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Freaky (2021)
Freaky (2021)
2021 | Comedy, Horror
Vince Vaughn and Kathryn Newton have fun with their alter egos (0 more)
Not funny enough to be a comedy. Not scary enough to be horror. (0 more)
No, not like the Disney version
Some B-movies really pack a much bigger punch than you would expect. "Nobody" is a perfect recent example. But movie karma needs to be balanced with something. Ladies and gentlemen - "Freaky"!

Positives:
- If you are into your "teen slasher" movies, then this is more of the same and features some innovative ways to dispatch the victims. One is certainly no way to treat a fine wine!
- Vince Vaughn has fun mincing around as his alter-ego and Kathryn Newton (soon to be in the next "Ant-Man" movie) is personable enough as the cutie-cum-serial-killer.
- It's always good to see Ferris-actor Alan Ruck on the big screen. Here, he actually plays two parts in the film. (This joke (C) One Mann's Movies.)

Negatives:
- It's flagged as "comedy/horror" but failed to meet my personal 6-laugh test. It's just not funny enough to pass muster unless, that is, you view crude dialogue as "funny". And the dialogue does get ickily crude at some points. For example, when evil-Millie ends up alone with three jocks, there's a line of misogynist dialogue (that I won't repeat) but which sets the level.
- As a Blumhouse production, the horror is ultra-gory which will put off many viewers lacking a strong stomach. But because of the associated black comedy, the horror isn't remotely tense or scary. This might be why the film only got a UK-15 certificate. But my personal view is that, with the violence and the offensive dialogue, the BBFC under called this one, and it should have been an 18.
- There's a lot of schmaltz layered on regarding the relationship between Millie and her mum (Katie Finneran, channelling a Laura Dern look). A store cubicle exchange between Finneran and Vaughn is particularly stomach-churning.
- The movie leaves logic at the door many times. A formulaic post-finale ending assumes a superhero ability to shrug off bullets.

Summary Thoughts on "Freaky": The 'body-swap idea has gone through dozens of movie versions, with Disney's "Freaky Friday" the most well known: it's actually had two outings, once in 1976 with a young Jodie Foster and Barbara Harris and again in 2003 with Lindsay Lohan and Jamie-Lee Curtis. (The latter is a firm Mann-family favourite).

This new version tries a serial-killer twist on the story, which is a good idea. But the movie fails to execute well on the concept. The director is Christopher Landon who did the "Happy Death Day" movies. This is in a similar vein. So teens who enjoyed those flicks might get a fun Saturday night out with this. But, for me, this fell between the stools of comedy and horror and is instantly forgettable.

(For the full graphical review, please check out One Mann's Movies on the web here - https://bob-the-movie-man.com/2021/07/03/freaky-no-its-not-remotely-like-the-disney-version/. One Mann's Movies is also on Facebook and Tiktok (@onemannsmovies). Thanks.)
  
Antebellum (2020)
Antebellum (2020)
2020 | Thriller
A Jordan Peele movie wouldn't have made the third act gore so tame, just sayin'. In fact there's a lot wrong with this movie, including but not limited to tacky dialogue and the fact that there's not really an actual plot that happens. But it's definitely weird, ambitious, attractive, and intriguing enough to suffice. Jack Huston and - in particular - Gabourey Sidibe are great in it too, and honestly listening to her talk about what the film represents and how much it means to her (https://youtu.be/qDDBc1eD0P8 [8:07]) was very powerful and sort of solidified my positive rating for it in the end. Because on the one hand I think what this movie tried to convey is both admirable and depressingly timely - just muddled a ton by its scattershot approach. Though on the other hand I kind of feel as though its bizarre narrative structure gives it some nuance that it otherwise would have missed out on in the age of slow-burn horror indie clones. It's impossible to talk about this comprehensively without blowing its twist - and it's a good one - but just know this is a vastly better Janelle Monáe slave movie than 𝘏𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘵.
  
