Sputnik (2020)

Tenth review is for 2020s Russian alien creature feature Sputnik. Sinister, creepy, exciting, immersive, atmospheric, terror-filled, historical, Space!? what more could you want? Includes #spoilers :
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Sputnik (2020) is a strong pivot from Nicole. I enjoyed the twists and turns of this story. I also liked how Tatyanna’s risky behavior is explained in the beginning so any reckless decisions she made afterward makes sense, she’s not just opening the sealed door to make the story go forward, her personality is “high risk high reward.” I enjoyed the alien design too, everytime you see it it looks different. Like the zenomorph from Alien and other alien movie creatures, I can’t think of where the shit would take on the traits of stuff it ate. Maybe I was also thinking of the new Twilight Zone episode with the octopus. Every time it killed someone it was nuts!! The acting was also something to note, I think they all did what needed to be done. Overall I enjoyed it and how roles flipped, the colonel is the bad guy and the alien/human is the good guy. But a bit anticlimactic since the alien/human die and the lady just goes to pick up the dudes son. I don’t see a need for the alien/human to die. Maybe I’m stuck on The Girl With All the Gifts and Prometheus regarding human beings being taken out to be replaced by a new species. It could be seen as depressing but in the end it’s the way of life.
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I rate this a 9, I was on the edge of my seat when every little revelation was introduced, and the alien design was mad cool. I’d be interested in a part 2, following Tatyanna or some other sequel/ prequel a-la The Thing. But sequels, huh? Are never promised.
#horrormovie #halloween #moviereview #explorepage #afro #sputnik #russian #creaturefeature

Sputnik (2020)

August 13, 2025

Nicole (2019)

Ninth review is for indie horror/thriller starring Tamika Shannon who I wouldn’t mind seeing in more things. It’s stylish, exciting, brutal, and confusing. Includes #spoilers :
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Nicole (2019) Pros: The trailer highlighted the stylish, interesting, and chaotic nature of the story. I liked the way it used the color for showing what is reality and what’s imagined, also ties to a con. And the acting was aligned with the movie, not over the top or weak. Nicole definitely had depth, alcoholism and making food for her dead? family. The guy, John, definitely made me hate him. The personality differences were exciting to watch because one is monotone and subdued, the other is bold and obnoxious. & The settings were also well used.
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Cons: The color flips were not consistent. The dead body talking to her was a moment of that, are these things that she’s imagining, is it happening, are we flashing back in time? I also wish John had some kind of redeeming quality because she was not into the date from the jump taking shots of alcohol back to back. Did she plan to kill him from jump, I’m not sure. The dude from the neighborhood following her went nowhere, and by the end I felt like if I didn’t watch this film I wouldn’t have missed anything. The movie poster was dope, but made it seem like she was just a murder and not someone just using the axe to chop up the body after she used it in self-defense. Why go through all the effort to chop up and hide the body, witnesses saw you with the nigga? If you were in The House that Jack Built then…
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I rate this a 5, not great and not terrible. I was visually pleased by the black and white then pops of color, and then how the story plays out as a bad date gone wrong but by the end I was confused and uninterested in figuring out what the colors, this conversation with the dead body, and the gas station scene were all about. I was entertained and the acting was aligned with the movie. I would recommend this for a movie night with your girls where you drink cheap wine and recall stories of terrible dates.
#halloween #nicole #horrormovie #thriller #explorepage #afro #blackactress

Nicole (2019)

August 13, 2025

Under the Shadow (2016)

