2020s horror movies – Horror Ghouls

I Saw the TV Glow (2024)

Posted on December 20, 2024 by HorrorGhouls

The year is 1996, and the teenagers Owen and Maddy start bonding over a TV show called The Pink Opaque. The show is about two teenage girls, Isabel and Tara, who use their psychic powers to fight the supervillain Mr. Melancholy. Owen, who isn’t allowed to stay up late enough to watch the show, sneaks over to Maddy’s house so they can watch it together. Both of them live rather isolated lives, but Maddy ends up wanting to run away in order to escape her abusive stepfather. She wants Owen to join her, but he finds himself not being able to go through with it. So, Maddy ends up missing, and at the same time, The Pink Opaque is cancelled…

I Saw the TV Glow is a supernatural horror drama film, written and directed by Jane Schoenbrun. The series in the film, The Pink Opaque, was inspired by 90’s TV shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997), Are You Afraid of the Dark? (1990) and The Secret World of Alex Mack (1994).

If you’re familiar with A24’s repertoire, you know that they often release some really artsy movies (like Beau is Afraid). This one belongs to this category, as another unconventional arthouse film which is naturally divisive. They are also often filled with loads of metaphors and allegories, surrealism and awkwardness. I Saw the TV Glow looks, on the surface, to be some kind of 90s nostalgia throwback film, but it’s also layered as a much more complex coming-of-age movie. The director started writing the script three months after having begun hormone replacement therapy, and while wanting to make the movie about the transitioning of coming out, the director made the choice of leaving this more ambiguous. This makes the movie work as an allegory for a lot more, and portrays a lot of themes and situations many of us can recognize.

Now, I was born in the 80’s. This means I was a teenager during the 90s, and watched several of the typical 90’s TV shows, remembering some of them fondly. And there is a scene, where Owen in his older days decides to re-watch some episodes of The Pink Opaque, only to see that they’re not quite the way he remembered them. I think many of us can very much relate to how certain things are so layered with the rose-colored glow of nostalgia that we remember them so differently…not because they were different, of course, but because we were different. How the sort of magic that exists in your youth cannot be replicated in adult life, no matter how hard you try…and how you must simply come to terms with that, and find a new magic in your life and fill it with new interests and new things to do. Some people are not so lucky, though. In I Saw the TV Glow, Owen and Maddy become so consumed by the TV show The Pink Opaque because they use it as a coping mechanism.

I Saw the TV Glow is an arthouse movie that’s mostly an allegory for finding your identity. More surreal drama than horror, and definitely not everyone’s cup of Mad Hatter’s tea, but if you’ve lived for some time on this arduous earth, you’re most likely going to resonate with at least some of the themes it represents.

Writer and director: Jane Schoenbrun
Country & year: USA, UK, 2024
Actors: Justice Smith, Brigette Lundy-Paine, Ian Foreman, Helena Howard, Lindsey Jordan, Danielle Deadwyler, Fred Durst, Conner O’Malley, Emma Portner, Madaline Riley
IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt15574270/

Sleep (2023)

Posted on December 13, 2024 by HorrorGhouls

A newlywed couple, Hyeon-soo and Soo-jin, are as happy as they can be together with their adorable little fluffy dog. That is, until one night Hyeon-soo starts sleepwalking, and acts in ways that are totally unlike him. It all keeps escalating, to the point where Soo-jin fears that he will harm either himself or her. Soon, they also have a baby on the way…how can they make sure that his sleepwalking stops being a threat? And is it all really just a simple case of sleepwalking?

Sleep is a South Korean horror thriller from 2023, written by Jason Yu in his feature debut and stars Jung Yu-Mi and Lee Sun-kyun. This is one of the final films that Lee Sun-kyun starred in, as he died the same year after an incident of drug use allegations, charged on suspicion of using cannabis and psychoactive drugs. He tested negative, which probably should have been the end of that if it wasn’t for South Korea’s high moral expectations of public figures, and a very strong social disapproval of drug use. On December 27th, 2023, he was found dead inside his car with a charcoal briquette in the passenger seat, which is commonly used in suicide via carbon monoxide poisoning in South Korea. So this gives the movie an even darker sentiment than from the subject matter alone…

