My Review of Wasteman (2026)

 

Written by Hunter Andrews And Eoin Doran

Directed by Cal McMau

Taylor: "I just want to see my boy again."

Last year I caught up with Starred Up, which I really enjoyed as a movie. I wanted to venture into another British prison themed movie and this recently came to my attention. I've also watched both leads in other things over the last few months.

First of all, there's David Jonsson. He's playing a man named Taylor, who's about to be paroled. Taylor's also got a fourteen year old son named Adam that he's never met. On top of that, Taylor's a drug addict who gets his stash from the likes of Gaz (Corin Silva) and Paul (Alex Hassell).

I should mention that Taylor's a barber too and seemingly the only one in the prison. That's relevant later in the movie as his new cellmate Dee (Tom Blyth) would want him to utilise those talents to take out the competition. Dee's the main problem here for everyone.

He's a problem for Gaz and Paul as Dee was muscling in on their drug trade. Dee suffered the consequences of trying to be the top dealer of the prison. Dee being beaten up also meant that Taylor bore the brunt of his attempts to take over the drug trade. Of course Dee also had to threaten Adam to get Taylor in line.

Throughout the movie, Taylor's a man that's been constantly pushed around and it made sense that his former partner didn't want him anywhere near Adam. I did think he was going to kill Gaz and Paul in order to protect his estranged son. The fact that he went for Dee instead was better.

Dee's not a remotely sympathetic character. There's no nuance or attempts to explain why he's the way he is. He did work well as an antagonist with Tom Blyth serving as a perfect counter to David Jonsson's more earnest Taylor. There's also something suitably karmic about Dee's ultimate comeuppance.

- The film got a BAFTA nomination for Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director, or Producer.

- This movie was the director debut for Cal McMau. 

- Standout music: Jamie XX's Kill Dem and A Guy Called Gerald's Voodoo Ray.

- Chronology: Taylor spent thirteen years in prison before getting his early release.

Wasteman (2026) was a movie that really relied on both David Jonsson and Tom Blyth to deliver, performance wise. Both of them easily did that. It's a strong, gritty enough prison drama and a promising debut from Cal McMau.

Rating: 7 out of 10 

My Review of Psycho Killer (2026)

Written by Andrew Kevin Walker

Directed by Gavin Polone

Satanic Slasher (to Jane): "What I hope to help you come to grips with. No matter how many times you replayed what happened, the outcome is inescapable."

If there's a contender for one of the worst horror movies of 2026, then I definitely think this will be on many a list. Once again, a good idea mired by some absolutely horrible execution.

There's a killer named The Satanic Slasher (James Preston Rogers). Hes also known as an infamous serial killer named Richard Joshua Reeves. Reeves had quite the reputation, including Satanism. Is this slasher Reeves or a copycat killer?

That was for Highway patrol officer Jane Archer (Georgina Campbell) to figure out. The death of her husband Mike at the start of the movie made things personal for her. Jane was determined to bring the Satanic Slasher to justice. Just about everyone else seemed more of a deterrent to her cause.

Of course Jane didn't let any doubters get in her way.  She was willing to cross States in order to get her killed and with a little help, she actually did track him down. There was also a scuffle between the two of them in a motel room and Jane also discovered that she was pregnant.

The pregnancy reveal added a little stakes into the mix and things led to a Satanic cult led by Mr Pendleton (Malcolm McDowell) and a final showdown at a prison where the Satanic Slasher literally wanted to open the gates. What should've been an exciting conclusion to this cross state event was a damp squib.

- The project had been in development since 2007. At one point, Fred Durst was poised to direct it.

- Georgina Campbell certainly seems to be a modern day horror queen. This movie was in theatres the same time as Cold Storage.

- Standout music: Cole Simon's Do You Dare.

- Chronology: Took place during 2007 in Kansas, Nebraska, Pennsylvania before ending in Death Valley, California.

