Late Night with the Devil

The Story

In 1977 a live television broadcast goes horribly wrong, unleashing evil into the nation’s living rooms.

The Good

I really like the concept of this movie. The fact that they would bring a possessed girl on a tv talk show to improve ratings sounds like something that would happen in real life. I liked the acting in this and the retro 70’s talk show vibes. I liked that the talk show host was once really popular, but because of events in his life and the ratings falling off he has to find a way to get back to the top. He’s feeling desperate to get the show back on track and the producers too, that they’d pretty much stoop to anything to get back there that all these decisions play out throughout the movie is great. I liked that they had differing opinions on the girl being possessed with the woman that treated the girl and a non believer who debunks psychics, magicians etc. It leads to some good scenes of the arguing and trying to prove each other wrong.

The Bad

The use of ai in this movie has sparked a big conversation on whether it’s right to do so instead of using real artists is a real sticky point in this. It’s also got people talking if it was even done well or even needed. There’s also the found footage element of the movie like that hasn’t been done to death already. It all kind of works here though with the low budget and feel of the movie.

The Verdict

I liked the movie, the story and acting. I just wish they went a little further with it.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ out of five stars.

Ghostbusters Frozen Empire

The Story

The Spengler family returns to the iconic New York City firehouse where the original Ghostbusters have taken ghost-busting to the next level. When the discovery of an ancient artifact unleashes an evil force, Ghostbusters new and old must unite to protect their home and save the world from a second ice age.

The Good

After the events in After Life it’s good to see the Ghostbusters back where they belong in New York busting ghosts. The Spengler family are back and the og Ghostbusters too. I love seeing the ogs back and the banter they all have together. Paul Rudd is good as always, but wish he had a little more to do at times. The action scenes are pretty good and there’s some cool scenes.

The Bad

I don’t know where to start here. This just feels like a cash grab to sell some merchandise to kids. This has gone from four wisecracking guys stumbling into the paranormal and starting a business to catch ghosts into a kids movie. The real essence of what they did in the first movie has gone. They centre way too much on the kids and family elements in this story. It just takes up to much time and makes the movie long and pretty boring. They focused way more on Phoebes character and everyone else was just sort of there. The og Ghostbusters are sidelined throughout most of the movie. Winston at the end of After Life was supposed to be a financial backer and saviour of the Ghostbusters. You would have thought he’d have a bigger role in this movie to bring the Ghostbusters back and have a new team, but no he’s hardly in the movie and they just make the Spengler family the new team. Which is crazy enough as two of them are kids like how can they work as Ghostbusters? They do address this in the movie, but the Phoebe story drags on way to long and what about the firehouse? The firehouse is old and it looks like Winston has put no money into updating the facilities. The story of the new big bad really drags on too and feels more like something you’d see in a marvel movie than a Ghostbusters movie. I would have liked it more if they just had Paul Rudd and a new team instead and get back to what the original movie was.

The Verdict

It’s just not the Ghostbusters anymore.

⭐️⭐️ out of five stars.

Road House (2024)

The Story

Ex-UFC fighter Dalton takes a job as a bouncer at a Florida Keys roadhouse, only to discover that this paradise is not all it seems.

The Good

As a fan of the original I didn’t know what to expect with a remake, as remakes or never as good as the original. It’s not a direct adaptation of the first movie as it changes location and adds a new back story to Dalton’s origins. Dalton is a disgraced ex UFC fighter who gets hired to protect the Road House from a gang hellbent on forcing the owner to sell the bar to make way for a new resort. Jake Gyllenhall is good in the role as Dalton. Conor McGregor as Knox is pretty much playing himself and steals the show in this movie as he has some funny lines and scenes. The fight scenes and action set pieces are impressive and it’s a cast of some well known faces and a cameo from Post Malone too.

The Bad

This isn’t going to win any Oscar’s for the acting in it that’s for sure, there’s some questionable dialogue and acting choices in some scenes. The action scenes towards the end of the movie become a little bit too much like a Fast and Furious movie.

