Daily Movie Thoughts

This Weeks New Movie Releases (October 5th - October 11th, 2026)

Daily Movie Thoughts — Mon, 05 Oct 2026 17:52:25 GMT

Each Monday I will be bringing you the weeks new movie releases - this includes theater releases, limited theater releases and movies streaming for the first time - maybe something will catch your eye you wasn’t aware of?

And don’t forget to subscribe to get this email every Monday.

His Monster - October 5th (Digital)

When his young daughter is mysteriously swept out to sea, a struggling alcoholic remains alone, hunting the woods to find what he believes is responsible.

Onslaught - October 6th (Digital)

When a rogue squad of genetically engineered super soldiers break loose in the desert, a badass Army sniper must unleash hell to protect her young daughter.

Insidious: Out of the Further - October 6th (Digital)

Gemma, a young mother raising her daughter in the house she grew up in, discovers she can travel into The Further, where she possesses an ability to bring what lives there back to the real world.

Fall 2: Deadpoint - October 6th (Digital)

Grieving her sister Shiloh’s death, Jax Hunter bonds with Shiloh’s bold friend Luce. Together they tackle dangerous Mount Kwan in Thailand. When a rockslide traps them on a narrow plank 4,000 feet up, Jax must face her fears to survive.

Attack of the Killer Tomatoes: Organic Intelligence - October 6th (Digital)

"Jurassic Park" meets "Dr. Strangelove". It's a reprise and fifth feature spin of the 1978 Cult Classic "Attack of the Killer Tomatoes," the franchise that went from 80s midnight screenings to help launch the Fox Children's TV Network.

Late Fame - October 6th (Digital)

Legendary New York poet Ed Saxberger's forgotten works captivate an eccentric group of young creatives, reigniting his artistic passion. Their intrigue intertwines with the bewitching presence of actress Gloria.

Love of Your Life - October 7th (Limited Theaters)

Maya, a smart, wry nurse, is swept up in an immersive love, that sets her life on a trajectory she never would have imagined.

Other Mommy - October 9th (Theaters)

Bela, an 8-year-old girl living in a home with marital problems, confronts a sinister entity which comes out of her closet. The presence, whom she calls "Other Mommy," becomes increasingly threatening to her and her family.

The Social Reckoning - October 9th (Theaters)

Follows Frances Haugen, a young Facebook engineer, who enlisted the help of Jeff Horwitz, a Wall Street Journal reporter, to blow the whistle on the social network's most guarded secrets.

Treasure Trekkers - October 9th (Theaters)

Mip, a 12-year-old adopted monkey in a cat-and-rodent world, is transported by a magical map to Empathra. He embarks on a perilous quest to uncover his origins, discovers his empathy power, and restores compassion to the land.

Fjord - October 9th (Theaters)

An immigrant Romanian family living in Norway is subject to an investigation and faces the scrutiny of the local judicial system.

Angel and The Badman - October 9th (Limited Theaters)

A wounded outlaw finds unexpected mercy in the care of a rancher's daughter. The hope of love pulls him toward a different life until the law, and his violent past, close in on his new home. Now he must choose the kind of man he'll become.

Animals - October 9th (Netflix)

Desperate to pay their son's ransom, a mayoral candidate and his wife resort to extreme measures, revealing dark secrets they never intended to bring to light.

A Prayer for the Dying - October 9th (Limited Theaters)

In 1870s Wisconsin, a sheriff faces a deadly threat, forcing him to choose between his family and defending the community that gave him a second chance.

The North - October 9th (Limited Theaters)

Two old friends are walking 600 kilometers through the Scottish highlands, to reconnect with each other, nature and parts of themselves they lost.

Double Trouble - October 9th (Limited Theaters)

Two witty sisters in Vegas get tangled in a holiday heist and join forces with an ex-MI6 guard to outmaneuver a master thief and recover a diamond gauntlet before Christmas.

R.L. Stine’s Pumpkinhead 2 - October 9th (Tubi)

When a new Pumpkinhead curse awakens in Redhaven, Sam and Becka must stop it before it claims the entire town.

Big Girls Don’t Cry - October 9th (Limited Theaters)

Over one transformative summer, 14 year-old Sid Bookman discovers desire, identity and the internet, as she imitates the people she longs to be loved by.

Misty Green - October 9th (Limited Theaters)

Years after her Hollywood breakthrough, a talented actress whose career has stalled fights for her second act.

The Beast - October 9th (Limited Theaters)

When a militia of unidentified hostiles coordinates a coup against the U.S., the president uncovers the extent of The Beast's highly classified offensive capabilities in order to save his life and America.

Disclosure Day - October 9th (Peacock)

If you found out we weren't alone, if someone showed you, proved it to you, would that frighten you?

V/H/S/Mixtape - October 9th (Shudder)

A new anthology in which music and sound become a source of terror.

And in case you have missed the last few weeks of new movie releases…

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Movie News Catch Up From The Last 7 Days - September 27th to October 4th, 2026

Daily Movie Thoughts — Sun, 04 Oct 2026 09:55:47 GMT

Every Sunday I will be bringing you the latest news and trailers in the film world over the last 7 days, so take a seat, and have a coffee and a catch up, with a brief intro to each film story and a link to read more if you so wish.*

*Will no doubt miss some stuff.

Don’t forget to subscribe to get this in your inbox each Sunday.

Jon Watts Is Directing The Next Star Wars Trilogy

Jon Watts is heading back into the Star Wars universe to direct the first film in a new trilogy written by Simon Kinberg - Watts previously directed Star Wars: Skeleton Crew as well as the Tom Holland Spider-Man trilogy, and the project is reportedly intended to continue the Skywalker Saga.

Robert Eggers Is Making Romeo & Juliet

Robert Eggers has chosen his next film, where he is set to direct a new adaptation of William Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet for Focus Features.

Don’t Breathe 3 Is Happening

Fede Álvarez confirmed that Don’t Breathe 3 is in development during a 10th anniversary screening of the original at Beyond Fest, and there is already a screenplay.

Jennifer Lawrence Joins Zach Cregger’s The Flood

Jennifer Lawrence has joined The Flood, the next film from Weapons and Resident Evil director Zach Cregger, with Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Entertainment producing alongside Vertigo Entertainment - the film is currently scheduled for release on August 11th, 2028.

Bradley Cooper Is The New Duke In G.I. Joe

Bradley Cooper has been cast as Duke in Paramount’s new G.I. Joe movie, which is being written and directed by Danny McBride.

Tom Holland’s Fred Astaire Biopic Adds Margaret Qualley And Sabrina Carpenter

The untitled Fred Astaire biopic starring Tom Holland has added Margaret Qualley and Sabrina Carpenter to its cast - Qualley will play Astaire’s sister and original dance partner Adele Astaire, while Carpenter will play Ginger Rogers.

Dan Trachtenberg Is Making A New Sleeping Beauty Movie For Disney

Prey director Dan Trachtenberg is moving into Disney territory with an untitled movie inspired by Sleeping Beauty, with it being described as an original take on the fairy tale.

28 Years Later Part 3 Is Moving Forward

Danny Boyle has confirmed that 28 Years Later Part 3 will happen, with a script already written, and will also feature a lot more of Cillian Murphy.

Godzilla Minus Zero Gets The Franchise’s First R Rating

Godzilla Minus Zero has become the first film in the 72-year-old franchise to receive an R rating in the United States.

The First Game Of Thrones Movie Gets A 2029 Date

Warner Bros. has set June 1, 2029 for Game of Thrones: Aegon’s Conquest, the first feature film set in the world of Westeros, where the film will cover Aegon the Conqueror’s campaign to unite Westeros, taking place centuries before the original television series.

Paramount’s Warner Bros Deal Gets Court Approval

A US judge has approved Paramount’s $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, and the deal is expected to close on October 6th, and will be known as Skydance.

UK Indie Distributor True Brit Goes Into Administration

True Brit Entertainment has gone into administration.

Neon Is Making Its Own SCP Foundation Movie

Neon announced a new feature based on the open-source SCP Foundation horror universe - the film will be an anthology focused on emerging filmmakers and is planned for theatrical release in 2027.

Lionsgate Picks Up Portrait Of God

Lionsgate have acquired Portrait of God, the feature adaptation of a horror short created by YouTube filmmaker Dylan Clark, with Chase Infiniti starring.

Kristen Stewart Reunites With Olivier Assayas For Spiritual World

Kristen Stewart is reuniting with Personal Shopper director Olivier Assayas for Spiritual World - the supernatural drama will also star Vicky Krieps, Riley Keough, Wagner Moura, Barbara Sukowa and Niels Schneider.

Baldwin: A Love Story Is Becoming A Film

Higher Ground, the production company founded by Barack and Michelle Obama, and Anonymous Content are developing a film based on Baldwin: A Love Story, Nicholas Boggs’ biography of James Baldwin.

BFI Announces Eight UK And Irish Films In Its Works-In-Progress Showcase

The BFI London Film Festival announced eight feature films and documentaries for its 2026 Works-in-Progress Showcase - the projects include 40 Years of Silence, Echolalic, Gol-e Sorkh, Landlines, Leopard Spots, Mid Wif, Switch and The Last Picture Shop.

Film Independent Launches $100,000 Shorts Programme

Film Independent have launched a new programme with Humana supporting five director-producer teams making original short films centred on older people and their lives, where each selected project gets a $100,000 all-in budget.

The Oscars International Feature Race Passes 90 Films

The 2027 Oscars International Feature Film field has passed 90 submission, with 93 countries announcing submissions, including South Korea’s Possible Love, Japan’s All of a Sudden, Spain’s La Bola Negra and Romania’s Fjord.

Endgame Encore Rules Again

Avengers: Endgame Encore returned to the top spot at the box office.

Primetime Opens Strongly For A24

A24’s Primetime also did well, opening with $19.2 million in the same crowded weekend, where the film opened in fewer cinemas than the biggest studio releases around it.

River Gets A January Release From Universal

Blumhouse and Atomic Monster’s River has been given a January 15, 2027 theatrical release by Universal - written and directed by Joshua Giuliano, it stars Jane Levy, Jessica Rothe and Max Mittern as siblings whose trip down a river turns into a nightmare after their boat breaks down and they become stranded.

The Curse Of Silver Brings Lily Gladstone Into A Supernatural Western

Lily Gladstone and Kiowa Gordon are set to star in The Curse of Silver, a supernatural horror-western set on the Texas-Mexico border after the American Civil War.

Found Alive Gets First Look Ahead Of Sitges

Chloë Grace Moretz stars in Found Alive, the new survival thriller from Piggy director Carlota Pereda.

Indie Memphis Announces Its 2026 Lineup

Indie Memphis has announced the lineup for its 28th edition, which starts in November.

Sundance Collab And Merrell Launch New Filmmaker Partnership

Sundance Collab and outdoor brand Merrell have announced It Starts Outside, a new storytelling partnership supporting filmmakers and creators.

Some New Trailers

Werwulf - Trailer 2

Robert Eggers’ Werwulf got a second trailer on September 28.

Watch it.

Gentle Monster

Léa Seydoux stars in Gentle Monster, the new psychological drama from Marie Kreutzer.

Watch it.

Clarissa

The first trailer arrived for Clarissa, the Nigerian adaptation of Virginia Woolf’s Mrs Dalloway.

Watch it.

Elsinore

Andrew Scott stars as actor Ian Charleson in Elsinore, which follows his final period at the National Theatre as he prepares to play Hamlet.