Now, Sleep has a premise that may sound a bit simple, but the film manages to deliver an overall suspenseful story. You keep wondering if the husband’s sleep disorder harbors something darker and more dangerous, and as the movie progresses you’re not really sure what to expect. There are some incidents which proves that Hyeon-soo’s sleepwalking incidents are far more than a mere nuisance, where no one is safe. The husband is a loving and good-hearted person while awake, but once he sleeps, there’s no way to predict what he can do. At first, the couple tries everything…making him go to bed in a sleeping bag in the hopes of him not being able to get up and start his sleepwalking shenanigans, an attempt that proves to be completely futile. Soo-jin is at her wit’s end, and place a bell at the bedroom door so she will wake up when he leaves the room. And soon, the sleepwalking becomes a danger to everyone. In some ways, I think Hyeon-soo’s sleepwalking and the fears and danger Soo-jin is placed in because of it, can be a bit of an allegory to living with someone who’s a substance abuser or someone having a mental illness that changes their personality and behaviour drastically. Soo-jin never knows how dangerous things might become when her husband falls asleep, and lives in constant fear of what could happen. Her own sleep is totally disrupted since she can never relax, being watchful every night of what her husband might be able to do once he’s in the sleepwalking state. The tension is very palpable due to the strong performances, and you feel sorry for them both.

Sleepwalking is not a theme that’s got a lot of horror movies dedicated to it, so far we’ve only seen the Swedish 2000 thriller movie Sleepwalker which deals with the same subject matter. Thus, Sleep is another entry into this genre, a suspenseful thriller powered by strong performances, where a man’s sleepwalking habits turns him into a danger to his own family.

Writer and director: Jason Yu
Original title: Jam
Country & year: South Korea, 2023
Actors: Jung Yu-mi, Lee Sun-kyun, Kim Geum-soon, Kim Gook Hee, Lee Kyung-jin, Yoon Kyung-ho
IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8209702/

Heretic (2024)

Posted on December 10, 2024December 10, 2024 by HorrorGhouls

Sister Barnes (Sophie Thatcher) and Sister Paxton (Chloe East) are two Mormon Church Missionaries, who ends up at the home of a man called Mr. Reed (Hugh Grant) who has asked for their visitation. Reed is a bit of a reclusive, but the lovely smell of blueberry pie in the oven that he tells them his wife is preparing, is quick to put the young women at ease. They begin discussing religion, and Reed starts asking a lot of questions and makes a few uncomfortable comments about their faith. They are being served one red flag after another, until they have had enough and decide to leave. Only to find out that they can’t, of course. And now they are trapped in Reed’s house, where he puts them up to challenges and giving them lectures, claiming that he has found the one true religion. And he wants to show these young women his findings…

Heretic is a psychological horror film, written and directed by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods (Haunt, 2019 and 65, 2023).

This is a movie where the few characters and limited location leave the actors with limited tools, but in the right setting such movies can work wonders in building up a tense atmosphere. This one certainly belongs in that category. The acting is good and the characters believable, where Hugh Grant really sells it as the coldly vicious villain. This was his second horror film since The Lair of the White Worm (1988), where romantic comedies have been his main department over the years. Well, it’s often nice to do something completely different after such a long time! Also, Sophie Thatcher and Chloe East were both raised Mormon so they carry their roles with what appears to offer a good insight and a convincing performance.

As can be expected, the underlying critique of religious structures and the control they maintain is served through much of Reed’s lectures. And while you’ll probably ponder a bit what the so-called “one true religion“ really is, which Reed claims he’s found, you probably won’t be too surprised once it’s revealed. The film also doesn’t hammer it down on your head which “side“ you’re supposed to agree with the most. In fact, Reed is undoubtedly completely right with many of the things he lectures about to the young women, but Barnes and Paxton also provides reasonable views and thoughts on their own beliefs. Now, I am not a religious person myself, but I did find myself agreeing with the young women on certain points even though they weren’t “right“…like how Sister Paxton mentions how prayer experiments have shown that praying doesn’t help, but she still considers it a nice thing to do in order to offer comfort to someone else. Reed might be right in a lot of his conclusions, but just like certain religious aspects which he’s eager to criticize, he’s using his beliefs to commit and justify his actions and thus inevitably placing him in the same category as other religious fanatics trying to control others.

