Tag Archives: Tony Todd

Final Destination: Bloodlines

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Vampire Owl: Is somebody talking about blood now?

Vampire Bat: I am sure that there is blood, but not as you think.

Vampire Owl: Maybe, they are talking about vampire bloodlines.

Vampire Bat: Vampire bloodlines no longer remain a topic of discussion at least among the awakened.

Vampire Owl: So, you are not going to listen to the vampire elders anymore.

Vampire Bat: The vampire elders do not call the shots these days.

Vampire Owl: They are no longer the unwritten rulers of vampire kind?

Vampire Bat: They have never been the rulers, but advisors.

Vampire Owl: Advisors who have always made decisions all by themselves.

Vampire Bat: Well, the value given to their decisions was certainly higher. But now, we live in a world of monster hunters.

[Gets a Mysore masala dosa and three cups of Munnar tea].

What is the movie about? :: Iris Campbell (Brec Bassinger) and her boyfriend Paul Campbell (Max Lloyd-Jones) manage to attend the grand opening of the Sky View, the tallest tower in the city which has been a prestigious project, and will have the richest and the most influential people around. He intended to propose to her at the top of the tower which also has the perfect restaurant for a classic romantic dinner. Iris who is about to accept his proposal and also reveal that she is pregnant with their child, has a premonition of that chain of events that causes the tower to collapse in parts, killing everyone inside. There would be nothing left in that area which would be in shambles. She managed to stop the major factors that set up the events in motion including stopping a kid from throwing a coin which gets stuck, and warning the attendees not to step on the glass floor which would and thus prevents the total collapse but, in doing so, she had disrupted Death’s intelligent design. The tower was then closed for renovation, but after many years, was torn down, and nobody talked about that incident again.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: Many years later, Iris and Paul’s granddaughter, bright college student Stefani Reyes (Kaitlyn Santa Juana) who spends most of her life in books, is haunted by repeated nightmares of the tower accident and returns home after a long time, seeking the right answers. She is welcomed at home by her father, Marty Reyes (Tinpo Lee) and younger brother Charlie Reyes (Teo Briones). Still, searching for answers, she leaves with Charlie to visit their uncle Howard Campbell (Alex Zahara), aunt Brenda Campbell (April Telek), along with their happy cousins Erik Campbell (Richard Harmon), Julia Campbell (Anna Lore), and Bobby Campbell (Owen Patrick Joyner). When Stefani asks about her grandmother, Howard explains that she was sick and had mental problems, often called crazy with no way to be normal again. But she finds letters from her grandmother in a cabin, and traces her to a highly fortified cabin in the woods where she lives, but terminally ill with cancer and awaiting the slow arrival of death instead of the quick and brutal one.

And what more is to follow here with death’s grand plans? :: Iris recounts the Sky View accident and tells her that Death is taking the lives of everyone in the specific order they should have died. Then there is that family that were not supposed to have, and Death is taking them too, one after the other in the order of their birth. The fact that Iris has remained alive for long has kept her bloodline alive too, but as she steps out of her barricaded house to give her granddaughter her research on escaping death, she also shows how Death works, with a simple sequence of events leading to her brutal impaled death. She does not completely believe that death is coming to them in the specified order, but then the brutal death of Howard awakens her. The rest of the family realizes the seriousness only when Julia who has been confident herself and does not listen to others, falls into a garbage truck and gets squeezed in between. Now, they realize that deaths are going to keep happening, and it might just end their family. Can they find a way to stop Death from unleashing the eerie plans perfectly on them? Death who is a master of doing his perfect work shall not wait though, as he is already late.

The defence of Final Destination: Bloodlines :: The opening scene with the destruction of the tower and the deaths is one of the impressive beginnings that one can ever have, and it is one of those occasions when the death of a kid character is so much satisfactory. The visuals are the most stunning during those moments, and has us scared this time about going to the top of a tower – this actually released at a time when we were in Colombo and about to go to the top of the Lotus Tower – the effectiveness was right there to be taken. The deaths remain impressive, and the way in which the death’s plan comes to meet the requirements remain classic and something that we will remember for a long time. The familial side seems to work better than the previous movies too, as death seems to mean more here as it haunts the bloodlines. When death would come to haunt a family, things are always going to get more personal and fueling emotions. The appreciation that the movie received in comparison to previous movies will further fuel more viewers on Jio Hotstar where it finally reached. The lad role is well done by Kaitlyn Santa Juana, who would always be a lovely scream queen and we feel that Brec Bassinger would shine the same, as we remember her from 47 Meters Down: Uncaged.

