DCU Blog - September 2024 Edition: Lantern/Supergirl Castings, Movie Rumours, etc

As we head into the final quarter of the year, this last month certainly had a lot going on in terms of DC news.

Kyle Chandler has been cast as Hal Jordan for the upcoming Lanterns show for HBO. Aaron Pierre and Stephan James are in the running for John Stewart.

Matthias Schnoenaerts has been cast as Krem of the Yellow Hills for Supergirl: Woman Of Tomorrow. Filming will begin in January.

Alan Tudyk has been cast in an undisclosed role for Superman. He will also play Doctor Phosphorus in Creature Commandos. Krypto will also appear in Superman.

The Batman has another spin off series in development, though more details have yet to be revealed.

Prior to the release of Joker: Folie A Deux on October 4th, Lady Gaga released companion soundtrack, titled Harlequin. Harry Lawtey has been confirmed as Harvey Dent. 

The script for The Batman - Part II has been completed. Expect casting news fairly soon with filming slated for 2025 to make it's October 2nd 2026 release.

A script for the Keanu Reeves Constantine sequel has also been written. It has yet to be officially greenlit.

A longer roll out for Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story is expected to contend for the Oscars.

A movie featuring Bane and Deathstroke is in development and will be written by Matthew Orton. It's potentially a Secret Six movie. 

The opening episode for The Penguin managed to pull in 5.3 million on various platforms in its first four days.

Beast Boy Lone Wolf shorts will premiere on Cartoon Network from October 28th.

Creature Commandos will have a panel at NYCC in October while David Corenswet will promote Superman at CCXP in December.

A movie focusing on Sgt. Rock with Luca Guadagnino directing and Justin Kuritzkes writing is also in development. 

Mattel are releasing Barbie versions of Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy.

Jack Quaid has revealed that recording for Season 3 of My Adventures With Superman has begun.

Superman And Lois (airing from October 7th on the CW) will feature a character no other Superman show or movie has done in its final season.  

That's all for this month, folks. It's getting excited, isn't it?

My Review of The Penguin: "Inside Man"

 

Written by Erika L. Johnson

Directed by Craig Zobel

Oswald: "What's the difference between the mafia and the government? One of em is organized."

It was a long ten days between episodes of this spin off series and while I had plenty to occupy myself with, I was wondering if this second episode would successfully build on the momentum of the first one. Fortunately it did.

The rivalry between Oswald and Sofia continued to build up beautifully here. Sofia might be convinced that the Maronis killed Alberto (looks like we've been spared a certain comic hook up), she's still savvy enough not to trust Oswald as far as she could throw him. Unfortunately for Sofia, Oswald wasn't her only problem throughout this episode.

Her reputation as the Hangman naturally had the citizens of Gotham disgusted with her parole and even at Alberto's funeral, there was people protesting against the decadence of her family.  Even people within her family are starting to pose a problem for Sofia.

Throughout the episode, both Johnny Vitti and her uncle, Luca Falcone (Scott Cohen) went out of their way to undermine and freeze her out of family business. Also thanks to Oswald, she was convinced that Castillo (Berto Colon) was a traitor. By the end of the episode, Oswald had Sofia exactly where he wanted her.

Yes, both Sofia and Oswald entered into a partnership in order to seize control of the Falcone operations, notably the Drops business that Sofia and Alberto were going together. Yet again, Oswald just about managed to get exactly what he wanted, even when the odds were stacked against him.

Oswald certainly liked playing with fire this week. Getting into bed with the Maronis meant also having to deal with Sal's wife, Nadia (Shohreh Aghdashloo) and she wasnt easily swayed by Oswald. That didn't stop Oswald from also causing problems for the Maroni clan too.

As for Victor, I get that he wants to make something for himself but that kid really does have a casualty sign hanging over his head. I'm convinced he's not making it out of the season alive and even Oswald lost his patience with Victor's bumbling this week. Oswald told Victor to toughen up but I don't think Victor will. 

- The show made a point of telling us that Sofia murdered seven women as the Hangman. Eve and Francis are future targets because of Oswald.

- Theo Rossi popped up as Sofia's Arkham therapist, Julian Rush. He tried to get Sofia to unlock past trauma, which she didn't want to do.

- Sofia even threatened her cousin Carla and the latter's daughter, Gia when Carla dropped her friendly facade.

- Francis has dementia, which is getting worse. Oswald played music to help soothe her.

-Standout music: A version of Happy Together played at the end of the episode.

- Chronology: It's November 2022 and winter is starting to hit Gotham. 

Inside Man absolutely maintained the high quality of the first episode. The constant back and forth between Oswald and Sofia, the continued ramifications of Gotham being flooded, the absence of a certain vigilante. It's all adding to a gripping series. 

Rating: 8 out of 10 

The League Of Gentlemen - Series 1 Review (1999)

 

Written by Jeremy Dyson And Mark Gatiss And Steve Pemberton And Reece Shearsmith

Directed by Steve Bendelack

Tubbs: "This is a local shop for local people. There's nothing for you here."

Earlier this year I watched all nine series of Inside No. 9 (the best thing that Shearsmith/Pemberton have done for BBC2) and with spooky season approaching, I wanted to go further back with their other shows. Starting of course with this one, which they created along with Mark Gatiss and Jeremy Dyson, the latter who doesn't act in this.

It's a show that truthfully has not totally aged well with certain character choices that would be poorly looked upon in a 2024 setting. However back in 1999, there was something rather subversive about this surreal but grotesque comedy series.

Playing a vast array of oddball characters, Mark Gatiss, Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton certainly delivered some great performances with some of the most ghastly comedy creations. You would not want to live in Royston Vasey and you certainly wouldn't want to interact with the majority of the locals either.

The characters themselves are many with Gatiss, Shearsmith and Pemberton alternating between multiple roles, so breaking things down, I'm going to look at each actor and the characters of note. I'll mention other characters in my notes but here goes nothing.

Starting off with Mark Gatiss, the best characters in this first series include the well intentioned but accident prone vet Matthew Chinnery (animals don't live long when he's around), randy council estate cleaner, Iris, neat freak Val Denton and lovable but daft and unemployed Mickey M. Michaels. By far, they're the best characters of his in this first series.

As for Reece Shearsmith he's got undercover inspector Ross Gaines, the constantly bamboozled Benjamin, uppity Judee Levinson and the foul mother Reverend Bernice Wooddall. The latter especially taking the utmost delight in terrorising children and casting doubt in soon to be married couples. There's also local shop owner Edward Tattsyrup and his aversion to Royston Vassey having any sort of progress in it. 

