B Movies Blog

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January 2026

January 2 – We Bury The Dead (Theaters)

January 6 – Will Trent (ABC, Next day Hulu)

January 8 – The Traitors (Peacock)

January 8 – His & Hers (Netflix)

January 9 – People We Meet On Vacation (Netflix)

January 9 – Sleepwalker (Theaters)

January 9 – Primate (Theaters)

January 16 – Night Patrol (Theaters)

January 16 – 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple (Theaters)

January 21 – The Beauty (FX, Next day Hulu)

January 21 – Queer Eye (Netflix)

January 22 – Finding Her Edge (Netflix)

January 23 – Return to Silent Hill (Theaters)

January 28 – School Spirits (Paramount+)

January 28 – Shrinking (Apple TV+)

January 30 – Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die (Theaters)

January 30 – Iron Lung (Theaters)

January 30 – Send Help (Theaters)

February 2026

February 6 – The Strangers: Chapter 3 (Theaters)

February 6 – Dracula (Theaters)

February 6 – Pillion (Theaters)

February 6 – Whistle (Theaters)

February 8 – The ‘Burbs (Peacock)

February 13 – “Wuthering Heights” (Theaters)

February 13 – GOAT (Theaters)

February 13 – Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie (Theaters)

February 18 – 56 Days (Prime)

February 20 – This is Not a Test (Theaters)

February 25 – Scrubs (ABC, next day Hulu)

February 27 – Scream 7 (Theaters)

March 2026

March 5 – Ted (Peacock)

March 6 – The Bride (Theaters)

March 6 – Peaky Blinders: The Eternal Man (Theaters, Netflix on March 20)

March 11 – Scarpetta (Prime)

March 18 – Imperfect Women (Apple TV+)

March 20 – Project Hail Mary (Theaters)

March 27 – Ready or Not: Here I Come (Theaters)

March 27 – Fantasy Life (Theaters)

March 27 – They Will Kill You (Theaters)

April 2026

April 3 – The Drama (Theaters)

April 8 – The Boys (Prime)

April 10 – Malcolm in the Middle (Hulu)

April 15 – Margo’s Got Money Troubles (Apple TV+)

April 17 – The Mummy (Theaters)

April 17 – Normal (Theaters)

May 2026

May 1 – The Devil Wears Prada 2 (Theaters)

May 1 – Hokum (Theaters)

May 15 – Obsession (Theaters)

May 22 – I Love Boosters (Theaters)

June 2026

June 12 – Scary Movie 6 (Theaters)

June 19 – Toy Story 5 (Theaters)

July 2026

July 12 – Disclosure Day (Theaters)

July 17 – The Odyssey (Theaters)

August 2026

August 21 – Insidious: The Bleeding World (Theaters)

August 28 – The Dog Star (Theaters)

August 28 – Coyote vs. ACME (Theaters)

September 2026

September 11 – Sense and Sensibility (Theaters)

September 18 – Practical Magic 2 (Theaters)

September 18 – Play House (Theaters)

September 18 – Resident Evil (Theaters)

October 2026

October 1 – Terrifier 4 (Theaters)

October 2 – Digger (Theaters)

October 9 – Other Mommy (Theaters)

October 16 – Street Fighter (Theaters)

October 23 – Remain (Theaters)

November 2026

November 20 – The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping (Theaters)

December 2026

December 18 – Avengers: Doomsday (Theaters)

December 18 – Dune: Part Three (Theaters)

December 25 – Werewulf (Theaters)

Hello, Movie Mavens! Welcome back to the B Movies Blog. Today, we’re popping some classic 90s/00s nu metal horror remakes and originals into the ol’ VCR. 

Let me take you on a journey back to the late 90s and early 00s. 

The likes of Korn, Godsmack, and Slipknot grace the airwaves of your favorite alt rock radio station (RIP, 102.1: The Edge). 

Call it coincidence or seeing an opportunity, but a subgenre of horror was (accidentally?) created out of the nu metal craze. 

I was watching this and Interview with the Vampire when my fever spiked with Swine Flu, causing me to hallucinate and think KP was a vampire trying to bite me instead of my mother trying to put me in bed. 

