Bambi: The Reckoning

About 7 months ago i was invited to a female friend´s children´s birthday party. There were 8 children there with adults and the children seemed to have a great time. They played some games and then of course the birthday boy blew out the candles of the cake. After this they all sat down to watch the cartoon Disney movie Dumbo on Disney +. I had not seen this film and my female friend ( who have basically seen all Disney animated movies ) was suprised and said:- You have not seen Dumbo in all these years? It was alright i guess, the thing about me is that i have never been a huge fan on animated Disney films in general so there are a lot of titles i have not seen. For example i have not seen Oliver & Company, The Great Mouse Detective, Pocahontas ( i don´t know the animation in this one always looked bad to me ), Dinosaur, Home Of The Range and many more titles. So, the good thing about this is that if i ever wanted to do a Disney movie marathon i would have lots of titles to choose between. Will probably never happen but you never know what the future holds. One film i do remember though is the 1942 animated Disney film Bambi. A charming simple story regarding a white-tailed male fawn named Bambi, who learn to walk and talk by his rabbit friend Thumper, where he also meet the skunk Flower and the female fawn called Faline. Bambi is about to face reality as he one day sees the Great Prince. Bambi is a pretty harmless animated children´s movie, but considering how old this film is i have to say the animation is really well made. Is it one of my favourite Disney films? No, that would probably be 1997 animated Disney film Hercules that i actually saw in cinema at that time. You may have seen low budget horror films using classic animated characters such as Winnie The Pooh, Peter Pan and Popeye. Well it´s time for Bambi to get a different version as well in the horror film Bambi: The Reckoning from director Dan Allen ( who directed the low budget horror film It Came From Below ). I did like the trailer for Bambi: The Reckoning so i was curious about checking this film out. Is this a must see for true fans of Bambi or is this just a low budget horror film to cash in from using the title of a classic animated Disney film?

Being disappointed in her ex-husband not caring about their son, mother Xaxa ( Rosanne McKee ) travel with her son Benji ( Tom Mulheron ) to the family home of Benjo's beloved grandmother Mary ( Nicola Wright ) in a van. It is during this journey they encounter the savage beast Bambi, who have a taste for human flesh. 

Since i have seen several films made from Winnie The Pooh Blood And Honey similar films i knew that Bambi: The Reckoning would probably remind me of similar films. With a limited budget you have to be as creative as you possibly can. I will say this, compared to films like Piglet and Popeye´s Revenge i would say that Bambi: The Reckoning looks better on a technical film making level, have better acting included and the story does feel more interesting than both of the films i mentioned earlier. The CGI effects of Bambi is actually better than i expected considering the budget of this film and i do enjoy when he attack a whole family inside a house. The creature design of Bambi is actually pretty cool and the fact that they designed this version of Bambi being so creepy, i really appreciate the effort. There are a few brutal death scenes and especially one scene surprised me, where a whole body gets split into half. That´s exactly what a film like this needed to feel more entertaining. There are some very traditional horror scenes in here we have seen before, what makes this film work other than Bambi itself is some of the characters of this film. I like the chemistry between son Benji and mother Xaxa, played by actors Tom Mulheron and Roxanne McKee. The scenes that they have together matches well with the plot, having a family driven story included into the horror elements can be effective if it´s done well. Actress Nicola Wright ( who i especially love in the British horror film The Curse Of Humpty Dumpty ) does another great performance as grandmother Mary. I do like the performance from actress Samira Mighty, too bad she didn´t have more scenes in this film. As a horror film in general i would say that Bambi: The Reckoning is effective considering there is no unique story here. Everything is very old school, it almost feels like an 80´s horror movie in a more updated version. Director Dan Allen bring back animal horror with this film like we used to see in the 1970´s except here they use CGI effects instead. If you just want a simple but effective B horror movie then this film should do the trick. Bambi: The Reckoning proves that animal horror still is an important part of horror society, make sure to get your digital copy or physical release to support independent horror. 

