“Host” keeps it together for an undemanding amount of time certain to satisfy easygoing appetites with a snack serving of scares.

If it were a big studio production starring Chris Hemsworth, Pine, or Evans, “The Pool” would have been a ballyhooed box office smash.

“The Silencing” isn’t a cat-and-mouse thriller. It’s a connect-the-dots goose chase from Point A to Point Z, with every stop in between being a barren detour worth bupkus.

Even when Joko Anwar digs into well-trod soil, his shovel shines with the sheen of someone who is as much of a fan as he is a provocative puppeteer of skin-crawling horror.

If you ever want to convince your friends why an Airbnb getaway presents frightening prospects, show them “The Rental” and watch how fast they decide to stay home instead.

Call “Amulet” a slow burn if that helps calibrate personal perspective. I’ll call it “quiet horror.” Too quiet, in fact.

The movie’s magic lies in its knack for keeping intrigue hot on the front burner so simmering pots in the back don’t singe you with their logic-popping bubbles.

“Archive” neglects to plug in a script worthy of the wonderful world it builds, leaving the movie feeling as coldly sterile as a metal mass of silicon and circuitry.

A satisfyingly eerie climb to a wickedly creative conclusion combats frequent attacks from convention.

“Amityville Island” looks like it was made for less than I spend on lunch at Taco Bell, and I say that without any hyperbole.

Horror is so far past everything “Dead Voices” has to offer, the movie may as well tie a tag around its own toe.

“Masterpiece!” “Miserable!” Meet the Independent Party candidate for this year’s most divisive horror movie.

Get used to not being entirely sure what this movie is up to. I’m not sure “Browse” always knows either.

“Black Water” requires investing in vicarious living or else you’re not going to sweat the same small stuff with everyone onscreen.

With its somber setting and serious performances, nothing else in cinema tackles the terror of dementia with as much tact and creepy creativity.

Since I can’t totally tell what my personal opinion is, it seems three out of five stars is the fairest sticker to slap on the review score.

“Two Heads Creek” gets its personality from a cast of likable and unlikable weirdos describable with words like eccentric, quirky, and kooky.

Zombie fans have about as much use for a story this shallow as they do for a bottle opener when the cooler only contains cans.

“You Should Have Left” builds a movie the same way Ikea builds furniture: assembling as few simple pieces as possible according to a one-page black-and-white diagram.

Not surrendering to the persistence of its choppy charm seems to say more about one’s own stubbornness than the movie’s trouble at getting a grump to chuckle.