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Thank you to The Horror Collective for this screener. More about them is at the end of the review, so stay tuned!

SILENCE OF THE PREY is a new horror movie from directors Karyna Kudzina and Michael Vaynberg, with Kudzina also sharing a writing credit with Saro Varjabedian and also starring in the movie (although credited as Karina Bezell)…and produced by Kudzina, as well (also credited as Karina Bezell). So, there is a lot of Kudzina in SILENCE OF THE PREY. And also a lot of rifle butts to the noggin. People in this film have no peripheral vision.

Anyway, Kudzina can’t be everyone and do everything, so it also stars Monte Bezell (nabbing himself a producer credit), Chris LaPanta and Michael Doyle.

So, what is Kudzina’s passion-project about and why is it dubbed a “Social Justice-Themed Horror”? Well, let’s take a look!

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THE PLOT OF SILENCE OF THE PREY

Nina (Kudzina) is a mother with a young daughter, escaping Belarus after suffering persecution for her views. Looking for a better life in the US, she’s having a hard time because she and her daughter are undocumented refugees. However, an opportunity presents itself when an elderly man (Chris LaPanta) needs help around his home.

However, as soon as she’s moved in, there’s something sinister about the place. Strange noises in the woods. She starts seeing things, including a ghostly specter of a Deerman.

Alastor from Hazbin Hotel
No, not that one.

But when another migrant (Bezell) shows up at the isolated house, can Nina figure out the mystery before it’s too late for all of them? Or will she, too, be silenced?

THOUGHTS ON SILENCE OF THE PREY (Spoilers ahead)

Okay, I have thoughts. I really wanted to like this movie because it has actually a lot to say, which I’ll brush on more in my Brainroll section.

However, the pacing, atmosphere, acting, lighting and script are rough.

The pacing meanders point to point. There is meant to be tension when there just really isn’t. For example, Nina and Andres (Bezell), decide to drink Luther’s wine at the prodding of Andres (which also, my dude, don’t flirt with Nina and ask her to leave with you when you’ve known each other a day). Later when Luther finds out, he’s rightfully pissy about it. However, the tone is slanted to the audience like he’s being weird and controlling, which…he told her to ask him next time. That’s it. I would have done the same thing if I were Luther.

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The atmosphere could have been utilized way more efficiently to show a woman in a foreign country and in the middle of nowhere. The woods could have played a bigger factor, especially if she used to be a city girl from Minsk or something. The atmosphere was bland as most of the day shots looked very cute cottage-core cabin and the night shots were too bright to be menacing.

And speaking of lighting (and filters), SILENCE OF THE PREY looked so washed out. I get that’s the new horror vibe, being flat and muted colors, but whoo boy, does it make it uninteresting to look at. There’s nothing that really catches your eye. Nothing to draw you in as a viewer.

Nina and Luther, there's a hunting deer head in the background and a rosary but it's just really muted colors
‘Do you have a moment to talk about our lord and savior, Cottage Core Pinterest?’

This leads to the acting, which is stilted. I needed Luther to be at a 10, but instead he was at a nervous 6. I never found him believable as someone intimidating. He was too soft-spoken and gentle. Don’t get me wrong, I love old badass, creepy dudes – Stephen Lang is making bank on it. But LaPanta never reaches those levels of insanity or villainy. And opposite him is a sleepy-eyed Nina that just wanders from scene to scene.

(Not pictured: the dye-free lavender bath bomb and Rae Dunn mug of tea)

However, the real issue was the writing, which was comedic at times. If you told me this was a parody, I’d still find the tone weird, but it would be believable.

For example, when Nina chops down the door to what we imagine is an injured or dying Andres, and she actually yells down, “Ready or not, here I come!” Completely breaking the tone of the dramatic scene.

Or that Luther keeps calling Nina “delicious” and her daughter “Bambi” affectionately, which is hilarious. Like, we get it. You’re a cannibal. I’m surprised the bath scene wasn’t a marinade.

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Or how about when Luther has a cult dinner party, and all the white people are being…racist? Ignorant? Belarus is confused for the Ukraine and Nina doesn’t even try to correct them (which if she’s so outspoken in Belarus to predicate the need to flee the country, why can’t she get that energy to talk about her home country?). They are supposed to be acting like assholes and I get that but also in a way, I don’t. She and they are European descent (ahem, white, unlike Andres), and their comments never instilled any danger, so I felt it just weakened the tension.

The scene would have been more impactful if she witnessed how awful they were to Andres instead and her having to choose her daughter and her wellbeing over his. But the scene never really pushed the boundary, which it needed to. It was more laughable than sinister or vile.