These movies could hang on their own rack at Hot Topic… so you know I ate them UP. 

If you don’t know what I’m referring to, let me share with you the signs that you’re watching a nu metal movie: 

• The CGI effects are over the top 
• The soundtrack includes a nu metal cover and/or multiple nu metal bands 
• The gradient is a little grimy and includes a lot of blacks, grays, and oranges

* Famke Janssen and Ali Larter are preferred but not required

Additionally, the majority of the cast is usually really hot. 

Man, Boy Meets World really played a major part in my childhood. 

Do any movies come to mind (I hope so because if not, I haven’t done my job and need to rethink my entire writing career)? 

Before I list any of these movies, I want to be clear: I LOVE these movies, and I’m not trying to be shady. All of the movies I’m about to list just so happen to all belong to the same subgenre for all of us who wore long-sleeve shirts under band tees, baggy jeans, and Sharpie-graffiti Chucks. 

My favorite nu metal horror movies/the four movies I believe make up the pillars of this subgenre are: 

• Th13teen Ghosts (2001)
• Queen of the Damned
• House on Haunted Hill (1999) 
• Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2

When I think nu metal, I think witches, homicidal ghosts, and unhappy marriages. These four movies walked so that the likes of Freddy vs. Jason and every Rob Zombie movie could run. The next time you listen to “Duality,” be sure to show some respect. 🫡

Protect Matthew Lillard at all costs.

Hello, Movie Mavens! Welcome back to the B Movies Blog. Today, we’re popping some of my favorite animated Halloween specials and episodes into the ol’ VCR. 

Friends, now that the spooky season is FINALLY upon us, it’s time to give you another list of my favorites, this time being my favorite creepy cartoons. 

Quick disclaimer: I’m excluding all of the Tim Burton joints because I feel as though they belong in an entirely different category. The specials I’m throwing out are either a) spooky-themed episodes of an animated series or b) Halloween-specific specials. 

With all of the particulars out of the way, let’s get to it. 

Specials 

• Witch’s Night Out
• Garfield’s Halloween Adventure 
• The Scooby-Doo Project
• It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown
• The Halloween Tree

If there’s one fact you should have memorized about me, it’s that watching The Halloween Tree has been a tradition of mine since childhood. 

Special episodes 

• “Summerween” – Gravity Falls
• “Arnold’s Halloween” – Hey Arnold! 
• “Scaredy Pants” and “Graveyard Shift” – SpongeBob SquarePants 
• “Scarily Odd Parents” – Fairly Odd Parents 
• “Candy Bar Creep Show” – Rugrats 
• “Doug’s Halloween Adventure” – Doug 
• “Bravo Dooby-Doo” – Johnny Bravo 

The Nosferatu bit in “Graveyard Shift” is still one of the funniest bits I’ve ever seen and is the peak of comedic genius.

Hello, Movie Mavens! Welcome back to the B Movies Blog. Today, we’re popping the Halloween franchise into the ol’ VCR. 

Well, friends, the time has come to cover my favorite franchise in the horrorsphere. The Halloween franchise is not only special to me because it’s something I shared with KP and still share with my brother-in-law, but also because I think it influenced modern horror in a major way. 

Hell, I’d be so bold as to argue that Halloween ‘78 influenced the likes of Ti West.

Do I think it has the same quality control as the Scream or Evil Dead franchises? Honestly, no. Much like Bruno, we don’t talk about Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers or Halloween Ends. But, I do think Halloween ‘78 is one of the best horror movies of all time, and I have the Laurie Strode tattoo to prove it. 

Me and who?

I’m also a Halloween III: Season of the Witch stan. John Carpenter meant for the franchise to be an anthology, and I think Halloween III is a great example of what could’ve been. 

Additionally, Halloween is one of the biggest physical representations of spooky season for me. I remember watching Halloweens 4 and 5 during AMC’s FearFest when I got home from school in the afternoons. KP and I would watch all of them throughout October. I once had the theme set as a ringtone and accidentally scared the shit out of a friend of mine at a sleepover. 

