The Ugly Stepsister (2025) | A darkly comic reimagining of Cinderella told from the ugly stepsister’s view, blending body horror and twisted fairy-tale charm. #jackmeatsflix

My quick rating - 7.2/10. In a fairy-tale kingdom where beauty is a cutthroat business, The Ugly Stepsister takes the familiar “Cinderella” story, feeds it a tapeworm, and lets it writhe into something darkly hilarious. Elvira (Lea Myren) is not your standard glass-slippered heroine, she’s the one living in the shadow of her dazzlingly beautiful stepsister Agnes (Thea Sofie Loch Næss), and she’ll do whatever it takes to catch the prince’s eye. And yes, “whatever it takes” in this kingdom might include some… questionable dieting methods. The Shudder logo at the start is your first clue this won’t be a pastel-colored Disney sing-along.

Writer/director Emilie Blichfeldt sets the tone with lavish costumes, authentic set design, and a wicked sense of humor. The presentation of the virgins to the prince is both amusing and unnervingly sinister, showing off the film’s perfect blend of satire and discomfort. It’s a bleak, razor-sharp portrait of beauty and ugliness, one that keeps you constantly wondering who’s going to win the prince. Spoiler: You won’t know for sure until the very end.

Ane Dahl Torp plays the requisite evil stepmother, exploiting her children’s looks for fame and fortune. Totally unrealistic, of course. I mean, what mother today would exploit their child for their own gain? (Cue sarcasm.) The film doesn’t shy away from body horror either; while it never veers into all-out gorefest territory, it offers enough cringe-inducing modifications to make you squirm. The moral? Don’t give yourself a tapeworm to lose weight. Even in a fairy tale, that’s a terrible plan.

Myren’s lead performance is wonderfully layered, both pitiful and cunning, while Loch Næss brings an unnerving perfection to Agnes, the kingdom’s golden girl. The supporting cast nails every beat, delivering a darkly comic yet unsettlingly plausible reimagining of a classic story.

Sure, I wish the horror elements had been dialed up just a notch, but that’s a minor gripe in an otherwise wonderfully made movie. The Ugly Stepsister is twisted and visually gorgeous, offering a fairy-tale world you’ll want to visit. Just maybe not during mealtime.

The Ugly Stepsister (2025)

There are several streamers carrying this flick, including Amazon.

https://jackmeat.com/the-ugly-stepsister-2025/

Restless (2025) | We've all had (or been) the annoying neighbor, and this "thriller" delivers a no burn as I found myself Restless waiting for the end. #jackmeatsflix

My quick rating - 4.4/10. When hard-partying, volatile neighbors move in next door, a quiet woman’s life starts to spiral, triggering a slow, unnerving descent into obsession and revenge. At least, that’s what the synopsis for Restless promises. What we actually get feels more like being trapped in a lukewarm puddle of mild inconvenience.

The film kicks off with one of those overused openings that flashes forward to some dramatic moment before slapping a “One Week Earlier” tag on the screen. And, as usual, knowing exactly where things are headed robs the story of any potential suspense before it even gets going.

Lyndsey Marshal plays the woman, Nicky, at the center of it all, a quiet neighbor driven mad by the endless thumping bass and general jerk behavior next door. Unfortunately, her character makes one bad decision after another, the kind of moves that make you roll your eyes rather than root for her. If this is meant to be a “slow burn,” then it’s the kind of slow burn where the match never even catches.

The film has somehow been labeled as horror, but there’s nothing remotely horror-adjacent here, no real tension, no escalating threat, and no sense of dread. It’s just a static situation: annoying neighbor refuses to turn down the music, and Nicky gets increasingly agitated in ways that feel strangely flat. The trip to supposed madness is uneventful, marked by muted reactions and long stretches where nothing much happens at all.

The premise could have set the stage for something nastier, or at least cathartic, but the resolution lands with a dull thud. The ending is so matter-of-fact that my only reaction was, “Wait, that’s it?” I kept holding out hope for a final-act spark—maybe a dark twist or a satisfying burst of violence—but no dice.

Most of us can relate to the pain of living next to an obnoxious neighbor, but Restless somehow delivers less than the average person would probably do in that situation. At just 89 minutes, it’s mercifully short, yet I still found myself getting pretty damn restless waiting for it to end.

Restless (2025)

Amazon is one of several streamers to watch this on.

