Crushed (2025) - Thriller Film Review

The Simon Rumley (The Living and the Dead) written and directed psychological thriller, Crushed sounded like it would be a better fit for this blog than it turned out to be. It had some dark moments for sure, but was more light on thrills than I had hoped, veering more into a drama of sorts.

Father Daniel (Steve Oram - The World's End) works and lives in Bangkok with his Thai wife and their ten year old daughter, Olivia. After her new kitten goes missing, Olivia becomes obsessed with finding it, with her search eventually leading her to the home of a South African man; Stanley (Christian Ferriera). She is convinced that is where her cat had ended up, as she recognises the location from an animal-snuff film that her best friend's teenage brother had made her watch, so she thinks her cat was captured to be killed in a similar video. It turns out that Stanley was indeed responsible for the animal torture videos, and discovering Olivia in his home, he sees dollar signs and decides to imprison her, in order to sell her to a paedophile contact he has - Mr. Jeffreys (Jonathan Samson - Daytime Nightmare). As the local police and Olivia's family desperately search for her, Stanley begins to struggle with his conscience at what his plans are for the girl.

This was a slow paced drama with some very dark moments, moments which were often alluded to, but kept off camera. There were just a handful of these, among them included a person having their fingernails pulled off, as one such example. For the most part, Crushed had an almost laid-back and chilled approach to its story. It took a good 30 minutes before the story really got going, and before hand there were several almost annoying false starts where it looked like Olivia would be kidnapped, but then wasn't. Father Daniel was quite a naïve character whose faith in God meant he never seemed too upset about the situation. With his daughter missing he still holds sermons at his church, and remains upbeat that it is all a test of his faith, not so much his wife who begins to feel the strain, nor his daughter, who was already questioning the existence of God before she was taken. I had wrongly assumed the priest would go on a path of bloody vengeance to rescue his daughter, this turned out not to be the case, instead the plot meanders along without too much really happening. The actress playing the child was ok, but didn't give a particularly amazing performance.

There were some bizarre editing choices here that at times felt a bit amateurish. Weirdly edited montage sequences made up of fast cuts, a city overview shot that played out in fast forward, and then the end credits that played out in complete silence and felt like music was missing. The setting of the film was interesting at least, set in Bangkok it looked suitably different to the norm, and the film also had a large cast of characters. This did feel more like a crime drama than a thriller, which isn't to deny the harrowing real life topics it covers. Not having children of my own, this part didn't resonate as much with me as it appears to have affected others. Crushed wasn't a boring film, but I couldn't help feeling there were better things I could be doing with my time.

This was a movie that suggested more than it showed. Of course, I didn't want to see everything alluded to play out on screen (certainly nothing to do with paedophilia), but there was at least one scene near the end that would have been fun to see. The relatively low peril and lack of too many decent characters meant this didn't really leave me feeling anything. Not terrible by any means, but not one I would recommend. Following an acclaimed festival run, Crushed came to UK digital on 5th October thanks to GrimmVision.

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Soul Snatchers (2026) - Horror Film Review

Religious thriller, Soul Snatchers keeps the supernatural element very close to its chest. So much so that at times I began to suspect that there wasn't even one actually there. This Julio Roman (Fuera de tinieblas) directed and co-written movie often felt more like a Biblical parable unfolding in present day, rather than a realistic story.

As children, Daniel and older brother, Saul witnessed their mother being kidnapped in broad daylight as she evangelised on a remote Puerto Rico based island. Now grown up, the two - Daniel (William Oliver) and Saul (Luis Sebastián Borges - Toxic Shark) have returned to this island alongside their evangelist father, Emmanuel (Cameron Arnett - Nefarious), to try and help the poor there with the power of Christianity and music. In their way however is the island's almost warlord like Mayor. The mayor rules the island with an iron fist, keeping law and order with his small army of enforcers. When their musical instruments are stolen, Daniel against his father's wishes, decides to ask the mayor for help. The help is given, but comes at a cost, with Daniel getting seduced by the power the mayor wields. As Daniel falls to temptation and leaves his family, Emmanuelle believes that love will bring him back home one day.

There was lots here to make this feel more like a fable than a real story. Daniel is the walking embodiment of gullible, all too quick to believe the outlandish lies of the comically evil mayor and his goons. Hot tempered and impatient, his fall to the 'dark side' was entertaining, even if it seemed to happen far too quickly. Along the way, he is asked to beat a defenceless man, gets spiked with a hallucinogenic drug, and too abuses the power he has been given. The mayor was fantastic, sadly, I didn't catch the actor's name, so can't credit him. He put on a wonderful performance, over the top, flamboyant and unpredictable, effortlessly stealing all his scenes. The mayor's spiritual opposite; Emmanuel was also a fun character, albeit in a different way. Full of the love of God, he was extremely peaceful and devout. He also is able to perform literal miracles with his belief in the Lord, early on the film he returns the sight to a blind boy purely from prayer! In a world where it appears God does exist, then too shall the demonic. A slight part of the movie, mostly insinuated than shown, but this part does culminate in a fun horror scene that I really wished more of Soul Snatchers had included.

This is a thriller rather than a horror, the focus on the division between the good and the bad guys. There were a few fight scenes and a couple of on-screen deaths, but these were few and far between. The fact the story had a fable type feel actually made me enjoy it more. Sometimes good and evil really can be plain black and white without any grey areas. Most impressive for the film were the gigantic cast, it felt like nearly every scene was populated with huge groups of background characters. Perhaps a little heavy handed with its message of love and forgiveness, but I was still rooting for the protagonists to win, even if the bad guys were so entertaining.

