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In this review, we will be taking a closer look at three horror movies that bring something unique to the genre: “Brooklyn 45” directed by Ted Geoghegan, “Up With Dead People” by Bruce LaBruce, and “Ghostbusters” (2016) directed by Paul Feig.

Brooklyn 45

First up is “Brooklyn 45“, directed by Ted Geoghegan. The movie is set in Brooklyn in 1945 and tells the story of a group of friends who stumble upon a mysterious artifact that unleashes a supernatural force. While the movie has potential, it falls short due to poor pacing and lack of character development. The scares are few and far between, and the audience is left feeling underwhelmed. The movie tries to build tension through the use of jump scares but fails to effectively execute them. The characters are poorly developed, and the audience does not feel invested in their plight. Overall, “Brooklyn 45” is a mediocre horror movie that fails to live up to its potential.

Up With Dead People

Next up is “Up With Dead People” by Bruce LaBruce. The movie is a slow-burn horror movie that effectively creates scares through atmosphere. The story follows a zombie named Otto who is struggling to find his place in the world. The movie is shot in black and white and has a grainy, low-budget feel to it that adds to the overall eeriness. The scares are subtle but effective, and the movie does an excellent job of building tension. The characters are well developed, and the audience feels invested in their journey. The movie explores themes such as identity, sexuality, and societal norms. “Up With Dead People” is a unique and refreshing take on the zombie genre and is a must-watch for horror fans.

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“Ghostbusters” (2016)

Last but not least is “Ghostbusters” (2016) directed by Paul Feig. The movie is a horror-comedy that lacks both horror and comedy. The story follows a group of women who start a ghost-catching business in New York City. The movie has a talented cast, including Kristen Wiig, Melissa McCarthy, and Kate McKinnon, who deliver great performances. We recommend you skip it, but if you don’t believe us, you can click the links below but if you value your time, skip this one and get Afterlife or the OG version instead.

Movies n TV

Daredevil: Born Again Episode 1 Recap & Review – A Cautious Stumble into Hell’s Kitchen

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Marvel’s favorite one-man wrecking crew is back, but let’s be real—this isn’t just a Daredevil reboot, it’s a goddamn resurrection. The Netflix show was peak Marvel TV, a brutal, blood-soaked opera of fists and Catholic guilt. And now? Now we see if the Mouse has the stomach for it.


Back at Josie’s – A Familiar Start, No Training Wheels

We open in Josie’s Bar, and thank God for that. None of that “Where has Matt been?” slow-burn nonsense—just straight into the good stuff. It’s him, Foggy, and Jessica..err..Karen, knocking back drinks in the same dive we’ve come to love.

Marvel’s Daredevil Seasons 1 & 2 [Blu-ray] Complete Netflix Series
  • UK DVD Region 2 by Erectogen Idealistic lawyer Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox), along with his long-time friend Foggy Nelson (Elden Henson), uses his newly established firm to tackle the rising levels of criminal activity in New York City
  • By night however, Murdock – who was blinded by a chemical spill as a young boy – uses his heightened senses to fight crime on the streets as vigilante Daredevil
  • With the influence of underworld kingpin Wilson Fisk (Vincent D’Onofrio) continuing to grow, Murdock faces a fight on two fronts to keep the city safe

Last update on 2025-03-09 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

This is Daredevil as it should be: dark, dirty, and two drinks away from a bar fight. No need for a reintroduction, no awkward exposition dumps—just throw us in and let us swim.

Personal Take: This was the right way to start. No fluff, just boom, back in Hell’s Kitchen. That down-to-earth, street-level grime we loved is still here. But then—


Bullseye’s Ambush – AKA Who the Hell is This Guy?!

Enter Bullseye—except if you don’t already know him, you wouldn’t even know it’s him. In fact, ol’ Jimbo had to Google Reverse Image with ‘who the hell is this guy?’ Maybe I missed the ‘last season recap’ button.

