Brightburn

Brightburn is not your happy, pg-13 super hero film. We all know the Superman story. The Kents cannot have children. They are gifted from the heavens with a child who grows to become the savior of Man. Yes the Superman story is not subtle in its origins.

Brightburn gives us the Omen twist on that. A couple trying hard to have a child is gifted with a child from the heavens from a glowing red craft. He most definitely does not become mankind’s savior.

Instead, we see a mostly normal child begin to hit puberty and begin to change. Just like the Kents, the Breyer family kept the craft Brandon arrived in in their barn. It begins to glow and affect Brandon in the night. Brandon begins to exhibit powers and abilities beyond the mortal man.

But without the extreme morals of someone brought up by the Kents. A more realistic portrayal of an awkward kid, somewhat picked on who begins to lose touch with regular people. Then embraces being different and being sociopathic to the extreme.

It is made very clear that Brandon has lost almost all traces of human emotions near the end. He is mostly going through the motions feeling superior to everyone.

Do not expect a happy ending.

Brightburn does not shy away from the gore either.

Starring: Elizabeth Banks, David Denman, Jackson A. Dunn, Emmie Hunter, Matt Jones, Meredith Hagner, Becky Wahlstrom, Gregory Alan Williams, Annie Humphrey

Us 2019

Us

Seeing Us in a theater of people was a blast. As in most horror movies, the characters on screen do things that we the audience know is no good. Having various people in the crowd react was perfect. From the “no no no no”s to the “Don’t go in there!” Just a good horror movie going experience.

Us’ trailer gives too much plot away. It just does. But the idea of your evil doppelganger coming after you is powerful. Especially if it is doppelgangers of your whole family.

The scope explodes far beyond what you think.

Music plays heavily in Us. The soundtrack is good and has some entries I am not familiar with.

All the actors kill it in Us. Even the supporting players.

There is a twist that horror movie fans will see coming a mile away. But that does not detract from the movie.

Starring: Lupita Nyong’o, Winston Duke, Shahadi Wright Joseph, Evan Alex, Elisabeth Moss, Tim Heidecker, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Anna Diop, Cali Sheldon, Noelle Sheldon, Madison Curry, Ashley Mckoy

Synopsis: Husband and wife Gabe and Adelaide Wilson take their kids to their beach house expecting to unplug and unwind with friends. But as night descends, their serenity turns to tension and chaos when some shocking visitors arrive uninvited.

Happy Death Day 2U

Not quite as fun as the original. Happy Death Day 2U gives us a bit of a genre swap. More SciFi film than horror.

We start off the film with someone else stuck in a murder loop. This transitions to Tree in an alternate reality in another murder loop. An alternate reality where her mother is alive and Carter is dating Danielle.

The cause of the loops is explained. It’s ok. But I would have enjoyed it more if there was no explanation and the phenomenon hit different people. Almost like It Follows.

Still this was a fun film to watch. I hope they can make a third film since the after credits scene leaves it wide open for another.

Starring: Jessica Rothe, Israel Broussard, Phi Vu, Suraj Sharma, Sarah Yarkin, Rachel Matthews, Ruby Modine, Steve Zissis, Charles Aitken, Laura Clifton, Missy Yager, Jason Bayle, Rob Mello

Synopsis: Collegian Tree Gelbman wakes up in horror to learn that she’s stuck in a parallel universe. Her boyfriend Carter is now with someone else, and her friends and fellow students seem to be completely different versions of themselves. When Tree discovers that Carter’s roommate has been altering time, she finds herself once again the target of a masked killer. When the psychopath starts to go after her inner circle, Tree soon realizes that she must die over and over again to save everyone.

Overlord

Overlord



Overlord is a good WWII movie. With monsters. You will leave this movie and want to immediately watch Band of Brothers. I like to think of Overlord as its prequel.

Synopsis:

STOP THE UNSTOPPABLE

On the eve of D-Day during World War II, American paratroopers are caught behind enemy lines after their plane crashes on a mission to destroy a German Radio Tower in a small town outside of Normandy. After reaching their target, the paratroopers come to realize that besides fighting off Nazi soldiers, they also must fight against horrifying, bloody, and violent creatures that are a result of a secret Nazi experiment.

Starring: Jovan Adepo, Wyatt Russell, Mathilde Ollivier, Pilou Asbæk, John Magaro, Iain De Caestecker, Jacob Anderson, Dominic Applewhite, Erich Redman

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Halloween, 2018



Halloween 2018 is a sequel to the original Halloween from 1978. The other sequels and remake do not exist in this continuity. They are treated as embellished stories .

Michael, the Shape, is more brutal and violent in this entry. Body count is definitely higher than the original. You get nods aplenty to the original. No pet deaths. The only nudity is a bit of a flashback to Michael killing his sister from the first movie. But no one is safe from Michael. No one.

This movie also gives us a broken, but determined Laurie Strode. Someone dubbed “the new Loomis” who unfortunately does exactly what you expect him to. It is nice seeing 3 generations of Strodes on screen.

The movie does end with the possibility of a sequel in one fashion or another.

Synopsis: Laurie Strode comes to her final confrontation with Michael Myers, the masked figure who has haunted her since she narrowly escaped his killing spree on Halloween night four decades ago.

Starring: Jamie Lee Curtis, Judy Greer, Andi Matichak, James Jude Courtney, Nick Castle, Will Patton, Haluk Bilginer, Rhian Rees, Jefferson Hall, Toby Huss, Virginia Gardner, Dylan Arnold, Miles Robbins, Jibrail Nantambu, Omar J. Dorsey

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