Searching is a 2018 thriller directed by Aneesh Chaganty and starring John Cho and Debra Messing. The film begins with a man called David(Cho) who is a widower. His wife died of cancer a few years ago. He has a teenage daughter called Margot. She doesn't spend much time with him since her mother died. They have drifted apart. David is on his computer looking at videos and pictures of his wife and daughter. Margot tells him that she going out to a friend's house for a study group. She calls him late that night, but he is asleep and he doesn't hear the call. The next day, he calls her back, but it goes straight to voicemail. He messages her but gets no reply either. He calls her piano teacher to see if she is there, but he is told that Margot cancelled her lessons months ago. David tries to log into her social media accounts. He realises that he doesn't know any of her friends.
David tries to find her friends numbers and he speaks to the mother of one of them. She says that Margot was supposed to go on a camping trip with her son and that she is probably with him. It turns out that Margot didn't show up. David calls the police. He is called by a detective called Rosemary Vick. David logs into Margot's Facebook and he calls all of the friends he finds there. He discovers that a lot of them didn't really know her. She was a bit of a loner. He talks to the girl who was holding the study group and she says that Margot was at the study group until 9 o'clock. The police have CCTV footage and they see Margot in her car. She was driving away on a road out of town. She was saving the money that she was supposed to be spending on her piano classes. She took out $2,500. David finds a friend of hers called Derek. He is a bad guy. He tells David that he was at a concert the night Margot disappeared. Rosemary discovers a fake driving licence with a different name on it. She thinks that maybe Margot ran away.
David sees videos that Margot made. She was talking to some person called fish n chips. The person says that they are a waitress. David finds a picture of a lake where Margot used to go. He finds out that she travelled there. Her car is found by the lake. Margot isn't there. There is blood inside it. The money is discovered inside the car. The case is on the news and everyone seems to want to be a part of it. Derek gets beaten up by David when he puts up stuff on his Facebook page about Margot. Rosemary tells David that he can't be a part of the investigation any longer. David suspects his brother but he is wrong. Rosemary tells David that she has found the guy responsible. The guy kills himself so that seems to be the end of that. David sees a familiar face on a funeral website. It belongs to fish n chips, the person that Margot was chatting with. It turns out that the picture belongs to a model and not the person.
David realises that something is not making sense. He finds out that Rosemary volunteered the take the case. She knew the suspect who confessed. She is dodgy. David goes to a memorial for Margot and she is there. He brings the cops with him and she is arrested. She confesses that she tried to cover up the crime because of her son. She says that he killed Margot by pushing her into a ravine and that he was fish n chips. He liked Margot and he pretended to be someone else. Margot withdrew the money to give to fish n chips because he said that his mother was sick. He followed Margot to the lake and she got freaked out. He pushed her and she fell..Rosemary told him that she would take care of it. She manufactured information and she used a convict to confess. She takes the heat for her son. It looks bad for Margot as they go and search for her. It turns out that there was a storm and there would be enough water for her to live on for a few days. She is alive. She survives her ordeal.
I really enjoyed this film. It is unusual as we see everything from the point of view of cameras, smart phones and computers. I liked the story and I thought that the cast were good. I thought that this was a story about abduction at first, then a murder story, but it turned out to be a different story. The only thing that I would complain about is the happy ending. It seemed unbelievable that she would have survived all of that. It just seemed too neat. I would have preferred a more realistic ending. Other than that, there is nothing bad about this. I found it enjoyable and I definitely recommend it. I will give it a 7/10.
The Bat is a 1959 thriller directed by Crane Wilbur and starring Vincent Price, Agnes Moorehead and Gavin Gordon. The movie begins at a house called The Oaks which is owned by a man called Fleming. He works at a bank and he has stolen money. He is on a weekend away with his pal Dr. Wells(Price) and he confides in him about stealing the money and hiding it somewhere. Wells is surprised at this and he listens as Fleming concocts a plan to fake his own death. Wells wants the money and he shoots Fleming and makes it look like an accident. Meanwhile, an mystery author called Cornelia Van Gorder(Moorehead) has moved into the house and is leasing it from Mark Fleming who is the nephew of the dead Fleming. She has her servant Lizzy with her and some other servants.
