What to Watch This Weekend: Rose Plays Julie, Hawk and Rev, Koko-Di Koko-Da, Promising Young Woman, Sometime Other Than Now, Songbird, Spongebob, Do Not Reply

For A Powerful Psychological Drama: Rose Plays Julie (Virtual Cinema)
Rose Plays Julie is a powerful psychological drama with a deliberate pace and strong characters confronting some timely, dark, and important themes.  For more information, check out the review!

For An Irreverent Vampire Comedy: Hawk and Rev Vampire Slayers (Digital)

Hawk and Rev Vampire Slayers has an irreverent, ridiculous style, a quirky group of enthusiastic vampire hunters, and a humorous story that does not suck.  For more information, check out the review!

For The Horror Fans: Koko-Di Koko-Da (Shudder)

Koko-Di Koko-Da is an amazingly tense descent into madness, with unpredictable characters, a creepy carnival atmosphere, and an old school horror style.  For more information, check out the review!

For A Charming, Mature Family Drama: Sometime Other Than Now (Theaters and Digital)

Sometime Other Than Now is an endearing and mature relationship drama with heartfelt performances, a modern look at love and family, and plenty of small town intrigue and charm.  For more information, check out the review!

For The Kids: Spongebob Squarepants Movie: Sponge on the Run (Paramount+)

Spongebob Squarepants: Sponge on the Run updates the animation and adds some stellar cameos but keeps the characters, silliness, and craziness that makes Spongebob what it is.  For more information, check out the review!

For A Surprisingly Good Kidnapping Horror: Do Not Reply (Amazon)
The unsettlingly perfect sets, convincing acting, and brutal and tense scenarios make Do Not Reply one movie you should swipe right on.  For more information, check out the review!

For A Dark, Irreverent, and Timely Film: Promising Young Woman (Redbox)

Promising Young Woman tells a dark tale with an amazingly bright style, sharp unapologetic writing, and painful lessons that will stay with you well after the credits roll.  For more information, check out the review!

For Those Shut In During The Pandemic: Songbird (Redbox)

Songbird's interesting take on a post-apocalyptic world and its stellar cast deliver a thrilling and sadly timely quarantine adventure.  For more information, check out the review!

What to Watch This Weekend: Halloween Horror (Possessor, The Cleansing Hour, Blumhouse Movies, Do Not Reply), Once Upon a River, Charm City Kings, Ghostwriter, The Tax Collector

For Horror Fans Looking For A Change of Face - Possessor (Theaters)

Possessor will take control of you and not let go, as it pulls you into this violent, near future story with great acting, realistic effects, and a brutal story.  For more information, check out our review!

For Horror Fans Ridding Themselves of Inner Demons - The Cleansing Hour (Shudder)

The Cleansing Hour will possess your eyeballs with its entertaining social media exorcism premise, fantastic special effects, and spirited, spiritual performances.  For more information, check out our review!

For Horror Fans Looking for a Virtual Trip - Black Box (Amazon)

Black Box takes you on a technological deep dive with strong characters led by the amazing Mamoudou Athie, an intriguing story, and a mental mystery that will keep you guessing.  For more information, check out our review!

For Horror Fans Obsessed With Social Media - Do Not Reply (Digital)

The unsettlingly perfect sets, convincing acting, and brutal and tense scenarios make Do Not Reply one movie you should swipe right on.  For more information, check out our review!  

For Horror Fans Keeping a Secret - The Lie (Amazon)

The Lie is a suspenseful deception film with stellar acting, a simple setup, and a meaningful ending that elevates the entire experience.  For more information, check out our review!

For Adventure Seekers - Once Upon a River (Virtual Cinema)

Once Upon A River is a beautiful coming of age film with wonderful cinematography and sound, a nuanced strong female lead, and a story with great pace and flow.  For more information, check out our review!

For the Thrill Seekers - Charm City Kings (HBO Max)

Charm City Kings has a commitment to authenticity that should be applauded, as well as fantastic performances from an all black cast, telling a story that has humor, emotion, and important lessons.  For more information, check out our review!

For the Kids - Ghostwriter Season 2 (Apple TV+)

Ghostwriter Season 2 continues the story of this wonderfully diverse, entertaining, and educational show with adventures that literally make stories come alive.  For more information, check out our review!

For the Ruthless Family Members - The Tax Collector (Redbox and Digital)

The Tax Collector has some intense characters--headlined by a transofmred Shia LaBeouf--in this ruthless story about family and power.  For more information, check out our review!

Do Not Reply Review: A Surprisingly Well Acted Horror Stepford Wives

Release date: October 2, 2020
Running time: 98 minutes
Starring: Jackson Rathbone, Amanda Arcuri, Kerri Medders, Elise Luthman

Chelsea (Arcuri), a teenager, is abducted through a social media app by Brad (Rathbone) and is held captive with other girls who are to become victims in his virtual reality filmed murders.  Chelsea must keep her wits about her as this situation is a tense, picture perfect esque situation where she must look out for herself, but also all the other girls around her.  And they all must deal with Brad's temperament and homicidal tendencies.

When I started this movie, I thought it would be a cookie cutter horror film about a psycho abducting girls.  And although it does have those elements, the film takes some interesting choices that raise it above the normal horror cliches.  The film does have some good messages and concerns about social media, and starts off normal enough.  Chelsea is kidnapped and taken to a basement away from everyone.  The film has some hints of the Toybox killer at the start, but quickly changes.  After the initial arc, the film moves into more of a stepford wives type of scenario, as Chelsea meets the other occupants of the house and learns the strange way that they stay alive.  And this is where the film really becomes interesting.  The house itself is nicely created, with bright colors and meticulous organization to give it a perfect, unsettling look.  And the girls who are staying there all have to look and act perfectly, despite what they are feeling inside.

And this is all helped along by some good acting from all involved.  Arcuri's portrayal of Chelsea effectively balances her feelings of revulsion and terror with the need to survive and conform to the strange lifestyle she has been forced into.  The other girls (Medders and Luthman) are also convincing and add more dimensions to this film.  Medders is great in her role as queen bee of this house and Luthman is very convincing as the girl that takes Arcuri under her wing.  Luthman's balance of caring and the harsh reality of her situation is a nice addition to the cast.  And Rathbone is creepy and effective as Brad, with his need for order and also strange tendencies.  Together the acting in this film was much better than expected and really elevated the film.

And the movie tries to act as a cautionary tale for young people and for the most part succeeds.  Although the scenario is extreme, the lessons are relatively universal.  It shows how someone can easily pretend to be someone they are not online, and an extreme set of consequences.  But the film also uses technology effectively, specifically VR.  The VR sequences were a nice touch, as was the crazy camera contraption that Brad occasionally used.  And on top of all this, the film also has some solid horror moments, including some brutal scenes and equally tense scenarios.  If you want a well done horror movie with an unusual scenario, good acting, and brutal scenes, then this might be for you.

The unsettlingly perfect sets, convincing acting, and brutal and tense scenarios make Do Not Reply one movie you should swipe right on.

Watch it.

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Death of Me will be available in theaters, digitally, and on demand on October 2, 2020.  For additional information about the film and to rent / buy it, check it out at the links below.

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