“Final Prayer” surpasses the bulk of its “found footage” brethren with enough murky moodiness and devilish darkness to make itself memorable.
DRACULA UNTOLD (2014)
“Dracula Untold” casts the count as a swordfighting head of state hero in a chatty movie burdened by “Game of Thrones” political machinations and “Lord of the Rings” steel clanging.
GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY (2014)
Who needs a mutant or an Avenger when a CGI raccoon and a semi-sentient tree can infuse this much personality into a movie already bursting at the seams with it?
DARK HAUL (2014)
Seeing Tom Sizemore play a standard tough guy gunman in a straightforward creature feature is akin to watching Kareem Abdul-Jabbar play charity basketball on the island of Lilliput.
DAYLIGHT (2013)
The glitch effects become a beyond belief distraction, turning “Daylight” into a frustratingly annoying viewing experience begging to be disliked.
TRANCERS: CITY OF LOST ANGELS (1988)
While diehards will be pleased to see Tim Thomerson and Helen Hunt in their “Trancers” prime, the reality is that “City of Lost Angels” doesn’t register as much more than a brief blip on the radar.
KING KONG (1933)
Whether trashing train tracks or inspecting bloody wounds with incredulity, “King Kong” is always focused on its star’s personal odyssey throughout the ever-escalating action.
THE EVIL CLERGYMAN (1988)
This is a unique case where a movie reads far better for having a quarter-century gap between production and public consumption.
DAY OF THE MUMMY (2014)
There is so much bizarreness in “Day of the Mummy” that it might make for weirdly fascinating entertainment if it weren’t so ploddingly boring.
DON'T LOOK IN THE BASEMENT (1973)
“Basement” is too goofy to be in the same league as its darker drive-in brethren, and too boring to ever warrant a second trip inside its not mysterious enough walls.
TROPHY HEADS (2014)
“Trophy Heads” requires grading on so many curves that a visualized review score would resemble an Ouroboros looping in a figure eight.
AS ABOVE, SO BELOW (2014)
I can’t think of what I could possibly want from a “found footage” horror film about urban archaeologists exploring Dante’s Inferno that “As Above, So Below” doesn’t have.
FEED THE GODS (2014)
“Feed the Gods” is a fine enough film for what it is, but its cruise control speed keeps it coasting in territory that is never truly thrilling, and not original enough to stand out.
MERCY (2014)
From the truncated runtime to the non-sequitur storytelling, “Mercy” evidently went under the editor’s knife for a hefty amount of tinkering, likely more than once.
BIG DRIVER (2014)
“Big Driver” can’t help but be snipped somewhat when presented in a made-for-cable format that shortchanges supporting roles and relies on TV tropes to ensure it reads as a Lifetime movie.
THE CANAL (2014)
Instead of looking for heat from the first match strike and a fiery flame, those who let the wick wither and light the room with subtle atmosphere will find their patience rewarded.
THE TOWN THAT DREADED SUNDOWN (2014)
Gomez-Rejon and Aguirre-Sacasa made a movie that is part sequel, part remake, and part meta-fiction, yet so vague about defining its combined DNA that it is undeniably “The Town That Dreaded Sundown.”
THE TOWN THAT DREADED SUNDOWN (1976)
“The Town That Dreaded Sundown” is what “Zodiac” would have been like if instead of David Fincher, it was directed by the man who made “The Legend of Boggy Creek.”
HANGAR 10 (2014)
“Hangar 10” is the embodiment of everything that gives “found footage” its popularly unfavorable reputation ... It's a start to finish snore.
THE TAKING OF DEBORAH LOGAN (2014)
Director Adam Robitel and co-writer Gavin Heffernan douse their diving board in a quality cast, an imaginative story, and high caliber creeps to concoct an original take on both tropes.
“M3GAN 2.0” should be much more fun than it is. On paper, the details powering its premise probably sounded like a real riot.