Pinocchio: Unstrung

Looking back into the late 1980´s, i can actually appreciate what my mother Lena did with me and my sister visiting the public library. We used to borrow children books and sometimes even read some while visiting the library. We didn´t have access to mobile phones or the internet, and we didn´t need any of that because we were actually very social with other children. I remember some of the books that i wanted to borrow and i especially had one favourite book at that time. And that was the novel known as Treasure Island by author Robert Louis Stevenson. I would dream myself being away on a pirate ship, sailing across the seas and facing danger in different parts of the world. Just a year later i got to go and watch the latest film adaptation of Treasure Island in our local cinema in my hometown Uddevalla. This was during the summer of 1990 and considering i have read the book of Treasure Island, seeing a film adaptation of the book was very exciting. I recognized the name of actor Charlton Heston, because i used to love watching his 1968 science fiction cult classic film Planet Of The Apes on VHS. You also have legendary actor Christopher Lee in this film as the fun character Blind Pew. The 1990 film adaptation of Treasure Island tuirned out to be a great adventure, capturing the spirit of the book. It´s been a while since i watched this film so i might pick it up on  DVD at some point. Regarding books and film adaptations, we have seen a number of fairy tale books become animated films such as Cinderella, Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs,  Alice In Wonderland, Peter Pan, The Little Mermaid and many more titles. In recent years we have seen a number of characters from famous fairy tales turned into horror films, such as Winnie The Pooh Blood And Honey, Bambi: The Reckoning, Peter Pan´s Neverland Nightmare and other titles. I have seen almost all of them, not all of the Popeye horror films ( i gave up after Popeye´s Revenge because it wasn´t good ). But did you know that even in the 90´s they did a horror film based on the fairy tale character known as Pinocchio, known as Pinocchio´s Revenge released in 1995? I did not see this film on VHS back in the day, even though i did see the cover in rental VHS stores. It wasn´t until around 2006 i got a DVD copy from America where i got a chance to see this film. Pinochio´s Revenge turned out to be a charming B horror movie from the distribution company Trimark Pictures ( the same distribution company that released Leprechaun ), where especially Pinocchio looked quite creepy with the big eyes and the wooden design. Worth a watch if you enjoy B horror movies. This year i was really excited about checking out the new horror film Pinocchio: Unstrung. With a hand made puppet of Pinnochio and practical make up effects included, this sounded exactly like my kind of film. Is the slasher horror film Pinocchio: Unstrung a must watch or should you just watch the 1995 low budget movie Pinocchio´s Revenge instead?

Fourteen-year-old James ( Cameron Bell ) is sent to live with his gandfather Geppetto ( Richard Brake ) after his parents died in a car accident. He makes friend´s with two other children, Zach ( Elliott Spilling ) and Dudley ( Jack Art Gray ). His friend Zach finds out he is diagnosed with terminal cancer, and the cancer have spread so fast there is nothing they can do. While remembering his dead friend Zach, Geppetto want to show James his latest creation known as Pinocchio. The wooden boy is actually alive and wants to become a new friend to James. All that Pinocchio want is to become a normal boy just like James, while he is trying to accept who he really is.