WHY DID HALLOWEEN ENDS INTRODUCE A FASCINATING CHARACTER IN THE LAST MOVIE OF THE TRILOGY ONLY TO UNCEREMONIOUSLY KILL HIM OFF? 

The Halloween franchise means a lot to me, and I can’t even fully articulate just how important it is. On that note, I’ll leave you with my controversial ranking of the franchise.*

• Halloween
• Halloween III: Season of the Witch 
• Halloween II 
• Halloween 5: Revenge of Michael Myers 
• Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers
• Halloween H20: 20 Years Later
• Halloween (2018)
• Halloween Kills
• Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers
• Halloween Ends

*Disclaimer: I left out Rob Zombie’s Halloween and Halloween II because I know they’re not technically considered to be part of the larger franchise, but I do enjoy them both and include them in my annual rewatch 

And yes, I truly hated Halloween Ends THAT much.

Hello, Movie Mavens! Welcome back to the B Movies Blog. Today, we’re popping Rob Gavagan’s Greylock into the ol’ VCR. 

[CW/TW: gore, home invasion, infant death, assault, mutilation, and anything else that falls within these categories. Additionally, there are flashing lights and images as well as loud sounds that may be harmful/hurtful to photosensitive viewers]. 

Alrighty, friends, buckle up. I’m coming at you with another wonderful analog horror series to keep you company during the spookiest time of the year. 

I first discovered Greylock through Baz’s channel (shocker), and I was blown away. The best way I can categorize Greylock is by saying it’s like a mix of Local 58, The Mandela Catalogue, and The Monument Mythos, but different. I’ll also say that SimioDyn gives Cyberdyne Systems a run for its money. 

Greylock shows us what happens when government experiments go terribly, terribly wrong. Thoughtforms, the big bad of the series, are generated through person, or persons’, emotions, making Thoughtforms an extension of their creator(s). However, Thoughtforms can also become sentient, and it seems as though they can also become uncontrollable and malicious. 

While some Thoughtforms are similar to spectral beings, others can, uh, become physical manifestations. Which, uh, is very bad. 

There’s also some ancient and sinister entity that lives within the mountains. And, oh yeah, SimioDyn may have been responsible for JFK’s assassination, as he wasn’t down to let them run wild with all of their technology. 

Greylock is EXTREMELY well-executed. There are videos, a la Gemini Home Entertainment, mixed with “real” footage. The distortion isn’t over the top, and there’s a jump scare in TAPE 009 that made my butt physically leave my sectional. And, friends, I’m known for sitting like a rock when watching horror content. 

As of the time of this writing, Greylock sits at nine videos, and each is better than the last (this is saying a lot because each video is fantastic). I’m really excited to see how this series progresses, and I think we have another legendary entry into the YouTube analog horror series vault. 

Also, this should go without saying, but please support all of the horror content creators you love. Subscribe to their channels, share their content, and support them however you can. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: YouTube is going to play a major role in the future of horror. The success of Talk to Me has proven this. 

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to rid myself of all negative emotions to avoid birthing a sentient, nightmarish creature and unleashing it onto our world. 

Hello, Movie Mavens! Welcome back to the B Movies Blog. Today, we’re popping some feminist reimagined horror classics franchises into the ol’ VCR. 

I’ve been obsessed with the emergence of feminist horror reboots we’ve been seeing lately. From 2019’s Black Christmas to 2021’s Slumber Party Massacre, I love this trend. 

One big thing I find puzzling is the criticism. Sidney. Sally. Laurie. We’ve been rooting for final girls for ages, so why can’t we change the formula a bit? Why can’t we shift the perspective within horror?

When you have a sleepover as a trap to catch a deranged killer. ✨Just girly things. ✨

You’re Next and Jennifer’s Body are other prime examples. In You’re Next, Erin is a badass who essentially grew up in a survivalist cult, but she still hasn’t fully hit the mainstream. And don’t even get me started about all the shitty press junkets and promotional stunts they had Megan Fox do for Jennifer’s Body, when, at its core, Jennifer’s Body is a queer horror masterpiece. 

I think it all comes back to Barbie. Yes, Barbie. Think about the reaction to a film that shows how the patriarchy hurts EVERYONE. Cis, conservative, straight men are burning Barbies because of an empowering film. 