The claws of flaw :: The predictability factor remains here too, and visual effects could have also scored more. The characters are also not given that much of importance as we look at them. As it is all about death anyway, the movie does not innovate in an overall manner, even though deaths get that focus as expected. The film never gets that much innovative out of the best idea, which seems to repeat a little too around. Still, the side characters are not provided that much significance, especially that of people like Anna Lore who plays Julia who just dies off too soon. The effects used here are not of quality all the time, as some of them feels like coming from a lower level. The gore is just given more importance over suspense, twists and haunting – there seems to be not that power in the investigation to cheat death, and nothing much seems to be gained by the same. There could have been some variety or some findings that come as the special ingredient here, but the same is not there to be taken.

How it finishes :: This seems to be the Final Destination movie with the best opinions so far, even though the third with the roller coaster deaths was the one which had me going as a child despite knowing well enough about the flight and truck deaths. The movie keeps the nostalgia running, surely in a stronger way than the recent flicks from the same world of death, those with the bridge collapses and racing car accidents. Its presence in Jio Hotstar makes it very much accessible to many. For those who are fans of Final Destination style classic deaths, this is more than worth watching, starting from the opening sequence, seemingly bringing some quality back around here. Still, it hesitates to use the movie’s full potential and develop on what could be its strength as bloodlines also come into the picture. Well, Fast and Furious showed us the power of family, but this one, despite having such a family hunt around, do not bring enough focus around here. Still, this remains very much fun, and a reminder that we are all going to die, and possibly a very painful one, reflecting our own painful existence in a sad and depressing world.

Release date: 16th May 2025
Running time: 110 minutes
Directed by: Zach Lipovsky, Adam Stein
Starring: Kaitlyn Santa Juana, Teo Briones, Richard Harmon, Owen Patrick Joyner, Anna Lore, Brec Bassinger, Tony Todd

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<<< Click here to go to the previous English film review.

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Stream

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Vampire Owl: I am not that much in support of streaming. I am a DVD person.

Vampire Bat: There is no DVD in the vampire world.

Vampire Owl: We had taken a few from the human world.

Vampire Bat: Well, we are too advanced for even internet streaming now.

Vampire Owl: We had kept a few for the vampire museum.

Vampire Bat: The vampire museum no longer accepts human electronic items.

Vampire Owl: I have read the full guidelines and this is now towards infinity.

Vampire Bat: All of these are new for vampires lasting so many centuries.

Vampire Owl: So, nothing for the museums unless they belong to BC.

Vampire Bat: I was thinking pre-historic as far as the vampire elders are concerned.

[Gets a Malai Kulfi and three cups of Coonoor tea].

What is the movie about? :: Roy Keenan (Charles Edwin Powell), wife Elaine Keenan (Danielle Harris), elder daughter Taylor Keenan (Sydney Malakeh) and younger son Kevin Keenan (Wesley Holloway) are going through some rough times, due to Taylore being a miserable young girl who is too much attracted to drinks and sex, thus descending into crime at times. She is arrested by the police for shoplifting liquor and is brought back home to her father in handcuffs as they decide not to press charges for this time, much to the dismay of Roy and Elaine. To solve their daughter problem, they decide to go on a trip and book a room in a hotel, where they are told that there is no internet, much to the dismay of Kevin who had wished to play his video games online. There, they find a sexually hyperactive pair of husband and wife (Stephen Hongach and Serafina Leavy), a lesbian couple making noises in the adjacent room (Tara Fitzgerald and Phuong Kubacki), two French men with whom Taylor is sexually attracted (Jadon Cal and Andrew Rogers), and a retired police officer Tim Reid (Bernard Davidson).

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: Then there is the supposed owner himself, identified as the very friendly Mr. Lockwood (Jeffrey Combs). What the new residents do not understand is that the actual owner of the hotel, Linda Spring (Dee Wallace) was brutally murdered by a masked figure and that the whole place has been locked down to start a special showdown. In the next few hours of night, until the residents are finished, the game would go on, at least until dawn. The cameras in the hotel begins streaming online, and four masked killers in stylish gaming outfits; the classic Player One (Jason Leavy) with the usual weapons; the stylish as well as psychotic brother-sister duo of Player Two (David Howard Thornton) and Player Three (Liana Pirraglia) with the stylish weapons; and the muscular Player Four (Mark Haynes) with brutal weapons are focused as they move to get hold of the inmates of the hotel, and any real hotel employees remaining out there.

