The Haunted Forest (2025)

High school senior Zack is staying at his cousin Mark’s farm due to family issues.  Every Halloween Mark and his wife turn the farm into a haunt.  This is Zack’s first year working there.

He meets make up artist Sara, who says she’s taking a few years off before she goes to college. I’m not sure how old that makes her but she’s hitting on a high school student so it’s a bit weird.

During staff meeting where Mark explains the expectations for the haunt this year, Sara says a Native American massacre took place on the land and the spirits still weep at night. Mark says they can honor the dead while still entertaining people, having a good time, eating burgers, and scaring customers. Sara is not amused.

When one of the crew is found hanging from the zip line, the police call it a tragic accident. But some of the staff are suspicious of a neighboring haunt due to an argument the night before and the bad blood between the farms.  Mark is afraid the death will tank his income for the month, but the next night they get the biggest crowd they’ve ever had.

Money is flowing in but on Halloween some of the staff are injured when previously safe props turn out to be dangerous. They continue the haunt not realizing someone is targeting the staff and there are murders being committed. The question becomes who is killing people at the haunt? And why does Mark let a bunch of influencers in for a private experience after the haunt closes on Halloween night? Isn’t it better to have them promote the haunt before it closes?

The Jester (2023)

When her father calls to reestablish a relationship after abandoning her and her mother, Emma tells him she’s not interested. A few days later, she finds out he died shortly after her call.  She begrudgingly decides to go to the funeral, but wants nothing to do with her half sister Jocelyn, who hopes to connect with her. 

After the funeral, Emma walks way from the grave and looks back to see The Jester dancing next to her father’s grave. It’s weird but she’s not a big fan of her dad’s so she leaves.

Jocelyn wants to bond with Emma, but Emma is too jealous to be care about her.  Jocelyn had the relationship Emma wanted with their father. He loved her, supported her and did things with her.

When Emma sees the Jester later that night near a liquor store, she is unnerved.  The Jester has a mask, orange suit and is silent. Thus begins her run ins with this odd entity and a night of killings in this small town.

The Jester is kind of annoying. Who is he? Where did he come from? What does he want? Why does he kill people? No idea.

Hansel and Gretel’s Halloween (2026)

Hansel and Gretel live in a world where you can’t go trick or treating until you’re 16. Since they’re 15 and don’t see what difference one year makes, they decide to sneak out. Their friend group each tells their parents they are staying at someone else’s house for the night.

After getting tons of candy and being ready to go home, they turn around to find an overly decorated house with it’s light on.  Gretel thinks it’s weird because she doesn’t recall ever seeing that house before. She thinks they should leave, but everyone else wants to hit this last house before going home.

The woman who answers the door flatters Hansel and asks the group to wait while she gets more treats.  After a few minutes of standing around, they go inside to see what is taking her so long.  This proves to be a horrible idea since she’s a witch who turns kids into chocolate and then eats them.

The modernized telling of this story has me wondering how the witch survives. Does she only need to eat once per year? Does she melt so many children that she has chocolate for the entire year? And why does no one but Gretel think it’s odd that a house is suddenly located in a place where no house existed before?

Gehenna (2016)

Developers looking for land to make luxury apartments run into natives protesting the sale of their sacred land, which just happens to be the land they are interested in. It’s a burial ground, which doesn’t concern the developers. 

They are curious when some natives come out from what appears to be a bunker, which is not documented on the property map. If there are tunnels below ground it could cause structural issues when they build on top of it.

One of the protestors drops the totem he’s using to worship and  warns them of their folly. As they enter the bunker, one of the team picks it up. There are no lights so they use the lights on their phones and video camera. While exploring, they come across some dead bodies.  They really should leave at this point.

When they hear a noise, it turns out to be an old blind guy who knows Alan’s name and screams at them to get out. Well ,except for Alan who must die. At this point, there is an earthquake and they wake up to find the lights on and everything clean. Oh are you thinking what I’m thinking? Yeah I’m sure you are because it’s fairly obvious what is going on.

So until they explain it ad nauseam, be prepared for lots of wandering around a bunker with characters you don’t particularly like.

Stalker Club (2017)

When a group of friends receives an anonymous text which asks them to click the link to join the stalker club, they are intrigued. The rules are as follows: you can’t tell anyone about stalker club; one of you is the stalker;  you can guess who the stalker is; and if you guess wrong you’re out.

After one of them opens a bag full of bees, the group agrees to end the game, even though no one will admit to being the stalker.  How do you fill a bag with bees anyway? And where did you get the bees? Also why would you do that to your friends?

But the game isn’t over yet and people start dying.  When Ashley gets locked in the library, a man in a mask tries to kill her. She sets off the fire alarm to get help ,but the police don’t believe her story.  They say ask her if she really saw him. You’d think they’d take it seriously when two of her friends have recently died.

It turns out years ago the stalker club is not a new thing and something happened years ago.  Why does this club still exist? 

