We’ve got a mixed bag this time around: four new films and one classic. We’ll start out with the much-hyped “The Long Walk,” “Dorothea,” “The Benefactress,” and “The Conjuring: Last Rites,” all recently released. For our oldie, we’ll look at “Godzilla vs Mothra: The Battle for Earth” from 1993.
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Mainstream Films:
2025 The Long Walk
Directed by: Francis Lawrence
Written by: JT Mollner, Stephen King
Stars: Cooper Hoffman, David Jonsson, Garrett Wareing
Run Time: 1 Hour 48 Minutes
Trailer:
Spoiler-Free Judgment Zone
A group of fifty young men is chosen by lottery to participate in “The Long Walk,” an annual elimination contest with one winner - one surviving winner - at the end. How they get there is surprisingly interesting to watch. And kind of sad and gruesome as you might imagine, and also uplifting and funny at times.
Spoilery Synopsis
We read Raymond Garraty’s acceptance letter on screen. He’s been accepted through the lottery, and has a chance to win a wish and a huge amount of money. We hear on the radio that in the past, America had a war that ruined everything, and poverty is rampant but it has been 19 years and things are on the mend.
Raymond’s mother doesn’t approve and wants him to drop out, but he says it’s too late. Fifty young men will compete, one from each state, but only one will win. As he checks in, he meets Peter, another contestant. Stebbins, Hank, Mark, Curly, and some of the others make themselves known. We see various other characters as well.
The Major pulls up in his jeep. He has them all take numbers to wear around their necks, it’s a lot like a marathon. He explains that the broadcast of The Long Walk increases production, which helps the economy. “Walk until there’s only one of you left. If you fall below three miles an hour, you get a warning. The goal is to last the longest. There’s one winner and no finish line. Remember– anyone can win.”
And they’re off! The first few miles, the walkers talk about how desolate the landscape is. They also talk about their strategies. One guy gets a rock in his shoe and stops to fix it; he gets a warning. And then a second warning. The soldier behind him raises his rifle. He gets up and moves on. Raymond talks about how social pressure makes everyone apply to The Walk, so they really don’t have a choice.
Eventually, Curly gets a cramp, gets three warnings, and gets shot, the first loser of the race. Yes, there’s only going to be one survivor. Credits roll.
Player 1 falls down, foaming at the mouth, he’s having some kind of epileptic seizure of some kind. The soldiers shoot him as well.
Twenty-five miles in, everyone’s getting pretty tired. Barkovitch goads another guy into fighting with him, and it goes badly for one of them. Harkness is writing a book, and he talks about the “pooping issue” just as another walker dies because of it.
As night falls, The Major gives them all a pep talk. Everyone is more or less walking in their sleep. Ray gets three warnings, but if he can keep walking for three hours, those will go away. They hit a steep grade in the road, and several players are killed; this motivates the rest. This clears out the crowd, as there are far fewer players now, only 18 left.
When the sun comes up, they’re on mile 59. Reality is setting in for most of the walkers. Ray and Pete both doubt they’ve got what it takes to win. Harkness has been walking for miles on a twisted ankle, but he’s done. At the 100 mile mark, the group passes through a small town, and it’s extremely poor-looking.
The second night, it rains.
On day 3, there aren’t many walkers left. Ray tells the story about how his father was executed by The Major for reading banned books. Ray’s secret plan is to kill The Major. The winner gets a wish along with all the money, and he plans to use it to kill The Major. Pete tries to talk him out of those negative thoughts.
At the 170-mile point, they lose more people. Hank gives up and they almost lose Baker because of it. As the survivors bond, they’re all getting closer, which makes each loss harder on them.
Day 4, 209 miles in, and it looks like there are six left. They’ve all got problems. Barkovitch goes crazy and kills himself, mostly. The third warning finishes him off. At 278 miles, the landscape just gets bleaker and bleaker, with junk bicycles and burning cars. Ray’s shoe wears out, so he goes barefoot; he passes his mother on the side of the road.
Baker gets a nosebleed that won’t stop for the next thirty miles or so. He knows he’s done for and asks the others not to watch him die. Stebbins admits that he’s The Major’s bastard son, and that’s why he signed up. He says The Major has dozens of them and then drops out as well.