If you think that Pinocchio: Unstrung is very similar to Pinocchio´s Revenge from 1995 i would say these films are quite different from each other. Pinocchio: Unstrung is much more brutal and a real throwback to gory slasher horror movies of the 1980´s. There are several details that i am pleased about with this film, so let´s dig into the things i appreciate the most about Pinocchio: Unstrung. Let´s talk about the puppet design and i think Pinocchio looks really good. Knowing this is a hand made doll, that is actually impressive what they achieved with the design of Pinocchio. They could have gone the easy way and made a similar to the classic design, instead they do a complete oppisite and make the most creepy looking Pinocchio doll i have seen so far. The movement of the wooden body and the facial expressions of Pinocchio looks really good, knowing this all done practical. We have to talk about the brutal killing scenes in this film. I have heard that this film would be brutal, but i was surprsied how extremely brutal some scenes are and i really love that. This is exactly the kind of Pinnochio story i always wanted, i want to watch him kill the old school way. Real practical make up effects and no AI effects, just the way it should be. I love the fast that they use parts of the original story of Pinocchio and turn a modern twist on the plot, so you can actually feel a connection to the classic Pinocchio story. The friendship between Pinocchio and the main character James ( played well by child actor Cameron Bell ) is portrayed well in this film. Especially when you know that Pinocchio only want to be a normal boy, and he knows he looks different than a human child. The creepy characer Cricket ( with a voice from legendary actor Robert Englund ) looks great and have some charming horror scenes. Actor Richard Brake ( who i enjoy in the 2005 film adaptation of Doom ) as Gepetto is a good match for this classic character. Of all the fairy tale inspired horror films i have seen in recent years, i would say that Pinocchio: Unstrung is one of the better films in this category. This film have flaws of course such as the main plot could have been more effectively constructed, but still manage to entertain me enough to recommend you getting a physical copy. Director Rhys Frake-Waterfield have made his best film so far with Pinocchio: Unstrung, i actually hope we get a sequel.

Rating: DDD

The Voices Of Our Mother

There are moments when i want to challenge myself, when i want to watch something different and intelligent as well. Even if i watch a lot of low budget films and independent films i do really enjoy very fascinating stories, even odd films that stands out from the crowd. I love hearing about films that the mainstream audience may not have heard of, films that may look different or have something intriguing to tell. One distribution company who are really good at releasing very good releases on physical media, is the distributiuon company known as Arrow Video. I have bought quite a lot of releases from them over the years, mostly of classic films or cult status releases. But then they have also released some more original films that´s been interesting. A perfect example if this is the 2021 Canadian psychological thriller The Righteous, that was released with a beautiful blu ray cover. Now, what makes this film fascinating you might wonder? First of all it´s a film shot completely in black and white, so this gives the film a different depth. There is also a religious undertone in this film which makes the story fascinating, especially because this is an elderly couple named Frederic Mason ( Henry Czerny ) and Ethel Mason ( Mimi Kuzuk ), living alone in the countryside mourning their dead daughter. They do attend their local church on Sunday and know some folks in the small town, but otherwise they live a quiet life. Until one night when a young injured man named Aaron Smith ( Mark O´Brien ), who begs for help while crawling outside of their house. They take him inside their home and welcome him, where especially Frederic´s wife like the company of this young man. Who is he really? Why was he out in the forest? Is there a meaning to why he came to this specific cabin? This dramatic psychological thriller have a lot of connections to the Bible. and especially regarding sins and forgivness which is something this film digs deep into. Director Mark O´Brien give us a well made film that´s not only beautiful to watch, the acting is really good as well. The Righteous is definetely worth picking up on a physical blu ray from Arrow Video. Speaking of religious connected films, i did sat down to watch the drama horror film known as The Voices Of Our Mother, from the same director of The Righteous. It seems that this film also have a religious undertione but this is a horror film instead compared to The Righteous. Is this a must watch this autumn or should you skip this one and choose something far more interesting?

Harriet ( Sheila McCarthy ) suddenly see her mother pass, while she is struggling herself physically and mentally. Harriet ends up being hospitalized, when her siblings William ( Mark O´ Brien ) and Annika ( Georgina Reilly ) are forced to help their mother together with family members. At first it looks like she might be suffering from a dementia illness. As their mother´s behavior begin to change suddenly, is it really dementia or could there be another explanation to her strange behavior?

