stephenherman Reviews

Hypnotic (2021)

Don't Sleep on this movie!

[9/10 · 28 October 2021]

Really fun thriller with tons of good twists and turns. Good writing and some really stunning visuals. I love movies with hypnotism in them and this one does it right.

Kate Siegel never disappoints. She's turning it on the queen of Netflix.

Sneakerheads (2020)

Fun binge worthy show. More please!

[9/10 · 26 September 2020]

Not sure what the negative reviews are about. It's a fun show. Funny and fast paced. Just the right stuff for these negative times. And if you're into sneakers then it's a plus. Glad they finally made a show for us!

Every Time I Die (2019)

Pleasantly surprised with this one

[8/10 · 26 August 2020]

Engaging story. Good acting. Great concept and visually stunning for an indie film. Glad I took a chance on this one.

The Vigil (2019)

A dark unsettling film...

[8/10 · 3 July 2020]

A solid slow burn that really heats up. Dark and unsettling. The type of film that gets under your skin and stays with you. Jewish horror films are an untapped well. We need to see more!

My Spy (2020)

Cute, family run. The girl is adorable!

[9/10 · 26 June 2020]

Surprisingly good. Some funny moments. That kid is friggin adorable. She can act too! The movie ramps up by the end and gets big on the action sequences which was fun. Overall a good time.

Humans (2015–2018)

I wish there was a higher rating than 10...

[10/10 · 6 June 2020]

I'm so mad there won't be another season of this show. This is was sci-fi is all about. The Writing for this show is phenomenal. Every season has been awesome and the story keeps escalating. How do these writers do it???

Must watch if you're in smart grounded sci-fi. 🤖

Mirage (2018)

Impressive unique concept on time travel

[10/10 · 2 June 2020]

Impressive and well thought out. There's no physical time travel in it. No one's moving through time. It's more about sending messages to the past. Very unique concept. Well written. No holes in the script which is rare when it comes to concepts as heavy as this. Such a good story and cast.

In the Shadow of the Moon (2019)

WOW. Impressive Time Travel Thriller

[9/10 · 27 May 2020]

If you're into time travel and intriguing mysteries then this one is for you. Well shot, well acted and very tight script. Great story with some real heart behind it. Happy I stumbled across this gem. If you're a fan of Looper then you'll dig this one here.

You Die (2018)

A refreshing take of the ghost genre

[8/10 · 23 May 2020]

I stumbled onto this gem by accident. The trailer looked good so I took an chance and rented it. I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised. The acting was pretty good and the cinematography was great too. Refreshing angle on ghost genre and the story was good too. Some very creepy scenes. If you liked It Follows you'll enjoy this.

Z (I) (2019)

Pretty solid indie creeper

[8/10 · 13 May 2020]

I wouldn't call it scary but it definitely is CREEPY and had quite a few unsettling. It's a pretty good story too as the writers took a huge risk with the script on the 3rd act. I kept watching like are they really going to go this route?? And they did and it worked! They had a great actress who's performance made the 3rd act believable. Good stuff.

I started paying attention to these guys after seeing STILL BORN. Another creepy indie gem on Shudder. I hope this team keeps it up. They do awesome work on a low budget. Can't wait to see what they come up with when they get some real deal money behind them. Looking forward to what they do next!

The Wretched (2019)

Fun movie with a few good scares

[9/10 · 3 May 2020]

Fun ride a couple good scares. Mostly I loved the script. Good Writing. Good story. Couple twist and turns I didn't see coming and I watch a lot of horror. Definitely one to check out.

Velvet Buzzsaw (2019)

Seriously, what the heck did I just watch??!

[5/10 · 17 March 2020]

I had high hopes for this. Especially when I saw the same team behind the awesome movie NIGHTCRAWLER. It had a good cast. Definitely had a good budget...

But the script was downright awful. No real story here. It started off intriguing but it went downhill. I get it, it's a satire. But not a good one. It wasn't a horror nor a comedy. Just a straight vanity piece. What a shame.

The Room (2019)

Impressive! Nice impressive sci-fi/ fantasy

[9/10 · 16 March 2020]

Just saw this on SHUDDER and decided to take a chance. I'm glad I did. Very cool indie. The story gets weirder and packs some fun surprises. You never quite know where it's going. They took this concept and ran with it. Fun watch. Congrats to the writers and all the filmmakers.

I See You (II) (2019)

Found a hidden gem. A very effective thriller

[8/10 · 12 March 2020]

It's pretty good. Keeps you guessing all the way through. Very well written twisty script. Lots of surprises. The first half was decent, but the second half of the film really steps up. If you're in a mood for a very dark thriller you've come to the right place. Cudos to all the filmmakers on this one. Good job!

