1/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Chucky is reborn in a new world of tech and online interactivity.

This film is a travesty on multiple levels.

To be bluntly honest with you it took me three sittings to finish this film as each time I watched it I couldn’t stand more than about half an hour of it.

The only reason this film has a 1 is because of Aubrey Plaza as the mum, she is great as always, but she could do so, so much better than this. Honestly this film is just so terrible that no matter how good a performance any of the actors give it is quickly overshadowed.

I strongly disliked the new high tech Chucky. I thought the idea of modernising him and drastically changing what his powerset is to be stupid. It felt like a jaded executive being like ‘oh what do young people like today? Lets make him do that’. I think this film truly sullies the character. Both in terms of personality, as they don’t bring back the original voice actor, and in terms of appearance as he now just looks like an awful CGI mess. Nothing against Hamill of course but he can’t hold a candle to Brad Dourif.

Overall, I am glad this film did poorly enough to kill any chances of spawning sequels, this version of Chucky should be taught in writers rooms so that people know what not to do with the character.

Pros.

Plaza

Cons.

The child actor

Everything about Chucky

The story is dumb and convoluted

It does not need to exist

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4.5/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Years after the events of the previous films Anthony McCoy, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, learns the legend of Candyman. As the struggling artist learns more about the figure he suddenly finds inspiration, however, he also starts to become haunted by the spector- with Candyman himself having a dark purpose for Anthony.

As I tweeted after I saw this, I think this might be the horror film of the summer. Throughout the entire time I was watching this I had a smile on my face. I loved how this film explored the world and lore of Candyman and expanded upon what we had got from previous movies and furthered this idea of possession. I thought the transformation, was also done really well and I think the make up effects that are used are done in a very convincing way, the wounds look painful.

Moreover, I think DaCosta perfectly manages to capture elements of social commentary and weave them into the horror in such a way that the two feel intimately linked together. The horror certainly works on two levels, both of which propagate the other. I thought the final scene in the police car was particularly effecting and powerful. After seeing this I am very, very excited to see what DaCosta does with the Marvels.

It goes without saying, but those that don’t like films that have political messages and who often complain about things being ‘too woke’ should stay far, far away from this film and let the rest of us enjoy it.

I think the performances across the cast were terrific with Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and Colman Domingo and Teyonah Parris each giving magnificent turns and really proving what they can do. Each member of the cast brings something different to the table here, but each are valuable and important in their own way.

My one complaint and it is only a small one, as I think this film is pretty marvellous, is that I wish we got more Tony Todd. Todd is a favourite of mine in the horror genre, and we don’t see anywhere as much of him anymore as we used to and that is a crying shame. We only get a brief tease of him here, but his scene is memorable. Maybe he can come back more if this film gets a sequel.    

Overall, simply fantastic, this film restores my hope in these long running horror sagas that we might have another golden age ahead of us rather than the glory days being behind us.

Pros.

The horror

The lore and world building

The message and the emotion

The physical make-up effects

The acting

Cons.

I wish we had more Tony Todd

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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   

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Written by Luke Barnes

Friday The 13^th Part 6 is a slasher horror film directed by Tom McLoughlin. The plot sees Tommy Jarvis (Thom Matthews), be proven right to fear the return of Jason Voorhees (C.J Graham and Dan Bradley), as he inadvertently ends up resurrecting Jason after his death at the end of Part 4.

This is a lot of dumb fun, is it as good as Part 2 and 4? No, no it isn’t. However, unlike a lot of those other films this film seems to have an almost self-aware air to it, and it seems to revel in knowing how ridiculous its premise is, though without making the film overly silly.

In that vein, it is in this film we see Jason start to develop his superhuman abilities, putting him power wise in the same ball park as a few of the other major slashers. To me these powers don’t ruin the tension of the film, but I can understand how they would for some. Jason teleporting around the area, though that is never confirmed, does make for some unbelievable moments though again this doesn’t bother me as I was not taking the film seriously to begin with.

Finally, I just want to touch briefly on the end credits song. As the credits for this film roll we are treated to the song The Man Behind The Mask by Alice Cooper, and it might be one of the best film tie in songs I have ever heard. For fear of this becoming a music review, let me just say that since I watched this film I have been listening to that song on a near constant loop.

Overall, more solid Jason action, the supernatural elements do derail things somewhat, however, if you were not taking it seriously to begin with then it doesn’t hugely effect things.

