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.
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 ANightmare 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.
Back in the fall of 2012, I was still a single father of a six-year-old boy, and one of the easiest downtime activities to do back then was take him to the movies – that year’s ParaNorman was one of many we made it out to. So thirteen years later when my-now grown son expressed wanting to go see the 3D re-release with his old man again (with his girlfriend along for the ride this time too, of course), I couldn’t say “no.”
The original film centers around an 11-year old social outcast named Norman (Kodi Smit-McPhee) who is misunderstood by his family and bullied by his peers for his strange and unusual behaviors – he can see and talk to ghosts that others around him cannot. But things change once the dead starts rising from their literal graves and scaring the locals.
With the help of his goofy best friend Neil (Tucker Albrizzi), his self-centered older sister Courtney (Anna Kendrick), the school bully (Christopher Mintz-Plasse), and Neil’s older jock brother Mitch (Casey Affleck), Norman must stop the zombies roaming the town, while also uncover their secrets that ultimately lead to their arrival to begin with.
The new short film, The Thrifting, finds Norman, Neil, and Courtney (Anna Kendrick once again in the only returning voice role) attempting to locate a Halloween costume in a dark and desolate second hand store that has some built-in permanent ghostly residents. Finn Wolfhard of Stranger Things fame also lends his voice as the store clerk in this entry.
Flyer for the all-new ParaNoman short film, The Thrifting.
All in all, each film in the ParaNorman universe is harmless family entertainment and fun in their own ways; the world needs more films like them right now.
Just three years after the last Jurassic World entry, Dominion, executive producer Steven Spielberg concocts a new way to keep the series afloat with Rebirth, a definite improvement over not only said initial predecessor, but 2018’s Fallen Kingdom as well (even if it just treads more all-too familiar terrain)
The plot is nothing revolutionary; a team lead by a covert op expert (Scarlett Johansson), a paleontologist (Jonathan Bailey) and jack-of-all trades boat captain (Mahershala Ali) are all taped by a pharmaceutical company to collect some samples from dinosaurs on an island inhibited by uber dangerous mutant dinosaurs. Along the way they encounter and rescue a shipwrecked family (lead by Manuel Garcia-Rulfo) before arriving to the island where the chaos fully ensues.
Much of the action sequences do offer some exciting and tense (albeit often predictable) moments, but the majority of the characters here are merely cookie-cutter. Even the admittedly easy-on-the-eyes Johansson can’t do much to help things out all that much here.
Still, Rebirth does contain all the makings of a summer blockbuster, and if escapist entertainment without much originality is what you’re looking for, it certainly delivers.
In 1974, a novel by the name of Jaws from Journalist Peter Benchley was published by Doubleday, which quickly found its way into the hands of American readers, as well as caught the attention of Producers Richard D. Zanuck and David Brown.
The two reportedly each read the book in the course of just one night, and it was unanimously decided that it would make a great, big screen film. Once soon-to-be legend Steven Spielberg was tapped to direct, the project had all the makings to become something truly unique.
Spielberg chose to hire actors without very much star power as not to take away from the “realness” of its blue collar setting. Roy Scheider, best known up to that point for his role in 1971’s The French Connection, was cast as the chief of police Martin Brody of the fictional Amity Island. Richard Dreyfuss, hot off the tails of 1973’s American Graffiti, was brought in to play marine biologist Hopper at the suggestion of George Lucas, while the role of rough-around-the-edges fisherman and WWII veteran Quint went to Robert Shaw, who seemed born to play the role.
Primarily filmed at Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, the production was quickly nicknamed “Flaws” by crew members due to its painstaking shots on the water (it would be the first movie to ever fully utilize the actual open ocean in the way it ultimately did). Spielberg himself even stated if not for this, he might have even returned for a sequel.
Originally released on June 20, 1975 by Universal Pictures, the film took audiences by surprise right off the bat, and not only was an instant hit, it became a legitimate cultural phenomenon that would set the standard for the prototypical summer blockbuster from that point forward (it also briefly held the title for the highest-grossing film of all time until Star Wars surpassed it just two short years later in 1977).
