EvilPhoEniX

Dennis Iliadis, the director of The Last House on Left did a little home invasion/slasher and made it under the pseudonym Quinn Lasher, why I really have no idea. It's a fairly brisk genre flick that may not bring anything new to the table, but it certainly won't offend fans of the genre. A mother and her two daughters go to a cabin in the middle of nowhere, where a psychopath in a mask who definitely has no mercy for anyone is lurking. The film paces nicely, has a nice atmosphere, the suspense works and there are three solid gore scenes, so I'm not disappointed, just wish that the ambition had been higher. 60%

The surprise of the year and one of the best crime-media-social thrillers ever. The entire film takes place on a PC desktop, and sometimes with the help of a camera or mobile phone, which adds greatly to the authenticity and believability. It tells the story of a little girl who mysteriously disappears and her father tries to find out what happened to her. He learns information that he had absolutely no idea about his daughter and at times the film is really emotionally devastating. Praise must also go to the screenwriter who prepared a nice dose of brutal twists (all unexpected and shocking at the same time). But the biggest applause goes to the final denouement in the style of Saw, which left me almost breathless and I can't remember the last time I saw such an incredibly sophisticated, over-the-top, authentic thriller. Very gppd, incredibly gripping, engaging and uncompromisingly playing with the viewer. John Cho was very good. Bravo! 90%

The story revolves around the adorable teen Maria, who has a hard time at school, is bullied by the local hockey player, has no friends and no confidence, but everything changes when she discovers her evil twin sister in the mirror, who is very sexy and has no problem hurting those around her. The idea is definitely great, and the transformation of innocent Maria into a ruthless, sassy bitch is handled to perfection. I was quite impressed that Maria shows up completely naked in the film, which is not exactly common in teen movies and I appreciate the bravery. What's disappointing is that the film isn't scary, it's only suspenseful in places, and the violence was relatively sparse as well, but I suppose this film is primarily for a female audience who can easily add an extra 10-15%. I wasn't bored, but I'm not exactly the target audience. 60%

Literally the thriller edition of Home Alone. The parents go away and leave their son in the country with his grandfather, whose young neighbor is a psychopath. Story-wise, the film certainly offers nothing new and only benefits from an idea stolen from a famous hit, but why not. Even though you can see the budget was lower, still some effort went into it and that is appreciated. The young boy is quite smart and gives the bad guy quite a good time, so those who like these suspenseful cat and mouse style thrillers shouldn't be downright offended. Still, it certainly could have been done better and grittier. Only average. 60%.

A very bizarre oddity that is both funny and entertaining in places, but a little too far-fetched for my taste. I certainly can't deny the creativity, colours and details that they work with very nicely and Lakeith Stanfield is a great likeable character, but there was still something missing for a higher rating. That said, Sorry To Bother You is definitely an original film. 60%.

Gareth Evans, director of The Raid , serves up uncompromising period horror on an isolated island with a religious cult. Dan Stevens (The Guest) travels to an island to free his kidnapped sister, but the local religious fanatics are up to no good and there's plenty of danger ahead. The only downside is the running time of 2 hours and 10 minutes, with the first hour being considerably slower, but the second is so full of gripping scenes that Apostle becomes a definite genre gem and a tribute to the original The Wicker Man. Bleak atmosphere, with solid gore, it's incredibly raw with an excellent villain, where besides Michael Sheen I think his buddy Mark Lewis Jones shone more (I had respect for the guy), and the music is also great. The scariest scene in my opinion is the grandma who appears in a tunnel full of sh*t. I loved the nice dose of mystery and mystique at the end. Evans showed that not only action is one of his triumphs, but he has no problem making an atmospheric historical horror film. If it wasn't for the weaker first half, it would be a clear five stars. 85%

An unexpectedly solid paranoid/mysterious sci-fi horror film. The story centers on a British family who celebrate Christmas with a family dinner, but are soon trapped in their own home by an unknown force, with the only information provided by the TV in the room "Await further instructions". Whether it is an alien invasion or a terrorist attack, neither the viewer nor the main characters know and that is the best part. The atmosphere thickens, the family becomes paranoid and it was surprising how quickly they turned on each other. Unexpectedly gritty and atmospheric in places, with a pleasingly Carpenter-like 1980s style conclusion. For my part, I'm satisfied. These little cheaper efforts of original horror can surprise sometimes. 70%

Germany serves up a European version of The Revenant from the Ötztal Alps 5300 years back, in the Neolithic era, telling the story of a man whose mummy is one of the oldest and most famous in the world. It is a period historical revenge survival drama where the main character goes on a hunt and in the meantime his entire tribe including his family is brutally murdered, burned and the women raped (a very gritty and powerful scene by the way). He has lost almost everything and the only option is to seek out the culprits and execute them in cruel retribution. The beautiful cold scenery, the unusual depiction of prehistoric times, the original Germanic dialect which the viewer does not understand and no subtitles are available and probably never will be, but they are not needed for the story, as the makers point out at the beginning of the film. The film does have a slower pace, but if you put yourself in the mindset of the time, you are in for a very unusual experience with a rough beginning and ending. 70%

I was honestly expecting worse, and in the end I had quite a good time. It's not up to Hunger Games, The Maze Runner or Divergence, but definitely better than The Host or The Mortal Instruments. The premise is very good and it's a shame that was it was taken by these people, because with someone more skilled it could have been a blast. At least Amandla Stenberg nicely captures the viewer's attention with her cuteness and rather large boobs, and I was interested to see how it all turns out in the end, which is appreciated. The downside are the not very good visual effects and the uninteresting action. Good for one viewing, though. 60%.

I'm going to go against the grain here, but for me there hasn't been a better post-apocalyptic since Mad Max. Post-apocalyptic films are one of my favorites right after exploitation, so I can forgive a lot of things, but here I can only praise in my regard. The main characters are a married couple about to divorce, but due to the conditions that have arisen they are forced to be together again and fight for survival, and I enjoyed their chemistry a lot. Story-wise the film offers nothing new and is really just about getting from A to B, but what happens outside is exactly the anarchy that I expect to occur if something like this happened to us. The world has literally gone mad, with gangs everywhere, homicidal maniacs in crazy masks, an uncompromising sniper who protects only women, the wheel of death, killing for fun, and just about everything you can think of. The main characters travel and get into more and more trouble as they go along, and most importantly no one can be trusted and I enjoy the hell out of this. The final shootout in the suburbs was an absolute blast, with the women once again taking matters into their own hands. For me a lot of great satisfaction and you can see that it takes a lot from multiple films. I had an incredible time and the shotgun blast at the end is awesome. 80%.