Horror – Page 3 – Savior Gaming

Sinister 2 (2015) Review

Sinister 2 is obviously the Sequel to the first film, and it was not received well at all. Seriously, if you look it up over on Rotten Tomatoes, people did not like this movie at all. I honestly do not really see why. Shannyn Sossamon and James Ransone do a great job in their roles.

The story of an old pagan god that uses movies from previous kills to convince kids to murder their families isn’t exactly something that is overly done or seen either. We aren’t exactly rehashing old material here. While the movie absolutely has its faults, for example, it does use jump scares more often than I would like. It also does a fantastic job of setting up a creepy atmosphere alongside those scares.

The ghost children in the movie also manage to be downright creepy. Right from the very start, their monotone delivery alongside their happiness to deliver these other kids to damnation is spooky. I enjoyed watching them manipulate these kids into the murder plot right from the start, even if it was easy to see what they were doing.

Sinister 2 is one of those movies, while I understand it isn’t a great movie, I don’t see how so many people consider it a bad movie. It was definitely worth a watch. Best wishes, and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Deadpool and Wolverine

You know you’re in trouble when Deadpool is your saving grace….Wade’s been through alot after the events of Deadpool 2. By that I mean, he hung up the guns and katanas and tried living a normal life, sucking at it, losing his spark when getting turned down by the Avengers. When the TVA shows up offering Wade legendary hero status in a new universe, he’s elated, until he realizes his universe is dying. To save it, his universe needs a new Wolverine. So it’s up to the Merc with a Mouth to find a Wolverine, escape a wasteland of banished Marvel characters, and become a goddamn Disney hero. Ain ‘t the multiverse fun?

Deadpool took the world by storm in 2016. Even with comic book movie fatigue setting in and many fans giving up on the MCU, the end of the Deadpool trilogy was the last hurrah for many. I had mixed feelings going in. My opinion of 2 soured over time, I didn’t trust Disney, and after Logan and the brilliant end to Hugh Jackman’s time as Wolverine, bringing him back, albeit as a variant, still soured things for me. After multiple rewatches, it still does. However, overall, the six-year wait was well worth it. Reynolds and Jackman bring their A games and have fantastic chemistry. The fights are bloody and memorable. Finally seeing Wolverine in his classic yellow and blue was a nerd dream come true. The cameos were outstanding and 1 in particular stole the show (I don’t want to spoil it but it was damn good to see some classics come back).

Not every joke lands, and I wish we got more crazier Deadpools for the final fight (namely Pandapool), and this movie doesn’t work nearly as well unless you’re a Marvel fan or grew up with 2000’s movies. I’ve heard casuals say the movie was a little confusing, but it’s much easier to follow than a lot of MCU stuff. In the end, Deadpool 3 is a great end to the trilogy and an even better send-off to the Fox Marvel era. Its packed with blood, fights, and nerdy fanservice that’s hard not to love. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

The Thunderbolts (New Avengers)

This Wheaties box is one of the funniest jokes in the film, and I laughed way too hard…Thunderbolts picks up with a group of the MCU outcasts (Yelena, US Agent, Red Guardian, Ghost, and Taskmaster) being ordered to infiltrate a shady testing facility. After duking it out a bit, they come a scrawny dude named Bob, the last living subject of a certain medical test. Bob, a former drug addict suffering from mental illness, stands out of this group like a sore thumb. But what if I told you Bob was a force that outmatches the powerhouses of Marvel like Hulk, Thor, and Captain Marvel? Under the devious influence of government head Valentina de Fontaine, Bob is molded into the Sentry, the world’s greatest hero. Can the outcasts, aligned with Winter Soldier and Red Guardian, stand a chance against Fontaine and the darkness inside Bob-for every light there is a darkness, and that darkness is the Void…

Going in, I knew what this movie was: MCU Suicide Squad. Basically, it’s what the comics are, and honestly, they’ve never been my thing, but I gave it a shot. With Captain America: Brave New World being a dud and Fantastic 4: First Steps being the best MCU flick since Spider-man: No Way Home , I was curious where this lay.

The cast is the biggest positive in my opinion. Everyone gives it their all. Florence Pugh, since her Black Widow debut, has been a bright light in the MCU’s darker days. Luis Pullman did great as Bob/Sentry/ Void. The final act goes for emotional character stakes instead of a giant boss battle, easily the best climax to a MCU film in a while. I liked the darker, mature themes like mental health, drug abuse, trauma, and guilt. The movie handled them well without going overly dark or trying to preach.