There is a killer lurking around called The Bat. He is called that because he he has no face and claws made of metal. He kills women. Lizzie and Cordelia are a tad nervous in the house alone. They hear noises as a man fitting The Bat's description tries to break into the house. A hand breaks through the glass and he lets himself in. Lizzie and Cordelia barricade themselves into the bedroom but The Bat releases a bat into the room and freaks them out. Lizzie gets bitten and they call Dr, Wells to help her. He comes and The Bat escapes. Lieutenant Anderson(Gordon) comes over to investigate and the two women tell him what happened in the house. He searches the house but the killer has left. Anderson looks around Dr. Wells' place and he sees a lot of bat related things which makes him wonder.
DR. Wells and Cornelia wonder if Fleming had hidden the money in the house. They want floor plans and Mark Fleming comes over to the house to find them. He meets The Bat and gets killed. Cornelia decides to write a book based on The Bat case. She has two women staying with her, Judy and Dale. They all look through the house and find a secret door. Mark's body is in there. They call Anderson and he comes over with Wells. Anderson seems suspicious of Wells. Later, The Bat gets into the house once again and the phone line is cut. Dale and Judy go up to the attic and they startle The Bat. He knocks Judy over and heads off.
Cornelia decides to investigate herself. She finds a hole in the wall and it leads to an airtight room with a safe in it. Wells finds The Bat at his place. He is going to frame Wells. They fight and Wells gets shot dead. Cornelia ends up locking herself into the room and she is running out of air. The two girls and a detective called Davenport find her. They turn off the light to let The Bat think that there is no one in the room. He takes the bait and comes into the house. They hide and he comes in. The butler, Warner is with the women too. Davenport tackles The Bat and gets killed. Warner tackles him and manages to shoot him dead. He is revealed to be.....Lieutenant Anderson!!!! The movie ends with Cornelia finishing her book on The Bat. She says to the audience that 'You can't hide murder.'.
This was an old fashioned mystery story which I loved. It was well directed and the cast were perfect in their roles. Price was very good as the shifty Dr Wells and Moorehead was excellent as the headstrong Cornelia. I liked the story and I liked wondering who The Bat was. I had it wrong as I assumed that it was Dr. Wells, but I love a good whodunit. It was a fun movie which I really enjoyed and I am really glad that I watched it. I would definitely recommend this to any Price fans or lovers of mystery tales. This gets a 7/10.
This episode begins with Sasha listening to music in a dark place. She is thinking of times gone by with Maggie and Abraham. Back at Alexandria, Dwight is getting a grilling from Rick and the group. Daryl wants to kill him and so does Tara, but Rick stops them. Dwight tells them that Negan is coming with a lot of his men. He tells them that he can try and stall them. They agree and come up with a battle plan. Sasha talks to Negan and he tells her that she can choose one person to die in Alexandria as punishment for what has happened. He likes Sasha and he is not going to kill her. He decides that she is going into a coffin and he will take her to Alexandria with him. Eugene gives her an I Pod to listen to music on the journey.
Eugene goes in first to try and talk Rick out of fighting Negan but Rick has The Scavengers with him and he doesn't want to give in. He is surprised and disappointed in Eugene. Of course, The Scavengers turn on them and Negan swaggers in and seems delighted with all of this. Michonne battles with a brute of a woman and it seems as if one of them is going to die. Rick tells Negan that he wants to see if Sasha is alive. Negan brings out his coffin and opens it, but Sasha has died and she is now a walker. She attacks him and all hell breaks loose. Rick and the gang attack The Saviours and The Scavengers and a battle ensues.
The weirdo Scavenger leader, Jadis shoots Rick in the side and she stops him from joining in the fight. The fight stops when the group are overwhelmed by Negan and his baddies. Rick and Carl are taken and Negan makes them kneel as Lucille is brought out for some action. Negan tells Rick that he will kill Carl. Rick hears Michonne scream and he thinks that she has been killed. Negan relishes Rick's horror at the thought of her death and he tries to provoke him. Rick doesn't allow Negan to get at him and he tells him that he and his cohorts are all dead men walking. Negan is just about to swing at Carl's head when Ezekiel and The Kingdom guys show up to help. Maggie and The Hilltop crowd come too. Negan has to retreat. The tiger gets his lunch and attacks some of The Saviours. Negan has to retreat and The Scavengers escape too. Rick and Carl find Michonne alive, but beaten up.
