I am not the biggest cheerleader for the Insidious franchise, my issues with the first two chapters in this trilogy fairly well known. Still, Chapter 3 isn’t too bad, breaking both the prequel curse as well as cracking through my relative indifference to this series with reasonably decent force.

One cannot watch Deathgasm without thinking that writer/director Jason Lei Howden isn’t just a big time lover of old school, 1980s-style heavy metal, but also a passionate devotee of filmmakers like Tobe Hooper, Sam Raimi, Stuart Gordon, Peter Jackson and Edgar Wright. Not only is his debut a deft, dare I say joyous homage to the music he undoubtedly adores, but it’s a deliciously energetic and gory romp through monster, zombie and demon tropes so rambunctious it’s as if the whole thing was engineered from the start to be a rollicking love letter to the entire genre.

We Are Still Here is pretty terrific. Freakishly well made, filled with a number of signature moments, director Ted Geoghegan’s film is both delectable homage to past horror greats as well as a new genre entry sure that delightfully stands on its own merits. I love this movie. Watch it at once.

Filled with stellar visuals courtesy of cinematographer Dariusz Wolski (The Walk), production designer Arthur Max (The Counselor) and a passel of exceedingly talented special effects technicians, centered around a funny, personable and altogether human performance from Damon ranking as one of his all-time best, [The Martian’s] 141 minutes breeze by in the blink of an eye, building to a confidently rousing finale that’s simply out of this world.

Cop Car (2015) is almost perfect watch at home, turn out all the lights, make yourself some popcorn, late night entertainment fodder. Silly and slight, yes, but a heck of a lot of fun, anchored by a performance from Bacon that’s a total unhinged hoot start to finish. While not a great film, this is still a remarkably entertaining one, my second time watching it an even more pleasurable experience than the first one was.

Zemeckis, by bringing Petit’s story to the screen in the way he has, reclaims the World Trade Center as a symbol of hope, a beacon of vision and enlightenment. The Walk (2015) is an entertainment coup for the ages, a family-friendly adventure of the human condition reminding us all a little madness now and then shouldn’t just be encouraged, but oftentimes deserves to be celebrated for its inspirational genius.

The Connection isn’t perfect, and I admit part of my feelings leaning in that direction probably have to do with my love for The French Connection, but that doesn’t make it any less a solid, entertaining procedural that slowly builds to an emotionally shattering climax. Drafthouse Films’ Blu-ray release for the French procedural is magnificent, and I can’t help but think this is one motion picture that’s going to hold up remarkably well as the years go by.

Shocker isn’t one of writer/director Wes Craven’s best. It is, however, one of his most eccentric, unhinged and just plain weird.

Nothing is as it seems in The People Under the Stairs, Craven dexterously moving from comedy, to social commentary, to drama, to horror, to satire, to action, to thriller with confident skill. While not every aspect of the film works as well as other, and while the unhinged nature of the narrative can be jarring (especially on initial viewing), so much of the picture sticks with you long after its come to an end one almost can’t help but fall in love with the darn thing in every way whatsoever.