TheSmallDeth Reviews

The Devil All the Time (2020)

The Devil's In The Details

[8/10 · 4 October 2020]

Man this was such a great movie to watch! Gotta admit it's quite depressing and there's little space for joy in this movie, but I didn't really care to be honest. The movie is stuffed with great actors and this makes the movie a very enjoyable ride. Even though some of the movie might feel like a crime-tv-serie, there are more than enough great scenes to make up for it and get rid of that same feeling. The Devil All The Time has been judged for the boring storyline or the depressing vibe, but just look for the details during a second watch and i'm sure you'll see what makes this movie great (acting, ost, even just pause a few of the 'heavy scenes' and really take them in before moving on).

It's a movie which has a lot to tell, and even wants to scream it from the top of its lungs. A movie which functions as a critical note on religion and the action that rise from it. A movie which holds a mirror in front of you.

In short; it's heavy but its great

Honey Boy (2019)

The clown in us all

[8/10 · 4 October 2020]

Wow.. Honey Boy was such a great movie to watch! It kept me interested and entertained the whole ride through (it reminded me a lot of The Florida Project at times). Rarely does a movie like this make me feel so much for the characters, that it leaves me with a very uncomfortable feeling. I guess that says something about how good the story and acting are. Shia Labeouf is amazing in this movie!!! The OST that's being used in the movie was also a joy to listen to. If you're reading this review and asking yourself; so why should I watch it? I'd say: just be human and watch this precious movie, you won't regret it.

The Babysitter: Killer Queen (2020)

A Game Of Hide And Seek

[3/10 · 1 October 2020]

The Babysitter: Killer Queen might be fun to watch, but it's one big hide and seek show (where you're trying to see through all the hidden layered thrash that's put into this movie, to be able to see how bad it is). The movie is filled with unnecessary edits/effects, useless conversations, way too much songs, and dumb jokes (and not even funny ones). All of these just function as a layer to hide how bad most of the scenes are. If you'd remove everything I just mentioned from the scenes they appear in, you'd end up with bollocks (because the acting is just as bad). I mean OK it might be 'fine' for the genre this movie belongs to but man i've seen way better.

The Grudge (2019)

Please watch the originals

[2/10 · 1 October 2020]

What a waste of my time. The movie felt like a cheap and horrible horror game script, implemented into a really sad haunted house experience. The acting was stiff and it couldn't make me care for any of the characters. Note that this movie took me more than a day to finish, I watched 3/4 of it but couldn't finish it off, so I watched the whole thing over again the day after. It's just horrible.

Antebellum (2020)

Time to improve?

[6/10 · 26 September 2020]

I guess Antebellum isn't even close to the quality of Get Out and Us, but nevertheless it's an enjoyable movie. The movie seemed to miss a certain amount of passion and surprise, I mean ok; there's a twist but not one that you haven't seen more often. Since it's the third in the row of Get Out and Us I think it's time to look for something different. Even though the movies carry out great and very currently relevant messages, there are more than enough ways to get those same points clear. If they find a more inventive way to do so; then i'm sure they'll deliver a new masterpiece close to or even better than Get Out.

Mulan (2020)

Not as good as the animation

[6/10 · 26 September 2020]

I expected way too much from this movie, so I was pretty disappointed upon watching. I was looking for this 'magical feeling' the disney films are known for, but only felt this in a few of the very last scenes. They even replaced the dragon with a very annoying Phoenix. The acting is sometimes very stiff but hey; they get the job done. And this 'they get the job done' goes for the whole movie. Everything from the cgi to the ost is just decent, not amazing, not bad, just ok. You'd think a company like Disney could do more with a movie like this and thats just a pretty annoying thought to end the movie with.

