Primate (2026) | Turns out “family pet chimp” plus “unsupervised teen party” equals total chaos, gore, and way more fun than expected. #jackmeatsflix

My quick rating - 6.3/10. Primate wastes absolutely no time reminding us of one important life lesson. If it has teeth, strength, and the emotional range of a toddler with a chainsaw, maybe don’t treat it like a fuzzy roommate. The film opens with a gruesome scene that basically slaps you and says, “Wild animals are still wild, you absolute morons.” Message received.

We then shift to sunny Hawaii, where Lucy (Johnny Sequoyah) returns home for summer break and reunites with her father, Adam (Troy Kotsur), her sister Erin (Gia Hunter), and their pet chimp Ben, who is introduced as gentle, sweet, and absolutely not going to stay that way for long. Lucy and her friends decide that the best use of an empty luxury house is, of course, a pool party. Because nothing bad ever happens in horror movies when teens throw unsupervised parties. History confirms this. Repeatedly. With blood.

Once Ben gets bitten by a rabid animal, things escalate from “quirky family chimp” to “primal nightmare rage.” About 25 minutes in, the story loops back to the opening brutality, and director Johannes Roberts makes it very clear he did not come here to be polite. He came here to weaponize your childhood zoo memories.

The tension setup works surprisingly well. The pool becomes a barricaded island, phones are out of reach, help isn’t coming, and the group has to outthink an angry, infected chimpanzee who did not skip upper body day. The camera work deserves credit with several shots that make Ben look genuinely creepy, and stalking like a furry slasher villain. The hunting sequences are the clear highlights. Tense, mean-spirited, and just a little bit gloriously over the top.

There are also some classic “don’t do that” horror decisions sprinkled throughout. My favorite being if your girlfriend pukes and passes out, maybe - just maybe - don’t lay her flat on her back like you’re tucking her in for a Victorian ghost portrait. And at one key moment, you’ll absolutely catch yourself yelling, “Why not splash him?” at the screen. Audience participation wass alive and well the other night.

The film smartly introduces additional victims in a way that feels scripted but satisfying. Fresh targets delivered right to the danger zone, like horror-themed food delivery. Practical gore effects are used well, messy and effective, without feeling cartoonish.

Ben himself is oddly impressive. His look shifts from innocent, almost cuddly chimp to nightmare ape depending on the lighting and angle, which makes him even more unsettling. It’s a simple plot executed with sharp teeth and a nasty streak.

I expected something mediocre at best, but ended up quite enjoying Primate. Don’t overthink it. Lock the doors, stay out of arm’s reach, and enjoy the monkeying around.

Primate (2026)

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

Haunters of the Silence (2025) | A grief-soaked experimental nightmare that’s visually creative and sincere, but sometimes wanders so far it forgets why it left. #jackmeatsflix

My quick rating - 5.3/10. I recently received an email invitation to check out Haunters of the Silence, which is one of those films that doesn’t just invite you into its story. It quietly locks the door behind you, turns off the lights, and whispers, “Good luck figuring this out.” That score comes with both respect and a slightly confused head tilt.

This is a deeply experimental, grief-soaked, dream-logic experience about a man mourning his wife and slipping into a cycle of nightmares he can’t wake from. If you’ve ever had one of those dreams where you keep “waking up” only to discover you’re still dreaming, yeah, that’s the neighborhood this movie lives in. Property values are low, reality is negotiable, and the HOA is run by existential dread.

The soundtrack does a lot of the heavy lifting here, setting the mood and signaling when something important is happening, or at least when something would like you to think it’s important. It’s like an emotional GPS recalculating every five minutes. The film mixes styles freely. Live action, abstract imagery, animated comic-strip panels, and even some stop motion touches. I genuinely liked the comic-strip inserts. They help frame the narrative and give your brain a small handle to grab onto before the movie gently pries your fingers loose again.

Performance-wise, Tatu Heikkinen (as K) is restrained yet effective, which works well against the surreal presentation. Veleda’s appearances as the wife feel intentionally distant and dreamlike - more passionate echo than physical presence. The repetition of images and sequences mirrors how real nightmares recycle elements, which is thematically strong, though it does test your attention span. I checked the runtime twice, 73 minutes, because it feels longer in that art-installation way where time becomes soup.

The film uses on-screen quotes and title cards drawn from Madison Julius Cawein’s poetry, among other sources, to build atmosphere and thematic structure. Sometimes they help. Sometimes they feel like philosophical pop-up ads interrupting your dread.

Now, I need to address the arthouse elephant in the room. For a few moments, I feared this was heading into Skinamarink territory, which for me is cinematic broccoli without seasoning. Thankfully, Haunters of the Silence actually has intention, structure, and emotional purpose. It’s not just vibes and darkness stretched to feature length. It knows what it wants to say, even if the path there is foggy and occasionally wanders off the trail to look at a symbolic tree.

