Exorcism In Utero (2023) | A lot of potential was wasted in this #Shocktober flick that in name and poster had the right ingredients to pull you in. #jackmeatsflix

My quick rating - 3.9/10. I can only imagine what Sam Bangs had to go through in the makeup chair for Exorcism In Utero. That is some serious body horror makeup work. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the CGI and puppet effects, which look like they were possessed by the demon of silly production decisions.

This supernatural horror film follows Herma, played by Sam Bangs, who is pregnant but unfortunately finds herself in a situation much more evil than the typical annoyances associated with babysitting someone else’s house. Once a dark spirit comes into the picture, she struggles not only to protect her baby but also to safeguard her own soul. Because looking after somebody else's house wasn't stressful enough.

Bangs deserves credit for throwing herself into the role. Herma's increasingly disturbing transformation requires plenty of physical commitment, and the makeup department certainly kept her busy. For a film working with a limited budget, her performance is one of the things I took positive notice of. She manages to make Herma's predicament feel somewhat believable, even when the surrounding material isn't doing her any favors.

Sadly, the script is where things start to unravel. The weird behavior of the neighbors and the increasingly weird turn of events indicate that there may indeed be some sort of creepiness hiding beneath the surface. There is potential for a good supernatural horror movie here somewhere, but the film never seems to catch up to its own ideas. It’s annoying to have a movie give you interesting ingredients to make you curious, only to leave you wondering who misplaced the recipe.

Then we get to the special effects. Oh, boy.

The pairing of the CGI and the puppets starts getting more distracting as the movie goes on. Some praise is due for the practical effects, but the computer-generated and fake-looking puppets present another issue altogether. Instead of adding to the scary feel of the film, there's always the threat that something frightening may end up looking similar to some cheap Halloween exhibit. It's fine and dandy to work within your budget, but not when the effect takes you out of the movie.

Director Erik Skybak does manage to deliver a few unsettling moments. The atmosphere occasionally gets under your skin, and there's even a little dark humor lurking among the supernatural nastiness. These scenes demonstrate that Exorcism In Utero has some potential, particularly when it focuses on tension and atmosphere rather than trying to impress us with its visual effects. I just wish there had been more of that uneasiness to accompany Herma's increasingly bizarre physical transformation.

At 94 minutes, Exorcism In Utero has enough to interest horror fans who enjoy obscure, low-budget supernatural flicks. If you can overlook the rough edges and appreciate Bangs' performance, you might find a few worthwhile scares along the way. If you're expecting a tightly written possession story with convincing effects, however, you may find yourself praying for the end credits.

Exorcism in Utero (2023)

https://jackmeat.com/exorcism-in-utero-2023/

Evel (2026) | The car might be autonomous, but the decision to watch this one is entirely my own fault. #jackmeatsflix

My quick rating - 3.8/10. I went into Evel knowing absolutely nothing about it, which is generally how I find half the movies I watch. The other selling point was an 85-minute runtime, because sometimes you want a movie that doesn't require a long-term commitment. What could possibly go wrong with an autonomous electric vehicle, artificial intelligence, and a horror premise? Oh, right. Pretty much everything.

We begin with Kari (Athena Park) waking to the delightful sound of an alarm clock, checking stocks, and heading off for a run and workout. Making money and staying fit aren't enough to fill a morning anymore. She then heads to work, steps on a few toes, and takes over an important account. This leaves her with some paperwork to deliver, and her client offers her the opportunity to test-drive the world's most advanced autonomous vehicle. Naturally, she accepts. Because when a company tells you its car is packed with AI, you should absolutely trust it with your life. LOL.

It doesn't take long for that decision to go sideways. Kari soon finds herself trapped on an isolated highway while a malevolent force starts erasing her digital footprint and steering her towards Everett (Morgan Bedard), a billionaire predator with some decidedly unpleasant plans. Is this a high-tech heist, a revenge thriller, or a horror movie? Evel seems determined to have a little of everything, although the horror component occasionally feels like it missed the memo.

