Tag Archives: Demon

Black Phone 2 – Movie Review

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TL;DR – While conceptually there are some good ideas and the film does come together in the end, it’s a slog to get through because it tries to tackle too many themes, none of which land successfully.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene.

Disclosure – I paid to watch this film.

Warning – Contains scenes that may cause distress.

A pay phone sitting by a lake covered in snow.

Black Phone 2 Review Introduction –

I have recently been away on a three-week holiday and missed when this landed in cinemas; however, while I remembered liking the first Black Phone, I was surprised to see the wildly discordant opinions of people who had watched the sequel. Some of my friends were positioning it as the film of the year, and others were decrying it as a mistake. Well, now that I am back in Oz, I thought it best to give it a look to see where I landed.
 
So, to set the scene, it has been four years since the events of The Black Phone, when The Grabber (Ethan Hawke) kidnapped Finney Blake (Mason Thames). However, with help from his sister Gwen (Madeleine McGraw) and the ghosts of those who had been killed, Finney managed not only to escape but also to kill The Grabber. Finney has been struggling to find himself in a world where everyone knows of his trauma. However, when Gwen starts dreaming again, connecting in her sleep with their long-dead mother Hope (Anna Lore), the siblings, along with Ernesto (Miguel Mora), make their way up to Alpine Lake Camp, a Christian youth camp, to find out why the connection is being made. But when they get trapped there in a blizzard, they discover that death might not be the end for those who have haunted them in the past.

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The Exorcist: Believer – Movie Review

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TL;DR – It is a stunningly tense affair that gets closer to the original than I think people expected.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene.

Disclosure – I was invited to a press screening of this film.

Katherine walks down the ailse of a church covered in communion wine.

The Exorcist: Believer Review –

One of the jobs I set for myself this year was to explore the world of horror more. It was an area that was a bit of a blind spot for me, and I needed to engage with it a bit more. While I am not sure if I have been as successful with that as I would have liked. However, M3GAN, Outpost, and Evil Dead Rise have helped. But I am not sure that anything will prepare me for The Exorcist.

So to set the scene, one morning, Katherine (Olivia Marcum) and Angela (Lidya Jewett) go to school, and they disappear, vanishing until they are found walking in the forest disorientated. The girls think they have been gone for hours but have been missing for three days. Their parents are just happy to have them home, that is, until they start acting odd, dangerously odd. For you see, it might not have been just the girls who returned home that evening, and traditional medicine might not have the answer.

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The Nun II – Movie Review

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TL;DR – We get a film that terrifies in its opening and reigns with a bombast at the end. You just have to get between these two points.

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is a mid-credit scene.

Disclosure – I was invited to a press screening of this film.

The Nun appears in a magazine.

The Nun II Review –

In 2023, I set myself a goal of dipping my toe more into the Horror genre, and while I am not sure how successful I have been on that front, I have continued with some interesting new entries in that genre. Today’s entry is another film in the Conjuring Universe, of which I have only seen The Conjuring 3, and neither of the three other films the main character appears in before now. With that in mind, can you follow a sequel when you missed everything leading up to it?     

So to set the scene, it is 1956 in Tarascon, France, where a young alter boy is going about his daily routine to prepare for evening mass, not knowing that an evil presence lurks in the dark. Sister Irene (Taissa Farmiga) is now working in a quiet monastery mentoring young nuns like Sister Debra (Storm Reid) when she is told that The Nun (Bonnie Aarons) is back and carving a swath of destruction across Europe. But the potential victims dramatically increase when The Nun homes in on a school.

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Evil Dead Rise – Movie Review

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TL;DR – A good case study of what happens if you go to max-intensity right from the start and stay there.

Rating: 2 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is something at the end of the credits but not something you need to stay back for.

Warning – This movie contains scenes that may cause distress.

Disclosure – I was invited to a press screening of this film.

A sinister smile.

Evil Dead Rise Review –

At the start of this year, I set myself the challenge to explore cinema that is more outside of my comfort zone, and one area that I don’t have a lot of experience in was Horror. I have dabbled here and there, but I know that I have barely scratched the surface of the diverse genre. When I heard there was a new imagining of the classic series Evil Dead, it felt like an excellent place to jump in.

So to set the scene, Beth (Lily Sullivan) is a guitar technician constantly on the road until she makes another mistake. When this happens, she always goes to visit her sister Ellie (Alyssa Sutherland), who lives with her children Danny (Morgan Davies), Bridget (Gabrielle Echols), and Kassie (Nell Fisher) in a bank that was converted into units. After realising that Beth has been out of her family’s lives for too long, the kids go off to get some pizza so the grownups can chat. But when an earthquake hits, a chasm reveals the old bank vault under the car park. Danny takes it upon himself to explore and disturbs something he should have let lie.

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The Black Phone – Movie Review

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TL;DR – While The Black Phone made me deeply uncomfortable for its entire runtime, it also engaged me at every moment. Ethan is terrifying as the unhinged Grabber, and the young cast stepped up to the plate when needed.   

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene

Disclosure – I was invited to a press screening of this film.

Warning – This film depicts scenes of abuse.

The grabber stands with black balloons.

The Black Phone Review –

Horror is one of those genres that I occasionally dip my toes in, but not one that I have ever done a deep dive in enough to be a true aficionado. I think part of that is probably a bit of self-care on my part, and the other is that some people get super into Horror, which is sometimes a bit intimidating. That has made me a bit more choosy about which horror films I see, moving more towards suspense than slasher. However, if there is one company that you know will put out a solid horror film, it is Blumhouse, and today’s film is not an exception.    

So to set the scene, in 1978, in the North of Denver, a young Finney (Mason Thames) is pitching to Bruce (Tristan Pravong) in a little league game. He scores two strikes, but Bruce hits it for a home run on the final ball. Finn is a bit dejected, but Bruce commends him on his swing, telling him that ‘he almost got him’. Having won the match, Bruce rode high as he went home, right up until a black van pulled out in front of him, and he was never seen again. Sometime later, as Finn and his sister Gwen (Madeleine McGraw) walk to school, they see missing photos of Bruce and wonder if he will ever be found as the Grabber (Ethan Hawke) has taken more kids and no one can seem to stop him.

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The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It (The Conjuring 3) – Movie Review

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TL;DR – What starts with an interesting and creepy premise nevertheless does not have the pull to make it through to the end.    

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene

Disclosure – I was invited to a press screening of this film.

The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It. Image Credit: Warner Brothers.

The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It Review –

To be honest, The Conjuring as a series is not one that had piqued my interest before. Indeed I have never watched any of the other films and spin-offs before. But I knew they were famous, and there was a real following for the franchise. However, the film’s story is based on the event where someone pleaded not guilty because of demonic possession. Well then, now you have me interested.

So to set the scene, in the town of Brookfield, Connecticut, Ed Warren (Patrick Wilson) and Lorraine Warren (Vera Farmiga) are helping a local family out after their son David (Julian Hilliard) was possessed by a demon. The demon presents itself in all its power, ripping the house apart and giving Ed a severe heart attack. Arne Cheyenne Johnson (Ruairi O’Connor) compels the demon to leave the boy and enter him in the chaos. Only Ed sees this, but he soon passes out. Ed makes it through surgery. However, by the time he can tell what is going on, a boy is walking down the street of Connecticut covered in blood.        

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