One second, Foggy’s making lawyer jokes. The next? He’s got a bullet where his personality used to be.

And here’s the problem: If you never watched Daredevil Season 3 which was what? 30 years ago? Or kept up with Marvel’s deep cuts, this fight has zero emotional weight. It’s just some guy attacking some other guy, and a character we liked gets smoked in the process. I honestly didn’t know who the guy was, so I thought it was just some schmuck low level dude. After googling it…I have a VAGUE recollection of who he was.

Personal Take: This should’ve been a gut punch, but it lands like a lukewarm slap. If you know Bullseye, it’s huge. If you don’t? It’s just another action scene with no setup. Also, this dude has more knives than a goddamn Hibachi chef. Where is he even keeping them all?


The Rooftop Fight – Matt, My Guy, What Are You Doing?!

Now, the fight? Brutal. Perfect. This is what we came for. Matt vs. Bullseye, rooftops, fists flying, bodies slamming into brick walls—it’s exactly the kind of fight that made the original series legendary.

But then… Matt takes off his helmet. Maybe the 3897239428374237842397432 knives sticking out of Matt made him a bit woozie. But wouldn’t he keep that on? I mean not like there’s a copy sneaking up on a guy who can hear a heartbeat of a poodle farting 300 miles away.

What in the name of blind Catholic guilt is happening here?! He just lets a cop sneak up on him? This is Daredevil, the guy who can hear a heartbeat through a concrete wall, and he doesn’t notice an entire cop creeping up behind him?

Meanwhile, Bullseye? Still pulling knives out of nowhere like he’s a goddamn magician.

Personal Take: The fight’s phenomenal, but Matt taking his helmet off is some straight-up horror movie logic. Dude, why?!


Wilson Fisk for Mayor – Did We Miss a Memo?

The Kingpin is back—but wait. Didn’t he get shot in the face in Hawkeye? Like RIGHT in the fucking face!??

No scars. No limping. No “Hey, that bullet wound sure sucked” speech. Just fully intact Fisk, now running for mayor like he didn’t just eat a bullet last time we saw him.

Personal Take: This feels like they wanted you to watch Echo for answers, but who actually watched Echo? Also, Fisk running for mayor makes sense, but it’s been done before. If they’re going to keep him as the villain, they need to give him something new.

Daredevil Born Again S1E1 Review with Daredevil on screen looking very ethereal.

Matt’s New Love Interest – Who? Why?

Now, Heather Glenn enters the chat.

And listen—nobody cares. Karen worked because she wasn’t just a love interest. We saw her character grow, we invested in her. Heather? She’s just here because Karen isn’t.

Personal Take: It’s forced. No build-up, no intrigue—just, “Here’s a new love interest, enjoy.”


Final Verdict – A Strong Start, But Not Magic Yet

This episode does a lot right—
✔ The fights are still phenomenal.
✔ Charlie Cox is still the perfect Matt Murdock.
✔ Hell’s Kitchen still feels real.

But…
✘ Bullseye is a mystery if you didn’t watch Season 3 YESTERDAY or have a memory like a steel trap.
✘ Foggy’s death feels more like actor scheduling than good storytelling.
✘ Fisk just appears back like nothing happened, and that’s weird.

Final Rating: 4 out of 5 Cthulhus—Good. Not perfect. Cautiously optimistic.

4 out of 5 stars (4 / 5)

Your Turn – What Did You Think?

Did Born Again Episode 1 hit for you? Or did you have that same something-feels-off reaction? Drop your thoughts below, let’s talk Daredevil.

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Original Creations

All That Remains, an Afterlife Story by Jennifer Weigel

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Here’s another view of Heaven in this twisted little afterlife story from Jennifer Weigel, titled All That Remains. Trigger warning: religious themes, suggestions of rape & murder.

