Tag: horror

Ready or Not 2: Here I Come “Review”

Release dateMarch 20, 2026 (USA)

DirectorsTyler Gillett, Matt Bettinelli-Olpin

ProducersJames Vanderbilt, Tripp Vinson, Brad Fischer, William Sherak

Running time 1h 48m

Distributed bySearchlight Pictures

It’s been HOW LONG!? Ready or Not released in 2019 :O That’s insane – Let’s Discuss!

I was asked coming out of the theatre if it’s as good as the original. I sadly don’t remember the experience of the first to give it as good, better, or worse. But I remember really enjoying it. I also really enjoyed the sequel. So it’s as good as the original? I’d watch it again happily, thus an 8/10 Popped score.

Samara Weaving returns as Grace Le Domas, joined now by her sister Faith MacCaullay played by Kathryn Newton. Their dynamic was a joy to explore throughout this man…woman hunt 😀 It’s in the rules and the game of Ready or Not isn’t over yet. Plenty of depth to unfold and I’ll leave it there for you all to enjoy.

This time around, the game has expanded to include families, each with its own unique style and weapon of choice for killing the MacCaully sisters. Sarah Michelle Gellar joins the cast as Ursula Danforth alongside her twin brother Titus Danforth played by Shawn Hatosy. Elijah Wood is the Danforth’s lawyer and adds so much fun to this new installment.

The jokes, executed with perfect timing, were a total hoot and are going to offer the audience a barrel of laughs and plenty of fun action to behold. Check it out this weekend or the following weekend if Project Hail Mary is taking up this weekend for most movie-going attendees.

Thanks for coming by Popped for this week’s “Reviews”. Checking out or checked out Ready of Not 2? Love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.

Stick around though as I was also able to check out The Pout Pout Fish that was a cute delight.

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Undertone “Review”

Release dateMarch 13, 2026 (USA)

DirectorIan Tuason

LanguageEnglish

Running time1h 33m

MPAA ratingR

Budget500,000 USD

Got to love small budget horror movies – The creativity can far surpass that of a big budget production

Despite advertising as the scariest movie ever heard. The visuals add a lot to this film in creating an unsettling horror experience. Let it cook is literally this movie summed up. You may want your ice cream before it melts, but you may have filled up on your cake before getting to it 😉 :D.

What’s the setting of Undertone? Well, it’s the name of the podcast being hosted by two individuals. You’ll be following the story through one of the hosts who is taking care of their dying mother. Speaking of visuals – Some of the freakish scenes were with her mother. No spoilers here, but your eyes will either be playing tricks on you, or the complete subtlety of the visual settings and scenes is so well done that something is in the background while you’re experiencing the audio messages playing.

Messages? The podcast Undertone is recording its latest episode with 10 audio clips sent in from an anonymous sender. Diving into these clips is where the scares truly begin as the narrative unfolds. Good Luck, Have Fun & Don’t look away as you may have experiences playing tricks on you like a few of us did attending the early showing at midnight! Multiple people saw things that didn’t happen, and a lot of visual settings and an uncomfortable atmosphere were felt. Make of that as you will, but have fun 😀 Happy Horror watching. The closest experience is probably watching Paranormal Activity for the first time.

Planning to check out Undertone this weekend? Love to hear from you in the comments below. From me here at Popped – Undertone is getting a very good watch score of 7.5. That ending cost a potential 8, but it’s worth checking out in theatres. Especially for those with great speakers. Watching this at 3am is a must for those watching at Home streaming.

Thank you all for coming by Popped for your movie “Reviews”. Next posting will be for the Oscars as they broadcast this coming Sunday the 15th. Good luck to all those that participate in voting and happy viewing for those tuning in to see who wins best picture of the year. I’ll be live updating during the broadcast for all to follow along.

Until then though, happy movie going fellow movie-goers! 😀

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Scream 7 “Review”

Release date: February 27, 2026 (USA)

Director: Kevin Williamson

Prequel: Scream VI

MPAA rating: R

Running time: 1h 54m

Screenplay: Kevin Williamson, Guy Busick

I had to get ahead of spoilers, seeing the awful critic scores and word of mouth….I won’t waste your time!