Granted, the horror community is more accepting, but I think the reason we’re seeing a Jennifer’s Body renaissance 14 years later is because of things like the invention of the Good for Her horror subgenre and more feminist horror reimaginings. 

A girl sings a song to her r*pist on stage about her SA. You can’t tell me that isn’t powerful. 

The catch is that we still have people screaming about traditional gender roles, how the LGBTQIA+ community is evil (the calls are coming from inside the house, sis), etc… So while we in the horror community, or, y’know, the decent human being community, applaud progressive storylines, Ben Shapiro is crying into his pillow at night because Barbie had a strong message. SAD. 

So yeah. I think that, at its core, that’s why we’re seeing these movies trickle in. Slumber Party Massacre completely shifts the perspective by showing men sensually showering and calling two characters Guys 1 and 2 to represent how expendable women have traditionally been in horror. The real monster in Black Christmas (2019) is the alpha male mentality. You get the picture. Hell, even movies like Promising Young Woman are striving to not only flip the script on the “boys will be boys” mentality, but are working to eradicate it completely. 

View this post on Instagram

*Takes a deep breath* 

I want to see more of these horror reimaginings, but I also want to see more movies like Barbie. 

We NEED movies that tear down the ideas people (the GOP) are throwing out. We NEED LGBTQIA+ representation. We NEED movies that tear down the patriarchy. If this is the way we’re going to dismantle the patriarchy and stop anti-LGBTQIA+ legislation, then so be it! 

I’ll be in the front row.

Hello, Movie Mavens! Welcome back to the B Movies Blog. Today, we’re popping movies I think should be given the Bring It On: Cheer or Die treatment into the ol’ VCR. 

For those who aren’t familiar, the Bring It On franchise came to the spooky side last year with Bring It On: Cheer or Die. Naturally, my gears started turning, and I began thinking about other teen movies that should get the horror treatment. 

That brings us to today. I’ve taken 10 different teen movies from the past couple of decades and thought of ways to twist them into the horror genre (and yes, this was the way I chose to spend a Sunday, thank you). 

Without further ado, let’s get into it. 

Mean Girls 

Someone starts killing all of the popular girls, so Cady goes undercover to find out who it is. All of the plastics and Janis Ian are suspects. Think part Scream Queens, part The Afterparty. 

John Tucker Must Die 

John Tucker is killed by a trio of ex-girlfriends only to come back as something unholy. Now, they must band together with the new girl to vanquish him once and for all. For this one, I’m going tonally for Pet Sematary meets Buffy the Vampire Slayer. 

High School Musical 

Okay, hear me out. Sharpay is willing to do anything to get the lead in the spring musicale… ANYTHING. Additionally, all of the death scenes are musical numbers. It worked for Anna and the Apocalypse, so I think that it could definitely work for HSM. 

You can’t tell me they wouldn’t blend right in at Sunnydale High. 

Sleepover 

The list of things to complete is super high stakes and there’s a reason no one’s ever completed it. Once you start, you can’t stop. It’s like Panic but with Steve Carrell. 

Clueless 

Cher wants to help make over the new girl, Tai, but Tai might not be as innocent as she seems. I really want this to be Single White Female by way of Diablo Cody. 

10 Things I Hate About You 

The Stratford sisters aren’t allowed to date, and everyone’s about to find out why. I know I just mentioned Diablo Cody, but my mind canon is for this to be a mix of Jennifer’s Body and Teeth.

See? They’re excited about my idea.

A Cinderella Story 

Sam is a white witch, forced to live with her stepmother and stepsisters who practice the black arts and need to make a sacrifice. The catch is, the sacrifice needs to be Sam’s first love. Sam has avoided dating for this very reason, but when she starts to fall for someone she meets online, it’s up to her and her best friend, Carter, to keep him from being sacrificed. Picture The Craft and Tamara blended together with a hint of Practical Magic. 

The Kissing Booth

Elle has never really dated before and is still waiting for her first kiss. After volunteering for the school’s kissing booth, all of the people she kisses start dying from mysterious ailments. The catch? She also briefly kissed her best friend’s brother, so she must race against time to save her crush. Thinner and Final Destination come together for this one. 

