Category: Horror

“Life” (2017) starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Rebecca Ferguson & Ryan Reynolds / Z-View

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Life (2017) 

Director: Daniel Espinosa

Screenplay: Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick

Stars: Jake Gyllenhaal, Rebecca Ferguson, Ryan Reynolds, Hiroyuki Sanada, Ariyon Bakare

Tagline: Fear life. Not death.

The Plot…

An unmanned probe returns to the International Space Station with soil samples from Mars.  The six astronauts aboard the station are surprised to find a single cell organism in the soil.  As they experiment with the sample it begins to grow exponentially.  It escapes it’s container and devours a lab rat. Then the creature turns its sights on the astronauts.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Director Daniel Espinosa said the twist ending is in the spirit of The Twilight Zone and Night of the Living Dead.

I hate it when movie characters repeatedly make stupid decisions.  Especially when they’re supposed to be intelligent.

Life (2017)  rates 3 of 5 stars.

“Interview with the Vampire”: Season 2 (2024) starring Jacob Anderson, Sam Reid, Eric Bogosian, Delainey Hayles & Assad Zaman / Z-View

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Interview with the Vampire: Season 2 (2024)

Directors:  Craig Zisk (eps. 1, 5); Levan Akin (eps. 2-4, 8); Emma Freeman (eps. 6-7)

Teleplay: Hannah Moscovitch (ep. 1); Jonathan Ceniceroz & Shane Munson (ep. 2); Heather Bellson (ep. 3); Coline Abert & A. Zell Williams (ep. 4); Jonathan Ceniceroz & Hannah Moscovitch (ep. 5); Hannah Moscovitch & Shane Munson (ep. 6); Kevin Hanna & Rolin Jones (ep. 7); Rolin Jones (ep. 8)

Stars: Jacob Anderson, Sam Reid, Eric Bogosian, Assad Zaman, Delainey Hayles, Ben Daniels, Esme Appleton, Christopher Geary, Khetphet Phagnasay, Andrew Van Wilpe, Jan Hofman, Ben Bradshaw, Roxane Duran, Luke Brandon Field, Elander Moore, Justin Kirk, Blake Ritson, Stanislav Callas, Ed Birch, Roxane Duran and Bally Gill

Tagline: None.

The Plot…

Interview with a Vampire is an adaptation of Anne Rice’s novel, Interview with a Vampire.

Through a series of interview flashbacks we learn that in World War II’s final years Louis (Anderson) and Claudia’s (Hayles) search for other vampires lead to Romania and Paris.  They are discovered by a vampire coven in Paris.  All is not what it seems.  Jealously, lies and betrayals abound.  Most will not survive.

Daniel Malloy (Bogosian) discovers government agents are aware of the vampires.  Malloy also determines that he’s not being told the truth throughout the interview.  Malloy realizes with increasing certainty that his life is in danger.

When the interview concludes lies will be uncovered, truths revealed.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Interview with the Vampire Season 1 was a tour de force.  Season 2 meets and exceeds the bar that it set.  The series continues to be well written with wonderful actors joined by top notch directors.

Delainey Hayles who replaced Bailey Bass as Claudia does an excellent job.

There are more twists and surprises in season two.

I love the idea of a coven of vampires hiding in plain sight.  The vampire pretend to be human actors playing vampires on stage nightly.  The audience has no idea that the victims killed on stage are not actors.

Ben Daniels as Santiago provides a riveting performance as Santiago.

I have no idea how season 3 can live up to, let alone surpass season 2… but I’ll be ready to find out.

Interview with the Vampire: Season 2 (2024) earns 5 of 5 stars.

“Dead Heist” (2007) / Z-View

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Dead Heist (2007) 

Director: Bo Webb

Screenplay: Anghus Houvouras, Eric Tomosunas, Bo Webb

Stars: Big Daddy Kane

Tagline: The perfect heist…the wrong night.

The Plot…

When a small town bank robbery goes sideways due to the start of a zombie apocalypse, the thieves and cops find themselves fighting for their lives.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Made on a micro-budget and it shows.

