directed by CHRISTOPHER LANDON Blumhouse Productions/Divide/conquer I will freely admit – I have to – that I’m a sucker for this exact sort of flick, to the extent that I knew I was going to like it as soon as I read a review of it. And I put off watching it for some reason … Continue reading Freaky (2020)
written and directed by zoe lister-jones blumhouse productions/columbia pictures/red wagon entertainment Man (cue ironic sound effect) is there a lot to unpack here. Less a legitimate horror picture, or even a reboot of the 1996 teen scream queen forerunner, than a thinly disguised manifesto of sorts about inclusion and acceptance, this high-school witchery drama occasionally … Continue reading The Craft Legacy (2020)
directed by jeff wadlow columbia pictures/BLUMHOUSE productions So I was doing my usual browsing for tripe when I came across this title, and thought to myself, “Well, that can’t possibly be – “ But it was, oh yes. An indefensible, uh, reimagining of the absurd escapist television drama of the late ’70s/early ’80s, which was … Continue reading Fantasy Island (2020)
written and directed by christopher landon blumhouse productions Okay, so, many/most of the same characters from the initial offering appear in this chapter because it reprises some key events, and increases the ramifications of the whole time warp thing. With a clever twist, of course. But in the tradition of sequels, it’s ramped up to … Continue reading Happy Death Day 2U (2019)
directed by christopher landon blumhouse productions Yeah, I didn’t go into this flick expecting a lighthearted feel-good romcom, but that’s kinda what’s wrapped up somewhere in its gooey, nougat-filled center … along with a whole lotta other stuff. If that sounds unduly negative, I apologize, but this film really has a little bit of everything … Continue reading Happy Death Day (2017)
written and directed by jordan peele blumhouse productions/qc entertainment So, this movie is of course “about” racism – both overt and latent – and comprises an intriguing spin on the cannibalism of African American culture for pasteurized Anglo pastimes, along with a pointed recasting of some disgraceful historical practices. This is achieved without too often … Continue reading Get Out (2017)
DIRECTED BY DAVID GORDON GREEN BLUMHOUSE PRODUCTIONS/MIRAMAX/TRANCAS INTERNATIONAL FILMS/ROUGH HOUSE PICTURES/UNIVERSAL Okay, look, I don’t particularly care that they’ve rejiggered the canon so this is the “sequel” to the 1978 original; it may as well be considered the true successor to Rob Zombie’s 2007 reboot for as much cachet as that accords it. “Michael Myers” … Continue reading Halloween (2018)
directed by m. night shyamalan blinding edge pictures/blumhouse productions After watching this feature, I think I can better understand the opprobrium I’ve often seen hurled at its director in discussions of his oeuvre. Not that this is a bad movie, mind you; it does what it does fairly well, but it has a … credibility … Continue reading Split (2017)
directed by m. night shyamalan blinding edge pictures/blumhouse productions I can’t judge a movie based on the marketplace opinion of its creator, especially when I’ve only seen one of his other movies (The Sixth Sense), so all I can say about The Visit is what I thought: It works. Quite well, in fact. Granted, the … Continue reading The Visit (2015)
directed by james demonaco Platinum dunes/BlumHouse/why not I finally got around to seeing this after having been asked multiple times if I had, and although I found it passable, I’m not quite sure why it apparently carries so much cachet within certain populations. A thoroughly Hollywood production despite its minimal budget, it’s slick, glossy and … Continue reading The Purge (2013)