Since i enjoyed The Righteous for being such a deeply psychological film, i was very curious to see if The Voices Of Our Mother would attempt something similar. I would say that these films are a bit different from each other, except that both films do capture the world of elderly people. I noticed this very early in The Voices Of Our Mother that this could be a very personal thing for director Mark O´Brien, considering he told the story of an elderly couple in The Righteous and he brings up elderly people in this film as well. I really appreciate that because i feel we need to include the subject of aging more often, since we usually see younger people in a lot of horror films. Aging is a natural part of life so of course it should be talked about in different stories. One thing i feel that director Mark O`Brien improved with this film is that he skipped a lot of dialogue scenes, as he had in The Righteous. I understand that perhaps they were needed in The Righteous so we could get to know the characters better, but we don´t need that in The Voices Of Our Mother,  i feel that this was a good choice focusing on the story instead. I think a lot of people can relate to the part of the story of taking care of your elderly mother, except we have exorcism influences in here as well which makes the plot fascinating. One of the reasons why the demonic possession scenes works well in this film, is seeing several family members struggle seeing their ill mother change completey as if something have taken over her soul. Just imagine seeing this happening, while you are taking care of her. This gives the film a deeper meaning how important it is to have faith, and fight for your mother when she is too weak. The acting in general is good where the best acting performance comes from actress Sheila McCarthy, ( who i especially remember from the body horror film Antiviral, worth a watch ), and it´s nice to see director Mark O´Brien act in this film as well since i liked his acting performance in The Righteous. Even if there isnt´t s lot of scary scenes in this film, it is more about the atmosphere and struggling mentally in complicated situations that makes the horror scenes become effective. The only negative i can think of regarding this film, may be that this film doesn´t feel as original as The Righteous, but i still feel this is a solid old school horror film if you enjoy exorcism films. I will be keeping my eyes open for future films of director Mark O´Brien, im definetely a fan and im hoping he continue making more horror films in the future. Worth a watch on streaming or VOD, The Voices Of Our Mother deliver a cozy horror moment.

Rating: DDD

Pitfall ( Blu ray review )

When you think about redneck states across America you have to include Alabama on your list. You should probably add states such as West Virginia, Arkansas and Kentucky as well. That´s where you see them MAGA pickup trucks driving everywhere with MAGA flags, where you marry your cousin instead of going on dating night at church or your local bingo hall. Life is simple in redneck country, just drink that peach cobbler moonshine, sit on the porch looking at cars passing by while listening to the country albums of artist Jason Aldean. If you never heard of country artist Jason Aldean, you did not miss that much honestly. The only single i can remember is his hit single Try That In A Small Town just because it did so well in America, and also did pretty well in the United Kingdom for some reason. I actually like small towns so this is nothing against the subject of a smaller town, it´s just that the lyrics of this song is so politically focused that it becomes annoying to me. If you are going to make a song about a smaller town, make a positive song instead. Speaking about redneck people, we have seen so many different kinds of movies especially including small town folks living in poverty, or is simply bat shit crazy rednecks. A perfect example of this is the 2003 slasher horror film Wrong Turn from director Rob Schmidt. The plot is very basic, a group of college students travelling through West Virginia, becomes victims of cannibal inbred rednecks who loves some fresh human meat. That is pretty much it when it comes to the plot, but it´s still a fun horror slasher movie with some really brutal kills. The inbred redneck characters are actually funny to watch, even if they are really distrurbing individuals. The first film did well enough so this became a whole franchise of 7 movies ( if you count in the 2021 remake ). I can accept the first film and the two sequels, i can even accept the 2021 remake as well. But from Wrong Turn 4: Bloody Beginnings it just went downhill from there. They should have ended the sequels right after the third film. The first film is definetely worth a watch though if you have not seen it, especially if you love slasher horror films with some brutal killing scenes. Speaking of slasher horror films in the forest, i recently picked up a physical blu ray copy from the UK of the survival slasher horror film Pitfall, from director James Kondelik ( one of the director´s of the 2014 Dean Cain´s cult classic Airplane vs. Volcano, which he directed with his twin brother Jon Kondelik ). Since i am a fan of this genre and also wanted to see actor Randy Couture ( from The Expendables franchise ) in a horror film, is this worth picking up on physical media or should you go for the original Wrong Turn movie instead?