Of course filmmakers knew the type of gold they had struck with it, and a sequel, simply titled Jaws 2, would soon follow in 1978 with the now-infamous tag line, “Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water…” Spielberg had already expressed his disinterest in returning to direct (as previously mentioned), but Actor Roy Scheider was eventually coaxed into returning as Chief Brody after much hesitation (several other actors from the original, including Lorraine Gary and Murray Hamilton, also returned for the proceedings).
By the early 1980’s, 3-D had become all the rage, so it was only natural for Jaws 3 (originally released as “Jaws 3-D” in theaters) to be shot in this format in 1983. In this entry, the two Brody sons, now fully grown, are terrorized at a SeaWorld park that the eldest brother Michael (played by Dennis Quaid) works at. While far from the strongest of the bunch, the film still had some fun moments, and was filmed almost entirely at the Orlando, FL SeaWorld location.
The author (left) and son pictured at SeaWorld Orlando where much of 1983’s Jaws 3 was filmed on 1/1/12.
And then you have 1987’s preposterous Jaws: The Revenge, which found the shark actually following two of the Brody’s (Lorraine Gary returned one last time as Ellen, while Lance Guest takes on the role of Michael, completely ignoring the events of the third entry) from Amity to the Bahamas. It’s as far-fetched as it sounds, but good for a laugh every now and then (be sure to watch for the famous lion-roar scene at the end if you’ve never seen it), and if nothing else another memorable tag line in the form of “This time it’s personal” would also emerge thanks to this sequel.
But the legacy of that first, now fifty-year-old film is not likely to fade any time soon. From action figures (my autistic nephew Michael is an expert on these!), video games, attraction rides (such as the former popular one at Universal Studios), to even Jaws-themed wines (see photo below), there’s no shortage of ways to celebrate the film.
On a personal level, I can recall watching the film as a child in my late Uncle Brian’s (R.I.P.) basement in the ’80s along with my siblings and cousins (if I remember correctly, it was a double feature that also included the original Ghostbusters), and it remains a bittersweet memory for me until this day. Jaws will no doubt continue to endure like this for generations to come.
Jaws wine display spotted at a World Market location in Sanford, FL on 6/17/25 (Photo by Brooke Striewski).
A demonic, shadowy figure spreads doom, despair, and death upon a 19th-century German town. The story of Nosferatu originates from Bram Stoker’s 1897 novel Dracula, which set the stage for all vampire lore and mythology to follow. Along with Mary Shelley’s 1818 novel Frankenstein, two of the horror genre’s greatest monsters were created.
The 1922 silent film Nosferatu was my gateway into German Expressionist films of the 1920s, which included The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920), The Golem (1920), and Faust (1926), among others. The golden age of German cinema culminated with Fritz Lang’s epic sci-fi masterpiece Metropolis (1927) and his equally brilliant mystery thriller M (1931), starring Peter Lorre.
This period of innovation and landmark filmmaking ended upon the collapse of the Weimar Republic and the rise of the Nazi Party, which subsequently turned the film industry into a propaganda machine for their twisted goals.
As an unofficial film adaptation of Bram Stoker’s famous novel, Nosferatu was accused of copyright infringement by the Stoker estate. German courts ruled all copies to be destroyed, but several prints survived. It remains one of the most influential horror films of all time.
2024’s Nosferatu embarks as a tribute to the original silent film and Expressionist filmmaking. The familiar story of Dracula is told through a landscape of dreamlike visuals, fantastic settings, foreboding doom, and grotesque imagery. Unfortunately, it fails to realize its potential as a memorable Gothic horror film.
Director Robert Eggers delivers grandness to this obvious passion project. There’s no doubt he’s a talented filmmaker. His eye for authenticity in set design, costumes, and dialogue is admirable and immersive. I liked The Witch (2015) but never saw The Northman (2022). And I’m not a fan of The Lighthouse (2019).
Ultimately, I was taken with Nosferatu’s style, atmosphere, and darkness, but something didn’t quite add up. Its deliberate pacing and attention to detail should have left little room for confusion, whereas Eggers does exactly that.
His attempts to bring something new gloss over pivotal details and turn Nosferatu into a tale of possession, obsession, and psychic connections. Aside from muddled character motivations, the plot unfolds conventionally in the fictional 19th-century town of Wisborg, Germany.
