After a disastrous first twenty minutes, The Bystanders does an impressive job of adding some much-needed charisma and charm to the film. While the script could have used some significant polishing, I think there is something to appreciate and to like here. I would have a touch more daring in the filmmaking, a willingness to take risks in the plot, and some nuanced villains, but it’s not a complete waste.

Despite some decent scene writing and the occasional moments of menace, as well as solid performances from the cast, My First Horror Film feels exactly like what it calls itself. The pacing is mangled, the script wasteful and meandering, and the commentary on the black experience in film just doesn't say anything new or poignant. An unfortunate squandering of some talented people. At its heart, it's not a bad idea for a horror film, but there are just too many holes, too many weak areas for it to succeed.

At the end of the day, Terrifier 3 isn’t trying to reinvent the slasher genre—it’s here to elevate it and inject some much needed life. This is horror for horror’s sake, and that’s something worth celebrating. It’s here to give the audience a relentless parade of grotesque killings, absurd moments of dark humor, and a villain who has earned his place as one most critical modern icons. If you’ve been following Art’s bloody rise to infamy, this third installment will only solidify his place as one of the most sinister characters in the horror pantheon.

The Seductress From Hell delivers a worthwhile watch for those seeking a solid, if limited, horror film. You’ll have to get past some awkward dialogue and meandering character work, but it's worth the journey. Coupled with an excellent score and some eye-catching set and costume design, there’s a lot here to indicate that what comes next both from Rocio Scotto and young director Andrew de Burgh may be worth paying attention to.

‘While a number of elements give audience members something to appreciate, the ultimate sum of the film’s parts leaves much to be desired. Krawchuk has failed to make his character make the jump from film short to full-length feature, and the Jester, while cool, remains decidedly underdeveloped. The script is tired territory, offering a simplistic, pantomime depiction of emotional trauma, depression, and family relations that neither offers a new angle or does a particularly effective job of presenting familiar ones.’

‘This was a genius idea from conception and it came together at the right time. Animatronic toys were creepy as hell before anyone put a serial killer’s soul inside, and there are few things more quintessentially 80s than watching a struggling single mother sacrifice her financial and bodily security in order to chase the materialistic flotsam of the popular culture by buying a toy doll from a homeless man in an alley.’

‘Pearl is a superior film to its predecessor, telling a bloody but heartfelt story of a young woman who struggled to find her place in the world and bear the starkness of the hand that life dealt. Despite her faults, her outbursts, her patent instability, I felt a tremendous level of sympathy for the title character, and find her only real sin is that of ambition and human need which by its very appetite demanded more than what a North Texas farmer’s life could provide.’

‘Kills sacrifice style in the name of brutality, and the scriptwriting is a joke. This is horror at its trashiest, for better or worse.’