Thanksgiving: Slashing Up The Pumpkin Pie

Summary

A group of teens are attacked on Thanksgiving.

This is what Eli Roth should be doing not making some lame fan film looking Borderlands movie no one asked for.

Whilst horror aficionado’s will be disappointed by this film’s rather lame plot, it is exactly what you have seen before many times over just now with a thanksgiving theme, it makes up for it with the violence. Whilst the slasher is not always a gore fest this one sure is and its with these visuals that the film rises above its limitations. You see a woman get cooked like a turkey.

The acting is weak but would you expect anything other than that, it is your usual collection of stock characters. As some of you who follow me on social media will know I was very critical of Addison Rae being added to this cast as influencers aren’t actors, and like I predicted this was a clearly cynical cast choice to try and get the kids in the door, she is wooden and can only mildly pull off a bemused look for most of the film whether the character is supposed to be happy or scared.

When it is revealed who the killer is it is actually a good mystery as the misdirection throughout the film works to throw you off base enough that the reveal does seem surprising, which works to the film’s credit.

Overall, with the twist and the violence slightly above average.

3/5

Pros.

The violence

The twist

The novelty

Cons.

The acting

It feels done before

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The Mean One: Like The Grinch But Worse

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

The Grinch, David Howard Thronton, goes bad and goes on a killing spree.

Basically if you have seen the Winnie The Poo slasher this is the same thing yet now with a Christmas character instead, I don’t think the Grinch is yet in the public domain so they call him The Mean One here instead.

In many ways this feels like a student film, and believe me that is harsh. None of it is particularly good, it is made on the cheap, near always dark even in places with lights on, the acting won’t be winning any awards any time soon and the film takes itself far too seriously. This film needs to be more like Nightmare On Elm Street and by that I mean it needs to have fun and embrace the ridiculousness rather than just being gritty.

I will give praise to Thronton he does bring the physicality as he did with Art, he is a good choice to play the titular Mean One, but sadly he isn’t given much of any note or interest to do, still we do get a few good gruesome kills for all the gore hounds out there.

Overall, not a new horror Christmas classic and more fodder for the horror twist of a beloved family film school of schlock

1/5

Pros.

A few good kills

Cons.

It is dumb

The characters aren’t likeable

It doesn’t have fun with it

It is too dark to see anything most of the time

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Sax X: Jigsaw Or Jesus?

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Jigsaw, Tobin Bell, heads south of the border.

I’ll admit I liked seeing Jigsaw back in a big way. I think Bell’s character is just so compelling that he makes the films a damn sight better just by being in them. I think the franchise really did shoot itself in the foot by getting rid of him from the timeline so early, though there is promise in the apprentices. Personally, I thought Spiral didn’t work as well without either a proper apprentice or Jigsaw in it.

I thought the story here was a little thin, they really had to pad out the opening of the film just to kill time because they knew they didn’t have enough material. Once the trick is revealed and the deaths start then things pick up and become far more interesting. It is in this frame we come to know Cecilia Peterson, Synnøve Macody Lund, who comes to be somewhat of an antithesis for Jigsaw himself. She too has a murderous rage but she doesn’t believe in helping people to get better and as such she becomes the final victim of Jigsaw’s game, only to escape. It is in this new character that I think the series has new life, Cecilia is easily the most interesting new character coming out of this film and I think to not have her be a big part in at least the next film would be a massive mistake, she could hunt John aka Jigsaw down with a rag tag group of survivors from early games that we haven’t seen or met yet, probably ending up in a champion of champions sort of contest in one of Jigsaw’s warehouses.

I thought Amanda, Shawnee Smith, was fine here but I would have liked to have seen more from her, I think her character keeps getting undercut by the franchise at large, though I must confess that I was hoping some of the other apprentices might have shown up at least at the end.

Overall, it’s another fine instalment made better by Cecilia but also one you could easily miss.

3/5

Pros.

Cecila

The return of Jigsaw

The traps

Cons.

The opening is slow

It does nothing special

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Scream VI: A Triggering Opening Sequence

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

The Woodsboro gang move to New York.

To get right into spoiler territory, I don’t know how I feel about no one, of importance, dying in this instalment. On the one hand I wouldn’t have wanted to see Gale, played by Courtney Cox, meet her end in a film without Sidney, played by Neve Campbell, but on the other the amount of stab wounds the cast take and survive beggars belief. You really have to suspend your disbelief with this one as in some scenes the characters are stabbed repeatedly and given injuries that would surely kill them, only to be fine enough for a kiss at the end of the film.