This franchise needs to be buried. Like the recent reboot sequel “I Know What You Did Last Summer.” This franchise has become stale. I hope that batch of Popcorn was good because you’ll get nothing from this 7th edition of the scream/stab? franchise.

3/10 Stream it or skip it, don’t waste your time if you’re getting into the franchise, and hopefully, for those watching from the start, you’re ready to move on or got something out of this. I saw 3 trailers before Scream 7 started that hit that dark horror want, and 1 obvious one hit nostalgia.

It’s been 3 years since Scream 6, and I couldn’t care less about the characters anymore. Meanwhile, Scary Movie 6 releases June 12th this year, and with a 13-year gap, I’m so ready for this franchise’s return. Watch the trailer and tell me you weren’t entertained by some of the appearances from recent horror movies over the past decade.

For the other two trailers, The Undertone tapped into audio for the scares. Playing off the surround sound speakers, which I’m very excited to see explored. I feel like horror movies don’t tap into sound at the theatre, focusing on the jump scare or a creepy setup. Watch the trailer’s ending to see what I mean. Lastly, Lee Cronin’s The Mummy looks to be a dark, disturbing tale.

If you’re still into checking out Scream 7, I hope you get something out of the 2-hour viewing time. There’s a mid-credit scene that I read up about as I was ready to leave the movie. I’m glad I took the family to watch Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die, as that second viewing solidly is a 9/10 for me :D.

Checking out Scream 7 this weekend? Love to hear your thoughts. Did I place some upcoming horror titles on your radar? Love to hear your thoughts when Undertone drops on March 13th and then The Mummy in April.

Appreciate you coming by, Popped for your movie “Review.” Hopefully, you had a better time than I. There was 1 kill I thought was cool. Otherwise, nothing special, and I was generally bored.

But until next time, fellow moviegoers – Happy Movie Watching 😀

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Cold Storage “Review”

Release date: February 13, 2026 (USA)

Director: Jonny Campbell

Screenplay: David Koepp

Producers: David Koepp, Gavin Polone

Running time: 1h 39m

Distributed by: StudioCanal, Samuel Goldwyn Films, Imagem Filmes

Liam Neeson’s Naked Gun Energy, meets Zombieland – Good times await with Cold Storage!

The naked gun of horror I wrote down as first thoughts :P. Bringing random fun to this film that entertains zombie film enjoyers along with those looking for something a little alien and supernatural.

Liam Neeson (Playing Robert Quinn) seals and contains an extremely deadly alien substance that communicates with it’s host to kill themselves, infect others and explodes the hosts core from deep within! 😉 Enjoy that visual :D.

We have Joe Keery from recent huge franchise “Stranger Things” working at a self-storage company along with his co-worker Naomi Williams (Played by Georgina Campbell). The thing about this storage company…. the virus was contained within here many years prior, before the place shut down and land sold to the general public after government abandoned it.

Can the three save humanity from this virus getting loose and affecting the planet :O? You’ll have to check it out and find out. I had a solid good time with this one getting a Popped score of 7.5/10. Good campy fun horror. Doesn’t take itself serious, sit back with some popcorn and have a gory good time.

With that fellow movie-goers is the finale of this weeks batch of 4. I’m all caught up with Critical Role so with 30 minutes to go before the next episode goes live. It’s a time to make some dinner and settle in :D.

Thanks for coming by Popped everyone. Greatly appreciate you all and look forward to seeing you all. Next Time 😀

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Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die “Review”

Release date: February 13, 2026 (USA)

Director: Gore Verbinski

Screenplay: Matthew Robinson

Producers: Gore Verbinski, Oly Obst, Denise Chamian, Robert Kulzer, Erwin Stoff

Production companies: Blind Wink Productions, Constantin Film, 3 Arts Entertainment

Running time: 2h 15m

5 minutes shorter than Crime 101 but vastly my type of movie being the first 2026 to enter my top 10 list 😀

Sam Rockwell (Playing Homme Du) a man announcing himself to be from the future! To an audience of patrons at an LA diner, searching for a crew of unlikely heroes in hope to help him save humanity.

