Charles W Jones

On The Third Day (2021) starts with Cecilia taking her son in the middle of the night and crashing into an oncoming car. She wakes in an abandoned office, unaware of what happened during the past few days. As the story unfolds, she traces her steps back to that office, desperate to find her son. This film is filled with strangeness, and I didn’t understand how all the pieces fit together until the very end, which was a delight and unusual for me. A priest has something in a crate that he’s transporting somewhere when the crash happens. I’m trying not to spoil anything because I want you to experience this film for yourself, so this is where I stop. Please see On The Third Day. I gave it 4.5 out of 5 Stars. On The Third Day (2021) #Bizarre #Horror Click To Tweet

The Banishing (2020) takes place in the 1930s and follows a vicar who moves into Morley Hall with his wife, Marianne, and stepdaughter, Adelaide, who they say is her niece; the reason is explained. Soon things start coming undone in the house as Adelaide starts talking to “no one,” and Marianne starts hallucinating. I found an exploitation element to this film surprising as it isn’t the norm for a haunted house story. It was an excellent addition to this already frightening movie. The effects are minimal but well used, not making it over-the-top or cheesy. Some strange elements involved an occultist, who I assumed was a grifter. When I read some information about this film, I learned that the character Harry Reed was inspired by Harry Price, one of the first “ghost hunters.” Another thing that surprised me was the Nazi influence in this tale, as I didn’t know the timeframe when I started watching it. Once I realized the period, it made more sense. And that brings me to the ending that ...

I watched Speak No Evil (2022) because Shudder posted it on Instagram. As I’ve said before, Shudder’s films sometimes aren’t the best but not as bad as Blumhouse tends to be….anyway. I promised myself I’d turn it off if it didn’t grab my attention immediately. (I know I always do that but end up watching garabage.) This time was different. I was curious why Bjørn and Louise accepted the strange offer to visit a family they met while on vacation. I can’t say that I would’ve. I guess their curiosity got the better of them because they went. What they found there was bizarre, with a definite sinister edge that I couldn’t figure out, which is always excellent.  When the pieces came together, it was a delight to know that I wasn’t just toyed with, and something wicked was there all along. Speak No Evil is a must-see. My only criticism was that the captioning wasn’t always there when someone spoke a non-English language, but that wasn’t bad. I gave it 4.5 out of 5 Stars. Speak No Evil (2...

Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City (2021) is a franchise reboot that tried. I wasn’t sure if I should watch it, but since I’d finished binging the original series, I decided that my life wouldn’t be complete if I ignored it. I’m actually glad that I didn’t. So forget everything you know about Umbrella Corp and Raccoon City, well, at least Raccoon City, because this is different even from the one in the Netflix series. This is like an old dying mining town feel with colorful residents and a lot of peeling paint. This starts gritty and ends that way, and I’m so happy. (I’ve been told it’s closer to the video games, but since I’ve never played them, I don’t have a point of reference, so I’ll have to trust who told me that.) The characters are more believable, as is the survival plot. There are not a bunch of crazy action tricks or over-the-top CGI. But guess what? It’s actually frightening, something that I longed for from the original franchise. Alice never wakes in the shower becaus...

Choose or Die (2022), formerly known as CURS>R (which they should’ve kept), is a survival horror film similar to SAW and Escape Room (any of the movies with the same name). It follows Kayla, who finds a cassette game (Woah, flashbacks) in a box at her friend Hal’s place. The opening scene hooked me and gave me a glimpse of what to expect. I was not disappointed. The effects were excellent, and the 64bit renderings were a great touch to keep the whole found 80s game thing going. I wish some of the game segments were longer. My favorite was in the diner, which was ridiculously good. It seems they left it open for a sequel too, so we’ll see if that happens. I loved Choose or Die and gave it 4.5 out of 5 Stars.