To All The Boys 

Lara Jean has a string of bad ex-boyfriends. One day, she decides to write notes to lure them to a specific spot where she starts to punish them, one by one. I see this playing out Kill Bill/Tragedy Girls–style. 

The Princess Diaries 

Mia Thermopolis is kidnapped and finds out she’s royalty. In order to claim her lineage, she must play deadly games and escape her psychotic grandmother. It’s a mix of Saw and Snow White and the Huntsman… but with Julie Andrews. 

I sense darkness behind those eyes.

Hello, Movie Mavens! Welcome back to the B Movies Blog. Today, we’re popping Brian Duffield’s No One Will Save You into the ol’ VCR. 

If you follow me on Instagram (insert shameless plug here – @lisa_frankenstein), you know that I watched No One Will Save You when it premiered…and I loved it. 

With credits like writing The Babysitter and writing/directing Spontaneous under his belt, I don’t know why I doubted Bri Guy; I simply thought I was in for a home/alien invasion movie. 

But, friends, it’s so much more. 

“Thank god I wasn’t tapped for Don’t Worry Darling.”

Kaitlyn Dever stars as Brynn, a woman who has been ostracized by her small town. One night, aliens invade her home and seem hellbent on assimilating her and all of the other denizens into vessels for their hive mind. 

I know what you’re thinking. Baillee, that just sounds like Invasion of the Body Snatchers. Stick with me. 

Throughout the film, Brynn battles aliens while the story behind her exile is slowly revealed. Oh yeah, and there’s NO dialogue. None. There are noises and music, and Brynn lets out exasperated words to no one in particular, but there isn’t any written dialogue. 

It isn’t a plot device like the A Quiet Place series, but it’s a way for us to share in Brynn’s isolation. No one speaks to her, so silence is an artistic choice. And, in my opinion, it was definitely the correct one, as I don’t think the metaphor would’ve been as powerful through regular speech. 

How your neck feels if you move too fast in your 30s. 

Now, in order to discuss the reasons why I love this movie, I’m going to have to give some spoilers. This movie is so new that I understand if you want to come back after you’ve read it. 

Spoilers ahead in 

3 

2 

1 

👽👽👽👽👽

The reason that Brynn has been excommunicated by the townsfolk is that when she was 12, she accidentally killed her best friend, Maude. Maude and Brynn were fighting, and Maude shoved Brynn to the ground. In a fit of anger, Brynn picks up a rock and slammed it into Maude’s head, killing her. 

This is where all of the symbolism comes in. 

As the aliens invade, their lights are red, blue, and white. When we finally see what happened to Maude, we’re met with police lights and sirens. All of the lights from the invasion represent the different police lights from the night Maude died. These lights can also freeze time to represent how Brynn’s act left her frozen in that moment, and she’s never been able to move forward. 

Additionally, on the first night of the invasion, Brynn is hit by a door and sustains a head wound. We don’t see exactly what happens to Maude, but I believe the head injury is also meant to represent/allude to Maude’s fate. 

To infect humans, the aliens force them to swallow some sort of tentacled organism that, in my humble opinion, looks like a rock, once again alluding to Brynn’s unending guilt over Maude’s death. 

It’s giving playing sardines with your high school youth group. 

The metaphors run deeper than a probe, and yes, I already regret writing the beginning of this sentence, thank you. 

No One Will Save You is reminiscent of films from Ari Aster’s catalog like Hereditary and Midsommar (because Beau is Afraid can eat it). Sure, we have a coven or cult as the antagonist, but the real antagonist lies beneath, which, in this case, is Brynn’s guilt. 

Brynn has been alienated, meaning she has become an alien, in the town she grew up in. That’s why I ultimately think the aliens release her. There’s something within her that speaks to them and transcends spoken word. She’s suffered so much over the past decade that they’re finally giving her the release she’s needed. 

