What's Smash?

One of the premier fighting game franchises of all time, Super Smash Bros is a party series published by gaming giant Nintendo which sees characters from their various franchises (alongside several third-party characters) coming together for some family-friendly violence. Beginning with the original title in 1999 for the Nintendo 64, Smash has seen several outings in the years since, such as the iconic Melee for the Gamecube, Brawl for the Wii, the unoriginally named Smash 4 for the WiiU and 3DS, and the most recent title, Ultimate, which released on the Switch in 2018. Ultimate was seen as a huge celebration for the franchise, boasting that EVERYONE IS HERE- all seventy + fighters, ranging from staples of the original game to guest fighters and DLC, were in the launch roster. Helmed by Masahiro Sakurai, Smash is a household name and staple for parties worldwide, with Ultimate being one of the highest-selling fighting games in the world at over 12 million units sold.

What's Fire Emblem?

Fire Emblem is Nintendo's forray into strategy- a turn based fantasy seires that's one of the longer-running staples of the company with its roots in 1990 for the Famicom. Despite a lot of pushing from Nintendo, Fire Emblem failed to take off in the West for many years, with the future of the franchise being uncertain after several successive commercial flops in the 2000s. With the franchise risking cancellation if it failed to find a market, the team made a Hail-Mary pass of epic proportions thanks to Fire Emblem Awakening in 2013- a launch title for the 3DS that finally marked the series getting a foothold in the West. Since then, the series has released three big games: Fates, which wasn't very good due to pulling a Pokemon and cutting the game into three separate releases and having an awful story, Heroes, a free to play mobile game, and Three Houses, which saw the series move to the Nintendo Switch. In Three Houses, you play as Byleth, a mercenary hired to teach one of three classes in a military academy that are all led by House Lords- Edlegard, Dimitri and Claude. Three Houses combined Persona-style time management for social interactions with the tactical gameplay of the series, and was a critical success for the company, selling over 3 million units.

Smash and Fire Emblem's shared history

Fire Emblem and Smash have a tied history, due to Smash being part of the reason the series even began releasing in the West (Fire Emblem had such a small presense before this that a lot of people unironically thought Marth and Ike were original characters made just for the game). Two characters, Roy(Who's also our boi) and Marth, were playable in Melee, with their popularity leading to Nintendo beginning localisation efforts of the other games. Since then, Fire Emblem has gotten consistent additional represetation in each mainline title:

Brawl added Ike, protagonist of Path of Radiance and its sequel, Radiant Dawn. His massive two-handed sword and battle cry of "GREAT AETHER" made him stand out as a fun battler, with high damage potential but a weak mobility selection to balance him.
3DS/WiiU would bring back Marth, Ike and Roy, alongside newcomers Robin and Lucina from Awakening and, post-launch, Corrin from Fates as a DLC fighter. The Mii Fighter would also get an outfit themed on Awakening's co-protagonist Chrom as DLC.
Ultimate would launch with all prior Fire Emblem characters as part of the launch roster with a new addition- Chrom making the transition from Mii Fighter to Echo Fighter (the game's term for characters who are moveset clones, in this case for Roy while Lucina was officially made an Echo Fighter for Marth). Ultimate also saw a large collection of music from the series being available alongside three stages.

Perhaps one of the largest showings of how tied together the two series are, especially regarding FE getting off the ground in the West, can be seen in the announcement trailer for a re-release of Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light, the first game in the series as part of 30th anniversary celebrations. The trailer shows two young boys playing Melee and wondering where Roy and Marth are from, leading to them discovering Fire Emblem at large.
It's at the launch of Ultimate, before the DLC released, that I'd like to dovetail and cover some of the tensions between Smash and Fire Emblem, alongside the post-launch support Ultimate got.

Smash fans vs Fire Emblem Fans: A Short History

Smash fans and Fire Emblem fans don't get along a lot of the time, it must be said (though Smash fans don't get along with anyone very well). Many Smash fans blame FE as the reason for Smash's roster being stereotyped as "Anime swordboys," due to Nintendo almost entirely drawing from the sword-fighting leads of the series instead of an axe or lance fighter. (Hector from Blazing Blade is often called an example of what a more atypical Smash rep would be due to wielding a large axe). While most of the fighters try and do different things mechanically (Robin is almost entirely a spellcaster for instance, while Corrin can turn into a dragon), that Chrom and Lucina were both moveset clones didn't help this perception.
Many other Nintendo franchise fans aren't happy additionally at how Fire Emblem gets blatant preferential treatment by Nintendo. While it is justified as them wanting to show off the new FE games in each Smash title, that Fire Emblem is all but guaranteed to get new Smash rep every time a new game releases has embittered fans of older franchises that Nintendo hasn't given as much love lately (especially F-Zero, Metroid, Golden Sun and more). Sakurai being an open Fire Emblem fan hasn't helped the perception of an inherent bias for FE, though this is usually countered by the low representation for the Kirby and Kid Icarus franchises despite Sakurai's own roles in them.
By Ultimate, a growing sentiment is that Fire Emblem is getting over-represented, as with the addition of Chrom it was now the third-most represented series in Smash after only Mario and Pokemon. Given FE's niche status in the West for most of this time, fans weren't very happy at this, partly for the aforementioned reason of wanting their own favorite franchises to get a new fighter (Metroid fans at least got a bone when Ridley joined the Ultimate roster and when Dark Samus became an Echo Fighter for Samus).

Ultimate's Fighter Pass 1: HOES MAD

Following Ultimate's launch, Nintendo released a season pass for five characters who would be added post-launch. Smash getting new fighters is notable not just because it means a new fighter and that franchise getting the prestige of saying it got into Smash, but because it means new music that can be used (unless you're Cloud) during matches. For the most part, the DLC fighters got really positive reactions due to the majority being unexpected third-party choices. Case in point, most players never saw it coming when during the Game Awards 2018, the first fighter would be revealed to be Joker from Persona 5. He'd be followed in 2019 by three more reveals: Dragon Quest's Hero, representing the more iconic protagonists in the legendary JRPG franchise, Banjo and Kazooie from the cult Microsoft series, and Terry Bogard from the SNK franchise (shout out to Sakurai's history lesson that's pretending to be a showcase for Terry, which also involves Sakurai's story of how they got 50 tracks from the SNK games into Smash)
Also Sans from Undertale got in. This unironically led to an increase in Mii Gunner mains.
Terry and Hero would generate some salt in the West due to perceived antiquity and lack of pedegree/mainstream appeal (Hero being "another anime sword boy" didn't help), leading to a mocking response of HOES MAD from Hero's fans especially, though Terry's got in on the fun thanks to the pun involving Terry's home series, Fatal Fury.
Thanks to the four characters seen thus far, the expectation was that Fighters Pass 1 would be made entirely of third party characters, and as January 2020 rolled around the expectations were high as to who would get in. Sora from Kingdom Hearts was a popular choice, alongside Geno from the Mario RPG series. Some dumbasses even wanted Tracer from Overwatch, partly thanks to Blizzard all but openly begging Nintendo for a Smash invite. The one with the most consistent support was Dante from the Devil May Cry series. And a few accidental coincidences boosted the idea of Dante getting in:

Dante's first three games had been ported to the Switch during Fighter Pass 1, with Devil May Cry 3 releasing in February 2020 soon after the final character was announced.
Brian Hanford, who played V in Devil May Cry 5, had a slip of the tongue where he talked about Dante in the context of Smash (“to be part of Marvel Vs Capcom, or Super Smash Bros., would be huge, which is what Dante is gonna be,”), leading many to believe Brian had leaked Dante as the fifth fighter.
Dante was experiencing a large-scale renaissance in popularity thanks to DMC 5 launching in early 2019, leading to him being on everyone's minds when it came to him joining the roster. Adding in his experience in fighting games already thanks to the Marvel vs Capcom games, it seemed set in stone that Dante would join the hallowed halls of Smash.
To hype up the final character, Sakurai posed with three fingers outstretched. DMC fans took this as a hint of Dante, given that DMC 3 would be coming soon to Switch.
On the same day as the character reveal, Capcom had planned a DMC announcement (it turned out to be an announcement that the game would have a co-op mode for Dante and Vergil in Bloody Palace).

With expectations set high, everyone tuned in on January 16th 2020 to see the final Season 1 character... and it was Byleth, the player character of Three Houses.
Another fucking Fire Emblem rep. The internet took it well, as you'd expect. Dante's fans just resorted to sad memes and jokes about one of Byleth's alt skins being "close enough" to let them pretend Byleth was Dante.

Smash likes to date around, and Fire Emblem is that girl that he always goes back to.
Byleth Joins The Roster: The Salt Mines Floweth

Byleth's announcement generates some of the most negative reactions to a Smash fighter yet seen, boasting the largest like-dislike ratios of Ultimate's DLC, and only matched for disliked announcements across the entire franchise by Corrin.
A lot of people weren't happy at Byleth's inclusion, suffice to say, though like Terry and Hero the HOES MAD crowd came back for another go around. It didn't help how utterly predictable it was given it was a historical recreation of Corrin's inclusion in WiiU/3DS. While Byleth had been predicted, many expected the mechanical variance would be that Byleth would function similar to the Pokemon Trainer (who swaps between the Gen 1 Pokemon) in that Byleth would command Claude, Dimitri and Edlegard from the sidelines. Instead, Byleth had four weapons- three representing each of the House Leaders alongside their own custom whip-sword, the Sword of the Creator. That being said, at least Nintendo were somewhat self aware about it this time, given the reveal had supporting character Sothis mock Byleth for losing a fight by going "Too many swordsmen, were there?" as a way to reveal that Byleth's female variant would join the roster.
While Byleth did offer some mechanical variety from the other FE reps, some were disappointed that Byleth specifically was representing Three Houses, due to Byleth's personality not being one of their selling points. Perhaps it would have been more preferable to have one of the House Leaders instead represent the game, but given how any one being selected would have been seen as favoritism of the Leaders (and the arguments about said Leaders being quite vicious), Byleth was the safest choice, if perhaps the most predictable. Fans of Xenoblade 2 were also unhappy at clear bias on Sakurai's part, given he'd previously said Rex, the MC, was from too new a game to qualify for a roster slot in Ultimate. In comparrison, Sakurai admitted in his presentation of Byleth that he pestered the developers to get early access copies of Three Houses to get to plan out Byleth's moveset, which only helped the idea of Fire Emblem operating on different rules from other series.
Overall, Byleth was seen as a disappointing inclusion to wrap up the Fighters Pass, with the announcement honestly being more notable for the memes about the salt over the character themself. (My favorites were the ones about Joker adding yet another teacher to his harem) After the shock reveals from relatively niche series such as Persona and SNK, Byleth was generally felt to be an overwhelmingly safe option to close on. While Sakurai did announce Fighters Pass 2 in the same event, promising six more DLC characters for Ultimate, a lot of fans from different franchises were still let down given how unpredictable the first wave had been.

Fighters Pass 2 and the Byleth aftermath

Byleth would launch a few weeks later and the reception was largely "Yeah they're fine," after an initial launch of "Yeah you're fuckin' overtuned and overpowered." They got some people who main them, others swore off them, much like any other DLC character in a fighting game, and the salt gradually diminished.
In February of 2020, Sakurai would tacitly admit during a Famitsu article about Byleth's development that he was aware of the criticism about the addition, saying that he doesn't have as much power over roster choices as people like to believe (Byleth apparently snubbed a fighter he was much more enthusiastic about) but that he agreed that there were a few too many sword fighters and Fire Emblem representatives specifically in the game. Given Sakurai has said Smash will never have a roster as large as Ultimate again, it's likely some of Fire Emblem's representation will be cut down in future games as part of this culling.

That being said, I understand. First and foremost: there are too many Fire Emblem characters; and what’s more there are too many sword-users.

So far, three of the six planned characters for Fighter's Pass 2 have been released, with Min-Min from the Arms series coming first, Steve from Minecraft literally breaking Twitter (Steve's addition could be a post of its own with how much salt he generated) and the OG Anime Sword Boy, the One Winged Angel himself in Sephiroth being announced at the Game Awards 2020. We're still waiting for updates on when the fourth fighter will be revealed and who they may be, but regardless of who it is, there will always be a few mad hoes in the background.
Also Geno finally got into Smash!... As a Mii skin which led to the character's fanbase collectively reaching for a noose. These hoes weren't even that mad, it was mostly just sad.
Still. At least it's better than whatever the Walluigi mains are up to.
Thanks for reading.

