Tag: McKenna Grace

Spoiler-Free Review of “Slanted” on Demand: The Substance meets Mean Girls

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

“Everyone is going to love you…”

Slanted released in limited theaters on March 13th 2026 and is now available to watch on Demand as of April 14th 2026. The body horror-comedy film stars Shirley Chen, Mckenna Grace, Amelie Zilber, Nicholas Myers, Vivian Wu, and Fang Du. It runs for approximately an hour and forty-five minutes.

A Chinese-American teenager struggles to fit in with her white peers and is offered an opportunity to undergo a new treatment that promises to change her race and appearance so that she can fulfill her dream of becoming prom queen, but it comes with unwelcomed side effects.

Here is the trailer:

Slanted is a watered down mix of The Substance and Grafted with a few shocking moments of its own. Is it worthy of YOUR next watch? Let’s find out…

The Pros:

Images courtesy of Bleecker Street

A disturbing premise with a Mean Girls vibe.

It’s becoming more and more common to see horror movies dipping into the girly pop side of things, borrowing from films like Mean Girls. Recently Forbidden Fruits really reminded me how much I love movies that fit into this genre, and I think Slanted put forth a valiant effort here.

This film had some important messages and themes in it, but it also leaned into some unserious moments as well, which prevented things from becoming too stale. That salad scene was hilarious.

Images courtesy of Bleecker Street

Dials it back on the body horror.

I personally appreciated this because I’m not a big fan of body horror that makes my stomach turn. I know some fans love it though! There were some moments in this that made my skin crawl, but I was able to sit through it all without wanting to throw up.

The Cons:

Images courtesy of Bleecker Street

A film I’ve seen before.

Don’t get me wrong…I did enjoy this one, but it did seem very similar to other films. I think that Grafted was a lot stronger and more people should check out that film!

The ending was satisfying enough for me, but I guess I was expecting something a little bit bigger or bolder to happen.

I also thought the themes and messages were a little obvious.

So am I in or out?

Images courtesy of Bleecker Street

I’m in about 75 percent…

SLANTED is an entertaining film that fits nicely into the girly horror genre with some disturbing moments sprinkled in.

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

Best,

Amy Koto, TV Fanatic Girl

This competition is killer…

When former friends, Shay and Adriana team up to participate in a Halloween scavenger hunt with a cash prize, they temporarily put their differences aside to outsmart their opponents. However, they soon start to realize that a dangerous threat is playing their own version of the game, stalking them during each hunt.

Winning is now a necessity as their lives are at stake. As old wounds and memories re-surface, Shay and Adriana attempt to unmask the threat before the night is over, but soon learn that Scream Hunt is not done with them just yet…

My young adult horror thriller is out now! I hope you enjoy!

Scream Hunt is available here!

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Spoiler-Free Review of “Five Nights at Freddy’s 2” in Theaters: An Underwhelming Sequel

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

“Are you ready to start the show?”

Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 released in theaters on December 5th 2025. Based on the popular video game, the horror film stars Josh Hutcherson, Elizabeth Lail, Piper Rubio, Mckenna Grace, Skeet Ulrich and Matthew Lillard. The film runs for an hour and forty-five minutes.

After the horrific events at Freddy Fazbear’s Pizzeria, Mike, Abby, and Vanessa learn that a new threat has emerged at the original Freddy’s, threatening to destroy them all.

Here is the trailer:

Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 is an exhausting sequel with little charm, but it does feature two legendary scream kings on the big screen. Is it worthy of YOUR next watch? Let’s find out…

The Pros:

Images courtesy of Universal Pictures

Billy and Stu are back! Well…kind of.

Look, I’ll take what I can get! I really didn’t enjoy the first film that much, but I was happy that Matthew Lillard was in it. The only reason I showed up to see the second one was to witness both Matthew Lillard AND Skeet Ulrich on screen. I mean…talk about a dream come true!

Sure…they needed more screen time, but it was fun seeing them both in this even though I’m pretty sure that the majority of the audience (kids under 14) had no idea who they were.

A cool new addition.

I thought the addition of the Marionette worked well for the most part. This movie didn’t have any major scares to it, but the creepy factor was there and I think that she was a cool character to explore. Things would have felt completely stale if we were just dealing with the same exact characters again so there’s that.

Unfortunately the pros stop here…

The Cons:

Images courtesy of Universal Pictures

Forced character side plots…

This is one of those sequels that would have benefited from a completely new cast. Having Mike, Vanessa, and Abby back in the mix may have seemed like a good idea, but the execution didn’t come across well. Everything felt exhausting, boring, and drawn out. Every major plot point had a convenient solution and I lost the partial investment I had in these characters from the first film.

Silly scares.

I know this is more of a kid-friendly horror film, but it’s still horror so I would have liked a few more authentic scares. The jump scares felt gimmicky and I think they wasted the potential of the Marionette. The reveals at the end felt so desperate and I honestly couldn’t wait for this to be over. I sprinted out of the theater…

So am I in or out?

