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Death Game and Knock Knock by Jonny Numb
Double Feature: Death Game and Knock Knock Death Game: Bad Times Ahead Peter Traynor’s Death Game is a strange bird: the simple plot has financially successful father George Manning (Seymour Cassel) home alone while his wife rushes off to address an out-of-town emergency with one of their children. Cue a rainstorm that brings two soaked…
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Into the Black Abyss: Deathstream by Jonny Numb
Into the Black Abyss: Deathstream Timing is a weird thing. Not too long ago, I raked Rob Savage’s Dashcam over the coals, citing it as the death knell of the Found Footage subgenre. Now I’m here to explain how Daniel Mark Young’s Into the Black Abyss: Deathstream pulls it out of the dirt. Even before…
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Pearl by Jonny Numb
Pearl: A Return to Form “Return to form” is a slippery little phrase in the film-critic world. It accompanies rave reviews of “comebacks” from established filmmakers who’ve had some stumbles since their last “good” effort. It’s also a backhanded compliment that implies a director’s most recent work carries an air of familiarity that corresponds to…
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Dashcam by Jonny Numb
Dashcam: Shit, Oh Man! There are times when a movie strikes all the wrong chords and manages a bit of notoriety before fading from the fickle online discourse. The urge to hate on something can be very real indeed. But why draw attention to something you’d much rather see fade out of public consciousness altogether?…
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Wishmaster 25th Anniversary
Wishmaster 25th Anniversary: Wish On, Child Special effects guru, Robert Kurtzman’s Wishmaster turns 25 this year. At one point, I had considered the film a “guilty pleasure” but over time realized I was being ridiculous. The film, starring Tammy Lauren as Alexandra Amberson, Andrew Divoff as the Djinn, and potent appearances from Robert Englund, Ted Raimi,…