There are some questions asked when Negan arrives back at The Sanctuary. Negan asks Eugene how Sasha died. Eugene tells him that she ran out of air, but it is not clear if Negan believes him. Negan gathers his troops and they prepare for battle. Jesus and Maggie come upon the walker Sasha and Jesus takes care of her. She is buried along with the other dead. Daryl finds a message from Dwight saying 'I didn't know' suggesting that he had no idea what Negan was up to.The finale was exciting and it made up for some terribly slow episodes in this season. I hope that the next season will be better. I did enjoy Negan's arrival and Jeffrey Dean Morgan is great. Negan is a formidable opponent and he is great as the lead baddie. I like the introduction of some new groups of survivors and I hope that there will be more surprises in the next season!
Bates Motel is a 1987 horror/thriller directed by Richard Rothstein and starring Bud Cort and Lori Petty.It was intended to be a pilot for a Psycho themed TV show, but it was never picked up.
The movie begins with Norman Bates being taken away to an institution. There is a young boy there who has some problems and the doctor thinks that Norman might be able to connect with him. The young boy is called Alex(Cort) and he and Norman hit it off and become best friends. Norman dies and Alex is very sad about it as Norman was his best pal. He makes a moving speech at his funeral. His doctor thinks that he can be released from the institution. Alex is reluctant as he doesn't fit in there anymore. Alex is surprised when Norman leaves his motel to him. He decides that he will go and make the motel into a success again as a tribute to Norman. He goes to Fairville to find the motel. He meets a guy called Henry(Moses Gunn) who used to work at the Bates Motel. He drives Alex there. The motel is in ruins. He looks around. The place is spooky.
Alex decides to apply for a loan to redo the place. He meets with Tom Fuller(Gregg Henry) at the back and talks to him about it. Tom tells him that the land he has is worth a lot of money and he thinks that Alex should sell it. Alex tells him that he wants to reopen Bates Motel and Tom thinks that he is crazy to do it, but they work out something. Alex goes back to the motel and runs into a woman called Willy(Petty) who was been living in the place for three months. She doesn't want to leave it. She tells him that she will stay on at the motel to help him out. Alex wants to do it on his own. Alex gets an architect and they discuss the plans for the motel. The architect wants to modernise the place, but Alex is happy enough with it as it is. Willy turns up and helps Alex to get things done. Alex talks to Henry and offers him a job as the foreman at the motel.
Bad things happen on the job and they uncover a body at the motel. It is Mrs Bates. Alex sees someone in black at the funeral of Mrs Bates. No one else has seen her. Willy wants to be a chef in the new cafe at the motel. She falls out with Alex and leaves the motel again. Alex meets Tom who tells him that weird things happened at the motel. The workers find another body and they think that it is Norman's father, Jake who disappeared years ago. Alex sees the neon sign come on at the motel by itself and he sees a figure in black at the window. He runs up to the house but there is nobody there. He sees a dead body and thinks that he is crazy. Willy shows up and he tells her what happened. Willy thinks that someone might be trying to scare him away from the motel. He calls the cops but they find nothing suspicious. Willy decides to stay and the motel gets done.
Finally,everything is ready. Alex is nervous about opening night as he has to pay the bank by the next day. They get one customer and things start looking up. Cars full of kids show up and the place is buzzing. One of the guests is called Barbara Peters(Kerrie Keane) and she is going to kill herself in one of the rooms. She is depressed as she is no longer as young as she was and she feels old. She is just about to do it when she is stopped by a young girl Sally(Khrystyne Haje) who talks her into dressing up and going to a party. She meets a young man called Tony(Jason Bateman) and they have a connection immediately. They dance and he goes back to her room. She tells him that he is too young for her. She goes back to her room and she is visited by Sally once more. She discovers that Sally and her friends are all ghosts who killed themselves when they were alive. Barbara is horrified but it makes her see sense.
