X THE UNKNOWN

Dean Jagger and Leo McKern

X THE UNKNOWN (1956). Director: Leslie Norman. Colorized. 

In Scotland an unknown and dangerous lifeform emerges from a fissure and hones in on various sources of radioactivity. Unfortunately, any people who cross paths with this creature wind up dying horribly. Dr. Adam Royston (Dean Jagger of So Sad About Gloria) teams up with Inspector McGill (Leo Mckern of Murder with Mirrors) of the Atomic Energy Commission to try to find a way to destroy the creature before it can absorb energy from an atomic plant and grow even larger! Assisting their efforts are Royston's boss John Elliott (Edward Chapman) and Elliott's son, Peter (William Lucas). As the death toll mounts, the blob-like monstrosity makes its way towards a populated town ... 

Peter (William Lucas) and Royston (Dean Jagger) confer

X the Unknown was supposed to be Hammer Studio's follow up to Quatermass Xperiment (aka The Creeping Unknown, which would have been just as good a title for this picture), but Nigel Kneale, who created the character of Bernard Quatermass*, objected to his use in a film written not by him but by Jimmy Sangster. Therefore Quatermass became "Adam Royston." In any event, X remains a creepy and occasionally horrifying thriller with solid performances and some gross sequences, especially when a horny doctor is exposed to the creature in a hospital and sort of melts ... The climax at the fissure where Royston and company hope to completely obliterate the creature is very suspenseful. Anthony Newley, who later became famous as a singing actor, plays the ill-fated soldier, "Spider" Webb. James Bernard's evocative score and Gerald Gibb's photography are both major pluses. The colorizing adds even more intensity to the movie. Highly influential in its way, especially on The Blob and Caltiki, the Immortal Monster. 

*NOTE: I explore the real Quatermass movies in the latest issue of bare bones. 

Verdict: Effective and memorable horror-thriller with sci fi overtones. ***. 

THE BOOGEYMAN (2023)

Chris Messina

THE BOOGEYMAN (2023). Director: Rob Savage.

After the death of his wife, psychiatrist Will Harper (Chris Messina) is left to raise two daughters. Sadie (Sophie Thatcher) is a teenager and her little sister, Sawyer (Vivien Lyra Blair), is scared of the dark and of monsters under her bed. A strange man, Lester Billings (David Dastmalchian), comes to Will's house to seek help, and tells him that all of his children were killed by some strange creature, then commits suicide. Sawyer is convinced that now this same monster is hiding in their house, waiting until dark, and neither Sophie nor her father believe her ... at first. Sadie goes to talk to Billings' widow, Rita (Marin Ireland), and finds she is living in squalor, hoping she can destroy the thing that wiped out her family. But even when Sophie and Will realize Rita is telling the truth, they many have a very hard time getting rid of this ancient demon.

Sophie Thatcher with Messina

Based on a short story by Stephen King, The Boogeyman is slick and well-acted, has some decent FX work and a couple of scary sequences, but suffers from its sheer overfamiliarity. You just get the feeling you've seen the whole thing before -- there is absolutely nothing distinctive, original, nor unique about the movie. It's well-done for what it is, but it just doesn't amount to much. Chris Messina is very appealing as the father, however, and Thatcher and Blair are quite effective.  

CALTIKI, THE IMMORTAL MONSTER

Goddess Caltiki goes in pursuit

CALTIKI, THE IMMORTAL MONSTER (aka Caltiki, il mostro immortale/1959). Directors: Riccardo Freda; Mario Bava. Colorized. 

In Mexico an archeological expedition uncovers a tomb and an altar to the Mayan goddess Caltiki. While exploring an underground lake that contains many skeletons, the team are suddenly beset by a blob-like monster that rises to the surface and eats off the arm of Max Gunther (Gerard Herter). Team leader Prof Fielding (John Merivale) manages to stop the creature -- a huge unicellular organism that is twenty million years old -- with a fiery explosion and gets Max to a hospital in Mexico City. There Fielding is able to isolate a part of the creature surrounding Max's arm and brings it to the lab in his home where his wife Ellen (Did Sullivan) and child await. But poor Ellen finds herself beset with dual menaces: Caltiki, who begins to multiply and grow, and Max, who has become maddened by the infection, escapes from the hospital and tries to have his way with Ellen. 