One thing I will give the film is that Park holds her own during the action sequences. She throws herself into the fight scenes and displays some decent martial arts skills. Unfortunately, the henchmen opposing her appear to have been recruited from the local branch of the Brain Donor Foundation. I appreciate a woman who can fight back, but some of these encounters require a rather generous suspension of disbelief. At a certain point, I was less concerned about Kari surviving than I was about how these goons managed to get hired in the first place.

I did enjoy the matter-of-fact delivery of David (Chris Farquhar), the AI voice, and the film gets some mileage out of its jabs at the lunacy of big-tech billionaires. There's something amusing about a movie suggesting that handing increasingly powerful technology to people with more money than common sense might not be the brightest idea. Who knew?

Despite the dodgy acting and some thoroughly ridiculous plotting, Evel has a twist that gives this otherwise rather lame thriller a little extra life. There's also a cheeky sequel tease, because apparently even mediocre cinematic experiences aren't safe from franchise ambitions.

Ultimately, Evel is dumb, lightweight entertainment that occasionally stumbles into being surprisingly funny in a gleefully dark way. It's not particularly scary, the acting won't win any awards, and it certainly isn't Shocktober-worthy. Oops.

Evel (2026)

https://jackmeat.com/evel-2026/

Buddy (2026) | Buddy starts like your average kids’ show before heading deep into #Shocktober territory. I honestly had a lot of fun with this! #jackmeatsflix

My quick rating - 6.6/10. You know those relentlessly cheerful children’s television shows that make you wonder how anyone survives watching an entire episode without developing a headache? Well, imagine one of those shows developed a taste for psychological trauma, bloodshed, and making its little viewers question reality. Welcome to It’s Buddy! The show must go on, even if a few kids mysteriously disappear along the way!

We begin with some ominous sounds over a black screen before abruptly switching to obnoxiously upbeat children’s music and our title character, Buddy (voiced by Keegan-Michael Key), a bright orange humanoid unicorn with a purple heart on his chest. Full-size Buddy reminds me so much of Barney, which is probably not a coincidence. For the first six minutes, you might genuinely think you’ve accidentally clicked on a children’s YouTube video. Then the cracks start showing, and suddenly that oversized, toothy smile becomes much less reassuring.

When one of the children disappears, and the others start asking questions, Buddy’s patience wears thinner than a parent’s nerves after the fifteenth repeat of a nursery rhyme. The kids do a fantastic job recreating that exaggerated enthusiasm these shows demand, especially Delaney Quinn as Freddy, who handles the transition from giddy excitement to genuine apprehension beautifully. Watching the children investigate their missing friend while still trapped inside the show’s bizarre episodic format is amusing in the most unsettling way. Even sneaking off to see Nurse Nancy becomes an adventure when your captor insists everything is sunshine, rainbows, and mandatory participation!

What makes Buddy particularly enjoyable is how little the trailer prepares you for where things eventually go. Around the half-hour mark, the colorful clubhouse chaos gives way to a more conventional suburban setting, where traumatized mother Grace (Cristin Milioti) struggles with the unsettling feeling that someone is missing. The shift works surprisingly well, and the film becomes far more creative than I initially expected. That television scene is especially effective, blending creepy visuals with some disturbing effects.

The practical effects deserve a mention. There’s something hilarious about watching a brightly colored children’s program descend into absolute carnage while maintaining the visual language of an educational singalong. The gore is present, but the film’s commitment to its ridiculous premise makes much of it darkly amusing. Even the credits seem to have a few kids looking absolutely terrified, which feels like an appropriate punchline each time they roll.

Buddy won’t be for everyone, and its rough patches occasionally interrupt the fun. However, this horror-comedy commits wholeheartedly to its own craziness, delivering a surprisingly inventive experience with genuine filmmaking chops beneath the candy-colored nightmare.

