The Game, on BritBox

Unlike the scandal-tarred and cowardly West Midlands police leadership, Huw Miller was a conscientious, well-intentioned cop. Yet, he can’t even retire properly. Maddeningly, the serial killer who got away continues to humiliate him. Still, his up-close poking and prodding might open up an opportunity for redemption in creator-writer Tim Grieves’ four-episode The Game, which premieres tomorrow on BritBox.

Somewhat reluctantly, Miller retires in his mid-50’s and only DS Jenny Atkins is sad to see him go. Sad is a strong word. It is more like she feels sorry for him. Miller was once a rising star, but he made a dog’s dinner of the Ripton Stalker. Basically, the killer ran circles around Miller, tricking him into arresting an innocent man, while mocking him with a constant stream of insulting letters.

There is still a lot of golf to be played. Unfortunately, Frank Byrne, Miller’s neighbor and partner on the links, soon dies in a supposed overdose the he finds suspicious. The ex-cop soon realizes Patrick Harbottle, the new guy on the block, is indeed the Ripton Stalker, who has resumed tormenting Miller for his own amusement—probably even murdering Byrne, so he could move into his house. At least Miller is pretty sure he is.

As per his M.O., Harbottle fabricates embarrassing incidents to turn the neighborhood against him. Frustratingly, the awkward Miller is often Harbottle’s best ally in that regard. Frankly, it is often painful to watch poor Miller blunder about. Nevertheless, he is still smarter than all the other characters, except, Harbottle, of course.

Even though it excessively stacks the deck against Miller, there is still a lot of tense cat-and-mouse stuff in The Game. It just would have been even effective if Miller and Harbottle seemed more evenly matched. Instead, several sequences basically amount to watch Miller stepping on one rake after another.

Chicago P.D.: Born Screaming

The police portion of Dick Wolf’s One Chicago serves as a telling Rorschach test. 97% of the world identifies with hard-charging but undeniably dedicated Sgt. Hank Voight, while most of the nation’s big city mayors and DA’s probably root for Internal Affairs Commander Mark Devlin to end Voight’s career. As revealed right before the mid-season break, Devlin even resorted to blackmailing Voight with the threat of unjustly tarnishing his heroic late father’s name. That remains a problem, but Voight has more pressing issues, like the unit member stuck in a serial killer’s house, under iffy circumstances, in “Born Screaming,” the mid-season premiere of Chicago P.D., which airs tonight on NBC.

Voight’s Intelligence Unit always knew Raymond Bell was bad news, but they could never get anything to stick. Since new member Eva Imani has even less patience for procedure than Voight (which is saying something), she came charging in when Bell’s granddaughter (and ward) Julie called for help (she hardly seems intended as a tribute to the cult-favorite artist). Now Imani is in a bit of a tight spot.

Of course, Devlin is there to gum at the works every step of the way. It’s not like lives are at stake, except for maybe a few innocent civilians. Indeed, this episode takes a grisly turn, in keeping with some of the most lurid serial killer movies.

Holding Liat

One of the great ironies of the 10/7 Hamas atrocities was the fact that many of the murdered and abducted Israelis advocated liberal positions of peace and reconciliation with respect to Palestinians. Such was definitely the case for the Atzili family. Aviv and Liat were kidnapped and held captive in Gaza, leaving behind their grown children and elderly parents. Yet, Liat Atzili’s father Yehuda Beinin was no shrinking violet. He dutifully sat for media interviews to raise awareness for his daughter and son-in-law, but he also freely offered his opinions on Netanyahu, whether or not people wanted to hear them—and they usually didn’t. Beinin’s distant cousin (by marriage) Brandon Kramer documented the family during their long, painful crisis in Holding Liat, which opens Friday in theaters.

Beinin, his wife Chaya, and their daughter are American citizens, but they have lived in Israel for many years. They are also definitely leftwing, Netanyahu-despising Kibbutzniks, but that made no difference when Hamas abducted Liat and Aviv. Initially, their U.S. citizenship is presumed to be an advantage, but that starts to look questionable as her captivity drags on and on.

Likewise, Beinin’s strong personality clearly often cut both ways. Yet, his brother, a further-left professor emeritus of Middle Eastern history is even more pronounced in his sympathies for the Palestinian cause. Frankly, many families of hostages would be uncomfortable with either brother speaking on their behalf. However, Yehuda Beinin seems to understand this, at least to an extent.

Obviously, viewers immediately sympathize and identify with the Atzili and Beinin family. What they endure is horrible to even imagine. That said, Kramer missed the opportunity to probe Beinin (or his brother) on any of their forcefully expressed opinions—in a genuinely curious, nonconfrontational way. In fact, they might have had interesting answers for questions like “how do you work towards peace with people who’d rather continue killing” and “just who could be Israel’s partner for peace in Gaza?”

Shelby Oaks, on DVD

This ghost town had two major employers, the amusement park and the prison, both of which closed due to tragic irregularities. Darke County’s economy crashed, due to insufficient diversification, but the abandoned ruins of both predictably became a magnet for online ghost hunters like Mia Brennan-Walker’s little sister Riley. Naturally, Shelby Oaks Prison is a spooky place, because scenes there were filmed at the Ohio State Reformatory, a real-life place considered one of the most haunted prisons in America. Ominously, Brennan and her fellow “Paranormal Paranoids” disappeared shortly after their Shelby Oaks episodes. Despite the passage of years, Brennan heads back out into Darke County looking for Riley, after some admittedly strong prompting in Chris Stuckmann’s Shelby Oaks, which releases tomorrow on DVD.

