Fall 2: Deadpoint

Fall 2: Deadpoint (2026)

55% on Rotten Tomatoes (out of 31 reviews)

Runtime: 98 minutes

Directed by: Michael & Peter Spierig

Starring: The majority of the film is just Harriet Slater & Arsema Thomas but there’s also the likes of Tom Brittney

From: Lionsgate

For those that thought the first Fall wasn't dumb enough...

I made the climb in '22 & saw Fall theatrically. Despite the plot and characters possessing an intelligence comparable to a pet rock, I didn't hate the movie. At least the effects were solid and you believed they were stuck on top of an extremely tall tower. If you have acrophobia, Fall would be a nightmare for you. Curiosity got the best of me & I checked out the sequel. This is actually my first film from brothers Michael & Peter Spierig; don't worry, eventually I'll see a second from them.

Fall 2 was tackled Friday night before I went & saw the Indian movie Veerana. It was only last night that a Twitter post was viewed—in short, a purported picture from the end credits of Deadpoint reveals that... the movie used AI. I'm sure it's true; one of the producers (Scott Mann) has his own AI company, after all. Indeed, one shot didn't look quite right; it was... of an airplane wheel landing on the ground, which wasn't needed anyway as the viewer saw the plane land on the ground—talk about unnecessary. That will be a deal-breaker for some so do what you wish w/ that information.

Fall 2 is extraordinarily stupid! Virginia Gardner from the first Fall has a sister; I'd say that she looked either like a Temu Sadie Sink or a Temu Emma Stone, but that'd be too harsh. Plus, the character name JAX HUNTER was great. Harriet Slater was fine in the role-she was devastated by the events of the first movie. Hysterically, a random stranger met her one day and... inspired Jax to “honor” her daredevil sister by doing something even stupider than what her sister did... walk the old planks on the side of a Thai mountain (they were built my monks centuries ago, as established in a throwaway line of dialogue) when there's no railing and the only “safety measure” is a chain hanging a few feet above said planks.

Even worse, they did no preparation for this illegal hike, and relied on a sketchy guy in a random Thai bar to guide them. If this wasn't dopey enough, there are many other moments I dare not reveal, because spoilers. At least I was able to laugh AT Deadpoint for its illogic, its attempts to have epic moments that either were heart-wrenching or inspiring... instead they made me AND at least one other person in this sparsely-attended guffaw and scoff at what the movie was trying to do.

While not as successful in presenting the constant danger in someone stuck at such a perilous location, there are still thrills in this particular scenario. Arsema Thomas and Tom Brittney were also fine as the random stranger & sketchy guy Jon, respectively. Fall 2: Deadpoint is OK in a brainless way; I imagine it'll do as well on streaming as the first one did, nevermind the first bombing and this sequel destined to do so. There will be a third one; it is uncertain as of now I'll check out Fall 3: The Droppening (or whatever they'll title it) on the big screen as well.

Veerana

Veerana (1988)

Runtime: The version I saw was 135 minutes

Directed by: Shyam Ramsey/Tulsi Ramsey

Starring: Jasmin, Hemant Birje, Sahila Chaddha, Kulbhushan Kharbanda, Satish Shah

From: Sai Om Productions

I got to see an old Indian horror movie on the big screen last night. The experience (at Orlando's arthouse cinema, the Enzian) wasn't the best-more on that at the end-but I was still happy to view something else from the Ramsay family. For years they made Hindi horror films; in the past, I also had fun w/ their Purana Mandir and their Freddy Krueger ripoff Mahakaal. Getting to view one restored on the big screen was a rare treat.

Veerana concerns a cult that lives in the woods; their leader is a Rasputin type. They have a witch which is basically a Deadite; a dude finds & hangs the witch. Well, the witch's spirit is transferred to that of the dude's 10-year-old daughter, who grows up to be a sexpot that seduces then kills dumb men. Of course, this is cinema from India so there is wacky humor that is rather broad & sometimes alien to a dopey white guy like myself, tonal shifts, and at least a bit of melodrama.

A shame that the crowd for this laughed at everything; of course there's intended & unintended comedy, feel free to chuckle at that. However, laughing at serious moments or just random moments in general where I couldn't comprehend WHAT they were guffawing about... disappointing. Yes, much of the crowd was dumb white people but some South Asians were also present. Lord only know what they thought of that reaction.

