Dethcharm

Dr. Rose Cotter (Sosie Bacon) works in the Psychiatric Unit at the local hospital. Other than her extreme workload, nothing is amiss, until a patient is brought in after witnessing a bizarre, tragic event. Rose has no idea that the same sort of tragedy is about to happen again, right in front of her, under similarly strange circumstances.

As her life begins to unravel, Rose sets out to uncover the reason behind what is occurring to her.

SMILE is one of those paranoiac, nightmare movies, where something insanely dark is happening to the main character, and no one believes her. What makes it so effective is that we can feel Rose's suffering, terror, and helplessness. Also, we know that if something like this happened to us, we would lose our minds!

Director Parker Finn dials up the creep factor, while slowly building the tension. The supernatural element is handled well, never giving away too much until the final scenes. The mood is familiar, but the idea is unique. SMILE has the doom and desperation of THE RING, the vulnerable feeling generated by FALLEN, and the sense of relentless dread we get from IT FOLLOWS.

A superior horror film...

THE INCREDIBLY STRANGE CREATURES WHO STOPPED LIVING AND BECAME MIXED UP ZOMBIES is every bit the masterwork that its light-year-long title suggests. Dividing it into its essential parts, it is:

50% half-hearted, lackadaisical musical / dance numbers.

49% random carnival footage.

1% hypnotized maniac on the loose movie.

Director Ray Dennis Steckler (as Cash Flagg) plays the pivitol madman role with bug-eyed precision, stabbing at his unsuspecting victims with all the vigor of a robot slicing bread. He really only serves as a distraction between the semi-choreographed night club routines, leading up to the seemingly endless finale.

Be careful! Brainhammers like this should only be watched if you've been well versed in terrible cinema! You have been warned!...

LONGLEGS is Director Os Perkins' horror hybrid, combining the drama of a good police procedural with the chills of a supernatural thriller. There are some nods to SILENCE OF THE LAMBS, without being derivative. Some of the plot also draws possible inspiration from such actual cases as the Zodiac, and Manson Family murders.

Maika Monroe plays Special Agent Lee Harker, an up-and-coming FBI agent, brought into a puzzling serial murder investigation. Harker seems to possess an uncanny ability to see or know things that should be impossible.

Of course, this movie also stars the one and only Nicolas Cage, and he does not disappoint! As the titular madman, Mr. Cage gets ample opportunity to display his skills: He rants. He raves. He screams like a train whistle. He even sings! All of which is actually scary, and disturbing as hell! In other words, he has found his finest role. His screentime may be relatively sparse, yet he makes his mark!

With anyone else in the role, this would still be a good movie, but with the added feature of Mr. Cage, it's a masterpiece!

Creepy fun from beginning to end...