I watch a horror movie every day, here are the best ones I watched in 2020

(2020) Invisible Man 9/10
This remake, simply put, is excellent. I’m a huge fan of Leigh Whannell and while I do think the story itself is fantastic, it’s his directing that blew me away. This movie is so fucking tense without showing anything for a huge majority of its runtime. When shit actually starts to go down, it’s the definition of thrilling. Elisabeth Moss killed her role.
(2020) The Rental 8/10
The meat and bones of this movie is a character driven drama story. It’s tense and having so much knowledge right away as the viewer that the characters don’t have is frankly anxiety inducing, in a good way. I thought all four main performances were fantastic, especially Sheila Vand. There’s a moment in the film where everything is abruptly subverted in a grand horror fashion and depending on your tastes, that may be off-putting. To me, it was absolutely genius. Dave Franco directed the fuck out of this movie and eliminated all the comfort of campiness that great slashers usually hold.
(2020) Relic 8/10
Robyn Nevin is fantastic here and all the supporting roles are great but not only does this woman make the movie, she is the movie. Her dialogue, her delivery and her body language, at least to me, are a huge chunk of the entire plot. I just found this movie to be gentle until it isn’t, which makes for the most tense moments. It’s a very claustrophobic film; I think it does justice to a very serious and frightening illness.
(2020) Palm Springs 8/10
It doesn’t take long to catch on that, while this is a romantic comedy, it’s also a sci-fi horror film and a specific subset of sci-fi that makes me anxious. So in some regards, at least to genre placement, there’s my bias. The movie is seriously a treat though. It’s a new spin on an old formula and it’s genuinely funny, suspenseful and endearing. Even if you disagree that it shouldn’t be discussed in the horror circles, you won’t regret watching it.
(2020) Shirley 7/10
It’s an incredibly interesting film for many reasons but mostly because it exists as a biopic, as well as a psychological horror film. Jackson is played Elisabeth Moss who is just wonderful. She really brought to life the internal struggle of Jackson. I’d suggest doing some research before diving into this because her profession during the time period was not glamorous or widely accepted, which gives context to, well, everything.
(2020) Becky 8/10
Kevin James was fantastic. He’s a sadistic fuck in this movie. But he doesn’t deserve all the credit and the writers don’t either. I’m going to highlight Greta Zozula here. The most powerful moments in this entire film were purely cinematography based. Melanie Garros and Jenn McGouran deserve a shoutout as well. This was a cookie-cutter home invasion film at its core and these people, among others, made it one of my favorite home invasion films of the decade. Alissa Gee deserves recognition too for creating the most disgusting moment I’ve seen in a minute.
(2019) Parasite 9/10
This film is most obviously on-the-nose but in the same breath, so incredibly impactful. I can’t even describe the seamless transition from black comedy to horror. It’s a heartbreaking view on classism and poverty while also just being a thrilling experience. Every single performance is remarkable and natural. I’m not even sure what else to say without spoiling it. This film isn’t just specific to Asian culture but very relevant to anyone feeling that they’re in a rut.
(2019) Villains 8/10
The premise is sort of simple but the horror is in the details. i loved how everything played out and I thought all four main actors did an incredible job. Everything was super convincing which had me invested and tense. There’s a scene at the end, despite the movies dark, comedic aspects, that was really sweet and very climactic.
(2019) Swallow 9/10
Haley Bennett delivers a heartbreaking performance with a powerful but melancholy ending. The narrative itself is twisted and sadistic. This film make me anxious, depressed and in the end, I’m not sure it offered much reprieve. I loved this film but I’d caution anyone going through mental trauma to venture cautiously into it. It doesn’t promote anything negative but the subject matter can be difficult.
(2019) Nimic 8/10
When I googled the name of this film it gave me the Romanian translation of “nothing” but also, “everything”. For a 10-minute short it offers so much. It felt like a powerfully dark statement about performance in general.
(2019) The Head Hunter 9/10
This was one of the most creative, restrained yet somehow absolutely insane movies I’ve seen all year. I’m absolutely blown away. The exposition is limited and told so refreshingly through almost entirely visuals. It’s caused many viewers frustrations but for me, it was absolutely the best aspect. That’s saying a lot because visually, stylistically, it’s fucking remarkable. I’ve heard people say this movie is boring and to me, there’s not a dull moment throughout the entire film, not a single wasted shot. It’s thrilling, dark, gritty, campy at times and embodies this identity that’s both somehow fluid and refined. It feels like an arthouse film in its minimalism but avoids any pretentiousness you may associate with that sub-genre. Jordan Downey has done some intentionally so-bad-it’s good movies in the past and he clearly wanted to still reference those aspects through some of his shlocky, 50’s horror inspirations in here; especially Fiend Without a Face. That’s a creative decision that will turn a lot of people off but I just really appreciated it and it made the actual watching experience so incredibly fun.
(2019) The Lighthouse 9.5/10
This film is among the few that I felt compelled to watch it again almost immediately. It’s so incredibly rich in every aspect that can make a movie successful. The visuals are jaw-dropping; almost every single frame of this film is photographic. The soundtrack is stripped down to just these haunting sounds of fog horns and piss buckets. The package everything is delivered in, from an artistic standpoint, is so memorable. The performances by Pattinson and Dafoe are both some of the best I’ve seen this entire year and really, the decade…possibly of all time. They deliver this brilliant script’s dialogue with such passion, humor and intensity. The story in this film is shrouded in mystery but the clues and tools needed to decipher it do exist and with a rewatch, finding them felt so rewarding. It’s the kind of movie that I want to make my friends watch, simply so I have someone to discuss it with. It’s one of the best horror films I’ve ever seen.
(2019) I Trapped the Devil 7/10
This one is a bit of a slow-burn but I felt the tension from beginning to end so none of it felt like a blind investment. It had the potential to be another, cookie-cutter, pretentious statement but what I found it to be was simply a well-crafted horror film.
(2019) Pet Sematary 7.5/10
The original film was entertaining to me but I felt it was also dated and a bit too unintentionally silly for my tastes. So going into this, I was hoping for a darker, more serious film and I’m happy to say, that’s what I got.
(2019) Guns Akimbo 7.5/10
This is non-stop gory action, an absurd story and an insane performance by Radcliffe, who I’m such a big fan of at this point. The best part? It’s genuinely, laugh-out-loud funny, both through physical comedy and clever dialogue.
(2019) Harpoon 7/10
I enjoyed this movie a lot and I mean “enjoyed” in every sense of the word. It was the kind of movie to stop making me think so critically about the acting and cinematography because I just find the stranded genre so fun. This movie really delivered in both dark humor and pure, unpredictability.
(2019) Annabelle Comes Home 7/10
I know that Gary Dauberman has worked closely with the series so he definitely understands Wan’s Conjuring universe’s vibe. I mean that from both a pacing and cinematography standpoint. I loved that all the possessed artifacts come into play.
(2019) Vivarium 8/10
This movie is fucking terrifying. The cast may even be too loaded because it’s the environment and Senan Jennings that makes everything so scary. The final 30 minutes of this film are a complete mindfuck and just left my jaw on the floor.
(2019) It Chapter 2 9/10
It embodies the heartfelt, character driven story of King’s novel so incredibly well. Every single performance by the adult actors is fantastic and as much as people didn’t like the overuse of humor, it felt like a natural evolution to me. Things were destined to be less scary with the adult characters coming into contact with an evil they’ve faced before. The last 30-min to me were just so touching, sad and it was the culmination I was hoping for.
(2019) Zombieland: Double Tap 7.5/10
It’s certainly a sequel as far as sequels go but I had a ton of fun with it and it was great to see this group back together. It’s a super cheesy film and I would expect some hate but the original is cheesy fun too, if even to a lesser extent.
(2019) The Color Out of Space 7/10
The entire suspense if the film is how each individual character reacts to this unknown force but Cage’s is of course the most volatile. I love the body horror and I think the entire movie is pretty goddamn exciting in that aspect. It goes so far beyond what you’d expect.
(2019) Joker 9.5/10
To have a Batman-universe film stand out this much among all the others is incredible. This film intentionally evokes almost every emotion until a raw, chilling finale. Gotham is unkempt, unstable and teetering.
(2019) Come to Daddy 7.5/10
This movie is definitely a dark comedy but it’s incredibly interesting in that, among the dark humor, is a real horror movie and a very graphic one at that.
(2019) The Lodge 9/10
The misdirects in this story are excellent and I was blown away about how well the cinematography was used to manipulate the viewer. It feels like it’s twist after twist but in reality, nothing changes and that’s the scariest aspect to the entire movie.
(2019) Home with a View of the Monster 7/10
They do a fantastic job of storytelling, switching timelines and perspectives throughout the film. It’s a technique that’s been around longer than we’ve all been alive but one that’s not easily mastered.
(2019) Ready or Not 7.5/10
It’s just a ton of fun and Samara Weaving is fantastic. There’s so much great meta-humor and the effects are top notch. I think this sub-genre of sadistic games being played has been done to death so it was a welcomed surprise to see a film do it in such a successful way.
(2019) The Platform 9.5/10
One of my favorite things about horror is that you can trace history itself through the decades, with films reflecting the current political, social and economic state around the globe. First we has Us and then another incredible film Parasite, all with similar desperate themes of class instability. Then you have The Platform, which in its pure brutalism combines horror, religion and politics to make an incredibly powerful statement.
(2019) I See You 9/10
This film consistently surprised, disappointed and impressed me throughout its runtime based purely on my own expectations. It frankly made a fool out of me.
(2019) The Vast of Night 7/10
This movie is pretty low-budget but they really worked with what they had to create this warm, throwback aesthetic that just tickled my tiny little nuts. It’s a dialogue driven, on-the-nose Twilight Zone homage and I really enjoyed it.
(2019) John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum 8/10
The choreography and production is mesmerizing. This might be a Hollywood mainstream action film but the kills are powerful and fucking brutal.
(2018) Bloodline 7.5/10
Sean William Scott is a forever type casted actor but has managed to break free of that throughout the years and this is another great example of him doing just that. His performance is reserved but effective.
(2018) Gwen 8.5/10
It’s an incredibly heartbreaking story that, while exists in the folk-horror genre, subverts any and all expectations. Eleanor Worthington-Cox and Maxine Peaks carry the entire film.
(2018) Freaks 8/10
Emile Hirsch, Amanda Crew and Lexy Kolker were all great but it was Bruce Dern who blew me away. He’s such a powerful on-screen presence; just his delivery alone establishes a lot of the more horrifying elements to this film.
(2018) Overlord 8/10
I thought it would be a traditional zombie movie and the circumstances would be the twist but it was its own thing. It’s kind of difficult to describe but I think action-war-horror would be the closest thing I could pin it too. Jovan Adepo was a great fucking lead.
(2018) Monster Party 7.5/10
It’s awesome to experiment but this is a film that will appeal to almost everyone without feeling unoriginal or sold out. This is dark humor at its most enjoyable and the practical effects and gore are fucking awesome.
(2018) Pledge 7.5/10
It’s a simple premise but so well executed. I loved the ending and pretty much 95% of the creative decisions. This isn’t a bloodbath of a horror film but it’s violent as hell.
(2018) High Life 7/10
This film is a really uncomfortable watch from beginning to end. It’s filled with violent, psychosexual imagery, a disjointed narrative and cum. It ends and if you don’t outright hate it, it’s hard to explain why you like it because it’s such a rough watch. I fall in the latter category.
(2018) Possum 8/10
I love the way the story unfolds in the end, just methodically bit-by-bit until a crushing reveal. I felt for this main character and his pain seemed so real.
(2018) Wildling 8/10
Bel Powley and Liv Tyler both play very complimentary fantastic roles. There’s an extended portion of the film that’s almost uplifting and pleasantly strange, following their relationship with each other. I’m happy to say things turn sinister quickly and the last 30-minutes are a wild ride, to say the least.
(2018) The Nightingale 9.5/10
Jennifer Kent decided to put in such a universally disgusting scene that had people walking out of screenings and almost justifiably so. It’s really difficult to watch in portions. It’s just fortunate she followed it up with a masterpiece.
(2017) John Wick: Chapter 2 8/10
These assassins dance so carefully around innocent civilians that it almost comes off as a black comedy, in a great way.
(2017) My Friend Dahmer 8/10
To me, especially with Ross Lynch’s performance, it was an equally endearing and chilling film. It humanized someone who I’ve always considered to be a literal monster, which is something I don’t know how to feel about.
(2017) One Cut of the Dead 7/10
This movie is super creative and pretty fucking hilarious. It feels like a modern day Bowfinger.
(2017) Marrowbone 7.5/10
The characters portrayed are vibrant and fully realized, whether it be through substance or lack-there-of. I obviously don’t actively try and predict movies like a gameshow but this film seemed to excel in misdirect.
(2016) White Girl 8/10
It reminded me a lot of Larry Clark’s Kids but actually intelligently modernized to make a statement on these neighborhoods on the fringe of gentrification.
(2016) The Lighthouse 7.5/10
Mark Lewis Jones and Michael Jibson play their respective roles as the lighthouse keepers really well. Towards the end of the film when the story demands even more of them both, they truly deliver.
(2015) Room 9/10
Brie Larson is an incredible actress and plays this profoundly realistic character. There's moments where emotions do bubble over but most of the time, she does so much by doing so little.
(2015) Jurassic World 7.5/10
Some people will be completely turned off by some of the more absurd and out-there plot elements but I have to say, despite it being cheesy on paper, a lot of the newer sci-fi concepts just happen to work. This is bound to forever be kind of divisive but I liked it.
(2015) Tag 8.5/10
It’s like Tokyo Gore Police meets The Matrix. Sono makes a powerful statement on film media, gender oppression and interestingly enough, he doesn’t leave himself out of the lens of criticism.
(2015) The Invitation 9/10
This movie’s horror aspect is incredibly telegraphed and manipulated with these creepy violin sounds. However, Karyn Kusama’s impeccably clean cinematography and direction use all of that to its benefit.
(2014) John Wick 8/10
I saw this movie in theaters and let me just say, as a beagle owner, this may be my favorite revenge movie. Keanu Reeves is badass as shit and it was the first film in a long time to make me interested in action.
(2014) Spring 8.5/10
It feels helpless and hopeful at the same time, Benson’s script is amazing. I’ve always said that films shot in idyllic landscapes are a blank canvas for horror. There’s so much beautiful contrast.
(2014) The Treatment 7.5/10
This film is so unnerving, dark and depressing. The bones of it are structured like any crime thriller but the meat of it is pure depravity.
(2014) Clown 8/10
This is body horror and one of the better ones out there; the slow, methodical transformation throughout this movie was so effective.
(2014) The Incident 9/10
Bleak doesn’t even begin to describe this film. It’s pure nihilism, screamed loudly into the universe.
(2014) The Guest 8.5/10
I fucking love the story, Dan Stevens is fantastic and the production was cleanly executed. It’s Adam Wingard’s best film so far.
(2013) Blue Ruin 9/10
It’s a standout to me among revenge films. Macon Blair’s character isn’t some bloodthirsty ex-navy seal bent on revenge. He’s a completely broken man that’s overcome by heartbreak.
(2013) Evil Dead 7.5/10
It’s one of the few examples where a remake of a classic, near perfect movie, actually works.
(2013) Redemption 8/10
The film is shot so well, the editing and portrayal of the visuals all correspond to the ebb and flow of his characters physical and mental health.
(2013) Under the Skin 9/10
The second death in this movie is one of the most remarkably unsettling scenes I’ve witnessed to date.
(2011) The Strange Thing About the Johnsons 7/10
Astor flips child molestation on its head in a tense, sickeningly well-made film and I absolute hate it. Do not watch this movie, this will only detract from your overall happiness.
(2011) Contagion 9/10