Psycho Killer (2026) was such a disappointment for a movie. The idea was great and Georgina Campbell did the best she could but it's such a dire movie. Some okay kills but not enough to make this a worthwhile experience.

Rating: 4 out of 10 

My Review of Ready Or Not 2: Here I Come (2026)

 

Written by Guy Busick And R. Christopher Murphy

Directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin And Tyler Gillett

Faith (to Grace): "I'm really not used to people combusting all over me."

In 2019, Radio Silence gave audiences Ready Or Not with Samara Weaving as beleaguered bride Grace MacCaullay. It was a massive hit, which meant a sequel had to happen. I think the problem with this sequel might have been timing.

Perhaps it was too long between movies because I'm genuinely mystified as to why this follow up hasn't hit like the first one. Maybe it's also the fact that while this one added more mythology, it just didn't feel big enough for audiences to return for seconds. If you haven't seen it, you're missing out.

Anyways, Grace didn't have time to process the fact that the Le Domas family tried to kill her on her wedding. Nope, she ended up in hospital, was under suspicion of murder and then reunited with her younger sister, Faith (Kathryn Newton). Oh and both sisters are kind of mad with one another as well.

On top of all of that, both Grace and Faith ended up being kidnapped by the other families, whom like the La Domas clan are also under the same deal with Mr Le Bail (James Vanderbilt) as they were. Elijah Wood popped up as Le Bail's neutral party lawyer while also laying out the rules.

Grace and Faith had to be handcuffed and hunted by six families during another game of hide and seek. If they survive until dawn, they're free. If they don't, the winning family would be seated at the highest table and practically control the world. Needless to say the families in question were desperate to kill those sisters.

The most memorable family of course are Danfoth family. Homicidal twins Ursula (Sarah Michelle Gellar) and Titus (Shawn Hatosy). They're an absolutely brilliant counterpart to both Grace and Faith. While Grace and Faith's relationship gradually repaired as the movie went on, the exact opposite happened with Ursula and Titus. Oh and there was another wedding that wouldn't have looked out of place on Game Of Thrones.

The other families aren't as well developed but they do get some very funny and often brutal deaths. I had to laugh at the sheer incompetence of Ignacio El Caido (Nestor Carbonell) as well as his embittered daughter, Francesca (Maia Jae). The latter's unbridled hatred for Grace led to one of the best fight scenes in the movie and set to one hell of a song as well.

- The families fighting for survival were Danforth, Cing, Rajan, El Caido and Wilkinson. Kevin Durand played the head of the latter.

- The movie really upped the Satanism but while we got plenty of human deaths, the goat survived. Grace also got a black wedding dress during her near marriage to Titus.

- Originally the director pitched a different movie with sisters before this idea got made into this sequel.

- Grace's look is a homage to Buffy Summers. It was recently revealed that Kathryn Newton was going to be a part of Buffy The Vampire Slayer: New Sunnydale.

- Standout music: Bonnie Tyler's Total Eclipse Of The Heart.

- Chronology: Takes place from where the first movie left off. Grace and Faith are three years apart in age and hadn't seen each other in seven years.

I really wish this movie was doing better because Ready Or Not 2: Here I Come in my opinion turned out to be a great. A brilliant double act with Samara Weaving and Kathryn Newton, fun villains, more lore building and some batshit deaths. I had so much fun with this one.

Rating: 8 out of 10 

My Review of Sleepwalker (2026)

 

Written And Directed by Brandon Auman

Sarah: "I haven't sleepwalked since I was a kid but it's never been like this."

In another timeline, Hayden Panettiere would've been in Scream 7 but in this timeline however, she was in this tepid horror thriller that was a mash up of domestic family drama and not so well executed scares.

The movie started with frazzled separated mother, Sarah Pangborn (Panettiere). She had her son Holden (Laird LaCoste) but was coping with both her daughter Aimee (Corinne Sweeney) and estranged husband Michael (Justin Chatwin). Both are in a coma. Both are haunting Sarah's dreams.

