But by the time Christopher Lowell is stealing scenes as one third of a hilariously lame “faith and fitness show” who also fancies himself a demonologist, the nuttiness has won out for good. My Best Friend’s Exorcism In 1988 best friends Abby and Gretchen navigate boys, pop culture and a paranormal force clinging to Gretchen. With help from a mall exorcist, Abby is determined to compel the demon back to the pits of hell -- if it doesn't kill Gretchen first. Initial release: 30 September 2022 Director: Damon Thomas Story by: Grady Hendrix Distributed by: Amazon Studios A Horror Movie Review By George Wolf It’s the late 1980s in South Carolina, where Abby (Elsie Fisher, Eighth Grade) and Gretchen (Amiah Miller, War for the Planet of the Apes) are BFFs. Even though Abby’s family is a bit more hardscrabble while Gretchen’s “hamburgers don’t need help,” the girls have been inseparable since waaay back in the early 80s. Now they’re sophomores at a Catholic high school, facing a bummer of an upcoming summer. Gretchen and her family will be moving away. But there’s lots of fun to be had before that day, and it starts with joining their other friends Margaret (Rachel Ogechi Kanu) and Glee (Cathy Ang) for a girl’s getaway at a secluded cabin by the lake. Oh, great, Margaret’s boyfriend Wallace (Clayton Royal Johnson) shows up, too, which means plenty of PDA and sex talk. But scary talk soon takes over, as the gang heads off to investigate a creepy old building where a girl was supposedly sacrificed in a satanic ritual. Once inside, Gretchen gets separated from the group, and by the time she catches back up, Abby’s best friend has changed. Director Damon Thomas and writer Jenna Lamia adapt Grady Hendrix’s novel with charm and zest, bringing together a variety of tropes for a mashup just out for some fun. And they have it. From 80s music to religion to possession movie staples, the barbs keep coming, delivered with an alternating mix of sarcasm, satire, raunch and projectile vomiting. Fisher and Miller are wonderful together, cementing the film in a friendship that rings with the authenticity needed to effectively raise the stakes of survival. The insecurities about zits, weight, sex and peer pressure are sweetly heartfelt, and Abby’s uncertainty about the best way to help her friend brings a nice balance of humanity to the inhuman. And for awhile, it does seem Thomas and Lamia are on the way to making a big metaphorical statement about leaving childhood behind, repression, and chasing imagined demons while evil is right in front of you. But by the time Christopher Lowell is stealing scenes as one third of a hilariously lame “faith and fitness show” who also fancies himself a demonologist, the nuttiness has won out for good. And that’s okay. My Best Friend’s Exorcism is the teenage sex comedy religious satire devil flick we didn’t expect. No need to aim higher when it pretty much nails the bullseye. George Wolf![]() George “Screen” Wolf is co-founder and writer for maddwolf.com. He’s also film critic for Saga Communications radio (25 markets across the US), Columbus Underground and UK Film Review. In Columbus, Ohio, you can catch George on TV every Friday morning on ABC6/Fox28’s Good Day Columbus. George is a member of the Columbus Film Critics Association, and lives in Grandview Heights with his wife, Hope Madden. Their son Donovan lives in L.A. George enjoys music, politics, his Harley, sports, travelling, and, oh yeah, movies! Contact George at maddwolf95@gmail.com. Follow George on Facebook and Instagram @maddwolfcolumbus and on Twitter @maddwolf THE HEART and soul OF HORROR movie REVIEW WEBSITESFILM REVIEW: HOCUS POCUS 2
29/9/2022
Midler, Najimy and Parker reinhabit the old trio well enough to remind us why so many kids loved the original. Whether HP2 can strike the same chord with today’s youth is tough to tell, but at least there’s a Halloween flick everyone can watch together. Hocus Pocus 2 Three young women accidentally bring back the Sanderson Sisters to modern day Salem and must figure out how to stop the child-hungry witches from wreaking havoc on the world. Initial release: 30 September 2022 Director: Anne Fletcher Distributed by: Disney+ A Horror Movie Film By Hope Madden Thirty years ago (more or less), Disney released a family friendly seasonal comedy that underperformed and was forgotten. Forgotten, except by every 8-year-old who