All Hallows Eve (2013) is an anthology film that starts with atrocious acting, which actually continues whenever the babysitter and the kids she’s watching are on screen. I take that back. None of the acting is great, but that doesn’t matter. It’s a great collection of content. The first sequence introduces Art the Clown. I saw him first in Terrifier (2016) before I knew the existence of this film. Art is a fantastic character designed to bring scares and dark humor, and he does delightfully. He also shows the truth about Clowns. The second story is the strangest in this pack, and I didn’t understand the why of it. That doesn’t mean it wasn’t good because it was and quite frightening. The alien, I think is what it was, stalks a woman in her new countryside home. The ending ties something unexpected in with the rest of the stories. The final segment returns Art as the focus, and it’s probably the best of three, though the first gives more of an insight of why. Being stalked by a Clown i...

I love it when people say, ‘OMG, you have to see this film,’ and then don’t tell me why just see it. That happened with Séance (2021). So with blind faith, I turned it on. The beginning piqued my interest with young women in a dormitory bathroom telling a ghost story. I assumed it would be a haunted house film, but what it turned out to be was so much better. The creepiness of this film was off the charts. The ghostly encounters and jump scars were incredible. Then as the story progressed, I realized that one of the characters was responsible and not a ghost. But who and why? They answered everything in the end and revealed other tidbits of information that I didn’t expect. In other words, OMG, you have to see Séance. I gave it 4.5 out of 5 Stars. Séance (2021) #Revenge #Horror Click To Tweet

Even after seeing the trailer for Malignant (2021), I wasn’t sure what I’d be seeing when I started. The opening scene is super cheesy, which I didn’t expect, but with Christian Clemenson in it, how could it not be? Then when it jumped to the present, the tone of the film changed; something it did several times. As events unfold, I’m pulled deeper into this dark world with an imaginary friend killing people. The thrills are good and I was very impressed with the cinematography. The CGI was weird with the way the killer moved, and I thought, ew couldn’t they do better? The reason for what I saw is explained at the end and I was delighted with the dark creation. My biggest criticism for Malignant is that several scenes felt like they were filmed for a different movie or done by a different director/producer; they just didn’t seem to fit for me nicely. All in all, though, I enjoyed what I saw. Since I don’t like to give spoilers, I won’t say more. Malignant had a great twist that I didn’t...

Sometimes I worry about the horror movies Netflix says I need to watch, which was the case with A Classic Horror Story (2021). It is an Italian film with voiceovers, or if you speak Italian, you can watch it with the original audio; that has no bearing on the movie. I just thought I’d point it out because some don’t like voiceovers or subtitles. The opening sequence was a great hook that faded into a scene with a young woman waiting for her ride-share. Once we meet the cast, it doesn’t take long for the fun to start. As expected by the creators of A Classic Horror Story, I’m confused about where they are when they wake after the accident. I kept thinking, didn’t they hit a tree? The creepiness quickly escalates as they explore the strange world where they find themselves. Since I don’t want to give too much away, I won’t share many details about what they discover and who finds them. I will say I was pleased with the terror they shared with me and the gore they displayed. Then comes an...

I love that Netflix didn’t wait a long time to drop Fear Street Part 2 1978 (2021), unlike how past epic series took close to a decade to get everything out. It was weird seeing scenes from the previous episode at the beginning, but I’ll get over it. Part 2 doesn’t start with killing or gore, but with the story of events in 1978 and their relation to the present. The presented visuals are the same quality that I saw in Part 1, bringing me into this dark world as I connect with the characters. When the blood started to spray and splatter, I was ecstatic as it was perfect and not overdone. The strangeness of what happened kept me on the edge of my seat and gave me a good number of scares along the way. Fear Street Part 2: 1978 does not disappoint, and I’m excited to see Part 3. I gave this one 4.5 out of 5 Stars. Fear Street Part 2 1978 (2021) #Possession #Witches #Oppression Click To Tweet

Howling V: The Rebirth (1989), like the previous chapters in the franchise, has nothing to do with Howling IV: The Original Nightmare (1988) and at least isn’t marsupials. The opening scene hooked me as it did the first time I saw this film with harrowing events happening in Budapest in 1849. When they flash to the present (in this case, it’s 1989), a group of people is invited to the same castle and are told the history of the castle. While I’m not sure the reason for choosing this array of people, I don’t care because the layers of suspense fill the movie with the darkness it needs. As the movie progresses, you guessed it, something is slaughtering the guests, who decide to find out what and search the dungeon because we all know that’s exactly what should be done since a blizzard has trapped them there. I love that they didn’t incorporate the strange Tron-like effects that started to show themselves more and more in the late 80s and kept with using buckets of fake blood and costumes...