Adding to my issues with the film I don’t know if this instalment did enough to justify its existence. As I just don’t think having the family come to avenge the death of one of the killers from the previous film is enough of a reason to make a sequel, especially as it has been done by the franchise before. I did like however that they are continuing with the question of whether Sam, played by Melissa Barrera, will become a slasher just like her dad. I think that is a really interesting angle that I would like the next film to focus on.

In terms of performances the central cast were all fairly strong. I do think that Jenna Ortega is starting to upstage Barrera a little bit and may end up fronting the franchise a little ways down the line. Speaking off I did feel weird watching a Scream film without Neve Campbell, it didn’t feel right and I hope she comes back for the inevitable sequel.

Overall, an enjoyable sequel for the most part, but one that doesn’t completely justify its own existence.

4/5

Pros.

The meta commentary

The opening kill with Samara Weaving

Teasing out Sam as a future killer

It feels like the most violent

Cons.

The lack of deaths feels entirely unrealistic

It doesn’t justify its own existence

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Pillow Party Massacre: A Sublime Slasher Parody

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

A group of teens reunite at a remote getaway a short while after their friend killed someone because of a prank that went wrong.

No this film won’t win any medals for originality but when viewed from a brain switched off place it is surprisingly entertaining. I must state before I get into it that I have an affinity towards the slasher genre and can watch the same thing over and over again within it, as such I am more forgiving.

What I liked about this film is that it bothered to set up a mystery and build the world. When the film does reveal the killer at the end it won’t be who you are expecting it to be as the film does quite a good job of misdirecting you. The more I think of this misdirection the more I wonder whether it was a direct homage or parody of the first Friday the 13^th, small spoilers there, if so bravo.

I also liked that this film had its female characters have personalities and have conversations rather than just strip off and be hacked up. When comparing this to the film from last month Kill Her Goats the two films do a similar thing yet the focus of KHG seems to just be getting the women out of their clothes for a shower scene rather than trying to set up a world or mystery as this film does.

Overall, to me this film felt like a warm mug of soup, familiar, comforting and at times a terrific parody.

3/5

Pros.

The characters and the world

The kills and the gore, even if the effects are bad

It feels like a knowing parody of other genre films in a good way

Cons.

It is overly familiar

The characters make dumb decisions

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Kill Her Goats: Softcore Porn Posing As A Slasher Film

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

A trio of girls spend almost all the run time posing nude in front of the mirror or taking showers and then at the very end a goat slasher guy shows up to kill them.

Though that summary is a slight hyperbole it is pretty much true. This film is soft core porn, which hey no judgement if that is what you want to watch it for, but in terms of it being a horror film it really isn’t one. For me I found this film to be an act in awkwardness and uncomfortability, I found it to be fairly tasteless and felt a little seedy after watching it all the way through.

The actual slasher segments, which makes up hardly any of the films runtime are fine they are perfectly serviceable and much of what you would expect. Some of the kills do feel a little fetishised, which again added to the ick factor for me, and what I mean by that is that the camera will zoom in on the woman’s boobs as she gets run through or something like that. This film it is pretty clear only has one focus.

The only thing I can give this film props for is that they named the town after the late great Wes Craven which I thought was a nice touch.

Overall, you’ll need a shower after watching it.

1/5

Pros.

The Wes Craven thing

Cons.

It is pervy

It fetishises the kills in an uncomfortable way

The story is largely nonexistent

It makes the slasher sub-genre look bad

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Winnie The Pooh Blood And Honey: A Straight To DVD Film In The Truest Sense

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

The 100 acre wood gang go feral.

You have probably heard people talking about this film and how it is so shocking and controversial, as it takes beloved children’s characters and makes them murderers. However, it really isn’t shocking, it is a quite clear effort to be provocative and edgy in order to get attention and sell what would otherwise probably be a straight to DVD affair.

In many senses this attempt to be edgy falls flat, as it doesn’t go far enough. When you look at another independent horror film in Terrifier and you compare the two you can see just what I am saying. In many senses this film just feels like a generic slasher film, even when it is trying to be gory and shocking it pales in comparison to other films like Terrifier

Another thing I disliked about this film was how bad the writing was and through that how stupid the characters were. I will give you one example of my point there is a scene in a room with a swimming pool wherein the victim is stood on the side of the pool and the killer is advancing towards her, yet rather than run around the otherside of the pool which she totally could do and maybe even get away she instead jumps into the pool in fright. It is baffling decisions like this that make rooting for any of the characters in the picture hard.

I do think the premise is strong and the idea does have merit undeniably but the execution is beyond lacking.

Overall, try hardy and boring in the worst way.

1.5/5

Pros.

