meganelizabeth-50892 Reviews

Late Night with the Devil (2023)

solidly decent, aside from AI usage

[8/10 · 21 April 2024]

Pretty enjoyable. Wasn't amazing, but was definetly good. Loved the feel and the look. I do feel that it was a bit over hyped, it didn't quite live up to all the build up, but, it was well done. Would have been nice to catch it in theaters.

Dissapointed that AI was used for title cards that could have easily been made by paid artists. It was a small use of it, but hopefully not a test for larger scale replacing of artists in favour of software that muddles together bits of artists' unpaid work to save money and cut corners.

I wouldn't tell anyone they have to run out and see this, but I also wouldn't suggest against seeing it. 7/10, minus a point to keep this from being a win for AI usage.

False Positive (2021)

It was alright

[6/10 · 2 January 2024]

It was interesting to see Ilana Glazer in this kind of role, very different from Broad City and how I'm used to seeing her. At first I thought I'd have a hard time with that but she did well in the role.

The movie itself was alright. Not bad but not great either. Some of the scenes reallt felt "direct to streaming" level. Which i mean it was, but not what i expected after the other A24 movies ive seen. I also felt like there was a lot unexplained and unfinished. And just, unexplored. Which is too bad because I think the plot did have a pretty good potential, there's a lot that can be done in horror with pregnancy, ivf, postpartum depression, etc.

The most disappointing part for me was the ending. All the build up with the gaslighting and the pregnancy, I don't think the ending held up. Some of it felt almost life time movie the way the reveals came out. And hallucination does make sense considering the trauma, I just, didn't like it, the way it happened didn't feel like it fit and the actual ending wasn't very satisfying at all.

I don't think I'd necessarily recommend it, but I also wouldn't tell someone not to watch it.

Fresh (2022)

Would have benefitted from more fleshing out

[7/10 · 2 January 2024]

I did really enjoy "Fresh" however parts of the movie felt almost unfinished, like I wish they'd been just a little more fleshed out (no pun intended).

The introduction of the wife felt almost pointless aside from as a way to get Molly to Steve/Brendon. The mentions of their children even more out of place and dead end. When We saw his wife's amputated leg, I wanted to know more, but that was all we got.

The same with Molly's friend Paul having her location and driving out there, just to turn around and leave. Why? If they weren't going to do anything with it, why not just leave it out?

Overall I really liked the concept, and the vibe between the two main characters Noa and Steve. I would have liked a little more of the horror elements, and a more satisifying wrap up of loose ends.

Still a good watch.

Bones and All (2022)

lovely cannibal-romance-coming of age

[10/10 · 2 January 2024]

Despite being about cannibals and showing being literally being eaten, I wouldn't really call this a horror movie at all. And that's okay, it didn't have to be.

This is one of the most lovely movies I've watched in a long time, and I continued to think about it for days after watching. I even went to the library and borrowed the YA novel it's based on.

Yes, as some other reviews mention, it is long and parts feel "aimless" but not in a bad pacing way, in a way that I thought felt authentic to what was going on. Two young adults, driving across states, falling in love, and finding themselves.

Running with Scissors (2006)

Somehow kind of bland

[5/10 · 28 November 2023]

Obviously it's pretty commonplace for a movie adaptation not to live up to the original book, so that wasn't surprising. Especially when the book is a memoir spanding the author's entire adolesence, but I do feel like this movie just fell short.

On it's own, it's an okay film. It's interesting, every actor does a great job with their part. But the pacing is weird, it never sits in one place long enough to really get a feel for what's going on. The characters never felt connected enough, the events never felt real enough. I wanted to feel like I was in the Finch's home, the way Burroughs' book made me feel.

Condensing events made sense to fit the entire book into one movie, rearranging events to fit together into a timeline. But some of the decisions seemed odd. The hinting at a redemption for Augusten's father struck me as an odd choice, when this was never explored in the book, and never even went anywhere in the movie. The character of Natalie was quite changed, as was her relationship with Augusten, which I feel could have grounded the movie more. And other changes, that did work to make important moments fit into the story, like Bookman's attempt at killing the doctor as reason for him leaving to New York, made me feel more like plots were being added and ended out of nowhere.