Shelby Oaks is not found footage, but most of the first act plays out that way, as news reports and the Paranormal Paranoids’ archival footage provide most of the exposition. Brennan and her three friends started posting spooky footage back when it was a relatively new phenomenon, so they quickly built a following. Initially, their disappearance was dismissed a publicity stunt, but as the mystery persisted, they became online causes célèbres.

Indeed, yet another film crew happens to be interviewing Brennan-Walker when Wilson Miles rings her doorbell—just so he can commit suicide in front of her. At this point, the film drops the found footage perspective, so we can see Brennan-Walker secretly pocket the mini-video tape he drops. Following Miles’ trail leads her back to Shelby Oaks Prison. Along the way, she detects signs of some serious demonic iconography.

To a large extent, the first hour of Shelby Oaks plays out like a fusion of Blair Witch Project and one of the better online/reality TV ghost hunting crews meeting their match, as maybe best exemplified by Grave Encounters. However, Stuckmann marshals and recombines those elements with remarkable dexterity. It might be familiar, but it works really well.

Palm Springs ’26: Battle of Oslo

Oberst (the Norwegian equivalent of Colonel) Birger Eriksen famously predicted “Either I will be decorated, or I will be court-martialed.” Both sort of came to pass, expressly because of his command to open fire on the Blucher, a German heavy cruiser that was part of the first wave of the National Socialist invasion of Norway. Of course, nobody in the Oscarsborg Fortress knew of the extent of the German operation. It was Eriksen’s call to make and he made it, as director Daniel Fahre shows in the historical drama Battle of Oslo (a.k.a. Blucher), which screens again during the 2026 Palm Springs International Film Festival.

In 1946, Eriksen is called before a formal military Investigative Commission to account for the decision he made—mostly his surrender of the fortress. Ironically, the commission’s star witnesses were the two junior officers who questioned Eriksen’s decision to open fire on the Blucher.

Admittedly, it was a tough decision. Nobody could confirm the nationality of the heavy cruiser sailing down the fjord towards Oslo. Magnus Sodem and August Bonsak argued against torpedoing the Blucher, fretting it could be construed as an act of war. However, Eriksen insisted they had a duty to protect Norway’s neutrality.

Obviously, Battle of Oslo is all about war, but Fahre and screenwriters Axel Hellstenius and Melike Leblebicioglu Kava emphasize the burdens of command rather than the shock-and-awe of warfighting. This is an unusually moody, but thoughtful war film. Frankly, it unambiguously suggests there are two sorts of officers: those who make decisions and accept responsibility, like Eriksen, who is contrasted with those who keep their heads down and CYA, as represented by Sodem and Bonsak. Consequently, Battle of Oslo will likely resonate with many vets, even if they are not experts in Norwegian military history.

Bjorn Sundquist portrays Eriksen with appropriate quiet dignity. The audience can feel the weight of every command he must deliver. He also conveys the officers’ deep sense of responsibility to his country, men, and family. In fact, the most notable supporting character is that of his daughter Borghild, a polio survivor, who worked as a civilian staffer at the Fortress. Andrea Berntzen delivers a smart, grounded performance that conveys the complexity of Eriksen’s relationship with her military father. We clearly get the sense that there are things only she can say to the Oberst that nobody else could—and vice versa.

Palm Springs ’26: The Things You Kill

Ali ought to be respected by Turkish society, because he is a literature professor, who was educated in the United States. Unfortunately, neither literature nor Western educations are much valued under the Islamist Erdogan regime. Yet, instead of creating a sheltering social structures, his contemporary Turkey fostered a cutthroat environment that seems to have it in for him. Returning from America might have been a mistake, but he worried about his soon-to-be late mother, Sakine. The circumstances of her passing ignites Ali’s rage in Alireza Khatami’s multi-national co-production, The Things You Kill, Canada’s international Oscar submission, which screens as part of the 2026 Palm Springs International Film Festival.

Ali has been concerned about Sakine. Her living conditions have so deteriorated, she must use an outhouse, rather than the indoor plumbing, despite her bad knee and rickety walker. Yet, whenever he visits, his father Hamit turns up to quarrel and belittle him. Then one night, the father informs the family of her death, whisking away Sakine’s body before anyone else arrives.

At this point, Ali’s resentment boils over. His university discontinued his English translation class and his fertility specialist determined his potency was virtually nil. Tired of smiling through humiliations, Ali hatches a plan to punish his father, with the help of Reza, a drifter he hires, ostensibly to work on his “garden,” which is more like a small hardscrabble tree farm located in the desert foothills outside of town.

Khatami co-directed the brilliant Terrestrial Verses in his native Iran, but The Things You Kill isn’t quite as viscerally intense. Admittedly, the contemporary Iranian experience translates regrettably easily to the increasingly Islamist Turkey. Consequently, Khatami persuasively and bracingly indicts the misogynistic exploitation Sakine suffered. However, Ali’s payback scheme is rather predictable, despite the filmmaker’s surreal flourishes.

Perhaps Things You Kill also suffers from unfortunate timing, since it arrives while memories of Jafar Panahi’s somewhat thematically similar but vastly superior It was Just an Accident are still fresh. Ekin Koc and Ercan Kesal are both explosively forceful as Ali and Hamit and there is a palpable sense of tragedy compounding.

