EvilPhoEniX

I have some mixed feelings about this one in the end. I found the plot quite uninteresting, there are only a couple of characters, the whole thing takes place slowly in one house and garage and it's not very engaging and attractive, on the other hand it's quite an interesting concept, the make-up effects were good and there was a little bit of grossness. It's a kind of demon body horror that's okay to endure, but unfortunately it's not a big hit. Pure average for me, but the demon definitely looked cool and unconventional, unfortunately it didn't appear much. 5/10.

The Italian version of Castle Freak! A great tribute to Italian trash films of the 1970s and 80s and the famous Lucio Fulci. The Well is a likable horror B-movie that looks slightly made for TV, the plot is pretty rubbish and it can't be said to be a good film, but the horror is functional and combines elements of the occult and exploitation, which I love and are very rare these days, so I can't be dissatisfied. The female lead is very pretty, the setting of an Italian castle, the disgustingly over-designed monster- or rather mutant (perfect make-up effects!!) and most importantly the excellent gore! Fuck me, some of the scenes were over the top, and the brutal scenes are surprisingly not few. It's got pace, it's functional horror-wise and fans hungry for gore and quality make-up effects can't complain, but it's not much for the average random no names. 7/10

How did this anticipated Korean thriller turn out? Solid! I liked it better than the recent Hijack 1971. Run Away was one of the anticipated South Korean films, it's quite a substantial and unconventional theme that I was looking forward to, and it's gripping, suspenseful and quite clever. The main character is a smart North Korean army sergeant who is even hailed as a hero, but he wants to make a shocking decision: to escape to the south for a better life! And so every day he secretly gets out of the base and maps out his surroundings, surveys the minefield, makes the perfect escape plan, but as it happens in such films, nothing goes according to plan and the main character goes from one crazy situation to another, and when you start thinking “this is hell, he's not getting out of this one”, there's a twist! The film has a brisk pace, the shorter running time of 90 minutes makes it really move along nicely, the main character is entertaining, all the situations are nicely suspenseful and clever, and the villain played by Koo Gyo-Hwan, a ruthless Major, is also great. The final half hour is more or less a duel between two men, with one risking his life to cross the line and the other doing everything he can to stop him. The highlight for me was the scene in the car, it was so intense! And the Korean Nomads were a delight! 7/10.

Apple has once again pulled out the stops and delivers an excellent crime drama driven by courtroom procedure and it's a blast! Jake Gyllenhaal, as a lawyer, is accused of murdering his colleague/lover and his colleague Peter Sarsgaard is hell bent on his neck. The first half of the series is a bit slower, but once we move into the courtroom, it's quite a ride. I haven't seen such a tense court atmosphere with perfect performances and great verbal shootouts in a long time (Anatomy of a Fall could learn something), and the final two episodes are great, there is twist after twist and the final one, well, that one blew me away. Gyllenhaal's speech in the finale is downright awesome, and there was no shortage of emotions either. The second season will be a different cast and a different case I suppose?? 8/10.

While the international acclaim and impressive trailers promised the event of the year and a film with a cult status in the style of Se7en and The Silence of the Lambs, the result is different and it shows in the final rating, which isn't around 80%. I for one have to say that I haven't enjoyed a crime film like Longlegs in a long time. There's more or less everything I love about the genre, the horror label is only there because of the satanic overtones and the supernatural, otherwise it's a proper crime thriller, with an increasingly better Maika Monroe on the hunt for a serial killer who is murdering families. Nicolas Cage doesn't appear until halfway through the film, but his devilishly creepy performance deserves praise. The atmosphere is suffocating and unpleasant, the audio-visuals are perfect (the sounds were very creepy), the acting is top notch, there were some nasty shots, though we don't get to see outright gore. I'm also happy with the ending, it gives the crime genre a completely fresh and original touch. I almost didn't breathe for most of the film despite the slower pace (I also praise the well written dialogues!). Good film. 8/10.

