(CHECK OUT my full review in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette)

In 1987, author Clive Barker gave the horror genre a mighty jolt with his directorial debut, “Hellraiser”. With a healthy lean on the twisted and the macabre, Barker’s terrifying vision rooted its evil in both the supernatural and humanity, with the latter easily being the more wicked and vicious. At a time when the genre was saturated with slasher movies, “Hellraiser” gave horror fans something fresh and unique.

“Hellraiser” spawned one good sequel and eight rather forgettable ones. Now, in keeping with the never-ending horror trend of reboots and remakes, we have a new “Hellraiser”. It’s directed by David Bruckner whose previous film was last year’s terrific “The Night House”. Joining Bruckner from “The Night House” are screenwriters Ben Collins and Luke Piotrowski who clearly aim for the same dark and gnarly tone of the original “Hellraiser” film.

But there’s something missing from this well-made yet surprisingly vapid reboot. Visually it certainly looks in line with Barker’s fiendish vision found in his 1987 film. It’s weird, gruesome, an even a bit sadistic – all fun trademarks of the series. But “Hellraiser” 2022 struggles in other areas. There is some clunky plotting, it’s overly long, and it’s hard to make any sense of its rules.

But most significantly, and what makes the reboot pale in comparison to the original, is the lack of any compelling human villain. The filmmakers attempt to create something close, but it’s no one near as interesting or as black-hearted as Julia (Clare Higgins) and Frank (Sean Chapman). They drove Barker’s film and were its primary evil, with the mysterious Cenobites strategically used in a handful of terrifying encounters. Bruckner leans heavier on the Cenobites while revealing very little about them. They end up frustratingly hollow and zapped of the mystique that made the original Pinhead and company so compelling.

After a brief stop in Serbia, the story kicks off in The Berkshires, Massachusetts where a wealthy socialite and certifiable madman named Roland Voight (Goran Višnjić) is hosting a decadent party at his remote mansion. We quickly learn Voight is a collector of occult artifacts (gulp), and among his most prized pieces is an ornate puzzle box. Now this is not some fancy Rubik’s Cube, but a gateway to another plane of existence. When solved, the box summons mutilated extra-dimensional sadomasochists called Cenobites to ‘collect’ those who have opened their portal.

Jump ahead six years and we meet Riley (Odessa A’zion), a troubled young woman fighting alcohol and drug addiction. Despite the warnings of her concerned brother Matt (Brandon Flynn), Riley is semi-dating a fellow addict named Trevor (Drew Starkey) who isn’t the best influence. Case in point: Trevor convinces her to help him break into some mystery warehouse containing some mystery shipment belonging to some mysterious person. Inside the warehouse they find a single shipping container containing a single safe. And I bet you can guess what’s inside that safe – the dreaded puzzle box.

To no one’s surprise, the puzzle box is triggered and the Cenobites come calling. From there we’re treated to streams of blood, flayed flesh, and a lot of chains with hooks. But the weirdest twist comes when Riley goes searching for answers about the box. It takes her to Voight’s mansion and a third act that leaves you with more questions than answers. That is if you even ask questions. In a movie like this, it’s probably better that you don’t.

To the film’s credit, it does try to offer today’s horror audiences something unique, in the same way Barker’s film did in the slasher-soaked late 1980s. But aside from some creative gore and a delightfully deranged concept, “Hellraiser” doesn’t do enough to sell the need for a reboot. It’s more lurid than frightening, and even its best moments are easily forgotten.

Then you have the 2022 Cenobites who offer little more than their updated new looks and a lot of otherworldly mumbo-jumbo. Out is the bloody black leather, the chilling entrances, and the memorable lines. These Cenobites are the brooding types and not the sharpest knives in the drawer. Their new look emphasizes peeled skin in elaborate patterns – an interesting choice but not the most convincing one. Suffice it to say, some of the Cenobites look a lot more “real” than others do. That’s pretty tough for a movie that relies so heavily on them. “Hellraiser” is now streaming on Hulu.

VERDICT – 2 STARS

One of the more surprising horror movies to come out of this year’s Sundance Film Festival was a small Finnish feature called “Hatching”. Hanna Bergholm’s directorial debut plays like a coming-of-age fairy tale – one that explores a number of potent underlying themes but with a nasty edge. It’s a movie that blends several aspects from the horror genre, but does so in a strikingly inventive way that gives it an unnerving identity all its own.

The story revolves around 12-year-old Tinja (wonderfully played by newcomer Siiri Solalinna), a young gymnast who hatches a vicious bird-like creature from an egg she secretly nests in her bedroom. It may sound a little kooky, but once you get ahold of the metaphors at the center of screenwriter Ilja Rautsi’s story, it’s hard not to be drawn in by the movie’s smarts and ambition.

