God of This Age (2026) | God of This Age is Black Mirror, written by a youth pastor who thinks phones are tools of Satan. Minus ANYTHING entertaining. #jackmeatsflix

My quick rating - 2.7/10. God of This Age starts with some dude named Jason (Cory Burdette) driving down the road when a girl suddenly runs in front of his car. He slams on the brakes and avoids hitting her, which is probably the most competent decision anyone makes in this movie. There is also an absolutely ridiculous amount of smoke or fog everywhere, because apparently this particular stretch of road is located inside a haunted vape shop.

Jason follows the girl, who promptly disappears while pointing toward an RV. Then Jason gets bashed over the head and dragged inside.

Title screen. Then drone footage. And because this is a low-budget movie with absolutely no shame, the drone itself is visible while filming the drone footage. Nothing says "cinematic masterpiece" quite like watching the cameraman's camera.

Friday rolls around, and it's game night. Michelle (Katie Sengupta) has invited a bunch of friends over to play a mysterious new game called God of This Age. There's just one tiny problem. She hasn't actually played it!

Who does this? "Hey guys, come over tonight! I've got this weird game nobody knows anything about. I haven't opened it, I don't know what it does, and I have no idea where it came from. Drinks are in the fridge!" For all she knows, it's a single-player text adventure.

Michelle is easily the dumbest person in the room, and that's saying something because the movie has assembled a cast of people who apparently abandoned common sense years ago.

The game is "creepy." Everything is "creepy." Michelle says creepy so often that you could turn this movie into a drinking game. Unfortunately, that would probably make the movie considerably more enjoyable.

And then...not much happens.

Michelle just kind of paces around her house, being scared for most of the time, having the same look on her face as someone who's seen Smile too many times and thought to themselves, "Hey, I can do that." Oddly enough, her friends seem to be afraid of her as well, when all she does is walk around looking constipated and confused.

The acting is dreadful. The characters are annoying. And the horror is practically nonexistent. If you're looking for fun low-budget horror, keep looking. This isn't scary. It's a youth group sermon with a runtime.

Eventually, the message becomes painfully obvious - technology is watching you, your phones are evil, Big Tech is coming for you, and apparently the answer is God. George Orwell was warning us about this shit decades ago, but apparently God of This Age needed 75 minutes to explain it while making absolutely nothing happen.

The whole movie feels like what happens when a youth pastor discovers smartphones and decides to write Black Mirror after watching three episodes of Supernatural. Special effects by Instagram. Suspense by PowerPoint. Acting by people who appear to have been promised pizza afterward.

There are no thrills, barely any horror, no satisfying payoff, and naturally, a sequel tease at the end. Because apparently one God of This Age wasn't enough. Stupid. Don't waste your time.

God of This Age (2026)

https://jackmeat.com/god-of-this-age-2026/

Parasomnia (2025) | The Shudder logo appeared, and I thought, “Could go either way.” Turns out Parasomnia went halfway, then stopped for exposition. #jackmeatsflix

My quick rating -  4.4/10. The Shudder logo appears. You know what that means. Me either. Could go either way. Parasomnia follows Riley (Jasmine Mathews), a young woman plagued by horrific night terrors and the sort of unresolved trauma that horror movies apparently require you to carry around like a second suitcase. After her best friend goes missing, Riley begins to suspect that the demonic figure haunting her dreams has figured out how to cross over into the real world.

The movie opens at the Amherst Sanctuary Foster Home in 2014, where we first meet David (Stephen Barrington). Since the movie flashes the names on screen, I assume that's how we're supposed to meet everybody. David goes to check on Riley, who appears to be completely dead to the world, and then we get a creepy-ass vision, or whatever the hell that practical bloodbath was. It's actually pretty damn cool before the movie jumps ahead to 2024.

Then we get the exposition. And more exposition.

Oh geez, they talk about falling asleep in five seconds. They're referring to fainting yourself, which is something I really hope they're deliberately explaining incorrectly because that shit is dangerous. We used to do it all the time when I learned how to do it about 35 years ago, and I'm honestly surprised we're all still here to talk about it.

Riley's dreams are spooky, but unfortunately they seem to have been designed primarily around one simple filmmaking principle: JUMP SCARE!

After that excellent opening sequence, Parasomnia slows down to approximately the speed of continental drift. We get a little bit of action, followed by a whole bunch of exposition. Then a tiny bite of action, followed by another truckload of exposition. Rinse and repeat until you start wondering if the demon is actually haunting you or if you're just being punished for watching the movie.

There are some genuinely interesting ideas here. The demon gets an unusual bug-eye perspective that looks pretty damn cool, and the atmosphere occasionally works. There are also a few practical effects that deserve some credit. Eyeball eating, anyone? Yummy.

The problem lies in the fact that the film is way too focused on telling rather than showing. Nothing is explained properly in terms of lore, there is very little action, and just when you are hoping for the plot to shift gears, it becomes obsessed with explaining why this particular exists.

The result is a movie with a decent concept, okay atmosphere, and some memorable imagery that gets buried under an exhausting amount of explanation.

Parasomnia (2025)

And then there's the sequel tease. Because Parasomnia wants another chance to put us to sleep. Not terrible, but definitely not the nightmare I was hoping for.

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

Blood Shine (2025) | A stranded filmmaker gets taken in by a religious nut who wants to turn him into a god. Should go well. #jackmeatsflix

My quick rating - 4.7/10. Blood Shine makes it pretty damn clear something deeply weird is going on. It opens with an interesting sideways shot of a sunset as a woman appears to drag what looks suspiciously like a body bag across the landscape. Because apparently nothing says “welcome to the countryside” quite like questionable luggage. We then cut to an old tube television featuring Larry Fessenden, the blessed spectre of indie horror, preaching about the “new flesh.” If Fessenden is showing up on a crusty TV to tell you about the latest religious fad, perhaps don't stick around to find out what it is.

Keith (Brendan Sexton III) soon discovers that his day isn't improving. He reluctantly gets up for work at a cattle farm, only to learn that dying cows have put an end to that career. Then his tire blows out. Fortunately, Clara (Emily Bennett) happens to live within walking distance. She generously offers him shelter, claims to call a tow truck, and invites him inside to warm up.

Obviously, this goes perfectly normally. It does not. Surprise LOL.

The story eventually shifts to filmmaker Brighton (David Call), who is auditioning a potential final girl for his movie Craven 4, before the various pieces of this bizarre little puzzle begin coming together. Clara is one seriously creepy chick, and the whole thing develops a strange cult-meets-Misery vibe, except your helpful roadside stranger is considerably less interested in reading your next book.

