"We Summon the Darkness" Review by Anthony T

It's been a while since I reviewed a film for the site, but this is a film that I couldn't pass up reviewing. I've been wanting to see "We Summon the Darkness" for a while even since I've heard about the film on Bloody Disgusting. It looked like my type of film and plus I'm a big fan of Alexandra Daddario, who has been in such films as "Texas Chainsaw 3D" and "Baywatch".

The film is about a trio of best friends (Alexandra Daddario, Maddie Hasson, Amy Forsyth) going to a heavy metal concert. They find out in the news that there is a series of a murders that being tied to satanic rituals. During the concert, they pick up three guys and they head off to a house that is owned by a preacher (Johnny Knoxville) and father of one of the girls. Soon, their night of fun and partying turns into a dark and deadly one.

Going into "We Summon the Darkness", I thought that this was going to be a film where it would be along the lines of "Satanic Panic" and "Ready or Not" where there would be a lot of dark humor thrown in to the point that it would be like those film. Was I ever wrong as this plays more a serious horror film than I thought it would, even though it has a little bit of dark humor which is no complaint. It's what made me like this film a lot as this was different from those films and its the best film that I've seen so far this year.

One of the main reasons why this film was very good was its direction. Director Marc Myers does a very good job making sure that this had an intense and suspenseful feel to it. Whether its the way that he approached the film's scenes to the way he directs the action, everything made the film different from all these satanic films that have been released lately and its one of the film's strong assets. There was no time where this felt like another "Ready or Not" as Myers takes a more serious approach to the material which makes the directing very good.

The other thing that Myers does very well is the way that he directs his cast. He does a very good job making sure the cast has chemistry with each other. It made the dynamic of the film and made me interested in the characters. Speaking of the cast, I thought this film had some very good performances. First off, this is Alexandra Daddario's best film since Bereavement (aka Malevolence 2) which was released almost 10 years ago. She does a very good job making sure that her performance is one that keeps you on edge and she also worked very well with the other co-stars as her personality in this film is one that keeps you invested in the film without giving too much away. She is one of those women in horror that doesn't get as much credit as other horror actresses as even in bad films she also make performances stand out. The film also very good supporting performances from Amy Foryth and Johnny Knoxville as well.

The screenplay from writer Alan Trezza does a very good job making sure the film had a dark and intense tone. One of the keys things that makes his screenplay very good was the way he builds up his characters and the situation at hand. I liked how everything in the beginning was slow. It allowed me to get to know these characters to the point that I was invested in them when the twist happens. I like films like this that take its time to set up characters. It allows for some shock moments to feel shocking. Everything did that except one scene which I won't talk about as it gives away a crucial point in the film. The other thing that I also liked was the tone of the film. Trezza does a very job making sure the dark tone stays during the course of the film. By doing that, it allowed for the story have an intense feel and makes you feel like the stakes are serious. It's different from all the other satanic films that have been released in over the last year or two. This is another reason why I liked "We Summon the Darkness" a lot as this felt more of a serious horror film unlike "Satanic Panic" and "Ready or Not".

This is definitely a horror film that people should be checking out. Its a very good film from start to finish as  "We Summon the Darkness" is an intense film that strays away from recently releases like"Ready or Not" or "Satanic Panic" and makes cult based horror films dark and intense.

Review Rating: Five Stars  

Official Trailer for the Upcoming Dave Bautista/Pierce Brosnan Action Film "Final Score"

Saban Films recently released the official trailer for the upcoming action film "Final Score". The film stars Dave Bautista (Guardians of the Galaxy franchise, Blade Runner 2049), Pierce Brosnan (007 franchise, Mamma Mia!), and Ray Stevenson (Thor trilogy, Divergent franchise).

"Final Score" hits theaters in limited release and VOD on September 14th.

Press Release:

Saban Films will release of the action thriller, FINAL SCORE in theaters and on VOD and Digital HD on September 14, 2018.

Check out the trailer: https://youtu.be/aLzYyK8gPSI.

FINAL SCORE features an all-star cast including producer and actor Dave Bautista (Guardians of the Galaxy franchise, Blade Runner 2049), Pierce Brosnan (007 franchise, Mamma Mia!), and Ray Stevenson (Thor trilogy, Divergent franchise). The film is directed by Scott Mann (Heist, The Tournament) from a script by Jonathan Frank (The Tournament, Mara), David T. Lynch (Old Habits, Trial), and Keith Lynch (Old Habits, Trial).

Believing his traitorous brother Dimitri (Pierce Brosnan) is somewhere in the stadium, Arkady (Ray Stevenson), the former leader of a revolution in the Russian state of Sukovia, locks down the Boleyn Ground during the European semi-final between West Ham United and Dynamo FCC. In the crowd with his niece, Danni (Lara Peake), is US- veteran Mike Knox (Dave Bautista), who stumbles upon the plot and goes about taking out Arkady’s heavily armed team. Can he get to Arkady before Arkady gets to Dimitri? The fate of 35,000 people inside the stadium – and many more in Russia – depends on it...

"Final Score": Official Trailer 

"Power Rangers" Review by Tim Hellman

'POWER RANGERS': Three and a Half Stars (Out of Five)

The third installment in the superhero film series, based on the popular kids' TV show (from the 1990s). This one is a reboot that features new cast members, playing the main characters of the original TV series, with a modern origin story. It was directed by Dean Israelite (who also helmed the 2015 teen sci-fi flick 'PROJECT ALMANAC'), and it was produced by the series creator Haim Saban. John Gatins, Matt Sazama, Burk Sharpless, Michele Mulroney and Kieran Mulroney served as writers on the film; which also features a mostly inexperienced young new cast (including Dacre Montgomery, Naomi Scott, RJ Cyler, Becky G and Ludy Lin). The supporting cast also features Elizabeth Banks (as the evil villain), the voice of Bill Hader, and Bryan Cranston (who also voiced characters on the original TV show). The film has been a hit at the Box Office, but it's also only received mixed reviews from critics. I think it's a big improvement over the source material, but it's still nothing too special.

