Best and Weirdest of my Shudder Year: 2025

 Do I need to keep paying for Shudder?
Yes- I get plenty of joy from it.

Not every Film is great, but which ones stood out to me this Year?

Honorable Mentions: Urban Legend, Sputnik, Urban Legends: Final Cut, Mosquito, V/H/S Halloween, Good Boy, Wolfkin.

1) The Primevals: This one was not completed when it is was supposed to be released in 1993.

Thankfully, it got a release in 2023 and ended up here.

A fun, throwback Film in many ways that I'm glad has gotten its due.

2) Frankie Freako: A fun and silly Film inspired by '80s trash.

The Director of Psycho Goreman walks that line between homage and remake in a Film that it subjectively great.

3. Monster Island: Don't let the generic Title fool you- there's more going on here.

A simple tale- two disparate people stuck on an Island with a creature- has surprising depth and pathos.  Plus, the Monster rocks.

4. Dangerous Animals: A nice surprise, with a well-known Character Actor standing out.

A pretty simple tale, but one that works when you see how dangerous the villain looks.

5. Night of the Reaper: A fun Film that plays with conventions and cliches.

What sounds like a Film you've seen 100 times takes a few clever twists and turns.

6. The Vourdalak: A crazy French Film with a weird gimmick to boot.

This freaky Vampire Film features a very unique creature and a weird story.

7. Azrael: A grim, wordless tale that definitely stands out.

This Horror Film focuses on a single woman, has no dialog and its Plot is super vague.
It shouldn't work, but it mostly does.

8. Clown in a Cornfield: Another Slasher Film the wisely plays with conventions.

We've come around again to where we have new Scream Films and new Films have to subvert THOSE tropes.  This is a great example.

There you go- 8 recommendations for Films to watch, a reminder for you if you forget when I first posted this or, you know, don't watch them.

I won't know either way, so...go nuts.

Streaming Standard: Troll 2 (2025)

 A Film that makes me go 'No, not that Troll 2.  This is a new Film' far too often.

I guess they couldn't use Trolls, so...

A few years after the last Film, our Heroine is on the outs with the Government (as she went a bit rogue).

She does have one connection and Andreas gets her in a base with a secret...

They have another Troll.

Didn't the last Film tease another one?
Well, it's not this one.

Naturally, it wakes up and gets loose.

It starts attacking more people, including a Night Club that is super chill about a Troll with a 30-foot head growling at them.

At least Leatherface was just a normal guy (in a skin mask) when he showed up in that bus.

The new Troll continues on its path of destruction, even wrecking the same random House as the last Film.

Maybe don't build your House on the Troll Highway, folks.

What can stop this bigger Troll?

Another Troll!

Yes, they befriend a nice Troll (complicating the morality here as we have a Villain Monster and a Hero Monster) to save the day.

Of course, we're barely an hour in, so that's not going to work.

What can stop this new, angry Troll?

To find out, stream it now.

A fun Film that builds on the lore nicely and really lays on the pathos.

I obviously won't SPOIL too much- the Film has only been available for 19 days at time of writing.
That said, they set up some obvious stuff and then pay it off for the end.

To the Film's credit, it is not that much of a rehash.

This Troll is a legit Monster, as opposed to a force of Nature that they keep shooting at.

They build nicely on their own History and Lore.  Don't got into this one blind- you'll need to get LOTS of recapping in.

The VFX are still great here.  That said...

There's less Troll action (as a whole) than I was expecting- especially with a second one showing up.  I can't imagine that this one had a smaller Budget, so what's the Story here?

Regardless, the Film looks gorgeous and should please fans of the last one.  And yes, it too has a Fake AI Trailer Image when you search this Movie on Google.

This looks like an ad for a bad, pay-to-win Mobile Game!

A Film that gives you both less and more of what you want.  I'm not 100% in favor of every choice, but most of them are quite good.