Scott ( Marshall Williams ) and his sister Ashley ( Alexandra Essoe ) decide to camp together out in a forest area, where Scott and Ashley lost their parents 5 years ago in a horrible car accident. They travel together with friends and partners, so especially Ashley can deal with her PTSD. Ashley is struggling being out here again, but decide to deal with it rather than hide at home. What they don´t know is that there is a serial killer out there known as Hunter ( Randy Couture ), who have set up pitfall traps to capture anything that´s alive.

While i was watching Pitfall i started to think about if i have ever seen a horror film where you have pitfall traps included, i can´t think of one single film where i have seen that before. At least not where they are a very important part of the film, so that makes Pitfall a bit of an original slasher horror film for trying a different path. How could i describe this film without giving away too much plot, imagine this film to be the serial killer version of Wrong Turn but without deformed rednecks. That´s probably one easy way to describe the plot, and if Pitfall would have been just another serial killer film this could have been a boring watch. Thankfully, thanks to the pitfalls across the forest plus some fun traps, this makes the serial killer story more fascinating. Because when it comes to serial killers, we have seen so many films that looks exactly the same and i appreciate the effort with this film. When it comes to the serial killer himself only known as Hunter ( played by former UFC fighter Randy Couture ), i think this is a great character in a film such as this. Doesn´t really talk, just set up traps to kill whatever he can get his hands on plus kill victims by hand as well, or by using certain weapons. Another very important part of the film is how brother Scott and his sister Ashley lost both of their parents in a car accident, dealing with PTSD. Especially the sister Ashely played well by actress Alexandra Essoe ( who i recognized from the 2019 psychological horror film Doctor Sleep, worth a watch ). I think Alexandra capture a realistic portrait of how someone can struggle with PTSD and staying sober, where everyday feels like a nightmare and you do your best to deal with life. This film is really brutal and you can tell they are using practical make up effects, and i really appreciate how violent this film is which makes the serial killer scenes more fun to watch. I think Pitfall looks good in general and the forest scenes do capture some creepy moments in the dark, knowing someone is out there to get you. So anything negative to say? Not really, i could probably mention a few minor details but in general i enjoyed this slasher horror film. If you just want lots of blood, killer scenes with practical make up effects and a cool looking serial killer then this should work for you. Pitfall is a film that´s definetely for fans of the Wrong Turn franchise or similar films, and i can tell director James Kondelik must have had fun making this film considering how brutal the most gory scenes are. Worth picking up on physical media if you want to add something tasteful to your slasher horror collection.

Rating: DDD

The Moonlight Murders

I remember very clearly around the year of 1995 that Swedish TV channel TV 3 used to show a lot of different TV thrillers. That kind of thrillers you could tell were made on a limited budget, and really looked like it was specifically made for TV. Since i watched a lot on TV 3 back in the day, i would check some of those TV thriller movies out. Some turned out to be alright while others....not that good. Perhaps it also mattered that i was 18 years old at that time, i prefered watching big box office releases at the cinema. And in the year of 1995 i visited the cinema a lot, i watched Bad Boys, Braveheart, Judge Dredd, The Usual Suspects, Copycat, Crimson Tides, Assassins and Seven among many titles. Regarding TV thrillers back in 1995 i only remember a couple of the titles i watched and even recorded on my VCR player, such as the 1994 TV thriller Web Of Deception from director Richard A. Colla ( the director of the original 1978 science fiction pilot for TV series Battlestar Galactica ). Web Of Deception is a very typical classic 90´s crime drama thriller, that have that magical 90´s touch that we all remember. Legendary actor Powers Boothe ( who i love in the 1987 western action film Extreme Prejudice with Nick Nolte, William Forsythe, Rip Torn and Michael Ironside ) plays the character Dr. Philip Benesch, a respected pychiatrist in the city. His wife Ellen Benesch ( Pam Dawber from the classic sitcom comedy TV series Mork & Mindy ) finds out he cheated on him. After thinking through all of this a while she decides to stay, But only if he is honest and promise to work on the relationship with her. One day Dr. Philip have a new admirer known as Corrie Calvin ( Lisa Collins ) who wants to have a relationship with him. He says no, and she doesn´t stop and continue following him around, even visit his home without permission. When Dr. Philip hurt his hand through a broken wine glas, Corrie take the blood from the napkin to set up a crime scene where she arrange his fingerprints on a gun that kills her. Now he is facing murder charges, unless he can proof he is innocent. Web Of Deception is a good choice if you want a classic crime TV film with good acting, solid characters and a simple story that works. You can actually watch it for free onthe YouTube channel MovieSpehere Full Movies. Every year we see Lifetime TV movie thrillers being released for streaming, and i loose count of how many titles they actually release. I decided to check one of the Lifetime thrillers released this year called The Moonlight Murders. Is this a must watch this upcoming Halloween weekend or should you watch the 1994 TV thriller Web Of Deception instead?

