Film Review: Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 (Blumhouse Productions/Universal Pictures)

By: Jesse Striewski

It should come as no surprise to those who saw the first film that Five Night’s at Freddy’s 2 is not a straight forward horror/slasher movie, but there’s just something about creepy old arcades that keeps us coming back to them time and time again.

This time around, we get a little more backstory, and a new villain in the form of The Marionette, another feature of the fallen pizzeria possessed by a young girl named Charlotte (Audrey Lynn Maire) in the early ’80s, coincidentally once a friend of Vanessa’s (Elizabeth Lail) from the first film.

Aside from Lail, Josh Hutcherson, Piper Rubio, and Matthew Lillard all return from the original, with Skeet Ulrich and Wayne Knight adding some intrigue and/or fun to the proceedings. It’s much more fast-paced and straight-to-the-point, and much like the recent Black Phone 2, a step above its predecessor.

Look, I didn’t go into Street Fighter, the PG-13 video-game based film aimed at preteens back in the day, expecting to see Bloodsport, and no one should go into FNAF2 expecting the equivalent of a gore fest, either. It’s just scary enough for the smaller kids, while also keeping it safe enough for the whole family to enjoy, and aside from its abrupt ending, is an overall solid film.

Rating: 3/5

Film Review: Black Phone 2 (Blumhouse Productions/Crooked Highway/Universal Pictures)

By: Jesse Striewski

I’ve been very vocal as of late on the decline of modern horror films these days, but every once in awhile there’s a needle in a haystack that sticks out among the ever-growing lists of latest of low brow imitators (the likes of this year’s Clown in a Cornfield reached new lows of stupidity for sure).

2021’s The Black Phone was one such exception that gave us “The Grabber,” a serial child killer in the late ’70s menacingly played by Ethan Hawke, who is outsmarted by his final would-be victim, Finney (Mason Thames) who communicates with The Grabber’s past victims’ spirits via a telephone in the basement he is confined in (sounds a bit far-fetched on paper, I know).

Four years later in 1982, Finney’s kid sister Gwen (Madeline McGraw) is now experiencing visions and receiving messages from the grave, which eventually leads to the two of them, along with Finney’s friend Ernesto (the brother of one of the first film’s victims, played by Miguel Mora) heading to the nearby Alpine Lake Camp where Gwen and Finney’s late mother Hope (Anna Lore) worked once upon a time, to investigate these strange occurrences from beyond further.

Turns out that not only did their mom work there in the late ’50s, but so did The Grabber, who just so happened to also claim his first few victims there, and slowly but surely the trio begin putting the mysterious connections together along with the help of the camp’s current staff, lead by supervisor Armando (Demian Bichir), and realize The Grabber is very much there to enact his revenge on them.

Using similar techniques of isolation found in early ’80s horror classics such as 1980’s The Shining and 1982’s The Thing while combining it with the slasher surrealism of 1984’s A Nightmare on Elm Street (The Grabber is far more deserving now to be put alongside the likes of horror icon Freddy Kruger than say the modern Pennywise from It, at least in my book), the film instantly sets the tone with its eerie atmosphere and never quite lets up.

Aside from the occasional cringe-worthy dialogue and one or two cookie cutter characters, Black Phone 2 is indeed one of those few exceptions where the sequel truly outshines the original, and gives me a silver of hope in the horror movie world; I look forward to seeing where the series goes from here.

Rating: 4/5 Stars

Film Review: Halloween Ends (Miramax/Blumhouse/Universal Pictures)

By: Jesse Striewski

So, Halloween finally ends, huh? For me, it was over twenty years ago when Michael Myers offed Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) in 2002’s Resurrection, but that’s just me. Last year’s atrocious Halloween Kills had to be my least favorite of all the films in the franchise (next to only the Rob Zombie entries), but what can really be said about this latest installment that hasn’t already been said, and without giving away too much?

On the surface, it could just be considered an experiment gone terribly, terribly wrong. But there’s much to unpack here. And in the five days since its release, audiences have almost universally panned the film for the direction it takes. It starts out a basic origin story, highlighting the torment and eventual descent into madness of the bullied Corey Cunnigham (Rohan Campbell). The problem that exists – other than the fact that this takes away from the Michael vs. Laurie showdown that everyone was hoping for – is who is this character, and why in the hell should we even care about him?

The ensuing love story aspect between Cunnigham and Laurie’s adorable granddaughter Allyson (Andi Matichak) actually works in its own weird way, but feels better suited for another film entirely. But that aside, the rest of what is left is a heaping pile of metaphorical mess, clumped together by Director David Gordon Green’s would-be unique vision. Even the “kills” feel forced and largely unnecessary, if one can actually believe that.

Speaking of unnecessary, this entire newer trilogy that began in 2018 could have honestly just never happened and the world would not have missed a single beat. In fact, the best thing to even comes out of these films in my opinion has simply been the well-crafted John and Cody Carpenter (and Daniel Davies) composed music score, which was indeed the highlight of Ends (throwing in the Dead Kennedys’ “Halloween” during a party scene was a nice touch as well).

But you know where the music and storylines were even better? The original films. I’d much rather go back and re-watch Halloween III: Season of the Witch (my personal favorite, and yes that’s right, the one without Michael Myers) any day of the week. With that being said, keep an eye out for an upcoming 40th anniversary piece on the latter, dropping at the end of the week on Rewind It Magazine!

Rating: 1.5/5 Stars