Sunset Strip Killers (2026) | Sunset Strip Killers proves one thing - love makes people do crazy things, like willingly joining a murder spree. #jackmeatsflix

My quick rating - 3.9/10. Sunset Strip Killers doesn't waste any time. It opens with a woman sprinting for her life before some blond bloke casually shoots her full of holes. Well...that's one way to kick things off. One body down before the opening credits. Efficient.

Then we're dumped into a dodgy little country bar where everyone looks like they've had a rough decade. It's New Year's Eve, 1980, Carol gets herself thrown out, bumps into Doug, and if you were paying attention, you'll recognise him from that little murder we just watched. Carol really does have an Olympic-level talent for picking absolute winners.

Doug takes her to a party where they somehow end up meeting John Holmes during a movie shoot, which honestly wasn't on my bingo card. Somewhere around here, I realised I'd completely confused this with another trailer I'd seen. That explained why the movie wasn't going where I thought it would.

Unfortunately, it doesn't really go anywhere particularly interesting.

For a film based on one of LA's most notorious serial killer couples, everything happens way too easily. Doug basically tells Carol he's a murderer, and instead of running for the nearest police station she's practically reaching for the hacksaw. Before long she's happily helping remove heads like she's been waiting her whole life for the opportunity. Maybe the real story unfolded that smoothly, but the movie sure doesn't sell it.

The biggest problem is the acting.

Max E. Williams is at least entertaining enough as Doug, but Susan Priver never quite convinces as Carol. Every beat feels just a little off, which is a shame because with stronger performances, the simple script might've actually worked. Instead, it all feels a bit like a true crime reenactment you'd catch at two in the morning after falling asleep with the TV on.

One thing Chad Ferrin (Scalper, Night Caller) keeps getting right, though, is practical effects. As always, the gore feels like old-school stuff, messy and fun but not drenched in lousy computer graphics. The film is imbued with that cheap straight-to-video feel of something you’d watch from a dusty videotape at the local video store back in 1991. Probably its greatest strength.

The film also keeps the real-life necrophilia angle mostly off-screen. It's mentioned, but never shown, so don't go expecting the movie to wander into that level of uncomfortable.

By the end I wasn't bored, but I also wasn't particularly invested. The practical effects deserve a nod, the true story is fascinating, but the performances never let Sunset Strip Killers escape its B-grade roots.

It's worth a look if you're into low-budget serial killer flicks or true crime adaptations. Just don't expect anything that'll stick with you much longer than it takes Carol to decide murder sounds like a fun new hobby.

Sunset Strip Killers (2026)

If you're curious about the actual Doug Clark and Carol Bundy case, it's honestly a far more bizarre and disturbing rabbit hole than the movie manages to capture.

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Backrooms (2026) | Backrooms looks fantastic and creates some genuinely creepy moments, but even a supernatural office maze needs a better business plan. #jackmeatsflix

My quick rating - 6.4/10. Backrooms is another horror movie getting plenty of attention, so naturally I had to see if this internet-born concept could actually work as a feature film. The idea has already become popular through countless YouTube videos, although I personally never made it more than a couple of minutes into them because I always thought they were kind of ridiculous. An endless yellow office space with creepy noises? Congratulations, you invented the world’s worst workplace tour.

We start with some grainy home video footage from around 1990 inside the familiar yellow corridors. If you know the Backrooms, you know exactly what this is. A man is wandering through this strange dimension, trying to broadcast a message to anyone who might hear him. He has seen something. He does not know what it is. And he would really like someone to come find him before this chase is over.

The opening leans heavily into jump scares and creepy imagery, which seems to be the entire point. There are some great visuals as he runs through the endless halls before eventually being cornered. The recording ends, and that is where the actual movie begins.

We are introduced to Clark (Chiwetel Ejiofor), who is talking with therapist Mary (Renate Reinsve). Clark is clearly unhappy with his life, especially his job as a furniture salesman. His embarrassing commercial we see him filming might be the most terrifying thing in the movie. Nothing says “I have lost control of my life” quite like pretending to be excited about selling couches.

When an electrician discovers a strange breaker at Clark’s store that appears to be connected to nothing, Clark decides the logical thing to do is investigate the creepy basement himself. After being thrown out of his house, he starts staying at the store to figure out what is happening with the strange electrical problems.

Naturally, he ends up messing with the fuse box and walking through a wall into another dimension.

The usual.

One thing I appreciated is that Clark actually makes a smart horror movie decision. Instead of just telling everyone about this impossible discovery and hoping they believe him, he brings his employees along and uses a camera to document the place. Finally, someone in a horror movie remembers that evidence is useful.

The Backrooms themselves are easily the highlight. The cinematography is excellent. The visual effects are solid. The movie does a great job of creating a feeling of isolation. Nice trifecta. There is something quite unsettling about being trapped in a place that seems endless and completely disconnected from reality.