There’s some fantastic performances by Paltrow, Law, Fishburne and quite a few others. However, it’s the research and writing of this film, the frightening scientific accuracy, that makes it so effective.
(2011) We Need to Talk About Kevin 9/10
This is probably one of the most sensitive subjects you can approach and I’m a huge fan of Lynne Ramsay. Ezra Miller has one of the most chillingly realistic performances of the decade.
(2010) Inception 9.5/10
It’s Nolan’s masterpiece in my mind and that statement isn’t to be taken lightly, as everything he’s done has felt powerful.
(2010) Buried 8/10
This is one of my favorite movies filmed all in one location. It’s tense, claustrophobic (obviously) and it feels genuinely helpless.
(2010) Skeletons 7/10
It’s a strange little film but it’s charming, smart and a refreshing take on the exorcism sub-genre.
(2009) The House of the Devil 8/10
My absolute favorite aspect of this film is the retro feel. It captured 70’s horror so incredibly well. Ti West is a talented filmmaker and this is one of my favorites by him.
(2009) Cropsey 7/10
If there was one thing I really took away from this film, it would be how society and children in particular adapt to unsolved murders.
(2009) The Loved Ones 7.5/10
It reminds of almost a modern day interpretation on The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, if the dinner scene was the entire film.
(2008) Lake Mungo 9/10
This family is so incredibly natural, real and convincing. It’s not too over the top. The horror is hidden in every frame and simultaneously interwoven with heartbreak. Despite many previous and later films attempting to do what it does, I’ve never seen anything like it.
(2007) An American Crime 7.5/10
Elliot Page is wonderful as Sylvia Likens, she just has this innocent nature to her that amplified the violent aspects of the film. I loved the editing of courtroom footage throughout the runtime, it was a constant reminder that what you’re watching actually happened, despite the theatrical nature of the film at times.
(2007) Teeth 8/10
Teeth is actually such an incredibly hard movie to review critically. The film itself, as a whole, is so many things at once. It’s a comedy, an exploitation film, a revenge film and even sort of…a slasher? I have to give respect where respect is due.
(2007) Death Sentence 7/10
This movie is so goddamn intense during the action sequences that it actual reminds me more of a Max Payne video game film adaptation. It’s so over-the-top but in a really entertaining way.
(2007) Timecrimes 8.5/10
I loved this movie when I first saw it but upon re-watching it, I can’t help but stress its influence in the time-loop horror sub-genre. Sure films like Primer definitely helped pave the way but Timecrimes really manages to focus less on the science fiction and more on the horrifying consequences that come with time travel.
(2007) Zodiac 9/10
It’s not the most violent film, it’s much more story driven but the moments of violence feel fucking powerful. The horror in this film isn’t about the serial killer, it’s really about obsession and Gyllenhaal absolutely nails his performance to bring that aspect home.
(2006) Population 436 7/10
It didn’t aim to disgust or push boundaries; it’s just a fun, creepy story with a satisfying ending.
(2006) Children of Men 9.5/10
It’s a bleak film, as bleak as they come from some perspectives but through the violence and despair is a powerful message of hope. Clive Owen’s character is as a broken as the world around him and one of my favorite character arcs of all time.
(2005) Red Eye 7/10
The setup is sinister enough, being in the confines of a plane, to warrant it being discussed as a horror but it does devolve into an action thriller, not that I’m a genre-snob. Both Cillian Murphy and Rachel McAdams are fantastic and it’s a tight knit package.
(2005) The Descent 9.5/10
It’s absolutely terrifying and top-to-bottom, one of the most effective horror movies ever made. After seeing over a thousand horror projects, this still remains one of the most intense, period.
(2005) Constantine 8.5/10
Listen, I’ve obviously never even heard about this comic but let me just say, as a standalone movie, it’s fucking awesome. It’s basically Keanu Reeves battling his way through hell, murking demons and basically just being badass as shit.
(2004) Saw 8/10
It’s one of the most creative projects of the 00’s and a project that launched Wan’s and Whannell’s career. I can safely say, the two of them haven’t had any major misses since. This movie is raw, disturbing and has a strong mystery-driven backbone that makes it iconic and endlessly re-watchable. I absolutely love it.
(2004) Hellboy 7.5/10
Listen, I’m not a fucking nerd who is all-knowing about these comics and how well they translate to film but let me tell you, this movie fucking rocks. Ron Perlman kills this role and has so much personality.
(2000) The Gift 8.5/10
Everyone here is wonderful. If I had to pick a standout though, it would be Giovanni Ribisi. His performance is so raw and emotive. The unstable nature of his character actually held up as the backbone to the mystery portion of this film, making it very much unpredictable.
(1999) The Ninth Gate 9/10
It’s two hours of a giant satanic onion being peeled back layer by layer. It’s clear that when Polanski isn’t raping children, he’s creating filmmaking masterpieces.
(1999) Deep Blue Sea 7.5/10
The science-fiction aspects may be super contrived to someone smarter than I am but the entire movie is so goddamn entertaining. I love all the characters and LL Cool J is particularly hilarious.
(1998) Pi 7.5/10
Aronofsky is challenging religion with science and mathematics and it comes together in a really insane way.
(1997) The Lost World: Jurassic Park 7/10
One scene in particular that stuck with me was the raptors in the tall grass, so aesthetically gorgeous and well-shot. It’s not a perfect movie but Goldblum and Moore are charismatic, it’s fucking action packed and the set pieces are diverse as shit. This isn’t some dialed in bullshit for a quick buck.
(1997) Men in Black 9/10
Vincent D’Onofrio was fucking incredible. The entire villain that is Edgar is one of my favorites of all time. Everything from his speech, his loose-skin and awkwardly stiff gate just really sell it.
(1996) The Craft 7.5/10
I love all the acting and characters but Fairuza Balk is probably my favorite. She’s just so eclectic and over-the-top.
(1995) Tales from the Crypt: Demon Knight 7/10
This is such a fun movie and very much in the Tales from the Crypt vein. It’s campy but super violent too; the practical effects are fucking dope. It’s kind of like Evil Dead meets From Dusk till Dawn. Billy Zane is great in it and just brings a ton of personally to the film. I even really dug the raunchy, meta-horror opening.
(1994) The Mask 7/10
Jim Carrey is his usual, hilarious, eclectic, over-the-goddamn-top self which softens the edges. There’s also a villain though and the same childish aspects don’t apply to him. As a kid, he was kind of scary actually.
(1993) Jurassic Park 9.5/10
Even just typing that title blows my mind, this movie was made in 1993 and 27 years later, it still looks better than most modern monster movies. Jurassic Park is everything. This movie is the perfect blend of horror, action, adventure and sci-fi.
(1991) Highway to Hell 7.5/10
This is an absolutely awesome 90’s horror movie. It has cameos from the entire Stiller family, even fucking Gilbert Gottfried. You also have Chad Lowe, who I truthfully didn’t even know existed. The story, set pieces and script are also all excellent. It’s darkly funny, well-paced and just a wild ride from start to finish.
(1990) The Exorcist 3 8.5/10
This movie, for a film following such an iconic movie, being a third film in a series, is just bafflingly good. The original writer of the first film is returning and his script as well as directorial product both deliver.
(1989) Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade 8/10
Indy is still Indy here, he’s fucking badass; his character and dialogue excel in this entry immensely. Not just dialogue but this film contains some of the best action choreography of the entire series, something that almost seems unfairly diminished through repetition. This movie is fucking awesome.
(1988) Akira 7.5/10
This story is one that would feel very difficult to pull off through traditional media. The level of violence and body horror would possibly be even too much for Cronenberg’s plate. The ending of this film is mind-melting.
(1988) Hellbound: Hellraiser 2 7.5/10
It’s violent, dark, disgusting and gory as fuck. It feels like a fever dream of hell. I loved the female character kind of forcing this disgusting erotic nature and it doubled down on the series soul which is the deadly allure of hell.
(1988) Vampire’s Kiss 7/10
I love American Psycho and watching this, I can see where a ton of the performance inspiration in that film came from. Cage’s body language here is so insanely expressive and probably my favorite part of the entire project. Even if you’ve seen this one before, I highly suggest a re-watch, there’s something special about it.
(1987) Fatal Attraction 7.5/10
Holy shit Glenn Close you goddamn crazy bitch, such a great performance. This movie is so incredibly and exponentially tense as it plays out. I loved Micheal Douglas and the entire film is just a reminder to never fucking cheat.
(1987) The Believers 7/10
It gets a bit absurd at certain points but the cult aspects are awesome. I also think it’s the first horror movie I’ve seen specifically about Santeria. It’s not perfect but it stuck with me.
(1987) The Lost Boys 8/10
Joel Schumacher’s The Lost Boys is so indicative of 80’s horror that it could very well be the face of the decade itself. The one-liners, the practical effects, aesthetics and story are all just wonderful. I’m not sure what else to say, this movie feels like a warm blanket to me.
(1986) Little Shop of Horrors 8/10
Rick Moranis is as goofy as ever and good god…the practical effects are mind-blowing. You’re watching this giant plant movie and it just melts your brain thinking about how it was accomplished.
(1986) Aliens 7/10
They exploited the action of the first film to capture a larger audience and lost what made Alien such an effective horror movie in the first place. I still like this movie because it contains my favorite heroin and monster but I’m sick of acting like the Alien series ever needed a director like Cameron. The ending is absolutely insane and bumps this up a few points for sure.
(1984) The Terminator 8/10
This movie, simply put, is badass as shit. I’m aware the series kind of progresses into more action focused territory with the sequels but the original will always be a horror movie to me. The pacing, the unstoppable force that is Arnold, it’s all thrilling as shit.
(1984) Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom 8/10
I think it’s a scary movie and a really dark turn in the trilogy. There are quirky aspects of it character wise that are kind of goofy but playful. Overall though, goddamn dude, these set pieces are amazing.
(1984) Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter 7/10
Jason is super fucking powerful here; he moves quickly, intelligently and is able to drive the suspense of the movie. The success is greatly attributed to a solid performance by Crispin Glover but more importantly, Corey Feldman. I know Corey gets a lot of shit these days but he was an eclectic child actor.
(1981) Raiders of the Lost Ark 9/10
Raiders of the Lost Arc is such an important movie to me. It helped open my eyes to darker content as a child, for better or worse. Everything that could ever be said about this film has been said, I’m just here to show my appreciation.
(1980) City of the Living Dead 8/10
This movie is batshit insane in the best way possible. It’s ultra-gory, tons of crazy impressive practical effects which are very much Fulci in style. The narrative is a bit confusing but I think, or hope at least, intentionally so.
(1980) The Ninth Configuration 7/10
The Ninth Configuration, while still representing William Peter Blatty’s struggle with religion, is tonally very different from The Exorcist. It’s a tedious, slow, detail oriented, character driven film that exceeds so well because of great writing.
(1979) Nosferatu the Vampire 8/10
This film not only embodies and celebrates the original in terms of structure as well as substance, but in its restrained filmmaking methods; its ability to let shots live without intervention. It’s atmospheric, well-trimmed and just an all-around, exceptional film. Klaus Kinsi as Nosferatu is perfect.
(1979) The Amityville Horror 7/10
I like James Brolin’s character, he’s odd and the axe sharpening is somewhat iconic. The film has both pacing issues as well as dialogue issues. With that being said though, the finale in sinister as fuck and really brings life, quite literally, to this evil house.
(1979) Alien 9.5/10
My love for this single film transcends my love for the genre itself. Ridley Scott pulled off an absolute masterpiece and despite having watched it 25 times, I still cannot comprehend how a film of this quality was pulled off in 1979. It’s as close as perfection can be.
(1978) Dawn of the Dead 8/10
Obviously at first glance you can tell this is a really lengthy film at over 2-hours long. However, the pacing is actually my favorite part. Romero really builds up to the climax slowly and lets you linger in his world for such a long time that it becomes fleshed out through pure exposure.
(1978) Slave to the Cannibal God 7/10
I love the visuals, the story and Ursula Andress’ great big dirty milkers. It’s a wonderful, sleazy little exploitation film. The audio is also fantastic; I just love the way this film is edited all around.
(1977) Shock Waves 7/10
Peter Cushing is awesome and I really liked Brooke Adams as well. Despite the cheesy premise though, this film is dark and moody. The tension and action really builds throughout the film and with the atmospheric nature, you kind of forget the ridiculousness of it all.
(1975) Satanico Pandemonium 7/10
This is a pretty great, atmospheric, old-school exploitation film. It dives right into the temptations of sex and the devil among this convent. It gets pretty fucking dark, especially for the time period, specifically for Mexican horror.
(1974) Vampyres 9/10
It’s dark, moody, sexy and offers one of the most unique vampire film experiences to date. It’s a film that makes Dennis’ idea from It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia about a full-penetration, Dolph Lundgren crime fighting movie seem almost plausible.
(1973) Soylent Green 8/10
I loved all the concepts and details in this film. It took me a bit to get invested but once I was, real food was replaced with gold in my brain watching the plot play out. Charlton Heston did a great job of bringing life to this fictional universe as well through his dynamic and invested performance.
(1973) The Crazies 7/10
There’s this great scene with this old lady knitting that I just adore. The innocent and violent clash in such an effective way. Obviously the horror aspects in that scene, as well as the virus itself are very fictional. The government response though, seems almost plausible, considering how they’re currently handling Covid-19.
(1972) Horror Express 8/10
It’s genuinely creepy to this day and the storyline is ambitious as fuck. I’d be hard-pressed to say it’s not one of the better horror-sci-fis of the 70’s and that category includes some great fucking films.
(1968) Even the Wind is Afraid 8/10
Coming over a decade before Suspiria, I can’t but feel, despite how unknown this film is, how influential it was to the genre. The story is great; it’s not super violent or anything and when they do show anything, it’s so well built up. It’s either a reveal at either peak tension or the opposite, when it’s least expected.
(1967) Our Mother’s House 8/10
Jack Clayton, simply for directing The Innocents, is one of my favorite directors. He manages to capture super poignant emotional moments unlike no one else. We have some great modern directors working today that do the same but in terms of 1960's horror, it was harder to come by.
(1967) Violated Angels 7/10
It’s actually based on an American case, about a man Richard Speck who broke into a hospital in 1966, raped and murdered eight nurses. The cinematography is startling cold. The dialogue is profound and helpless. This has to be up there with the most cynically sexualized piece of exploitation cinema.
(1964) Lady in a Cage 7.5/10
It’s a really great little thriller with a solid performance by Olivia de Havilland and also James Caan. I think this movie captures such a helpless nature really well.
(1964) The Last Man on Earth 7.5/10
I loved this movie. It’s actually one of my favorite Price films, which at least for me, is a bold statement. His films tend to have this warm, campy feel to them but this one actually felt pretty dark and desolate. It still contains those less-serious scenes and bits of dialogue but the writing and ideas themselves feel like a huge leap forward for the horror genre.
(1960) The Virgin Spring 9/10
This is clearly the inspiration for The Last House on the Left and while I appreciate that film immensely, it didn’t evoke the same emotions this one did. The cinematography, per-Bergman, is impeccable.
(1958) The Fly 7.5/10
The plot is actually non-linear and the first half is my favorite. Patricia Owens plays up the paranoia of her character incredibly well and I was actually really happy to see Price in a supporting role.
(1956) Forbidden Planet 8/10
I personally think it’s one of the best sci-fi films of the decade. I know I’m going to get chirped for saying this but there’s even a scene towards the end that I believe could have inspired the tesseract in Interstellar.
(1935) The Black Room 7/10
This is another Universal horror film starring Karloff, directed by Roy Neill. It presents itself with the usual, tight-knit flair you may have come to expect but it somehow has seen much less recognition than any of the major monster movies. I really liked this movie.
(1932) The Old Dark House 8/10
This is also Karloff’s best look to date. I mean seriously, his performance is pretty muted and mostly expressed in body language but he has the same screen presence as Mickey Rourke.

