lockewasalwaysbest Reviews

Insidious: The Red Door (2023)

They Pulled EVERY Punch

[5/10 · 8 July 2023]

This should've been dialed up to 11 with a college as a setting and being the 5th movie in the series. Instead we get a sleepy, sloppy story with an underwhelming ending.

There are jump scares with loud noises so you'll jump but only because it's loud, not scary or disturbing. They break rules established in the first films which make everything, including this movie, pointless. They squander good acting and set up (art teacher, hello?).

It's mostly just a sort of creepy, psychological drama about dads, their sons, astral projection, and very misrepresented capabilities of hypnosis. Nothing like the previous installments.

Also, a kid who is afraid of the dark only uses 40 watt lightbulbs in his dorm room? And why was the fan still going during the blackout? The ambience reminded me of Pulse but it didn't even live up to that older movie as far as scary/disturbing went. Give it a miss if you're a true fan of the Insidious movies.

No Exit (I) (2022)

Not what I signed up for

[4/10 · 3 March 2022]

This had SUCH a good premise and could have been so much better than it was had they drawn out the whodunnit aspect. They could have made it much creepier than just Darby playing cards and asking everyone questions about where they're from. They could have kept the mystery going a little while longer. Maybe even made you wonder if there was someone else there with them that they weren't aware of or something like that.

Instead it was like they didn't know what to do with the limited setting so they just dumped the script into a thriller plot generator and came out with something that just felt already done before.

Like the scene where two people kiss in order to not look suspicious for when someone catches them trying to have a private conversation. Which, when you've just met someone at a rest stop in the middle of a blizzard, looks even more suspicious. And I've definitely seen it before, a hundred times.

And the whole idea that anyone would hire a complete idiot to do anything remotely serious like kidnapping and transporting a little girl. But I've definitely seen that trope before.

And then, as if that wasn't bad enough, it devolved even further down into just pure demoralizing violence and gore. Which I definitely did not sign up for based on the film's synopsis and trailer.

I gave more stars than I felt the film deserved because the lead actress was strong and carried the film well.

Dangerous Snow Day (2021)

It could have been worse, I guess

[4/10 · 16 December 2021]

Someone's trying to kill her, run her over with a car, and she "doesn't want to talk about it" when the police officer asks her why her number one suspect might have it in for her. Does she think he's date material or something so she doesn't want to admit she rejected the guy's advances? I don't know why any woman in this day and age would be SO vapid and stupid. You tell the police EVERYTHING. Including the passive aggressive nonsense.

The music is awful and the lead overacts her fear, sometimes in places where it makes no sense to be SO afraid. She's almost like the bougie pet cat who suddenly finds herself homeless in the rain and can't function. But she's going for her Master's degree in Social Services. Okay. God help the kids in her case files.

Clickbait (2021)

Great Acting, No-No Ending

[5/10 · 8 September 2021]

This doesn't contain solid spoilers but still... The acting was incredible. The story was so worth watching. I was hooked from the moment Pia came on-screen, charged up to understand why Sophie wasn't crying, and needed to know who did it, who was messaging Ethan, and so many other things. The ending? The biggest criticism in mystery writing is creating a mystery the reader/watcher cannot solve because you do not introduce the villain as ANYONE in the story until the end. I had so many theories which fit all the clues we were given. But whodunnit was someone we never even really knew existed until it was almost all over. Disappointing waste of a really great premise, set of characters, etc.

Fear Street: Part Three - 1666 (2021)

Just No

[3/10 · 30 July 2021]

They apparently deleted my review after it had been posted. Oh well. I think it's funny that people are commenting non-stop on the accents. It's a low budget Netflix movie with teen actors. It's also really a lot of suspended disbelief as the plot makes no sense for the eras in which they are set. I'll just leave it at that since critiquing what actually made no sense is not allowed. Just no. Don't waste your time. Part 2 was pretty good but this finale made no sense. The acting was not good. The plot was incredibly flawed. Find something better to do with your time. There ARE better horror films out there.

American Horror Stories: The Naughty List (2021) Season 1, Episode 4

SO Bad

[1/10 · 30 July 2021]

I get what they were trying to do with this. I do. It's social commentary and there's even a nod to how they're too old to be doing this (not just the characters but the writers). But this was really just boring and predictable. Poor Danny Trejo is so much better than this. And I'm pretty sure that most fans of the AHS franchise don't much care about Logan Paul or Pewdiepie making problematic videos when the whole franchise is intensely graphic about problematic issues. SMH I had hope with episode 3 but this was not the Christmas in July present I would have liked.

Halloween Party (2019)

Not Very Scary But VERY Fun

[8/10 · 9 October 2020]

It's really not super scary, no. That's not always my interest in a horror film. I want to see acting that's decent, dialogue with some snap, and story that has some nuance. I was impressed with this. Yes, it's funny quite often, but NOT in a campy way. Think Happy Death Day's quieter baby sister. I've watched a lot of horror movies and this one was pretty creative and well done. A couple well-placed jump scares that weren't the cheesy sudden loud music kind but actually were part of the main story of the movie. I'd say watch this with someone who will snicker along with the two leads' snarking at each other. The final scene was great. Forgive the movie its flaw of slightly slow editing and just know you're not going to be super tense in your seat while watching but it's worth it!