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

V/H/S/94 (2021)

This series has always been largely hit or miss, but this was mostly miss for me. The wraparound segments were easily the weakest. I thought "Storm Drain" was decent, but "The Empty Wake" was probably the most well-made (I only found out during the credits that it was Barrett's entry, which tracks). "The Subject" went on for way too long and leaned too hard into FPS territory, while the last one about the white supremacists ("Terror") felt boring and overdrawn. And that "final girls" epilogue was such a letdown. I don't know, maybe I was expecting too much.

2 Rat Men out of 5

Blair Witch (2016)

The successful duo of Adam Wingard and Simon Barrett (You're Next, The Guest) take a stab at breathing new life into the Blair Witch mythos. Unfortunately not much is added except a relative (James Allen McCune) searching for Heather (from the first film) and a few more nights in the woods. It could almost be misconstrued as a remake. One aspect improved upon is the camerawork. POV cameras strapped to the characters' heads help keep the action in view. By the time the film quits jerking off and the real action starts, much of the runtime has passed. Fortunately the remaining scenes are worth the wait. There are a bevy of annoying jump scares, but effective and startling sound design in the final act wash them away. It is certainly an uneven film, and while it may not be as memorable as the original, it certainly trumps it with a more engaging conclusion.

2½ corners to stand in out of 5

V/H/S 2 [2013]

V/H/S 2's setup is pretty much exactly the same as the first in the anthology horror series, only this time around it's quite a bit more entertaining and tightly paced.
With The Raid: Redemption's Gareth Evans, Lovely Molly's Eduardo Sánchez and Hobo With A Shotgun's Jason Eisener on board as directors, you're pretty much guaranteed schlocky twisted fun.  It's not exactly high art and it's never particularly scary but it packs in enough laughs, gore and weirdness to end up being highly enjoyable.

3 doggy cams out of 5