Now it’s just Ray and Pete. When it’s down to just two, the rules allow for crowds of spectators. Pete stops to let Ray win, but Ray talks him into continuing. They are both on their third warning. The soldiers then shoot Ray who stops walking. The Major comes out and executes Ray.
Pete wins, but he’s not happy about it. There are fireworks and everyone sings “American the Beautiful.” The Major asks for Pete’s wish, and he wants one of the soldier’s guns. Pete points the gun at The Major and shoots; this was Ray’s wish. Pete then walks off into the rain.
Brian’s Commentary
It’s an interesting world these people live in, and the plot is very simple. You’d think two hours of people walking would get boring pretty quickly, but the editing and dialogue keep it going quite well. I heard the premise and assumed it would be all about the players fighting and doing dirty tricks to win, but there’s not very much of that here.
It’s not scary. There’s very little action. Still, it’s engaging all the way through as you get to know the characters. I think the ending was pretty predictable, but it was good getting there.
Kevin’s Commentary
I was a little skeptical going into this, wondering how they could stretch the novella into a movie almost two hours long. But it’s so well made and naturally acted that it flows nicely without being boring. Plus they expanded on the story and changed the ending.
The rural and small town settings they walk through are peaceful and beautiful and get darker and bleaker as the walk progresses. A light touch is the world that it’s set in, that doesn’t seem to be the future but more of an alternate timeline of the 1960s.
I thought the ending was a little weak, but I liked it overall.
2025 Dorothea
Directed by: Chad Ferrin
Written by: Chad Ferrin
Stars: Susan Priver, Pat McNeely, Ezra Buzzington
Run Time: 1 Hour, 31 Minutes
Trailer:
Spoiler-Free Judgment Zone
An old woman on her deathbed confesses the story of her history as a landlady who took special care of her tenants. It’s grim business with quite a body count, but also loaded with dark humor. It’s kind of a basic story, but we both thought it was very good.
Spoilery Synopsis
We’re told the facts behind the “Death House Landlady” who took advantage of old people and cashed their Social Security checks.
Dorothea, an old woman in a nursing home, wants to tell her story. We cut to a man beating up a woman. Later, she whacks him with a hammer and kills him. Credits roll.
She stages her husband’s body in the bathroom and calls 911. “It was that easy. Worked like a charm. No one suspected a thing.”
Dorothea continues telling her story to Patty, and we see that they’re both in prison. She continues by talking about her third husband, much younger and richer than she was. At least until he started cheating on her. The fourth husband wasn’t much better. After all the husbands, Dorothea buys a large house and starts renting out rooms.
Ruth Monroe comes to the house to rent a room, and we see some of the other tenants. There’s a smell that Dorothea blames on a sewer pipe. Dorothea tells the handyman, Chief, to dig a new plot for her planting. Ruth pays $800 for the month; she’s had to sell her house to pay for her sick husband’s treatment.
We cut to Dorothea putting something in Chief’s booze. He’s given up alcohol and doesn’t want it, but she’s persuasive. As he drinks, Chief tells Dorothea that old Malcolm has noticed things have gone missing and other patrons of the house are unhappy about turning over their SS checks to her. She doesn’t even wait until he’s dead to bury him.
Dorothea sees that Ruth is in her room over where she just buried Chief, and she might have seen something. This ends up leading to the second poisoning of the night. She then goes into Malcolm’s room to kill him, but he’s not only moved out, but he also threatens to go to the police over missing items.
In the morning, Dorothea finds Ruth’s “suicide” and convinces everyone that it was intentional. The theft problem, however, gets her five years in prison.
While in jail, Dorothea writes to various men as pen pals. When she gets out, she meets a sailor who’s a lot older than she expected. He has plans, but she’s not into that. He’s fired the man she had taking care of her boarding house. He wants to sell her house and buy a boat; he’s already cleared out her savings. He doesn’t live long.
She gets Ismael, the new handyman, to load the body into a coffin. Either he’s really dumb or really desperate and goes along with everything she does. She goes to the docks to get a refund on the boat he bought with her money. That goes badly for the man with the money and Ismael as well.
