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A ★★★½ review of The Changeling (1980)

Greg Warne @grumpygrog.bsky.social · 22h

My ★★★½ review of The Changeling
boxd.it/bpfYWR

A decent enough take on the haunted house which makes some interesting, original choices. I like the story and performances but I'm not enamoured by the dated scares, even for 1980.

A decent enough take on the haunted house which makes some interesting, original choices. I like the story and performances but I'm not enamoured by the dated scares, even for 1980. There's a pre and ...

A ★★★★★ review of The Exorcist III (1990)

Greg Warne @grumpygrog.bsky.social · 23h

My ★★★★★ review of The Exorcist III
boxd.it/bpfDwj

My head says the disjointed ending keeps this from being five stars. My heart says this is five stars because with each viewing, it cements its place in at least my top ten horror films of all time. It feels so perfectly tailored to my tastes.

This isn't just the loss of innocence, it's the world totally eradicated of it. In the words of Trent Reznor, God is dead and no one cares. Such a nihilistic view is phenomenally shown through George ...

A ★★ review of The Exorcist: Believer (2023)

Greg Warne @grumpygrog.bsky.social · 3d

My ★★ review of The Exorcist: Believer on Letterboxd boxd.it/bnWY8Z

Finally caught up on Exorcist films and we finish with yet another one that falls apart in the second half. This kind of forgets to have a second act, too.

Just totally uninspired.

It's crazy that this is only the second film in the series to be about an exorcism. Every other entry has been about something else before remembering it needs to have an exorcism. Unfortunately for m...

A ★★½ review of Dominion: Prequel to The Exorcist (2005)

Greg Warne @grumpygrog.bsky.social · 3d

My ★★½ review of Dominion: Prequel to The Exorcist on Letterboxd boxd.it/bnJvUp

Like night and day compared to Renny Harlin's version.

Paul Schrader's prequel is a coherent, measured and personal character drama... until it remembers it needs to be a horror and falls flat on its face.

Like night and day compared to Renny Harlin's version. Paul Schrader's canned and then released anyway Exorcist prequel is a coherent, measured and personal character drama of a man who's faith has be...

A ★ review of Exorcist: The Beginning (2004)

Greg Warne @grumpygrog.bsky.social · 7d

My ★ review of Exorcist: The Beginning on Letterboxd boxd.it/bloZH1

This is one of the worst things I've ever seen. Not a single redeeming quality. Renny Harlin has no clue what he's doing with a horror film and with the behind the scenes madness, Morgan Creek don't either.

This is one of the worst things I've ever seen. Not a single redeeming quality. Renny Harlin has no clue what he's doing with a horror film and with the behind the scenes madness, Morgan Creek don't e...

A ★★½ review of Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977)

Greg Warne @grumpygrog.bsky.social · 7d

My ★★½ review of Exorcist II: The Heretic on Letterboxd boxd.it/blmCeB

Maybe I'm a little fucked up bit I kinda liked this.

The visions of the locust swarms are a nightmare fever dream, but all the wild ideas fail to come together into a coherent finale.

Maybe I'm a little fucked up but I kinda liked this. I'm a big fan of the premise; a cardinal (Paul Henried of all actors) tasks Richard Burton with investigating the exorcism from the first film to c...

A ★★★★ review of Three... Extremes (2004)

Greg Warne @grumpygrog.bsky.social · 7d

My ★★★★ review of Three... Extremes on Letterboxd boxd.it/blltgB

It's rare you get such masters together for a horror anthology. They're not phoning this in either.

Fruit Chan's segment is solid, Park Chan-wook's is incredible, Takashi Miike's might be the best.

It's rare you get such masters together for a horror anthology. They're not phoning this in either. Fruit Chan's Dumpling (which later got a feature length adaptation) is a solid start. A classic tale...

A ★★★ review of Haze (2005)

Greg Warne @grumpygrog.bsky.social · 7d

My ★★★ review of Haze on Letterboxd boxd.it/bkEdqJ

Both a fantastic horror concept and an incredibly limiting one.

Both a fantastic horror concept and an incredibly limiting one. Being stuck in a horribly claustrophobic stone maze of pain is obviously effective and Shinya Tsukamoto is impressively able to take suc...

A ★★★½ review of Chopping Mall (1986)

Greg Warne @grumpygrog.bsky.social · 8d

My ★★★½ review of Chopping Mall on Letterboxd boxd.it/bkD6bl

Wonderful schlock. Not the most outrageously fun bad movie but a great time if you've got friends round to laugh at it with.

Wonderful schlock. Not the most outrageously fun bad movie but a great time if you've got friends round to laugh at it with. It's all good nonsense.

A ★★★★½ review of Retribution (2006)

Greg Warne @grumpygrog.bsky.social · 10d

My ★★★★½ review of Retribution on Letterboxd boxd.it/bj4YGN

Despite the rather obvious metaphor of this ghost story, it's one that works. Something that feels like a mirror to the current world.

We're all broken. We're all haunted. What is the weight of death when it's all around us?

I feel like I'm just echoing everyone else in praising Kiyoshi Kurosawa's control of space and frame to create tension and atmosphere. He's effortlessly gifted at guiding your every thought in a usual...