Final Vows, on OVID.tv

They are cloistered, but they have not taken vows of silence. Indeed, some of the Cistercian Sisters often joke that they remain quite outspoken. Nevertheless, their documentary shares a kinship with the surprise arthouse hit, Into Great Silence. Prayer, faith, and routine all help define (and elevate) life at Santa Rita Abbey, which Victoria Westover documents in Final Vows, premiering today on OVID.tv.

Even if you never visited the Abbey situated high in the Arizona desert, you might have partaken of the Communion “Breads,” that the Cistercian Sisters produce and ship around the world. They are indeed largely self-sufficient, performing building maintenance with more skill than most big city supers.

While they live removed from secular hustle-and-bustle, it is possible to visit the Abbey. However, it is not somewhere you can just pop-in on impulse. Consequently, most days the sisters simply spend with themselves. As Westover quietly observes, their days are filled with prayer and work, which is the whole point of monastic life.

Indeed, Final Vows is at its best when capturing the atmosphere of quiet contemplation. Westover clearly respects their faith and commitment. Arguably, this is one of the most sympathetic documentary treatments of Catholicism produced by the documentary establishment. Maybe it is because of the Sisters’ rather simplistic opposition to a prospective Copper mine proposed for the mountain range along their horizon.

Cinema Daily US’s Top 10 Lists of 2025

Happy New Year. It is 2026, but a lot of fans and even critics are still catching up with some of the notable releases of 2025, many of which only had brief Oscar-qualifying releases last year, but will open for real in 2026. My colleagues and I at CINEMA DAILY US have assembled our top 10 lists here, which are filled with many notable films worth looking out for or catching up with.

The Dynamic DC Origin Story

This book is basically a gateway drug for 8- to 9-year-olds. It is a kid’s introduction to the DC Universe, likely sowing the seeds of obsessive comic book collecting in their later years. It is also another example of how DC has had a much better print publishing and licensing program than their Marvel competitors in recent years. Definitely a “cool uncle’s” late Christmas present, Benjamin Harper’s The Dynamic DC Origin Story: The Evolution of Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, and the DC Universe goes on-sale today.

Frankly, the subtitle clearly illustrates why your favorite pop culture critic has been more drawn to DC than Marvel in recent years. When it comes to iconic characters, nobody can compete with Superman. Batman and Wonder Woman rank a respectable but still distant second and third. Even a DC super-villain like the Joker probably holds more iconic status than Spiderman or anyone else in the Marvel stable. This is not an argument regarding their merits. It is an observation of the respective cultural shadows they cast. After all, the only comic book character who has won Oscars for two different actors (Heath Ledger and Joaquin Phoenix) happens to be Batman’s nemesis.

Consequently, Harper’s focus on the big three makes perfect sense. He also gives a thumbnail explanation of the comic book editorial process, for the purpose of encouraging young readers to create their own comic pages. Parents might have mixed feelings about fostering ambitions for a career in comics, but if it keeps kids occupied, they will probably run that risk.

Marshmallow, on Shudder

Anyone who knows anything about horror movies understands only bad things happen at summer camp. That is just as true for Camp Almar in this film as it was for Camp Crystal Lake in the Friday the 13^th franchise. However, the situation is a lot more complicated for young, insecure Morgan. His camp harbors some seriously sinister secrets in Daniel DelPurgatorio’s Marshmallow, which starts streaming tomorrow on Shudder.

Awkward Morgan could use a boost of confidence, so his kindly grandfather Roy cautiously suggests two months of summer camp might not be such a bad thing. Then he has a heart attack and dies. Morgan’s parents send him to camp anyway.

Maybe old Roy was right. Morgan quickly befriends fellow nerds Dirk and Raj. He also meets Pilar, a girl who is willing to talk to him. Unfortunately, he must room with CJ, the camp’s violent bully. Morgan is also freaked out by the stories of “The Doctor,” the camp’s supposed bogeyman (told round the old campfire, with hot chocolate—hence the title). Consequently, his friends initially assume his imagination has simply gotten the better of him when Morgan warns them the Doctor is tazing kids with a cattle prod. Yet, sure enough, it turns out to be true.

DelPurgatorio and screenwriter Andy Greskoviak deliver plenty of fan-pleasing retro 80’s horror vibes, while still telling a relatively original story. This is more than a slasher film, but it still has some of those elements. Nevertheless, there is little outright gore in Marshmallow. Instead, DelPurgatorio prioritizes suggestive mood and eerie atmosphere. Although it culminates with some genuinely surprising lunacy, the second act is arguably even more fun, in a nostalgic, throwback kind of way.

Wolf, on Shudder

It wasn't just My Bloody Valentine. In the horror genre, gas masks typically provide killers anonymity rather than save lives. This series isn’t exactly horror, but the principle remains the same. That much is quickly evident, but the titular lupine reference largely appears metaphorical. Be that as it may, DS Jack Caffery relentlessly pursues several extraordinarily savage human monsters in creator-writer Megan Gallagher’s six-episode Wolf, based on Mo Hayder’s novels, which premieres today on Shudder (and AMC+).

Caffery is definitely one of those edgy cops. He originally joined the force because of his guilt stemming from his older brother Ewan’s childhood disappearance. Caffery knows Ivan Penderecki, the neighbor who still lives across the street abducted Ewan, but the police could never prove it. Recently, Caffery moved back to his old Welsh home, just to observe Penderecki from Ewan’s former room.

Since crime ripped Caffery’s family apart, he has a certain rapport with other survivors. That is why he feels comfortable reaching out to a grieving father who turned vigilante for information regarding Penderecki, while they served time in the same prison. Technically, “Walking Man” never had dealings with the creep, but he knows the guy who beat Penderecki to within an inch of his life. Walking Man will reach out if Caffery does him a favor first.