I had fun with this one. It isn't here to scare you, but it sure might entertain ya. Give me a darker, nastier, more brutal sequel, and I’ll happily bump that rating higher. LOL. Just remember, kids. Always listen to your unicorn overlord. He loves each one of you. Apparently.

Buddy (2026)

https://jackmeat.com/buddy-2026/

Lenore (2026) | Lenore is a low-budget horror about internet obsession featuring a twist that wasn't nearly as clever as it thought it was. #jackmeatsflix

My quick rating - 4.1/10. Lenore opens with people talking to cameras during the credits, because apparently even the opening credits aren't safe from people who think the internet desperately needs to hear their life story. One woman gets particularly comfortable telling us about herself, immediately raising an important question. Is this movie mocking narcissistic online behavior, or is it accidentally auditioning for the same attention economy? Stick around, because there are plenty of opportunities to find out.

We meet Max (Nicholas Jaquinot), a terminally online fellow whose social life appears to consist of bouncing between livestreams featuring attractive women, taking notes, and conducting some decidedly questionable business with his audiovisual equipment. One streamer discusses cameras, another shows off a gun, and Max watches it all with the enthusiasm of a man whose browser history would require its own investigative task force.

Then there's Lenore (Ruby Duncan), a controversial influencer who has suddenly gone silent following an incident involving a playschool. I get the nod to the poetry of Edgar Allen Poe, obviously, but here Lenore is not a lost love. She's an online persona that may as well be an illusion. Naturally, Max decides to investigate her disappearance for a documentary. Because when you're already spending your life obsessing over strangers you will never meet, the obvious next step is to make their problems your entire personality.

An old friend eventually turns up with some footage, and the investigation begins to unfold. Lenore takes its time getting there, delivering a slow-burning descent into online obsession and madness. It's an interesting enough premise, particularly in an age when people confuse watching someone's livestream with actually knowing them. Unfortunately, the film's pacing feels like it's buffering on the same dodgy connection as Max's grasp on reality.

There's also the technical side of things. Max's audiovisual setup looks impressive enough for the one-room production, but some of the equipment responsible for certain activities seems more decorative than functional. I'm no expert in Max's particular brand of weirdness, but I found myself questioning whether his collection of gadgets could actually accomplish, well, anything. Perhaps the budget went toward props rather than a consultation with someone who knows how the equipment works.

The acting is serviceable, although the police performances and reactions are unconvincing. It's difficult to take an investigation seriously when the investigators seem as though they've wandered in from a different movie. Still, the production is reasonably well put together for a low-budget effort, and there's a worthwhile idea lurking beneath the questionable execution.

Writer-director David Ward has something to say about parasocial relationships, digital obsession, and the disturbing intimacy people develop with strangers through screens. Unfortunately, the big revelation arrived much earlier for me than I suspect he intended. When your twist announces itself before the movie does, suspense becomes more of a formality.

Lenore is a dark, modern descent into madness that taps into your obsession with people you'll never actually meet. It's a different kind of horror, and the concept deserves credit. The execution, however, left me thinking this might have worked better as a competent student film than a full length feature. It might make you glance nervously at your phone, right before throwing it at the wall.

Lenore (2026)

https://jackmeat.com/lenore-2026/

Last Chance Motel (2026) | Danielle Harris, Scout Taylor-Compton, and Heather Langenkamp walk into a motel. Sounds like the start of a joke, ends in a bloodbath. #jackmeatsflix

My quick rating - 5.2/10. You know a horror movie has your attention when the opening scene involves a guy stumbling out of a motel room looking like he lost a fight with a wood chipper, carrying what may be his bride. He jumps into his car, tries to make a desperate getaway, and promptly loses his head. Wink wink. Welcome to Last Chance Motel, where the honeymoon package apparently includes complimentary dismemberment.

Starring Danielle Harris and Scout Taylor-Compton, this bloody little number immediately caught my attention. Modern horror royalty, two familiar faces from Rob Zombie’s Halloween flicks, and now a wedding destination that makes a roadside rest stop look like the Four Seasons. I can only assume these two became friends on those Halloween movies and eventually decided to get together for a little recreational slaughter (yeah, their podcast clued me in). Because nothing says friendship quite like sharing screen time with people who enjoy removing other people's body parts.

