Let's Cee a Movie

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At least it’s not shot-for-shot (Spoilers)

Maya Lucas (Madelaine Petsch) is on a cross-country trip with her boyfriend Ryan (Froy Gutierrez) when their car breaks down, and they decide to stay the night at an isolated Airbnb. There, they are menaced by three masked strangers in an almost beat-for-beat retelling of the 2008 film. To be fair, the filmmakers made it clear ahead of this movie’s release that that would be the case, while the other two chapters of the trilogy would be bolder.

Clowning Around Part 3

Yuletide fear comes early this year (Spoilers)

Terrifier 3 jumps ahead five years after the previous installment, bringing the series timeline up to the present day. Sienna Shaw (Lauren LaVera) has spent that time in and out of a mental hospital but is dispatched just in time for Christmas. As luck or fate would have it, that’s also when Art the Clown (David Howard Thornton) goes on another killing spree.

Beetlejuice Squared

A fun, but overstuffed sequel

Lydia Deetz (Winona Ryder), still living under the shadow of Betelgeuse (Michael Keaton), is now the host of a paranormal reality show and the mother of Astrid (Jenna Ortega), a moody teenager from whom Lydia is estranged. Delia (Catherine O’Hara), Lydia’s stepmother, frequently points out the irony. Lydia’s father, Charles (Jeffery Jones), meanwhile, dies of a bad case of being played by a sex offender.

Talking To Yourself

A relatable blend of genres (Spoilers)

Elliot Labrant (Maisy Stella) is a Canadian teenager who, on her 18th birthday, decides to do shrooms with her friends. After doing so, she meets her future self (Audrey Plaza). Initially, it seems like a hallucination, but Elliot eventually discovers evidence that she’s real. How and why this time travel works isn’t explained, but it doesn’t matter. What matters is the advice that Older Elliot ends up giving.

Love Hurts

Love Scars In This Great Thriller (Spoilers)

Strange Darling is a new thriller about the Demon (Kyle Gallner) chasing the Lady (Willa Fitzgerald). I really shouldn’t go into further details about the plot beyond that, so instead, I’ll say that it’s a well-written film that looks gorgeous with the great performances by the two leads. It’s a film that I would recommend watching if you can find it, given its limited release.

Hate the Game

Not as good as I hoped, but still fun (Spoilers)

Feeling that his family is drifting apart, Roy Keenan (Charles Edwin Powell) decides to go on a vacation with his wife Elaine (Danielle Harris) and their two kids, Taylor (Sydney Malak) and Kevin (Wesley Holloway). Unfortunately for the Keenan family, they picked a hell of a time and place to do so, as their hotel gets turned into the hunting ground of four sadistic killers playing a game where “blood on the ground means points on the board.”

Alien 1½

Not perfect, but a worthy sequel (Spoilers)

Rain Carradine (Cailee Spaeny) is a Weyland-Yutani employee who lives and works on Jackson Star, a space rock with no sunlight. One day, Rain discovers that even though her contract should be up, it’s been extended. Oh, man. While the Company has always treated its workers horribly, slavery with extra steps is a new one. This bit of d*****y is what sets Rain on a path to coming face-to-face with everybody’s favorite xenomorph.

March of the Slasher

A nice twist on an old formula (Spoilers)

Johnny (Ry Barrett) is an undead slasher awakened from his slumber after a camper foolishly steals his mother’s locket. After digging himself out of his grave, Johnny goes on a quest to get it back. It’s a journey that involves walking, murder, walking, eavesdropping, and more walking. There’s so much walking since the hook of In A Violent Nature is that it’s a slasher movie told from the killer’s perspective. So, we get to see how tedious it would be to get around without teleporting offscreen.

Like a Prayer

A lot of fun, but a little shallow (Spoilers)

After many years of uncertainty, Ryan Reynolds is back as Wade Wilson/Deadpool, and the character has found a new thing to obsess over. In the last movie, it was whether or not his heart was in the right place. In this threequel, it’s about becoming something important. Thinking he’s not, Wad becomes depressed, which causes him to hang up the costume, get a dead-end job, and break up with Vanessa (Morena Baccarin).

Dracula’s Daughter

Ready or not, here she comes (Spoilers)

Abigail (Alisha Weir) is a ballerina kidnapped at the behest of Lambert (Giancarlo Esposito). The team consists of leader “Frank” (Dan Stevens), medic “Joey” (Melissa Barrera), hacker “Sammy” (Kathryn Newton), wheelman “Dean” (Angus Cloud), enforcer “Peter” (Kevin Durand), and sniper “Rickles” (Will Catlett). They’re all supposed to spend the night in this awesome but rundown-looking house, but quickly realize they’re in over their heads.