I don’t want to spoil anything else as this movie is best watched while knowing as little about it as possible. Heretic is a suspenseful and dark theological thriller, very dialogue-driven but mastering it with great skill.

In the film’s credits, there’s the statement “No Generative Al was used in the making of this film“. So thumbs up for that!

Writers and directors: Scott Beck, Bryan Woods
Country & year: USA, Canada, 2024
Actors: Hugh Grant, Sophie Thatcher, Chloe East, Topher Grace, Elle Young, Julie Lynn Mortensen
IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt28015403/

Sting (2024)

Posted on December 3, 2024December 3, 2024 by HorrorGhouls

In a somewhat dilapidated apartment building, a mischievous and rebellious 12-year old girl, Charlotte, gets an unexpected pet when a glowing object crash-lands in her aunt’s apartment. From said object, a tiny spider hatches (nothing suspicious about that, right?), and Charlotte decides to keep it and names it Sting. Upon feeding it, it keeps growing at an alarming rate (still nothing suspicious about that, it seems), but she still decides to keep her new pet a secret from the rest of her family: her mother, her step-father (who is a comic book artist that creates a project in collaboration with her, which proves to go a bit sour) and of course her baby brother who is too little to understand anything at this point anyway. Her biological father is living abroad and that’s the reason he can’t show her any attention (or at least so she’s told). A little family drama aside, the real problem here is Sting’s growing appetite which makes it search for other prey. While Charlotte keeps it in a jar, it’s smart enough to open the hatch and get outside to do a little night-hunting. And now the entire apartment building are in danger from a spider that keeps growing and keeps eating…

Sting is a horror film from 2024, directed by Kiah Roache-Turner. The director, being from Australia, said that the inspiration for this movie comes from his fear of spiders: “I have raging arachnophobia because I’m an Australian, and everything in Australia is trying to kill you“. Truer words could not have been spoken. I’m thankful for the tiny and harmful little buggers we have here in Norway! Here, you’re not likely to get killed by any wildlife, aside from the odd chance of getting in the way of a very angry moose. And even that is highly unlikely.

Now, Sting is yet another creature feature about a monstrous spider, which we’ve had a few entries of as of late and with some similarities. Just like in Vermin (2023), the story is taking place in an apartment building and affects the population there, and like in the cheese-flick Arachnid (2001) the spider comes from outer space. Other than that, it manages to stand on its own legs and differs mostly in how it’s got a nearly family-friendly tone over it, where it almost starts a little heartwarming while Charlotte bonds with Sting. Then, the grisly murders committed by the monster-spider are quick to remind us that this is a horror film after all. Hadn’t it been for the violent deaths, Sting could easily have been more of a children’s thriller (nothing wrong with that, of course).

The movie does focus a bit on family drama, and while some of it was fun enough (like the overly grumpy old aunt and her antics) others parts of it felt a little contrived. What makes the movie entertaining, at least for my part, is the spider itself and the mayhem it causes. Many of the angles, having the camera lead us into air ducts, claustrophobic little hallways and so on, helps building the suspense and a feeling that the creepy-crawly could be anywhere.

There’s also more than a few references to be found in the movie, where the most obvious is the girl’s name being Charlotte (a reference to Charlotte’s Web, a well-known story about a pig becoming friends with a clever spider named Charlotte). And one of the characters carrying a nail gun for “protection“ is most likely a reference to Arachnophobia from 1990. The special effects in the movie are also pretty good, with several of them being practical effects. Richard Taylor was involved in the effects for the movie (whose company, Weta Workshop, also made effects for Lord of the Rings among several others).

Sting is a satisfying little addition to the creature feature list involving spiders, with some very nice special effects.

Writer and director: Kiah Roache-Turner
Country & year: Australia, USA, 2024
Actors: Noni Hazlehurst, Jermaine Fowler, Alyla Browne, Robyn Nevin, Ryan Corr, Kate Walsh, Penelope Mitchell, Jett Berry, Kade Berry, Silvia Colloca
IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt20112746/

Oddity (2024)

