payupyou's Reviews

The Boogeyman (I) (2023)

8/10

If you don't like this, you take yourself too seriously!

4 September 2023

First off, my review title is totally serious. I'm in my 60's and have been an avid horror film fan and all things horror related my entire life. When you reach this age you learn to take things for what they are, and enjoy rather than despise, appreciate rather than disrespect, and not take myself too seriously.

That said - this is a fun film! My wife and I went into this without reading reviews and simply looking to be entertained. When the film ended my wife said she thought it was a great short film. That should be enough to tell you it was entertaining.

Character development is present, acting is pretty well done, scenery/soundscape, CG all well done.

It's a fun film and keeps moving throughout, no dead-spots.

Take 90 mins of your time and enjoy a fun film about a mythical scare from our childhood!!

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The Tank (2023)

7/10

Fun creature feature

24 June 2023

Found this film to be a fun creature feature reminiscent of films I grew up watching.

The actors did a good job portraying what I recollect as a typical family in the 70s. Their development seemed well thought out although there wasn't a tremendous amount of time developing them, we still learn enough about them in the first part of the film to gain some interest in their journey.

The settings I found to be quite nice - without a spoiler, each set had unique and believable qualities and that helped keep my interest. The sound effects were pleasant and seemed true to life.

A child of the 60s and big fan of all the horror genre and subgenre, I enjoyed this film as it brought back memories of films I grew up watching, and it restored a little hope that new "monster movies" haven't left the screen for good!

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Halloween Ends (2022)

1/10

This film is a travesty. It's a travesty of a mockery of a sham of a mockery of a travesty of two mockeries of a sham.

19 October 2022

I have to agree with some of the other reviewers - was this just a hoax release and now we're waiting for the real Halloween Ends?

I never thought that there would be an offering worse than Season of the Witch in the franchise - but this one takes the win!

A teenager when Halloween was released, I've made it a ritual for 44 years to watch each and every release during October - despite the bad offerings, they're still mostly watchable - even RZ's offering into the franchise is watchable. This one though might not make the must watch list for me.

I couldn't wait for this to come out - let down big time.

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Hellraiser (2022)

8/10

Pleasantly surprised!

8 October 2022

If you're of fan of horror, then you have to accept the good with the bad. Not to say you are obliged to "like" a bad film.

Clive's Hellraiser is a timeless classic. I don't dislike any of the films that followed in it's path - they're all good, some are just better (Revelations?).

I REALLY liked this film. I felt the cast did a good job with the script, enjoyed the filming and score as well - the sound was well balanced which I find to be a problem in many releases lately. And the effects were well done - the CGI wasn't ghastly.

Gave it an 8 for it's imagination and creative "continuation".

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Nope (2022)

8/10

I found Nope entertaining - it's a Yep for me!

27 August 2022

Peele tells great stories and for me this was no exception.

I thought the story was well told, great cast and acting, good looking sets and landscapes, and I thought the FX and soundtrack were well done.

With so many offerings in the horror genre and all of it's sub-genre I can see how the lines of WHERE some films fit can be a blur - I try not to pigeon-hole.

For me, I look to be entertained and this film delivered. Films that seem like "ya, that could happen" are great, but so are the ones that are "ya, that's never gonna happen". This isn't to say there aren't some real stinkers out there - if you love the genre then you learn to take the good with the bad.

Side note - when I read a lot of "hate" type reviews it's usually a key that the film can be better than what the reviewers say. Maybe some folks are looking for the next "greatest of all time" film and get let down? There are plenty of keyboard critics, watch it without expectation and you might just be pleasantly surprised!

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Infrared (2022)

1/10

Ho-Hum

7 August 2022

I couldn't make it through more than six minutes at a sitting. I ended up refilling my empty spice and seasoning containers and rearranging my spice rack. Ya, that was more interesting than this film.

Can't even call it a slow burn, more of a tepid leftover omelette. This film was like, a handful of folks binged watched Grave Encounters (pretty good films those two are) and Hell House LLC and every other iteration in that sub-genre and decided to toss their hat in the ring.