Didi Sullivan, John Merivale, Gerard Herter

Caltiki is a highly interesting and influential Italian horror/sci fi film. An interesting aspect is that it tries to explain the disappearance of the Mayans by tying the appearance of the flesh-eating Caltiki to a radioactive comet that flies across the sky every few centuries, and is now endangering all of Mexico. The monster itself looks like a perambulating, expanding carpet but is still ghoulish in concept. The scenes in the underground tomb with its sinister lake are creepy and atmospheric, and the climax -- with Fielding and his family caught between one blob in the bedroom and another at the base of their escape ladder -- is exciting and suspenseful. The ending with the military and their flame throwers is a bit dragged out, but the film is generally absorbing. Caltiki is enough of a menace that throwing a crazy Max into the mix was actually unnecessary, particularly when you consider that the character is very badly dubbed. Caltiki has an international cast: Merivale was Canadian; Sullivan was Irish; and Herter was German. 

Verdict: Creepy stuff is even better in color. ***. 

LOVE HURTS (2022)

LOVE HURTS (aka Most Horrible Things/2022). Director: Hiroshi Katagiri. 

In this initially intriguing but ultimately unsatisfying alleged "thriller" a drag queen (Sean Sprawling) and his butler (Simon Phillips) invite a serial killer (Vincent van Hinte) to a gathering of people, both gay and straight, and wait to see what bloodiness will develop. Meanwhile in a series of flash -forwards, two detectives -- Denver (Natalie Burn) and Holden (Sean Patrick Flanery) -- interview the survivors and try to get to the bottom of everything. Good luck! There are humongous plot holes even when the true architect behind the scenes is revealed -- it's not really worth the wait. Sprawling's performance consists of attitudinizing that passes for acting; the others are a bit better, including Grant Pfost as Eric, who is humiliated by the drag host; Andres Erickson as Jason, who is taken to task for saying he is not that attracted to black men; and black Jeff (Rich Paul), who tells him that he is not at all his type anyway. Okay, there's some interesting dialogue and characters in this, but the screenplay is not at all well-developed, and you may find yourself groaning at the ending, which does not come as that big a surprise. Martina Vargas and Sarah J. Butler are the attractive ladies lost in this disappointing mess. This might have worked better as a genuine slasher flick. 

Verdict: Another bummer on Amazon Prime. **. 

COMIC BOOK ANIMATED MOVIES

Green Arrow, Bats, Nightwing, Flash, Red Robin

JLA ADVENTURES: TRAPPED IN TIME (2014). Director: Giancarlo Volpe. During a battle between the Justice League and his Legion of Doom, Lex Luthor is frozen in ice and doesn't thaw out for hundreds of years. Karate Kid, who wants to join the futuristic Legion of Super-Heroes along with fellow applicant Dawnstar, accidentally frees Luthor from the ice. Using the Time Trapper for his own ends, Luthor goes back in time and conspires to make certain the Justice League won't exist (although taking Superman out of the equation wouldn't necessarily accomplish that). Now that the JLA is no more, Karate Kid and Dawnstar work to set things right. Solomon Grundy, Bizarro, and especially Toyman are ridiculous characters in this. Still, the movie is colorful and entertaining, and the JLA's battle with the Time Trapper is exciting enough. **3/4.

