Author: Jeremy Werner

Starring: Kia Dorsey, Zaen Haidar and Sam Lukowski
Directed by: Jill Gevargizian
Rated: NR
Running Time: 86 minutes
Dread

Our Score: 3 out of 5 Stars

Go on Youtube, TikTok, Instagram or whatever and you’ll find people doing a variety of bizarre challenges. Some are popular and mainstream like the ice bucket or cinnamon challenges, while others like the fire challenge cause harm and death. Then there’s the one in “Ghost Game,” staying overnight in occupied homes, harassing the residents as if you were a ghost.

Laura (Kia Dorsey) is one of its participants, generally completing these challenges with her bestie and partner-in-crime, Adrian (Sam Lukowski). The duo are underground internet celebrities of sorts, but that all comes apart when Laura’s boyfriend, Vin (Zaen Haidar) finds out about her extra curricular hobby and takes wedges his way into Adrian’s spot. That won’t stop Adrian from crashing Laura and Vin’s first challenge, a supposedly haunted house with a new family moving in, nor will it stop the chaos that unfolds.

Even though “Ghost Game” utilizes some GoPro POV and hidden house camera techniques, it benefits from traditional filmmaking to tell its story. In a lot of ways, the film throws out various horror film cliches, such as the haunted house with a deadly backstory, mysterious occurrences that Laura, Adrian and Vin can’t explain, or jump scares, in an effort to misdirect you constantly. The misdirect entertains while distracting from some of the film’s weaker constructs.

It’s not actually scary and the plot sometimes struggles to make sense. Outside of the misdirects, “Ghost Game” is elevated by relatable characters trapped in a tense, growing situation. And even though we like these characters, we do feel a bit of sick joy at their comeuppance. We already enjoy watching social media stars and others getting what’s due when performing dangerous and dumb stunts or challenges.

We wait for that retribution while watching the characters grow suspicious, which is really the meat of “Ghost Game.” Laura is competing in these challenges because life just isn’t fun unless you’re doing something dangerous and illegal, which speaks volumes about her relationship with Vin and Adrian. Without diving too much into the dynamic, Vin and Adrian represent two sides of Laura and she tries to reconcile that throughout the film. It’s the kind of emotional resonance we saw in Director Jill Gevargizian’s previous film “The Stylist.”

“Ghost Game” just doesn’t click as well as “The Stylist,” probably because Gevargizian didn’t write this one. Writer Adam Cesare seems to love genre mashing, but needs a nudge towards blending it into a more cohesive thriller. Despite its flaws, “Ghost Game” is an enjoyable haunted house romp with characters you could watch bicker for hours. If it’s premiere at 2024’s Panic Fest was any indication, it’s a crowd pleasing romp.

Directed by: Jordan Downey, Christian and Justin Long, Justin Martinez, Virtal Pal, and Kate Siegel
Rated: NR
Running Time: 110 Minutes
Shudder

Our Score: 3.5 out of 5 Stars

Here at MediaMikes, we love the V/H/S franchise. While we haven’t reviewed every single entry, the ones we have have averaged 4 out of 5 Stars. Unfortunately I’m here to break that trend, but that shouldn’t distract from “V/H/S Beyond,” the latest entry. It appears to be the first foray into a solely sci-fi realm for the franchise. While not every short within the anthology has a sci-fi beat, it maintains the exaggerated style the films have held recently.

Continuing a recent trend in the franchise, “V/H/S Beyond” has a framing narrative that really doesn’t matter or fit into the overall structure at all. Thankfully “Abduction/Adduction” is as short as it is forgettable, moving straight into “Stork,” a short that feels like a first-person shooter. “Stork” is very much like a horror video game playthrough as a SWAT team storms a dilapidated building looking for the culprit behind missing babies. The short manages to squeeze in every ounce of creepiness, jump scares and unrelenting gore from its disturbing premise.

“Dream Girl” lets off the accelerator a tad as we watch two paparazzi members find out a somewhat predictable secret behind the latest Bollywood sensation. The superstar bloodbath that ensues doesn’t necessarily save the weak story in this one. Luckily, “Live and Let Dive” goes back to slamming the film’s foot on the accelerator. A group of friends are going skydiving for a pal’s birthday celebration, but a UFO and the American military have a different idea as chaos unfolds mid-air and on the ground. Outside of some wicked kills, “Live and Let Dive” has a great creature design and a concept that never lets go of you. Also ,it might actually be the only short in the whole movie that actually follows found footage rules.

If “Live and Let Dive,” didn’t rattle you, then surely “Fur Babies” will. You can kind of surmise what’s going to happen when a group of animal rights activists decide to sneak into the home of a pet and taxidermy enthusiast home to check out her doggy daycare. Even if you can predict what’s going to happen, it can’t prepare you for the horrific body horror comedy that follows. This, and “Stork,” are the highlights of “V/H/S Beyond.” These two shorts make the latest addition a worthy watch.

Before “Abduction/Adduction” wraps up, “Stowaway” provides an artistic reprieve from the chaos beforehand. A mother documents her journey into the desert to uncover what the mysterious lights she sees every night are. Unlike the other shorts, “Stowaway” has an emotional core as grainy cam footage appears to have overwritten a tragedy this woman is attempting to forget in the name of alien exploration. In that regard, I enjoyed it for bringing us back down to Earth (or out of Earth) after the insanity of “Fur Babies.”