Tubi Thursday: Silent Night Deadly Night 4- Initiation

 A Christmas gift that was lost in the move.

For a brief period, I posted many Reviews to a different site and didn't bother to put them here too.

As such, I 'missed' this one to complete my Omnibus for Silent Night Deadly Night.

This is Brian Yuzna's...

A woman named Kim wants to be a Reporter, but her Boss (Reggie Bannister) won't pay attention.

So when a woman jumps to her death *while on fire* from a building, she follows the story.

She runs across a woman (Maud Adams) who runs a weird Bookstore.

She also has to keep away from Clint Howard...

He witnessed the burning and seems confused.

This is contradictory to what we find out later, but alright.

He's also somehow Ricky, who went from a blond guy who says 'Garbage Day' to Bill Moseley with a brain pan to...this.

She is drawn deeper into the Cult that this lady is running.

Kim starts seeing weird things, like bugs everywhere.

This is a Film with Screaming Mad George on VFX, so they go for it.

The Cult keeps dosing her and she doesn't realize it.

She's not smart.

Ricky kills her boyfriend and then...things somehow get worse.

They want her to kill her boyfriend's brother to complete the ritual.

If she doesn't, she'll explode in fire like the last lady.

She, of course, turns the tide and we get a happy-ish ending.
This is also the origin of the Hotdog Fingers effect.

The End.

Everything Trashy Everywhere All The Time

A weird Film that is technically canon...maybe...i guess.

Is this the same Ricky from Silent Night Deadly Night 2 and 3.
He's noticeably different looking here, but he was in 3 as well.

That said, his brains got blown out in that one and his head has zero scarring.
Maybe the Witches fixed him.  Magic!

The Film keeps insisting that it is seasonal, featuring a Christmas part, decorations all over the streets and the Phantasm guy saying 'Merry Christmas' right into the camera like some terrible FMV Game.

In spite of that, it is full of gross out effects, bugs and gore.  Thanks, Screaming Mad George.

If you like weird Films and don't mind a barely passable connection to the Series, this is fine.  I won't tell you the other Film that was 'inspired' by this one.

A Film that is technically a Christmas Film, but mostly an excuse to connect Scenes of crazy effects.  That said, they are fun (and gross) effects.

'06 Flashback: Underworld- Evolution (2006)

 Let's jump ahead to another Film that I haven't seen since I was an Usher.

This is Underworld: Evolution, the 2006 Sequel to the original.  It is bigger, bloodier and even more blue-tinted.

Seriously, remember how much they color corrected these Films?!?

The Plot involves our Heroine, her new hybrid boyfriend and, well, everyone following them.
Every time they move, we see someone arrive at the same Scene and either blow it up or kill the person/people there.

It is like a long, blue game of tag, but with Vampires in vinyl, Werewolves and multiple Doctor Who Actors.

Is this the big, bloody spectacle that I enjoyed all of those years ago?  To find out, read on....

A Flashback starts the Film and we see the key figures for the Plot.

We have Marcus (the first Vampire) and William (the first Werewolf).  

They are both deemed to be too dangerous, especially the latter.

He's locked up for, well, Acts 1 and 2.

In the Present, our Heroes are on the run from both the Head Vampires and the Werewolves (who are mostly just henchmen).

Selene learned about all of the lies (which I'll cover in the Underworld Review).

Meanwhile, Michael is the first Hybrid (infected by both a Vampire and a Werewolf) and they want him dead.

Marcus is awoken from his long slumber.  The remaining Vampires try to kill him, but he revives first.

Bye, remaining bad guy from the last Film!

This guy has big old bat wings (which he uses for flying and stabbing) and Voldemort's profile.

As mentioned, he is following our Heroes in their journey.

We also get the remaining Vampire Council Members sending henchmen after HIM to clean up the mess.

He finally catches up to them and attacks the duo as they drive away in a truck.

