My Review of The Gates (2026)

 

Written and Directed by John Burr

Derek (re Jacob): "We saw something and now the psycho is after us."

To get the elephant out of the room first. This movie was the last thing that James Van Der Beek filmed prior to his untimely passing. In this movie, he's taken on something of a villainous role. Actually, he's definitely the villain of the piece.

Throw in a gated community as the main setting and you've got Van Der Beek as Pastor Jacob. He's set up the perfect neighbourhood to keep any one he saw as undesirable out but when it came to getting away with murder, he had an obstacle to overcome.

The obstacle ended up being three outsiders - Derek (Mason Gooding) and his friends Kevin (Algee Smith) and Tyon (Keith Powers). These three men saw Jacob strike and potentially kill a woman named Elizabeth (Elle Evans). Jacob also had a tight-knit community to mostly protect him.

It's interesting that you had characters like former alcoholic Christopher (Brad Leland) and wannabe singer Roxy (Sofia Hublitz) having very different interactions with Derek and his friends. Roxy was willing to help get the men out of the community if she could join them. There's a plot where one of the men had to sing for the access code.

Then there was Christopher. He was quick to disbelief Derek and friends until Jacob's action made him realise that the pastor was off his rocker. Same was applicable to Officer Bobby (Kylr Coffman) and both men didn't live to tell the tale.

As a villain, I think James Van Der Beek did a decent job as Jacob. He certainly got more threatening as the movie progress and Mason Gooding's Derek was a decent foil to him. There's also a good insight into the fractured relationship between the three outsiders that got resolved by the end of the movie.

- Derek wanted to be a lawyer while Kevin had been a football star. Christopher admired that about him.

- Derek's family also factored into the movie when Pastor Jacob later threatened them.

- I do think it's funny that none of the men thought to steal a phone during a party where everyone was distracted.

- Chronology: Set within a gated community for the majority of the film.

The Gates (2026) isn't what I'd call a must see movie. James Van Der Beek did give a good performance as Jacob and the film itself took a few surprise twists along the way.

Rating: 6 out of 10 

My Review of Undertone (2026)

 

Written And Directed  by Ian Tuason

Justin: "Don't be afraid of the dark. Be afraid of the silence."

Podcast horror, anyone? Well, that's more or less the premise of this movie along with some Catholicism for good measure. There are two main characters but only one of them was seen throughout the entire movie.

The seen character of course being Evangeline "Evy" Babic (Nina Kiri). She runs a podcast called The Undertone with her unseen but largely heard friend Justin (Adam DiMarco). Given the genre of this movie, of course it's a horror podcast.

Despite his lack of a physical appearance through proceedings, it's Justin that brought things into chaotic focus when he sent Evy a series of strange letters and audio files. Both of these things turned out to be a very bad idea in the long run.

Justin heard dangerous and malicious things from the audio files but Evy spent most of the movie in denial about what he heard. There's also the fact that Evy was taking care of her comatose mother (Michèle Duquet). That played a role into proceedings.

I'll admit that the movie was a bit hard to stick with. Despite it's short length, it felt a bit disjointed at times. There's various callers, including one looking for a Mary that drove Evy nuts before things ended on a horrifying note.

- The movie was inspired by the writer/director caring for his parents. It's even filmed in his childhood home.

- Justin was originally played by Kris Holden-Ried before being replaced by Adam DiMarco.

- Standout music: Steph Copeland's Baa Baa Black Sheep.

- Chronology: Set over the course of a night in Evy's house.

I wanted to like Undertone (2026) but I found it a slog to get through. It's very uneven as a movie, though Nina Kiri and Adam DiMarco give it their all.

Rating: 6 out of 10 

My Review of Thrash (2026)

 

Written And Directed by Tommy Wirkola

Dee (to Will): "Bet you never saw this on Shark Week."

Remember a couple of years there was a film named Crawl (2019)? If you've seen that movie, you'll know what to expect with this one. Instead of alligators, this one had sharks. Lots of them.

It also had a lot of human characters that mostly interconnected with one another. Humans who brought out the best and worst in one another. I'm gonna break it down.

First of all, there's Lisa (Phoebe Dynevor). She was recently dumped by her boyfriend and she was due to give birth. She got caught up big time in the Category 5 hurricane and came close multiple times to being shark food. As did her baby boy, whom she gave birth to at the worst possible moment.

