Under the Silver Lake (2018)

A slacker with a fleeting sense of purpose stumbles upon the makings of a conspiracy while investigating the sudden disappearance of his mysterious neighbor. This movie is a fucking trip. A surreal neo-noir black comedy with deep Lynchian vibes reminiscent of Mulholland Drive. There's so much going on here, it almost shouldn't work, but it all comes together with a semblance of dream logic that reminded me of After Hours. This is the type of film that contains hidden layers of meaning that can linger on in the back of your mind for days at a time. Be careful not to look too deep or you might lose yourself.

4½ hobo codes out of 5

IT FOLLOWS [2014]

Writer/director David Robert Mitchell crafts one of the most effective horror films to come out in a long, long time with the ominously titled It Follows.
The set-up is simple, a young teen sleeps with the wrong guy and is transmitted with some sort of nightmarish curse that...well...follows her in the form of some pretty nasty sort of folk.  Primarily it's a coming-of-age story that channels John Hughes, if he fancied butcher knives and gouged-out eyes, but it packs the scares something fierce with a refreshing twist with some killer Carpenter-esque camerawork to boot.  With it's stingy synth score, old timey cars and minimal use of modern technology, this could easily be pulled out of the early '80's but it's most definitely this day and age in the dying lands of Detroit.
Bring a couple pairs of clean undies with you because you're guaranteed to be needing them.

4 swimming pools out of 5