Horror Report

Category: Review

  • A Masters of the Universe movie review

    A Masters of the Universe movie review

    The latest review score for Masters of the Universe sits at less than 70% from critics but more than 85% from audiences on Rotten Tomatoes. The question is, who exactly is watching it?

    It’s pretty clear the audience is made up largely of people over 35, and probably even more so people over 45. Many dads are bringing their kids, and a lot of viewers are showing up with a sense of nostalgia for a time that’s long gone. That nostalgia is mixed with laughs, memories, and a chance to revisit characters they grew up with.

    Here’s the thing: the movie is great. It’s perfectly fine entertainment, and in many ways it doesn’t deserve to be judged by the same standards people use for every other blockbuster because it creates its own path. The film is funny. It laughs at itself. It pokes fun at the excesses of the 1980s while simultaneously paying tribute to them. It even laughs at He-Man from time to time, but somehow still turns him into a genuine hero in a very unusual and surprisingly effective way.

    The villains are buffoons and boobs, as Skeletor himself might say, but they’re also just scary enough to work. The army of evil feels more brutal than expected, and the movie itself has a surprisingly high body count. There are plenty of jokes for the adults in the audience too, including a few sexual innuendos that land well without becoming the type of over-the-top humor you’ll find in something like Scary Movie 6. The kids won’t catch most of them, and that’s probably for the best.

    This is also the type of movie that should be seen in a theater. It made $29 million opening weekend .. probably not too good for a movie that reportedly cost $177 million to make, but honestly that almost feels irrelevant when discussing the experience itself for fans..

    Yes it could have done better.. but it didn’t. Amazon seems okay with that, a new universe has been born..

    As a standalone action film, this is one of the better ones I’ve seen in quite a while. It reminds me of the artistic creativity and visual confidence that made the original Guardians of the Galaxy feel special. The movie embraces colorful imagery and larger-than-life fantasy in a way that modern films often seem afraid to do. It’s refreshing.

    It also gives of Four Non Blonds.. a young Adam naming heroes and villains (perfect way for characters to get their names) … and Skeletor in an office in a tie. Jared Leto surprised the detractors with his performance..

    And yes, I’ll spoil one thing for you. Just like in the cartoons, good wins and evil loses. But the bad guys will be back because evil never truly goes away. Goodness has to remain strong and vigilant because darkness is always waiting for another opportunity. It’s a simple moral lesson, but one that has always been at the heart of He-Man.

    What surprised me most was the battle itself. When I was a kid, the battles in the cartoon felt incredible. As I got older, they became a little laughable. This movie somehow managed to recreate that feeling of importance. The stakes actually felt real. You felt like the villains couldn’t win because if they did, the universe itself would somehow be thrown out of balance.

    That’s why He-Man’s journey works here. He repeatedly offers Skeletor opportunities to choose a different path, but Skeletor remains what he has always been: evil. Well, mostly evil. We all remember that Christmas special where he briefly discovered a holiday spirit and didn’t quite know what to do with it.

    If you’re planning to see the movie, stick around for all three post-credit scenes. They’re worth it and do a solid job setting up what could be a very fun sequel.

    The only question is whether the box office will allow that sequel to happen. Is this the beginning of a franchise revival, or will it end up being a one-time celebration for hardcore fans, Generation X, and Xennials who grew up with these characters?

    If I were giving it a rating, this would be five Power Swords out of five.

    It’s a throwback to childhood, a classic hero’s tale for a modern audience, and somehow manages to be goofy, fun, and heartfelt without ever becoming ridiculous.

    Or maybe I’m just a boob.

  • Our Backrooms review!!

    Our Backrooms review!!

    Maybe None of Us Know What We Just Saw. 😄🙃

    We just saw The Backrooms, and I’m left sort of speechless.

    As the credits rolled, I found myself paying less attention to the screen and more attention to the people around me. The entire theater just sat there. Nobody rushed for the exits. Nobody immediately grabbed their phones. People looked like they were trying to process what they had just experienced.

    Let me first say that I saw this at a relatively packed theater on a Sunday afternoon. Kids, adults, entire families. People who easily could have gone to see The Mandalorian instead chose The Backrooms, and that alone showcases why this movie is on track to make more than $80 million this weekend.

    Kane Parsons, you did a heck of a job.

    One debate we have seen all over social media and TikTok is whether you need to watch the original YouTube shorts or know all of the Backrooms lore before seeing this movie. I don’t think you do.

    If you’ve seen the shorts, you’ll probably catch some Easter eggs and appreciate certain moments a little more. But prior knowledge is not required to enjoy what was created here.

    At the same time, even if you know the lore, you still may not completely understand what you’ve just watched.

    Here’s my interpretation.

    We create the Backrooms.

    The movie seems to be about how we create the insanity inside our own minds. It’s about loops and about obsession. It’s about continually wandering into places we know we shouldn’t go.

    There were several scenes that genuinely left me anxious. Not jump scares, either. Those weren’t the moments that got me.

    One scene involving the giant pirate-like flesh eater with its impossibly long arms reaching toward Dr Mary Kline felt claustrophobic and unsettling. Other scenes used distorted faces, fuzzy imagery, and shaky camera work that made you question whether your own eyes were playing tricks on you.

    The movie was effective in a very unusual way.

    It made me despise the Backrooms while simultaneously wanting to stay there.

    I can’t really explain it any better than that.

    Just like the characters who repeatedly venture deeper into the Backrooms because they need to discover what’s around the next corner, I think that’s exactly how many people in the audience felt. The place is terrifying, but it’s also impossible to stop exploring.