I liked Soul Snatchers more than I expected to. The mayor actor, Arnett, and Oliver were great in their roles, and the film world felt like a living place due to the abundance of people in the movie. Personally, I wish the horror element had been featured more, but I did enjoy a feel good ending for a change. Soul Snatchers had its digital UK premiere on 31st August thanks to Seven Tales.

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Fathers (2026) - Thriller Film Review

It was nice to see upon starting thriller, Fathers, that it was written and directed by Harley Wallen (Final Recovery, Beneath Us All, Ash and Bone), he has made some enjoyable films in the past. The mystery of the story for this one really drew me in, I just hoped it would all get tied together in a satisfying and cohesive bow.

Natalie (Kaiti Wallen - Final Recovery, Beneath Us All) is found one day lost and confused in the woods. It turns out she is the same person who was abducted outside her home as a child fifteen years previously. Unfortunately for her, she has lost her memory, and so is unable to help the police with finding where she had been and who she had been with all that time. Through a series of flashbacks, we see her under the care of a paranoid man claiming to be her real father (Harley Wallen). He has convinced Natalie that Calvin (Jerry Hayes - Final Recovery, Beneath Us All), the man she thought to be her actual father, is evil and has sent people out into the world to find and abduct her. In the present, unable to recall much more than fragments of memory, Natalie struggles to identify what is fact and what is fiction.

The film follows a back and forth structure between past and present over its near 100 minute runtime. The actress playing young Natalie (Emilia Wallen - Beneath Us All) was excellent in her role; a curious and kind child who was easy to like. Surprisingly, the abductor also presented himself well for the most part. Thankfully, this man believes himself to be the girl's father, and so there is no sexual or physical threat from him. The moments of action with him were effective, though the use of a red tint to indicate when he has lost control was an odd choice. I didn't like the present day Natalie. I get she is troubled and upset, but the permanent scowl on her face like she is smelling something bad, didn't endear me to the character.

I may not have been too keen on the protagonist in present day, but I was still very interested to piece together the pieces of the puzzle that made up the story, to see where things would end up. Sadly however, Fathers fizzles out rather than sticks the landing. It isn't an exaggeration to say the film literally cuts to credits mid-flow, leaving unresolved plot lines and a feeling of deep dissatisfaction. When seeing this, I exclaimed out loud "What the Hell!?", such was my surprise at the abrupt finish.  

I loved the back and forth between past and present, how clues as to what might be going on are drip-fed to the viewer. Scenes of peril were few and far between, but they worked and looked effective (outside of the red tint). A minimal use of special effects, but they did the job adequately. More than anything, it was the story that kept me hooked, even if it did lead to that unfortunate end. Fathers was a decent thriller, that was held back from being an essential watch due to a couple of smallish issues. 

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Basic Psych (2025) - Thriller Film Review

Psychological thriller, Basic Psych has taken me almost half of this week to get through. Not because it was dull or in any way hard to watch, but due to me struggling to get over some strange flu-based illness that left me bereft of energy. Hopefully that hasn't affected this review too much, as I do try and get through films in a single sitting nowadays. Anyway, Basic Psych, written by James Tucker (in his debut feature length writing role) and directed by Melissa Martin, has a simple premise, but takes a long while to get to its unexpected conclusion.

Stuart Prince (Michael Cerveris - Gotham, Stake Land), is a psychiatrist who one day is visited by a new patient; a man who introduces himself as Dan (David Conrad - Ghost Whisperer). Straight away he comes across as paranoid - both not wanting Stuart to make any notes about him, and also, only wanting to visit when the receptionist isn't in the office. Dan then reveals that he was the perpetrator of a double homicide in a local park several years back; an unsolved case that became notorious. He states that it was all an accident, and that he is really trying to be a better person now. While alarmed, Stuart doesn't want to break his oath of patient confidentiality, seeing the man's aim to become better as a valid reason not to report him to the authorities, despite his misgivings. This all takes place in the background to a series of murders in the area exclusively focused on psychiatrists, making Stuart increasingly worried that Dan is the person responsible. When Dan begins to integrate himself into Stuart's personal life, he becomes convinced the man is evil and becomes determined to find a way to stop the man and protect his wife and child.

This had a slight 'made-for-TV' vibe to it, especially with regards to the melodramatic and somewhat cheesy score that followed characters around for the entire duration. I though both Cerveris and Conrad were great in their roles, even if I didn't like either of the two characters. The movie is one big cat and mouse chase between the two men, with it never being too clear who is the one being chased. Stuart begins the film the perfect man, successful, with a loving wife and child, but his association with Dan seems to corrupt him, with his actions becoming increasingly more desperate and dark as the story progresses. Dan, (this character actually has a different name, 'Dan' is a fake one he gives to Stuart, but IMDB states the character to be called 'Dan', so that is what he will be called in this review!) is almost the opposite of Stuart, starting off seeming to be very paranoid, but over the course of the film repairing his relationship with his daughter, and becoming increasingly aggressive and smug. I appreciated how similar the two men seemed, despite having lived very different lives, and liked the downfall of Stuart's morality over the course of the 100 minute thriller.
Not so interesting were some of the side characters, with the two child actors both coming across as quite wooden in their acting style. Stuart's wife; Sisi (Siena Goines - Westworld, Flight of the Living Dead) at least had some spunk to her, and the guy who played the cartoonishly villainous hitman was a third act highlight.
I struggled with character motivations and actions for large parts of the movie. One scene that stuck in my mind was a character finding out something terrible about someone they were close to, seeming to get over it within moments of finding this info out with little explanation. Dan appeared so crazy that it made some sort of twisted sense he was the way he was, Stuart though, I couldn't understand why he wouldn't go to the police despite huge evidence that Dan was indeed evil. That last point though, there was a late film twist that punched me in the face out of nowhere, in a fun way.

