Tag Archives: Julie Lynn Hayes

Saturday is Horror Day #174 – MaXXXine

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Reviewer: Julie Lynn Hayes

MaXXXine

Maxine Miller (Mia Goth) has dreamed of becoming ever star ever since she was a small girl, coached by her preacher father Ernest (Simon Prast). She began her journey to stardom by acting in porm films, determined to do whatever it took to get to the top. No matter what. She put the unfortunate events that occurred in Texas in 1979 behind her and she was Hollywood-bound!

It seems she’s about to get her big break, as she reads for a part in Puritan II, the sequel to a film which has

the Christian community up in arms. Los Angeles is currently being terrified by a serial killer dubbed the Night Stalker. But when Maxine’s friends and co-workers start to turn up dead, the police arrive at her door to question her as to what she knows. But she refuses to talk to them, having no wish to be in their radar, or to give them cause to check into her background. A mysterious VHS tape arrives for her, showing scenes of the ill-fated porn film that was never finished. She asks her best friend Frankie (Brad Swanick), who owns the video store next to her apartment, to see what he can find out.

A private detective turns up, John Labat (Kevin Bacon), and tells her that his employer wants to talk to her, although he won’t name him. Reveals that they know things about her past she wouldn’t want revealed as they might harm her image and her career. Maxine turns to her agent Teddy Night (Giancarlo Esposito) for help. Good thing he is also her lawyer.

Maxine lands the role, but she learns that her new director, Elaine Casting (Deborah Geffner) is not

easy to deal with. But Maxine doesn’t mind. Her dream is about to come true, and besides, she’s a tough woman herself. But more people are dying and the two police officers are putting pressure on Maxine to work with them. How can she take care of this situation once and for all?

MaXXXine is the third part of the Ti West trilogy that began with X and then went on to the prequel Pearl. I actually got to see this in the theater, as it just opened, and I am glad that I did. West has come a long way since X and even Pearl. Clearly a bigger budget. Lots of recognizable 80s music. He got composer Tyler Bates on board. And Giancarlo Esposito and Kevin Bacon! How often do you find yourself rooting for a serial killer? At least, not since Hannibal Lecter stole our hearts lol As the titular character, Mia Goth is awesome, and it’s hard not to cheer for her to succeed – both in her film career and in taking care of certain bad people. I liked this one almost as much as Pearl, which is my favorite film of the trilogy. I highly recommend seeing it, but only after watching the first two. I give this film 4.5 Stars.

Saturday is Horror Day #172 – X

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Reviewer: Julie Lynn Hayes

X

A group of young people want to make a porn film. It’s 1979, and they can’t exactly do this anywhere, as those types of films are more underground than acceptable. So they rent a cabin in Texas from an elderly couple. Wayne (Martin Henderson) is the director and his girlfriend Bobby-Lynne (Brittany Snow is the star). Jackson (Kid Cudi) is the lead male, and RJ (Owen Campbell) is cameraman while his rather naive girlfriend Lorraine (Jenna Ortega) holds the boom mic. Maxine (Mia Goth) is the other female actress.

The old man who owns the farm, Howard (Stephen Ure) lives at the main house with his wife. They find him creepy, and they are determined he not figure out what they’re doing, sure he wouldn’t like it. Yet they go so far as to shoot scenes in his barn, taking a chance on being caught. In their downtime, they discuss porn and why there is nothing wrong with it, and Lorraine decides she wants to be part of it, to RJ’s dismay. That’s about the time when everything takes a turn for the worse.

X is the first film in Ti West’s trilogy. I reviewed Pearl last week which, although being made second, comes first chronologically.  Where Pearl was very psychological, X is more of your standard slasher film. But that isn’t to say that it’s not worth watching. Having seen Pearl already, I anticipated different things, but you can watch them in either order.  Again, Mia Goth is outstanding as Maxine. The third part of the trilogy is Maxxxine, which comes out July 5 and picks up where X left off. I am looking forward to that. I’ll give X 4 Stars.

