EvilPhoEniX

A mainstream demonic haunting film with a Jewish theme. The Offering was released in American cinemas, so technically it's above average and looks nice. The Jewish culture gives it a novel touch and the morgue setting works well, it just could have used a little more gore when it comes to the scares. I liked that it has a pretty old fashioned feel to it and there is some interesting Jewish mythology surrounding the ancient demon (the demon's look is original and solid- just again he didn't do enough damage). There are a couple of atmospheric sequences that aren't entirely discardable, but the scares didn't strike me as too spectacular and there aren't many of them, I think. But it's a pretty good watch thanks to the short running time and the novel premise, and it's definitely a better average among similar stuff. I was kind of hoping for a little sibling to The Autopsy of Jane Doe, but unfortunately that didn't happen. 6/10.

An escapist cat and mouse chase in a morgue setting. Play Dead is a bit of a TV thriller (but with good craftsmanship) that goes all the way without any major surprises and without any proper gore. For me, this is definitely not enough to be satisfied anymore, but it's easily watchable. The likeable main character infiltrates a morgue to retrieve a phone and save her brother from jail, but the local coroner is a twisted psychopath who traffics organs and things get complicated, as she's about to lose her life. Jerry O'Connell plays the psycho pretty cool and the main character is easy to root for. Too bad you doesn't really enjoy the organs and operations, it's just too lightweight for me. The similarity to The Price We Pay is almost parodically funny.. :) At least that one had gore. 55%

Ryuhei Kitamura opens the year with an exploitation film that doesn't disgrace the subgenre, but it doesn't bring anything new, doesn't push boundaries, and doesn't dare as much as his previous films (Midnight Meat Train and No One Lives will probably never be surpassed). The Price We Pay is a straightforward genre film that takes all those familiar horror clichés, which ironically also made me happy because those genre films were made 10-15 years ago, so it's nice to be reminded of them. We have a bunch of thieves who rob a pawn shop and take an attractive hostage with them (a beautiful woman is a staple in these movies and they stick to it, even if they don’t show her tits), their car breaks down in classic fashion and the closest thing they get is a remote farm where they decide to settle down. There, however, is a perverted Grandpa and one monstrous lumberjack woman – a properly sleazy villain. The opening takes some 40 minutes before anything starts happening, but it doesn't get boring. As soon as the two clash, Kitamura's favourite torture scene comes on (I was kind of hoping the eye gouging would be on camera, but this time it's off). I was honestly expecting more gore, the visuals are just average and the actors are B-grade, so no miracles there. The best scene is the final fatality with the barbed wire, which was worth a full count, but it would take at least five such scenes to go for a higher rating. I'm glad that after a long time there is at least a watchable addition to the exploitation sub-genre, but it doesn't reach the quality of its predecessors (Frontier(s) is still 2 levels higher in terms of filth and gore for example).

This is just another Boudali-Lacheau smash! I've been following this crew since the beginning of their career and I've seen all of their movies at least five times (each time with someone else) and it's always been a success. It's nice to watch their finances grow and how they keep improving, keeping their tradmarks and the superior quality of their movies better than Marvel and DC combined. The story may be borrowed from elsewhere, but it's very apt for a comedy. The protagonist learns he has 30 days to live, and so begins a zero to hero ride where his confidence soars, he starts taking risks and getting himself out of one crazy situation and into another. Again, there's a bunch of original and crazy ideas where I laughing in tears (no one can deliver such a cadence of gags and skits like these two). The cinematography, actors, music and crazy pacing are also great. Just top of the comedy genre. 85%.

Taylor Sheridan and his macho serial romp continues. He is in top form, every one of his TV series is breaking records and Tulsa King is no exception, with Sylvester Stallone giving his best performance since Rocky. It's an old-school gangster drama where Stallone is released from prison after 25 years and his boss sends him to the backwoods of Tulsa where he'll be able to build his own criminal underworld and have a very unexpected crew at his disposal. The series takes a quieter tone, but definitely entertains. Stallone has charisma to spare, and I enjoyed seeing him slowly and surely grow. The supporting characters are likeable and the villain leading the biker gang is a proper asshole. The action is minimal and the more action packed finale is particularly interesting, but it's survivable (although I prefer gangster movies full of dead bodies, drugs, torture and shootouts), so this is more of an old school feel good genre flick, but it will please everyone just because of Stallone. 75%

