Well, vacation came and went in a blur but it was such a fun time with my family. Lots of sand, sun, and seafood over the last several days. Below you’ll find just a few pics from a remarkable and relaxing getaway. Now it’s back to work and back to movies. I missed my screening window on “Black Widow” while I was gone so a review for it won’t be until Friday. But I do have “The Tomorrow War”, “The Forever Purge”, ” Fear Street Part 2: 1978″, and a few more things lined up for this week.

So…let’s get back to talking about movies. And to my American friends celebrating today, Happy 4th of July!

Sony has dropped the wicked new trailer for their upcoming “Don’t Breathe 2”. It’s a sequel to the surprisingly good 2016 film which was co-produced by Sam Raimi. That film introduced Norman Nordstrom, a blind Gulf War veteran with…shall we say…a dark side. In the first film his Detroit home was invaded by some delinquent thieves leading to some pretty violent results. This time around we get a deeper dive into Norman and (you guessed it) with more violent results.

Stephen Lang reprises his role as Nordstrom, not a hero or even an anti-hero. But as screenwriter Fede Alvarez puts it, Norman is an “anti-villain”. This time around he has taken in a young girl orphaned from a terrible house fire. Their quiet and private life is interrupted by kidnappers who seem to know all about Norman’s dark past. They take the girl forcing the blind “anti-villain” to leave the seclusion of his home to rescue his adopted daughter. Fans of the first film will have tons of questions, most notably how can they make a villainous character like the Norman from the earlier movie somehow sympathetic? I’m anxious to see.

“Don’t Breathe 2” hits theaters August 13th. Check out the trailer below and let me know if you’ll be seeing it or taking a pass.

Netflix launches its new horror trilogy with “Fear Street Part One: 1994”, the first film of three that are set to premiere on the streaming giant within weeks of each other. Based on a popular teen horror book series by R.L. Stine, “Fear Street” was originally slated for distribution by 20th Century Fox but COVID-19 delays led the Netflix sweeping in and grabbing the rights. Now they’re set to release the films a matter of days apart which makes for an interesting choice.

I haven’t read much on “Fear Street” so I’m (happily) going in blind. I’m anxious to see if the three movies set in very different time periods will also play around in different horror genres. “1994” is a slasher movie through and through. It’s filled with so many unlikable and insufferable teens that it will leave you questioning the future of human civilization. But that’s not the only genre trope “1994” leans into. It full-on embraces the nostalgia, sticking pretty close to the tried-and-true slasher formula and spending a lot of time setting up the movies that will follow.

Leigh Janiak directs “Part One” from a script she wrote with Phil Graziadei. To no surprise the story is set in 1994 and begins with an opening that borrows A LOT from Wes Craven’s “Scream”. It’s set in the small town of Shadyside that has earned the nickname “Killer Capital USA” due to its generations-long murder rate that would rival any crime-infested big city. Instead of Drew Barrymore it’s Maya Hawke who is terrorized by a knife-wielding murderer (this one in a skeleton mask) while closing up her shop in the town mall. Soon she along with several disposable bodies are laying in pools of blood. And so the festivities begin.

Enter the 90’s playlist where Bush, Cypress Hill, Sophie B. Hawkins, White Zombie, Radiohead, and the like are used to steadily remind us of what decade we’re in. Actually capturing the 90’s is one of the film’s biggest strength. Everything from landlines to flashy neon point to an era that was longer ago than it seems. It’s also a time when the well-received “Scream” briefly revived the slasher genre. It’s hard to say if “1994” is trying to do the same or if it’s just basking in the nostalgia of Craven’s considerably better film.

It turns out those opening murders are linked to Shadyside’s long history of bloodshed which will be explored in the next two films. It doesn’t make much sense yet, but it has something to do with a one-handed witch who cursed the town before being executed some 300 years ago. To sort it out we get a group of teen super-sleuths, none of them really fleshed out or given much identity other than a little surface detail. Deena (Kiana Madeira) is a moody outcast still smarting over a breakup with Samantha (Olivia Scott Welch). The movie tries to make their relationship matter but it’s really just a patched together token romance that stands out more for its cringy dialogue than its emotional resonance.

Other key players are Kate (Julia Rehwald), a cheerleader and campus Ms. Popular who also happens to be a drug pusher and pharmaceuticals expert. There’s Simon (Fred Hechinger), a neurotic and consistently annoying cornball who is always amped up to max. And then we have Josh (Benjamin Flores Jr.), Deena’s brother and a bonafide geek with a big interest in the deadly history of his hometown that’s certain to come in handy. The five find themselves on the run from three resurrected crazies from Shadyside’s gruesome past who seem shamelessly inspired by horror movie killers we’ve seen before. Soon the town finds itself once again drenched in blood and we see it happen through some deliciously gory killings. Both the effects work and Janiak’s imagination is enough to impress any slasher fan.

But neither the story nor the characters have enough weight to make “1994” feel like anything other than a retro slasher knockoff. In many ways it plays a lot like “Goosebumps” with lots of gore and potty-mouths. Janiak throws in some dashes of high school melodrama, but none of it is very engaging and it doesn’t make the characters any more relatable. So we’re left watching them run around town with killers on their heels, the score blaring, and a few pieces being laid for the next films. It’s hard to know what to expect from them (tagged “1978” and “1666” respectfully). Hopefully something a little meatier and with better characters. Or maybe I’m expecting too much. Maybe this is all about the nostalgia in which case we should just sit back and watch Janiak play in her slasher movie sandbox. “Fear Street Part One: 1994” premieres today on Netflix.

VERDICT – 2.5 STARS

The much delayed, highly anticipated, and weirdly titled “Halloween Kills” is finally set for its big screen release. This is the twelfth film in the “Halloween” franchise and a sequel to the 2018 reboot of sorts. It falls under the Blumhouse banner and sees the return of director David Gordon Green and of course Jamie Lee Curtis reprising her role as Laurie Strode. The newest trailer definitely sets the film’s tone and it looks to be fully embracing its slasher roots.

Green and his co-writers Danny McBride and Scott Teems pick things up right where the last movie left off. Gruesome killer Michael Myers is trapped in the basement of Laurie’s burning house. “Let it burn” she screams. Unfortunately for her (and everyone else in town), the Haddonfield fire department are quick and efficient responders. In doing their duty they let loose the murderous Michael to once again hack his way through town. Judging by the trailer fans of the franchise should be getting exactly what they’re itching for.

“Halloween Kills” hits theaters this October. Check out the trailer below and let me know if you’ll be seeing it or taking a pass.

For the next few days things will be pretty mellow around here as I’m off for a week-long beach vacation with my wife and kiddos. I still have a few things planned to post this week but for the most part it’s rest and relaxation.

I hope everyone has a great week!

I’ve had the privilege of guest appearing a few times on a terrific local movie show called Tavern Talk by Initial Reaction. A few days ago I was honored to be invited back to the show to discuss the highly anticipated “Fast & Furious 9”. It was a great time.

Please check out our discussion below and I would love to hear what you think.