The off-the-grid hermit found a lost dog with a fragment of an S.O.S. note. Walking Man is convinced a family might truly be in danger. As he investigates, Caffery starts to agree. Indeed, they would be the Anchor-Ferrers, who have been taken hostage by two home-invaders masquerading as policeman. “Honey” and “Molina” are a nasty, sadistic duo. However, there might be a third-party toying with them, as well.

Coincidentally, Caffery’s off-the-books case brings him back to the area of the notorious “Donkey Pitch” double homicide that he worked as young constable. He soon suspects the unknown family’s peril might be related to that supposedly closed case. Indeed, Honey and Molina intentionally incorporate elements of the Donkey Pitch crime scene in the torments they devise for the Anchor-Ferrers. Of course, poking around the old case causes friction with the original investigating DS, Maia Lincoln, which is particularly awkward for Caffery, given their history of furtive hook-ups.

Don’t freak out. The dog suffers a bit of rough treatment, but he will be just fine at the end. There are no guarantees for anyone else, although it is probably safe to assume Caffery survives, since Hayder wrote seven novels featuring the angsty DS—but there are no assurances regarding his mental or emotional state. Incidentally, the late author worked as a model and actress under the stage-name Candy Davis, most notably as the bombshell secretary on Are You Being Served, before reinventing herself (and eventually winning an Edgar Award) under her Hayder pen-name.

It is clear Gallagher incorporated elements from multiple novels, but she did so in a way that makes sense. Nevertheless, squeamish viewers should consider themselves forewarned. The torture the Anchor-Ferrers endure will be tough for even jaded viewers to take. There is also some creepy material involving raves and cults, which presumably explains how Wolf landed on Shudder for American audiences. Regardless, series directors Kristoffer Nyholm and Lee Haven Jones certainly maintain a high degree of tension.

We Bury the Dead: Revisionist Zombies

The timing for this film is unfortunate. It arrives a mere two weeks after the horrific Bondi Beach antisemitic attack. Yet, who do you think it suggests represents the greatest threat to Australia? The American military, of course. Not only did our military cause the zombie apocalypse with illegal chemical warfare testing, the Yanks who came to supposedly help are really just out to party. Such is the undisguised anti-Americanism of director-screenwriter Zak Hilditch’s We Bury the Dead, which opens this Friday in theaters.

Ava is a volunteer, who has come to the affected zone encompassing Tasmania to literally bury the dead. However, a handful are not so dead anymore. They are zombie-like, in the way we would use the term in real-life. They shuffle around aimlessly and vacantly, with no signs of consciousness. However, there are rumors a few of the zombies have been more aggressive.

The police and military summarily execute zombies, on humanitarian grounds. Yet, the revival phenomenon inevitably gives grieving loved ones false hope. Such is the case with Ava, an American expat. She volunteered hoping to find her Aussie husband Mitch. They parted on bad terms after an argument, so she hoped to find her way to the resort hosting his business conference. Blokey Clay is rebel enough to help her, especially when her plan involves appropriating vintage motorcycles.

As you might expect, the further Ava and Clay get to the resort, the more erratic the zombies act. Yet, as usual, mankind is the greatest monster. In this case, the most pressing danger comes from Riley, an indigenous soldier, who has apparently suffered some mental break. If its any consolation, Hilditch does seem to think much of the Australian military either.

As zombie films go, this one is about as revisionist as it gets. There are kernels of intriguing ideas, like the hypothesis zombies who re-animate have unfinished business that brings them back. Unfortunately, Hilditch executes with far too heavy a hand—and not just ideologically. Often the angst stands in the way of the storytelling. It is a shame, because he has successfully addressed such themes before, in a similar tone, throughout These Final Hours, which was one of the best apocalyptic films of the 2010’s. We Bury the Dead represents a pale shadow of that vastly superior film.

The Copenhagen Test, in The Epoch Times

THE COPENHAGEN TEST blends intrusive nano-tech with murky deep-state ethics into a potent and paranoid cocktail. It also features crisply executed fight sequences in each episode. EPOCH TIMES review up here.

Song Sung Blue: A Musical Family Story

It is fitting this film had a Christmas opening, because Neil Diamond recorded two successful Christmas albums. He also released a moving rendition of the Kol Nidre on the Jazz Singer soundtrack. Obviously, his movie career was a bit spotty (again, see The Jazz Singer), but cinema has an odd affection for Neil Diamond covers and cover bands. First there was Saving Silverman and then Greg Kohs’ 2008 documentary Song Sung Blue, chronicling the tribute duo Lightning and Thunder. This is the narrative drama adaptation of Kohs’ doc. They “interpreted” rather than imitated, but life is hard for working-class musicians in any genre. That was especially true for Lightning and Thunder, as viewers see only too well in Craig Brewer’s Song Sung Blue, executive produced by Kohs, which is now playing in theaters.

Lightning was Mike Sardinia, who initially covered the waterfront of tribute bands. It was Claire Stigl, to be known as Thunder, who suggested he specialize in Neil Diamond. Her Patsy Cline act worked okay, but when they teamed up, they started to make some headway in the Milwaukee club scene.

Obviously, Sardinia was the front man, but Stingl was still an important part of the band. Stigl was also an important part of Sardinia’s life, especially when they married. Both happened to have teenaged daughters from previous marriages: Angela Sardinia and Rachel Cartwright. Stigl also had a young son Dayna. Yet the step-siblings accepted each other and their new step-parents well enough over time.