After finishing my second viewing of The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It (2021), I still wonder why Iona, a.k.a The Occultist, was conjuring a demon, and I find it strange that I would’ve missed that bit of important information twice, though, anything is possible. Unlike previous Conjuring films, they don’t have a flash of another case at the beginning, which is fine. This omission did cause a bit of confusion of the timeline in relation to the other films (The Conjuring (2013) and The Conjuring 2 (2016)). The only thing I know for sure is that it was after Annabelle (2014) because she’s in the case in the basement in the closing scene. Of all Warrens’ cases, I’ve never read The Devil in Connecticut by Gerrald Brittle. I’m somewhat confident that there’s minimal usage of it in this film, and it was used as a primary stepping stone to get the tag ‘based on actual events.’ My head spun a bit with everything happening on the screen, in my first viewing with them jumping from place to ...

Army of the Dead (2021) was on my 2020 watch list (in the Probably Won’t Watch section), but we all know what happened to 2020, so it wasn’t released to Netflix until recently, which they could’ve done in 2020. Not being a huge zombie fan, as it’s always the same thing over and over, and I was feeling lazy about finding something else to watch, I embarked on the two-hour twenty-eight-minute journey, thinking (as I do a lot lately) that I can find something else to watch if it isn’t hitting it for me. Whoa, I’m glad it started messy because I would’ve missed one of the most splattery gore-fest made. Having a large budget for a film can make a difference, and the effects are spectacular. I don’t think I’ve seen a movie with this much gore in a long time, so that part of me was satisfied, though some of the CGI was dumb; i.e., Tig’s cigarillo smoke and there’s some other stuff that was just as bad, but I didn’t focus on it too much. I was also happy with the level of acting. Many zombie f...

For whatever reason, it took nine years before they released Phantasm II (1988), and I think they did a good job tying Phantasm (1979) to it like a continuing story. The opening scene replays the ending of the first, then moves seven years later with Mike Pearson being released from an institution. James LeGros now plays Mike Pearson, Reggie Bannister continues his role as Reggie, and The Tall Man is and always will be Angus Scrimm. While I enjoy Phantasm II, there is one big disappointing thing: The Tall Man no longer has his strange walk. He still maintains his creepiness otherwise. They added two new characters, Liz Reynolds, who is connected psychically to Mike somehow, and Alchemy, a hitchhiker Reggie picks up; she’s also the dead girl that Mike sees in the mortuary before that. The eeriness definitely transferred from the first episode, and they added a little bit of cheese, but not too much. There’s also some weirdness with ghost towns thrown in that added a nice layer of surrea...

Cadaver (2020) is one of those movies that kept me entertained throughout, wondering what would happen next. It begins with a strange scene of children going through heaps of clothing in a hotel, and then it took me outside to an apparent post-apocalyptic/dystopian world with dead littering the streets. When a carnie appearing man invites a group of people to the dinner theatre hotel, the fun begins. I questioned what they served as “meat” since these people can’t get food. There’s a good reason for my suspicion, which is unveiled later in the film. The bizarreness of the guests wearing masks so they can be discerned from “actors” as they follow these people through the hotel to see visual delights is a nice touch. Our protagonists are the family, Leonora and Jacob and their daughter, Alice, who disappears and her parents begin to search for her. Mathias is the hotel’s leader, and oddly, most of his staff don’t know what he’s up to. The musical score is fantastic, some of the best, add...

