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A bit delayed this week as the last two (technically it was 3, I didn’t even both listing it) movies I watch were not even horror movies. So, I waited an extra day to see at least one horror movie to end Horror Month on.
Horror Month 2026
WEEK 4
FINAL WEEK
Crystal Lake – Another series this month based on a popular horror icon and this one, like Carrie, has a ton of issues. I’ll try not getting into spoilers since most of my issues do center around the new backstory of Jason. Crystal Lake is a prequel of sorts to the first Friday the 13th movie, but they change a lot from that movie, without even really going into that movie or really any of the sequels. The issue with the Friday the 13th franchise was that Jason’s backstory didn’t make any sense. So the series was tasked with trying to find a way to explain why Jason survived drowning and started living out in the woods and why he was now a grownup. Well, the series sure explains it. They even do the Carrie series thing and try to explain why Pam (Jason’s mom) is crazy too, taking away any responsibility from her when she goes on her killing sprees. The first episode was okay, episode 2 was so boring that I was debating whether I should keep watching. It isn’t until episode 6 that things get interesting, but that’s a pretty long wait and then we hit episode 7, the Jason backstory. He’s basically the Toxic Avenger. The main character is Pam since she is the main killer in the first film, but I just don’t find her all that interesting. She’s really not all that interesting in the series either. The townsfolk and the sheriff were the ones who kept me watching. I’d prefer it if the sheriff was the main character, investigating the strange killings in the woods. They also introduce this little girl who was friends with Jason, but for one, I have no idea what her deal is as she seems obsessive and crazy but her whole subplot really goes nowhere and is forgotten about in the last two episodes. We wasted so much time with her as well, but making it feel like she was pointless and was only there for Pam to have a reason to start killing people. As a series I don’t think it really works, I was bored a lot of the time, there were a few gory kills but they were scattered throughout the series. The ending was okay, as we get baghead Jason. It just didn’t feel like Friday the 13th, but like a spinoff to Bates Motel. I guess I’ll rate this a RENT.
Goody Goody – This had a ton of potential, but it fails mainly because nothing is ever explained and oh boy that ending is just garbage. It was like they had no idea what to do next or they just ran out of budget, so they went student art film on it, making sure nothing made any sense and was left up to your interpretation. We never learn what the baby even is, the first thought that comes to mind is the Antichrist, but it comes out looking like your typical tentacle alien monster. And forget explaining how she got impregnated by this thing in the first place. I figure it can’t be the husband since his sister was also there, and she didn’t seem exactly in on the whole alien demon baby. Plus, it was the one who was pregnant that wanted to give birth in a pool, in a cabin out in the middle of nowhere. There were a few memorable scenes, like when the lady was giving birth in the pool but sees something behind everyone on the ceiling and the sister refusing to look over to see what it is. Or when the nurse is helping with the birth and something grabs her arms under the water, having to slowly slip out. So this has some good and some bad, a perfect RENT.
Mr. Crocket – I mostly wanted to check this out since Buddy was a bit disappointing to me. I believe this is a Hulu original, part of their Huluween series they used to do. This one is okay, it basically has the same plot as Buddy, but with less style or voice of the director making it. I will say this is way more gorier than Buddy, at the levels I was hoping to see from that film but shied away from. They also used a lot of practical effects which I appreciated. I kind of wish the story was better or the characters were not just likable but actual characters. The kid that gets taken is pretty terrible as a person, I was kind of hoping he’d die in the end. The mom you really know nothing about just that her husband died, but we never learn how. It’s an okay movie, not as good as Buddy, RENT.
The Cycle – This one might be a hard one to talk about since the film really takes its time revealing what type of horror movie this is. But I found the concept super interesting and not something I’ve seen from this type of genre before. So I’d edit around it. Basically this is played out like Se7en, but if the killer was… The interesting part is that even killing yourself doesn’t get rid of… even as a corpse you still go through the transformation into… So you have this zombie… going around killing people, it’s very cool. The VFX were very good, clearly done practically. Maybe because of that the editing was a bit wonky at times, especially when we have the… It felt like scenes were missing or quickly edited around. I was pleasantly surprised by this this Shudder original, it’s worth checking out SEE IT.
The Dog Stars – For some reason I thought this was a zombie movie, I guess maybe because the trailer was reminding me a bit of 28 Years Later. This sadly is not a zombie movie, just your kind of typical end of the world, roaming murderous savages type of film, like your Mad Max. Critics hated this movie, completely bombing in theaters, but I found it pretty damn good. It’s by Ridley Scott, so at least you know a master filmmaker is behind it, so expect it to be at least competent. Even if he’s made a few stinkers. The movie is a bit slow at the start, and the lead really has the personality of a block of wood, but the film has style, it has action, sure the film has a few blemishes, but you can easily look past them once the film really starts going. This is a SEE IT!
Verity – Not a horror movie, just a suspense thriller. Oh boy, a not very good one at that. This makes The Housemaid look like a masterpiece. It’s basically the same story. Verity has a good setup about a novelist getting a ghostwriting job for an infamous writer who can no longer write her next book, her books being told from the perspective of the villain. So think Dexter but trashier and for wine moms. These types of movies always have a twist. The twist here was a bit lame. And the plot I had going in my head was a lot better. So as this ghostwriter is going through this lady’s notes, she finds a thumbdrive with an autobiography on it. But this bio is more like a confession, admitting to horrible things, even the murder of their daughter. My idea was, they dropped hints at the ghostwriter maybe being a bit unstable, and her job is to basically take over this other more famous writer’s life, and her writing style. So my thinking was the ghostwriter was manipulating all this, as she is looking into the life of this other lady, maybe the bio was something the ghostwriter wrote, possibly without even realizing it as we see her asking questions to the husband, to their other surviving child. And I thought that might be a cool tie-in with the books, as they are from the POV of the bad guy and we’ve just been following this crazy lady taking over everything in this author’s life, her career, her husband, her kid… That’s kind of cool. But nope, that isn’t what is going on. I won’t spoil it but it kind of sucks. And is left up to you to decide. I’ve grown to very much dislike endings like that. RENT.
Never After Dark – It has been a while since I’ve seen a Japanese horror film as the space has pretty much been taken over by South Korea. This movie’s set up reminded me a lot of Hokum. Even the hotel looks like the one from Hokum. And like that film this isn’t your typical haunted house movie, as something else is going on that maybe isn’t so supernatural. Another movie that kept coming to mind was The Frighteners. I can’t really say more without going into spoilers plot wise. I will say I was never scared, none of the jumpscares really worked on me. It has a few gory moments, mainly involving the removing of teeth and fingernails, but ultimately, it was kind of boring. They don’t really set up the villain very well, with no backstory whatsoever. The young psychic lady has more going on with her since she’s followed by the ghost of her sister. I’d give it a low RENT.
Recommendation of the week: The Cycle
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