The Watchers

2024 Warner Brothers Pictures

Rated: R

Length: 1 hr 41min

Horror ~ Fantasy ~ Thriller

Starring: Dakota Fanning, Georgina Campbell, Olwen Fouéré and Oliver Finnegan.

“You can’t see them, but they see everything.”

Dakota Fanning stars as Mina, an American Artist working in an exotic pet shop in Galway, Ireland. A customer has bought the Golden Conure Parrot and the owner asks Mina to deliver the parrot to the zoo that bought it in Belfast. The GPS takes her through an uncharted forest in western Ireland and on a narrow one lane dirt path, her car and the GPS suddenly quit working. Thinking she saw someone, she grabs the birdcage and heads into the woods to find help. She comes across a woman who suddenly takes off running and Mina follows her. Mina catches up just in time to see the woman in the door of a large concrete bunker say “You better hurry, it’s almost dark and they will be coming.”

Mina makes it inside safely as the woman closes the huge metal door and locks the numerous bolts that secure the door. Mina looks around at the concrete bunker and notices that one wall is completely glass, floor to ceiling. There is also a young man and a girl with the woman Mina had followed. The Older woman introduces herself as Madeline (Olwen Fouéré), and the young woman and man as Ciara (Georgina Campbell) and Daniel (Oliver Finnegan). She tells Mina that they must hurry and line up in front of the window, they will be here soon. “Who? Who will be here soon? What is going on?”, Mina wants to know, but then she hears them. The Watchers have come….

Who are The Watchers you ask? I dare not tell you for it would ruin it for you. I can’t say anymore without giving anything away except maybe….It is an uncharted spooky forest in Ireland and there is a bit of Irish Folklore at hand. I am fond of Ireland, I have American and Irish ancestry. Although given the current state in America it might be time to leave and go to Ireland, but that is political talk not meant for a movie review. I liked the scenery and the way the forest was portrayed as a very spooky forbidden place. Lots of fog creeping in amongst the trees as the night comes. There are a lot of twists and turns you don’t see coming, and you don’t put it all together until the end. I think Dakota Fanning and the rest of the cast did a good job. I think the parrot could have had a bigger role. I can see how he might have been put to more use to add some suspense after finding out he could talk.

I liked the story, it is based on the book The Watchers by A.M. Shine. A bit of Irish Folklore with a Horror twist. It was directed by Ishana Night Shyamalan, the daughter of M. Night Shyamalan who also produced the movie. It is Ishana’s Directorial debut, after reading the book she thought that it would translate well to the screen and decided to direct it with the help of her father. I think that it is a good first attempt, it kept me going right up until the end. The end was kind of anti-climatic for me. I haven’t read the book so I don’t know if the book is that way as well. It felt like a bit of a let-down after the build-up to the end.

So to sum everything up, I liked it. I thought it was a great first attempt for Ishana. Could it have been better, I think so. There were some obvious things that could have given it more depth and to tie things together a little better. The ending was a bit of a let-down, I think that could have been handled differently to really make the ending zing.(You know….ZING!) I will say I liked it more then her father’s movie Knock At The Cabin. I think it is worth a watch, give it a go and tell me what you think.

Blink Twice

2024 Amazon MGM Studios

Rated: R

Length: 1 hr 42min

Drama ~ Horror ~ Thriller

Directed by: Zoë Kravitz

Starring: Naomi Ackie, Channing Tatum, Christian Slater, Simon Rex, Adria Arjona, Haley Joel Osment, Kyle MacLachlan, Geena Davis, and Alia Shawkat.

“Are you having a good time?”

SO, where do I start?……………alright, how about this…..

TRIGGER, SPOILER AND RANT WARNING!

The movie starts out with this warning on the screen:

Here is the synopsis of the movie per MGM’s Blink Twice website:

When tech billionaire Slater King (Channing Tatum) meets cocktail waitress Frida (Naomi Ackie) at his fundraising gala, sparks fly. He invites her to join him and his friends on a dream vacation on his private island. It’s paradise. Wild nights blend into sun soaked days and everyone’s having a great time. No one wants this trip to end, but as strange things start to happen, Frida begins to question her reality. There is something wrong with this place. She’ll have to uncover the truth if she wants to make it out of this party alive. BLINK TWICE is a wild new psychological thriller directed by Zoë Kravitz.

GENRE: Drama, Horror, Psychological Thriller

Here is the Rating for the movie:

Rated R for Strong Violent Content, Sexual Assault, Drug Use and Language throughout, and sexual references.

COMPLETELY UNNECESSARY WARNING!

That is a spoiler as far as I am concerned. It is a DRAMA, HORROR, and PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLER. Part of the appeal of Horror and Thriller movies is being surprised, it’s what’s been driving audiences to them since the dawn of Horror movies.

