“Darkness Rising” plays as though it were built autonomously using a beta version of a “Scary Movie Generator” app.

Think indie character study instead of “Rear Window,” as this is Hitchcock by way of Sofia Coppola or Jim Jarmusch.

The tonal imbalance between cinematic fun and seriously weighty stakes never evens out in enjoyment’s best interests.

“The Housemaid” is an elegantly eerie thriller with the grand Gothic style of “Dark Shadows” before Barnabas Collins became the star of the show.

“Desolation” doesn’t necessarily need any more story than that, though it does need more suspense to sharpen its edge.

The bar is so low for both “found footage” and anything with the word “Amityville” that jaded audiences simply anticipate disappointment from the start.

Amanda Evans’ directorial feature debut is a psychological portrait exploring a fractured marriage facing internal as well as external threats.

“My Friend Dahmer” tells a tragic tale of a teen as invisibly inconsequential as any other, yet fated to be remembered as anything but.

Put expectations on “popcorn” and its domino line of expertly crafted illusions culminates in a crash of devilishly crowd-pleasing shrieks.

The movie’s suspense is subdued by its sullen setting when its noir-ish tone and tension is shouting to have a more scorching edge.

“Replace” positions horror using alluring atmosphere that is suggestive, seductive, and disconcertingly dreamlike in quality.

When you realize “47 Meters Down” aims to be an uncomplicated summertime thriller best consumed with a box of Milk Duds, it’s easy to settle into its style of suspense.

As a purely offbeat, “out there” experience unlike few other films in existence, “The Lure” is an acid trip of alluring oddness.

Whatever the audience was meant to get out of it, what they receive is a dippy movie that doesn’t try nearly hard enough to have real impact.

“The Lawnmower Man” wears the crown for being the adaptation of a Stephen King work to least resemble its source material.

What does a 1980s Full Moon fright flick look like when it has a multimillion dollar budget and an all-star cast?

“Prisoner X” combines the Samuel L. Jackson thriller “Unthinkable” with the sci-fi setup of “Predestination.”

If the entire movie were as gleefully silly as its final scenes, it would be easy to grant “200 Degrees” a blessing for being “guilty pleasure” entertainment.

The viewer becomes caught in a conflict of wanting superficial salaciousness to be backed by substance the story simply doesn’t have.

Invest in the atmosphere and stick with the story and “Camera Obscura” rewards with a moodily macabre chiller, albeit a quietly self-contained one.