Tinja is part of a seemingly happy suburban family of four. Her father (Jani Volanen) is a weirdly detached man with a big smile but little in terms of agency. There’s also her petulant kid brother, Matias (Oiva Ollila) who’s a bit of a pest. But the hands-down ruler of the house is her mother (Sophia Heikkilä), a former figure skater who now runs a popular lifestyle blog called “Lovely Everyday Life” (keep that title in mind). She’s all about painting an image of an ideal family for her followers to covet.

It doesn’t take long to see through the family’s sun-soaked facade. Tinja’s mother treats her father like a fixture for her blog rather than a husband (she’s nonchalantly having an affair with a handyman named Tero played by Reino Nordin). And her father seems content to play his part. The attention-hungry Matias gets loved on while his mother is filming, but is an afterthought whenever the camera is off. That leaves Tinja who faces the brunt of her passive-aggressive mother’s overbearing win-at-all-costs mentality. Tinja’s mom is determined that her daughter be a superstar gymnast regardless of the misery it causes. It all makes for a home-life that’s a far cry from how it’s portrayed.

One afternoon the family is surprised when a crow unexpected flies into their house. After making a royal mess, Tinja is able to catch the bird in a blanket. But rather than letting it go, her mother snaps it’s neck and tells Tinja to dispose of it. Later that night, Tinja (still shocked by her mother’s callousness), hears the crow screeching. She follows its screams into a nearby forest where she discovers an egg. Rather than leaving it, Tinja brings it back home, tucking it cozily under her teddy bear pillow.

The egg begins to grow at an enormous rate and soon its as big as Tinja. When it inevitably hatches, out comes something hideous and terrifying – a bird-like creature with a mysterious psychological connection to Tinja. Effects-wise, the creature begins as an incredibly detailed animatronic puppet created by Gustav Hoegen. But over time, as it begins taking a near human form, the creature is played by actresses in makeup by two-time Oscar nominee Conor O’Sullivan.

As the story progresses the tone gets noticeably darker. And as the creature changes it grows more menacing. The psychological chills give way to body horror as the creature takes on new forms. Meanwhile the film’s razor-sharp metaphor really comes into focus as the movie reaches its climax. The creature’s presence is a source of some good frights, but it’s Tinja’s mother who is the story’s true villain. Her actions are as vile as anything we see from the hatchling, and Bergholm uses both monsters to drill home some potent points about domineering mothers, adolescent anxieties, and child abuse in its many forms.

“Hatching” requires a bit of patience and you’ll need to be willing to just go with some things that the movie doesn’t detail. But the payoff is worth it, and the message at the story’s center is strikingly relevant today. I also love the genre nods we get, both narratively and creatively. It all testifies to the skills of Bergholm who turns in a remarkable first feature, marked with boldness and originality. I can’t wait to see what she does next. “Hatching” is streaming now on VOD.

VERDICT – 4 STARS

Director Oran Zegman and screenwriter David A. Goodman team up for “Honor Society”, a high school coming-of-age comedy wedged right between freshly original and disappointingly conventional. It’s a movie with plenty of its own ideas and a charismatic star who helps the film consistently subvert our expectations. But there are also times where it resorts to the more familiar teen movie formula. That’s when you can see the filmmakers checking boxes and leaning on tropes rather than using them in interesting ways.

While “Honor Society” may not be the most balanced movie, it does have its own distinct personality and allure which keeps you locked in. It all starts with the film’s lead character, Honor Rose, played by a delightfully snarky and devilishly charming Angourie Rice. Honor is an ambitious and determined overachiever in the final days of her senior year of high school. Since her freshman year, Honor has stuck to her own strict and obsessive four-year academic plan with only one goal in mind – acceptance into Harvard. There are no contingency plans, no second choices, no rethinking it if something goes wrong. It’s Harvard or bust, and she’ll trample anyone in her path to get there.

The framing of the story is interesting. Basically, Honor is walking us through her story, constantly breaking the fourth wall to let us know how she really feels about what we’re seeing. It’s revealing as we learn she’s not only brutally honest, but also conceited, condescending, and astonishingly self-serving. She’s ready to ditch her small town and leave middle-class life in the dust. And she lets us know she has just the kind of ego to do whatever it takes to make it happen. Rice conveys all of these qualities with jarring clarity, and she gives us a character we are appalled by but also strangely admire. I mean her point-of-view on certain things may be a bit harsh, but they can also resonate.