I'm not sure I'd recommend this movie, I wouldn't discourage someone from watching it either. It was fine, I just think it could have been better.

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (1986)

Tons of fun, a huge tone difference from the original classic

[8/10 · 30 September 2023]

I'd heard going into this that it was wackier and very different from the original but I was still pretty surprised when I saw this.

I loved it, it was a great mid 80s horror, campy, wacky, dark, a very interesting tone, some jump scares that actually got me.

I love it as a movie, but I honestly don't know what to make of it as a direct sequel to The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974). Though honestly I feel like this was the right move for a sequel. The original is so iconic and has such a dark and scary tone to it, a sequel, especially one made over a decade later, would be unlikrly to match it in a satisfactory way. I think by making it so different in feeling they were able to do more with the story and just create a second great (though certainly not as great as the first, but that was never going to happen) horror film.

I understand why some fans dislike it, and if you go in expecting the same as the original you'll probably end up unhappy, but it was fun and different and a movie I plan to watch again.

X (II) (2022)

Not quite what I was hoping for but would still recommend

[7/10 · 30 September 2023]

The beginning had the feeling of a classic slasher set up, and I like how much they went for a similar vibe and formula to a 70s/80s slasher, with no violence until about the mid point and then all violence. I do think the mood and tone of the second half could have been improved, and some of the kills maybe could have been filmed better.

The main thing I didnt love about the movie was the actual plot with the killers. It was strange to me and while I could see a campy low budget 80s slasher use this plot line, and I can see why they would go for it, slutty sexed up main characters is classic, let's make the killers sex crazed elderly people, I didn't personally love it and honestly I didn't feel it felt with the higher quality finished product.

I still really enjoyed the movie, it was a classic slasher which isn't nearly as common these days, and I would still definitely recommend it to horror, and especially slasher fans. But for myself it just could have been even better.

Re-Animator (1985)

A great 80s horror comedy but a TW

[6/10 · 22 June 2023]

Really good horror comedy, I really enjoy movies like this and Re-Animator didn't let me down at all. Loved the style, the look, the overall concept.

The only thing I didn't like, and I took a full point off for this, was the long sexual assault scene. Yes, it's somewhat iconic, but could have made it much much shorter and shown less. It's just uncomfortable and it feels like it takes forever. I didnt include details so Im not marking this as containing spoilers because there should be a trigger warning anyway.

It wasn't necessary and honestly I think the movie honestly would have been better with at least less of it.

Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey (2023)

Not really worth it, even as a bad movie enjoyer

[2/10 · 11 June 2023]

I'll start off by saying I'm probably the target audience of something like this, I love love love movies that are so bad they're good, low budget slashers are something I often enjoy, honestly the stupider the better. This was just one of many such films on my list to watch this year and I was excited to laugh at bad effects and the weird premise.

But I didn't like this, it was honestly disappointing. I found it very hard to follow what was happening, who the characters were, honestly at times even really see what was going on because the lighting was so dim. Most of it made no sense, and not just in a funny bad movie way more in a "did I miss something?" Way.

Honestly what kind of redeemed it was I was watching a pirated copy that kept having online slots machine ads pop up over dramatic scenes and that was funny and entertaining.

To quote my friend "I don't regret watching it but maybe they should regret making it"

What We Do in the Shadows (2014)

One of my all time favourite movies, go watch it if you haven't

[10/10 · 26 April 2023]

This would definitely make my list of top 10 movies of all time. In fact, it would easily make top 5.

I don't think a ton of movies do the mock-umentary style well but I can't imagine this one done any other way.

I actually can't think of a single thing I'd change, add, or take away. Everything is perfect. The plot, the characters, the casting, the music, and especially the humour. I don't know a lot of other movies to compare it too, but if you like horror-comedies, or any comedies, or have a sense of humour, I'm sure you'll enjoy this.

I recommend this to pretty much everyone I know, and writing this I realize I'm probably due for a rewatch myself soon.