A guy telling Nina it's weird that she's "Ukrainian" drawn really really well by yours truly
My contractional Paint drawing for the article

SMALL ASIDE

Before we move on to Brainroll, one thing that drove me crazy. The songs sounded like they were bought so they never really quite matched the scene, but there was one in particular they kept using. And I was like, ‘I’ve heard this before. I know I have. Is this from Kevin MacLeod?

Nope. Big friggin’ nope. It finally dawned on me at the credits. It’s absolutely the main theme of 28 Days Later by John Murphy. Anyway, it was jarring and I didn’t like it.

Nina's got a gun
‘I could shoot, or I could leave a bad AirBNB review. Decisions, Decisions.’

BRAINROLL JUICE:

Look, I get it. You might be thinking, ‘Why are you dumping so hard on this indie film?’ I’m not trying to, in fact, I was rooting for it. I wanted this to be compelling. Because I understood that it has a lot to say.

The first thing that grabbed my attention is that this “inspired by a true story” (no information was given about that). And at the end of the film, there’s a quote by Julia Ainsley from NBC News that’s in regard to missing migrants, which the full article can be found here: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/immigration/dhs-lost-track-177000-migrants-us-rcna104464.

Now, after reading the article, I don’t think it means exactly what Kudzima was alluding to. I believe, in context with the film, she was taking the article out of context. In the 2023 article, Ainsley was reporting on 177,000 of migrants who, once they entered the US and were awaiting immigration hearings, ghosted the US government.

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“[D]uring a 17-month period 177,000 address records for new arrivals were either blank or contained nonexistent or nonresidential locations.

More than 1 million migrants were released inside the U.S. pending their immigration hearings from March 2021 to August 2022, according to a new report from the DHS Office of Inspector General. Of those migrants’ records, more than 54,000 were blank, while the rest were either invalid or not legitimate residential locations. Julia Ainsley,
DHS has lost track of 177,000 migrants inside the U.S.

This is not the same as alluding to migrant women being missing due to nefarious reasons. The article has absolutely no information about that and in fact, is more about how migrants often give outdated or false information to ICE so that they can come into the country and stay off the radar of ICE…which is not a good look for Kudzima.

So, I’m going to lend a hand for a minute because this is a very real issue that migrant women face. Being a migrant afab/woman in the US makes them extremely vulnerable to violence, exploitation, trafficking, and fewer opportunities to connect to resources than their afab/male counterparts. They face incarceration or deportation if they speak up against the abuse against them and have limited support structures and resources. Many times they work longer hours, are underpaid, and are often in care-related jobs, sacrificing their own care. And not all migrant women are treated the same. Age, color, religion, ethnicity, and marital status all have a role.

In a much clearer focus on missing migrants, the IOM’s Missing Migrants Project has been going strong for 10 years, recently compiled a report regarding the deaths and disappearances of migrants – A Decade of Documenting Migrant Death.

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From their website, they state: “The more than 63,000 deaths and disappearances recorded during migration over the past decade are likely only a fraction of the actual number of lives lost worldwide. The report highlights the need for improved data collection efforts to accurately assess the scale of the issue and address the broader challenges of unsafe migration. There are more than 37,000 dead for whom no information on sex or age is available, indicating that the true number of deaths of women and children is likely far higher,” and ” migrant deaths are on the rise, with 2023 marking the highest annual death toll on record when over 8,500 deaths were recorded”.

I highly suggest checking out my resources for more information:

BOTTOMLINE FOR SILENCE OF THE PREY

It’s a worthy cause and be sure to check out https://www.iom.int/, but in the scope of movies, SILENCE OF THE PREY misses its mark. 2 out of 5 stars (2 / 5)

AND NOW A WORD FROM THIS DISTRIBUTOR:

The Horror Collective released this week the social justice-themed horror, SILENCE OF THE PREY. Inspired by a true story, Silence of the Prey follows an undocumented immigrant mother who takes a caretaker job for an elderly man, only to discover a horrifying truth. The film marks the directorial debut of Karyna Kudzina, who co-directed with Michael Vaynberg.

Entertainment Squad’s genre label, The Horror Collective, released the film on all major video-on-demand and digital platforms in the United States, the UK/Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand.

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The Horror Collective is the genre label of Entertainment Squad, a finance and distribution company founded by veteran producer Shaked Berenson (TURBO KID, TALES OF HALLOWEEN). The labels’ latest productions include the killer-pants cult classic SLAXX (Shudder Original) and the critically acclaimed LGBTQ+ horror-comedy SUMMONING SYLVIA.