Overall, I enjoyed “V/H/S Beyond,” but my head wasn’t joyously spinning as hard as the past few entries in the franchise. Just like before, found footage rules be damned as several shots were clearly just filmmaking and not footage from a body cam, handheld, cellphone, or something else. At this point it’s hard to tell if these newer films in the franchise actually go for an aesthetic. “V/H/S Beyond” feels like it should be sci-fi up and down, but “Stork” and “Fur Babies” prove that’s not entirely the case. If you were to remove those films, the entire anthology will feel a little hampered by a narrow sci-fi horror preference. Regardless, “V/H/S Beyond” offers a little bit of something for all horror fans, whether it be gallons of blood, gruesome dismemberments and shattered bones, creature designs burned into your retina or good ol’ fashioned jump scares. The “V/H/S” franchise is becoming a yearly treat for those who enjoy what makes horror great.

Starring: Adam Driver, Giancarlo Esposito and Nathalie Emmanuel
Directed by: Francis Ford Coppola
Rated: R
Running Time: 138 minutes
Lionsgate Films

Our Score: 2.5 out of 5 Stars

“Megalopolis” is a difficult film to summarize. It’s Writer/Director Francis Ford Coppola’s 40-years in the making magnum opus that’s equal parts Shakespearian, dystopian, utopian, unintentional comedy, self serious, overacted, haphazard, silly, and about a dozen other adjectives. If at one point you’re disgusted, bored, or chuckling to yourself, give it a few minutes and it’ll elicit another emotion. This is the kind of film that will draw, and has drawn, criticism for being over bloated, confusing and ultimately a flop. Others will find it to be a prophetic stroke of genius that will take years, if not decades to be appreciated. For me, it was an enjoyable, sometimes overwrought, experience that finds unique ways to entertain while finding baffling ways to tell a story.

“Megalopolis” takes place in New York City, I’m sorry, New Rome. The city represents the U.S., er, I’m sorry, ancient Rome. Basically New York City/the U.S. is ancient Rome. That is a nauseating metaphor that the movie uses constantly, and you can use it if you’re ever wondering what the hell is going on. As for what exactly is going on, Cesar Catilina (Adam Driver) is an architect and nephew to Hamilton Crassus III (Jon Voight), the billionaire, if not trillionaire, representation of capitalism in New Rome. Everything revolves around Crasuss’ money. Not only does Catilina rely on it, but so does Clodio Pulcher (Shia LaBeouf), Crassus’ anarchist nephew with political aspirations, TV news reporter Wow Platinum (Aubrey Plaza) whose face appears in the dictionary next to the term “gold digger,” and Mayor Franklyn Cicero (Giancarlo Esposito). Mayor Cicero recognizes the power the dollar has in New Rome, but believes that cash, through Catilina, Pulcher, Platinum and others, is corrupting the city. But the city is already corrupt and falling apart under Mayor Cicero’s abusive police force. Making sense so far? Good, because I haven’t even bothered explaining the magic metal element or Catilina’s ability to stop time.

There’s way too much plot getting in the way of…well…the plot. I haven’t even mentioned Jason Schwartzman’s useless character that seems to be contractually obligated to pop-up randomly in the background or foreground every 10 minutes, Nathalie Emmanuel simply being a “Romeo and Juliet” love interest, a virgin teen pop star controversy magnet played by Grace VanderWaal and Dustin Hoffman who’s character only seems to exist to pad the film’s star power. Which is another big reason the film, at times, feels dizzying. There’s characters that go nowhere, character actions that are never explained, much less hinted at, and Laurence Fishburne who plays the dual role of limo driver and narrator. Even the narration peters out towards the end and title cards, which were previously read by the narrator, flash on screen as if someone forgot to dub in Fishburne’s voice.

It’s obvious to see why this film has been called a mess, because it really is. Even if I found myself enjoying this thoroughly, I’d be struggling to find the words to even express the joy. Speaking of joy, the only thing stopping me from rating it lower than a 2.5 is that it’s an entertaining mess. Moments of exposition, which felt serious, had me smiling at the absurdity as if someone was handed the script to “Airplane!” but didn’t know they were making a comedy. You can actually never really predict where the film is going, even when it’s using obvious parallels between the U.S. in 2024. It sometimes avoids the low hanging fruit while ripping up that vary tree to gnaw at every single low hanging fruit. The movie restrains itself during some scenes while egregiously indulging Coppola’s ego in others.

This is truly a mess that seems like the writer/director has decided to unload every essence of his own humanity and perception of humanity into it. While the world seems bleak, dominated by narcissistic losers who’s only abilities are to manipulate those around them, Coppola’s film is ultimately an optimistic one. “Megalopolis” seems to believe that even when the pillars of a righteous civilization crack and break under the pressure of corruption, there is the ability to make amends and create something more beautiful in its wake. We see that through Catilina’s eyes, who may as well be Coppola himself; a flawed individual with talent. However, Coppola’s own ego gets in the way, several times, when we see characters seek Catalina’s admiration and love. Maybe that own Coppola ego is why some shots are visually impressive and hypnotic, while others feel right in line with a Sci-Fi original.

I’m sure many papers, videos and blog posts will be written about “Megalopolis,” negative and positive. For me, it was difficult to find the balance because I’m still at odds over the film. Did it need another four decades or maybe it should have been pushed out when the idea was fresh and hot. I honestly don’t think “Megalopolis” is a film I can fully recommend because it is so convoluted to explain, yet I can’t fully write off the film. It has some unspoken magnetism, a combination of art, politics, and history that has everything to say, yet sometimes says nothing. I can also see myself watching it again and again, either because it is truly awful or because it requires a thorough digestion.