Posted on November 26, 2024 by HorrorGhouls

Dani is the wife of a psychiatrist named Ted Timmis, and she’s alone in their newly acquired country house which they are renovating. Suddenly, Dani realizes that something’s wrong, and a man named Olin Boole appears outside the house. Olin is one of her husband’s former patients, and he claims that there’s someone in the house with her, and demands that she lets him in. Naturally skeptical of this seemingly unhinged person, she refuses. Until she actually starts believing him…and opens the door. Then we fast forward to one year after Dani’s murder which Olin Boole was believed to be responsible for, and Ted’s got a new woman, Yana, in the country home and appears to have moved on pretty well. Dani’s twin sister, Darcy, has not…she’s a blind clairvoyant with psychometric powers, meaning she can touch an object and sense its story. She also runs an antique shop, of course. Ted promised to hand her the glass eye that belonged to Olin, who is also dead, so he makes a hasty visit and hands it to her. Shortly afterwards Darcy makes an unexpected visit to Ted’s residence, much to Yana’s dismay, and she’s brought with her an odd and creepy looking life-sized wooden mannequin as a gift…

Oddity is an Irish horror film from 2024, written and directed by Damian McCarthy. It was shot in County Cork, Ireland, in a converted barn where the director also shot his first film Caveat. He worked on both films simultaneously. The creepy mannequin was created by effects artist Paul McDonnell, and since McCarthy is a guy who frequently browses antique stores, many of the props we see in the film are from his own collection.

This film surely is a slow-burner, where atmosphere and a creeping sense of dread is the foundation of what is essentially a straightforward murder mystery. It does have that classic old-fashioned ghost story vibe to it, and while the mannequin doesn’t necessarily play as much of a role in this movie as I initially expected, it does serve its purpose. The setting where Ted’s country house is almost castle-like in its appearance, and of course located far out in the middle of nowhere, helps setting the mood and a feeling of isolation. Haunted houses, murder mysteries and revenge isn’t an uncommon mix in the horror genre, but it is the excellent atmosphere that lifts Oddity up from what could have been standardized and too familiar. The creepy looking doll is of course also what keeps the anticipation up even higher.

Oddity doesn’t have that much to play around it, but it makes it all work nonetheless. It’s pure atmosphere and anticipation, and while the murder mystery isn’t really all that mysterious, the story still unfolds slowly enough while keeping you guessing a little bit. The ending is almost a bit sardonic, but also quite satisfying.

Writer and director: Damian Mc Carthy
Country & year: Ireland, 2024
Actors: Carolyn Bracken, Johnny French, Steve Wall, Joe Rooney, Gwilym Lee, Tadhg Murphy, Caroline Menton, Ivan de Wergifosse, Shane Whisker
IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt26470109/

Salem’s Lot (2024)

Posted on November 22, 2024 by HorrorGhouls

Ben Mears is a writer who has decided to return to his hometown of Jerusalem’s Lot in order to write a book about his childhood. When arriving there, he very quickly meets and befriends a woman named Susan Norton, just so we have established the love interest right away. At the same time, as kid named Mark Petrie must defend himself from the school’s bully, and a newcomer called Straker opens an antique store. This mysterious man, a European, has moved into the Marsten House which has been abandoned for a long time due to a history of murders. We soon learn that Straker is some kind of Renfield, and his vampire master is the Orlok look-alike Kurt Barlow. It doesn’t take long for people to start dying with strange bitemarks on their necks, and the survivors must try and combat the evil that has invaded their hometown.

Salem’s Lot is based on a 1975 novel by Stephen King, directed by Gary Dauberman. The novel was previously adapted for television in 1979, a mini series directed by Tobe Hooper (Poltergeist, Texas Chain Saw Massacre). There was also a sequel called A Return to Salem’s Lot which was released in 1987, and even a TV mini series called Salem’s Lot which was released in 2004. They sure have given the novel a lot of adaptions, but none ever got to be shown in the theaters, which includes this 2024 version. This movie also had a fair bit of hiccups during its production, to the point where many suspected the entire film would end up scrapped. In 2023, however, Warner Bros decided to release the film on Max.

The film’s reception was not particularly good, and the trailers didn’t exactly promise anything of golden standard either, and this dampened our expectations. Overall, though, we found it to be.. quite decent, actually. There characters are ok, although not portrayed in such an in-depth manner that you could give too much of a shit about any of them. There are some creepy atmospheric scenes and it was able to create enough suspense to keep your interest up. It’s even a bit campy, which shouldn’t come as a surprise in a movie where a 12-year old is running around killing vampires and saving people like he’s some primary school Van Helsing.

