DIERY (2020) Starring Claudia Maree Mailer, Thomas Q. Jones, Keisha Castle-Hughes, Danielle Guldin, Ciaran Byrne, Philip Alexander, Nick Mathews, Jim Turner, Samantha Strelitz, Brendan Robinson, Chase Coleman, James Sutorius, Jocelyn Jones, Donovan Patton, Samantha Watkins, Kayvon Esmaili, Rae Ritke, Gina Briganti and John Buffalo Mailer. Screenplay by John Buffalo Mailer. Directed by Jennifer Gelfer. Distributed by Mailer Tuchman Media. 100 minutes. Not Rated. DieRy is certa

Claudia Maree Mailer Live and Let DieRy By Jay S. Jacobs When you were young, and your heart was an open book… That line is not merely the opening line to the old Paul McCartney song that was used for this article’s punny headline, it also rather fittingly describes the character of Marie in the psychological thriller DieRy, the first feature leading role by actress Claudia Maree Mailer. The film was written by her husband, producer John Buffalo Mailer. Marie is a beautiful y

Chelsea Rendon, Jordan Diambrini, Jeanette Samano & Kade Wise Coming Out of the Woods By Jay S. Jacobs An old, dark house, in the middle of nowhere. Strange sounds emanating from the night. Six young people hanging out, wanting to party and hook up, but suddenly they start to disappear. Bodies start to pile up. What’s happening? Who is doing this? Will they make it through the night? This is a pretty traditional nightmare that has fueled a whole slew of horror films. However,

Radha Mitchell In Every Dreamkatcher a Nightmare By Jay S. Jacobs There is a whole world out there which we barely remember and hardly understand. Dreams and nightmares are a place where our imagination goes wild, where normal logic or real-world conventions hold no sway. It is a world that fascinates actress Radha Mitchell – who was born in Australia but has been based out of the US since the mid-1980s. She has put together a diverse and impressive body of work, from arty fi

Every Time I Die EVERY TIME I DIE (2019) Starring Drew Fonteiro, Marc Menchaca, Michelle Macedo, Tyler Dash White, Melissa Macedo, Kenneth Moronta, Frankie Hinton, Paul Megna, Lia Johnson, Andrea Leigh, Erica Camarano, Eleah Burman, Sara Harman, Kevin D. Benton, Nikee Warren, Alison Linkov and Maera Daniel Hagage. Screenplay by Gal Katzir & Robi Michael. Directed by Robi Michael. Distributed by Gravitas Ventures. 98 minutes. Not Rated. One of the nice things about writing abo

Drew Fonteiro in “Every Time I Die.” Drew Fonteiro Every Time He Dies by Jay S. Jacobs It’s the goal of every young actor – landing their first leading role. Now that time has arrived for Drew Fonteiro, playing a mentally disturbed EMT tech named Sam, who is murdered on a lake house vacation and whose spirit is literally transferred into the bodies of his friends to save them from the killer in the indie thriller Every Time I Die. It was quite a thrill and a shock to get the

Midsommar MIDSOMMAR (2019) Starring Florence Pugh, Will Poulter, Jack Reynor, William Jackson Harper, Liv Mjönes, Anna Åström, Julia Ragnarsson, Isabelle Grill, Louise Peterhoff, Archie Madekwe, Björn Andrésen, Henrik Norlén, Gunnell Fred, Anki Larsson, Vilhelm Blomgren, Ellora Torchia, Austin R. Grant, Johan Matton, Rebecka Johnston, Levente Puczkó-Smith and Mats Blomgren. Screenplay by Ari Aster. Directed by Ari Aster. Distributed by A24. 145 minutes. Rated R. I’m reluctant