Watch it.

La Bola Negra

La Bola Negra explores what it means to be gay throughout different eras

Watch it.

Musk

Alex Gibney’s Musk examines Elon Musk through interviews and archival material, with a theatrical release beginning in October.

Watch it.

The Rescue

A former rodeo cowboy searches for his kidnapped daughter.

Watch it.

Yaga

Yaga is a supernatural mystery built around Baba Yaga folklore.

Watch it.

Silt

Silt is a cosmic horror movie formerly known as Lake Vernon, and comes from former NFL player Vernon Davis.

Watch it.

The Restoration At Grayson Manor

Glenn McQuaid is back with The Restoration at Grayson Manor, his first feature since I Sell the Dead.

Watch it.

Sticky

Sticky is a new horror-comedy set around a supposed serial killer stalking the Hollywood Hills.

Watch it.

Sense And Sensibility

The second trailer arrived for Georgia Oakley’s new adaptation of Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility.

Watch it.

Ebenezer

Johnny Depp plays Ebenezer Scrooge in Ti West’s new take on A Christmas Carol.

Watch it.

The Cycle

Deborah Ann Woll stars in The Cycle, a new mystery thriller about a decades-old disappearance.

Watch it.

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Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma (2026) Review

Daily Movie Thoughts — Wed, 30 Sep 2026 09:29:10 GMT

Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma is a very strange horror movie, and also a very personal one.

Plot

A director making a slasher sequel becomes obsessed with casting the original film's 'final girl,' leading both women into psychological and sexual chaos.

Good Points

Genuinely feels like it has its own identity
A clever take on horror fandom and obsession
The fictional Camp Miasma franchise is brilliantly developed
Gillian Anderson Hannah Einbinder are fantastic
Great chemistry between Anderson and Einbinder
Funny without becoming too smug

Bad Points

Occasionally explains its themes when the imagery could speak for itself
A little more restraint sometimes needed

Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma Is Much Stranger Than Its Title

If you don’t know much about this film going in, you will probably/maybe think the title sounds like a kind of deliberately trashy slasher movie, but it isn’t that movie - Jane Schoenbrun has managed to take the slasher format and turn it into something about so much more - horror fandom, sexuality, filmmaking and how characters we watch can become important to us.

I think that also makes this a difficult film to review as a straightforward horror because the actual slasher material is only part of what Schoenbrun is doing, but that is what makes it such an interesting film, too.

I like horror movies that have their own identity, and Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma definitely has an identity.

A Movie About Why We Love Trashy Slashers

The film is basically about actually being a horror fan, and you can see and feel the genuine affection for the genre running through it, and the effect horror movies can have on people, and we all know the horror fandom can be weirdly personal, and sometimes not in a good way.

Camp Miasma understands that side of fandom, and I think that is one of its most interesting qualities, because it treats fictional horror as something capable of becoming part of someone’s identity rather than just disposable entertainment.

And for a lot of horror fans, it is an identity.

Jane Schoenbrun Clearly Loves Horror, but Isn’t Afraid to Mess With It

I particularly enjoyed the fake history surrounding the Camp Miasma movies, with the film giving this fictional franchise enough detail to make it feel like something that existed before the movie started, and is brilliantly handled.

A fictional movie-within-a-movie should feel like something I could actually imagine people becoming obsessed with, and here, the merchandise, old movies and accumulated franchise baggage help sell the idea that Camp Miasma has had a life beyond what we’re seeing.

It also gives Schoenbrun a lot of material to play with when it comes to fandom, as there is something funny about the way people can spend years analysing a ridiculous horror franchise as if it contains the secrets of the universe, but there is also something completely understandable about it.

A lot of meta horror can also become smug very quickly - you get the references, the knowing looks and the character tropes, but it doesn’t have that genuine affection it needs, but Schoenbrun clearly knows the language of the slasher and clearly enjoys playing with it, but with a curiosity about why those conventions work in the first place.

This film celebrates something while simultaneously questioning it, which helps give Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma more personality than another horror movie simply throwing in references to Friday the 13th or Halloween.

Gillian Anderson

I have loved Gillian Anderson since the X-Files days, and she is fantastic here, and it’s great to see her in this kind of film too, where she gets to play with a very different side of herself, and I enjoyed watching her a lot, and I bet she also had a ton of fun with it, too.

I also think Anderson understands something important about this kind of film - you can’t play every bizarre moment as though it is bizarre, because if everybody acknowledges how strange everything is, the whole thing will probably collapse.

And her chemistry alongside the equally brilliant Einbinder is definitely one of the film’s strongest assets.

The Horror as an Obsession

I wouldn’t describe Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma as a relentlessly scary horror movie, nor would I say it is trying to be, as yes there is plenty of slasher imagery and gore, but the horror works more as a language for the film’s other ideas.

That might disappoint people who simply want a bloody new slasher, but it’s a film that wants you to think more about the imagery and what it says about the characters, rather than just wait for the next death/scare attempt scene.

Schoenbrun leans more on how visual information can be packed into a deliberately exaggerated slasher, where the blood, costumes, performances and ridiculousness aren’t just there because horror movies are supposed to have them.

This is meta horror, but done with a real love, understanding and passion for the genre - the bright colours, sexual energy, exaggerated slasher material and deliberately artificial fictional franchise all give it a personality that I think a lot of horror fans wll fully appreciate and nod along to.

If I had to say a negative point about the film though, I would say a little more restraint would have helped at times, as some of the ideas could have landed better if the film had already made its point and then kept going anyway.

At its best, the movie lets an image, performance or strange bit of horror speak for itself, but at its weakest, I could almost hear the explanation happening underneath the scene, but maybe I’m nitpicking a bit as well….

Final Verdict

Schoenbrun has created something here that feels genuinely personal, and that’s the biggest compliment I can give it - it’s weird, horny, bloody and far more thoughtful than the title suggests.

This Weeks New Movie Releases (September 28th - October 4th, 2026)

Daily Movie Thoughts — Mon, 28 Sep 2026 09:18:05 GMT

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Coyote vs. ACME - Sept 29th (Digital)

After enduring years of malfunctioning products, Wile E. Coyote teams up with a local personal injury attorney to take on ACME, the manufacturer of anything and everything used by the Looney Tunes characters.

Battle Cabin - Sept 29 (Digital)

In a violent, post-pandemic world, a peace-loving man must go on a desperate journey to find life-saving drugs for his wife.

Mononoke the Movie: Chapter III – The Curse of the Serpent - Sept 29 (Netflix)

This third and final installment of the Mononoke trilogy follows the mysterious Medicine Seller into the Ooku (the inner chambers of the Shogun's castle). A malevolent snake god threatens the women residing there, and the Medicine Seller must uncover the truth to wield his Exorcism Sword.

Soulm8te - Oct 1st (Hulu)

A man acquires an Artificially Intelligent android to cope with the loss of his recently deceased wife. In an attempt to create a truly sentient partner, he inadvertently turns a harmless lovebot into a deadly soulmate.

Digger - Oct 2nd (Theaters)

The most powerful man in the world embarks on a frantic mission to prove he is humanity's savior before the disaster he's unleashed destroys everything.

Verity - Oct 2nd (Theaters)

Lowen Ashleigh is hired to ghostwrite for Verity Crawford. After she uncovers what appears to be Verity's autobiographical notes, she wrestles with the confessions about Verity's husband, and finds it hard to separate fiction from reality.

Stranglehold - Oct 2nd (Digital)

Fed up with their lives, barely eking by in small-town Arkansas, a stripper with dreams and her Army vet husband decide to rob the strip club that employs her.

Beware Boiúna - Oct 2nd (Limited Theaters)

A team of doctors embark on a local mission in the Amazon rain forest, but it soon becomes clear that not everybody - or everything - is happy to see them. Their sudden appearance draws the attention of an animal predator, the "Boiúna."

April X - Oct 2nd (Limited Theaters)

A high octane, near future thriller about twins Bax and April. When April goes missing, Bax searches every dark corner of the post Soviet cityscape trying to find her, ultimately descending into madness.

Just One Life - Oct 2nd (Limited Theaters)

Asian American violinist Renee moves to Kentucky where she meets Sam a Christian astronomer and reluctantly falls in love only to struggle to overcome life's sudden tragedies and to find faith to create meaning by impacting just one life.

Appofeniacs - Oct 2nd (Limited Theaters)

The use of AI technology reaches its most violent and bloody conclusion after a series of deepfake videos are unleashed into the world.

Rolling Loud - Oct 2nd (Limited Theaters)

A father makes a bad parenting choice by taking his young son to a wild hip-hop festival, leading to chaos as they navigate crowds, security, and family dynamics with eccentric companions.

Ghost in the Cell - Oct 2nd (Limited Theaters)

A notorious prison, an invisible force starts killing inmates brutally, compelling enemy gangs and corrupt guards to work together as they try to survive the mounting bloodshed.

The Cuckoo Clock - Oct 2nd (Limited Theaters)

A young woman falls in love with the home-health-care nurse sent to care for her Grandmother with dementia. When the nurse mysteriously disappears, Grandma's cuckoo clock speaks to her with a warning that Grandma might be responsible.

Nickels - Oct 2nd (Limited Theaters/Digital)

Tom Monroe, a successful entrepreneur, is haunted by his brother's death in a motorcycle accident. Years later, a neighbor's son is in a bike crash, leading Tom to suspect his brother's spirit has returned.

Lady - Oct 2nd (Limited Theaters)

A determined taxi driver in Lagos forms an unexpected bond with a group of free-spirited women, leading her into a world of friendship and self-discovery despite the risks along the way.

Infirmary - Oct 2nd (Shudder)

A guard vanished on his first night at an old psych hospital in 2023. His bodycam footage shows unexplainable incidents that continue to baffle investigators.

Doing Life - Oct 2nd (Netflix)

A single mother fighting to survive and a reformed ex-con with untapped talent find in each other an unlikely second chance.

And in case you have missed the last few weeks of new movie releases…

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Heart of the Beast Review: Brad Pitt and a Dog Take on the Alaskan Wilderness

Daily Movie Thoughts — Sun, 27 Sep 2026 11:28:00 GMT

Putting Brad Pitt, a combat dog and the Alaskan wilderness together after a plane crash is a pretty basic yet interesting setup, but the question is whether the movie can turn that into something more than another man-and-dog survival story.

For the most part though, it does a decent job, with enough tension, action and emotion here to keep it moving, even if it is nothing really that new.

Plot

After a harrowing plane crash, Special Forces veteran James Belmont and his combat dog, Odin, find themselves stranded deep in the Alaskan wilderness. Together, they are forced into a brutal fight for survival against the elements.

Good Points

Brad Pitt is a strong lead as always.
The dog, Odin
The Alaskan wilderness looks excellent
The survival elements are entertaining
The film knows what it is

Bad Points

The basic survival story isn’t particularly original
A lot of the emotional beats are predictable
Some of the character material feels a bit too formulaic

My Thoughts on Heart of the Beast

Brad Pitt and the Dog

Obviously, the biggest selling point here is Brad Pitt, and what could have felt like a generic straight to streaming survival thriller manages to feel slightly more, mainly thanks to Mr Pitt, where the film gives him plenty of opportunity to look suitably battered and exhausted.

