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VHS 85 is only just ok and that makes me sad

V/H/S 85 continues the wonderful new trend of setting the series in a specific year. This change has given new life to a series that was pretty viciously mocked online when they were first releasing and I’m happy to see it. I never thought they deserved the hate they got.

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Movie Reviews Reviews

From Black is a haunting journey through the darkness and muck that is grief

From Black
Written by: Jessub Flower, Thomas Marchese
Directed by: Thomas Marchee
Starring: Anna Camp, John Ales, Jennifer Lafleur

Anna Camp plays Cora, a recovering drug addict dealing with the weight of survivors guilt and struggling to find closure after the disappearance of her son.

One day, in counseling Anna is confronted by Abel (John Ales) who asks her a simple quetion, “What if you could see him again?”

From Black is a well written, well acted movie about the struggles of addiction, grief and how far we’re willing to go to become whole again. Anna Camp gives a wonderful performance in the lead role. She appears exhausted and beaten down at almost every turn but there’s also a hint of hope to her. She’s very believable as a character trying her best to crawl out of the darkness and murk of her past and set things right.

John Ales gives an incredible performance as a father who lost his daughter and is struggling to come to terms with what that means for his life. Every time he’s on screen he radiates sorrow. He is a man that has been beaten down and broken and seemingly succumbed to it all.

When the two characters meet up, they start performing rituals meant to peel back the veil and see their children. The creature design for these parts is excellent. It’s very creepy and threatening but never malicious. It has this really cool detached from standard reality feeling to it that adds to how unsettling it is on screen.

Overall, I really enjoyed From Black. It’s a beautiful look into the world of survivor guilt, grief and addiction and just how much a parent would sacrifice for their children.

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Alone at Night could have been so much more

Alone at Night is a movie with so much wasted potential you’ll be left pulling your hair out at the end. Ashley Benson stars as Vicky, a woman whose boyfriend suddenly disappears leaving her homeless. To make some quick money, she goes to a secluded cabin to get in as much time as possible on a cam site. A real standout here is the always likeable Luis Guzman as one of Vicky’s clients.

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Movie Reviews Reviews

Etheria Film Night 2023 continues the excellence from 2022

Last year, I was sick with COVID and housebound. I was looking for something to watch on Shudder and came across Etheria Film Night 2022. I’m a sucker for a good anthology and while I didn’t love every single one of the short films, it was just the thing I needed while feeling like I was dying.

Fast forward a year, Etheria Film Night 2023 is on Shudder Canada and it’s an auto watch. 2023 picks up where last year left off in terms of quality. Let’s get this writeup going.

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Movie Reviews Reviews

Prey for the Devil wastes good atmosphere with poor execution

I really, really wanted to like this movie. As a person who grew up Roman Catholic I am an absolute sucker for any and every exorcism movie that comes out.