Rating: DDD

Jacker 3 - Road To Hell

There are a number of different reasons why i prefer independent films over big budget Hollywood films. Two of the biggest reasons is that independent films usually have more interesting stories to tell and these films have more interesting characters than big budget films usually deliver. I will also say this, sometimes i feel that independent movie posters are also more appealing than bigger film studio posters. So when ever i get an oppurtunity to dive into independent films i have never heard of, i will happily check them out. Since there are many independent films made worldwide ( especially made in America ) i like to look at other countries as well, to see what they have to offer. For example not that long ago i sat down and watched the 2016 British independent crime thriller drama film called Retribution, directed by Danny Albury and David Bispham. What caught my attention for this film was the trailer from the start, it seemed to be a film in my taste. Retribution tells the story of debt-collector Dan ( Dan Richardson ) who goes on a 24-hours rampage through London in an attempt to avenge the brutal attack on his teenage daughter. This film is around 76 minutes long and within that playtime it manage to deliver solid action scenes, pretty solid acting from the cast and even if the story is very simple it matches well with the plot. Lead actor Dan Richardson have no problem bringing old school action entertainment as the debt-collector who will do anything to revenge those who hurt his daughter. Does this film deliver anything unusual or original? No, but im completely fine with that since i feel that this film was made for an audience who appreciate revenge films from the 70´s. If you want to watch the film you can watch it on Tubi, or watch this film on the YouTube channel FilmIsNow Action Movies channel where they have plenty of independent films to choose between. If you are a fan of independent films you might recognize the name of Phil Herman. He have produced and acted in a lot of independent films over the years and he have also directed some as well. Over the years i have reviewed a couple of the films he worked on such as Horrortales.666 Part 3, I Slay On Christmas and Phil Herman´s Unearthed. I was asked if i could review a film called Jacker 3 - Road To Hell and of course i was excited to see what this could be. I have not seen the previous Jacker films so i went into this film not knowing anything of the previous films. Is this one of the best films that Phil Herman have been working on or is this not as good as i was hoping it would be? 

Serial killer Jacker ( Phil Herman) have returned to finish the job he once started, and this time no one will stand in his way. 

While Retribution is a straight old school revenge action movie you could say that Jacker 3 - Road To Hell is a mixture of different genres. In a way this film also have old school action roots filled in with the main plot. but i would also say that this film also have horror elements as well. This is basically a film about the main character Jacker and we follow him through his journey to kill anyone who gets in his way. A serial killer with no empathy and i have to say actor Phil Herman as the Jacker is the highlight of this film. He delivers fun dialogue, do some fun slasher scenes and im surprised how he is able to attack so many and manage to get away ťrom everyone. Apparently the Jacker is that kind of serial killer character of who is able to slip away from law enforcement. We also see other characters  from the previous Jacker films such as Gloria ( played by actress Debbie D ). Shes exactly the right kind of character to a film such as this, a bit goofy, sensual and doesnt take herself seriously at all. One thing Jacker 3 definitely seems to be influenced by is 1970's action horror films. During certain scenes you can see that this specific time era is shining through. If i have to mention one smaller detail that i felt could have been improved is the length of this film. It's not too long thankfully, around 1 hour and 46 minutes. But certain dialogue scenes feel a bit drawn out to the point it gets a little bit boring. If you love serial killer films with horror influences then Jacker 3 - Road To Hell could be what you are hoping to see. A simple, yet easily entertaining film that will most likely be appreciated by independent movie fans who also enjoy practical make up effects. Director James Panetta brings back old school VHS violence while having some fun with the characters. Lesson learn kids, never let the Jacker crash your birthday party celebration, you might end up with more trouble than you wished for. 

