So, for this next article, we're going to do a series of brief round-up reviews looking at a selection of close-but-not-quite films from 2021 that some might see as horror films but we don't see rather than devote a full article to them we're just going to talk about them here. So let's get into these.
At Night Comes Wolves (Tj Marine)
There is almost little need to check this one out. The main gist of the film, about this abused and neglected woman trying to find herself with the help of a spiritual cult that enables her to stand up to the damaging men in her life, could've been far more impactful if it was made around a more impressive main character. Everything here seems like the wrong type of atmosphere to enable such motivation in the first place, while lackluster pacing managing to deprive the film of just about anything else that could've been formed by the appearance of the cult, their leader's personal backstory, or the history of the cult which manages to not only drag the pacing out considerably but cause this one to be so jumbled and chaotic that it loses it's place quite readily. Coupled with amateur hour effects, a finale that's so tacked on its laughable and barely any positives this is easily one of the worst films in the genre.
Bloody Hell (Alister Grierson)
This was such a blast and really had a lot to like about it. The constant back-and-forth monologues in his head about how to get out of the situations he finds himself in are a real highlight, injecting a nice fourth-wall-breaking with a touch of humor to the brutality that goes along with the torturing being done while he's held captive. These scenes are quite fun and break up the rather monotonous scenes of the family going about their lives trying to get ready for the feast. This all prepares himself for the big battle in the finale where this turns into a rather impressive beatdown that's overall highly enjoyable beatdown that brings about a rather enjoyable brawl to end things on. This provides some fun and over-the-top finale which features a lot to like alongside the other positives for a lot to really like about it.
Caveat (Damian McCarthy)
There wasn't much to like about this one. The fact that this one is just so slow in terms of tempo and pacing that it fails to generate any interest in its set up for the first hour of this one. The constant scenes of her going back-and-forth between lucid and deranged, him going around the house trying to figure out what's going on and the exploits at the house just take up so much time that it's nearly impossible to stay interested in here, especially with nearly nothing going on. The big twist at the end as well is just inherently stupid and makes no sense as to how it's going to play out like it did here, and with very little in the way of actual genre output here it doesn't have much going on with it. The atmosphere at the house is somewhat tense and creepy with the reveal getting brought forth so late here that it does generate some suspense with the imagery and inability to know what's going on. Outside of this, though, the film just doesn't stay that interesting.
The Dead of Night (Robert Dean)
This one should've been a lot better than it was as this one could've been something decent in the least. The idea of the random killers running through the small-town and killing off the locals is quite a solid setup and could've been creepier had this exploited the look of the two better by injecting them into the film more. They're great when they're on-screen and their scenes are impressive with the final half chasing the residents left around their house, but the problem is that it takes so long to get there that all interest in everything is lost in a melodramatic swarm of relationship nonsense and red herrings about the locals that saps the life out of the movie to an indescribable degree. Given this, there's no explanation for the killers, where they came from, or what they're doing so everything is a complete mystery, lowering this one even further.
From the Depths (Michael Montesinos)
This was a serviceable drama that masquerades as a genre effort. The times where it touches on the genre exploits, with the emphasis of the ghosts appearing to her as her imagination to come to terms with the accident have some intriguing aspects to them, much like the fun matter in which the shark continually pops up out of nowhere ready to attack her or others. Trying to make the entire thing feel like it's all in her head creates an interesting dynamic against the rest of the film as she struggles to get through her routine and newfound life but this is all done at the expense of full-on killer shark sequences. While there's some enjoyment to be had from this, the focus on her trying to masquerade her feelings and come to terms with how her life is going due to the constant fear of seeing the shark stalk her comes off like a disservice, especially when it stalks to be quite predictable and seen coming from a mile away. It's still watchable for what it is but it's not the kind of thing most will appreciate it being.
Woe (Matthew Goodhue)
This was a highly confusing and underwhelming effort. The fact that nothing gets explained here is the biggest issue, from the absolutely beyond the irredeemable point of introducing the actual spirits that are at the center of the horror scenes here to the unbelievably contrived storyline that isn't in the slightest bit interesting for what's going on. That there's plenty of cryptic nonsense about the nature of the spirits in connection to their father's life which is starting to affect him as well with how long he's staying there as this becomes one of the main storyline points for the rest of the film. Beyond this, there's the issue with the utterly banal pacing that makes the film so dragging and off-putting with the slow conversations and lack of clarity in what's revealed that it's quite uninvolving. Despite some intriguing ideas and some creepy imagery, it's not enough to save this one.
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