There is plenty to appreciate here. The practical effects deliver some suitably bloody body horror, and the film mixes that with elements of folk horror and religious fanaticism. The production has a grimy, old-school indie-horror quality that works particularly well when things get messy. And, naturally, seeing Larry Fessenden pop up is always a welcome bonus.

Unfortunately, Blood Shine doesn't quite turn its intriguing setup into something consistently satisfying. There are interesting ideas lurking underneath the blood, religious mania, and general “maybe I shouldn't have gone inside this house” stupidity. The bizarre ending certainly commits to the weirdness, even if it left me wondering whether I'd missed a page of the script.

There are some really bad days, and then there are those bad days when you have a flat tire in the middle of nowhere, accept an invite from a total stranger, and suddenly find yourself being kept hostage by a zealot who thinks that torturous practices will transform you into a god. You definitely should have just called an Uber.

Keith, buddy. The tow truck was never coming.

Blood Shine (2025)

https://jackmeat.com/blood-shine-2025/

Knightfall (2026) | Knightfall is a spy thriller where everyone is very serious, it's almost always dark, and the same song works for every attack. #jackmeatsflix

My quick rating -  4.3/10. Knightfall begins on an unknown island during a classified time, which is a vague way of saying, “You probably aren’t supposed to know where or when this is happening.” The fact that the information has been redacted pretty much tells us everything we need to know. Spies are involved. People are being stealthily murdered. There is secret information. Somewhere, presumably, a manila folder is having the time of its life.

Then we cut to a couple of dudes playing chess, because nothing screams international espionage quite like a board game. Naturally, a familiar face wanders in and proceeds to show them how it's done.

Jeanine Nerissa Sothcott plays Ros Knight, and I recognized her from that so-so horror flick Doctor Plague. Ros is part of an infiltration team tasked with identifying a biohazard, although the boys' club isn't exactly thrilled about having a girlie along for the ride. Apparently, international espionage remains one of the few industries where someone can still look at a highly capable operative and say, “But...a lady?”

The whole thing eventually boils down to infamous former spy catcher Charles Knight (Ian Ogilvy) having to work with his estranged daughter Ros to prevent a homeland security bloodbath while surviving a terrifying home invasion. Great to see Michael Paré pop up as Matthew, even if he doesn't stick around for long. I've been a huge fan since catching Streets of Fire at the drive-in once upon a time, so his appearance was a nice little surprise.

I do have one question, though. Did anyone shoot a scene during the daytime?

Knightfall is dark. Like, “turn the brightness up and immediately question whether your television is broken” dark. The entire home invasion plays out with music looping underneath it, while the bad guys come looking for a USB key containing the super-secret key to get inside the super-secret briefcase. Because apparently the future of homeland security can be defeated by finding the world's most important thumb drive.

The action itself is remarkably matter-of-fact. People get attacked, people get shot, people sneak around, and everyone handles it like they're completing their morning commute. Very suave group, these spies.

That was apparently only the night crew. Eventually, daylight does make an appearance and the day attack group shows up. Unfortunately, the music refuses to acknowledge the passage of time and, naturally, they get the exact same music. It just keeps going until an incredibly abrupt and LOUD ending finally screams, “WE'RE DONE!” Oops.

There are, of course, double crosses. It's a spy thriller, after all. Knightfall is ultimately a pretty pedestrian entry in the genre, with adequate performances, although Sothcott occasionally has to wrestle with some cardboard dialogue.

Knightfall (2025)

Thanks to Rachel Wright for getting this one over to me for an early look. Knightfall hit streamers on September 11, 2026, so if you're a fan of spy thrillers and want to support an indie production, give it a shot. Just maybe bring a flashlight.

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

Slotherhouse (2023) | Is Slotherhouse a good movie? Not really. Did I have fun watching a sloth murder sorority girls? Absolutely! #jackmeatsflix

My quick rating - 5.2/10. I had the trailer for Slotherhouse sitting on my previous website for a while because, well...it looked completely ridiculous. Eventually, I figured it was time to stop teasing myself with the trailer and actually watch the damn thing.

And you know what? I had fun with it.

Was Slotherhouse insanely stupid? Absolutely. Was I questioning some of the decisions being made while watching it? Constantly. Did I care? Not really. Sometimes you just have to embrace the stupid and let a murderous sloth do its thing.

Directed by Matthew Goodhue, Slotherhouse is a horror comedy about Emily Young (Lisa Ambalavanar), a college senior campaigning to become president of her sorority. Naturally, the best way to improve her chances is to adopt an adorable sloth. Because apparently that's how sorority politics works.

Things take a bit of a turn when the cute little bastard starts leaving a trail of dead bodies behind him.

Right from the opening scene, Slotherhouse makes it pretty damn clear what sort of movie we're watching. This isn't a horror movie that wants to scare the shit out of you. It's a silly monster flick that knows its plot is ridiculous but enjoys its own madness.

The star of the show is obviously the sloth. And here's where I have to give the movie some credit. At times, it's a hand puppet.

Yes. I am not joking. A hand puppet.

Instead of throwing some questionable CGI sloth at us, they opted to use a real puppet. IMO, they have done the right thing because the stupid motions just made everything more comical, especially when the cute, little psychopath was busy slaughtering people. There is just something about seeing a sloth in action that makes everything so amusing.

It's campy as hell, but that's also where a lot of the entertainment comes from.

However, it is not always that amusing. There are many jokes and scenes that definitely could have been a lot funnier than they were. Tiff Stevenson, who has had experience in stand-up comedy, is playing the role of the sorority’s den mother, but her character doesn't deliver the laughs I expected.

That's probably the biggest problem with Slotherhouse. The premise is funnier than the actual comedy.

A murderous sloth is a fantastic stupid idea. You can do a lot with that. Unfortunately, the movie doesn't always take advantage of just how ridiculous its own premise is. Still, I can't pretend I didn't enjoy watching it.

The plot is ridiculous. The characters aren't going to be winning any awards. And there are plenty of moments where you simply have to shrug and accept that you're watching a movie about a homicidal sloth running around a sorority house.

But that's also the point.

Slotherhouse is not an attempt to create the next horror movie masterpiece, nor is it likely to end up as one. It's a fun horror film where you have to abandon any expectation of sense whatsoever, and just enjoy the insanity.

Slotherhouse (2023)

I wouldn't exactly call it a good movie. Far from it. But I also wouldn't call the 93 minutes a waste of time. Sometimes you just need a movie where a cute sloth kills people.

https://jackmeat.com/slotherhouse-2023/

The Runner (2026) | The Runner is basically Speed without the bus, Run Lola Run without the excitement, and Gal Gadot in running pants. #jackmeatsflix

My quick rating - 4.4/10. I'll give The Runner credit for letting us know that communication is important. Radio broadcasts, phone calls, messages and various other forms of people talking at each other all fight for attention during the opening minutes, apparently in preparation for the moment when the movie will eventually stop explaining things and just make Gal Gadot run.