Essential to Honor’s plan is her perverted guidance counselor, Mr. Calvin (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) who happens to have Harvard connections. Honor needs him to write her a letter of recommendation and has tried to use his utterly inappropriate feelings towards her to her advantage. But instead of writing her the letter, he informs her that she’s among his top four choices. Only one will get his Harvard recommendation. Of course that is unacceptable for Honor who immediately starts putting together her next course of action.

Honor narrows down her competition to Travis Biggins (Armani Jackson), the hunky captain of the lacrosse team; Kennedy Park (Amy Keum), an eccentric and ignored introvert who wears historical costumes to school; and Michael Dipnicky (Gaten Matarazzo), a brilliant but bullied outcast. Honor hatches several plans to preoccupy the three so that they bomb their mid-terms. But in her efforts to manipulate everyone for her benefit, she unknowingly ends up changing some of their lives for the better.

As the plot unfurls more characters are introduced which is where the movie begins to veer towards the conventional. Collectively most feel like typical teen movie types and neither them nor their story angles move beyond that. Some characters fare better than others. But most hit all too familiar beats with very predictable trajectories. And it’s not without its corn and cringe. Take the all too tidy finale that comes right after a smart and surprisingly wicked twist. The sappy and groan-worthy final few moments land with a thud.

But the most stable force from start to finish is Angourie Rice. This should be an attention-getting performance and a star-making turn for the 21-year-old Australian. Regardless of where the story goes she keeps us anchored, brilliantly juggling acting directly into the camera and with other actors. And despite a few tired conventions, there’s still some good material here that let’s Rice take her character to some unanticipated places. That’s when “Honor Society” is at its best. “Honor Society” is now streaming on Paramount+.

VERDICT – 2.5 STARS

(CLICK HERE for my review in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette)

Adam Sandler seems to be a likable guy, but it’s been a while since I’ve really enjoyed one of his movies. The trailer for “Hustle” didn’t inspire much hope. It teased a sports movie that seemed to lean heavy on well-worn tropes and countless cameos (one of Sandler’s favorite gimmicks). And considering I just recently watched a really good basketball movie (more on it next week), I wasn’t itching to immediately watch another one. But the response to “Hustle” has been pretty great with critics I trust speaking highly of it and Sandler’s performance. And trailers aren’t always reliable, right?

“Hustle” turns out to be a mixed bag. It’s made well enough by director Jeremiah Zagar and it has some truly heartfelt moments. Sandler gives a solid performance and Juancho Hernangómez is surprisingly good. But the film has such a copy-and-paste sports story which doesn’t offer much of anything that we haven’t seen before. Co-writers Taylor Materne and Will Fetters stick too close to an overly familiar blueprint which means there isn’t an ounce of suspense about how things will turn out. You pretty much know where it’s going from the very start.

And yes, there is a deluge of cameos. So many that they quickly begin to feel like a crutch. Sandler (who also produces) and the filmmakers stuff in every basketball personality they possibly can. Mark Cuban, Doc Rivers, Julius Irving, Dirk Nowitzki, Allen Iverson, Shaquille O’Neal, Charles Barkley, and that just scratches the surface. It goes well beyond servicing the story, almost to the point of vanity. Yes, we get it Sandman. You know a lot of people. It doesn’t mean you need to cram them into every Happy Madison Production.

Back to the story, Sandler plays Stanley Sugerman, an aging basketball scout for the Philadelphia 76ers. He spends his days spanning the globe, bouncing from country to country in hopes of finding the next big thing in the NBA. His dream is to finally land a coaching job which would allow him to spend more time at home with his wife, Teresa (Queen Latifah) and their teenage daughter, Alex (Jordan Hull).

His dream comes true when Sixers team owner Rex Merrick (Robert Duvall) promotes Stanley to assistant coach. But his excitement is short lived. In the first of several contrivances you can see coming a mile away, Rex suddenly dies, leaving his conceited son Vince (Ben Foster) to handle the day-to-day operation of the team. And one of his first acts is to take Stanley off the bench and put him back on the road. Now Rex has a daughter named Kat (Heidi Gardner) who holds a prominent position with the team. Like her father, she’s close to Stanley. But she suddenly vanishes for no apparent reason other than the writers need her to.

While in Spain, Stanley happens upon a streetball game. There he gets his first look at Bo Cruz (Hernangómez), a 22-year-old phenom in work boots who hustles on the court to help support his mom (Maria Botto) and young daughter (Ainhoa Pillet). In Bo, Stanley sees his ticket back to the Sixers bench. So he takes the young man under his wing and begins prepping him for his shot at playing in the NBA. Over time, the two grow close with Stanley becoming more of a father figure/coach than a down-on-his-luck scout.

