Say what you will, but I (and many others) say that as summer is starting to come to a close, autumn is almost here, and that meeeeeans Halloween is on its way! Therefore, be prepared (starting NOW) to see more horror movies pop up in Tiny Tapes! We have some fairly good and not quite so good ones to begin the season, but all are good enough to whet your whistle. There are of course other genres interspersed, including romance, drama and sci fi, so there is something for everyone this month!

This month’s TTRs consists of: Clown in a Cornfield; Death of a Unicorn; K-Pop Demon Hunters; A Minecraft Movie; Monster Island; The Nun II; My Oxford Year; The Surfer; Terrifier 3; Until Dawn; War of the Worlds (2025).

Director: Eli Craig
Writers: Eli Craig, Carter Blanchard, based on the book by Adam Cesare
Cast: Katie Douglas, Aaron Abrams, Carson MacCormac, Vincent Muller, Cassandra Potenza, Verity Marks, Kevin Durand, Will Sasso

Horror filmmakers have often attempted to recreate the tongue-in-cheek style of 70s/80s B-movie horrors, and its rare that any suceed, but some come close. In Clowns in a Cornfield, teenager Quinn (Douglas) moves to a new town with her father after the death of her mother. While there, she meets Cole (MacCormac) and his group of friends. The more she hangs out with them, the more she learns about the town and its history, a history that soon catches up to all of them. This film certainly has the tongue-in-cheek horror style about it and has some genuinely funny moments of dialogue, as well as a fairly solid structure and a little depth to it, but not to the point where it tries to be something its not. It is very predictable, and sometimes the ignorance of some of the characters is a little too much to bear, but on the whole, it’s a fairly fun and decent horror, with great chemistry between Douglas and MacCormac.

Director: Alex Scharfman
Writers: Alex Scharfman
Cast: Paul Rudd, Jenna Ortega, Will Poulter, Téa Leoni, Richard E. Grant

Mixing fantasty, comedy and horror sounds like a fun time, but it is not always so. On the way to his boss’s house in the Rockies, Elliot (Rudd) tries to connect with his emotionall distant daughter Ridley (Ortega). On the way, they hit a unicorn with their car, and soon after arriving at their destination, they are hunted by the unicorn’s family. If it sounds utterly bizarre, that’s because it is, and it doesn’t amount to much more than an average B-movie style horror comedy (but somehow featuring top actors). Rudd and Ortega were essentially typecast, and Poulter, as good an actor as he is, doesn’t offer up anything we haven’t seen before. Leoni and Grant are a strange couple but somehow that’s about one of the only things in this film that works. This film may have been more intriguing sans unicorns.

Directors: Chris Appelhans, Maggie Kang
Writers: Danya Jimenez, Hannah McMechan, Maggie Kang, Chris Appelhans
Cast: Arden Cho, Ahn Hyo-seop, May Hong, Ji-young Yoo, Yunjin Kim, Daniel Dae Kim, Ken Jeong, Lee Byung-hun

Say what you will about K-pop, there’s no denying how high in popularity it has been soaring over the past decade or so. To add to this is K-Pop Demon Hunters, a story that follows girlband Huntr/x as they perform to their thousands of fans while moonlighting as demon hunters. Soon, they come up against boyband Saja Boys who are not the humans they appear to be, and Huntr/x’s Rumi (Cho) has to face her own past and current situation. It’s a film that neatly blends Korean history and mythology with its modern place on the world stage but without losing its identity. It has superb animation and songs that are as catchy as any real k-pop music (unsurprising considering the roster of musicians/producers who worked on the music, in particular producer Teddy Park who has worked with numerous famous k-pop idols and bands, most recently and notably Blackpink, and whose sound is usually quite distinctive). The film romanticises the idol life, something that is made clear if you watch videos of idols reacting to the film, and the use of k-drama tropes toes the line between tongue-in-cheek mocking and being genuinely cliche, but other than that, it’s actually a pretty solid and entertaining film.