The plot is uniquely Hindi yet I was still entertained, and not in an ironic fashion. Jasmin was quite alluring as the possessed girl; there's also chilling moments throughout that coincide w/ the catchy song and dance numbers, the humor (the blatant comedic character was a chubby dude who... wants to be a director. Hopefully no one here sees themselves in him!), the horror scenes that echo Hammer, the action scenes that at first were comparable to Dolemite but later were more competent, a giant of a man that resembled a 1980's version of The Great Khali, footage stolen from two famous Hollywood horror movies, more crash zooms than in any Tarantino film... there are effective horror elements mixed into this tasty stew.

Naturally I could be pedantic and nitpick certain aspects, such as the world's dumbest father & how his naivete was needed for the plot. However, this won't occur; entertainment was had by this horror picture w/ a unique, spicy flavor. I had fun, even with a bad crowd and even at a place that used to have a nice, chill outdoor bar attached to the cinema but last night was blasting horrid deafening modern music... having to eviscerate a local cinema devoted to independent film is not ideal but I am crestfallen the Enzian has fallen off so badly in not that many years.

Blondie Johnson

Blondie Johnson (1933)

Runtime: 67 minutes

Directed by: Ray Enright

Starring: Joan Blondell, Chester Morris, Allen Jenkins, Earle Foxe, Claire Dodd

From: Warner Bros.

Not only was it Pre-Code time for me, but time to clear space off the DVR. I made this recording off of TCM way back in May, you see. The premise of “Joan Blondell is a poor lady during the Great Depression who hustles her way into ruling a crime ring” greatly intrigued.

Indeed, she was a poor lady looking for assistance who was thrown out of housing (along w/ her mother) by an A-hole landlord, she quit her job due to sexual harassment… mom gets sick and dies. Little wonder then she decides to give avarice a try and does whatever to become successful. She runs various con games, all of which entertained me. This is how she meets gangsters, including Danny. In a twist from the norm, she wants their relationship to be strictly professional and despite her having feelings, she rejects his advances… and he actually respects her wishes. She rises in importance although of course she experiences the same sort of problems you get in other genre examples.

In other ways, this felt progressive-heck, Blondie even has lady friends (including Japanese-American actress Toshia Mori) who she doesn’t later feud with. The gangster theatrics aren’t revolutionary but of course the presence of Blondell’s character-strong yet not infallible-was the highlight, Joan’s portrayal a delight. The direction from Ray Enright was solid, the supporting players-studio regulars I’ve seen in other pictures-were all at least fine, including Chester Morris as Danny. As this was a Warner Bros. B-movie, the expectations were meant concerning how competent the production was.

The final scene perhaps wasn’t the best conclusion for the picture; otherwise, this was an enjoyable gangster B-movie from the Pre-Code era that is more than just one with a memorable gimmick.

Necessary Roughness

Necessary Roughness (1991)

Runtime: 108 minutes

Directed by: Stan Dragoti

Starring: Scott Bakula, Harley Jane Kozak, Hector Elizondo, Robert Loggia, Sinbad

From: Paramount

An appropriate movie to view as the college football season is about to start for most teams. Necessary Roughness is another movie watched in the 90’s when I was a kid but not as an adult until last night. College football now is far different than it was 35 years ago-not all the changes have been good, IMO-but I don’t want to be a curmudgeon here.

Texas State (not the school now known as Texas State; back in ’91, they were known as Southwest Texas State) is a successful program but everyone on the team was kicked out due to rampant corruption. That was based on SMU, a successful program that was so dirty, they were banned for a year; that was so devastating they took another year to restart their team. They now are pretty good again. Here the premise was more absurd; the school instead took random students already enrolled without recruiting any high school football stars. They were the ultimate misfits and underdogs, clearly. The QB is 34-year-old Scott Bakula, a high school star turned farmer.

This is not the most realistic depiction of college football by any regards. Be that as it may, there wasn’t as much football action as I recalled. Instead, this is the archetypical outsider movie; the focus is them coming together as a team despite struggles w/ themselves and others. Major League was an obvious inspiration; Rob Schneider’s announcer was no Bob Uecker’s Harry Doyle but he wasn’t terrible either. If you know his Richardmeister character from Saturday Night Live, think that.