BATMAN UNLIMITED: ANIMAL INSTINCTS (2015), Director: Butch Lukic. Batman and his allies Nighwing, Red Robin, Flash and Green Arrow go up against an "animalitia" that is run by the Penguin, employs deadly animal androids, and has such members as Cheetah, Killer Croc, Man-Bat, and the ape, Silverback. Penguin's ultimate plan is to draw an asteroid to Gotham, where the citizenry that mocked him will be killed, and he can get at the gold inside the asteroid's core. In this full-length animated feature's strange continuity, the Penguin seems not to have operated before and Bruce Wayne has never met Kirk Langstrom (Man-Bat). The animation is generally fluid, and there are some fine voice characterizations, especially by Laura Bailey as Cheetah, and Dana Snyder as the Penguin. Nightwing's initially obnoxious attitude towards Flash is never explained. The movie has exciting moments, but never quite becomes a contender. One ridiculous sequence has Flash, who has apparently not been in action all that long, taking forever to get himself out of a rope trap -- not very likely. **1/2. 

SUPERMAN: BRAINIAC ATTACKS (2006). Director: Curt Geda. In a full-length spin-off from the Superman cartoon show, the Man of Steel (Tim Daly) wants to tell Lois Lane (Dana Delaney) his big secret but also has to contend with two major villains. After Superman seemingly defeats the techno-biological creature Brainiac (Lance Henriksen), Lex Luthor (Powers Boothe) finds an important piece of him and rebuilds him under his control -- or so he thinks. Now Brainiac is more dangerous than ever. Meanwhile Jimmy Olsen has his hands full with Luthor's curvaceous and dangerous assistant, Mercy. Fluid animation and good direction makes this a good bet for younger viewers. Basically well-done if minor-league. **3/4. 

BATMAN: THE DOOM THAT CAME TO GOTHAM (2023). Directors: Christopher Berkeley; Sam Liu. 

In this animated movie based on an "Elseworlds" (stories told out of DC Universe continuity) graphic novel, Batman and concepts created by H. P. Lovecraft prove not to be a good fit, as logical Batman has never worked that well with the supernatural. The story, which has Bruce Wayne/Batman returning to Gotham after twenty years, begins in an Antarctic cavern and employs such characters as demonologist Jason Blood, Oliver Queen, Ra's Al Ghul and his daughter Talia (of the "Cult of Ghul"), Harvey Dent, Dick Grayson and the Penguin, among others, The only voice actor whose name I recognized was Jeffrey Combs as Kirk Langstrom, who in other stories is better-known as Man-Bat. The actors do a good job with the various characters, but ultimately this is not one of the more memorable DC animated movies. **. 

LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES (2023). Director: Jeff Wamester. Superman's older cousin Kara/Supergirl (Meg Donnelly) is also a survivor of Krypton but she arrives on earth years after Superman (Darren Criss) does and now appears younger. Not adjusting to life on 21st century Earth very well, Superman takes her to the 30th century, where she applies to the academy of the mostly teenage Legion of Super-Heroes. Things get off to a bad start when she mistakes Brainaic-5 (Harry Shum, Jr.), a descendant of the original Brainiac, for the real deal and attacks him, but it isn't too long before the couple are billing and cooing. Meanwhile most of the other Legion members are missing in action, and an ancient and sinister group called the Dark Circle is behind this -- and one of Superman's arch foes is behind them. Kara's colleagues in the academy include Triplicate Girl, Bouncing Boy, Mon-El, and the weird Arms-Fall-Off Boy, one of whom turns out to be a traitor. An interesting aspect has the original Brainiac showing up with the bodies of his other descendants grossly incorporated into his own physical structure. Legion of Super-Heroes is a fun and exciting animated movie. Flash Batman, and Solomon Grundy have cameos. ***. 

SHADOW OF FEAR

Jean Kent and Mona Freeman

SHADOW OF FEAR (aka Before I Wake/1955). Director: Albert S. Rogell. Colorized. 