Book Review: Assassination Classroom, Vol 18 by Yusei Matsui

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Assassination Classroom, Vol 18     

Author: Yusei Matsui

Publisher: Viz Media

American release date: October 3, 2017

Format/Genre/Length: Paperback/Action Adventure Manga//200 pages

Overall Personal Rating: ★★★★★

Reviewer: Julie Lynn Hayes

Nagisa and Karma utilize their stealth skills to steal aboard the rocket headed to the space station, taking the place of the crash dummies, much to the surprise of the astronauts. Nagisa threatens them with a bomb (a fake one) and Karma explains their mission in order to gain their cooperation in gathering the data on Koro Sensei. When asked how they plan to return, they confidently say that they have that covered.

The two hitchhikers parachute back to their classroom, where they find a very angry Karasuma. But Koro Sensei convinces him that the information which the students gleaned from their trip, even outside of the data about himself, far outweighs any of Karasuma’s arguments. Going over the data, they realize that if handled correctly, the chances of Koro Sensei actually exploding and destroying the earth are minimal, and everyone rejoices. Can it really be that simple? But, also, is that a risk they can afford to take?

Koro Sensei wishes to schedule another career guidance session with each of them. Once they graduate, their assassination skills will no longer be of use to them, and they have their futures to consider. That is only 38 days away now. Not a lot of time. Plus they need to apply to the high school of their choice. For Karma, that’s an easy decision – he wants to attend Kunugigaoka High School and make the students’ lives miserable by outshining them lol Nagisa is conflicted about his career choice if he doesn’t become an assassin. He is surprised when Sakura asks him what else would he become but a teacher? That idea had actually never occurred to him.

The second Grim Reaper is still on the loose – and still determined to wreak vengeance on Koro Sensei! It’s unfortunate that he has teamed up with mad scientist Yanagisawa to take down Koro Sensei once and for all!

Valentine’s Day is coming! In Japan, that’s a time for women to buy chocolates for the men in their lives. And also for a certain teacher to indulge his matchmaking propensities! How many couples will he successfully match this year?

Time is ticking away, and the fate of the world hangs in the balance! As the students prepare for life after junior high, surely they must be wondering if there will be any life. They have discovered that the chances of Koro Sensei exploding are minimal, but they aren’t zero, so some sort of chance remains. And it looks like the wannabe Grim Reaper is more than happy to add to their confusion, along with the horrible man who made Koro Sensei what he is today. That can’t be good. Another great volume, only three more to go!

Saturday is Horror Day #171 – A Nightmare Wakes, Pearl

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Reviewer: Julie Lynn Hayes

A Nightmare Wakes

A very pregnant Mary Godwin and her lover, Percy Shelley, arrive for a summer visit to their friend Lord Byron, along with Mary’s stepsister Claire and the renowned physician Dr. John Polidori. Byron demands to be entertained. He wants to hear ghost stories, and comes up with the idea of a competition to see who can tell the best one. This becomes the birthplace for Mary (who will become Mary Shelley) to write her masterpiece Frankenstein.

This should have been an interesting story, but bad acting and bad writing and an acute case of boredom caused me to give up after about fifteen or twenty minutes. I advise you avoid this film entirely.

Pearl

It’s 1918. The world is a scary place. The Spanish flu is rampant, and the first World War, known then as the Great War, rages on. Pearl (Mia Goth) has gone back to live on the farm with her parents as her husband Howard (Alistair Sewell) has gone off to fight. Life on the farm is hard. Her mother Ruth (Tandi Wright) is harsh and demanding. Pearl has to look after her infirm father (Matthew Sunderland) who sits helplessly in his wheelchair. Pearl dreams of being a famous dancer, and practices whenever she can. But her mother catches her and belittles her and tells her to forget such foolishness.

Pearl’s sister-in-law Mitsy (Emma Jenkins-Purro) tells her of a dance competition that will be held in a

nearby church. The winner will get to dance with the group through several cities! She doesn’t want to go alone, so has Pearl promise to get away from the farm and come with her. Pearl sees this as her big chance, her first step to stardom.