Pros.

The end credits song

The dumb fun

Still very watchable

Cons.

The supernatural elements derail it somewhat

Tommy Jarvis has a weak ending

3/5   

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Written by Luke Barnes

Friday The 13^th part 5 is a slasher horror film directed by Danny Steinmann. The plot continues the saga of Tommy Jarvis (John Shepard, now playing an older Tommy), who has been left scarred after the brutal end of Jason (Tom Morga), in the previous film and now lives in fear of the killer’s return from beyond the grave.

I will applaud this film for what it was trying to do, it was trying to exist without Jason; an errand that was always fated to fail as the series lives because of Jason, but that is also bold and interesting. I also thought the decision to focus on the after effects of a final showdown with Jason on Tommy was inspired.

However, ultimately I think this film is disappointing. Mainly because it squanders the chance for where this series could have gone without being reliant on Jason, by introducing a newer and blander version of basically the same character who has nothing noteworthy about him at all.

Moreover, other than Tommy, who benefited from having a previous, good, film to set him up, the rest of the cast of slasher fodder were all very forgettable as were the kills.

Overall, what began as a project of promise ended up being very generic.

Pros.

The mental health focus

The gutsy decision to try and move the series beyond Jason

Tommy Jarvis as a character

Cons.

It is dull

It is more than a little repetitive

It squanders its promise

2.5/5

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Written by Luke Barnes

Friday The 13^th The Final Chapter is a horror slasher film directed by Joseph Zito. Originally billed as the last entry in the Friday The 13^th series, this film sees Jason (Ted White), finally die.

This along with Part 2, which in my mind are tied, are the best entries into the Friday the 13^th series (of the first 5, as I haven’t seen past that yet). However, both films fall just short of glory with one thing disrupting each. In this film’s case it is the ending tease of Tommy Jarvis (Corey Feldman), becoming the new Jason. I did not like this tease and I thought it spoilt the film somewhat, I would have preferred if the film had been left open ended, with the effects of the brutal killing on Tommy’s psyche being left up to our interpretation. Even if they do end up going into it in detail in the next film.

I think this film has some of the best teens in the series with Trish (Kimberly Beck), Rob (E. Erich Anderson) and Jimmy (Crispen Glover), all being standouts. Of course Feldman is very serviceable as the lead and is fine as far as child actors go. I would have preferred for Rob to get a wider focus as his storyline, of coming to kill Jason after he attacked his sister years prior would have been very interesting to explore- sadly we didn’t get that. However, the small amount of time we get with Rob and his plotline is enjoyable.

I think the final showdown and what would have been the death of Jason Voorhees, if he wasn’t brought back 2 films later, feels satisfying and well-paced. Much like a lot of the series kills, the death of Jason is suitably bloody and over the top, reveling in the deranged spectacle.

Overall, a nice ending for the series, sadly the final few minutes taint the film somewhat but can be ignored.

Pros.

The showdown

The ‘death’ of Jason

The teens are likeable and have personality

Rob and his storyline

Cons.

Teasing Tommy as the next Jason

4.5/5

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Written by Luke Barnes

Friday The 13^th Part 3 is a horror film directed by Steve Miner. The events of the film take place directly after Part 2 and sees a defeated and hurt Jason (Richard Brooker), taking a moment to heal up before getting back out their to slaughter more camp councillors.

Of the film’s I’ve seen so far on my rewatch of the series this is definitely the worst so far. That is mainly because this film feels like filler, it is the middle film between Jason being hurt and then being ‘killed’ in Part 4. In terms of moving the franchise forward, this film just feels like more of the same.

Honestly when thinking about this film to write my review, it just blends in with the other films and all the moments I think ‘oh wait that was pretty cool’ were in fact from other entries in the series and not this film- literally nothing interesting happens here.

The teens are generic, and so are the kills. The original idea to have Amy Steel come back as a scarred Ginny Fields would have worked so much better for this film, sadly Steel didn’t want to come back, so they just made the film generic instead.

Overall, there is not a lot to say about this film it is definitely a low point in the series and is also deeply generic maybe skip over this one.

Pros.

It is still mindless fun to watch

Cons.

