What do you get when you combine a group of flighty friends, a masked ax-wielding psychopath, a backwoods cult, and man-eating alligators? You get a trope-filled horror concoction that stays true to what it wants to be no matter how predictable or preposterous things get. That describes “Gator Face” to a tee. Writer-director Padraig Reynolds pulls from both classic slashers and B-movie creature features to create an unvarnished throwback chiller coated in grindhouse goodness.

“Gator Face” is an independent film in every sense. Reynolds is clearly working with a micro-budget, as evident by his skeleton production crew and a mostly unknown cast. But Reynolds and his collaborators don’t let that stop them. In fact it’s impressive how much they’re able to squeeze out of so little. Reynolds does wonders in working around the limitations. He films on location in the Florida swamps. He teamed with a North Florida sanctuary to use live alligators rather than CGI. And he relied on in-camera practical effects which are cost-effective and more impressive.

As for its story, “Gator Face” isn’t going to surprise anyone who has as least dabbled in these subgenres. The characters are all cut from the same blood-soaked horror movie cloth. They make dumb choices, they spend most of their time running for their lives, and they’re one-by-one creatively slaughtered for our viewing pleasure. Meanwhile the killer stalks them relentlessly, never running out of gas and always popping up just when the audience needs a good jolt. It’s a well-worn formula that Reynolds sticks intimately close to.

But a movie named “Gator Face” clearly isn’t aiming to narratively revolutionize the slasher or creature feature genres. It’s far more interested in paying homage to the exploitation films of the 1970s. When considered that way, it’s even easier to appreciate what Reynolds is able to accomplish. The entire presentation hearkens back to such low-budget grindhouse gems as “Eaten Alive”, “Race with the Devil”, and “Gator Bait”, while still hoping to connect with younger horror audiences of today.

The movie opens with three teen friends enjoying the final day of their summer getaway. Sierra (Ellie Shaddix), Jess (Amariah Dionne), and Nikki (Kiara Mitjans) make their way to a tucked away Florida beach hidden from the big crowds. After a day of swimming and sunbathing the trio pack up and head out. But their vacation takes a twisted turn when they notice the words “3 Dead Inside” crudely written on an abandoned beach house. I don’t know about you, but my first instinct would be to get away and contact the police. Not so with our three brainiacs.

To Jess’s credit she does attempt to call the cops. But Sierra and Nikki dumbly stroll right into the house only to find themselves face-to-face with a trench coat-wearing, ax-toting maniac in a gator mask (Nikolas Kolasinski) and his very hungry alligators. The encounter doesn’t bode well for Sierra and Nikki, but Jess manages to escape into the nearby woods with the killer hot on her heels.

Jess eventually gets help from four other vacationing teens, Claire (Tabitha Brownstone), Andy (Iain P. Smith), David (Barron Regan) and Samara (Ella Mosca). But they quickly find themselves on the run with Jess, chased into the sun-baked swamplands by the relentless ‘Gator Face’. They happen upon a remote old church shepherded by Father Eli (Scot Scurlock). But with a name like The Church of the Old Flesh, it’s pretty obvious that it is no safe haven.

It’s here that “Gator Face” shifts from a straightforward slasher movie with a helping of killer alligators on the side to an utterly bonkers cult thriller that eats up most of the final act. It’s much more silly than scary, and it carries on for far too long. Yet it strangely fits within the movie’s exploitation vibe which Reynolds sees through to the very end. He even tags on a post-credits scene that teases a second movie and adds a new twist to the story he has just told.

In all honesty “Gator Face” isn’t a movie that will have mass appeal. I can even see a certain segment of modern horror fans turning their noses up to it. But if you get what it’s doing and appreciate what it’s paying homage to, “Gator Face” turns into something far more entertaining than any synopsis can make it sound. In fact, I can seeing it feeling right at home on New York City’s once infamous 42nd Street. And for me, that’s a pretty good selling point.

VERDICT – 3 STARS

Oscar winner and all-around hoot Sam Rockwell gets a wonderfully offbeat role in “Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die”, the latest crazy concoction from Gore Verbinski. It’s the director’s first feature film since his 2016 psychological horror film “A Cure for Wellness”. This is a much different movie, and from its earliest frame you can tell Verbinski and everyone else involved is having a blast making it.

You could categorize the film as a lot of things and you wouldn’t be wrong. Science-fiction, comedy, action, horror – it checks all those boxes. But at its core, “Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die” is a blistering satire of our current social media and selfie culture. And make no mistake, society’s all-consuming digital addiction gives Verbinski and screenwriter Matthew Robinson ample subject matter to satirize.