There were a few scenes of peril, but the drama of the story was more of the focus here. An entertaining prologue of a man being killed by the murderer started things off well, and there were a few other brief, yet effective looking kills throughout, leading up to a finale that popped up out of nowhere. Special effects were not bad, not that there was much need of them. I did like the flashback sequences, used effectively and not over-done. As a whole the film was well shot, but it always felt like it was an indie film, with no surprises to be found with the filmmaking.

Basic Psych subverted my expectations with its big reveal, so kudos to the story for going to unexpected places. Some parts of the overall story led to frustration, especially in the second half when events began to get more convoluted than I felt they needed to be. Still, Cerveris was great as the frustratingly obtuse protagonist, so not all bad. Basic Psych debuted on digital platforms on April 21st, and premiered as the opening night film of the Three Rivers Film Festival.

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Bight (2026) - Thriller Film Review

Bight is the feature length directorial debut of Maiara Walsh, who also co-wrote this alongside Cameron Cowperthwaite (both of whom co-star). It was described as an erotic thriller, and to be honest; that isn't a subgenre that I'm particularly fond of, nor am I a fan of bondage type goings on, all a bit over the top for me. Going into this with that attitude, I soon found myself feeling like my expectations were correct. However, despite not being a huge fan of the subject matter, I found myself drawn into this dark and depressing tale that oozed atmosphere and had a killer soundtrack.

Charlie (Walsh - The Vampire Diaries) and her artist husband Atticus (Cowperthwaite - Fallout) have been invited to what they believe to be a party at their mutual friend's place - the apartment of artist Naomi (Maya Stojan - Castle) and her photographer husband; Sebastian (Mark Hapka - Ghost Whisperer: The Other Side). Charlie and Atticus have been having relationship difficulties, mainly due to her being too caught up in her work, while she believes Atticus to have become dull and unwilling to take risks like they used to. Their plans to stay at the party for just one drink are scuppered when they realise that they were the only people invited. Sebastian reveals that he had actually invited them there for a special project he was working on. He wants to tie up Charlie and Atticus in bondage ropes for a special photoshoot, which he states will be the centre piece for the art project he is working on. Due to the couples issues, Charlie agrees to this, hoping it will bring some of the spark back to her husband. Unknown to them both, Sebastian has drugged their drinks, and what begins as an erotic photoshoot begins to turn into something far more sinister as Sebastian reveals the real reason they are there.

The prologue featured the protagonists in the shower together washing what appeared to be bloodstains off of their bodies. It was that image which initially kept me invested; I figured that was a flash forward from later in the movie, and that the drama of the night would turn into something more appropriately horror-like. The first half of this 90 or so minute thriller didn't have much horror at all in the traditional sense. There was however, a fascinating atmosphere of something not being quite right. A lot of this was down to the lighting, the apartment the majority of the film is set in is a very dark place. Not dark as in hard to see anything, more that the lighting is dim, that coupled with how miserable and on edge everyone was led to there being an unsettling feel despite nothing appearing to be wrong. The characters were all pretentious and a little insufferable, but they were unified in this feeling, coming across as the artistic types they were meant to be. Lots of analysing of paintings, and discussion of painting methods and artistic inspirations. The apartment had a real vibe to it, from the long solitary corridor that leads to the building, to large rooms filled with artwork, and a red lit gallery that couldn't help but suggest unease.

The tone of the story begins to match the uneasy atmosphere towards the end of the second act. This was all made possible by the four central characters, in particular, Hapka gave a mesmerising performance. The way he said some of his lines was perfect, especially during a scene with him and Walsh in a bathroom. The editing and directing gave a disorientating feel, flashbacks blending with the present day, and lots of tricks to simulate the distorted visuals the characters were experiencing under the effects of whatever drug they had been unknowingly given. For an erotic thriller, there wasn't much nudity, something that I welcomed. There are nude models during the intro credit sequence, but in the film itself, nudity is left more to the imagination. It leads to a dark and bleak third act, something that really drew me to the film world. As mentioned in my prologue, this also enjoyed a fantastic soundtrack. I don't know much about music to know what genre it was, but it had a morose and depressive feel to the triphop type beats (maybe, I don't know music!). Also enjoyed the recurring theme that sounded like something out of horror video game Blasphemous of all things.

Despite not being a fan of erotic thrillers, I thought Bight was excellently made. The combination of the music, the oppressive feeling look of the apartment, and the bubbling unsaid tension combined to make something that was greater than the sum of its parts. It ends on a bit of an arty epilogue that I can't say I entirely understood, but I liked the general direction the story went in, even if everything may not be as it seemed. Bight comes to VOD and digital on February 10th from Scatena & Rosner Films.

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Adopted (2024) - Thriller Film Review

It's been a tough end to 2025, at the risk of going on like a broken record, I was unexpectedly made redundant from my bill paying job, leading to life getting in the way of this blog. Adopted therefore (directed and co-written by Chris Stokes - The Stepdaughter 2) was the first film I had watched for review in a while. Thrillers where the antagonist is a child, really depend on the acting capabilities of the child. Sadly that isn't the case here, but that child actor isn't singled out, as a lot of the acting here was unfortunately sub-par, not helped by a weak script.