The criminal investigation reporter May ( Harley Bronwyn ) is the host of the crime TV show The Moonlight Murders, where she especially investigate a serial killer that have killed a lot of women over a long period of time. One key witness name Zeke ( Clayton Louis ) who is is a big fan of her TV show, plus works as a security guard at one of the building´s where one woman was found dead, agree to be interviewed on her show. May see this as an oppurtunity to find out some more clues of who the killer is, but it seems that Zeke may be a bit of an obsessed fan of May.

I have watched several Lifetime movies over the years, everything from Tv thrillers to Christmas movies as well. While i sometimes feel that too many of these movies feel very blend or look too similar to each other, i do have a favourite Lifetime thriller that´s known as the 2022 film Safe Room from director Boris Kodjoe. This film is surprisngly good for being a TV thriller released by Lifetime. I will say though that i prefer Lifetime movies over The Hallmark Channel movies, because at least some of these movies actually have descent acting. When it comes to The Moonlight Murders one of the reasons why i picked this film is because i noticed the high rating on IMDB at 7.3. That is quite high for being a Lifetime TV movie and that did make me curious. In a way i can understand why this rating was that high, considering this is a TV thriller. The acting is far better than most Hallmark movies and the plot is actually not that bad either. You could say that this film is divided into both a serial killer film, and the investigation of the victims by the journalist character May ( played by actress Harley Bronwyn ). The most interesting part of this film are the interviews between May and security officer Zeke ( well played by actor Clayton Louis ) on her crime investigation TV show The Moonlight Murders and outside of the camera. Because you can clearly tell that Zeke is struggling mentally and i feel that Clayton does a good job, portraying a man with mental problems. I like the character Poppy ( played by actress Lauren Cole ), you feel really sorry for her. Being a bully victim since childhood and she is in love with Zeke, accepting his mental issues.The character Detective Doyle ( played by actor John Hardy ) is a real throwack to the 1990´s police detective´s and he is a great match for this character. The mystery regarding the serial killer´s identity is actually not that predictable, so this is also a positive surprise for me. I have to say for being a Lifetime thriller i would say that this is a recommendation for me. The Moonlight Murders may not deliver anything original or fresh, but this really reminded me of good criminal TV movies of the 90´s. This is the kind of TV thriller you want to watch with a cup of tea, or a cup of coffee and just cozy in your sofa. If you miss the 90´s sometimes just like me, do yourself a favor and give The Moonlight Murders a chance. Director Ben Meyerson who starred in the 1996 cult classic thriller Freeway with Kiefer Sutherland, proves with this film there is still hope for TV thrillers in the future.