This movie is totally wild and tells a tale in my favorite style (Like that of Weapons), having an over arching story with back and forth reveals to our heroes throughout to introduce them throughout the intro of the film. Loved the cast and characters in GLHFDD. It’s solidly a great movie. For me personally that ending got the 9, even if a little weaker of a 9 it’s the first movie of 2026 going onto my list :D.

Michael Pena (Playing a substitute school teacher – Mark) along with his partner and colleague Janet (Played by Zazie Beetz) had the most stand out scene for me personally that I loved! Setting the tone and creepiness of the world being established.

This movie gets bonkers and honestly just grab some popcorn and check it out. While many checked out Crime 101 over this feature. I feel once GFHFDD hits digital/streaming the audience that resonates with it will fall in love as a niche movie to live on :D.

Ingrid was awesome also with a great story (Played by Haley Lu Richardson). There’s many good stories here but the story I’d love to hear is from yourselves. Did you check it out? Curious? Love to hear from you in the comments below.

9/10 – Lock it in for my top 10 list for early 2026. Let’s see how long it stays in for the year :D.

That’s our second of four movies in this weeks batch. Thanks for coming by Popped for movie “Reviews”. Not sure if there’s anything I’ll check out this weekend? However Scream is around the corner, WoW Expansion 😀 & Project Hail Mary which I’m very excited for! THEN MARIO GALAXY YA-HOO :D.

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Whistle “Review”

Release date: February 6, 2026 (USA)

Director: Corin Hardy

Running time: 1h 37m

Producers: David Gross, Macdara Kelleher, Whitney Brown, John Keville

MPAA rating: R

Distributed by: Elevation Pictures

Ancient Death Whistle…. Sign me up 😀

Once again Shudder comes to the big screen with a worthy theatrical release – Whistle!

It’s a fine to weak 7 good movie which had several elements I enjoyed watching this feature. Yea the story could of had a better wrap up but that’s the fun with these smaller indie movies. You’re not sure what direction they’ll take.

Bring ear plugs if you’re wanting to preserve your hearing or care about that :P. The movie gets incredibly loud. Concepts of death and the loose rules established were fun. Loved that Nick Frost was apart of this title :D. Gave me homage feelings to Shaun of the Dead :D.

Currently, the movie is sitting at a 6/10 on RT & IMDb. Why this is getting less attention than Primate baffles me, but I’ve only heard from others how awful Primate was, with some exceptions to its sound design. Whistle does have a pool utilized, but they also have an actual world established. Shout-outs to the fair scenes, as those maze designs and costumes were very cool. Sky Yang’s character, Rel, had Nightwing vibes, which was very cool!

Otherwise, the story is based around this Whistle that once heard or blown on. Death will be called and seek you. I won’t spoil the causes, and all but again the deaths were a lot of fun, a majority of the time. Which is where it gets that weaker 7 rating for me personally.

So what about yourselves? Going to check out Whistle? Already seen it? Love to hear your thoughts down below in the comments.

Greatly appreciate you for coming by Popped for your movie “Reviews”, stay tuned for more awesome movies coming up in the month of February. Hoping good things from GOAT. Good Luck Have Fun Don’t Die and maybe some other random surprises along the way.

Until next time though fellow moviegoers – Happy Movie Going 😀

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Send Help “Review”

Release date: January 30, 2026 (USA)

Director: Sam Raimi

Screenplay: Mark Swift, Damian Shannon

Producers: Sam Raimi, Zainab Azizi

Cinematography: Bill Pope

MPAA rating: R

Finally got to see Send Help, 1 scene could have looked good in 3D, but 2D was the way 😀

A strong balance between the usage of horror & comedy. Without spoilers, though. Is this Scary Movie or Scream? Does this parody the genre or take itself somewhat seriously? Depending on the line you find yourself in. That ending / last 30 minutes is going to either get you to a 9/10 or take some hits, bringing you into the 8’s.