Carrie (Drew Sidora - Farm House, White Chicks) and her husband James (Daniel J. Johnson - The Stepmother trilogy) have decided to adopt a child, due to being unable to have children of their own. They think they have struck gold when they are matched with 10 year old Dylan (Jayden Aguirre) - the boy is intelligent, polite, and the couple are told he is a good person. What they don't know is that Dylan is a young sociopath, one who murdered his previous foster family, and who has no issues with getting rid of anyone who will interfere with him having the perfect family life.

Typically in these type of films, it will be a revelation that the suspicion that the innocent appearing child is actually a psycho. With Adopted, the prologue reveals this straight away to the viewer, showing Dylan telling the police how his foster family were murdered by an intruder while flashback sequences of Dylan being the one doing the killings is shown. His smooth way of talking reminded me a bit of Kevin McCallister from Home Alone, having the creepy child actor way of appearing much more grown up than a child their age should be. He acted so grown up that I was almost expecting an Orphan type reveal. He never once came across as sincere, though the by-product of this acting style meant that he fitted into his role very well. Most of the lines he says are the character being equally insincere, though within the film world people rarely pick up on that. No one within the film particularly stood out with their acting, and part of that is down to the often stupid story.
It was an issue that Dylan is so able to frame his murders as crimes or accidents, I'm sure the police would be able to tell from the location of wounds on victims how tall the perpetrator would be, so it seemed a bit silly he was constantly able to get away with his crimes without much suspicion. It was also never explained why the foster agency didn't have any record of Dylan's previous family all being murdered. The agency seemed a bit suspect, with the couple adopting the boy before they had even met him, and apparently not realising that he had huge scars on his legs from an abusive incident when Dylan was younger. The couple come across as really dense, aside from not knowing anything about the child they have decided to adopt, they also make the ridiculous decision to adopt a second child mere weeks after taking on the troubled boy. Sure he is a pint-sized maniac, but I kind of was on his side with his warranted anger and jealousy towards his new sister who he wasn't consulted on about, and how Carrie and James appear to adore more than him, almost forgetting their first adopted child existed!

Not too much really happened until the bonkers third act. There are a couple of suspicious incidents that the young boy causes, but the family are none the wiser. That third act is when things really ramp up, including an almost hilarious fight between a grown adult and a child. He might be armed with a lethal weapon, but a young boy wandering about with an angry scowl on his face was pretty funny, as was the ambiguous ending. All characters here make unbelievable decisions, the patchy script just came across as stupid, a film populated with idiot people who in the fake film world sense, deserved what they got for being so blind! Have to love easily accessible guns in the dystopian and increasingly fascist U.S of A!

Sometimes the sheer silliness of Adopted's story won through, but so much of it was so unbelievable that I found it increasingly difficult to get on with the unfolding story. This wasn't a great film, it was let down by a basic story and some suspect acting. I will give kudos to the flashback sequences, I enjoyed those, and I also found the third act thrilling, if also outlandish. Never my favourite sub-genre of thriller/horror films to begin with, but Adopted was one of the weaker entries of that type I have seen. It will be available on DVD and Digital in Q2 2026, and a sequel was made this year, reuniting some of the original cast.

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The Rotting Zombie's News Anthology for Tuesday 16th December 2025

My work decided to pull out all the stops when it came to this years Christmas gift, giving me the wholesome and thoughtful present of redundancy. It has really made this festive and happy time of year feel really special. Onwards to fictional horror with three terrifying news stories.

Bight is the directorial debut of Maiara Walsh, with this erotic thriller arriving on VOD and digital in time for Valentine's Day - releasing February 10th. Lily Allen is the latest person in the news who is serving as a reminder that open relationships often do not work out, and that sounds to be the case with this film. In this, husband and wife; Atticus and Charlie, visit the home of close friends, Sebastian and Naomi. The press release states that 'Throughout the evening, their turbulent lives will push them to succumb to dark temptations and provocative explorations of an open relationship, all leading toward a devastating fallout'. Bight stars Walsh alongside Cameron Cowperthwaite (Fallout TV show), Mark Hapka (23 Blast) and Maya Stojan (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D TV show)

Vertigo Releasing have announced the digital release of Peter Hall and Paul Gandersman's supernatural horror; Man Finds Tape. This takes the form of a fictional documentary that sees a woman returning to her childhood Texas based hometown to investigate a cryptic message about mysterious footage that appears to show disturbing footage of events no one in the town appears to recall happening. This is due to come to Apple TV, Sky Store and YouTube Movies on January 19th.

Finally for today, the official trailer and poster for Doll of Deceit has been released. This dark thriller comes from director Josh Warmenhoven and stars Sandy Johnson, David J. Paul, Amanda Jensen, Rex Seaton and Shawn Alexander Thompson. A woman's affair with a handyman is discovered by her husband leading to '...a suspenseful tale of captivity and an eerie transformation that blurs the line between reality and nightmare'.

The Rotting Zombie's News Anthology for Tuesday 9th December 2025

After a week off doing posts on here (almost), I'm back and refreshed to once again pick up the mantle of the Rotting Zombie. In personal news, it looks like I am soon to be made redundant from my bill paying day job, so that's fun! Anyway, here are three terrifying news stories plucked from the depths of my bloody mail sack. Onwards to the news.

There are some new releases from Arrow Video US for January of next year. 13th January sees the limited edition 4K UHD release of Evil Dead Rise. I gave this film an 8/10 in my review back in 2023 where I stated '...I thought this was a solid and nasty horror film, one that doesn't shy away from allowing absolutely any character to become a victim'. The film is set in an apartment block where an earthquake leads to the discovery of a certain cursed book with the power to summon demons. The limited edition features a host of extras including a double-sided fold-out poster and a collector's booklet.