Greta GRETA (2019) Starring Isabelle Huppert, Chloë Grace Moretz, Maika Monroe, Colm Feore, Stephen Rea, Zawe Ashton, Jeff Hiller, Thaddeus Daniels, Raven Dauda, Parker Sawyers, Graeme King, Jane Perry, Brandon Lee Sears, Arthur Lee, Rosa Escoda, Jessica Preddy, Nagisa Morimoto, Navi Dhanoa, Angela Thompson and Graeme Thomas King. Screenplay by Ray Wright and Neil Jordan. Directed by Neil Jordan. Distributed by Focus Features. 98 minutes. Rated R. Greta answers an interesting

CAM CAM (2018) Starring Madeline Brewer, Patch Darragh, Melora Walters, Devin Druid, Imani Hakim, Michael Dempsey, Flora Diaz, Samantha Robinson, Jessica Parker Kennedy, Quei Tann, Linda Griffin, Clint Jung, Carl Donelson, Brayden Skoglund, Elijah Stevenson, Paris Peterson, Emily Berry, Longmont Potion Castle, Lina Carter, Zainne Saleh and Isa Mazzei. Screenplay by Isa Mazzei. Directed by Daniel Goldhaber. Distributed by Netflix. 94 minutes. Rated R. Screened at the 2018 Phil

Hereditary HEREDITARY (2018) Starring Toni Collette, Gabriel Byrne, Alex Wolff, Ann Dowd, Milly Shapiro, Mallory Bechtel, Zachary Arthur, Mark Blockovich, Jake Brown, Gabriel Monroe Eckert, John Forker, Gerry Garcia, Austin R. Grant, Rachelle Hardy, Brock Mckinney, Marilyn Miller, Jason Miyagi, Shane Morrisun, A.J. Moss, Heidi Méndez, Jarrod Phillips, Georgia Puckett, BriAnn Rachele, Travis Sanchez and Lorenzo Silva. Screenplay by Ari Aster. Directed by Ari Aster. Distributed

The Manor THE MANOR (2017) Starring Christina Robinson, Kevin Nash, Rachel True, Sully Erna, Michael Bennett, Tanja Melendez Lynch, Mark J. Sullivan Jr., Michael Zuccola, Eric Lutes, Tandi Tugwell, Danielle Guldin, David Tessier, Pamela Jayne Morgan, Mike Messier, Armen Garo, M. Joseph Sullivan III, Chelsea Vale, Ryan King Persaud, Edilsy Vargas and Allie Marshall. Screenplay by Michael Messier, Glenn Jeffrey, Matt O’Connor and Tom DeNucci. Directed by Jonathon Schermerhorn.

Ghost Stories GHOST STORIES (2017) Starring Andy Nyman, Martin Freeman, Paul Whitehouse, Alex Lawther, Paul Warren, Kobna Holdbrook-Smith, Nicholas Burns, Samuel Bottomley, Daniel Hill, Leonard Byrne, Jake Davies, Nicholas Burns, Oliver Woollford, Callum Goulden, Louise Atkins, Lesley Harcourt, Amy Doyle, Deborah Wastell, Christine Dalby and Maggie McCarthy. Screenplay by Jeremy Dyson & Andy Nyman. Directed by Jeremy Dyson & Andy Nyman. Distributed by IFC Midnight. 97 minutes

Blumhouse’s Truth or Dare TRUTH OR DARE (2018) Starring Lucy Hale, Tyler Posey, Violett Beane, Landon Liboiron, Sophia Taylor Ali, Nolan Gerard Funk, Sam Lerner, Brady Smith, Hayden Szeto, Morgan Lindholm, Aurora Perrineau, Tom Choi, Leslie Stratton, Carlo Sciortino, Tim Neff, Lisa Catara, Ezmie Garcia, Alexis Jacknow, Bradley Snedeker and Gary Anthony Williams. Screenplay by Michael Reisz and Jillian Jacobs & Chris Roach & Jeff Wadlow. Directed by Jeff Wadlow. Distributed by

