Shirley MacLaine and Jessica Lange are two great women of American film, and living legends. It is always a pleasure to see them work. They both have won shelves of awards including Best Actress Oscars. But they both have also been in bad movies. The process of being a creative artist is always a journey where you take a leap through a hoop with the hopes of doing good work. It also becomes difficult for actresses, even for living legends, to get good work as they grow older. But films about older people are important too. All movies can’t be about young attractive new faces being forced on you with little understanding of who they are. We all know who Shirley MacLaine and Jessica Lange are. They are part of our collective history. They are like our family. It makes us feel good when they keep going and do good work. Lange especially has been hitting career highs with her recent work on multiple seasons of American Horror Story. Lange has won numerous awards for that alone. But eventually it is time to move on to new risks. I forgot to mention that Demi Moore is also in this movie.

Wild Oats is a movie that premiered on the Lifetime network. That can be perceived as a bad sign, but it doesn’t necessarily have to, in a case like this. In this case, it is an opportunity to showcase a type of film that doesn’t get made much anymore; films that celebrate old age. It is also a film that went through numerous difficulties getting made. It had so many difficulties getting made that Shirley MacLaine wrote a book about it. It’s called Above the Line and is the latest in a long line of bestsellers written by MacLaine.

Vampyres (2015) is a remake of Vampyres (1974). It is important to note that right here at the start. They have a strong similarity, and the latter film is clearly a homage and loving duplication. It should be stated that the new version is not better, but the two films have identical essential elements. That would be naked lesbian flesh-eating, blood-obsessed predators. The original was fairly groundbreaking in its almost fetishistic content. This version has more nudity and sex scenes. I would safely say that if you like naked blood-soaked sex scenes, you will enjoy it, but aficionados of horror classics will likely be pickier. The initial problems have to do with the writing and acting which is not Oscar caliber. I can get to that later. This is basically an English-language Spanish production. The biggest difference maybe the landscape of the Spanish countryside is not as evocative and lush as the original English location.

May Heatherly and Caroline Munro are two classic horror actresses who show up but with very little effect to the story. Colin Arthur is an established makeup artist and was involved with the original production.

When it comes to director Jeff Prugh and his new film The Caretaker, he shows that you don’t need a big budget or grand effects to deliver a horror film.  In the case of The Caretaker, filming on a modest budget may have presented the director with the challenge to lean more towards atmosphere and technique rather than fall back on special effects and gore. This isn’t a film that is going to get a wide release in theaters across the US, so it’s going to have to rely on receiving word of mouth to be seen.  With there being so many options to choose from, what makes The Caretaker stand out from the pack? Well, if I’m being honest, it’s because I find the film charming in a way.  Not exactly what a horror film would want to have said about it, but this is one of those little films where you can actually feel the labor and passion put into this.

Mallorie (Meegan Warner) is called upon to take care of her ailing grandmother; her boyfriend August (Sean Martini) tags along, and it’s not too long before things start to get a little weird.  The grandmother, Birdie (Sondra Blake), seems to have a deep attachment towards her home. Most with grandparents are familiar with the type that want to remain independent and not be locked away and forgotten in a home.  At first glance Birdie is a very familiar figure and we can understand the need for someone to look after her with her health in decline, but the film doesn’t waste time in giving us the impression something just isn’t right with old grandma Birdie.

Everyone makes mistakes. Decisions that are made in the heat of the moment that haunt them and they wish they can take back. Sometimes those mistakes don’t go away as easily as they want to them to. That is definitely the case for Tara (Jamie Alexander) after her bachelorette weekend in New Orleans. Looking to celebrate her impending wedding as well as forget an indiscretion committed by her soon-to-be husband (Cam Gigandet), she meets Patrick (Wes Bentley), a bartender at a club Tara and her friends go to. They meet, there’s a connection, and as these things go, one thing leads to another, as they say. Afterwards, she just wants to move on and forget it happened, but Patrick will not be ignored (I know it is an obvious rip-off, but it applies).

This thriller is definitely a welcomed addition to the 31 Nights of Horror. Granted it does not feature a seemingly immortal killer, but more of the human variety; it goes without saying that human beings have the capacity for great violent and psychological acts. Patrick is no different as he begins a barrage of tactics to achieve his objective including cancelling wedding reservations, showing up unannounced, even embedding himself in Tara’s life thorough people close to her. Tara goes to extremes as well, doing anything and everything to rid herself of her stalker and keep her secret from Michael.