April Haddon (Mona Freeman of Angel Face), who has been in the U.S. for several years, comes home when her stepmother, Florence (Jean Kent), notifies her that her father has died in an accident. April is very suspicious of Florence, especially when she tells her that her late mother, who was nursed by Florence, was supposedly a hopeless drunk, something April refuses to believe. She also uncovers incriminating evidence about the boat  accident in which her father died. April's old boyfriend,  Michael (Maxwell Reed), now a doctor, listens to April but is unconvinced that her stepmother, whom everyone loves, is the monster she portrays her as. April learns that the fortune her father left her will be in trust until she turns 21 in three weeks -- but April is convinced her stepmother plans to do away with her before the time is up. Florence was left the house and money but April fears that she wants it all ... 

Mona Freeman and Maxwell Reed

Shadow of Fear is a low-budget but absorbing British thriller with good performances, especially from Jean Kent as Florence, who keeps the audience guessing as to whatever her true character, motivations, or plans may be, sinister or otherwise. Mona Freeman is also excellent as the distraught daughter who finds her efforts to get justice for her parents continuously stymied. Marshall Reed was a British matinee idol who was once married to Joan Collins and he's stalwart enough as the good doctor who comes to April's aid after being initially dismissive. Supporting performances are all on target and the film is quite enjoyable. 

Verdict: Minor but entertaining suspense film with good performances. ***. 

ROADRACERS (1960)

Joel Lawrence

ROADRACERS (1960). Director: Arthur Swerdloff. 

Rob Wilson (Joel Lawrence) has a difficult relationship with his father, Harry (John Shay). Harry is obsessed with car racing and sort of forced his son into the sport. When a man dies during a race, Harry blames Rob, who takes off for Europe. Coming home he takes up racing again, but tells his father he hates it -- and him. He is also upset over his former girlfriend, Liz's (Marian Collier) relationship with a rival racer, Greg Morgan (Skip Ward). It doesn't help that Harry has decided to sponsor Greg instead of his own son.  Naturally the two drivers will have a grudge match at the American Grand Prix in Riverdale, California.  

Rivals: Joel Lawrence, Marian Collier, Skip Ward

Roadracers, a slick black and white flick from American International, has some good acting and a script that leaves many cliches of the genre intact: the rival drivers after the same girl; the conflict between a father and his son; the driver haunted by someone's death in a race etc. The script at least tries to flesh out the characters and the performances help, but the movie sort of strains for dramatic currency. The racing scenes are fairly exciting but they've been done better elsewhere. The good-looking lead, Joel Lawrence, is solid as Rob but mostly appeared on television after starring in this picture. Ditto for Skip Ward, although he also played Hank the driver in Night of the Iguana. Marion Collier sings the memorable "Here You Are" at one point but doesn't have much of a voice. However, she's much better than Jimmie Madden croaking out "Leadfoot" over the opening credits. Sally Fraser and Mason Alan Dinehart are also in the cast. 

Verdict: Standard race track meller with some decent acting. **1/2. 

MONSTER FROM GREEN HELL

monster threatens Jim Davis and Barbara Turner

MONSTER FROM GREEN HELL (1957). Director: Kenneth G. Crane. Colorized. 

When several rockets are sent into space by scientists Quent Brady (Jim Davis of Satan's Triangle) and Dan Morgan (Robert Griffin), one of them crashes on earth in equatorial Africa. This is followed by reports of monstrous creatures in the area. Quent theorizes that a wasp in one of the space capsules was battered with cosmic radiation for forty hours instead of forty seconds, and may have given birth to gargantuan mutations. After a long journey across the Dark Continent (courtesy of stock footage from Stanley and Livingstone) the two men come to an outpost run by Dr. Lorenz (Vladmir Sokoloff) and his daughter Lorna (Barbara Turner). When the former is found dead by his associate Arobi (Joel Fluellen), a group -- consisting of Quent, Dan, Lorna, Arobi and guide Mahri (Eduardo Ciannelli) -- set out to find the creatures and destroy them, which won't be an easy task.  

Big wasp on the rampage!