Our unfortunate newlyweds, Casey (Harris) and Andi (Taylor-Compton), have chosen a secluded motel in the Nevada desert for their dream wedding. And when the wedding party finally arrives at the Last Chance Motel, the place looks less like a romantic getaway and more like a car wreckage yard where abandoned vehicles go to die. The entrance practically screams, “Turn around and go home!” Naturally, everyone ignores it. At this point, horror movie characters could find a handwritten note saying "Everyone Will Die" and still ask whether breakfast is included.

Once inside, things get even more familiar. Behind the front desk is Bobbi Love, played by Heather Langenkamp, forever associated with A Nightmare on Elm Street. And truthfully, she steals the show. There's something wonderfully entertaining about watching another horror icon welcome unsuspecting guests to what amounts to a murder-themed bed-and-breakfast.

The movie delivers plenty of blood, mean-spirited violence, cannibalism, torture, and dismemberment. You know, all the amenities you'd expect from a family-run establishment with questionable hospitality standards. It follows the crazed-family slasher formula pretty closely, with a twist or two along the way. The overall vibe owes plenty to The Texas Chain Saw Massacre franchise and House of 1,000 Corpses. Speaking of the latter, Robert Allen Mukes turns up playing essentially the same Monster character he played in House of 1,000 Corpses. Apparently, some people find their calling in life, and his involves terrifying guests without changing the job description.

There's a sense that Harris and Taylor-Compton probably had a blast putting this together, as if they sat down over drinks and brainstormed increasingly horrible ways to ruin someone's wedding. Unfortunately, that enthusiasm doesn't quite translate into anything particularly fresh. Strip away the horror royalty and familiar faces, and you're left with a fairly average slasher that doesn't bring much new to the table. (I hope the rift between the two of them is just Internet bullshit.)

Last Chance Motel (2026)

Still, Last Chance Motel knows what it is. It's bloody, nasty, occasionally entertaining, and never pretends to be high art. For a single #Shocktober viewing, it's worth checking in. Just don't expect a refund on the honeymoon suite.

https://jackmeat.com/last-chance-motel-2026/

Bampire (2025) | It's not your grandmother's Bambi. Unless your grandmother enjoys B-budget monsters, cartoon attacks, and deer that would make Dracula nervous. #jackmeatsflix

My quick rating - 5.1/10. If seeing Lloyd Kaufman in the cast doesn’t immediately tell you what kind of movie you’re getting into, the opening narration should clear things up. This isn’t your grandmother’s Bambi, and it isn’t a Bambi story at all. No, this is a story about a Bampire. And apparently, those suck. Literally.

We kick things off with two women trespassing through the woods in the pouring rain. Naturally, they have a perfectly reasonable explanation. They want to take their pants off and borrow somebody’s hot tub. Romance is in the air until something rushes them, and we’re treated to an animated attack before the practical gore takes over. It’s an unusual combination, but Bampire wastes little time letting us know what is on the menu.

From there, we jump back 25 years to meet our cast of characters, including Kaufman lending his voice to a strip-club announcement. Because of course he is. The first act is appropriately named Bambi, and Dark-haired Nonda (Melody Parra) has a stoner boyfriend named Branson (Malakhai Schnell), while Amy, played by Katie Gibbons, is hitchhiking her way into the story. Made me wonder if it was 1998 or 1968. Amy ended up being one of the more memorable characters of the bunch, which is saying something when the movie features bloodthirsty deer-vampire business.

Eventually, five community college students and their professor head into the foothills of the Cascades to document evidence of the supposedly rare musk deer. This collection of young people's intelligence leaves the Bampire at a distinct advantage. Joining the expedition is the seven-year-old version of our narrator, who also happens to be the teacher’s son. Naturally, things get complicated. The teacher falls into a hole, and the family connections start making a little more sense. You know, standard academic field-trip stuff.