Aspiring digitally manipulated photo of a spire from Jennifer Weigel's Reversals series
Aspiring digitally manipulated photo from Jennifer Weigel’s Reversals series

I didn’t remember dying.  I only vaguely remembered the thread of my life being weighed at the pearly gates.  And now, here I was, in awe of the splendor of it all.  I looked at the Heaven all around me.  Everything was light and love.  The sunlight sparkled off of the hills and valleys of the clouds, casting everything in a gossamer glow.  Angelic faces shone with mirth and merriment from their depths.  It was the most beautiful visage I had ever seen.

Until he showed up.

“Hey there, glad to see you made it,” Sebastian said.  His words slithered off his tongue, just as they had during the trial.  “I’m here to serve as your guide, to show you around Eternity.”

“But…” I stammered, looking at my feet.  I still felt repulsed by him, couldn’t stand to look him in the eye.  I wanted to strangle him, but I managed to tamp that feeling down by averting his gaze.  “How did you get here?”

“I accepted Christ into my heart, just as you did.  Isn’t it beautiful?”  He grinned.  His red hair bobbed up and down as he nodded.  “Forgiveness is a blessing.”

“One you didn’t deserve,” I muttered under my breath, unsure of the proper etiquette or protocol for engaging with others in this place, or just how and why he would ever have been forgiven for his sins.  “Where is my daughter?”

Sebastian frowned.  “I’m sorry to say she never accepted Christ into her heart, and so she isn’t here,” he answered.

“What?” I seethed, anger bubbling from where it had roiled just below the surface.  “How can this be?”

“Look, I don’t make the rules,” Sebastian spoke.

“But you’re here.  And she’s not.  No thanks to you!”  My voice trembled as it rose.

“I understand your frustration.  But it is what it is,” he replied.

“You’re the one who killed her!” I yelled, no longer able to contain my fury.  No one else seemed to notice, too wrapped up in their own afterlives to care.

“Yes, but that was before.  And I paid for that with my own life.  In the electric chair.  Your justice was served,” Sebastian said.

“I know, but…” I sighed.  “Why isn’t Julianne here?”

“Like I said, she didn’t accept Christ into her heart as we did.  It’s that simple,” Sebastian reiterated.  “We just went through this.”

“Don’t you regret that?” I asked.

“Regret what?  That she hadn’t accepted Christ?  How would I have known?  And it wouldn’t have mattered at that time, anyway – I was a different person then.  Regret is an interesting concept; I never really did get it.”  Sebastian pondered aloud.  “Even after I became a Christian.  I suppose I knew I’d done wrong as far as anyone else was concerned, that I acted from a place of selfishness when I raped and killed those girls…  Inner turmoil.  Let’s call it inner turmoil.  But that was in the past.”

I began to hyperventilate.  This just couldn’t be happening.  My beautiful daughter, her golden blonde hair and blue eyes forever etched into my memory.  My baby girl, so sweet and innocent and naïve.  She never should have hitchhiked that ride.  If only I’d known what she was up to…  She hadn’t even seen her sweet sixteen, she was only fifteen and a half at the time of the assault.

“It doesn’t matter now.  Had Julianne accepted Christ into her heart, she’d be here with us now.  She did nothing else wrong,” he continued, interrupting my reverie.  “I suppose then I’d have done her a favor.”

“Wait.  What?!” I asked, obviously fuming.

“I know now that she hadn’t.  But I would have had no way of knowing that then.  And it was before I converted,” he went on.  “If I regret anything, it’s the two that came after.”

“After what?” I harped at him.  “After my daughter!  You killed four more girls since then.”

“No,” he whispered.  “After I accepted Christ.  I slipped up.  I tried; I really did.  But my needs weren’t being met and I found ways to justify it at the time.”

“You disgust me,” I spat.  “How can you even consider yourself a Christian?”

“I am no less so than you at this point, considering where we are,” he replied.  “We are both here now, are we not?”

“I suppose, but still…” I answered, taking inventory of my surroundings.  I was sure I’d been granted admittance into Heaven, that I passed the test.  I vaguely remembered having done so, and walking through the pearly gates.  Was this all an illusion?