Personally, I’m at 8.5/10, possibly 8, but in this ballpark. Without spoilers, this could have been a 9 in the bag and onto my top 10 list for 2026 thus far. It’s still the best movie of 2026 thus far that I’ve seen, but I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments.

Shall we discuss the movie and set this up for y’all :D?

Rachel McAdams plays Linda Liddle (From Account?), a huge fan & lover of the Survivor TV Show. She also has this overbearing boss who doesn’t appreciate her work, her talents, or the commitment and dedication she’s given to the company, which the boss’s father built for him to inherit. The boss in question? Bradley Preston (Played by Dylan O’Brien) a total jerk and awful boss that’s going to find out how much Linda will have to offer in his survival.

Yes! His survival! Stranded on a deserted island after their plane crashes en route to a business meeting. It’s a battle of wills and wits to make it out alive.

Plenty of setup to create throwbacks and bowties. Even if there are a few layers of mystery to discover and reflect upon after the movie. It’s a great watch, and I’ll look forward to checking it out again at some point with the misses :D.

Thank you for coming by Popped for your movie “Reviews”. What did you think of Send Help? Love to hear in the comments and with that I’m off to bed before I continue the battle in Oathsworn Session 14 in 6 hours :D. Night all or good morning for those waking up to this :D.

Until next time though, happy moviegoing fellow moviegoers 😀

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Iron Lung “Review”

Release date: January 30, 2026 (USA)

Director: Markiplier

Starring: Mark Fischbach; Caroline Rose Kaplan; Seán McLoughlin; David Szymanski; Troy Baker; Elsie Lovelock; Isaac McKee

Producers: Will Hyde, Jeff Guerrero, Amy Nelson

MPAA rating: R

Running time: 2h 7m

Didn’t know this was based on a video game…maybe should have done some research!

I went in, not seeing a single trailer of this movie. Markiplier’s name was enough and sold. I came out wishing I had more context for the story. Let’s discuss, shall we?

Let’s start with my headliner sentence and work from there. If this were an exclusive title on a streaming platform. I’d subscribe to see this movie. Iron Lung is a high-quality, low-budget movie that stars Markiplier, not just directed by himself. Markiplier is now in my mind, an actor, not just youtuber. He delivers an excellent performance throughout this movie and really holds the movie up, being that he’s our focus for 95% of the time.

I’d honestly consider this an Oscar nomination for costume and hair, harken back to Substance. For such a low-budget title, they did an excellent job with every design in this movie. I won’t spoil, just wanting to paint a picture :D.

It’s an extremely dark movie so don’t get too cozy or you may drift off like I did. But then something will occur. You’ll be locked in and they middle will pull you out and into a ride for the finale. Yes without context of the story I did find this rather long. But I was so intrigued I had to keep with it. Wanting to know the mystery and reveals to pay off.

Ask me about the story. You’ll get this: Convicts are granted an option. To have their freedom by going (Like a submarine) deep into the oceans of blood to explore/find (Something). Or be sentenced to prison instead. Looking at the Google overview, it says: “Survivors of the apocalypse launch an expedition to a barren moon with an ocean of blood.” I think doing some research with limited spoilers would be recommended for this title. It feels like an incredible adaptation of a video game. I just don’t have the accuracy for context. So far, 93% on RT. So, fans of Markiplier & the video game are very happy with this.

Personally, without that context, I’m giving Iron Lung a Popped score of 6.5 or weak 7/10. It’s a fine movie with plenty of good factors baked in. Without more story & lore explained/established throughout, I found this long after the initial intro, before the latter half picking up with awesome music and again, incredible acting from Markiplier and the costume designs.

Iron Lung is going to be an awesome streaming movie. It’s a high-quality production within low-budget confines, which will be thoroughly enjoyed in theatres for fans and those in the know. Now it’s time for me to watch a lets play and dive into the lore before watching it again.