Images courtesy of Universal Pictures

Unfortunately I’m out on this one…

Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 exhausts everything from the original film, proving to be a completely unnecessary sequel with not much to say at all…

Sure, there were a few fun moments and I loved seeing Lillard and Ulrich in this, but this was lacking in some major fun.

I hope you enjoyed the review and feel free to post your own thoughts and theories on Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 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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Spoiler-Free Review of “Ghostbusters: Afterlife” in Theaters: All Around Fun

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

“Who you gonna call?”

Ghostbusters: Afterlife released in theaters on November 19th 2021. The film stars McKenna Grace, Finn Wolfhard, Logan Kim, Celeste O’Connor, Carrie Coon and Paul Rudd. It runs for just over two hours.

After getting evicted from their home, a mom and her two kids move into their grandfather’s old farm house, as they soon unlock some secrets and connections to the original Ghostbusters.

Here is the trailer:

Ghostbusters: Afterlife attempts to continue the Ghostbusters story with some new characters while still sprinkling in some nostalgia for fans of the original film. Does it do enough to earn a watch? Let’s find out…

The Pros:

Images courtesy of Sony Pictures

The new characters do a great job.

I was slightly worried about this, but I really loved all of the new characters. Phoebe was my favorite and really stole the show. The kids had a Scooby gang charm and Paul Rudd brought some humor into the mix as well.

Images courtesy of Sony Pictures

Good balance of nostalgia and something new.

I thought this worked for the most part. Fans got plenty to be excited about and we also got a lot of entertaining and new elements added in. I didn’t think the cameos or the nods at the original were too forced. Everything just worked naturally and it was a lot of fun!

The Cons:

Images courtesy of Sony Pictures

The middle dragged…

I thought the film started off strong and the ending really brought it home, but I started to lose interest in the middle of the film. The pacing needed some work and I think that the film was slightly too long. I didn’t need something major happening at all times, but I think this could have been tightened up a little bit to make the film more seamless overall.

So am I in or out?

Images courtesy of Sony Pictures

I’m in!

Overall, this was an entertaining watch. I loved all of the cameos and I think that the film did enough to keep fans happy. I think the pacing could have been a lot better and the plot didn’t do anything that extraordinary, but this was honestly a blast to watch and I had a lot of fun!

I hope you enjoyed the review and feel free to post your own thoughts and theories on Ghostbusters: Afterlife 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!

**If you enjoyed this blog, I would love it if you would click the follow button on your way out to subscribe.  Thanks for your support!

Spoiler-Free Review of “Just Beyond” on Disney+: Kid Friendly Horror Comedy

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

“What is this place?”

Just Beyond is a new horror comedy anthology series inspired by the works of R.L. Stine. The series premiered on October 13th 2021 on Disney+ with all eight episodes available to stream now. Just Beyond stars McKenna Grace, Lexi Underwood, Cedric Joe, Henry Thomas and Nasim Pedrad. Each episode runs for approximately 25-30 minutes.

Each episode explores a different phenomenon as our characters are immersed into a world filled with aliens, witches and ghosts.

Here is the trailer:

Just Beyond attempts to bring us more kids friendly horror with some fun and spooky premises, but does it do enough to earn a watch? Let’s find out…

The Pros:

Images courtesy of Disney+

Stand-out episodes.

I really loved episodes one and four in particular. Each episode had its own unique story, but I almost thought some of these episodes could have actually branched off into their own shows. They were really intriguing and I loved the characters!

They also found just the right balance of creepy fun for both kids and adults.

A new entry for kids horror.

Kids horror has been releasing some solid entries lately and I liked that this series took a different approach. The series could have easily attempted to channel Goosebumps or even the new Are You Afraid of the Dark? reboot, but the horror comedy angle was different and I think it worked in a lot of ways.

The Cons:

Images courtesy of Disney+

A disconnect at times and slightly repetitive.

Since I really liked some episodes more than others, it was difficult binge-watching all of the episodes in this anthology series because it lost some of its magic with each episode.

I also thought that a lot of the themes were similar and maybe this show would have benefited from releasing its episodes weekly to prevent things from becoming too stale.

So am I in or out?

Images courtesy of Disney+

I’m in about 75 percent…

This series is fun for the whole family (although you probably want to monitor the content of each episode for your kids) and it gave us another welcomed entry into the kids horror genre.

Overall, it was a fun watch with lots of potential.

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

Best,

Amy Koto, TV Fanatic Girl

PLAY BY THE RULES…STAY ALIVE…

A harmless night of fun turns deadly for six college friends but the game has only just begun. Take a mystery thrill ride right from your own living room. Dash and Seek is out now! I hope you enjoy!

READ IF YOU DARE…

Dash and Seek is available here!

**If you enjoyed this blog, I would love it if you would click the follow button on your way out to subscribe.  Thanks for your support!