A cast full of familiar faces was a quality asset; Scott Bakula as the lead was likable. He stopped playing football as his father died so “taking over the family farm” took over priority. He probably shouldn’t try to date one of his professors, but… there’s also Robert Loggia (perfect for the role) as an assistant coach, Hector Elizondo as the head coach, Sinbad (star of 90’s hit Shazaam lol j/k), Fred Dalton Thompson, Kathy Ireland in a small yet memorable role, Jason Bateman, and Larry Miller as exactly the sort of smarmy college dean you’d expect Larry Miller to portray, a role I know he played in a few other pictures.

I was relieved that Necessary Roughness was still watchable as a middle-aged adult, still providing laughs and still presenting an inspiring ending. What surprised me: the first game these misfits played was against… Southwest Texas State, who remember is now known as Texas State. True story.

Three New Reviews

Colony (Gunche) (2026) 

Runtime: 123 minutes

Directed by: Yeon Sang-ho

Starring: Gianna Jun, Koo Kyo-hwan, Ji Chang-wook, Kim Shin-rock, Shin Hyun-been

From: Many different South Korean companies

Train to Busan has so much good will w/ me, such cachet, I was happy to see Colony theatrically despite not enjoying either Seoul Station or Peninsula. Busan is great & the good word, re: Colony gave me the impetus for last night’s viewing after not watching any films Saturday night. It’s been too long since experiencing any Korean cinema, let alone one on the big screen.

Instead of a zombie apocalypse film, Yeon Sang-ho created an infected/virus picture. A bio-terror attack is unleashed on a skyscraper, which has both a mall (it does invoke Dawn of the Dead vibes) and a conference room where a CEO is giving a presentation on slime mold and collective intelligence. A genius madman (I do believe that there’s only a thin line between “genius” and “insanity”) is hellbent on revenge and also has a warped opinion on humanity’s future; a group of disparate characters-ranging from “woman in wheelchair” and police officer to dumb youth and a female professor-are quarantined in the building w/ that madman. 

Colony is not focused on delivering a gory bloodbath. Rather, this is an action-horror hybrid like Busan; rather, the viewer should expect our protagonists to run & hide, with occasional fighting. By this point, infected virus movies are… well, they seem to be the rage. Colony does have its flaws, some details I could nitpick, a plot that at times I was ahead of the characters & guessed what was going on.

The criticisms I have did not ruin the experience; a grand old time was still had w/ Colony. There is the drama I expect from South Korean cinema; while there’s only the brief appearance of a little girl crying, adults certainly cry and not every protagonist survives this ordeal. What made this stand out from the rest: the focus on hard science. A professor on the scene & others investigating outside the skyscraper deal with a virus that’s like a fungus. What I meant earlier by “collective intelligence” is that everyone infected has a hive mind; apt comparisons are made to ants. Furthermore, they frequently receive “upgrades” which increases their intelligence & increases the threat.

Colony thankfully worked quite well for me. For my peculiar tastes, I MUCH prefer modern horror to be fun like this rather than those dour, self-serious, pretentious, somber horror pictures that are preoccupied w/trauma & grief.

Tales from the Crypt Presents: Bordello of Blood (1996)

Runtime: 87 minutes

Directed by: Gilbert Adler

Starring: Dennis Miller, Erika Eleniak, Angie Everhart, Chris Sarandon, Corey Feldman

From: Universal

Yeah, everyone who said this was worse than Demon Knight… you were right. Knight was viewed earlier in the month on Shudder, before Spooky Season began for me. That-like Bordello-was viewed on Shudder. Both were only on the platform for August, necessitating me seeing this at the last minute.

Bordello had more an emphasis on comedy; that was hit-or-miss, and that’s not just my opinion of Dennis Miller or his constant quips. Some landed, while others were just irritating. No comment on Miller as a person or his political beliefs. He portrayed a gumshoe detective who was hired by a religious Erika Eleniak to find her missing brother (Corey Feldman! He was a hard-rockin’ rebel who was a jerk, meaning the role was perfect for him). Meanwhile, Chris Sarandon was a televangelist who exhibited all the negative stereotypes-or the truth about them, depending your own opinion-and I can’t even say that the OOT stage show here was unrealistic.