Renfield (2023)

A lot of fun to watch

[8/10 · 26 April 2023]

I was glad I got a chance to see this in theaters before it's run ended, but very surprised to be the only ones there for the Friday night showing we caught, even though it was a bit late in it's run.

Honestly this movie exceeded my expectations. It had the right blend of horror elements and comedy, the overall premise was interesting and funny, the pacing was good, the casting was all a good fit. I really don't have anything negative to say, I'd recommend this to most people.

This movie didn't take itself too seriously, but just seriously enought to turn out a well put together end result. I think I'd enjoy watching it as a double feature with "What We Do In The Shadows" or something similar.

If you haven't seen it yet, give it a go! I bet you'll enjoy it.

Evil Dead Rise (2023)

Great Horror film, not overly tied to the plot of previous installments

[9/10 · 26 April 2023]

As a standalone horror movie, I'd rate this a 9.5 or 10, as a continuation of The Evil Dead, probably only an 8 or so.

I knew before I even say the trailer this wouldn't be the same type of movie, you just can't make the type of movie The Evil Dead was in the 2020's. That's fine, the 80's are over, I can appreciate many of the movies this wave of reboots is bringing as their own thing somewhat seperate from the originals.

I do wish there was a little more to tie it to the earlier entires in the franchise, but I was glad to see the refrences that were made, and that the lore of the Deadites remained relatively unchanged. In fairness, Evil Dead never was super concerned with cohesive continuity between films so if any reboot could get away with such small amount of ties to the original plot, it would be this one.

The gore was bloody, fast, and over the top rather than disgusting, slow, and torturous, which seemed to also keep with what the franchise is about.

I do kind of hope they make a direct sequel and have it be a horror-comedy.

Scream (I) (2022)

Unnecessary addition to the franchise

[5/10 · 18 April 2023]

As far as horror movie franchises go, Scream has a pretty decent good to bad ratio. It's definitely quality over quantity unlike many 80s franchises (Friday the 13th, Halloween) with only 5 (now 6) entries, and (in my option) 3 very good movies.

This movie wasn't exactly bad, I just wouldn't really say it was all that good either. I'd honestly just describe it as unnecessary.

One issue I have with it is the overall premise honestly just seems too similar to Scream 4 for it to make since for both to be needed, especially back to back. Scream 4 was about horror remakes, Scream (2022) is about... horror reboots. Yeah, technically those are different things, but in reality both served as reboots, with the plot continuing from the original trilogy and original main characters returning to join a cast of new characters. Only, Scream 4 did a better job. It had characters that were meant to fill the purpose of those in the original movie with out replacing them, and without it needing to be an exact match. This movie introduced new characters with direct connections to the originals, a lot of which were honestly a stretch and didn't make a ton of sense.

Despite the fact that this was supposedly about "requels" it had more the feeling of a remake no one asked for.

Honestly, I think they should have ended the franchise rather than continue without Wes Craven. The fact that it also wasn't writen by Kevin Williamson definitely didn't help. It felt... flatter than the movies they did.

Also the decisionto title it only as "Scream" and not "Scream 5" or even something like "Scream Again" is really annoying to me.

Super Mario Bros. (1993)

Honestly just so much fun, don't go into it to take it seriously

[8/10 · 18 April 2023]

I know this movie ends up on a lot of "worst movie" lists, and I absolutely get why. The plot is a mess that's difficult to follow, it makes little to no sense as an adaptation of the source material, it's by no critical measure a great film. But that's what makes it so great.

I went into this movie hoping for a "so bad it's good" type of experince and that's exactly what I got! If you try to take this as a serious or well done movie, you're likely going to be dissapointed, but if you just want to have a fun time watching something silly with friends, I think this is a good pick.

The feel of the movie was pretty unique with a lot of interesting choices made as far as set design and costume, that gave it a really cool look. I can see a lot of potential for a cult following just in the aesthetics alone. Sure, a lot of things were silly or made no sense, but we all had a good laugh watching and honestly, the point is supposed to be entertainment. I was entertained through the entire thing!

