Here are some quick reviews from this week’s movies. Check out the full schedule here.
We made it halfway through Midnight Club this week, so I’ll add my full thoughts for that show with next week’s reviews. But since we got to watch Halloween Ends on Peacock a little earlier than expected, I’ll focus on that here…
Halloween Ends (2022) – 8/10* – This is a tough one to rate. It is not at all what I was expecting as the last installment of this trilogy, and it feels a lot like the original Halloween III (1982), which I love, or Zombie’s Halloween II (2009), which I hate. Meaning, it just doesn’t really fit here. As a Halloween movie, I’d give it a 6/10. Which is still way better than Zombie’s sequel (0/10 forever).
Now, as a 2022 slasher, or even as something like a Halloween spinoff, it’s actually really cool. I’ll watch again this weekend for sure, but after my initial viewing, I’d give it an 8/10. It looks GREAT. It FEELS like Halloween. And most importantly, it’s simply better than most horror stuff that comes out these days. And while I was in a constant state of asking what the heck was happening in my Halloween sequel/finale, I was never bored, even with a longer running time (1:51??) than I like to see.
Don’t listen to what others are saying, but also don’t expect a movie like the previous two. Just be ready for a crazy film about a slasher killing people in Haddonfield on Halloween.
Sleeping With the Enemy (1991) – 8/10 – I’m watching these “yuppie nightmares” to follow along with the Gourley & Rust podcast (see Pacific Heights from Week 4 and the review below this one), and it’s been really fun revisiting this stuff. (There are a few later that I either haven’t seen or don’t remember.) I mostly remembered this one, but it was a lot of fun to see it for the first time in maybe 20 years. It seemed short to me (I always expect these things to drag on), with only a few little plot issues, which is always good. And it’s just a great movie overall, with the ability to appeal to fans of multiple genres.
The Hand That Rocks the Cradle (1992) – 8.5/10 – This has been my favorite one to revisit so far, and I think a lot of the credit goes to Ernie Hudson. I don’t think I appreciated his contributions when I watched this as a kid, but he really steals the show, in my opinion. (I haven’t heard G&R’s episode of this one yet, but I’m hoping they feel the same.) The acting is really good all around, in my opinion, and while I have a few more issues with the plot for this one, it’s still got more enough going for it to help me ignore some of the silly details.
Snow in Southtown Christmas Podcast 