This year's first mainstream horror genre film is just your average high tech affair. Although M3gan has received good reviews overseas (Rotten Tomatoes and IMDB are both overwhelmingly praiseworthy), die-hard horror fans are certainly not overflowing with enthusiasm. M3gan is a modern variation on Chucky for Gen Z, so to speak, highlighting the dangers of modern technology and how treacherous it can be. Unfortunately the film is hurt by the PG-13 rating and it's all too family friendly and safe. It rambles on for over an hour and getting to know the characters isn't much fun, in short it's more of a drama about a little girl's relationship with a doll that classically starts to turn into a killer monster. It's a shame the premise didn't live up to its potential, it aimed for big things, butthe few murders probably wouldn't have been much even with an R-rating (we might have got 2-3 small gore scenes), which, compared to the new Evil Dead  is a mockery. The atmosphere doesn't work very well and the scares aren't there either, so it plays more on a disturbing note, but I wasn't too impressed with that either. Some even claim it's a comedy, but you must have a very obscure sense of humour. The finale at least saved it from being average for me. The battle in the house is very well filmed. M3GAN is properly creepy there for the first time in the film (her moves are admittedly copied from demons in traditional exorcism genre movies, but it looks even cooler in a robotic way) and her final appearance is also decent, It’s not worth going to the cinema, it's watchable, but the movie would be more fitting on VOD. 55%

A home invasion/slasher film with a Covid theme and the first nice piece this year. The story a classic template. A group of friends go to a remote lake house to spend lockdown, but they are ambushed by an aggressive killer. It doesn't have the classic slasher props (the killer doesn't have a cool mask, he's not immortal, his reveal isn't shocking and he doesn't have a slow walk), but it does have a great touch of Scream. The killer's running, the knife, the aggression, and he doesn't fight with his victims. After the opening 30 minutes of introductions, the film picks up a great pace and doesn't let up until the end. The murders are both imaginative and quite enjoyably gory, the victims and the bad guy get a good beating and the pain comes through, which is very welcome. In terms of craftsmanship, it's also a job well done, absolutely no reservations here (the CGI fire at the end is surprisingly cool), and I have to praise the twist/motivation of the killer, it’s refreshing and definitely unexpected in the genre. The only thing that annoyed me was the adherence to the covid rules, but you can ignore that. Otherwise it's a very enjoyable, entertaining and very action-packed genre film, and I'm happy to throw in an extra star. 7/10

The first sexploitation flick of the year. The story is about prostitutes satisfying horny truckers who are joined by a strongly religious girl from a cult to perform a cleansing. So we have a clash of religion and prostitution, a corrupt sheriff, and the American backwoods in Montana. Visually, it's not as cheap as it might first appear, it's quite skillfully shot, the girls aren't afraid of nudity (showing boobs twice is insufficient given the topic though), and the genre delights are not over-represented. Most of the murders are either out of frame or done in the same style (stabbing in the stomach), don't expect any gore, just some blood, which won't get anyone off their seat these days. There is a gay rape and a creepy priest, which are probably the most interesting scenes. The rest unfortunately offers nothing new and doesn't even cross the boundaries in the genre. It's short and watchable, so it doesn't offend. 5.5/10.

One of the most lauded South Koren films of last year is finally out and I have to say, it got on my nerves and made my skin crawl! The protagonist gets himself locked up in a juvenile delinquent institution to get revenge on the murderers who killed his brother, and it's definitely not a place you want to be voluntarily. If the North is famous for having the worst juvenile delinquent institutions, Korea doesn't fuck around either. Bullying, violence, fighting and humiliation of the deepest grain. As soon as a new scumbag enters the institution halfway through the film, there's total order and respect, a spineless scumbag you definitely don't want to be in the room with. The director is a classically insidious bastard, and this whole colossus of violence culminates in a shocking catharsis in the bathroom, with plenty of blood. Definitely awesome. There's also a lot of melancholy and sad music playing throughout the film that will make sensitive individuals weep. To make matters worse, the finale is topped off with a brutal twist that will give you a boner. I didn't see that coming. No wonder the film has an 85% rating on IMDB and is another Korean masterpiece on an unpleasant subject.

Alice in Borderland director Shinsuke Sato is making his presence known very soon with the sequel to one of the best-selling Mang Kingdom. I really liked the first installment, it had a bit of an RPG feel to it. The protagonist travels the countryside, recruiting new people to his team and killing opponents along the way, each with a different difficulty level; it entertained me, and when you have great visuals and awesome action, there's not much to complain about. The second part brings a more epic scale and you could say it's a two-hour battle between two nations with Hollywood effects and a cool soundtrack. There's not much of a story and historians will grumble that it's a rape of Chinese history, but it's fantasy, it's manga and ironically the battle is better filmed than anything China has ever done about the Qin dynasty. The protagonist dreams of becoming a great general and really does everything to do so. The action has great choreography and cinematography, the assassins, the ninjas, the samurai – I just love it. At times I thought back to Rurouni Kenshin and thought that there hasn't been an action flick like this since Kenshin from Japan. It was also nice to see a new female character on the scene, trained to kill since she was a kid, and she goes for a very nice solo (very over powered). I also have to praise the costumes, hairstyles and overall look of the generals, it's really iconic and you can like all the characters, which is terribly important. Those who like epic and long battles, without any lengthy explanations and boring bullshit, will enjoy it as much as I did. 75%