Along the way we get several of the tried-and-true sports drama story beats. For example, there’s the mandatory rah-rah training segment as Stanley works to get Bo ready for the NBA Combine. And there are the conventional hurdles that are packed into every one of these movies. You know, the ones that leave our heroes feeling defeated and thinking all is lost. That is until the music swells and they get that one last shot. There was a brief moment where I thought the movie was actually going to do something fresh and unexpected. Alas, it immediately fell back in line and wraps up exactly as expected, bypassing several glaring questions, and going straight for the feel-good jugular.

Sandler and his inherent charm is almost enough to keep things afloat. Sure he’s playing a variation of the same character he’s played in several of his movies, but that’s part of what draws people to him. He also has a natural chemistry with Hernangómez and together they form the heart of the story. But other characters don’t fare as well. Take Foster who is easily dealt the worst hand. His Vince devolves into nothing more than a one-note villain with no nuance whatsoever. And in a truly lazy bit of writing, his story angle wraps up off screen and with one simply line of dialogue from another character.

The movie is at its best in the few moments where it pulls back from basketball and allows its characters to expand beyond the game. I also like how Zagar captures the energy of the big city streetball scene. But beyond that it’s hard to find much in “Hustle” to be excited about. And that’s mainly because we’ve seen all of this before. Throw in some really shaky writing and shoddy character work and you’re left with a cookie-cutter sports movie that may please Sandler diehards but with little to offer otherwise.

VERDICT – 2 STARS

If its title didn’t grab your attention the film’s two co-stars should. The always great (and in this case perfectly cast) Regina Hall and Sterling K. Brown play a megachurch power couple in the upcoming “Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul”. It marks the directorial debut for Adamma Ebo who gives us a biting and often hilarious critique of pseudo-Christianity and megachurch corruption. It’s a snarky satire that uses a mockumentary style to lambaste the lavish self-serving absurdity at the heart of these rackets.

From its opening moments, those familiar with the megachurch phenomenon will immediately notice the spot-on detail. Ebo has clearly done her research and she uses it to expose these wealthy scam-artists who put price tags on righteousness and sell their version of salvation for profit. And of course she delivers plenty of laughs, always at the hucksters’ expense. But Ebo’s craftiness shows in the glimmers of humanity she brings out of her characters, even amid their glaring over-the-top chicanery.

Lee-Curtis Childs (Brown) is the pastor of Wander to Greatest Paths Baptist Church in Atlanta (how’s that for a name?). It was once a prominent megachurch with an estimated 25,000 congregants. He and his wife Trinitie (Hall), who’s proudly flaunts the haughty, self-aggrandizing title “First Lady” (not uncommon in these circles), live a opulent lifestyle complete with matching Ferraris, a helicopter, a palatial mansion, closets full of expensive dresses and designer suits, all in the name of the Lord’s service of course.

You won’t find words like “humility” “moderation” or “contentment” in this couple’s vocabulary, with Lee-Curtis excusing his high-priced indulgences as “divine additions” while Trinitie buys $2000.00 hats at a boutique called Bathsheba’s Bonnets (the irony is both obvious and hilarious).

And then came the fall. Lee-Curtis found himself embroiled in a sexual misconduct scandal which rocked his cash-cow empire, resulting in a mass exodus of church members and the eventual closing of the church. But rather than bowing out and slithering away in shame, Lee-Curtis and Trinitie are prepping for their big comeback, marking down Easter Sunday for their church’s grand re-opening. And to help capture the occasion (and to shamelessly get as much publicity as possible), they’ve brought in a film crew to shoot a documentary.

And so we get the movie’s come-and-go mockumentary style which begins one month before their big Easter event. Ebo has her faux filmmakers follow Lee-Curtis and Trinitie over the next several weeks as they share their “vision” for the future of WGPBP. But instead of demonstrating remorse and repentance, we get the same two charlatans, still decked in Prada and still finding ways to rationalize their sin.

Though a bit uneven, the mockumentary conceit allows for many of the film’s funniest moments. Such as the various times the couple inadvertently expose their true selves in front of the camera. Or in the rivalry we see between the Childses and Keon and Shakira Sumpter (Nicole Beharie and Conphidance), the husband and wife co-pastors of the bustling Heaven’s House Baptist Church. There are some shakier scenes where the movie drifts away from its whole mockumentary framing (one particularly cringy rap-song sing-a-long being a prime example). But it never takes it long to get back on track.