The real charm of Bampire is its scrappy approach to a creature-feature. The animated sequences add a playful, almost cartoonish quality to the carnage, while occasional stop-motion work gives the production an extra dose of old-school weirdness. Combined with the practical gore, that extra little bit reminded me of the low-budget horror and schlock of the ’80s and ’90s I love to rent on VHS. Back when filmmakers could accomplish a surprising amount with creativity, late-night decisions, and a bucket of fake blood.

Once the backstory wraps up, we return to the present to see what our narrator is up to, along with a little tease that suggests the Bampire business might not be finished.

Is Bampire a polished masterpiece? Not even close. But it has enough goofy humor and DIY horror spirit to make it an entertaining little indie creature feature. Fans of vintage schlock and bargain-bin monster movies should find something to sink their teeth into.

Bampire (2025)

And if you fall in love with these bloodsucking woodland weirdos, you can find their official Linktree. Just remember -> If a deer offers you a hot tub, maybe keep your pants on.

https://jackmeat.com/bampire-2025/

Buzzkill (2026) | Tubi's #Shocktober game might finally be improving! Buzzkill delivers blood, laughs, and a leading lady who can't be trusted near a liquor cabinet. #jackmeatsflix

My quick rating - 5.4/10. Starting with the Tubi logo, Buzzkill immediately presents a question. Are we in for a surprisingly decent horror flick or another cinematic experience best enjoyed with the remote firmly within reach? Thankfully, this slasher comedy lands somewhere on the right side of that equation, even if it occasionally looks like it has been drinking as heavily as its star.

We open at a frat party where some lovesick dude is professing his undying affection for his ex-girlfriend Sarah (Frances Sholto-Douglas). Naturally, the soundtrack is Lita Ford's "Kiss Me Deadly", because subtlety apparently wasn't invited to this party. Meanwhile, Sarah's tipsy sorority sister Nora (Siena Agudong) manages to topple into a bush while her friend gets stabbed. It's quite the evening, and the body count is only getting started.

Five weeks later, Nora is still getting thoroughly acquainted with the bottom of a vodka bottle. However, there's a method to her madness. Her memories of what happened to Sarah only seem to become accessible when she's drunk, making alcohol consumption less of a destructive habit and more of an unconventional investigative technique. Forget forensic science, this girl is running an entire murder investigation on liquid courage. Her plan is to solve the mystery during a sorority party, one drink at a time. Nancy Drew would probably recommend a different approach, but she also doesn't have Nora's particular skill set.

Written by Suzanne Keilly, the mystery angle is a genuinely fun idea, giving the story something more interesting than simply lining up college students for the slaughter. Unfortunately, the slasher side of things is considerably more familiar territory. The killer's intimidation routine is also a little overdone, especially when there's seemingly very little reason for anyone to be quite so terrified. You'll understand what I mean when you watch it.

Fortunately, the comedy is mixed in nicely, the effects are surprisingly good, and there's enough blood and gore to keep horror fans happy. The acting is also considerably better than you might expect from a film whose leading lady appears to be attempting to single-handedly bankrupt the vodka industry. Agudong is easily the standout, making Nora an entertaining mess who somehow remains the smartest person in the room. Realistically, she'd probably need her stomach pumped before solving anything, but common sense isn't exactly the point here.

Director Jem Garrard does a solid job bringing everything together. And honestly, Tubi seems to be stepping up its game, finally. The unnecessary post-credit scene adds absolutely nothing, particularly since the sequel tease has already happened.

Buzzkill isn't reinventing the slasher genre, but its central gimmick works even when it wears thin, the laughs land often enough, and the gore delivers. I couldn't quite tip it to a 6, but it's an entertaining little time-waster. I suppose I'll have to check out those R.L. Stine Pumpkinhead flicks now. That's a sentence I wasn't expecting to write today.

Buzzkill (2026)

https://jackmeat.com/buzzkill-2026/