Then there's Steve Pemberton. He often formed a great duo with Shearsmith and playing the week willed Tulip "Tubbs" Tattsyrup to Edward made for a great dynamic. I do think his best roles are vicious Restart officer Pauline Campbell-Jones, Val's toad obsessed husband Harvey and even trans taxi driver Barbara, who ended the series in Chinnery's care. 

In between these array of characters, there's constant reminders of Royston Vasey having some dark secrets, including many guest character deaths, creepy twin girls, a love cheat being strung up as a scarecrow. Yeah, it's a place you really don't want to live in.

- Episode titles were Welcome To Royston Vasey, The Road To Royston Vasey, Nightmare In Royston Vasey, The Beast Of Royston Vasey, Love Comes To Royston Vasey and Escape From Royston Vasey.

- Other characters included Shearsmith, Pemberton and Gatiss as quarrelling business friends Geoff, Mike and Brian as well as theatre company Legz Akimbo.

- Nowadays there's a content warning at the start of each episode, though Netflix removed the series in 2020, due to a certain character introduced in the second series.

- Influences for the show included a local asylum as well as places in East Sussex and County Durham.

- Jeremy Dyson does make a few cameos throughout the series, despite not being an actor.

- Chronology: It's a very timeless sort of show in a way. Almost like it's in a world of it's own.

This first series has not aged too well but there are definitely still some rather funny moments throughout the series if you're not too squeamish. For the most part, each episode does seem standalone with only a trickle of an overall arc in there.

Rating: 8 out of 10 

My Review of Psycho (1998)

Written by Joseph Stefano

Directed by Gus Van Sant

Norman (to Marion): "A boy's best friend is his mother."

I was always going to have to circle back to this one. Earlier in the year, I sat through the Anthony Perkins starring sequels and even ventured into a TV movie that felt somewhat disconnected. Then there was this remake and um, yeah. I know why I held off with this one.

Usually remakes try to spice it up a bit and be somewhat different to the original in order to justify their existence. This one on the other decided to be as close to the original as it could be that I really do question it's existence.

Anyways, you've got your false protagonist with Marion Crane (Anne Heche). Again, she decided to steal $400,000 from her boss to help her separated lover, Sam Loomis (Viggo Mortensen), even to the point of making a stop at a certain motel. You know the one I'm talking about.

The motel being the Bates Motel where proprietor Norman (Vince Vaughn) made an unsettling impression on Marion before his other self took over and killed her. Yeah, that scene played out as it did in the original and nowhere near as effectively. It's staged very badly if I'm being honest.

Then there was the other characters at play. You had Marion's sister, Lila (Julianne Moore) and private detective Arbogast (William H. Macy) all working together to find Marion. This of course led to them circling in on Norman.

Everything after that just felt like a race to the conclusion. Arbogast died in a very cartoonish way, Norman dressed like his mother whom he poisoned over a decade ago and Lila and Sam barely survived him. At least Mrs Bates (Rose Marie) wouldn't hurt a fly though.

- Some differences would be the fact there was more blood and Norman clearly masturbating before killing Marion.

- Nicole Kidman was originally considered for Marion but turned down due to scheduling conflicts. 

- Standout music: Rob Zombie's Living Dead Girl.

- Chronology: It came out in 1998 and we go from a Phoenix motel to California for the main events.

I think this version of Psycho did prove that you can't do a shot for shot remake and expect the same results. It's an inferior product in every way possible and despite everyone trying their best (I've somewhat softened a bit to Vince Vaughn in this), it ultimately feels like a waste of time all round.

Rating: 5 out of 10 

My Review of Doctor Odyssey: "Pilot"

 

Written by Ryan Murphy And Jon Robin Baitz And Joe Baken 

Directed by Paris Barclay

Avery: "We're all here for the same reason."

Max: "Work like a Captain, play like a pirate."

It's been mental that in the space of just over a week that we've had six Ryan Murphy shows on our screens. Shows that have ranged from returning favourites like the 9-1-1 shows, true crime biopics that have taken creative liberties, a horror crime themed show and now, this nautical themed show.

If the intention was a network TV version of The White Lotus but within the setting of a luxury cruise liner named The Odyssey and a Grey's Anatomy meets 9-1-1 style medical/procedural drama, then this show may or may not be for you. As a pilot episode, there's some rough sailing to get through with a hint of better to come.

Okay, what I didn't dig about this pilot episode was actually the implied love triangle between new Doctor on board Max Bankman (Joshua Jackson) and nurses Avery Morgan (Philippa Soo) and Tristan Silva (Sean Teale). Unless this show have planned a more modern take ala Challengers, this particular plot will get very tedious in record time. Already I'm not feeling that aspect of the show.

In fact, while Tristan as a character certainly has a charming and sexy side to him, the instant rivalry with Max just felt forced. Tristan took a dislike to Max even before the latter danced with Avery during the beach party. I'll take more of Tristan's cheesy dancing over him sulking about Max and Avery.

Saying that, it was somewhat uncool of Max to pursue Avery right after Tristan admitted to being in love with her. Fortunately, as the episode progressed, both Max and Tristan were able to put their differences aside to actually help patients during this opening sea fare. As for Avery, she seemed to like Max more as a potential lover and Tristan as a brother, so that's awkward.

Getting to the cases here, there was four. The Rubens had iodine poisoning and then an unfortunate sliding accident while Mr Harrington broke his penis, which had Max reveal a past mishap of his own. Then we got a man overboard with Leo to cap things off in that regard and Avery pretty much telling Max that every week involved a theme.

As for our other regular. I was surprised with the little screen time that Captain Robert Massey (Don Johnson) actually had. He popped up in a handful of scenes but they were largely on the exposition side of things and talking about his ship maintaining a fantasy life for it's passengers. I'm hoping he does have more to do in later episodes.

- Another noted character was receptionist Rhonda at the start when Tristan tried to get on board but misplaced his ID card.

- We found out in flashbacks that Max had been a coronavirus patient as well as having worked in the Peace Corps. Avery had also gotten through a bad break up by a tantric expert.

- Standout music: The music used from the trailers popped up here while we had Despacito during Tristan and Max's beach dance off.

- Chronology: It very much seems to be a 2024 setting for this show with Max's flashbacks from March 2020. Avery and Tristan have worked together for three years.

For a Pilot episode, I've seen better and worse ones. The potential for this show is definitely there and ABC sandwiching it between two of their biggest hits was a smart move but its quick attempts of a love triangle didn't work for me and it does lack the same energy the 9-1-1 shows have in spades. It's got it's work cut out for it but the potential's there.

