What really ends up lost in translation is the film’s entire cinematic language for sensibly spinning a scary story.

I’ll cut straight to the chase by curbing instincts to cut loose with sarcasm and simply say, “Against the Night” is not an entertaining thriller.

A sudden sprint to end credits leaves an impression that “The Hatred” would willingly settle for “meh” when a bump in effort might have yielded more.

The final cut to black comes so abruptly, you’ll swear it can’t really be the end, even though you’ll welcome the merciful fact that it is.

It’s like someone shot random footage of a woman walking around and writhing naked on a bed, and was dared to cut that content into a coherent story. That’s a dare lost, by the way.

While it may not work as a whodunit, the movie satisfies as an immersive period piece punctuated by brief bits of ghastly gruesomeness.

“The Mummy” hits more of a bloop single into right field: good enough to get on base, not so much for driving in a go-ahead run.

For good or for bad, “Beyond the Trek” is reminiscent of the syndicated sci-fi TV boom in the 1990s.

Unless you find creaking floors and slowly opening doors to be spooky, you’re in for one excruciatingly uneventful movie.

“Jackals” has external appeal as a moderately frightening thriller, but not enough depth for scant scary movie satisfaction to last very long.

“Ghost House” is a standard vengeful ghost yarn whose only unique draw is the Thailand backdrop behind its setting and mythology.

Maybe this isn’t the “Death Note” that diehards desire.  But maybe it’s the “Death Note” that makes the most sense for the mainstream.

For a film made with favors from friends and couch cushion change, “Clowntergeist” sinks more buckets than it misses.

While you won’t be imploring friends to vault it to the top of their watch lists, “Circus Kane” works well enough for empty calorie entertainment.

As straightforward sci-fi, “Starship Troopers: Traitor of Mars” hits the right notes for an action-packed animated adventure, even if it is predictable.

Its integrity as a smart story and inventiveness as a motion picture make its overachieving attitude all the more endearing.

This is one time that the mighty Mr. Wan forgot to take off his glove before applying his usual Midas touch.

Chopping a trio of plain plotlines into one overall narrative isn’t enough of a distraction tactic to hide how predictably rote all three are.

It’s one thing for a movie to be bad. It’s another thing to be boring. To be both is simply inexcusable, and that sums up “The Domicile.”

Without any charm to its “maybe/maybe not” comedy, “WTF” only ends up as unwoke as any 21st-century teen slasher can possibly be.