Fortunately for Lisa she managed to make a new friend in agoraphobic girl Dakota (Whitney Peak). The latter was dealing with the loss of her parents but found herself stepping into something of a heroic role due to Lisa needing her. It's a nice character that developed throughout the movie.

Dakota also had an uncle named  Dr. Dale Edwards (Djimon Hounsou). He was a marine expert that knew his stuff about sharks. Saying that, while he's an expert, he practically took forever to be reunited with Dakota and it was the arrival of a much bigger shark that actually saved the day in a roundabout way.

The funniest story in the movie involved three siblings - Ron (Stacy Clausen), Will (Dante Ubaldi) and Dee (Alyla Browne). They had to deal with terrible foster parents Billy (Matt Nable) and Rachel Olsen (Amy Matthews). Let's just say that their storyline involved deaths that were more funny than sad and that dynamite shouldn't be left near children.

- Sony were originally going to release this in theatres before sending it to Netflix.

- Alternative titles for this movie included The Rising, Shiver and Beneath The Storm.

- Standout music: Tennessee River Crooks White Lightning.

- Chronology: Set in the fictional town of Annieville. Lisa mentioned being from New York.

Thrash (2026) was a lot of fun. Yes, it's a very trashy C-horror movie that definitely wouldn't feel out of place on SyFy in the 2000s. If you're not expecting fine art, you'll have a good time with this one.

Rating: 6 out of 10 

My Review of Euphoria - Season 1 + Specials (2019-2021, HBO Series)

 

Written by Sam Levinson And Hunter Schafer 

Directed by Augustine Frizzell And Sam Levinson And Jennifer Morrison And Pippa Bianco

Rue: "I know it all seems sad, but guess what? I didn't build this system, nor did I fuck it up."

With the show's third and likely final season currently airing, I went back to the beginning to weigh up the pros and cons od this show overall. Sam Levinson certainly knows how to divide an audience and with this show, it's a case of flashes of brilliance mixed with so much frustration.

I'll give him credit for giving Zendaya her most influential role to date. Casting her as the show's protagonist - a queer drug addict named Ruby "Rue" Bennett, both Levinson and Zendaya have crafted one of the most complex female protagonists in the last decade.

The show started with Rue coming out of rehab after yet another overdose and her relationship with her mother, Leslie (Nika King) and younger sister, Gia (Storm Reid) doesn't much improve throughout the season. While She's relationships with Leslie and Gia get a fair amount of screen time, other characters and relationships are prioritised more.

In particular, Rue struck up a romance of sorts with transgender classmate Jules Vaughn (Hunter Schafer). I'd say for the most part, it's a sweet relationship with Rue genuinely in love with Jules but it's also marred by codependency and it's not a shock the two of them broke up by the finale.

Rue and Jules of course are the subject of special episodes that exposed some of the best writing on the show. When Sam Levinson dials down the sexual gratuity and general violence, he's capable of thoughtful conversation. Both Zendaya and Hunter Schafer certainly helped in that regard too.

These specials worked as two handers. Rue in a cafe during Christmas Eve with her sponsor, Ali Muhammad (Colman Domingo) and then Jules in a therapy session with Dr. Mardy Nichols (Lauren Weedman). They're easily the show at its best.

As for the rest of the show, there's a a slew of characters that intersect with Rue and Jules. For example, there's the deeply misogynistic and possibly closeted jock, Nate Jacobs (Jacob Elordi) who both terrorised Jules and his own girlfriend, Maddy Perez (Alexa Demie), resulting in both women having to lie to the police in order to send an innocent man to prison to save Nate's skin.

Other characters who made an impression included Nate's closeted father, Cal (Eric Dane), sister duo Lexi (Maude Apatow) and Cassie (Sydney Sweeney). The former was a good friend to Rue while the latter was repeatedly shamed for her promiscuity and had been dating Nate's friend, Chris McKay (Algee Smith). There was also Rue's dealer, Fezco O'Neill (Angus Cloud) who had his own moral code and cam girl Kat Hernandez (Barbie Ferreira). All of whom are given a decent amount of screen time. 