Monster from Green Hell is actually a fun and entertaining giant monster flick. The acting is perfectly swell, although I confess I've never been able to get a handle on the odd Barbara Turner. The monsters themselves are either full-scale props with dangerous stingers or are brought to life with credible stop-motion. A decided plus is the score by Albert Glasser, whose music always brings out excitement and suspense in the weird situations. The climax contains a cave-in after a scary run-in with a humongous wasp that temporarily traps the team in darkness. This is a well-done colorized version of the movie, which definitely adds a lot to the picture -- for one thing, the "Green Hell" region in the movie where the monsters dwell is actually green. A creepy scene has the wasps surrounding the gang's camp at night.

Verdict: You can't go wrong with big bugs -- in color!

THE BIG NIGHT (1960)

Randy Sparks

THE BIG NIGHT (1960). Director: Sidney Salkow. 

High school student Frankie (Randy Sparks) hangs out with a bad crowd but has a loving widowed father, Ed (Dick Foran), and a pretty girlfriend, Ellie (Venetia Stevenson). Frankie discovers a briefcase full of loot from a bank robbery in town and decides to keep it, although Ellie isn't so certain it's a good idea. Nevertheless, having this nice chunk of change inspires Frankie to turn his life around, and he gets a job and new clothing and even wins the approval of Ellie's mother (Anna Lee) and boss (Frank Ferguson). Unfortunately, an ex-cop named Wegg (Jesse White of Country Music Holiday) and a sinister figure named Farrow (Dick Contino of Daddy-O) are also after the money ,,, 

Venetia Stevenson and Randy Sparks 

The Big Night is a minor crime drama but it is bolstered by some very good performances, with an appealing Randy Sparks hitting all the right notes. Venetia Stevenson is a nice actress who also offers a sensitive turn as Ellie. Dick Foran makes the most of his role as the somewhat depressed and defeated Ed. Jesse White is Jesse White -- a totally bland portrayal -- but Dick Contino proves as effective as a murderer as he was as the hero in Daddy-O. Ferguson and Lee are fine, as is Paul Langton [The Hidden Eye] as the head cop on the case. There's a decent romantic score by Richard LaSalle and Jesse White is given a snappy and violent death scene. Randy Sparks was also a composer and the founder of the New Christy Minstrels. He had only a few acting credits. Sidney Salkow also directed Twice-Told Tales. 

Verdict: Some engaging players make this palatable. **3/4. 

JUSTICE SOCIETY WORLD WAR II

JUSTICE SOCIETY WORLD WAR II (2021). Director: Jeff Wamester. 

The Flash/Barry Allen (Matt Bomer) inadvertently jumps back in time to WW2 and discovers he is on a different earth where the Justice Society (as opposed to the Justice League) are fighting with the Allies against the Nazis. Barry meets the original Flash, Jay Garrick, as well as Wonder Woman, Black Canary, Hourman, Dr. Fate and Hawkman, who is killed. Reporter Clark Kent exists on this earth but at first he selfishly tries to stay out of the conflict. 

The Justice Society

The Justice Society tries to enlist the aid of Aquaman (Liam Mcintyre), King of the Seven Seas, but his mind has been taken over by a sinister Advisor (Geoffrey Arend) and he is now allied with the Axis. Meanwhile military man Steve Trevor keeps asking Wonder Woman to marry him at inappropriate moments (sort of what happened in the original WW comic books). This colorful animated feature gets better as it goes along and is especially exciting when the members of the JSA have to battle some slithering and absolutely humongous sea creatures summoned by Aquaman. The voice characterizations are all well-done, with particularly notable work from Geoffrey Arend. 

Verdict: Fun DCU cartoon feature for kids of all ages. ***.

DADDY-O

Sandra Giles and Dick Contino

DADDY-O (1958). Director: Lou Place. 