The story begins during a busy evening at Norm’s diner on the outskirts of Los Angeles. At exactly 10:10 PM a disheveled man walks in wearing a wild getup announcing that he is from the future. We never get his name, but he’s played by Rockwell who gives the stranger a snarky wit to go along with his obvious frustration. The stranger informs the startled diners that he has traveled back in time, not only to warn them of impending doom, but to prevent it from happening.

The stranger goes on to explain how society crashed as the planet’s population lost themselves in the digital zeitgeist. As he does, Verbinski and Robinson steadily poke at today’s culture which is shaped more by the screens we hold in front of our faces than the people who hold them. And much like us, the diners ignore his warnings although not without cause, especially as his story gets more and more outrageous.

The stranger claims this is the 118th time he has been in the same diner giving the same speech to the same people. Even more, he’s there to find recruits to save the world. The trouble is he has yet to find the correct configuration out of the 47 people in the diner. Without just the right combination of people, his mission fails.

Among his picks this time are Mark (Michael Peña) and Janet (Zazie Beetz), two teachers who have a creepy encounter at their high school. The suspicious Susan (Juno Temple) who recently lost her son in a tragedy. And a suicidal birthday party princess named Ingrid (Haley Lu Richardson) who is allergic to cell phones and Wi-Fi. Each get their own individual flashback that tells their uniquely strange yet equally compelling backstories.

From there the less revealed the better. Just know that “Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die” goes places you’ll never see coming. Rockwell anchors the craziness with a hilariously endearing eccentricity. Richardson is equally good, embodying a complex yet darkly funny character who deserves a movie all her own. Throw in a planet-killing artificial intelligence, thugs in pig masks, and a mythological-ish beast the size of a skyscraper (among other things) and you have a movie that almost defies a definition.

Yet among all the comedy and chaos is a message we might want to listen to. Verbinski pushes it to the point of absurdity. But the mirror he holds up has a lot to say. The story isn’t always coherent, but it’s wildly entertaining and genuinely funny, from the witty dialogue to the amusing tips of the hat to “Night of the Living Dead” and “The Terminator”. Best of all, Verbinski keeps you on your toes as he takes one wild swing after another. They don’t always connect, but it’s a blast when they do. “Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die” opens in theaters February 13th.

VERDICT – 3.5 STARS

Let me pose an utterly pointless question. Are we currently witnessing the genesis of “bearsploitation” cinema? Of course I ask that with my tongue firmly lodged in my cheek, but it does seem like there has been a rather noticeable wave of movies featuring man-eating bears, much like we’ve seen with sharks. Either way, “bearsploitation” sounds hilarious so I’m sticking with it.

The latest entry into this potentially made up subgenre is “Grizzly Night”, although in fairness it attempts to be a much more serious-minded movie. This survival thriller is based on a true story as told in John Olsen’s 1969 nonfiction book “Night of the Grizzlies”. In 1967, on the night of August 13th, two 19-year-old girls were killed in separate bear attacks some nine miles apart. Both were mauled to death by grizzlies while camping at Glacier National Park in Montana.

Regardless of how its title may sound, “Grizzly Night” is a sincere dramatization of the deadly attacks and the subsequent search and rescue attempts made by park rangers and fellow campers. On that fateful night, Julie Helgeson (Brec Bassinger) heads off camping with her boyfriend Roy (Matt Lintz) near Granite Park Chalet. Nine miles away, Julie’s friend, Michelle Koons (Ali Skovbye) is camping at Trout Lake with four friends. And that’s when the unthinkable happens.

Despite there being no bear attacks in the park’s 50-plus years of recorded history, two happen on that August night in Glacier National Park. The first attack comes when Roy is mauled by a Grizzly who quickly turns its attention to Julie, dragging her deeper into the forest. A bloodied Roy manages to get help from other campers who are on an overnight hike led by a rookie park ranger named Joan Devereaux (Lauren Call). Thrust into a harrowing position, the young ranger must get Roy medical attention while finding the missing Julie.

Joan finds help from the fellow campers including a doctor (Oded Fehr), a minister (Joel Johnstone), and a wildlife expert (Skyler Bible). The bulk of the movie follows their efforts to save Roy and search for Julie. Screenwriters Katrina Mathewson and Tanner Bean develop a handful of fairly interesting side characters, some of whom shed more light on the details surrounding the true account. Others don’t fair as well, serving more as filler while being peppered with shaky performances.