Rating: 6 out of 10

My Review of Grotesquerie: "True Crime Catholics"

 

Written by Ryan Murphy And Jon Robin Baitz And Joe Baken 

Directed by Max Winkler 

Grotesquerie/Lois (to Sister Megan): "I belong to those who troubled the sleep of the world and then, may all your dreams come true."

The second half of this opening double bill - a format this show will be doing for its first season in general, and things heated up a little bit here. Grotesquerie was officially the confirmed name of the religious themed killer and both Lois and Sister Megan became further drawn to each other.

Sister Megan in these two episodes alone has gone out of her way to be shown what a modern young nun can be. She's very liberal with her choice of words, doesn't shy from her fascination with the downright macabre and has shown not to have a problem in pushing Lois. So far, the latter has let Megan do that due to the young nun's usefulness in the case.

Sister Megan has repeatedly tried to debunk Lois's own theories on the killer's and with nudging from someone else, she's leaned into the Satanism angle. So far, it might prove correct or be another misdirection. Then there's the not at all subtle biblical displays of the victims in this episode. The Last Supper display making for a suitably uncomfortable way of ending this episode.

As for Lois, she's almost letting Sister Megan do the work she doesn't want to or isn't competent enough to do. Lois even had Merritt try and solve a puzzle, given the latter's penchant for them with little success. Not to mention this episode gave a deeper dive into her relationship with Marshall.

The opening flashback showed the Tryon family and their vices. Lois with her drinking,  Merritt with her over eating and Marshall with his cheating ways. They are a dysfunctional family and in the present day, Nurse Redd seemed to take too much delight in tearing Lois down while also poorly deflecting from her own sexual inappropriateness. Lesley Manville does chew up those scenes so well.

Last but not least, there was the introduction of Father Charlie (Nicholas Alexander Chavez). Like Sister Megan, there was something modern thinking with the handsome priest and the two of them certainly shared a bond over true crime. In fact, there was even a little sexual tension between them. Not to mention a scene that very much reminded me of who was writing this show.

- Father Charlie's favourite serial killer was Ed Gein while Sister Megan's was Sister Mariam Soulakiotis. The Chicago Ripper was also mentioned. Father Charlie was also a personal trainer.

- Nurse Redd has a history of sexual assault with coma patients if Lois's deduction of her was correct.

- Despite the marketing and promo pics going heavy on the purple, the title sequence (which is a bit lacking) has gone with red and black.

- Chronology: From where the first episode more or less left off. 

True Crime Catholics was a bit longer and kept things on social ground. Although I find the double bill format to a means of quickly burning through the show, the actual slow burn itself probably has justified. It's getting good, so I'm sticking with it.

Rating: 7 out of 10

My Review of Grotesquerie: "Pilot"

Written by Ryan Murphy And Jon Robin Baitz And Joe Baken

Directed by Max Winkler

Lois (to her officers): "You have to really hate people to do something like this. It's inhuman. No, it's unhuman."

You know when all is said and done, there's no reason why this show technically couldn't be the 13th season of American Horror Story. Throw in a few alumni in guest roles and I think you'd get away with it tbh.

However there's also something in this show very much being its own thing as well as we've got the blend of the aforementioned long running horror anthology with a dash of True Detective to boot. Does it work? Kind of. It's early to tell.

You've got alcoholic and troubled Detective Lois Tryon (Niecy Nash-Betts) investigating a really fucking gruesome murder where an unknown killer called Grotesquerie murdered the Burneside family. Worse than that, there was also allusions of a baby being boiled and the father served up as dinner. 

It's a gruesome death and the later one involving two drug users also didn't hold back either. The killings have Lois and her team trying to detect patterns as well as a connection to a mystery fluid that turned up on both crime scenes. Luckily for Lois, she also herself some outside help in the form of true crime obsessed young nun and reporter, Sister Megan (Micaela Diamond).

The rapport between Lois and Sister Megan might be the strongest element of this first episode. The seasoned, world weary detective versus the bright eyes but quirky young nun. Out of the character's introduced into this first episode, Sister Megan definitely felt like the most Ryan Murphy character of them all. It's going to be interesting watching these two work together to solve the case.

As for Lois's personal life, she's got a husband named Marshall (Courtney B. Vance), who's been in a coma for over a month and a daughter named Merritt (Raven Goodwin) with designs to enter a reality show. Some decent time was spent on Lois's home life yo try and flesh her out a bit more as a character. 

- Lesley Manville had some great scenes as Marshall's nurse, Redd. Lois should probably keep an eye on her.

- Sister Megan writes for the Catholic Guardian and isn't adverse to swearing. There was one scene where I thought Lois was going to arrest her. Sister Megan also identified the fluid as brimstone.

- Standout music: Angie Stone's I Wish as Lois drove home from work and encountered a homeless man talking about the world ending.

- Chronology: Given the reason why Marshall's in a coma, this is a post COVID middle America.

While this show definitely has the gore factor of a certain show it's trying to fill the void, its definitely more hard boiled than that. Its a good Pilot episode, setting up a decent mystery with a flawed but engaging enough lead. 

Rating: 7 out of 10

My Review of Salem's Lot (1979)

Written by Paul Monash

Directed by Tobe Hooper

Straker: "The master wants you. Throw away your cross, face the master. Your faith against his faith... Could you do that? Is your faith enough?... Then do it... Throw away the cross. Face the master. Faith against faith."

Earlier in the year, I did manage to catch up this miniseries adaptation (and the 2004 one) in anticipation of the upcoming movie version going to Max next month. It's been a long time but I think this version has held up rather nicely.

Things started off in Guatemala with writer Ben Mears (David Soul) and a young boy named Mark Petrie (Lance Kerwin). They're confronted by evil and they're not going to run away from it. Nope, they've chosen to fight it instead. 

Then we're back to a New England town where the events that led to the team up between Ben and Mark are detailed. Naturally this would involve a spooky house in the titular town where vampires very much existence. In fact, it's kind of a massive open secret within the town itself.

Within the movie, there's a romantic plot as Ben got involved with local woman Susan Norton (Bonnie Bedelia) and it's a tragic romance played out as the two find themselves caught within the intricacies of the town's shameful activities. Needless to say that Susan ultimately paid the price but then again so did Mark, given that he lost his parents. 

As for the villains of the piece, you've got ancient vampire Kurt Barlow (Reggie Nalder). Think a somewhat blue tinged Nosferatu and you'd be on point here. He looks incredibly horrifying and certainly proved himself to be the most powerful threat in the movie along with his familiar Straker (James Mason).