Knowing this was made for around $2,000 by a married couple who co-wrote and co-directed it, with Tatu handling cinematography and Veleda the editing and sound, makes it feel like a very personal, handmade expression of grief. It plays less like a conventional film and more like stepping into someone else’s processing of loss. Thank you, Tatu Heikkinen and Veleda Thorsson-Heikkinen, for sharing your movie with me.

Not a hand-holding journey. More like a hand-releasing one. Watch it for the experience, not the roadmap. (More streaming options will be added as they become available.)

Haunters of the Silence (2025)

https://jackmeat.com/haunters-of-the-silence-2025/

Redux Redux (2026) | A low-budget multiverse thriller that jumps straight into chaos, keeps things tight, and makes revenge feel dangerously addictive and fun. #jackmeatsflix

My quick rating - 6.6/10. Some movies ease you in with a slow burn. Others kick down the door, set the couch on fire, and yell, “Figure it out later.” I would have to say Redux Redux proudly chooses option two. We open on a woman standing over someone tied to a chair, engulfed in flames - which is certainly one way to warm up the audience (are you counting the heat puns? I regret nothing). The film then smash-cuts to the same woman being choked out by a guy she promptly escapes and shoots, making it very clear that this is not going to be a quiet, tea-and-biscuits multiverse drama.

The story follows Irene Kelly, played with serious conviction by Michaela McManus, a mother who discovers a way to travel across parallel universes to repeatedly hunt down her daughter’s killer. Not just once. Not just twice. But enough times that revenge starts to look less like justice and more like a hobby she should probably discuss with a therapist. The film wastes absolutely no time getting her into the universe-hopping groove, and her jump chamber has a delightfully retro, garage-built sci-fi look that feels nostalgic without screaming “we blew the entire budget on one glowing prop.” Still not sure how it makes its way into vehicles, but ditch that logic thing.

One of Irene’s jumps leads her to Mia, played by Stella Marcus, a kidnapping victim she manages to save from Neville, portrayed by Jeremy Holm. Neville is intentionally underexplained, more force-of-evil than fully fleshed-out villain, which works thematically, even if I wouldn’t have minded a little more meat on those villain bones. Mia becomes a larger focus for a stretch, and while she’s likable overall, her attitude occasionally cranks past “understandably upset” into “okay, dial it back two notches.” Mileage will vary there.

The action and fight scenes are consistently solid and well-choreographed. Nothing too flashy, but always clear and engaging. When the characters go part-hunting for the machine, they encounter Billie, played by Taylor Misiak, who I instantly recognized from my guilty-pleasure sitcom rotation, Going Dutch. Always fun when two totally different genre worlds collide in your brain for a moment.

Redux Redux is low-budget indie sci-fi in a good way. Concept-first, character-driven, and not drowning in CGI soup. Impressively, it avoids getting tangled in the narrative pretzels that usually strangle time-travel and multiverse plots. It actually plays things surprisingly safe with the alternate worlds - most are only slightly different - and while that feels like a missed opportunity to go truly dark and weird, it also keeps the story clean and focused. Credit to directors Kevin McManus and Matthew McManus for resisting the urge to overcomplicate things just because they can.

The takeaway seems to be - if you find a version of reality that works for you, maybe stop poking the cosmic machinery with a wrench. A pleasant surprise that could’ve been great, but still lands comfortably in the quite good multiverse lane, and without melting your brain in the process. Which, these days, is a win.

Redux Redux (2026)

I'll be back with streaming links when they are available. As of now, it hits theaters on Feb. 20th, 20026.

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

Twisted (2026) | Two scammy apartment flippers meet DIY surgery nightmare. Great cast trapped inside a script that clearly skipped its final inspection. #jackmeatsflix

My quick rating - 4.8/10. There are movies about real estate scams, movies about mad doctors, and movies about terrible people making worse decisions. I watched Twisted, which tries to flip all three at once like a dodgy Brooklyn condo listing with “great bones” and a raccoon in the kitchen.

The setup is stable enough. Two millennials run a slick apartment-flipping con in New York, selling properties they don’t actually own to buyers who don’t realize they’re being scammed. It’s a fun, modern premise that feels like it was ripped straight from a late-night true crime binge and a housing crisis support group. Our con artists are played by Lauren LaVera (Paloma) and Mia Healey (Smith), and let’s just say the casting department did not accidentally pick two extremely photogenic scammers. Subtlety was not invited to this open house.

The slow-burn approach might have completely collapsed under its own artsy seriousness if not for Djimon Hounsou as Dr. Kezian. The one target they absolutely should have skipped. He brings instant gravity and menace to the screen, like he wandered in from a much better, more expensive movie and decided to stay. Once he takes center stage, Twisted at least has a pulse, even if the script’s brain activity is questionable.