And run she does.

After the opening barrage of audio clutter finally settles down, we meet successful London attorney Sarah (Gal Gadot) and her diabetic son Noah (Rory Wilmot) getting ready for the day. Then she gets a call from coworker Ted, and suddenly she's off and running through London to the dulcet sounds of Blondie's Heart of Glass. The title finally appears, presumably because the movie has decided, “Yep, this is the one. We're making Gal Gadot run now.”

Which raises an important question. Was this entire movie just an excuse to put Gal Gadot in skin-tight running pants?

Because if so, mission accomplished. Unfortunately, there's also supposed to be a thriller happening.

Noah is abducted, and a mysterious Caller (Damian Lewis) starts issuing Sarah a series of cryptic commands. She has to race across the city to save her son, navigating secrets, threats and whatever other obstacles the screenplay can throw in her path.

The problem is that I never really understood why she needed to be running everywhere in the first place. The bad guy has a specific objective, and that objective is apparently time-sensitive. So why not simply tell Sarah where she needs to go and let her get there by whatever means necessary? Why is running specifically the solution?

It's not like she's being chased by a bus.

The movie does have some things going for it. There are some genuinely cool shots, the editing has energy, and there are flashy sequences that demonstrate some filmmaking talent from Kevin Macdonald. Unfortunately, all that technical polish is being used to prop up an idea that probably sounded considerably better on paper.

And then there's the ending.

You have to give The Runner a lot of leeway when it comes to plausibility. I can't say I was surprised by where things ended up, because the ending was pretty much exactly what I expected. It isn't necessarily terrible. It just feels like the movie has been sprinting toward a finish line that was never far away.

All I could think about was how great Run Lola Run was. That movie understood how to turn running into an actual cinematic engine. The Runner mostly turns it into cardio.

The Runner (2026)

It's Speed without the bus, without the excitement, and with considerably more Gal Gadot running. At least she looks great doing it.

https://jackmeat.com/the-runner-2026/

Deathwoods (2026) | You know you’re watching a slasher flick when the smartest survival strategy is inviting more people into the woods. #jackmeatsflix

My quick rating - 4.9/10. I spot the Bloody-Disgusting logo. Then comes a drive-in-style commercial for corn dogs, complete with static, popping, and a reminder to turn off your engine. Yep, they’re going for that grindhouse feel. I can respect the commitment. What would a horror movie be without a group of people getting drunk and telling horror stories around a campfire? Throw in a couple of boobs and some practical kills, and congratulations, we’re officially off into the Deathwoods.

Twenty years ago, the Wallace family lived deep in the woods surrounding the small town of Old Hickory, Tennessee. After a terrible murder/suicide destroyed the family, rumors began circulating around town, eventually evolving into ghost stories about a grotesque, mutated kid who supposedly haunts those very woods.

Fast-forward to present day, and Scott’s friends Kyle (Kellan Jackson) and Jessica (MacKenzie Lee) have the brilliant idea of taking him camping for the weekend. Their mission? Get Scott over his post-breakup depression by setting him up with Jessica’s friend Michelle (KateLynn E. Newberry).

Because nothing says “let’s help our emotionally fragile friend” quite like dragging him into the woods where a supposedly murderous mutant ghost child lives.

Naturally, their matchmaking plans quickly turn into a body-counting exercise when the legend decides to make an appearance. And because apparently five potential victims aren’t enough, they conveniently meet up with more friends along the way. Excellent. More people to kill means more practical blood-spewing goodness, and Deathwoods is certainly not shy about letting the red stuff fly.

The final-girl alarm went off fairly early for me. No surprise there. On another note, her time here is brief, but it’s always welcome to see Felissa Rose, who plays Ethel Wallace and ties into the family behind the campfire stories.

Writers Scott Conner and Jake Kopronica give us a pretty formulaic slasher script, but there’s enough entertainment value to keep things moving. As slasher movies love to do, they toss in a little whodunit twist, and once again, my guess was right. At this point, I’m beginning to wonder if I should be credited as a consultant. The formula is just that easy to spot when you’ve watched as many of these as I have.

There’s also a fun little ending that could very easily be interpreted as sequel bait. Because apparently the woods aren’t finished with us yet. Deathwoods is a nice 80s slasher homage, complete with some good, heavy music and plenty of practical effects. It’s not going to become a new horror classic, but if you’re a fan of the slasher subgenre, it’s worth a one-time trip into the woods.

Deathwoods (2026)

And with Halloween: The Game just released September 8, 2026, maybe the slasher genre is starting to heat up again. If so, I suppose we’d better pack the beer, fire up the campfire, and start pretending none of us knows exactly who’s getting killed first.

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

Just Play Dead (2026) | I’m sure Just Play Dead sounded brilliant in the pitch meeting. Then they forgot to make the movie as good as the pitch. #jackmeatsflix

My quick rating - 4.4/10. Just Play Dead opens with some upbeat music sweeping over gorgeous ocean views of Gran Canaria before settling in on Sam “Motherfarking” Jackson having a chat with a mob-type gentleman. We are apparently supposed to believe this is the Caribbean, despite Spain being written all over the place. Including flags and license plates that seem rather committed to ruining the illusion. But hey, maybe the Caribbean has just been outsourcing its police force.

As you might expect from a meeting involving Samuel L. Jackson and a criminal mastermind, things go poorly for one of the participants. Specifically, he discovers that he is allergic to death.

From there, we meet Eva Green’s Nora, who is having a flirtatious conversation with surfer dude Chad (Jason Fernández). Once the various murder-and-insurance-fraud schemes start taking shape, the movie jumps back five weeks to fill in the blanks. This is where we meet Dani (Eoin Macken), one of Nora’s bed partners and a New York cop.

The setup is actually pretty decent. Wealthy criminal Jack Wolfe wants to fake his own death, collect a $30 million insurance payout, and frame Chad for killing him. Nora, meanwhile, is tired of being controlled by Jack and decides she would rather kill him for real, frame Chad, and keep the money herself. Jack, naturally, is already several chessboards ahead.

There’s a genuinely funny montage where both sides explain their respective plans for killing the other lover to the dimwitted Chad, who then physically acts out each scenario. It’s one of those moments where the movie briefly remembers that all this murder plotting is supposed to be fun.

Unfortunately, Just Play Dead spends considerably more time being convoluted than creative. Every twist requires another twist, followed by a double-cross, followed by someone explaining the twist out loud because apparently the audience might have wandered off to make a sandwich. I wouldn't blame you. At one point, you can practically hear the screenplay saying, “OK, everyone caught up? Good, because here’s another thing.”