Rabisu : Curse of the Demon (2025)

A group of paranormal investigators gets a tip about an old warehouse which supposedly holds an urn containing a seven foot tall specter named Rabisu.  The person who is supposed to let them in never shows up. But his office is open and they find keys on the desk.  They justify it’s fine to take the keys since he was going to let them in anyway.

As they split up and search for the urn, one of their team becomes possessed and murders another member. This sets off a panic and as the film progresses the demon jumps from person to person so no one is safe.

Host Simon is a sleazebag who only cares about increasing the views on this channel. Even after people start dying, he pulls the camera man aside and tells him don’t stop filming no matter what happens. 

The Ceremony is About to Begin (2024)

Keith is a filmmaker who gets a message from his ex girlfriend Maddy saying she’s been thinking of him.  Keith is having trouble in his marriage and has always missed Maddy. He was in love with her when she left him to join the Osiris Collective, which calls itself a spiritual group but he believes is a cult.  When he finally responds, Maddy does not answer. 

He decides to do a documentary on the group. Through interviews with former members, he learns the group was led by Osiris who they refer to as father. Members give up their belongings when they join and then pick a new name.   

After Osiris introduced a young man named Anubis to the group, cliques developed and those who disagreed with Anubis became outcasts.  One day Osiris and Anubis went on a hike and only Anubis returned, claiming Osiris died so he was now the leader. A number of people become disillusioned at this point and left the group.  

Keith wants to find Maddy so he sets up a meeting with Anubis. He expects to see cult members at the compound, but it appears empty other than Anubis. Things keep getting weirder and more unnerving but Keith is dedicated his documentary and reconnecting with Maddie. Poor sweet innocent Keith, you should know better than to trust a man you believe is a cult leader..

Near (2023)

Hollis isn’t living the good life. He stays in a tent in his aunt’s backyard and she’s sick of it. His long distance girlfriend Nova, who he’s never met, dumps him.  He feels like he’s cursed because everyone who gets near him seems to die: his previous girlfriend; his best friend; a clerk at a store he entered. As each person dies, it seems like the death radius around him expands.

He decides to visit Nova and starts walking through the woods to avoid people. But there is another group also headed Nova’s way.  It’s three idiots with a large number of followers who record their blackmail and robbery plans.  Nova is supposed to have a lot of money. So one of the guys has been dating her and pretending to like her. But they just want to rob her.

When everyone ends up in the same place, it doesn’t go well.  At the beginning of the movie, I wondered if the deaths around Hollis were a coincident, but it quickly becomes apparent that no one should be anywhere near him. So his trip to see Nova is a mixed message since he’s not there for revenge.

Borneo Incident(2013)

Five friends go on a trip to Malaysia, with the intent to visit Borneo where Henry is planning on seeing his estranged family.  They want to make a documentary of the trip since Henry’s relatives are part of a tribe who doesn’t like outsiders. I’m sure that will go well.

They meet with Danny, who left the tribe for the big city when he was younger.  He is going to help them navigate the customs and  translate for Henry and his friends.  Danny explains general information about the long houses and that they need to follow the tribes traditions. 

They’re idiots so they ignore Danny’s advice.  He warns them a second time to respect and adhere to the tribals customs or they could lose their heads. They still don’t grasp that disrespecting a tribe that dislikes outsiders is not a good idea.

After a day exploring the jungle, they end up stranded when their driver doesn’t show. They figure the her got delayed and he’ll pick them up tomorrow. But one of them disappears and they fear someone or something is after them. Silly tourists, that will teach you to disrespect others.

The Mitchin Murders (2024)

Jesse, who is doing her post graduate study in journalism, invites her ex-boyfriend Tom to help her investigate the Mitchin murders. They started four years ago in 1990.  A suspect was arrested but later released when he had alibi’s for some of the deaths and a woman was  attacked while he was in jail. 

Interviews are arranged with two survivors, who couldn’t have more different demeanors.  Maisie is reserved and seems traumatized.  Sarah is detached but excited to use this as a stepping stone to an acting career.  

Tom ends up leaving because he thinks it’s getting too dangerous. But Jesse refuses to give up her documentary to stay safe.  She should be more cautious though because there are some risks that aren’t smart, such as going into the woods when there is an active killer in town.

The problem with Jesse’s documentary is that she’s in it too much. Is this about the murders or your investigation?  Also she gets it in her head that a 1924 incident - possibly  due to a raccoon - could be helpful to the police in solving the serial killer case.  I’m wondering if she went to an accredited college.

Since this is found footage, we know Jesse is going to pay for her incautious wanderings and stirring up the locals.

Ridiculous dialogue 

Okay viewers, just to give you a heads up. I’ve been to the library and I may have found something. In 1924, a woman was attacked in the town of Mitchin, but she managed to flee.  She had strange markings all over her body, some say were similar to raccoon bites. The attack happened here on the ridge. Maybe I should tell the police about this. It could help with their investigation.