Overall, Salem’s Lot is pretty fine for what it is, there is some decent atmosphere here and there and Barlow can come off as creepy enough when you don’t get to see him too clearly. Many people prefer Tobe Hooper’s 1979 mini series, and others again prefer the book. Without making any comparisons between neither book nor previous adaptions, this movie works well on its own. You just can’t avoid being left with a feeling that they didn’t really hit the nail on its head compared to what was probably the intended original vision (which had a 3-hour long duration).

Writer and director: Gary Dauberman
Country & year: USA, 2024
Actors: Lewis Pullman, Makenzie Leigh, Jordan Preston Carter, Alfre Woodard, Bill Camp, John Benjamin Hickey, Nicholas Crovetti, Spencer Treat Clark, Pilou Asbæk, Alexander Ward
IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10245072/

Trap (2024)

Posted on November 19, 2024November 21, 2024 by HorrorGhouls

Cooper and his daughter Riley is going to Lady Raven’s concert, which is Riley’s reward for getting good grades. Cooper notices something strange about the place, though…there’s police everywhere, and when chatting up a guy selling merchandise he learns that the FBI is out to catch a serial killer known as “The Butcher“, because they have for some reason become aware that he will be at this concert. And this serial killer is none other than Cooper himself, of course. While trying to pretend everything is alright while his daughter is having the time of her life, Cooper manipulates and tricks his way into what he hopes will be an escape from the concert without getting caught.

Trap is a psychological thriller by M. Night Shyamalan, starring his own daughter Saleka as Lady Raven. Saleka is a singer-songwriter, and the idea for the film came when father and daughter one day had a conversation about combining a concert and a theatrical experience similar to Prince’s musical film Purple Rain (1984). The script was inspired by the Washington D.C. “Operation Flagship“ sting operation in 1985, where fugitives were lured to the Washington Convention Center under the pretense of free tickets, which resulted in 101 arrests. The songs in this film were also performed on stage as if in a real concert, and the shoot thus involved thousands of extras.

The concept of Trap is interesting enough, and when it became available on streaming we just decided to check it out. None of us had high expectations, but found ourselves to be entertained throughout the entire film, and sometimes that’s simply enough. It’s a somewhat simple cat ‘n mouse story where we witness the scenes unfold through the serial killer’s perspective, and it’s suspenseful enough while also having a slightly goofy vibe throughout. It’s definitely one of Shyamalan’s more carefree narratives, focusing more on pure thrills and fun instead of his usual cerebral and serious fare.

This being an M. Night Shyamalan movie you’re bound to wait for that plot twist to come which will turn everything on its head…but here’s pretty much a plot-twist in itself: there isn’t any. In a Shyamalan movie! Who would’ve thought. The movie does offer some twists and turns throughout the ride though, and some reveals and such, but none of what Shyamalan’s movies have become known (and often ridiculed) for. Not saying that his twists are always bad, because they really aren’t (just take his first horror movie The Sixth Sense for example), but this movie didn’t need any of that and is all the better for it.

Overall, Trap is one of those dumbly fun movies which is offering just enough thrills and suspense. Nothing groundbreaking and by no means a masterpiece, but all in all just an easy-going and fun thriller.

Writer and director: M. Night Shyamalan
Country & year: USA, 2024
Actors: Josh Hartnett, Ariel Donoghue, Saleka Shyamalan, Alison Pill, Hayley Mills, Jonathan Langdon, Mark Bacolcol, Marnie McPhail, Kid Cudi, Russ, Marcia Bennett, Vanessa Smythe
IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt26753003/

Vermines (2023)

Posted on November 12, 2024 by HorrorGhouls

In a Middle Eastern desert, a bunch of Arab smugglers are hunting for spiders. One of them gets bitten, and it becomes obvious that these little eight-legged creatures carry something worse than a sting with their bite: his companion immediately kills him with a machete. When a bite by a spider may cause something worse than swift death, you know it’s bad. I almost expected one of the Arabs to shout “Singaya!” because this opening reminded me a lot of Braindead (Dead-Alive) by Peter Jackson. I’m actually wondering if perhaps it was a subtle reference.