Rating: DDD

War Of The Worlds

Recently i was sitting down going through a list of how many great films came out 20 years ago in the year of 2005. When you think about it this was a very unique year for films with cinema releases such as Batman Begins, The Descent, Sin City, Brokeback Mountain, A History Of Violence, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, The Devil´s Rejects, Cinderella Man, Capote ( one of actor Philip Seymor Hoffman´s best acting performances ), Syriana, Flightplan, Saw II ( i really enjoy this sequel, a must see if you have not seen it ) and many more titles. What is so nice about going back in movie history is that you sometimes forget about certain titles that you have not seen for a long time and you might want to watch them again. That´s exactly what i did when i heard a new War Of The Worlds movie have come out on Amazon Prime and i thought about Steven Spielberg´s film version of War Of The Worlds released in 2005. I remember i saw this film in cinema back in the day, especially because i used to be a big fan of the 1988 sci fi horror TV series War Of The Worlds that used to run every week on Swedish TV channel Kanal 5. The 2005 film is based on the 1898 cult classic science fiction novel War Of The Worlds by author H.G. Wells, a book i have not read yet but i know i should at some point. The film tells the story of hard working single father Ray Ferrier ( Tom Cruise ) who is getting ready to have his children Robbie ( Justin Chatwin ) and daughter Rachel ( Dakota Fanning ) staying at his house. He have a good relationship with his daughter Rachel but things are clearly not good between Ray and Robbie as they struggle to get along. While waking up after sleeping to prepare for another night shift, Ray finds out from Elizabeth that Robbie took his car and drove off. Enourmous thunderstorms begin to happen outside across the streets as Robbie return safe, but the weather lightning becomes worse. Turns out this is aliens travelling underneath the ground to rise up in enormous machines, ready to wipe out humanity. Of all the War Of The Worlds versions i have seen i think director Steven Spielberg´s version is the best one so far. The film is well made, great acting performances and most of all great CGI effects. We have had other versions of War Of The Worlds from 2005 come out over the years, i did enjoy the BBC TV mini series The War Of The Worlds from 2019 ( i can recommend this one ). So here we are with a new version of War Of The Worlds this time with Ice Cube taking on this classic story withing the sci fi genre. Is this just as good as previous versions or is this the worst film adapation so far based on H.G. Wells classic book?

Threat analyst William Radford ( Ice Cube ) is one of the best at making sure America is safe, he can locate any threat withing the digital world and trace criminal activities. When he is informed that something strange is happening worldwide with drastic weather changes, he begin to see enourmous machines appearing across the world as if this is an alien life form attacking human beings. William does everything in his power to make sure his children Faith Radford ( Iman Benson ) and David Radford ( Henry Hunter Hall ) is in safety. What do these visitors want? Why are they attacking human civilization?

I know this film have had a lot of negative reviews ever since War Of The Worlds came out on Amazon Prime. So i decided not to look at all the reviews and just go into this film with an open mind instead. Who knows, i might disagree with what most of the films critics are saying regarding this film. After seeing this new updated version of H.G. Wells story there are some things we need to discuss. Let me start with the positive and i do think legendary hip hop artist, actor Ice Cube as the lead character William Radford have a couple of charming dialogue scenes. Even though we basically see him sitting infront of a computer in the whole film he does have that Ice Cube vibe that we are familiar with. The soundtrack of this film does include some good stuff, especially the song Keep Your Head Up with jazz, blues and funk artist Wolfgang Valbrun. Ok, so that was the positive and now we have to talk about the negative as well. I do like that director Rich Lee tried to make a different story of War Of The Worlds with a more modern version. The problem is that it doesn´t really work since he did not make the story match well with the bad CGI effects. If he could have spent more time fixing the flaws that the CGI effects have in this film ( and trust me there are plenty of bad CGI scenes ), this could have been an interesting update on this classic story. Another detail i feel become pretty clear is that the other actors who is seen on their mobile phones, trying to act into their characters feel very forgettable. Once you have seen this film i bet there isn´t one single character you will remember other than Ice Cube´s character William. The editing of this film is all over the place with a lot of references to the company Amazon, as if they want to promote the company heavily into this film. This is supposed to be a sci fi action film, not a commercial for Amazon services. We have to talk about the action scenes as well and as you may now by now, i am a huge fan of action films in general. I tried to find at least one action scene that is pretty cool and i had problems even remembering one specific scene that at least looks ok. Director Rich Lee is perhaps mostly known for being a music video director and i do remember his music video for the band Evanescence and the single Good Enough. Nice song, and the video matches the lyrics. Considering that director Rich Lee worked with visual effects on the 2002 sci fi action classic Minority Report with legendary director Steven Spielberg you would think he would be a good pick for making an updated version of War Of The Worlds. He clearly wasn´t the best choice, he doesn´t seem to have passion for this project because this is a very forgettable film. Ice Cube saves this film from falling completely but i can not recommend this film for Amazon Prime watchers. Watch the 2005 version again instead and at least you will have a good time.