    The found footage elements and flashbacks were probably the most effective use of found footage since The Blair Witch Project. The acting was so convincing that you almost leave the theater wondering if the Backrooms could somehow be real.

    On my way to the bathroom after the movie, part of me felt like I might accidentally slip through a wall.

    What fascinated me most, though, was the audience.

    This was a packed house. The kind of crowd that twenty years ago would have definitely filled a theater for a major Star Wars release.

    The times have changed.

    Parents who brought younger children looked somewhat bewildered, as if they had just spent two hours watching something they didn’t fully understand. The younger kids seemed entertained but weren’t entirely sure what they had seen either ..

    There were a lot of teenagers in the audience. I expected talking and cell phones lighting up.

    There was none of that.

    During several scenes, you could hear a pin drop.

    There were also moments where the audience laughed. Not because the movie became a comedy, but because some situations were so strange and uncomfortable that people almost laughed in spite of themselves. The humor never undercut the horror. The movie maintained its credibility as a genuinely unsettling experience from beginning to end.

    I’ve seen comparisons to Alfred Hitchcock, and honestly, that’s fair.

    For people who don’t understand the movie, don’t want to understand the movie, or simply aren’t interested in trying to interpret it, that’s fine. They probably won’t watch it again.

    Others may find themselves returning to the theater more than once.

    There’s something about that buzzing yellow aura,  those endless hallways, and the stained carpets that almost makes you feel like you can smell them.

    The long-term success of this movie will depend on word of mouth. The initial excitement was clearly there this weekend. Fans, parents, teenagers, and entire families came out in force.

    I’ve seen some people absolutely hate it.

    I’ve seen others love it.

    Put me firmly in the camp that loved it.

    I honestly think it’s one of the greatest horror films I’ve ever seen.

    Not because it was the scariest or had the best monsters with a big budget, but because it was more than a movie.

    It was an experience.

    For two hours, you felt like you were there.

    Kane Parsons did an amazing job.

    And perhaps the best review I heard wasn’t inside the theater at all.

    It happened afterward in the parking lot.

    On a bright, sunny early summer afternoon, families were heading back to their cars. Younger movie goers were talking about their favorite scenes. Parents were looking at each other with confused expressions.

    Then one grandmother, walking away from the theater with her family, finally broke the silence.

    “I’ll call you later. I need to take a break because I don’t know what the f*** that just was.”

    Maybe none of us do.

    But it’s the Backrooms.

    It’s meant to be explored no matter what the f*** it is ..

  • We finally watched Undertone so you don’t have to. Although you might very well want to

    We finally watched Undertone so you don’t have to. Although you might very well want to

    It was good!


    There may be some spoilers here. Maybe not. That’s kind of the nature of this one.


    First off, there are people far smarter than us—or at least people who say they are—who have already broken this film down and latched onto the meaning behind the title. Undertone isn’t just a name. It’s the entire point.


    Our main protagonist, Evie, is the host of the Undertone podcast alongside Justin. The premise is simple enough: they’re playing ten anonymous audio files sent in by someone who refuses to explain who they are or why they sent them. Evie plays the skeptic, Justin leans into belief, and together they perform that balance for the show.


    But as the movie unfolds, it becomes clear Evie isn’t really a skeptic. She’s hiding.


    She’s masking fear, depression, and something deeper that she doesn’t want to confront. When she finds out she’s pregnant, the film quietly reveals another layer… this is not a joyful moment for her. It’s unwanted. And just like the recordings being forced into her life, it’s something she didn’t ask for but now has to face.
    From there, the movie settles into a slow, uncomfortable rhythm. We’re introduced to distorted audio, demonic undertones buried in nursery rhymes, and recordings that feel wrong in ways that are hard to explain. It’s not about what you hear. It’s about what you don’t hear. The silence. The gaps. The suggestion that something is just beneath the surface.


    At the same time, Evie’s mother is dying.


    And this is where the movie starts to hit differently.


    While her mother fades in the next room, Evie retreats into headphones, noise cancellation, and the world of the podcast. She’s drowning out reality while simultaneously immersing herself in something just as disturbing. It’s not just avoidance… it’s a form of coping. Or maybe it’s a form of surrender.
    A lot of people have analyzed this film and pulled meaning from it. There are layers here, and most of them are subtle. But the last ten minutes? Subtle is gone.


    The final stretch is chaotic. Loud. Disjointed. Almost overwhelming.


    The movie has been quiet for so long, relying on tension and sound design instead of cheap jump scares. Then suddenly, everything breaks. It mirrors Evie’s emotional collapse as her mother’s death rattle fills the room. It’s uncomfortable, messy, and confusing… just like grief.



    Everyone is going to walk away from Undertone with a different interpretation. But if you’ve ever cared for someone who was dying, this movie is going to land in a way that’s hard to shake. You hide from it. You distract yourself. You consume media that somehow reflects what you’re going through, hoping to find meaning in the pain.


    That’s the undertone of this film… PAIN.


    Evie isn’t a skeptic because she doesn’t believe. She’s a skeptic because she needs to be. Because believing means confronting everything she’s trying to avoid.


    And in the end, loss doesn’t come cleanly. It comes with agony, confusion, fear, and despair.
    This movie has all of it.


    Like we said… we watched Undertone so you don’t have to. But honestly, you probably should.


    It may not be the “scariest movie of the year” like every trailer claims these days, but it might be one of the most effective. And depending on where you are in life—whether you’ve experienced loss or you’re in the middle of it—the undertone of this film might hit you harder than anything else you’ll see this year.