January 20th is when action/adventure thriller Snakes on a Plane gets its worldwide 4K UHD debut, featuring a brand new 4K restoration plus hours of special features. A Blu-ray release is also coming out the same day. The film does what it says in its title, with an FBI agent (Samuel L. Jackson - Pulp Fiction) getting caught in a trap from a major crime lord after a hundred poisonous snakes are released on a passenger plane where he is escorting an important eyewitness to the crime lord's crimes. I remember this film was ok, though I admit to never having had the urge to return to see it a second time.

Finally for today, anthology horror At Death's Door is now available on Tubi. Directed by Frank Palangi, this brings four stories based around the concept of how ordinary choices can lead to deadly situations. This stars Aaliyah Al.Fuhaid, Erica James, Frank Palangi, Jared Curtis, and Nicole Mecca. At Death's Door can be found here.

Jacker (1993) - Thriller Film Review

Last month in October, I got to review indie crime thriller Jacker 3: Road to Hell. What had interested me about that movie was it was made roughly 30 years after the second in the trilogy, with some of the original cast members returning to reprise their roles. I hadn't expected I would get to see the first two films due to their age, but was given the chance to check them out to. Jacker was co-directed by Phil Herman (I Slay on Christmas, Doomsday Stories) and Benjamin Stanski, the former of which also wrote this, as well as starred as the titular antagonist, and the later humorously playing three different characters within the movie.

A criminal that has become to be known as 'the jacker' has already been on a crime spree prior to the start of the movie. This mystery assailant, true to his name, carries out car jackings, murdering the victims of these attacks. Meanwhile, Mike (Herman) has fallen under the eyes of the police after his girlfriend commits suicide. Known to the viewer is the fact that not only did Mike murder his girlfriend and then made it look like she had taken her own life, but he is also the notorious jacker! His suspicious behaviour alerts detective Jackson (Patric Jackson in his sole film acting role), who soon finds his own woe when his younger sister is murdered. Jackson and his sister's former boyfriend; James (Barry Gaines - Jacker 3: Road to Hell) start to investigate Mike, while the police also start to have suspicion after a second woman he was intimate with is found dead in his flat.

Truth be told, I figured the sheer fact of Jacker being an indie film in the early 90s would make it a tough film to watch. Of course, this was before the advent of better technology made it easier for indie films to be made, so the sound design and camera work will be rougher than what you may be used to. There is lots of background interference, even with my bad hearing, at the worst of these times I was still able to understand the lines being spoken by the actors. The footage isn't the greatest quality, with a real VHS home movie look to scenes. Panning around locations has a noticeable shake to the footage, and occasionally lighting looks a bit blurred. Unexpectedly, this didn't detract from Jacker but instead added to the atmosphere of it. Never coming across as found footage, this nonetheless occasionally achieved an almost voyeuristic quality to the scenes, ignoring the often rough acting of some of the more minor characters, and with a squint in your eyes, it has a very vague feeling of a snuff film in some scenes, lovely stuff.
The plot actually felt more involved than with the third movie. There is a constant feeling of Mike barely getting away with his crimes, and welcoming the police suspecting him, where in the third film he seemed more like a force of nature, killing much more randomly while the police are utterly powerless to catch him. I did know how the film was going to end, having read a synopsis prior to watching the third film, but even so, it was nice seeing how events led up to what I knew was going to happen.

Herman is great as the nihilistic antagonist, more so than in Jacker 3. This killer delights from causing pain (or so he says), and there is even a little dive into his backstory. Much like with that third film, Mike is often amused when carrying out his crimes, and still features the iconic hat, and typical method of death by a single gunshot to the head. Special effects are minimal here, guns are fired in an exaggerated manner without any sort of effect other than the sound of a gunshot. It was neat to see Debbie D (I Slay on Christmas, Doomsday Stories) in a role here, as her character became an integral part of the third movie, though it does turn out her death was retconned, as here it seems not only did she definitely die, but the police had taken her body from Mike's flat, whereas in the third movie she states she had been assumed to be dead by him and dumped in woodland. Jackson was a good contrast to the killer, and his journey of revenge was fun to watch. With secondary characters it had to be co-directer Stanski who stood out. He not only plays three almost identical looking characters, but they always appear together in the same scenes, with the camera awkwardly cutting to make it look like they are interacting with each other. The humour here is intentional, maybe due to knowing that some of the actors really were not the best at delivering their lines, but it blends in well with the horror. When in the thrilling finale the jacker ends up being chased by a man on a child's skateboard, you know this isn't trying to take itself super seriously!

I came to Jacker expecting that I would be in for a terrible 90 minutes, that the time this was made would prevent it from being entertaining. I was surprised then at just how competent this was. Sure, it is very rough around the edges, but it tells a complete feeling story, fits the length of the movie without feeling drawn out, and even with some dodgy delivery of lines, has a cast of characters who were for the most part fun to see on screen.

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Jacker 3: Road to Hell (2025) - Thriller Film Review

Unsurprisingly, Jacker 3: Road to Hell is the third film in a series. What I found interesting was that the previous two films were both released in the 90s; Jacker in 1993, and sequel - Jacker 2: Road to Hell in 1996. This third entry makes use of the thirty year gap for one of its plot points, as well as brings back a host of the original actors to reprise their roles. Having never seen the first two films I did feel l was playing catch-up a bit, so my synopsis might not be entirely correct as there were parts of the movie that left me a little confused, my fault entirely for joining the series with the third film. This new entry is directed by James Panetta (Phil Herman's Unearthed, Doomsday Stories), and once again written by Phil Herman, the writer of the previous films, as well as the person who plays the titular villainous role.