Piranha 3D (2010)
Piranha 3D (2010)
2010 | Comedy, Horror, Mystery
5
6.3 (18 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Kind of great, definitely awful
Looking for a silly, average, stupidly gory horror film? You could do a lot worse than Piranha 3D.

This movie is never going to be considered a horror great, not even close. It's cheesy, it's brimming with awful acting (except Elisabeth Shue, we love Elisabeth Shue), and it's completely brain dead, and in spite of all of this, Piranha 3D knows exactly what it is, and just waves it in our stupid entertained faces - it's a lot of fun.

The build up to the ridiculous finale is filled with a lot of one dimensional characters that are hard to care about, but has enough sudden gore (with some pretty nice practical effects for the record) to keep you interested.
They even throw in Christopher Lloyd just being a perfect bat-shit crazy version of himself, because why the hell not.

For the most part, it's all very standard and pretty average. But that aforementioned finale....Christ.
The final 20 minutes is gratuitous and then some.
The audience is just assaulted by outrageous violence, enough to keep you firmly grasping just how silly this film is...it's kind of glorious, and the whole thing deserves it's place in the infamous so-bad-its-great hall of horror fame.

It's dumb, but it's entertaining. A must for anyone who fancies a braindead popcorn horror now and again.
  
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Rob68 (2 KP) rated It (2017) in Movies

Sep 22, 2017  
It (2017)
It (2017)
2017 | Drama, Horror
9
7.9 (354 Ratings)
Movie Rating
As a remake this one was spot on, from the off its doesn't disappoint, creepy clown stills the show, great young cast with there own issues in life and growing up, I highly recommend this movie, most films they class as horror Normally make me laugh, but this one has you on the edge of your seat with great jump moments, the start of a franchise of movies, let's just hope they don't over do it in future movies and spoil a great hit
  
Fight Club (1999)
Fight Club (1999)
1999 | Thriller
I am Jack's liver...a mind-blowing look at a consumer-led society and mental health
This is a horror movie in the sense that it feels like a modern-day psycho. David Fincher's savage film is visionary and disturbing. It reveals angry and diffidently witty ideas about contemporary manhood. It builds a huge, phantasmagorical structure around the search for lost masculine authority, and attempts to psycho-analyse an entire society in the process. Fabulous twist at the end. An excellent adaptation of Chuck Palahniuk's book.
  
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Dork_knight74 (881 KP) rated Malevolent (2018) in Movies

Oct 7, 2018 (Updated Oct 7, 2018)  
Malevolent (2018)
Malevolent (2018)
2018 | Horror
7
6.3 (8 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Better than expected
Found this little gem on Netflix(original). The acting, cinematography and effects are decent. The story played out well. A little bit of a slow starter but kept the interest throughout. No big names that I knew, but the characters were well played. Takes place in the eighties in Scotland and it feels like you're watching a movie made in the eighties. If you're into creepy, supernatural horror flicks this one will please you. Not "The Conjuring" good but still worth a watch.
  
Brahms: The Boy II (2020)
Brahms: The Boy II (2020)
2020 | Horror
Contains spoilers, click to show
Jump scares! So many of them! I love being scared so this film was great. I didn't think it made sense as a follow on from the first movie though. Thriller to paranormal horror is a massive jump but it kind of worked. I was more interested in the scares anyway so I didnt think about the links. They also added to Brahms' back story to make him more interesting I guess and it worked to an extent. Could have done better but I enjoyed it anyway!
  
You Should Have Left (2020)
You Should Have Left (2020)
2020 | Horror, Mystery
Not bad
This movie turned out better than I thought it would. Kevin Bacon is a decent actor and overall the acting was good in this one. The cinematography was well done. The story, while slightly predictable, had a few good little twists and turns. Nothing gory or that scary about this one. It had a couple of jump scares, but mostly this was a more cerebral tale. If you're into "lost souls" types of horror films, you'll enjoy this one. Worth a watch.