Blumhouse
Productions, the company named after Jason Blum and known mostly for producing
horror movies such as Insidious, The
Purge, and Paranormal Activity (you can see their entire list if you
Google them), recently released 4 movies (another 4 are coming) exclusively to
Amazon in a series entitled ‘Welcome to the Blumhouse.’ I got around to watching all 4 and here are
their reviews in the order I watched them…
I copied and pasted that intro from
my review of the first four films released last year since the same pretty much
applies here (you can check out my review of the first four films here--- https://vampireclown82.blogspot.com/2020/11/welcome-to-blumhouse-part-one.html). Obviously I knew there were going to be four
movies released this year, as you can see in parenthesis above, so I’m guessing
this year would be Welcome to the
Blumhouse, Part 2? Somewhere on the
internet stated it was season 2 of the series, but these are all individual
movies not TV episodes. Whatever, these
four films are 2021 releases of Welcome
to the Blumhouse…
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Bingo Hell EH
A poor community consisting primarily of old folks receives
a lavish new bingo hall. You’ll
recognize the man in charge of this new establishment, Richard Brake, from a
few Rob Zombie-helmed pictures among others, he having a face more recognizable
than his name. Some of these “down on
their luck” peeps do win large amounts of money, but in standard “it’s too good
to be true” fashion, their winnings come with a “price.” This film is largely uninspired. 11/1/2021
Black as Night EH/OK
The title is obviously a play on words. It involves vampires in New Orleans mainly in
a poor community still affected by Hurricane Katrina. It really adds nothing new to bloodsucker cinema---they
still die by sunlight, they still die from garlic, they still die with stakes
driven through them (obviously a mortal would die that way too though); well,
some don’t necessarily die by sunlight and it is explained why, but that’s not
even barely enough to make this feel original.
Yes, I know, it’s very hard to be innovative these days and likely from
here on out, but I can forgive derivative entertainment if it’s actually
entertaining. I didn’t have too much fun
with this and I’m fascinated with New Orleans and love vampires. The two protagonists were fine though and I’d
probably appreciate them more in a better movie. 11/1/2021
Madres EH
A Mexican couple in America move from L.A. to a house in the
countryside. The pregnant wife doesn’t
know Spanish, so only parts are subtitled.
Beginning as what could’ve been an atmospheric thriller gradually
becomes a film with cheap jump scares, leading to a weak conclusion for which
there was no intriguing mystery to begin with.
A rather serious issue is brought to light that should be discussed, but
this wasn’t the best movie it was brought to light in. 11/2/2021
The Manor OK
Old folks in a home with “one foot in the grave” seeing a
shape at night? Those claiming to see
the shape eventually passing? No, that’s
not sinister at all. Clearly something
is amiss at the titular location and one woman, played by Barbara Hershey,
recently admitted to this facility aims to get to the bottom of it. The big reveal is a bit clichéd, but it
somewhat works in this film and there’s a slight mystery leading up to it. You do eventually get to see what the shape
looks like and it’s not too disappointing albeit not exactly
awe-inspiring. Surely, for some, to be a
thought-provoking take on themes of age and aging. 11/2/2021
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In conclusion: This is what I said at the end of my review
for the last four movies in the series---[…4
more movies in this series are planned to be released within a year, and, all I
can say is, I hope they’re more on the horror side, or, at the very least,
better than this bunch overall].
Well, I can say that these four films were more horror. As for being better? Not necessarily. Again, I only found one of the four to be
decent, that being The Manor, and
even that I wouldn’t exactly rave about.
I can see it being a film that might get better with age though (pun
intended). Ironically, that was the only
movie this round directed by a name I actually recognize---Axelle Carolyn, who
has directed episodes of American Horror
Story, Creepshow, The Haunting of Bly Manor, and a segment
of Tales of Halloween. Actually, I knew of Bingo Hell’s Gigi Saul Guerrero and that’s only because she’s been
a guest on Eli Roth’s History of Horror before. As of now, I see no plans for a third bunch
of films, but judging by these last two sets, I can’t say I really care because
I haven’t exactly been the biggest fan so far…11/2/2021
---Sean O.
11/5/2021