After this we head over to Paris, where young Kaleb wants to buy something for his girlfriend. For her, he gets a pair of earrings, and for himself, an exotic spider. Because why not. Kaleb is not only a sneakers dealer (yes, you got that right, not drugs but actual sneakers, like in the shoes) he is also an exotic animal lover who’s got his room full of little creepy crawlies. Back home in his run-down apartment building, he puts the spider in a shoebox and plans to find a better place for it later. The spider’s got other plans though: it chews itself out of the place, lays some eggs and all hell breaks loose. When more and more people end up dying due to bites, the entire building is put in lockdown by the authorities as they suspect some viral disease. The inhabitants are then trapped inside with an ever-growing amount of deadly spiders…

Vermines (english title: Infested) is a French horror film from 2023, directed by Sébastien Vaniček and co-written with Florent Bernard. The exterior buildings are filmed in the Picasso arenas in Noisy-le-Grand, near Paris, designed by architect Manuel Núñez Yanowsky in the 80s. This sets the film up for some really unique visuals for the exterior shots. It also doesn’t rely solely on CGI for the spiders, and in fact, most of the scenes are filmed with real ones (so no actors with arachnophobia here, I guess).

If spiders gives you the creeps, you better brace yourself for this one. The setting of a decaying apartment building, infested with dangerous spiders, sure makes a claustrophobic and nightmarish setting. What makes everything even creepier is how they use real spiders for most of the scenes, with several close-up shots and scenes where the spiders come crawling out of places, all of it sure to make your skin crawl! The classic spider horror movie Arachnophobia (1990) also used real spiders: Avondale spiders (Delena Cancerides), while in Vermines they used approx 200 giant huntsman spiders (Heteropoda maxima). No cute Lucas-spider types to be seen here, in other words.

The characters in the movie are people who live in the poorer French suburbs, struggling with getting by. The director also stated that the film is based on his own experience living in such tight-knit communities, which were often viewed upon with strong bias by outsiders, causing discrimination and irrational fears of the places and the people who lived there. So yeah, the movie does offer a bit of social commentary, with the original title literally meaning “vermin“, a term which can be used for both parasitic and harmful insects/animals, but also for people perceived to be causing problems for the rest of society. So all of that mixed with a neglected apartment building, some tension between the characters and a bunch of real spiders, and you end up with a very decent animal-attack movie. I guess it does end up more in the creature-feature category along the ride, though.

Vermines (Infested) is a solid spider horror film, with some effectively creepy scenes that gives you the ick whether you actually have arachnophobia or not.

Vaniček is also going to direct the next Evil Dead movie, and it will be interesting to check that one out when it comes.

Director: Sébastien Vanicek
Writers: Sébastien Vanicek, Florent Bernard
Country & year: France, 2023
Also known as: Infested
Actors: Théo Christine, Sofia Lesaffre, Jérôme Niel, Lisa Nyarko, Finnegan Oldfield, Marie-Philomène Nga, Mahamadou Sangaré, Abdellah Moundy, Ike Zacsongo, Emmanuel Bonami
IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt26744289/

Terrifier 3 (2024)

Posted on November 8, 2024November 8, 2024 by HorrorGhouls

Terrifier 3 picks up the story right after the ending of Terrifier 2, where Art the Clown was beheaded by Sienna, and the final girl from the first movie, Victoria Heyes, has been possessed by the Little Pale Girl and gives birth to Art’s head. Now, in the third movie, we start off with Art’s headless body finding its way to the asylum where Victoria is located, where they both body-count a little before going into some kind of hibernation phase in an abandoned house. Then, five years later and close to Christmas, Sienna has just been released from a mental health center and has come to stay with her aunt Jess, her husband Greg, and their daughter Gabbie, who pretty much idolizes her. While Sienna is struggling with reconnecting with her brother Jonathan, who is now in college and trying to move on with his life, Art the Clown has decided to bring another nightmare to Miles County, and this time before Christmas.

Terrifier 3 is the third movie in the Terrifier franchise, all written, edited and directed by Damien Leone. Terrifier 3 premiered at Fantastic Fest on September 19, 2024, and later released theatrically in the US on October 11. It is currently the highest-grossing unrated film of all time. Damien Leone stated in interviews that the main reason for choosing a Christmas theme for the movie, was that he was directly influenced by the 1972 film and 1989 TV series Tales From the Crypt, as they both featured a story about a mentally insane person dressed up as Santa and going on a killing spree. The opening of Terrifier 3 is a homage to that episode which is called “And All Through The House”. He also got to “fix“ one of his bigger regrets from the two other movies, regarding Victoria Heyes who was the original “final girl“ in the franchise (who got her face eaten off by Art in the first movie which explains her looks). This is a character Damien Leone regretted not fleshing out further, and thus he decided to feature her more in the third film, as a heroine turned villainess.