First Time Watching Doctor Who - Series 8 REVIEW

EPISODE 1 - DEEP BREATH - 9/10
What an introduction to Peter Capaldi’s Doctor. The TARDIS is coughed up by a gigantic dinosaur in Victorian London and the newly regenerated Doctor comes crashing out. Also, I LOVE the new design of the titles. Peter Capaldi’s Doctor already feels so distinguished from the others, that bubbling anger mixed with the struggle to understand human emotion that was touched upon at times by Matt Smith’s Doctor (particularly during “The Beast Below” or “Flesh and Stone”). The whole interaction between the Doctor and the homeless man was brilliant, especially when you see him wearing the coat.
The restaurant scene with the Doctor and Clara develops both of their characters so beautifully, the relationship between them feels so different from any other Doctocompanion relationship we’ve had so far and the chemistry flows wonderfully. The half-face man villain is a terrifying concept and the design is great, I love the practical effect of the moving eyeball and ticking robot - it reminded me a little of the clockwork robots from “The Girl in the Fireplace”. We get another great restaurant conversation between the Doctor and the half-face man. I adore the little moment when the Doctor holds up the plate as a mirror but is also looking at himself on the other side whilst explaining his changing face. The ambiguity of whether the Doctor pushed him was so unnerving, particularly that shot of the Doctor looking straight to camera.
Clara’s phone call with Matt Smith’s Doctor was a very sweet and quiet moment that wrapped up her relationship with Smith’s Doctor beautifully. I like the idea of this Doctor needing a companion as a bridge between human emotion and his cocktail of confusing feelings, instead of the usual Doctor heralding his superior intellect over an unimportant human person that is in awe of him. Both Peter Capaldi and Jenna Coleman (no Louise now?) give fantastic performances, and Clara’s character feels different but so much better in this episode than all of Series 7.
EPISODE 2 - INTO THE DALEK - 8/10
We’re finally getting another Dalek story that isn’t just them cropping up randomly. Even the opening moment with Peter Capaldi making Blue ask him politely instead of threatening him, already such a great little insight into his character. Then we get the main premise being shrinking a team of people to go inside a patient and cure them from inside our. It’s a concept that’s been used many times but I like the twist of the “patient” being the Doctor’s greatest enemy; a Dalek.
The Doctor and Clara’s relationship continues to develop and I like that they’re still figuring each other out, not just jumping straight into being super close like Tennant and Rose when he last regenerated with a companion. It’s an interesting contrast with Danny Pink and the Doctor and the idea of soldiers that’s cropped up a few times over the series. The Doctor and Clara, inevitably, join the team entering the Dalek and the effects of them entering in that void space was beautiful. I don’t know if the show suddenly got a higher budget but the show is already so much more cinematic and beautifully shot.
Capaldi’s Doctor is already more ruthless, giving that soldier a false sense of hope before he dies and basically all his interactions with the soldiers. The slime made of dead people was disgusting and made me think of the tongue from “The Beast Below”. Clara calling out the Doctor for being pleased that he was right was a very valid point. I feel like that whole point has been better explored in this episode than the whole of “Victory of the Daleks”. The Doctor meeting the big goopy Dalek thing was another great design and I actually quite liked the CGI heavy design of the Doctor projecting himself inside the mind of the Dalek. The idea of the Doctor being a “good Dalek” is such a nuanced line given the show’s history. And then the moment of Blue wanting to travel with the Doctor compared to Clara’s budding relationship with Pink isn’t very subtle but I still found it quite interesting.
EPISODE 3 - ROBOT OF SHERWOOD - 8/10
I must confess that I LOVE Robin Hood so when I saw the beginning and title of this episode I was already excited. Clara looks adorable in her costume, I also really like that Robin Hood and the merry men are wearing the fun campy outfits. The cheesiness of old Robin Hood films and shows is honoured wonderfully and I could understand if someone didn’t like or wasn’t familiar with them and disliked this episode but, as I said, this is right up my street. I like the Doctor’s obsession with proving Robin Hood isn’t real, it reminds me a bit of Ross from Friends trying to convince Phoebe about evolution but less annoying. I liked how they filmed the arrows being shot, this series definitely feels really well crafted.
Clara continues to be developed brilliantly, I like the touches of her being a natural teacher telling off the Doctor and Robin like naught schoolboys. The Doctor being petty was very silly but Peter Capaldi does snarky so well. I wasn’t sure about Tom Riley as Robin Hood at first but I warmed up to him as the episode went on. The conclusion of the episode was a little silly firing the golden arrow but it fitted in with the overall campy feeling of the episode. The setting of the episode was done brilliantly, the castle and the forest and the contrast with the metallic-looking spaceship was gorgeous. My favourite Mark Gatiss episode since “The Unquiet Dead” and, weirdly, the weakest of his titles.
EPISODE 4 - LISTEN - 10/10
I love the idea of exploring what the Doctor does when he’s alone. It’s like the other end of what David Tennant did in his sort of “victory tour” episodes and what could’ve happened in between. I love the small episodes of character exploration, and this episode explored both the Doctor and Clara as people so beautifully. The concept of someone hiding under the bed is so simple but so scary and, like a lot of the ideas in this series so far, a concept that is so simple but surprising it hasn’t been done before. I feel like this series has done a great job of not overdoing ideas like it has in the past, and this episode feels like a fantastic example of exploring one idea in depth.
The episode is shot beautifully, I particularly loved the shot of Peter Capaldi sat on top of the TARDIS. This episode felt like it was shot like an old school horror film. We get a sort of side-by-side exploration of the Doctor and then Clara’s character through her disastrous date with Danny. I’m already liking Danny. Mickey and Rory felt like they were cut from the same cloth at times and Danny definitely feels like his own person when Rory at times wasn’t given much of a character and was treated as just Amy’s boyfriend. We even get a very sweet exploration into Danny’s character through his childhood. Actually I think we get more insight into Danny in this episode than we got in 3 series worth of Rory in my opinion. The child actor playing Rupert is great, especially when good child actors feel quite rare on Doctor Who. The idea or Rupert changing his name to Danny felt similar to Amy changing her name from Amelia - letting go of a sad childhood.
I really felt for Clara this episode, having to deal with the young Rupert then contrasting him with present day Danny and then her future ancestor that looks like him. Jenna Coleman does a great job of conveying all that panic and emotion without going over the top. She and Capaldi are both spectacular this episode, both apart and together. I loved the little moments of the Doctor being pessimistic and Clara telling him off like the schoolteacher she is.
The spaceship was very simple and not particularly different but it worked really well in the dark colour palette and feel of the episode. I really loved the red lighting in the parts they travel to the future as well, such a beautifully designed episode. The whole episode links the whole show together with that moment with Clara and the very young Doctor. I loved the little nod with John Hurt and how it answers so many questions with nuance and elegance. I loved everything about this episode, I like the idea of being a sort of companion piece to “Midnight” as it explores similar ideas.
EPISODE 5 - TIME HEIST - 8/10
The memory worm is back and in spectacular fashion. I really enjoyed the domestic opening with the Doctor and Clara and the hints of them just trying to figure out each other and what their relationship is. Another great episode concept with the memory wipe, and the “monster” of the Teller that can detect guilt is fascinating. The design of the bank is also great, it reminded me of Gringotts from Harry Potter.
The spoonhead people are just creepy enough without being too graphic. I’m glad they didn’t go too graphic because it wouldn’t have fit the fun action movie feel of the episode. The supporting characters or Psy and Saibra were fun, maybe a little underused, but the camaraderie between the four of them felt earned by the end. I liked the moment of the Doctor refusing to allow himself to feel guilt when Psy gets cross at him because of the Teller.
I loved Keeley Hawes as Mrs Delphox, another in a long line of respected British actresses guest starring in Doctor Who. The reveal of the Teller felt very reminiscent of the monsters in “Hide” but I think worked a bit better, the Teller always felt like a prisoner itself similar to the Star Whale from “The Beast Below”. The reveal of Mrs Delphox being two people was a little bit of a cop out but Keeley Hawes pulled it off very well. I liked the moment of the older Mrs Delphox calling the Doctor on her deathbed, a bit of a call back to Matt Smith’s phone call in “Deep Breath”. The ending was very “The Wizard of Oz'' but it was the sort of episode that had to have a happy ending.
EPISODE 6 - THE CARETAKER - 7/10
This is the sort of episode that we used to get when Russell T. Davies wrote the show where the companion would have an adventure on Earth that would lead to their family discovering the world of time travel. We got a kind of version of this with Rory’s dad but it took 3 series, and whilst Amy was said to have parents the show seemed to have completely forgot they even existed after that one episode. Clara’s family isn’t touched upon this episode, her ties to Earth seems to only be Danny and her job as a schoolteacher despite some mentions of her dad. Angie and Artie seem to have disappeared entirely. I like Capaldi’s version of the Doctor’s childish traits being straight-up obliviousness like the coat being a disguise or Clara’s boyfriend must be the man with the bow tie and suspenders.
The idea of Clara being stuck in the middle of the Doctor and Danny was explored in a way they never did with Rose and Mickey or Amy and Rory. I like that it explored just how emotionally tolling it is on Clara to balance a life with two different men she has different relationships with where both men don’t quite understand the importance of her relationship with the other. I do like that Danny has a whole other reaction to the TARDIS and the Doctor’s world to other people, he doesn’t just accept it straight away and join them happily (that was always something that bothered me about Rory).
The monster of the week is a bit of a weak point. I get the idea of a character study being not very Doctor Who but for an episode set in a school it was a bit of a weak villain that didn’t quite fit with the rest of the premise. I thought “School Reunion” did a better job at using the school premise. I didn’t like the addition of Courtney being a bigger character, the small moments of the annoying schoolgirl worked at times but she was a little overused - her seeing inside the TARDIS felt a little annoying.
EPISODE 7 - KILL THE MOON - 9/10
This episode felt very reminiscent of “The Waters of Mars” to me, I think just the space station setting and eerie atmosphere. The tone of it felt quite familiar. I LOVED the aesthetic of the moon’s surface and they found a way to make the design of the space station a little different, as I’ve noticed there’s been a few space stations this series already. I really didn’t like Courtney as a companion this episode, she brought absolutely nothing to the story and was just a pointless pain. It would have worked so much better had it been a way of doing the trope I explained in the last episode of introducing the companion’s family to the Doctor’s world. If the show remembered Clara had a dad and used him in Courtney’s place it could have been an interesting insight into Clara and who she was before the Doctor.
The design of the spider is very clever in that we never see it in perfect lighting. As someone with a fear of spiders I found this episode very creepy, the whole feeling of this episode was incredibly creepy. The moon being an egg is such a Doctor Who idea (like Queen Victoria being a werewolf or Stonehenge being made by aliens).
Another deep insight into character, leaving Clara alone to become the Doctor. It’s sort of an interesting parallel to “The Beast Below” in the decision to save one creatures at the expense of another. We get such an interesting development of the Doctor’s character in the section that he’s absent from the story, exploring the effect of the aftermath of his interference through Clara’s eyes. Her angry reaction is very earned and brilliantly executed by Jenna Coleman. The writers have done a fabulous job, as has Coleman, of adding so much depth to Clara and developing her as a character that feels so different to other companions. I love that Clara is not blindly in awe of the Doctor the way people like Rose and Amy and even Donna were.
EPISODE 8 - MUMMY ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS - 10/10
Clara wants to have one last adventure with the Doctor before they part ways. I like the idea of travelling with the Doctor being like an addiction and with all we’ve learnt about Clara through Series 8 it feels right that she’s one of the companions that dips in and out of the Doctor’s adventures. It’s sort of like how Jack pops in and out but then he always seemed like he wanted to stay.
The design of the Orient Express is gorgeous, this series has had spectacular production design. The shot of the train floating through space was also gorgeous. The mummy is a fantastic design and a great use of the mummy concept, using the best parts of mummy mythology (probably the best use after the way the show used vampires and werewolves). I loved the idea of the passengers being gathered as experts in their fields to solve the mystery of the mummy - and the Doctor being the smartest and yet only there by chance. The small insights into the supporting characters through their interactions with the mummy, like the Captain who uses all reason but in his last moments tries to bargain in a fit of fear. So beautifully done.
Perkins was a great supporting character, his journey from awe to anger to distrust of the Doctor was interesting and just subtle enough to fit with an already packed episode. Gus was a great villain, a great little bit of voice acting from the legendary John Sessions. It’s an interesting conclusion that we don’t get some big reveal about who Gus is and I really like that. Also such a great way to explore the idea that the Doctor is heartless, what’s felt like an underlying theme of Capaldi’s Doctor ever since “Deep Breath”. Their conversation on the beach in which it’s left somewhat ambiguous is a lovely touch. Again, similar to the ambiguity of the Doctor pushing the Half-Face man in “Deep Breath”. Fabulous episode. Gorgeous costumes and production design, and continued fantastic performances. The best acted series so far.
EPISODE 9 - FLATLINE - 9/10
In a series in which I’ve noted the stories have used quite simple somewhat obvious ideas but executed them well, this episode used a whole new concept but executed it with just as much skill. The TARDIS is shrinking, with the Doctor stuck inside, leaving Clara to play Doctor whilst carrying around the small TARDIS in her handbag. It’s so silly but just works. It’s amazing that Coleman and Capaldi can have such great chemistry and banter without even being in the same room, sort of similar to Oswin and the Doctor in “Asylum of the Daleks”.
The story feels sort of like let’s do a better version of “Fear Her” with the idea of drawings whilst at the same time feeling completely separate. Clara recruiting Biggsy as her own companion was a really fun idea, and he’s a great companion. I like the moments of her dismissing him asking if she liked his graffiti being similar to the Doctor’s dismissal of people.
I wasn’t sure about the graffiti then coming to life out of the walls but then I did really like the effect of them being static-like instead of fully formed. The moment where the Doctor uses his hand to crawl along the train tracks was the silliest thing ever and I LOVED it! The Doctor spends the whole episode stuck inside the TARDIS instructing Clara and in a way is sort of a no-Doctor episode like “Love and Monsters” and “Blink” but with an already established character taking the lead. I like the idea that Clara is trying too hard to be like the Doctor. Missy crops up again, she’s been collecting all the dead people throughout the series and it’s definitely leading up to her being the villain in the finale which I’m excited about because I adore Michelle Gomez.
EPISODE 10 - IN THE FOREST OF THE NIGHT - 4/10
This episode brings back one of my least favourite Doctor Who tropes of annoying children played by bad child actors. It’s a sweet idea to make Maeve a primary character to the story but it doesn’t really work as she’s not very interesting or important to the story overall, a bit like the child Queen from “The Rings of Akhaten”. Again, it does the Clara being tied to Earth but, again, not by her family who she doesn’t seem to ever see.
It’s an interesting concept for an episode, and the comparison between the ice age just happening was interesting. The conclusion of Maeve’s sister hiding in a bush the whole time makes no sense and is one of the stupidest things the show has done. Another episode in a long line of great titles of not great episodes. The forest looked really great, all the green was really beautiful, and it was an interesting concept that I just don’t think explored the full potential of what the story could have been.
It’s another episode that is really exploring Clara’s dynamic with the Doctor and Danny but it doesn’t really add anything new to the dynamic as all it really does is re-iterate what previous episodes have stated as if we haven’t understood, the only thing it adds is Danny finding out Clara is still travelling with the Doctor. The Doctor and Clara have a similar, but less effective, argument as they did in “Kill the Moon” but here it just feels like a rehash.
EPISODE 11 - DARK WATER - 9/10
It’s the first two-parter of the series. I like the idea of a series of single adventures leading up to a bit two-part finale. The Cybermen are back and FINALLY a good villain again. The main premise of the episode is Danny dying a human death in a car accident, and Clara trying to use the Doctor to bring him back. It’s an interesting comment on Clara that her first thought is to threaten the Doctor beside a volcano instead of just simply asking him. Peter Capaldi does a fantastic job of conveying silent anger and his line about Clara betraying him not changing how he cares for her is fantastic. Actually the whole conversation between them in the TARDIS is beautifully written dialogue.
Danny has been sent to “heaven” but we soon learn it’s a ruse and the dead bodies are being turned into Cybermen by Missy. The moment it’s revealed to the audience through the doors closing is brilliantly done, and then the dark water thinning to reveal the skeletons as Cybermen is equally chilling. Clara, again, is playing Doctor and it’s interesting how her conversation with Danny the Cybermen says so much about how dangerous it is for her and those around her. THEN we get a second big reveal that puts the Cybermen to shame. Missy is really the Master. It’s a great reveal, in fact much better than both River Song and the Impossible Girl because it actually makes sense and is very satisfying. Michelle Gomez is deliciously camp and has hints of both Mary Poppins and the Joker but makes it work so seamlessly.
EPISODE 12 - DEATH IN HEAVEN - 9/10
The series finale (only 12 episodes, I don’t know if this was done on purpose because Peter Capaldi is the 12th Doctor but I like it as a theory). I love the reintroduction of Osgood and Kate, they were both fabulous in “The Day of the Doctor”. I liked the little bit with the Doctor and Kate asking about the payroll. The Doctor being the President of Earth is a little silly but I like how it ties into River name dropping it in a past episode (I don’t remember which).
Again, Clara is trying to be the Doctor and her conversation with the Cybermen Danny shows why that’s so bad and so dangerous for both her and everyone around her. The Doctor and Missy work brilliantly together, I loved the bit of the Doctor gloating over Missy how he’s got all the power she wanted. And the little moments with Osgood were very sad but so well done, Missy going from singing “Oh Missy” to shooting her then dancing around was fantastic and I can’t imagine anyone but Michelle Gomez doing it with such conviction. And then she reveals herself as the woman in the shop that brought the Doctor and Clara together in the first place was a great little tidbit.
I find graveyards incredibly creepy anyway, and they utilised the creepiness in this episode to the full. The comparison of the soldier storyline between the Doctor and Danny finally comes to a conclusion, and Danny’s point about the Doctor keeping his hands clean hit hard. Jenna Coleman broke my heart when she deactivated Danny then wouldn’t let him go, she did a fantastic job playing the human part next to Peter Capaldi and Michelle Gomez giving brilliantly big performances. Capaldi just fabulously delivers a cocktail of emotions with great conviction, and the moments of Mission: Impossible action scenes were cheesy but brilliant.
This has definitely been my favourite series of the show so far. Capaldi had been excellent, already my favourite Doctor. Jenna Coleman upped her game and Clara is fast becoming my favourite companion, maybe tying with Donna for that top spot at the moment. Michelle Gomez was also fabulously mad, and Samuel Anderson also gave a great nuanced but quiet performance as Danny. Steven Moffat really upped his game in writing, there were some incredible episodes this series. The only dud for me was “In the Forest of the Night”.
EDIT: Somehow managed to miss out my review for “In the Forest of the Night”. I like the idea someone said that I hated it so much I didn’t even review it!