Unfortunately, the MCU itself, or rather its formula of forced humor, is this movie’s biggest weakness. I didn’t laugh much, but I rolled my eyes a lot more than I wanted to. Most of the action scenes were meh overall. Taskmaster is utterly wasted and is just a body to drop for pretend stakes (sorry for the spoiler, but seriously, the marketing spoiled it pretty quick). Valentina has been built up for a while, and her endgame didn’t really feel like much of a payoff.

In the end, the movie is ok but easily could have been above average. What it does good, it does great. The flaws kill it. It’s worth watching and I’m not mad they’ll return for Doomsday. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Cobweb (2023) Review

Cobweb (2023) is one of those movies where I love pretty much every person in the movie. Lizzy Caplan has been great in every movie I have ever seen her in, and Antony Starr speaks for himself. The young Woody Norman is their son, Peter, who does his best as their awkward homebody son, but none of this can save the film.

Let’s rewind a bit first. Lizzy playsCarol, a neurotic and overprotective mother of Peter, and who can blame her. It is almost Halloween, and they live in a town where, right down the street, a young girl went missing. never to be found. Antony plays Mark, a seemingly normal, loving man just doing what is best for his family.

Peter is their 8-year-old son who just wants to go trick-or-treating like every other kid in school, in hopes that maybe he will stop being a social outcast and maybe get the other kids to stop picking on him. This isn’t gonna happen though, since his parents aren’t fans of the holiday. They do oddly have a massive crop of pumpkins in the backyard.

Yes, there’s a body buried here somewhere.

If you think there is a body buried somewhere in the pumpkin patch, you are right. The movie tells you that for free with no guesswork involved. See, Peter quickly starts hearing a weird tapping in the wall that his parents quickly tell him isn’t real. Mark later tells him it must be rats, so they set out some rat poison. I am aware this makes no real sense; it’s just foreshadowing for the sake of a plot point later. Usually, this sort of thing serves a purpose and is hinted at, like there would be some sign of rats. Maybe they would have been eating the pumpkins, but no, they have their own issue. Rot, so they bury some.

This is the kind of writing that detracts from what should have been a great movie. Don’t get me wrong, the movie isn’t a dumpster fire; it’s enjoyable and fun for a quick watch. But what should be a movie we talk about as a movie that proves we can rehash concepts and still make quality, amazing movies, instead comes across as lazy. Best wishes, and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Aliens: Fireteam Elite

Gotta start by thanking Savior for playing through the game with me because, honestly, like most multiplayer games, who your crew is means a whole world of difference. Firetam Elite is essentially an online horde shooter in the Alien universe. There’s 4 chapters, 3 missions each to play through. You pick a class, pick up consumable buffs like shock grids, sentry guns, and proximity mines and jump into action with 2 other players. Is there a story? Barely. You’re a colonial marine tasked with killing xenos- that’s it in a nutshell.

I highly recommend having at least 1 battle buddy if you’re going to play this game. Solo, the gameplay isn’t too engaging. As for any online multiplayer, we’ve played with cool people and a couple that made things way harder than they had any right to be; if you can’t find someone, the game fills the slot with an Alpha, which mostly means you’re pulling extra weight and better not die. With a buddy, the game is pretty fun at times, but not full-price fun. We had it as a PS+ freebie and neither of us had any desire to get the Pathogen DLC.

There’s nothing inherently wrong with the game, just nothing spectacular. The highlight for me was the iconic scenery that harkened back to Alien and Prometheus. I will say the ending of the final mission does the Queen Alien a massive disservice, even more the finale of Aliens: Colonial Marines. There is a nice sprinkling of Working Joes (a nice nod to Alien: Isolation ) and prequel monsters, but the Aliens themselves don’t really spark much terror.

In the end, Fireteam Elite isn’t bad if you and a friend want a pretty quick game to burn through or you’re a diehard Alien fan like I am, but there’s nothing great either. It’s one of the most average games I can think of. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Fatal Frame 2: Crimson Butterfly announcement

Another beloved horror series I never got to try returns. Honestly, if it’s done with the love and care that the majority have shown, I welcome it. Many friends have praised Crimson Butterfly as a great horror game with a great story. This remake is definitely on my playlist for 2026. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Resident Evil 9 trailer 2

I’m already saving my damn money for Re9’s release. The game looks incredible. I like that we haven’t had much look into what the enemies will be like. I want to be surprised by what’s lurking in Raccoon City’s ruins. The enemy we have seen is simply nightmare fuel. Absolutely, this is going to be a late birthday present come February. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

My Kid Made Me Play Dandy’s World

This isn’t really a review so much as it is an acknowledgement of its existence and an experience. My daughter, like many kids loves Roblox. And of course like any good parent,I monitor what she does so I watch her play these games. She started with things like Daycare Story and Obbys.