Pearl loves the animals on the farm. Even the crocodile she has befriended and whom she fees. It’s people she has trouble with, never feeling quite right around them. One day, her mother sends her to town to pick up her father’s prescription of morphine and she decides to go to the movies to see a film called Palace Follies which has a lot of dancing. Afterward, reluctant to return to the farm, she is standing in the alley behind the theater when a man comes out and strikes up a conversation with her. Turns out he is the projectionist (David Corenswet) and he invites her inside. They talk and he offers to let her see another film, but she has to go. He tells her to come back sometime.

Pearl is the story of a young woman on the verge of madness, who has dreams and aspirations she desperately wants to achieve but her life is very bleak. She can’t relate to the people around her and her mother doesn’t understand, while her father is beyond reaching. The dance audition is her breaking point, but even before that there was something off about her and she had a cold, cruel nature of her own, perhaps verging on being narcissistic.

Pearl is like a twisted, dark version of The Wizard of Oz. When I saw Pearl on her bike, I was reminded of Elmira Gulch (Wicked Witch of the West). The scene with the scarecrow in the field and the scene where Pearl throws water on her mother are also reminiscent of the classic film.  In Oz, Dorothy too wanted to get away from the farm and see the world, as she tells the traveling salesman. In Pearl, he is the projectionist, who tells her he can take her to Europe. Of course, he has his own agenda but she is too naive to see that. There is even a character named Dorothy in Pearl. Some found the scene with the scarecrow disturbing, but I did not. I wonder what those people thought of the explicit (for that time) movie the projectionist showed Pearl.

Pearl was directed and co-written by Ti West (Mia Goth is also listed as a writer), who brought us The House of the Devil, which I reviewed previously. Whereas I found that film forgettable (in fact, I started to watch it again, having actually forgotten I’d seen it), Pearl is a masterpiece. a veritable tour de force of a horror film. Engrossing from beginning to end, I could not even imagine what was going to happen. Mia Goth’s performance is brilliant. It is both criminal and not surprising that she was not nominated for an Oscar. I have come to disregard those as being far too political and having little to do with actual excellence. The best actress Oscar that year went to Jessica Chastain for The Eyes of Tammy Faye. Go figure. I highly recommend Pearl and I give it a rare 5 Stars. Pearl is actually the prequel to X, but you can watch Pearl first. After X comes Maxxine. I look forward to reviewing both.

Book Review: One Piece, Vol 14: Instinct by Eiichiro Oda

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One Piece, Vol 14: Instinct     

Author: Eiichiro Oda

Publisher: Viz Media

American release date: April 3, 2007

Format/Genre/Length: Paperback/Manga/Action Adventure/192 pages

Overall Personal Rating: ★★★★★

Reviewer: Julie Lynn Hayes

Princess Vivi is appalled that the giant Dorry was tricked into drinking exploding ale, but she assures him they had nothing to do with that! Luffy is forced to overpower him, for the giant’s sake as well as their own, and now he is angry that this happened to Dorry. Meanwhile, Mr. 5 and Ms. Valentine seem to be in trouble with their superiors over their failure. But they can redeem themselves by obtaining the heads of the two giants, Broggy and Dorry, which are worth 100 million berries each!

Luffy, Vivi, Zolo, and Usopp end up running into each other, only to learn that Nami has disappeared and Usopp thinks a dinosaur ate her! Turns out that the two bosses are Mr. 3 and Ms. Goldenweek – he works in wax and she is an artist of gravity. Mr. 3 interferes in the giant’s battle and helps to bring one down and capture the other. Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine capture Vivi, Zoro, and Nami and bring them to Mr. 3, who intends to make them part of his huge candelabra!

Luffy arrives with Usopp and Karoo, but it’s unclear whether his presence is more of a hindrance than a help. Can he use the powers of the wax against their owner? And will Miss Goldenweek overcome him with her Colors Trap ability? Meanwhile, back at the ship, Sanji is wondering what is taking everyone so long, and maybe the girls need him to rescue them. He decides to search for them and runs across the other wax camp, now abandoned. Naturally, he decides to have some tea.  Unexpectedly, though, he hears a phone ring. In the middle of the jungle? Of course he answers it and receives a surprising reply from the other end.

