Tubi Friday: Son of Darkness- To Die For 2

 It wouldn't have been fair to watch and review a 2nd Movie after Spider-Man: Brand New Day.

As such, let's do one today.
My site, my rules!

To Die For is a Film that I watched so long ago that I made Channel Awesome references in it.

Regardless, all you need to know is that this woman is raising a baby that no Doctor can seem to treat.

That is, until she meets Dr. Shreck, who she falls for as well.

Well, he's a Vampire.

As one says later, Vampires 'travel in flocks.'

As such, there's a Vampire there with him- Amanda Wyss- who feels rejected by him.

That works out well for...

...his Brother, who also managed to survive the last Film.

He's followed Shreck (aka Vlad) to this small Mountain town, but he's not sure why the guy is hiding out there.

As it turns out, the baby is Vlad's.

The Mother was spared and had a hybrid baby, long before the Twilight Films.

He's trying to get access to it and turn the baby.

His Brother is not on board.

The Film has about 3 other Subplots intersecting here.

The new Mom's Brother- the guy from The Last Starfighter- is eventually seduced and turned by Wyss.

There's also another Vampire lady, who doesn't want to get involved in any conflict.

Lastly, the Hero from the last Film has come to Town after reading about Vampire killings.

The guy meets with the Vampire lady, but it turns bad when the Brother finds out and leaves her to die!

It all comes down to a very busy climax involving all of the players.

The Brother tries to save his Sister and gets Ashed (aka his head cut off with a chainsaw) by the Brother.
Wyss stakes him, but he wounds her to death as well.

Vlad is about to turn the Mom (and then kid) when the Hero stakes him and he dies dramatically.

The Mom leaves and they tease that the kid is a Vampire.
I mean...yeah, we knew that.  That was the whole Plot of this, right?

The End.

A decent to good attempt at making lots of Stories intersect.

Did the Film need this much going on?
They probably could have cut some of it- like the neutral Vampire Lady- and spent more time on other things.

Regardless, they do many things right here.

The Brother is a real delight, playing a hammy but also scary villain throughout.  The Scene where he's stalking the lady in the Boatyard stands out.

Wyss does good with what she's given as well, getting a little Arc for her Character.

The Vampire effects are mostly subtle here.  That's fine, honestly.  This way they didn't do more than they could do.

The only real problem here is that with so much going on, the Film can be a bit unfocused and thus less interesting.

Now I do have to wonder why Vlad thought appearing to her in her dreams would somehow not disturb her...

A Film with a few high points and many good Actors.  Unfortunately, there's too many Players and it drags a bit at times.

Immediate Response: Spider-Man: Brand New Day (2026)

Alright- it's Spider-Man Day!

Let's do this!

The Good

* The Plot is a fresh one, involving Damage Control, a mysterious menace and Peter's struggle to make peace with himself.
* The Film looks great, with fun visuals for him swinging and great CGI.

* With Crestin as Director, the Action looks more dynamic and his experience with Shang-Chi shows.
* Bringing The Hulk back (no SPOILER to anyone who's seen any Trailer) was so worth it.

* Bernthal as Punisher is a nice foil for Spider-Man.

The Bad

* You have to be familiar with the events of the Spider-Man 'Home' Trilogy to get the most out of this.
* The melodrama can be a bit heavy-handed at times.

* As fun as the Easter Eggs are, I just want more Boomerang, Tarantula and others.
* If you're not a fan of the Comic Retcons to give Peter his organic web shooters and the like, it is more of that.  Blame James Cameron- the Organic Web shooters were created for his unused Script from the '90s.

Bottom line- this is a fun, creative Marvel Film.  It's great to see more Spider-Man and done in such a great way.

Poor Bastards of Cinema: Don't Be Afraid of the Dark (1973)

 A guy who doesn't even get his name mentioned on the Wiki Page!

In Don't Be Afraid of the Dark, a young couple move into a new House.

The Wife is showing off what needs work done to her Interior Decorator friend.

He vanishes from the Movie after this Scene.

He returns in Act 3 as he's visiting the Wife again about work to be done.