Alex sees the figure in the window and he runs into the house to see who it is. The figure comes down the stairs with a knife telling him to get out. Henry tackles the ghost and they discover that it is Tom who was trying to scare Alex out of the place so he would sell it to developers. Willy is dressed as Mrs Bates and she scared a confession out of Tom which she tapes. They blackmail him into coming to a more reasonable settlement with Alex about the motel. Sally leaves the motel the next day and she is very happy and full of life again. The movie ends with Alex saying goodbye. It was meant to be the start of a TV series so that makes sense. I enjoyed this movie even if it was a bit simple plot wise. I think that it would have made a good TV show and I would have watched it. Some of the acting is a little ropey in parts, but all in all, this is an enjoyable TV movie. I will give it a 5/10.
Three professional people share a flat in Edinburgh. They are Alex(McGregor), David(Eccleston) and Juliet(Fox). They need another person to help pay the rent so they rent to a weird guy called Hugo(Keith Allen). He locks himself into his room and when they eventually open his door, they find him dead with a suitcase full of money. They have a dilemma on their hands. They decide not to call the cops and David cuts up his body and buries him in a grave in the woods. Juliet disposes of the pieces in the hospital incinerator and everything looks rosy for a while. Until some bad guys come looking for the money.
They break into the flat below them looking for the cash and Hugo and they are nasty. The three flatmates are very scared. This brings the cops calling and they talk to them about Hugo. They deny that he was there but the police are suspicious. Juliet and Alex spend some of the money but David is becoming odder by the moment. He takes the rest of the money and puts it into the attic and he stays up there with it and drills holes in the ceiling and watches the other two. This puts huge pressure on their relationship.
Eventually, the baddies realise that Hugo was living in the apartment with the trio and they come back. They attack Juliet and Alex and they find out where the money is. They get a surprise when David comes down from the attic and kills them with a hammer. He takes the bodies out to the woods and buries them. Alex and Juliet are worried that he is losing his mind and he thinks that they are plotting behind his back. The cops find the bodies and the noose tightens around the trio. In the end, everyone turns on each other and David ends up being killed by Juliet when he stabs Alex. Juliet leaves Alex to take the blame for everything. She thinks that she has the money in her bag as she heads to the airport but Alex has it under the floorboards. She leaves anyway and Alex is left in the flat to deal with the cops.
This was a very interesting thriller with a young Ewan McGregor and a good cast overall. It is darkly comical in parts but there is a serious side to it too. All in all, this is an entertaining movie with good performances from the leads. I will give this a 7/10.
Weaver plays a woman called Dr. Helen Hudson who is an expert on serial killers. She has been giving a lecture to some criminal psychology students when she is attacked by a psycho called Daryll Lee Cullum(Harry Connick Jr.). He catches her in the bathroom and she thinks that she will die. She survives but she becomes an agoraphobic and will never leave her apartment. She has everything that she needs there. She is helped by a pal, Andy(John Rothman) and she spends her life on computers instead of meeting people. When murders begin to happen in San Francisco where she lives, the cops want her help. Inspector Monahan(Hunter) and her partner, Goetz(Mulroney) come to her as she is an expert on murderers.
Helen does not want to get sucked in by murders again. She doesn't want to help the cops, but she eventually agrees. She realises that the killings are copycat murders of famous serial killers such as Ted Bundy, Hillside Stranglers and Son of Sam. The killer is trying to emulate these monsters. The killer also wants Helen and he begins to stalk her through her computer. She is scared that the cops cannot protect her from him. The cops get in contact with Cullum to get his help on the case. Goetz gets killed in the line of duty and Monahan has to work with Helen to get the guy.
They figure out that he is a guy called Peter Foley(William MacNamara) and they try and get him but he is very clever. He captures Helen and brings her back to the bathroom where she was attacked by Cullum. He tries to commit the crime exactly as Cullum did, but this time he will finish her off. Monahan turns up but he shoots her. Helen messes up his scenario and he goes mad. He wants her to pose exactly the way she should and this enables her to escape him. He chases her to the roof and there is a showdown with Helen, Monahan and Peter and Monahan shoots him dead. The movie ends with Cullum writing a letter to a fellow killer telling him how to kill Helen and we realise that he was in cahoots with Foley all along.
This is a very good thriller. I liked the cast and the story line. I have read many books on serial killers so this was interesting to me. I thought that Connick Jr was very different as Cullum and he was creepy which is hard to imagine if you know his other movies and his musical career. A solid thriller which I would highly recommend. I will give this an 9/10.