“I am a true Christian, as you are,” Sebastian continued.  “Just as I’m still a Scotsman no matter how I take my tea.  Shall we begin our tour?”

He reached out to me, palm extended in a gesture of grace.  I wasn’t wholly sure of where I was, which version of Eternity I’d landed in.  Everything about this place was still so glorious, peaceful and serene.  And yet…

Hallowed Ground digitally manipulated photo of a spire from Jennifer Weigel's Reversals series
Hallowed Ground digitally manipulated photo from Jennifer Weigel’s Reversals series

If you enjoyed this story, please feel free to check out Heaven (based on the Talking Heads song) and Angels Meeting in the Hallways. And feel free to check out more of Jennifer Weigel’s work here on Haunted MTL or here on her website.

Portrait of myself with dark makeup and crow skull headdress, backlit by the sun.
Portrait of myself with dark makeup and crow skull headdress, backlit by the sun.

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Book Reviews

A Stellar Debut Novel, We Used To Live Here

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Imagine this. You’re home alone, waiting for your partner to return, when you hear a knock on your door. You answer it to see a family of five, bundled up against the cold. The father, a kindly older gentleman, explains that he used to live in this house as a boy. And he would love to show it to his family.

Do not let them in.

The story

Released in June 2024, We Used To Live Here is author Marcus Kliewer’s debut novel. It tells the story of Eve, who just purchased a beautiful house with her partner, Charlie. Their plan is to flip the house and sell it.

One night, while waiting for Charlie to come home, Eve is surprised by a knock at the door. It’s a man named Thomas Faust and his family.

Thomas explains that he grew up in the house and hasn’t been in the area in years. Would Eve let them in so that he can show the home to his children?

Against her better judgment, Eve lets them in. She regrets this almost at once when Thomas’s daughter vanishes somewhere into the house.

What worked

I always appreciate a book that allows you to play along with the mystery. And this book does that better than just about any other I’ve seen.

Pay close attention to the chapters, to the words that aren’t there. To everything about this novel.

This is mostly down to Kliewer. This is ultimately his work of art. But the production value is also fantastic. I don’t want to ruin the multiple mysteries, so I’ll just say this. There are clues in this book that require some specific artistic choices in the page layouts in this book. And I loved that.

If you’d like to experience another horror book review, check out this one.

We Used To Live Here is also the kind of story that makes you question everything right along with the main character, Eve. Eve is a great main character. But she might be an unreliable narrator. She might be experiencing every single horror described, exactly as it’s described. Or, she might be having a psychotic breakdown. Through most of the book, we can’t be sure. And that is so much fun.

Finally, the weather plays a large part in this story. There are several stories in which the weather or the land itself could be considered a character. Even an antagonist. This is certainly one. The winter storm is the thing that traps the family in the house with Eve. It also makes escaping the home difficult. Reading this book during the winter was especially impactful. Most of us know what it feels like to be shut in by a storm. I’ve personally lived through some of those storms that are just referred to by their year, as though they were impactful enough to claim the whole 365 days for themself. And that was with people I liked. Imagine what it would feel like with strangers. It’s a staggering thought and one that we explore in depth in this book.

We Used to Live Here: A Novel
  • Get Out meets Parasite in this eerily haunting debut and Reddit hit—soon to be a Netflix original movie starring Blake Lively—about two homeowners whose lives are turned upside down when the house’s previous residents unexpectedly visit
  • As a young, queer couple who flip houses, Charlie and Eve can’t believe the killer deal they’ve just gotten on an old house in a picturesque neighborhood
  • As they’re working in the house one day, there’s a knock on the door

Last update on 2025-03-08 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

In the end, We Used To Live Here is a fantastic book. It’s the sort of story that sneaks into your brain and puts down roots. And if this is just the first book we’re getting from Kliewer, I can’t wait to see what else he comes up with.

5 out of 5 stars (5 / 5)

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