The story begins on prehistoric Earth, when the Power Rangers (Earth's protectors) are betrayed by the Green Ranger, also known as Rita Repulsa (Banks). The Red Ranger, named Zordon (Cranston), hides the Rangers' powers coins (which are their power source). He then has his robot assistant, named Alpha 5 (Hader), cause a meteor strike; which wipes out Zordon, Rita and all of the dinosaurs (although Rita survives the blast, and so does Zordon's consciousness). In modern day, five misfit teenagers discover the power coins. They're then tasked with defending the planet, from Rita, by becoming a new team of Power Rangers, under the guidance of Zordon's consciousness.

The movie is the most interesting when it's developing it's five teenage lead characters; and it definitely gets a lot of points for being the first major superhero film to feature LGBTQ and autistic superheroes. The story, and cheesy action scenes, are definitely a lot less interesting, and inspiring, than the teenage drama though. Those scenes are still pretty cheesy as well; although they're a lot better done than they were in the ultra-corny kids' TV show. I'd say it's a good movie for kids, at the very least, and it shouldn't bore adults too much either.

Action Packed Stills and Official Poster for "Power Rangers"

Lionsgate recently released stills and the official poster for the upcoming action film Saban's "Power Rangers". The film stars Elizabeth Banks, Dacre Montgomery, Naomi Scott, RJ Cyler, Becky G, Ludi Lin and Bryan Cranston.

"Power Rangers" hits theaters on March 24th, 2017.

For more information on this film, you can visit the film's official Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/PowerRangersMovie

Plot Synopsis:

SABAN’S POWER RANGERS follows five ordinary teens who must become something extraordinary when they learn that their small town of Angel Grove — and the world — is on the verge of being obliterated by an alien threat. Chosen by destiny, our heroes quickly discover they are the only ones who can save the planet. But to do so, they will have to overcome their real-life issues and before it’s too late, band together as the Power Rangers.

Official Character Posters for "Power Rangers"

Lionsgate recently released official character posters for the upcoming family action film Saban's "Power Rangers". The film stars Elizabeth Banks, Dacre Montgomery, Naomi Scott, RJ Cyler, Becky G, Ludi Lin and Bryan Cranston.

"Power Rangers" hits theaters on March 24th, 2017.

For more information on this film, you can visit the film's official Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/PowerRangersMovie

Plot Synopsis:

SABAN’S POWER RANGERS follows five ordinary teens who must become something extraordinary when they learn that their small town of Angel Grove — and the world — is on the verge of being obliterated by an alien threat. Chosen by destiny, our heroes quickly discover they are the only ones who can save the planet. But to do so, they will have to overcome their real-life issues and before it’s too late, band together as the Power Rangers.

"31" Review by Anthony T

Rob Zombie has been an interesting direction. When I saw his first film “House of 1,000 Corpses”, it only latest 10 minutes as I thought the beginning was awful and it was going to stupid. It was so bad that I didn’t want to ever see a Rob Zombie film ever again. My opinion of him as a filmmaker changed when he came out with his version of the classic horror film “Halloween” back in 2007. Ever since then, I’ve have seen every one of his films including his best film “The Devil’s Rejects” and everything except 1,000 of House Corpses. This leads me to his latest film “31” which deals with a bunch of homicidal clowns and aristocrats.

The film is about five carnival workers who get kidnapped by a bunch of homicidal clowns and aristocrats. They are forced to play their game called 31 for the 12 hours. The object of the game to fight and survive against their captors. If they can, they may just walk out of there alive. The film stars Sheri Moon Zombie, Malcolm McDowell, Richard Brake, Elizabeth Daily, Meg Foster, Jeff Daniel Phillips and Lew Temple.

It seems like every Rob Zombie film is either one of those where you love it or you really hate it and wish he’d stop directing film. This film has same theory with all of the reviews for this film. But I’m going to go out on a limb and say that “31” is equal or better than “The Devil’s Rejects. One of the reasons that it very good was Zombie’s direction. He does a very good job with the way that he directs the action. The scenes were thought out very well as it had an intense 70’s throwback feel to them where it puts you on the edge of your seat. It also helped that the tone of film also added to the intense action. The other thing that makes it very good were the performances. Zombie does a very good job making sure the performances work with the film’s tone. Whether it’s the way that he directs his villains to the other characters in the film, he makes sure that they stand out in one way from other.

Speaking of standing out, I thought Richard Blake stood out from everyone in this film. I liked how he make his character Doom-Head very sinister through the way that he approaches the character from the way that he speaks to the way that he moves. It had a sinister tone that keeps you frightened. Hopefully this will get him more work in the genre, as he does a great job pulling off this character.

Zombie’s screenplay was also good. What I liked about it that he keeps the level of dread throughout very dark and intense. Whether it’s the film’s opening scene to the ending, it had that level of frightening moments that make a horror film stand out. It’s what makes this a shocking film for the entire time. The other thing that makes the screenplay good was the fact that the villains had a demented personality to them. Whether its characters like Doom-Head, Sex-Head and Sick-Head, they brought a level of the dread that makes the horror in the film feel horrifying. It adds to the film’s disturbing and bloody tone.

“31” is an intense and shocking film from start to finish. If you’re on the fence on getting Rob Zombie’s “31”, get it today as this is the most shocking and gory film that you’ll see this year.

Review Rating: Five Stars.