But the dog is arguably just as important, because Odin gives the movie something that a standard survival film doesn’t have, and the relationship between the two is where a lot of the emotional weight of the film comes from, and thankfully the film doesn’t completely turn the dog into a cute sidekick designed purely to manipulate you, as there is a genuine sense that the two really do depend on each other.

The Wilderness Looks Great

The Alaskan setting is beautiful to look at, and makes me want to visit there one day, a location that just screams naturally cinematic- huge stretches of wilderness, freezing conditions and the sense that you’re miles away from any real help, which really helps to give the movie a decent atmosphere without needing to manufacture everything.

There are also some good shots that make the characters look incredibly small compared with the environment around them.

The Survival Stuff Is Good, But The Film Isn’t Anything New

The actual survival side of Heart of the Beast is reasonably entertaining, with enough physical hardship and danger to keep things moving along, and a lot of the better material here actually comes from just watching the characters deal with the environment.

It isn’t particularly revolutionary, though, because we’ve seen plenty of survival movies where the environment is basically the main antagonist, and Heart of the Beast copies the formula a lot, but the difference here I would say is that the combination of Pitt, the dog and the Alaskan setting gives it enough to work with.

Some of the more dramatic moments are also a little obvious, but that comes with the territory, and to be fair, the film doesn’t seem desperate to be something it isn’t.

The action sequences as well aren’t necessarily the most inventive I’ve seen, but they at least gave the film some much-needed bursts of energy at the right time, and Pitt handles the physical side of things well enough.

You will also no doubt see where a lot of the emotional beats are going before the film lets you know, and some of the character material feels like it has been pulled straight from the survival movie handbook.

Final Verdict

I thought it was a solid enough film, that got a lot out of little, but it’s not particularly original, but it’s the sort of film where you pretty much know what you’re getting, and that’s not necessarily always a bad thing.

Resident Evil (2026) Review: Zach Cregger Finally Gets the Franchise Right

Daily Movie Thoughts — Wed, 23 Sep 2026 10:06:36 GMT

Thank you Mr Cregger.

Plot

Follows a hapless courier tasked with delivering a package to a remote hospital. He soon finds himself caught in the middle of an outbreak and must fight through hordes of mutated creatures to survive.

The Good

Zach Cregger gives the franchise an actual distinct personality.
Austin Abrams is excellent.
The horror and comedy balance each other really well.
Some of the jump scares work well enough.
The creature effects and gore.
The snowy setting.

The Bad

The final act gets a little too excessive.
Some characters don’t get enough time to make much of an impression.

My Thoughts on Resident Evil

Zach Cregger Finally Gets Resident Evil Right

There is something I think is almost funny about how well Zach Cregger fits Resident Evil, because his movies have always had a dark little sense of humor hiding underneath the horror, which works ridiculously well here because this is a franchise that also needs to remember that horror can also be fun, something it has often forgotten.

Cregger also doesn’t treat the material like some sacred piece of horror history, but he also doesn’t turn it into a dumb monster movie either, because Cregger knows exactly when to let a scene breathe, when to make something funny, and when to suddenly shove something horrible into the frame.

It also helps that the movie has an identity of its own too - this is the eighth Resident Evil movie and the second attempt to reboot the series, and Cregger clearly had his own ideas about what this world should look like, and thankfully he gets to make those ideas.

Austin Abrams Is a Great Resident Evil Lead

Austin Abrams has this wonderfully awkward quality here that makes his character feel like someone who actually has accidentally wandered into a situation that is several hundred levels above his pay grade, where he spends a lot of the movie looking genuinely horrified by the things happening around him, which is a compliment FYI, and Abrams gets a lot of mileage out of something so simple, yet something simple that could have come across incredibly badly.

His comedy works particularly well too, because he doesn’t seem like he’s trying very hard to be funny - there is a dry, slightly pathetic quality to him, and I found him quite entertaining at times.

The Horror Actually Has Some Teeth

As I said above, Cregger is someone that has a really good understanding of how long you can leave a shot sitting there before you starts wondering why nothing has happened yet, and he uses that patience against you so well in his movies.

Some of the scare attempts are simple enough here, but the timing is also good enough that they work fine for this kind of film, and the actual creature work is good as well, with plenty of blood, some unpleasant transformations, and several things that look like they have been assembled by somebody who had a particularly bad day at the anatomy department.

The movie doesn’t rely entirely on digital effects though, which was good because Resident Evil can easily become silly when the things start looking like video-game characters wandering around a live-action set, but the movie generally avoids that problem.

Horror and comedy existing in the same scene can certainly be hard to pull off, but Cregger never seems worried that a joke will somehow ruin the horror, because sometimes the joke makes the next moment work even better, where laughing when you’re uncomfortable is a perfectly reasonable response to being surrounded by horrible stuff.

It Feels Like Resident Evil Without Being Trapped By It

This is always the worry with video-game adapations, but Cregger has spoken in interviews about how he isn’t here to please anyone, and has his own vision, which is handled better than I expected.

The movie clearly understands the appeal of things features in the games, but it doesn’t constantly point at them either, as I think that would have gotten old very quickly, but Cregger lets those elements become part of the movie’s world.

There are plenty of little details for fans to pick up on, but at the same time, the film doesn’t require a Resident Evil education to function - visually the movie looks great too, and the decision to put so much of the movie in a cold, snowy environment helped give it a different visual identity that comes across well on screen.

The Third Act Gets a Little Carried Away

The final stretch was where I felt some of the earlier control starting to slip, as things started to get a little bit ridiculous at times, and while some of that is absolutely part of the fun, I preferred the sections where Cregger was working with smaller spaces and simpler ideas.

There is a point where the film seems to decide that if one horrible thing is good, then several horrible things happening at the same time must obviously be better, and sometimes it is, but sometimes it just makes everything slightly harder to appreciate.

But Cregger has made the familiar entertaining again, which was enough for me.

Final Verdict

After eight movies, Resident Evil finally feels like a horror franchise again instead of simply a franchise that happens to contain monsters.

Well done Zach, well done.

This Weeks New Movie Releases (September 21st - September 27th, 2026)

Daily Movie Thoughts — Mon, 21 Sep 2026 12:05:10 GMT

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Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma - September 22nd (Digital)

A director making a slasher sequel becomes obsessed with casting the original film's 'final girl,' leading both women into psychological and sexual chaos.

Ice Cream Man - September 22nd (Digital)

An idyllic summer town descends into madness when an ice cream man serves kids sweet delights with horrifying results.

Super Troopers 3 - September 22nd (Digital)

When Farva's over-the-top Indian engagement to Thorny's sister spirals into chaos, the Super Troopers must navigate Thorny's schemes to break up the relationship, all while trying to bring down a pernicious new drug ring.

Idiots - September 22nd (Digital)

Two rock-bottom drivers transport a wealthy teen to rehab, but their simple job spirals into a chaotic journey of drugs, danger, and crime as their passenger derails their plans.

Toy Story 5 - September 23rd (Disney+)

Woody, Buzz, Jessie and the rest of the gang's jobs are challenged when they're introduced to electronics, a new threat to playtime.

The Love Hypothesis - September 23rd (Prime Video)

After an impulsive kiss, two scientists end up in a fake relationship, testing their theories about love and each other.

LifeHack - September 23rd (Netflix)

Kyle and his friends hack for fun, pranking online scammers. Seeking a bigger thrill, they target billionaire Don Heard through his daughter Lindsey's social media, stealing his cryptocurrency.

Take Me Home - September 23rd (Limited Theaters)

Anna cares for her aging parents in a fragile balance of meeting one another's needs. When a Florida heat wave shatters their family and Anna's routine, her future is uncertain until she creates a world where she can thrive.

Heart of the Beast - September 25th (Theaters)

After a harrowing plane crash, a Special Forces officer and his combat dog find themselves stranded deep in the Alaskan wilderness. Together, they are forced into a brutal fight for survival against the elements.

Forgotten Island - September 25th (Theaters)

Two best friends become stranded on the mystical world of Nakali, where their only escape might cost them their shared lifetime of memories.

Charlie Harper - September 25th (Theaters)

Harper and Charlie try to build a life together. While Harper strives to carve out a career as a chef, Charlie is stuck. Facing challenges in their relationship, they struggle to prove they are meant for each other, but will it be enough?

Backrooms - September 25th (HBO Max)

After a therapist's patient disappears into a dimension beyond reality, she must venture into the unknown to save him.

Primetime - September 25th (Limited Theaters)

In 2006, To Catch a Predator host Chris Hansen sets out to make television history.

Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother - September 25th (Limited Theaters)

Follows Latif, a devoutly religious hitman, who embarks on a desperate journey across Houston to protect his children after his wife dies, confronting forces closing in and beliefs threatening to unravel.

The Deputy - September 25th (Digital)

A young sheriff's deputy finds himself in the crosshairs of dangerous criminals when the dead body he is assigned to keep an eye on disappears from a crime scene.

Never After Dark - September 25th (Limited Theaters)

A traveling psychic who helps lost souls cross over encounters a powerful entity at a remote house. While investigating its origins, she uncovers dark secrets and faces a deadly threat from an unexpected source.

Long Day’s Journey Into Night - September 25th (Limited Theaters)

Over the course of a day, a married couple, Mary and James Tyrone, and their two sons, Jamie and Edmund, grapple with Mary's morphine addiction and confront each other over the past in a series of emotionally tense and volatile exchanges.

The Incomer - September 25th (Limited Theaters)

On a remote Scottish isle, siblings Isla and Sandy hunt birds and talk to mythical beings while fighting off outsiders. Their lives change when Daniel, an awkward official, arrives to relocate them.

Buzzkill - September 25th (Tubi)

Follows a group of sorority sisters who end up trapped with a murderer. Nora's tipsy memories hold the clues to figuring out who is killing their friends, but she can only remember them when she's drunk.

Ha-Chan, Shake Your Booty! - September 25th (Limited Theaters)

Haru and Luis love competing in Tokyo's ballroom dance scene, but after tragedy strikes, Haru withdraws into isolation. When friends coax her back to the studio, she develops an infatuation with the new instructor.

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The Horror Movies I’m Most Looking Forward to in 2027

Daily Movie Thoughts — Fri, 18 Sep 2026 10:11:49 GMT

Still early days with lots no doubt still to be announced, but these are the 2027 horror films I currently have on my looking forward to list.

The Exorcist: Martyrs

A rookie detective investigating a case in a small town comes up against something far darker than she was expecting.

I’ve been looking forward to this one since Mike Flanagan got the job, as while I wasn’t particularly bothered about another Exorcist movie after the last one, but Flanagan taking over has completely changed that.

We still don’t know a massive amount about the story yet, and I certainly don’t need nor want some enormous new mythology here - just give me a good supernatural story and let Flanagan do his thing with it.

The Exorcist: Martyrs is scheduled for release on March 12, 2027.

Skeletons

A young boy slowly discovers that his parents are hiding a disturbing secret about his mother’s true nature.

Skeletons sounds like it could be messed up, which is good, and is being described as a creature horror movie, where the whole thing seems to be built around the kid slowly figuring out what is going on with his mother.

J.T. Mollner is directing, and he made Strange Darling, which I loved - there’s not a huge amount else out there yet, but it’s on my list.

Skeletons is scheduled for release on June 4, 2027.

The Blair Witch Project

The story details are being kept quiet, but a new group will once again become involved with the Blair Witch mythology.

