Tag: Catherine Curtin

Spoiler-Free Review of “Founders Day”: A Fun Political Slasher

*This is a spoiler-free review so feel free to read on!*

“Things are really heating up in the race for Mayor…”

Founders Day released back in August 2023 at London Fright Fest and will be playing at Toronto After Dark on October 20th 2023. The slasher horror film stars Naomi Grace, Devin Druid, Amy Hargreaves, Catherine Curtin, and William Russ. It runs for approximately an hour and forty-five minutes.

A small town is plagued by a series of brutal killings leading up to a cutthroat mayoral election.

Founders Day has a fun premise and a few twists worth sticking around for. Is it worthy of your next watch? Let’s find out…

The Pros:

Images courtesy of Mainframe Pictures

Fun idea for a slasher film.

We have plenty of horror entries for Halloween and Christmas, but not too many November/Fall ones. With the film, Thanksgiving coming out soon and now with Founders Day, we have some some solid slasher entries for the season to indulge in, which is a very good thing!

This film is brought to us by the same creator of She Came from the Woods and I thought it had a similar vibe to that film. It had some dry humor mixed in, which worked well for the most part, and some stand-out characters. Some of the small town discussions even reminded me of Jaws in a playful way, which worked to the film’s advantage.

Catherine Curtin stole the movie for me and was as fantastic as ever and I thought our lead did a decent job as well.

Inventive kills!

I actually really enjoyed some of the kills in this one and thought they were well done. I would have liked a touch more gore and some extended chase scenes, but I’m all for some slasher fun just in time for Fall.

The Cons:

The fluff in-between slowed down the pacing.

Overall, I thought the runtime for this film was fine, but I could have done without some of the unnecessary conversations between certain characters. They felt a little filler. The killings were a lot of fun and I didn’t think this film needed to be weighed down by anything else. It found its groove again by the time it reached the climax, however.

So am I in or out?

I’m in about 75 percent…

If you’re looking for a fun B-movie slasher film with an inventive premise and some killer twists, there’s plenty to enjoy with this one.

I think horror fans will appreciate this one for sure.

Special thanks to Mainframe Pictures for this press screening.

I hope you enjoyed the review and feel free to post your own thoughts and theories on Founders Day in the comments section below. Thanks so much for reading and happy viewing!

Best,

Amy Koto, TV Fanatic Girl

Spoiler-Free Review of “Werewolves Within” on Demand: A Supernatural Murder Mystery

**This is a spoiler-free review so feel free to read on!**

“Yeah this town is batshit…”

Werewolves Within originally released on June 25th 2021. The film is currently available to rent on demand. It stars Sam Richardson, Milana Vayntrub, Harvey Guillen, Cheyenne Jackson, Catherine Curtin and Michaela Watkins. It is approximately 90 minutes long.

When a new ranger arrives in a small town, he quickly finds himself thrown into a murder mystery when several residents are trapped together in the local inn after a snowstorm. Everyone is a suspect as they start to realize that they may actually be dealing with a ruthless werewolf.

Here is the trailer:

Werewolves Within has the potential to provide us with horror comedy gold, but does it do enough to earn a watch? Let’s find out…

The Pros:

Images courtesy of IFC Films

The who-dun-it style works.

It seems like a lot of recent films are following the murder mystery approach, but it works in this film. This film gave off vibes of Clue and Knives Out with its own voice as well. The characters are a lot of fun as well and Sam Richardson has great chemistry with Milana Vayntrub which made this an entertaining watch.

Fun horror comedy.

I love horror comedies and I don’t think they are talked about enough, but this film could easily fit right in with Tucker and Dale vs Evil. While I wouldn’t say that all the humor landed, a lot of it just worked effortlessly. 

The Cons:

Images courtesy of IFC Films

Pacing issues.

The majority of the film focuses on the set-up of everything. We spend so much time getting to know the players and watching them interact, but it almost took away from the best part of the movie when everything hits the fan. The ending was great but it took a little too long to get there.

I could have done without the political/social commentary.

While some moments were genuinely hilarious and a lot of fun, others felt really forced. The references were overdone at one point. Sometimes less is more and I think that Werewolves Within was decent, but it could have been better if it had just embraced the simple plot without overthinking things.

So am I in or out?

Images courtesy of IFC Films

I’m in!

I love horror comedies and I think that this film was entertaining overall and worth a watch. Sam Richardson is truly fantastic and there are some laugh out loud moments. The second half of the film is a lot stronger than the first and there are some rough edges, but there is enough going on in this film to enjoy.

I hope you enjoyed the review and feel free to post your own thoughts and theories on Werewolves Within in the comments section below. Thanks so much for reading and happy viewing!

Best,

Amy Koto, TV Fanatic Girl

DON’T TAKE THE JOB…

It was only supposed to be temporary…but when Olivia Crewe accepts a new position that seems too good to be true, she soon discovers that twelve other girls previously had the same job as her. Only none of them lasted for more than thirty days. No notice. Nothing…right before they mysteriously disappeared without a trace.

My supernatural thriller Girl Number Thirteen is out now! I hope you enjoy!

Girl Number Thirteen is available here!

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