You can find out more on their website here: https://thehorrorcollective.com/film/silence-of-the-prey

When not ravaging through the wilds of Detroit with Jellybeans the Cat, J.M. Brannyk (a.k.a. Boxhuman) reviews mostly supernatural and slasher films from the 70's-90's and is dubiously HauntedMTL's Voice of Reason. Aside from writing, Brannyk dips into the podcasts, and is the composer of many of HauntedMTL's podcast themes.

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Movies n TV

Smile 2: A Poor Rate Second.

“Break a leg out there.”

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Smile 2, a psychological supernatural horror, released in October 2024 just in time for Halloween, sees director Parker Finn (Smile, Laura Hasn’t Slept) return with a sequel starring Naomi Scott (Aladdin) as pop star and recovering addict Skye Riley. While Smile 2 boasts a talented cast, it ultimately falls short of its predecessor, offering a familiar storyline with minor variations and a predictable finale. The film attempts to introduce a new method to combat the parasitic ‘Smile Entity’, but this addition fails to elevate the sequel beyond a pale imitation of its chilling predecessor.

The Plot.

Smile 2 begins shortly after the end of the original; just six days after Rose Cotter’s death. During a short interlude scene, we watch as the now cursed Joel attempts to pass the Smile Entity on by killing one criminal in front of another. The plan backfires spectacularly, inadvertently passing the curse onto an innocent bystander named Lewis Fregoli.


The film then shifts gears, introducing Skye Riley, a singer and performer making a triumphant return to the spotlight with a comeback tour after a tumultuous past. During a candid interview on the Drew Barrymore Show, Skye opens up about her struggles with addiction and the devastating loss of her boyfriend in a car accident. Her sobriety journey, however, faces a severe setback when she seeks pain relief from her old high school friend, the unwitting Lewis Fregoli. In a chilling turn of events, Lewis takes his own life while Skye watches, passing the Smile Entity onto her.
Unaware of her new cursed existence Skye gets on with rehearsing for her tour, but she begins to notice that strange things are happening. People are smiling at her in an unnatural way and she becomes the target of anonymous attacks and aggressions. When text messages begin to arrive from an unknown number, Skye decides to get some answers.

Highlights.

Let’s not beat about the bush. I found Smile 2 difficult to finish and was struggling at about the hour-and-a-half mark to stay awake. That being said it’s worth watching because everyone needs to see the 3-minute scene of the ‘smilers’ chasing Skye through her apartment. This was possibly the creepiest thing I’ve seen on a screen.  The buildup, the synchronicity of the movement of the actors and their positioning, the camera work, and the lighting. I have rewatched it several times and it doesn’t get old. If you are only interested in watching this, fast forward to the 123-minute mark and get ready to be impressed.

Drawbacks.

Where do I start?

My primary concern with Smile 2 is its striking resemblance to its predecessor. The narrative follows a familiar pattern: an attractive woman fleeing a supernatural force, grappling with hallucinations, experiencing a mental health decline, and culminating in the revelation someone close to Skye was the Smiling Entity after all. This repetitive structure diminishes the film’s impact.

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While the introduction of a new method for shedding the entity initially offered a glimmer of hope this concept wasn’t fully realized. It just served to add names to the line of people that the entity has infected in the past.

Furthermore, the film’s pacing suffers from excessive focus on Skye’s musical career. Scenes showcasing her stage rehearsals and music videos, while intended to establish her identity as a performer, feel unnecessary and detract from the narrative momentum. Yes, we understand she’s a performer, you told us, you don’t need to prove it. These scenes appear to artificially inflate the film’s runtime, suggesting a lack of confidence in the core story.

The Final Take.

Ultimately, Smile 2 fails to expand upon the established lore of the franchise. The film’s conclusion feels contrived, with a blatant setup for a third installment. Hopefully, if a ‘Smile 3’ is inevitable, the creative team will bring fresh ideas and avoid simply retreading familiar ground.

2 out of 5 stars (2 / 5)

Both Cthulhu’s granted for that one scene.

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Movies n TV

Goosebumps, Stay Out Of The Basement Pt 2, could have just been one part

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We’re back again with Goosebumps The Vanishing, episode two. A story too big for one episode, apparently.

Or, maybe this is just a nod to the fact that Stay Out Of The Basement was a two-part episode in the original 1995 show. Either way, after seeing this episode, we could have kept it to one.

The story

We begin this second episode with Anthony investigating the parasitic plant taking over his body. Rather than, I don’t know, going to the hospital, he’s decided to phone a colleague and send her some samples from the bulb he pulls out of his arm with a handheld garden trowel.

David Schwimmer in Goosebumps The Vanishing.