IMO it's a failure. Can't recommend it for any reason.. I've spent more time writing this review than I have watching the film in one sitting.

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Panama (I) (2022)

3/10

time you cannot get back

24 May 2022

Sometimes, even with a poorly made film you do not feel like you gave up precious hours of your life.

In this case I defer to the words of the infamous Fielding Mellish "This film is a travesty. It's a travesty of a mockery of a sham of a mockery of two mockeries of a sham."

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Delirium (I) (2018)

8/10

Blumhouse - what more do you need to know?!?!

6 May 2022

IMO Blumhouse puts out some really great films. No spoilers here, just will say if you also enjoy the films Jason Blum's production companies release then you won't be disappointed with this effort.

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Hellbender (2021)

2/10

No, just no

28 April 2022

I gave two stars like one would give a "C" for effort. Otherwise no. Very predicable, very slow. Just because a film comes from what is termed "indie" doesn't grant licenses to release incoherent stories and be given a pass. I expect a modicum of coherency, fairly well written scripts, even the use of a story board to at least SEE what you're planning BEFORE executing.

No this one was poor on many levels. The subject matter and movie description is what drew me in and I stuck with it throughout as I am a committed student of horror type....but this one is a stinker.

I have to add how disappointed I was with this project/film - I am hoping we see a resurgence of the witchcraft movie subgenre as it can be quite entertaining. Lately though the pendulum swings and seems to drop one off at either end if you will - like The Witch on one end and Lords of Salem on the other and not really much betwixt. The re-release of The Craft was laughable and most of the other releases seem to pander to the teen crowd. Producers, their companies, and the group as a whole should realize their target market - teenies - are now in many cases in our late 50's to mid 60s - we're the ones that flocked to the drive ins decades ago. With that in mind we're looking for a little sophistication in the story.

Lest I digress - if you're that person in the room that just has to see everything you can get your hands on that is horror related then sure spend the time and watch this - I get it, I'm that guy too. Just be warned you're either going to get up and make soup while it's on or take a nap.

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Reed's Point (2022)

2/10

It aint easy bein' cheesy

21 April 2022

Joe Estevez at his best! Fabrigar's typical formula; cheesy script, weak story, a well-known actor thrown in with unknowns = a paycheck. But could anyone reading this do better? I'm saying probably not....making a feature film is not easy, getting it to the screen is even harder.

Having said that, the film still isn't worth a recommendation.

The film lacks in many areas, has the usual trappings and tropes but no momentum. It took me at least three hours of on, pause, on, pause, and repeat. I stuck with it quite honestly because I was making soup and this was just a distraction during a pretty mundane task.

Not much I can say other than to quote Joe's character "You've been warned, you've been warned!".

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Father of Flies (2021)

1/10

Painful to say the least - nearly impossible to finish

11 April 2022

If you're reading reviews of this film because you're on the fence about watching it - save yourself the time spent and make a pizza from scratch....it will be MUCH less painful and WAY more rewarding!!

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The Bunker Game (2022)

5/10

VERY slow burn, great camerawork/lighting/scenery

17 March 2022

I can't really give an honest review of the substance of the story as it moves rather slowly and struggled to hold my attention.

I do enjoy a good slow burn (You Should Have Left comes to mind - slow burn, great camerawork and the story keeps a good pace) but this one was just sort of stuck in second gear in my opinion.

I did find the camerawork, lighting and scenery quite enjoyable and that held my attention.

It's worth a watch if you can set aside the slow story and enjoy it on perhaps a more visceral level.

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Battleship (2012)

9/10

Great ride!

2 March 2022

One of my all-time favs. This is one of those films you go in to with no expectations other than to be entertained. The film is a blast to watch and for me never gets old. You can "read into" as much as you want but if you do that you're missing the point of the film...watch it and enjoy being entertained! Fabulous story, great cast, great cinematography!