The music business was still a grind for Lightning and Thunder, just like it is for everyone else. However, life dealt them several tragic blows. In fact, the timing of their tribulations seems cosmically cruel. Yet, we can’t blame Brewer for that, since his screenplay follows the facts of their lives.

Frankly, Focus really hasn’t marketed this film correctly, because it is truly a story about the loving bonds of family. It is also worth noting Sardinia’s experience as a Vietnam veteran plays a not inconsequential (and largely positive) role in this film. In fact, there is a scene shared by Hugh Jackman and Ella Anderson, in which Sardinia tries to impart some Marine Corps wisdom to his step-daughter that ought to make the film a blockbuster in Red State country. (You could even credibly describe the film as “pro-life,” so get onboard, Evangelicals.)

Jackman is a regular star on Broadway, so his tuneful facility with the Diamond songbook should come as no surprise. As Sardinia repeatedly says, Jackman is “huge” as Lightning. Kate Hudson’s ability to successfully interpret Diamond and Cline is perhaps a bigger story, because it is so unexpected. They have real chemistry together. As a result, their rough patches hold real tension and discomfort.

Anaconda (2025), in Cinema Daily US

ANACONDA (2025) provides a sly runnng commentary on the perils and pitfalls of rebooting popular franchises that is often funny, but it feels like the producers did not have full confidence in the ironic approach, so they hedged their bets with a lot of slapstick pratfalls. CINEMA DAILY US review up here.

Happy Halloween, Scooby Doo!, on Cartoon Network

The nice thing about media mergers is that it makes it so much easier to produce franchise crossovers. For instance, a major DC super-villain appears in this Warner-produced Scooby-Doo movie—and it isn’t even a major call-out on the key art. If Paramount bought Warners, they could team-up Nickelodeon characters with DC and Hanna-Barbera favorites. Regardless, Mystery Incorporated manages to trap Dr. Jonathan Crane, a.k.a. The Scarecrow, but that is only the start of their troubles in Maxwell Atoms’ Happy Halloween, Scooby Doo!, which airs tomorrow on the Cartoon Network.

The Scarecrow escaped from Arkham again, which is generally very bad news. However, once trapped, he insists he had nothing to do with the drone attack, even though they were armed with his fear toxin. Something about the way Crane protests his innocence unsettles Velma, but she takes the bows in front of the media anyway. Scooby and Shaggy go off trick-or-treating to celebrate, but nobody initially believes them when they return to warn Crystal Cove the combination of Crane’s serum and leaked toxic waste has created an army of mutant pumpkins.

The gang must admit they were wrong to doubt when the pumpkins attack the Halloween revelers on Main Street. Soon, Mystery Incorporated and the Halloween parade grand marshal, Elvira, Mistress of the Dark, flee the mutant pumpkins in extended chase scene that nearly constitutes one third of the film.

The Scarecrow (voiced by Dwight Shultz) and Elvira (naturally portrayed by her real-life alter-ego, Cassandra Peterson) are welcome guest stars and co-conspirators in this Scooby misadventure. However, the gags involving Bill Nye the Bachelor of Science Guy fall pretty flat. Since the Mystery Machine suffers damage from the first act drone, Nye supplies a high-tech replacement that comes with his own annoying hologram.

The Jester 2, on Shudder

It seems like stupid horror movie characters never manage to overcome the monsters stalking them. Fifteen-year-old Max is a notable exception. She stymies her supernatural slasher within the first act. However, she faces even greater horrors as a result. That might not sound fair, but Satanic deals really aren’t known for being equitable. The titular character continues to do what he does best in director-screenwriter Colin Krawchuk’s The Jester 2, which premieres today on Shudder.

Poor Max’s mother doesn’t allow her to trick-or-treat anymore and her high school classmates belittle her for her passion for magic. They shouldn’t have scoffed, because she immediately recognizes the card trick the Jester tries to show her. It turns outs the Jester can’t kill her, because he didn’t “trick” her first. That is a big problem for him, because he must trick and kill four sacrifices everyone Halloween night or the Devil will take him back to Hell for an uncomfortably nasty eternity.

Awkwardly, this becomes a big problem for Max too, because she essentially inherits oversight responsibility for the Jester’s Faustian contract. Of course, the Jester is happy to sacrifice any old anyone, but Max insists they should be more selective. Nevertheless, she quickly realizes even her worst bullies do not deserve the Jester’s treatment.

Krawchuk’s sequel is considerably better than the Terrifier rip-off that fans might assume, based on the Jester’s clown-like makeup. Krawchuk creates some intriguing lore for his signature bogeyman. Yet, the film’s greatest asset would be Max’s resourcefulness. Having already bested the Jester once, viewers can reasonably root for her to do it again.

Hadik, on Klassiki

Field Marshal Andras Hadik is a Hungarian national hero, who loyally served Maria Theresa, the Queen of Hungary. She also happened to be the Habsburg Holy Roman Empress. That could make things complicated, especially when he was expected to fight alongside Saxons, whom his honorable Hussars essentially considered scurvy dogs. They could agree on fighting Prussians, which is exactly what they did when the Field Marshal led a daring raid on Berlin, dramatized in Janos Szikora’s Hadik, which premieres today on Klassiki.

Hadik was so competent and successful, nearly the entire court and war council was aligned against him. The only exception was Maria Theresa, because he was talented. After an ignoble defeat Hadik nearly averted, jealous generals tried to scapegoat the famous Hussar, but Maria Theresa would not have that for long. Soon, she recalls Hadik to service, because she knows he is the only officer who can accomplish her daring mission.

