an unseen force described as Death itself, where you may be chosen to die? That is a small piece of the premise of the beloved horror franchise known as Final Destination. Back in the year of 2000 when the first film came out in the spring, i remember i had doubts if it would be any good. Why you might ask? The poster looked like another college horror film and for that reason my expectations were pretty low. Then i saw the trailer in cinema of Final Destination before i was about to see The Green Mile on the big screen. The trailer did make me curious in this film, the premise seemed different than most horror films at that time. I decided to watch this film in cinema after all and i was pleasantly surprised. The idea that a teenager can have a premonition of catastrophic plane explosion, that gives the plot some interesting twists and turns. I would say this is still a solid horror film today from director James Wong ( who directed the Dragonball Evolution live adaptation film as well ). And i have to say most of the young cast did solid performances. Of all of the sequels that followed i enjoyed Final Destination 2 most of them all. The other ones are enjoyable but to me the fourth one is my least favourite. After many years away from the Final Destination franchise it was announced a sequel was coming out in 2025. So here we are with the next chapter in this film series simply called Final Destination: Bloodlines. Is this one of the better sequels in this franchise or is this not a worthy sequel that fans were hoping for?

In 1969, Iris Campbell ( Brec Bassinger ) and her boyfriend Paul ( Max Lloyd-Jones attend the grand opening of the Sky View, a high-rise restaurant tower. Iris has a premonition of a chain of events that causes the tower to collapse, killing everyone inside. Iris warns the tower´s attendees and prevents the collapse, but in doing so disrupt Death´s design. Fifty-five years later, Iris and Paul´s maternal granddaughter, college student Stefani Reyes ( Kaitlyn Santa Juana ) is plagued by recurring nightmares of the averted accident at Sky View. She decides to locate her grandmother Iris ( Gabrielle Rose ) to get answers to her recurrring dreams. She manage to locate her and finds out that the whole family is cursed.

Wow!!!!

Talk about the biggest comeback in a horror franchise in a long time. Final Destination: Bloodlines does not only find the perfect tone how to make a worthy sequel to this specific franchise, this film also manage to find a way to connect the past in a very clever way with the timeline of the previous films. As most of horror fans know making a really solid sequel is very rare these days, we saw what happened with The Conjuring spin off films known as Anabelle ( where i felt Anabelle Comes Home was the weakest film, so far ). Thankfully you can tell that Final Destination: Bloodlines really worked hard to please not only the old school fans of the franchise while trying to seduce a younger horror fan generation as well. I will get to some things i really appreciated with this film, but let´s talk about some of the characters for a while. Lead actress Kaitlyn Santa Juana ( this was the first time i have seen her acting ) really put in a lot of effort into her character Stefani Reyes. To be honest i was impressed how good she did this performance considering this is her first big lead role. Actor Richard Harmon ( who i enjoyed watching in the post-apocalyptic science fiction TV series The 100 ) is definetely the most charming character in this film playing the wacky character Erik. Actress Rya Kihlstedt ( who is great in the 2015 horror film The Atticus Institute, worth a watch ) deliver a solid performance as struggling character Darlene. Of course in Final Destination: Bloodlines you see the final acting performance by legendary actor Tony Todd and give us one of his strongest acting performance ever, and it is very difficult not to get emotional. His character William Bludworth have been a part of this franchise from the very beginning. One very important detail in this sequel is how gory a lot of the killing scenes are, and i feel it wouldn´t have worked if they cut down on the violence. And i am so grateful seeing bodies being torn apart, heads exploding, all of this is beautiful to witness. The puzzle that lead character Stefani tries to learn to figure out who will die  next works really well with the main plot. Directors Zach Lipovsky and Adam Stein deliver one of the best horror films of this year and finally give new life to the Final Destination franchise. Definetely a must watch if you are a true horror fan.

Rating: DDDD