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Film Review – Evil Eye
The last of the “Welcome to the Blumhouse” series is the thriller Evil Eye (2020). Written by Madhuri Shekar and directed by Elan and Rajeev Dassani, this might have the most emotional and pressing themes of the four releases. Unfortunately, its ideas are wrapped up…
READ MOREFilm Review – Nocturne
The third film in the “Welcome to the Blumhouse” series is Nocturne (2020). Easily the weirdest – and therefore most interesting – of the four entries, this examines the classic case of an artist sacrificing themselves for the sake of their work. Seeing someone accomplish…
READ MOREFilm Review – The Lie
The distribution deal between Blumhouse and Amazon Studios involves the streaming release of four thrillers in the month of October, labeled “Welcome to The Blumhouse.” The release schedule groups them into pairs. The first two feature the excellent Black Box (2020) and the not so…
READ MOREFilm Review – Black Box
Black Box (2020) is an ingenious sci-fi thriller that makes a lot out of a little. I don’t mean that as a backhanded compliment, but to illustrate that good storytelling doesn’t need to rely on big budgets or extravagant production value. In fact, many blockbusters…
READ MOREFilm Review – On the Rocks
The premise of On the Rocks (2020) contains all the ingredients of classic screwball comedy. A woman develops a nagging feeling that her husband is having an affair. Egged on by her Lothario father, she begins to track her husband’s whereabouts in anticipation of catching…
READ MOREFilm Review – 12 Hour Shift
12 Hour Shift is challenging to put into one genre; it flows between a dark comedy, horror/slasher, and workplace drama (is that a genre?). Written and directed by Brea Grant, it follows Mandy (Angela Bettis) as she settles into her long shift as a nurse in…
READ MOREFilm Review – Possessor
Brandon Cronenberg’s Possessor (2020) plays like a nightmare. There is a story here, and from a distance it contains elements that look familiar. But with Cronenberg’s writing and direction, it’s constructed with a dark and twisted vision. It’s a sci-fi/horror film that aims not to…
READ MOREFilm Review – Ava
Ava (2020) is the cinematic equivalent of painting by the numbers. It follows the outline of the thriller genre so strictly that you have to wonder if this is some kind of deconstruction or parody. Almost every trope you can think of makes an appearance.…
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