Having received intel regarding Prussian troop movements, Maria Theresa realizes Frederick the Great left Berlin dangerously under-defended. Ransoming Berlin would be a huge coup, but all the court dandies are too timid to grasp the moment. Hadik gets it—and hatches plans to accomplish it.

Hadik will lead his Hussars and the Saxons Maria Theresa forces him to take, for political reasons, over the mountains, sort of like Hannibal. They cannot carry artillery, so they will plunder cannons from Frederick’s munitions factory along the way. It is a huge gamble, but Hadik’s Hussars will follow him anywhere. However, Saxon Colonel Ried constantly demands their pay.

Szikora’s approach is definitely traditional, but that is generally refreshing. Mark Kis-Szabo’s screenplay is certainly patriotic, but there is sufficient intrigue swirling around Maria Theresa so that it never feels like jingoistic propaganda for Orban’s authoritarian ambitions. If anything, it encourages skepticism of royals and nobility.

That said, Hadik is certainly presented as a paragon, but Zsolt Trill largely humanizes the Field Marshal by emphasizing his love for his family and desire to retire to a quieter life. We also see his ardent loyalty to his comrades-in-arms, particularly crusty old Farkas and their protégé, roguishly dashing Gvadanyi. Indeed, one of the best aspects of the film is the way Trill, Tamas Szalma, and Aron Molnar capture the three Hussars’ comradery.

Nightsleeper, on BritBox

In America, more people probably watch thrillers set on trains than actually ride them. Of course, that is not necessarily true along the Northeast Corridor and certainly not in the UK, where this series was produced. Regardless, everyone watches to literally see if the train in question eventually runs “off the rails.” In this latest example, an overnight express train is about to get hacked and the only officials with any hope of fixing it must waste time on turf battles and conference calls in creator Nick Leather’s six-episode Nightsleeper, which starts streaming this Friday on BritBox.

Joe Roag rather heroically recovered a woman’s purse before “The Heart of Britain” left Glasgow station on its regularly scheduled overnight run to London. (There you go. According to the BBC, Scotland is truly part of Britain.) Unfortunately, the woman was in on the plan, which allowed a mysterious co-conspirator to install a hacking device in the train’s computer system. The hackers take control and jam nearly all communications. They just did not anticipate a blokey oil rig worker would be onboard with his sat-phone.

Soon, Roag is talking to GCHQ’s National Cyber Security Centre. Acting Technical Director Abby Aysgarth wasn’t even supposed to be there. She was seconds away from leaving on vacation, but her intuition told her Saj Sidhu’s FYI of unusual activity was in fact part of a massively dangerous systemic issue. Her instincts are pretty well confirmed when the arrival boards at Victoria Station are hacked to display a ransom demand.

Aysgarth trusts Roag, even though she quickly determines the disgraced cop had fled a corruption charge (to clear his name, of course). Unfortunately, the passengers are an unruly and unhelpful lot, including Liz Draycott, who really ought to know better, considering she is the scandal-tarred transportation minister. As the hackers divert the train and increase its velocity to dangerous levels, GCHQ Director Nicola Miller allows Aysgarth to temporarily bring back her predecessor, grouchy Paul Peveril, who was dismissed for whistle-blowing leaks.

Just about everyone in Nightsleeper makes such stupid decisions, they will have viewers pulling their hair out in frustration. Yet, they will keep on pulling, because the execution is so grabby. Despite all the poor judgement, the tension starts high and steadily escalates—and every episode duly concludes with a new shocking revelation.

Joe Cole specializes in intense antiheroes, so the deeply flawed Roag is solidly in his wheelhouse. He also develops nice phone-buddy chemistry Alexandra Roach, who nicely shows how the mousy Aysgarth starts to assert herself, for the sake of the hack-jacked train.

As usual, James Cosmo is entertainingly crusty Fraser Warren, a retired train engineer, who happened to be onboard. David Threlfall is similarly colorful and cranky as Peveril, but frankly, most viewers would also fire anyone from a sensitive national security position who looked like such a bleary-eyed Deadhead.

Submitted by Korea: No Other Choice

Yoo Man-su might just become known as the most iconic paper industry executive in cinema history. Of course, there aren’t many movies about the paper industry. It also helps that Yoo is literally killing his competition. Amongst job-seekers, Yoo becomes unusually proactive in Park Chan-wook’s No Other Choice, Korea’s shortlisted International Oscar submission, which opens Christmas Day in New York.

Yoo worked his way up to become a highly paid executive at his paper company, only to be laid off when it is bought out by an American firm. Unfortunately, there has been a lot of this going around, so whenever a paper exec job comes up, he must compete with an army of applicants.

Although he sometimes takes demeaning temp work, Yoo is on the verge of losing his family’s home. The prospect is particularly painful to Yoo, because he grew up there as a child and worked diligently to renovate into his own private paradise. Plus, he suspects his dental hygienist wife’s boss might take advantage of his humiliation to seduce her.

However, Yoo refuses to take his situation laying down. Placing fake recruitment ads, Yoo determines which possible candidates for future openings would have the most competitive qualifications compared to himself. Then, he starts stalking and killing them. However, that is a decidedly messy undertaking for a middle-aged paper exec like Yoo.

Based on Donald E. Westlake’s novel The Ax, which was previously adapted for film by Costa-Gavras, Park’s No Other Choice, reflects the attitudes and underlying ideologies of recent Korean productions like Parasite and Squid Game. It makes similarly bitterly caustic points regarding economic uncertainty and social insecurity. However, those comparable works maintain a vice-like hold on viewers.