And what more is to follow in this gaming stream of unlimited deaths? :: With access to all rooms and private spaces, the killers, after finishing the original employees, begin by attacking the husband and wife having sex in a jacuzzi, and after drowning in the husband, chases and catches the woman running out naked from the tub, without anyone noticing at all. At the same time, Taylor had sneaked into the room of the French men, looking for some exciting moments. They move to the rooftop of the hotel to have some fun, and her parents discover it only later after waking up to the voice of some lesbian intimacy on the other side of the wall. Elaine asks her husband to check out for their daughter and take Kevin with him as he has also woken up. With the help of the cameras, the players who realize this, manages to finish Elaine off, and it is Player One who gets the score this time. It is then that the retired police officer Tim Reid gets into action, but can he end this madness and save the rest, or reach the grave with them?

The defence of Stream :: Stream manages to stay ahead as a leader of its kind during 2025, and might maintain that status throughout the year. The film realizes the necessities of the genre and works accordingly after establishing that fine premise. The murders are all very nicely done, from the jacuzzi kill to what seems to await in the end of the film. There is a certain amount of creativity there and too much of CGI is not used. The nostalgia factor is awakened whenever necessary, and shocks are provided as needed. The performances are standard, as it would suit a movie of this kind. It is to be noted that Danielle Harris who has been part of many horror movies including the Halloween and Hatchet series plays the mother here, but is killed too early for our liking. Charles Edwin Powell stabilizes things in between. Jeffrey Combs makes quite an interesting villain even though not having that much of overall power as the character. Tim Reid makes a quick impact in between while all the killers work without any doubt.

Positives and negatives :: Stream keeps us positive about future serial killer movies, and the use of internet streaming for the purpose keeps more possibilities open. Yet, the choice of survivors would keep one not impressed, as it provides least poetic justice with the person who should have surely died to have any peace of mind lives. The movies with the worst characters surviving might help the idea that evil always wins, as reflected in our present world. The movie still should not have been this long – it remains entertaining, but the length could have been reduced, especially with the dialogues going a little too far as we check. It could have done even better with more hype and with the creation of a terrifying serial killer face that would be remembered for a very long time and turn to a cult character. So many serial killers have the same, and keeping something special here to be remembered must be a priority.

How it finishes :: Stream is that psycho killer film that we have always wanted, with the support of gaming streams – well, we know how much these people are focused on gaining viewers, and murdering people would be just one of the options. In an internet-dominated world, fame is all that matters without morals, and to become viral one goes to any extent as reflected here – we have seen similar incidents in Nerve a few years ago, but this one takes a step forward. The ending leaves us with scope for watching even more of the same with a sequel. The scene after the credits was very much interesting, seemingly getting to a Jigsaw model. The fact that psycho killers are more of a reality in our world than romance, one cannot deny the need to watch more movies of the kind. The mental health of people has been going down, and we know that serial killers just need a small chance to become active – in this case, being viral means the perfect scope. Killers are forever, and movies like these are as close to reality as we scream.

Release date: 21st August 2024
Running time: 123 minutes
Directed by: Michael Leavy
Starring: Jeffrey Combs, Charles Edwin Powell, Tim Reid, Dee Wallace, Wesley Holloway, Sydney Malakeh, Jason Leavy, David Howard Thornton, Liana Pirraglia, Mark Haynes, Daniel Roebuck, Mark Holton, Felissa Rose, Danielle Harris, Tony Todd, Serafina Leavy, Stephen Hongach, Al Cerullo, Michael Cantanzaro, Andrew Rogers, Jadon Cal, Joey Ochoa, Sarah Brill, Thomas Rickman, Terry Kiser, Allison Pitel, Kimberly Crossman, Stephen Della Sava, Becky Boggs

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<<< Click here to go to the most read review on this website.

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Candyman

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Vampire Owl: I have heard about this particular person.

Vampire Bat: You mean to say that you know the Candyman.

Vampire Owl: Yes, he used to give us sweets in the cemetery.

Vampire Bat: So, he was then called the Sweetman?

Vampire Owl: He was surely not sweet. He was nowhere close.

Vampire Bat: This is actually news for me. Usually witches give sweets.

Vampire Owl: Witches are no longer interested in the old style.

Vampire Bat: I hope that you are not going to summon the Candyman.

Vampire Owl: Why wouldn’t I call him?

Vampire Bat: There is no reason why we need to have an extra monster around here. Even Uncle Dracula won’t like that.

[Gets a vegetable cutlet and three cups of iced tea].