Trucker Phil Sandifer (Dick Contino) has an unfriendly encounter with Jana Ryan (Sandra Giles) on the highway. Later she meets up with him again in a club where he's asked to sing a number and later agrees to actually race Jana in Griffith Park. This results in Phil losing his driver's license, so he goes to work for the portly Sidney Chillas (Bruno VeSota of Female Jungle), as a singer. He is also hoping to get a line on what happened when his best friend, Sonny (Robert Banas), died in a car accident on the same night as the race. Phil and Jana continue to have a love-hate relationship as he investigates Chillas and his menacing gunsel, Bruce (Tipp McClure). Then Chillas tells him he wants him to deliver a package for him ... guess what's inside? 

Bruno gets a rubdown: VeSota and McClure

Daddy-O is not a very good movie but it's of interest because of the presence of Dick Contino, who gained more fame as an accordionist on Ed Sullivan than as an actor. This is too bad, because the big, handsome lug has a lot of charisma and screen presence, and gives a very good performance in the movie. He has a decent voice, and while his singing style might be considered a bit hokey today, he has a great bit when he jumps off the stage, gives manicurist Marcia (Gloria Victor/Joanne Arnold) a hot and passionate smooch, and turns triumphantly and sexily back to the audience. Bruno VeSota is also notable as the smooth-talking, pseudo-cultured Chillas and even gets a rubdown from his gunsel Bruce at one point. Alas, Sandra Giles is strictly from the Mamie Van Doren School of Acting, and makes little impression despite her physique. Sultry Gloria Victor makes much more of an impression as she stands by the bar literally smoldering with lust for Phil -- who calls himself "Daddy-O" -- as he's singing. This was the first score by the prolific John Williams of Jaws fame. 

Verdict: See it for Big Phil! **1/2. 

 

DEATH'S ROULETTE

DEATH'S ROULETTE (aka Uno para morir/2023). Director: Manolo Cardona. Amazon Prime. 

7 strangers wake up in a fabulous estate on an isolated island and compare stories as to how they were all abducted. A disembodied voice tells them that they must choose which of them is to die and must also follow certain rules. For one thing, no one can volunteer to make the ultimate sacrifice. If they don't make a choice, all of them will die. As the deadly "game" proceeds, the participants are allowed entry into different sections of the house and many personal facts about these individuals are revealed. The captives include a police detective named Simon (Manolo Cardona, who also directed), a drug-addicted stewardess named Teresa (Adriana Paz), a surgeon named Armando (Dagoberto Gama), and others. Simon theorizes that they may be the captives of a sociopath named Pablo, and as the film progresses their various connections to this man come to light. Will any of them survive? 

Presented on Amazon Prime, Death's Roulette is a Mexican thriller that holds the viewer in suspense, boasts some excellent performances (especially from Cardona), and works quite well until it becomes a little too tricky at the end. The picture has a classy look thanks to some striking sets and Luis Enrique Carrion's often stunning cinematography. There's not much originality to the script, however, but there are many good scenes and an exciting climax. This is another film that suggests that the victims are actually worse than the perpetrator, and the movie seems morally confused.  Cardona's direction is good and the dubbing is excellent.

Verdict: Entertaining and twisty if a bit too familiar and with loads of loose ends. **3/4. 

THE GHOST WALKS

Johnny Arthur, Richard Carle, John Miljan

THE GHOST WALKS (1934). Director: Frank R. Strayer. Colorized.  

On a dark and stormy night producer Herman Wood (Richard Carle), his nervous secretary, Homer (Johnny Arthur), and playwright Prescott Ames (John Miljan) manage to make it to the home of Dr. Kent (Henry Kolker). Prescott is engaged to Kent's daughter, Gloria (June Collyer), but she is also pursued by a persistent Terry Shaw (Donald Kirke). During dinner Beatrice (Eve Southern) says that the ghost of her dead husband will be joining them -- after dinner she is found dead. It develops that, aside from the murder, everything that transpired at dinner is taken from Prescott's play, and Wood and Homer still think everyone is just acting when Beatrice's corpse disappears ...