It is a great Scene and shows what people did with a limited amount of CGI, great makeup effects and lots of patience.

They realize that he's after Selene's necklace, so they go to get some exposition.

They find a guy named Tanis, who tells them that it is one half of the key to Michael's Cell.

Only Selene knows where said Cell is, however, as her and her (now dead) Sister were told the tale long ago.

Naturally, Marcus ends up following behind them and drains Tanis' blood to see what we just saw.

How convenient.

He eventually gets the keys from Selene and his Father (respectively) and frees the big beast.

Now it is up to Selene and Michael (plus disposable dead meat Vampire guys) to stop the two immortal, original creatures of their kind!

The duo succeed, thanks to Selene's ingenuity (and a crashed helicopter whose blades keep spinning) and Michael basically being a walking Cheat Code.

In the aftermath, Selene learns that drinking the blood of Michael's Father (one of the last Immortals) has now made her immune to sunlight.

Look for this to continue in...oh right, the 3rd one is a Prequel.
Never mind.

A fun Film because of and in spite of its excesses.

The Film has two things in spades (as old folks say)- Blood and Color Correction.

This is a hard R for blood (and implied nudity).  Lots of people are shot, stabbed, cut up and bitten.

The Film also continues the trend from last time of color correction in every possible shot.  The Smurf Films feature less blue than this Film!

As mentioned, the Plot is odd, featuring Selene and company meeting someone and then Marcus and/or the Vampires there like a Scene later.

The build-up to releasing Michael is epic, but it also means that his big defeat comes pretty quickly as the Film races towards the finale.
Oh well.

Apparently I never properly reviewed any other Film except Blood Wars, so I'll go back and make up for that in time.  Meanwhile...is that Vincent Van Gogh?!?

Next up, I revisit a James Cameron Classic in time for, well, his next billion dollar Movie.  How deep is this abyss anyhow?  Stay tuned...

Shudder Day: It's a Wonderful Knife (2023)

 What happens if you flip a Holiday Classic into a Horror Film?

You either get Nightmare on 34th Street (real) A Christmas Murder (not real?) or...

The Town of Angel Falls is all but owned by a corrupt businessman named Henry Waters (Justin Long).

He is trying to buy up all of the small businesses, including one owned by The Cigarette Smoking Man.

On Christmas Eve, a masked killer takes out the Smoking Man and then others.

While he's trying to kill Jimmy Caruthers (son of Joel McHale), his Sister stops him.

A year later, she's miserable as nobody wants to talk about everything that happened, even the deaths.

She's depressed and throws a freak out that night.

She goes to a Bridge and wishes that she was never born.

As the pun Title would imply, this actually works.

Like George Bailey, she sees what life would be like without her.

Everyone is sad.
Justin Long is basically a despot.

Oh, and the Killer kept on killing since she wasn't there to stop him.

With a figurative ticking clock (in the form of a magical Aurora Borealis) counting down, can she learn her lesson and return to her old life?

To find out, stream it now.

A fun Film which takes a familiar Plot in some new directions.

A Slasher Film version of It's A Wonderful Life seems like the most and least obvious thing to do.  At worst, you just use the pun Title for the 3,663rd Killer Santa Film.

This is a good use, however, as the Plot mirrors the Classic just enough and still does its own thing.

You get a neat looking killer, who apparently uses the original design for Ghostface's robes.
You get familiar Actors like McHale, Long and Katharine Isabelle.
You get some good, exciting kills that don't linger on the brutality like some other Films.

If you're one of those people offended by the presence of Gay Characters, you are warned.

For everyone else, it is a Film that somehow works as a good Comedy at points, Horror Film at others and a Drama in the time leftover.

It won't replace your Classics, but it is a nice addition.  Just like Henry, you can trust my judgement...

A fun twist on a Christmas Classic.  Time will tell if this one joins those Films in your Holiday rotation.

'05 Flashback: Munich (2005)

 A Film that I last saw in five-minute segments back when I was a Theater Employee.