Director: Jared Hess
Writers: Chris Bowman, Hubbel Palmer, Neil Widener, Gavin James, Chris Galletta, based on the video game by Mojang Studios
Cast: Jack Black, Jason Momoa, Emma Myers, Sebastian Hansen, Danielle Brooks, Jennifer Coolidge, Rachel House

When a game becomes one of the biggest and top-selling in the world, there is little doubt left as to whether or not it will eventually get the Hollywood treatment. Enter, Minecraft. Steve (Black) is pulled into a world where everything is cube-shaped and is imprisoned by the evil piglin ruler Malgosha (voiced by House). Soon, 80’s gaming champion Garrett (Momoa), siblings Henry (Hansen) and Natalie (Myers) and real estate agent Dawn (Brooks) are pulled into the world too, and are soon on a rescue mission to get Steve out. It seems that kids who are really into Minecraft have loved this movie and seeing their favourite world come to life. For adults it might be a bit of a drag as it follows a very tried-and-tested (and tired) formula, but much like the game, it’ll keep the kids occupied for a while. Black brings his usual entertaining persona to the film, and Momoa does his best to break out of his typecasting, hard-guy, action-man roles, but on the whole, there’s nothing to rave about performance-wise.

Director: Mike Wiluan
Writer: Mike Wiluan
Cast: Dean Fujioka, Callum Woodhouse, Alan Maxson

A British WWII POW and a Japanese soldier who betrayed his country are stranded on an island after the ship they were on sinks. They have to learn to work together and stay alive when they realise they are being hunted by a strange creature. Clearly very much based on Creature From the Black Lagoon, the costume for the monster appears to be almost the same, really not updated at all, which is great for nostalgia, but it doesn’t lend itself to the suspension of disbelief. The film is paced well and isn’t drawn out for the sake of it, however there is a little too much empty time where not a lot happens, and the editing, particularly in some action heavy scenes, is too choppy and rough, and the lighting is too dark in most scenes. The historical setting makes for an interesting dyanmic between the lead characters, and they build a good, believable relationship, and much of their interaction is reminiscent of a video game (this film would indeed make for a good game). The ending is satisfying, but on the whole it would have been good to see what the filmmakers could have done on a bigger budget.

Director: Michael Chaves
Writers: Ian Goldberg, Richard Naing, Akela Cooper
Cast: Taissa Farmiga, Jonas Bloquet, Storm Reid, Anna Popplewell, Bonnie Aarons, Katelyn Rose Downey

Sister Irene (Taissa Farmiga) returns in this sequel after reports of more strange deaths across Europe causes the church to send her to investigate. She eventually heads to a boarding school in France where her old friend Maurice (Jonas Bloquet) now works, though he has had to live with the demon Valak constantly watching over his shoulder. It’s a slight step down from the previous film, in that the motivation that drives the plot was actually pretty solid, but everything else kind of latched on weakly to that. It has also lost some of that gothic style that made the first film stand out more. The figure of the Nun remains a fearful creature in the darker scenes, and Farmiga puts in a good performance, but overall it probably wasn’t the strongest plot to further the story of Valak or Sister Irene.
Check out DOTT’s Film Club: The Conjuring.

Director: Iain Morris
Writers: Allison Burnett, Melissa Osborne, based on the novel by Julia Whelan
Cast: Sofia Carson, Corey Mylchreest, Harry Trevaldwyn, Esmé Kingdom, Dougray Scott, Catherine McCormack, Nikhil Parmar, Poppy Gilbert

Another year, another movie to satisfy the American anglophiles. Anna (Carson) has her future planned out: college, a year in Oxford, then working for Goldman Sachs. That is until she meets Jamie (Mylchreest) early on at her time at Oxford University. Although she knows she can’t get too attached, she and Jamie can’t help but fall for each other, in spite of each others’ circumstances. On the surface this is certainly just another romance film, but it does have more substance than you might think. The story takes an unexpected turn and, without giving away too much, it’s much like Me Before You in a different context (but better, in this humble reviewer’s opinion). Carson and Mylchreest give pretty standard romance film performances, with Mylchreest going a little beyond to give his character some actual depth, but the real standout is Scott as Jamie’s father, with an excellent performance as a father grieving the past and scared of the future. There are also some fun if tropey supporting performances, but the campus of Oxford itself is the real standout character of the film, sure to appease any English history-loving viewers.