If you recognize LaVera, it’s probably from the blood-soaked chaos of the Terrifier films, and fans expecting that deep a stab may feel slighted. The dialogue frequently sounds like it was workshopped by aliens who learned human speech from property scam emails. Conversations don’t flow so much as stumble down the stairs.

There’s a brutal assault-and-fight sequence that’s effective, but it exists mostly to steer the characters into Dr. Kezian’s DIY nightmare clinic, where the movie leans hard into bargain-bin medical horror. The procedures are so wildly implausible that they feel less like science and more like someone angrily assembling IKEA surgery. The central experiment, involving his wife (played by Alicia Witt) and her very unclear brain situation, is murky enough that you stop trying to understand and just nod politely.

A big structural problem. Everyone is awful. The scammers are terrible people. The doctor is a terrible person. The police are…present, technically. Their investigation subplot has all the impact of a muted notification and is basically swept under the rug until the end. No brains, no urgency, no payoff.

Twisted (2026)

Director Darren Lynn Bousman has done sharper work. Horror fans of his entries in the Saw II era will spot a very familiar surgical vibe, and even the messy but interesting Abattoir aimed higher. This one isn’t terrible, but it feels like a rough draft that accidentally got listed as a final pitch. Watchable, flawed, occasionally effective - but definitely not luxury horror. More like “as-is, no inspection.”

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

Night Patrol (2026) | Justin Long chews scenery as a shady cop in a brutal, weird genre mashup that almost sticks the landing. Almost. #jackmeatsflix

My quick rating - 4.9/10. If the Shudder logo pops up before a movie, you can usually expect one of two things. A hidden gem or a cinematic science experiment. Night Patrol kinda slides itself into both categories.

The movie opens with a bleeding teenager in an interrogation room, begging for help while a cop basically says, “Sure, but first, paperwork.” There’s something sticking out of the kid’s side, but bureaucracy is the real final boss. It’s a darkly funny, grim little opener that promises payoff later, and yes, the film does eventually loop back around to it.

We then shift into a routine bust of a make-out session with Officers Marcus (CM Punk) and Hayworth (Justin Long), and things escalate from “routine bust” to “that escalated extremely quickly” when an initiation goes very, very wrong. Long plays the role with a smug, controlled edge that makes you instantly suspicious, like a motivational speaker who owns too many knives. Able to escape the scene is Wazi, played by RJ Cyler, who some folks will recognize from The 'Burbs, and you should recognize from the interrogation room. And that gets us to the opening credits.

Chapter 1 is entitled LAPD, and Hayworth introduces himself to school kids by staging what is essentially a live-action trauma drill. Officer Xavier (Jermaine Fowler) submerges himself entirely too much into the role of the stereotypical gunman. Nothing says “don’t steal” like simulated mortal terror before homeroom.

The structure is split into chapters, which gives the film a graphic-novel rhythm. There’s a conspiracy brewing inside a special police task force, a manufactured gang war setup, and a colonial-court battleground sequence with heavy smoke and heavier firepower that genuinely looks great. When the Night Patrol rolls in through the haze and starts wiping people out, it’s stylish and brutally disturbing.

Dermot Mulroney shows up as Sarge, adding some veteran presence, while director Ryan Prows and company put a new-ish twist on vampire lore. Not a better twist, not a worse twist, just one that made me tilt my head like a confused dog.

There’s some legitimately strong stuff here. The early kills are sudden and nasty, the moral lines are clearly drawn, and the setup is loaded with potential. There’s even a goofy planning scene with a puff-puff-pass strategy session that almost tricks you into thinking the third act will hold together.

Unfortunately, once the story hits its mystical-power phase - complete with an energy effect that looks suspiciously like it borrowed a prop from Green Lantern - the movie drives straight off the beaten track. What starts tense and entertaining turns chaotic and quite stupid.

Night Patrol (2026)

It’s frustrating, because most of Night Patrol works…right up until it really, really doesn’t. Still worth a watch for the concept, the gore, and Long having a blast, but this patrol needed one more rewrite before clocking in. And don't expect another Sinners.

https://jackmeat.com/night-patrol-2026/

OBEX (2026) | A glitchy, retro-style side-quest reminding you that too much screen time might cost real life, told by one determined dog owner. #jackmeatsflix

My quick rating - 5.4/10. Some flicks feel like they were made in a studio. Others feel like they were made in a garage with a haunted typewriter and a stack of obsolete computer manuals. OBEX proudly belongs to the second category, and I mean that as a compliment.

This is the kind of movie I lined up specifically because it looks weird, and thankfully, it does not betray that promise. The story follows Conor Marsh, played by Albert Birney, a reclusive, agoraphobic VHS-hoarding introvert whose home décor style can best be described as “Blockbuster exploded.” His main real-world interaction is with grocery delivery driver Mary (Callie Hernandez), his dog Sandy, and approximately seventeen thousand hours of analog media. When he starts playing a mysterious new computer game, and Sandy goes missing, he dives into the game world to get her back. In movies, that’s always step one and never a terrible idea.

