Shudder-day: Dangerous Animals (2025)

 Let's go to the Land Down Under.

Is this Film good enough to redeem the former Captain Boomerang?

Let's find out...

Jai Courtney plays a guy named Tucker (or Tuck) is a guy you hire to people you 'swim' with sharks in a cage.

He's a modern day Captain Ron (will anyone under 40 get this joke), but...

He's also a Serial Killer.

He tortures ladies and then feeds them to sharks.

You're no chum of mine!

He kidnaps our Film's Heroine one night and takes him out to his boat.

Alongside another future victim, she waits and plans an escape.

He's going to feed the other lady to a shark and make her watch.

It will be her turn soon enough...

Can she find a way to escape from his boat?
Is he truly the 'apex predator' that he thinks of himself as?

Or will this guy rise to the occasion to save the day?

My money is on the sharks.
No offense.

To find out, stream it now....

An intense and visceral Film.

Kudos to Australia for raising the bar.  We in America tend to get lots of CGI Shark Movies via Syfy or, well, the one remaining Polonia Brother.

This one is a good mix of Genres as Courtney really nails the intense killer vibe.  He can be emotionless in the right moments and very angry in the other moments.

I won't SPOIL it, but he has as a great weakness that our Heroine exploits to save her life (for the time being).

The sharks work well here as an existential threat just waiting to be used.  They are like a loaded gun sitting on the edge of desk.
You know that they will be used...it's just a matter of when.

If you like the sort of Character Driven Thriller that this one gives you, take a look.  As for this Poster though.... I have questions...

A Film that mixes human killers and sharks- just not in a dumb, sci-fi way.  It's a breath of fresh air.

Streaming Standard: Chucky- Season 3

 A Review that I've put off for a good reason.  
I'll get to that later.

For now, know that this is the 3rd and (for now) final Season of the Show.

Will it end in a strong way?
To find out, read on...

Many things have changed since the Ending of Season 2.

Chucky is back alive just fine and is now residing in The White House as the personal doll of the President's youngest Son.

How did he get there?  Find out...in 2 full Episodes.

The President is played by Devon Sawa, marking his 4th Character on the Show.

They explained it when he was the Dad's twin Brother, but gave up in Season 2.
Why not make him be The President now?

'I won't die...for at least 4 Episodes.'

Our Heroes try to recover from the violence and insanity of the last Season.

Our Heroine's Sister is still missing, a mystery that will also not be explained until Episode 3.

They eventually discover where Chucky is, but how do they get into the White House?
They aren't construction workers who can take down the East Wing!

We'll also find out that something is wrong with Chucky's doll body....and soul.

This is going to raise the stakes.
Now he's really going to die...possibly...okay, obviously not really.

Elsewhere, Jennifer Tilly is convicted of all of the murders and sent to Death Row in Texas.

Can she escape now that she's gotten all of the voodoo items that give her power?

I can only pretend that there's drama here for so long.

Things all come to a head in the White House!

Our Heroes must not only stop Chucky, but his soul itself.

Can they do it...or does the Show end on just the most complete reset possible?

Is it clear that I'm annoyed yet?

Yeah, so I have some real issues here.

For starters, the Show gets far less dramatic when you realize that its Creator has zero interest in ever ending this Story.  
Three Films?  Not enough.  Two more Films?  Nope.  Two more Films?  Nope!!!

What is frustrating to me is that there is some real creativity involved in the Show.  On its own merits, it is not bad.

They just refuse to let Chucky ever be in real peril.  When he dies, there are a dozen Chucky Dolls.  When those are destroyed, there's another hidden one.  When that one dies, there's yet ANOTHER super-secret hidden one (and also being dead makes him somehow stronger).

Don Mancini- the rare Creator who never left his Series after 30+ years- promises to continue to the Story with yet another Film.

Will this be a finale?  I doubt it.

I was never a huge Chucky fan, but I have seen all but one of the Films (even the Reboot).  That said, a refusal to ever end things just feels like...well, I need a visual metaphor...

That will do.

A Show that I grew to like in the early days.  In spite of it killing off Characters at random, I stuck with it...and this is what I got.

2025 Update: Jurassic World Rebirth (2025)

 I pay for Peacock to keep watching old Wrestling Shows.
Seeing Blockbusters first run on Streaming is just a bonus.

This is...

In the Cold Open, we see that a Lab was running in 2008 that was making mutant Dinosaurs...because reasons.

It ends poorly...and will eventually matter in Act 3.

A bunch of folks go to an Island near Central America to get some Dinosaur DNA.

As it turns out, the Dinos are dying off in the Years since Dominion, but their blood can be used to cure Heart Disease.
Sure- why not?!?

Leading the expedition is Scarlet Johansen as a Mercenary in it for the money.