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

Gazer (2025) | A noir thriller that loses its way, Gazer ends up more of a gaze-off into space than a gripping story. #jackmeatsflix

My quick rating - 4.5/10. Frankie (Ariella Mastroianni) is a young mother with dyschronometria, a condition that makes her perception of time about as reliable as a clock from a bargain bin. To keep herself grounded, she relies on cassette tapes as a kind of analog GPS for her daily life. But bills don’t pay themselves, so when a mysterious woman (Renee Gagner) offers Frankie a “can’t-miss” job opportunity, she jumps at it because clearly nothing bad ever happens when strangers in noir thrillers such as Gazer hand you envelopes full of money.

The premise sets up nicely for a lean, absorbing noir mystery: a desperate woman, a shady job, and double crosses. Unfortunately, that’s not the film we get. Instead, writer/director Ryan J. Sloan stuffs the narrative full of extra ingredients—like a chef who can’t stop adding “just one more spice”—and ends up with a stew that’s more confusing than flavorful. Surreal dream sequences drift in and out, featuring some genuinely unsettling, Cronenberg-lite imagery that hints Sloan has seen Videodrome more than once. While they might work in a pure horror or psychological thriller, here they mostly gum up the pacing and leave you wondering whether you’ve missed a plot point or just accidentally nodded off.

Stylistically, Gazer tries to channel an early ’80s vibe, wide street shots that creep toward the subject, synth-heavy cues that scream “something tense is about to happen,” and a general sense of urban decay. The aesthetic mostly works, at least until the overstuffed plot drags you back into frustration. The cast is passable but never exceptional, delivering performances that get the job done but won’t be making my year-end “best of” list.

The trouble really sets in around the halfway mark. The film starts strong enough, but the tangle of unrelated subplots and underdeveloped ideas soon becomes a ball and chain on the story’s ankle. Scenes that should build tension instead meander, as if the movie itself is suffering from dyschronometria and has lost track of how much runtime is left. By the time the climax rolls around, you realize the “climax” is more of a shrug, capped off with a non-ending so unsatisfying it could serve as the dictionary example of “anticlimax.”

Sloan, to his credit, shows flashes of promise behind the camera. His eye for certain compositions and his willingness to lean into weirdness suggest there’s a better film in his future—one that hopefully trims the fat and trusts the core story to stand on its own. At 114 minutes, though, Gazer feels like a long walk to nowhere, complete with detours, dead ends, and a few eerie dream alleys that, while intriguing, don’t actually lead to the main road.

Gazer (2025)

Amazon, along with this list of streamers, is carrying this one for you.

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

The Pickup (2025) | A solid heist and fun performances make this 80s-flavored action comedy worth a watch, even if the story doesn’t break new ground. #jackmeatsflix

My quick rating - 5.8/10. If you’re looking for realism, turn around now. But suppose you’re down for a ridiculous, fast-paced armored truck caper with a nostalgic '80s energy and a crew that actually seems to be enjoying themselves. In that case, The Pickup delivers a fun, if forgettable, ride.

Eddie Murphy and Pete Davidson pair up as mismatched armored truck drivers, Russell and Travis, who find their routine cash pickup spiraling into chaos when they’re ambushed by a crew of criminals led by Keke Palmer’s no-nonsense Zoe. The initial heist scene is tightly choreographed, with just enough tension and gunplay to get your pulse up, and thankfully not buried under a mountain of CGI nonsense. It's sleek, fun, and doesn’t overstay its welcome.

Keke Palmer does a fine job chewing the scenery as the brain behind the robbery, walking the line between dangerous and reluctant killer. She’s clearly enjoying herself, and it rubs off on the rest of the cast. Murphy still has the charm, and Davidson’s usual deadpan weirdness actually complements the script well—surprisingly decent chemistry between the two.

Now, if you’re like me and your eyes drifted up during the credits, you might’ve done a double take seeing names like Roman Reigns and Andrew Dice Clay. Reigns shows up briefly as an MMA champ (blink and you'll miss him), and Dice Clay gets a few lines as the dispatcher but never gets to let loose in that classic, over-the-top Dice way. A bit of a waste, but hey, fun cameos all the same.

Writers Kevin Burrows and Matt Mider keep the script moving with a very “screenwriting 101” kind of plot, no surprises, but at least everything clicks into place. It’s like someone watched any Fast and Furious sequel and Heat back-to-back and decided to mash them together, minus the budget of either. And you know what? It kind of works.

This isn’t Oscar bait or genre-defining, but it is a good excuse to grab a bucket of popcorn, unplug your brain, and remember what it felt like to catch an action comedy on a lazy Saturday afternoon. Just enough punch, flash, and snark to get the job done.