Dorothea eventually starts renting out rooms to old people again. We meet all the people that we are told are going to die at her hands. They complain about how she’s spending their money, so it’s time to make them shut up. She has the newest handyman dig more grav– er, flower beds.
One after the other, she kills and disposes of the rest of her tenants. One of them, Bert, calls his social worker just before he dies, and she goes to the police. Detective John and the social worker, Judy, come to visit Dorothea. That night, she kills the rest of the boarders.
Judy, Bert’s social worker, is still on the case and threatens to bring in the police again. This time, they find all the bodies in the backyard. She escapes by hitchhiking to L.A. She shacks up with another old man, but this one recognizes her from a new report and calls the police.
Dorothea goes on trial for nine counts of murder which results in life in prison.
Back in prison, Dorothea finishes telling her story to Patty and then starts coughing up blood. The guards then move Patty to a cell where another prisoner stabs her to death. Dorothea dies happy.
Brian’s Commentary
This is surprisingly funny. It’s all just a little over the top, but it’s really well done. Dorothea breaks the fourth wall to tell us what she’s thinking, what she’s done, and what she’s going to do.
There’s no real gore or much in the way of violence, but it never got boring and was a lot of fun. I liked it.
Kevin’s Commentary
It was a good choice making it from Dorthea’s point of view with narration. The movie does have a low-budget vibe, but it’s well put together with Susan Priver perfect in the lead role.
I thought it was very entertaining for such a simple plot.
2025 The Benefactress: An Exposure of Cinematic Freedom
Directed by: Guerilla Metropolitana
Written by: Guerilla Metropolitana
Stars: Marie Antoinette de Robespierre, Juicy X, Elekta McBride
Run Time: 1 Hour, 7 Minutes
Trailer:
Spoiler-Free Judgment Zone
This movie isn’t really horror even though it was sent to us as a horror screener and IMDB.com lists the genre only as horror. It’s a grainy, grindhouse, pornographic work with two women having sex and the director joining in the action as well - while various random sound effects and music play. It’s presented as “real,” and not fully consensual. It didn’t do anything for either of us.
Spoilery Synopsis
We open with a long text explanation about the making of the film, and how the wife of a famous televangelist was a big part of financing the movie– on the condition that she be in the film in a small role. This is a view of what goes on in a situation like that. How far can a filmmaker’s freedom go?
“Juicy X” comes on screen and explains that her name is a pseudonym. She talks about working with the director in a previous film, and he put cameras in very odd places. She also talks about her charity work, helping women in need in addition to being an actress, part time. She thanks the director and Mrs. Elektra McBride for financing the film.
We watch various scenes of Juicy X doing mundane things around the house. The camera follows her around the house like a stalker. At least until she beats up the camera.
We then cut to a much grainier film where Juicy appears to beat up a hooker. We then cut to Elektra McBride phoning in her part of the film; she’s naked and covering her face on an iPhone screen as she watches Juicy do things to the woman. Juicy then uses a giant dildo and other sex toys on the unconscious prostitute. This goes on for quite a while.
“Look! A butterfly!”
Someone beats on the door, and we’re back to black and white. Juicy gets rid of the person at the door and then has a snack. OK, back to the assault upstairs.
Eventually, the director makes Juicy stop and takes his turn with the woman on the bed. Eventually, Juicy returns and does more bad things to the woman as the director (the actual director) masturbates to what he sees.
After about an hour of this, the cleaner comes to the door and starts to clean up the mess. The director knocks her down and gives her more of the same. Then the movie ends.
Brian’s Commentary
I don’t get it.
We went into this one blind other than reading the blurb. Turns out, it’s “Skinamarink meets porn,” according to Kevin, and he nailed it. The visuals are all “experimental,” but it’s basically a BBW porn film. We don’t see anything in enough detail for it to really be porn, but that seems to be what it’s going for.
The visuals are variable: it starts out in black and white, moves on to grainy 70s-style film, and then alternates between the two.