Other noteworthy characters in this movie of course included alcoholic priest Father Callahan (James Gallery), who proved to be as heroic but more flawed than Ben and Mark. There was also the womanising Dr Norton (Ed Flanders) who had his own moments throughout this miniseries along with the infected townsfolk as well. 

- The character of Father Callahan has gone on to appear in other Stephen King novels such as The Dark Tower and Wolves Of The Calla.

- This miniseries aired as two movie length episodes. The original plan had been a theatrical movie.

- The town itself is actually Jerusalem's Lot, with Salem's Lot being the shortened version.

- Chronology: It does take place within the title town as well as  scenes in Guatemala for Ben and Mark.

As an adaptation, this was a great way to do Salem's Lot. The miniseries approach gave enough time to develop the characters while upping the horror, romance and dynamics between various characters. 

Rating: 8 out of 10

My Review of Trick 'r Treat (2007)

 

Written And Directed by Michael Dougherty

Steven (to Charlie): "Wait. There's another tradition. Always check your candy."

This movie is one of maybe anthology themed Halloween movies that I will be looking at over the next month and it's one that I think I like a lot more than others might. It was a massive flop but has gained a bit of a cult following since it's release.

Broken up into several but connecting stories, this movie's main antagonist was a boy named Sam (Quinn Lord). He's the link of every story, either as an observer or instigator of doom and for a kid who doesn't say a word, he's a quietly sinister presence every time he popped up on screen.

I'm going to talk about these segments in terms of what interested me the most to the least. Starting off, you've got a principal named Steven Wilkins (Dylan Baker) who decided to punish pumpkin smashing Charlie (Brett Kelly) by killing him. Yeah, Steve's a man with a few skeletons in his yards

When he wasn't getting rid of the body and incurring the wrath of his cantankerous neighbour Kreeg (Brian Cox), he also had an unusual bonding time with his son, Billy (Connor Levins). Oh and he's a vampire to boot. Yup, Steven had some multudes but wasn't half as clever as he thought he was.

Steven's own downfall came funnily enough from a group of young women which included Laurie (Anna Paquin), Danielle (Lauren Lee Smith), Maria (Rochelle Aytes) and Janet (Monica Delain). At first I thought they were fodder for a serial killer, so the twist of them being a pack of werewolves certainly added a bite to proceedings. Didn't exactly end well for Steven either.

Then we have to circle back to the neighbour. Kreeg was a grouchy old man with a dog named Spike and haunted by his involvement as a former school bus driver. Yes, some children died and the consequences of Kreeg's involvement truly came back to get him when Sam made a house call. This also continued another involving a new group of teenagers being left for dead by social reject Rhonda (Sammy Todd).

Funnily, it's the first story that turned out to be the least interesting. It's not actually a bad story, I just found the other ones much stronger by comparisons. Anyways, there's a thing disrespecting Halloween customs and not doing that and suburban wife Emma (Leslie Bibb) paid the price while clueless husband Henry (Tahmoh Penikett) was oblivious to it all. All in all, all of these stories nicely slotted into each other.

- The names of the stories were Opening, Principal, Halloween School Bus Massacre, Surprise Party, Sam and Conclusion.

- There have been attempts to get a sequel off the ground but as of now, it's a standalone movie.

- Another American movie that correctly pronounced the word "Samhain". Yes, that is a thing for me.

- Chronology: Set in the sleepy town of Warren Valley, Ohio.

I really dug Trick 'r Treat. I went in with moderate expectations and found myself pleasantly surprised. Each of the stories held my attention and they all tied into each other nicely. I'm glad it's gotten a reappraisal since it's release.

Rating: 7 out of 10 

My Review of Creeping Death (2023)

 

Written And Directed by Matt Sampere

Nate: "Tim. Buddy, I hate to be the one to say it, but... someone's gotta die."

Last night, I went with a streaming exclusive horror. One that has a less than complimentary rating on IMDb but one that I surprisingly found to be decent enough. 

First of all, points will be given for the use of a Celtic legend in the Aos Si and the correct pronunciation of the word Samhain (other US productions, take note). Even I needed to do a little bit research with the Aos Si and thanks to this movie, I did afterwards.

Anyways you've got a decent enough male protagonist with good guy teenager Tim Garner (Matt Sampere). He's got a mother Linda (Monique Plant) dying of cancer and his father Fred (Scott Lea) has Tim cancelled his Halloween plans to look after his mother.

In some ways, Tim's father was doing him a favour. Given that many houses in the neighborhood had been abandoned and there was a mark left on the door of certain cursed residents, this was a Halloween night in which keeping a low profile was the order of the day.

Unfortunately Tim's friends, which comprised of Nate (Hunter Kohl), Isaac (K Cody Hunt), PJ (Elise St John) and Danielle (Delian Lincourt) brought the Aos Si to Tim by stealing off a grumpy old man with a dead dog and the rest of the movie became a race for survival. Only one of the teenagers made it past midnight while the rest of them all got slaughtered and in a variety of ways to boot.

- This came out nearly two weeks ago on streaming service ScreamBox, despite being a 2023 movie.

- They clearly intend a sequel to happen, given the set up of the last scene. 

- The closing credits with the use of pumpkins were a nice homage to a certain horror franchise.

- Chronology: Takes places during Halloween in Asheville, New York. At least one of the teenagers was dressed like Freddy Krueger.

This movie ain't no masterpiece and I'm not sure I'll ever watch it again but I kind of had a decent time with Creeping Death. I didn't feel like my time was being wasted too much and I didn't find it insulting my intelligence either. I thought it was decent.

Rating: 6 out of 10 

My Review of Shock Treatment (1981)

 

Written by Jim Sharman And Richard O'Brien And Brian Thomson

Directed by Jim Sharman

Farley: "You've lost your heart!"

Brad: "You lost your cause."

Farley: "You lost your baby when you lost your balls/You lost your mind when you lost your grip, so say bye-bye!"

Ah, a sequel to a classic cult movie. A sequel that also didn't receive anywhere the level of love that said cult classic movie had. Also a first time watch for me and an interesting one to boot.

Going from where it left off of sorts, you've got a married Janet (Jessica Harper) and Brad (Cliff DeYoung) and their marriage happened to be in a very tricky place. Brad's depressed and Janet seemed to be at her wits end with him.

On top of that, the town of Denton has been taken over by fast food magnate Farley Flavors and a game show resulted in giving Brad the very type of medical treatment he didn't want but everyone else seemed to think was appropriate for him. Brad's not much of a character with agency in this movie and a certain extent, neither was Janet.

