leebutler Review, Thriller

Disquiet (2023) – Hospitalized

IMPORTANT NOTE: This piece was written during the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike. Without the labor of the actors currently on strike, the movies being covered here wouldn’t exist.

Released: 14th October
Seen: 18th October

Disquiet Info

Some settings are just inherently creepy which makes them an ideal spot to put a horror film. Dark woods with no one around, the middle of the ocean and, of course, hospitals. Why hospitals are so creepy is hard to explain, most likely because it’s the kind of place where there’s a high probability that it’ll end up being the last place you see alive. It also helps that hospitals have such a familiar look (we’ve all been in one at some point) that we all instantly notice when there’s something wrong about one which is handy if you want to scare an audience. Of course, if you want to scare an audience the main thing you have to do is try and be scary, which is one of many things that Disquiet doesn’t even think about doing at any point.

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leebutler Horror, Mystery, Review, Thriller

Insidious: The Red Door (2023) – Don’t Knock

IMPORTANT NOTE: This piece was written during the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike. Without the labor of the actors currently on strike, the movies being covered here wouldn’t exist.

Released: 6th July
Seen: 18th October

For 13 years now, Insidious has been one of the biggest franchises in all of horror. What started as a way for James Wan and Leigh Whannell to prove that they could scare an audience without the gore that their Saw franchise became known for turned into a bona fide iconic franchise of its own that has spread out over multiple sequels, some telling the story of the Lambert family who end up entangled with spirits from another world while others focus on Elise Rainier, the medium who helped the Lambert family and who dealt with hauntings of her own. Like almost all horror series, the longer this franchise has gone on the more it has started slowly circling the drain so the question is how far down that drain is Insidious: The Red Door… about where it was last time, and last time I begged for them to stop this franchise so you can guess what this one made me feel. 

Actually you don’t have to guess, read on.

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leebutler Horror, Review

V/H/S/85 (2023) – Blockbuster Video

IMPORTANT NOTE: This piece was written during the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike. Without the labor of the actors currently on strike, the movies being covered here wouldn’t exist.

Released: 6th October
Seen: 12th October

V/H/S/85 Info

The V/H/S franchise is quite possibly one of the most fascinating series to be a part of the horror genre. Each film follows a very simple but effective structure, five short films all tied together by the gimmick of being found footage from a VHS recorder that has a larger overarching film showing between them. This has turned the franchise into a breeding ground for future major directors in the horror/sci-fi genre, some alumni of the franchise include Ti West (X, Pearl), Radio Silence (Scream, Scream 6), David Bruckner (Hellraiser) and Adam Wingard (Godzilla vs Kong) among a slew of others who have all made their mark on the genre. All of them connected through this strange little horror series using an old technology as the linking force. Now on its sixth film, V/H/S turns to a decade that was almost defined by the rise of the VHS tape and sees what horror it can find there.

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leebutler Horror, Review

The Exorcist: Believer (2023) – Demonic

IMPORTANT NOTE: This piece was written during the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike. Without the labor of the actors currently on strike, the movies being covered here wouldn’t exist.

Released: 5th October
Seen: 12th October

The Exorcist Believer Info

It’s pretty much impossible to deny the impact of The Exorcist. The classic 1973 shocker is a touchstone of the horror genre, the stories of people fainting and running out of the cinema are the stuff of legends and it is an absolute constant on any ‘Scariest Movies of All Time’ list, to the point that not having it on your list makes the list invalid. With its incredible visuals, revolutionary scares, and Oscar-nominated performances, The Exorcist is one of those all-time classics that everyone can agree earns a special place not only in the Horror genre but in the history of cinema itself. It also should probably have never been turned into a franchise.

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leebutler Action, Crime, Drama, Mystery, Review, Thriller

To Catch A Killer (2023) – Silence

IMPORTANT NOTE: This piece was written during the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike. Without the labor of the actors currently on strike, the movies being covered here wouldn’t exist.

Released: 8th June
Seen: 10th October

Sometimes it’s really hard to figure out how to open one of these things, especially now that there’s a format that begins with “Rambling paragraph that provides some context for the film that’s about to be talked about”. The problem is that some films don’t really give themselves anything to work with because it’s so middle of the road that you might as well describe the method for which white lines are painted on the middle of the road. It’s also the hardest kind of review to write, trying to find a couple of hundred words to say “It’s fine I guess” That explains why it’s merely fine but also gives enough information that people who might still enjoy it will know about the film’s existence. Basically, this is going to be dull for all concerned but I saw it, it came out this year, therefore it gets written about so here are some thoughts about To Catch A Killer.

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leebutler Comedy, Review

Book Club: The Next Chapter (2023) – Leave On Read

IMPORTANT NOTE: This piece was written during the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike. Without the labor of the actors currently on strike, the movies being covered here wouldn’t exist.

Released: 11th May
Seen: 10th October

Book Club: The Next Chapter (2023) Info

In 2018 the film Book Club came out and was a huge hit. On a budget of 14 million, it grossed around 100 million, so it was pretty obvious that the industry was going to probably try and capitalize on that success. It seems like a simple enough idea, just get a bunch of legendary Oscar Winning/Nominated actresses who are over 60 together and put them in a silly little comedy, it’s how we got 80 For Brady and a few other films that make up something that the video essay channel Be Kind Rewind has dubbed the Book Club movie. Of course, with a profit that big it seemed inevitable that the quartet of Book Club women would be brought back to make another film. Sure enough they made one and… eh, it exists.

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