The Personal History of David Copperfield (2019)

What did i just watch

[6/10 · 19 September 2020]

I'm going to be short with this one. The Personal History Of David Copperfield is a weirdly charming movie. It has the pace of a sherlock holmes movie and the setting of little women. Combined they make up for a sometimes hilarious but mostly confusing ride. Luckily the acting in this movie is rock solid so that's what saved it from becoming a mess probably. Overall a solid 6, just one hint: take a nap before you go and see it.

#Alive (2020)

How it really goes down

[6/10 · 8 September 2020]

To me #Alive is one of the better zombie apocalypse movies out there. What I like about this movie was that it felt really humane and realistic, nothing felt over the top or really unrealistic (even the fighting skills of the characters live up to how it would go down in reality). The movie takes the time to really zoom in onto the main character(s), and therefore gives us a clear image of his motivations and emotions. Because of this reason #Alive feels different than other Zombie Apocalypse movies. #Alive is basically able to pause the apocalypse when it pleases and it didn't even bother me.

Just check it out! Any horror/zombie lover will really enjoy this one :)

I'm Thinking of Ending Things (2020)

A trippy snowstorm

[7/10 · 6 September 2020]

I had more struggles to understand this movie than i've had with Tenet. It's a big trippy road, filled with conversations that feel like they actually lead nowhere. I guess that's just the vibe this movie gives off; struggling to get somewhere in limbo.

Even though it was a big pill to swallow, i really enjoyed it! The story and it's conclusion were interesting enough to keep me grasped until the end. The ending may feel open for interpretation and you might look up an explanation on the internet; but that's what made this movie 'good' for me. The acting and ost are great and really add up to the tense experience this movie is going for.

Just check it out on Netflix, make sure you're ready for one of the 'heavier to understand' movies out there!

The New Mutants (2020)

A bumpy but entertaining ride

[6/10 · 4 September 2020]

Guys.. The 39 metacritic score for this movie is waaaaaaay too harsh..

Let's be honest, The New Mutants (TNM) lacks on a few fronts; the story brings nothing special or at least interesting to further expand or reflect on, the characters motivations and backstories are lacking or rushed, the acting and lines are often cringeworthy and last but not least; where's the horror? Just to name a few things that could made me understand the 39 metascore, BUT.

TNM still somehow achieves to be a very entertaining movie! It's very cool to finally see a marvel movie trying to touch ground with the horror genre (even though it's not scary or gory at all). And the comic character 'Magik' is an amazing addition to the story (she could easily function in a standalone movie). There are some surprises here and there and the cgi is pretty good too.

The movie had a constant flow between the positive and negative things mentioned above. Therefore resulted in me giving this movie a 6. Don't expect a classical X-men like movie; just go in open minded and you'll have a great time!

Tenet (2020)

Nolan did it again

[8/10 · 28 August 2020]

I'm going to be short since going into detail wont add much I'm afraid.

Tenet is a great Nolan film, just like you're used to by now. The story is great and can be quite difficult to follow, but just pay attention and you'll get the hang out of it. Heck it even makes you anticipate and think like the main 'villain' later on in the movie.

Actors are amazing (obviously), Soundtrack is great, effects are amazing.

Just go check it out before the past is gonna get a hold on you ;-) go go go!

Babyteeth (2019)

The Fault In Our Stars - Arthouse Version

[7/10 · 23 August 2020]

Babyteeth is a very solid, sad and entertaining film. It's somewhere in the line of movies like Eight Grade and Lady Bird, and it strongly reminded me of The Fault In Our Stars. Nevertheless Babyteeth completely does its own thing and I gotta say; it hugely succeeds in doing so.

Rarely has a movie like this made me feel sorry, not only for the main character, but also for every single character involved (this because they also have their own personal issues). The actors have done an amazing job.

Furthermore; the movie has a great soundtrack which is able to bring a lot of scenes to a higher level.

Really recommend anyone to go and see this movie. It's a pleasant ride all the way through.

Peninsula (2020)

A great follow up to Train To Busan

[7/10 · 10 August 2020]

Don't believe all the extremely low reviews about Train To Busan 2: Peninsula. Even though the movie might be laking on a few points, it's a great and exciting movie.