I’m not going to pretend I’m not curious about another Blair Witch movie, as I am in the camp of really liking the original, where I still remember it coming out with all the brilliant marketing around it, and I still think the idea of wandering around the woods with no idea where you are is simple enough to keep working.

This is also being directed by Dylan Clark, who came from making horror shorts on YouTube, and the original film’s creators Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sánchez are involved as executive producers.

The less I know about what is actually waiting in those woods, the better.

The Blair Witch Project is scheduled for release on September 24, 2027.

Wolf Creek: Legacy

An American family finds themselves in the Australian outback and in the hunting grounds of the murderous Mick Taylor.

Hell yeah, another Wolf Creek with John Jarratt back as Mick Taylor, and I’m all in, featuring another family getting stuck in the outback and Mick finding them, and then just being a bit of a git, which is fine with me, as I just want to see what sort of horrible stuff Mick gets up to this time.

Wolf Creek: Legacy is scheduled for release on March 19, 2027.

Pendulum

After attending a new-age retreat in New Mexico, a couple begin to question what is really happening around them.

The whole new-age retreat thing always sounds a bit weird, and hopefully it doesn’t turn into some boring cult movie where everyone spends half the film talking about their beliefs - give me some proper weird shit happening and I’ll be happy.

A trailer has already been released.

Pendulum is scheduled for release on January 1, 2027.

The Third Parent

During a Fourth of July celebration, a disturbing figure named Tommy Taffy forces himself into an unsuspecting family’s life.

I’ve seen the Tommy Taffy story mentioned loads of times and it’s one of those Creepypasta things that people either seem to know or have never heard of, but I’ve read it, so I’m fairly curious about this one.

I’m not going into the story here because it gets darkm and there’s no point ruining it, and while The Third Parent could be horrible, I hope they actually stick with the source material instead of toning everything down.

That’s one I’ll definitely be watching when it turns up.

The Third Parent is scheduled for release on January 22nd.

Gremlins 3

Gizmo and the Gremlins are back for another movie in the long-running creature horror comedy series.

Obviously I’m watching Gremlins 3. I’ve been waiting long enough for another one - the original Gremlins is still brilliant, and I also love the second one for how stupid and silly it is, and always watch them every Christmas, and I am very happy we are getting those little bastards back.

Chris Columbus is directing and returning to the franchise he originally wrote too, which is a big plus, with Steven Spielberg also back as executive producer.

Oh, and I know some people don’t put these films in the horror category, but I put them in the creature feature/horror-comedy realm, so don’t be that person.

Gremlins 3 is scheduled for release on November 19, 2027.

Monitor

A content moderator deletes a disturbing video and becomes involved with a supernatural threat that begins appearing through the screens around her.

I like the setup here, and it premiered at SXSW earlier this year, and already has had some fairly decent early reactions from some that have seen it, so hopefully we get a decent horror movie out of it.

Monitor is scheduled for release on April 16th.

They Follow

Jay returns roughly ten years after the events of It Follows, with the details of what has happened to her since the first movie being kept secret.

It Follows is a horror movie where I really didn’t think we needed a sequel, so I’m quite interested to see what David Robert Mitchell has come up with after all this time - Maika Monroe is also back as Jay.

Apparently we’re jumping forward around ten years, and Monroe has said the script is very dark and pushes things further, but words are cheap, but I have a good feeling in my bones this will be good, and it’s been a long wait for this one, so I’m definitely watching it when it finally arrives.

They Follow is currently expected to be released in 2027, although an exact date has not been announced.

Runner Review (2026): Explosions, Car Chases and Questionable Decisions

Daily Movie Thoughts — Wed, 16 Sep 2026 10:03:46 GMT

There is nothing particularly clever about Runner, where you are probably better off not asking too many questions, but I enjoyed it anyway.

Plot

A former soldier and his unlikely partner become the targets of a ruthless cartel while racing to complete a critical medical delivery and save the life of a little girl.

Good Points

Alan Ritchson and Owen Wilson work well together.
The action is entertaining.
The Australian setting looks good.
It doesn’t take itself too seriously.
It’s easy to watch.

Bad Points

The story is predictable, and the emotional side is obvious.
The premise isn’t particularly original.
Hank somehow finds time for an incredible number of disasters.

My Thoughts on Runner

Runner Is Fine If You Don’t Think About It Too Much

I had a pretty good time with this, but I suspect a lot of people won’t if you like to think too much about your movies - it is silly and occasionally ridiculous, but also completely comfortable with being a big, dumb action movie.

There is a little bit of everything thrown into this thing too - car chases, shootouts, fights, people making incredibly questionable decisions, people surviving things that should probably have involved a hospital of their own, and enough explosions to keep insurance companies nervous.

Might not be the best movie ever, but I wasn’t bored, which is always something.

Alan Ritchson

Ritchson looks like he could pick up most of the cast and put them in the trunk of a car, which is obviously useful when you’re making this sort of movie, and he has that slightly old-fashioned action-star quality that Hollywood doesn’t seem to produce quite as often anymore, where you can believe the guy is actually capable of doing the things the script keeps asking him to do, even if it isa bit dumb.

Then there is Owen Wilson, and this is where Runner gets a little stranger.

Wilson brings that familiar laid-back, slightly bewildered energy that he has been using for years, and it clashes pretty nicely with Ritchson’s much more serious action-hero presence.

I wouldn’t say they suddenly become the greatest screen duo since Gibson and Glover, but there is enough of a mismatch between them that makes the relationship work well enough.

The Movie Knows It’s a B-Movie

This is probably the most important thing to remember about Runner for me. - it isn’t pretending to be some hugely important action thriller, because the film has a slightly cheesy quality, and one that I enjoyed.

Some of the villains are broad, some of the situations are completely nuts, and there are moments where the whole thing feels like it has wandered in from an action movie made twenty or thirty years ago.

That might be a problem if you want a serious film, but I didn’t mind it because the movie seems to have enough awareness of its own ridiculousness to survive it, and while it certainly isn’t new or too fresh, where you will no doubt see some of the turns coming, but I also don’t think there is anything wrong with simple storytelling either in this kind of film.

The Action

The action is where I think the movie earns most of its keep.

Scott Waugh is directing, which makes plenty of sense once you know his background, as before becoming a director, Waugh worked as a stuntman, and the movie has this nice physical quality to its action, even when some of the effects are obvious.

There is also something something cool about watching Ritchson get involved in the fights because he really does look like an action figure that escaped from its packaging.

The movie does occasionally push things too far though, as once a character has survived something completely ridiculous, the next sequence has a harder job making me believe anybody is actually in danger.

But what can I say, I did still enjoy those scenes.

The Emotional Stuff Doesn’t Work

The reason for Hank’s mission is obviously designed to give the action some emotional weight - a sick child needing an urgent transplant is about as straightforward a reason as you can give someone to keep going.

It just doesn’t really land, and part of the why is because the movie is moving so quickly, so you’re being asked to care about the emotional consequences of everything while simultaneously watching people crash cars, get shot at and survive increasingly improbable situations, and those two sides don’t always sit comfortably together.

That isn’t necessarily a criticism either, as I didn’t come to Runner for a devastating meditation on mortality, but I do think the film occasionally reaches for a level of emotion that the movie never really earns.

The ticking clock is also one of the film’s better ideas because it keeps things moving without requiring a complicated mystery, where every delay matters, at least in theory.

Of course, Runner occasionally stretches the concept to breaking point because Hank seems to have enough time to get involved in about seventeen completely separate disasters while still somehow having a chance of completing the job.

I stopped questioning the mathematics fairly early on, and you probably should too.

Final Verdict

Runner is dumb in places, predictable in others and fairly ridiculous, but I had enough fun with it - it’s disposable action, but it is reasonably enjoyable disposable action at least.

This Weeks New Movie Releases (September 14th - September 20th, 2026)

Daily Movie Thoughts — Mon, 14 Sep 2026 10:22:10 GMT

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The End of Oak Street - September 15th (Digital)

The Platt family bands together to navigate their new surroundings after a cosmic event transports their suburban neighborhood to someplace unknown.

After Impact - September 15th (Digital)

After inheriting his father's massive greenhouse as an asteroid threatens Earth, Ethan faces betrayal and isolation. Surviving the impact in his family's bunker, battered and despairing, a voice on the radio reveals he isn't alone.

The Rivals of Amziah King - September 15th (Digital)

Amziah King, beekeeper, musician, and anchor of his community, reunites with former foster daughter Kateri after many years apart, and fends off threats to his honey business.

Lion Fist - September 15th (Digital)

Martial Arts Fighter Joe goes to prison for 4 years and takes his wife's blame for a Drug Bust. After his release he finds out that his ex gave birth to his son and started a new life with a Drug Lord.

Resident Evil - September 18th (Theaters)

The Weight - September 18th (Theaters)

Desperate to save what is left of his family, during the height of the Great Depression a battle-scarred veteran is hired to help smuggle a fortune in gold across 100 miles of impenetrable wilderness.

The Musical - September 18th (Theaters)

When a frustrated playwright/middle school theater teacher finds out his ex-girlfriend has started dating his nemesis, the school's principal, he decides to ruin the principal's chances of winning the Blue Ribbon of Academic Excellence.

If I Go Will They Miss Me - September 18th (Theaters)

In Watts, California, a 12-year-old boy attempts to connect with his distant father following his incarceration while sensing mysterious visions, from airplanes and Greek gods, that seem to follow him through his everyday world.

Tiny Fugitives - September 18th (Limited Theaters)

A reckless group of twelve-year-olds sets out on a mission to spend the rest of their lives at sleep-away camp. They'll just have to get past Bob - the camp's deranged, relentless, 50-year-old lifer counselor.

Barry & Me - September 18th (Digital)

A boy on a mountain pass raises a St. Bernard puppy and must fight to keep his dog when others try to take it away.

Goody Goody - September 18th (Shudder)

A home birth turns terribly wrong when complications arise during a raging blizzard.

No trailer on YouTube it seems, but it’s on Facebook if you want to watch it.

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9 Movies From the 1990s That Deserve Way More Love

Daily Movie Thoughts — Fri, 11 Sep 2026 10:04:17 GMT

As always, my defintiion of underrated might differ from yours…

Fresh (1994)

Death and violence anger a twelve-year-old drug courier, who sets his employers against each other.

Fresh is a film that sadly I wish more people had watched, because it’s a smart, tough little film with a real edge to it, but it’s also not trying to be miserable for the sake of being miserable - oh, and it has a great performance from Sean Nelson thrown in for good measure too.

Samuel L. Jackson is also excellent in a supporting role, and it’s just an incredibly confident movie that’s tense, intelligent and emotional without becoming overly sentimental.

Definitely one that deserves to be dragged back into the conversation.

Deep Cover (1992)

A uniformed police officer is recruited by the DEA to infiltrate a drug smuggling ring looking to expand its operation.

Deep Cover is one of those movies where the whole thing just has an attitude - Laurence Fishburne is fantastic here, and Jeff Goldblum is having the kind of weird, unpredictable fun that Jeff Goldblum was particularly good at in this period.

Bill Duke directs it with plenty of style, but thankfully it isn’t all style, as there’s real substance underneath the cool soundtrack and atmosphere - the result is a crime thriller that feels much more cynical and uncomfortable than its reputation suggests.

And the soundtrack absolutely deserves a mention too, which includes Dr. Dre, so if you’re into 1990s crime movies and somehow haven’t seen Deep Cover, fix that.

