What I Watched in May

New films have started hitting theaters again so we ventured out to the drive-in to see A QUIET PLACE PART 2 (2021). I am happy to report that this sequel is at least as good as the original and might have even found ways to be slightly better. In fact, there is one brilliantly edited sequence that is easily one of the most impressive horror moments in recent memory. It brings three separated groups’ tales to their peak of tension simultaneously, intercutting between them in a way that builds their effectiveness perfectly. This is masterful filmmaking and might have been the highpoint of the story except that several interesting things happen in the final act to make this apocalyptic tale bigger and more intriguing. I sincerely hope that a third movie gets made to expand this world again. Plus, I want to see which of my guesses about the monsters turns out to be correct! 

The List 

THE TERROR WITHIN II (1989) – 4 (let’s remake ALIEN/ALIENS again! It’s not terrible) 

STREETS (1990) – 6 (L.A. prostitutes) 

ANGEL IN RED (1991) – 4 (hookers vs. insane pimp)

DUEL ON THE MISSISSIPPI (1955) – 7 

TORCHY BLANE IN CHINATOWN (1939) – 6 (the spark is faded but it’s still good stuff) 

THE DAY THE WORLD ENDED (1955) – 4 (rewatch) (terrible but I enjoy it so much) 

URANIUM BOOM (1956) – 6 

IN THE YEAR 2889 (1969) – 2 (TV remake of THE DAY THE WORLD ENDED – abysmal) 

BEFORE I HANG (1940) – 6 (Karloff mad doctor tale)

PANIC (1983) – 3 (easily the worst David Warbeck film I’ve seen) 

SYNCHRONIC (2020) – 8 (well done SF) 

BLACK CANDLES (1982) – 6 (rewatch) 

CRIMES AT THE DARK HOUSE (1940) – 6 (gleeful, silly villainy from Tod Slaughter) 

THE MAN CALLED FLINTSTONE (1966) – 6 (not bad and the songs are actually fun) 

SUBMERGENCE (2017) – 7 (thoughtful, touching drama) 

THE DAY THE SKY EXPLODED (1958) – 5 (Italian sci-fi) 

ASSIGNMENT: OUTER SPACE (1960) – 4 (rewatch) 

ARMY OF THE DEAD (2021) – 7 (too long but fun) 

THE POSSESSION OF HANNAH GRACE (2018) – 6 (interesting but nothing exceptional) 

THE INVICIBLE MASKED RIDER (1963) – 8 (Lenzi combines Poe and Zorro!) 

DOCTOR X (1932) – 9 (even better on Blu!) 

ABRAKADABRA (2018) – 6 (interesting throwback to 70’s Italian thrillers) 

NORTHERN PATROL (1953) – 6 

KING KONG (1976) – 8 (rewatch) (the TV version on Blu) 

SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE DEADLY NECKLACE (1962) – 7 (rewatch on Blu) (Christopher Lee as Holmes)

CASTLE OF THE LIVING DEAD (1964) – 7 (Christopher Lee in a gothic!) 

A QUIET PLACE PART II (2021) – 8 

EYE WITNESS (1989) – 5 (Lamberto Bava TV thriller)