Crystal Lake

 In 1980 Friday the 13th was a big deal. One of the first few entries into the newly invented "slasher" genre and it was super creepy if not down right scary. It spawned about a million sequels and a bunch of copy cats that seemed to get progressively worse, until all but the most ardent fans ignored the genre entirely. That's why I was surprised to find this so good. Produced by A24, Crystal Lake tells the origin story in detail of "Jason" Voorhees and even tries to offer a plausible explanation as to why Jason never seemed to die. Linda Cardanelli is perfectly cast as Pam Voorhees and the script sticks heavily to the lore of the series while adding a couple of well-placed layers. Furthermore, the creators have somehow managed to make this feel like an 80's film trying to portray the 60's and of course we have the same "over-the-top" violence that became a hallmark of the series. Perfectly timed for Halloween. Highly Recommended

Carrie

 This is the latest from Mike Flannagan creator of The House on Haunted Hill and Midnight Mass, These are two of the strongest horror entries in quite some time and putting him at the helm of great source material like this is a recipe for success. Updated for the current times, an isolated teen goes to a new school, gets bullied, unleashes telekinetic hell on said bullies, Y'all know the story, but this actually surpasses the original film version. It's certainly far deeper given the extended length, but the cast, script and direction are all very much on point. Perfect Halloween fare here. Highly recommended.

East of Eden

 I'd never read John Steinbeck's novel East of Eden. I'd seen the classic film, but never read the book and now I guess I'll never really have to. After viewing this series, I read a synopsis of the novel and this series basically covers it verbatim. Plot, themes, characters all of it and its all done with great care and meticulous detail. Now, the story is a multigenerational tale of a family with a history of terrible fathers, one terrible mother and the children they produce. Are they destined to follow in their parents footsteps? You'll have to watch to find out and it's completely worth it, if you find the source material compelling. I wouldn't be surprised to see the script win some awards for best TV adaptation. Worth the time.

Below

 This is the Netflix's answer to AppleTV's fantastic Widow's Bay. You have an isolated seaside community being terrorized by unknown forces, in this case a giant squid, and the action is a blending of various horror subgenres. Josh Harnett plays a struggling fisherman who lost his Dad to this terror 40 years earlier and he leads the fight against it now. There are some things to like here, but there are also some script issues that may or may not effect your perception of the story. Either way this is not nearly on the level of Widow's Bay, but its still probably worth a watch. It's not very long and it's not very painful. A very very soft recommendation

 Lanterns

S1 concludes yesterday and it's a good 'un. Hal Jordan is dead, murdered by somebody and Earth's newest Green Lantern is set to take the helm. Told in partial flashback and completely non-linear HBO has scored yet another hit with Lanterns. They have used their first-rate production team to create a more grounded super hero show, gone are the bells and whistles that keep the vast majority of super hero films/shows feeling poorly written and hollowed out displays of CGI action. Instead, they have created a really "human" show with great actors and fully developed script and characters. In fact, you won't be seeing any green dragons flying out of the ring to reign fire down on enemies, they barely use the ring at all. That doesn't mean they wont in the future, but if that s is what your expecting you'll be disappointed. It's a unique and refreshing take and i am not surprised that it's HBO doing it. It's a smash hit, so go forth if you haven't

 Last Seen

Patrick Brammall (Colin from Accounts) shows us his range can go beyond comedy as he plays a former alcoholic policeman turned 911 (000) dispatcher who had his daughter go missing 11 years prior. When he receives a call from her, he launches on a quest to find her and repair his broken family. AppleTV+ strikes again with a really good Australian production. There really isn't a lot here that hasn't been done before in one form or another, but it is still an excellent show with good writing, good acting and compelling subject matter. There is one episode left in this 6 part miniseries, but I wouldn't hesitate to give it a go. I said it before and Ill say it again with the exception of HBO, there isn't currently a better production company than AppleTV+

 Unabomber

Rock solid portrayal of Ted Kaczynski is a true crime drama that focuses more on what made Ted who he is than the manhunt to catch him or the crimes he committed. Russell Crowe plays the Harvard Professor that uses Ted to figure out how the Koreans made their Manchurian candidates and Shailene Woodley plays the FBI behavioralist who tracks him down. Extremely well acted and well cast and this deserves more than a 6.2 IMDB rating. It seems there was enough material left out that this subject matter could have easily expanded into a mini-series, but its less a critique than it is a suggestion and the film shouldn't be punished for what's not in there. Worth it