In the next couple of editions of Additional Bite-Sized Reviews (including this one), these review compilations will consist of my thoughts on certain films or shows that I saw in the last year that I, for some reason, never published full reviews for. Often, I see a bunch of stuff that I write notes for or about on Letterboxd, and I don’t want to miss the opportunity to post those review thoughts here, as I want to share them with you. For this post, I have specifically highlighted five horror-thrillers, including a modern comic book adaptation classic that I finally saw in the past few months.
F.A.Q.
- What are Additional Bite-Sized Reviews?
– My movie and television catch-up review series ‘Additional Bite-Sized Reviews‘ is an evolution of the Overview-article section previously titled ‘What I Didn’t Write About.’ In articles such as this one, I will provide my readers with my thoughts on select new films, new shows, or even classics that I feel like giving my thoughts on relatively briefly, since I don’t have the time to dedicate thorough reviews to them at this point in time. - Why do the bite-sized reviews not include either a letter grade or a review score?
– In my full and thorough reviews, I like to score or grade what I watch. But since these reviews aren’t as detailed, I think it is fairer to the films and shows to simply just decide whether or not to recommend them. I guess you could say this is the only type of review that is basically ‘scored’ with the classic thumbs-up/thumbs-down-method on my site, though sometimes my recommendation answer comes with a caveat.
The Pope’s Exorcist | Film | Directed by Julius Avery | Screenplay by Michael Petroni and Evan Spiliotopoulos | Release Year: 2023 | Recommended?: It depends.
My relationship with Julius Avery’s filmography has, admittedly, been up and down over the years. While I really loved his World War Two zombie flick, Overlord, which I think was supposed to have been a Cloverfield movie once upon a time, I struggled with his fairly forgettable Sly Stallone-led gritty superhero flick, Samaritan. I was hopeful that The Pope’s Exorcist would be more up my alley. The film sees Russell Crowe play Father Gabriele Amorth (an actual exorcist, who William Friedkin once made a documentary about), who, in the film, is hired to exorcise a possessed boy in Spain.
Look, if you’re going to approach this film as if it is a straight-faced original exorcism film, then you may have a bad time. If you, on the other hand, approach this like the unoriginal, over-the-top, and tongue-in-cheek exorcism film that it actually is, then I think you could have fun with it. I wouldn’t exactly call it a good film, but it does have some things going for it.
Again, it doesn’t compare well to the more straight-faced possession films that it is borrowing a lot from, and the possessed boy’s unconvincing altered voice is too much (it’s one of the things in this one that could’ve completely ruined the viewing for me if I had been in a worse mood). But I think that if you embrace the goofiness of this film (which is essentially a Catholic exorcist superhero movie) about the Pope’s personal exorcist (i.e. Russell Crowe speaking in Italian and with an Italian accent) who drives around on a scooter and who says things like “No shit,” then I think you can still have a good time with it. It’s not exactly good, but you can have fun with it. I wouldn’t mind seeing it again, and, even though I like Overlord more, I think this is far better than Samaritan. So, it is a step in the right direction for Avery.
Talk To Me | Film | Directed by Danny Philippou and Michael Philippou | Screenplay by Danny Philippou and Bill Hinzman | Release Year: 2023 | Recommended?: Yes!
One of the best surprises of the year when it comes to genre filmmaking was Danny and Michael Philippou’s feature directorial debut, Talk To Me. The Australian twin YouTubers-turned-filmmakers crafted one of the best original horror films of the past few years. It has the kind of energy and execution that makes it sit right next to films like Zach Cregger’s Barbarian as the type of recent horror film with a hook that I think will be very fun to rewatch. It’s one of the best horror films of the year.
Talk To Me is a film about a group of teenagers who, during parties, record each other using a mysterious embalmed hand to contact spirits in the afterlife. To do it, they must grab the hand, say, first, “Talk to me,” at which point a spirit will reveal itself, and, then, “Let me in,” so that the spirit may possess the person grabbing the hand. They have a strict rule for how communication via possession must be handled: you may only do it for a set number of seconds so that the possession doesn’t stick (i.e. so that the spirits can’t bind themselves to the communicator permanently). But when Sophie Wilde’s Mia sees someone be possessed by her deceased parent’s spirit, she makes a plea that turns it from a fun paranormal party game into something seriously dangerous.