Like before, they go downstairs.

...only for the creatures to set out a rope line and trip him!

He falls (off camera) and is shown to be dead at the bottom of the stairs.
(This Film was shot in a week- no time for Stunts!)

Yeah...that's it for him.

This guy didn't even really know about ANY of the danger.  He wasn't a threat to the creatures.

He was collateral damage, as they meant to trip her instead!

The moral- don't be a Designer in a '70s Movie.  You either end up dead (him) or as a Vampire...and then dead (Blacula).

It's not worth the risk. 

New(er) Flix: Wolfcop (2014)

 It must be a Full Moon (no TM) if I finally break out this DVD!

This is Wolfcop, the 2014 Horror Comedy from Canada.  I've had the disc longer than I would care to disclose.

Why wait until now?  Dunno.

The Plot involves a Cop who becomes a Werewolf.  Did you guess that?
There's more to the Story, but I'll get into the insanity there soon enough.

Is this another Kung Fury or Manborg?  Should this have led to even more for its Director like Rubber or Psycho Goreman did?

Did I at least like it better than the last Werewolf Film I watched?

To find out, read on...

Lou Garrou (get it?!?) is a Cop in a small, Canadian Town.

He's not a good Cop, as he's lazy and a drunk.

He's forced to work by his Boss, which means he has to go out and investigate noise complaints in the Woods.

He's attacked and loses time.

He has vague recollections of what happened- a ritual- and sees that his body has been marked!

That's not good.

He tries to go back to work as the Town approaches its annual Drink and Hunt.

That's not good.

As the Full Moon approaches, he changes in very gory (albeit super up-close) shots.

A Canadian Werewolf in...um, Canada?

He gets some help from a local weirdo, who found him that night and brought him home.

Now motivated (and less drunk), Lou finds out that Werewolves are connected to a strange lore involving Shapeshifters, 'The Reckoning' and the Solar Eclipse.

Guess what is coming up soon?

His second transformation is more controlled, albeit just as gory.

This version of the Superman shirt rip is NOT advised.

He finally becomes the titular Wolfcop as he retains his humanity (as it were) and fights crime.

They set up a trio of robbers known as The 3 Little Pigs and pay it off here.

He also takes out some bad guys, notably ripping one guy's face off (the guy then runs away).

Back at the Station, he's seduced by the Barmaid (who made eyes at him as a human) and they make mostly-off-screen whoopie.

She drugs him and we learn that a trio of Shapeshifrters have been driving things, disguised as the Barmaid, the Sheriff, a Cult Leader and the Mayor (below).

Thankfully, the only good Cop (Tina) comes to his rescue.

The group plans to drink his blood during the Eclipse because something something it doesn't really matter.

They win a bloody fight and live to make a Sequel in 2017.
The End.

A fun, if uneven Horror Comedy.

Positives- the Makeup and Gore Effects are good.  They obviously use shortcuts (like closeups), but that's not a big thing.

The bizarre tone of the Film is pretty fun too.

You're never quite sure what is going to happen.

As far as Negatives, the Pacing is a bit off and they don't do a great job of making you root for the guy at first.  We eventually get his backstory, but it takes a bit.

He's at least a good guy in the end, as opposed to the guy from Space Cop.
I've seen lots of weird Cop Films, haven't I?

The Film is for people who love old-school gore, makeup work and dark Comedy.
If that's not for you, then maybe skip this Franchise.

Otherwise, this might happen to you...

Next time, a look at a forgotten TV Movie that unites two TV Shows.  Who doesn't love a Wedding?  Stay tuned...

Forgotten TV: The Outer Limits - 'Decompression'

 We're still in the Top 5 here with The Outer Limits.

Does this one deliver as well as the last ones?

In 'Decompression,' a man- Bruce Boxleitner- is a Senator who just won his first Presidential Primary.

What could go wrong?

A mysterious woman- CCH Pounder- appears on his plane and tells him that he'll die in less than an hour.

His plane will crash!

The catch: nobody can see her when he calls in help.

She keeps appearing to him, but him talking to her behind closed doors is worrying people.