There are also some distracting editing choices and noticeable sound fluctuations that really shouldn't be happening in a feature film starring the highest-grossing actor of all time. The movie looks and sounds more like it occasionally lost a fight with its own post-production department.

And if you're expecting anything resembling the action-comedy energy of the recent Hitman’s Bodyguard movies, just play dead yourself. There’s an explosive yacht showdown, sure, but this isn't Jackson cutting loose and annihilating people with one-liners and bullets.

I'm sure the script sounded pretty damn good when it was pitched. On screen, however, Just Play Dead is mostly a letdown. Eva Green and Sam Jackson are both capable of much more, but neither can quite rescue this mess. They feel like they're performing the minimum number of required facial expressions to satisfy their contracts.

Remove them from the cast, and this movie would be considerably worse. Which is about the nicest thing I can say about it.

Just Play Dead (2026)

https://jackmeat.com/just-play-dead-2026/

The Last Assassins (2026) | I love a snowy apocalypse, but this spends so much time in the fog I wondered if the budget was hiding in there. #jackmeatsflix

My quick rating - 3.6/10. The Last Assassins jumps right into the exposition, explaining the mysterious event that turned the future into an icy, fog-covered wasteland. Technology once ruled the world, something happened, and now everyone gets to enjoy the apocalypse with the added bonus of never seeing more than 30 feet in front of them. Eventually, we meet a young girl whose father is killed by some mysterious group. Before dying, he tells her to hide, which she does until the people trying to kill him inevitably find him anyway. Fortunately, some dude shows up to rescue her, and off they go.

Nobel (Josh Bainbridge) is tasked with getting the girl to an aunt she has never met. He has sworn to protect what remains of her family, which sounds like a noble mission until you realize this involves dragging a child through a frozen dystopia while everybody else apparently wants them dead.

The world has entered a permanent winter, a deadly fog has swallowed civilization, technology has been wiped out, and apparently the best time to attempt a sword fight is when nobody has bothered to rehearse one.

There are moments where The Last Assassins desperately wants to be an epic science-fiction adventure. The music swells. Characters stare dramatically into the distance. Vast snowy landscapes appear on screen. The camera embraces the fog like it has just discovered a fog machine and been told to get its money's worth.

And I will admit, I am a sucker for snow. So whenever the movie gets out into those outdoor landscapes, there are glimpses of something bigger and more impressive hiding. Unfortunately, the effects frequently remind you that this is not quite Dune. The fog helps obscure some of the rougher work, but eventually even the fog starts feeling like it's working overtime.

Athena E. Park's character didn't help matters. I don't even remember if the girl is ever properly named, but I certainly remember her getting on my nerves. Part of that is the writing, part is the performance, and together they create a character who makes an already awkward journey much harder to enjoy.

Still, calling this a total disaster would be unfair. For a school project, The Last Assassins might actually be pretty damn impressive. For a feature film released into the wild, however, it's simply not ready for Prime time. Director James Anthony Usas has an art department background, and that experience does show. There are genuine visual instincts here, and occasional shots suggest he could have something worthwhile behind the camera with the right material and, presumably, considerably more money.

That's ultimately what makes this such a strange movie. It doesn't always look cheap, but it sure feels cheap. And by the end, I suspect the budget finally decided to stop pretending. The bigger problem is that the journey never really becomes a journey. It's a collection of scenes and events loosely stapled together, with occasional bursts of excitement that are, at best, marginally exciting.

The Last Assassins (2026)

There is potential here. Unfortunately, The Last Assassins feels less like the finished product and more like the promising first draft. Or maybe an AI-created experiment. I'm really not sure.

https://jackmeat.com/the-last-assassins-2026/

Penny Lane Is Dead (2026) | A beach house, some cupcakes, and a pissed-off cousin are all you need for 90 minutes of bloody 80s chaos. #jackmeatsflix

My quick rating - 5.9/10. SHUDDER WARNING: This flick contains a frankly unreasonable (and welcome) amount of blood, bad decisions, and relatives who should not be invited to any friendly functions. I mean, there are get-together celebrations, and then there’s Penny Lane Is Dead where your resentful cousin arrives uninvited, brings drugged cupcakes, and eventually turns your beach holiday into a full-scale hostage situation. So, yeah, maybe stick with Christmas lunch at Grandma’s.

In the hot summer of 1986 in Australia, the film doesn’t take long to make us aware that it’s going to be an extremely terrible holiday. Penny (Bailey Spalding) arrives at a remote beach house with her best friends Toni (Tahlee Fereday) and Amy (Alexandra Jensen) to celebrate getting accepted to university. The sun, the sand, the alcohol, and the friendship. What could go wrong? This is when their cousin Kat, who has enough bitterness to light a whole city, appears along with her cupcakes

Once Kat (Sophia Wright-Mendelsohn) drugs Penny and is forced to leave, you might think the worst is over. Adorable. She returns with her boyfriend Angus and his merry band of psychopaths, and suddenly the beach house has been converted into a violent little kingdom. Toni and Amy are isolated, outnumbered, and left to figure out how to survive while the body count starts behaving like it has somewhere to be.

The biggest selling point is just how committed the movie is to being an 80s horror movie. It feels like one, looks like one, and apparently has no interest whatsoever in being subtle about it. The practical gore is gloriously nasty, the violence is mean-spirited, and the whole thing operates at a pretty satisfying level of “oh, wow, they actually did that.”

It’s also, underneath all the carnage, essentially a very dark love story. That sounds considerably more sophisticated than the movie actually is, but there’s something interesting buried beneath the blood splatter. Relationships, resentment, obsession, and the lengths people will go when affection curdles into something considerably less healthy.

At around 90 minutes, Penny Lane Is Dead understands its assignment. There’s no need to pad this thing out with an hour of characters staring meaningfully into the middle distance before someone gets their head rearranged. It’s shocks, thrills, blood and escalating insanity, delivered with a full-tilt commitment to its own crazy tone.

It isn’t particularly deep, and some of the character decisions and plot mechanics wobble more than they should. But the performances, practical effects, violence and sheer bloody-mindedness make those flaws surprisingly easy to forgive.

Penny Lane Is Dead (2026)

Penny Lane Is Dead isn’t going to change your life. It might, however, make you reconsider accepting cupcakes from your cousins. And what a weird eating ritual they have, LOL.

https://jackmeat.com/penny-lane-is-dead-2026/

Motor City (2026) | Motor City is basically a dialogue-free revenge movie where the music does the talking and Alan Ritchson does the punching. #jackmeatsflix

My quick rating - 6.3/10. We start out jamming to Cat People by David Bowie, and are shown that it is 1977, Detroit, and a bloodied Alan Ritchson tossing a body off a roof onto a speeding car, conveniently interrupting a car chase. And that is just the beginning of Motor City.