watched Hocus Pocus then or would go on to rewatch it annually during spooky season. The entertainment behemoth finally realized what it had and commissioned a sequel. Hocus Pocus 2 reunites willful witches Winnifred (Bette Midler), Sarah (Sarah Jessica Parker) and Mary (Kathy Najimy) with Salem, the town that hates them. What is it that reawakens the evil Sanderson sisters? A somewhat convoluted storyline, actually, but it involves female empowerment and community and it’s charmingly, inoffensively told. Halloween’s here, and with it, Becca’s (Whitney Peak) 16th birthday. She’ll celebrate this year as every year by sharing a little spookiness in the woods with her bestie, Izzy (Belissa Escobedo). It’ll be the first year that the third in their trio, Cassie (Lilia Buckingham), doesn’t join because she’s hanging out with her boyfriend. Meh! Anyhoo, the Sandersons are accidentally conjured. Somehow the local crystals and essential oils purveyor (Sam Richardson, likable as ever) is mixed up in things. And Cassie’s dad – kindly Mayor Traske (Tony Hale) – is in mortal danger! Director Anne Fletcher (The Proposal) hits enough nostalgic notes that adult fans of the original will feel seen. Its contemporary story allows for brand new witch-out-of-water scenarios to explore, and, of course, the sisters are always up for a musical number. But this is definitely a kids’ film. The original was a kind of sibling to Fred Dekker and Shane Black’s 1987 family film Monster Squad. Both showed poorly at the box office and went on to become beloved seasonal fixtures. Hocus Pocus brought the sensibilities into the nineties by, for one thing, recognizing that boys can also be virgins. HP2 modernizes further. To begin with, not every citizen of Salem is white. And though it’s impossible to entirely redeem three characters looking to eat children, at least the sequel skims the ideas of systemic misogyny. But mainly it offers campy, scrappy, bland but amiable fun. Midler, Najimy and Parker reinhabit the old trio well enough to remind us why so many kids loved the original. Whether HP2 can strike the same chord with today’s youth is tough to tell, but at least there’s a Halloween flick everyone can watch together. Hope Madden![]() Hope Madden is a writer and award-winning filmmaker living with her husband George and cat Velma in Columbus, Ohio. She writes what scares her, which worked out fine until she became a filmmaker and had to live what scared her for the duration of a shoot. Terrible decision. Her novella, Roost, was published in 2022 by Off Limits Press and her first feature film releases in late 2022. Check out Hope's Podcast here : https://soundcloud.com/frightclub And for more film reviews from Hope check out Maddwolf https://maddwolf.com/ CHECK OUT TODAY'S OTHER ARTICLES BELOW THE HEART AND SOUL OF HORROR MOVIE REVIEW WEBSITESWHO INVITED THEM will fill a Friday evening after a few too many Old Fashioneds but will likely be forgotten in the Saturday morning hangover fog. Who Invited Them? (2022) Adam and Margo's housewarming party is a success. One couple linger after the other guests, revealing themselves to be wealthy neighbours. As one night cap leads to another, Adam and Margo suspect their new friends are duplicitous strangers Written and directed by Duncan Birmingham A Horror Movie Review by: Mark Walker Some minor spoilers ahead The premise of WHO INVITED THEM is simple. Having bought a swanky new house in the hills, Adam (Ryan Hansen) and Margo (Melissa Tang) throw a party to show off their new status symbol. However, it turns out that Adam is a bit of a dick and people leave early, unimpressed by his posturing and need to be centre of attention. Or do they…? Tidying up after the party, they find Tom (Timothy Granaderos) and Sasha (Perry Mattfeld) still hanging around in their new home. At first, Adam and Margo are shocked and angry and try to get the strangers to leave. However, they calm down when they discover Tom and Sasha are their new neighbours. Adam’s insecurities and need to impress lead to him invite Tom and Sasha to stay and drink more of his ‘famous’ Old-Fashioned cocktails. Thus begins an evening of reflection for Adam and Margo as the cracks in their marriage are pushed wide open by their guests who manipulate them in a way that eventually leads to violence and terror. ‘Eventually’ is the key word here. For a film that runs to