The Pickup (2025)

This one is a Prime Video exclusive, so sign up now to check it out.

https://jackmeat.com/the-pickup-2025/

River of Blood (2024) | A missed right turn at Albuquerque takes a cast you hope gets eaten into a non-threatening jungle and chased by cannibals. #jackmeatsflix

My quick rating - 4.7/10. River of Blood is a survival horror that paddles into promising territory, then promptly flips the raft and floats downstream into mediocrity. We get four insufferable kayakers who took the absolute wrong turn into a Thai jungle and then continued making bad decisions like it was a team sport. And the jungle itself? Safer than a weekend at a campground. No snakes, no insects, no dehydration, just a few dramatic stares and some very convenient plot developments.

Instead, the real danger here is the cannibal tribe… and by “danger,” I mean a group of dudes in khaki shorts and face paint from Party City. These guys don’t exactly scream “ancient flesh-eating menace” so much as “backstage extras at Coachella who got lost.”

Did I mention the plot? Or rather, the canoe-shaped husk of what could have been a plot. Four people—each one more annoying than the last—decide to kayak into a mysterious jungle. Not for science, not for tourism, but apparently for the sole purpose of bickering and betraying one another like they're auditioning for a reality show called Survivor: Dumbass Edition. And when things inevitably go south, we’re supposed to be surprised that the tribe (again, looking like a summer camp cosplay group) shows up to turn the group into jungle burgers.

The flick wants to be a suspenseful, blood-soaked descent into primal terror, but let’s be real: these cannibals play with their food more than a toddler with chicken nuggets. There's no dread, no real tension, just characters stumbling around the jungle like they’re trying to find a cell signal, while the tribe politely gives them time to monologue and fall into rivers.

Ella Starbuck’s Maya is the only character with even a molecule of likability, possibly because she refrains from constant whining or plotting someone else's demise. The others? It’s honestly a relief when they start getting picked off. I’ve seen mosquito bites with more charm. Also, two motorcyclists show up for reasons unclear, possibly to boost the body count? Nope. They're just… there like NPCs who wandered into the wrong cutscene.

Now, to the film’s credit: gorgeous cinematography. Seriously. Rungroj Park Rojanachotikul knows what they’re doing. The Thailand backdrops are lush, immersive, and so vibrant they practically upstage the cannibals (which, trust me, isn’t hard). Even the CGI blood splatter isn’t half bad when it shows up—if a little video-gamey.

But the real issue is believability. You're telling me there’s a known tribe of people-eaters with protected status, and somehow tour groups are still paddling within GPS-wobble range? And the local government is just like, “Oh, don’t mind them, they’re just old-fashioned”? Also, if I’m heading into any jungle, you better believe I’m bringing more than a granola bar and unresolved personal grudges.

Bottom line: River of Blood is a great-looking movie with decent acting, stuck inside a bland and logic-impaired script. It never commits to horror, never shocks, and worst of all, never really entertains. It’s not awful enough to be funny, not scary enough to be chilling, and not gory enough to satisfy your inner Cannibal Holocaust gremlin.

River of Blood (2024)

Amazon is one of several streamers carrying this one for ya.

https://jackmeat.com/river-of-blood-2024/

The Last GunFight (2025) | A fast-paced, blood-soaked tournament flick with solid action, a few twists, and just enough absurdity to keep it entertaining. #jackmeatsflix

My quick rating - 5.1/10. In The Last GunFight, the premise is about as subtle as a hammer to the skull: fighters from all over the world are pitted against each other in a death tournament with vague rules, lots of blood, and a puppet master pulling strings behind the curtain. It’s a setup we've seen before, but to its credit, this film knows exactly what it is and leans hard into it.

From the jump, you’re hit with dialogue so cheesy it could either be parodying trashy reality shows or earnestly trying to match their tone. It's tough to tell, and that ambiguity ends up being part of the movie's oddball charm. Within minutes, we’re introduced to the tournament, its bizarre broadcast format, and a handful of character archetypes that range from the expected (the angry priest, the cocky wildcard, the vengeful parent) to the outright bizarre.

Speaking of vengeful parents, The Last GunFight somehow convinced Jon Voight to show up and deliver what can only be described as a paycheck performance. He plays a father on a mission, and if you can't guess the motivation the moment someone says “father,” you might want to revisit a few old revenge flicks. Still, Voight manages to elevate the trope slightly just by being, well, Jon Voight.