Brynn has been invaded by her guilt since childhood. Although there were clearly some issues to be addressed because of how she reacted to Maude’s actions, she was a child when she accidentally killed Maude, and it’s time for her to be able to forgive herself. That’s why she’s shown at the desk with her inner child. She’s finally able to forgive her inner child for killing Maude. 

“Hey, girl! I know we haven’t spoken since high school, but I have a great opportunity for you.” 

No One Will Save You gave me the same twinkle in my eye that I got from Asteroid City. It was one of those times where after the credits roll, I think, God, I love movies. 

I think the trailer makes it easy to write off, but I can understand why it was cut the way it was. It’s so much more than an alien movie. It’s a movie about guilt and remorse and being defined by a moment in time. I also can’t tell you the last time I watched a movie where I thought about all of the symbolism and then also thought, Man, the beginning of this movie has the whimsy of Beetlejuice. 

Again, I’m not here to undercut what Brynn did, but she was a child. I can’t even imagine the hurt she caused, but you’re talking to someone who didn’t feel like an actual adult until 5-6 years ago, and I’m 31. 

Don’t sleep on No One Will Save You… or else you might have to fight off aliens and your own guilt in your pjs. 

Hello, Movie Mavens! Welcome back to the B Movies Blog. Today, we’re popping the Saw franchise into the ol’ VCR. 

Friends, the Saw franchise is a not so guilty pleasure of mine. I’ve seen every single installment thus far (through Saw X, thank you), and I own all of them as well. Saw also holds the coveted award of being one of the only horror franchises with a scene that makes me queasy. 

Now, I know Saw is considered by many to be torture porn (and the scene with a naked woman in a meat locker doesn’t really help the case), but I think Saw deserves a bit more credit. 

Who wore it better? Leigh Whannel or the woman in the Poise commercial who sneezes and becomes a mermaid?

Saw isn’t the pinnacle of cinema by any means, but I still enjoy them. Are the logistics questionable? Yes. Is the timeline shaky? Definitely. Do I still watch them? You betcha. 

I’m also fascinated by John Kramer’s mentality. I understand wanting to teach people a lesson, but there are better ways, my dude. Take Mr. Feeny, for example (unless I missed the episode where Mr. Feeny put a bear trap on Eric’s head). 

Additionally, the Saw franchise laid the groundwork for some great pop culture satires, including one of my favorites, the Robot Chicken Sawed by the Bell sketch. 

Like it or not, the Saw franchise isn’t going anywhere. It might not be perfect, and definitely supports the belief of alternate timelines (seriously, John Kramer did a LOT in a matter of years). 

But, for me, it’s a way to just shut my brain off for a few hours and enjoy Donnie Wahlberg and Scott Patterson flying off the handle every few seconds for no apparent reason (as well as Donnie Wahlberg making it through multiple movies, only to have his head squashed like a grape between two giant ice cubes). 

There’s also no arguing that the first Saw is incredible. Cary Elwes? Like c’mon. 

I respect Billy because I don’t know how to ride a bike. 

While the wraparound narrative with Saw continues to be replaced with loose connections and more complicated deathtraps, and it doesn’t make my top five franchises, it’s still fun. 

It’s like I said last year with X. In a world of elevated horror movies, we’re allowed to enjoy horror movies without allegories. It’s okay to watch movies where people have to stick their hands in acid to get keys within 15 seconds or have their faces grated off by a cheese grater (guess which half of this sentence is true). It’s okay to just go to the movies and get popcorn and not write a review (how meta). I fully give you permission. 

Game over. 

Hello, Movie Mavens! Welcome back to the B Movies Blog. Today, we’re popping The Evil Dead franchise into the ol’ VCR. 

Well, friends, we made it to the most wonderful time of the year (unless we didn’t, because we schedule blog posts in advance, so if you’re reading this after the apocalypse, welcome!). 

That’s right. It’s spooky season, baby. 

To kick us off, I thought it was only right to talk about one of the best horror franchises around, The Evil Dead franchise. 

When a man tells you to smile. 

The first time I watched The Evil Dead was all the way back in 2006. I was a freshman in high school, and I was channel surfing on a Sunday morning to recover from a band competition the day before. 