Rating: DDD

House At The Edge Of The Woods

When ever i am asked what physical found footage horror film you should pick up on DVD or blu ray, i have a list of at least 10 films that you really need to see. Horror films within this genre that are not only really solid, but for specific reasons of why you need to see these films. The positive about especially the genre known as found footage horror, is that a lot of films have interesting stories to tell, especially when it comes to some really talented director´s who can create fascinating story telling. Instead of going through a list of all of these 10 films, i decided to pick one of them and let you know why you should get a DVD copy. I am thinking about the 2013 found footage horror film known as Afflicted, directed by Derek Lee and Clif Prowse. The plot sounds faitly simple, two young men prepare themselves to travel across Europe to party and meet girls while filming everything like a travelling vlog. When of the guys, Derek, finds out he is seriously ill after a hospital visit finding out he is diagnosed with AVM, he feels even more inspired to travel. Just in case he doesn´t have much time left on Earth he needs to do this trip worldwide. After a couple days of travelling while going out in France, Derek is found in bed with strange flesh wounds after an evening with a mysterious woman. After this night something seems to be happening with him, as if he becomes more physical stronger than a human being while having other health isses. Afflicted really is a very different approach when it comes to found footage horror films, because this film is clearly inspired by vampire related stories which makes this film fascinating. Very well made found footage horror film from director´s Derek Lee and Clif Prowse. Im hoping we can see a blu ray special edition in the future of Afflicted, including interviews with people who worked on this film. I would suggest though that you pick up a DVD copy and experience this film, definetely worth a watch if you love this specific genre. Speaking of found footage hororr film, i usually try to check out at least a couple of titles within this genre every year, depending on what films looks interesting. I came across a review of the horror film House At The Edge Of The Woods on YouTube from the British film critic Screen Stars. Even if he had some things to say about the film, i did find the plot of this movie to be interesting. I decided to rent it on VOD to see if this would be something in my taste. Is this a must watch during autumn or should you skip this one and go straight to the 2013 horror film Afflicted instead?

Jeremy´s ( Josiah Miller ) father went missing after being seen on surveillance camera walking into the forest towards a shining light. No one knows where his father went, so Jeremy ask a team of paranormal investigators making a documentary about the disappearance of his father. They set up everything around his father´s house, looking into the areas around the house to see if they can find any clues of where he might have went. As the paranormal investigators dig deeper into this case, bizarre things start to happen.

One of the most important details regarding making a good found footage horror film, is making the horror scenes feel creepy, or some kind of disturbing atmosphere. If you manage to do this and tell a good story as well, you are on the right path to please horror fans of this genre. In the case of the horror film House Att The Edge Of The Woods i would say this film divided me a bit. What do i mean by that? I think there are parts of this film that i appreciate, especially the main story of the film and the idea of a team of paranormal investigators who are on this case. Basic set up for a story, but still interesting enough for a found footage concept. And then there are details i feel should have been done better than what the film offers. Before i get to the negative let´s go into the positive first. I think this film looks good considering the low budget, and they use the forest locations in a simple yet effective way that matches the story well. The acting in general is alright where i especially enjoyed the performance of actor Dulvlu Spa, except for one specific character called Jeremy ( played by actor Josiah Miller ) who i felt didn´t work that well. There are a couple of smaller creepy scenes that leaves an impact. And now we have to get into the negative for a bit. As i mentioned earlier in this review it is very important to make a found footage horror film with the right tools. And this is something that this film is missing in certain scenes, this film is not as scary as it should have been. There is nothing wrong with the plot, it´s just that director Brandon Hartsock didn´t make much effort into the horror scenes in this film, and basically just followed a similar path as many found footage horror films in the past with no big surprises. I think if you are going to capture the interests of the audience you need to make the horror scenes effective, or make you feel engaged at least. If you don´t pull this off then you loose a very important thread. House At The Edge Of The Woods is not a terrible found footage horror film, there are a few solid scenes that offers some interesting ideas. But without any really creepy moments or some really effective horror scenes, House At The Edge Of The Woods will not be one of the titles you will remember for any specific reason within this genre. I would suggest that you pick up a physical DVD copy of Afflicted instead, if you really want to see a really good found footage horror film.