In flashbacks we learned that Sarah and Michael had a volatile marriage with the former being abused by the latter. Sarah eventually decided to leave Michael and the latter retaliated by trying to take their children. This resulted in both Michael and Aimee being in comas.

As the movie went along, Sarah wanted to pull the plug on Michael and fell out with the latter's sister, Joelle (Mischa Barton). Sarah was also living with her mother, Gloria (Beverly D'Angelo) and succumbing to sleepwalking, which ended in the latter's death.

I'll be honest, the more this movie went on, the more exhausting and clichéd it got. We saw supporting characters die, Michael being an evil force, wanting to own Sarah even in death and then, the movie ended on a drab note.

- It's a remake of a 2024 short movie from the same writer/director.

- There's a use of medium character but she didn't make it out of the movie alive.

- Joelle was also seeing Michael in her dreams but the movie didn't do anything with it.

- Chronology: Present day America.

I wanted to like Sleepwalker (2026) but it's such a lifeless, dull slightly of a movie with everyone practically sleepwalking through the whole thing. Don't bother with this one.

Rating: 4 out of 10 

American Horror Story - Season 13 Begins/Updates On Other Projects

It's been a long time coming but Season 13 of American Horror Story finally has started production and it looks like we're re-entering some very familiar territory.

Ryan Murphy took to Instagram to announce the start of the new season filming with a candid shot of Jessica Lange. Going by this image, it's very likely that the veteran actress will be reprising her role as Constance Langdon from Murder House/Apocalypse. It's also possible she's playing a new character but I'm not confident at that being the case here.

I suspected the minute the cast (plus Ariana Grande) for Season 13 was announced back in October 2025 that we were getting a continuation from Coven/Apocalypse and Murphy further confirmed that by mentioning that Angela Bassett will be reprising her role of Marie Laveau for the new season. Sarah Paulson and Emma Roberts have been confirmed as Cordelia Goode and Madison Montgomery respectively.

I do have mixed feelings on this. After Delicate, do we really need another witch themed season right away? Especially if this isn't the last season for the show itself. A part of me was hoping for something brand new.

I'm also editing this blog entry as it's currently being rumoured by several fan accounts that Joey Pollari has been cast a male lead for the new season. The actor has already appeared in both Monster: The Ed Gein Story and The Beauty and if true, this will make his fourth collaboration with Ryan Murphy. He will also be in the upcoming Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story. No details as to whom he might be playing, though some have speculated it's an older version of a character introduced in Apocalypse. Also rumoured is cult director John Waters in an undisclosed role. Waters previously appeared in Feud: Bette And Joan.

As for other Ryan Murphy shows, given the viewing numbers for Love Story on FX/Hulu, I think a second season will definitely be happening. Both 9-1-1 shows will finish up their current seasons next month on ABC and have already been renewed. The Beauty ended on a cliffhanger and has yet to be renewed while the second season of All's Fair will begin production soon.

Then there's The Shards. Viewers can expect that to air on FX/Hulu during the summer while Netflix will release Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story around October. American Horror Stories is currently in limbo while there are no plans for either American Crime Story or Feud. As for the likes of Grotesquerie and American Sports Story, I think it's safe to assume both shows are unlikely to return for further seasons.

And that's a run down of the current Ryan Murphy shows. I'll update again when more information comes to light.

My Review of My Policeman (2022)

 

Written by Ron Nyswaner

Directed by Michael Grandage

Patrick: "There he was. I recognized him even from behind. That fine head. The unmistakable line of his shoulder. My policeman was magnificently alive in front of me."

In terms of movies I've left too long to actually review, this was another. In the time it's been released, I've watched/reviewed several gay themed movies and shows since. I've heard mixed things about this one.