The action and zombie scenes are great, there is a perfect balance between tense situations and moments of character development. I read some reviews on here claiming that there was no character development at all, I bet they didn't even see the ending... You may feel more for certain characters then others but I guess thats also just the charm of the zombie-genre (take the walking dead for example), you'd probably feel te same in a real life zombie apocalypse :-)

I was just enjoying the hell out of this movie and I was on the edge of my seat throughout the whole thing. Just don't expect a Train To Busan copy, because then indeed you'll be disappointed. Before you go, realize that this movie is 4 years later. In most of the zombie series/movies I've seen, thats enough time for the humans to get grip on the world and start to take over; resulting in them becoming more of a threat/monster than the zombies do at that point. Just as in those other movies/series, zombies are more used as a weapon/distraction or tool than a weapon in itself. Train To Busan 2 is no exception.

Furthermore; soundtrack is great and adds a lot, i've seen complaints about the cgi; cgi is fine, characters are interesting enough (perhaps lack a bit of backstory but it's ok), acting is great, story is good.

Can't wait to see where they'll take it from here. I highly suggest every zombie genre fan to check this out ASAP, it's worth it. And also for people who've seen Train To Busan, just go in open minded and you won't be disappointed!

Trolls World Tour (2020)

A small festival to make up for the ones you're missing

[6/10 · 8 August 2020]

Like the title says; Trolls World Tour just felt like another music/mash-up festival. And to be honest, that was the only thrilling thing about the movie. The story was a bit dull and boring, you knew what was going to happen from miles away. The same thing has been done thousands of times in other movies (but with other items instead of music strings). The excitement doesn't come from the story or the animations, it's in listening to the songs you're familiar with being visualized by trolls. I guess thats what saves this movie just like the last time, and thats also why i give it a 6 because it's still enjoyable. Don't expect anything more than just an enjoyable movie (or should i say musical).

The King of Staten Island (2020)

Some Tattoos are visible, some aren't

[7/10 · 3 August 2020]

What can i say, the king of staten island is a great movie. It's a story about a guy in his mid 20's who's suffering from ADD and the pressure his environment puts on him to do something with his life. His sister is going to college and his deceased dad was a hero-firefighter, this resulting in putting even more pressure onto him to do something important. His dream is to become a tattoo artist, but things just don't seem to work out for him (he's also lacking human canvas to practice on ;-) ). Because of him failing to find a human canvas, he decides to tattoo a random 8 year old boy in the woods; but he doesn't get further than a single line. This leads to the boys dad visiting their house and getting into a relationship with the wannabe-tattoo-artists mother. The problem here is; his mothers new 'boyfriend' is a firefighter too, he puts more pressure on the guy, and acts like he's trying to fill in the 'father-role-gap' which the family was missing. All this results in a hot mess filled with prejudices about each others current and past lifestyle.

The King Of Staten Island has a very clear message; never judge a book by its cover. It's all about being open, supporting each other and giving people a chance to prove themselves. Where tattoos can seem to give off a 'dangerous' vibe, they can also be seen as the clearest and most functional way of communication there is. The movie tackles the differences between people in the way they express themselves; where our main character is very (negatively) outspoken and filled with tattoos - his mothers new boyfriend is the complete opposite (acting very positive and has 0 tattoos). The truth is they both kinda suck(ed) in life, but they communicate it to the outside world in a very different way, leading to frustration between the two.

Openness and communication is key in life, it brings opportunity and chances. The way you choose to communicate (for example through tattoos) is up to you, as long as you don't judge people for not expressing themselves in the same way (our main character for example surrounds himself with people who are just like him, rather than spending time with his mom or sister who really care about him but express themselves in a different way).

The King Of Staten Island talks about these subjects in a very exciting, funny and entertaining way. It knows what its going for and doesn't try to be more than it is. It basically succeeds in what it's trying to achieve. It has a few scenes which eventually go nowhere and have 0 purpose, but they didn't bother me that much. Don't expect top notch acting or an amazing story, just a decent enjoyable movie!