Unfortunately, the story never reaches the same level as the atmosphere. I was interested in the idea that the Backrooms represented loneliness, depression, and feeling trapped in a life you don't want. There was something interesting there. Then the movie shifts direction, and the ending weakens a lot of what had been built throughout the runtime.

Since I have been binging the original The Twilight Zone recently, I also have to mention the episode “Little Girl Lost.” I watched it only a couple of weeks ago, and the similarities immediately stood out. A person disappearing into another dimension through an impossible opening in reality? My Twilight Zone alarm went off pretty quickly. Maybe Kane Parsons has talked about that influence before, but it was impossible for me not to notice.

Overall, Backrooms is a good horror movie that could have been great. The visuals, atmosphere, and concept are all there, but the story and ending hold it back. It is a fascinating idea that needed a stronger payoff.

Backrooms (2026)

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

Pitfall (2025) | Somewhere, my old Atari is smiling because Pitfall proves falling into spike pits is bad for your camping trip. #jackmeatsflix

My quick rating - 5.2/10. Pitfall wastes absolutely no time throwing people into holes. We kick things off with a woman and her daughter sprinting down a lonely forest road while an old pickup truck gives chase. The opening credits are still rolling when I spot Randy Couture in the cast, so naturally I'm expecting somebody to tap out.

Mom and daughter duck into the woods, think they've finally escaped, and then a deer demonstrates why you should never trust random patches of forest floor. Straight into a spike pit it goes. If you suddenly had flashbacks to the old Pitfall! video game, you're not alone.

Of course, the truck never actually left. Mom's exit from the movie is delivered with satisfying practical effects, and the daughter ends up trapped in the pit herself.

Then we jump to daylight, where a completely different family is cruising along in an SUV, playing Never Have I Ever. You know you're watching a horror movie because they're smiling and having a good time. That's basically signing your own death warrant. Those same inconsiderate deer interrupt the road trip, and we meet Scott (Marshall Williams), who wakes from a nightmare revealing he was part of that opening family. He's now travelling with his sister Ashley (Alexandra Essoe) and their own families.

Translation: the body count bus has officially arrived.

From there, Pitfall settles comfortably into an old-school slasher groove. The killer isn't interested in sprinting after victims. They stalk slowly, methodically, and possess that familiar "you can knock me down but you certainly can't keep me there" durability that us horror fans know all too well.

The effects are mostly a decent mix of practical gore with CGI blood. For the majority of the runtime, the digital enhancements don't really stand out in a bad way. Unfortunately, once the rain arrives, so does some CGI blood that looks like it snuck in from a much cheaper movie. It doesn't completely ruin the scene, but it definitely caught my attention.

There is one extended dramatic sequence that had me scratching my head. Without spoiling anything, characters suddenly know a truck is coming and rush to get out of its way...despite having absolutely no logical reason to know it was approaching. Maybe someone unlocked horror movie clairvoyance for thirty seconds. It felt like the script needed the moment more than the story did.

There is a little sting at the end of Pitfall that can either serve as a last scare or as a hint for making a sequel out of it, whatever director James Kondelik decides to do.

Pitfall (2025)

At the end of the day, Pitfall isn't reinventing the slasher genre, but that doesn't mean it is a bad flick. It delivers traps, spikes, a persistent killer, ample gore for us horror fans, and just enough goofy moments. It's the kind of movie where you stop questioning why people keep wandering into obvious danger and instead follow right behind.

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

Blowie (2025) | The body count takes forever to start, but the tallywhacker count wastes absolutely no time. #jackmeatsflix

My quick rating - 1.7/10. Sometimes I think I'm about to watch some obscure little slasher. This time I accidentally watched guy-on-guy porn with a horror movie tacked on the end. Blowie follows a group of adult content creators who rent a mansion in the middle of nowhere to film content. After a tragic (and pretty funny) accident, they're stalked by a doll-faced killer known only as...Blowie.

Yep. That's the premise.

I only pressed play because it sounded gloriously stupid, and at a brisk 75 minutes, I figured, "How much damage can it do?"

The answer? Plenty.

The movie opens with upbeat music and full frontal male nudity. Not in a sexy way—one guy's simply making a dash to the toilet. From there, we're introduced to a house full of adult performers, dildos scattered around for photo shoots, and enough softcore guy-on-guy content to make you wonder if you've clicked the wrong streaming service.

Meanwhile, one bloke is literally being suffocated with lubricant while lying on the floor, and somehow nobody notices. Horror movie logic is alive and well.

Then a new guy joins the house, more fetishes get filmed, and before long someone suggests dumping a body in the nearest pond. Congratulations, we've finally stumbled into a horror setup... except the movie still seems far more interested in filming content than creating suspense.