The Verdict

The most non serious fun action movie in a while. It’s one of those movies you can just switch off your brain, put it on, sit back and enjoy the ride.

⭐️⭐️⭐️ out of five stars

Totally Killer

The Story

Thirty-five years after the shocking murders of three teens, an infamous killer returns on Halloween night to claim a fourth victim. When 17-year-old Jamie comes face-to-face with the masked maniac, she accidentally time-travels back to 1987. Forced to navigate the unfamiliar culture, Jamie teams up with her teenage mother to take down the psycho once and for all.

The Good

Back To The Future meets Scream.

Kiernan Shipka is great in this movie as Jamie who travels back in time to the 80’s to try and save her mother from being killed by a serial killer. The 80’s nostalgia feels are cool. You get some funny moments and great kills. As Jamie navigates going through the cultural differences of the 80’s and trying to figure out who the killer is, is well done. You feel the Back To The Future vibes of her meeting her mother and father in the past and there’s some references to it too. I like the cast and the sweet 16 killer’s mask was pretty cool too, something different from other slasher movies.

The Bad

The time travel aspect to the movie is a little silly as to how she time travels, but you can just take it for what it is. There’s a bit more comedy than there is scary moments, but it’s a comedy horror so you can also forgive it for this too.

The Verdict

Totally Killer is fun, with a good cast and I enjoyed this movie a lot.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ out of five stars.

Saw X

The Story

Hoping for a miraculous cure, John Kramer travels to Mexico for a risky and experimental medical procedure, only to discover the entire operation is a scam to defraud the most vulnerable. Armed with a newfound purpose, the infamous serial killer uses deranged and ingenious traps to turn the tables on the con artists.

The Good

Out of all the men to cheat, you pick John Kramer? I call that epic bad luck.

Saw is back and it’s one of the best in the franchise. It’s back to basics with this one and feels a lot like the earlier Saw movies before all the convoluted plots and spin offs. After John gets conned, it’s time to play a game for the people who conned him. The story is good, the traps are memorable and it’s great to see more of Toben Bell.

The Bad

I don’t know how many life changing cancer stories John has had, but here’s another to tell. The cancer treatment sounded a little to good to be true and when he got to Mexico for the treatment it was all very sketchy to say the least. A desperate man does desperate things though and it all fits the story in the end.

The Verdict

This is a real return to form and an enjoyable watch.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ out of five stars.

The Nun 2

The Story

In 1956 France, a priest is violently murdered, and Sister Irene begins to investigate. She once again comes face-to-face with a powerful evil.

The Good

Hello sister.

In this sequel to the first movie takes place in a girls boarding school in France. Sister Irene is back and has to investigate a series of priest and Nun deaths across Europe. Where she discovers the demon Valak is back causing the deaths and searching for an ancient relic which is hidden in the girls boarding school. Taissa Famiga is good as sister Irene and Valak looks as creepy as ever. There’s some good atmosphere building, the cinematography looks beautiful and there’s some good action set pieces too.

The Bad

The first Nun movie wasn’t the best movie in The Conjuring universe, so I wasn’t expecting to much from the sequel. It did surprise me that it’s better than the first one, but are we just experiencing The Conjuring fatigue at this point with the amount of movies we’re getting now? There’s good points in the movie, but you also get the feeling that it didn’t know what it wanted to be, a detective story or more horror supernatural vibe.

The Verdict

Better than the first which is an improvement and Taissa Famiga is good as per, although I’ll pretty much watch anything she’s in.

⭐️⭐️ and a half stars out of five.

Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery

The Story

Tech billionaire Miles Bron invites his friends for a getaway on his private Greek island. When someone turns up dead, Detective Benoit Blanc is put on the case.