This would be one of those movies in two different eras for it's three main characters. In the present day, Patrick Hazelwood (Rupert Everett) suffered a stroke and was being taken care of by his friend, Marion Taylor (Gina McKee). The latter's husband, Tom Burgess (Linus Roache) wasn't pleased about this.

In the past, we saw the younger versions of Marion and Tom, as played by Emma Corrin and Harry Styles meet and fall in love with one another. Then there was the younger version of Patrick, played by David Dawson. It didn't take long for things to become complicated for everyone.

Marion was a school teacher, Tom was a policeman and Patrick was a museum curator. As the three learned from each other, there was an affair brewing between Tom and Patrick. If I'm being pedantic, Tom was with Patrick before he decided to marry Marion. Tom also wanted to keep seeing Patrick, which didn't end well for anyone.

Yes, Marion found out about the affair and reported Patrick to the police. Patrick went to jail and Marion's marriage to Tom was never the same again. The fact that Marion in the present day chose to look after Patrick stemmed from guilt. It also led to her having the most honest conversation she ever had with Tom.

As with these period movies for gay men, there's a lot of angst and consequences of discovery but this one managed to end on a positive note. Marion left Tom and Patrick and the latter two finally held hands. I'll admit that little moment actually got to me and it's informed my rating for this movie too.

- Ron Nyswaner who wrote the script would go on to create the Showtime miniseries, Fellow Travellers. I've reviewed all of that on this blog.

- The movie's based on a 2012 book of the same name and of a relationship between writer E.M. Forster and Bob Buckingham. The latter was a married policeman.

- Standout music: Dean Martin's Memories Are Made Of This.

- Chronology: Present day in Peacehaven but the flashbacks started in 1957 Brighton.

I got to admit that I really like My Policeman as a movie. While it certainly felt familiar, I do think the central performances from both group of actors in both time settings genuinely worked. That ending also gave it an extra point for me.

Rating: 7 out of 10 

My Review of Bent (1997)

Written by Martin Sherman

Directed by Sean Mathias

Max: "I love you... What's wrong with that?"

I'll admit that seeing a random gif on X/Twitter might have motivated me into watching this movie. I had vaugely heard of it but had never seen it until yesterday.

We've had a lot of movies in this specific genre but not many that have focused on the persecution of gay men during the rise of Nazism in Germany at the time. This movie centred on a gay man named Max (Clive Owen).

Max's been living in Berlin, had a boyfriend named Rudy (Brian Webber II) but a sexual encounter with Wolf (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) would be the ruin for both of them. It turned out that Wolf was a Sturmabteilung man and SS men killed him as both Max and Rudy tried to flee for their lives.

While Max had some connection through a wealthy uncle named Freddie (Ian McKellen), it was his refusal to abandon Rudy that resulted in the two of them being arrested by the Gestapo. Worse than that, Max was forced to kill his boyfriend while also concealing his own sexuality.

Max being in denial about his sexuality didn't shield him that much in the concentration camp he ended up, which was Dachau. He was still horribly treated by the Nazis and it seemed clear in some scenes that they were well aware that he was actually gay.  The way they would make him witness a particular death drove that point home.

The second half of the movie explored a relationship of sorts between Max and fellow prisoner, Horst (Lothaire Bluteau). It was a relationship that was intimate without physical touching and Horst's brutal death saw Max take his own life. It's a heartbreaking final moment.

- This movie also featured Mick Jagger, Paul Brittany, Jude Law and Rachel Weisz in prominent roles.

- Based on the 1979 play of the same name by Martin Sherman, who wrote the script for the movie.

- Standout music: Mick Jagger's Streets Of Berlin.

- Chronology: 1934, Germany and taking in the events of the Night of the Long Knives.

Bent (1997) for obvious reasons doesn't make for an easy watch. There's excellent performances throughout, notably from Clive Owen. This movie definitely saw one of his best work with Max being one hell of a character to watch. 

Rating: 8 out of 10