These Baroque Works people just seem to keep coming out of the woodwork! Apparently, the lower their number, the higher in the hierarchy they are. And now we meet Mr. 3 and Miss Goldenweek (It seems the number system just applies to the men, although each is partnered with a woman). The lower the number also translates to greater abilities, it seems, as well.  Zolo’s suggestions as to how they should accept the inevitable and pose as candles are hilarious, but Nami is not so quick to embrace that particular Fate – not even the suggestion they cut off their legs.

This volume contains a mix of comedy, tragedy, and mystery.  Always something in the Grand Line, am I right? Looking forward to the next volume!

Saturday is Horror Day #170 – The Tunnel

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Reviewer: Julie Lynn Hayes

The Tunnel


While searching for a solution to the problem of water shortage, suggestions have been made regarding a vast network of tunnels beneath the existing Sidney infrastructure. There are a lot of homeless people in those tunnels, however, and the government is reluctant to discuss the situation in any way or provide an explanation as to why the proposed project cannot move forward. Unwilling to take no for an answer, a team of investigative journalists decided to head down under and see for themselves what the government doesn’t want anyone to see. The group includes Natasha Warner (Bel Delia), Peter Ferguson (Andy Rodoreda), Steve Miller (Steve Davis) and ‘Tangles’ Williams (Luke Arnold). They lie their way past security and proceed into the tunnel. 

Before they are through, they will regret going down there.

Though claiming to be a found footage film, I don’t think this really fits the definition, as it is actually a 


movie that is made regarding what happened and it includes interview footage of the survivors as well as the footage they brought back. In a true found footage film, the filmmakers don’t survive, which is why the footage is just found after the fact.

That being said, The Tunnel is about a group of journalists determined to get to the bottom of a story, despite being told that homeless people have been reported going missing. That phrase alone would give me pause, but not these hardy members of the press. Also, once they elude security, then no one knows they are down there, another red flag. The first half is fairly slow with the survivors giving their version of events in a matter-of-fact way.  The journalists run across a massive bell, and what else to do but strike it, which they do of course. Another red flag. The element of surprise was just lost at that point, assuming they might have to sneak up on someone committing nefarious goings on. When one of them goes missing, and they run across his flashlight and fresh blood… well, that would be my cue to leave the premises immediately.

 

The action is to little and too late. By then I was fairly bored. And honestly, I never came to care about any of them, a fatal flaw in a horror movie if you find yourself rooting for the monsters. Which isn’t to say I won’t check out the sequel and remain optimistic. This wasn’t the worst film I’ve ever seen, just not the most interesting. I’ll give this film 2.5 Stars.

Saturday is Horror Day #169 – The Girl in the Basement

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Julie Lynn Hayes

The Girl in the Basement


Like most teenagers, Sarah (Stefanie Scott) wants to do the things she wants to do. But that’s hard to do when your father is as strict and domineering as her father Don (Judd Nelson) is. Defying him, she slips out of the house to meet her boyfriend Chris (Jake Etheridge) to go to a party together. However, her father is waiting for her when she returns and he is angry. One day he overhears Sarah talking to her mother Irene (Joely Fisher) and her sister Amy (Emily Topper) about how she  plans to leave as soon as she turns 18, get out from under her father’s controlling thumb. Don realizes he needs to act fast.

In basement, hidden behind a bookcase, is an old bomb shelter built by a previous owner. While Amy is  off at college and Irene at the store, he tricks Sarah into going down to the basement under the pretext of helping him to carry something. She is surprised to see the bomb shelter but enters it nonetheless – big mistake. Don locks her in immediately and life as she has known it is now over.