Director: Lorcan Finnegan
Writer: Thomas Martin
Cast: Nicolas Cage, Julian McMahon, Nic Cassim, Miranda Tapsell, Alexander Bertrand, Justin Rosniak, Finn Little

Where there’s a bizarre psychological thriller, there’s a Nicolas Cage. In The Surfer, Cage plays a character billed literally as ‘The Surfer’, an American-accented man who returns to the area in Australia where he grew up, intent on buying his childhood house in order to win back his estranged wife and gain his son’s approval. But first, he has to fight his way through a territorial gang of local surfers lead by Scally (McMahon). The story is intriguing at first, and as The Surfer’s life begins to descend into chaos, it appears to be going in a predictable direction. As much as predictability can be off-putting, the expected out come would have offered a more interesting storyline than what was actually given to The Surfer. Cage brings his overacting to the fore at times, and while it works for some of his performances, it felt a little misplaced in this film. McMahon (in one of his final roles before his untimely death) plays a sinister leader to the surfer gang, certainly overshadowing Cage now and then, though it would have been good to see just how far Scally would be willing to go in his treatment of The Surfer by making him far more sinister. The film highlights some gorgeous Australian scenery, but conversely paints some Aussies in an unfair bad light.

Director: Damien Leone
Writers: Damien Leone
Cast: David Howard Thornton, Lauren LaVera, Elliott Fullam, Samantha Scaffidi

Art the Clown (Thornton) and his accomplice Victoria (Scaffidi) return in this evermore gruesome third instalment to the franchise. After spending some time in an institution, Sienna (LaVera) goes to live with her aunt, uncle and cousin and tries to rebuild her relationship with her brother Jonathan (Fullam). However, it’s not long before Art and Victoria, resurrected and reunited, begin their killing spree once again and set their sights on finishing Sienna once and for all. Truly Leone has taken gore and the extreme horror genre to new heights in this film, with almost all of Art’s and/or Victoria’s scenes disturbing even me, a person who always says ‘the more gore the better’ and isn’t easily frightened by horror films, and turning my stomach. It also retains the 70s/80s slasher B-movie style and vibes that helped make the first two so popular. The actions of the characters are truly horrific and gruesome AF, so this film will absolutely not be for the faint of heart (or stomach), but if horror is really, truly your thing, you won’t want to miss this one. (Also going to count it as a Christmas film, because… well, you’ll see.)

Director: David F. Sandberg
Writers: Gary Dauberman, Blair Butler, based on the video game by PlayStation Studios
Cast: Ella Rubin, Michael Cimino, Odessa A’zion, Ji-young Yoo, Belmont Cameli, Maia Mitchell, Peter Stormare

In this second video game adaptation of the month, Until Dawn follows a group of friends who head to the area where the sister of one of the friends went missing, but they soon find themselves caught in a time loop, and if they don’t find a way out of it, they could become part of the many missing people. The film does a good job of adapting the choose-your-own-adventure style of the game, and if you haven’t played the game, you might enjoy the twists and turns that come with it. Although the characters and their initial motive for finding themselves in this predicament aren’t all that original, the plot makes an admirable attempt of keeping things fresh, and the various methods of dying are, in all honesty, quite enjoyable.

Director: Rich Lee
Writers: Kenneth A. Golde, Marc Hyman, based on the novel by H.G. Wells
Cast: Ice Cube, Eva Longoria, Clark Gregg, Iman Benson, Henry Hunter Hall, Devon Bostick, Michael O’Neill, Andrea Savage

Is it just me, or is H.G. Wells’s classic novel getting done to death with different adaptations in recent years? In Rich Lee’s version, widowed Will Radford (Ice Cube) works for the Department of Homeland Security and has a strained relationship with his two adult children. When the Earth is attacked by alien ‘tripods’, Will is apparently tasked with saving the world almost single-handedly from behind a computer. The good thing about this film is the updated design for the tripods is pretty cool. Other than that, this film is absoutely dire. The graphics are awful, and it seems like the film’s budget all went on Ice Cube’s wages. Speaking of, it’s a poor performance from the film’s lead (he may as well have been watching a football game with his level of reactions to events). It doesn’t help that the dialogue on the whole is awful, with characters constantly stating the obvious and patronising the audience, and weak, cliched story writing. The idea for the framework, with everything happening over FaceTimes, Zoom calls, and interconnected security cameras, would have been interesting five years ago during the pandemic, but it’s tired now. A couple of characters also wonder why the aliens are heading for data centres across the world. Um, WHY THE HELL DO YOU THINK. A frustrating and poorly constructed film. A rare one-star rating from DOTT.