The incredible story you are about to see is true, where it happened and how it happened; only the names have been changed. The Narrator The Town That Dreaded Sundown ( 1976 ) is an early slasher example, and one of the better ones that go on the top shelf with The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) and The Last House on the Left (1972). The opening statement is correct if you consider loosely based true. Either way this is a fantastic film that shouldn’t be ignored. The Town That Dreaded Sundown has the old documentary feel with a narrator (Vern Stierman) interjecting from time-to-time, adding more detail to the events. The comic relief from the deputy was unnecessary as it didn’t add anything to the film and is the only cheese in the film that wasn’t needed. The killer used several methods to kill his victims, and I wonder how close to real those were; it’s not like I’m going to read the real case files of the incidents that happened in Texarkana. This movie has some phenomenal scre...

I’ll make you suffer what I’ve suffered. Mary Madhouse ( 1981 ) is one of those movies that never hit my radar until recently. At least with today’s technology, it’s easier to get caught up on those hidden gems from the past. The open of this film is just as creepy as the ending. Surrounded by shadows, we see a girl rock another in a rocking chair as a melancholy voice sings rock-a-bye-baby, and then suddenly she realizes she has a rock in her hand and commences bashing the other in the face with it; such a delightful way to start a movie. I feel what she feels. I know what she knows. To some extent, I am what she is. Julia Timestamps appear on the screen from time to time, alerting us on how many days until Julia’s birthday. Trish Everly plays Julia perfectly. She is a teacher at a “Deaf School,” and when she speaks with her therapist and boyfriend, Sam, her words are breathy much of the time, adding a layer of sexual innuendo when it doesn’t belong. For whatever reason, that drew her...

House of the Witch ( 2017 ) surprised me for getting to it rather quickly since many horror films from the last decade took their sweet time and when it came to the climax I was already spent. It felt like it wished it was made in the 80s with a few slices of cheese thrown around. However, for the most part, it was a straight shooter with good visual effects that were creepy and intense. The acting in House of the Witch is a lot better than I ever expected. The one thing that disappointed me was that a few characters said they were going to throw up, but they didn’t. They only coughed and gagged as though it could happen at any second. Had they not focused on these instances, I probably wouldn’t have noticed. When the camera followed them, I expected it. From the moment House of the Witch started, the tempo was quick, which I assumed meant there wouldn’t be any way to increase the intensity or creepy effects, but I was wrong because the ending happened. I think it has to be one of the...

From the bizarre opening to the end, I couldn’t help think that Deranged ( 1974 ) is a strange copy of Pyscho (1960), then later I saw bits of Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) thrown in though they were released in the same year. The story revolves around Ezra Cobb, who lives/d with his mother and takes care of her until she dies. He doesn’t seem to have a high mental capacity to begin with, and once his mom dies, it goes further down. There are several visions in my mind about this movie that will probably remain with me until I die. One is that Ezra is in desperate need of a pedicure. The second is the almost magenta-tinted blood that flows relatively freely in this American International Pictures movie. I couldn’t take my eyes from Deranged, with each moment being tossed further down the hole in one of the strangest horror films I’ve ever seen. Being low-budget didn’t hinder it from being the best that it absolutely could. The cheese and corn are tossed around nicely too, making it on...

Dark Encounter ( 2019 ) made my watchlist last year, but since it wasn’t available on Prime until recently, I didn’t watch it (yes, I’m thrifty). The biggest reason it made my list was because Grant Masters is in it. I enjoy his style, and this role made me appreciate him more. You might remember him from Await For Further Instructions (2018) . The best I can tell, Dark Encounter is set in the late 70s to early 80s, and maybe in Nebraska; the filming location isn’t clear to me, it almost looks like the same place where they filmed Stranger Things. The story starts with a husband and wife returning home after having dinner at a local restaurant to learn that their 8-year-old daughter is missing. Yes, apparently, they left her home alone. Then it jumps a year to her memorial and the family gettogether afterward. I was very impressed by how quickly everything escalated after the opening and character introductions. The lighting effects are chilling and spectacular, and the sound effects a...