Cooties (2014)

Cooties (2014)

[4] Elijah Wood and Rainn Wilson star in this tepid horror-comedy about a group of teachers terrorized by children gone savage after infected chicken nuggets are served in the school cafeteria. I was bored with this one. It's neither funny nor scary. If…
The Baby (1973)

The Baby (1973)

[7] A social worker investigates a mother and her two adult daughters who take care of a 21-year-old man who wears diapers, sucks baby bottles, and sleeps in a baby crib. The family insist the man has the mental and emotional capacity of an…
Attack the Block (2011)

Attack the Block (2011)

[7] Inner-city teenagers band together to protect their south London neighborhood from an alien invasion. This one's for fans of monster movies, with interesting creature effects and a talented young cast. It kinda bugs me that the heroes (or anti-heroes) are all…
Fright Night (2011)

Fright Night (2011)

[5] A charmless, mediocre retelling of the 1985 cult favorite about a high school boy who discovers a vampire has moved in next door. Despite being penned by Buffy the Vampire Slayer alum Marti Noxon, the script moves far too fast, passing…
Super 8 (2011)

Super 8 (2011)

[6] J.J. Abrams' comprehensive homage to Spielberg's early career is a decent spooky kids' adventure movie. It does a good job stirring nostalgia among 30-somethings like myself. It's not as mysterious or suspenseful as one might expect from Abrams, the creator of…
Prometheus (2012)

Prometheus (2012)

[7] Director Ridley Scott returns to the Alien franchise in a movie that attempts to shed light on the mysteries of his original 1979 film. On one hand, I'm not a fan of exposing mysteries that have enraptured Alien fans for several…
Pontypool (2009)

Pontypool (2009)

[7] Director Bruce McDonald does a commendable job building tension and suspense in a movie that takes place almost entirely in one room with four actors. Think Talk Radio meets 28 Days Later. The film is also a terrific showpiece for character…
Maniac (1980)

Maniac (1980)

[7] More of a verite, psychological approach to the slasher genre than most of the '80s slasher windfall, William Lustig's Maniac rises above its exploitation roots by putting us inside the killer's mind and keeping us there, even as his sanity starts to…
Xtro (1983)

Xtro (1983)

[4] As far as I could tell, Xtro is about a father who is abducted by aliens, then returned to his family as a strange alien-human hybrid. But I'm not sure. First, there's a weird crabby-looking monster in the woods, then it…
The Shallows (2016)

The Shallows (2016)

[6] Blake Lively stars in this claustrophobic thriller about a woman trapped by a great white shark in a shallow ocean cove. Director Jaume Collet-Serra (Orphan, House of Wax) captures the beauty of the Australian surroundings (passing for Mexico in the movie) and…