It gets worse as he doesn't have the panache that Sam on Quantum Leap has with this.

Pounder says that she's a Time Traveler (another one!) who is appearing only to him to keep him alive, in order to save the future.

Also on the Plane is a Reporter, who is quick to jump on what appears to be the Senator having a breakdown in mid-air.

Is he correct?

As the ticking clock winds down, Boxleitner is convinced that the only way to survive is to shoot out the window and take a leap of faith!

He does it, whereupon Pounder reveals that HE was the future Dictator and she was sent back to stop him.
He crashes to his death, surprisingly not looking like what happens when you spill an entire tray of lasagna!

A dark version of Quantum Leap that I'm all on board for.

This is a nice example of how there's still good Episodes buried deep in the run of this Show.  We're in Season 6 and this is really good.

Boxleitner is good as a Politician that seems good...to a point.  With a different Actor, it might not have worked.
He would have seemed either too evil or too good.

CCH Pounder is great too, being menacing and helpful in alternating lines/Scenes.

This is about corrupt Politicians, so it will always be topical (as long as we still have Elections).  This is from 2000, so any similarity to real people now is just a coincidence.

Even so, this was a good Episode and I'm looking forward to seeing how the Top 10 rounds out.

Next time, an Episode about Time Traveling (yes, again), causality loops and...a Pandemic.  I'm really glad that I got back into this Show in 2026 and not 2020!  

Tubi Thursday: Scream of the Wolf (2022)

 I was going to watch Scream of the Wolf (1974) because it was a Dan Curtis Film.
...sadly, the Tubi Copy is like a 4th Generation VHS rip, so...what's Plan B?

Scream of the Wolf (2022).

Let's do this!

Somewhere out in the in descript regions of the UK, a bunch of folks are making a Vampire Film.

Nice misdirection there.

A couple new guys are called out to work on it and we *sort of* get an American Werewolf in London reference with them asking for directions at a Pub.

It's about the only comparison I'll make to a good Film, so enjoy it.

After lots of stalling and nothing, we learn that a Werewolf has made it to the Manor.
Is that why this is also called Wolf Manor?

It sometimes kills some folks- like the guys on the way to the Manor- but sure takes his sweet time.

This Film has time for lots of complaining by the old guy playing the Vampire AND for him to have a $36 Dream Sequence (one lady in a top hat dances while music plays).

Can you start killing some folks again, Mr. Wolf?

Thank you.

In the most telegraphed of endings, we see the old guy has a silver cane and uses it to stab the Wolf and walk away in the morning.

Confusingly, we then cut to a bunch of Werewolves all meeting on the road by the Manor...since I guess the victims are now transformed?

That or there was always five of them?  Who cares?
The End.

Okay, let's jump right into positives.

The Werewolf Suit looks cool.  I like Practical Werewolves (more than Practical Magic).  It's nice and furry.

There are also some decent gore and fake limbs.

The Setting is nice.

Sadly, that's it, as the Film drags for long, long stretches of time.
The Werewolf can't enter the House...until he can.  That will get us to the mandatory runtime!

I'm only here since there's a bad copy of a Film I wanted to see, so I got what I was going to get.

Is this a Werewolf Comedy or a decent Werewolf Film?  They say its one, but it is certainly not the other.

Immediate Response: Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey (2026)

 Before I see the big Tom Holland Film this Summer, I needed to see...the big Tom Holland Film of the Summer.

Look- I just went to see...

The Good

* The Film is epic is scope and absolutely delivers on what you expect from 'Christopher Nolan does The Odyssey.'  Clearly, they cut NO corners.

* The Acting is really good across the board, from the Leads like Damon and Holland to people in smaller, but integral roles like Page and Nyong'o.

* All of the moments you expect to see are here (in some form or another). 
The Cyclops is a real standout, from the FX to the overall execution.

* Everyone gets a moment to shine here, which is great to see in a Film like this.
* The Score deserves a mention here.  Big, booming and a big highlight.

The Bad

* The Film has some really violent moments in it.  Just a warning for anyone who, you know, doesn't know the Story.