FBI agent Joe Merriweather(Morgan) is working with his partner Cowles(Abbie Cornish) on a serial killer case. Joe goes to an old friend called John Clancy(Hopkins) who just happens to be psychic. Joe needs his help with the case. John has been a recluse since his daughter died of cancer. He reluctantly agrees and he goes to the apartment of one of the victims. The killer leaves a note and it seems as if he is taunting the cops. The cops arrest the husband of one of the victims, but John can see by touching him that he is not the killer.
They figure out that the killer seems to be targeting people who are sick have something wrong with them. Is he putting them out of their misery? The killer knows every step that they take and John realises that he is also psychic. He has been ahead of them all of the time. They find out that the killer can see that the victim is or will be sick or dying in the future and he wants to prevent their suffering and that is why he kills them. He looks into their future and sees pain and misery so he kills his victims to save them from this.John meets him and talks to him but he escapes.
SPOILER ALERT!!!!!The cops chase up leads, Joe gets shot in pursuit of the killer who is Charles Ambrose(Farrell).It turns out that Joe has stage four cancer and he dies. Cowles has to go on alone with the help of Clancy. Clancy meets Ambrose and talks to him about what he is doing Farrell thinks that he is helping people. John can see that Cowles will face Ambrose on a train and that she will get shot and die. He tries to prevent this by going with her and he has a face off with Ambrose who is dying and wants Clancy to carry on his work for him. Clancy shoots Ambrose after getting shot himself. Ambrose dies but Cowles is saved. Clancy survives and he and Cowles part as friends.
This was an interesting thriller. I liked the cast and the story was good too. Farrell was suitably moody as the killer and Hopkins entertained as the weary Clancy. I would recommend this as a solid thriller. I will give it a 6/10.
Dawn(Amy Pietz) and her daughter Kayla(Fairaway) go to a lovely spa for a nice break together. They need some bonding time and it seems like the perfect place to chill out. They meet the boss of the place who is called David James(Whitworth). He is a charismatic person and everyone seems to revere him. Dawn takes to him immediately. Kayla is not so sure. She witnesses David shouting at an employee and she is suspicious of him but he allays her fears. He tells her that the employee was stealing from the guests and that he fired him. David talks to the new people who have come to the spa and has them eating out of his hand.
Dawn grows closer to David as Kayla meets a young man called Brett(Devon Werkheiser). He is going to tell her something about the spa, but David catches him and has a word with him. Brett shuts up but eventually he opens up and tells Kayla that all is not what it seems at the spa. David is turning the place into a cult. He and his sinister sidekick Siddharta(Charles Fathy) are disposing of anyone who threatens their setup and nobody is allowed to leave. Kayla wants to leave, but Dawn is reluctant as she likes David and does not want to leave him. Kayla tries to ring the cops but David catches her. She tells him that she wants to go and she tries to escape. She tells her mother, but her mother refuses to believe that David is bad and she lets her daughter take off alone.
Kayla is caught by Siddharta and David and placed in a little shack where she is subjected to mental torture. Her mother finally gets wise and tries to save her daughter when she sees David killing Brett. She and Kayla try and escape. Kayla finally kills Siddharta and David and the two leave together. The movie ends with David's other sidekick Lori(Kelly Curran) taking over where he left off. This movie was good fun. I enjoyed it. It is a little light on scares, but it was better than I thought it would be. I will give it a 6/10.
Inspector Peter Lawton(Price) meets his sister Joan(Evans) and she tells him that she has a new boyfriend. His name is Teddy(Saville) and when he meets Peter, they discuss a spate of murders t hat have been happening in London. The killer is a man who targets women who are alone at night. He waits for them after they come out of nightclubs and then stabs them at 3 AM. Teddy suggests to Peter that the killer could be planning his murders using the names of the nightclubs to spell out something. Peter is intrigued and the police wait outside nightclubs, but they do not find the killer. Peter wonders if maybe Teddy might be the killer after a while.
The police set up a trap for the killer and they have Joan dress up and go into a nightclub. They are waiting nearby to see if anyone follows her. Joan gets into a taxi and she is driven off. The police realise that the taxi has been stolen and they figure out that this must be the killer. They follow Joan to her house where the killer is just about to kill her. She sees that it is Teddy and she pleads with him. He almost kills her, but the police arrive. He escapes them. Joan tells them that it was Teddy. The cops are sure that they have their man, but it turns out that Teddy has a half brother who looks exactly like him and it is him who has been killing women. His name is Jim and he tells Teddy to take the blame for the killings while he escapes.