All in all, I want to rate it high, but also low. If tha makes sense. So I'm going off of my enjoyment. 8/10.

The Evil Dead (1981)

I wasn't sure at the beginning, but I get why this is a classic

[9/10 · 18 April 2023]

I've heard a lot of good things about this franchise so the other night I finally got around to watching the first installment since I knew a new one was being realeased soon.

I'm a really big fan of 80s horror, but honestly at the beginning of the movie I wasn't sure how much I was going to enjoy this one. But once it actually got going I was sold.

Being that it's from 1981, the special effects are obviously dated. Some of them are a bit over the top so that combined I wasn't sure how well it would hold up but I didn't find it took me out of the movie at all. I mean, I'll take multiple decade old practical effects over dated CGI any day, but they also felt like they fit the overall look and feel of the movie.

I loved Ash as a protagonist, I loved the low budget, 80s, almost DIY at time feel of the film. This is definitely going on my favourites list, and if you're a fan of 80s horror and you haven't watched it yet, I'd definitely recommend it.

Frankenhooker (1990)

Fun horror comedy

[8/10 · 17 March 2023]

You can't go into a movie like this expecting great cinema, and these kind of low budget horror comedies definitely aren't for everyone but as someone who loves them, Frankenhooker was honestly better than I was expecting.

It's a fun movie, not at all as misogynistic as I'd have assumed for a 1990 movie with "hooker" in the title, and I have recommended it to a few people already. I thought I was funny and fairly original., and would make for a good movie to pop on with friends.

I would easily watch this movie again. And if you enjoy this type of strange movies, you should definetly watch it too!

The Last of Us: Long, Long Time (2023) Season 1, Episode 3

Amazing episode of TV

[10/10 · 17 March 2023]

Even if you have no interest in The Last of Us, this episode works as a stand alone and can definitely be watched with or without the context of the rest of the show/the game. And I'd absolutely recommend it.

It's a shame that homophobic people feel the need to try to tank the ratings on this episode, but the fact that it honestly isn't even working to drag it down far shows just how much the rest of us loved it.

It was just over an episode long but easily felt like more than a full length movie, it was beautiful and emotional to watch, The actors did an amazing job making us love this characters who despite literally just having been introduced, we felt like we'd known and loved for a long, long time.

M3GAN (2022)

Watchable

[3/10 · 11 February 2023]

I keep hearing from people that this was a really good movie but honestly I'm not sure who's saying that. I went into it expecting a bad movie, and that's more or less what I got.

I can appreciate a good bad horror movie, but M3GAN missed the mark on that too. It was like it just wasn't pushed far enough in either direction to be considered a good movie, or to be campy/so bad its good.

The story was meh, the camera work was meh, honestly the entire thing was meh and even the parts I laughed during weren't enough for me to want to recommend seeing it for that reason either.

It was perfectly watchable, but that's about it.

Barbarian (2022)

One of the best movies I've seen in a while

[10/10 · 21 January 2023]

I put this on because a couple friends had recommended it to me, it's not the type of horror I've been tending to go towards but I figured I'd see what it was about and oh my gosh I'm glad I did.

I know a lot of reveiwers disagree but I really liked the stark difference in tone for each act, I found it almost slightly disorienting in a way I thought worked well, especially when it switched from Tess to AJ for the first time. And the moods for each scene fit perfectly.

I don't want to give away the ending so all I'll say about it was it was perfect. I almost wanted to just hit restart and watch the whole movie again. Very much would recommend to friends (and already am)

Scream 4 (2011)

New decade, new rules

[9/10 · 30 October 2022]

This really had the vibe of a 2010s remake/reboot of a classic. The vibe was definitely different than the 90s original, but it did such a good job with the remake angle that I think it still perfectly fits the franchise with no bumps.

New characters filling the plot space of characters from the original and a similar but more intense ("you do a remake to outdo the original") overall plot with new teenagers on the anniversary of the murders really made it feel like the protagonists we've been watching were thrown into the remake to watch and experience as it unfolded.