Unsane UNSANE (2018) Starring Claire Foy, Joshua Leonard, Jay Pharoah, Juno Temple, Aimee Mullins, Amy Irving, Sarah Stiles, Marc Kudisch, Colin Woodell, Myra Lucretia Taylor, Lynda Mauze, Zach Cherry, Polly McKie, Raúl Castillo, Mike Mihm, Robert Kelly, Natalie Gold, Sol M. Crespo, Will Brill, Steven Maier, Matthew R. Staley, Matt Mancini, Emily Happe and Matt Damon. Screenplay by Jonathan Bernstein & James Greer. Directed by Steven Soderbergh. Distributed by Bleecker Street

The Mummy THE MUMMY (2017) Starring Tom Cruise, Sofia Boutella, Annabelle Wallis, Russell Crowe, Jake Johnson, Courtney B. Vance, Marwan Kenzari, Simon Atherton, Stephen Thompson, James Arama, Matthew Wilkas, Sohm Kapila, Sean Cameron Michael, Rez Kempton, Erol Ismail, Selva Rasalingam, Shanina Shaik and Javier Botet. Screenplay by David Koepp, Christopher McQuarrie and Dylan Kussman. Directed by Alex Kurtzman. Distributed by Universal Pictures. 107 minutes. Rated PG-13. As T

Julie Benz in “Havenhurst.” Julie Benz Can Check Out Any Time She Likes, But She Can Never Leave by Jay S. Jacobs Life must be a little scary for Julie Benz.  In an acting career that has lasted over two decades, Benz is still probably best known as the ill-fated wife of the titular serial killer in the popular series Dexter.  However, that is far from the only role that Benz has played that experienced thrills, chills, and things that go bump in the night. She also had a rec

Green Room GREEN ROOM (2016) Starring Anton Yelchin, Imogen Poots, Alia Shawkat, Joe Cole, Callum Turner, Patrick Stewart, Mark Webber, Eric Edelstein, Macon Blair, Kai Lennox, David W. Thompson, Brent Werzner, Taylor Tunes, Jake Love, Kyle Love, Jake Kasch, Samuel Summer, Mason Knight and Colton Ruscheinsky. Screenplay by Jeremy Saulnier. Directed by Jeremy Saulnier. Distributed by Lionsgate.  94 minutes.  Rated R. I’m not going to lie, it will be hard to give Green Room a n

Andrea Russett Andrea Russett Revolutionizing the Industry With the First Snapchat Movie Sickhouse by Abby Bekele Andrea Russett has mainly made waves with her millions of followers on YouTube, Instagram, Vine, Twitter and other social platforms. Now she is part of a revolutionary new experiment – Sickhouse – the first movie made specifically for social media. Russett is originally from Indiana where she worked as a radio DJ. When she was 17, she moved to California, where sh

Emelie EMELIE (2016) Starring Sarah Bolger, Joshua Rush, Carly Adams, Thomas Bair, Susan Pourfar, Frank Rossi, Dante Hoagland, Elizabeth Jayne, Randi Langdon, Chris Beetem, Carl Bailey, Brian Mysliwy, Doreen Donovan Corkin, Daniel James, Michael Joseph Dugan, Sara Kow-Falcone and Robert Bozek. Screenplay by Rich Herbeck. Directed by Michael Thelin. Distributed by Dark Sky Films.  80 minutes.  Rated R. Emelie is a parents’ worst nightmare made real: What if the babysitter task

Backtrack BACKTRACK (2016) Starring Adrien Brody, Sam Neill, Robin McLeavy, Bruce Spence, Jenni Baird, Chloe Bayliss, Anna Lise Phillips, George Shevtsov, Malcolm Kennard, Olga Miller, Suzie Steen, Michael Whalley, Matthew Sunderland, Barbara Gouskos, Jeanette Cronin,  Emma O’Farrell, Alexander McGuire, Milan Pulvermacher, Jesse Hyde, Greg Poppleton, Jill McKay, Kirsti Swanson and Alison Benstead. Screenplay by Michael Petroni. Directed by Michael Petroni. Distributed by Saba