Loved the idea, not so much the execution.

Dead Heist (2007)  rates 2 of 5 stars.

Syfy’s Twilight Zone 4th of July Marathon – 10 Episodes Not to Miss!

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Tomorrow Syfy channel’s 4th of July Twilight Zone Marathon starts at 6am!  It will run for 24 hours.  Here are a few episodes not to miss!

Thursday, July 4th

“A Quiet Place: Day One” (2024) written and directed by Michael Sarnoski, starring Lupita Nyong’o & Joseph Quinn / Z-View

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A Quiet Place: Day One (2024) 

Director: Michael Sarnoski

Screenplay:  Michael Sarnoski, story by John Krasinski, Michael Sarnoski, based on characters by Bryan Woods, Scott Beck

Stars: Lupita Nyong’o, Joseph Quinn, Alex Wolff and Djimon Hounsou

Tagline: Stay quiet. Stay alive.

The Plot…

Samira (Nyong’o) has terminal cancer.  She reluctantly joins her hospice group for a trip into New York City.  While there an alien invasion begins.  Separated from her group, Samira struggles to survive.  The creatures are deadly, but blind with hearing sensitive to the smallest sound.

What chance does anyone have of surviving?

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

The first day of any “apocalypse” should be the most interesting.  People from different backgrounds are thrown together.  Everyone is trying to figure out what is going on.  No one is sure of the right things to do.  It was a smart move to take us back to Day One of the alien invasion.

It was even smarter to have Djimon Hounsou reprise his role from A Quiet Place Part II.

Lupita Nyong’o reaffirms what an excellent actress she is.

A Quiet Place: Day One (2024) rates 4 of 5 stars.

“The Flood” (2023) starring Casper Van Dien & Nicky Whelan / Z-View

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The Flood (2023)

Director: Brandon Slagle

Screenplay: Chad Law, Josh Ridgway

Stars: Casper Van Dien, Nicky Whelan, Louis Mandylor.

Tagline: Danger is rising.

The Plot…

Sheriff Jo Newman (Whelan) has her hands full.  A hurricane is about to hit and the water is rising.  A prison transport bus just pulled in.  They need to house the prisoners until the storm passes.  Little does anyone know, armed outlaws are about to attempt a breakout.

What could make this worse?

The rising waters have brought a nest of alligators into the jail.  If the crooks don’t kill ya, the gators will.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

The Flood is a drive-in movie at best.  A low-budget genre film with poor CGI, headlined by a star who never quite made the A-List.

The Flood (2023) rates 2 of 5 stars.

“Under Paris” (2024) / Z-View

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Under Paris (2024)

Director: Xavier Gens

Screenplay: Yannick Dahan, Xavier Gens, Maud Heywang, Yaël Langmann

Stars: Bérénice Bejo, Nassim Lyes.

Tagline: None.

The Plot…

Three years ago Sophia, a marine researcher, barely survived a shark attack that killed everyone else in her group. Now Sophia, still not fully recovered from the attack, works at an aquarium in Paris. She keeps up with the location of the killer shark thanks to a tracking beacon on it.

When the beacon shows the shark has traveled into the Seine River, Sophia can’t get anyone to believe her.  When mutilated bodies begin to appear, it becomes clear that sharks have mutated and are indeed in the river.  Despite this, the mayor refuses to cancel a huge event that includes a triathlon in the, you guessed, Seine River.

Didn’t anyone learn anything from Jaws, Jaws II, Jaws 3-D and Jaws: The Revenge?

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Under Paris suffers from bad cgi, cliched characters and supposedly smart characters who die because of simply stupid choices.  The mayor knows there are mutated sharks in the river and still allows hundreds of swimmers to compete there.  A “smart” woman who has survived several shark attacks and has had her boat destroyed decides to swim towards the shark feeding frenzy.  Bombs from World War II are inadvertently detonated by sharks destroying bridge after bridge.  And so on…

I made it through the whole thing so it barely earns a 2 star rating.