As for Michelle, she too is attacked by a grizzly bear. But the majority of her story is crammed into the final 20 minutes. Compared to Julie’s, Michelle’s story is strangely rushed and underdeveloped which strips it of any real impact. It’s the same with the film’s clunky and abrupt ending that fails to leave the impression it hopes to. To its credit, “Grizzly Night” sticks close to the real-life events. But dramatically, it limps along without ever delivering the dramatic punch it needs.

First-time feature film director Burke Doeren does what he can with an unbalanced script and a tight budget. He manages to hold our interest, and there’s no shortage of gorgeous Montana scenery to take in. But its wonky narrative structure shortchanges major points of the story. And the lack of a strong punctuation mark at the end keeps us from connecting with the movie’s dramatic ambition or bigger message.

VERDICT – 2 STARS

One of the bigger surprises in recent years was “Greenland”, a survival disaster thriller that released in the heart of the COVID-19 pandemic. With theaters shut down, the decision was made to bypass the big screen and release “Greenland” on VOD where it became a big success. More importantly, it was also a really good movie, full of nail-biting tension, big action, and a strong family dynamic at its core.

The most welcomed change in “Greenland” involved its star, Gerard Butler. He didn’t play another macho tough-guy who would spray as many one-liners as bullets. Instead he played someone grounded in the real world – a structural engineer caring for his diabetic son while trying to repair his marriage with his wife. It added an unexpected human element to his character and the story as a whole.

With “Greenland 2: Migration”, returning director Ric Roman Waugh seeks to once again capture that nice balance between apocalyptic disaster movie thrills and humanity-fueled domestic drama. He mostly succeeds, delivering an entertaining and swiftly paced sequel that has no shortage of visceral cinematic spectacle and family-driven pathos.

“Migration” begins five years after the events of the first film. For those needing a refresher, 75% of the planet was wiped out when the Clarke interstellar comet crashed into Earth. It sent much of North America scrambling for a bunker in Greenland. Among those who successfully made it was John Garrity (Butler), his wife Allison (Morena Baccarin), and their son Nathan (now played by Roman Griffin Davis).

As society crumbled on the outside, a semblance of it was preserved inside the Greenland bunker. But now five years after impact, the bunker’s inhabitants have reasons to be concerned. Every effort to rebuild has been thwarted by fragments of the Clarke comet still crashing down to earth. Meanwhile the planet remains an unstable place amid volcanic fissures, radioactive electrical storms, and violent tectonic shifts.

The dwellers are forced to flee the bunker after a devastating tremor threatens its integrity. John is able get his family to the coast and onboard an enclosed lifeboat where they and a small group of survivors set a course for the wasteland of Europe. Rumors speak of an oasis at the center of a massive crater in Southern France where the grass is green and the air is breathable. Despite not knowing if it’s real or hearsay, John determines to get his family to the crater. But the journey to get there proves to be a perilous one.

While “Migration” fully embraces its disaster movie status, it’s just as much a survival thriller where mankind rivals nature as the story’s biggest antagonist. Whether it’s murderous marauders, reckless soldiers, or heavily armed insurgents, the dark side of humanity has emerged amid the social chaos. But Waugh, along with screenwriters Mitchell LaFortune and Chris Sparling, don’t lose their story to bleakness. No matter how hopeless things turn, they still find room for moments of empathy and compassion.

As John, Allison, and Nathan push forward on their journey to find a new home, their family dynamic is the glue that holds much of the story together. Butler’s performance is especially crucial in balancing the high-stakes action with the movie’s emotional core. He firmly anchors the film through his blend of courage and vulnerability. Meanwhile Baccarin gets a notably strongly arc, showing her character’s strength and resilience which was missing in the first film.

That said, the family’s relentlessly harrowing chain of unfortunate events almost becomes comical. And too many supporting characters only function to get the family from one point to the next. But overall, Waugh has made a worthwhile sequel that consistently ratchets up the thrills while raising the human stakes higher and higher. With its intriguing world-building and central characters worth rooting for, “Migration” puts you on the edge of your seat and tugs at your heartstrings, all at the same time.

VERDICT – 3.5 STARS

The insanely versatile and always authentic Dale Dickey is an actress who can express more in one stare than many can with heavy direction and pages of dialogue. She has always been a captivating screen presence, often playing gritty and menacing characters while at other times conveying an unvarnished Southern charm. Her performances are often subtle yet they’re almost always memorable.

Dickey gets a terrific lead role in “The G”, a gripping crime thriller from Canadian writer-director Karl R. Hearne. The film premiered two years ago at the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival and since then has been making its rounds across the globe. Now it’s getting a wide distribution courtesy of Dark Sky Films, hopefully followed by the kind of audience the movie deserves.