With Brad being bound and gagged and constantly sedated, Janey found herself being groomed as Miss Mental Health by Farley Flavours magnate, Farley (Cliff DeYoung). The latter revealed to be Brad's envious half brother, who wanted to mess with Brad's life and take over the town and he certainly had enough helpers in that regard.

Notably there was the doctor duo Cosmo (Richard O'Brien) and Nation McKinley (Patricia Quinn), blind tv host Burt Schnick (Barry Humphries), Judge Oliver Wright (Charles Gray), Nurse Ansalong (Little Nell) to name a few. Even Janet's parents Harry (Manning Redwood) and Emily (Darlene Johnson) seemed to be going along with Farley's big scheme until they weren't.

I do think this movie had it's moments and I do like the half twin brother reveal with DeYoung playing both parts well. Saying that this movie did a lot to make me root against Brad and Janet and it's got a very rushed conclusion.

- There's appearances from the likes of Ruby Wax and Sinitta while some original cast members were recast in new roles. The movie's even become a stage production.

- There were other ideas for a sequel including Brad and Dr Scott being lovers and Janet being pregnant with Frank's baby. 

- Standout music: A good few choices with Thank God I'm A Man, Lullaby, Little Black Dress, Breaking Out and Duel Duel being the standout.

- Chronology: A few years since the events of The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

Shock Treatment might have been a massive box office and while it doesn't quite have the charm of it's predecessor, it's not totally a terrible movie either. I liked a lot of the musical numbers, the reality TV satire was a bit ahead of it's time and that's it really.

Rating: 6 out of 10 

My Review of Monsters: The Lyle And Erik Menendez Story (2024 Netflix Series)

 

Written by Ryan Murphy And Ian Brennan And David McMillan And Reilly Smith And Todd Kubrak 

Directed by Carl Franklin And Paris Barclay And Michael Uppendahl And Max Wrinkler And Ian Brennan

Lyle: "Erik and I killed our parents together so I'd say that makes us pretty close."

Two years ago, the arrival of Dahmer - Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story made quite an impression on Netflix. Yes, it warranted criticism but it also blew up in viewers and gave Evan Peters something of a career boost. It looks like history has repeated itself once again.

I'm familiar enough with the story behind the Menendez brothers and this isn't the first time we've had a movie or series on the high profile killers in the last decade. It's certainly however due to Ryan Murphy's influence become the most provocative with his usual tropes and dramatic licencing very much front and centre. For better and worse, depending on your point of view.

The one thing that Ryan Murphy can be credited would be casting and throughout the nine episodes, he's found future stars in both Nicholas Alexander Chavez and Cooper Koch. Regardless of your stance on Murphy's handling of true crime, both leading men give some of the best performances in this genre alone.

The first episode played out with both Lyle (Chavez) and Erik (Koch) orchestrating the murder of their parents Jose (Javier Bardem) and Kitty (Chloe Sevigny) in rather graphic detail. Coupled with the lads hedonistic spending and Erik confessing to therapist Dr. Jerome Oziel (Dallas Roberts), the perfect crime wasn't so perfect after all.

Granted it was Oziel's mistress Judalon Smyth (Leslie Grossman) who ultimately reported the Menendez brothers to the police, albeit not for moral reasons but her actions certainly started quite the ripple effect. The boys got arrested, sent to the same prison but ended up separated in different wings before ultimately leading up a trial that took years to end the way it was inevitably going to.

In the boys corner, you had Erik's lawyer Leslie Abrahamson (Ari Gaynor) who believed in their innocence and tried to help them, even when the media eventually turned on them. She believed their story about being abused by their parents and fought to get them freed but couldn't win over the court or the general public who also turned on them.

On the other side, you had Dominick Dunne (Nathan Lane), a journalist who experienced the loss of a child and seemed unconvinced of the Menendez brothers innocence throughout the entire trial. Sometimes it seemed like his own personal tragedy clouded his judgement but even then, this miniseries tried to look at both perspectives behind the motives of Lyle and Erik's crime.

- The episode titles are Blame It On The Rain, Spree, Brother Can You Spare A Dime?, Kill Or Be Killed, The Hurt Man, Don't Dream It's Over, Showtime, Seismic Shifts and Hang Men.

- Cooper Koch certainly gave an Emmy nominated worthy performance in the fifth episode, a two handed between him and Ari Graynor. The show hinted at Erik maybe being sexually confused though the real Erik is straight.

- The boys had an encounter with O.J. Simpson and even mention Jeffrey Dahmer, so there was those links to Ryan Murphy's other true crime exploits.

- The next (and presumably) last season of Monster/s will focus on Ed Gein, played by Charlie Hunnam.

- Standout music: A good selection including Don't Dream It's Over, which was used to great effect.

- Chronology: Mostly from 1989 to 1996 but also flashbacks to 1962 for the backstory of Jose and Kitty meeting each other.

I enjoyed the previous and I really enjoyed Monsters: The Lyle And Erik Menendez Story. Yes, there's creative liberties taken with it but there's also some career making performances from both Nicholas Alexander Chavez and Cooper Koch, who excel as both Lyle and Erik. You might as well watch it.

Rating: 9 out of 10 

My Review of Strange Darling (2024)

 

Written And Directed by JT Mollner

The Lady: "Are you a serial killer?"

This might be one of the most unusual films to be released in the last month. It's like a bad hook up meets a horror show meets cat and mouse. It doesn't help that both main characters are as dangerous as each other.

Taking a structure of six chapters and an epilogue, this unusual movie then added to its own strangeness by telling the story more or less out of order. It did make things a little bit confusing to begin with but pay enough attention and you do catch on to things between the messy pair.

Yes, our pairing are deemed names. Instead you've got the Lady (Willa Fitzgerald) and the Demon (Kyle Gallner). At the start of this movie the Lady was fleeing the Demon, in fear of her life. Then we jumped back to their first meeting where things were cordial between the lovers.

They were in a car, sizing each other up and the Lady made it clear that she couldn't date a serial killer and that she was into rough sex. The Demon assured her of the former and although reluctant, he did cater to the latter request. In fact he might have catered a bit too well in that regard.

As for the serial killer plot, I'll give the movie props because it was the Lady who turned out to be a serial killer named The Electric Lady. In her attempts to get away from the Demon (actually a detective), she added to her body count with unfortunate farm couple Frederick (Ed Begley Jr) and Genevieve (Barbara Hershey) getting caught in her crossfire.

There's a decent battle of wits between the Demon and the Lady but only one of them emerged as the victor in their chaotic game. The movie does end on a rather bittersweet note for the winner as their victory was rather short lived. 