I don’t want to know the plot going in or what’s going to happen, I WANT TO BE SURPRISED. The more surprised and shocked the better, that’s what I expect to get from a Horror Psychological Thriller Movie. He did WHAT?…….HOLY CRAP, I DIDN”T EXPECT THAT!

I don’t want to see a warning that there might be scenes of violence, sexual violence, mature themes and abuse of power that might make me squirmish and uneasy. It’s what I expect going into an R Rated Horror Psychological movie with strong violent content. If you don’t want to see that, take some accountability for yourself and read the rating. Then go see an appropriate PG-13 movie for yourself so we don’t have to label everything for you and spoil it for others……

Because now I know from the warning that the rich Tech Billionaire who invites women to his exclusive island secretly drugs and sexually abuses them, and it blows the whole plot wide open. So the drug-fueled parties on the billionaires island end up in violence, in this case sexual assault and violence. And now I don’t even get to be surprised by the billionaire’s actions because somebody who shouldn’t be watching this type of movie, and has no accountability for themselves, has to be warned that they might be upset by a movie they shouldn’t be watching in the first place.

If you are triggered by mature, violent or sexual themes……………

or acts of violence of any kind……..

DON”T GO TO SEE AN R-RATED HORROR PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLER OF ANY KIND!

So there you have it. I’m done with the rant, on with the movie.

I liked it, I thought it was great. Very suspenseful, there was an air of dread that started to build pretty quickly. Paradise on the island started to get very cloudy and ominous. You know something bad is going to happen but what you don’t realize until later on is that it is already happening. And just like Frida (Naomi Ackie) and Sarah (Adria Arjona), when they realized what was going on, you are horrified. I love how the tables get turned after Frida and Sarah discover the truth. It reminded me of READY OR NOT with Samara Weaving. She thinks she is going to a nice family wedding only to end up in a bloody violent fight for survival (No Trigger warning on that movie and they even used crossbows and axes..).

It was good to see Christian Slater and Geena Davis in this, I haven’t seen them in a movie for quite a while. Seeing Channing Tatum as a complete Narcissist Asshole Scumbag with a complete disregard for another human’s well being while he constantly asked, “Are you having a good time?” was a complete change of pace. A nice one, I thought he did a good job. This was Zoë Kravitz directorial debut and I thought she did an outstanding job. Everybody did a great job, especially Naomi Ackie evoking all the emotions of her character as she finds out the truth behind the island and Slater.

And in the end it is a very surprising twist that you didn’t see coming…………….

Don’t worry, no spoiler alert on that one, no warning either.

Yes, it is an R-Rated Violent Horrifying Psychological Thriller.

If you don’t want to be triggered or upset by violence of any kind….go see a PG-13 movie.

If you do want to be triggered and upset by an R-Rated Violent Horrifying Psychological Thriller…..

This is one you should watch!

Knock At The Cabin

2023 Universal Pictures

Rated: R

Length: 1 hr 40min

Drama ~ Horror ~ Thriller

Directed by: M. Night Shyamalan

Starring: Dave Bautista, Jonathan Groff, Ben Aldridge, Nikki Amuka-Bird, Kristen Cui, Abby Quinn, and Rupert Grint.

“Save your family or save Humanity. You have to make a choice.”

Eric (Jonathan Groff) and Andrew (Ben Aldridge) are vacationing with their seven year old daughter Wen at a remote rental cabin in rural Pennsylvania. Wen is out front playing by herself and catching grasshoppers when a large man appears walking closer. He tries to make friends with her and tells her his name is Leonard (Dave Bautista). Leonard tells Wen that he and his friends have come to be friends with Wen and her two Dads. And that her Dads must let them in and listen to what they have to say. Seeing Leonard’s three friends approaching little Wen gets frightened and runs into the cabin to warn her Dads.

The Dads come into the cabin from the back where they were chilling. Listening to Wen being very upset alarms them and they button down the cabin. They see the strangers outside as they approach the door and Leonard knocks. He calls out Eric and Andrew by name and tells them they need to let them in. Eric and Andrew refuse and are alarmed by Leonard’s tone and why complete strangers have shown up wanting in. Leonard and his companions do not wait to be let in very long before they take action. By any means necessary they force their way into the cabin and tell Eric and Andrew that they were led to their cabin by visions. And they must listen to what they have to say and make a choice.

He tells Eric and Andrew that Humanity’s future hangs in the balance and that they must make a decision to help or turn their back. The choice is theirs to make but that there will be consequences either way, good or bad. The four strangers all have medieval weapons and it is all very ominous and horrifying as the movie plays out. In the very beginning of the movie, in the intro, there are drawings that the four strangers later refer to in the movie. I didn’t pay much attention to them in the beginning, but after realizing they were a part of the story, I went back and watched it again. So pay attention to those drawings in the beginning, they will make more sense later on in the movie.

