MA: Never Party With Someone Double Your Age

Written by Luke Barnes

This film started with all the promise in the world, the idea of a middle aged woman who lures teens back to her basement to party has all sorts of troubling undertones. However, it is from there that this film starts to struggle.

The threat and the horror of this film are very human, yet that can only go so far, maybe if the writing was better, alas. We quickly get into a very overly familiar story of an unpopular girl who is picked on by the popular kids and then wants revenge, with some poisoning of your kid to keep them dependent on you thrown in there for good measure. From about the first third in I could accurately tell what was going to happen.

I don’t know what blackmail Blumhouse have on Octavia Spencer, but clearly it must be sizeable to get her to walk away from beloved TV shows and award winning films to star in this; a by all means average horror effort.

Overall, the film has promise, but then doesn’t do anything with it.

Pros.

A strong premise

A few good scares

Cons.

Overly familiar

Octavia Spencer deserves better than this

Not all that scary

If you enjoyed this review, then please head over to my Patreon to support me. I offer personalized shoutouts, one on one Q and As, the ability for you to pick what I review next and full access to my Patreon exclusive game reviews. Check it out!

https://www.patreon.com/AnotherMillennialReviewer

Digging To Death: A Great Upper Body Workout

3/5

Written by Luke Barnes

I found this film funny, whether that was intentional or not remains to be seen but viewed as a horror comedy this film is a roaring success. I would say as is often the case this film tended to favour the comedy over the horror, and I didn’t end up finding the film at all scary.

There were a few tense moments that punctuate the film, but for the most part the tension is quickly lost, and silliness returns; this does become grating after a while as you want the film to at least take itself seriously slightly.

Something I will give this film a pro for is the look of the corpse, I enjoyed the low-fi approach they took with it, and thought the corpse looked quite striking and effective. We definitely could have used more of the corpse within the film.

The acting was all fine, nothing really to write home about, but serviceable enough that it didn’t become a problem or distracting.

Overall, a lot of fun, I hope for the film’s sake that it wasn’t trying to be a straight forward horror film, if that is the case then I would have to readjust my score as it is not scary at all.

Pros.

The humour
The ending

It is entertaining

Cons.

It is not scary

The tone is a little uneven at times

https://www.patreon.com/AnotherMillennialReviewer

The Doorman: Ruby Rose Needs A Better Agent

1/5

Written by Luke Barnes

The unlikeliness of Ruby Rose actually being able to overpower and physically best guys twice or sometimes even three times her size is never lost on me. Watching Rose as a cold calculating villain ordering foot soldiers to their death is far better and more believable than watching her trying to take on the action hero role herself.

This film is a clear Die Hard rip-off, and for most of the film it doesn’t even try to hide it. Rose’s character is ex-military, so of course when some vague ‘European’ baddies show up and try and take over the hotel that her dead sister’s Husband and kids live at she expertly manages to take them all down and keep everyone save.

The premise is beyond familiar, and we get back to the idea of this being a rip-off, however it feels more like a spoof. Whoever is Ruby Rose’s agent should be fired as they keep getting her these really generic action roles, that might help her to build a certain image, that of an action star, but at the same time show just how poorly she plays theses type of roles- it is double edged.

Moreover, the sub-plot regarding the fact that Rose’s character and her dead sister’s husband had an affair, and it is implied they still have feelings for each other, is icky and makes both of the characters deeply unlikeable.

Overall, hopefully someone in Hollywood will start making better decisions with their money and we will get less films like this.

Pros.

It is short

Cons.

Rose

The premise

It is generic

The icky subplot

https://www.patreon.com/AnotherMillennialReviewer

Wrath Of Man: Leave Your Lights On For Jason Statham

5/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Recently I have been suck in somewhat of a purgatory when it comes to finding good films to watch, try as I like I keep ending up watching average films, or films that are good but also deeply flawed. However, just when I was starting to lose faith, I watched this.

For most of his filmography I have been a big Guy Richie fan, and this film was yet another hit for me. Jason Statham I am more mixed on, sometimes he can be good, other times he is woefully miscast here however he is great.

There is just something that works about this film, there are no glaring issues with it, and it had a smile on my face from start to finish. I thought the pacing was tight, there were no dips in interest or engagement, the action was strong with the shootout at the depot being a particular highlight and the tension was well maintained over the course of the film.

Moreover, I surprisingly also found this film to be very funny- deliberately. Yes, when I put this film on I did not think it would have lighter moments it seemed a very dark tale, but the tone does balance this, and allows for a few one-liners that help the film to stay enjoyable and not get too dark; and these lines are also quite funny.

Overall, it is nice to see Statham and Ritchie back on form, this film clearly illustrates the best of both men and makes for one of the more entertaining watches of the year so far.

Pros.

The action

The tension

The jokes

The cast

Statham

Cons.

None

https://www.patreon.com/AnotherMillennialReviewer

Candyman: The Candyman Can

3/5

Written by Luke Barnes

I remember watching Candyman Farewell To The Flesh as a child and being scared out of my wits, it was this remembrance that caused me to go back and watch the first film recently and also to prep for the new sequel that is on its way.

So this film feels very unique, in a Clive Barker-esque way. Though Barker didn’t write the film, it is based on one of his stories and he was involved as a producer, this is clear to see as his finger prints are all over this film. Anyone familiar with Barker’s other works will be able to see what I mean; it is something special that is hard to put into words- the plot and style of the film reflect this.

Moreover, this film features one of the all time masters of horror himself: Tony Todd, which in my book is always a bonus point. We don’t get to see a lot of Todd throughout the film, though his presence is felt. However, the few scenes we do have with him are all very strong and he presents the character with a certain otherworldly, ethereal energy that is hard to look away from.

The characters outside of Todd’s villain are all fairly lacklustre, and the story itself is very familiar-especially if you are a genre fan like me. In my opinion the framing of the lead for Candyman’s crimes was perhaps the weakest part of the film as it has been seen so many times before across the genre and it was entirely predictable.

Overall, strong but not without flaws.

Pros.

Barker’s influence

Tony Todd

The style

Cons.

The lead was very meh

The storyline was predictable and weak

https://www.patreon.com/AnotherMillennialReviewer