- Season 1 titles were Pilot, Stuntin' Like My Daddy, Made You Look, Shook Ones Pt. II, '03 Bonnie And Clyde, The Next Episode, The Trials And Tribulations Of Trying To Pee While Depressed and And Salt The Earth Behind You.

- Special titles were Trouble Don't Last Always - Part 1: Rue and Fuck Anyone Who's Not a Sea Blob - Part 2: Jules.

- The show's based on an Israeli series of the same name that only lasted ten episodes.

- Most of the episodes focus on a view point of a character but it's Rue narrating the show for the majority of the time.

- Standout music: Labrinth was responsible for most of the music. Still Don't Know My Name being the strongest.

- Chronology: The show is set in the fictional town of East Highland, California. The likes of Halloween, Christmas and New Year's are all touched upon.

Season 1 of this show easily would be the best but it also highlighted Sam Levinson's strengths and weaknesses as a writer/director/creator. There's moments of brilliance, moments of frustration and moments where it's too exploitative for it's own good.  Either way, it sticks with you as a show.

Rating: 7 out of 10 

My Review of Bring Them Down (2025)

 

Written by Christopher Andrews And Jonathan Hourigan

Directed by Christopher Andrews

Ray (to Michael): "I want you to bring him his fucking head!"

Decided to watch anotheg Irish movie last night and this was one that went under the radar upon its releaae last year. In fact, it was my sister who suggestef seeing it. 

Splitting the narrative, the movie opened with rural shepherd Michael O'Shea (Christopher Abbott/Youssef Quinn) being responsible for the death of his mother, Peggy (Susan Lynch) and wounding former girlfriend, Caroline (Grace Daly/Nora-Jane Noone). 

In the present, he's got a volatile relationship with his Irish speaking father, Ray (Colm Meaney) and there's a rivalry of sorts between Michael and Caroline's husband, Gary (Paul Ready) and her son, Jack (Barry Keoghan). The latter's friend, Lee (Aaron Heffernan) also doesn't help matters.

Halfway through the movie, there's a dispute of sheep with Michael's flick being slaughtered by Jack. There's also a rather brutal scene involving Michael having to kill his own dog to relieve it's suffering that I wasn't prepared for. It's easily the most harrowing moment in the whole film.

Anyways the sequences of events played first from Michael's perspective and then it played from Jack's. Jack was heartbroken over his parents getting a divorce, though it was clear he preferred Caroline to Gary. Keoghan did play the role with an endearing enough innocence.

Then there's the climactic fight between Michael and Jack. Both men fought dirty and one of them came close enough to death. Sympathy was afforded to both men with Michael even apologising for the events at the start of the movie. Oh and for an American, Christopher Abbott managed a decent Irish accent.

- Originally Paul Mescal had been cast for the role of Michael but dropped out due to filming Gladiator II. Barry Keoghan replaced Tom Burke.

- Not only did Christopher Abbott deliver a convincing Irish accent but even sounded believable when speaking Irish in his scenes with Colm Meaney.

- Standout music: Michael Chapman's Among The Trees.

- Chronology: Present day and the movie was filmed in Wicklow.

Bring Them Down turned out to be a strong enough movie. An intense battle between two families with old grudges rearing their head in brutal fashion. Both Christopher Abbott and Barry Keoghan did a great job.

Rating: 7 out of 10 

My Review of Knock Knock (2015)

 

Written by Eli Roth And Guillermo Amoedo And Nicolás López

Directed by Eli Roth

Bel (to Evan): "I'm glad we knocked on your door."

Okay, when it comes to Eli Roth as a writer and director, he's not that much better or worse than Rob Zombie. There's sometimes traces of brilliance and a lot of times, frustration and questionable writing for women.

This film somewhat encapsulated that to a tee. Remember when Quentin Tarantino delivered three female revenge films with both volumes of Kill Bill and Death Proof. Perhaps Roth was hoping for the same results here. 

You've got Keanu Reeves as architect Evan Webber. He's married to sculptor Karen (Ignacia Allamand) and the have two kids and a cute little dog named Monkey. The wife and kids are away for the weekend, which left Evan alone to look after Monkey, watch his shoulder and be terrorised by two unhinged women upon stupidly letting them into his house.