Matt Reeves The Batman is secretly Plan B for the DCEU.

My favorite films from every year (2020-1895)

(2020) I’m Thinking of Ending Things
Charlie Kaufman seems unrelentingly obsessed with tearing apart and exposing the male psyche. It’s something I love about his films but it also can be depressing how much I relate to them.
Runners- up: Possessor Uncut, Nocturne, Invisible Man, The Rental, Relic, Palm Springs, Shirley, Becky
(2019) The Lighthouse
The story in this film is shrouded in mystery but the clues and tools needed to decipher it do exist and with a rewatch, finding them felt so rewarding. It’s the kind of movie that I want to make my friends watch, simply so I have someone to discuss it with. It’s one of the best horror films I’ve ever seen.
Runners-up: Little Monsters, Furie, I Am Mother, Glass, Crawl, Ma, Godzilla: King of Monsters, Us, Color Out of Space, Ready or Not, Midsommar, Zombieland: Double Tap, The Head Hunter, Parasite, Villains, Swallow, Nimic, The Head Hunter, I Trapped the Devil, Pet Sematary, Guns Akimbo, Harpoon, Annabelle Comes Home, Vivarium, It Chapter 2, Zombieland: Double Tap, The Color out of Space, Joker, Come to Daddy, The Lodge, Home with a View of the Monster, Ready or Not, The Platform, I See You, The Vast of Night, John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum
(2018) The House That Jack Built
In my mind, this is Lars Von Trier’s masterpiece and Matt Dillon’s best performance to date. It’s hands down the most fun, engaging, darkly humorous, disturbing, bleak and creative film I’ve seen this year.
Runners-up: Annihilation, Apostle, The Bad Seed, Summer of 84, Mandy, Upgrade, Calibre, Hereditary, A Quiet Place, Bird Box, Lords of Chaos, Head Count, The Witch in the Window, Dragged Across Concrete, Braid, Climax, Incident in a Ghostland, Hold the Dark, The Man Who Killed Hitler and Then The Bigfoot, The Strangers: Pray at Night, Suspiria, Halloween, Monster Party, Bloodline, Gwen, Freaks, Overlord, Monster Party, Pledge, High Life, Possum, Wildling, The Nightingale
(2017) Mother!
Mother! is an incredibly conscientious statement on the nature of humanity, steeped in religious allegory. The last 30 min or so makes up for any weariness over the pacing. It’s one of the most intense, impressive sequences I’ve seen in a horror film in the last decade. The absolute perfect icing on the cake for what is such a masterful dip into surrealism.
Runners-up: Errementari: The Blacksmith and the Devil, The Endless, You Were Never Really Here, The Ritual, The Killing of a Sacred Deer, Creep 2, Brawl in Cell Block 99, It, It Comes at Night, Get Out, Tigers are Not Afraid, Jungle, Cold Skin, The Crecent, Pyewacket, A Ghost Story, The Bar, Ghost Stories, My Friend Dahmer, One Cut of the Dead, Marrowbone
(2016) The Wailing
The photography direction and cinematography are astounding. I could pause the movie at any given moment and marvel at an iconic photograph. This film had me guessing up until the very last moments. It’s exactly what I crave, an unapologetically evil entry into horror cinema.
Runners-up: Better Watch Out, Boys in the Trees, We are the Flesh, ‘Sweet, Sweet Lonely Girl’, Here Alone, The Girl with all the Gifts, Raw, Nocturnal Animals, A Dark Song, The Void, Split, Train to Busan, Arrival, The Eyes of My Mother, Blair Witch, The Good Neighbor, Don’t Breathe, Phantasm: Ravager, Swiss Army Man, Before I Wake, The Shallows, In the Deep, Are We Not Cats, Sam was Here, White Girl, The Lighthouse
(2015) The Witch
I really think it focused on expressing the idea of evil being a completely separate entity from god and that the characters in the film can do fuck-all about it. The incredible struggle that every single character is going through in this film is palpable in literally every shot. It’s astounding how well Robert Eggers was able to get this exposition across with such little dialogue.
Runners-up: Tale of Tales, The Gift, The Devil’s Candy, I Am a Hero, The Lure, Evolution, Hell House LLC, Landmine Goes Click, Green Room, The Visit, The Final Girls, Southbound, Baskin, Remember, Room, Jurassic World, Tag, The Invitation
(2014) Alléluia
It’s a gritty tale of heartbreak, loneliness, jealousy, greed and obsession. It’s just fucking real; the kills feel impulsive and impactful. It’s also shot in this dirty format where both killer’s (the woman’s more so) physical appearances degrade as the film progresses.
Runners-up: It Follows, Zombeavers, Interior, Backcountry, Dig Two Graves, The Taking of Deborah Logan, A Girl Who Walks Home Alone at Night, What We Do in the Shadows, The Voices, The Town that Dreaded Sundown, Wolfcop, Dead Snow 2: Red vs. Dead, Creep, The Babadook, Tusk, Girl House, Tusk, Honeymoon, As Above So Below, Life After Beth, The One I Love, John Wick, Spring, The Treatment, Clown, The Incident, The Guest
(2013) The Conjuring
One of the most established and refined supernatural horror films ever made. James Wan’s style is immortalized here and would go on to be imitated by dozens of other horror filmmakers.
Runners-up: Insidious: Chapter 2, Pee Mak, The Sacrament, Escape from Tomorrow, Oculus, We Are What We Are, Coherence, Evil Dead, Afflicted, Horns, I Spit on Your Grave 2, V/H/S 2, Bad Milo, Jug Face, Under the Skin, Blue Ruin, Evil Dead
(2012) Byzantium
This film really transfixed me on vampires until I was at a point where instead of fear and dread, I was really in-tune with that intense, multi-life spanning loneliness, rather than the violence. It’s really a tale of romance, even just the way it feels. There’s moving Beethoven piano music flooding a sort of neo-gothic atmosphere which, by the way, intertwined perfectly with the flashbacks throughout the film. It’s inevitable that a vampire movie would be grounded in classic elements of the sub-genre but Byzantium manages to push in its own direction, inspiring a surprising amount of mystery.
Runners-up: The Battery, Antiviral, Cosmopolis, The Collection, Resolution, The Conspiracy, Chained, The Bay, Vamps, V/H/S, Sinister
(2011) Sleep Tight
Luis Tosar puts on a sickeningly realistic performance that boasts up an already incredible script. His character is this unstable complex mess of depression, sadism and sociopathy. He’s the world’s worst nightmare, hiding in plain sight.
Runners-up: Scream 4, Take Shelter, Guilty of Romance, The Innkeepers, The Woman, Detention, The Rite, You’re Next, Kill List, Apollo 18, The Cabin in the Woods, Source Code, The Strange Thing About the Johnsons, Contagion, We Need to Talk About Kevin
(2010) I Saw the Devil
Jee-Woon Kim makes actions feel loud and crisp. Both the villain and our protagonist are powerful in their own right. It’s both intensified but also remarkably realistic. I get that that’s a paradox of sorts but I just mean, it’s just not what audiences are used to seeing. There’s not too much left to the imagination with this one in terms of the violent sequences.
Runners-up: Insidious, Trust, Trollhunter, Dream Home, Helldriver, The Crazies, Tucker and Dale vs Evil, I Spit on Your Grave, Inception, Buried, Skeletons
(2009) Dogtooth
Yorgos Lanthimos’s filmmaking style is darkly calculated with deadpan cinematography and tip-toeing dialogue thats minimalism only adds to its strangeness. I haven’t been made this uncomfortable by a film since Salo, or the 120 Days of Sodom. Dogtooth offers a difficult, albeit alluring glimpse into a world of isolationism, abuse, violence and psychopathy.
Runners-up: The Forbidden Door, [REC] 2, The Collector, The Fourth Kind, Orphan, Drag Me to Hell, The House of the Devil, Antichrist, Zombieland, Jennifer’s Body, Cropsey, The Loved Ones
(2008) Let the Right One In
The way this film deals with both sexuality and immortality is genius. It’s a rotten dichotomy between pedophilia and loneliness that ends up being darker than the actual violence.
Runners-up: Cloverfield, The Strangers, Quarantine, Four Nights with Anna, Pontypool, Vinyan, Surveillance, Eden Lake, Martyrs, Lake Mungo, The Ruins, Lake Mungo
(2007) 1408
1408 captures the magic of The Twilight Zone and blends it expertly into the most horrific supernatural waterboarding experience.
Runners-up: 28 Weeks Later, The Orphanage, Hansel and Gretel, Funny Games, Resident Evil: Extinction, The Girl Next Door, Trick r’ Treat, Paranormal Activity, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Stuck, The Poughkeepsie Tapes, An American Crime, Teeth, Death Sentence, Timecrimes, Zodiac
(2006) Inland Empire
Inland Empire is the most ambitious conceptual interpretation of Hollywood and film making that I have ever or could ever conceive. It challenged my mind for three consecutive hours and reinvented the way I interpret his films.
Runners-up: Fido, Sheitan, Severance, Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning, Hatchet, Slither, Final Destination 3, Bug, Population 436, Children of Men
(2005) The Descent
The impassioned and realistic performances in this movie by every single female actress involved cannot be overstated. It’s absolutely terrifying and top-to-bottom, one of the most effective horror movies ever made.
Runners-up: John Carpenter’s Cigarette Burns, Noriko’s Dinner Table, The Call of Cthulhu, A History of Violence, Lady Vengeance, Funky Forest: The First Contact, Haze, The Skeleton Key, The Decent, Doom, Hostel, Strange Circus, Red Eye, Constantine
(2004) Shaun of the Dead
This movie is just wonderful. I find it hilarious on a personal level but also so intelligently funny that it could go down as one of the greatest horror-comedies of all time. Edgar Wright, Simon Pegg and Nick Frost have an undeniable chemistry and just simply make an entire new breed of film-style. It’s dry, whimsical, crass, darkly funny and wholesomely endearing.
Runners-up: The Phantom of the Opera, Shutter, Dumplings, Three Extremes, Calvaire, Saw, Dead Man’s Shoes, The Village, The Butterfly Effect, Saw, Hellboy
(2003) Oldboy
Everything about this film is exceptional. It looks fantastic, the acting is fantastic and Chan-wook Park wrote an incredible story. I think when you try and sell a revenge movie to someone, it can imply some degree of formulaic filmmaking but Park’s films are anything but. This one had me guessing up until the very last minute.
Runners-up: Dead End, Open Water, Willard, Identity, High Tension, Dark Water, A Tale of Two Sisters, Gozu, House of 1000 Corpses, Jeepers Creepers 2, Scary Movie 3, Final Destination 2, Alexandra’s Project
(2002) The Ring
The Ring is a terrifying film that relies on an unstoppable force. It utilizes one of the few shining examples of a successful grey-scale and manages to convey a horrifying sense of bleakness and helplessness. It’s better than the original.
Runners-up: 28 Days Later, Blade 2, May, Dog Soldiers, Resident Evil, Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, In My Skin, The Eye, Irreversible
(2001) Pulse
How a horror movie can make ghosts infiltrating our world through the internet not stupid is beyond me but everything here just worked. For 2001, the visual effects for the ghosts are perfect and don’t steal the spotlight away from the emotionally driven horror that makes this project successful. I’ve yet to be more moved by a horror film, this one absolutely broke me.
Runners-up: The Devil’s Backbone, Frailty, Suicide Club, Visitor Q, Ichi the Killer, Trouble Every Day, Dagon, Jeepers Creepers, The Others
(2000) American Psycho
You won’t see a much better performance by Christian Bale; he’s top notch, however, the success is owed to everyone involved. It’s an excellent script, written from excellent source material and expertly directed by Mary Harron. This film is pure genius and it’s well worth noting that even if you’re not viewing the film under a super-critical lens, it’s highly entertaining.
Runners-up: Fail Safe, Ginger Snaps, Final Destination, The Gift
(1999) The Sixth Sense
I can’t praise this movie enough. It’s dark, depressing and only offers the humblest of reprieve in the end; much like what many of the films characters go through. This is M. Night’s masterpiece.
Runners-up: Arlington Road, The Blair Witch Project, Nang Nak, Idle Hands, Audition, eXistenZ, Sleepy Hallow, The Ninth Gate, Deep Blue Sea
(1998) Ringu
This is a benchmark in atmospheric horror and a film that spawned an entire generation of psionic horror films. It’s dark and heartbreaking.
Runners-up: Blade, Bride of Chucky, Phantasm IV: Oblivion, The Faculty, Disturbing Behavior, Pi
(1997) Lost Highway
This film is about how powerful the human mind is and how we cope with intense guilt, fear and regret. Specifically, in this instance, the compartmentalization of murder. Although that all seems inherently negative, especially in the context of the movie, it’s really just about confronting your issues; even if that means accepting your punishment.
Runners-up: The Devil’s Advocate, Funny Games, Alien: Resurrection, The Cure, Cube, Event Horizon, The Lost World: Jurassic Park, Men in Black
(1996) Scream
Scream just may be the best meta-horror film ever made. It’s so special to me and was probably the film that sparked my fascination with horror. I watched it the year after it came out, at 8-years old, alone in my dark basement. I shut it off after the opening scene with Drew Barrymore and never saw the rest until years later. However, if I had just stuck with it, it actually evolves into this darkly funny, poignant statement on slasher films.
Runners-up: Ebola Syndrome, Naked Blood: Magyaku, From Dusk Till Dawn, Crash, The Craft
(1995) The Addiction
This was Abel Ferrara’s extremely personal vampire film that tackled addiction and through the gritty melodramatic landscape of New York, he really sheds his skin. It’s raw and rightfully claims the best film of the year.
Runners-up: The Eternal Evil of Asia, Habit, The Day of the Beast, Tales from the Crypt: Demon Knight
(1994) In the Mouth of Madness
Simply one of the best Lovecraftian films ever made. The special effects in this movie range from miniature set pieces shot up close to a full size 30-man operated partially animatronic wall of creatures. Some people will say that these 80’s style techniques hurt the production value but those people don’t know shit about shit.
Runners-up: Interview with The Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles, Cemetery Man, Phantasm III: Lord of the Dead, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, The Mask
(1993) Jurassic Park
Jurassic Park is everything. This movie is the perfect blend of horror, action, adventure and sci-fi. It was the “fuck yeah, dinosaurs!” of many or our childhoods. As an adult though, re-watching it for the 50th time, it feels like so much more.
Runners-up: The Eight Immortals Restaurant: The Untold Story, Necronomicon: Book of the Dead, Fire in the Sky, Return of the Living Dead 3
(1992) Man Bites Dog
One of the strangest aspects to some horror movies is their ability to make light of ultra-violent crimes like rape and murder. Man Bites Dog will actually have you laughing out loud until you realize you’re in a kitchen watching three men rape a woman while she pleads for mercy. Whatever way you choose to digest this movie, I can guarantee you’ve never seen anything quite like it before.
Runners-up: Ghostwatch, Army of Darkness
(1991) The Silence of the Lambs
While the film does stand out in blatant, suspenseful, scary moments; it’s the conversations between Clarice and Dr. Lecter that make it so memorable. It just adds this timeless psychological horror element that helps establish it as a classic in my eyes.
Runners-up: Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky, The Addams Family, Sometimes They Come Back, Naked Lunch, Highway to Hell
(1990) Der Todeskin: The Death King
While often wavering between the blunt, literal message and depressive expressionism, Der Todesking manages to feel all too real. It’s one of the best arthouse-style horror films I’ve seen to date.
Runners up: It, Misery, Leatherface: Texas Chainsaw Massacre III, Jacob’s Ladder, Gremlins 2: The New Batch, Tales from the Darkside: The Movie, The Exorcist 3
(1989) Santa Sangre
Easily the most impressive aspect of this film is the ventriloquism inspired acting. It starts out as a goofy aspect of the plot, something that doesn’t really necessarily grab you. However, by the end of the film, it’s molded into this beautiful, creepy display of possession.
Runners-up: The ‘Burbs, Ghostbusters 2, The Woman in Black, Bride of the Re-Animator, Society, Intruder, The Cook, The Thief, his Wife & Her Lover, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
(1988) The Vanishing
The Vanishing is an absolutely raw tale of abduction, almost like a Norman Rockwell imagining of an American’s European vacation turned horror story. It takes this incredibly simplistic but underlying dynamic approach to horror that’s as refreshing as it is captivating.
Runners-up: Child’s Play, Dead Ringers, Men Behind the Sun, Pumpkinhead, Pin, Phantasm II, Brain Damage, The Following, Halloween 4: The Return, Beetlejuice, Akira, Hellbound: Hellraiser 2, Vampire’s Kiss
(1987) Evil Dead 2
Just from a technical perspective, everything is so fucking impressive. It’s all basically hand-done, practical effects and the camera work is just remarkable. The film leans more towards the humor side of the series but it does so both intentionally and gracefully. I adore this movie, it’s on par with the original
Runners-up: Hellraiser, Creepshow 2, Near Dark, A Nightmare on Elm Street: Dream Warriors, The Witches of Eastwick, Anguish, Prince of Darkness, Angel Heart, Fatal Attraction, The Believers, The Lost Boys
(1986) In a Glass Cage
It’s an incredible movie about consequence and revenge that’s told in a manor that I think bewildered reviewers for years. It blurs the lines between right and wrong, willing to sacrifice lives in the process of condemning an extraordinary evil. The specific breed of revenge, as portrayed in this film, isn’t noble but rather an inevitable product of abuse. If you think you can stomach it, I can’t recommend this enough.
Runners-up: Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer, The Fly, The Hitcher, Blue Velvet, Night of the Creeps, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, From Beyond, Little Shop of Horrors, Aliens
(1985) Come and See
Come and See is a raw and sobering look at WW2 from the Soviet perspective. It’s one of the least “Hollywood” war movies I’ve ever seen. Some of the scenes towards the end were truly gut wrenching and will most likely stick with me for quite some time.
Runners-up: Lifeforce, Silver Bullet, Fright Night, A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge, The Return of the Living Dead, Re-Animator, Day of the Dead
(1984) A Nightmare on Elm Street
This felt like a first glimpse into Wes Craven’s mind and the last glimpse into my well-rested sleep. It’s creative, vile and fucking scary.
Runners-up: Poison for the Fairies, Countdown to Looking Glass, Threads, Gremlins, The Terminator, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter
(1983) Videodrome
Videodrome is a fucking trip and it’s an incredible feat of psychological horror while also being a visually horrific movie.
Runners-up: Something Wicked This Way Comes, Angst, The Day After, Special Bulletin, The Boxer’s Omen, Eyes of Fire, Christine, The Dead Zone, Cujo
(1982) The Thing