Daniel Isn't Real (2019)

WOW... An Impressive Scary little gem

[10/10 · 12 March 2020]

I tried to see this when it screened at the Brooklyn horror film festival but it was sold out. And now I see why. If you're a fan of psychological thriller/ horror, you're going to love this one. Trust me.

What great film! Well shot. Well acted. And impressive story with some genuinely scary scenes. You never quite knew where it was going to go. Just saw it was based on a book. I am totally adding it to my summer reading.

Door in the Woods (2019)

Low budget but Good effort.

[6/10 · 11 March 2020]

It's VERY low budget but the story is enough to keep you interested to the end. The filmmakers worked hard with the little that they had and it should. A for effort.

Ending is very dark but cool.

Mara (I) (2018)

Creepy horror indie. Awesome ending

[7/10 · 10 March 2020]

Not sure why all the low reviews. I watch a lot of indie horrors and this if definitely one of the better ones. Pretty creepy and the make up design for Mara was really good. Pretty formulaic but it's definitely worth the watch. Good ending too.

The Assent (2019)

Why all the low reviews?? It's decent

[6/10 · 6 March 2020]

All this movie needed was another pass on the script. The twist at the end is really cool but you can see it coming from a mile away. The writer/director needed to work on the script to hide it more so it wasn't so obvious. Had they done this properly it would have raised this movie up a bunch of notches.

It's not really scary though it has some great creepy atmosphere going on. Some of the visuals are great, particularly the demon with all those faces and the creepy gyrating woman. But overall not horrible. It doesn't deserve such low scores.

Brahms: The Boy II (2020)

Not bad... but pretty predictable.

[6/10 · 21 February 2020]

Let me start by saying, I LOVED THE FIRST ONE! It was so fresh and creepy and that TWIST! OMG! 😲

So I went in having high hopes for the sequel, especially since I saw it was same writer and director as the first one and they managed to attach Katie Holmes.

But I had to say I was highly disappointed with this movie. It checks off all the boxes, but it's kind of slow and pretty predictable. The plot could have been ramped up more as there was no real danger and the scares were pretty generic. And the final twist / 3rd act felt lackluster, especially when you compare to the 3rd act of the original.

Again, it's not a bad movie. You'll be entertained. It's just a missed opportunity in my opinion. The script needed a another pass.

Mary (I) (2019)

Good Made for TV Horror

[7/10 · 4 February 2020]

Don't listen to the negative reviews. This isn't going to be in your top 10 horror films but it's still a decent movie. The story is engaging enough to keep you watching to see what happens. It's not particularly scary or super original but seeing a ghost movie contained to a sailboat made it feel a bit fresh.

The acting was good. The characters felt real & made logical decisions for the most part. The story had enough wind in its sails to keep pushing forward. It just needed a proper budget. So don't go in expecting Ghost Ship, but trust me it's a decent film. Enjoy!

The Turning (2020)

A decent Moody flick... Until the end...

[6/10 · 24 January 2020]

It had potential. A little mystery to it. Dark and moody. Ghosts weren't that scary looking but had a few tense moments. All in all it made sense until the end. Seriously, they needed to do a reshoot. It happened and then the credits rolled and everyone in the theater was just shocked. We all looked at each other like WTF?! How did that ending make it past the test groups??? I think these guys wrote the Conjuring too if I'm not mistaken. What the heck happened???

Welcome Home (I) (2018)

Smart suspenseful thriller! Impressive!

[9/10 · 13 January 2020]

I was pleasantly surprised by this one. Very tense, crafty thriller. The tension kept building and building until the climax. Really good ending too! Great Writing and well acted. Love it when I find gems like these.

Sweetheart (I) (2019)

Impressive Monster Indie

[8/10 · 6 December 2019]

I was pleasantly surprised by this one here. I'm not usually a fan of monster movies but this one did it right.

The lead actress was really good. She held the movie down all by herself. Not to mention she wasn't bad on eyes. Really beautiful woman.

Good Script. Great visuals. I really like how they held back on showing the monster till closer to the end. And that black hole in the ocean... Yikes!!

Glad blumhouse takes chances on these kinds of films. Congrats to all the cast and crew. Thank you for making an entertaining film.

Haunt (I) (2019)

Pretty good. Some actual SCARY moments...

[8/10 · 2 November 2019]

Not your average teen horror. Very smart writing and believable characters. Some very tense and unnerving scenes in here. I looked up the writer and director for this one and it turns out they're the same guys who wrote A Quiet Place. Go figure. Good job guys!

Castle Rock (2018–2019)

Season 2 is waaaaay better!

[10/10 · 27 October 2019]

I gave last season a 7 but this season after only seeing the first three episodes, I've already raised my rating up to a 9. They really stepped up the writing this season. A lot of interesting interweaving storylines. I'm excited to check out the rest of the episodes.