Bag of Lies succeeds on both counts, presenting a genuinely touching story of a young husband and wife destined to have their time cut short. It also manages to be a bit creepy, presenting the occasional solid scare and some honest dread. Both of these things are accomplishments, and hint that writer/director David Andrew James likely has the potential to make a better film on his next time out. Unfortunately, these strong elements are overwhelmed by a multitude of decidedly lesser ones, and while the film performs well in moments, it isn't able to get any narrative traction to keep audiences engaged between them.

Late Night with the Devil succeeds far more than most of of its ready comparables, telling a dark tale about the fictional never-before-seen filming of a late night show’s final episode. While this not an unfamiliar setup for a horror film, Late Night does an exemplary job of creating the illusion that we’re going back to a broadcast television set on Halloween night in 1977, when hardluck variety show host Jack Delroy and his show Night Owls will roll tape for what will ultimately be their final outing. By the end of the filming, the stage will be an abattoir, the audience fled and traumatized, and Jack himself primed to be the subject of decades-long speculation.

Double Blind is a really solid early-career effort from director Ian Hunt-Duffy–who also plays one of the more antagonistic volunteers–and it’s a decent horror film to boot. Most of the elements are played safe but effectively, and there’s not a clear misstep to be found. The script, sets, acting, setpieces, and plot all serve the aim of the film, and the fulfilled promise gory sci-fi horror entertainment outpaces the modest creative ambitions. My caution is to manage expectations appropriately, and this film will deliver provided you’re just looking for a bit of fun.

‘Hell House LLC: The Carmichael Manor feels like a distinctly modern found footage movie, not getting waylaid or distracted, keeping the scenes moving and putting plentiful scares throughout. The fourth installment of Hell House LLC has renewed my interest in the series, and comes close to surpassing the excellent original chapter. I believe Cognetti and company really made a creative effort with this film, both to do something new and expand on the work of the original trilogy, and the results are decidedly successful.’

‘While a number of elements give audience members something to appreciate, the ultimate sum of the film’s parts leaves much to be desired. Krawchuk has failed to make his character make the jump from film short to full-length feature, and the Jester, while cool, remains decidedly underdeveloped. The script is tired territory, offering a simplistic, pantomime depiction of emotional trauma, depression, and family relations that neither offers a new angle or does a particularly effective job of presenting familiar ones.’

‘This was a genius idea from conception and it came together at the right time. Animatronic toys were creepy as hell before anyone put a serial killer’s soul inside, and there are few things more quintessentially 80s than watching a struggling single mother sacrifice her financial and bodily security in order to chase the materialistic flotsam of the popular culture by buying a toy doll from a homeless man in an alley.’

‘Pearl is a superior film to its predecessor, telling a bloody but heartfelt story of a young woman who struggled to find her place in the world and bear the starkness of the hand that life dealt. Despite her faults, her outbursts, her patent instability, I felt a tremendous level of sympathy for the title character, and find her only real sin is that of ambition and human need which by its very appetite demanded more than what a North Texas farmer’s life could provide.’

‘X comes together with a lot of exceptional elements and are worthy of consideration and discussion, but the substance ultimately gets muddled, and we’re left with a film that tries on a lot but doesn’t do anything with it…Despite some thematic missteps, there’s a lot to appreciate about X, and it is bound to be an influential horror standby for the next generation of horror creators.’

‘the setup engineered in The Outwaters is among the most memorable and unique because it’s shot with something that is increasingly ignored in the wider genre: patience.’

‘Kills sacrifice style in the name of brutality, and the scriptwriting is a joke. This is horror at its trashiest, for better or worse.’

‘Skinamarink is a triumph of cinematic intent, and an unshakably brilliant exploration of childhood fear and isolation. Both the camerawork and the sound design add a layer of sensory engagement that takes the film to another level and make it a unique piece of filmcraft that, regardless of whether or not you ultimately like it, succeeds.’

‘All in all, V/H/S 99 is a great return to form for the series…The segments weren’t especially scary, but they were universally fun. Each piece of the anthology does feel genuinely authentic to 1999, and I appreciate how much effort went into this particular aspect. ‘

We’re not inspired to feel sympathy for her, there are no sweeping intellectual forays into her beliefs. She’s a loud, absurdist goon, probably someone with a lot of hurt in their past who fell into the stupid pool and never got what she needed to swim to shore.

I appreciate that Head Count decides to ramp up its horror in the daytime, as this makes for a natural build as the day wanes. This also means there’s a good bit of diversity in the scary moments

‘At some point, that intricate canvas of wires, bands and whatever else goes into fixing a catastrophic jaw injury is going to be ripped open, and I am here for it.’

Instead of standing on the shoulders of a giant, the filmmakers have elected to create a watered down, lackluster version of Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2. That’s right, The Widow is Russian Blair Witch 2.

…not a director I’d normally accuse of phoning in a project, but this kind of feels like that. Perhaps I just wanted something different, something more distinct; coming off of The Shape of Water, it’s not unreasonable to expect. Nightmare Alley is a weaker entry in his catalog, but quality writing and a top-notch cast means it’s still worth seeing. Once.

When he pops so much in a scene, it’s hard to believe he’s stalking us, and this is the core problem with the film’s ability to build dread.

…the film finds new life, imbued with the wonderful energy a viewer feels when their expectations have been subverted.