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!

The Lie Review: A Deadly Secret

Release date: October 6, 2020
Running time: 95 minutes
Starring: Mireille Enos, Peter Sarsgaard, and Joey King
Written and Directed by: Veena Sud 

Welcome to the Blumhouse is a seasonal horror event by Amazon and Blumhouse that is releasing four horror movies during October in two waves.  The Lie is part of the first wave of movies, and chronicles a family whose teenage daughter Kayla (King) confesses to impulsively killing her best friend.  This leads her two desperate parents to attempt to cover up the horrific crime, leading them into a complicated web of lies and deception. 

The Lie starts off simply enough with a relatively straightforward scenario to introduce the family, introduce the victim Brittany, and set up the whole scenario.  The main setup for the lie itself develops very quickly and seems to spiral out of control far too rapidly.  It was a fairly unbelievable setup and only seemed to serve the purpose of getting the story going.  However, what develops after that lie is a suspenseful and tense string of events as the family copes with the consequences of Kayla's actions.  The setup itself is very simple but what occurs after is a testament to the strong acting of the Enos, Sarsgaard, and King.  Much of what they do is ambiguous as the family tries to pretend that nothing happened while also dealing with a growing amount of evidence to the contrary.   And it is this uncertainty and unpredictability that makes this film an interesting one.

As you would expect from a film like this, the story eventually begins to spiral out of control.  But most of this seems standard, run of the mill for a movie like this.  However, some of the steps that were taken and the oversights that happened just didn't really make much sense at the time.  It seems like there were other ways around these scenarios, but if they were more rational you wouldn't get the kind of drama and tension you see in this film.  However, it wasn't until the last 10 minutes of the movie where everything really came together and turned this into an intriguing film.  Honestly, this is a rare movie where the ending of the film elevates the entire picture and changes it from something I felt I had seen before to something much more interesting.  It really pulls everything together and puts a lot of what happened that earlier just seemed like ridiculousness into context.  And although the ending is a great cap to this film, it still doesn't explain some of the decisions that were made.  Some of them will leave you scratching your head when seen in light of what happened, but overall the Lie is a suspenseful, enjoyable deception film.

The Lie is a suspenseful deception film with stellar acting, a simple setup, and a meaningful ending that elevates the entire experience.

Rent it.

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The Lie is available to stream on Amazon Prime starting October 6, 2020.

Screening: Welcome to the Blumhouse: The Lie and The Black Box Virtual Premiere Event!

Amazon Prime Video and Blumhouse invite you to step inside the worlds of Nocturne, Black Box, Evil Eye, and The Lie for an interactive virtual mystery that weaves the Blumhouse universe together in chilling synchrony.

After an exclusive screening of one of the four films, The Blumhouse Live will be open for you to explore. Kicking off with a live DJ set, you will be beckoned to discover a labyrinth of virtual sanctuaries, live performances, interactive tarot readings, an escape room that unlocks hidden levels, and more unsettling twists.

The event kicks off at 6:00 PM PST / 9:00 PM EST, with the movie starting at 6:30 PM PST / 9:30 PM PST.  After the movie, at 8:15 PM PST / 11:15 PM EST, the virtual experience will happen, giving you 45 minutes to explore to your hearts content.  Please note the recommended age for the film and the experiences is 18+.  This is a great way to kick off Halloween month and a unique experience to do from home!

To enter, please enter from the Rafflecopter below.  You are free to enter for both movies, but please note that the start time is the same for both.  If you win passes to both movies, we will choose for you, but either experience should be a memorable night!  Winners will be notified on Monday, October 5.  

BLACK BOX 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nj6JIzrIzxk

After losing his wife and his memory in a car accident, a single father undergoes an agonizing experimental treatment that causes him to question who he really is. 

Directed By: Emmanuel Osei-Kuffour Jr. 

Teleplay by: Emmanuel Osei-Kuffour Jr. and Stephen Herman 

Story by: Stephen Herman 

Starring: Mamoudou Athie, Phylicia Rashad, Amanda Christine, Tosin Morohunfola, Charmaine Bingwa, and Troy James 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

THE LIE 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czIBLZxLlzk

When their teenaged daughter confesses to impulsively killing her best friend, two desperate parents attempt to cover up the horrific crime, leading them into a complicated web of lies and deception. 