It had just started on IFC, so I decided to give it a go. Needless to say, I was hooked, and, fortunately, my soon-to-be brother-in-law was a massive horror fan and had the entire collection. The rest is history. 

The Evil Dead franchise is special to me for several reasons. First and foremost, it was one of the first big things Matt (my brother-in-law) and I bonded over. Secondly, it made me appreciate low budget horror in a way I hadn’t before. Sure, we always picked silly-looking horror movies from Blockbuster for movie nights, but The Evil Dead made me appreciate all of the work that went into filmmaking. 

I love The O.C. 

It would be years before I would be able to articulate what I thought, but The Evil Dead planted a seed. Now, as a 31-year-old writer, I understand that a budget means nothing without a good plot. We’ve all seen big-budget films that are painful to watch. But, it takes a real skill level to make one of the best horror movies of all time on a budget. I mean, c’mon, it’s still revered 42 years later, and it catapulted Bruce Campbell and Sam Raimi into a legendary status. 

The Evil Dead franchise is also a poster child for franchise quality control. Evil Dead II, Army of Darkness, and Ash vs Evil Dead balance dark comedy and absurdity while still giving us solid villains with the Deadites. 

Evil Dead (2013) took the franchise back to its roots and is still, imo, one of the best horror movies of the last decade. 

Bruce Campbell is still one of the hottest men in horror, and I said what I said. 

Evil Dead Rise took us out of the forest and into an entirely new setting, but kept the parts of the franchise we’ve come to know and love. 

Each entry of The Evil Dead franchise has contributed something different, be it dark humor, pure horror, or expanding on its source material (something we’ve also seen successfully done by the Scream franchise). 

Hail to the kings, baby. 

Hello, Movie Mavens! Welcome back to the B Movies Blog. Today, we’re popping the work of Christopher Guest into the ol’ VCR. 

Friends, I’ve decided to bookend this week that we started with Catherine O’Hara with a piece about one of my favorite directors, Christopher Guest. 

I’ll admit that I was late to the game on Christopher Guest. One of my old (and favorite) managers quoted Best in Show when we were working one day. I had no clue what he was referring to, and he told me I needed to watch all of Christopher Guest’s movies immediately. The rest, or in this case, Guest, is history. 

The biggest struggle for me in putting together this piece has been how to structure it. I don’t want to do a ranking of his movies because it changes, with the exception of A Mighty Wind being my favorite. 

I love this episode of The Adventures of Pete and Pete.

I think that instead of reviewing his films individually, I want to talk about their overarching style. I’m a sucker for a mockumentary (see my thoughts on Theater Camp). Christopher Guest might not have the longest filmography, but his quality control is truly incredible. From writing This Is Spinal Tap to giving us the likes of Waiting for Guffman, and being married to one of the most badass women in Hollywood, Christopher Guest has revolutionized the mockumentary genre. 

There are some standouts like Brutal Massacre and Drop Dead Gorgeous that didn’t originate from the desk of Guest, but he did lay some great foundation for other directors and writers to come. I also want to give Eugene Levy his dues because he’s co-written most of the movies we know and love. 

Additionally, let’s talk about the Christopher Guest main players like Catherine O’Hara, Parker Posey, Jane Lynch, Fred Willard, Jennifer Coolidge, etc… The rotating cast Christopher Guest has established over the years is like The Avengers of comedy. If he didn’t work with such heavy-hitters, I don’t know if the comedy would translate as well. But, fortunately for us, it does. 

I don’t watch The Royals, so let me know which season this is from. 

Now, I’d be remiss if I didn’t throw out some disclaimers. I’m aware that there are some jokes within the Guest-iverse that I don’t condone. I understand he’s played a gay character, and there are some jokes at the expense of the LGBQTIA+ community, among other things. 

If these things are triggering or upsetting, I more than understand! I don’t think they’re permissible, and I don’t condone them. Overall, his content is pretty tame, but again, I do understand the hesitation to watch. 

Christopher Guest’s movies are funny (while sometimes problematic), and his works helped shape the mockumentary format we’re familiar with today. His movies are those I can turn to when I need a laugh, and I know they’ll always deliver…even on the days I want to go home and bite my pillow.