 

The Girl in the Basement is based on a real life horror story that happened in Germany. Josef Fritzl locked up his daughter Elisabeth, whom he had been molesting since about the age of 11, and held her hostage for 24 years. She bore him 7 children, one of whom died, three she raised in the basement, and 3 he “found” on the doorstep, claiming Elisabeth had left them there. The movie is pretty accurate on the basic details and it is horrifying. Judd Nelson plays a darker character than any I’ve ever seen him play.  The really horrifying thing is that this is probably far from being an isolated incident. 

 


The movie itself will keep you watching with horrified wonder, asking yourself how low can he go? The answer is pretty low. It was once a Lifetime movie and as such you can still see the cuts for the commercial breaks. I’ll give this film 3.5 Stars.

Book Review: Extinction by Douglas Preston

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Extinction         

Author: Douglas Preston

Publisher: Forge Books

American release date: April 23, 2024

Format/Genre/Length: Hardback/Technothriller/384 pages

Overall Personal Rating: ★★★★★

Reviewer: Julie Lynn Hayes

 

Frankie Cash receives her first assignment as AIC – Agent in Charge – as a member of the Colorado Bureau of investigation – a kidnapping and possible murder at the Erebus Resort. Erebus is a 144 square mile resort in the mountains of Colorado where the wealthy come to play. But the big attraction lies in the various animals, once extinct, that have been de-extincted by scientists and brought back to life, now roaming the self-contained land of Erebus. Animals such as the wooly mammoth and the giant sloth. The victims are a young couple on their honeymoon – he’s the son of a billionaire and she’s a former Olympic Gold Medalist. Things don’t look good for the young couple, considering the size of the blood stains found by their tent. But there’s no need to spread panic until they know more.

Jim Colcord is the local sheriff. An older man, with many years of experience, he heads immediately to the crime scene where he meets Cash. Looks like they’ll be working together. Colcord brings a team of dogs and their handler, Acosta, to follow the scents. But they lose them in a massive heap of mammoth dung. The head of Erebus’s security team is a man named Maximillian. Something seems off with him, almost like he’s hiding something. The arrival of the father of one of the victims, the billionaire Gunnerson, does nothing to help the situation. He wants answers and he wants them now!

To further complicate matters, a film crew is filming within Erebus, having paid a high price to do so, and they have their own security team. Cash thinks they need to close the resort, but her boss, McFaul, is having none of it. It’ll look bad, not to mention cost the resort money… and money talks.

One avenue they need to explore is the mines that are situated beneath Erebus, long disused. And yet Maximilian seems reluctant to discuss them, for some reason. That only makes Cash even more suspicious. Especially when she learns the security chief told them about two of the mines but neglected to mention a third mine. The deeper she and Colcord go down the rabbit hole, the worse it gets. And now more people are dying in terrible ways. What in the world is going on here?

Douglas Preston is one half of the fabulous team that brings us the Pendergast novels, which I dearly love. He also writes his own novels, which are just as wonderful. Extinction is no exception. He has a way of posing questions and then pondering possibilities. Imagine Jurassic Park… but worse.  And it’s not farfetched either, considering how far modern science has advanced. Preston creates living, breathing characters, some of whom you’ll love, some you’ll come to hate. Action is never lacking, and the mystery will keep you guessing until the very end. Don’t forget to read the Afterword, it contains some fascinating information!

If you’re new to Douglas Preston, go back and read his other books. Also, delve into the Pendergast series. You’ll be glad you did!

Saturday is Horror Day #168 – Talk to Me

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Reviewer: Julie Lynn Hayes

Talk to Me


Mia (Sophie Wilde) hasn’t had it easy, especially since the death of her mother. But luckily she has the love and support of her friend Jayden’s (Jayden Davison) family to fall back on, including her little brother Riley (Joe Bird) and her mother Fiona (Sarah Brokensha). And oddly enough, Mia’s ex, Daniel (Otis Dhanji) is now dating Jayden, but he and Mia have stayed good friends.

 

 

Some of the kids at their school have gotten into something new. Instead of using a Ouija board to speak with the dead, they use a hand. The person whose turn it is to invoke said spirits, sits in the center, and grips the hand before chanting “Talk to me”. When they can see a spirit that no one else can see they invite them to come into them, and the rest sit back and watch what develops.