This is Munich, Steven Spielberg's 2005 Drama based on a Book.  Said Book is based on a true story...sort of...maybe. 
The people involved deny all of the details, but the Author also said that 'Of course they deny it.'

Good defense, champ.

The Plot involves a man leading a team to take out the men behind the 1972 Munich Olympic Kidnapping/Killing of Jewish Athletes.  As time goes on, is justice being served?

There's lots of issues with this one and it clearly was an issue at the time.  The DVD has a long intro from Spielberg himself explaining what the Film is about, what it isn't about and 'why are you so mad?'

Alright then.

To find out how this Film is somehow called one of the best Films of this Century and also never talked about, read on...

In the Opening, a bunch of strangers- the Palestinian Separatist group known as Black September- break into the Munich Olympics.

They kill and then kidnap some Athletes- specifically the Jewish one.

If the Film is so interested in realism, why not bother making the Stadium look remotely similar?

****

The whole Intro plays out in a mix of people watching TV, watching people react to the news and then being told that it went well.

I had a handful of people walk out early and demand refunds for this Film in my Theater.  This was the ONLY Film this happened (to me, at least).

We had Supercross the Movie and A Sound of Thunder.

Eric Bana is recruited by Geoffrey Rush to work for the Mossad, but also not really.  
He signs a contract saying that he doesn't work for them...which is a bit silly.

I didn't sign a contract with WWE to say that I still don't work there.

Bana and his team- which includes 'James Bond' and 'Steppenwolf'- begin to track the people behind the attacks.

They take out a guy in his home, shooting him 11 times- one for each Olympic victim.

Well, in the Book, they do.

In the Film, they just shoot him a bunch of times.

The dead guy rolls over off-camera, I guess, as he's found face up.

They get all of their intel from this French guy, because reasons.

Can you tell that he's French from this shot?

He was the villain in 'Quantum of Solace' too

They take out another bad guy with a small bomb, in the Scene this Film is most known for.

Less well known is how they take out ANOTHER guy with a bomb.

Bana takes the room next door to properly signal the detonation, which proves to be a bad idea.

Before another attack- a large strike on a compound-, the group is joined by a bunch of other Mossad Agents.

Did we forget how they are supposed to not work for Mossad?

Anyhow, it is important that we know that this one guy is a future Israeli PM...I guess.

Tensions grow between the group as a hit or two goes wrong and/or is interrupted.

Can they trust each other?

Things get worse when three members of the team are killed and a final mission to take out the Black September ringleader fails.

Bana goes home and is now struggling with all of the killing he just did.
Can he find peace?
Well, it's not clear if this Story is remotely true, so...who knows?

The End.

The strikes actually stopped after a real incident, not this.

A Film whose greatest strength is arguably its greatest weakness.

Look- I'm not here to tell you whether or not Steven Spielberg is a good Director or not.  If you haven't decided by now, I won't sway you.

The problem I have with this Movie is that everything is so murky and uncertain.  They keep talking about doubt and suspicion.  They keep shooting the Film in ways that are hard to like, the harsh lighting being a key example.

If this makes you look realistic, then it makes you look realistically bad.

Speaking of bad, the Pacing isn't great.  The Intro definitely meanders and they splice in the full events of the Munich Incident (covered here in 1976) throughout the Film.

Our Hero- who wasn't there- has flashbacks to how it all happened- the last of which happens while he's having sex with his wife.

O-kay then.

Munich is a Film that has lots to say...about one single aspect of a tale that involves dozens of alliances, turns and hundreds of years of History.

Watch for how good Eric Bana is, but you won't get any real answers about the (sadly still ongoing) issues.

Here's a screen grab gimmick I never expected to bring back in a Spielberg Film...

Next up, a Film about Vampires, Werewolves and leather.  Is this Sequel from my Theater days still enjoyable?  Stay tuned...