Eighth review is for a film that takes place in post-revolution, war-torn Tehran in the 1980s, Under the Shadow. Has culture, history, multiple levels of terror, and ominous, sinister haunting figures. Includes #spoilers :
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Under the Shadow (2016) Pros: I loved the unfolding of history, the way the lore and the story built with every conversation. There were no interactions that did not reflect on the story, no wasted dialogue. Cinematorgraphy and effects were dope. The misdirection in the end when she kicked her baby in the face was so slick! I bet she been wanting to do that since the Jane Fonda tape.
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Cons: Halfway through I was like “Am I gonna like this bratty baby? Her obsession with the doll is cute because she loves her father, but will she ease on up?” And by the end I needed the girl to learn some kind of lesson but ain’t happen. Also was waiting for the moment when her momma would say “Well if you didn’t rip up my Fonda tape, and I didn’t murder your doll, then we got a problem.” The curtain scene at the end went maaaaad long and I just wanted them to get up out of there. The end wasn’t a resolution because part of the doll is left behind AND shorties medical book, so they are still marked wherever they go. I’ve said before sequels are never promised, so we just gotta imagine that they battle with the Djinn again.
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I give it a 7, a better written child and an ending that feels like letting out a relieved sigh versus a tense one would have given it 10 for me, and that’s all I would change to bump it up, but the daughter’s stress over the doll made up most of the tension and half of the screen time.
#horrormovies #halloween #undertheshadow #explorepage #afro #afropunk #moviereview

Under the Shadow (2016)

August 13, 2025

The House that Jack Built (2018)

Sixth review goes to this art-house, chaotic, nutty ass horror movie The House that Jack Built. My head’s still spinning. Includes #spoilers :
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The House that Jack Built (2018) Definitely was an art film, made me think of Watermelon Woman and a little bit Six Degrees of Separation with the use of archival images and inclusion of random art and history facts.
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Pros: It was well shot, uuused the budget boy. Storytelling was engaging, the dialogue seemed well thought out and most of the incidents were exciting where you didn’t know what was about to happen.
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Cons: I’m curious what didn’t make it in the final edit cuz 2 and a half hours?! I fastforwarded a bunch of times, through the punishing dialogue with the shorty with the titties and the climbing around the ring of hell. Pace and tone were a mess. I get that he is a white homocidal psychopath and good at manipulation, but the clumsyness of him killing & the fact that these women off-rip see something wrong with him but their naïveté or bluntness about seeing something bad in him is a weird justification for their death. Both when he got into the railway workers wife’s house and the titty chick I didn’t believe that these women would not try to damage him. They all just look at him shocked and legit no one fights back. My face after an hour was like this 😐 Just trying to get through it so that the flash back narration would make sense. And this is definitely based on Dante’s Inferno, but making this a film and not a multi character series doesn’t make sense to me. We follow one guy and we don’t see his death just memories and him meeting Virgil. I allow the artistic and metaphorical imagery especially at the end, like not taking it all literal but I didn’t need all that or even most of that.
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I rate it a 6, because the house in the end that he built was nuts. I learned some new things, nothing led me to sympathize with him, and I was mostly entertained. I think I would recommend the Dante’s Inferno animation over this, but it’s not a bad film. I personally could go the rest of my whole life not seeing another crazy ass white man.
#horrorreview #halloween #thehousethatjackbuilt #explorepage #black #afro

The House that Jack Built (2018)

August 13, 2025

House of 1000 Corpses (2003)

