Let's Cee a Movie

Julie James Trilogy

Each film gets steadily worse (Spoilers)

I Know What You Did Last Summer is a 1997 slasher film that was written by Kevin Williamson, who also wrote Scream (1996) and created Dawson’s Creek. It’s based on the novel of the same name by Lois Duncan, which I didn’t bother to read because it’s a loose adaptation. There have been three subsequent films and one TV show. For this review, I’ll be focusing on the three most interconnected films that form a trilogy. Unless they make more sequels—which I doubt—but they probably will now that I’ve written that.

Chewbacca and C-3PO: The Movie

Two franchises remerge in a fine sequel (spoilers)

Dek (Dimitrius Schuster-Kolomatangi) is a young Yautja who’s the runt of his clan, so he’s much smaller than past predators. Such as OG Kevin Peter Hall, who made 6’2” Arnold Schwarzenegger look short (NSFW). To prove himself, Dek travels to a death world named Genna to hunt the Kalisk, which no other predator has been able to kill. Along the way, Dek meets Thia (Elle Fanning), a Weyland-Yunai synthetic who lost the lower half of her body due to the Kalisk.

My Zombie Experience

Being in a movie, kinda sorta, not really

Queens of the Dead was looking for zombie volunteers or “zombiteers” to fill out the horde, and I was one of them. Last year, I volunteered to be in the movie. Over email, I was also told several caveats. Among other things, there would be no compensation, no reimbursement for travel expenses, and, due to various factors, no guarantee of actually being in the movie. Though you would still be in the credits.

Romero Zombie Movie

A fine tribute (minor spoilers)

Dre (Katy O’Brian) is a gay club promoter who’s facing some hardships because most of her acts are jumping ship for a hotter gay club. Dre is forced to call upon the assistance of Sam (Jaquel Spivey), a former drag queen who was part of Dre’s crew prior to a falling out. As if they didn’t have enough problems, that’s when the zombie outbreak starts.

The Boogeyman’s Return

A solid requel (Spoilers)

After the attempt to turn the series into an anthology didn’t work out, Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers does exactly what the subtitle says it does. It brings back the boogeyman, this time without John Carpenter. This entry is notable as the first film in the series without Carpenter’s involvement. Much like Halloween (2018), the broad strokes of the plot are identical to the original, although it differs in some specific details.

The Hand That Rules The World

A good cult classic and fine remake (Spoilers)

The Hand That Rocks the Cradle is a movie that came out as part of the yuppie nightmare cycle that was all the rage in the ’80s and ’90s. It was directed by Curtis Hansen and written by Amanda Silver, who would later pen several blockbusters with her husband, Rick Jaffa. A remake of the film was recently released on Hulu. It was directed by Michelle Garza Cervera, who previously helmed Huesera: The Bone Woman, and was written by Micah Bloomberg.

The Modern Prometheus

An umpteenth adaptation that’s fine (Spoilers)

The plot of Frankenstein is something that you’re probably already familiar with, but let’s do this one more time. It’s about a mad scientist who brings to life a makeshift man, only for it to go horribly wrong. This new adaptation of Mary Shelley’s often-told tale was written and directed by Academy Award winner Guillermo del Toro. Its all-star cast features Oscar Isaac as Victor Frankenstein and Jacob Elordi as the Creature, aka Frankenstein’s monster.

More phones, more problems

A familiar nightmare, but solid sequel

Years after the events of the previous film, the Grabber (Ethan Hawke) returns from beyond the grave. One of the things I liked about the first Black Phone was that even though it was a ghost story, the threat was a mundane serial killer. Of course, I don’t know how they’d be able to do a sequel without Hawke, so the route they took was ultimately for the best.

O Death

A lost in translation adaption (Spoilers)

Until Dawn is a loose adaptation of the interactive video game of the same name. The way the game works is that if you do this thing in Level 1, then that thing will happen in Level 3, which will then kill you. How do you translate that into a movie? One way is to make an interactive film like Black Mirror: Bandersnatch (NSFW). However, writers Gary Dauberman and Blair Butler instead go with Option B, which is to make a time warp movie.

A Van Helsing Story

A little slow, but good (Spoilers)

Abraham’s Boys is an adaptation of a short story of the same name by Joe Hill. Abraham Van Helsing (Titus Welliver) has relocated to California with his wife, Mina Van Helsing (née Murray, formerly Harker) (Jocelin Donahue), and their two sons, Max (Brady Hepner) and Rudy (Judah Mackey). The short story has frequently been compared to Frailty, which I recommend watching before reading the rest of this review.