The sound track ranges from very cool to highly obnoxious, so there’s something here to offend everyone. The regular bleeping and feedback sounds are really annoying and go on for far too long. It’s pointlessly obnoxious.
I’m at a loss as to what the point of even making something like is. It’s not porn, it’s not horror, it’s just… a waste of an hour. I’m not sure if I’d go so far as to say “worst of the year,” but it’s certainly on the short list.
Kevin’s Commentary
Well, that happened. I found myself looking a lot at other things on the computer. There wasn’t really a plot or story. I don’t have a lot to add to it that Brian didn’t already say in his commentary. It failed to entertain me.
1992 Godzilla vs Mothra: The Battle for Earth
Directed by: Takao Okawara
Written by: Wataru Mimura, Akira Murano, Kazuki Omori
Stars: Tutsuya Bessho, Satomi Kobayashi, Takehiro Murata
Run Time: 1 Hour, 40 Minutes
Trailer:
Spoiler-Free Judgment Zone
The alternate title of this one could be “Raiders of the Lost Kaiju” because of the archeological adventures. Once again, something wakes up Godzilla. Mothra joins in the fun, as well as Battra - nemesis of Mothra. And the two teeny pixie women who know all about Mothra. The humans are spectators in this one more than some of the other films, with less active participation. As usual, there are lots of big creature battles. It’s a decent entry into the series.
Spoilery Synopsis
We open on a big meteor headed toward Earth, and it’s going to land in the Pacific Ocean. Boom! It lands right on Godzilla. Credits roll.
We see a typhoon hitting an island, and there’s something there that looks like a big egg getting exposed as the soil washes away. We cut to Indiana Jones– no, that’s some other hat-wearing archaeologist trying to get a gold idol from a cave. As he barely makes it out alive from the booby traps, he’s arrested. He’s Takuya, and government people come to let him out of jail. They show him satellite photos of what fell from the sky. They want him to go to the island it’s near and collect the thing on the island. Masako is there, and she’s his ex-wife; if he doesn’t help, she’s going to make sure he’s in jail for a very long time.
Professor Fukazawa talks to the government scientists. Man is destroying the environment, and this meteor has made the sea levels rise. They also know that Godzilla has awakened. “Boy, what a day,” says the radar tech.
Kenji Andoh, the company man, shows Takuya a map. They’re heading to Infant Island. The two men, along with Masako, land on the island to explore. They have some misadventures as they explore the place. They find a cave behind a waterfall and admire the wall paintings inside.
They get through the cave and find a big egg on the other side. They hear a voice from nowhere “It belongs to Mothra!” Then they see two tiny women just a few inches tall. “We are the Cosmos. Two of us keep the world’s natural order in balance.” They explain how humans were ruining the Earth long ago and controlled the weather. Earth didn’t like that and wiped almost everyone out. Black Mothra, Battra, took retribution on the climate controller. The good one, Mothra hibernates even today. The Cosmos girls say that Battra has awakened as well and is going to cause havoc soon. They pledge to help humans get through it this time.
The head of the Marutomo Company drives through a bunch of environmentalists on the way to his new golf course construction project. Takua contacts the government and reports what he knows; the company decides to move the egg to a safe location in Japan.
Battro hits Japan and travels underground. It soon surfaces and starts causing all the usual kaiju problems. Godzilla does the same shortly after. When Godzilla approaches the ship carrying the egg. Mothra hatches and is driven off by Godzilla. Battro shows up and battles with Godzilla underwater. They fight until an underwater volcano erupts and apparently kills them both.
Kenji kidnaps the two Cosmos girls and takes them to Marutomo Corporation. Masako thinks that maybe Mothra will be showing up to rescue the tiny girls. The girls sing the Mothra song, which will attract the big worm. The whole navy tries to kill it, but they don’t get anywhere.
Masako brings in Miki, the psychic from the previous two films, to locate the missing girls, just as Mothra hits the city. Turns out, the tiny girls have been kidnapped by Takuya, who wants to sell them to the Americans for a million dollars. Takuya’s daughter begs the Cosmos’ for help, and they explain what to do.