Thirty years previously, a serial killer known as 'the Jacker' (Herman) went on a notorious killing spree, his modus operandi typically being to murder his victims during carjackings. Despite his large amount of victims, the police were never able to capture him due to the killer seemingly striking at random, before one day vanishing without a trace. Now, with no explanation other than possibly due to it being the anniversary of the original killings, the Jacker is back, once again creating a large kill-count. This causes Gloria (Debbie D - Phil Herman's Unearthed, Doomsday Stories) to reappear; a survivor of the original Jacker killing spree who went into hiding after he failed to kill her. Now she begins to have troubling nightmares about the man, seeming to have some type of psychic connection with the killer, and realising he is back she desperately tries to alert people.

Did I have much of an idea what was going on? No. Did I have a fun time watching this very low budget thriller? Hell yes. It begins with a prologue sequence in which a man shoots his wife dead, before being killed in turn by a policeman. Before he goes however, he is able to transfer his essence into his young son. I wasn't sure of the importance of this scene, but it does set up the murky possibility that the Jacker is supernatural in nature. This supernatural element doesn't appear heavily, but it is referenced again later in the film, and you could argue the many nightmare sequences characters have are also a cause of this.
The story is split between a multitude of characters, some of which only appear in order to become more victims for the serial killer, some who have their own little subplots going on, such as journalist Chris (Christopher Kahler - Phil Herman's Unearthed, He Sees You When You're Sleeping), and of course Gloria; the main protagonist but whose story mainly takes place away from the new killings. Jacker's storyline has him back on a meandering murder-spree, he of course kills people whose cars he has stolen from them, but also his fair share of home invasions, and happenstance while out walking the streets of the city. He makes for an entertaining villain, seeming to get pleasure out of his motive-less killings, and he talks a fair bit. It was also amusing that many people seem to recognise who he is before they are dispatched by him; the event from the past having left a scar on the city.

There are a whole bunch of death scenes, the Jacker's weapon of choice usually being a gun which he uses to single shot his victims. There are some closer kills, even one severed penis to be found here! Scenes typically have these characters begging for mercy, and occasionally even getting that mercy. Favourite of these had to be Butch Patrick (Eddie from The Munsters) playing a fictional version of himself outside a fan convention. There are a few scenes with female nudity, often feeling like these were only there for titillation. There were also various scenes that were played for comedic effect, with the indie feel of the film world these moments fitted in seamlessly with the more dramatic scenes. Perhaps part of his supernatural powers, perhaps just to make the film flow more smoothly; Jacker appears able to be exactly where he wants to be at any given point. He flits around between scenes, so one moment he will be invading a home, next scene he will be out walking in woodland, the next scene he will be meeting someone to try and buy guns, with no rhyme or reason to why he is where he is. He made for an entertaining antagonist, but he didn't make for a cohesive feeling character, a force of nature rather than anything deeper.

Despite being a bit lost as to what had come before, I enjoyed Jacker 3. I liked how the killer wasn't needlessly cruel, living to kill, not living to torture, and I liked the cheerful way he goes about things. The plot involving Gloria did feel very disconnected to his storyline, at times this slightly felt like two separate movies playing out in the same film universe. Jacker 3: Road to Hell was an entertaining indie thrill ride. Don't always expect the strongest of acting (especially during the amusingly wooden news segments), and don't expect too much plot, but this was a solid indie film which never became dull.

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The Quiet Ones (2025) - Thriller Film Review

The Quiet Ones, directed and written by Nicholas Winter (The Imposters, House of Shadows), bills itself as a thriller but for much of its run time that isn't completely the case. It does eventually get around to doing what it says, and at least in the run up, the film has style in spades.

After the death of her father, Charlotte (Kelsey Cooke - The Sandman TV show) intends to move into his Spanish holiday villa. It is while she is there recuperating from an ankle injury that her sister; Alba (Alicia Grace Turrell - The Garfield Movie) visits with the news that their father was in a lot of debt, and that unless she can raise a couple hundred thousand pounds within three weeks, Charlotte will lose the villa. Looking for ways to get the cash in such a short amount of time, she ends up looking at online cam-girl videos, and decides to send one of the girls a message; seductive Danni (Sophie Ablett - House of the Dragon and Doctor Who TV shows). The two strike up a rapport, and Danni offers her a business proposition to make some cam-girl videos together. Travelling to the villa, she promises Charlotte that she can earn a lot of money for not having to do a lot. To increase her chances of getting the required money for the villa in such a short span of time,  Danni invites more people, competitive Brylee (Isadora Leiva - It Needs Eyes), former Russian mob call girl Fabienne (Alina Tamara - War Blade), and clumsy but eager Violet (Sofia Shallai - Evil Eyes). Danni and Brylee make a wager, whoever makes more money with their videos within two weeks will get to stay at the villa with Charlotte, while the other one will have to leave. This seems to be a win-win for Charlotte as she is promised that all the earnings for the next two weeks will go to her, but the competition between the two soon turns tense.

A lot of the movie wasn't really for me, but one thing I did love was the stylistic choice to have key moments represented by retro looking pixelated video game images. As an example; whenever a new character is introduced this is represented by a pixelated character select screen. There is also a slight comic book vibe, with key information displayed on screen with bright and vibrant text. This fitted the world well, and made the less interesting scenes more full of life. 
The movie started on an interesting note; Charlotte waking up handcuffed to an either dead or unconscious person. While there were some more thrilling moments throughout the film, it was with twenty minutes left in the eighty six minute movie that this finally changed gears. Much of the film leading up to this is the contest the girls have decided to have. Mostly all light hearted stuff, it features plenty of tame montages of the girls doing their cam-girl stuff, mainly dancing for the camera.