It’s been a minute but I’m back and with an interesting title at that. Thanks for coming to Popped for your movie “reviews”. Did you check out Iron Lung? Interested to check it out? Or even doing some research now before your visit to the theatre. Love to hear your thoughts in the comments.

Stay tuned for Sunday night / Monday for my Send Help “Review”. Wasn’t able to attend last night, but on Sunday, I’ll be checking it out. Heard lots of positive feedback thus far. So excited to jump in :D.

Until next time, though, fellow moviegoers. Happy movie going :D.

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28 Years Later: The Bone Temple “Review”

Release date: January 16, 2026 (USA)

Director: Nia DaCosta

Production companies: DNA Films, Columbia Pictures, Decibel Films

Running time: 1h 50m

MPAA rating: R

Distributed by: Sony Pictures Releasing

Been curious how this will perform and while still divided, my excitement continues to build

You can check out my thoughts on 28 Years later before diving into its sequel – Bone Temple!

I was conflicted between the two stories within the previous installment and continued to be within this title. However! Upon reflecting that ending and taking these installments as a series whole. My excitement continues to build and I enjoyed the payoff. Even if I didn’t realize it until the moment hit :D.

No Spoilers here but taking my thoughts on the previous installment you can piece together what elements I enjoyed and didn’t and theory craft from there 😀 Or just go watch this movie!

Throughout the journey of this installment I was having a good time. With minor elements I wont get into the rating dipped to a 6.5 and back to 7 for others. That last 30minutes gave me goosebumps and for that. The Bone Temple gets a Popped score of 7.5/10. But will it on a second viewing? Maybe this will have two scores. Stand A-Lone & Trilogy score. Loved the connecting web that brought the series together and with that the long wait for the hopeful third installment of this 28 years trilogy can potentially bring this franchise to a close in fantastic climax? Let’s see shall we!

Appreciate you coming by Popped for your movie “Reviews”. Being this is a sequel keeping very spoiler free but from my prior thoughts and what’s mentioned. I think you can paint a picture :D.

That being said I have 1 hour to get this weeks batch of “Reviews” out so let’s press on as this is 1 of 4 movies watched this week 😀 INSANE I KNOW haha.

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The Plague “Review”

Release date: December 24, 2025 (USA)

Director: Charlie Polinger

Producers: Joel Edgerton, Lizzie Shapiro, Lucy McKendrick, Derek Dauchy, Roy Lee, Steven Schneider

Nominations: Prize of Un Certain Regard · See more

MPAA rating: R

Distributed by: Independent Film Company

I thought The Plague was another zombie movie. WoW did I walk into something else.

I went through a couple of stages reflecting on this movie throughout my viewing experience. A coming of age kept coming to mind but mainly, without spoilers. The Plague is a dark window to viewers on the consequences of bullying.

A great group of young actors which should use this movie for their portfolio. It’s got good things going for it. As much as it’s not a zombie movie. I liked the lens being focused on this angle of dark consequences of bullying. It ramps up and keeps the movie concise. Even a bow tie of an ending? It’s a fine movie at a 6.5/10.

Solid performances from this group of actors. The Plague focuses on a group of young lads apart of a water polo camp. The social dynamics to Ben (Played by Everett Blunck) being new to this group are portrayed very well as the viewer is new to this world and environment. Eli (Played by Kenny Rasmussen) has some sort of infection and dubbed by Jake (Played by Kayo Martin) to have “The Plague”. Touch him and you’ll get it also.

This anxiety from the ruthless hierarchy of the water polo group spirals into psychological turmoil over the summer period. The horror elements or done in away of situational and environment. Something of an intrigue is the inclusion of music almost of that of Aztec in nature.

Thinking of checking out The Plague or already seen it ? Let me know in the comments below. Love to hear your thoughts. RT has it at a 100% believe it or not. IMDb at 7.2/10. Stay tuned for a continued batch of “reviews” as we dive next, into Is This Thing On?.

Thank you for coming by Popped! For your movie “Reviews”. Happy Movie-Going!

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