While the humor is a real strength, the movie often feels at odds with itself when it steers away from straight satire and ventures into more serious drama. That’s when its intentions get a little muddied, especially in its portrayal of Trinitie. At times it seems to paint her as both a hero and a victim. Not totally unlike last year’s “The Eyes of Tammy Faye”, another film examining a corrupt couple living large in the name of ministry. In that film, most of Tammy Faye Bakker’s wrongdoings were scrubbed clean in an effort to make her more saintly. Here we actually see many of Trinitie’s sins firsthand which makes embracing her as a victim lot harder.

While she is clearly a victim of Lee-Curtis’ insatiable self-centeredness, Trinitie is no weak powerless damsel nor is she witless or gullible. In fact, you could say she’s the brains and the backbone of the outfit. So rather than a victim, this plays better as a redemption story of a woman who stood by her disgraced husband in order to protect her life of luxury. But as the only Childs with a sliver of conscience, she’s had enough and is ready to finally own up to her part in the hustle. I think that reading gives a more honest and cohesive image of Trinitie. I’m just not sure the movie itself agrees.

Of course the real victims are those who are swindled by these prosperity gospel peddlers who turn shepherding into a performance art and rake in the cash while doing so. Ebo uses some hilariously outrageous antics (which aren’t that far removed from reality) to pose the question, “Who would ever buy what these people are selling?”

Though a little messy, “Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul” holds together thanks to a filmmaker’s keen understanding of her subject and two pitch-perfect leads. Hall especially shines, shrewdly navigating some sketchy character work to give us some semblance of a rooting interest. And while the film asks us to overlook much of what we’ve seen in order to feel a certain way about her character, Hall (miraculously) finds a way to not only earn our respect for Trinitie but also our sympathy.

VERDICT – 3.5 STARS

A24’s “The Humans” is a fascinating and impossible to pigeonhole drama and the kind of movie that can often slip under the radar. It’s written and directed by Stephen Karan and sports an eye-catching cast that includes Richard Jenkins, Amy Schumer, Beanie Feldstein, Steven Yuen, Jayne Houdyshell, and June Squibb.

Based on Karan’s one-act play of the same name, “The Humans” plays out in a single location and has a structure that clearly shows its stage roots. But to Karan’s credit, he uses that one setting to great effect, drawing his audience in and then leaving us with the feeling of being trapped in a place that steadily grows more unpleasant. That feeling partially comes from the stellar production design. But just as much is conveyed through the six beguiling characters we spend the running time with.

The story is set around the ‘complicated’ Blake family as they gather together for Thanksgiving dinner. Brigid (Feldstein) and her boyfriend Rich (Yuen) are hosting her family for Thanksgiving at their new apartment in New York’s Chinatown. The dated fixer-upper with all of its creaks and cracks plays a pretty big part in Karan’s story. I’ve never seen the stage play, but here the apartment has a leering ominous presence that Karan’s camera conveys in a variety of crafty ways.

As Brigid’s family arrives and it doesn’t take long to notice that they aren’t the happiest bunch. We spend a lot of times listening to their individual problems and mining deep rooted issues between them. But this isn’t some dour study on family misery. Instead Karan gives us a family that is still bound together by their love for each other. But love and family can be a messy combination and the movie shows that with an affecting clarity. There are also slivers of dark humor that makes sure things don’t get too gloomy.

The top-to-bottom strong performances give us a good sense of who each of these characters are. Brigid is ambitious, but is stuck bartending to help pay down her student debt. The generally soft-spoken and supportive Rich has a history of mental illness. Brigid’s father Erik (Jenkins) comes across as preoccupied, often blankly staring down into the complex’s cramped interior courtyard. Her mother Deirdre (Houdyshell) feels unappreciated by her family and her job where she has worked for over 40 years. Her sister Amy (Schumer) has several health problems, is struggling with a recent breakup, and just found out she’s no longer in line for a partnership at her firm. Last is Brigid’s grandmother Momo (Squibb) who can barely get around and struggles with dementia.

As their individual stories and the unearthed family drama plays out, Karan uses his camera to create the perspective of a guest. We’re constantly peering over shoulders, observing from other rooms, looking in through windows. His use of still shots through stationary cameras really hones in on his performers letting them do most of the heavy lifting. But Karan breaks up their scenes with shots that accentuate the apartment’s unwelcoming appearance. For a movie with such firm stage roots, Karan’s visuals really impress.

“The Humans” is a talky, performance-driven drama that asks a lot from its audience. It’s not easy to sit for so long listening to a group of people talk about their jobs, the economy, their frustrations, and their ailments. You have to read between the lines and pay attention. You have to assume to role of the quiet guest, listening and learning who these people are and discovering what makes their lives so complicated. By the end, you’ll find yourself sucked in even as the story takes its more unsettling turn. “The Humans” is out in limited release and on Showtime.

VERDICT – 4 STARS