It is an interesting idea

The opening inspires confidence

Cons.

It is boring

It is not as edgy or as shocking as the marketing presents it

It is generic

The characters are dumb and unlikeable

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Chucky: Chucky Actually

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Dr Mixter, played by Rosemary Dunsmore, gets her karmic payback and the kids start to heal.

I think the last episode would have worked a lot better for an ending to the season as this one feels as though it was just tacked on at the end in order to meet episode quotas. I suppose you could argue that this episode is a sort of epilogue for the season but really it just feels like filler.

I think my big problem with this episode is that I just don’t care about the central trio of teens, as such all of their healing and their big emotional breakthroughs within the episode don’t hit for me as the teen characters are easily the weakest bit of the show. The more interesting plot points of this episode for me is seeing that Nica, played by Fiona Dourif, is now on the course of revenge and that things look all over for Tiffany, played by Jennifer Tilly. Again the episode is guilty of teasing things that are yet to come, but you would expect that from a season finale.

The gore and seeing Lexy, played by Alyvia Alyn Lind, finally snap and kill Chucky, played by Brad Dourif, in a really bloody way feels satisfying and Lexy’s dealing with this new found urge to kill could be something worth exploring come the next season. I would like the next season to separate the teens and have them go on their own journeys as the idea of them all together again in a new location which Chucky can then invade just seems a little old hat and played out at this point.

Overall, a fine epilogue to the series that sets up some interesting ideas and things to explore next time around, however, it is a big step back from the heights of the penultimate episode.

3/5

Pros.

The gore

The set up for Nica and Tiffany

Lexy snapping and bloodily dispatching Chucky

Cons.

The focus on the teens is dull

It feels like a step back from the previous episode

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Chucky: Goin’ To The Chapel

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Things finally come to a head over the battle for Chucky Prime, played by Fiona Dourif.

This was one of the best episodes of Chucky in the whole history of the show, there were so many great moments such as the interactions between Nica, played by Fiona Dourif, and Andy, played by Alex Vincent, and Kyle, played by Christine Elise, in the Chucky support group as well as the flashback to Child’s Play 2 there are just so many rewards in this episode for long time fans. Also let me just take a moment here to say how Fiona Dourif is the underrated best actor in this show and her performance as both Nica and Nica possessed by Chucky are both great, the show needs to use her more.

In addition I am glad the show finally gave Father Bryce, played by Devon Sawa, his hero moment and had him try and help the kids, it was nice to not see him be a dick to everyone around him even if it was for only a few minutes. Moreover, his death has to be one of the most over the top gore kills of the series thus far, that is not a complaint by the way. I also thought the death of Jennifer Tilly in doll form was a hilarious highlight of the episode.

The one area wherein I thought this episode wasn’t great was with Lexy’s, played by Alyvia Alyn Lind, storyline about her drug addiction and suicide attempt. Honestly, I thought the whole thing was handled poorly, I feel like the show only gave Lexi a drug problem so that she has something to do this season moreover it never really hit true on an emotional level for me so I didn’t care about it and was just counting down the moments until we could get back to the actually interesting stuff.

Overall, the best episode of the second season by far.

4.5/5

Pros.

The rewarding moments for long-time fans

The deaths of Father Bryce and Jennifer Tilly

Fiona Dourif’s great performance

The flashback

It felt like a really good pay off

Cons.

Lexy’s breakdown is boring and makes you want to skip ahead in the episode

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Chucky: He Is Risen Indeed

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Good Chucky, voiced by Brad Dourif, finally turns bad and there is a traitor inside the School’s ranks.

The Colonel is easily the best thing about this episode once again, and his killing of Chad Chucky with the communion wafer is both shocking and a good use of the setting. It is a shame he gets killed off so quickly, but it does give Andy, played by Alex Vincent, a nice hero moment after he was rendered fairly helpless in the previous episode.

The defecting of Good Chucky and the death of Nadine was a mixed bag for me, it was sad to see Good Chucky turn bad as it could have been interesting for the wider universe of the show if he had stuck around longer and then the question of could Chucky be redeemed ever could have been tackled, but it was fairly obvious he was going to fall to the darkness. The death of Nadine didn’t hugely hit me as much like with the Colonel she wasn’t set up enough to have her death be impactful, if she had survived into the next season and died then that would have hit harder.

Overall, a good episode as exciting things are happening, but the impacts are a little stunted.

3.5/5

Pros.

The Colonel continues to have a lot of good moments

Andy gets a lot of good hero moments

It is very watchable

Fun things are happening

Cons.

Nadine’s death doesn’t hit as hard as it could have done

The Colonel is gone too soon.

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