Safe (1995)

An affluent and unexceptional homemaker in the suburbs develops multiple chemical sensitivity.

Safe is a strange one because it doesn’t really fit neatly into the usual categories people use when talking about great 1990s movies, because it’s very controlled, restrained and deliberately uncomfortable without resorting to the usual tricks you might be familiar with.

All the discomfort you will feel from this one comes from watching the world around the central character slowly become more difficult to understand, and I also love how committed it is to its tone - it’s one of those films that seems to get rediscovered every few years by people who can’t believe more people aren’t talking about it.

The Last Seduction (1994)

A strong-willed telemarketing manager steals her husband's drug money and hides out in a small town, where she meets the perfect dupe for her next scheme.

The Last Seduction is ridiculously entertaining.

Linda Fiorentino is absolutely brilliant, with a lead performance with enough confidence and attitude that simply carries practically every scene.

It also has that great mid-90s crime/noir look without feeling like a dusty remake of something from decades earlier - it’s sharp, funny in places, dark when it needs to be and extremely comfortable with morally questionable characters.

Fiorentino should have become a much bigger star after this, but questionable decisions and her apparent on set persona put a stop to that.

The Music of Chance (1993)

A thrill seeker agrees to help a shady professional gambler win a high stakes poker game. However, they lose and become captives of two eccentric rich men who decide to forcibly keep them on their remote gated ranch as indentured servants.

The Music of Chance is exactly the kind of strange little 90s movie I love recommending, where James Spader, Mandy Patinkin and M. Emmet Walsh make for a pretty damn good combination, and the whole thing has this bizarre, slightly uncomfortable personality that you don’t get from many mainstream movies of the period.

The movie also gets increasingly strange…

The Field (1990)

When a field (which has been farmed by the McCabe family for generations) goes up for auction, the patriarch of the McCabe family will stop at nothing to prevent a rich American from buying it.

Richard Harris, Richard Harris, Richard Harris - what more can I say?

Well, Jim Sheridan directs it with a lot of patience, and the Irish setting is wonderful, but Harris is the big reason to watch it, though, as he gives the movie a forceful central performance without turning it into scenery-chewing nonsense.

It’s also one of those 1990 movies that feels like it belongs to a different era - a seriously overlooked film.

Map of the Human Heart (1992)

Arctic, 1965: Avik tells his story starting in 1931. A mapmaker flies Avik, then a preteen Eskimo boy with TB, to a hospital in Montreal where he meets Albertine. They meet again when Avik joins World War II in the UK.

Map of the Human Heart is a beautiful and stunning looking movie, that has a huge visual scale that looks so much better than it really should.

It also has that slightly old-fashioned quality that a lot of modern movies have completely lost I think - it’s romantic, dramatic and visually impressive without becoming completely ridiculous about any of it.

This one deserves a much bigger second life.

The Long Day Closes (1992)

A lyrical reverie about a young Liverpool boy coming of age in the 1950s among his loving family and the austere Catholic Church as he enters the rigors of school, nurtures a bedazzled love of the movies and longs for companionship.

If you want something completely different, The Long Day Closes is worth a look.

Terence Davies made a very personal, beautifully photographed film that feels more like stepping into somebody else’s memories, and that’s probably also why it has been overlooked.

The filmmaking is gorgeous without looking like somebody has gone mad with a color grading computer, featuring those little moments of everyday life that Davies turns into something much more memorable simply through the way he photographs and edits them - it’s also one of those movies where the atmosphere is far more important than traditional plot mechanics.

Clean, Shaven (1993)

After a man suffering from schizophrenia is released from a mental institution, he attempts to get his daughter back from her adoptive family.

Clean, Shaven is probably the most difficult movie here, but it’s also one of the most interesting - Peter Greene gives an incredibly intense performance, and Lodge Kerrigan’s filmmaking puts you inside an increasingly fractured state of mind.

It’s rough around the edges in a way that actually benefits the movie, featuring low-key production, grimy locations and unsettling sound design - this isn’t a movie I’d describe as an easy recommendation for a casual movie night though.

Clean, Shaven feels like the kind of movie that could, and should, have become a cult classic.

The President’s Cake Review: Childhood Under Saddam’s Rule

Daily Movie Thoughts — Tue, 08 Sep 2026 10:59:00 GMT

Humor, sadness and a stark reminder of what human rule can, and still does, do

Plot

In 1990s Iraq, 9-year-old Lamia must bake the President's birthday cake. She scrambles to find ingredients for this compulsory task while facing potential punishment if she fails.

Good Points

Baneen Ahmed Nayyef is excellent.
The Iraqi setting looks great.
Good mix of sadness and humor.
The political stuff works well without constant explaining.

Bad Points

The pacing is a tad slow in places, but it isn’t too bothersome.

My Thoughts on The President’s Cake

I really liked this

A movie about a child growing up under dictatorships might try and become a kind of very worthy and serious movie, where every scene being seemingly designed to remind you that you’re watching an important movie, and while this doesn’t completely avoid that territory because the subject matter is obviously serious, but it also doesn’t try and beat you over the head with it either.

This is also Hasan Hadi’s feature debut - he grew up in Iraq during Saddam Hussein’s presidency and has drawn on his own memories for the film, so there is that personal connection to the material too, rather than somebody who has simply researched the period and decided it would make an interesting movie, which definetly comes across while watching it.

Baneen Ahmed Nayyef is brilliant

Child performances are always be a bit hit and miss, as I am sure you know, especially when the subject matter is serious, but Nayyef is excellent here, where she gets that balance right between the lighter and darker parts of the film, which I am sure isn’t easy considering what the movie is dealing with, as there is still plenty of childishness there for her to play with, which also helps stop the whole thing becoming one long miserable exercise in watching people suffer.

Sajad Mohamad Qasem is equally good, and the two young actors give the film a lot of its personality.

The Iraqi setting

The early-1990s Iraqi setting is interesting to watch as well, particularly because Hadi actually filmed in Iraq, and the locations, interiors, streets, clothing and general appearance of the country all seem fit the period properly (I am guessing of course because I was not there), but there isn’t that polished modern look that can make historical films feel a bit too artificial.

The film also doesn’t try to turn Saddam Hussein into some giant movie villain wandering around in the background for you to understand what his government meant to ordinary people as his image, the propaganda and the constant presence of the regime are enough, and the way children are taught to behave and speak tells you quite a lot about the society without somebody having to stand there and give you a history lesson as you watch.

It was also interesting to watch how it doesn’t make everyone living under those conditions behave exactly the same way - some people are frightened, some are more accepting of the system, some are simply trying to get through the day, and that makes much more sense than having every character suddenly become a political commentator, because as we know, Suddam did have his supporters too.

There is some good humor in it

Considering how depressing the subject matter is, the film actually has a decent amount of humor, and I’m glad Hadi included it because without those moments I think the whole thing would have become hard work to watch.

A lot of the humor comes from the ridiculousness of bureaucracy and the way political nonsense gets mixed up with ordinary life, where you can laugh at some of it because it is absurd, but then you remember that the people involved don’t have the luxury of simply switching it off and going home.

It does of course also feature some genuinely upsetting moments as well, particularly because you’re watching children in a situation that they obviously didn’t choose and can’t simply walk away from, and Hadi could have pushed that much harder and turned the whole thing into emotional torture, but he doesn’t seem interested in squeezing a tear out of the audience constantly, which did help the emotional parts work better for me because the film gives you enough lighter material to make the difficult scenes stand out even more.

For a first feature, I think Hadi has done a seriously good job - oh, and I also won’t spoil anything about the cake side of things.

Final Verdict

I really liked the mixture of humor and sadness on show here, where the film gives you a pretty good idea of what ordinary life would look like under Saddam, and was an interesting watch that garnered a few different emotions.

Film Credits

Directed and written by Hasan Hadi

Produced by Leah Chen Baker

Starring Baneen Ahmad Nayyef, Sajad Mohamad Qasem, Waheed Thabet Khreibat and Rahim AlHaj

Cinematography - Tudor Vladimir Panduru

Edited by - Andu Radu

Running time - 105 minutes

This Weeks New Movie Releases (September 7th - September 13th, 2026)

Daily Movie Thoughts — Mon, 07 Sep 2026 11:31:50 GMT

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One Night Only - September 8th (Digital)

Two New Yorkers search for love on the one night of the year when pre-marital sex is legal.

The Militia - September 8th (Digital)

Daniel Pierce dreams of joining the local Militia alongside his father once he turns eighteen, but when his Dad becomes the target of the local Sheriff, Daniel and his friends form their own militia in a troubled effort to save him.

Hope - September 9th (Theaters)

A mysterious discovery is made on the outskirts of the remote harbor town. The residents find themselves in a desperate fight for survival against something they have never encountered before.

Call My Agent! The Movie - September 9th (Netflix)

Follows a former talent agent turned aspiring director who must reunite with her old team when her lead actor drops out days before filming begins.

The Uprising - Spetember 11th (Theaters)

Based on the true story of the uprising that inspired the legend of Robin Hood, Andrew Garfield stars as the leader of a rebellion against the tyranny of King Richard II in a fight for justice.

Runner - September 13th (Theaters)

A former soldier and his unlikely partner become the targets of a ruthless cartel while racing to complete a critical medical delivery and save the life of a little girl.

Practical Magic 2 - September 13th (Theaters)

A multi generational family of witches, cursed to be loveless for centuries, attempts to break the spell by confronting dark secrets and sacrificing for each other.

The Fix - September 13th (Limited Theaters)

Disillusioned by the end of the war in Afghanistan, a group of disgraced, war torn ex-CIA operators set out to Tehran to take down a life changing score.

Knightfall - September 13th (Digital)

Charles Knight, an infamous former spy catcher, must work with his estranged daughter to avert a homeland security bloodbath and survive a terrifying home invasion

Go Team! - September 13th (Netflix)

Go Team! is a Spanish dark comedy movie about a struggling cheese company that turns a mandatory rural team-building retreat into a battlefield after employees discover massive layoffs are coming.

Drive Through Fire - September 13th (Digital)

An addict war veteran turned ride share driver tries to help a terrified passenger escape a human trafficking ring serving wealthy clients.

If I Go Will They Miss Me - September 13th (Limited Theaters)

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Who Decided There Was A Right Way To Be A Horror Fan?

Daily Movie Thoughts — Fri, 04 Sep 2026 12:19:35 GMT

As someone of an older age, who has watched horror for a long time, and also as someone who used to participate in horror discussions on social media before all the gatekeeping annoyed me too much, I have to ask the question: Who Decided There Was A Right Way To Be A Horror Fan?

*You could probably say the same things below regarding movies in general, or music genres etc, but I am just using horror as an example since I am familiar with the fandom.

I’ve been wondering about this.

Horror fans seem to spend an awful lot of time telling each other how to enjoy horror movies- now, that’s a generalized statement of course, as it’s not everyone, obviously, but if you participate or have participated in horror discussions on places like Facebook or Reddit, you will know that statement is also not an entirely inaccurate one, as there’s definitely another side of horror fandom where everything becomes a test.

Have you seen the right movies? Do you know the classics? Have you watched enough obscure stuff? Do you like the “wrong” kind of horror? Do you know who directed some film made in 1974 that apparently everybody should have watched by now?

And if the answer to any of those questions is no, somebody will always be willing to let you know, and of course, this is the internet, people are, you know, more opinionated, but still, I don’t really get it.