It’s one of the best sci-fi body-horror films ever made and the fact that no one is steeping up to say otherwise should be a clue.
Runner-up: Creepshow, Poltergeist, Cat People
(1981) The Evil Dead
I’ve wracked my brain trying to think of a good description. This is one of the most incredible horror films ever made. It manipulated both the body and time itself to establish such a pure horror environment.
Runners-up: The Howling, Halloween II, Dark Night of the Scarecrow, Ms. 45, An American Werewolf in London, The House by the Cemetery, Raiders of the Lost Ark
(1980) The Shining
Absolute perfection. This is such an enthralling psychological horror film.
Runners-up: Inferno, Hex, Altered States, Cannibal Holocaust, City of the Living Dead, The Ninth Configuration
(1979) Alien
A classic and possibly the best creature film ever produced. There hasn’t ever been a better blend of sci-fi and horror.
Runners-up: Salem’s Lot, The Driller Killer, The Brood, Zombie, Apocalypse Now
(1978) Invasion of the Body Snatchers
I love this fucking movie with all my heart, it’s seriously one of the best alien invasion movies I’ve ever seen. It’s drenched in dread from start to finish, a film that never gave you a safe moment to take a breath.
Runners-up: Beauty and the Beast, The Shout, Magic, Halloween, Dawn of the Dead, Slave to the Cannibal God
(1977) Suspiria
Its psychedelic, pastel, fun-house atmosphere, coupled with a fantastic score lend a benchmark aesthetic for Italian horror and well, horror in general. Many have tried to emulate it and most have failed.
Runners-up: The Hills Have Eyes, Shock Waves
(1976) God Told Me To
Cohen takes all this religious subtlety and blows it all up for the finale into a very Cronenberg-style conclusion. Despite all the veils seemingly being lifted at once, I still found myself unsure of what to think during some of those pivotal scenes. After the credits rolled, I was damn sure I was into it.
Runners-up: The Tenant, Carrie
(1975) Jaws
This movie actually made people scared to go in the water. It’s almost difficult to think of a more impactful film off the top of my head.
Runners-up: Deep Red, Shivers, Satanico Pandemonium
(1974) Vampyres
It’s dark, moody, sexy and offers one of the most unique vampire film experiences to date. It’s a film that makes Dennis’ idea from It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia about a full-penetration, Dolph Lundgren crime fighting movie seem almost plausible. It plays with the dynamics of Vampire lore in general, while somehow getting to the true root of this sub-genre.
Runner-up: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Living Dead at Manchester Morgue
(1973) The Exorcist
William Friedkin takes the time to let the characters accept their reality in a realistic manner. It’s a technique that creates a very human aspect to them and watching the mother and the priest break down actually becomes as horrific as anything else here.
Runners-up: The Legend of Hell House, The Wicker Man, Don’t Look Now, Soylent Green, The Crazies
(1972) Images
Robert Altman’s Images is an exhibition into how to fully encapsulate an idea within the confines of a visually and sonically refined film. You could throw away the plot entirely and I’d still tell you this is one of the best looking films, period.
Runners-up: Your Vice is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key, Morgiana, What Have You Done to Solange?, Don’t Torture a Duckling, Raw Meat, Tales from the Crypt, The Last House on the Left, Horror Express
(1971) The Devils
It’s tough to tell how accurate of a representation The Devils is of what actually occurred in Loudun, France back then but either way, it seems eye-opening. It’s a very powerful film, I really enjoyed this one.
Runners-up: THX 1138, The Abominable Dr. Phibes, Short Night of Glass Dolls, The Cat o’ Nine Tails, Blade the Ripper, Malpertuis, A Bay of Blood
(1970) Valerie and Her Week of Wonders
I would absolutely consider this a coming-of-age film and they balanced the horror and whimsical elements perfectly. For that reason alone, I don’t believe I’ve seen any other film quite like this. With a tantalizing soundtrack and colorful visuals, I really felt transported into this strange new world.
Runner-up: The House That Screamed
(1969) Horrors of Malformed Men
I’ve never been so confused only to have everything wrap up so emotionally that the vision and artistic direction became so clear. I don’t want to ruin anything so I’ll just leave the teaser as, this film might be among the strangest Japanese horror films I’ve seen to date.
Runners-up: Cremator, One on Top of the Other
(1968) Hour of the Wolf
Hour of the Wolf is a top to bottom, beautifully produced psychological, surrealist nightmare. The first half of the film is fueled by pure intrigue through the perplexity of events that unfold. Like most surrealist films, a portion of your attention is devoted to figuring out what’s real and what isn’t. To speak to that aspect specifically, not a whole lot is left to the imagination, at least through my interpretation. I definitely feel like this project inspired filmmakers like David Lynch to push some of those boundaries, eliminating the extra explanation and leaving more up to the viewers interpretations.
Runners-up: Kuroneko, Rosemary’s Baby, Night of the Living Dead, Even the Wind is Afraid
(1967) Viy
This is the first and possibly only soviet horror film. For the resources they had, everything looks amazing. It’s an incredibly fluid experience that takes zero time before jumping straight into the scares.
Runners-up: Wait Until Dark, ’Spider Baby or, The Maddest Story Ever Told’, Our Mother’s House, Violated Angels
(1966) Persona
It’s instantly one of my favorite arthouse-style films of all time. All of the flashing images, cuts and effects are almost unbelievably purposeful. Just 5-minutes of this films would spell pretentiousness but as a whole, it’s a masterpiece.
Runners-up: Seconds, ‘Kill Baby, Kill’, Cul-De-Sac
(1965) Repulsion
Sonically the movie thrives in the negative. When our lead actress is being raped Polanski purposely takes her voice away, really emulating the fear and helplessness in a genuinely scary way. The delusions she’s having are clearly transparent but intentionally so, though they tend to bleed into reality towards the end in a satisfying way. Couple this with a claustrophobic atmosphere and we’re given a seriously trimmed up psychological horror thriller that was way ahead of its time.
Runners-up: Fists in the Pocket, Planet of the Vampires
(1964) Kwaidan
This is an anthology but rather than dissect each segment I’d rather just speak on the film as a whole. All four stories really encapsulate a sort of morbid beauty and tend to compliment one another over the course of the three-hour long movie.
Runners-up: Castle of Blood, Blood and Black Lace, The Tomb of Ligeia, The Masque of the Red Death, Lady in a Cage, The Last Man on Earth
(1963) The Haunting
The Haunting, despite being such an influence in the horror genre in general, seems to be an incredible lesson in use of space. Architecture, ceilings and walls are constantly the focus. Wise creates a ton of claustrophobic tension and before the story even begins to evolve, you get the sense that these individuals are indeed, trapped inside this house.
Runners-up: Black Sabbath, The Birds, The Haunted Palace, Twice-Told Tales
(1962) What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?
This film was fantastic. Beyond the poignant statement it makes, it’s just such a solid, performance driven thriller. I’m very surprised I’ve never heard of it before today.
Runner-up: Carnival of Souls
(1961) The Innocents
This is simply one of the most beautifully shot horror films from the early 60’s. Every frame is truly a picture and for that alone, I’d call this a must watch for horror fans.
Runners-up: Mother Joan of the Angels, Pit and the Pendulum
(1960) Psycho
There’s a scene where Norman Bates first shows real nervousness. The actor playing him, Anthony Perkins, puts on probably the most believable performance here that I’ve ever seen. It really gave me chills. If you haven’t seen this before, it just might be the first and greatest execution of a theatrical misdirection.
Runners-up: Peeping Tom, The Brides of Dracula, Village of the Damned, Jigoku, Black Sunday, Eyes Without a Face, The Virgin Spring
(1959) A Bucket of Blood
This is such an awesome Corman film. It’s pure entertainment and just an excellent horror-comedy. Dick Miller is a great lead.
(1958) Horror of Dracula
Both Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee are fantastic in their roles and it’s strange to even be saying this is one of the best Dracula films at this point, after having seen so many.
Runners-up: The Fly
(1957) Curse of the Demon
Certain aspects of the ending sequences don’t exactly age gracefully but for the most part, Curse of the Demon remains compelling and creepy.
(1956) The Bad Seed
Outstanding performances from both mothers and really just an excellent film all around. It’s probably the earliest film to tackle childhood evil in a realistic sense, without all the usual campiness.
Runner-up: Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Forbidden Planet
(1955) The Night of the Hunter
The film just looks fantastic, I mean seriously, it doesn’t get much better for the era. The depth for a black and white film is incredible, especially in the backdrops. It makes for some really iconic looking scenes and those moments are probably what I’ll hold onto as time passes. The underwater shot of the car was fucking stunning.
(1954) Rear Window
This film just feels like Hitchcock flexing. He knows how to make the perfect theatrical experience in technicolor with all the hottest stars.
Runner-up: Godzilla
(1953) House of Wax
House of Wax, much like other Price films, is meant to be fun. It’s definitely dark and horror focused but it’s also colorful and accessible. Phyllis Kirk is also a very capable female lead.
(1952) The White Reindeer
I don’t think I’ve ever seen a Finnish horror film before but this was great. It’s super mellow but builds into this atmospheric horror-fantasy.
(1951) Strangers on a Train
This is such a fantastic crime thriller and I absolutely loved the character Bruno Antony. It added such a creepy element seeing this seemingly desperate man reveal himself to be something entirely different.
(1950) Sunset Boulevard
It totally brings a smile to my face to say this this is, yet again, another film that had to inspire David Lynch. It’s certainly film-noir but the melodrama itself is so creepily in-tune with the struggles of Hollywood actors and actresses. It’s almost as if acquiring fame is accepting a deal with the devil.
(1949) The Queen of Spades
Dickinson managed to capture the both literally figuratively cold vibe of imperialistic Russia and I think that’s one of the main components that makes it stand out to me. It certainly is an exercise in greed but within the setting you almost adopt an understanding for our main character, however devious he may be.
(1948) Rope
Despite a very straightforward plot, I can’t help but thinking there’s a ton going on in this movie, a lot of which was way ahead of its time. It’s not just about two men attempting to get away with murder but it also introduced this widely controversial notion of lesser lives being expendable to the more powerful sector of society.
(1947) Black Narcissus
This film is absolutely breathtaking. For anyone who’s ever considered technicolor to look fake, blown-out and oversaturated, this is a shining example of it done right. It’s an entirely created set with gorgeous artwork. This film so elegantly says what I believe religious detractors have a hard time putting into words. There’s a huge portion of the movie that’s confronting sexual temptation and it’s an aspect that’s woven into every single frame of this film. I mean that literally.
(1946) Bedlam
This film is hugely influential and may just be the first film to explore the horrors of being accused of insanity. It also happens to be pretty diverse between horror, cruelty, meta-humor and wholesomeness.
(1945) Dead of Night
This is a clear inspiration for The Twilight Zone and just the structure alone felt way ahead of its time. It’s a nightmarish journey adapting many horror traits but really building a foundation around surrealism. There’s just so much that stands out as influential to modern horror that I’m a bit surprised to have never heard of this film before. It’s one of the earliest examples of a film that initially inspired skepticism from strange acting, performances that ended up being integral to the heart of the film.
(1944) The Uninvited
The character relationships are comically whimsical and coupled with the upbeat score, I didn’t get really any “scary” vibe from it. It’s an aspect I didn’t hate though, it’s really what this film is about, the characters.
(1943) Shadow of a Doubt
Joseph Cotten’s character really stands out as the focal point of the film. Hitchcock manages to build suspense throughout the film my highlighting his presence in subtle powerful ways. Whether it be through camera framing or the subversive violent tone of his dialogue, you really feel tension whenever the man is on screen. It’s techniques like these that made some of his later films great as well, such as with Strangers on a Train.
Runner-up: The Seventh Victim
(1942) Cat People
Simone Simon is a fantastic lead and even with the short runtime, I came to understand her character rather quickly. Tons of anxiety as well as repressed sexuality sort of hone her into this timid and frighted woman who brings her own fears to life.
(1941) Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
As with any Jekyll and Hyde film, it all really hinges on the performance of the two and Spencer Tracy fucking killed this role. The first scene with him as Hyde in the bar was super creepy and also pleasantly rape-y. Is that weird to say?
Runner-up: The Wolf Man
(1940) The Invisible Man Returns
A young Vincent Price plays our perp this time and he’s excellent as always. It’s not paced exactly as intensely as the original but I enjoyed the steady decent into madness.
(1939) Son of Frankenstein
I probably should have watched the original Frankenstein first but eh, what can you do? I totally dug this though! Of course there’s that 1930’s cheesy sci-fi but the film as a whole is very entertaining and the set pieces are incredible.
(1938) They Drive by Night
This is a great fucking movie that totally embodies crime-noir. It reminds me a ton of early Hitchcock and for the 30’s, the narrative is spectacularly clean.
(1937) Song at Midnight
I wasn’t really looking forward to watching a 2-hour long remake of The Phantom of the Opera and thankfully, Song at Midnight managed to really set itself apart from the original, even more-so than many US remakes. I’d consider it more of a reimagining, a film inspired by the original. It is tedious but really, not overly so. A huge aspect of this film is character and tension building and in that regard, it really works.
(1936) The Invisible Ray
Man I love this movie. You obviously have Boris and Bela back together but it’s just such a legitimately fun sci-fi horror film. The plot is straight out of a 1950’s nuclear propaganda film which was probably the coolest aspect. With that, the effects are also fucking top-notch.
(1935) The Bride of Frankenstein
Boris Karloff is the only Monster in my mind. I would even consider this film to be family friendly as he’s the sweetest version of himself. There’s no really complex character development but The Monster is undoubtedly more self-aware which makes the entire film more engaging.
Runner-up: The Black Room
(1934) The Black Cat
When I thought of things that struck me that were worth mentioning, I actually thought of vacation-horror. Beyond all the elements of lust and innocence, I actually was struck by how much this film probably influenced destination horror films. These films excelled at taking our protagonists out of their comfort zones, before even introducing fucked up shit to the plot. It’s smart, concise and something I feel is even worth revisiting.
(1933) The Invisible Man
I’m absolutely floored by the production of this film. I went in with this preconceived expectation of the invisible man solely being portrayed wearing all the rags and shit. The effects for 1933 are very impressive.
Runner-up: King Kong
(1932) The Old Dark House
This is Karloff’s best look to date. I mean seriously, his performance is pretty muted and mostly expressed in body language but he has the same screen presence as Mickey Rourke.
Runners-up: The Mummy, Vampyr, Freaks
(1931) M
I feel like I, myself, never realized how far back people have been recognizing mental illness. I don’t mean in the specific and complex clinical sense, but more so, just in the obvious sense, certain displays that appeal to our natural, compassionate nature. Of course, in this film you do see the antithesis of that at times but really only to highlight the importance of law, reason and justice. Absolutely fantastic film and a staple in the horror genre with really the first truly dynamic killer that comes to mind.
Runners-up: Dracula, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Frankenstein
(1930) L’Age d’Or
It’s very much one of the earliest, full-length, surrealist films and with that comes the usual loose narrative that can be hard to follow. When I say hard to follow, it’s probably because it wasn’t meant to be “followed”. I digested this film as sort of an anthology of poignant criticisms by the filmmakers and Dali.
(1929) Seven Footprints of Satan
This film is fucking insane. It’s a super surrealist spiral through satanic-based situations. It’s really indescribable. The effects and cuts are excellent. I loved the restored version I watched. I don’t even know what to say. I definitely think this inspired or at least should be mentioned as a precursor to films such as Bergman’s Hour of the Wolf.
(1928) The Man Who Laughs
Some people might not know but this film was the direct inspiration for the ultra-famous DC comics villain, The Joker. It’s pretty fucking incredible how much people took to this idea of someone being disfigured in such creatively sadistic manner. I would absolutely, especially with the role of Cesare in The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, consider Conrad Veidt to be a horror icon.
(1927) The Unknown
It's a really fun movie. You’ve got Lon Chaney and he’s not just a modern day novelty in this. His expressionistic performance is actually the main highlight, even more-so than Joan Crawford.
(1926) The Bat
(1925) The Phantom of the Opera
(1924) Hands of Orlac
(1923) The Hunchback of Notre Dame
(1922) Nosferatu
(1921) Destiny
(1920) The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
(1919) Eerie Tales
(1914) The Egyptian Mummy
(1913) The Student of Prague
(1912) Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
(1910) Frankenstein
(1909) The Sealed Room
(1907) Satan at Play
(1906) The 400 Tricks of the Devil
(1905) The Black Imp
(1903) The Monster
(1902) Mephistopheles’ School of Magic
(1901) Bluebeard
(1900) Faust and Marguerite
(1899) The Sign of the Cross
(1898) A Trip to the Moon
(1897) The X-Ray Fiend
(1896) The House of the Devil
(1895) The Execution of Mary, Queen of Scots