Fifth review is House of 1000 Corpses. Wow I don’t know where to start. Depraved, evil, twisted, profane, ridiculous, and unexpected. Includes #spoilers :
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House of 1000 Corpses (2003) Pros: Red Hot Pussy Liquor is a fantastic name for a liquor store. I have seen The Devil’s Rejects years ago and never saw this original until now. Loved how the story built and built, we knew enough about the friends but it was clear that they were not the main characters, just play objects for the Firefly family. THAT THIRD ACT! When shorty and homeboy get put in that well to be eaten by the underwater zombie things! & then creepy Rocky Horror Picture Show looking dude started doing a satanic ritual, a bitch was SHOOK! Everytme a new scary element popped up like the underwater zombies, the hallway with skeletons that lead to a beautiful room decked out with skeleton chandelier and bone wall accents, which lead to Dr. Satan and another Hellraiser looking creature, leading to a chase back through the caves. Reminds me of True Blood’s opening credits, Hellraiser, The House that Jack Built, and The Hills Have Eyes. Its also giving me Adams Family but more brutal.
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Cons: Aint no diversity up in here, just white folks killing other white folks but I will allow it because of how deranged everything was. There was one black man saying “This is hell” and that made me really think, wow this film as a whole is a nightmare that keeps going from bad to worse. The friends were clear tropes but the women were not well defined at all. Shorties were in the back of the car and didn’t think to hop in the driver’s seat. IDGAF talmbout “Wear the mask or nobody can have desert” I don’t care! I don’t know y’all.
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I rate it a solid 7, really in the end of the day its not my ideal choice in movie because creepy white families tend to ruin the dispelling belief for me, cuz I would not be in those situations period. The addition of Dr. Satan and having it have the added level of satanic evil got my blood pumping, but the lack of fighting back from the friends and trying to escape made it like watching someone shoot crabs in a barrel.)
#horrormovie #halloween #review #houseof1000corpses #explorepage

House of 1000 Corpses (2003)

August 13, 2025

JeruZalem (2015)

Fourth horror movie review came out my sophomore year in college, an Israeli supernatural horror film where Jewish/white girl tourists make bad decisions over and over. Includes spoilers:
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JeruZalem (2015): This movie had a new location, a prophecy, interesting tech, an asylum, caves, and translations without subtitles (it’s a “if you know, you know” gesture and I respect it), all pros. This was brand new to me, but I was glad I watched it this month. It is the cousin of Cloverfield, As Above So Below, and REC, respectfully. It missed the mark with a janky horror creature design and weak, unexciting scares. Each scare I saw coming and the adventurous hoe completely gave up on being quiet during moments they were trying to hide. I appreciated that both main characters became the demon creatures, but I would have added the girl giving us that aerial view at the end and then dropping her video glasses down to the guy and him watching her fly away so we see what she looks like. We can guess that he lives on past that moment but it was open ended, he’s still in the heat of the action. Looked up a sequel and it was announced in 2016 but no updates since then and the directors have made other movies, Plan A came out this year. See, sequels are never promised😔
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I would give this a 6.5 honestly. Cuz it built me up and left me nowhere. And what’s with this white girl going everywhere alone and trusting these random people she just met? Shorty walked out of the club alone roaming the streets in a new city DRUNK and her friend let her? Damn, I thought we were past white-girl-damsel-in-distressing in film but I guess it’s the only thing that gets the plot moving.
#jeruzalem #horrormovies #halloween #creaturefeature #demons #exporepage #blackhorror #moviereview

JeruZalem (2015)

August 13, 2025

Blood Quantum (2019)

Third review is Blood Quantum, directed and written by Jeff Barnaby. Includes spoilers:
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Blood Quantum (2019): I almost can’t believe that this has been on my to-watch list for so long, it was so so damn good! No pros and cons list needed.
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It kept the formula of good zombie movies and added some cool additions like Native people being immune, playing out the brother Lysol as being legit homocidal and prejudiced to white folk, and having three acts where the final scene ends in a pregnant woman giving birth after getting bitten and them sailing off into the sunset. I think the effects were amazing, the fighting was diverse, not just shooting but using swords, machetes, and chainsaws. More often than not I had my jaw open because I think their decisions were smart, exciting, and well done. Well done Canada, I would recommend. And the title directly taken from the laws from the U.S. about defining Native American heritage by a fraction of ancestry and having this actually be a benefit in this movie had me enjoy another moment of appreciation after. I typically shy away from Zombies, typically people make selfish decisions, move slow, and they usually end with some weird message about the human spirit or it’s completely helpless. Or gangsta AF (The Girl With All The Gifts) I love me a haunted building, revenge, devil stuff, caves, and shit that gotta do with Black people. But this made me rethink my zombie aversion.
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I give it a 9, I think it was almost perfect, I’d shoot for one or two black people and a clearer motivation for the antagonist other than getting payback on everyone around him for his shitty life. But I’ll let that rock because it was a good ass movie.
#moviereview #bloodquantum #blackmoviereview #pochorror #halloween #zombies