Meanwhile, Devin is having his own worries. He’s haunted by what he saw in the sewers. So, he gets CJ to go with him to investigate. What they find is more of the tendrils of the plant that dragged him down through the manhole last episode.

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I sure would have liked to see more about that.

Instead, we see Devin pivot to flirting with a newly single Frankie. Because teenage hormones I guess.

Meanwhile, Trey is having a terrible day. First, his girlfriend leaves him. Then, Anthony breaks his car window.

Needing a way to deal with his frustration, Trey decides to break into the Brewers’ basement. There, he starts wrecking up the place. Until he meets the plant creature and has an unfortunate accident.

What worked

The big difference between this episode and the last is the increased gross-out factor. This episode had some straight-up cringy moments. From the tendrils waiving from Anthony’s arm to the whole goat he brings home to feed his new pet, this episode was skin-crawling gross in the best way possible.

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The series is called Goosebumps, after all.

What didn’t work

Unfortunately, that’s where my praise ends. This episode, unlike the last, just wasn’t that great.

To start with, there was a lot of unnecessary drama between characters who are not in danger of being eaten by a plant from the inside out.

 Francesca Noel in Goosebumps The Vanishing.

I especially disliked the focus on the Frankie/Trey/Devin love triangle.

Now, I don’t hate it. This part of the story adds extra emotional depth to the show. We can see why Trey would be especially incensed by his girlfriend falling for the son of the neighbor he’s feuding with. But it would be more enjoyable if it wasn’t so cliche and dramatic.

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I hate the way Trey tried to gaslight Frankie. It makes me dislike him when he should be a sympathetic character. I hate how whiny Devin is every time he talks to Frankie. And I hated the impassioned speech Frankie gives after Devin asks her why she was with Trey.

Listen, I understand what we’re going for here. Devin and Cece are not struggling financially. They’re doing alright, and their new friends here in Gravesend are not. We kind of got that without Frankie claiming that her socioeconomic status is why she’s dating a bully and gaslighter. It felt out of place. It felt like pandering. It certainly didn’t feel like something an eighteen-year-old would say. I hated it.

Finally, there was a moment near the end of the episode that irritated me. I don’t want to give too much detail because I wouldn’t dare ruin an R.L. Stine cliffhanger. But, well, it doesn’t make a lot of sense.

I get that we’re watching a show about a carnivorous plant that is going to wreak havoc on this family and neighborhood. I understand the suspension of disbelief. Some might even say I am a little too generous with it. So I can buy into a teenager being absorbed by a plant and turned into a monstrous version of himself.

I can’t buy into what happens at the end of this episode. It doesn’t make sense with the rules established. It certainly doesn’t make any sort of scientific or logical sense. It is a lazy moment meant to further the storyline but threatens the structural integrity of the season.

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All in all, this wasn’t the best episode of Goosebumps. But it’s only the second episode. Honestly, the season has plenty of time to go either way.

2.5 out of 5 stars (2.5 / 5)

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Movies n TV

Thriller Nite, Poem by Jennifer Weigel Plus

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So, this is a convoluted post, not going to lie. Because it’s Thriller Nite. And we have to kick it off with a link to Michael Jackson in homage, because he’s the bomb and Vincent Price is the master… (If the following video doesn’t load properly, you can get there from this link.)

The movie monsters always approach so slowly.
Their stiff joints arcing in jerky, erratic movements
While the camera pans to a wide-eyed scream.
It takes forever for them to catch their victims.
 
Their stiff joints arcing in jerky, erratic movements
As they awkwardly shamble towards their quarry –
It takes forever for them to catch their victims.
And yet no one ever seems to get away.
 
As they awkwardly shamble towards their quarry –
Scenes shift, plot thickens, minutes tick by endlessly…
And yet no one ever seems to get away.
Seriously, how long does it take to make a break for it?
 
Scenes shift, plot thickens, minutes tick by endlessly…
While the camera pans to a wide-eyed scream.
Seriously, how long does it take to make a break for it?
The movie monsters always approach so slowly.

Robot Dance found subverted street art altered photography from Jennifer Weigel's Reversals series
Robot Dance from Jennifer Weigel’s Reversals series

So my father used to enjoy telling the story of Thriller Nite and how he’d scare his little sister, my aunt. One time they were watching the old Universal Studios Monsters version of The Mummy, and he pursued her at a snail’s pace down the hallway in Boris Karloff fashion. Both of them had drastically different versions of this tale, but essentially it was a true Thriller Nite moment. And the inspiration for this poem.

For more fun music video mayhem, check out She Wolf here on Haunted MTL. 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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