We hit the title shortly after a single shotgun blast loaded with an engagement ring. An engagement ring? I have a feeling we're going to be doing some backtracking to figure out exactly how we got here.

Instead of wasting our time with some sappy love story, Motor City gives us a montage of John Miller (Ritchson) and Sophia (Shailene Woodley) meeting, courting, and generally being disgustingly happy together, right up until the police come along and ruin everyone's afternoon. Miller has fallen for a local gangster's girl, which, as you might imagine, is not a relationship the gangster is going to put on the Christmas card.

In retaliation, the gangster frames Miller and sends the innocent man to prison. Life ruined, girl stolen, beard growing, and rage accumulating, Miller eventually plots his revenge against the man who took everything from him. Silently, more on that later.

And this is where Motor City gets...interesting.

They absolutely nail the look and sound of the 1970s. The music, cars, clothing, grimy Detroit atmosphere. Everything looks like it was dragged straight out of the decade and told to stop complaining about the gas prices.

The acting job is also made considerably easier for Ben Foster as Reynolds. Just tell him not to say anything. LOL.

Because that's the gimmick here. Motor City tells its entire story without dialogue. We're treated to music-driven montages of Reynolds and Sophia dancing and enjoying their new life, periodically cutting back to John getting increasingly scraggly in prison and having increasingly violent fantasies about the people who screwed him over. Apparently, words were deemed unnecessary.

I still have no idea what Sophia's little tantrum was supposed to accomplish, but hey, she had feelings and presumably wanted us to know about them.

The lack of dialogue is certainly a choice, and whether you think it's brilliant or a gimmick will probably determine how much you enjoy this movie. Personally, I spent a decent chunk of it wondering when someone was finally going to say literally anything.

But when the violence kicks in, the movie gets considerably more interesting. The fight scenes are well done, and the elevator brawl is easily the best of 'em. John even manages to get a "leg up" during the proceedings. Literally. LOL.

It's a dialogue-free revenge ride where action, music, and 1970s grit are doing all the talking. It doesn't always work, but when Motor City cuts loose, it's bloody, vicious, and genuinely entertaining. A strange little experiment that won't be for everyone, but at least it has the good sense to toss someone off a roof.

Motor City (2026)

https://jackmeat.com/motor-city-2026/

Demons at Dawn (2022) | I spent so long waiting for Demons at Dawn to become a horror movie that I nearly forgot I was watching one. #jackmeatsflix

My quick rating - 3.3/10. I don't think I've ever seen a backhand slap knock someone completely unconscious before. LOL. Apparently these Demons At Dawn have been training their victims in professional wrestling.

This is one of those movies where I could see what they were trying to do, but unfortunately, what they were trying to do and what ended up on the screen are wildly different things. The biggest problem is that the movie takes itself far too seriously, especially considering how little it actually has going for it.

The premise isn't bad. A retired hitman gets dragged back into the game and ends up taking on a Satanic cult, which sounds like it should have at least some potential for bloody, supernatural fun. Instead, the movie takes an absolute age to get anywhere near the horror or supernatural elements. By the time things finally start happening, I had already spent a good chunk of the movie wondering when the actual Demons At Dawn part was going to show up.

Under the direction of Randy Kent, the movie seems like it is trying its hardest to become a dark and mature crime/horror movie, but it falls flat. The dialogue, directing, special effects, make-up, and presentation took me out of the movie too many times to count. While there are some good concepts hiding in there, they are overshadowed by the ridiculousness of the rest of it.

I don't even think the budget is the biggest problem.

Yes, this is clearly a low-budget film, but there are some films out there with next to no budget that actually entertain because they know what they can do. It appears that Demons At Dawn feels that it should just treat everything at face value despite the fact that it should know better. Films like these don’t require any extra funding. It needs more ideas.

The special effects and makeup are probably where I had the biggest problem. Some of the effects look like they came straight out of a collection of software plugins, and the makeup occasionally has the unfortunate effect of making what should be disturbing look unintentionally hilarious. When I'm supposed to be thinking “Holy shit, that's terrifying,” and instead I'm thinking “Well... that's certainly some makeup.” Something has gone wrong.

I will give the cast and crew credit, though. There is clearly some passion behind this movie. Nobody involved seems like they didn't care. It is obvious that they wanted to do something unique and have poured their effort into its creation. The problem with passion is that it can take a movie so far if the screenplay, special effects, and directing cannot follow suit.

There are a few defenders of this one, and hey, more power to them. Movies are subjective. But for me, this is a 3.3/10, and that might even be generous. That makes it an easy skip. This is barely passable as entertainment and spends far too much time flirting with stupidity without ever quite figuring out how to have fun with it.

Demons at Dawn (2022)

https://jackmeat.com/demons-at-dawn-2022/

The Whisper Man (2026) | The Whisper Man has a great cast, decent camerawork, and plenty of creepy potential, but somehow I ended up only mildly entertained. #jackmeatsflix

My quick rating -  5.9/10. The cast caught my attention for The Whisper Man. Adam Scott, Robert De Niro, Michelle Monaghan, and Michael Keaton? That is a pretty impressive collection of people to assemble for a movie about a missing kid and a creepy serial killer. Surely these people know what they’re doing.

The movie opens with an overhead shot of a suspiciously quiet little town, where a police search party is combing through the woods. Michelle Monaghan appears to be leading the operation as they uncover a body. Unfortunately, it isn't the eight-year-old boy, Neil Spencer, they’re looking for. So, you know, things are going great.

When his son is abducted, widowed crime writer Tom (Scott) turns to his estranged father, retired police detective Peter Willis (De Niro), for help. Their investigation eventually connects the disappearance to a decades-old case involving convicted serial killer Frank Carter, aka “The Whisper Man,” played by Michael Keaton. And what a great choice Keaton is for that role. Also, not a spoiler. He is already in prison. The movie tells you this pretty much immediately, so we're not exactly blowing the lid off the mystery here.

There is some nice camerawork throughout. The movie has a habit of putting important things just out of focus or partially obscured in the frame, allowing you to catch little details without someone standing there yelling, “HEY, LOOK AT THIS IMPORTANT THING!” I caught and immediately appreciated it.

Unfortunately, the story itself is pretty straightforward. There aren't many twists trying to outsmart you, and that's perfectly fine. Not every mystery needs to perform gymnastics just to make the audience feel stupid. The problem is that some of the things the movie does introduce aren't given enough attention.

The whole storyline involving the girl in the blue sweater was particularly frustrating. It's introduced, barely utilized, and never adequately explained. Thanks, movie. Very helpful.

