Bahrani’s film comes off Frankenstein’s table as a lumbering brute built from mismatched parts that don’t work well in unison.
THE NIGHT EATS THE WORLD (2018)
Simplicity stales quickly, drying the movie into a 90-minute apocalyptic redux that doesn’t seem to say much about the human condition, or the inhuman one for that matter.
DARKNESS REIGNS (2017)
“Darkness Reigns” forgets to oil its setup with an actual story, leaving an unpopped dud to rattle around an empty bag.
THE STRANGERS: PREY AT NIGHT (2018)
Pop scares and slaughter push mystery and tension aside, putting “Prey at Night” in line with any number of other “masked killer on the loose in the dark” films.
THE MIMIC (2017 - Korean)
Familiarity keeps Huh’s smoldering thriller from reaching a full boil, yet supernatural suspense stays simmering with a menacing mood insistently bubbling underneath.
TRUTH OR DARE (2018)
As long as a mouth expects the familiar taste of Taco Bell, “Truth or Dare’s” fast food flavor satiates a quick craving for scary movie simplicity.
THE RAKE (2018)
It’s in everyone’s best interests to move away from this forgettable flotsam as swiftly as possible.
MARY SHELLEY (2017)
“Mary Shelley” means to cram a kitchen sink of costume drama clichés into an overlong mood exercise obsessed with thickly laid theatricality.
UNSANE (2018)
“Unsane” takes a nifty nucleus for a psychological thriller and deliberately makes it decidedly less intriguing by giving it an unnecessary gimmick.
IN DARKNESS (2018)
“In Darkness” emerges from its overwrought, overwritten funnel as a visually juicy bite of overdramatic intrigue.
FERAL (2017)
Someone curious about seeing “Feral” in a theater asked, “is it worth a drive into Hollywood?” I considered replying, “it wasn’t worth the walk to my television to watch it on VOD.”
DELIRIUM (2018)
There’s a reason why Blumhouse movies are labeled “From the Producer of ‘The Purge’ and ‘Get Out’” instead of “From the Producer of ‘Visions’ and ‘Totem’.”
THE JURASSIC GAMES (2018)
“The Jurassic Games” earns a predominantly positive review because it is precisely the kind of knowingly campy B-movie I expected it to be.
CARGO (2017)
“Cargo” contains so much déjà vu drama, anyone who has taken this trip before can’t stop from sighing as each setup falls out of the copy machine.
COLD SKIN (2017)
The awfulness of loneliness coupled with Innsmouth insinuations wraps Lovecraftian themes within gothic Mary Shelley melodrama.
ESCAPE ROOM (2017)
If you believe “Escape Room” is “the most original and terrifying horror this year,” you might also believe a statue of Elvis exists on Mars.
DARK CRIMES (2016)
“Dark Crimes” illustrates what it looks like when a star knows he picked a poor project, but is contractually obligated to expend minimal effort anyway.
REVENGE (2017)
“Revenge” wants to dare you to see it as shallow just so it can shame you through sheer force of cinematic style.
ANON (2018)
“Anon” encases its monotone mystery in a drab setting whose dourness only amplifies the script’s dullness.
FAMILY BLOOD (2018)
The film’s exhausting dullness hooks lifelessly draining melodrama into an IV of incredibly anemic horror.
It is moderately compelling in the moment, but it has a hard time holding up to even cursory scrutiny as far as believable “found footage” concepts go.