Dickey plays Ann Hunter, a leathery and tough-minded 72-year-old who spends too much of her day smoking cigarettes and swigging vodka. She has no family outside of her ailing husband Chip (Greg Ellwand) and his granddaughter from his first marriage, Emma (Romane Denis). Emma admires Ann and the two have gotten close. But Ann has a dark past that she has kept hidden from Emma. And she’s forced back into that past after a vile chain of events threatens those closest to her.

Everything turns when a group of men arrive at their home with a court order to move Ann and Chip to a care facility. The court puts them under the care of a man named Rivera (Bruce Ramsay). As their legal guardian, Rivera immediately gets control of their assets. It goes something like this – the “guardians” target isolated elderly people who they believe may have money. They then get diagnoses from corrupt doctors who say the patients are incapable of caring for themselves. It then goes before the courts where judges give the “guardians” control.

But Ann is no normal target and she’s certainly not the helpless old woman they assume she is. Rivera and his cronies find it out once Emma is put in danger while trying to help her grandparents. The gritty Ann turns grittier and Dickey captures it with striking authenticity. Her quiet stoicism turns menacing as she slowly peels back some of her character’s layers. But the best quality of her performance is in how Dickey is able to have us rooting for Ann and fearing her at the same time.

While it may sound as if “The G” turns into a prototypical violent payback thriller, the film actually has much more going on than that. Hearse takes his time developing his story. Much more of a slow-burn than an edge-of-your-seat nailbiter, the story earns our investment and rewards our patience. It does so on the back of the fearless and formidable Dale Dickey, who remains an actress deserving of more recognition than she gets. “The G” releases June 27th in theaters and on VOD.

VERDICT – 4 STARS

It may not be the most audacious of titles, but in the case of “Gunslingers” the shoe fits. Brian Skiba directs, writes, produces, and edits this fairly action-packed Western that’s built upon the kind of premise you might see in a Corbucci or Leone feature. There is no shortage of Old West blood and carnage, and it features arguably the wackiest Nicholas Cage performance to date.

When read together, those sound like ingredients for a winning recipe. Unfortunately “Gunslingers” never quite reaches the heights of its genre potential. Nagging issues repeatedly drag the movie down, often just as it’s winning us over. Among those issues are a handful of shaky performances often for underdeveloped characters. But more frustrating, almost nothing about the movie feels the slightest bit authentic – not the characters, the relationships, or even the one-horse town where most of the story takes place.

Opening in 1903, Stephen Dorff plays Thomas Keller, a New York hoodlum who is forced to flee the city after killing a crooked and powerful mogul named Jess Rockefeller. During the fracas, his brother Robert (Jeremy Kent Jackson) is also killed – or so Thomas thinks. From there we jump ahead four years with Thomas in Kentucky laying low and dodging the occasional bounty hunters who are all out to collect the massive blunter put on his head by the Rockefellers.

After one particularly violent encounter leaves his horse dead, Thomas makes his way to the tiny town of Redemption, a community of outcasts and lawbreakers who have found absolution under the guidance of their leader, Jericho (Costas Mandylor). Thomas believes he has found a new home and is baptized into the ranks of the townsfolk. But his peace is short-lived following the arrival of a woman named Valerie (Heather Graham) and her young daughter Gracie (Ava Monroe Tadross).

We learn Valerie has a connection to Thomas – a connection that becomes a lot clearer when his brother Robert shows up along with a 100-man posse. It turns out Robert (obviously) survived and cut a deal with the Rockefellers to bring Thomas back. And while he’s there, he might as well grab the bounties on the other citizens of Redemption. It all eventually leads to a showdown, with the townsfolk holed up in the saloon and Robert and his men surrounding them.

While there are plenty of bloody shootouts, much of the film focuses on Thomas fitting in with the people of Redemption. There’s Jericho’s daughter, Bella (Scarlet Rose Stallone), the enigmatic Lin (Tzi Ma), the hunky Levi (Cooper Barnes), and so on. But to no surprise the most notable is Nicholas Cage’s Ben, the Bible-reading town photographer who refuses to even touch a gun. It’s such a weird performance with Cage bopping around with a crazed sway, funky glasses, and a wheezy voice. His acting straddles the line between sly dark comedy and just plain bad.

Sadly the movie’s treatment of the characters never gets beyond skin-deep. Few if any of the locals feel at home in Redemption, and the town lacks a lived-in feel. It makes buying into the drama more difficult than it should be. The action spices things up a bit with Skiba showing his affection for the genre. Meanwhile Dorff and Graham do what they can with the material. But “Gunslingers” relies too much on tired Western tropes and not enough on good old-fashioned character work and world-building.

VERDICT – 2 STARS