Now, most people within the horror circle are well familiar with this murderous clown called Art. Wearing a Pierrot-like costume, uttering not a single sound under any circumstance at all, and with antics and behavior very reminiscent of Mr. Bean, he sure is a character easy to recognize whether you like him or not. The guy is now all over the place, with another movie sequel already in development and even an upcoming game and other merchandise. Art has more or less become a gore-icon, so if you go and see this movie mainly for the gore and practical effects, you won’t be disappointed. There’s gore a-plenty, some really visceral kills and even a scene with a rat forced down a tube in someone’s throat that made Art’s actor (David Howard Thornton) a little green around the gills. I can’t say any of the scenes really got under my skin though (I’ve gotten far too desensitized for that) but I can easily recognize and admire the jolly playfulness and the great use of practical effects during scenes like this and had a fun time watching it. I also found the opening of the movie to be quite moody and with a fitting soundtrack. So, will you have a fun time if you want to see Art the Clown going crazy during the holidays where he kills and maims and wreaks havoc? Yeah, no doubt. This movie does more of what most of its fanbase loves it for, and that’s expanding the horizon for how much gore you can possibly add and adding new ways to dismember and spill the blood ‘n entrails on screen.

Now, what Terrifier 3 unfortunately lacks, is more story to the bone. Maybe this sounds a little unreasonable considering that the first movie pretty much had no plot whatsoever, and the franchise’s selling point is obviously blood and gore. Nothing wrong with that, by all means…but the second film did take things many steps further story-wise, teasing us with what appeared to be more in-depth lore and possibly an interesting background story for the franchise’s namesake (which is not the clown, but an abandoned haunted attraction we got to know about in Terrifier 2). Everything was pretty much set up for some further development of Art’s background story…but that’s not really what we got much of in the third film. Now, Damien Leone stated that it took 6 years to make Terrifier 2, and that he had completely underestimated how ambitious it would eventually become. It’s obvious he’s planned for some deeper lore and background story for Art, the Terrifier attraction, and the Little Pale Girl (whom we know is the demon possessing Art), but we’ll probably get more of that in the 4th film. Terrifier 3 was made with a considerably stricter deadline, and the production barely made it on time for its premiere at Fantastic Fest. In addition to this, the long time it took to make Terrifier 2 is also the reason why the storyline of this movie is set to five years later, as especially Elliot Fullam (who plays Jonathan, Sienna’s younger brother) has aged very obviously since they started filming Terrifier 2 in 2018. Personally, I have no problems enjoying mindless gore-fests as long as they’re somewhat upbeat and fun, but at this point this movie felt more like a Christmas-special to me than an actual sequel, I guess..?

Terrifier 3 definitely delivers on the gore and practical effects, and Art the Clown is more jolly, more evil, and more Mr. Bean-ish than ever. I just personally wish there had been some more story development at this point, but I’ll consider this as Art the Clown’s X-Mas special. The fourth film is already in development, which is stated to be the final film in the franchise. Hah, yeah, we’ll see how that goes. Everyone knows that slasher villains never truly stay dead, that’s Horror 101. So by the end of this decade we’ll probably have Terrifier Returns, Terrifier Origins, The First Terrifier, Terrifier in Space, and Terrifier in the Hood. And that’s not even a joke.

Writer and director: Damien Leone
Country & year: USA, 2024
Actors: Lauren LaVera, David Howard Thornton, Antonella Rose, Elliott Fullam, Samantha Scaffidi, Margaret Anne Florence, Bryce Johnson, Alexa Blair Robertson, Mason Mecartea, Krsy Fox
IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt27911000/

Prequels:
– Terrifier 2 (2022)
– Terrifier (2016)

Smile 2 (2024)

Posted on November 5, 2024November 5, 2024 by HorrorGhouls

It’s been six days since police officer Joel got the Smile Entity’s curse passed onto him after watching Rose committing suicide, which is the grim way the curse spreads over to someone else. Joel appears to know a way to pass it on to someone else before the curse makes him kill himself, though. He targets two criminals, intending to kill one of them in front of the other, hoping this could free him of the curse. This doesn’t go by plan at all, and both criminals end up dead during a shootout. There was still a witness, though…the drug dealer Lewis Fregoli who had hidden himself in a closet upon Joel entering the place. When seeing him, Joel apologizes, saying this was not meant for him, and then flees the place. He did not get to live long enough to figure out if he got rid of the curse, however, as he gets hit by an oncoming pickup truck that smears his blood and entrails on the ground, forming a smile. And that’s the opening for Smile 2.