In contrast, Park and co-screenwriters Lee Kyoung-mi and Don McKellar too often allow the message to overwhelm the storytelling. For long stretches, Park belabors his takeaways, very definitely at the expense of tension and suspense. (Perhaps tellingly, the ideologically-charged Gavras family supported the production of Park’s adaptation as producers.)

Vatican City, Graphic Novel

Consecrated ground doesn’t get much more consecrated than Vatican City. It is also highly fortified. For a few hundred survivors, it is the only remaining sanctuary after the vampire apocalypse. The Holy See houses relics that are more precious than ever and plenty of firearms, but it also holds the secret behind the siege that unfolds in Mark Millar’s Vatican City (collecting issues 1-3). Illustrated by Per Berg, Millar’s recently released bind-up is now available for your holiday shopping convenience.

Mysteriously, all the Swiss Guards no-show on the day of Swiss Air Force veteran Guido Cavelti’s interview—probably because most of them are dead. Consequently, Cavelti leads the Vatican’s defense, despite his lack of official standing. Since the Pope is touring Africa, most Vatican personnel are absent. However, the venerable old Monsignor never strays far, because he knows why the sun-shielded vampires have assembled outside the Vatican’s walls.

It turns out all the history you know is bunk. There was a time vampires ruled the world. Somehow, mankind killed their queen, who was subsequently entombed under the Vatican. Of course, anyone who has watched enough Dracula movies know that vampires are never too dead that they can’t be brought back to undead life.

Even though the horror comes from vampires, Millar’s concept holds massive appeal for horror fans who grew up with the heroic priests of William Peter Blatty’s exorcism novels and films. This is an unadulterated good versus evil story, especially considering the ruthless cruelty of Karl, the leader of the vampire army.

However, it is massively depressing that the vampires utterly destroy America and most of Europe, but largely leave Russia and China untouched. It would make sense if it were a form of professional courtesy, from one form of evil to another. However, Millar has yet to even suggest such a point. Frustratingly, Millar also breaks the siege way too soon. If Netflix eventually adapts Vatican City as a series, it should spend several seasons exploring the mysterious secret corners and crannies of the Vatican.

Indeed, Netflix would have the option, since Millar wrote and commissioned Berg’s art for Vatican City under his Netflix development deal. There is no guarantee of a future series, but the streamer gets a co-creator credit. (FYI, Netflix is not currently available in China.)

Chill Out, Scooby-Doo, on Cartoon Network

You might think Casey Kasem was from Shangra-La, considering the voice-over artist dubbed that “meddling kid,” Shaggy Rogers well into his eighties. Unfortunately, time catches up to even the eternally youthful. Although Kasem once again performed as Shaggy in this feature, it was animation legend Josph Barbera’s final Scooby project. It was also dedicated to the memory of late Disney and Hanna-Barbera animator Iwao Takamoto, a longtime contributor to the Scooby franchise. Scooby and Shaggy have outlived them all, presumably thanks to diet and exercise (all that running from monsters). They get another workout (this time at high altitude) in Joe Sichta’s Chill Out, Scooby Doo, which airs on the Cartoon Network.

Fred, Daphne, and Velma thought they were meeting Scooby and Shaggy in Paris for a well-earned vacation. Instead, Rogers and our favorite Great Dane are lured to the Himalayas by cryptid-hunter Alphonse LeFleur, by the promise of an all-you-can-eat flight. He intends to use the duo as bait for the Yeti.

Fortunately, Scooby and Shaggy quickly ditch LaFleur, reconnecting with an old friend, cryptozoologist Del Chillman, who now happens to be the local DJ, even though he only has one regular listener, Minga, the sister of Pemba the sherpa. Unfortunately, Pemba’s latest client is clearly up to no good. Professor Jeffries hopes to plunder the crystals of Shangra-La, right under the nose of the High Lama. There is also the Yeti, who clearly enjoys chasing Scooby and Shaggy. In fact, he pursues them right into Shangra-La.

As straight-to-DVD features go, Chill Out really plays like an extended episode of the various Mystery Incorporated series. Even by the franchise standards, the humor is shamelessly goofy and logic immediately goes out the window. For instance, the rest of the meddling kids manage to drive their van from Paris to Himalayas, within the first act.

10Dance, in Cinema Daily US

Netflix’s live-action adaptation of Satoh Inoue’s “BL” manga is not for every otaku, but it certainly captures the elegance of ballroom dance and the passion of dancers who compete on the floor. However, it plays out more like a pilot episode than a feature film. CINEMA DAILY US review up here.

The Death and Love of Claude Lanzmann

Compared to Claude Lanzmann’s Shoah, Gone with the Wind and Cleopatra (starring Liz Taylor) were relatively short and painless productions. Lanzmann’s monumental nine-and-a-half-hour documentary took twelve years to complete, including one month spent in hospital as the filmmaker recovered from an assault perpetrated by thugs loyal to a former SS officer. Lanzmann discusses that failed interview, as well as other challenges he faced documenting the Holocaust in Adam Benzine’s The Death and Love of Claude Lanzmann, an expanded director’s cut of Benzine’s Oscar-nominated short documentary, Claude Lanzmann: Spectres of the Shoah, which is now available on VOD platforms.

The original 39-minute film left admirers wanting more, so Benzine incorporated 20-minutes of additional footage, including outtakes from Shoah restored by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. It isn’t just about Shoah. Lanzmann also discusses his relationship with his former lover Simone de Beauvoir and their mutual friend, Jean-Paul Sartre, but his towering cinematic achievement clearly altered the course of his life (and arguably film history).