Follow Me (2020)

One for the Saw and Hostel fans

[6/10 · 28 July 2020]

Well i've got to admit beforehand, I only went to see this movie to still my hunger for the new saw movie. And believe me; it did succeed! Even though the first half of the movie is really (and i mean REALLY) boring, it makes up for it afterwards. This movie is just a mix between Escape room, Saw and Hostel, nothing more nothing less. The only thing they added is the 'influencer' part, but it doesn't add much and you'll probably forget it during the movie. The ending is f- up and makes the movie 'better', but you'll probably see it coming from miles away.

One of the most annoying things is that this movie is filled with things left unanswered or unexplained, in a way that the whole thing just doesn't maken sense in the end. Saw fans might be used to it but I can believe anyone else will be a bit frustrated afterwards.

In the end; a fun movie to watch for a night out with your friends!

The Rental (2020)

The Shower-Head Complot

[6/10 · 28 July 2020]

Last weekend i've seen The Rental and I got to admit it's a very enjoyable flick. The first three quarters of the movie feel a bit slow and forced, it's all about setting the stage for the final act and feeding into the Paranoia-vibe. In the last 20 mins or so, all hell breaks loose (Horror enters the stage) and it goes downhill pretty quickly. I'd really have liked to see more glimpses of this in the earlier stage of the movie. It seems The Rental borrowed a lot from horror classics like Halloween and Texas Chainsaw Massacre but also more recent movies like The Collector. It tries, but in my opinion fails, to deliver this anxiety/paranoia In the same way these movies do. Nevertheless The Rental is a decent movie, mainly because of the acting. Don't expect anything innovative or new, just a basic digital-home-invasion movie :)

Peppermint (2018)

John Wick has a wife?

[5/10 · 9 September 2018]

Today I went to see Peppermint,

I have to admit it's a decent movie, the 29 metacritic score scared me at first but due to the interesting trailer i decided to go.

The movie starts off pretty intense and you get introduced to the characters (which lack A LOT of backstory in my opinion) and then the 1,5 hour long shooting fest will begin.

the movie felt like a replica of john wick, you get the dramatic start and after that it's some sort of shooting tutorial for a longgggg time which ends with a little bit of story again. It's all about action and almost zero about story or character development. This is why i can imagine why this movie got such a low score, but:

Jennifer Garner does a decent job keeping the movie flowing due to limited lines and character background she has. Also some of the action scenes had some pretty interesting elements to it which was actually nice. The story feels a bit rushed and sometimes has a lot of holes in it. There was a lot of space to explain (A LOT seemed very unrealistic due to no explanation) more and dig deeper in specific events and characters but obviously there was no time left and the makers perfered trigger happy gangsters above storytelling.

In the end it felt like another john wick movie with absolutely no satisfaction.. all by all it's neither a good or bad movie, it's amusing sometimes and that's all you're gonna get from it.

The Nun (2018)

I got 99 problems but a good film ain't 'Nun'

[3/10 · 8 September 2018]

So today i saw The Nun,

I gotta admit it was quite enjoyfull at the beginning. For the ones who've seen the other 'The Conjuring- Universe' films, you get a little flashback and a little explaining so you're right back to where they left you.

Then the characters are being introduced and that's where it all pretty much goes downhill. It's mainly about 3 key figures; sister Irene, father Burke and one french-canadian local guy called Frenchie. The characters lack a little bit of charmisma and especially the guy playing Frenchie acts like he's in some sort of Jumanji adventure movie instead of a Horror.

But hey guys we're watching a horror so we shouldn't be so hard on 'em right. We're coming for the Nun! Well i can tell you the Nun is more funny then she's scary. Jumpscares are nothing you haven't seen already and the origin story is pretty rushed too.