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Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2022)

8/10

You have to be openminded, it's 2022.

18 February 2022

Warning: Spoilers

I was around and not to young to watch the original. I'm a big fan of all horror and it's subgenres. This franchise is one of my favorites. There are some stinkers in the franchise but there are some pretty good releases too. TCM2 was pretty well done and had a good cast, you gotta love the scene when Hopper buys and tests out the chainsaws, and Mosley's visit to KOKLA is a gas. In my opinion the 2013 release Texas Chainsaw 3D is probably one of the better retellings.

I found this retelling entertaining. At my age I've learned to appreciate retellings, reboots, remakes etc. I go into them openminded and hope to be entertained. This one wasn't the best but it's not nearly as bad as TCM TNG.

One neat thing (which I guess makes this a spoiler) is at about 28:32 when the smoker is opened you hear the sound of a flashbulb instead of a "squeak" like one might expect when a smoker lid is raised. The sounds of the flashbulbs at the beginning of the original TCM are very memorable and I thought this was a pretty cool nod to the original.

Very glad to hear Larroquette do the opening narrative. Amazing how many people don't know he did the opening narrative of the original TCM.

You could pick away at this one like many of the others in the franchise, but I ask; Why would one do that? Kudos to the entire staff, crew, and actors for this release. They did a good job with the given content - made the story theirs but maintained just enough of the original story to catch the eye of us old timers and hopefully steer the younger crowd to investing the time to watch all of the releases. Maybe even inspire someone to create their own retelling!

Matter of fact - think I'll watch TCM3D right now. Here you have the Sawyer/Carson faction instead of the Sawyer/Hewitt conflict.

Cheers!

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Nobody (I) (2021)

8/10

What a ride!

6 February 2022

One of the best films I've seen in a long time. Has all of the elements necessary for a complete thrill ride of an action movie. Odenkirk's performance is fantastic - so deadpan, so spot on.

This one is right there with Law Abiding Citizen, Wrath of Man and a few others - maybe even better.

I highly recommend this film!

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Growing Belushi (2020– )

3/10

Disappointing

27 January 2022

"What? Over? Did you say 'over'? Nothing is over until we decide it is! Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? Hell no!..." I appreciate what Dan is doing to help Jim. This is a mess. In the words of Fielding Mellish "This is a travesty. It's a travesty of a mockery of a sham of a mockery of two mockeries of a sham".

In the first two episodes I thought maybe there was some substance here, something to latch on to. Something that I could watch and enjoy. For me it's a buzzkill. "More money than brains"....and if Jim is still living off of BB2k than in and of itself is a miracle and John DID see the light!

Come on man - the effery that goes on here is pathetic.

Dan will live through this but I'd bet stems to buds he regrets every minute of it.

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WarHunt (2022)

2/10

Sympathy or a called in favor

26 January 2022

This movie is not scary, it's not interesting, but is most certainly lost time.

Either Mickey owed someone a favor and they called it in, or he felt sympathy for someone involved and jumped in hoping he could help them recover their lo$$.

Waste of time - you'd be better off locating The Devil's Rock and burning your time watching that one.

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High on the Hog (2019)

meh, if you're a fan of the stars then you might feel obligated to watch

17 October 2021

Great to see Sid in anything, I think people forget about Spider Baby and THX1138 when it comes to his career. Sid looks good in this one, much better than 3 From Hell when his illness had fully taken over. Also great to see Robert Z'Dar and Joe Estevez.

The film is a typical "homage" to grindhouse style film with the use of effects to give it a "drive-in movie" feel - jumping frames and grainy film scenes. Plenty of what we expect from B horror with all the trimmings.

I struggled to get through this one though. I watched for obligatory reasons, fan of the man Sid, fan of horror and its subgenres.

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Dark Web: Descent Into Hell (2021)

4/10

like Maxwell Smart used to say "Missed by that much"

17 October 2021

The film doesn't suck, but it's not "good" either. I say this because there is/was so much potential to make this a pretty good B flick but it was all lost by poor direction.