Teddy and Jim face off as Teddy refuses to go down for his killings. The police catch Teddy and think that they have their man, but Joan tells them that it can't be Teddy as she scratched the face of the killer and Teddy's face is clear. Jim steps out with a gun and threatens them to let him escape of he will shoot. Teddy and Jim struggle and Jim ends up falling out of a window into the river. He is presumed dead. Teddy and Joan are happy and Peter is happy that his sister is not dating a killer and the case has been solved. This was an entertaining, if a little simple, tale. It had good performances and there was nothing wrong with it. It is a good thriller from the 1950's and I had never heard of it before. If you can manage to get hold of it, it is worth a watch. I will give it 6/10.
The movie revolves around a house in Louisiana. There was a shootout there in 1928 between three criminals and the cops.The criminals have been served eviction notices, but they don't want to leave. They get killed in the shootout. In 1942, Ben Watkins(Parks) and his wife Ruth(Harper) buy the house and move into it. They are unaware of the stories connected with the house. The townsfolk are frosty towards them and they don't understand why. They get notes telling them to leave the house. They think that it is kids at first. A local man tells them about the murders at the house Other residents of the house have all died in mysterious circumstances. Ruth talks to the local estate agent about the killings and wonders why they were not told about them before they moved in. Ruth hears things when she is alone in the house and she tells Ben about it. They look around and find footprints inside their house which makes them nervous.
Ruth goes to visit her neighbour and talks to her about the house.Her neighbour tells her about the other residents of the house. They all died. Ruth becomes afraid to be in the house alone. Ben tells the Sheriff what happened, but he doesn't seem too eager to help them. They get guns for protection. A local man breaks into the house and attacks Ben. He is going to rape Ruth when Ben shoots him and dies. It turns out that the neighbour has been the baddie all along. She and her partner have been living next door to the house that they were in all those years ago. They escaped the shootout and they hid away for years, killing all of the residents of the house. The two killers fall out and end up dead. Five years later and Ruth has married the estate agent. She doesn't know that he was one of the criminals who were in the house in 1928 and he escaped too. The house is now vacant again....
This was a mediocre thriller. It wasn't really gripping in a lot of parts, but there were some tense scenes. I liked the lead actors. The story was OK but it was a little slow in parts. All in all, this will pass a couple of hours for you, but if you are looking for real action, then this isn't it. I will give it a 5/10.
Lou Bloom(Gyllenhaal) is a loser who has no prospects. He steals an expensive racing bike and pawns it in return for a video camera and a police scanner. He wants to film things that might be on interest to news stations and sell them. He needs to be on the scene of the accident or shooting before the cops get there and seal it off. He manages to get some footage and he approaches TV news director Nina(Russo) with his find. She is impressed with his footage and tells him to get her stuff and she will pay him well. He hires a down and out guy called Rick(Riz Ahmed) and tells him to do what he says and he will pay him.
Lou gets a fast car so he can be on the scene much quicker than the cops. He begins to become well known at the news station for his amazing footage. He has a rival ,though, called Joe(Paxton) and he wants to join with Lou or put him out of business. This backfires when Lou messes with his car and causes an accident in which Joe is injured which he then films.Lou begins to mess with crime scenes to get a better shot. He videos a home invasion and films the criminals and the dead bodies inside the house. He then follows the criminals and when they enter a restaurant, he calls the cops to tell them that they are inside, wanting a stand off between the cops and criminals which happens. Rick is a bit put off by this and Lou is not happy. Rick gets shot by one of the criminals and Lou films him!
The cops want the footage of the shootout, but Nina will not give it to them. She is sleeping with Lou and she is happy with the way things are.It turns out that it was not a home invasion, but a drug deal gone wrong, but Nina will not air that part of it as it would take away from the story. The cops talk to Lou but can't find out what really happened. Lou is a sensation after this and he gets more employees and two vans so he is going to make his business even bigger!
This movie was interesting and it has a great performance by Gyllenhaal as the weirdo Lou. He plays the part well. The supporting cast were good too. It is well worth a watch if you enjoy a good thriller. I will give it 7/10.
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