DOCTOR SLEEP (2019) is strong for a Stephen King adaptation, joining the ranks of films like THE SHINING and THE MIST in its atmospherics and execution, but ultimately it proved weak in the storytelling department, making it feel overlong and ultimately be somewhat forgettable for me.

A sequel to THE SHINING that takes cues from the Kubrick adaptation, DOCTOR SLEEP is set decades after that story’s events. Danny is grown up now and haunted by figurative and very real ghosts, and is a walking train wreck as a result. When he finally gets cleaned up and in control, he finds his purpose. When a young girl with similar powers is targeted by a roaming cult that consumes psychic energy to remain immortal, he must protect her.

What I liked: just enough elements of the first film borrowed for the second, most of which were okay but really standing out in use of the original music and a solid effort at atmosphere. Ewan McGregor brings a genuine, understated humanity to the role of Danny. The psychic warfare made for an exciting cat and mouse game. I really enjoyed Danny’s story, his grappling with his childhood trauma, and his connection to the Overlook, and wished the film had focused entirely on that.

What I didn’t: the bad guys not being scary, despite a good effort by the director and cast. They just weren’t compelling for me, and I actually found their scenes boring. The young girl Danny must help was miscast, or she wasn’t given good direction, as I never felt like she was scared by what was happening to her, which affected my investment. There were too many moments where I asked, “why are they doing that,” too many consequences that seemed to be discarded for convenience.

Overall, I thought the adaptation was good not great, solid fare but lacking the greatness of its predecessor.

Now available for streaming at Netflix, FREAKS (2018) was a great surprise for me, a fantastic genre bender.

The film opens with a simple premise. Since she was a baby, Chloe has lived in an abandoned house with her loving but controlling father, warned to never go outside. Dad is loving and playful but also controlling and unpredictable, his primary goal to protect her, though something is off about the whole scenario. Outside, the world looks normal enough, and all Chloe wants is to be a normal girl who is part of a loving family. When a mysterious stranger shows up, she begins to learn the truth isn’t what she thought, but the danger her father warned her about is very real. As the story unfolds, the mystery of who they are and what’s going on in the outside world steadily unravels in stages–in a forced manner, at first, but then more and more naturally–building on the story until everything is revealed in a series of thrilling action sequences.

I loved it. The actress playing Chloe (Lexy Kolker) was fantastic, as was the dad (Emile Hirsch) and Bruce Dern in his role. The script is daring and goes all the way to sometimes shocking lengths with its premise, culminating in a satisfying ending. It has its “clunks” but overall is a smooth, fun ride.

So check it out, but you might want to avoid the trailer as it kind of gives away the whole thing.

In the intense horror film BLISS (2019), Dezzy, a hard-partying artist, goes on a drug binge ending in a strange encounter that leaves her with a savage craving for blood. The film spirals into mad blood lust sharply portrayed with loud music, plenty of howling, neon color, strobing lights, and crazy camera moves, as if Gasper Noe made MANDY.

Like MANDY, the film is compelling with its visuals and gore, though it never achieves that film’s atmospheric, almost mythic moodiness. And as with Gasper Noe films like CLIMAX, it involves hot young people partying to extremes until things get out of control, while the camera yanks you into the madness with crazy moves like rotating 360.

That’s all interesting, but Dezzy is not a sympathetic character, harsh and selfish and starting the film nearly out of control, so when she does go out of control, it’s hard to feel invested. The creators don’t seem to care either, using her for violent setpieces that seem to wrap up but largely made me laugh in a so-bad-it’s-good way, a strange thing for me, as I usually react to bad films by saying they’re so bad they’re bad. It’s over the top and comes back down in a bucket, but it’s kind of fun, and I can picture many horror fans getting a kick out of it.

Starring Demi Moore, CORPORATE ANIMALS (2019) is a comedy about a corporate retreat gone wrong when a rock slide traps a CEO and the leaders of her company in a cave. The film combines grisly slapstick with an attempt at satire about the corporate world, and despite some of the cast putting their heart into it, its on-the-nose gags and weak satire were stale on delivery for me.

It was great to see Demo Moore make a comeback, though she plays the character as shrill and a bit wooden. The “satire” mostly consists of the office workers squabbling with each other before predictably uniting against the CEO, who is portrayed as a jerk from day one instead of slowly being revealed. Without good context, the grisly slapstick doesn’t resonate. On the plus side, some of the performances are good, with the actors finding humor in their delivery if not the script.

The film might have been interesting if it became THE OFFICE meets LORD OF THE FLIES, with the workers factionalizing with office gossip and politics around limited resources and the CEO’s favor. The point being they can’t get over their office personas and their rivalries even when trapped in a cave. At the end, they unite against the manipulative CEO, realizing all of it doesn’t matter. I don’t know. Something. As it is, the script feels phoned in around an otherwise interesting premise.

Overall, can’t recommend this one. For really good grisly comedies about the office, try MAHEM, BELKO EXPERIMENT, and my favorite, SORRY TO DISTURB YOU.