The Mortuary Collection is probably my favorite horror anthology since Chillerama. This is the most Tales From the Crypt/Creepshow esque EC Comics inspired horror flick in a long time. The wrap around sets the tone and has Clancy Brown doing his best Tall Man. In the tales we get Lovecraftian imagery, spot of feminist/toxic masculinity social commentary, macabre humor, and a great twist on the final girl.
Haunting of Bly Manor is yet again another great addition to Mike Flanagan's television/filmography. Not quite as powerful as Haunting on Hill House but it is indeed a worthy follow up. There have been many adaptations of Turn of the Screw, including this year's awful The Turning, but this here while a loose adaptation is one of the best. It's a slow burn but it is atmospheric, both of Flanagan's Haunting shows feel like more focuses, less campy versions of AHS. I'm all for a third chapter in this anthology.
Room 104 is a show that is so far under the radar that i only know 2 other people that watch this gem. Four seasons of magical, surreal, twisted, bleak, whimsical, intelligent, and dark what the fuckness. From murderous twins, to musical numbers, from barbarians to eating dicks, from interpretive dance to foam that melts people, from 90s sitcom aesthetic to ghosts in the walls, from horror hosts to pro wrestling, from Satan to cartoons, this show had it all. No two episodes were the same, all had different casts and plots aswell as genres. Mark and Jay Duplass crafted their masterpiece!
If it were not for Ryuhei Kitamura directing the Doorman, i would have passed. It looked like a bland John Wick rip off, but it wound up feeling more like an Liam Neeson rip off. Ruby Rose is decent in small parts like John Wick 2 or Orange is the New Black but is a wooden lead. The villains were one dimensional stock characters and the plot made no sense at all. Worst film of the year? Yes, yes this is.
The Cleansing Hour is a welcome change of pace to possession films. An internet fame obsessed hoax of a host dealing with a real demon. It might not sound groundbreaking, and it isn't, but with as cookie cutter and dull that most possession films this is a breath of fresh air. With it's takedown on organized religion it plays both sides of skeptic and faith. It also has an interesting twist on possession towards the end that leads to a open ending that is a bit dark.
Clive Barker's Books of Blood are often celebrated, especially in film. The adaptations have garnered cult status or even staples of americana and horror. The new Hulu film takes what could be interesting material and turns it into a bland, dry and overly long film that needs to fix it's pacing, use a more interesting cast and look like anything other than a 00s STV film.
This was a mistake. Watching shit just because it involves Halloween is not a wise decision. Add in Adam Sandler playing his post modern mentally challenged character and you have a recipe for failure. The younger cast shines and i chuckled here and there but ultimately the film's jokes fall flat, the plot is awful and there is not a love of halloween in the air. This is netflix reaching for their Sandler deal and them milking Halloween like it is Christmas. I wish Sandler won the oscar so this shit would end.