If you've ever wondered what happens when an OnlyFans shoot collides with a bargain-bin slasher. I'll stop there because, NO, you haven't. But if so, this is it. I've seen horror movies with less nudity. And I've seen porn with a better plot. I lost count of the tallywhackers on screen. Bonus points if you know which classic comedy made "tallywhacker" part of my vocabulary.

The funniest part?

The filmmakers appear to remember they were making a horror movie at almost exactly the one-hour mark. Up until then, it's mostly adult content with occasional reminders that someone brought a killer along.

Once the kills finally arrive, they're practical enough. There's a little splatter, but nothing memorable. The mansion itself is probably the best thing in the movie.

Trying to find positives became a horror movie in itself.

To its credit, Blowie does attempt to make a point about the financial insecurity of digital sex workers and payment platforms freezing creators' income. It's a message that's understandable, but it's delivered with all the subtlety of a brick through a window. It never connected with me because I didn't give a crap about any of the characters.

In the end, Blowie somehow fails as both horror and comedy. The scares arrive far too late, the kills aren't worth the wait, and if you came looking for a slasher, you'll spend most of the runtime wondering when it plans to start.

If, however, your idea of a good time is watching a group of untalented performers make adult content before a killer briefly crashes the party...

Well, congratulations. You've finally found your movie.

Blowie (2025)

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

The Boogeyman (2023) | Every grieving family in horror should seriously consider moving into a brightly lit apartment instead of creepy old houses. #jackmeatsflix

My quick rating - 6.1/10. The Boogeyman had me thinking one thing as soon as the credits rolled. This is a really well-made horror movie...that I doubt I'll remember in six months. Everything works, but almost nothing struck me as "fresh".

The story involves the two sisters named Sadie (Sophie Thatcher) and Sawyer (Vivien Lyra Blair), mourning the loss of their mom, while their dad (Chris Messina) tries his best to keep them all together. What else could possibly go wrong? How about an evil entity deciding that their home was just the right place to settle in?

One thing The Boogeyman absolutely nails is the mood. Stephen King has always been a master of that, and this short story is no exception. Rob Savage is adept at creating suspense, and the filming makes good use of darkness without making it impossible to see anything. Imagine that. We are able to see what's trying to kill everyone. This film keeps you constantly scanning the background for movement, and it will keep you looking over your shoulder.

Thatcher easily stands out as the anchor of the film. She sells the grief, frustration, and fear in a way that feels genuine without becoming that annoying drama. The rest of the cast does a solid job as well, even if the script doesn't always give them a lot to work with.

Of course, as soon as the fear wears off, The Boogeyman begins to tick off clichés in its own little box, one by one. Those of you who have seen plenty of supernatural horror movies will definitely recognize everything that is going to happen well in advance of the characters in the movie. The Boogeyman itself is pretty scary, although it does not really have much more than just being some shadowy beast hanging around in dark corners. But then again, who expects a resumé from the Boogeyman? It's basically every parent's emergency bedtime threat finally getting its own movie, again.

I wish the film had focused a bit more on the psychological side of grief. It flirts with some interesting ideas about trauma feeding the monster. Unfortunately, it cannot help itself and just flips back to the tried-and-true jump scares.

Despite its flaws, The Boogeyman is quite entertaining. Once again, Rob Savage has shown that he knows how to make good use of his talent and create a scary movie with good visuals and atmosphere. Though it might not be groundbreaking and memorable enough, for those who look for a well-made supernatural horror movie that has some decent scare factors, there is enough in The Boogeyman to switch the lights off. At least until bedtime.

The Boogeyman (2023)

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Scared to Death (2026) | Horror movies really need to stop proving that séances are the worst group activity ever invented. Maybe just play Uno instead. #jackmeatsflix

My quick rating - 4.5/10. Two years it took Scared to Death before it showed up in front of us. Is it worth the wait? Sure, sorta. But don’t expect something revolutionary to come out of this haunted house flick.

Jasper (Olivier Paris) is a struggling young filmmaker trying to break into the directing world and finds himself at the right place after finding an abandoned children’s home that has been abandoned for 70 years. Then caretaker Felix (Bill Moseley) suggests they hold a séance while they're there. Because nothing says "this'll be fine" quite like willingly inviting ghosts to the party.

The movie begins with an old newspaper clipping about five orphaned children who were terrified, with the headline Scared to Death. It is an easy way to start a story, and after the séance begins, this little historical item becomes relevant again.

Then there's Lin Shaye as director Max. She reminds Jasper he isn't the producer. He's the PA. And she doesn't exactly sugarcoat it. Seriously, I could watch Shaye insult people for 90 minutes and still have a good time. Even when she's being an absolute bitch, she's brilliant.