Eventually,she came across Dandy’s World. For those that haven’t played it or seen it you play as one of a bunch of different characters and will be attempting to avoid their “twisted” counter parts as you fill machines with ichor.

My daughter loves Pebble because he is “super cute” and I have to admit,it really is. That being said, I can’t deny the game is pretty well made and interesting. Each character has its own stats and abilities that make them pretty unique. They can be further customized with items and skins.

The games only real downfall is that you only start with one character and you need to unlock the rest through a combination of buying them with ichor and in game tasks. The ichor can be earned or bought with robux which unfortunately does encourage people to use real money, but the in-game fast can’t be avoided.

All in all,while I would never play this myself,it was a fun way to spend time with my kid. Best wishes,and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Society

Billy Whitney is a good, normal kid living with his rich family in Beverly Hills. His parents favor his sister, Jenny. They don’t like his taste in friends nor care much about his school activities. Billy feels like he can’t escape their vain, detached, materialistic world. How right he really is. When Jenny’s old beau plays a troubling recording for Billy, his whole world turns upside down. People die. He sees things. Jenny’s acting just like their parents, his therapist, and the kids at school. Is Billy losing it, or is something deeper going on?

This was a movie I’d heard about for years but never got to experience until recently. The movie is great at making you wonder what the hell is going on and keeping you glued. The finale is batshit insanity with incredible effects. The acting is solid. I appreciate the uncanny, otherworldly feel to the whole movie. I like the social commentary on the rich feeding off the poor, but it never gets heavy-handed. There’s some really funny moments that don’t spoil the dread the movie maintains. My only real gripe is I feel like they should’ve had Billy’s statis hungry ex girlfriend pop up in the end. Overall, I’d call Society an underrated gem that’s relevant and has one hell of a disturbing ending. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers (sn1)

During an exploration on the moon, a strange object was found. A space dumpster. Inside the long sealed empress of evil, Rita Repulsa, is unleashed to conquer Earth. Zordon, an ancient alien wizard, and his trusty robot servant Alpha 5 spring into action. Zordon has Alpha find five teenagers with attitude from the nearby city of Angel Grove. Jason, Zack, Trini, Billy, and Kimberly were chosen to become the Power Rangers, the only heroes mighty enough to stop the forces of evil…

If you grew up as a 90’s kid as Savior and I did, this show is peak nostaglia as you can get. Fighting, monsters, a colorful giant robot fighting said giant monsters- what else can any kid ask for? Hell, I was a Power Ranger for Halloween the years I wasn’t Batman. The first season with the classic 6 rangers is lightning in a bottle. The core 6 had good chemistry and for the first 60-episode season, it is it cool seeing the characters grow. For example, Billy starts as a weak, stereotypical nerd who gradually becomes the team’s tech wizard as well as a competent, confident fighter. The show’s structure is aligned with self-contained episodes but the multi-part arcs are some of the show’s highlights. The evil Green Ranger arc that introduces the legendary Tommy into the group is still awesome all these years later. The original Zords are iconic: the Mastodon, Triceratops, Pterodactyl, Sabre-Tooth Tiger, Tyrannosaurus, and the Dragon Zord. The theme is one of my all-time favorites and I still smile each time I hear it; the music all around kicks ass.

Like many show’s there’s some dull episodes here and there. Because of the use of Japanese footage, there is quite a bit of repetition to the Ranger and Zord scenes. This show looks goofy and over the top, but to a charming degree. A couple of times in the first season, plotlines do repeat, just slightly altered. As a kid I remember thinking Bulk and Skull, the comic relief bullies, were annoying, and they are, but they grew on me. Rita is a goofball villain with a shrill voice and neither her or her lackeys are competent, but damn if it isn’t funny.

In the end, Power Rangers is a fun, goofy, kids show but it’s still plenty of fun. Whether you’re riffing it with friends, or getting hyped whenever you hear “It’s Morphin Time!”, the first season of Power Rangers is a good, light-hearted time in our dreary world I recommend. May the power protect you.