Then there are the connections between the characters, the house, the murders, and the eventual final confrontation. Getting all those pieces to fit together requires a generous suspension of disbelief. Maybe Alex North's novel explains some of this better, because the movie certainly doesn't seem interested in stopping to fill in the gaps.

I don't like second-guessing characters in situations I've obviously never experienced, but there were moments where the pieces were sitting right there for a much smoother conclusion, only for the movie to basically shrug and walk past them.

That would be a brick. That is all I’m saying. It'll make sense when you watch it.

The Whisper Man (2026)

Ultimately, The Whisper Man is a quality production with solid acting and some good visual work. But with this cast, I expected to be wowed. Instead, I was mildly entertained, somewhat intrigued, and repeatedly wondering why he didn't use the very obvious thing sitting right in front of him. Duh.

https://jackmeat.com/the-whisper-man-2026/

Pinocchio: Unstrung (2026) | The public-domain Twisted Childhood universe continues, and this time Pinocchio is butchering people because being a real boy wasn't enough. #jackmeatsflix

My quick rating - 5.8/10. I guess the strategy of patiently waiting until the copyrights on beloved childhood characters expire, then turning those peaceful, wholesome figures into homicidal maniacs, is officially paying dividends. Winnie the Pooh has already gone off the rails, and now it’s Pinocchio: Unstrung's turn to make lying, friendship, and brutally murdering people part of the same wholesome package.

We follow James (Cameron Bell), whose grandfather Geppetto (Richard Brake, which is pretty much perfect casting for this particular version of Geppetto) introduces him to a seemingly magical wooden doll that is supposed to become his new best friend. After some narrated exposition about James' tragic backstory, his parents dying, and him going to live with his grandfather, we get the story of Geppetto creating Pinocchio specifically for him.

And seriously, I'd be a little concerned about the giant hole in the basement wall.

There are also some wonderfully creepy noises coming from the wooden little bastard, although Pinocchio himself actually looks pretty damn cool. Once James starts introducing him to the world, however, Pinocchio decides to take it upon himself to eliminate everything he considers "bad." And by "eliminate," I mean murder the absolute shit out of people.

The practical gore is impressively brutal, and there is enough blood flying around to make you forget that pretty much none of what Pinocchio does makes logical sense. Apparently the little wooden detective can locate the homes of random kids without knowing their names, faces, addresses, or seemingly anything else about them. No brain, yet somehow possessing the investigative skills of Sherlock Holmes.

I also loved the random appearance of a kid watching Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey on his phone. Nothing says Twisted Childhood universe like casually watching another murderous public-domain childhood icon before being hunted down by this one.

And then there's Cricket. No, you aren't dreaming, Cricket. Voiced by the infamous Robert Englund, he isn't exactly here to teach Pinocchio about morality. In fact, he's about as homicidal as his wooden friend, which is probably not the life lesson Geppetto had in mind.

There's also a neat sequence from Pinocchio's point of view, complete with his wooden eye sockets, which is a surprisingly cool touch.

Pinocchio: Unstrung isn't particularly interested in making sense, and that's probably for the best. The pacing is quick, the makeup effects are nicely extreme, and the gratuitous blood and violence arrive frequently enough that you don't have much time to stop and question the increasingly ridiculous plot.

Rhys Frake-Waterfield seems to be getting the hang of these movies, too. They're progressively becoming more entertaining, and Pinocchio: Unstrung delivers enough practical gore, stupidity, and murderous puppet mayhem for about an hour and a half of pure, brain-off fun.

Pinocchio Unstrung (2026)

And stick around through the credits for some of the puppetry magic. Turns out Pinocchio isn't the only one doing some impressive string work.

https://jackmeat.com/pinocchio-unstrung-2026/

Batman Knightfall Part 1 (2026) | Arkham blows up, everyone gets loose, Batman gets his ass kicked, and now I have to wait for the rest of the damn story. #jackmeatsflix

My quick rating - 7.3/10. Batman Knightfall Part 1 wastes little time getting things moving. It opens with some of Gotham's animated scumbags trafficking a truckload of women and children. Then Azrael (Pablo Schreiber) arrives to dispense his own extremely violent version of justice. Batman isn't far behind, naturally, and before long the two are throwing down while the credits roll. It's a pretty effective way to say, “Yeah, we're not screwing around this time.”

Arkham Asylum has been destroyed, because apparently, Gotham's worst criminals weren't already causing Batman enough headaches. Now every inmate is loose in the city, and Bruce Wayne (Anson Mount) has the unenviable task of rounding them all up while simultaneously dealing with a brand-new problem named Bane. Because when your life already consists of being punched by supervillains every night, what you really need is a gigantic man who looks like he was assembled from nothing but protein powder and sewer snacks.

It is safe to say that I entered into this movie with absolutely no knowledge of the Knightfall story. While I have not been a big DC comics guy, I usually have some idea about the main stories to be able to recognize the names and key events. This made it rather fun to enter into the film with this lack of knowledge.

And, so far, I'm interested.

The animation is very good, and the voice cast does solid work across the board. While there are lots of action sequences, the film manages to develop the bigger picture of the story and doesn't just turn Gotham into a two-hour punching bag. My one real complaint is Azrael. It's obvious that there is much more to his character, yet at this stage it seems like they give us enough information to realize that he is important, but not enough to fully understand him. I have no idea how much of that was explained in the comics, so comic fans, yell away.

And yes, I'm sure one complaint is going to be echoed across the internet. WE NEED ALL THE PARTS.

This thing ends with me wanting the next chapter, which is exactly what a first installment should accomplish. But it also means we're now stuck waiting around for the rest of the story. Just like Gotham civilians waiting for Batman to finish brooding on a gargoyle.

It's also nice seeing DC animation firing on all cylinders again. For years, DC had Marvel decisively beaten in the animated-movie department. Then X-Men '97 showed up and reminded everyone Marvel hadn't completely forgotten how cartoons work.

Knightfall – Part 1 isn't reinventing Batman, but it's a damn entertaining start to a story I somehow missed the first time around. The animation is sharp, the action delivers, the voice work is strong, and there's enough here to make me genuinely interested in where this goes.

Batman: Knightfall Part 1: Knightfall (2026)

Now give me the other parts before I forget what happened. And if you are wondering about the full title, some sites are going with Batman: Knightfall - Part 1: Knightfall. Repetitive much?

https://jackmeat.com/batman-knightfall-part-1-2026/

It Hunts (2026) | It Hunts turns recurring murder nightmares, depression, and grief into supernatural horror. Because apparently therapy wasn't creepy enough. #jackmeatsflix

My quick rating - 4.7/10. It Hunts starts with what seems like a perfectly ordinary street scene, accompanied by some surprisingly soothing music. Someone walks along with a bottle, takes a swig, gets into their car, and is promptly stabbed repeatedly by someone hiding in the backseat. A lovely way to start the evening.