- The chapters are as follows - Will You Help Me? Please? (3), Here Kitty, Kitty (5), Mister Snuffle (1), The Mountain People (4), Do You Party? (2), Who's Gary Gilmore? (6) and The Electric Lady (epilogue).

- Giovanni Ribisi made his debut as a feature film cinematographer with this movie.

- Standout music: Z Berg's Into The Night and Love Hurts.

- Chronology: The movie's set in Oregan for its duration. 

I'll admit that I wasn't sure about Strange Darling at first. I thought it had interesting ideas but the execution seemed a bit muddled, so I left it for a bit to think on it. It's still a bit muddled but the leading performances from Willa Fitzgerald and Kyle Gallner were definitely on point. It's an interesting movie but might not be for everyone.

Rating: 7 out of 10 

My Review of The Penguin: "After Hours"

 

Written by Lauren LeFranc

Directed by Craig Zobel

Sofia: "You know, Oz, people underestimate you but not me. I've always known you were capable of more."

It's been over two and a half years since The Batman was in theatres and with another two years to wait for the sequel, this spin off certainly had a lot to to live up to. If this first episode was anything to go by, we're in for a formidable show ahead of us.

Last time we checked, the Riddler (Paul Dano) had flooded Gotham, Batman (Robert Pattinson) had an epiphany, Catwoman (Zoe Kravitz) left the city and Carmine Falcone (John Turturro/Mark Strong) was dead. Now what of Oswald Cobblepot aka Oz Cobb (Colin Farrell)? Well, he had big plans and a lot of headaches, some of which were of his own making.

The first headache being the death of heir apparent Alberto Falcone (Michael Zegen). Alberto made the mistake of mocking Oz's aspirations for greatness. Oz repaid that by killing him in the first five minutes of the episode and yes, Alberto's death really reverberated throughout this one.

First of all, there was the family meeting where the likes of Johnny Viti (Michael Kelly) and Milos Grapa (James Madio) eere only too happy to remind Oz of his place in the crime pecking order. Of course they were more of a minor annoyance compared to Oz's biggest obstacle in this episode.

I'm talking about Sofia Falcone (Cristin Milioti). For those of you crying out for a major female villain in the Batman universe, this show better be the start of DC pushing this particular character going forward. Sofia's just gotten out of Arkham and all she wanted was her brother back. She also knew that Oswald had something to do with it.

The dynamic between Colin Farrell and Cristin Milioti will be the biggest driving force behind this show. Oz and Sofia could be the best of allies if their interests aligned but Oz grossly underestimated Sofia and nearly paid for it. It's a good thing his newly formed alliance with Salvatore Maroni (Clancy Brown) ended up saving him at the eleventh hour.

Then there's his rapport with homeless thief Victor Aguilar (Rhenzy Feliz). Basically Oz managed to get his own Jason Todd before Batman even met Dick Grayson and like Oz, Victor had his own aspirations for greatness. Oz fed into that with the way he took Victor under his wing and how the latter adapted to his mentor's dark world. 

Then there's the two women in Oz's life. Every boy loves his mother and Oz undoubtedly prioritised his mother, Francis (Deirdre O'Connell) as she egged on his ambitions. There was also a brief showing of Oz's mistress Eve Karlo (Carmen Ejogo) but I don't feel we got too much other than a willingness to provide an alibi. 

- There was some clips of The Batman along with Jayme Lawson briefly appearing as Mayor Bella Real. 

- Victor has a bit of a stutter and we saw Oz's clubfoot during one character revealing scene. Oz also likes to mix slushies.

- Oz gave Maroni back his ring that Carmine took as a "fuck you" and that Oz himself took back from Alberto.

- The HBO and DC Studios logos were proudly on display for the opening and end credits.

- Sofia's already The Hangman in this show's continuity but there was no reference as to whether Batman had stopped her crimes or just the GCPD.

- Chronology: A week since the events of The Batman. I also loved the use of Dolly Parton's 9 To 5 in this episode.

After Hours did an excellent job in reintroducing viewers to this particular world and while our Caped Crusader and his withdrawn alter ego might be a no show, it's reassuring to know that our title antagonist can hold his own. He's got a great supporting cast and the grabs for power are going to be gripping to watch.

Rating: 8 out of 10 

My Review of The Crow (2024)

 

Written by Zach Baylin And William Schneider

Directed by Rupert Sanders

Eric: "You might be wondering, "Why the leather?" It's because the bad guys can't see me bleed."

For the most part, I try to keep an open mind in relation to reboots etc. Sometimes they can pleasantly surprise you. I wish I could say that about this movie but alas I cannot. It's as bad as it's reputation preceded. In fact, it's even worse.

I generally find Bill Skarsgard to be a very likable and charming actor even if he doesn't always choose the best projects. He should've straight up refused this one because even his acting could do nothing to salvage this absolute train wreck of a reboot.

He's got the role of Eric, who's a troubled guy. Eric's in a rehabilitation centre which seemed ineffectual on the rehabilitation side of things. There he met the mysterious Shelly (FKA Twigs) and with that, the two of them decided to escape when Shelly's past tried to catch up with her. 

In the original movie, I didn't mind Eric and Shelly's romance but here, it's hard to root for it when you've got two actors whose onscreen chemistry was nonexistent to begin. Anyways, Shelly died. Eric died. Then Eric became the Crow and sought out everyone responsible for killing his girlfriend and so on.

Getting to the villain of the piece, you've got Danny Huston virtually on autopilot as demonic crime lord Vincent Roeg. Vincent had a penchant for making people give into their darkest impulses and we learned that Shelly did some horrible things before she got involved with Eric. 

Subplots with Shelly's sell out of a mother, Sophia (Josette Simon) and the use of spirit guide Kronos (Sami Bouajila) to one side, there's a slight difference in overall outcome compared to the original movie. It's not a great twist but it's also the least of this movie's problems.

- This reboot went through different directors and potential lead actors before we ended up with this outcome.

- It does feel like Eric's look was a homage to Jared Leto's Joker but worse looking.

- Standout music: Joy Division's Disorder.

- Chronology: Very much a present day story. 

I can honestly say this really could be a contender for one of the worst reboots ever and also one of the worst movies in 2024. Absolutely nothing about this version of The Crow worked on any conceivable level and I honestly couldn't wait for it to end. 

Rating: 2 out of 10

Doctor Who - Series 15 Villain Revealed, Spin Off Updates And More

It's been a while I've talked about Doctor Who but a few things have emerged. It's gonna be a fun blog.

