Table of Contents
Welcome back the Creepy Catalog daily horror digest. There’s a decent amount of news today, and the daily trivia is good. I also talk about two new movies.
Movies of the Day
I’ve had a bit of bad luck with the last few movies I’ve watched. Believe it or not, I don’t enjoy being negative whenever I give my thoughts about a movie. However, I’ll always be honest with my opinions. So I’ve decided to do quantity over quality for my Movie(s) of the Day today. I watched two films last night, making this a double-feature of dubious quality.
The Plastic Men
First up is The Plastic Men. This is a psychological horror movie about a veteran of the Vietnam War struggling with severe PTSD after coming back home. The story begins in 1968, and it follows Jonathan Teller (James Preston) as he gets into trouble with the law due to an idiot friend. Jonathan decides to enlist in the army rather than serve his sentence in jail. The film skips over his time overseas, jumping forward to him trying to acclimate himself to civilian life after the horrors of war. It doesn’t go well. Jonathan suffers from intense hallucinations, and he breaks down in a spectacular fashion. This all leads to a fateful night that forever changes the course of his life.
The Plastic Men is meant to be an emotional journey into the mind of a struggling veteran, but the entire thing feels like a 78-minute montage. Some of the visuals are nice, but there’s very little in the way of story or characters. Scenes are generally short, and they skip through 4-5 years of Jonathan’s life in a scattershot way that doesn’t allow for much context. There’s also a narrator (Jonathan when he’s older) talking most of the time, which causes a serious disconnect between what we’re watching and what we’re hearing. I understand the idea of it all, but nothing has any real weight to it.
Star Rating: 2 out of 5
I only recommend The Plastic Men to people familiar with the Craigslist ad it’s based on. I’ve read the ad, and there’s almost no chance that it’s genuine. But if you’re moved by that kind of sappy fiction, then The Plastic Men might move you as well. If you want to watch, it’s streaming as a rental on Prime Video.
Night Carnage
The other movie I watched last night was Night Carnage. The trailer looked fun, with a vampire and a werewolf, and being touted as a romantic horror film. But practically nothing happens in this movie. The characters are likable, and some of the monster action is okay, but almost nothing of consequence happens until about fifteen minutes before the credits roll. And even then, nothing much happens.
There are three main plot threads in Night Carnage. The first follows a vampire by the name of Michael Connor (Christian Howard). He goes on dates with women and then feeds on them afterward. Next is Marcus (Baker Chase Powell), the owner of a bar and the great-great-grandson of Abraham Van Helsing. Then there’s Tess (Logan Andrews), a romance blogger who is also a werewolf. These three characters go about their daily lives for most of the movie, not really interacting with each other until the very end.
Night Carnage had the potential to be an entertaining love-triangle monster movie, but instead we watch Tess go on a couple of dates and eat people (off screen). We watch Michael bite a few women. And we don’t see Marcus do much of anything, despite the fact that he’s a new recruit in his family’s secret monster hunting group. I mean, I liked it when we finally get a good look at the werewolf, but that’s about it. There was potential here, but the script needed a rewrite or two to add some action and drama.
Star Rating: 1.5 out of 5
I can’t recommend Night Carnage. It’s available as a digital rental on Prime Video if you choose not to follow my advice.
In the News
- Regal is re-releasing all eight Conjuring Universe movies (The Curse of LA Llorona doesn’t count) in theaters between August 18th and September 3rd. (Bloody Disgusting)
- Peacock has picked up the previously announced Hostel television series being developed by Eli Roth. Paul Giamatti will star, though there is no release schedule at this time. (Variety)
- Keira Knightley is set to star in a film adaptation for the novel The Woman in Cabin 10. Guy Pearce will also star in the thriller about a journalist who witnesses a murder on a yacht, but nobody believes her. (IndieWire)
- The Deathstalker reboot from Steven Kostanski (Psycho Goreman) will be released in theaters by Shout Studios. There is no release date yet, but it is expected later this year. (Variety)
- Trailers released yesterday:
- Witchboard (in theaters August 15th)
- We Strangers (in theaters August 22nd)
- The Conjuring: Last Rites (in theaters September 5th)
Birthdays
Susan Lanier was born on August 1st, 1947. Susan’s most famous role in horror was as Brenda, the younger sister in the Carter family in The Hills Have Eyes (1977). Over the past decade or so she’s appeared in a few new, low-budget horror movies including Cut (2014), Inverted (2024), and The Boatyard (2025).
Also born on August 1st, in 1990, is Alakina Mann. Though her acting roles are few, she made an impact on horror cinema when she co-starred with Nicole Kidman in The Others (2001). Alakina played Annie, the daughter of Nicole’s character Grace.
More actors born on August 1st:
- Kris Holden-Ried (1973) – Night of the Demons 3 (1997), The Dogs (2025)
- Saleka Shyamalan (1996) – Trap (2024)
- Terry Kiser (1939) – Dr. Crews in Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood (1988)
- Elizabeth McRae (1936) – Helen Munson in 30 Days of Night (2007)
- Kate Norby (1976) – Wendy Banjo in The Devil’s Rejects (2005)
Events on This Day
Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives opened in theaters on August 1st, 1986! It’s one of the most memorable movies in the franchise thanks to the debut of zombie Jason, revived from the dead by Tommy Jarvis and a bolt of lightning. Jason Lives is also notable for being the first movie in the series to take place in a fully-functioning summer camp with counselors and campers (the previous F13 movies set in camp only had counselors, no campers).
The Omega Man also began its theatrical run on August 1st, in 1971. This was the second film adapted from Richard Matheson’s 1954 novel I Am Legend. The first was The Last Man on Earth (1964) starring Vincent Price, and the third was I Am Legend (2007) starring Will Smith. All three versions are sufficiently different, and they’re all very good in their own ways.
More movies released on August 1st:
- Spawn (1997)
- Wishing Stairs (South Korea, 2003)