The story has some holes in it too; and sometimes it ignores events that have happened way earlier in the movie.

In the end you'll get a little cliffhanger which will get you hyped up for the upcoming conjuring movie which is nice but let's hope they are going to spice things up a little more.

All by all: not a great movie but still enjoyable, i'll recommend every conjuring-universe fan or just mainstream horror fan to go. Just don't expect anything great.

Slender Man (I) (2018)

Like the game wasn't enough

[2/10 · 28 August 2018]

First of all, if you're expecting a good horror movie (like there are a lot nowadays), stop expecting. Here's why:

The film makes use of a small cast mainly consisting out of teenage characters. Here's why 70% of the movie consists out of high school- peer pressure, teenage romance, girls bitchfighting and family problems. Fun for some people maybe but for a horror maybe not so suitable. So its all about the small teen cast consisting out of 4 girls who are played by women I didn't even knew before. None of the acting is really worth mentioning but the actress playing the girl Wren does a decent job in my opinion.

Then on to the horror part of the movie. It's all about our man Slenderman ofcourse. The ones who've played the game will know how he looks like and I can tell you: he looks exactly the same. Even the quality is the same. Its actually a very bad quality CGI/effect that runs through this movie. A highschooler could've done the same job. After the movie i noticed an actor was hired to play slenderman but this seems rather useless due to what's mentioned above.

The jumpscares in the movie are rather cheap, nothing you haven't seen before. Even sometimes a bit funny due to the crappiness of the effects.

Storyline has some big holes and character development is a mess, you're left with a lot of questions afterwards.

I'll suggest everyone who's not a fan of Slenderman but just curious about him to play one of the games that are released about this character, you'll get the same as the movie but even better.

Redbad (2018)

If you take 'red' out of the title, then you've got it right

[3/10 · 5 July 2018]

I know this movie is already known for it's duration now but let me state once again: this movie is WAY TOO LONG. This shouldn't be a problem if indeed most of the shots were interesting but sadly, this isn't the case. Instead you get bombarded with multiple slo-mo nature/animal/close-up shots.

Furthermore i have to say the story is a bit of a mess. Sometimes you get to know something huge about a character and it's never even slightly mentioned before, it's suddenly just out there and after that you've gotta deal with it yourself, character development is pretty 'bad'. Also it feels like some actors were put in there because they're 'famous' (if that's the right word for it), they just had a few lines and they deliver them very POORLY. Jonathan Banks was the most positive aspect in this whole movie.

Besides all the above: the battle scenes are fine (nothing you haven't seen already), i think the CGI is pretty good for a dutch movie and it has some gory moments which will keep your eyes open (i had mine closed for a while).

Long story short if you like long movies A LOT, historical movies A LOT and you like vikings A LOT then you'll enjoy this, i'm sure of it. Otherwise i really recommend you to watch the Vikings TV-serie because it's a lot better/fun/hardcore and basically covers the same christian/viking struggle in a better way ( a better way to invest your time).

I hope you'll have a good time if you still decide to go, can't assure you that you won't be looking at your watch a few times or trying to find out when the movie's going to end. Cheers

Truth or Dare (I) (2018)

I dare you to watch this in cinema

[2/10 · 3 May 2018]

First of all, this was one of the first movies that had me on the edge of my seat. Not because it was good but because it was so boring that i was thinking about leaving the movie while i barely saw half of it. If you're expecting a good horror movie, nope, more like: "a guide on how to find people on facebook". If you're expecting good acting: sometimes it's okay but mainly nope. A mashup of the nowadays teen-drama shows on TV is a big part of the cast. If you're expecting interesting sets or good scares? Nope again it's really bad. For example at the ending there was a shot of two guys in london done so badly even the green screen itself would facepalm. And the only time i jumpscared was because the sound was so hard out of nowhere that i thought the room would explode. In the end; if you have a lot of free time and you're REALLY bored, go and try to watch it. Otherwise, again: NOPE.