Rivals: Donald Kirke and John Miljan

Even by 1934 standards this comedy-mystery film is creaky with the usual quota of hoary elements, such as an old mansion, a thunderstorm, even an escaped maniac from an asylum conveniently located nearby. As the emphasis is on humor it's hard to get much involved with the "plot," such as it is. The only thing that keeps one watching is the relatively fast pace and some of the performances, with Carle and Arthur making an amusing combo of secretary and impatient, grumpy employer. The others in the cast are professional enough although no one stands out, which is no surprise given the material. At one point Homer winds up in a bed straight out of a Hawthorne  story when the canopy begins to descend. 

Verdict: Where are Abbott and Costello when you need them? **. 

EATER BUNNY MASSACRE: THE BLOODY TRAIL

EASTER BUNNY MASSACRE: THE BLOODY TRAIL (aka Easter Bunny Massacre 2/Easter Killing 2/2022). Director: Jeremy Chi-Hang Au. 

Star (Coco Taylor) and her boyfriend Mark (Harry Boxley, who also wrote the screenplay) go to a five-year reunion party of some old high school friends. The hostess and her boyfriend have already been murdered (in a fairly dull pre-credit sequence), so the bitchy Carla (Charlie Esquer) has taken over. Other guests include Danny (Elliott Eason), Dina (Natasha Rose Mills), Alex (Amber Doig-Thorne) and so on. They all freak out when a tape recording is played and out comes the voice of the dead Lexi (Jenny Miller), who may have committed suicide five years before or may have been murdered after her drink was spiked. Then someone in a ragged bunny suit comes after the group, murdering them one by one. 

The Bloody Trail is a sequel to -- or remake of -- Easter Bunny Massacre as both films basically have the exact same plot. Like the first film, it is an amalgam of Scream and I Know What You Did Last Summer, and has little originality. A somewhat interesting aspect is that there is a gay male couple in the film but you don't know who they are until the flick is nearly over. The cast perform admirably considering that their characters are only lightly sketched in. Charlie Esquer is certainly vivid as the very mean girl Carla, although one could argue that she overplays badly at times, but Elliott Eason hits the mark as the heavily-tattooed Danny. The movie isn't well-paced, but once you get past the tedium of the opening minutes, it will either cast a strange spell on you -- a kind of bad movie voodoo -- or put you to sleep. The flick isn't particularly good but it does have some suspense and surprises. 

Verdict: The bunny outfit in this one isn't very scary. **1/4. 

JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK: APOKOLIPS WAR

JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK: APOKOLIPS WAR (2020). Directors: Matt Peters; Christina Sotta.

In this animated feature Superman decides that instead of waiting for major villain, Darkseid, ruler of Apokolips, to attack, the Justice League should take the battle to him. Unfortunately, Darkseid is prepared, and two years later we see the results: a decimated Earth where a handful of heroes and others are all that stand between Darkseid and his ultimate conquest. The main character in this movie seems to be second banana John Constantine, who has mystical powers and has been drinking heavily since he ran off and left Zatanna to die (although his alleged act of cowardice is later explained). Batman has become one of Darkseid's acolytes, but his son Damian Wayne (Stuart Allan) fights the good fight, along with the Demon, Lois Lane, Lex Luther, Harley Quinn (why must this awful character appear in so many comics and movies?), Swamp Thing, the Titans and the Suicide Squad. (In a ridiculous moment it is revealed that bisexual Constantine is the ex not of Harley, as some suspected, but King Shark, which would sort of make Constantine a bestialist!)

Damian Wayne and resistance members

Raven of the Titans, turned into a teenager in this film so that she can bond with Damian Wayne, has been suppressing the essence of her evil father, Trigon, but he escapes to take over the body of Superman, leading into a battle between Trigon and Darkseid, which is perhaps not as exciting as expected. There are evil versions of other heroes, manipulated by Darkseid, and Apokolips War emerges as a kind of sequel to Flashpoint. The whole thing is fairly colorful but these things tend to work better on the comic page. Fun for devotees, however.

Verdict: Fairly exciting super-hero animated feature. **3/4.