Horrorfest 2016 Presents: Road Games (2015, Abner Pastoll)

Jack (Andrew Simpson) is a down on his luck bloke wandering through the French countryside. After meeting fellow hitchhiker Véronique (Joséphine de La Baume), things get…weird. After all, there is also a serial killer on the loose, plus the duo has run into a strange Frenchman and his American wife (Frédéric Pierrot, Barbara Crampton) in a mansion in the French countryside.

Using the French countryside as a lovely backdrop, Road Games operates as part thriller, part twisty horror flick. It even has an odd torture scene that is remarkable for being light on the pain. It also has a great electronic soundtrack that for some reason it doesn’t use enough. This film is light on subsistence and depends a bit too much on style and some quality momeets. I liked it, but I felt in the hands of someone better it would have been something special.

Horrorfest 2014 Presents: A Nightmare On Elm Street 5: The Dream Child (1989, Stephen Hopkins)

Following up the last two films which dealt with Freddy Krueger (Robert Englund in his most famous role) coming back again and again, The Dream Child is a tad darker and even more twisted than The Dream Master. Poor Alice (Lisa Wilcox) thinks that she has defeated Freddy for good, however this belief turns out to be horribly wrong as Freddy returns through her unborn child, which she meets in her dreams. This film also dives a bit further into Freddy’s past, although the whole thing with his mother was already covered in The Dream Warriors so it feels a tad overdone. Still I liked that this film, Freddy’s quips aside, was trying to be rather creepy in the same style as the rest of the series, particularly the first three.

This one also feels a bit weird, as only Alice seems to remember or know who Freddy is despite him having terrorized people for years now. Her friends are oblivious to what is going on, and only after people start dying do they actually take Alice seriously. This film has some nasty kills, although by this point I felt that the creators had run out of creative ways to murder people onscreen. The motorcycle death was rather ghoulish and disturbing however, and there are a few other moments that made me grin a little. Despite being a fifth installment The Dream Child manages to overcome some unfortunate campy scenes and is a solid addition to the series. What the A Nightmare On Elm Street series lacks in true greatness it seems to make up for in consistency.

Your Worst Inhibitions Tend To Psych You Out In The End

Gus and Shawn are a great pair together. Shawn happens to be the son of a legendary policeman named Henry, while Gus is his life long friend and companion. Sure this show at times reminds me of Sherlock Holmes and John Watson yet it has a unique twist: Shawn pretends to be a psychic. The police use them as consultants although they also have their own private detective agency. Lassiter and Juliet are the two police detectives who put up with their shenanigans as they all try to solve cases every episode.

What I love about this show is the rapport that Gus and Shawn have with each other. The jokes come fast and are rather sharp. Also the supporting cast is fantastic. You also have Henry, who is the reason why Shawn has a heavily observant ability in the first place. Although the show lacks a true arc save for some episodes there are requiring characters and the show does focus on certain aspects.

One of them being Shawn’s dangerous twisty game with an infamous serial killer. The other being Shawn and Juliet being near perfect for each other. Also the major underlying theme of the show is that Gus and Shawn have to keep up the idea that Shawn is psychic. If the police find out Shawn could be in serious trouble. However thanks to the pair’s gift for getting themselves in and out of trouble such worries are pushed aside.

Many episodes are hilarious and I am working back through Psych while anticipating the last season, which is not on Netflix. I do reflect on the show’s joyous aspect plus its great sense of humor and style. The USA Network has some good shows yet I’ve grown mostly attached to Psych over the years. Also its theme song rules.