It is bland

It is forgettable

The new teens are painfully one note

Jason’s story is not furthered in any meaningful way

1/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Friday The 13^th Part 2 is a slasher film directed by Steve Miner. The film takes place 5 years after the events of the first film, except for the opening or at least that is the implication, and sees yet more camp councillors head down to Crystal Lake to try and reopen the summer camp once more. The wild parties and near constant sex soon turns ugly however, as a new killer begins killing councillors once again.

In my mind this is superior to the first film. Firstly, we get to see Jason not as a little zombie kid but as the killing machine we all know him as, yes in the space of 5 years Jason goes from a little kid to a huge fully grown man- don’t question it. Admittedly, he is minus his signature hockey mask, but it is still nice to see him in action.

Moreover, this film confirms the ending of part 1 was in fact real as Mrs Voorhees’ (Betsy Palmer), head is shown in the fridge of the final girl from part 1, she is then quickly killed by Jason. It is nice to get the closure, and finality to this plotline as it was a detriment of part 1.

Moreover, the teens of part 1, even Kevin Bacon, are all fairly forgettable and meh. However, Amy Steel’s Ginny Field is a terrific final girl; easily contending with other genre greats like Nancy and Sidney. The final showdown scene when Ginny becomes Mrs Voorhees, at least in Jason’s mind, is so well done and is actually quite creepy. On that note I also like how this film adds to the wider magic of the series and showcases the voodoo that is at play, again during this showdown scene in the form of dressing as we can see Mrs Voorhees’s severed head on top of a voodoo alter.

Overall, an improvement on the first film with an interesting final girl, a strong showdown and everyone’s favourite mask wearing zombie making his first proper appearance.

Pros.

Jason proper

Tying up the ending of the first film

Amy Steel

The showdown

Cons.

The ending feels a bit weak and too open ended.

4.5/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Friday The 13^th is a slasher film directed by Sean S. Cunningham. The plot sees a group of teen camp councillors head down to Crystal lake, the site of a grizzly murder years ago, to reopen a summer camp. However, as they do someone starts picking off the campers one by one.

So I have visited Elm Street and played a game with Jigsaw and now it is time to go camping at Crystal Lake and explore the Friday the 13^th series. So, in the past I have seen many of the films in this series, but I’ve never really taken them in, or looked at the series as a whole.

I think of all the slasher film franchises this series might be the most fun, sorry Freddy. There is something so campy and almost silly about this series, and this film, that just cant be ignored. Whether it is the camera angles and editing techniques that seem straight out of the modern youtuber playbook, or the preposterousness of the villain.

This is the only real entry in the series, apart from V, that doesn’t feature Jason as the villain and instead has Mrs Voorhees (Betsy Palmer). Mrs Voorhees makes for an interesting antagonist, and her motivations make her a believable threat.

Personally, I don’t think the end scare of having zombie Jason coming up out of the lake to attack the final girl works, and I think her surviving it, and it being played off as ‘oh maybe it was just a dream’ work even less.

Overall, a fun slasher film that benefits from being a little goofy, albeit unintentionally, and from having a strong antagonist.

Pros.

Mrs Voorhees

The goofier elements

It does slasher horror well

The kills are well executed

Cons.

The teens are very forgettable

4/5

Hush is a home invasion horror film directed by Mike Flanagan. The plot sees deaf mute writer Maddie (Kate Seigel), become terrorised by a masked killer and in order to survive she is forced to fight back.

I have heard people talk about this film for a while, it has been recommended to me several times over the year, yet it has remained in my Netflix que. However, that changed the other night as I finally decided to give it a go, and meh it was exactly what I was expecting it to be and nothing more.

I thought this was just going to be a run of the mill home invasion slasher film and it was just that, honestly it was just deeply average. As, someone who has seen a lot of these types of films I really found nothing of note about this film, nothing that made this film interesting or stand out from the rest of the subgenre; frankly I think the only reason it is even talked about is because the director also did The Haunting series for Netflix and they are popular.

The only real positive I can find with the film was that Seigel was a good lead. She is clearly doing the best with what she has to work with, but she makes the character rounded and interesting. We buy into her fight for survival as it feels genuine and relatable. It is also nice to see more deaf representation in the horror genre, even though the actor herself is not deaf.

Overall, if you like home invasion films and want to see the same old formula repeated again then you will enjoy this film, if you want something fresh that has an original idea, stay clear.

Pros.

Seigel

Cons.

It is more of the same

I’ve seen it done better before

It is boring and predictable

It lacks any kind of freshness

1.5/5

Reviewed by Luke