Thankfully, it was only a nightmare. Casey (Izzy Martinez) has been having recurring dreams about murders, though the details change each time. His already mundane life isn't exactly helping, either. He's a lazy nightcrawler with a diet almost as bad as his dead-end job, while his girlfriend Alex (Katlin Svadbik) is getting understandably tired of carrying everything while Casey mostly settles into his routine.

As the dreams and visions become more intense, Casey starts trying to figure out what's actually happening. Gabriel Black handles all of the camera work, and there are some nice choices throughout. A good variety of angles makes even the mundane scenes visually interesting, while the increasingly unsettling imagery helps blur the line between what Casey is experiencing and what might actually be happening.

The performances are a little more inconsistent. Both leads have scenes where they work really well, followed by moments that the actors may have been looking for cue cards. Still, there's an interesting story underneath the supernatural elements.

One way to tell a story about mental illness is to disguise it as a supernatural horror movie, and that's what It Hunts feels like it's doing. Beneath the nightmares is a story about grief, along with guilt, depression, and learning to accept consequences. There are plenty of metaphors throughout, with the supernatural elements representing Casey's internal struggles.

And if you have to kill yourself and somehow come back from it, apparently the next logical step is to consult the Internet. LOL.

I was on board with what the movie was building until the ending. The setup takes its time and works on you psychologically, giving the story details to think about. Then the final act feels rushed. One late-arriving character makes a dramatic shift from wanting to tear Casey apart to deciding to do the right thing incredibly quickly, and it doesn't quite land for me.

I'm also a fan of endings that leave you wondering, and I think the idea works here. Unfortunately, I found the answer, or at least my guess at it, pretty obvious. Either way, any ending that makes you think ultimately keeps you talking about it.

Still, It Hunts is a solid indie horror movie using supernatural elements to explore mental illness rather than relying on jump scares. That isn't a new approach, but there is enough of a spin on it to make it worthwhile. I've apparently been finding quite a few of these deeper horror movies lately, like Cruel Hands, that are more interested in getting inside your head than making you jump out of your chair. I'm not complaining. I like seeing directors try creative things.

It Hunts (2026)

https://jackmeat.com/it-hunts-2026/

Bury the Devil (2026) | A hospice nurse realizes dementia might not be the only thing wrong with her patient, and suddenly work gets VERY complicated. #jackmeatsflix

My quick rating - 4.8/10. We open on what appears to be a lakeside mansion slowly smoldering away, accompanied by the faint sound of a woman's scream. So, yeah, things seem to have gone slightly off the rails. Then Bury the Devil jumps back 75 minutes to find out exactly how we got there.

Evelyn (Dawn Ford) is an elderly woman being cared for by Sarah (Isabella Gonzalez), a hospice nurse looking after her during a rather unpleasant thunderstorm. Evelyn brushes her hair while Sarah tends to her, and before long it becomes apparent that dementia may not be the only thing Sarah has to worry about.

Ford is the standout here. Her performance as Evelyn basically makes the movie. There is something genuinely unsettling about watching her switch between moments of vulnerability and something more sinister. Gonzalez holds her own alongside her and even manages to sneak in a little humor, which is welcome because this is a very dark movie.

And I mean that literally.

The entire movie takes place inside this enormous mansion during a thunderstorm, so the lighting is appropriately moody and atmospheric. Unfortunately, there were also times when I was wondering what exactly I was looking at. The darkness absolutely fits the movie, but sometimes it feels like the house swallowed the cinematographer.

Writer/director Adam O'Brien doesn't spend much time getting bogged down in mythology or complicated explanations. The basic pitch is essentially - here is a possessed old woman, she's dangerous, and let's see what happens. There are a few ideas tossed into the mix, but they never really come together into anything substantial.

Then, about an hour in, I realized something else. This appears to be playing out as one continuous take. Surprisingly, it works.

Once I noticed it, I started paying more attention to it, but I never found myself trying to pick apart every transition. It felt natural enough that the technique became part of the experience rather than the entire experience. Considering the movie was shot in just six days, I'm guessing there weren't exactly unlimited opportunities for everyone to say, “Let's do that again.”

There are a couple of genuinely cool moments, including that opening shot of the burning mansion and one particularly nasty throat-ripping scene. And yes, that image from the poster? Yep. When it happens, it is every bit as spooky as you were hoping.

Unfortunately, some of the kills happen off-screen, which takes a little of the fun out of things, and the story ultimately doesn't come together as well as I'd hoped.

Bury the Devil (2026)

Still, Bury the Devil gets a lot out of its simple premise, largely because Ford absolutely commits to Evelyn. There isn't a deep supernatural mythology to uncover here. It's mostly a crazed older woman, a nurse trying to survive the night, and a mansion that really needs better lighting.

Ending on the same scene that opened the movie was also a nice touch.

https://jackmeat.com/bury-the-devil-2026/

Land of Wolves (2026) | Four ex-SEALs, an underground death match, and a room full of masked billionaires watching. Sometimes simple really is enough. #jackmeatsflix

My quick rating - 4.9/10. I'll admit it. I threw Land of Wolves on because the plot sounded so simple. Not that my usual horror-movie plots are exactly brain twisters, LOL. Four former Navy SEALs get captured, thrown into an underground death match, and forced to fight for the entertainment of a bunch of depraved billionaires. No weapons, no way out, just military training, brotherhood, and a bunch of rich assholes apparently looking for something to watch after dinner.

Honestly, I've watched movies with far more complicated plots. I've also watched movies about haunted dolls, so my standards aren't exactly unreasonable.

It starts with Marcus (James William Clark) putting in some time with a heavy bag while having the obligatory wartime flashbacks. Briggs (Matthew Gray), part of his platoon, shows up with some good news: Knox is alive. The bad news? He's in Mexico. So they put a team together to rescue him, because apparently "let's contact the authorities" wasn't on the list of options.

Of course, the rescue goes sideways, and before long our four SEALs are participants in an underground death tournament.

Another movie about people livestreaming real violence. You have to think this shit is happening somewhere on the web, just hopefully not quite on this scale. These matches are being watched live by a room full of masked "rich" people, and it all feels very familiar. Squid Game certainly didn't invent the concept, but apparently we've reached the point where "wealthy people watching poor people die for entertainment" is its own cinematic genre.

The fights are actually pretty decent. I haven't seen much CGI blood at this point, which is always a nice surprise. Most of the brutality is practical, with the occasional bloody mess hitting the camera for effect. The bare-knuckle fighting isn't anything flashy, but it's fairly grounded and doesn't have everyone suddenly becoming an MMA superhero.