Rating: DD

Undertone

If you look into the specific category of paranormal horror movies you will find so many titles to explore, it may seem impossible to know what you should watch. One of the most famous franchises within the paranormal category, is of course the well known film The Conjuring and it´s sequels. Even if i am a big fan of this franchise, let´s not dig into any of these films and let´s focus on a completely different film within the paranormal genre instead. This is where we fly all over the world and find ourselves in the country known as Argentina, home of legendary soccer player Diego Maradona. The 2017 argentinian paranormal film Atterados ( known as Terrified as well ) from director Demián Rugna. One of my personal favourite foreign paranormal horror films in many years. The film begins in a home where Clara ( Natalia Senorales ) hear strange noices coming from the kitchen sink, as if someone is talking from the sink about that there is a plan to kill her. She tell her husband Juan ( Agustin Rittano ), but he doesn´t believe her and blames their neighbor Walter Demián Salómon ) for the loud noices. Juan wakes up at night, hearing the noices himself but even larger than before, he goes over to Walter´s house to tell him to be quiet. No repsonse, just strange noises coming from his gate phone. As Juan get back into their home, he still hear strange noises. But it´s coming from the bathroom where Clara is being thrown into the wall by some evil spirit. This turns out to be one of the strange paranormal things happening in this neighborhood, where more strange events takes place as a young boy who died by a bus accident comes back to life and sit in his mother´s kitchen. What is going on in this street? Very creepy horror film that´s well written, strong acting performances and very powerful dialogue as well. A must watch on streaming service Shudder if you live in America, or watch it on VOD or physical media. Since this summer i had planned to watch the A24 paranormal hororr film Undertine, a film that looked quite different from this year´s horror releases. Since i have enjoyed several cinema releases from A24 that includes even Eddington ( yes i did enjoy this film, i would recommend it ), is this a horror film worth your precious time or should you stick to the argentinian 2017 horror film Terrified instead?

Evangeline "Evy" Babic is a young woman with a Catholic upbringing, living alone with her comatose mother, for whom she provides care. She and her friend Justin Manuel ( Adam DiMarco ) run The Undertone, a horror podcast where they report on supernatural occurences, which Evy dismisses as hoaxes while Justin fully believes they are real. One day, Justin is sent an anonymous email containing a seemingly random string of letters and ten audiofiles, wich they play on the podcast. As they listen through these audio files that includes the vioces of a couple Mike and Jessica, strange things begin to happen in Evy´s home while she goes through all the audio files.

If you think that Undertone is a traditional paranormal horror film, im here to tell you that this is not what you might have expected. You could say that this fiilm is divided into two stories, you have the podcast show regarding paranormal stories and you have the story of a woman taking care of her elderly mother. I think this is a very interesting combination, considering if you have taken care of a family member that´s ill you know how challenging that can be. And this film manage to capture that in a realistic way, that elderly care is not easy work. The podcast show itself may not sound like anything special, but what Undertone manage to do is capture a creepy atmosphere through the sound recordings that the main character Evy listen to. And this is a very important detail regarding this film, how effective the sound effects are and how they match so well with the story that they are trying to tell. Because when you think about it, we all react differently on different sounds that we hear, so what if you hear things that you have never experienced before? Lead actress Nina Kiri ( who i really enjoyed in the brilliant TV series The Handmaid´s Tale ) as the character Evy is a fascinating character. You hear her doubting that there is something supernatural out there around the world, yet she runs a podcast talking about supernatural cases. While you can tell she is struggling what to do about her mother, which of course is taking it´s toll on her. The paranormal horror scenes are effectively designed, especially when it comes to Evy´s different strange experiences in her daily life. I have to mention how efeective it is hearing famous children song´s being played in reverse, as if there are demonic messages hidden within the lyrics, from a psychological perspective knowing this is supposed to be for children. Undertone proves why A24 are still so good at making horror films, maybe not as effective as Hereditary or Midsommar but i still find Undertone to be fascinating for trying a different approach. Undertone almost feel like a podcast version of the 2005 horror film White Noise, it becomes clear that director Ian Tuason is a talented film maker and  deliver a solid first full feature film. A little bit slow in some dialogue scenes but as a paranormal hororr film, Undertone is definetely worth checking out.

