Dann Gire

2 months ago | dailyherald.com | Dann Gire

In the horror tale “The Monkey,” the titular character pops up in all sorts of places, some of them quite comical, others just strange and cartoony. Courtesy of Neon “The Monkey” — 2.5 stars In a 1984 lunch interview with Stephen King, I asked the prolific horror novelist about his approach to storytelling. “Ideally, I will terrify you,” King said. “If I can’t terrify you, I will simply scare you.

Jan 23, 2025 | dailyherald.com | Dann Gire

Chris (Chris Sullivan) and his wife, Rebekah (Lucy Liu), have no idea an invisible entity is watching their every move in Steven Soderbergh’s “Presence.” Courtesy of Neon “Presence” — 2 stars In Steven Soderbergh’s gimmicky, unscary ghost story “Presence,” we the audience become the supernatural entity roaming through a large suburban house with Steadicam fluidity, seeing only what it sees, hearing only what it hears.

Jan 15, 2025 | dailyherald.com | Dann Gire

In Leigh Whannell’s emotionally muted horror tale “Wolf Man,” Charlotte (Julia Garner) defends her daughter Ginger (Matilda Firth) from her beastly husband. Courtesy of Universal Pictures “Wolf Man” — 1.5 stars Leigh Whannell’s sometimes ridiculous, suspense-challenged and emotionally muted horror tale “Wolf Man” tosses out all the traditional conventions we expect in the werewolf genre. The magical transformations caused by a full moon? The use of silver weapons to slay the man-beast? Gone.

Jan 7, 2025 | dailyherald.com | Dann Gire

In Brady Corbet’s epic “The Brutalist,” Adrien Brody plays a Hungarian-born Jewish architect and Holocaust survivor who travels to America after World War II looking for a better life for himself and his wife (Felicity Jones). Courtesy of A24 “The Brutalist” — 4 stars Austere, foreboding, harsh and intoxicatingly masculine. What’s to like about Brady Corbet’s third movie “The Brutalist”? Not much.

Dec 4, 2024 | dailyherald.com | Dann Gire

Leader of the pack? A distraught Mother (Amy Adams) falls back on her animal instincts as a survival mechanism. Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures The provocatively and appropriately titled black comedy “Nightbitch” (it features a female dog) owes its narrative propulsion to Amy Adams’ harried, married, emotionally buried Mother of a 4-year-old boy, and wife of a benignly neglectful, stay-away-from-home husband.