What is the movie about? :: Sherman Fields (Michael Hargrove) is known for giving kids candy and has a hook for a hand, often leading to the children being scared of him. He is accused of putting a razor blade in a piece of candy, and the police tracks him, beating him down mercilessly, as the man finally dies. Many years later, Anthony McCoy (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) is living a happy life with his girlfriend Brianna Cartwright (Teyonah Parris), and both are into different kinds of art forms. One day, her brother Troy Cartwright (Nathan Stewart-Jarrett) tells them a horror story to pass time. It is about many brutal murders which occured in a city. It is related to the legend of the Candyman, but the story is distorted, blaming the main character of the story for everything terrible that had happened. Anthony hopes that he could do better with his skills in painting. He is asked to do better, as he has to be part of the upcoming summer show, even though he continues to blamed as standing where he had started after leaving the college.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: Anthony goes to the place where these incidents had occurred and meets William Burke (Colman Domingo) who tells him the story of Candyman, who is originally Sherman who was falsely convicted and murdered by the police. It is said that if someone says “Candyman” five times to a mirror, his spirit can appear and murder the one who summoned him. Anthony is inspired by what he heard, and makes a Candyman-legend connected painting, “Say My Name”. But the piece of art is mostly ignored by the public, and is not appreciated by the critics. Jerrica Cooper (Miriam Moss) is the first one to try summoning the Candyman, and she is killed along with her boyfriend and art dealer Clive Privler (Brian King) at the art exhibition venue. At the same time, Anthony begins making strange portraits of unknown people. He becomes more and more obsessed with Candyman as well as the incidents which happened in the city, but it turns out that it could also be the other way around.

The defence of Candyman :: This sequel to a movie which most of us in this part of the world haven’t watched, holds its ground for most of the time. There is an interesting use of the properties in the movie too, and it never gets clueless like a movie which felt so similar – Black as Night. The story is told nicely, and we get so many clues about the antagonist in between, put before us in an interesting manner. There is also a social commentary related to this, even though one feels that it would have been more effective if brought forward a few years earlier. Saying a name in front of a mirror five times, and unleashing the murderer is quite an interesting thing. After all, we are all looking for different kind of monsters every time, and one more supernatural murderer can only do good here. By using the idea of a person with candy for children combined with brutal murders by a supernatural entity, things can only get interesting. A past that is ready to haunt all, and mystery that needs to be solved – both are here.

The claws of flaw :: One would expect this to be as good as Get Out, but this one pales in comparison to that film which seemed to have a similar background. Even though there is some twist present, most of these things are happening according to plan in a predictable manner. If we are to look for innovation, we can only be disappointed. The movie could have also had a psychological side to be added here, as the main character would have been a good option for such a thing. A murderer like this could have always been scarier, with better use of the darkness. We could have also had a fine murder investigation happening around here, instead of leaving the murders as they have been. There also seems to be a little too much of generalization of almost everything – people and worlds cannot be considered in a general manner anymore, as individuality has a fine role to play even in the days of globalization. The movie also had so many opportunities to add some horror here and there, and it hesitates on many occasions.

The performers of the soul :: Yahya Abdul-Mateen II who played The Black Manta in Aquaman has the leading role here, and he manages the confused main character pretty well. Unlike what we feel in the beginning, he is not really the hero that would be expected here, and is rather the weaker character. There is almost nothing that is done from this particular character to make things better, successfully unleashing evil instead. Teyonah Parris seems to be the stronger and more intelligent character in comparison, but doesn’t serve that much of a purpose other than being the non-believer of the supernatural, until she comes of use in the final moments. Colman Domingo is the one who rises above all, and plays the one memorable character that we would have loved to lead a fight. Vanessa Williams has a rather small role, while Kyle Kaminsky and Nathan Stewart-Jarrett are rather irritating in their characters. Miriam Moss and Brian King almost strikes, but gets their characters dead soon enough. Michael Hargrove is notable in the small role too.

How it finishes :: Candyman comes as a sequel, and even though those who have not watched original might still enjoy it, an idea about the previous movie can only help the process of watching this one. This one does have its moments, especially in the beginning, as we are quickly moving towards what could be some big horror being unleashed by calling out the name. We have seen better movies dealing with similar elements of horror, but this one does manage to be divergent enough to catch our attention. There is no doubt about the fact that this could have been better, but it manages to go on without leaving that much to complain in between. After all, this movie also has its limitations, which it seems to have overcome with some clever writing adding in here and there. With an appropriate sequel, the movie could get rid of its problems to be unforgettable, for the scope is there, strong and premise has more in store for multiple films.

Release date: 27th August 2021
Running time: 91 minutes
Directed by: Nia DaCosta
Starring: Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Teyonah Parris, Nathan Stewart-Jarrett, Colman Domingo, Kyle Kaminsky, Vanessa Williams, Rebecca Spence, Brian King, Miriam Moss, Michael Hargrove, Christiana Clark, Heidi Grace Engerman, Breanna Lind, Carl Clemons-Hopkins, Torrey Hanson, Cedric Mays, Nancy Pender, Pam Jones, Virginia MAdsen, Tony Todd

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@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.