Written and Directed by: Veena Sud 

Starring: Mireille Enos, Peter Sarsgaard, and Joey King. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

News: Amazon Prime Video and Blumhouse Launch "Welcome to the Blumhouse" Featuring Eight New Thriller Films

Amazon Prime Video announced today “Welcome to the Blumhouse”, a program of eight unsettling, genre movies produced by Jason Blum’s Blumhouse Television and Amazon Studios. Each film presents a distinctive vision and unique perspective on common themes centered around family and love as redemptive or destructive forces. This slate marks the first ever program of Amazon Original movies on Prime Video that are thematically connected. The films showcase exciting up-and-coming talent, alongside established actors in exceptional and shocking new roles. “Welcome to the Blumhouse” will launch in October, timed for the Halloween season, on Prime Video in over 240 countries and territories worldwide. 

Amazon Prime Video will launch the initial slate of four films as double features starting with The Lie directed by acclaimed writer/director Veena Sud (The Killing, 7 Seconds) and Black Box directed by up-and-coming writer/director Emmanuel Osei-Kuffour Jr. (Born with It), both premiering on October 6. Launching the following week on October 13 is Evil Eye, from talented young directors Elan Dassani and Rajeev Dassani (A Day’s Work, Jinn) and executive produced by Priyanka Chopra Jonas (Quantico, White Tiger), and Nocturne written and directed by filmmaker Zu Quirke (Zugzwang, Ghosting) making her feature film debut. The latter four films will launch in 2021. 

The Lie is written and directed by Veena Sud, and stars Mireille Enos (The Killing), Peter Sarsgaard (An Education) and Joey King (The Kissing Booth 2, The Act). When their teenaged daughter confesses to impulsively killing her best friend, two desperate parents attempt to cover up the horrific crime, leading them into a complicated web of lies and deception. Produced by Alix Madigan-Yorkin, Christopher Tricarico, and Jason Blum.  Executive produced by Howard Green, Kim Hodgert, Jeanette Volturno, Couper Samuelson and Aaron Barnett.

Directed by Emmanuel Osei-Kuffour Jr. (Born With It) and script by Osei-Kuffour Jr. and Stephen Herman, Black Box stars Mamoudou Athie (Jurassic World 3, The Circle), Phylicia Rashad (Creed), Amanda Christine (Colony), Tosin Morohunfola (The Chi, The 24th), Charmaine Bingwa (Trees of Peace, Little Sista), and Troy James (The Flash, Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark). After losing his wife and his memory in a car accident, a single father undergoes an agonizing experimental treatment that causes him to question who he really is. Executive produced by Jason Blum, Jay Ellis, Aaron Bergman, Lisa Bruce, Marci Wiseman, Jeremy Gold, Mynette Louie and William Marks.

Based off the award-winning, best-selling Audible Original production from writer Madhuri Shekar, Evil Eye is directed by Elan Dassani and Rajeev Dassani, and stars Sarita Choudhury (Mississippi Masala, Lady in the Water), Sunita Mani (GLOW), Omar Maskati (Unbelievable), and Bernard White (Silicon Valley). A seemingly perfect romance turns into a nightmare when a mother becomes convinced her daughter’s new boyfriend has a dark connection to her own past. Executive produced by Jason Blum, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Lisa Bruce, Marci Wiseman, Jeremy Gold, Guy Stodel, Anjula Acharia, Emilia Lapenta and Kate Navin.

Nocturne is written and directed by Zu Quirke in her breakout feature debut. Starring Sydney Sweeney (Euphoria, The Handmaid’s Tale, Player’s Table), Madison Iseman (Jumanji: The Next Level, Annabelle Comes Home), Jacques Colimon (The Society) and Ivan Shaw (Insecure, Casual). Inside the halls of an elite arts academy, a timid music student begins to outshine her more accomplished and outgoing twin sister when she discovers a mysterious notebook belonging to a recently deceased classmate. Executive produced by Jason Blum, Lisa Bruce, Marci Wiseman, Jeremy Gold, Matthew Myers and Fodhla Cronin O’Reilly.