Thomas Hutter (Nicholas Hoult), newlywed husband to Ellen (Lily-Rose Depp), is summoned to a remote castle in Transylvania by his employer Herr Knock (Simon McBurney) to finalize a real estate transaction with the mysterious Count Orlok (Bill Skarsgård). Herr Knock (aka Reinfeld) is actually a devoted servant to the Count, aiding him in his menacing quest.
After an arduous journey, Hutter finds himself captive in Orlok’s castle unable to warn his wife of impending doom. The Count purchases property in Wisborg after seeing a small portrait of Ellen on her husband’s locket. He then travels by ship with coffins of cursed earth and unleashes a plague of disease-ridden rats upon the unsuspecting town.
Hutter escapes, returns home, and finds his wife in the throes of demonic possession. A sympathetic doctor, Dr. Wihelm Sievers (Ralph Ineson), can’t determine what’s wrong with her. They then enlist the aid of disgraced Professor Albin Eberhart Von Franz (Willem Dafoe) to save Ellen and stop Count Orlok before it’s too late.
Hutter and Von Franz are, of course, based on Jonathan Harker and Dr. Abraham Van Helsing from Stoker’s novel, and the film reuses most of the names from its 1922 predecessor which changed them to avoid similarities to Stoker’s novel. Dafoe also naturally stands out, bringing some much-needed warmth and humor.
Perhaps the greatest treat is the depiction of Count Orlok famously played by Max Shreck in the original. Skarsgård’s portrayal may be polarizing, but it completely worked for me. His deep, menacing voice, thick accent, labored breathing, and guttural growls were jarring and fascinating to behold.
Largely shot within shadows, Orlok looks the part of a repulsive and immortal recluse from the Carpathian Mountains, replete with decayed skin, long, claw-like hands, and a thick mustache. Keeping his appearance a secret from the trailers and movie posters was also a genius stroke in advertising, as his brooding, mysterious presence carries the film.
This is no romanticized vampire tale either. As an ominous prophet of doom, Orlok embodies pure evil and leaves behind a wasteland of apocalyptical horror in his wake. Scenes of a desolate, disease-ridden Wisborg are chilling and harken back to the profound bleakness brilliantly captured in Werner Herzog’s 1979 remake, Nosferatu the Vampyre. There are also lots of rats, so consider yourself warned.
Nosferatu’s tragic tale of sacrifice lives on in an effectively dark and sinister reimagining. Though it’s not a movie without flaws. Those expecting a conventional big-budget horror experience might be disappointed. Random jump scares employed throughout worked on the audience but mostly annoyed me.
The results make one long for the visual splendor, excitement, and coherence of Francis Ford Coppola’s Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992), which remains a modern-day classic, in my opinion.
Conversely, the movie’s trappings could also be its strong points. If Eggers had simply remade Nosferatu, emulated Coppola’s vision, or modernized the story to make it more accessible, it would be something else. It wouldn’t be art in all its confounding glory.
Truthfully, I knew very little about Five Nights at Freddy’s prior to going into the new film other than it’s a game I’ve surely pumped plenty of money into over the years already thanks to my kid, and it bore a striking resemblance (at least on the surface) to the 2021 Nicholas Cage vehicle Willy’s Wonderland.
But perhaps my ignorance of the franchise was actually advantageous in this case; having little to no knowledge of the source material, and in turn no real expectations of the film itself, I went in with more or less a blank slate. That said, I really enjoyed what was on display on the big screen.
John Hutcherson plays Mike Schmidt, a down-on-his luck, unemployed security guard raising his little sister Abby (Piper Rubio) solo while also dealing with the guilt and trauma of losing their little brother to a kidnapper when he was twelve years old. After accepting an ill-advised overnight position from his career counselor (Matthew Lillard) at a defunct ’80s family entertainment center called Freddy Fazbear’s Pizzeria, things take a turn for the worse for him.
It’s quickly apparent after starting the job and meeting local beat cop Vanessa Shelly (Elizabeth Lail) that there’s more going on behind the scenes at Freddy’s, discovering the animatronic figures in the pizzeria are not only possessed, but also share a certain connection to his long lost brother (and a creepy reaction whenever The Romantics track “Talking in Your Sleep” comes on).