 

One night, Mia and Jayden go to one such party, and Riley blackmails his way in as well. Mia volunteers to go first with the hand, and has quite the experience. Then the other want their turns and they have a ball. But when Riley wants a go, Jayden puts her foot down, no matter how much he begs. However, when she has her back turned for a few minutes, Riley gets his way, and the results are not pretty. Mia is blamed for allowing him to be in this position. To make matters worse, she has begun to see her dead mum. She feels obligated to save Riley before he can become permanently ensnared as a torture victim by those on the other side forever.

 

I read a few reviews that complained that the movie wasn’t scary, maybe because of a lack of jump scares. But I have to disagree. I think it’s scary because it’s more realistic. The teenagers are typical in that they are focused on their own desires and what they want to do and don’t ever really consider the consequences of their actions; Typical teens, they feel immortal and act accordingly. I saw Mia as being a tragic character from the beginning, because of what she has gone through, and because of that, I think she is more vulnerable to what happens. There is a scene at the beginning, when she picks up Riley because Jayden forgot, that showcases what a sensitive person she is.

I liked the unusual premise, and watching Mia struggle with what she has inadvertently done. You never know if what she sees is real or if her own overwrought mind is playing tricks on her and us. I think it’s definitely worth watching. I’ll give this film 4 Stars.

 

Book Review: Your Honest Deceit, Vol 2 by Sakufu Ajimine

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Your Honest Deceit, Vol 2         

Author: Sakufu Ajimine

Publisher: DramaQueen LLC

American release date: April 1, 2000

Format/Genre/Length: Paperback/Manga/Yaoi/200 pages

Overall Personal Rating: ★★★

Reviewer: Julie Lynn Hayes

 

Just when Kuze thinks he can relax because he has Kitahara all for himself, another rival rears his ugly head!  Tsutsumi is a former classmate who invites Kitahara out, gets him drunk and takes him back to his hotel room. When Kuze calls to see where he is, Tsutsumi gives the appearance that something is going on, to Kuze’s intense dismay. When he does get home, Kitahara explains that Tsutsumi was only teasing, but Kuze doesn’t quite see it that way.  Things go from bad to worse when Tsutsumi decides to drop in to the law office because he just has to see what Kuze looks like. And then he drops a hint of something about Kuze’s father! Will this be the straw that breaks the camel’s back?

In a side story, Kurosawa is faced with a dilemma when a client dumps a cat at the office and won’t come back to claim it. Someone has to take it in, but that’s not in Kurosawa’s  temperament to do so… or is it?

In another side story, a young man shows up at the law office demanding to see Kitahara. When he does, he disdainfully calls him a bear, which provokes Kuze to anger while Kitahara is dumbfounded.  After he leaves, Kitahara calls Tsutsumi to substantiate the young man’s claim. Turns out to be true – Yuki is Tsutsumi’s nephew. And he came to face Kitahara because he is jealous of his uncle’s interest in him. Turns out he has a crush on his uncle!

The last side story is The Covetous Man. Naoto and his older brother Niichan are very close. While most people despise their siblings hand-me-downs, Naoto lovesto have things that belonged to Niichan. He becaomes interested in anything that Niichan expresses an interest in, including his girlfriends. Niichan would laugh and say Naoto could have whatever it was. But then comes something that Naoto cannot find an interest in, or rather someone – Akihiro! After expressing his hatred of Akihiro to Niichan, he is shocked to learn that his brother dumped the other boy! Akihiro approaches Naoto and wants to know why he hates him. Can Naoto remedy the situation, and will he want to?

I love Kuze and Kitihara as a couple but after a while the constant vying with other men because they are going after Kitihara gets old. I would rather see them in other situations, including more work situations. Maybe even the courtroom. I know the series is over, but one can dream, right? As for the side stories, they’re okay. Kurosawa’s story is cute. Be aware of the uncle/nephew dynamic in that one, if incest bothers you, you should probably skip it. The brothers’ story is okay too. I would have liked more Kuze and Kitihara, though. All in all, a worthwhile read.