The film is uneven, for sure. That does not mean there wasn’t fun to be had. This is still an OOT tale involving vampires-led by a sexy bisexual Angie Everhart-causing havoc in a city, where the titular brothel is at… a mortuary. There are a few bravura moments, including one during the final act set to one of a few boomer songs that are played throughout. The cast as a whole was fine; most interesting was that one of the villains was a character w/ dwarfism—veteran actor and stuntman Phil Fondacaro-and his stature was not a plot point or even mentioned by the other characters.

Bordello is flawed; even then, a good time was still had by me. There’s enough gory moments and topless female nudity to satisfy some. The biggest surprise wasn’t the cameo from a famous actor still well-known today; it was seeing the script credited to Bob Gale & Robert Zemeckis. Turns out, they wrote this in 1973 after graduating from USC, the idea of their movie debut being sexploitation. They tried to make it w/ John Milius (!) as producer but that didn’t happen. Instead, the story was apparently greatly modified by the time this was filmed.

Sundel Bolong (1981)

Runtime: 106 minutes

Directed by: Sisworo Gautama Putra

Starring: Suzzanna, Rudy Salam, Barry Prima, Ruth Pelupessy, Marlia Hardi

From: Rapi Films

This is Indonesian horror; the presumption is that those who have a number of Letterboxd followers like I do—they also have many members from Indonesia following them. 

Sundel Bolong stars Suzzanna, the Queen of Indonesian Horror. From a reviewer that lives in the country, this tale is based on famous Javanese folklore revolving around a ghost w/ long black hair & sporting a white dress. Suzzanna’s poor Alisa is really put through the wringer. She married sailor Barry Prima-no surprise to me that later on, Barry had a martial arts scene; while he’s gone for 9 months, a particularly gross sexual assault occurred. Because she is a former prostitute, Alisa is also slut-shamed. Most people treat her horribly in the opening act; no wonder after her death, Alisa is looking for sweet, sweet revenge.

The movie had unexpected comic moments, some funnier than others. Full of gore, this was not, yet the deaths were typically satisfying. There is one bravura kill that was rather spectacular. Sundel Bolong was simply a fun time once the title ghost appeared and had fun dishing out her revenge, which usually revolved around her trolling her foe. Suzzanna was the highlight of the picture, indeed. The titular sundel bolong is a distinctive creature… not just because it’s a female ghost that was a former prostitute. The ghost also has a giant hole in its back, which exposes its inside, along w/ maggots. Unique lore, undoubtedly.

This was an interesting folk horror movie; in addition, I was happy to see another picture from a performer that was popular in Southeast Asia at the time.

 

I'll Catch Up Tomorrow

 A few movie reviews will be posted tomorrow evening.

Mutiny

Mutiny (2026)

50% on Rotten Tomatoes (out of 111 reviews) 

Runtime: 95 minutes

Directed by: Jean-Francois Richet

Starring: Jason Statham, Annabelle Wallis, Roland Moller, Ramon Tikaram, Arnas Fedaravicius

From: Lionsgate

I went & saw a genre movie last night, “Jason Statham” the specific genre.

Even I can admit that there’s a wish for Statham to have higher aspirations, to appear in motion pictures that used his comedic chops more often, or to not play slightly different variations of the same character constantly. Some may wish that I should view theatrical films more original than this. At the same time, this current stretch of his career must be profitable for him; I guess he doesn’t want to… rock the boat.

The plot is quite predictable & the victims of human trafficking that he and Annabelle Wallis attempt to stop on a cargo ship from Bangkok seem to be forgotten by the movie for long stretches. This does not mean I wasn’t entertained by the familiar plot beats; you won’t see me criticize Hallmark Channel movies when there are occasions that I am OK with checking out standard programming like Mutiny which doesn’t allow itself for a lengthier review from myself. That’s even when Statham’s Cole Reed was framed for the murder of the billionaire he was guarding.

I wasn’t annoyed by Mutiny, thankfully. The bad guys were generic yet still made nice fodder & the worst SOBs were dispatched in satisfying fashion. Dudes got wrecked ™, for sure. Annabelle Wallis also had a better role than expected. Everything is competent.

French director Jean-Francois Richet made better/more interesting films than this (the Mel Gibson Blood Father, the two Mesrine movies from his native country) but if you want a decent action flick that is destined to be shown on TNT-the American cable network-in a few years and/or are a Statham stan, Mutiny could be satisfying for you despite how rote even the movie’s fans might not be able to deny.