Quick start, slow finish [January Report '21]

I: Much studying, little free time (+ quick thoughts on some games)

Hey everyone, hope you had as good a start to the new year as possible. As always, looking forward to reading all of your progress posts for this month. At the start of the month (and in the last week or so of December), I've managed to play "a lot" and beat 4 games, so I thought this might be another double-digit month in regards to completions. Little did I know that most of my days would be spent studying for the exams coming up. Most of my free time I've either spent on my family or on "CS:GO Investing", believe it or not. I did find the time to play a bunch of Slime Rancher with my little brother, some Yakuza 0 alone and some CS:GO, Apex Legends and Elder Scrolls Online. I'll speak a bit about those experiences now and move on to the actual completions in a little bit.

CS:GO: As I said, I've gotten into investing in CS:GO skins and other items, which seems to be a thing that can be done. So most of my time when I did play CS:GO was in order to grind stars to spend on skins (long story) but I did play a few rounds alone and with my brother as well. It's actually a fun game but I'll probably stop playing it once the operation that is currently running ends.
Apex Legends: Only played 2 rounds and I'll probably uninstall it soon. Not a fan of battle royals in general but this one I particularly disliked.
ESO: I'm really in the mood for ES VI but we'll have to wait quite some time for that, so I thought I'd give ESO a try. And while it looks like something that I would have spent 1k+ hours on a decade or so ago, I'm more into single player RPGs and didn't really enjoy my time with this. There is ridiculous amount of content in this but doesn't look like MMOs are for me anymore.

And now onto the usual stuff :D

II: Games I've Quit | 5

Call of Cthulhu
Far Cry 5
Kingdom Come: Deliverance
Resident Evil 6
The Witcher

Call of Cthulhu is a game that I've actually tried a few months back, never continued and decided to not bother again at the end of December, which is why I put it here in this report. I didn't play it for more than 30 minutes but I wasn't impressed at all with any of the mechanics and visuals. With time being more limited I'm not going to force myself through this with a bunch of more interesting looking games on my backlog.
Same thing (kind of) goes for Far Cry 5. Played it a while back with a friend but we actually put about 10 to 15 hours into this before never playing again. Easily the worst Far Cry I've played. The story is just absolute garbage and feels so contrived. All antagonists just keep talking and talking and try to say anything meaning- or impactful but end up repeating the same things over and over. And I couldn't count how many times the game knocked you out so you would land in a cutscene with one of them. Poorly paced as well. Gameplay is basically like other Far Cry games but at least those had side characters who had interesting missions once or twice. Going around shooting bulls for a dude who needs eggs for an egg fest (and similar missions) was just dumb I thought. Plus we had a major bug during a main "boss" mission and a bunch of other smaller ones. As always, your mileage may vary.
I wouldn't say Kingdom Come: Deliverance is a bad game at all, it's just that I don't think playing this game for 30+ more hours is something I'm really excited for. If you're into roleplaying games that pays A LOT of attention to detail, you'll love this but I don't think it's for me that much.
Last year, I beat Resident Evil 5 in coop with my brother and we've (re)started playing Resident Evil 6 after dropping it over 5 years (!) ago. We played it for a few hours and thought we'll just grind through while laughing at the (unintentionally) hilarious parts of the game. After a few hours and the Deborah boss fight (which was, without a doubt, the worst kind of boss fight there could ever be in a functioning video game), we checked HowLongToBeat and yeah, suffice to say, we won't go through 20+ hours of this garbage. I guess the shooting is somewhat OK but literally everything else in this game ranges from boring to absolutely cringeworthy, mostly the latter though. I'll try Revelations, which is also in my backlog and I'll definitely play the newer games (2,3,7) but damn, 5 and 6 are terrible games.
I've only played a few hours of The Witcher and the story itself might have pushed me through but it just didn't age very well and instead of pushing through, I'd rather go "straight into" The Witcher 2 (straight into meaning some time this year :D).
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III: Games I’ve Added | 8

Cave Story+
Cyberpunk 2077
Guacamelee! 2
Night in the Woods
Psychonauts
Resident Evil 3
Satellite Reign
Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus

I've gotten three games via Trade, Guacamelee! 2, Psychonauts and Satellite Reign. I don't know when I'll get to them or if I'll actually finish them but I had more interest in these games than the ones I gave up for 'em.
My brother, the legend, got Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus, Resident Evil 3 and Cyberpunk 2077 on PC since my end of year post, all of which I can play through Steam Family Sharing. I don't think I'll get into RE3 for a while. Similarly to how I felt after completing RE5, I need a break from that series after playing the shit show that was RE6. I will however for sure play Wolfenstein II this year. I loved the first game when I played it a few years ago and I don't know how I still haven't gotten into the second game.
As most of you will probably know, Epic gave away 15 free games and out of those, I've added two games to the backlog, which I will count as being added in 2021. These games are Cave Story+ and Night in the Woods. I've also added a few more after that, including Battlefront II, but I won't include those because as of now, I have no interest in them or their single player components.
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IV: Games I've Beaten | 4

A quick overview of all the games I've beaten this month. Reviews are in alphabetical order. (Bold = Game of the Month)

Batman: Arkham City
Mafia: Definitive Edition
The Coma 2: Vicious Sisters
Youropa