The movie's biggest surprise is probably Sam Symons’ Jimmy, a textbook dork with a secret savage streak. Sure, it’s telegraphed from the moment he steps onscreen, but his transformation is played with such wide-eyed intensity that it becomes oddly satisfying. Likewise, Shaina West once again proves she’s got the chops (and the kicks) to be an action mainstay. After The Killer’s Game, it’s fun to watch her wreak havoc on a new set of opponents. More of these two and less of the failed romance subplot, and we could've been going somewhere.

Writer Steven Paul and director James Bamford do attempt to inject some narrative twists into the formula, and while a few hit, others feel tacked on to delay the inevitable slugfest. Fortunately, they know better than to let the plot slow down the violence for too long. At just 89 minutes, the movie races through its runtime like it’s dodging a punch, and the pace rarely lets up.

My shout-out goes to the "gun round." Yes, that’s a thing — where the action choreography shifts into overdrive. It's ridiculous in the best way, and the film actually manages to pull off some impressive visuals, especially considering how often these kinds of low-budget bloodsport flicks rely on laughably bad CGI. Here, the blood effects are surprisingly fluid and less distractingly digital than expected.

Still, there’s a limit to how much gloss you can slap on a B-movie brawler. The Last GunFight never breaks out of the genre’s constraints, and it doesn’t seem particularly interested in doing so. But for fans of underground death match mayhem with a few plot curveballs and a solid dose of carnage, it delivers just enough to be worth a watch, especially if you keep those expectations in check. Just don't expect any of the actors to mess up their hair in the process.

And who knows? Maybe one day these reality shows within the movie will get greenlit in real life. When they do, we might all have to reckon with the uncomfortable truth that it isn’t just the rich tuning in.

The Last GunFight (2025)

Amazon is one of the many streamers carrying this flick.

https://jackmeat.com/the-last-gunfight-2025/

Together (2025) | I'd suggest going in blind for this romantic body horror with strong performances from real-life couple Franco and Brie, blending humor with transformation. #jackmeatsflix

My quick rating - 6.7/10. Together is one of those films where the less you know going in, the better. It lures you in with a familiar setup, a city couple struggling to reconnect while adjusting to life in the countryside. Then peels back its skin, quite literally, to reveal something far stranger and more unsettling underneath. What starts as a relationship drama slowly morphs into a romance, a dark comedy, and then full-tilt body horror.

Real-life couple Dave Franco and Alison Brie headline the film, and their off-screen chemistry translates effortlessly to the screen. They feel believable, and oddly endearing even when things get... sticky. You can tell they trust each other completely, which they’d absolutely have to in order to pull off some of the intimate (and grotesque) moments this story throws at them. It’s a film that asks a lot from its leads, both emotionally and physically, and they’re more than up to the challenge.

The horror here is deeply personal and very physical. Without giving too much away, the film explores transformation, not just metaphorically in the relationship sense, but literally, in ways that squirm under your skin. The practical effects are solid, but it's the sounds—cracking, pulpy, slithery noises—that will rattle around in your head long after the credits roll. If you're new to body horror or easily freaked out, this could be an excellent (and traumatizing) gateway film. That said, veterans of the genre might find the horror a little tame or familiar.

What sets Together apart is its willingness to break the tension. Just as the anxiety creeps toward unbearable, the film cuts it with an awkward joke or a genuinely sweet moment. At times, this works brilliantly, giving us a breath before plunging back into discomfort. Other times, it diffuses the horror so much that it loses bite. That tonal balancing act of romance, comedy, and horror all fighting for dominance won’t work for everyone, but it does make the film more accessible than your average gore-soaked nightmare.

The plot loosely follows a cult or folk-horror thread, enough to keep things interesting, though the mythology feels intentionally vague. It’s really Franco and Brie who carry the weight here. Their performances inject warmth and realism into a film that, by all accounts, should be anything but warm or real.

There’s a twist to this film’s originality (see below), so it may not have been as original as I initially assumed. Still, Together manages to do something interesting with its concept, blending humor, horror, and romance in a way that’s rare. It won’t be for everyone, but if you’re curious and can go in blind, it’s a memorable little genre-bender that deserves a look... preferably with the lights off and your dinner finished.

"The Australian horror film Together, starring Alison Brie and Dave Franco, is facing a copyright infringement lawsuit in the US. The lawsuit, filed by the producers of the 2023 film Better Half, claims that Together is a "blatant rip-off" of their movie."

Together (2025)

Right now, heading to the cinema is your best bet, or wait for streamers, preferably Amazon.

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