I have never uttered these words before, but is Halloween over yet? That’s right, Amazon Prime horror has effectively made me question everything I thought I knew about myself and my love of the genre.
And I want to thank The Midnight Matinee for taking me over the edge. This piece of crapola is a 2017 horror anthology by a triple-threat director, actor, and writer Justin Doescher. Not sure what he was going for, but the style of the film makes me feel like I’m watching an old videotape in health class video about the birds and the bees or the dangers of drunk driving. It’s like the worst sort of nostalgia. Instead of feeling cool, video-grainy old, like WNUF for example, it’s just awkward and annoying.
The first tale, “Open Sea” is a hot mess that steals from not only one but two tired, trite tropes: found footage and killer sharks. Nothing original, scary, or interesting happens. Well, it does end with a Crypt Keeper style pun so there’s that.
The second short is called “Let Go” with a subtitle that reminds us that sometimes we miss the memories, not the person. Well, who would have thought I’d get a free fortune cookie style quote with my movie. Score for Marissa! Is this film supposed to look like it takes place in the 70's, or is that just what the basement of his grandma's house looks like? And if it is 1975 why the hell is this guy using his Macbook to go on dating sites? Either way, I wish I could hop in my DeLorean, punch it to 88, and go stop Doescher from making this film.
Moving on to #3. “Premonition” is ALMOST cool. A little girl can tell the future.
Plus, the villain from Hush shows up, so that’s fun. When the 8-year-old is the most talented actor, you might have a tiny problem.
Number 4, “Frances” takes a break from the horror genre to give us useless crap in a different genre. Lastly, the final short film “Night Night” gives us a kid who thinks there is a monster in his room. And guess what? There is. Once again a total rip on boring old horror tropes.
Want to see a good Halloween anthology? There's a few out there. But one is my favorite, especially for this time of year. Pop on Trick or Treat and let Sam and pals show you a good time. Just remember to follow the rules...