just 80 minutes, it takes a long time for anything to really happen. Influenced by similar home invasion movies like Ils, Cherry Tree Lane, The Strangers, Knock Knock, and Funny Games, WHO INVITED THEM tries to build tension as the interaction between Adam and Margo, and Tom and Sasha develops over one night. However, it isn’t until about 15 minutes before the end that any real reveals occur, by which time it is too late to fully capitalise on the terror that Adam and Margo face. This is frustrating for the audience as we know exactly who Tom and Sasha are very early on, but we have to wait far too long see their true colours. Tom and Sasha are clearly psychos, so let’s see them in action, don’t draw things out. In Funny Games, the boys get stuck into terrorising the family almost immediately and are completely unpredictable. The horror arises from the fear of what is going to happen next and putting yourself in that situation. In WHO INVITED THEM, although we know Tom and Sasha are wrong ‘uns, they just come across as a bit annoying; there isn’t anything to fear in what they do. Yes, they force Adam and Margo to face up to the failings in their relationship, but not in any way that didn’t seem to be almost immediately forgotten by the couple. Take away the last 15 minutes of the film and this is just extreme marriage counselling. Considering who Tom and Sasha are revealed to be, this was a missed opportunity. Instead of getting Tom and Sasha front and centre doing their thing, the film chucks in a side plot about Adam and Margo’s son, Duncan, who is at a sleep over. When Duncan realises he has forgotten his favourite toy, the mother, Teeny (Tipper Newton) sets out in the middle of the night to drive back to Adam and Margo’s on a mission to retrieve the stuffed toy. This really is just padding to add tension – would Teeny get to the house and save Adam and Margo or would she get caught in the funny games? I didn’t really care. Once Teeny, using her cell phone while driving her shiny new electric car gets lost and doesn’t think to use sat nav, I couldn’t care less. This subplot simply serves as a catalyst for something that happens towards the end of the movie that really had no bearing on the story at all. We could have gotten to the same place without it. Hell, Adam and Margo didn’t even need to have a kid, he had no impact on the story and was never in any jeopardy. It just felt like padding and a distraction from Tom and Sasha. The film is well directed and looks good. Granaderos and Mattfeld do a fantastic job of being annoying and threatening and are definitely the more interesting of the couples. They really should have been allowed to do more and cut loose earlier in the film. When the film finally hits its stride 15 minutes before the end, they get to show who they really are, and we get to see the psychos at play. We see a glimmer of the way their minds work and the terror they are capable of wreaking. But it is too late by then. Unleashing their inner psychos and upping the unpredictability would have added so much more terror to this film. The acting is good, and the four main characters work well together. It starts a bit shaky and some of the dialogue is a bit clunky to begin with, but it does settle down and was fine for the rest of the film. Now, all this makes it sound like I hated WHO INVITED THEM. I didn’t. I had fun watching it, I just felt it didn’t quite capitalise on the premise and took too long to get to the juicy bits. The film is also listed on IMDB as COMEDY HORROR and the comedy didn’t really land for me, I was hoping for something darker, along the lines of FUNNY GAMES, but that is a personal preference, and it may just be that I didn’t click with the vision of the team behind the movie. If you like the sound of the logline and enjoy the trailer, then give WHO INVITED THEM a go, just don’t expect full on home invasion terror. WHO INVITED THEM is a solid but predictable thriller that wastes a bit too much time getting to the juicy stuff. While mind-games are a big part of the film, we never really get beyond the mildly irritating for the most part. When you have psychotic loons insinuating themselves with strangers for nefarious purposes, you want to see them at their worst but in WHO INVITED THEM we really just get to see how crappy Adam and Margo’s relationship is – which may well be the point, but Tom and Sasha are easily the more interesting couple and feel like a missed opportunity. It really just feels like Tom and Sasha were killing time with Adam and Margo and, but for a conveniently forgotten earring, everything would have probably been fine. WHO INVITED THEM will fill a Friday evening after a few too many Old Fashioneds but will likely be forgotten in the Saturday morning hangover fog. CHECK OUT TODAY'S OTHER ARTICLES BELOW THE HEART OF HORROR REVIEW WEBSITESFILM REVIEW: HOUSE OF DARKNESS