The trip to the Island- as you can see above- goes bad and now they are stranded.

She has to work with an old Colleague, the rich guy funding it and People's Sexiest Man Alive 2025.

He's the Dino Expert who is more than happy to finally see and interact with the real thing.

Of course, this Film can't agree that Dinosaurs are majestic creatures or things to be feared.

As they work together, do they form a connection?
Will they actually give this research to the public?

Will they live to do so?
To find out, stream it now.

A fun, if uneven Film experience.

Rebirth is a Film of two parts- in many, many ways.

For one thing, the Plot is split to follow two different groups- our Heroes and a family (that I didn't even mention!).
Both end up on the Island, turning the Film almost into a series of Vignettes in Act 2.

The Film is also split on what exactly the Dinosaurs really are.
Sometimes they are beautiful creatures that we should feel pity for when they can't survive in our World.
Other times they are dangerous killing machines that must be stopped at all cost!

Nope did this balance far better.  Sorry.

Complaints aside, the Film looks great.  The Film is vibrant and the VFX are amazing.
On top of that, the Set Pieces usually deliver in a big way.

At its worst, Dominion nailed this well.  This one just has more of them.

Ultimately, the Film can be a bit disconnected, but you'll likely love all of the big moments.  When they work, they work.

A Film that is a bit disjointed and can't quite nail a tone.  That said, it is a popcorn flick with great effects and enough hear to be more than it seems.

Tubi Thursday: Sisu (2022)

 Is this the glorious Grindhouse Action Thriller that I was promised?

Let's find out (just in time for a Sequel I'm just now learning about) ...

Sisu is apparently a Finnish word for 'deep, uncontrollable rage.'

So how does it relate to this poor Gold Miner just waiting for WWII to end in 1944?

Well, after striking it rich, he goes back home.

Along the way, he's hassled by a bunch of Nazis who plan to rob him.

It ends...poorly for them.

The other group he passed on the way double back and now he's got lots of enemies, including ones with a tank!

In spite of their best efforts, they can't seem to kill him.

Just like, in spite of everyone's best efforts, it's hard not to get a little bit of Fury Road into your Action Films in the last Decade.

Can they take him down?
Is one man enough to survive a small Platoon of history's greatest henchmen?

To find out, stream it now.

A Film that just plain works.

It's a simple tale.  Man meets Nazis.  Man kills Nazis.

What more do you need?

Our Hero is built up nicely, with you seeing that there is clearly more going on with him before the action starts.
He turns out to be as creative as he is unwilling to die.  He doesn't overpower his foes with ease.

The Film is full of visceral gore and violence.  If you heard anything about how violent this can be, they didn't warn you enough.

If you're willing to embrace the whole experience- the mud, the vengeance and the gore-, the Film works very well.

I had legit forgot about this one after its original release and my desire to see it was renewed when I saw it on here.
I'm glad that I did.

Take us out, Japan and, as always, a kick ass cover.

A bloody good time, provided you give it time to build.  It's a mix of John Wick and Rambo in Finland which hits just right.

Compendium: EVERY 'Children of the Corn' Film!

 I spent a brief time long ago going through most of these Films.  I eventually found out that I had to do more to complete the Set.

They. Just. Kept. Making. Them!

With this last Review, I'm 99.999998% sure that I've done them all.
If they do more, I guess I'll just have to harvest an Update for this.

Let's start at the VERY beginning...

1) Disciples of the Crow- This is the from King's Dollar Baby Series.  He'd charge you a dollar and you could adapt a Story.

This one was collected in The Night Shift Collection- Volume 2.

2) Children of the Corn (1984)- This Title is sadly shared at least 2x in the Series.  This is the OG version- aka the one Kind didn't like.

3) Children of the Corn II- The Final Sacrifice- Yep, we've hit the word 'Final' in just Part 2.  Yikes.

This one is often found bundled in DVDs with the Original and retcons random parts of the story.

4) Children of the Corn III- Urban Harvest- A rare instance of where the word 'Urban' in a Horror Film Title doesn't just mean Black.

In this tale, 2 Brothers from Gatlin are adopted and move to Chicago.  A random Oscar Winner Cameo occurs too.

5. Children of the Corn- The Gathering- A new Dimension (Films) takes over here.  This is one of those 'Yes, Famous Person X was in this before they got big' Films.

Is there more to it though?

6. Children of the Corn V- Fields of Terror- The fun and silly one.

It is famous for featuring Genre Legends like David Carradine and newcomers like Eva Mendez...but that's about it.

7. Children of the Corn 666- Isaac's Return- When in doubt, bring a Legacy Character back.  This was a thing even back in 1999.

Does bringing him back make a good Movie?

8. Children of the Corn- Revelations- A Film that I was clearly just about over with from the getgo.

Regardless, I did watch and explain it all.