Rating: DDD

Hungry

If you want a category within the genre known as horror that includes diversity, you should look for animal horror films. You will find so many different versions of animal horror, where you have everything from attacking grizzly bears, snakes, alligators, hogs, spiders, sharks, deer, crocodiles,  and many more. Animal horror turned out to be especially popular during the 1970´s and the 1980´s, with classics such as the 1976 film Grizzly. You can probably figure out that this film is about an attacking grizzly bear, but what´s especially interesting is how much money this film made on a 750.000 U.S. dollars. Worldwide this film made 39 million U.S. dollars and let´s be honest, that is fantastic box office numbers for a horror film such as this back in 1976. Since then we have a lot of animal horror movies released every year, espcially on the lower budget scale. There are exceptions of course where there is a bigger budget and i do have one i can recommend, especially if you love animal horror films with sharks. The 2012 Australian horror film Bait 3D ( yes it was shown in cinemas in 3D, also known simply as Bait ). Since the film Bait didn´t get a cinema release here in Sweden, i bought the blu ray instead. A tsunami wave hits all over town and a group of survivors are trapped inside a over flooded supermarket building. A shark manage to get inside the water of the supermarket, which means the survivors have to find different ways to get out of the water. If they jump they might slip into the water and become shark food, so what else can they do to survive? Directed by Kimble Rendall, who was the second assistant director of Nicolas Cage classic 2007 film Ghost Rider. A fun B horror movie with some really gory scenes. What i especially think works with this film is the different locations of this overflooded building, the set design looks great and definetely a different take on shark movies than the usual release. Worth a watch on DVD, blu ray or streaming if you enjoy animal horror films. One of the horror films i have been looking forward to see this year, is a animal horror film simply called Hungry. I have actually never seen an animal horror film with a hippo before, so that got me excited considering i have seen so many different kinds of animals killing human beings. Hungry is directed by James Nunn, who gave us the 2021 effective action film One Shot with Scott Adkins. Is this one of the best animal horror films of this year, or is Hungry doomed to be forgotten because it´s not as good as it sounds?

A group of tourists go out on a boat ride to watch alligators in the Louisana swamplands, but they have no idea that something else is out there waiting for them. Perhaps even more dangerous than the alligators themselves....

When the film Hungry get into the swamp plot it reminded me instantly of the 2006 horror film Hatchet. It´s a similar boat tourist ride in the swamp and in Hatchet they were checking out locations based on ghost stories, the difference is of course that in Hungry this is an alligator tourist ride instead. I just thought it was fun being reminded by the original Hatchet movie, which you should see if you have not seen this film. When you have a group of characters on a boat you need to have interesting characters to feel engared. I would say that the most interesting characters are especially the former firefighter grandfather character Tim ( played by comedian and actor Jim Meskinen, who made the voice for the comic book character Deadshot in the 2008 animated film Batman: Gotham Knight, worth a watch especially on physical media ). I actually wish he could have a lead role in this film, because this is the kind of character you need to survive out in the swamps when you are not familiar with the environment. Actress Madison Davenport ( who did a great performance in From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series ) as the character Sistine, have a charming personality while you can tell she is struggling with the death of her mother. Another interesting character such as Walker ( played by actor Joaquim de Almeda who played the evil character Bucho in the 1995 action classic Desperado ), a man filled with knowledge about the swamp. When it comes to the hippo itself it takes a while before you actually see the hippo attack in full person, and as i mentioned earlier about the shark movie Bait 3D there you actually got some brutal attack scenes. You don´t really see that many scenes such as this in Hungry, which in my opinion is a missed oppurtunity. I prefer watching brutal kills by animals, it becomes a more fun watch for a fan of this genre such as myself. As a survival horror film i would still say that Hungry manage to appreciate this film for trying to bring back similar films such as Grizzly from 1976. It´s a film with flaws, but still enjoyable enough if you appreciate this genre. Director James Nunn give us an old school animal horror film that´s enjoyable if you just want something easy to watch. Worth a visit on VOD or streaming, Hungry will make sure your stomache stays full.

Rating: DDD