One of the funniest moments comes early when Felix jokes with Jasper about someone called The Grog (Kurt Deimer) being horror royalty. Hearing Bill Moseley say that had me laughing. Mate...YOU'RE the horror royalty. Between The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 and The Devil's Rejects, you've earned the plate. To lick. Click to understand my joke.

The rest of the crew is introduced, including Lena (Victoria Konefal), who has "final girl" written all over her from the second she appears. She's even playing the final girl in the movie they're filming, Dead House. Subtle? Not even close, bud. Man, I am full of movie quotes tonight,

As the séance begins, Felix produces the same newspaper clipping about the orphaned children being found dead in the attic. Champ (Jade Chynoweth) suddenly decides that "stoners and spooks don't mix" and heads for the exit. Fair enough. I'd probably make the same decision...although we soon find out she isn't being entirely honest.

Can we all agree that creepy kids are basically horror's cheat code? Give them weird facial expressions, have them stand silently in a hallway, and job done. Instant nightmare fuel. The film gets plenty of mileage out of that, and Shaye absolutely sells the fear. The makeup effects on her are pretty solid, too.

I also liked that they threw in a bit of comedy between the scares. It gives the whole thing an old-school ghost story vibe instead of relying on jump scares every five minutes.

Then we get to the ending.

For one glorious moment, I honestly thought, "No way...they're actually going there." I was ready to applaud the filmmakers for having some serious balls. Then...they bottled it. No spoilers, but you'll probably know the exact moment if you check it out. It was such a disappointing cop-out because I thought for sure they were about to do something memorable.

Scared to Death (2026)

Bill Moseley and Lin Shaye carry this movie harder than the ghosts do. Without those two, my score would be quite a bit lower. As it stands, Scared to Death is a fun enough haunted house flick with some laughs, creepy kids doing creepy kid things, and a finale that needed to grow a backbone.

https://jackmeat.com/scared-to-death-2026/

Man of War (2026) | If you've been missing those old-school rescue mission action movies, Man of War scratches that itch without reinventing the genre. #jackmeatsflix

My quick rating - 5.2/10. There are bad days, and then there are "your aid worker friend calls to tell you Russia has invaded Ukraine before immediately getting kidnapped" bad days. Man of War doesn't waste any time getting to the action.

It opens with radio chatter announcing the invasion of Ukraine before giving us a sweeping aerial shot of Barcelona on February 24, 2022. Down below is Connor (LaMonica Garrett), doing his best impression of someone who's holding the last bottle of booze on Earth. Sure enough, his phone rings. Riley (Rosmary Yaneva) calls to say the Russians have crossed the border, and moments later she's dragged away by armed militants.

Helpful bunch too. One of the kidnappers even grabs the phone long enough for Connor to get a good look at him. That's either incredibly arrogant or surprisingly accommodating. Either way, if you've ever watched an action movie, you already know the next step.

Connor calls his old CIA contact Charlie (Jason Patric), demands a flight into a freshly invaded war zone, and before long they're on their way to Kyiv. Once there, he's teamed up with local guide Dany (Andrew Howard), who quickly learns Connor isn't the type to stop and negotiate. The local mafia certainly finds that out the hard way.

Filmed in Bulgaria, Man of War actually does a respectable job selling the illusion of a devastated Ukraine. The production design carries more weight than you'd expect, helped by the involvement of Ukrainian refugee actors whose real-life experiences inspired many of the small background details throughout the film. Those touches give the setting an authenticity that stands out more than the fairly standard rescue mission at its core.

Connor eventually joins forces with a hardened team of private contractors led by Bunny (Linds Edwards) as they push deeper into occupied territory. Their target is Koniev (Daniel Bernhardt), the mercenary commander responsible for Riley's capture. What follows is exactly what the trailer promises. Artillery barrages, drone strikes, collapsing buildings, and enough bullets fired to make you wonder where they are carrying all these magazines.

Garrett makes for a likeable lead, similar to his take on Lioness. Bernhardt is always welcome, especially when he turns up as the villain. Director William Kaufman keeps the action moving at a brisk pace, even if the story rarely surprises. Every beat feels familiar, from assembling the team to the inevitable final assault on the enemy stronghold.

I honestly kept expecting Michael Jai White to stroll in because this has that exact STS action feel of many of his recent films. That's not necessarily a bad thing if that's what you're after. Man of War delivers plenty of shootouts, explosions, and tough-guy one-liners without pretending to be anything more.

Man of War (2026)

It's my definition of an average action flick. Nothing terrible, nothing particularly memorable either. If you're looking to switch your brain off for 110 minutes and watch heavily armed people solve every problem with more gunfire, it'll do the job just fine.

https://jackmeat.com/man-of-war-2026/