25/9/2022
The look is lush and effective, particularly the more fantastical sequences. Long — a genre veteran — delivers a bit of nuance, his Hap never entirely sympathetic but definitely hard to hate. House of Darkness Justin Long and Kate Bosworth star in this seductive thriller from director Neil LaBute (The Wicker Man). Driving home to her secluded estate after meeting at a local bar, a player out to score thinks his beautiful, mysterious date will be another casual hook-up. While getting acquainted, their flirtation turns playful, sexy and sinister. Hoping to get lucky, his luck may have just run out. Director: Neil LaBute Screenplay: Neil LaBute A Horror Movie Review by Hope Madden Who hurt Neil LaBute? Would it surprise you to find that the latest from the writer/director behind In the Company of Men and Your Friends and Neighbors (as well as the less impressive Wicker Man reboot and others) is a meditation on sexual dynamics, power and agency? That it’s brimming with psychosexual wordplay? That it’s bitter and a bit misguided? How many times can we disassemble the mating ritual to judge and shame those involved? Sometimes LaBute does it well—so well that it’s tough not to look forward to whatever he releases. House of Darkness sees the filmmaker again exploring his favorite topic, this time within a horror context. Justin Long riffs on his nice guy persona, his character Hap actually referring to himself at one point as “one of the good ones.” (Had Hap seen Promising Young Women, he might have had sense enough not to make such a claim.) Hap’s been lured into the stately gothic manor of the lovely Mina, played with controlled ferocity by Kate Bosworth. Bosworth seems to relish the directness of her character. Mina’s disinterest in accommodating Hap’s insecurities is glorious—a reminder of how casually brutal LaBute’s work can be. Perhaps because he started his career as a playwright, each of LaBute’s films rise or fall on dialog. House of Darkness is a chamber piece – it could easily be a stage play (though it’s likely a Covid production). Limited performers pepper scenes with double entendres in an awkward dance of “will we or won’t we” sexual politics. The difference this time around is the genre trapping, a first for the filmmaker. The look is lush and effective, particularly the more fantastical sequences. Long — a genre veteran — delivers a bit of nuance, his Hap never entirely sympathetic but definitely hard to hate. The story builds effectively enough. It’s just that nothing is ever in question. The genre tropes are more threadbare from use than LaBute’s banter-driven power game. Worse, the point rings hollow, like a disingenuous, cash-grab reversal of In the Company of Men. HOPE MADDEN ![]() Hope Madden is a writer and award-winning filmmaker living with her husband George and cat Velma in Columbus, Ohio. She writes what scares her, which worked out fine until she became a filmmaker and had to live what scared her for the duration of a shoot. Terrible decision. Her novella, Roost, was published in 2022 by Off Limits Press and her first feature film releases in late 2022. Check out Hope's Podcast here : https://soundcloud.com/frightclub And for more film reviews from Hope check out Maddwolf https://maddwolf.com/ THE HEART OF HORROR REVIEW WEBSITESFILM REVIEW: TINY CINEMA
24/9/2022