It is more psychological horror than slasher horror, and it is definitely thought provoking. And it does keep you on your toes wondering what the heck is really going on. Are the four strangers nuts or is this for real? It is definitely a nightmare scenario for Eric, Andrew and Wen who thought they were going to have a peaceful little vacation in the wilderness. I really liked Dave Bautista in this. There was something very comforting yet terrifying about his presence and demeanor. Kristin Cui did a good job as little Wen, a good little actress she is.

The movie is based on the book The Cabin At The End Of The World by Paul Tremblay (The Book Link is an Amazon Affiliate link where we earn a small commission that does not affect your price) It is not for everyone, it is a psychological horror thriller that will make you squirm as choices and actions are made. But I liked it, it was something different and M. Night always leads us down unexpected paths, like this one.

Watch at your own discretion,

if you like the Psychologic Horror genre than you should watch it.

If you’re not a fan of the genre you are not going to like it.

M3GAN

2022 Universal Pictures

Rated: PG-13

Length: 1 hr 42min

Horror ~ Sci-Fi ~ Thriller

Directed by: Gerard Johnstone

Starring: Allison Williams, Violet McGraw, Ronny Chieng, Jenna Davis and

Amie Donald.

“Model 3 Generative Android……….M3gan for short.

Allison Williams stars as Gemma, a Robotics Engineer working at The Funki Seattle Toy Company making high tech toys for kids. Instead of working on the next upgrade to the best selling Toy for the company, Gemma has been working on a child-size Robot toy for children. When her boss David (Ronny Chieng) stops by inquiring about the new upgrade she confesses to the new robot she’s been working on and gives him a demonstration. But the robot short circuits and David threatens her with termination unless she produces the upgrade in a week.

And to top that off….Gemma gets a call that her sister and brother-in-law were just killed in a vehicle crash with a snow plow truck. Gemma goes to get her nine year old niece Cady (Violet McGraw) since Gemma is now her guardian. After talking with Cady she realizes that Cady needs a companion and that the robot she was working on could have a different use than she thought. Gemma goes to her lab and reconstructs the robot with AI learning capabilities and creates it to look like a young girl. M3gan quickly surpasses Gemma’s expectations and she realizes that this could revolutionize the toy industry.

As Gemma sets up demonstrations to show her boss David and higher up executives, M3gan and Cady bond in unforeseen ways. M3gan quickly starts adapting to Cady and learning everything there is to know about Cady. M3gan also starts to rewrite her code to enable her to fully be Cady’s caretaker, to the point of protecting Cady at any cost. It is a thrilling horrific journey watching M3gan grow into Cady’s unrelenting protector. The part of M3gan was a combined effort. Amie Donald was the physical actor who played M3gan, Jenna Davis supplied M3gan’s voice and the rest was a combination of an animatronic doll and visual effects.

I had seen this when it first came out and I loved it. A friend asked me why in the heck I would have watched it, “Didn’t it freak you out?”. No, I thought it was great. I’ve always been a horror fan. I loved the Chucky movies, reminds me of Bride of Chucky….now there’ some scary kid’s dolls! So there’s a little of Chucky and The Bride in this, the whole A.I. Robot thing seems to be taking off, and this preceded Subservience which reminded me of an adult version of M3gan. Like it or not the A.I. Robots are coming and it won’t be long before we will have M3gans and Alices in our lives for real.

There is a sequel in the works with a release date of June 27, 2025. M3gan 2.0, with all the actors reprising their roles. There is also a spin-off movie in development titled SOULM8TE slated for release on January 2, 2026. Here’s the synopsis:

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.

It Thrilled me, I even jumped a few times, and I loved it!

I am a M3GAN fan!

MORE! WE WANT MORE!

Two Thumbs Up!

Cocaine Bear

2023 Universal Pictures

Rated: R

Length: 1 hr 35min

Comedy ~ Horror

Directed by: Elizabeth Banks

Starring: Keri Russell, O’Shea Jackson Jr., Christian Convery, Alden Ehrenreich, Brooklynn Prince, Isiah Whitlock Jr., Margo Martindale, Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Ray Liotta.

“It’s like cocaine Christmas, and the bear……..it loves, I mean LOVES cocaine!”

I’ve been bypassing this movie for awhile now. I thought it looked like it might be a little too silly for me to watch. But I kept seeing it listed lately and saw that Elizabeth Banks directed it, so I gave it a go. I am a big Elizabeth Banks fan and when I saw it was based on a True Story that clinched it. I love the True Story movies and this is based on a real bizarre True Story, so bizarre you wouldn’t believe it could be true.