* I don't necessarily know if this one needed to be told somewhat out of order (not to the extent of Oppenheimer).  It's not a huge deal, but the framing is notable.

* This is probably just a 'me' thing, but they built up finally showing us Agamemnon for so long that when we see him, I was expecting some big surprise Star.  Not a knock on the guy, but I was expecting someone else.

* It's a shame that things like them changing how the Gods are represented to who they cast in certain roles.  

Honestly, don't let it keep you from seeing this!

Please don't judge the Film on the many Fake AI Image Generated Trailers either. 
Like...why is this a thing?

Nolan does Nolan stuff with a big Budget and a retelling of a literal Epic.

Is It Bad?: Spider-Man 3 (2007)

Is Raimi's final Spider-Man Film the worst one ever?

Spider-Man 3 is a contentious Film to many people, myself included.

After nearly 20 years, I gave this one another shot.

Pro: We get to see Peter and Mary Jane happy.  They were kept apart in various ways for the last 2 Films.

They are doing well on their own and they are happy.

Enjoy it while you can!

Pro: Harry Osborn's Arc comes to a head, which is a great use of the Film Trilogy format.  He becomes like this Father and tries to kill Peter.

Con: The Plot Point of him getting amnesia is not great for a single Film. 
Like other parts of the Film, having him set up for Spider-Man 4 would have helped.

Pro: The arc of him being Peter's friend is still good though.

Pro: Sandman is a good villain.  I'm glad that technology caught up enough to make him work on screen.

His Arc as a guy who had 'bad luck' and did bad things is good.

Con: Having his Origin tied to a retcon about Uncle Ben's death was a big miss.
There were other ways to make Peter hate him.

Pro: Tobey (as Peter) really commits to the slow, subtle changes to his personality because of the Symbiote.

Pro: Finally introducing Gwen and Captain Stacy is great.
Con: The Film does almost nothing with them, especially Captain Stacy.

If there's a Spider-Man 4 (as there should be for this Plot), they could do more with him.

Pro: I don't hate Emo Peter acting cool.
Con: Every Lead in the Film clearly was auditioning for Musical Theater Roles in this Film.
Dunst sings in the Play and dances with Franco.  Maguire does...jumping?

Con: James Franco.
Do I need to explain this?

Pro: He's honestly decent in this, especially when you're supposed to hate him.  It just feels...natural.

Pro: Venom looks cool and I do like the Arc setting up Eddie Brock as Venom.

Con: This is a great set-up...for Spider-Man 4.

Seriously, set up a villainous Franco and Grace for that Film.  Use another villain- like Mysterio- if you want too.

Just this Arc being rushed is too much.

Pro: The chaotic Final Battle- rushed as the Character Arcs are- is cool.

Con: The aftermath is paced oddly, with a prolonged bit with Sandman and then one with Franco.
It's not quite full Return of the King.

Con: The Film doesn't end with him proposing.  Weird to drop that, no?

What is Good?

The Acting is really good.  Every returning Actor nails their parts here.
J. Jonah even gets some great moments of comeuppance that Simmons plays well.

The Visual Effects are really good here, mostly.  They attempted to blend the Live-Action and CGI Models together.  They *mostly* hold up in HD.

The Character Designs and overall Production Values are great.  Even the new Score is good.

*

What is Bad?

Too much Plot for one Film.  It's the obvious answer.

Pick Sandman and keep the Franco opening bit and return- just save the blow-off for Part 4.  Same with the Venom set-up.

The Film can also come off a bit melodramatic at times.  Raimi and Company have moments of that in other Films, but this one is especially notable.

There are not a million bad things- just a few big ones that define the Film.

So...

Is It Bad?

NO.

The Film is disappointing and certainly a victim of Studio overreach.  Raimi has made it clear that Venom was a Studio mandate.
I just wish that they could have worked things out Plot-wise, because so much of the Film is good!

Like X-Men 3: The Last Stand, enough time has passed for me to look at this with a broader, less emotional viewpoint.  It's still disappointing in the wake of just how great Spider-Man 2 is.