Tiny Cinema might be a step down from Butt Boy, but it’s a solid indie slice of portmanteau moviemaking. If you’re game for some weird fun, this might just be up your alley. Tiny Cinema A mysterious stranger tells the twisted tale of seemingly unconnected strangers caught in a series of otherworldly events whose lives will change in incredible ways forever. Director: Tyler Cornack A Horror Movie Review by Daniel Baldwin Colloquialisms being taken to their absolute extremes. A woman struggling to find happiness in solitude. A pleasure-deprived man seeking help from his friends. Body horror ending not in goo and grue, but in dad jokes?!? Tiny Cinema is a comedic genre anthology film that wants to make you laugh and gasp in equal measure with the outrageous storytelling that it contains within. Does it succeed? Mostly. Tiny Cinema is the latest cinematic endeavor of director/writer/actor extraordinaire Tyler Cornack and his motley crew of performers. If you’ve seen their previous effort, Butt Boy, you’re going to spot a lot of familiar faces across all six segments here. This film largely lacks that one’s Henenlotter-esque weirdness, however. It instead opts for a modern Twilight Zone vibe; offering up situations where ordinary people find their lives turned upside down by strange occurrences that are either tied to everyday problems (i.e. loneliness, sexual dysfunction, dating) or become twisted takes on everyday sayings (i.e. “That’s what she said!” and “Yo momma!”). The results are mixed. On the positive side of things, there is a great host in the form of the quirky and deeply charismatic Paul Ford. The first three segments are also really entertaining (particularly “Bust!”). Furthermore, what really helps Tiny Cinema along is its cast. The troupe that Cornack has pooled together are all beyond game for whatever delirious nonsense he asks of them and that helps smooth over even the segments that don’t really work. They help to drive his best ideas home and make his films worth seeking out. It’s in the back half where things begin to wobble, as the other three segments aren’t nearly as strong. Almost all anthology films have weak spots. Unevenness is par for the course with episodic storytelling. The weaker segments here are the slighter ones that just aim for shock value. Unfortunately, with them all filling out the second half of the feature, it means that it starts with a bang and ends with a bit of a whimper. Tiny Cinema might be a step down from Butt Boy, but it’s a solid indie slice of portmanteau moviemaking. If you’re game for some weird fun, this might just be up your alley. Daniel Baldwin![]() Daniel Baldwin is a freelance film critic currently residing in West Virginia. He is the owner/operator of The Schlocketeer and his work has also appeared at Bloody Disgusting, Dread Central, Forbes, and MaddWolf. Follow Daniel @schlocketeer on FaceBook and @schlocketeer Twitter. CHECK OUT TODAY'S OTHER ARTICLES BELOW THE HEART OF HORROR REVIEW WEBSITESAisha Dee as Sissy is the standout. She plays Sissy with a palpable level of anxiety and fragility so deeply embedded in her past experiences that her journey in the film is both expected and shocking. Sissy (2022) Teen best friends Cecilia and Emma, after a decade run into each other. Cecilia is invited on Emma's bachelorette weekend where she gets stuck in a remote cabin with her high school bully with a taste for revenge. Written and Directed by Hannah Barlow and Kane Senes A Horror Movie Review by: Mark Walker Cecilia (Aisha Dee) runs ‘Sincerely Cecilia’, a growing social media account that provides spiritual guidance to those who are struggling with life and need support and reassurance when times are tough. With over 200k followers Cecilia is an influencer on the rise and has even managed to garner some interest from celebrities and companies seeking to endorse their products. (I did chuckle at the wonderfully named, “Elon Mask” facial product.) However, that is just the public face of ‘Sincerely Cecilia.’ Behind the scenes Cecilia appears to be a relatively normal young woman, living in a mildly untidy apartment and eating cold pizza for dinner, until… … a chance encounter with her childhood best friend, Emma (Hannah Barlow) leads to an invitation to Emma’s bachelorette weekend and an uncomfortable reunion with Cecilia’s school bully, Alex (a delightfully bitchy Emily De Margheriti). It was Alex who formed the wedge between Cecilia and Emma that eventually ended their BFF relationship. Seeing Alex dredges up old wounds for everyone (literally and figuratively) as well as Cecilia’s childhood nickname “Sissy, The Sissy” that she has been fighting to put behind her ever since. The pain and animosity of the past is too much for Alex and Cecilia to put behind them and, as the tension rises, things spiral out of control and the weekend turns into one of murder and mayhem. Sissy examines the power of social media and bullying, of belonging