If it didn’t have two big stars and the clout of an A24 banner, I doubt people would pay one-tenth of the attention given to “A Ghost Story.”

“Among the Living” excels at eliciting reactionary impulses.  Getting an audience to invest in true immersion however is easier said than done.

“Entrance” brings to mind “Absentia” in that it is a small-scale “slice of life” slow burner wringing oppressive dread out of an ordinary existence.

“Bag Boy Lover Boy” is what happens when a sleazy exploitation thriller impregnates an experimental arthouse indie.

A heavy emphasis on contemplative conversations keeps it calm, which isn’t an exciting way for a supernatural thriller to win over a crowd.

While “Cold Moon” is not at all a total loss because of or in spite of its oddness, nearly everything about it is a little bit “off” in some way.

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.