The Philippou brothers’ film swept the AACTA Awards — i.e. the Australian film industry’s version of the Oscars — and it is easy to see why. This horror debut about talking to the other side is so disturbing that it really sticks with you. This is in large part due to a phenomenal physical performance from its central actor, Sophie Wilde, but also shockingly creepy or violent images paired with startlingly scary sound design. It is a very modern horror flick that seems inspired by both social media trends and peer pressure (I think there could even be a COVID-19 allegory in here), both of which are elements that are executed in a way that makes it feel quite youthful (in many horror films these elements feel hamfistedly done, but not here). It’s clearly inspired by films like Hereditary, It Follows, Evil Dead, Insidious, Poltergeist, and Flatliners, but it has enough originality in it to be powerful. A part of me wanted it to show more from the other side (and I wanted a little bit more from the father-daughter relationship in the film), but, hey, maybe they’ll expand on that in the upcoming sequel that appears to be fast-tracked.
The Crow | Film | Directed by Alex Proyas | Screenplay by David J. Schow and John Shirley | Release Year: 1994 | Recommended?: Yes!
Since Hollywood has finally made a remake this year (an upcoming Bill Skarsgård star vehicle) following so many difficulties getting it off the ground, I decided now was the time to finally see this cult classic, which is infamous for how its lead, Brandon Lee, died due to an accident on set. My father had told me the terrible story several times over the years, and I had seen the DVD on his shelf. But, for whatever reason, it took me this long to finally see it.
To the uninitiated, The Crow is a comic book adaptation of the James O’Barr graphic novel of the same name, and the film tells the story of deceased rock musician Eric Draven (played by Brandon Lee) who is brought back to life to avenge his and his fiancé’s murder.
“If the people we love are stolen from us, the way to have them live on is to never stop loving them. Buildings burn, people die, but real love is forever.”
From ‘The Crow’ (1994)
You’ll never look at a crow the same way again. This stylish goth revenge superhero flick is arguably the peak of 90s comic book adaptations. It’s certainly one of the very best — and, like Burton’s Batman, it features an inspired and stylish cityscape. While it is true that certain elements in the film are undeniably dated, I still think the stylish touches work — at the very least, as a strong, stylish time capsule.
It has both loving beauty and pitch-black darkness to it, as well as entertaining and compelling work from Ernie Hudson and Brandon Lee, whose tragic on-set death means that every moment with him on-screen is especially hauntingly and heartbreakingly powerful. The very ending (the scenes by the graves, the music, the subsequent narration, and the dedication) is note-perfect.
Rest in peace, Brandon.
Totally Killer | Film | Directed by Nahnatchka Khan | Screenplay by David Matalon, Sasha Perl-Raver, and Jen D’Angelo | Release Year: 2023 | Recommended?: Sure.
From the director of Always Be My Maybe, Totally Killer follows Kiernan Shipka’s Jamie, who, after having lost her mother to a much-feared mask-wearing killer, travels back in time to the 1980s, where she tries to stop the killer during his original run, befriend her mother, and, hopefully, get back to her proper place in time somehow.
Totally Killer is a reference-happy and relatively fun horror-comedy mix of many different films. Fans of Happy Death Day and Freaky will probably enjoy this slasher take on time travel. By design, it is completely unoriginal as it is bursting at the seams with references and a tongue-in-cheek approach to the 1980s (though it leaves something to be desired visually both with regards to the way kills are choreographed and the way eras are distinguished between). Some will feel that this kind of 1980s nostalgia flick is played out at this point, but I think it is still a decent watch for horror fans.
Sympathy for the Devil | Film | Directed by Yuval Adler | Screenplay by Luke Paradise | Release Year: 2023 | Recommended?: Yes.
This one might’ve snuck under the radar for a lot of people, and I’m here to tell you that if you’re in the mood for the kind of Nicolas Cage performance that goes to eleven (and let’s face it, for many those are his very best), then Sympathy for the Devil should get the job done. The film follows a character played by Joel Kinnaman, who is on his way to a hospital to be by his wife’s side as she gives birth. However, on the way there, a red-haired, over-the-top stranger (of course played by Nicolas Cage) gets into his car, puts him at gunpoint, and forces him to follow his demands.
This film reminded me of everything from The Hitcher to Collateral and even Falling Down. As a film, it doesn’t do anything particularly original, but even though it doesn’t have an original bone in its body, the film is still relatively entertaining thanks to a super entertaining Nicolas Cage performance and a perfectly solid Joel Kinnaman, who pairs well with Cage here. Admittedly, I have mixed feelings about the ending of the film, though I do think that the big scene is relatively well-acted.
– Reviews Written by Jeffrey Rex Bertelsen.
I'm Jeffrey Rex 
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