Now the next series - Series 15 or Season 2 finished filming months ago but yesterday, a lot of interesting rumours emerged. Most were debunked but peas some could be true? 

Something that does seem to have to merit would be the casting announcement of Archie Panjabi (The Good Wife, The Fall). It appears that she will be a villain for next season and possibly a very prominent one. However the BBC have yet to confirm her casting for the upcoming season.

Then there's upcoming spin off series, The War Between The Land And The Sea. Back in July, both Jemma Redgrave and Alexander Devrient were confirmed as Kate Stewart and Colonel Christofer Ibrahim along with Gugu Mbatha-Raw and Russell Tovey in still undisclosed roles. Also confirmed were Ruth Madaley and Colin McFarlane, reprising their roles as Shirley Anne Bingham and General Pierce. The Sea Devils were also confirmed and filming began last month. The five episode spin off is written by Russell T. Davies and Pete McTighe and directed by Dylan Holmes. The show will be released on BBC1, iPlayer and Disney+ in 2025.

Meanwhile Reddit lit a bit of a fuse among fans with a series of rumours, which since then have been debunked by scoopers but what ones were likely true? I mean it's obvious that Ruby Sunday (Millie Gibson) is in only some of the episodes for next season with one of them being a Doctor lite episode. Belinda Chandra (Varada Sethu) will be the main companion for the 15th Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) along with the second episode being in 1950s Miami. There's also spoilers for both Russell Tovey and Gugu Mbatha-Raw's characters that might be true but I'm not sure if they will. They're kind of exciting in one case tbh.

As for the rest of the spoilers, I'm not sure if the show should keep leaning too heavily into fantasy and not having Ncuti's Doctor encounter either Daleks or Cybermen in his second season does seem unwise to me. There's also a spoiler about Melanie Bush (Bonnie Langford) I'm not entirely keen on but the stuff about Mrs Flood (Anita Dobson) and Conrad (Jonah Hauer-King) does intrigue me. I'll provide to the Reddit spoilers but read them at your own risk. Don't say I didn't warn you.

Last but by no means least, Big Finish only had a live reading of The Stuff Of Legend with the 8th Doctor (Paul McGann) and Charley Pollard (India Fisher) and a respective guest cast. I'm hoping at some point Big Finish are able to release this for everyone else to see. Maybe even a BBC4 screening in November. 

Series 15 Leaks: https://www.reddit.com/r/gallifrey/comments/1fic2sr/series_15_leaks_some_small_some_major_so/

Doctor Who: Joy To The World will air on Christmas Day on BBC1, iPlayer and Disney+ with Series 15 to be released in 2025 along with The War Between The Land And The Sea.

My Review of Wrong Turn 6: Last Resort (2014)

 

Written by Frank H. Woodward

Directed by Valeri Mile

Toni: "Just stop, Danny, this isn't you!"

Danny: "No. It's family."

Remember that sequel/reboot from Texas Chainsaw Massacre with Alexandra Daddario. Yeah, this movie was fairly reminiscent of that. It's the first of two (failed) attempts to breathe new life into this franchise.

Yet again you've got Three Finger (Radoslav Parvanov), Saw Tooth (Danko Jordanov) and One Eye (Asen Asenov) causing trouble and killing a couple. Of course this was another movie where there would be other family to assume a normal visage to outside.

The family being brother and sister duo Jackson (Chris Jarvis) and Sally (Sadie Katz). Yes, they're an incestrous couple and their main interest was reuniting with a long lost family member. The member being actual protagonist of the piece, Danny (Anthony Ilett). 

I'll give this movie points for Danny. He's a former investor who had a meltdown, lost a ton of money and clients and seemed desperate to connect with his new found family. He's largely presented as a good guy until the last moment where he turned on his unfortunate girlfriend, Toni (Aqueela Zoll). I guess family really does outrank friends and lovers here.

As for the rest of the cannon fodder, there was greedy Jillian (Roxanne Pallett), her boyfriend Bryan (Joe Gaminara), stoner Charlie (Harry Belcher) and Toni's brother, Rod (Billy Ashworth). Again, they're there to be cannon fodder but also to question Danny's choices (though not very effectively) and that's basically it. 

- There was a real life court case surrounding this movie's misuse of a picture of a real life missing person from Wexford, Ireland. 

- Radoslav Parvanov who played One Eye in this movie played Three Finger in previous movie.

- The missing posters also had Zac Efron and a character from Pretty Little Liars. 

- Chronology: The resort of the piece was established in 1902 in one scene but 1926 in another. It seemed very present day, setting wise in West Virginia.

Wrong Turn 6: Last Resort probably should've been the death of this franchise because this was a very piss poor attempt of a reboot. Going forward, more care needs to be put in these protagonists going forward, though Danny did a show some promise.

Rating: 4 out of 10 

My Review of Wrong Turn 5: Bloodlines (2012)

 

Written And Directed by Declan O'Brien 

Maynard: "Run, little girl. I'm coming to get you."

Yup as this series has churned out more movies, the quality has continued to dip and here's another entry that definitely ups the mean spirited antics even more. This one kind of surpassed itself in that regard.

Once again, we've got Three Finger (Borislav Iliev), Saw Tooth (George Karlukovski) and One Eye (Radoslav Parvanov) back to terrorise another friendship group. To make things moderately interesting, you've got their grandfather, Maynard (Doug Bradley). I said moderately btw.

Maynard might not be rabid like his grandsons but he's certainly a vindictive man who spent this movie delighting in toying with the unfortunate group of people time around. In particular, the way he went after "final girl" Lita (Roxanne McKee) and Sherriff Angela (Camilla Arfwedson) was rather nasty.

I suppose I should talk about the rest of the characters in this movie. I mean there's characters such as Billy (Simon Ginty), Gus (Paul Luebke), Julian (Oliver Hoare) and Cruz (Amy Lennox). They're not awful but they are subjected to some very awful deaths at the hands of the hillbilly family here.

The closest to any other character getting screentime was Mose (Duncan Wiseby) but it's not much to brag about. Even the final girl of the piece didn't exactly get the chance to have a proper heroic moment, especially given that ending.

- Borislav Iliev actually reprised the role of Three Finger, having played the character in the third movie.

- Finn Jones popped up briefly as a radio DJ who didn't believe that Angela and company were in danger.

- If you're a fan of the Hellraiser series, there's some nice references to it here. 

- Chronology: Months after the events of the previous movie. There's a Halloween setting for this one.

