Parker Finn directs Sosie Bacon, Jessie T. Usher and Kyle Gallner in this supernatural horror where a psychiatrist is haunted by smiling presences after a patient of hers commits suicide.

Tries to go down a road less travelled, and, in terms of shot composition at least, achieves something quite memorable. The alternative approach to casting ranges from smart to awkward. Smile is a tad too miserable and jerkily paced to love but there are some banging jump scares and an OTT finale worth sticking around for. I like a curse movie and this scratched an itch. Let’s see what Parker Finn does next… though I’d be sad if it was Smile 2 right away next.

6

Perfect Double Bill: The Empty Man (2020)

Check out my wife Natalie’s Point Horror blog https://cornsyrup.co.uk

We also do a podcast together called The Worst Movies We Own. It is available on Spotify or here https://letterboxd.com/bobbycarroll/list/the-worst-movies-we-own-podcast-ranking-and/

Ronny Yu directs Jennifer Tilly, Brad Dourif and Katherine Heigl in this horror comedy soft reboot to Child’s Play.

Not a franchise I love but this is a gleefully silly entry, strengthened by the ridiculous Jennifer Tilly. She’s fantastic here as an unhinged goth milf Marilyn Monroe ex-flame of the killer doll. Chucky is his usual abrasive self. Dourif voices him with gusto but his foul mouthed nastiness probably only hits a laugh once every act. He looks pleasingly fucked up after a trilogy of destructive finales. BoC could do with more kills, more tension but at least the puppet FX work is always cool. Nu metal soundtrack, some nice homages to other horror icons, short and sweet.

6

Perfect Double Bill: Seed of Chucky (2004)

Check out my wife Natalie’s Point Horror blog https://cornsyrup.co.uk

We also do a podcast together called The Worst Movies We Own. It is available on Spotify or here https://letterboxd.com/bobbycarroll/list/the-worst-movies-we-own-podcast-ranking-and/

Baltasar Kormákur directs Idris Elba, Sharlto Copley and Iyana Halley in this adventure thriller where a doctor and his family are stalked by a rogue lion on a South African wildlife reserve.

While it doesn’t hit the giddy heights of Jaws, or even Crawl, Beast has plenty of mid-tier meat-and-potatoes entertainment to offer. Even a few surprises. The CGI lion isn’t perfect but far preferable to a living creature being bullied and tortured to achieve these shots. The camera swoops and swoons around Elba and this is probably his most convincing stint as an action lead. Location work is laudable. Beast is a fine B movie you’d definitely stay tuned to if it came on a hotel TV channel.

7

Perfect Double Bill: Roar (1981)

Check out my wife Natalie’s Point Horror blog https://cornsyrup.co.uk

We also do a podcast together called The Worst Movies We Own. It is available on Spotify or here https://letterboxd.com/bobbycarroll/list/the-worst-movies-we-own-podcast-ranking-and/

Vincenzo Natali directs Harrison Gilbertson, Laysla De Oliveira and Patrick Wilson in this time warp horror where a group of strangers become lost and trapped in a carnivorous field.

Based on a short story by Stephen King and son, Joe Hill. From the director of Cube of which this shares a lot of DNA. It is genuinely creepy and disorientating. The cast, aside from Wilson, could be a little starrier or sturdier. But in the main(e) this is an effective extension to a The Twilight Zone / Outer Limits episode. Looks lush.

7

Perfect Double Bill: Cube (1997)

Check out my wife Natalie’s Point Horror blog https://cornsyrup.co.uk

We also do a podcast together called The Worst Movies We Own. It is available on Spotify or here https://letterboxd.com/bobbycarroll/list/the-worst-movies-we-own-podcast-ranking-and/

Àlex and David Pastor directs Lou Taylor Pucci, Chris Pine and Piper Perabo in this post-apocalyptic road movie where four young adult survivors of a plague try to make it to the ocean.

What a bunch of unforgivable pricks! Still the small scale set-pieces are actually tense and this is a grim yet well realised little universe. Pulls no punches and I respect that.

6

Perfect Double Bill: Cabin Fever (2002)

Check out my wife Natalie’s Point Horror blog https://cornsyrup.co.uk

We also do a podcast together called The Worst Movies We Own. It is available on Spotify or here https://letterboxd.com/bobbycarroll/list/the-worst-movies-we-own-podcast-ranking-and/

Jonas Åkerlund directs Mads Mikkelsen, Vanessa Hudgens and Katheryn Winnick in this action movie where an assassin tries to retire only to be hunted down so he cannot cash in his retirement fund.

