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In case you haven’t seen the intro from my entry dated
1/26/19 (it’s in my archives whenever you want to read it), I’m no longer going
to review every single movie I see. I’m
going to review one, with the occasional bonus, and just give ratings for the
rest from now on (unless I decide to pick it up again in the future). You can always ask me why I gave the ratings
for the films without reviews though (via comments or the e-mail addresses
under the ‘About Me’ section).
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Freaky OK/G
Imagine Freaky Friday
with a body count. I’m surprised it
hasn’t been done before this. The
director, Christopher Landon, also gave us Happy
Death Day, which imagined Groundhog Day
with a body count; he was also behind the sequel, Happy Death Day 2U, the fifth Paranormal
Activity (The Marked Ones), and Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse. Whereas all four Freaky Friday films dealt with a mother and daughter switching
bodies, this film has a teenage girl in high school switch bodies with a
middle-aged male serial killer (played by Vince Vaughn). The Hot
Chick this is not. Well, kind
of…with a body count. Some of the kills
here are top-notch, particularly one involving a table saw and the deaths in
the beginning, one of them giving a particular kill in Sorority Row a run for its money; there’s also a kill that may give
a specific death in Jason X a run for
its money, or at least rival it, or, in the very least, remind you of it. On the topic of the kills, my only complaint with
this film would be there weren’t enough of them. Call me picky, or chalk it up to my
expectations being a bit too high, but I felt there were instances where more
kills could’ve been utilized. Although I
may have been a bit disappointed in that regard, I’ll still recommend it,
especially for those of you that find the Freaky
Fridays and The Hot Chicks fun
and/or funny, but feel that some violence might make them a bit more fun! 2/12/2021
Bonus reviews:
Books of Blood G
Anthology film available on Hulu containing three tales based
on short stories by Clive Barker (Candyman,
Hellraiser, The Midnight Meat Train, Lord
of Illusions). Well, at least two of
the three are. Ironically, the one not
based on one of his works was the best one; it involves a bed and breakfast run
by a couple with a rather twisted agenda which I didn’t figure out. One story is based off “The Book of Blood
(involving a man falsely claiming to communicate with the dead somehow),” which
I re-read the short story for afterwards (yes, instead of before; it’s only a
mere 11 pages) and another film was made in 2009 (Clive Barker’s Book of Blood) based off the same tale (that’s a
film I know I saw but can’t remember a single thing about it; my archives tell
me I gave it 3 out of 4 stars when I did star ratings, so maybe a re-watch is
in store). The adaptation here was
decent, containing a comeuppance faithful to the written story that wouldn’t
feel out of place in a Tales from the
Crypt episode. The remaining tale is
based off “On Jerusalem Street,” which I have not read because it’s not in my
owned collection. We get a glimpse of
the piece in the beginning (involving two men traveling to a seedy town in
order to retrieve a book worth money) before it concludes by tying in with the
other two tales, and let’s just say things don’t work out so well for the two
characters (which you’ll notice ahead of time in one of the other tales). Overall, I wouldn’t label this collection
superb, but I didn’t dislike any of the segments and I enjoyed it enough to
recommend. 2/10/2021
Bad Hair EH/OK
The setting is Los Angeles, 1989. A black woman gets a weave, a.k.a. hair
extensions using someone else’s hair, after a recommendation (more of a hint)
by her new boss. If this film is any
indication, a weave looks fucking painful to get. I know representation is representation, and
I certainly can’t speak for black women, but I’m not sure this is the best film
to be proud of for representation. In
true cheesy horror fashion, like a decent amount of films from the era it takes
place in, this Hulu film is completely asinine.
Hair, of the weave variety, has a life of its own and a taste for
blood. Yes, you read that right. I can’t recommend this film, as my rating indicates,
but, at the same time, I kind of am (hence the partial OK rating) because you
should see it at least once just to say you did (I guess). Plus, I don’t recall ever seeing the
extremely inane concept done before, so I give it a little credit for that,
much like you kind of have to laud Rubber
for being the first film featuring a killer tire (regardless of how you felt
about it)! 2/10/2021
Other movies and TV show(s) I’ve seen and their ratings (see above):
Carrion >>>B/EH
The Cleanse >>>OK
Greenland >>>OK/G
Happiest Season >>>OK
(Hulu)
The Other Lamb >>>EH/OK
Out of Blue >>>EH/OK
The Unsettling (Season
One) >>>OK/G
(8 episodes; available on Netflix)
Wander >>>EH/OK
---Sean O.
2/13/2021
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