Table of Contents
Today’s daily digest begins with a double-feature of new movies, one I like a lot, the other not so much. There’s also some good news for Scary Movie fans, a bunch of birthdays, and the anniversary of one of my favorite zombie movies ever!
Movies of the Day
Descendent
Star Rating: 4 out of 5
Descendent is a very good movie, elevated by a stellar lead performance from Ross Marquand. Marquand is Sean, a father-to-be who is anxious about his ability to provide for his family. Sean begins seeing a mysterious object darting through the sky, and one night he is confronted by a blinding light. The next thing he knows he wakes up in a hospital with memories of being abducted by aliens. Or was his abduction just a dream brought on by a head injury? Either way, Sean’s personality begins to change. He sees inexplicable things, and his fear of failing his family becomes intense. Sean will have to look towards his past to figure out how to move forward.
Descendent is primarily a psychological thriller and drama, but some Fire in the Sky moments spread throughout help push it a bit towards horror. The best part of the movie is how unsettled everything feels. The foundation of the story is based on Sean’s state of mind, and that is hardly stable. Dreams and visions mix with reality, and after a while it becomes difficult to extricate the two from each other. Which, really, is the whole point. What happened to Sean, and what is continuing to happen to him? Is anything real? His feelings are real, certainly, and the movie wraps its narrative around evoking those feelings even when it doesn’t necessarily make logical sense. That’s not a weakness in the writing, that’s its strength. I highly recommend Descendent, and you can rent it on Prime Video.
The Ruse
Star Rating: 2 out of 5
The trailers for The Ruse emphasized the idea that the movie might or might not be set in a haunted house, but that was a mistake. The Ruse never feels like a haunted house movie. Not once. It’s a mystery thriller about a live-in caregiver, Dale, who takes over caring for an elderly woman, Olivia, after the previous caregiver disappeared. There’s something suspicious going on in and around the house, and as she meets more people in the area, Dale begins to wonder if one of them is responsible for the missing woman.
The best part of the movie is the relationship between Dale and Olivia. Seeing them begin to trust each other, and then have that trust tested when things happen around the house, is executed well. Everything else is so-so. The story’s central mystery is okay, but the reveal isn’t great, and it is way over-explained. I’m pretty sure the explanation takes like ten minutes. I might be exaggerating, but it felt even longer than that. Plus, the dialogue throughout the movie is hammy to the point of being comical at times. The movie also has a strangely depressing ending which seems more concerned with trying to tie the plot into clever narrative knots rather than delivering satisfying character moments. I don’t recommend The Ruse, but you can rent it on Prime Video if you really want to.
In the News
Regina Hall and Anna Faris will return for Scary Movie 6. They appeared as Brenda Meeks and Cindy Campbell respectively in the first four Scary Movies. The upcoming film will also reunite them with Shawn and Marlon Wayans who co-wrote and starred in the first two movies, and Keenen Ivory Wayans who directed the first movie and will be a writer for part six. (Deadline)
Birthdays
Glenn Strange was born on August 16th, 1899. Glenn’s acting career spanned over forty years, and includes extensive credits in film and television. He might be best known to general audiences for his appearances in Westerns, especially as Sam Noonan in the TV series Gunsmoke. For horror fans, Glenn Strange is known for playing Frankenstein’s Monster in House of Frankenstein (1944), House of Dracula (1945), and Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948).
George Eastman was also born on August 16th, in 1942. George should be well-known to fans of Italian exploitation movies of the 1970s and 1980s. He is a writer and actor who appeared in front of and behind the camera in a good number of notable movies from that time period. A few of his career highlights which he wrote and acted in include Antropophagus (1980), Absurd (1981), and Stage Fright (1987).
More birthdays on August 16th:
- Mae Clarke (1910) – Elizabeth in Frankenstein (1931)
- Lorraine Gary (1937) – Ellen Brody in the Jaws franchise
- Angela Bassett (1958) – Innocent Blood (1992), Vampire in Brooklyn (1995)
- Elpidia Carrillo (1961) – Anna in Predator (1987)
- Rumer Willis (1988) – Sorority Row (2009), Skillhouse (2025)
Events on This Day
The Return of the Living Dead was released in theaters on August 16th, 1985! This is a near-perfect zombie comedy with an amazing cast, clever writing, an awesome soundtrack, and some of the best zombies ever put on screen. This is the 40th anniversary of the film, and two new movies related to the 1985 original are currently in development. Not to put a damper on what should be a happy time, but before you decide to support either, you might want to look into the legal struggles involved between the parties involved in both projects. The Return of the Living Dead is currently streaming on Prime Video.
47 Meters Down: Uncaged was also released on August 16th, in 2019. This standalone sequel follows a group of divers exploring a sunken Mayan city. There, they discover sharks that are blind as a result of their lineage evolving within the pitch-black environment. The sharks can’t see, but they can smell blood. You can stream 47 Meters Down: Uncaged on Tubi.
Thanks for reading. Now go watch The Return of the Living Dead!