I am someone who likes talking about movies, I like discovering films I’ve never seen and I like debating about horror with the right people, but I don’t need everybody to have the same taste as me either.

In fact, I’d much rather talk to someone who has completely different taste, because if we both like exactly the same movies and have exactly the same opinions about them, what the hell are we going to debate about?

The genre is too big for one type of fan.

The horror genre is enormous, because it’s not really one genre in the traditional sense, it’s a giant collection of completely different types of movies that happen to sit under the same umbrella.

A person can spend years watching slashers and barely touch supernatural horror, while somebody else might be obsessed with ghost stories but have absolutely no interest in gore.

Then you’ve got creature features, psychological horror, found footage, gothic horror, horror comedy, home invasion, cosmic horror, zombie movies, vampire movies and everything else that has finds its way into the horror section, because horror movies are not just about jump scares. (Shock).

I do think sometimes people forget just how personal taste is as well, as we talk about horror as though there’s an objective scale for what makes a good fan, when really we’re just talking about things that make different people react differently.

That’s why I don’t particularly care when somebody tells me they hate a type of horror that I love - they hate it, fair enough, I’m not going to take it personally, but if you start gatekeeping, I will put my hands through the screen and skullcrush you.

I don’t need to like every classic.

There’s also seems to be a strange pressure around the older classics.

And before anyone gets upset, I’m not saying they’re bad, quite the opposite, some of my favorite horror movies are old, and I think there’s enormous value in understanding where the genre came from.

But I don’t think watching a movie is an obligation just because other fans have decided it’s important, and there are films I’ve seen that I appreciate far more than I enjoy, and there are films I understand the importance of but wouldn’t necessarily choose to watch again, either.

That’s allowed.

I don’t need to pretend a movie is brilliant because it has been considered brilliant for fifty years, and I don’t think somebody who hasn’t seen it is automatically a worse fan than somebody who has.

Stop turning taste into a competition.

This is probably the bit that I find most annoying in an internet kind of way, as there can be a weird competitive streak in horror fandom, particularly when people start talking about how extreme their taste is.

You get this strange measuring contest where somebody has watched something more disturbing than somebody else, or something more obscure, or something that supposedly nobody else has heard of.

I never know what we’re competing for, because spoiler, nobody is going to knock on your door and give you a certificate because you watched a film that made everyone else feel sick.

If you enjoy extreme horror, brilliant, there’s a huge amount of interesting stuff being made in that area, but watching something more extreme doesn’t automatically make your opinion more valuable.

The same goes for knowing obscure movies.

I love finding obscure horror, as it’s one of the best parts of being into the genre, but discovering something that nobody else has seen also doesn’t make you a better fan, it just means you’ve found something interesting.

The internet has obviously made this worse because everything has become a public opinion and everybody wants to be heard, especially when it is a negative opinion, because apparently you can’t just like something anymore, you have to explain why, and you can’t say a movie was disappointing without someone producing a ten-point argument about why your opinion is incorrect.

You know, sometimes I just don’t like a movie, that’s it, and I don’t necessarily always have a carefully constructed argument ready to go - you’re allowed to dislike something without presenting evidence to a jury, and somebody else is allowed to love it.

All the gatekeeping in the fandom would be funny if it was not so sad

Please tell me, is there an official horror authority sitting somewhere deciding what counts as horror, and I somehow missed the memo?

‘Dread’, ‘scary’ and ‘disturbed’, or whatever other words you want to use, can all work in completely different ways depending on who’s watching, and they can be played out on screen in completely different ways too, because a horror movie doesn’t have to be moving at a million miles an hour, throwing a jump scare at you every five minutes, to be a horror movie, as sometimes the horror is in what the movie makes you think about rather than what it actually shows you.

Personally, my favorite type of horror is probably the stuff that messes with your mind without a visual ‘scare’ in sight, so give me something that gets inside my head and leaves me mentally drained and I am happy.

But that doesn’t mean I don’t like jump scares either, as I do, because a good one can work brilliantly, I’m just not convinced that seeing someone jump out from behind a door is the only acceptable way for a horror movie to make me feel something.

And the funniest part is when someone says, “It’s not a horror movie, it’s not scary”.

I once had a long ‘debate’ with someone who constantly argued that The Wicker Man wasn’t a folk horror film, or any kind of horror film, because it wasn’t scary to them, completely ignoring what folk horror is meant to accomplish and what style it purposely has - it may not be your style of horror, but scary isn’t one specific reaction, either.

Maybe I should start saying that comedy isn’t a comedy because I didn’t laugh, but that would be silly, as the reaction doesn’t decide what genre a movie belongs to - Sometimes I do have to wonder whether watching movies has just become a lot more complicated than it really needs to be.

The Whisper Man Has a Great Cast - Shame About the Movie

Daily Movie Thoughts — Wed, 02 Sep 2026 09:20:01 GMT

A film with a cast this good, should not have been this dull.

Plot

A grieving father and his young son relocate to the quiet town of Featherbank, which was terrorized by a serial killer known as The Whisper Man 15 years earlier, while rumors circulate that Whisper Man worked with an accomplice.

Good points

The acting is generally solid, even if the cast are wasted.
The gloomy visual atmosphere works well.

Bad points

It’s quite dull for long stretches.
Not enough tension or suspicion.
The screenplay seems determined to waste an impressive amount of acting talent.
The revelations near the end aren’t strong enough to justify the slow build-up.
It’s rarely that interesting.

My Thoughts on The Whisper Man

A strong cast can’t save this Sseepy thriller

I was looking forward to watching The Whisper Man, especially with its cast and it looked pretty interesting, but it ended up being considerably better on paper than it actually feels when you’re sitting there watching it.

The film has Robert De Niro, Michael Keaton, Michelle Monaghan, Adam Scott and Owen Teague, which is a ridiculous amount of acting talent, and yet somehow the movie still manages to feel lifeless for long stretches, which is annoying, not because there is nothing particularly wrong with the basic setup or the people involved, but this should have been an easy film to at least make somewhat tense.

But what we get is a movie that spends far too much time slowly moving pieces around the board, and you end up not giving one damn about anything happening really, well for me, I did care how long was left to be fair.

The acting is fine though, with Adam Scott handling the dramatic material decently enough, well, that is when the film actually gives him the room to show the strain his character is under without immediately explaining everything to death.

Then we have De Niro, who at this stage of his career can basically turn up in anything and I will watch it, and he’s what you would expect, despite his character having little substance, while Michael Keaton also brings his usual screen presence when he is actually on the screen, not that the film deserves it.

It’s also actually a little funny how much talent is floating around this movie while the screenplay seems determined to keep everyone on a leash.

Takes too long to get interesting

My biggest problem is simply that I was bored, which is a pretty brutal thing to say about a mystery movie, but there really isn’t much point dancing around it, because The Whisper Man takes its time, and it somehow does so without ever really building anything, creating any suspicion nor anything that interesting really.

Scenes simply just stretch on without giving you much to grab onto, and the investigation has a frustrating tendency to move forward in tiny steps, which just made the whole thing feel much longer than its actual running time.

I also think the film confuses being restrained with being interesting, as there is nothing wrong with keeping a film relatively quiet, but quiet scenes still need some purpose behind them, and The Whisper Man sometimes seems perfectly happy to let a scene sit there while I wait for the next bit of information, which isn’t exactly my idea of a good time.

Also, the fact that the movie is based on Alex North’s novel also explains some of its more sprawling qualities, because adaptations of novels often have to compress characters, relationships and background information, and The Whisper Man occasionally feels like it is trying to preserve too much of that material rather than turning it into a tight movie.

On the plus side, it does feature some nicely presented scenes, and the filmmakers clearly know how to create a gloomy environment, but the fact I liked the overall visual approach more than I liked the actual suspense, probably says everything.

The ending doesn’t earn the journey

By the time the final stretch arrives, I was hoping the movie would justify all that patience, but unfortunately it doesn’t really, as yes, the pieces eventually come together, and there are some revelations, but it did not make up for the journey to get there.

A good ending can completely change my opinion, especially one that has been taking its time, but this one left me more relieved that we were reaching the finish than impressed by where it went, and that’s probably the most frustrating part of The Whisper Man. - I can forgive a slow movie if it rewards that patience, and I can forgive a fairly simple story if the characters or atmosphere are strong enough to carry it, but here, neither side quite manages to compensate for the other.

Final Verdict

The Whisper Man has a cast that should have produced something much better, and while it does have some decent ideas here, I can’t pretend I wasn’t bored by large chunks of it.

Film Credits

Directed by James Ashcroft

Screenplay by Ben Jacoby and Chase Palmer

Based on The Whisper Man by Alex North

Produced by Anthony Russo, Joe Russo, Angela Russo-Otstot and Michael Disco

Starring - Robert De Niro, Michelle Monaghan, Adam Scott

Cinematography by Peter Deming

Edited by Christopher Tellefsen

Music by Colin Stetson

Running time - 114 minutes

This Weeks New Movie Releases (August 31st - September 6th, 2026)

Daily Movie Thoughts — Mon, 31 Aug 2026 12:25:53 GMT

And don’t forget to subscribe to get this email every Monday.

Zip Wire - August 31st (Digital)

After witnessing her mother's death from an incurable disease at age 13, Amy Watson becomes a pharmaceutical researcher, driven to find a cure while dealing with OCD and fear of heights.

Just Play Dead - September 1st (Digital)

A criminal plans to fake his death for insurance money while framing his wife's lover. His wife plots to kill him for real and take it all. Both race to outmaneuver each other in a deadly battle of wits.

I Want Your Sex - September 1st (Digital)

Follows a young man who becomes the sexual muse for a famous and provocative artist.

Confinement - September 1st (Digital)

A grieving widow is invited to her late husband's family estate, but when she is forced to stay until she gives birth, she must confront whether her child is cursed or if she is losing her mind.

Fall 2: Deadpoint - September 2nd (Theaters)

Grieving her sister Shiloh's death, Jax Hunter bonds with Shiloh's bold friend Luce. Together they tackle dangerous Mount Kwan in Thailand. When a rockslide traps them on a narrow plank 4,000 feet up, Jax must face her fears to survive.

The Runner - September 2nd (Prime Video)

A high-powered attorney must race through London to save her abducted son while following cryptic commands from a mysterious caller.

The Mandalorian and Grogu - September 2nd (Disney+)

Once a lone bounty hunter, Mandalorian Din Djarin and his apprentice Grogu embark on an exciting new Star Wars adventure.

Scary Movie 6 - September 3rd (Paramount+)

Two friends find themselves caught up in mayhem involving killers, monsters and supernatural creatures once again.

The President’s Cake - September 3rd (Netflix)

In 1990s Iraq, 9-year-old Lamia must bake the President's birthday cake. She scrambles to find ingredients for this compulsory task while facing potential punishment if she fails.

Onslaught - September 4th (Theaters)

When a rogue squad of genetically engineered super soldiers break loose in the desert, a badass Army sniper must unleash hell to protect her young daughter.

By Any Means - September 4th (Theaters)

A notorious mafia hitman and a young Black FBI agent team up to investigate the murders of civil rights leaders in 1966 Mississippi.

Tom and Jerry: Forbidden Compass - September 4th (Theaters)

During a chase inside a museum, Tom and Jerry find a magical object and end up being transported through time. Lost in a distant era, they will need to work together to find a way back home.