Shot in black and white and set in 1987, the film leans hard into a retro computing atmosphere. You get dot matrix printer music, old-school UI charm, chunky hardware, and enough ambient tech noise to trigger flashbacks in anyone who’s ever heard a modem scream. I loved the old-school video game sounds during the credits. That alone nearly earned a nostalgia bonus point. There’s also a glorious stack of televisions and enough VHS tapes to survive several media apocalypses. I refuse to judge Conor for this because I do not live in a glass house. Mine has been made of all sorts, from VHS through Bluray.

The vibe is lo-fi analog nightmare with a surrealist streak. The game world characters are creative, awkward, and delightfully strange. There’s a moment with a guy who has a giant monitor for a head (Frank Mosley) getting into a car, and the camera very conveniently cuts away because there is absolutely no universe where that man folded into a sedan like origami. Respect to the edit.

That said, the nostalgia sometimes feels more “researched aesthetic” than lived-in memory. It has a bit of that YouTube-retro-essay energy rather than firsthand tech-era trauma. Also, while I appreciate that they found an old Mac for authenticity, it was very clearly just there for emotional support.

The themes land better than the suspense. The movie explores digital escapism and how screen obsession can quietly replace real connection, especially the simple, important kind (like, say, noticing your dog exists). The emotional core works. The game-world action is fun but very limited and never especially intense. Budget is clearly the final boss here.

I’d love to say the ending surprised me, but my brain called it early and made popcorn. Still, points for commitment. OBEX is intentionally small-scale, creative, and amusingly surreal. Not thrilling, but unique and memorable. Like finding a cursed floppy disk and still putting it in your computer anyway. You know you would.

OBEX (2026)

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

Grizzly Night (2026) | Not a crazy killer-bear splatterfest, more a realistic survival drama where the wilderness wins and common sense shows up late. #jackmeatsflix

My quick rating - 4.7/10. Grizzly Night is the rare “based on a true story” survival thriller that doesn’t try to turn nature into a CGI supervillain, and for that alone, it earns a respectful nod from me. Preferably from a safe distance, inside a locked vehicle, with the windows up. Directed by Burke Doeren, the film recounts the real events of August 12, 1967, when two fatal grizzly bear attacks occurred nine miles apart in Montana’s Glacier National Park. Same night, same park, very bad luck, zero common sense.

Right from the opening scene, the movie signals what kind of ride you’re in for. Realistic, tense, and not interested in turning the bears into horror movie slashers with fur. This isn’t Cocaine Bear or Grizzly Rage 9: Campground Carnage. It plays more like a dramatic procedural survival thriller, focused on human decisions, and the horrifying realization that nature does not care about your camping itinerary.

The structure is effective. A little preview to get us started up front, and we come back around about half an hour later with the context, the dread, and the growing realization that a few of these individuals here shouldn't be permitted anywhere near the wildlife without a release form and a chaperone. The way it handles the unpreparedness of the park for dealing with the multiple animal assaults is quite good.

Visually, this is where the film really shines. The cinematography by Brian Mitchell and Ian Start captures Glacier National Park as both breathtaking and deeply intimidating. The wide framing constantly reminds you how small and snack-sized humans are out there. The scale works in the movie’s favor. Every tree line feels like a possible jump-scare waiting room. The mix of practical effects and what appears to be real bear footage adds a gritty authenticity. The post-attack effects are especially well done. Brutal without feeling cartoonish. I’ll admit I wanted a bit more on-screen attack action, but what we do get is convincing and handled with restraint.

Lauren Call (Joan) - thrust into reluctant-hero territory - delivers a strong performance, selling the fear and responsibility arc nicely. And yes, it was fun seeing Brec Bassinger (Stargirl) show up as Julie, one of the campers whose decision-making skills strongly suggest she would also try to pet a chainsaw. She does well, though. Believable, earnest, and exactly the kind of character who makes you yell at the screen.

The darkest, most fascinating part is the historical mindset. Many people at the time genuinely underestimated grizzly danger. Modern viewers will spend half the movie thinking, “Congratulations, you have invented the Bad Idea Olympics.” But Grizzly Night backs this up with contextual detail, so the questionable choices feel historically accurate rather than lazily written.

Grizzly Night (2026)

No over-the-top monster mayhem here. Just a sober, well-shot reminder that apex predators don’t need a musical score to be terrifying. Recommended for fans of killer animal flicks, survival dramas, or movies that will make you think twice about having a picnic, ever again. Definitely a 0/10 for vacation inspiration.

https://jackmeat.com/grizzly-night-2026/