The Good

I really enjoyed Knives Out so I was looking forward to seeing this sequel and what they were going to do with this one. I love the cast, the story and how much fun it is. There’s a who’s who of actors here, who were all great and looked like they were having fun making it. Madelyn Cline is a star in the making who gave a great performance. I love who done it movies and what these movies do with this genre is amazing. I hope Rian Johnson and Daniel Craig get to make more of these movies because there so good and fun to watch.

The Bad

I haven’t got anything bad to say or have any gripes with this movie as it’s a fun watch.

The Verdict

Great sequel, great cast. It’s fun and good to watch.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ out of five stars.

Ghostbusters: Afterlife

The Story

When a single mother and her two children move to a new town, they soon discover they have a connection to the original Ghostbusters and the secret legacy their grandfather left behind.

The Good

I was pleasantly surprised at this movie. I didn’t know how they were going to tell this story and how it connects to the original movie. What the new characters were going to be like and whether the original Ghostbusters would appear. As the story began to unfold, I got the answers to all those questions. I enjoyed the story, Paul Rudd is great and the kids too. There’s some new ghosts and some great action scenes. I loved the moment at the end of the movie too.

The Bad

If you’re looking for a classic Ghostbusters movie with the original cast busting ghosts in New York then you’ll be a little disappointed. (Spoiler alert) you do get them at the end of the movie, but this is a new story with new characters connected to the original.

The Verdict

New story, new characters, but with a good story with some nostalgic moments and a pretty good family friendly movie.

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ out of five stars.

Halloween Kills

The Story

The nightmare isn’t over as unstoppable killer Michael Myers escapes from Laurie Strode’s trap to continue his ritual bloodbath. Injured and taken to the hospital, Laurie fights through the pain as she inspires residents of Haddonfield, Ill., to rise up against Myers. Taking matters into their own hands, the Strode women and other survivors form a vigilante mob to hunt down Michael and end his reign of terror once and for all.

The Good

I loved how the movie starts on Halloween night 1978 and tells a new ending to the night where Michael Myers gets captured. Then it all picks up after the ending to the previous movie. Michael escapes the fire and goes on a murderous rampage. I loved all the nods to the previous movies and all the Easter eggs. I liked the story retelling and all the returning characters too. The kill count is high and the kills or all done in different ways. You get some explanations to why Michael is the way he is and hints to the supernatural too, which the Halloween franchise has done in the past.

The Bad

There’s plenty times in the movie where you think Michael is done, he gets shot and stabbed. I mean how does he keep going? It gets explained in ways like he’s more than a man and can’t be stopped. That’s fair enough he’s psychotic and strong, but they have to decide where their going with the sequel because no one can keep surviving being shot and stabbed so much. He’s no spring chicken anymore either. Will he die in Halloween ends or will some supernatural elements come into play? We’ll have to see.

The Verdict

I loved all the nods to the old Halloween movies, the Easter eggs and the new ending to Halloween 1978 where Michael gets captured. What a crazy sequel this is… I loved it.

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ out of five stars.

Vicious Fun

The Story

A horror film critic finds himself in a sticky situation when he stumbles into a self-help group for serial killers.

The Good

I recently came across this movie on Shudder, it sounded good so I gave it a go. I liked the fact the movie was based in the 80’s. The mood, look and music all worked well. It’s a homage to 80’s horror movies, especially the slasher movies of that time. The mix of horror and comedy worked well. The acting was good and had likeable characters and some dumb cops who didn’t have a clue what was about to go down that night. Evan Marsh was great as Joel the nerdy horror journalist who stumbles into a world of trouble and Amber Goldfarb as Carrie was also great.

The Bad

Of course with any horror movie it was a little cliche in parts. Some of that was on purpose with the comedy element to the movie, so that wasn’t a big deal.

The Verdict

I liked the fact the movies was based in the 80’s. The mood, look and music of the movie all worked well. It was funny and gory in places. It’s a pretty good slasher, comedy movie.

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ out of five stars.