A ★★★½ review of Ju-on: The Curse 2 (2000)

Greg Warne @grumpygrog.bsky.social · 10d

My ★★★½ review of Ju-on: The Curse 2 on Letterboxd boxd.it/bitidv

My biggest frustration with the first film was that the ending wasn't a satisfying conclusion.

This still isn't perfect but it's definitely a more satisfying conclusion.

Honestly, I get the frustration of the first half essentially being the last half of the first film, but I also don't think it's that big of a deal. Being shot together, it's all one film. If you're w...

A ★★★★ review of One Missed Call (2003)

Greg Warne @grumpygrog.bsky.social · 10d

My ★★★★ review of One Missed Call on Letterboxd boxd.it/bhYrWn

Takashi Miike's Ringu.

Even with its clear flaws, this is still very good, unsettling J-horror. The third act is fucking fantastic, constantly shifting and reframing and ending on a wonderfully unexpected note.

Takashi Miike's take on Ringu, swapping VHS for voicemail. It's not a poor recreation but it's an undeniably inferior one. And maybe a little too closely followed. He does a lot of things right. Inves...

A ★ review of The Disappointments Room (2016)

Greg Warne @grumpygrog.bsky.social · 10d

My ★ review of The Disappointments Room on Letterboxd boxd.it/bgBnVP

It's only a disappointment if you thought it was gonna be good.

It's only a disappointment if you thought it was gonna be good.

A ★★★★½ review of Weapons (2025)

Greg Warne @grumpygrog.bsky.social · 10d

My ★★★★½ review of Weapons on Letterboxd boxd.it/bgvDf9

I haven't seen a film both have so much fun and be so confident while leading you on in quite some time.

Easily one of the most interesting mainstream (or at least popular) horror films of this decade. Zach Cregger's follow up to Barbarian isn't as straight up chilling as the first half of that film, but...

A ★★ review of Demon Seed (1977)

Greg Warne @grumpygrog.bsky.social · 10d

My ★★ review of Demon Seed on Letterboxd boxd.it/bgkEhj

It feels like both a counter-culture boundary pusher for the 70s - with the early body horror and societal analogies - and an old-fashioned sci-fi of the 60s or 50s - with the corny robotics and silly science.

While the technology it's shown through is cute (look at those floppy disks), this is surprisingly good at discussing the effects of AI. The way it will turn the human brain obsolete; the moral argume...

A ★★★ review of Azrael (2024)

Greg Warne @grumpygrog.bsky.social · 10d

My ★★★ review of Azrael on Letterboxd boxd.it/bghgtz

This just about succeeds with gritty visuals, visceral violence, and a committed, physical central performance from Samara Weaving. You'd expect no less from her. The performance her eyes give are enough on their own.

The sub-genre of dialogue free horror is simply obnoxious and tiresome. A useful writing exercise but not something that makes for a good film. There are exceptions for every rule, though. This just a...

A ★★★½ review of The Monkey (2025)

Greg Warne @grumpygrog.bsky.social · 10d

My ★★★½ review of The Monkey on Letterboxd boxd.it/bgaB2P

The deadpan delivery and ridiculously violent deaths make it almost act like a drier Final Destination.

It just feels like everyone involved was having fun.

I don't really get all the negativity towards this one. I guess it's a little one note and it's definitely a minor piece compared to Os Perkin's major in Longlegs but it's genuinely funny. The deadpan...

A ★★★½ review of Cube (1997)

Greg Warne @grumpygrog.bsky.social · 10d

My ★★★½ review of Cube on Letterboxd boxd.it/bg9gib

It took a little while to click but it did for me. It's very much a Vincenzo Natali film and the very cheap performances end up being highly effective.

A really scrappy microbudget horror. It took a little while to click but it did for me. It's very much a Vincenzo Natali film and the very cheap performances end up as highly effective. Maurice Dean W...

A ★★ review of Wolf Man (2025)

Greg Warne @grumpygrog.bsky.social · 10d

My ★★ review of Wolf Man on Letterboxd boxd.it/bfchmb

It has some really great ideas and moments, but the weight of trying to be more stopped it from being good.

The definition of a misfire. The first hint you get is the dialogue. It's not that it's bad, it's more that it's weird. Like it's just off. It's still a good film at that point, though. It's what the ...

A ★★★★ review of Ju-on: The Curse (2000)

Greg Warne @grumpygrog.bsky.social · 10d

My ★★★★ review of Ju-on: The Curse on Letterboxd boxd.it/beDKrT

I thought it might be one of those little films with good potential. The kind of potential that would be realised with a bigger production (Ju-on: The Grudge).

This might actually be scarier because of the limitations.

I was a little worried when I saw this was filmed on a commercial grade camera with a miniscule budget. I thought it might be one of those little films with good potential. The kind of potential that ...

Greg Warne @grumpygrog.bsky.social · 10d

A week into October and I thought I'd make a thread of the horror films I've been watching...

Greg Warne @grumpygrog.bsky.social · 16d

Seriously though, that album just gets better the more you listen to it. That bit in Taxes is straight up euphoria.

Greg Warne @grumpygrog.bsky.social · 16d

Man, I love getting killed by geese.

Greg Warne @grumpygrog.bsky.social · 21d

Highly highly highly recommend SORRY, BABY.

Easy to get lost in the dredge of soulless movies coming out and just the world in general. Good to see something that makes you feel things.

First film in ages where I didn't want it to be over when the credits started rolling.