Too many extensive unnecessary scenes, not enough time spent on putting the story together cohesively. If more time was spent in "the drawing room" and putting a better storyboard together this one would be a keeper.

I appreciated the use of today's tech to make the film visually enjoyable - it's not lacking in production quality just lacked direction.

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Wired Shut (2021)

1/10

Yawn fest, crawls at the speed of a slug.

4 September 2021

Very little to be said about this one - it's slow and couldn't hold my attention. So slow it's even painful to write a review....with that said this one goes straight to the trash bin.

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June 9 (2008)

5/10

for those that desire to see everything horror related-

28 April 2021

I grew up in the area, skied both Boston Mills and Brandywine back in the 70's. The incident in that area and time was the disappearance of Arthur Noske. One of the homes we passed on the way to the slopes was supposed to be the home the Noskes moved into with Dr. Kutler (look it up). Legend has/had it that Arthur's mother and the goodly Doc dispatched young Arthur in their fireplace.

I don't want to add any spoilers; There's a slow burn but for me this was a sllloooowww burn. It did drag for a while and frankly I about lost interest.....see last paragraph.

The acting was better than I anticipated, characters seemed "in place" for the suggested era. They even did a pretty good job keeping the set and props reasonable.

I felt the camerawork was a bit lacking though, this made watching tedious. BWP was of similar nature and I've read comments comparing these films. Cloverfield was a good film in the FF category but the camerawork was off the chart for me so I use that as a measuring stick (Cloverfield being nearly intolerable)...this wasn't "off the chart".

NO SPOILERS! Make sure you watch ALL of the film - if you've invested time reading this then you can sit through the entire film - until it stops playing. Seriously - if you watch it, watch all of it.

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Strain 100 (2020)

5/10

Watch if you aree a fan!

24 December 2020

Is this a new take on zombies, a new formula? NO! Are the special effects acceptable? NO! Are you a fan of Hickok45 and Matt from Demo? YES! Watch if for that and you will be glad you did.

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Tremors: Shrieker Island (2020 Video)

7/10

Another great one in the franchise!

20 October 2020

I've been a Tremors fan since the first. I'm not obsessed with the franchise but I am a fan. This is a great addition to the series, was very entertaining for me. I look forward to straight-forward "monster" movies in the horror genre as I love all of the sub-genre of horror. I won't try to convince anyone this is something that just has to be watched, but if you're a student of the game then it's worth the time investment.

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The Last Exorcist (2020)

6/10

Under expect and be entertained!

14 October 2020

There are more movies in the horror genre released than any other genre when it comes to "feature films". So I say this - don't be over-critical, just be glad for these indie releases. The film is entertaining and has all the markings of a B film. Could it be better? Probably not - it is what it is - B horror and done well. If you want a multi bazillion dollar horror movie then you'll have to just wait it out. Heck, Conjuring 3 got pushed back a year and so have many other highly anticipated films. This is what we're all up against due to all of the true horrors of 2020. BUT, if you crave new film in our beloved horror genre, be grateful for releases like this. Not to say lower your standards, but maybe be willing to let films like this provide entertainment. I'm an old timer and have been a student of the genre for some 50+ years. Ya there is some pretty bad crap getting let out, but it's not all impossible to watch (except the ones that are!). This one ain't to bad, has it's flaws but overall fairly entertaining.

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Beastie Boys Story (2020)

10/10

A must watch

18 August 2020

I enjoyed every minute of this film. I'm just a little older than these guys and love all of their music. Although I'm a blues/jazz fan and wasn't much into mainstream or top 40 music growing up, I always liked what the Beastie Boys did. Fact - I have all of their music converted to reel to reel because I prefer the warmer unmolested sound. The film kind of left me with a tear in my eyes - Mike and Adam did a great job conveying the relationship they all had and you clearly can feel their pain at the loss of Yauch - as many of us fans have but not in the way these two did. The film is a great watch and one all fans of music need to have in their collection.

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