I wasn't surprised by what happened once they found Knox, although I was a little surprised by where things went afterward.

Then the guns come out. And suddenly, so does the CGI blood. I'm guessing this is a budget limitation, because the practical effects looked considerably better. You can almost hear someone in the effects department say, "Well, that's the last of the money."

Most of the acting is forgettable, and the characters are paper-thin, which doesn't do the talent any favors. Butcher (Felix Alexander) was easily the highlight. His calmness makes him considerably scarier than if he were running around screaming about how evil he is.

For an indie movie with very little money behind it, the effects are solid, and there is clearly genuine talent both in front of and behind the camera. Kudos to Tommy Jackson, because his eye for the scene is definitely there. He really needs to hire some help, though, because this is an ambitious movie that could have been considerably better with the resources to match that ambition.

Understand exactly what you're getting into, and you might have some fun with Land of Wolves. It's got decent brutality, practical effects, and enough ambition to make the rough edges forgivable. Just don't expect the billionaires watching the livestream to have better taste than you do. Less morals, sure.

Land of Wolves (2026)

https://jackmeat.com/land-of-wolves-2026/

Cruel Hands (2025) | Cruel Hands takes forever to get moving, but underneath the slow burn is a surprisingly brutal and realistic family drama. #jackmeatsflix

My quick rating - 4.7/10. “Things were different when I was a girl. Before the fires came and washed all the green away.” And that's how Cruel Hands lets us know we're in Australia. Nothing says “welcome to the Aussie horror/thriller experience” quite like a kid giving us some ominous bushfire exposition before his family disappears into the wilderness.

Maria (Mavournee Hazel) and her 12-year-old son, Dai (Diesel La Torraca), have fled their violent husband/father, Jason (Josh McConville), and taken refuge in an abandoned farmhouse while bushfires rage across the region. Emergency services are struggling to find them, Jason is very much not interested in letting them remain missing, and Maria is trying to build something resembling a safe life for her son.

It doesn't take long to figure out that the farmhouse isn't the only thing Maria is hiding from. Flashbacks gradually fill in the blanks about the family's life before they went on the run, and Dad's preferred explanation for everything is that Mom's mental health is the problem. Because apparently “my wife is suffering under years of abuse” is less convenient than “she's crazy.”

The movie takes its time getting anywhere, though. Cruel Hands is slow. Like, “maybe this abandoned farmhouse came with a complimentary calendar because we're going to be here for a while” slow. But once the pieces start falling into place, there's a genuinely grim story underneath all that patience.

There is one particular decision that had me questioning Maria's parenting credentials. She chooses to hide a dead body rather than report it. On paper, that sounds like one of those moments where you yell at the screen, “Are you fuckin' serious?” And yet, the more I thought about it, the less ridiculous it seemed. She's terrified, isolated, dealing with an abusive husband, surrounded by bushfires, and trying to protect her kid. Add in the Australian gun laws and the general panic of survival, and suddenly making a catastrophically bad decision feels pretty damn human.

That's one of the things Cruel Hands gets right. The situation isn't silly. It's ugly and uncomfortable, and the characters don't always make the sensible choice because people trapped in horrific circumstances generally aren't operating with a fully charged brain and a helpful decision tree.

Unfortunately, the acting occasionally works against that realism. There are moments where performances don't quite match the emotional weight of the scene, and it can pull you out of the movie. Thankfully, it isn't constant enough to completely derail things.

What does work is the feeling that this story is personal. Cruel Hands is not about the bushfires, the farm house, or even about the increasingly risky situation that Maria is put through. In reality, it is a tragic exploration of the internal battle that two damaged individuals fight as a result of their destructive relationship, which renders them unable to act like parents.

Writer/director Al Kalyk brings uncomfortable realism to that dynamic that makes me wonder if there's some personal experience informing it. I'm not saying there is. I'm saying the movie understands the ugliness of that situation really well.

Cruel Hands isn't a bad movie. It just takes a long-ass time to become the movie it wants to be. The performances can be shaky. The pacing is glacial. And some of the character decisions will have you wondering if everyone collectively left their common sense in the burning bush.

Beneath it all, however, lies a dark yet strangely realistic tale of abuse, trauma, and survival, in which an innocent child finds himself sandwiched between two adults who are entirely incapable of protecting him from their own destruction.

Cruel Hands (2025)

https://jackmeat.com/cruel-hands-2025/

Mutiny (2026) | Mutiny delivers the Statham ass-kicking package, but unfortunately forgot to include the urgency, mystery or anything memorable. Ship Happens! #jackmeatsflix

My quick rating - 5.6/10. Mutiny starts with a truck speeding down the street. Right into another truck.

The first truck goes flipping over, because apparently we are starting at maximum volume and working backward. I’m sure we’ll come back to that. Then we get a look at the focused eyes of the driver, followed by the focused eyes of Jason Statham scanning a high-rise lobby. Clearly, we’re supposed to assume he was behind the wheel, and now he’s working security. Because when Jason Statham is looking at you like that, you just assume he has several very specific skills listed on his resume.

Cole Reed is protecting his billionaire industrialist boss when said billionaire is murdered right in front of him. Cole is immediately set up to take the fall, which seems like a pretty lousy day at work. Now he’s on the run, trying to clear his name while uncovering an international conspiracy, and naturally I settled in expecting the next 80 minutes to contain a healthy amount of ass-kicking.

And there is ass-kicking. Just not quite enough of the good stuff.

When Cole eventually ends up stowed away on a ship, he has apparently chosen the one vessel where things can somehow get even more complicated. He’s soon joined by Angie, played by Annabelle Wallis, who was somehow unaware of the illegal things floating with her. There are some fun action moments along the way, including a fight where blood splatters directly onto the camera lens. That was a nice little touch. The stunts are impressive, the camera stays where it belongs, and the movie doesn't spend much time standing around explaining itself. Thankfully.

Unfortunately, Mutiny feels like something I've watched before. Several times.

Just another entry in Statham's growing collection of movies where an ordinary guy turns out to be extraordinarily capable of beating the living hell out of anyone in his way. The problem is that this one doesn't bring much mystery, suspense, or urgency along for the ride. The story feels like a copy of the same basic formula, with a few different locations and a slightly different collection of people trying to kill him.

It's still entertaining, and there's even a little heart mixed in to soften the violence, but it never reaches the intensity of The Beekeeper or even Shelter. There are some creative kills and impressive stunts, but the movie is over before the story has much opportunity to become interesting.

Mutiny (2026)

If you're a Statham fan, there's enough here to keep you entertained. Just don't expect this one to muscle its way to the top of his action-movie pile. It gets the job done, kicks a few people through walls, and leaves almost as quickly as it arrived.

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