Brent Lorentson

After enjoying Shudder’s revival of Creepshow, I’ve been looking forward to seeing what else they’d be bringing to their streaming service.  When Belzebuth came along, I’ll admit I wasn’t exactly excited about the title. At first glance it seems like yet another possession/exorcism movie.  Maybe it’s because I went into this with lowered expectations that this film managed to make an impact on me, but one thing is for certain, nothing about this film is “typical”.  Recently I has reviewed Season 1 of Evil, and I’m glad that show is still simmering in the back of my mind, because Belzebuth is a nice companion to the show with one big exception. Belzebuth doesn’t pull its punches, and I’ll say this right now: it’s not for everyone, and it’s a film that will get under your skin. Grab your crucifix and keep a bottle of holy water nearby, because this little film out of Mexico isn’t afraid to show us what evil may really look like.
Read More

From the creators of The Good Wife comes a show that attempts to explore if demonic possessions, miracles, and other supernatural occurrences are real or simply manifestations of the mind.  This is one of those topics that have always fascinated me, being brought up Catholic and with what some might consider an unhealthy obsession with horror.  It was a no-brainer growing up that I would gravitate to The X-Files, and over the years there have been several shows attempting to capture the dynamic of the skeptical FBI Agent Dana Scully and the true believer agent on a crusade, FBI Agent Fox Mulder.  Evil just may have the potential to be the show that explores the unknown and deliver the same quality drama, though I wouldn’t say it deserves the cult hit status just yet. Dr. Kristen Bouchard (Katja Herbers) is a clinical psychologist who is typically used by the local D.A. to testify on the sanity of a subject who is on trial.  A big deal is made about her being a climber that has reached numerous summits, but nothing is really done with this aside from making it a plot device we never get to see her put into action.  Her husband is absent from a good portion of the show because he is taking time off to climb Everest, leaving behind their four daughters in the care of Kristen.  To help Kristen take care of the girls, her mom, Sheryl (Christine Lahti) steps in to play babysitter.
Read More

Over the past decade we’ve seen a resurgence of reboots, remakes, and anthologies, so it isn’t much of a surprise that the beloved horror anthology Creepshow would get the reboot treatment. To be fair, this is an extension from what the first films set out to be, though the big difference is instead of just being a film with a few stories, it is now a TV series, each episode containing two tales to horrify and entertain.  When I first heard about the series, I was cautiously optimistic. The first two films I consider classics, as do many other fans of the horror genre.  Then there was that third Creepshow that I feel we all just want to forget and pretend never really happened.  Without George Romero being around, I just wasn’t even sure I’d want to see a show that could possibly just water down everything that was great about the films and simply turn out to be a cheap imitation.  Now that I’ve watched Season 1, how does it fare alongside the previous films?  Honestly, I found myself impressed with what I saw, and there is plenty of potential to be refined here.
Read More

Family Guy has reached a level of impact upon the American pop culture where I believe the characters need little to no introduction.  Is there anyone, really, who doesn’t recognize Stewie? After all, he’s reached the status of icon and has even become a fixture of the Thanksgiving parade as one of the many floats.  Where The Flintstones, then later The Simpsons, were at one time the dominating animated family on television tackling day to day struggles of the modern American (each in their own and unique way), Family Guy (love it or hate it) now seems to be the go-to animated family. In this collection of 20 episodes, the creative force, Seth Macfarlane, and his team continue to deliver the laughs along with their twisted moral messages. In today’s culture, it seems like it is harder and harder to be a comedian and manage to not offend anyone, and for the first time I feel the show is restraining itself too much, and it’s hurting the product.  Family Guy has always been a show that was self-aware and would break the fourth wall, so it was not a big surprise when a character mentions how they’ve eased up on their jokes against the gay community.  Is this a move brought on because Disney now is writing the checks for those involved, or is this decision made by the writing team?
Read More

Family Guy has reached a level of impact upon the American pop culture where I believe the characters need little to no introduction.  Is there anyone, really, who doesn’t recognize Stewie? After all, he’s reached the status of icon and has even become a fixture of the Thanksgiving parade as one of the many floats.  Where The Flintstones, then later The Simpsons, were at one time the dominating animated family on television tackling day to day struggles of the modern American (each in their own and unique way), Family Guy (love it or hate it) now seems to be the go-to animated family. In this collection of 20 episodes, the creative force, Seth Macfarlane, and his team continue to deliver the laughs along with their twisted moral messages. In today’s culture, it seems like it is harder and harder to be a comedian and manage to not offend anyone, and for the first time I feel the show is restraining itself too much, and it’s hurting the product.  Family Guy has always been a show that was self-aware and would break the fourth wall, so it was not a big surprise when a character mentions how they’ve eased up on their jokes against the gay community.  Is this a move brought on because Disney now is writing the checks for those involved, or is this decision made by the writing team?
Read More