Gone in the Night (2022)

“Gone in the Night” is a 2022 Mystery/Thriller starring Winona Ryder (Stranger Things), Dermot Mulroney (Young Guns), John Gallagher Jr. (Peppermint), Owen Teague (IT), and Brianne Tju (High School).

A couple (Ryder, Gallagher Jr.) take a trip to a cabin in the woods in the middle of nowhere for a relaxing getaway from the city, only to find out another couple has already booked the cabin and are staying there. Instead of driving hours back to the city, they stay with the couple who already booked the cabin for the night. When the woman wakes up the next morning, she finds out her boyfriend ran off with this mysterious woman who was already staying at the cabin, she now wants to find out why.

There’s not a lot of love for this movie, IMDb has it rated as a 4.9. I think that’s low. It does a good job pulling you in. It opens up with Ryder and Gallagher Jr driving to the cabin in the night. First thing I noticed is Ryder is old enough to be his mom, which bugged me at first, but they addressed it, so that’s okay. When they get to the cabin a mysterious couple is already there, and they greeted them wearing green raincoats, even though it’s not raining. So, off the bat, you’re already thinking wtf is going on. They have it set up from the start. Where I think the hate is, the plot seems simplistic, and it has some slow spots. Without the spoilers, it’s not a simple case of the boyfriend running off with another woman, there’s something darker and more complex going on. I think it’s worth watching, and you can currently catch it on Hulu. I give it a 7/10.

Jeepers Creepers: Reborn

“Jeepers Creepers: Reborn” is a 2022 horror movie and the fourth instalment in the “Jeepers Creepers” series. This one stars Sydney Craven (EastEnders), Imran Adams (Hollyoaks), Peter Brooker (Wonder Woman 1984), and Jarreau Benjamin (Red Devil) as the creeper.

A young couple go to a horror convention because the boyfriend wants to, and the girlfriend reluctantly goes with him. The couple wins a grand prize at the convention where they get to stay a night at the creepers house with a film crew. Unkown to them, it’s been 23 years and once again the creeper is back to feast. They’ve been set up by members of the town for the creeper to feast on them. Specifically, the girlfriend since she is pregnant, and the creeper wants her baby.

There was a lot of hype for this one when it was announced. It’s been five years since the third one and twenty-one years since the original. The first one is a classic, and the second one, though not as good as the first, is still pretty good. I haven’t watched the third one in the series, but with a new “Jeepers Creepers” out, I knew I had to watch this one. It has received a ton of hate with a measly score of 2.5/10 on IMDb.

There’s a lot to unpack here. As a stand-alone horror movie, it’s not too bad. There is a lot worse out there. As one of the Jeepers Creeper movies, I can see why people are hating on it. There’s a lot of reasons. First off it seems pretty low budget, which for a horror movie that isn’t uncommon, but the first two in the series aren’t. So, compared to them, that’s pretty bad. Secondly the acting is terrible, but that normally comes with a low budget film. Third, is the creeper himself. Which I think is the main reason it’s being hated on, for me personally anyway. They changed the actor who plays him. The new creeper looks horrible, a low budget order off wish creeper. The original actually looks like a creature. This one looks like a latex costume. Plus, he looks and seems smaller, not at all intimidating and badass like the original. I feel like I could take this creeper in a fight. Now again, if you watch it as a stand-alone horror movie, it’s okay, but in the creeper franchise, it is awful. I am a little disappointed myself, I was hoping for better with the new one. Overall, I give it a 5/10. Just an eh film. If you do want to check it out, you can currently find it on Hulu.

Escape from Pretoria

“Escape from Pretoria” is 2020 thriller/drama starring Daniel Radcliffe (The Lost City), Daniel Webber (The Dirt), and Mark Leonard Winter (Elvis).

“Escape from Pretoria” is based on the true story of two political prisoners who escape prison in South Africa in 1979.

If you’ve read my other reviews dealing with Daniel Radcliffe, you know that I’m a huge fan, and not because of the “Harry Potter” series, but because of his offbeat obscure movies he has done since then. He always nails the role; this one is no different. “Escape from Pretoria” is a powerful movie, that has you on the edge of your seat the entire time. Even though you know it’s a true story based on the prisoners escaping you can’t help but having your heart racing the entire time. It ranks up there with the other great prison escape films such as “Shawshank Redemption”, and “Escape from Alcatraz.” It is a must watch, and you can currently catch it on Hulu. I give it a 10/10.

The Princess

“The Princess” is a 2022 Hulu exclusive action movie starring Joey King (The Act), Veronica Ngo (The Old Guard), Dominic Cooper (Captain America: The First Avenger), and Olga Kurylenko (Seven Psychopaths).

The kingdom needs an heir to the throne, so the king arranges for his daughter to get married. When the princess won’t marry her arranged husband, he sneaks into the kingdom and takes it by force. The princess is locked away in the high tower, she must fight her way down and take back the kingdom.

It is action packed and blood soaked from start to finish. It’s a John Wick style movie but with a female lead where multitudes of people come after her and she essentially kills them all while making her way down the levels of the castle. Joey King is a great actress and overall, it’s a pretty solid movie. It’s not quite as good as John Wick, but it’s still good plus, it’s a pretty original concept. Sure, it has its cheesy parts, and unbelievable parts, but what type of movie like this doesn’t? Overall, it’s worth the watch, I give it a 7/10.