A Slovak gangster caper that would make even Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro sit on their asses, have a shot of whiskey and light a cigar! By our standards, it is a very good thing in the European style and it can compete with the Poles, the French and the Spaniards, I enjoyed the whole thing immensely. In my opinion the film suffers most from the fact that it is only half of the story, we have to wait until January for the big finale, and that is why I’m not giving it a full score, but otherwise great satisfaction. The atmosphere is intense and uncompromising! Milan Ondrik with his Pablo Escobar look is just perfect, the soundtrack and the technical side of the film are also amazing, the whole film paces perfectly and I didn't find any dead spots; there was sex, violence and murders, everything that a proper gangster flick should have. There could have been more violence, but I'll bite through it, because this 90s mafia Opus Magnum hit my taste exactly. 8.5/10.

This praised new Irish film has impressed critics and Damian McCarthy certainly has the potential to bring interesting things to the table in the future – though Caveat, his debut, was an ordeal for me and I didn't have high expectations here. In the end, I wasn't offended by Oddity, it has interesting and strong moments, but the horror side is a bit lacking, which is a shame. McCarthy is going a bit in the style of Mike Flanagan, i.e. both enjoy a slow pace, with minimal scares and more emphasis on the characters and the story. There's one pretty intense and creepy jump-scare that had a very strong effect on me, there was an interesting twist and the finale has a nice atmosphere too, just a shame the Mummy was very underused, it deserved a lot more space. The craftsmanship is fine, too, but this is not the style of horror I'm looking for. The effort is worth it, though. We'll see what happens next time. 65%

The creators of New Kids Turbo and Summer of 84 have had a weaker moment. We Are Zombies has a promising theme that looks at zombies a little differently, they are among us in society, they don't crave our brains, they are simply a nuisance. With a more skillful director this could have been a big hit, but it’s left somewhere halfway. The characters are quite unlikeable, the humour rarely works (they definitely could have pushed the envelope more here), and it doesn't become a proper horror movie until the last 15 minutes, where there is a bit of gore and one very nice zombie monster – it looked really very good, but is it enough for a good movie? No, but it's okay for a passable average. 55%.

Paul Feig probably won't surpass Spy, but this is good fun. The idea of being able to kill the winner of the lottery and legally take the jackpot is very cool. Awkwafina is mostly annoying but I didn't mind her here, and John Cena is as fun and fine as always, even Simu Liu one is cool. The action is rather fun and interesting, but it’s a shame that it’s not R-rated, if there was also some nice gore I would definitely go higher with the rating. In terms of humour it could have been better too, but there were a few laughs. It goes by nicely, there is always something going on, for me a good stuff. 6/10.

I must say that I feel a little disappointed. I had hight expectations for Alien: Romulus, as it was expected to be the horror film of the year and the experienced Fede Álvarez with his spectacular trailers had a promising start, but unfortunately it didn't deliver. Admittedly, if I let go of expectations, this is solid sci-fi horror, the likes of which hasn't been around for a while, with some very impressive elements. But there were a few things that bothered me. The actors didn't wow me all that much, David Jonsson as the Android is the most interesting character, but the vaunted Cailee Spaeny didn't grab my heart. The opening is quite slow and by the time the Alien appears half the film is gone. Audiovisually it's great, the ship looks awesome and the music is also very effective, the cramped atmosphere is good and the gravity/acid scene is a highlight for me. The final monster was a bit over the top for me, though, I could have done without it and the Alien was perfectly fine. But what I see as the biggest problem and disappointment is that we get almost no gore. Álvarez made one of the most brutal horror remakes with Evil Dead, so I was expecting a proper Alien carnage, but the body-count is too low for that and most of the deaths are out of frame or simply don't stick in the memory. I didn’t expect Ridley Scott's Alien: Covenant to have twice the carnage of Alvarez. Even compared to Prey, Alien: Romulus falls far short. That I would leave the cinema feeling that seeing it once was enough is something I really didn't hope for. Four stars it deserves without a doubt, but the expectations were simply elsewhere. 7/10.