#Alive– This is a Korean movie about a lone survivor in an apartment complex from a rapidly spreading infection. The infected act just like those from the 28 Days Later franchise, so they are not your classic zombie. Very fast and aggressive, so the “rage” moniker fits. This could easily be seen as an offshoot of those movies.

I liked this a lot. While the carnage gets pretty big, the locations are kept at a minimum. Oh, our hero, starts the movie in his family’s apartment and remains there for most of the film. He sees the outbreak first spread from his balcony and on the TV news. The infection spreads so fast (people get bit with nary a hesitation) that Oh becomes trapped. These kinds of stories are hard to pull off well, pacing and suspense are crucial to get right and I think #Alive does both really well. You get a sense of danger right away. Oh quickly gets threatened inside his apartment and that kicks off his fight for survival. Oh never does anything really stupid, which helps. He takes risks for sure but they are all for good reasons and he prepares. Kim, a woman who is trapped in her apartment on the other side of the courtyard, is also introduced at just the right time. She’s a solid character and offers a new dimension to Oh’s fight for survival.

This movie is well made in all regards. Well acted, some great direction with fun action scenes that break up the quite character development. Special effects are great too making this a believable take on the genre. I even liked the end.

Hubie Halloween– This a stupid Adam Sandler joint. That’s all you need to know about this movie as it explains everything you can expect and you immediately know if you are in or out. This is a spiritual successor to The Water Boy. Hubie Dubois sounds and acts almost exactly the same as Bobby Boucher. He’s just older, moved to a different town, has a bicycle and he carries a Swiss army knife thermos (Inspector Gadget would be jealous) instead of a giant Gatorade dispenser.

The story checks all the boxes for a goofy Adam Sandler movie. The main character is an awkward but morally outstanding person who gets crapped on by everyone but his mother. There are more cameos than you can count. Jokes crammed in as fast as possible no matter how stupid and terrible they may be. Sometimes they do land! Throw in some slapstick to get the most basic laughs and cook for 90 minutes.

Hubie Halloween doesn’t take itself seriously and knows exactly what it’s doing. I found it to be pretty welcoming and refreshing because of that. Come take a break and let the dumb wash over you, you might be surprised at how much you needed it.

Scoob!– I was hoping this was going to be more Halloween-centric, but I still got a cute story with Scooby Do. The movie starts with how Shaggy and Scooby first meet and you better believe it’s adorable and sweet. Then they meet Fred, Velma, and Daphne on Halloween and stumble upon a criminal who they thwart. Now we have the genesis of Mystery Inc.

Years go by and the gang gets involved in a plot by Dirk Dastardly. He wants to open up a portal that can only be opened by Scooby. Much of the movie has Shaggy and Scooby separated from the rest and the bulk of the story is a test of the gang’s friendship. It’s very much a ‘You don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone’ vibe.

It’s a good story! The animation is very good, the plot moves along as you’d expect and hits all the major notes for the franchise. There are some surprises here and there and it was nice to watch another movie that keeps its heart on its sleeve. Great for the kids.

I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House– A really creepy movie that I’m not sure what to make of. It’s slow and subtle to the point where my attention wandered off a few times. A ghost/haunting story that I had a hard time caring about.

Lily is a nurse that comes to live with an elderly author named Iris Blum. She wrote many horror books and lives in this house by herself. She needs to be cared for as she has dementia and it seems simple enough. Subtle oddities happen, each brings a new layer of foreboding. Lily soon finds out that the house is believed to be haunted and Iris always refers to her as “Polly.” Iris’s estate manager explains to her that Polly is the name of the character from Iris’s book “The Lady in the Walls.” This sends Lily onto a discover path that Polly might not be a fictional character and that Iris and Lily are not alone in the house.

The best part of this movie is the atmosphere. There is a thick sense of dread and darkness lurking about from the cinematography. The entire movie takes place in the house, you never leave the interior. The sound design is fantastic as well, further selling the house as a character. The creepy bits are great too. Mold on the wall that looks like it’s starting to take over the house and the challenge to get someone to the house to take care of it (the estate manager is the only other person you see enter the house). The corner of the rug that she repeatedly finds flipped up when she’s the only one walking around in the house and Lily is sure she’s not doing it. She’d know, she’d remember. The gag with the phone is perfect and scary. It’s the simple things done right.

Aside from that, everything else is forgettable and dull. There are bits that grabbed me but the movie as a whole couldn’t keep me engaged. It’s a strange feeling which makes me come to the conclusion that I think it would be better as a short instead of feature length film. I didn’t like the end either. It came off as a ‘that’s it?’ moment to me.