Mothra just about destroys the other half of the city on his way back out. The army really lets him have it this time, and Mothra may be dying. The Cosmos say he’s just at the end of his larval stage. Mothra parks himself in what’s left of the capitol building and makes a cocoon over the whole building.
The Mautomo Exec sees the Cosmos girls on the news and wants them back. Kenji warns that that’s a bad idea, but right then, Mount Fuji erupts. Kenji gets quit-fired as the executive swears to win at all costs.
Godzilla shows up and climbs right out of Mount Fuji’s lava pit. He’s making a beeline for Tokyo and the cocoon, which promptly hatches. Out of the cocoon comes a colorful mothlike creature with big wings. It then flies off to continue fighting Battra, who has also changed into a flying creature.
Japan shoots at Godzilla using high tech laser-equipped fighter planes that look really cool but do nothing. Meanwhile, Battra defeats Mothra easily, but Mothra calls to Godzilla for help. All three giant creatures soon go at it. Mothra sprays Battra with glowing spores that calm him, and then he does the same with Godzilla. Godzilla doesn’t want to be controlled and knocks out Mothra, but this time, Battra comes to his rescue– they’re friends now.
The two flying monsters pick up Godzilla and carry him off to sea. In the process, Godzilla bites and blasts Battra and the two fall into the ocean. Mothra then uses his magic on the spot where they fell. The Cosmos girls talk about a meteorite that’s going to destroy the Earth in 1999; Battra was here to destroy it, but he’s dead now. Mothra plans to go into space and change the course of the meteor and save the planet. Until they come back, we have to take care of the world ourselves…
Brian’s Commentary
It steals liberally from “Raiders of the Lost Ark” and “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom” although both those films were more than ten years old when this was made.
Some of these films focus on the monsters, and some on the characters. This one was very monster-focused, with lots and lots of fight scenes between the three kaiju, leaving the characters to stand around and watch. The two flying monsters are obvious puppets, and Godzilla looks about like he always does. There are a lot of laser blasts and other digital-looking special effects this time around.
Kevin’s Commentary
This totally kept reminding me of Indiana Jones and his adventures. This time around, we don’t get to see Mothra’s people singing and dancing like the movies from the 1960s - a missed opportunity.
Having a creature balance underwater was a different touch this time, kind of interesting. It was still two guys in rubber suits knocking each other around, but the effects and visuals improved quite a bit in the 30 years since Mothra’s first appearance.
It was noticeable that the human characters were largely there to just witness and throw in comments, more so than some of the other movies.
All in all, it was another pretty good one.
2025 The Conjuring: Last Rites
Directed by: Michael Chaves
Written by: Ian Goldberg, Richard Naing, David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick
Stars: Patrick Wilson, Vera Farmiga, Mia Tomlinson
Run Time: 2 Hours, 15 Minutes
Trailer:
Spoiler-Free Judgment Zone
Ed and Lorraine Warren are on the case again, helping out a family being harassed by supernatural forces. It’s quite long, and stuff happens. It’s on par with the quality of the previous films, and it’s said this will be the last one. If you’re a fan of the series, you are likely to enjoy this one as well.
Spoilery Synopsis
We hear a recording from 1964. Ed and Lorraine Warren interview a woman who talks about her father’s suicide and what came after. Pregnant Lorraine goes into the “haunted” room and offers to help the spirit. Something in there affects her baby, and they rush to the hospital. It’s all very intense. Suddenly, the lights go out, and Lorraine senses that there’s something bad in the delivery room with her. The baby is stillborn– no, it wakes up and cries!
We then get a montage of them taking care of baby Judy. The little girl cries because she keeps seeing horrible things, just like her mother.
It’s 1986 in Pennsylvania. The Smurl family goes to church for Heather’s Confirmation. It’s a large family, and they all seem to get along. Someone gives Heather a creepy old mirror as a gift; it’s straight out of “Oculus” (2013). Grandma says “It was almost like it was waiting for us.” All of a sudden, the ceiling collapses on Heather. Credits roll.
Ed and Lorraine are giving a lecture about “Annabelle” (2014). All the audience wants to talk about is “Ghostbusters” (1984). Judy tries to cheer them up after. They quit “busting” because of Ed’s bad heart. Lorraine and Judy sense something weird at their dinner.
