Stella (Lesley Manville) and her husband, Gerry (Ciarán Hinds), go on a trip to Amsterdam where she has a religious awakening while facing her past traumas and stale marriage in Midwinter Break. Director Polly Findlay and her co-writers, Bernard MacLaverty and Nick Payne have made a gently moving, but undercooked and often dull drama that doesn't provide enough insights about marriage, love, faith or self-discovery. Stella feels stuck in a stale marriage with a husband who emotionally neglects her and invalidates her feelings. Gerry is not only alcoholic, but also emotionally abusive and a narcissist albeit not a malignant one because he shows brief signs of introspection and wants to change. Will he ever truly change or is he just saying that because that's what Stella wants to hear? It seems like he's never truly listening to her, even when she explains that she wants to leave him and devote  her life to the Catholic faith at a community for religious women. He thinks she's talking nonsense and refuses to even engage in a conversation about it with her during dinner at a restaurant. What makes him even more toxic, though, is that he doesn't apologize for his actions or the consequences of his actions afterward. She meets a kind woman, Kathy (Niamh Cusack), who she assumes lives in the religious community that she wants to join. She generously offers to invite Stella over for tea later on. Despite barely knowing her, Stella opens up to her (or, more accurately, trauma dumps) about the painful memories from her past. Before you know it, she says goodbye to Kathy right after the trauma-dumping and then never sees her again. That's a scene that feels rushed much like the entire third act. The audience doesn't even get to hear Kathy's response. There are two very clunky and awkward cuts to Gerry listening to music at a music store while Stella is speaking to Kathy inside her home.  

      Stella seems more emotionally mature than her husband, much like the wife that Manville plays in Ordinary Love, a much more sensitively written and profound drama than Midwinter Break. For a more honest and organic portrait of alcoholism and loneliness, see Another Year, which also stars Leslie Manville. She, Ciarán Hinds and Niamh Cusack try their best to breath life into their roles, but they're undermined by a shallow screenplay. If you're looking for a drama with more humor and wit about a woman who's yearning for self-discovery and fulfillment while stuck in an unfulfilling marriage with a toxic husband, see Shirley Valentine. At a thankfully brief running time of 1 hour and 30 minutes, which feels more like 2 hours, >Midwinter Break opens in select theaters nationwide via Focus Features.

 

      Jane (Georgina Campbell), a police officer, hunts for a notorious serial killer known as the Satanic Killer (James Preston Rogers) who killed her husband, a state trooper, in  Psycho Killer, Director Gavin Polone  and screenwriter Andrew Kevin Walker have made an unscary, asinine and tedious horror thriller with stilted dialogue, weak acting, choppy editing and barely any palpable thrills or suspense. Walker does a very poor job when it comes to exposition. A lot of information gets spoon-fed to the audience as though they weren't intelligent enough to figure anything out on their own, yet a lot remains under-explained like a satanic cult lead by the mysterious Mr. Pendleton (Malcolm McDowell). Why show the perspective of the killer so often? That makes the audience a step or two ahead of Jane. Why not have the audience know as much as she does? The plot feels less and less plausible as it progresses which would've been fine if it didn't compensated for the lack of logic with imagination for a change. Does the Satanic Killer have to be referred to as a psycho twice for the audience to grasp that he's psychotic? Why state the obvious unless this were a parody?

      Nearly every scene feels derivative of better horror thrillers like Seven or a far more bold, intelligent and heartfelt thriller American Satan which also co-stars Malcolm McDowell. Georgina Campbell gives a mediocre performance that doesn't breathe life into her role while Andrew Kevin Walker, who plays the masked villain, gives a dull performance. Horror fans won't be satisfied enough by the bloody kills which aren't particularly memorable nor do they push the envelope. Moreover, the visual style during the violent scenes are inconsistent: sometimes the blood and guts look realistic while other times they're stylized with awkward use of slow-motion as blood spurts out. Perhaps Psycho Killer would've been more fun and entertaining if it were a campy dark comedy or as unintentionally funny as Madame Web. Is it too much to ask for some comic relief? Tedium and monotony seep in around the hour mark and don't go away. At a thankfull short running time of 1 hour and 32 minutes, Psycho Killer opens nationwide via 20th Century Studios. It's ultimately just as disappointing as The Strangers: Chapter 3 and makes In a Violent Nature look like a masterpiece.

Number of times I checked my watch: 3




 

       Irene (Michaela McManus) travels through time over and over again in hope of arriving in a dimension where her daughter has not yet been murdered by a serial killer,  Neville (Jeremy Holm) in Redux Redux. She has managed to kill her daughter's murderer each time, but hasn't encountered daughter alive yet.  Mia (Stella Marcus), another one of Neville's victims, joins her on her mission. Co-writers/directors Kevin and Matthew McManus have made an electrifying, taut and engrossing sci-fi revenge thriller. It's gritty, dark and suspenseful, but beneath the surface, there's a lot going on inside of Irene because she's a mother whose love for her daughter fuels her rage and persistence. She won't give up her mission to find her daughter alive no matter what. In the meantime, though, she experiences catharsis every time she kills Neville.

      The screenplay just the right amount of exposition without over-explaining or spoon-feeding the audience or leaving them confused, although the filmmakers eschew a first act by cutting right to the meat of the story when Irene has already traveled through time again and again. If it were to start at the very beginning when her daughter got murdered, it would've been by-the-numbers and conventional, so it's great to keep the audience a little bit behind Irene initially in terms of what information she knows. The events that transpire after she meets Mia won't be spoiled here, but it's worth mentioning that the screenplay has enough surprises, thrills and emotional depth to keep the audience engaged on both a visceral level and on an emotional level concurrently. That makes Redux Redux one of the best sci-fi crime thrillers since Timecrimes and Predestination.  At a running time of 1 hour and 48 minutes, Redux Redux opens in select theaters via Saban Films.

Number of times I checked my watch: 1




 

      During a zombie outbreak, Sloane (Olivia Holt) takes shelter at her high school with her classmates, Rhys (Froy Gutierrez), Cary (Corteon Moore), Trace (Carson MacCormac), Grace (Chloe Avakian) and one of her teachers, Baxter (Luke Macfarlane), in This is Not a Test.  Writer/director Adam MacDonald has made a gritty, but undercooked and unfocused horror thriller that bites off more than it could chew. Based on the novel by Courtney Summers, the screenplay makes it clear that Sloane has been suffering from depression and comes from a toxic home with her abusive father. She's suicidal and doesn't have anyone to turn to for emotional support. Her lack of motivation to live changes when there's suddenly a zombie attack. Unfortunately, MacDonald doesn't do an effective enough job in exploring what's going on inside of Sloane emotionally or, more importantly, bringing her character to life. This is Not a Test feels flat as a psychological character study and barely offers any palpable thrills and scares as a horror film. When it does veer into its zombie subplot, it doesn't hold back on the blood and guts, so it's quite gritty. If only it were more emotionally gritty during the dramatic scenes, it would've been more than just a mediocre and forgettable B-movie. At a running time of 1 hour and 42 minutes, This is Not a Test opens in select theaters nationwide via Independent Film Company and Shudder.

Number of times I checked my watch: 3