Fresh

“Fresh” is a 2022 horror movie exclusively on Hulu. It stars Daisy Edgar-Jones (War of the Worlds), Sebastian Stan (Pam & Tommy), Jojo T. Gibbs (Twenties), and Dayo Okeniyi (Queenpins).

A woman (Edgar-Jones) who is tired of dating and ready to give up, believes she has found the perfect man (Stan) while shopping at the grocery store. Only quickly finds out he has a very dark and deadly secret.

This is the horror movie that everyone keeps talking about, I’ve seen “Creepy Catalog” put up several things about it. Thirty minutes in the movie takes off and doesn’t look back, or that’s what they’re claiming. Cool thing this movie does, is at the thirty-minute mark, the opening credits and movie title come on. Like okay here’s the real movie, buckle up. I can’t think of another movie that’s done that, so that is really cool. I also get the message of how it objectives women, and sees them as just meat. What I saw though, was just a gross dude who captures women and eats them, and sells their body parts. I didn’t find it shocking as they claim, just gross. There’s more shocking horror movies out there. I think it’s worth a watch, but be forewarned it is some dark stuff. I give it a 6.5/10.

Mother/Android

“Mother/Android” is a 2021 Sci-fi/Thriller starring Chloe Grace Mortez (Kick-Ass), Algee Smith (Judas and the Black Messiah), and Raul Castillo (Night Teeth).

Somewhere in the future, possibly the near future, Androids are programmed to wait on, and serve man. They are programmed with a function that won’t allow them to hurt humas. When something disrupts a signal, Androids lose this function, and now seek to kill off all human life. A mother who is 9 months pregnant, and her boyfriend must make it from central MA to Boston in hopes of safety. They must cross “no mans land” in order to get to Boston, an area that is filled with Androids.

This one reminds me of ” I Am Legend” mixed with “Mother.” Instead of zombies and Will Smith, you get robots, Chloe Grace Mortez, and Algee Smith. The “Mother” part comes in, with the way it transitions between scenes, when it gets to a climax of a scene it suddenly ends and is in the future in the next scene. “Mother” does the same thing. This is one of the only things I didn’t like about this film. “Mother” was just garbage all the way around.

Another thing I didn’t like, it has a few cheesy parts, like for instance when Chloe Grace Mortez is in a wheelchair holding off a flood of Androids with one hand holding back a chain link gate, I mean come on. Other than those couple of things this movie is a very solid film. It doesn’t have much love on IMDb, but it is very good. It hooks you in and will have you on the edge of your seat the whole time, and throws in some twists you won’t see coming. I also promise the ending will have you all in your feelings. Solid acting from Chloe Grace Mortez, and Algee Smith. Raul Castillo is one of the cheesy parts. I give it a 9/10, you can catch this one on Hulu.

Happiest Season

“Happiest Season” is a 2020 Christmas Rom/Com starring Kristen Stewart (Twilight), Mackenzie Davis (Black Mirror), Mary Steenburgen (Step Brothers), Victor Garber (Titanic), Alison Brie (GLOW), Dan Levy (Schitt’s Creek), and Aubrey Plaza (Parks and Recreation).

Abby (Stewart) isn’t a fan of Christmas but decides to try to get into the Christmas spirit by going to her girlfriend’s (Davis) family for the holiday. Abby plans on asking her girlfriend to marry her while spending the holiday with her family, but she soon finds out her girlfriend hasn’t come out and her family and friends don’t know about Abby.

It’s about Christmas time, so time to fit in one more Christmas movie review of one you may or may not have seen. It’s a Hulu exclusive, and as you can see it’s star studded. I love Dan Levy, Aubrey Plaza, and Alison Brie, all are great and funny in their own ways. This is not your typical Rom/Com it’s a LGBTQ one, and it delivers on how some are confident in who they are, while some are still struggling to find themselves. It has a good blend of dry humor mixed in with heartfelt moments. Overall it’s worth checking out, I give it a 7/10.

Vacation Friends

‘Vacation Friends’ is a 2021 Hulu exclusive comedy starring John Cena (The Suicide Squad), Lil Rel Howery (Uncle Drew), Yvonne Orji (Insecure), Meredith Hagner (Search Party), and Robert Wisdom (Ray).

A straight laced couple (Howery, Orji) befriend a wild couple (Cena, Hagner) while vacationing in mexico. After a wild week of partying full of drugs and drinking, the straight laced couple thinks they’ll never see the wild couple again. Until the wild couple shows up announced to their wedding, and chaos seems to follow at every turn.

As I’ve said in previous reviews, I love John Cena, and Lil Rel. They are two of the funniest actors right now. ‘Uncle Drew’, and ‘Blockers’ are both hilarious, so I had high hopes watching this one. Maybe my hopes were too high, because this one is under whelming. The comedy seemed forced, and really wasn’t that funny. I hate to say it because I was really looking forward to this one, but it’s just okay and ultimately forgettable. I give it a 5/10.