and acceptance. It explores the complexity of identity, both external and internal, how we see ourselves and how we think others see us. The effects of bullying last a lifetime and, while most people don’t resort to murder, Sissy forces us to explore how hard you can hit back at the people who almost destroyed your life. The beauty of the film is that neither Sissy, Alex nor even Emma are exactly innocent; they all played a part in the past trauma. But who should you identify with? The bullied or the bully receiving (disproportionate?) justice? Both Alex and Sissy have grudges to bear, but are their actions and behaviours justified? Sissy blurs the lines between right and wrong in the same way social media often portrays a biased, one-sided view of the truth. The film does an excellent job of instilling the audience with a sense of empathy and sympathy for people doing horrible things, as you find yourself debating whether or not you would do the same and whose side you should really be on? This all presents Sissy as the bastard child of Promising Young Woman and American Psycho. There are elements of revenge and a darkly humourous undertone that explores the issues around identity and belonging much like American Psycho did, just in an updated environment of celebrity and social media. Just how important and influential is a big online following? Is there any truth in the online world? The cult of celebrity that surrounds influencers is also studied here; fans and stans believing everything their heroes tell them without question. While the behaviour in Sissy is an awfully long way over to the right of my ‘NORMAL to ****ING MENTAL’ scale, the outcomes, in this day and age, are very much believable. The writing and direction here is great and the cast is fantastic, but Aisha Dee as Sissy is the standout. She plays Sissy with a palpable level of anxiety and fragility so deeply embedded in her past experiences that her journey in the film is both expected and shocking. I haven’t seen her in anything before, but she plays a blinder in Sissy! She is, in one moment, a delicate victim who needs a reassuring hug and, in the next, a stone-cold angel of retribution! I have seen criticism of Sissy that it doesn’t address the obvious issue of racism, and that this is a missed an opportunity. While some of the behaviour in Sissy could well be embedded in racism, the film does a great job with straightforward representation. For example, Jamie (Daniel Monks) is a great character who just happens to be disabled, but his disability is not a focus of the film, until he needs to run away from danger, of course. The issues front and centre here are friendship and how childhood relationships can be the most intense experiences of our lives and, when they break down, they can also be the most devastating with far reaching and long-term consequences. Sissy comes with some great practical effects and, although they are low budget, they are suitably icky. Practical effects in horror are always better than CGI in my opinion. Yes, ILM can render a pretty impressive dinosaur but, if you want a head to explode, sometimes it is just better to just fill a bag with offal! Some of the practical effects in Sissy are obviously on the cheaper side, but they are all the more visceral, stomach churning and (dare I say it) satisfying for it. Sissy doesn’t hold back and has plenty to keep gore hounds happy. I think I spotted a couple of CGI shots which weren’t quite as effective, but they are fleeting. I say this a lot when reviewing films, but I can’t really talk any more about the plot in Sissy without giving it all away. While the plot isn’t exactly complex, there are enough little twists and turns to grab your attention and I don’t want to spoil anything. I went into Sissy with just the basic blurb and thought it was going to go in a slightly different direction from what it did. While you have a fairly good idea of where it is heading once everything kicks off, it is still a hell of a lot of fun getting there! I can imagine this would have been fun to watch in a crowded cinema. In a couple of other recent reviews, I have used my new, patented “wristwatch” method of scoring films and, for Sissy, I can safely say I didn’t once check my watch during the film. **** it, just watch it when it comes out, it’ll be worth it. 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