Mayday - September 4th (Apple TV)

Lieutenant Troy Brennan's reconnaissance mission over Soviet territory goes awry, forcing him to crash-land and survive in Russian wilderness while evading capture or rescue.

Dark Hollow - September 4th (Digital)

When a nightmarish monster emerges from the depths of an Appalachian coal mine, a young mother must hunt down the creature to protect her home and save her family.

American Summer - September 4th (Limited Theaters)

Older Mikey reflects on a past summer when he met "the" girl + scored a spot on the team. All while his US army dad is missing overseas. A heartwarming coming-of-age family film, humor, baseball, summer love, and a puppy who saves the day.

The Girl in the River - September 4th (Limited Theaters/Digital)

A seasoned criminologist and a young female psychologist are lured to a remote American town to investigate the murder of a little girl and the disappearance of her twin sister as they crawl inside the killer's mind in a race against time.

Fuze - September 4th (HBO Max)

An unexploded WWII bomb is discovered on a busy construction site in the centre of London. Chaos ensues as the military and police begin a mass evacuation against a ticking clock.

Parasomnia - September 4th (Shudder)

After her friend vanishes, Riley must confront the demon from her night terrors that may have crossed into reality, while facing her own tragic past.

Dear You - September 4th (Limited Theaters)

Xiaowei travels to Thailand to find his "billionaire grandfather" whom debt problems have kept out of contact, but he unexpectedly finds that the one who has been corresponding with his grandmother for years is not her husband.

And in case you have missed the last few weeks of new movie releases…

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5 Movies With Twists I Really Didn't See Coming

Daily Movie Thoughts — Sat, 29 Aug 2026 13:07:14 GMT

I might just be called a bit thick after revealing this list, but here are five films where I genuinely didn’t see the twists coming - no spoilers.

And don’t Google these before watching them.

Frailty (2001)

Frailty is exactly the sort of film I love recommending to someone without explaining much - Bill Paxton directs and stars as a father who becomes convinced that God has given him a mission to destroy demons disguised as ordinary people, where his two sons are dragged into what follows, and the whole thing plays out with this increasingly uncomfortable question hanging over it - is he completely insane, or does he actually know something nobody else does?

Matthew McConaughey and Powers Boothe are both excellent here too, but Paxton is the real star.

Trailer

The Skin I Live In (2011)

Pedro Almodóvar’s The Skin I Live In has Antonio Banderas playing a disturbed plastic surgeon who has become obsessed with creating a new kind of artificial skin.

And then the film starts revealing pieces of information about the people around him, and once certain information is revealed, earlier scenes suddenly look completely different - it’s also beautifully made, where Almodóvar gives the film this polished, almost luxurious appearance while filling it with some horrible ideas.

Trailer

Forgotten (2017)

South Korea is ridiculously good at twists, so I’m deliberately avoiding the films that everybody recommends, but Forgotten deserves a place here, which begins with a young man moving into a new house with his parents and brother, before his older brother is kidnapped, then returns nineteen days later acting completely differently, before the film starts messing with your understanding of what actually happened.

I spent a good chunk of this film trying to work out where it was going, and I was nowhere near the answer, and you will probably want to go back afterwards and see whether you could have spotted what was happening.

You probably could.

I didn’t.

Trailer

The Perfect Host (2010)

The Perfect Host

This one caught me completely off guard because I thought I knew what sort of film it was going to be, but obviously I did not - John Taylor turns up at the home of Warwick, expecting to hide out there after committing a crime, and while Warwick seems like a strange but perfectly respectable host, the evening starts getting increasingly bizarre.

Then the film starts changing direction, then it changes again, and the best thing is that it keeps you guessing without becoming completely incomprehensible.

Trailer

Nine Queens (2000)

Two con artists meet by chance and decide to work together on what looks like a very lucrative scam, and from there, it’s basically a game of trying to figure out who is conning whom, and I mean really trying, where every little thing seems to matter, and I love films like this because they make you suspicious of absolutely everybody.

Ricardo Darín and Gastón Pauls are brilliant together, and the film has a wonderfully scruffy energy, and when you get to the ending, you can either sit there feeling smug because you saw it coming or, like me, realise you’ve been happily following along while the film has been playing a completely different game.

Either way, it’s a great time.

Trailer

Jane Schoenbrun Is Becoming One Of The Most Fascinating Filmmakers Working Today

Daily Movie Thoughts — Thu, 27 Aug 2026 14:05:43 GMT

After watching Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma, I think Schoenbrun has reached the point where I Saw the TV Glow can no longer just be talked about as an exciting breakthrough, as yes, it was a big film for them, obviously, but what is becoming more interesting is what comes after it - because Schoenbrun is starting to build something that is much harder for a filmmaker to achieve - connections between the films, but without feeling like the same movie being made over and over again.

I Saw the TV Glow changed the conversation around Schoenbrun

Yes, I know I Saw the TV Glow wasn’t for everyone, and lots found it boring, but there is also no avoiding I Saw the TV Glow when discussing Schoenbrun, not just because it won so many awards, but also because it wasn’t simply successful just as a slightly unusual existential horror movie, it also managed to connect with people who recognised something in its treatment of nostalgia, television fandom, identity and the uncomfortable feeling of realising that the life you are living might not be the life you actually wanted.

Schoenbrun managed to take ideas that could easily have resulted in a conventional coming-of-age story and filtered them through the language of television horror, creating something that felt deeply personal without needing to explain every emotion directly, and the danger after a film like that is that a filmmaker can become trapped by their own big breakthrough.

Schoenbrun’s response was Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma, which takes many of the filmmaker’s existing interests and places them inside a much more openly playful and sexually charged piece of genre cinema.

Schoenbrun’s movies are about the things we become obsessed with

I don't really think of Schoenbrun as a horror director either, even though horror is obviously a huge part of their work, but it feels more like the language they use to talk about something much bigger - obsession, identity and the strange relationships people can develop with the things they watch.

That idea is there in We’re All Going to the World’s Fair, where the internet becomes this strange space for someone trying to figure themselves out, while I Saw the TV Glow takes that idea somewhere much more personal through television, and finally Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma throws it into the world of the slasher.

What interests me about that progression is that Schoenbrun doesn’t seem particularly interested in nostalgia for its own sake either, as it is more about what happens when a piece of popular culture becomes important enough to somebody that it starts to feel like part of who they are.

Most of us have probably had something like that at some point - a movie, a television show, a band, a fictional character, whatever it might be - that somehow seemed to understand us when the people around us didn’t, and that’s the part of Schoenbrun’s work I find much more interesting than simply calling the films “nostalgic horror”.

Camp Miasma shows a different side to the filmmaker

Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma also shows a side of Schoenbrun that we hadn’t really seen in quite the same way before.

The earlier films can get pretty heavy, even when they are dealing with strange or surreal ideas, whereas Camp Miasma seems much more willing to have fun with itself - it knows it is making a slasher and seems perfectly happy to play around with everything that comes with that.

Schoenbrun has also talked about the film in interviews as being a more liberating experience, particularly when it comes to its sexuality and sense of freedom, and I think that makes the change in tone more interesting.

The sex isn’t just there to make the film feel more outrageous, because it also feels connected to the same ideas about identity and self-expression that has actually been running through Schoenbrun’s work all along if you look closely enough.

Even the casting of Gillian Anderson feels interesting for that reason. Anderson has spent decades being associated with genre television, most obviously through The X-Files, so she brings a whole history of genre fandom with her.

And I like that Camp Miasma doesn’t seem to be laughing at the genre from a distance either, as it can recognise how ridiculous some of these conventions are while still genuinely enjoying them, and there is a big difference between loving a genre and making a film that desperately wants everyone to know how clever it is for understanding that genre.

The slasher genre makes more sense for Schoenbrun than it initially appears

On paper, a slasher seems like a strange direction for the filmmaker responsible for I Saw the TV Glow, but the more closely you look at Schoenbrun’s work, the more natural it also seems to become.

The slasher is of course a film genre that is built around adolescence, sexuality, bodies and identity, among other things, while also being one of the most heavily rule driven forms of horror, with rules that audiences understand almost instinctively, which means a filmmaker can use those rules while simultaneously examining what those rules say about the people watching the movie.

And that's exactly the sort of thing Schoenbrun seems interested in - slasher movies can tell audiences that sex leads to punishment, that certain bodies are vulnerable and that survival requires conforming to a particular role, but Schoenbrun can take those assumptions and start asking what happens when somebody refuses to accept them.

Schoenbrun doesn’t seem interested in becoming predictable

There is something quite refreshing too about the fact that Schoenbrun hasn’t tried to turn I Saw the TV Glow into a formula, because the film could easily have created a career in which every subsequent project was described as another nostalgic, surreal horror movie about identity, with increasingly obvious comparisons being made between each release.

Instead, Schoenbrun has followed it with something that retains the same underlying fascination with popular culture while changing the tone, genre mechanics and emotional perspective, and that is usually a much better sign for a filmmaker’s career than simply producing another successful version of the same movie, because the problem with having a recognisable style is that eventually people start expecting you to make the same film again.

Once audiences know what they like about a filmmaker, they can become pretty resistant when that filmmaker decides to do something different, but Schoenbrun seems to be avoiding that problem by keeping the same interests while changing what they actually do with them, and as a movie watcher, I find that pretty exciting, because Schoenbrun's ambitions already seem bigger than horror anyway.

Their upcoming adaptation work, including their involvement with Black Hole, suggests that this fascination with the darker side of popular culture is likely to remain important as well, and three narrative feature films into their career, Schoenbrun now has something that is surprisingly difficult for filmmakers to achieve - there is a clear connection between the movies, but there isn’t yet a rigid formula connecting them.

Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma didn’t need to replace I Saw the TV Glow, and it didn’t need to prove that Schoenbrun could make the same kind of film again.

It just needed to be different.

And I think that’s exactly why I’m so interested in what Schoenbrun does next.

Tony (2026) Review: The Anthony Bourdain Biopic That Actually Feels Like a Movie

Daily Movie Thoughts — Wed, 26 Aug 2026 09:34:51 GMT

Tony is a biopic that doesn’t really feel like a biopic.

Good Points

Dominic Sessa gives an excellent performance as Tony.
Antonio Banderas is also fantastic.
The kitchen scenes.
The 1970s setting.
Matt Johnson avoids the usual rushed, Wikipedia-style biopic formula.

Bad Points

Tony and Nancy’s romantic relationship never feels particularly convincing.

My Thoughts on Tony

Tony is a damn good biopic

Matt Johnson has made a very good movie here, and thankfully he also doesn’t seem particularly interested in making the usual famous-person biopic we are used to, which already puts Tony ahead of a lot of films in this increasingly crowded genre, as there is no sense here that Johnson needs to race through Anthony Bourdain’s life and make sure we get all the famous bits like some I could mention.

It’s more of a film about a young guy who is still trying to work out what the hell he’s doing, and I think the film is at its very best when you forget that the character eventually becomes one of the most recognizable food writers and television personalities in the world, because it then just feels like a movie about a person, rather than feeling more like a Wikipedia page with actors just standing around recreating famous events.

Dominic Sessa is really good as Tony

Dominic Sessa is excellent here - Tony is not an especially nice person, as he’s selfish, immature, dishonest and often incredibly frustrating, and he has a talent for making whatever situation he’s in considerably worse, usually while convincing himself that he’s the smartest person in the room.