Juvenile but energetic. You can forgive its overbearing attempts to shock as they are so goofy. Still not very funny but just ludicrous. Crass, brash, flash. When Mads does his thing the action proves acceptable and that’s why I clicked on it in the first place. Matt Lucas makes for a terrible villain but suits the overall tone. Hard to kick this to death when its ambitions are so basic.

5

Perfect Double Bill: Cold Blood Legacy (2019)

Check out my wife Natalie’s Point Horror blog https://cornsyrup.co.uk

We also do a podcast together called The Worst Movies We Own. It is available on Spotify or here https://letterboxd.com/bobbycarroll/list/the-worst-movies-we-own-podcast-ranking-and/

David Cronenberg directs Naomi Watt, Viggo Mortensen and Armin Mueller-Stahl in this British gangster movie where a midwife becomes embroiled with the Russian ‘vory v zakone’ when a teen prostitute dies in her care.

A bit too rote and deadpan to really satisfy. The nude sauna fight is a highlight. Accents are all over the shop.

6

Perfect Double Bill: A History Of Violence (2005)

Check out my wife Natalie’s Point Horror blog https://cornsyrup.co.uk

We also do a podcast together called The Worst Movies We Own. It is available on Spotify or here https://letterboxd.com/bobbycarroll/list/the-worst-movies-we-own-podcast-ranking-and/

Ciro Guerra directs Nilbio Torres, Antonio Bolívar and Jan Bijvoet in this Colombian period adventure where twice in one lifetime an indigenous shaman helps white explorers find a rare flower.

Stunning lush monochrome on-location cinematography from David Gallego. This is a spin on Conrad’s Heart of Darkness told from the native’s point of view. Two adventures down river, both taking German experts, once as a young man, the next as a wise man. Hidden agendas, exploitation, madness, enlightenment. Really thrilling, classy stuff.

8

Perfect Double Bill: Birds of Passage (2019)

Check out my wife Natalie’s Point Horror blog https://cornsyrup.co.uk

We also do a podcast together called The Worst Movies We Own. It is available on Spotify or here https://letterboxd.com/bobbycarroll/list/the-worst-movies-we-own-podcast-ranking-and/

David Cronenberg directs Jeremy Irons, Jeremy Irons and Geneviève Bujold in this strange tale of twin gynaecologists whose lives deteriorate when one falls for a woman.

Surprisingly based on a true story. The glacial pace always put me off on previous watches but this third attempt clicked a little more with me. There is some nice eroticism to some of the seductions. Geneviève Bujold is impressive as the distant and flawed actress who disrupts the brothers connection. The nightmare (strange surgical devices, emotion as STD, madness) lingers around the sidelines. It ain’t going to satisfy on a Friday night but it still has enough psychological robustness to be worthy of the talents’ time.

6

Perfect Double Bill: Big Business (1988)

Check out my wife Natalie’s Point Horror blog https://cornsyrup.co.uk

We also do a podcast together called The Worst Movies We Own. It is available on Spotify or here https://letterboxd.com/bobbycarroll/list/the-worst-movies-we-own-podcast-ranking-and/

Fritz Lang directs Marlene Dietrich, Arthur Kennedy and Mel Ferrer in this western where a vengeful assayer looks for his wife’s killers, growing to believe they are being sheltered at a criminal hideout called Chuck-a-Luck.

Pretty standard and cheap revenge tale brightened by a couple of rousing shootouts and chases. Where it stands out is exploring the mythology of Dietrich’s showgirl matriarch and by extension the star herself. Her name keeps cropping up in Arthur (dull) Kennedy’s quest… and each time it does we get a joyful flashback to her escapades. Once we are in the secret ranch she owns at the midway point suddenly romance is ignited and everyone is playing against everyone like one of those Tarantino mock-whodunnits. There are random pleasures here even if all the overall form that ties it together is worn and ragged.

7

Perfect Double Bill: Destry Rides Again (1939)

Check out my wife Natalie’s Point Horror blog https://cornsyrup.co.uk

We also do a podcast together called The Worst Movies We Own. It is available on Spotify or here https://letterboxd.com/bobbycarroll/list/the-worst-movies-we-own-podcast-ranking-and/