The women in question were Genesis (Lorenza Izzo) and Bel (Ana de Armas). They tricked Evan into believing that they were sent to wrong neighbourhood. Evan for the most part tried to be helpful by letting them dry off, giving them tea and repairing Genesis's phone. He also called them a cab.

Unfortunately for Evan, he doomed himself by falling for their obvious attempts of seduction and had a threesome. When he did manage to get rid of them, they returned to terrorise and sexually assault him. They also kept accusing him of being a paedophile, despite the fact that Evan wasn't.

I'll admit this movie really will test anyone's patience. Usually in these revenge thrillers, the woman has a good reason to go after the men they go after. Genesis and Bel were just psychopaths who purposely terrorise innocent men in order to break up their marriages for no reason. 

As characters, they're just straight up evil. Evan was foolish for letting them in but none of what's inflicted upon him was something that he deserved. The movie's ending in particular just rubbed me up the wrong way.

- Eli Roth was married to Lorenza Izzo at the time of this movie being made. 

- This movie is a remake of the 1977 psychological thriller, Death Game.

- Standout music: Goyele's Winter Nights.

- Chronology: Took place over the course of two days. Evan's 43 and Father's Day factored in for half the movie.

Knock Knock (2015) would just turn out to be a frustrating movie with okay-ish performances from everyone involved. It's a film that trivialised sexual assault towards men with some one dimensional villains in both Genesis and Bel.

Rating: 5 out of 10 

My Review of The Devil Wears Prada (2006)

 

Written by Aline Brosh McKenna

Directed by David Frankel

Andrea: "But what if this isn't what I want? I mean what if I don't wanna live the way you live?"

Miranda: "Oh, don't be ridiculous. Andrea. Everybody wants this. Everybody wants to be us."

With a sequel due in theatres in less than a month's time, I just knew that I had to go back and watch the original itself. Can you believe it's been nearly twenty years since this movie? A part of me didn't but then I watched and realised how it's very much a product of its time.

Instead of Vogue and Anna Wintour, you've got Runway and the similarly fearsome editor in chief, Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep). This was a woman who'd terrifying even the hardest of men and also inspired the fiercest of loyalty to boot. Two things that our protagonist of the piece felt for Miranda.

The protagonist being aspiring journalist Andrea Sachs (Anne Hathaway), who found herself working at Runway as the number two to the recently appointed number one Emily Charlton (Emily Blunt). I'm talking assistants here. Emily's both trying her best to be helpful to Andrea while at the same time deriding the fact that the latter had no interest in the fashion industry.

Andrea's lack of interest in fashion led to that cerulean speech from Miranda that gave someone as fashion unconscious as myself food for thought. I felt personally attacked during that scene. Anyways, Andrea forming a friendship with fashion director Nigel Kipling (Stanley Tucci) did result in a bit of a makeover.

If there's only thing this film completely failed at, it was it's attempts of trying to make Anne Hathaway look dowdy before the character glow up. She's stunningly beautiful and Andrea had a chef boyfriend in Nate Cooper (Adrian Grenier) and an admirer in journalist Christian Thompson (Simon Baker). The latter in particular was rather helpful in getting Andrea a certain manuscript for her.

As the film progressed, there's a shift between Andrea and Miranda. Both women were more alike and while the latter could admit it, the former didn't seem like the idea. Saying that, Andrea made the right career decision and it was one that even Miranda respected her for making. Even Emily grew to grudgingly respect Andrea by the end of this movie.

- The film's based on a novel of the same name by Lauren Weisberger. That novel had two sequels to it.

- Andrea was run ragged trying to get the Harry Potter manuscript. A year after this movie came out, I remember the queue in my town for that book.

- There's some nice supporting performances from Tracie Thoms, Richard Sommer and Daniel Sunjata to name a few.

- Miranda's actually British in the book but American here. She's got twin daughters and was getting divorced towards the end of the movie.

- Standout music: Madonna's Vogue and Jump as well as KT Tunstall's Suddenly I See.

- Chronology: Andrea worked for Miranda for less than a year before changing to a new place.

The Devil Wears Prada easily could've veered too much into a parody of the brutality of the fashion industry but it hit the correct mark instead. Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, Emily Blunt and Stanley Tucci are all excellent. It's genuinely funny from start to finish.

Rating: 9 out of 10