Hellboy (2019)

Guillermo del Toro wasn't allowed to complete the final entry of his trilogy, and Ron Perlman refused to return without his involvement, so a decade later we were treated to a hard reboot of the comic book franchise. This time they opt for an R-rating with lots of blood and guts, but it's the overreliance on CGI which hurts the most. David Harbour turns in a decent characterization as Big Red, though he can't match up to the wry heights that Perlman brought to the series. Its main flaw is being directly compared to del Toro's previous adaptation, of which it pales in comparison. It's technically competent, but mostly forgettable, due to the fact that there is too much going on and they tried to cram it all into a bloated 2-hour runtime. However, it's a big-budget action-horror extravaganza, so depending on your appetite for the genre, you might get your money's worth.

2 Excaliburs out of 5

TALES OF HALLOWEEN [2015]

Featuring a gaggle of well-known and not-so well known genre directors, including Neil Marshall, Lucky McKee & Darren Lynn Bousman, Tales of Halloween, is an anthology film that seems like it's set out to compete with Michael Dougherty's modern cult-classic Trick 'r Treat for the most amount of fun a Halloween film can be.
Does it succeed?  Almost.
There's a few weak shorts in the bunch but for the most part it's really sick and twisted gory fun that keeps on rolling right up to the final frame.  Even the weaker shorts are enough fun to keep it from ever really losing steam.

3 spooky Mick Garris' out of 5

DOOMSDAY [2008]

Director Neil Marshall takes obvious inspiration from films like Mad Max, Escape From New York, Aliens and 28 Days Later for his violent futuristic thriller, Doomsday.
While the films I mentioned above all seem to have an overly serious look on their faces, Doomsday is nothing but violent fun that just wants to take you for an unsettling and sometimes hilarious ride.
With it's well-timed pacing and bone-crunching enthusiasm on it's side, hopefully one can forgive it's many plotholes.  This is b-movie material and not too much more.  Marshall knows this and seems to be interested in entertaining himself first and giving the critics a nail-bat over the cranium instead of something a bit more meaty.

3 all-seeing eyeballs out of 5

CENTURION [2010]

Just because director Neil Marshall steered away from the horror genre, doesn't mean he left his Splat Pack roots behind with the excessively gory historical action film, Centurion.
The film tells the story of a small group of Roman soldiers in 117 A.D. fighting for survival behind enemy lines as the escape from a pack of Picts hunting them down.  As entertaining as the film is, it lacks any real characterization or believable dialogue and therefore becomes somewhat tiresome by the third act.  If not for the beautiful photography, talented cast and wonder how they're going wrap things up, it might not have been quite as enjoyable.

3 witches out of 5

THE DESCENT [2005]

Going into this film I had very low expectations but felt it'd be a good way to pass a Sunday evening. Coming out of the film I was left completely astounded and disturbed by the merciless brutal tones of this frightening cinematic experience.
I'm not claustrophobic but Neil Marshall's The Descent made me feel like I was. He cleverly builds up the tension and dread with perfect pacing. The disorienting edits and camera angles are wonderfully executed so that by the time you almost grow comfortable with the unbalanced surroundings he introduces a whole new wave of terror into the mix.
The all female cast have some believable characters to work with but don't always perform as well as they could be. It's not entirely original but it's the mood, setting and ruthless attitude that cements it as one of my favorite horror films of all time and one of the scariest of the new millennium.

4 Werewolf heads out of 5

DOG SOLDIERS [2002]

Splat-pack British director Neil Marshall has all sorts of fun with his low-budget feature-length debut. Tackling the werewolf lore with a violent, loud and quite often funny film that's more action than horror.
It's like a cross between Predator, The Evil Dead, Aliens and Night Of The Living Dead with several laughable references to The Matrix, The Wrath Of Khan and Zulu.
As much of a wild romp that this film is, it never really breaks any new barriers or gives the viewer much to think about. In fact it seems, the cast and crew were having more fun making the film than it is to watch it in a few spotty areas.
Still, it's a lot of fun and receives extra brownie points for being one of the few films that gets werewolves right.

3 Kick-ass boxing matches out of 5