Wrong Turn 5: Bloodlines continued the creative slump with these movies. Yes, some of the kills are inventive but with more poorly drawn out victims, it gets harder to care. Also it wouldn't kill to have some survivors who don't end up like Lita.

Rating: 4 out of 10 

My Review of Kite Man: Hell Yeah! - Season 1 (2024)

 

Written by Dean Lorry And Patrick Schumacker And Justin Halpern And Connor Shin And Chris Marrs And Vidhya Iyer And Katie Rich And Leslie Schapira And Jess Lieberman And Lexi Slater

Directed by Yoriaki Mochizuki And Jeff Wamester And Ben Jones And Joonki Park And Rick Morales And Diana Huh

Kite Man: "Time to wing it!"

If there was an award for a DC spin off show that nobody asked for, wasn't needed and probably would've been better off never being allowed to happen. Honestly, it'd still be Gotham Knights but Kite Man: Hell Yeah! could also have been included in the conversation.

Oddly enough, it might sound like I'm about to be overtly critical on this show, it's just the mentality surrounding it even happening does fascinate me. I mean the title character (Matt Oberg) did seem to have had a divisive reaction on the Harley Quinn show he originated in, so giving him and girlfriend, Golden Glider (Stephanie Hsu) their own show was an odd choice.

The premise being that the madly in love couple decided to buy Noonan's, the shittiest pub in Gotham with the owner, Sean Noonan (Jonathan Banks) still hanging around. As Kite Man and Golden Glider learn to be decent publicans, Lex Luthor (Lance Reddick/Amuche Chukudebelu ) hid the Anti-Life Equation in Noonan's while chaos surrounded the couple and their developing relationship.

The chaos being Golden Glider struggling to control her powers, a toilet that transported anyone who flushed into the 1980s, the recurrence of Glider's selfish mother, Rebecca (Margaret Cho) and a brief arc where secondary villain Helen Villigan (Judith Light) turned Kite Man into the douchey Beast Mode. All of them slightly pale compared to the Anti-Life Equation problem.

There's a lot of fun to Darkseid being a nicely seeded villain in the series. First through having his spoiled niece Malice Vundabar (Natasia Demetriou) and monster cat Cheshire (Dee Bradley Baker) working at Noonan's and then his more aggressive attempts to get the Anti-Life Equation until a well hidden hero thwarted his efforts at the very last minute.

As for the rest of the regulars, the more of Bane (James Adomian), the better. I mean it. He's at his best here, what with standing up to Lex and Helen, nearly winning sexiest villain and taking care of Goldilocks (Carla Delaney). His crush on Rebecca doesn't do him favours but he's a consistent joy throughout the first season.

As for the rest of the characters, there's a nice back and forth between the Queen of Fables (Janelle James) and Joe/Moe Dubrlz (Michael Imperioli) and a slew of familiar faces. Not to mention a few obscure ones to boot. Also not to mention a very deliberate cliff hanger ending to boot.

- The episode titles were Pilot, Hell Yeah!, Grand Reopening, Hell Yeah!, Villigan's, Hell Yeah!, Portal Potty, Hell Yeah!, Prison Break, Hell Yeah!, Mother/Daughter Day, Hell Yeah!, Sexiest Villain Alive, Hell Yeah!, Just Right, Hell Yeah!, To Get To The Other Side, Hell Yeah! and Hero Stuff, Hell Yeah!

-  The deliberate cliffhanger ending was of course, the arrival of Brainiac. Martian Manhunter (Phil LaMarr) stopped Darkseid but Rebecca becoming the Evil Fairy Godmother will be a problem.

- Both Harley Quinn (Kaley Cuoco) and Poison Ivy (Lake Bell) briefly appeared in the first episode. 

- Gotham and Pennyworth fans, the fifth episode had Richard Kind and Ben Aldridge as an unkillable health inspector and Malice's evil boyfriend, Jeremy Karne.

- The penultimate episode proved that even a chicken can be corrupted by the Anti-Life Equation and cause maximum damage. 

- Chronology: Not long after the events of the parent show's last season. 

On paper, I'm surprised that Kite Man: Hell Yeah! even worked. It kind of shouldn't but it weirdly did with a slew of decent laughs, violence, and, romance and well executed character arcs throughout. A pleasantly endearing spin off show.

Rating: 7 out of 10 

My Review of Wrong Turn 4: Bloody Beginnings (2011)

 

Written And Directed by Declan O'Brien

Kyle (re Daniel): "They're eating him like some fucked up fondue."

I think it's from this point where the rot kind of began to set in with this franchise. Going down a prequel route, I guess it was a way to bring back the still not developed Three Finger (Sean Skene) but other than that, it doesn't feel like a prequel.

The opening flashback of course does provide some context for Three Finger, Saw Tooth (Scott Johnson) and One Eye (Daniel Skene). They're in the Glenville Sanatorium and it wasn't long before they got loose, killed a bunch of staff members and took over said asylum.

Cut to 29 years later and you've got the latest group of young adults who clearly didn't research their choice of hang out properly. Yes, this bunch are stupid enough to set up camp in the asylum during a snowstorm. I'll admit that I liked the wintry setting for this movie.

As for the cannon fodder in question, there was a whole bunch of them named Kenia (Jenny Pudavick), Jenna (Terra Vnesa), Vincent (Sean Skene), Sara (Tenika Davis), Bridget (Kaitlyn Wong), Kyle (Victoe Zinck Jr), Claire (Samantha Kendrick), Daniel (Dean Armstrong) and Lauren (Ali Tataryn). It's a very bloated cast.

It also doesn't help that none of them are particularly well developed or have much to make them stand out. Anyways, they're trapped in the asylum and get picked off sequentially by the hillbilly family. Kyle has the bright idea of killing them and it's an idea he should've been allowed to follow through with.

The downside was that everyone died, including the few who got out of the asylum and nearly stood a chance of being saved. Yeah, there's an increasing sense of nihilism with this franchise and this one certainly ended on a downbeat note.

- The movie was the first in the franchise to have a lesbian couple but even there's an annoying emphasis on how a male character views them.

- Some of the actors played two roles each, notably Sean Skene. I do find it amusing that every film has a different actor for Three Finger.

- The snow was real, they shot it in Canada and Declan O'Brien even gave himself a cameo.

- Chronology: West Virginia, mostly in the sanitarium in both 1974 and 2003. Even the main action is set before the events of the first movie.

Wrong Turn 4: Bloody Beginnings could've won me over with the wintry setting but honestly, I felt cold towards this one. Too many characters and just dreary for most of the time. It's definitely the start of a decline with this franchise.

Rating: 4 out of 10