Rating: DD

The Ritual

All over the world in different time periods of history you can find many well known cases of exorcism. There are people who believe a demon can take over the body of a human and control you or an evil spirit who intend to harm you. No matter what you believe in or if you believe in exorcism at all, i find it fascinating reading about classics cases of documented exorcisms that according to witnesses actually happened. Over the years i have read about some cases that happened in the past and i especially remember a couple of exorcism cases. Let´s bring one of these cases up in here and i choose to talk about the exorcism case of Michael Taylor in 1974. This took place in October in the small village of Ossett in Yorkshire County, England. It is said that Michael Taylor was possessed by at least 40 demons as the exorcism took place during October 5 - 6 at St. Thomas Church in Gawber. The exorcism was headed by Vincent, the Angelican priest of St. Thomas, and was aided by a Methodist clergyman, the Rev. Raymond Smith. As the exorcism finally ended they believed they managed to remove all 40 demons. But as they allowed Michael to go home, they had a feeling that something didn´t feel right, as if at least 3 demons--insanity, murder and violence--were still left in him. While Michael returned home, he brutally murdered his wife Christine. He attacked her with his bare hands, tearing her eyes and tounge out and almost tearing her face off, then strangling their poodle. He was found by a policeman, naked in the street, covered in blood. At his trial in March, Michael was acquitted on the grounds of insanity. He was sent to Broadmoor Hospital for two years, then spent another two years in a secure ward in Bradford before being released. Since we usually don´t hear a lot about exorcism cases in England i feel that this case is fascinating. They actually mention the case of Michael Taylor in the 2021 horror film The Conjuring - The Devil Made Me Do It from director Michael Chaves, even though this film is based on another exorcism case of Arne Cheyenne Johnson that took place in 1981. A good film by the way, not as powerful as the previous The Conjuring films but still worth a watch. Speaking of exorcism films i have been curious to see the exorcist horror film The Ritual since this summer from director David Midell ( who directed the critically acclaimed 2019 drama thriller The Killing Of Kenneth Chamberlain ). I was especially curious about seeing legendary actor Al Pacino as an exorcist priest. Is this a solid horror film in general or should you watch the 2005 horror film The Exorcism Of Emily Rose instead?

In 1928, in the quiet farming town of Earling, Iowa, a young woman named Emma Schmidt ( Abigail Cowen ) begins to suffer from terrifying and inexplicable supernatural phenomena. She is tormented by night terrors, violent outbursts, speaking in languages she doesn´t know, and an unnatural hatred towards anything sacred. Her family, devout Catholic Christians, believes she is possessed and seek help from the Church. Their desperate plea reaches Father Theophilus Risesinger ( Al Pacino ), a seasoned priest of the Capuchin religious order known for conducting exorcisms. Riseinger travels to Iowa with a reluctant companion, Father Joseph Steiger ( Dan Stevens ). Steiger is skeptical of demonic possession but promise Riseinger to help him during his exorcism sessions.

One detail that i really appreciate especially in horror films is if the film is shot on a professional level, where you can tell that the director made an effort to make the horror scenes effective. If you know how to film a horror film and make an impact on the audience, that alone can help the film work well with some other ingredients included. In the case of The Ritual there is especially one big problem with this horror film and that is how director David Midell decided to make this film. He moves the camera around a lot, in every scene basically. No focused shots that we usually see in quality horror films, it´s like he´s walking around with the camera as if this could be a found footage horror film but it´s not. This is a very traditional excorcist horror film and i would probably have viewed this film differently if this was supposed to be a found footage horror film. This is also another problem with The Ritual that this is a very basic exorcism film. If you compared this film with others within this specific genre there is not much that stands out. Even the exorcism scenes ( for the most part ) don´t really add much to make this film interesting. And to be honest i have to say actor Al Pacino as the exorcist priest Theophilus is actually a pretty weak performance from such a legendary actor. I can mention at least 10 films where i would recommend his performances and The Ritual is nowhere near on that list. I will say that Stranger Things actress Abigail Cowen as the possessed young girl Emma is one of the few highlights of this film. At least you can sense that she tried to make an effort into making her character feel like she is possessed. Of course you also have actor Dan Stevens ( who i really enjoyed in the gothic horror Netflix film Apostle, worth checking out if you have not seen it ) as the character Father Jospeh. Hes not horrible like Pacino but i would have liked some more steady balls from his character, he is a bit too soft. The Ritual is not the worst exorcism film i have seen and i have seen a lot of them, ( one of the worst is definetely the 2020 exorcism film The Last Exorcist ), but overall i can´t really find much positive to say regarding this film. Director David Midell tries to tell a traditional exorcism film but doesn´t have an interesting story to tell. I swear once you read my review of The Ritual you have already forgotten about this film, it is a film that will most likely dust on DVD shelves.

