“Good Neighbors” was just a random film I pulled off Amazon Prime. It turned out to be quite enjoyable. Billed as a thriller, it’s really more of a dark comedy. The plot centers around three young people in a Montreal apartment building. We have cynical Spencer, played by Scott Speedman, who is wheelchair-bound. We have…

An interesting sub-theme of horror and crime movies is “rebellious kids.” These are films that capitalize on the idea that kids—particularly young boys—are not charming moppets but sadistic death machines. (I’m reminded of a great schlocko-thriller from the ‘60s titled “The Sadist” that starred the under-appreciated Arch Hall Jr.) Maybe it goes back to “Lord…

I’ve read several of Claire’s books (“Unmasked” is a favorite) and always appreciate her solid, no-frills writing. Her stories usually bring to mind the best of 80s schlocko horror cinema: a bit of sleaze, a bit of comedy, and plenty of spilled blood. In this case, the story revolves around oddball characters in a small…

A common fantasy of teenagers is the death of their parents. It’s a kind of traumatic split they seem to yearn for. And it’s frequently mentioned in fiction – think of Harry Potter, or the origins of Bat-Man and Spider-Man. (Or frickin’ Bambi for that matter.) My belief is that evolution has programmed teens with…

This was a short story I discovered in one of the free book promotions I often take part in. It’s one of the best-written tales I’ve found via such a method. As a result, I went ahead and bought one of the author’s novels. (Review forthcoming.) For an example of the prose, I liked the…

When I watched “The Stepfather” recently, it was my third viewing of the film. As a teenager, I saw it when it came out, 1987, at the Kuhio theater in Honolulu, the same theater where I watched “Rawhead Rex” and “Nightmare on Elm Street Part III.” (Funny, the details that stick in the head. I…

I’ve read several of Wieland’s books, which tend to operate in the space in between drama and horror. In the Blackest Hour does as well, until into it falls into full on horror. The plot has Rosemary’s Baby and Dead Zone vibes. Graphic designer Rennedi finds that her erratic and troubled twin sister has fallen…

So, funny thing about this movie. I really wanted to watch the 1982 version of “Unhinged” but couldn’t track it down anywhere. This one popped up in the Amazon queue and I figured why not. (I guessed it was a remake, and research says I guessed correctly. I’m pretty smart.) The plot is built around…

This was a strange one. I wasn’t quite sure to expect when I dialed up “Nurse” on Amazon Prime. The preview made it look like a riff on the obsessive character motif seen in films like “Single White Female” and “Fatal Attraction”. But what I got was more like a cheese-ball update of sexy 70s…