The final twenty minutes were enjoyable, I liked how things went in a slightly different direction to what I expected. The lead up to this was sometimes slow going. The stylish presentation saved this for me, but aside from one gloriously violent scene that unfortunately turned out to be a dream sequence, this was just a bunch of young woman bickering, doing drugs, and making videos together.  Due to this there wasn't much call for anything but subtle special effects, I thought the make-up for blood and cuts looked decent: this zombie is always a fan of the blood.
The story wasn't a topic that really interested me so through no fault of its own it left me cold for much of the runtime. Style alone kept pulling me along, and I appreciated the little dose of thrills given at the end.

I spent much of The Quiet Ones wondering just when the thrill part of this thriller would kick in. I admit that at some point during the film I did pause it to check IMDB that this actually was meant to be from that genre. The film looked the part with its attractive stylistic presentation for the viewers benefit, but the meat of the story didn't grip me very much. Maybe due to my age, but social media stars are something that I don't really get, so the main topic here wasn't one that could engage me. The Quiet Ones released on 5th August from The Horror Collective.

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Cover (2025) - Thriller Film Review

I really wanted to like the Cameron Francis starring, directed and written thriller Cover, his feature length directorial debut in fact. Early problems I had with the duel protagonists motives really got in my head and I ended up finding myself incapable of taking either of them seriously.

Trevor (Francis) is a travelling salesman who is on a cross country journey to go and sell some rare stamps known as 'covers'. Stopping in a diner for some lunch, he is disturbed by a young woman named Macy (Katherine Lozon in her film debut). She tells Francis that she is on the run from her abusive boyfriend, and begs the man for a ride. This begins an odd road trip in which two people, both suspicious and paranoid about the other, slowly start to get comfortable with each other's eccentricities. This, set to the backdrop of a mysterious car tailing the man.

Straight away I had a real issue with the main characters, both of which I both didn't like, and didn't trust. The way it creates a sense of paranoia that one of the two isn't being truthful was well done, it's just this mistrust stayed with me for the entire film. Even moments that are designed to be sentimental came across as fake and phony, and so that made the central 'buddy' style friendship fall flat. The characters dialogue and the way they said their lines felt grandiose and more wordy than they needed to be. The character of Trevor had a way of talking that often made me feel that Closer may be a comedy thriller, it always felt like he was playing to a crowd. Macy on the other hand was dodgy from the start. For someone apparently fleeing domestic abuse, Macy has a right attitude on her, and plenty of sass to boot.

Much of the film takes place out on the road, or at one of the various places the leads have stopped to rest, and for the first forty or fifty minutes things go along as expected. I did think the second act was a great idea, with events in the story rewound to show them playing out from a different perspective. As cool as that part was, there wasn't a smooth transition for key characters, so it made story beats feel very trite and forced. The thrills are relatively light here, but there was a fantastic looking late film death sequence, even if that follows into a bit of an abrupt and unsatisfying finish.

Cover was a film that just never hooked me. Due to the strange protagonists, I could never take anything they said seriously, which really affected my enjoyment of their journey. I spent most the film expecting twists and turns that never came to fruition. The story was fine, but there was just something a little missing here. Cover releases on August 26th via The Horror Collective.

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Crumb Catcher (2023) - Comedy Horror Film Review

The screener I received of the Chris Skotchdopole directed and co-written comedy horror film (in his feature length directorial debut) - Crumb Catcher, stated the screener link was only viable for seven days, so after two weeks I figured it likely wouldn't work. Thankfully, it did, and I was exposed to this very dark and twisted comedy horror, with the empathises more on the horror side of things. While not nearly as bleak, the humour here reminded me of the type used in the shocking comedy horror of The Coffee Table.

Newly-wed Shane (Rigo Garay - The Leech) wakes up the day after his wedding to new wife, Leah (Ella Rae Peck - Blackout) with no memory much of the night before. He discovers their envelope containing guests monetary contributions to the new couple is empty, and he receives an odd text from a woman named Rose (Lorraine Farris - Natural Born Killers) who insinuates that he did something with her the previous night. Confused, but wanting to put it behind him, the newly weds head out to their honeymoon location, a remote and posh woodland home. Later that evening they are surprised to get a knock at the door, and even more surprised when they see that it is John (John Speredakos - Blackout), an odd caterer who had been working at their wedding. He states he had arrived there to give the couple the top of their wedding cake which had gone missing, but his true intentions are made clear when he says he wants to give the two a presentation on a novel device he has been working on, something he calls the 'crumb catcher'. It turns out that John's wife is Rose, and that they are blackmailing Shane to invest in this product unless Shane wants Rose to send the video she took of the pair being 'intimate' to his new wife. This begins an unsettling night of chaos and terror, as the eccentric John becomes increasingly deranged in his effort to sell his device.