In a nutshell, A Lawyer turned drug smuggler dropped a bunch of duffel bags of cocaine out of a plane into the Chattahoochee National Forest in Georgia. He then jumped out of the plane but his parachute malfunctioned and he splat landed on an old-timers driveway in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Three months later they found a dead black bear with a million dollars of cocaine in his system next to one of the duffel bags in The Chattahoochee National Forest. The rest of the cocaine was never found. The bear has been nicknamed Pablo Escobear and Cokey The Bear by KENTUCKY FOR KENTUCKY, the bear’s new home. The write-up on their website tells the bizarre tale and I couldn’t have told it any better:

If you’re into urban legends, chances are you’ve heard about the Cocaine Bear. He was an American Black Bear who happened upon a ton of cocaine that was jettisoned from an airplane — and not only did he find it, he ate it. Lots of it. It’s a tale too wild to be fake, and we’ve got the full story of how exactly Cocaine Bear came to be. There’s even a movie about Cocaine Bear.

But we’ve got the real Cocaine Bear. We here at the Kentucky Fun Mall obtained the actual Cocaine Bear taxidermy and have put it on display for everyone to enjoy. You can come to see him, take some pics, and grab your very own Cocaine Bear merch while you’re here. Read on to learn more about the bear, his story, the movie, and all the sweet Cocaine Bear merch you can handle.

Where did Cocaine Bear come from?

To truly understand Cocaine Bear, you need to know his whole story. Here’s a quick summary:

In the late 1970s and early ‘80s, a man named Andrew Thornton II was practicing law in Kentucky. But he wasn’t just a lawyer — he used his knowledge to begin stealing weapons and smuggling drugs. In 1985, Thornton died while on a coke-smuggling run when he jumped out of his plane and became entangled in his parachute. When he was found, he was wearing body armor and night vision goggles. He was carrying cash, knives, guns…and a duffel bag with 75 pounds of cocaine in it.

Now, here’s where it gets even better (yes, it gets better): Three months later, a dead bear was found in Georgia’s Chattahoochee National Forest. The bear had overdosed on cocaine that Thornton had dropped from his airplane. In fact, he had eaten enough of it that its stomach was “packed to the brim” with cocaine.

After the Georgia Bureau of Investigation’s medical examiner had performed a necropsy, he contacted a friend who did taxidermy. He had the bear’s body stuffed and gave it to the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area, where the Cocaine Bear taxidermy stood in the visitors’ center into the early 1990s.

Sometime in the early ‘90s, the park and its facilities were evacuated ahead of an approaching wildfire. The employees took the artifacts with them and put them in temporary storage in a nearby town. Of course…they went missing.

The Cocaine Bear surfaced next in, appropriately enough, Las Vegas. Country star Waylon Jennings had found it, bought it, and gifted it to his friend Ron Thompson as an inside joke. When Thompson died in 2009, his estate went to auction and the bear was sold.

When we got wind of this, we contacted Nellis Auction House on the off chance we’d be able to figure something out. And we did. We found out who (and where) the bear had been sold to…and we contacted him. Sadly, he had passed away, but we were able to speak to his wife, who told us we were free to take Cocaine Bear off her hands for the low, low price of zero dollars (plus shipping). So we brought him home to the Kentucky Fun Mall.

And now you know.

Is the movie Cocaine Bear based on a real story?

Well, yes and no. The movie Cocaine Bear is loosely based on the true Cocaine Bear tale, but it takes a few liberties to tell a dramatized version. Directed by Elizabeth Banks, the movie follows a group of people who find themselves in the path of a 500-pound bear who had just ingested a full duffel bag of cocaine, leaving the creature to complete a cocaine-fueled rampage across the forest. Locals and tourists find themselves joining together to survive the bear’s attack.

The film’s cast includes Keri Russell from the hit TV drama Felicity, who takes on the role of Colette Matthews. Actor and rapper O’Shea Jackson, Jr. (we like to call him “Lil’ Ice Cube”) is playing a character named Howard. Other featured actors include Christian Convery-Jennings of Netflix’s Sweet Tooth, Alden Ehrenreich from Supernatural, and Jesse Tyler Ferguson from Modern Family.

Whether or not you decide to take in the movie, you can make a trip today to visit the Cocaine Bear back at the Kentucky Fun Mall. Here, you can see the animal in its full glory and learn more about his long, strange tale.

And there you have it courtesy of Kentucky For Kentucky

Did I like the movie? Yes I did. It is bizarre, funny and horrifying all at the same time. I even jumped a few times as I was surprised by events that happened, just like a true horror movie would do ya. I think Elizabeth Banks did an excellent job with the movie. This was also Ray Liotta’s last movie filmed before he passed away and the movie is dedicated to Ray. There are a few bonus scenes as the credits roll so stick around for them.

Yes, give it a go, watch it.

Two Thumbs Up!