Tag Archives: Michael Cimino

Jun 9 2026

Mel’s 5 Second Review: Until Dawn

Until Dawn (2025)
Ella Rubin, Michael Cimino, Odessa A’zion, Ji-young Yoo, Belmont Cameli, Maia Mitchell, Peter Stormare
Directed by: David F Sandberg

I didn’t play the game much, but I did enjoy the vibe of it. I can’t really speak to how accurately the film follows the story of the game, but I had quite a good time with it.

One year after her sister Melanie mysteriously disappeared, Clover and her friends head into the remote valley where she vanished in search of answers. Exploring an abandoned visitor center, they find themselves stalked by a masked killer and horrifically murdered one by one…only to wake up and find themselves back at the beginning of the same evening. They soon realise that they must survive the entire night to get out of the time loop.

Reading reviews left on IMDb, I can see now that this was not a very faithful adaptation of the game. And I saw lots of people say they’d have liked it more had it not had the Until Dawn label on it and I can’t really say I understand that. You either liked the film or you didn’t. Warcraft wasn’t a frame-by-frame recreation of the Warcraft universe (Warcraft 1, 2, and 3, and World of Warcraft) and as an avid player of the game, I still adored that film. But I digress. How about I get to how I liked this film?

I actually quite liked it. No, it didn’t reinvent the wheel or anything, but I thought it was a solid film. The plot might be simple, but it was fun seeing the characters try to live through the same night over and over and, yes, even fun seeing them die. I’m not generally a huge fan of gore, but this one did it in a way that didn’t bother me. There were quite a few jumpscares but, really, this kind of film just calls for them. This isn’t a slow-burn, dread-filled affair, it’s a film about kids dying in a time loop. It knew exactly what it was and what it needed to do to be successful. The characters aren’t super deep, mostly cause we don’t really spend any time with them before the shit hits the fan. The actors did a fine job with what they were given.

Now for what is truly the centerpiece of the film: the makeup and gore effects. And those were stellar. The killers were suitably creepy, the visuals were amazing. The film really looked stunning, if blood and guts can be described as stunning. (Oh, and speaking of stunning, Odessa A’zion as Nina? fans self) There was great care taken to make sure things looked as good as possible with minimal use of cgi. I’ll take actors in masks and makeups over cgi monsters any day.

So do I recommend it? Sure, unless you’re crazy devoted to the game and won’t accept anything but a 100% recreation of the game. If that’s you, maybe skip this one. Me? I give it a solid 8/10. Fine popcorn fun!

M.

This film is currently streaming on Crave. You can also rent or buy on Amazon Prime or YouTube.

ps, my 5 Second Reviews are slowing becoming longer and longer. I may have to change the name of the series! hehe

Apr 20 2026

Mel’s 5 Second Review: Annabelle Comes Home

Annabelle Comes Home (2019)
Mckenna Grace, Madison Iseman, Katie Sarife, Michael Cimino, Vera Farmiga, Patrick Wilson
Directed by: Gary Dauberman

I was so excited when the first Annabelle movie came out because I’m such a big fan of the Conjuring franchise. And then I saw it and all the wind came out of my sails cause it sucked. Bad. So when this one came out, I had no intentions of watching yet another crappy spin-off. But I’m glad I finally did. It’s a good time.

Ed and Lorraine Warren bring the evil Annabelle doll to their house to contain the evil inside a glass case. But when the Warrens leave for the weekend and leave their young daughter Judy with a babysitter, the evil is accidentally unleashed to wreak havoc on the unsuspecting teens.

I had zero expectations going into this film. And while it doesn’t recreate the wheel or anything, it’s still fun. All the acting was good, which is always a bonus in horror movies. The plot, while slightly predictable and formulaic, was still good. It takes a while setting up the characters, so you actually care about them when shit starts to go south. There’s some decent atmosphere going on and, while not really scary, it’s still fun in its intensity. And they got me once with a very loud jump-scare. Usually I can tell they’re coming from a mile away, but this one got me, and I nearly jumped out of my skin. Well played, Annabelle Comes Home, well played. I will dock them a point for reusing a scare from The Conjuring 2, though. It would have been effective had we not seen it before.

Everything else was on par with what I’ve come to expect from a Conjuring movie. The makeup was really well done, it had some creepy set pieces, and it was nicely shot. And Joseph Bishara played the hell out of his strings, as per usual.

So, do I recommend it? Sure, with the caveat that you have to be a fan of the franchise. I’m not sure how much enjoyment one would get out of it if they weren’t already familiar with the characters and the world since the film doesn’t take much time to explain it. As for me, I give it a good 7/10. I had fun with it. Grab your popcorn and enjoy!

M.

This movie is not currently streaming anywhere (in Canada), but you can purchase or rent it from Amazon Prime or YouTube.