Mafia: Definitive Edition

Owned Since: September 30th, 2020
Beaten: December 25th, 2020
Platform: PC
Playtime: 10 hours
While I know next to nothing about the Mafia, I really enjoy playing Mafia themed games, watching Mafia themed movies and reading Mafia themed books from time to time. So I was very excited to hear the news about the Mafia remake, even though I didn't enjoy my experience with the original years ago much. The game didn't age well mostly (obviously) but I also didn't think the story was anything special. In fact, I thought it was just reusing the same tropes in every medium that has to do with the Mafia ever. "It's the Mafia, at the end of the day, so what do you expect?". Right. Nothing wrong with that, you're free to enjoy this game very much of course. I'll just go ahead and explain my thoughts on the story in this review.
To me, the story is the main attraction in anything that is about the Mafia, so I'll briefly go over everything else the game had to offer. I personally liked the new music and voice actors. The VAs especially add a lot to the experience in comparison to the original, though if you're someone who played the original multiple times, having different voices attached to the characters might sound wrong in your ears. Same goes for the music of course.
The graphics look amazing imo and also add much to the experience. This was really a well made remake overall. They've added a lot of mechanics from Mafia 3 (driving, combat...) and it works really well. I don't have a great rig (1060 3GB + i5 6600k) but I've had a consistent 50 FPS with high graphic options. I'd say that's fair.
Now to the story and my main reason for the rating (which is a solid 6 still):
Games as a medium have an advantage over books and movies that this games story, in my eyes, doesn't really take advantage of. Now, the original is 18 years old, so I guess there were limitations to what they were able to do but what I personally would expect out of a good Mafia story doesn't really have anything to do with the technical side.
Books have the advantage of time as well. They are hundreds of pages long and can go very in depth in terms of describing characters, describing scenery and telling stories. Movies, of course , have the advantage of bringing these stories to life on your screen. They are however limited to a few hours at most, so they have to prioritize characters that they want to focus on and develop.
Games have the advantage of combining both the length of books and the visual aspect of movies. This game is 10 hours long, so more than 3x longer than the Godfather. Now, the Godfather is obviously amazing and it wouldn't be fair to compare Mafia to one of the best movies of all time but it's just to demonstrate that games can do something movies can't. And it's a big factor in Mafia themed media in my opinion: They can go in-depth when it comes to connecting the player to the "family" aspect of the Mafia.
You do a bunch of missions with Sam and Paulie, you meet Frank, the consigliere, Don Salieri, Vincent and even the mechanic, Ralphie. So the game has a bunch of interesting characters that you could potentially meet and connect more in-depth with than any movie, apart from the best ones, would allow. Yet, all is just so shallow. There is no depth. After beating it, you know a little bit about Sam (and I mean just a little bit), you know a bit more about Paulie, you hear a couple things about Don Salieri's past but ultimately, I forgot about almost everyone of these characters since playing the original a few years ago and I'm sure I'll forget about them in a couple years from now as well.
The game sets its focus on Morello and the "bad bad guys". This makes sense, as a game is interactive and has to give you reasons to kill people. Unfortunately this means less time is being spent learning more about all the members of your 'family'. You get to share a couple moments with Paulie and Sarah but even those are very few and far between. You never really know about anyone's motivations for joining the Mafia and their pasts apart from a few times where other characters tell anecdotes. But you do get to hear a lot about Morello and his lot.
So yeah, I feel like the game doesn't really manage the balance between scenes with family and enemies. They've even added a few scenes with Sarah, so I guess the devs kinda agree with that sentiment (maybe I'm just reaching).
Regardless, I had my fun with it. The scenes where everyone would meet up and talk about the upcoming mission were very nice and the times where the game would delve a bit deeper into some of the characters were definite highlights. I also will definitely be getting Mafia 4 whenever it releases because even average to below average Mafia stories like this one are fun to experience.
Rating: 6/10

Batman: Arkham City

Owned Since: October 29th, 2016
Beaten: January 1st
Platform: PC
Playtime: 16 hours
This is what happened during the final minutes of me playing this: I was in the middle of playing it and just like that, it was over.
I legit was like "IS THIS IT?". And I still don't know how to feel about it. On the one hand, the ending was sick and even for me, who is not the biggest Batman fan out there, was a very meaningful moment. Batman carrying out Joker's body is the part I'm talking about. At the same time, the final boss fight sucked ass, very much unlike the rest of the game's boss fights (more on them in a bit). I feel like the ending also left a big plot hole by not answering one question: What happened to all the people in Gotham, who were also poisoned by Joker? I know Robin was sent to check the hospitals to see who had the poisoned blood in them but did they ever get the cure? Didn't Joker destroy the vial with the antidote in it? Maybe I've missed something.
The story, other than that question mark that I still have in my head, was solid. I thought the game was going to destroy the sense of urgency a la most open world games these days but, apart from those few hundred riddles by the Riddler and a few side missions, the open world wasn't bloated with a bunch of activities. I don't care for the riddles but the side missions I did were enjoyable.
Speaking of the open world, I definitely prefer Arkham Asylum's smaller space. In both games, you mostly enter specific locations and explore them before moving on to the next one, so all the open world has done is increase the amount of time it takes to move from A to B for me. It also wasn't as smooth to glide through the city as in 2018's Spider-Man game for example, though that one is obviously 7 years younger than Arkham City.
I do think an open world Batman game can be much more enjoyable, though for that 1) gliding has to become smoother, 2) Batmobile must become available, 3) there needs to be more interesting and engaging side activities (Spider-Man did this extremely well) and the outer areas need to be actually utilized in the story. Apart from some parts of the Wonder Tower and a few small fights outside, almost everything I remember took place indoors (which is what I preferred in both Arkham games as I said, this just would make me enjoy an open world experience more).
So I'm intrigued by what Arkham Knight has to offer, though I've already heard countless times how using the Batmobile is a pain. Everything else about the game has the potential to be really enjoyable, so I'm optimistic. Updated graphics obviously help matters as well.
Ah, I mentioned the boss fights at the start, didn't I? I'll end this review with my favorite part about the Arkham games so far: The villains and how they're being utilized. I haven't played a game that does it much better. That's either 1) because the focus isn't on villains like in the Batman series, 2) because their villains suck or 3) they just don't know how to use them properly. I'd put a game like Far Cry 4 in the 3) section. Yes, the game is about exploring Kyrat but the story is also about helping Amita and/or Sabal, two characters I had forgotten even existed until I saw some Far Cry 4 gameplay recently again. Pagan Min is obviously the main event of the story and apart from a handful of cutscenes and a dozen or so phone calls, you don't see him. And I feel like he had so much potential as not only a very interesting antagonist but also as a character you'd talk about for decades when talking about best gaming villains.
(Same goes for Far Cry 3 and Vaas, who you see even less than Pagan Min if I remember correctly. And then you play something like Far Cry 5, where they shove the siblings down your throat with interruptions and never ending monologues. Never seen people who talk so much, yet end up saying nothing at all. So maybe the way Far Cry 3/4 did it was the better way :D)
Anyway, all villains in Batman Arkham City are well presented, they all are enjoyable to fight against (Ra's Al Ghul being my personal highlight) and they all contribute to the story in little and major ways.
So yeah, very good game :D
Rating: 8/10

The Coma 2: Vicious Sisters

Owned Since: September 2nd, 2020
Beaten: December 28th, 2020
Platform: PC
Playtime: 6.5 hours
I won't go so in-depth with this review because I feel like I went a bit crazy with the other two games prior :D.
I didn't play the first game, which might have improved the story experience by a little bit but I had a lot of fun with this game regardless.
It's a Korean horror game, in which you play Mina Park, who's a student and gets trapped in the "shadow realm". In that world, you're being followed by one of your teachers and some other monsters trying to kill you, while you solve puzzles, collect notes and try to get the fuck out of there.
The game has 6 chapters, or 6 different areas rather. In each, you do very similar tasks and have to avoid the monsters by running away and hiding. You can hear your teacher's footsteps when she gets pretty close and they get louder, as she gets closer to you. I loved this. She didn't get close to you constantly (like in Alien: Isolation for example) but every time she did, it was unnerving and kind of scary as well, without being a cheap jump scare or anything.
The auditory horror mechanic - I guess you could it that - is really well done. Next to that, you have to constantly dodge bodies falling from the ceiling, monsters lying on the ground trying to strike you and some venomous plants releasing their toxins when you get near them.
As I said, all 6 chapters play very similar but the gameplay is so fun that I didn't really feel the game being repetitive or at any point boring. I'd even go so far as to say that this is the best horror game I've played so far, only rivaled by the first Outlast game and probably something like the older Silent Hill games, of which I have very little memories left, though.
The story is OK. It's nothing worth talking about much but for a horror game, it'll do. The real deal in this game is its gameplay and horror elements, so if you're looking for one to play, give it a shot. Or at least think about it when looking for games to play in October.
Rating: 7/10

Youropa

Owned Since: September 2nd, 2020
Beaten: December 30th, 2020
Platform: PC
Playtime: 10 hours
I've beaten this "in coop" with my little brother. By coop I mean that I had the controller mostly but I let him have a try for a few hours as well. He'd mostly just goof around but he also surprisingly solved a few puzzles on his own. He's 3 years old, mind you.
And if you have a child or a sibling at a similar age, I'd definitely recommend this game. There are 2 kinds of monsters, both of which my brother just laughed at, but other kids might possibly get a little scared by them.
Youropa is a puzzle platformer and what makes it unique is that you can actually stick on a pathway, so that you can actually stand upside down. This is a key mechanic used for most puzzles and it's implemented really well. The game somehow manages to make these puzzles easy enough that a 3 year old can solve some of them, yet be difficult enough at times to even make me think harder in order to solve them.
You start by not being able to do anything but walk and with every completed section, you learn how to jump, kick, sprint and more. My brother's eyes would open wide whenever we'd get a new skill and he'd immediately grab the controller to try it out. Some levels even add unique items that you can use (pogo sticks, motorcycles, cars) to do puzzles, which my brother also had A TON of fun doing. There are a lot of other cool things to do and the game manages to really keep fresh for the entire playthrough.
I don't know how I've never heard of it but this is another game I can wholeheartedly recommend, even to anyone without a young child/sibling, if you're into puzzle platformers.
Rating: 7.5/10
-----------------

V: Currently Playing

Yakuza 0: Probably only put about 5-6 hours into this in January but I'm sure once I get done with my exams, I'll play it for a lot more. I've played for 2 hours or so today and just got into Chapter 6 after about 35 hours total. It's an insane game but one of those that I want more free time for to enjoy with more of a "relaxed mind".
Cyberpunk 2077: Abandoned it after 8 hours or so because I recognize there are a lot of bugs still, features missing and poor optimization. Do I think all of these things will be fixed with that big February patch? No but I'll definitely delay playing this any longer because 1) I'm busy anyway and 2) I'd like a more clean first experience. The parts I did play however were very promising, especially any main story scene with some of the characters. The presentation in those is top notch and the atmosphere in general, apart from braindead NPCs, is insane.
Slime Rancher: Just got to a door that needs a bunch of plorts to open and we also opened up the lab, so progress. It's a neat game and my brother loves it but I doubt I'd play it on my own.

Playstation 4

Horizon Zero Dawn: At the start of January I had a crazy open world game itch, so I started HZD form the beginning for the fourth time or so. I'll give it more time after exams but I'm not feeling it so far. The world is unique, yes but gameplay doesn't seem that great after 5 hours or so (or about 15 hours after 4 restarts). The story might go somewhere and will be the main thing that decides whether I'll finish this or not but based on gameplay I doubt this will be that much different to something like Far Cry 4 in terms of repetitiveness. Also the side missions so far have sucked, so I'm hoping those improve as well. And I feel like Aloy's voice actress, who's very accomplished for a good reason, is overacting soo much in so many scenes. It just feels unnatural.

Xbox One

Assassins Creed: Origins: As I said, I was really in the mood for open world games, especially for the newer AC games for some reason, so I restarted this and got about a dozen hours into it. I have to say, Ubisoft has done an amazing job with this game. Apart from the same thing that hurts all Ubi open world games (repetitive side content), and the world being way too large, the attention to detail here is commendable. Bayek is an interesting protagonist with an intriguing backstory and someone who's revenge story I really like following. The voice acting of Bayek is also amazing. Especially in the assassination scenes, where you can feel all the emotions that were boiling inside of him just spilling out. I also like how some side objectives actually deepen Bayek's relationship to characters further. A lot of characters are forgettable after the fact but it helps establish Bayek's place in this world and what he means to the people around him. So far I've enjoyed doing most of the side objectives as well. Though that might change after another 10+ hours or so because they are mostly the same after all. But I'm really positively surprised by how much effort went into this. It's also the first time that I'm not cringing at the dialogue in an AC game 9/10 times.

Nintendo Switch

Nothing: Nintendo games just cost way too much, man.

------------------

VI: 12in12 original list | 2/12 completed

Assassins Creed: Brotherhood
Batman Arkham City | COMPLETED
Cyberpunk 2077
F.E.A.R.
Ken Follett's The Pillars of the Earth
Layers of Fear 2
Mafia: Definitive Edition | COMPLETED
Metro 2033
Observer
Persona 5
Transistor
Yakuza 0

I'm determined to beat these 12 this year. Yakuza 0 will be done in a month or two and I'm interested in playing another horror game, so something like Layers of Fear 2 might be done next month as well.
------------------

VII: My Stats

Games Added: 8
Total Price: 0 €
Games Removed: 5
Games Finished: 4
Games Left in the Backlog: 85

0 € paid for those games thanks to all the freebies + having a brother who's buying a lot on Steam. Not bad. Though when I'll get to any of these I have no idea.
Hope you enjoyed reading my post. Best of luck to you all for next month :)

which actors have played joker video

Jack Nicholson played Joker in Tim Burton's 1989 take on the film. Nicholson told MTV he took the role partly because of his belief in Burton's vision of Batman. " Tim Burton’s a genius. Courtesy of Warner Bros. Animation. Michael Emerson ( The Dark Knight Returns ), John DiMaggio ( Batman: Under the Red Hood ), Kevin Michael Richardson ( The Batman) and Brent Spiner ( Young ... The Joker, played by 53-year-old veteran voice actor Kevin Michael Richardson, turns up with a radically changed look and an eerie new laugh. All the actors who've played the Joker over the years. ... Speaking of the animated series "Young Justice," it wasn't voice actor Jason Spisak who played the role of the Joker in a 2011 episode ... Ahead of the release of Joaquin Phoenix's new movie, we ranked the actors who have played The Joker over the years, including Heath Ledger and Jack Nicholson. The 2019 Joker movie starring Joaquin Phoenix shows the kind of range actors have when tackling the DC Comics villain. Here are some other actors who have portrayed Joker in movies, TV shows and ... He disappears in the role. A common theme as we get into the top three actors who played the Joker. Batman (1989) 3. Jack Nicholson. Jack Nicholson was perfect for Joker. He already had that creepy smile, and along with plenty of great material to work with, he long held the standard for what was needed out of a great Joker performance. Better known as Bender from Futuruma, DiMaggio was the first actor to take on the Joker after Ledger, and managed to do his own thing without being overly influenced by the iconic performance. The portrayal is dark, but displays a more balanced mental state than The Dark Knight’s joker.

Actors who've played the Joker over the years Gallery ...

which actors have played joker

which actors have played joker - win

You are directing the next batman movie. Which actor plays batman and which actor plays the joker? They can't have been in any of the previous batman movies.

[Video Games] "Too many swordsmen, are there?" The drama over Byleth joining the roster of Super Smash Bros Ultimate