9. Children of the Corn (2009)- The Remake made to please Stephen King.  Well, another one made for that reason.

He's allowed to have his opinions, but did we need this?

10. Children of the Corn- Genesis- The Dimension EXTREME(!!!) line gave us many Sequels to keep the rights.

This is another one- now with even less corn!

11. Children of the Corn- Runaway- I legit forgot that this existed until I saw it listed on Tubi.

As such, the Director of Feast got a shot in 2018 and it sure...is a thing.

12. Children of the Corn (2020)- Barely a Decade after the last Remake, we have another?!?

This one is a completely new thing- for better or worse.

Me after doing the first 7 in about a week.

According to Wikipedia, that does it.

Watch someone do another Remake next week now!

Bonus Doc: Terror in the Aisles- The TV Cut

 What happens when a Film that once existed solely as a Special Feature gets its own?

Well, for some backstory, the 1984 Documentary I covered recently was first rediscovered and put on the Blu-Ray release of Halloween II.

It's also the version that cut Mustapha Akkad's credit, so nothing is perfect.

In 2020, Terror got its own release and that came with Special Features of its own.

Besides the usual- Interviews with people involved- they also included the TV Cut of the Film.

How different is it?
Let's find out...

For starters, they didn't go through this version of the Film and restore it.

So, I put this shot from the previous Review in for comparison.
Do you miss the crisp HD look at Pleasence talking directly at you through the screen?

The main difference here is that they use a whole bunch of DIFFERENT Films for Clips and references.

It is not a full replace, but you get to see stuff that features less (or no) blood and no Nudity.

As such, let's put a Film in that was super recent at the time- Firestarter.

Remember in that last bit I talked about how they used different Films due to content.

Well, I should also point out that they include THE ENTIRE Dream Sequence from An American Werewolf in London.

The shooting, the stabbing and all of the nightmare fuel of it!

Credit to the Editors in some regards though.

The part where they talk about Nudity is obviously different for the TV Cut.

That involves selective cutting, like going right to the lady diving into the Ocean in Jaws, rather than letting you see the back of her for a few seconds.

This Version also features A TON of Universal content here too.

We get the Metalluna Mutant, The Creature from the Black Lagoon, the giant Mantis and the Film that inspired the fear of all cat owners.

The Incredible Shrinking Man.

The TV Cut also features footage from a Film I somehow haven't seen (or completely forgot that I have)- The Funhouse.

Remember, this was put in there to make it safe to run on TV in the '80s.

What even were the standards.

Lastly, I should mention that stuff you wouldn't even think of for a Film called Terror in the Aisles is in this Cut.

For example, the Book Collecting/Burning Scene from Fahrenheit 451.

At least they accidentally included something that has inspired real fright in the last couple of years.

All in all, the TV Cut is fine...but maybe bother restoring that one too, folks?
Just a suggestion.

Shudder Day: Children of the Corn (2020)

 Why let a Global Pandemic stop you from making yet another Remake?

This is the 2nd Remake of Children of the Corn, which was shot in 2020.
It was technically released in 2023, which makes that even more pointless.

A strange kid walks out of a Cornfield and talks to his Sister.

After that, he kills the Adults in the House.

A bit later, a hostage situation involving the armed kid ends with the adults pumping in a gas used to knock out cattle.

All of the kids die.

The girl outside (Eden) is a bit radicalized goes a bit crazy.

The corn in the Town is dying.
The Adults plan to take a Government subsidy to make up for the loss.

The kids in Town- especially Eden- are upset about not being heard and/or being ignored.

Eden leads a revolt- a bloody one!

Off-screen, she managed to capture all of the Adults and kills a few as well.

Our good Lead- Boleyn- tries to make peace, but the kids keep up the killing.

Can Eden be stopped before all of the Adults are killed?
Is she full-on crazy?

Or is she too far gone?

Once you spill blood, it's hard to stop...or so I hear, if any Police might be reading this.

To find out what happens, stream it now.

The Film has moments.  There is some good Drama here.

I wanted to like it.

My complaint about later Corn Films is that they don't feel like they belong.  Whether they didn't have corn or didn't have killer kids, something was off.

This has both.

I just wish that this was better.

Our new villain Eden is good.  I don't necessarily know how deadly she would be, but I liked her in the role.

Boleyn here isn't bad, but I just didn't buy into how she stood there so long and let things happen.

The biggest thing is that they just gloss over key details- like how they captured all of the Adults- and then kind of disappointed with the reveal involving He Who Walks (Not Behind the Rows in this one).

This feels closer to the Book in a good way, but still isn't as good as it could be.
This German Title, however, is fun.

A Film that is both true to the premise...and also not.  I want to give points for effort, but the results are only so-so.