Rating: DD

River Of Blood

If there is one very controversial subject it is the very disturbing name known as cannibalism. Eating another life form as food is something that happens every day in the animal kingdom worldwide. In most cases it´s about survival and the need to feed of fresh meat. But then we also have human cannibalism that is also well documented through history, both in ancient and recent times. The idea of another human being eating another human may sound impossible, but in some cases that have been the only way to survive. Some of you might remember the horrific case of the 1972 accident Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571, the plane that crashed up in the Andes mountains in Argentina on October 13. The remaining survivors were all dealing with very serious weather conditions and health problems, and no big food supplies on the crashed plane which meant they had to find a solution to find other food sources. They had no other options but to eat dead people, just to be able to survive. A very disturbing story but what were they supposed to do to be able to go on? I especially digged into this case when in the year 1993 they made a Hollywood film version of this story called Alive. I prefer the Spanish Netflix film version of the same story known as Society Of The Snow which i feel capture the story even more powerful than the 1993 version. But if you really want to see more disturbing footage of cannibalism we have classics such as the 1980 horror film Cannibal Holocaust from director Ruggero Deodata. A true Italian horror cult film that´s well known for very brutal cannibal scenes and almost have a documentary film style in certain scenes. Lots of nudity, sexual rape scenes and body parts being ripped apart so this is definetely nothing for you if you are sensitive. I own a blu ray copy of this film with some very interesting special features, i believe i should have an older DVD copy as well lying somewhere in my movie collection. Cannibal horror films is something we don´t see often in the horror community. Not because people don´t want to watch these kinds of films, i think the director´s who dare to do films in this category know that this will be a challenge. Since there are many fans of films such as Cannibal Holocaust they know the fan base have certain expectations. So here we are with a cannibal horror film known as River Of Blood who i discovered thanks to movie review YouTube channel Geek Legion Of Doom. Being a fan of this genre of course i had to give this one a try. Is this horror film a must watch before Christmas arrives or is River Of Blood unfortunately a disappointment?

Four kayakers take a river adventure on vacation in Thailand with their own personal tour guide Nick ( Joseph Millson ) showing them the way. While they travel through the jungle they are warned about a local tribe that feed on human flesh, who have lived in this jungle for centuries.

If you for some reason were expecting something similar to Cannibal Holocaust i can tell you right away this is nothing like that film. I would probably call River Of Blood more like a traditional slasher film with 90´s vibes with cannibal influences included. It´s a very simple plot like the slasher horror films of the 90´s used to have, the biggest difference is that we do get to see some very gory scenes compared to ordinary slasher movies. There is especially one negative detail i kept thinking while watching River Of Blood but let´s get into the positive first. The cannibal tribe when we finally get to see them, it is actually fun seeing them attack visitors knowing they want to injure their prey to make them vulnerable and easier to kill. The practical effects regarding the flesh wounds looks alright for the most part and there are some brutal gory scenes. I have to say this film is shot beautiful on location in Thailand and you really get a feeling they used the jungle in a way that matches the story. When it comes to the characters we do have a little bit of a mixed bag here, but the most interesting character ( who we find out most details about ) is the jealous, selfish character Ajay, played by actor Louis James ( who i recognized from the vampire horror film Bogieville, worth checking out ). He is not really the kind of character you like because of his personality, but it becomes clear he have a survivor instinct and that is definetely needed in a jungle like this. I also like the performance of tour guide character Nick, played by actor Joseph Millson ( who fans of the Gerard Butler action film Angel Has Fallen might recognize ). Now, there is one detail i feel could have been done much better with this film. Considering this is supposed to be a cannibal horror film i feel that they should have been much more brutal in certain scenes. I don´t mean they have to show all details such as in Cannibal Holocaust, but if you are promoting this film to be a part of the human cannibal genre you probably should have used even more gory scenes. I think that could have helped this film to stand out from other jungle horror movies. Overall i will say though i did enjoy this film as a slasher horror film, just don´t have too high expectations regarding the cannibal scenes. Director Howard J. Ford directed the 2010 zombie film The Dead that i am a big fan of. I wouldn´t say River Of Blood is as good as that film but still entertaining enough if you feel like a throwback film to the 90´. Fresh meat anyone? Don´t mind if i do, let´s just hope it´s not someone i know boiling on the fire.

Rating: DDD

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