This small in scope character drama mainly features a cast of just four. The larger than life John is the focal point of this, and Speredakos steals the show with his wild and chaotic performance. John is like a bull in a china shop, unable to take no for an answer, and reaching some Mr Bean heights of awkwardness and clumsiness. Think of a more horror styled version of Basil Fawlty from the British sitcom Fawlty Towers. With this character though there is an ever present feeling of danger. The man is huge as it is, but early on, Leah notices he is carrying a gun, which while never referenced by John, makes his weirdness more unsettling. Rose was more complicated, she seems at her wits end with John's desperate behaviour, but it always felt to me like this could all be an act. Her blazing arguments with her husband increase to the madness, creating even more of an odd feel to the evening. It made sense then that Leah and Shane are much more normal in how they act. Leah was fine, but I didn't really think much of Shane. He has no memory of the event with Rose, and due to the couple being obvious con-artists, I figured he would have likely been date raped, it was all too convenient. Shane instead, maybe due to confusion, is ready to believe that he willingly cheated on Leah. I enjoyed the flashes of a more dark side to John that are brought to the forefront, it made the uncomfortable night that little bit more perilous. 

It may be a comedy horror, but there aren't many laughs to be found here. It is more a jet-black humour that propels the story, initially the comedic part being the new couple feeling too socially awkward not to interact with the manic John. Much of the film takes place within the remote house, though things change up into something more dramatic for the third act. There were some decent effects used to simulate being drunk, and the way the camera spins around the room during the 'Crumb Catcher' presentation really added to the feeling of confusion and being out of their depths for the protagonists. At one hour forty five, this went along at a fair pace, only really in the third act did things sometimes feel a little dragged out. Much like The Coffee Table, there is a feeling of social horror here, and this combined with the farcical nature of the story created an interesting blend.

I had no idea what Crumb Catcher would be when I started it up. Another film that isn't feel good, and whose humour was quite twisted. The strong central performance of Speredakos made this a movie that I couldn't look away from, even if the core idea was relatively simple. Crumb Catcher came to the ARROW streaming service on July 14th.

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Bone Face (2025) - Horror Film Review

I'm trying to get more structured with watching films during the weekend and trying to watch horrors more in the evening, to try and give them a fair chance to scare. The test bed for this was the Michael Donovan Horn directed and written slasher Bone Face (in his directorial debut). Admittedly, 19:30 isn't exactly the dead of night, but for me it kind of is as I try and be in bed by 21:30 (rock and roll lifestyle I lead). The film wasn't the most effective horror out there, but it was darn entertaining, and I appreciated it tackled the slasher genre that little bit differently.

A group of camp counsellors are celebrating the end of another Summer, in a cabin on the edge of the camp ground when they come under attack from a masked assailant wielding an axe, who butchers them all. By the time the local police arrive; Sherriff Cronin (Jeremy London - Demigod) and Deputy McCully (Elena Sanchez - Texas Chainsaw uncredited), the killer is nowhere to be found. Cronin suspects the culprit could be the notorious mass murderer known as 'Bone Face' whose M.O is killing camp counsellors. With the state police on the way, the duo decide to search nearby woodland where they track the path of the killer to a nearby 24 hour diner. Cronin discovers the Bone Face mask, outfit and axe in a bin outside the diner. Figuring it is likely that one of the people in the diner is this notorious killer trying to blend in, Cronin decides to interrogate the various customers and staff at the diner while waiting for the state police to arrive. Doing so he discovers that pretty much everyone there had both a motive and an opportunity to have carried out the slaughter.

I expected a straight up slasher film, and the prologue made it seem like that was going to be the case. What I loved about Bone Face is that the meat of the film takes place after the camp murder. Typically this would be the moment when the end credits roll in a horror film, but here, it is the start. The budget is obviously not the greatest, with almost the entirety of the movie taking place in the single location of the diner, and the majority of the film being characters talking to each other. I really enjoyed this however, the cast of eccentric characters made for a mystery that get me glued to the screen. Everyone seemed suspicious, and increasingly it felt like anyone could secretly be the slasher. There is the autistic Roger who is a horror fan, and also has a strong knowledge of Bone Face's crimes. A gulf war veteran who had been fired from his job at the camp after being accused of attempted rape, two anti-authority bikers, a journalist who had captured a photo of the killer on camera after claiming to be in the area for a photo shoot for a wildlife magazine, a quiet father and daughter passing through the area who happened to have travelled past all the sites of Bone Face's previous massacres, the diner's new cook, and a variety of others. Most the film has Cronin angrily interrogating the group, though there is even suspicion thrown on him. I enjoyed the whole murder mystery aspect of the film even if it was a bit cheesy and melodramatic. The actors all play their roles in a silly and fun way, coming across as characters in a stage play more than actual living, breathing people, but with a good line in mistrust and paranoia.
The story looses itself a bit towards the end, with an eventual generic reveal that was a tad underwhelming and unexciting, and seemed to be forced as there was plenty of opportunity for the killer to have gotten away with their crimes had they just chosen to do so. Stick around through the end credits for a brief nonsensical post credit sequence if you are so inclined.

I could see people coming to the film expecting a slasher being disappointed with the relative lack of action, with this being so much more of a murder mystery. There is a heck of a lot of talking over the ninety five minute runtime, though there is a large body count also, even if a large chunk of those take the form of a quick flashback montage. There are some fight scenes, with many of the people in the diner having short tempers and taking umbrage at being detained there by the police pair. The kill scenes are fun to watch, but they are quite brief, and not much is really shown on camera aside from an axe embedded in various character's backs. The design of Bone Face was adequate, outside of the titular mask there wasn't much to them, and their on-screen time in their actual get-up equated to less than a few minutes.

Personally, I loved that the film began with the arrival of the police to the camp crime scene, and that the slasher part of this only occurred in the prologue sequence. That in itself was pretty fun as there was a bait and switch as to who the main cast would turn out to be. The indie nature of this is obvious to see, with a heck of a lot of characters sat around talking, but after a long week of work I found the cheesy murder mystery vibe of Bone Face dumb in a good way, it was nice to switch off my brain and get carried along for the ride.

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