After writing this, I saw a Tweet (er, X) from Stephen King which read…

I thought UNDER PARIS would be a jokey movie, like SHARKNADO, but Twitter convinced me to give it a watch, and it’s really quite good. The last 25 minutes were amazing.

Now, I’m not one to argue with Stephen King.  My opinion stands, as does King’s.  So, I’ll just say, “Your mileage may vary.”

Under Paris (2024), (for me) rates 2 of 5 stars.

Creepy Archives Volume 8 is Coming! Featuring Tom Sutton, Steve Skeates, Wally Wood, T. Casey Brennan, Ernie Colón & More!

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Creepy Archives Volume 8 is set to drop on September 24, 2024.  It collects Creepy issues 37–41.  Here’s some of what to expect…

Now available in a value-priced paperback edition, Creepy Archives Volume 8 features the best in gruesomely gore-geous tales of horror, fantasy, and science fiction from a capable cadre of celebrated storytellers including Tom Sutton, Steve Skeates, Wally Wood, T. Casey Brennan, Ernie Colón, and many more.

Also featured is a foreword by longtime Creepy scribe Nicola Cuti and a story starring none other than Uncle Creepy himself! Take a break from the mausoleum, hang up your mourning coat, and bury yourself in Creepy Archives!

Creepy Archives Volume 7 is Coming! Featuring Frank Frazetta, Tom Sutton, Nicola Cuti, Syd Shores, Ernie Colón, Richard Corben, Ken Kelly & More!

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Creepy Archives Volume 7 is set to release on July 23, 2024.  It collects Creepy issues 33–36.  Here’s some of what to expect…

Now available in a value-priced paperback edition, Creepy Archives Volume 7 features the finest in fiendish fiction from a skilled swarm of comics luminaries, including Tom Sutton, Nicola Cuti, Syd Shores, Ernie Colón, and the inaugural Creepy contributions by industry legends Richard Corben and Ken Kelly!

Also presents a lengthy interview with master illustrator Frank Frazetta. After a hard day at the boneyard, take a nice bloodbath, pour yourself a glass of hemlock, and curl up with Creepy Archives!

“Godzilla Minus One” (2023) / Z-View

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Godzilla Minus One (2023)

Director: Takashi Yamazaki

Screenplay: Takashi Yamazaki

Stars: Ryunosuke Kamiki, Minami Hamabe.

Tagline: Postwar Japan. From zero to minus.

The Plot…

1945.  World War II is nearing the end.  Kōichi Shikishima, a Japanese kamikazi pilot lands his plane on Odo island for repairs.  There is nothing wrong with his plane.  The truth is that Kōichi was afraid to finish his mission.  That night a giant prehistoric-looking creature comes ashore.  It attacks the Japanese stronghold.  Try as they might, the creature is impervious to anything the soldiers can do.  Kōichi is too afraid to help.  The next morning he is one of the only two to survive Godzilla’s attack.

The war ends.  Kōichi returns home to Tokyo.  He discovers his parents were both killed in a bombing. Kōichi meets a homeless woman with an orphaned child. He brings them to his home. As time goes by they become more of a family, but Kōichi still feels like a coward.

Reports of Godzilla attacking ships becomes more frequent.  The government fears Godzilla will come on land and wipeout entire cities.  Nothing has been able to stop the giant creature.  Then the worst is reported, Godzilla is heading inland.

Will Kōichi get a chance to redeem himself and save his country?  What do you think?

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

The title, Godzilla Minus One, refers to Japan being taken “down to zero” after World War II.  Godzilla’s attacks on the country take it even lower.  This minus one.

After seeing the trailer and the great reviews for Godzilla Minus One I was excited to see the film.  The scenes of Godzilla’s attacks and the destruction caused by the monster are the best in any Godzilla film ever.  This is where Godzilla Minus One shines.  I wanted more of that.  It almost felt like I was watching a more adult film during Godzilla’s attacks and a movie aimed at kids with the Kōichi subplot.

Godzilla Minus One (2023) rates 3 of 5 stars.