Azrael (2024)

Recently escaping from a nomadic death cult, a woman is chased through the woods by charred demon monsters with her pursuers in tow. This atmospheric horror film is told without dialogue so the viewer is forced to infer most of the story. It's an interesting premise dripping with dread and tension at every turn, but I found my attention wavering as it went on. I thought it was slow and ultimately unrewarding, but your mileage may vary depending on your level of patience and tolerance for its religious themes. 

2 laryngectomies out of 5

CHEAP THRILLS [2013]

How far would you go for the ones you love?
How much would you risk when money talks?
Those are some of the questions director E.L. Katz's deliciously nasty and horrifically hilarious Cheap Thrills asks it's off-kilter viewers.
It follows two old high-school buddies who meet a sadistic rich couple that will toss cash at them to perform humiliating deeds that grow increasingly more life threatening with each turn.  Like a reality show no one's watching, the characters turn their backs on dignity and "dance, monkey. Dance".  It pays homage to Roald Dohl's classic short story Man from the South and rightfully so, seeing as it treads over the same sort of themes.  While it's nice to see The Innkeepers' Pat Healy & Sara Paxton together again, it's Ethan Embry & David Koechner that steal the show with their unavoidable screen presence.
It's not a great film but entertainingly twisted enough to be exactly as it's title advertises it to be.  

3 bad days out of 5