YOU MIGHT BE THE KILLER (2018)

 

(Director: Brett Simmons. Screenplay by Thomas V. Pitale, Brett Simmons, and Covis Berzyone, based on Sam Sykes and Chuck Wendig’s idea.)

Review

Unable to reach the local police, a panicked, killer-stalked camp counselor, Sam (Fran Kranz, THE CABIN IN THE WOODS, 2011) in the middle of nowhere calls his slasher flick-savvy best friend while she’s working at a multimedia-video store. Sam and his friend, Chuck (Alyson Hannigan, BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER, 1997-2003), try to figure out who the killer is, their motive(s), and how Sam can survive his terrible night even as he remembers disturbing details leading up to his current situation.

Said to be inspired by a conversation between Sam Sykes and author Chuck Wendig (who served as producers for the film), this TV-MA, dark-humored, and occasionally bloody (e.g., a quick shot of a slit throat) movie features deftly executed twist and turns, knowing-wink references to horror genre flicks, effective suspense and laugh-out-loud silliness in equal measure, and top-notch acting not only from its leads but its supporting cast.

Among its cast: Keith David (THE THING, 1982) as the voice of Sheriff James; Bryan Price (THE MONKEY’S PAW, 2013); Patrick R. Walker (SCREAM: THE TV SERIES, 2016); and Carol Jean Wells (JUG FACE, 2013).

Fans of slasher flicks, bloody comedy, a certain 1983 Stephen King novel, a certain 1988 William Lustig film, lively horror scores (this one created by Andrew Morgan Smith, JEEPER CREEPERS III, 2017), and other terror works might enjoy this fun, well-written and well-shot horror comedy that’s a high-mark work within its hybrid genre.

TALES FROM THE HOOD 2 (2018)

 

(Directors/screenwriters: Rusty Condieff and Darin Scott)

Storyline

Mr. Simms, the undertaker-now-more storyteller from the first TALES FROM THE HOOD (1995), is back, with new, horrifying and dark-humored stories about evil dolls, avenging vamps, experienced ghosts and spirit-filled psychics.

Review

HOOD 2 is a mostly good follow-up to the 1995 original film. The wraparound story is “Robo Hell,” a ROBOCOP (1987)-meets-MINORITY REPORT (2002) framework where the devilish Mr. Simms (played by the wicked-funny Keith David) reprograms a military robot intended for racist purposes.

In the first Simms-spun story is “Good Golly,” a roadside black history museum becomes a grisly deathtrap for three dumb teens who try to steal a doll that’s been imbued with historical evil. This is splatteriffic and fun.

“The Medium” is a laugh-out-loud funny short tale about what happens when gangstas, seeking to contact a dead man who ripped them off, visit a white fake medium. This was especially entertaining because of its actors and amusing ending.

The third story, “Date Night” is a solid, if predictable entry about two playas who get taken by more-than-they-seem women.

HOOD 2 ’s final Simms story (“The Sacrifice”) is a heavy-handed BLM-sourced work, where a black political consultant’s future is threatened in a horrifying way when he refuses to acknowledge the sacrifices of black civil rights people who came before him. Although imaginative in parts, it’s preachy and runs spell-it-out-to-the-mentally-challenged long. Well-intended, but too much.

Overall, HOOD 2 is a worthwhile film, fun, smart-minded, solidly acted and well-intentioned, despite its second-tale predictability and overly earnest shortcomings in “The Sacrifice.” 

Followed by TALES FROM THE HOOD 3 (2020).