Blood Quantum (2019)

August 13, 2025

Old (2021)

Second review, this M. Night Shymalan joint came out in July. Includes spoilers:
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Old (2021): A Pros and cons will make it easier to get my thoughts out this bitch.
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Pros: The setting was gorgeous, the music and sound cues helped guide the story, the way the plot rolled out was exciting, its like every 2 seconds something new was popping off to up the anti of the excitement. I had a guess for where they were going and I was wrong (also a con tbh), the acting of the black actors was entertaining to me, I mean MidSized Sudan as a name? Could be non slick product placement but I was entertained. The effects were dope and the choice of actors with different accents, backgrounds, motivations was more exciting to watch.
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Cons: Why I say me guessing the ending wrong was also a con, I don’t like things to be too obvious but I also like for a story to give me what I want. What I wanted for this ending was for when they died they would reappear in their beds in the hotel, after living a truncated life, now they can use this knowledge to be better people. Instead they are guinea pigs for scientists who are praying on sick and terminally ill people? Why not make a deal with the U.S. government and use their death row inmate a-la The Condemned Or volunteers who can use the option to swim out the squid-looking coral? The seediness, unethicality and professionalism behind the shit they were actually doing just didn’t make sense to me. I’ll allow it, because it was thought out. If you peel back the layers the idea is right there: What would happen if scientists stumble across a way to test how medicine can work on people if an hour was equal to a year? Something I read in a review after watching that I can’t get out of my head is that the adults were all speaking in the language of their occupation for the majority of the dialogue which flattened them and just served to set up later revelations, True.
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I give it a 7.5/8. If I am just letting the ending be, its an 8, but I struggled and suffered in confusion with these hoes for almost 2 hours and all we get is 2 people getting out with the help of an obscure message? I’ll allow it!
#horrormovies #review #spoilers #old

Old (2021)

August 13, 2025

Candyman (2021)

First review is the most recent film I watched AND it’s only been out a short time. Includes #spoilers
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Candyman (2021): You know I love everything blackity black, history, and revenge.
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Pros: The acting, the way they built the environment like it had a soul all its own, most of the effects dealing with scares, the different art pieces made and displayed, the tie in that Anthony was the BABY! And Tony Todd at the end, shook. When he called Vanessa Williams his mother I was like “Oh they done hid the surprise well on me.” The music and cinematography was so well done, and his arm rotting was definitely one of the grossest things ever ever. Ever ever? Ever ever.
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Cons: Some of the effects like the blood in the bathroom scene with the girls, how bizarre it seemed to have these folks say the name 5 times, the way they convinced people to say it was unnatural but I noticed that in the first 2 films too, what ya gonna do? How yall see him rotting and don’t get him to the hospital ASAP? The minute I saw it bandaged up from a beesting I woulda been like “Iss time to go Tony, Uber’s outside.” The end just ends and Imma need a scene where home girl Bri is siting somewhere relaxing, with an art show that shows off her late father and boyfriend’s work. Sequels are never promised (*cough* Chronicle) but I’m hoping this gets one. An extra scene would have tied it all together for me and not leaving this black girl with the cops behind her and a scary being that legit be killing everybody, mostly white folks, but black kids got it too. Them, the show, did the same thing where it left us at a moment where we are inhaling out of anticipation and left to breathe out during the credits. Unfair.
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I rate this an honest 8.5. If the ending was more well rounded it would bump up to 9.5 for sure. I really enjoyed it, I was nervous and excited to see what was coming next, and one of my neighbors had been randomly banging on the wall in the kitchen and it added to the tension in the air.)
#halloween #candyman #honestreview #blkladymoviereviews #horrormovies #explorepage #lgbtq

Candyman (2021)

August 13, 2025

First ever review for 2021 film Candyman