Now, we enter the life of Skye Riley, a pop star having a comeback after a time of substance abuse and a car accident that killed her boyfriend. She’s still got the scar from the accident, and is bothered by severe back pain which she desperately needs some strong pain killers for. She’s got this guy who can supply her with vicodin, and you probably guessed it: yes, it’s the drug dealer from the opening. When Skye meets him in his apartment, he’s already into the latter stages of the curse, and before his weird behavior rings enough alarm bells for Skye to leave, he kills himself in front of her by smashing his face to pieces with a weight plate. Nice. Another trauma to add to the list for the poor pop star. She first thinks about calling the police, but instead flees the place as she’s afraid that getting caught up in the death of a drug dealer during her comeback won’t look good. Of course, she doesn’t leave the place emptyhanded, as the Smile Entity has already infected her, and she soon begins to experience the first stages of the curse: hallucinations where people keep eerily smiling at her. And then, of course, things get gradually worse.

Smile 2 is the sequel of Smile from 2022, both written and directed by Parker Finn. It stars Naomi Scott as the pop star Skye Riley. She is an English actress and singer, and a soundtrack of the songs in the movie called Smile 2: The Skye Riley EP was released through Interscope Records on October 11, 2024.

I really enjoyed the first Smile movie, which I initially didn’t know what to expect from, but ended up having a real good time with. Then the news about a sequel came, and oh man, I did not have high hopes for this one. Not only because I initially felt that the first movie worked well as a stand-alone, but also because the first trailer of Smile 2 made it look incredibly generic and underwhelming. Well…I’m happy to say I was totally wrong, and Smile 2 was much better than I anticipated. I actually even found it to be better than the first one, and that caught me quite by surprise. Just like the first movie, it’s starting with a punch and does not hold back. The backstory of the protagonist is told through bits and pieces, giving us further and further glimpses into her psyche and troubles. While you’re supposed to feel sympathy for her of course, it’s also obvious that she hasn’t completely unstuck her head from her ass despite therapy and going off drugs. In her past she treated those around her like shit, and while she is clearly ashamed of this now, she’s still at a stage where her selfishness and woe-is-me attitude makes her completely blind to how the people that cares for her are oftentimes bending over backwards just to support and help her. And of this she’s actually subconsciously aware, which is why the demon is having a field day when toying with her.

The jumpscares in Smile 2 are generally good and adds to the atmosphere, in contrast to movies where many of the jumpscares don’t have any other impact than blasting you with high sound or quick movement and no actual scares. Sure, you can see them come from a mile away, but the way they build up the tension and also lingers makes them a perfect example of how good jumpscares should be utilized in movies like this. The one with her friend on the bed, in particular, is a prime example of this. The ending also ventured a bit into horror-acid-land when Skye’s completely under control of the hallucinations, and just like in the first movie we also get some monster effects which are pretty wild.

So, despite my first expectations, Smile 2 is a worthy sequel of the first and in my opinion even surpasses it, and while the ending was very predictable (at least when you know how the Smile Entity works), it sets up for what could be a pretty interesting third movie in this franchise.

And it also effectively advertise the Norwegian-based bottled water VOSS, which Skye is drinking liters of for her well-being. Yup, it’s important to stay hydrated, curse or no…

Writer and director: Parker Finn
Country & year: USA/Canada, 2007
Actors: Naomi Scott, Rosemarie DeWitt, Lukas Gage, Miles Gutierrez-Riley, Peter Jacobson, Ray Nicholson, Dylan Gelula, Raúl Castillo, Kyle Gallner, Drew Barrymore, Zebedee Row, Roberts Jekabsons
IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt29268110/

Prequel: Smile (2022)