“The Gracefield Incident” is an unfortunate victim of damned if you do, damned if you don’t criticism where it might have been destined to lose either way.

The movie is one of those rare experiences tattooed in your mind’s eye after it is over, truly haunting your head with echoes of its affecting horror.

Making the film frustrating is this fact that there is a germ here for a movie that would be a lot more fun with a smarter sense of humor.

Most scenes put no more thought into what purpose they serve than one puts into how long to microwave a slice of leftover pizza.

When sketch comedy shows do parodies of pretentious foreign language films bloated by arty symbolism, they resemble “Thread” to a T.

It is difficult to not come away from the film feeling as though the movie’s sound leaves an echo instead of sinking into the soul.

No matter how cool the concept may be for RPG enthusiasts, it’s only good for one gallon of gas trying to fuel a 15-gallon tank.

“Lake Alice” relies too much on its silly surprise destination instead of fulfilling a satisfying journey of suspense.

If it had a 1990s production date, “Gremlin” could find a home on a Blockbuster Video shelf alongside Full Moon’s slate of likeminded fare.

The missing ingredient is the oomph, the x-factor, or the je ne sais quoi that would put “extra” in front of “ordinary.”

“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.