I have a really hard time ranking this franchise because 1, 2, and 4 (I could take or leave 3) are all so good and all play off each other and wouldn't work without being in their respective order in a horror franchise.

Very pleasantly surprised with this 2011 addition to a great 90s horror.

Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers (1995)

A mess, no wonder they rebooted lol

[3/10 · 29 October 2022]

Reading the trivia about the rewrites and the timing of Donald Pleasant's (rest in peace <3) death make it make a little sense why this movies feels like it's all over the place, but it doesn't really change the experience of watching it.

The beginning opens like a really bad trying too hard straight to DVD (or VHS) horror so off the bat I was turned off it. And it never really gets much better from there. The concept wasn't that great for a "Halloween" movie to start with but the inconsistancy makes it that much worse. I really don't think this one's a must watch at all, 4 and 5 were pretty decent I think this continuity's timeline is okay stopping after those two.

Still better than resurrection tho.

Scream 3 (2000)

Kind of a let down after 1 and 2

[5/10 · 29 October 2022]

After I watched the first two I kind of expected the third to be dissapointing, it's rare for a sequel to hold up so well to the original so I figured it was unrealistic to think a third would also be amazing. I was right.

A lot of it felt kind of off, some of the acting was bad, parts of the plot were strained and felt like they could have been done better (Randy's sister?). Overall it felt like it was tied together somewhat loosely. Honestly even the concept wasn't great. Why would Dewey be working for the "Stab" movie people? It's a film series making entertainment of the horrors he and his friends went through. His sister was killed by the original Ghost faces! The whole thing with Sid's mum was kind of annoying too, felt like it was trying to change the context of the original which can work for some franchises but felt like it was trying to hard here.

If someone asked me what films were worth watching I'd tell them to watch 1 and 2 by themselves right now. We'll see if my mind is changed by 4 or the reboot....

Scream 2 (1997)

Might even prefer this to the original

[9/10 · 26 October 2022]

If you enjoyed Scream, you'll definitely like Scream 2, I can't think of a better continuation.

Sidney at college and a movie version of the evnts of the original being released in theatres... fits so well for the "scary movie in a world where scary movies exist" thing that Scream is all about.

It had the same overall vibe as the original, but still didn't feel repeditive. I was glad to see characters return, and the new characters introduced felt like they fit well with the world. I thought after seeing one multiple times I'd be able to guess at least one of the killers before getting to the reveal but I still ended up saying "oh my god, of course" when the mask came off.

Most horrror franchise sequals don't live up to the original but I'm cautiously excited to continue this one after two great first entries.

Halloween (I) (2018)

Fantastic modern continuation of a classic

[9/10 · 19 October 2022]

I wasn't sure how I was going to feel about these modern sequals, after watching the multiple previous attempts to continue the franchise, but I loved Halloween (2018).

It had a very different feeling from the original movie, but still felt connected enough to make for a very satisfying sequal. Maybe that'd the way to make these franchises work, forget about original old sequals and just make a 40 year later follow up haha.

I loved the refrences to the original movie, especially when a character brings up Laurie being Michael Myers' sister (a fact estabilished in Halloween II that all previous sequals continued before they were all retconned for the modern sequals) and Alyson tells them that was just a story people made up.

In my opinion this story worked great as a reboot to the series, and also would hold up very well on it's own for someone who has never seen the original. Very much recomend to horror fans.

Halloween Kills (2021)

Necessary to connect Halloween (2018) and Halloween Ends but thats it

[5/10 · 19 October 2022]

I was hopeful for this one after loving the previous installment, Halloween (2018), but this one let me down. While there were parts that I liked, I often found myself muttering "what?" at scenes that were overdone or just trying to hard. I especially wasn't a fan of the scenes filmed to add the cop's background into the original 1978 movie. They easily could have connected him to that night without trying to insert new scenes into a classic. Some of the kills also felt overdone and out of character Once I watched the next movie I do see how some of this was important to connect Halloween (2018) and Halloween Ends, but I almost wish theyd just added half an hour to each movie to include the important details and forgotten about this one. Still definitely not the worst "Halloween" movie, just also not the best.