Regardless, Benzine’s film is dominated by two extraordinarily powerful sections. On focuses on the techniques and strategies Lanzmann employed to interview a surviving Sonderkommando, a Jewish slave laborer tasked with cleaning out the gas chamber after every mass execution. It is hard to watch the barber breaking down from the weight of Lanzmann’s questions, but the filmmaker convinces him to carry on, for his own sake.

The second unforgettably chilling passage focuses on the aborted interview of SS-Obersturmfuhrer Heinz Schubert, whose family deduced Lanzmann and his assistant Corinna Coulmas were secretly recording the convicted war criminal. It was their associates who severely beat Lanzmann and Coulmas.

Him, on Peacock

The popular acronym G.O.A.T. is a perfect example of how our language has been dumbed down and junked up. In sports terms, the “goat” used to be the scapegoat who took the blame for a loss. Now it supposedly means “greatest of all time,” but it obviously doesn’t. If Jordan was the GOAT, then that necessarily excludes Kobi Bryant, Steph Curry, or whoever from GOAT status. The term ought to be O.O.G.O.A.W. for one of the greatest of all this week. Regardless, the football world identifies Cameron Cade as the next potential GOAT and he just might be—but explaining why would be spoilery in Justin Tipping’s Him, produced by Jordan Peele, which premieres Friday on Peacock.

The San Antonio Saviors sound like the American football cousins of Sao Paulo’s Corinthians, except they are not very Portuguese. They are also quite ironically named. However, Cade does not know that as he grows up rooting for the Saviors. It would be his dream to play for them, but his pro aspirations nearly end when a mysterious assailant brutally attacks him after a practice. Frankly, this is probably the scariest scene of the film.

Given his head trauma, Cade must back out of the pre-draft combine. Yet, his pro dreams suddenly revive when the Saviors invite him to a private workout with their star quarterback, Isaiah White, who is rumored to be retiring next season. (Obviously, there is a strong case to be made for Whitee’s greatness, considering he is still starting professionally, even though he is portrayed by a Gen X actor. ) Cade could be his anointed successor, if he impresses. Yet rather ominously, the bizarre tryout sessions are much more grueling than he expected, physically and especially emotionally. Soon, Cade starts to both doubt his sanity and suspect the team trainers of deliberate malice and cruelty. Yet, whenever White dangles the prospect of superstardom, he comes back for more.

Arguably, Tipping hides his big secrets too effectively, because the truth of the Saviors is quite intriguing horror movie fodder, but Him only skims the surface of what could have been some darkly sinister lore. Disappointingly, the film rarely capitalizes on the sort of terrors typically associated with the Saviors’ true nature. Instead, most of menacing sequences play out more on a psychological level, as possible dreams, visions, or hallucinations. Consequently, it is hard for Tipping to sustain the tension, when each trippy set piece ends with Cade waking up from a fever dream, drenched in sweat. After a while, viewers become conditioned not invest in the images Tipping presents, no matter how intense they might be.

David, from Angel Studios

His heroism and humanity inspired diverse artists and creators, including Michelangelo, Donatello, Caravaggio, Madeleine L’Engle, Joseph Heller, Darius Mihaud, and Lionel Hampton. He was also Jewish. In fact, he was King of Israel long before the notion of Palestine existed. Some consider him a national origin myth, like King Arthur, but the idea of King David dated back to Biblical times. Yet, according to history/legend, King David wasn’t just common-born. The young shepherd has become the ultimate symbol for all ultra-longshot underdog victories. Of course, it required faith, as is fittingly emphasized in Phil Cunningham & Brent Dawes’ animated feature David, released by Angel Studios, which opens Friday in theaters.

As the young shepherd protects his flock from a lion, David’s story almost ends before it begins. Yet, his faith preserves him. That is quite “providential,” because when David returns home, he finds the Prophet Samuel waiting to anoint him the successor to King Saul. Rather ominously, Saul is not inclined to willingly relinquish power—quite the contrary. Consequently, David’s parents fear the worst when Saul’s soldiers escort David to the palace.

However, David’s presence was “requested” to sing and play lyre as one of the terrified musicians summoned to calm the King’s tempestuous spirit. Once again, the underdog prevails, endearing himself somewhat to the King and forming a close bond with the presumed royal heir, Jonathan. Young David’s resulting proximity to power allows him to volunteer to face the giant Goliath. While others fear the colossal Philistine, David has faith that the Almighty will protect his chosen people (and if not, death will probably be preferable to life as slaves to the imperialistic Philistines).

Hopefully, even Ivy League heathens know how that battle ended. However, there is still the awkward business of Samuel’s prophecy. The Philistines won’t give up their dreams of conquest either. Plus, the Amalekites always lurk in the shadows.

This is a banner year for Biblical animation, because the previously released The King of Kings (also from Angel Studios) and Book of Joshua: The Walls of Jericho were both quite good. The 3D-CGI character design for David sometimes looks a little clunky but the backgrounds and architectural renderings often capture an appropriate sense of grandeur. This will very much resemble the Holy Land of many viewers’ imaginations.

Cunningham and Dawes nicely express young David’s youthful exuberance without overwhelming the film with silly slapstick. They also maintain a brisk pace covering the David’s childhood up through the encounter at Ein Gedi quite thoroughly, but use considerable license to abbreviate subsequent events. Still, this animated David is much more theologically sound than the ill-fated Richard Gere movie.