At the Smurl house, Janet does laundry and senses something weird in the basement. Something plays with her telephone cord. One of the little girls gets a scare with her doll. They all sit down for dinner, and Kevin and I decide this family needs some casualties– there are just too many of them.
Heather comments that her mirror is creeping her out; the little baby heads always seem to be watching her. She and her sister Dawn carry the mirror out to the garbage. The next morning, the garbage men toss it into the back of the truck, and it’s crushed. Inside, Dawn starts coughing and vomits blood and broken glass all over the kitchen.
Ed’s doctor warns him about the next heart attack. They have a birthday party for him later. Judy is there with her boyfriend Tony. Father Gordon is there, he used to work with her parents. Brad Hamilton is there, he worked with them as well.
Judy “sees” something, and Tony asks about it. Lorraine notices that Judy’s been seeing things more often recently, and she warns her daughter that she needs to practice shutting it all out. Not long after, Tony proposes awkwardly to Judy. At the end of the day, Father Gordon says he’s had calls asking for Ed and Lorraine’s help, which they turn down.
The Smurls aren’t so happy anymore; they’re all arguing about the ghosts in their house. Jack, the father, doesn’t believe in what’s been going on, but Heather has no doubts. That night, Jack gets a reason to believe. So does Heather. What do they do? They call in reporters for the news which attracts Father Gordon.
Gordon goes through the house, spraying holy water that boils. He knows this is something real and escalates it through the church. He doesn’t live long after that.
Ed gives Tony a tour of his basement full of cursed objects. They hear about Gordon’s death and go to the funeral. Gordon’s boss comes to the Warrens and mentions to Judy where Gordon died.
Judy then goes to the Smurl house, and Ed, Tom, and Lorraine aren’t far behind. Lorraine knows how bad it is inside and insists they leave, but Judy insists on staying and helping. Tom tells Ed why he isn’t a cop anymore. Lorraine identifies three spirits that lived here back when it was farmland. There’s something else there too, demonic, hiding behind the three spirits.
Judy goes to the attic and sees the big haunted mirror, still there. She sees, “Miss me?” on the wall and thinks it’s Annabelle. Annabelle then chases her around the room.
Ed and Lorraine go upstairs and see the mirror, which they recognize from the opening sequence. They tell the Smurls the whole story before gearing up for a climactic exorcism.
Judy gets possessed and trashes the family dog. That escalated quickly.
Ed fights Judy while Lorraine fights the ghosts. She decides that the mirror has always wanted Judy since before she was born. They find Judy hanging in the attic, and cutting her down isn’t as easy as it sounds. Ed has a heart attack halfway through the resuscitation and Tony has to take over.
The mirror starts spinning, but Ed gets it to stop. Stuff happens as the demons and ghosts appear and threaten everyone. Lorraine and Judy have to work together to make the monsters go away. The whole family looks relieved that it took all of them to defeat an evil mirror.
We are told that the Smurls lived in the house three more years, all uneventful. Ed put the evil mirror in his basement with the other evil toys.
We cut to Tony and Judy’s wedding. Lorraine talks about her vision of the future, and it seems like a clear wrap-up to the series with happy endings all around.
Brian’s Commentary
I get so confused between this and the “Insidious” series and get all the characters mixed up– every time I see one or the other. That said, the whole series is well made, looks good, and has decent acting. The real problem is that the plots are all so bland and generic. These are horror movies for people who don’t generally watch horror and have nothing much with which to compare them.
It clearly sets up for a sequel with Judy and Tony, who parallel her parents’ abilities. It never got boring, but there weren’t really any surprises or anything new here. It was fine.
Kevin’s Commentary
The movies in this series lose me right at the beginning when they say it’s based on true events. I don’t believe the Warrens’ experiences with the occult, or any of their cases, were real.
I think they made a mistake casting Patrick Wilson in both this series and the “Insideous” movies, it makes them even harder to tell apart when they all start running together. And they do run together.
This one is okay. They all are okay. This is said to be the last movie in the series. I’m okay with that.
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