Aside from a fairly uninteresting subplot involving a custody battle with a vicious aunt (Mary Stuart Masterson), the film actually moves along quite nicely (albeit a bit slow at times). And while others have criticized its focus on the kidnapping backstory, it never goes the route that so many similar films have before it with unnecessary sex and violence (and/or gore).
Is Five Nights at Freddy’s a flawless movie? Of course not. But is it harmless enough, PG-13 level campy fun that you can take the family to without cringing the whole time? Absolutely.
Remember the original 1993 Super Mario Bros. movie, where the late Bob Hoskins and John Leguizamo first played the plumber brothers Mario and Luigi in a live action, heaping mess? It was the first ever film of its kind based off of a video game, and the makers of it painfully missed the mark, leaving audiences severely unimpressed. After all these years, TheSuper Mario Bros. Movie is what (most) fans have surely been waiting for.
This version is your standard search-and-rescue type of set up when brothers Mario (played by the very non-Italian Chris Pratt – but hey, it’s all about the selective outrage though, am I right?!) and Luigi (portrayed perfectly by Charlie Day of It’s Always Sunny inPhiladelphia fame) are whisked away and separated into an unknown underworld while attempting to save their home city Brooklyn from a plumbing emergency. They also just happen to land while the evil King of the Koopas, Bowser (another spot-on casting move with Jack Black) is plotting on taking over Mushroom Kingdom and marrying Princess Peach (Anya Taylor-Joy). But through the help of Peach, Mario learns just how “super” he can become as he sets off to save both his brother, and the innocent kingdom from peril.
Everything that was left out of the ’93 version makes its way into the story here seamlessly and without feeling forced, as the brothers each encounter strange new lands and befriend new characters along the way. And there’s nearly a reference to every MarioBros.-related game that’s come since the titular hero’s very first appearance in Donkey Kong all the way back in 1981, with everything from Mario Kart to Luigi’s Mansion. Sure, it’s essentially just a large advertisement for Nintendo, but it never crosses any lines that don’t make any sense to the plot.
All in all The Super Mario Bros. Movie is harmless family entertainment without being too overly cute, and focused solely on its story rather than getting in any unnecessary political agendas or jabs. The humor never stoops to low-brow levels, yet still manages to incorporate jokes aimed at adults. And there are plenty of throwbacks for nostalgia hounds to gush over (even the music, which stays very- ’80s throughout, is always well-placed). The film is a rare labor of love that’s beyond easy to find yourself fully escaping into it’s realms, and quite frankly, probably the best video game-related film produced thus far (sorry, Sonic!).
For years now I haven’t been able to get behind what’s become of the action film genre, not impressed by the over-the-top fast pacing, seemingly dumbed-down a little more each year. I was really hoping Violent Night could’ve been the film that got me back into them, but alas, I found very little to like here.
It starts out promising enough; we’re instantly introduced to David Harbour of Stranger Things fame as a jaded, drunken Santa. Seems like a decent enough concept. But things quickly take a turn for the worse when the film becomes a blatant ripoff of Die Hard, finding him the lone wolf inside of a terrorist takeover (lead by John Legumizo) at one of the mansions his deliveries brought him to. What unfolds is some of the most (literal) painful screen time I’ve witnessed in a long time.
I know most people my age group and below are likely to disagree with me, but I found no redeeming qualities with this film whatsoever. The action scenes are unbearable, the jokes beyond lowbrow, and the characters some of the most unlikable in screen history (I especially despised seeing Beverly D’Angelo playing a heartless heiress). It then somehow manages to even parody Home Alone (which in hindsight maybe the film would have benefited from had it taken a more lighthearted tone throughout).
I went in really hoping to like Violent Night, but unfortunately that was far from the case. This movie was not “fun” in anyway to me at all, just utter garbage that I’d much rather permanently remove from my memory bank. In fact, the only thing keeping me from giving this a zero star rating is the inclusion of the Slade track “Merry Christmas Everybody” during the ending credits. Other than that, I’ll be fine if I never see this film again as long as I live.
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!