But he’s also not irritating just because the screenplay has decided he needs to be an edgy, rebellious teenager, he’s irritating because he behaves like an actual 19-year-old who thinks he knows more than he does, and there is also something midly funny about watching him confidently make one terrible decision after another.

Sessa showed in The Holdovers that he could carry a film, and Tony gives him another complicated young character without simply repeating that performance,where he’s less sympathetic here, but I actually think that makes the performance more interesting.

Antonio Banderas is also fantastic though, and I liked his performance more and more as the film went along, where Chef clearly sees something in Tony that Tony doesn’t see in himself, and Banderas makes that relationship believable without turning it into one of those sentimental movie friendships where everyone suddenly starts explaining their feelings to each other.

It becomes almost a father-and-son relationship, and I bought it completely, and Banderas also gives the film a sense of calm whenever Tony starts behaving like an idiot, which is fairly often.

The kitchen scenes are a lot of fun

The restaurant scenes are where Tony really starts having fun, where the film also seems to fully understand that restaurant kitchens can be unpleasant places without turning everything into misery, as there are funny moments, stupid moments and genuinely warm moments between the people working there, with Leo Woodall also putting in a decent performance as Sal.

Sal is the sort of person you know Tony should probably stay away from, which naturally means Tony spends plenty of time around him, and Woodall gives him a loose, reckless energy that makes him entertaining even when he’s doing things that would make a responsible adult quietly walk in the opposite direction.

And then there’s Stavros Halkias, playing Stavros, and it’s basically impossible not to enjoy him, as he gets some of the film’s funniest moments, and his presence gives the kitchen a little extra personality.

The cast as a whole all put in a good shift here to be fair.

The movie feels like s summer

The 1975 setting gives the film this warm summer feeling, and Provincetown gives it a relaxed sense of place, with enough detail to make the period feel pretty convincing, but I never felt like the movie was desperately trying to prove that it takes place in the 1970s either.

There is a real warmth to the images that suits the story, particularly when the film moves away from the restaurant, where you can feel almost comfortable one minute and then a bit unpleasant the next, which fits the character pretty well.

It’s also worth remembering that the movie was shot remarkably quickly, with production reportedly taking less than a month, but you wouldn’t know it from watching the finished film.

I did struggle a bit with was the relationship between Tony and Nancy within the film though, as while Emilia Jones is good, and Nancy is likable enough, the actual relationship didn’t really work.

Tony spends so much time lying to her and trying to manipulate situations that you keep wondering what exactly she saw in him, and I understand that this is part of showing what a mess he was when he was young, but it makes the romantic side of the story difficult to care about, but the film is much stronger when it concentrates on Tony and the people in the kitchen.

That relationship with Chef feels like it changes him, while his relationship with Nancy mostly feels like something he’s desperately trying to make happen because he’s decided it should happen.

Matt Johnson keeps it personal

This is a very different film from BlackBerry and Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie, but Johnson’s personality still comes through, and you will notice that he seems much more interested in people than in making a big statement about Anthony Bourdain.

The screenplay, written by Johnson, Matthew Miller, Todd Bartels and Lou Howe, is also based loosely on material from Kitchen Confidential, but the film doesn’t feel like it’s simply acting out pages from the book either, because Johnson also reportedly compressed roughly a decade of Bourdain’s younger life into the period covered by the movie.

Bourdain actually spent around three years working at the real restaurant that inspired this part of the story, so Tony is very much a concentrated version of that period rather than a literal recreation of every event, and I think that maybe explains why the movie feels more like a memory than a historical record.

Jay McCarroll’s score is another thing I also liked, as it fits the summer setting really well, and helps give the film its personality without turning every emotional moment into an enormous announcement that we’re supposed to feel something, and the needle drops are good too.

In the end, Tony ends up being something much more interesting than a standard rise-to-fame story, which is to its credit, as it’s more about finding the first thing that makes you want to get your life together, and how someone can start moving in a better direction.

Final Verdict

Brilliant cast performances, and I liked that it didn’t just become a Anthony Bourdain tribute movie - it’s the movie about the kid who eventually became him, and ends up being one of the better biopics I’ve seen.

Film Credits

Directed by Matt Johnson

Written by Matt Johnson, Matthew Miller, Todd Bartels and Lou Howe

Based on Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain

Produced by Tim White,Trevor White, Matt Johnson and Matthew Miller

Starring - Dominic Sessa, Emilia Jones, Dagmara Domińczyk, Rich Sommer, Stavros Halkias, Leo Woodall, Antonio Banderas

Cinematography by Michael Bauman

Edited by Curt Lobb and Robert Upchurch

Music by Jay McCarrol

Running time - 106 minutes

This Weeks New Movie Releases (August 24th - August 30th, 2026)

Daily Movie Thoughts — Mon, 24 Aug 2026 09:34:11 GMT

And don’t forget to subscribe to get this email every Monday.

Mother Mary - August 24th (HBO Max)

Long-buried wounds rise to the surface when iconic pop star Mother Mary reunites with her estranged best friend and former costume designer, Sam Anselm, on the eve of her comeback performance.

Motor City - August 25th (Digital)

In 1970s Detroit, John Miller falls for a local gangster's girl. In retaliation, the gangster enacts a frame job to send the innocent man to prison. Life ruined, Miller plots a revenge campaign against the man who took his girl away.

The Deb - August 25th (Digital)

An original comedy musical about two teenage girls attending a debutante ball in a small rural town.

The Last Sunrise - August 26th (Amazon Prime)

A young American woman with health challenges finds unexpected romance with a charismatic local during her summer in Majorca, forcing her to weigh her heart's desires against family obligations and her planned return home.

Wildcards - August 27th (Theaters)

Contrasting jurors debate evidence intensely as deliberations unfold. An enigmatic Wildcard witness emerges, claiming truth about the night, sparking turmoil. Her ties to the accused raise questions of bias and justice.

The Dog Stars - August 28th (Theaters)

In a post-apocalyptic world, a virus wipes out humanity. Survivors face roaming scavengers called Reapers. Protagonist Hig, a pilot, survived the flu but lost his wife.

Buddy - August 28th (Theaters)

A brave girl and her friends must escape a kids television show.

Coyote vs. ACME - August 28th (Theaters)

A story set in the ACME warehouse, the manufacturer of anything and everything used by the Looney Tunes characters.

Finding Emily - August 28th (Theaters)

When a lovesick musician is given the wrong number for his dream girl, he teams up with a driven psychology student to find her. Together, they spark a hilarious campus-wide frenzy that tests their own hearts and ambitions along the way.

Just Play Dead - August 28th (Limited Theaters)

Colony - August 28th (Theaters)

Professor Se Jeong attends a biotech conference, only to witness it spiral into catastrophe when a rapidly mutating virus is unleashed. As the outbreak spreads and the infected begin to transform, authorities seal off the entire facility.

The Whisper Man - August 28th (Netflix)

Legend of the White Dragon - August 28th (Limited Theaters)

In the Aftermath, the city was left decimated. A past reminder of the great battle and fall of heroes. The heroes were blamed, stripped of their titles and hunted.

Idiots - August 28th (Limited Theaters)

Two rock-bottom drivers transport a wealthy teen to rehab, but their simple job spirals into a chaotic journey of drugs, danger, and crime as their passenger derails their plans.

Beyond Belief - August 28th (Limited Theaters)

An aspiring teenage rock star trains for a marathon after hearing a mysterious voice.

The Secret Woman - August 28th (Netflix)

A woman with amnesia learns she has a family and shipping empire. Returning to her seemingly ideal former life, she seeks to discover why she abandoned it all.

The Sun Never Sets - August 28th (Limited Theaters)

A woman's relationship with her older, divorced boyfriend hits a rough patch just as her ex reappears in her life, leading to complicated emotions and messy entanglements in the Alaskan wilderness.

And in case you have missed the last few weeks of new movie releases…

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Daily Movie Thoughts

This Weeks New Movie Releases (October 5th - October 11th, 2026)

His Monster - October 5th (Digital)

Onslaught - October 6th (Digital)

Insidious: Out of the Further - October 6th (Digital)

Fall 2: Deadpoint - October 6th (Digital)

Attack of the Killer Tomatoes: Organic Intelligence - October 6th (Digital)

Late Fame - October 6th (Digital)

Love of Your Life - October 7th (Limited Theaters)

Other Mommy - October 9th (Theaters)

The Social Reckoning - October 9th (Theaters)

Treasure Trekkers - October 9th (Theaters)

Fjord - October 9th (Theaters)

Angel and The Badman - October 9th (Limited Theaters)

Animals - October 9th (Netflix)

A Prayer for the Dying - October 9th (Limited Theaters)

The North - October 9th (Limited Theaters)

Double Trouble - October 9th (Limited Theaters)

R.L. Stine’s Pumpkinhead 2 - October 9th (Tubi)

Big Girls Don’t Cry - October 9th (Limited Theaters)

Misty Green - October 9th (Limited Theaters)

The Beast - October 9th (Limited Theaters)

Disclosure Day - October 9th (Peacock)

V/H/S/Mixtape - October 9th (Shudder)

Movie News Catch Up From The Last 7 Days - September 27th to October 4th, 2026

Jon Watts Is Directing The Next Star Wars Trilogy

Robert Eggers Is Making Romeo & Juliet

Don’t Breathe 3 Is Happening

Jennifer Lawrence Joins Zach Cregger’s The Flood

Bradley Cooper Is The New Duke In G.I. Joe

Tom Holland’s Fred Astaire Biopic Adds Margaret Qualley And Sabrina Carpenter

Dan Trachtenberg Is Making A New Sleeping Beauty Movie For Disney

28 Years Later Part 3 Is Moving Forward

Godzilla Minus Zero Gets The Franchise’s First R Rating

The First Game Of Thrones Movie Gets A 2029 Date

Paramount’s Warner Bros Deal Gets Court Approval

UK Indie Distributor True Brit Goes Into Administration

Neon Is Making Its Own SCP Foundation Movie

Lionsgate Picks Up Portrait Of God

Kristen Stewart Reunites With Olivier Assayas For Spiritual World

Baldwin: A Love Story Is Becoming A Film

BFI Announces Eight UK And Irish Films In Its Works-In-Progress Showcase

Film Independent Launches $100,000 Shorts Programme

The Oscars International Feature Race Passes 90 Films

Endgame Encore Rules Again

Primetime Opens Strongly For A24

River Gets A January Release From Universal

The Curse Of Silver Brings Lily Gladstone Into A Supernatural Western

Found Alive Gets First Look Ahead Of Sitges

Indie Memphis Announces Its 2026 Lineup

Sundance Collab And Merrell Launch New Filmmaker Partnership

Some New Trailers

Werwulf - Trailer 2

Gentle Monster

Clarissa

Elsinore

La Bola Negra

Musk

The Rescue

Yaga

Silt

The Restoration At Grayson Manor

Sticky

Sense And Sensibility

Ebenezer

The Cycle

Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma (2026) Review

Plot

Good Points

Bad Points

Final Verdict

More Film Posts

This Weeks New Movie Releases (September 28th - October 4th, 2026)

Coyote vs. ACME - Sept 29th (Digital)

Battle Cabin - Sept 29 (Digital)

Mononoke the Movie: Chapter III – The Curse of the Serpent - Sept 29 (Netflix)

Soulm8te - Oct 1st (Hulu)

Digger - Oct 2nd (Theaters)

Verity - Oct 2nd (Theaters)

Stranglehold - Oct 2nd (Digital)