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Today’s double-feature Movies of the Day are themed around fathers keeping secrets. They’re also themed around movies marketed as horror, but only qualify as such if your definition of “horror” is very loose. Still, they’re not bad. Read all about them, and stick around after for daily news and trivia!
Movies of the Day
Queen of Bones
Star Rating: 3.5 out of 5 (good)
Queen of Bones is a coming-of-age drama/thriller set during the Great Depression. Twins Lily and Sam live with their father Malcolm. The twins’ mother passed away fourteen years ago during childbirth, or so Malcolm says. Sam believes that his father is hiding something, and Lily starts to believe it as well when she looks through some of her mother’s belongings. Their search for the truth will lead them to dark places, but Lily might also find a strength she never knew she had.
I enjoyed Queen of Bones. Lily and Sam are interesting leads who carry the emotion of the story well. Martin Freeman is also very good in this, playing Malcolm as strict at first, and revealing an even more aggressive and harmful side of the character as the movie goes on. The central mystery of what happened to the twins’ mother is portrayed well. It’s clear something isn’t right, but there’s enough ambiguity to leave certain doubts about motivations up until late in the movie when the reveals are made. There is a supernatural element to Queen of Bones, but it is understated except for in a few pivotal moments. I like how the movie downplays overt magical connections, but I can understand why some people might be disappointed that the promise of witchcraft in the trailer isn’t really fulfilled in the actual movie. Queen of Bones is available to rent on Prime Video.
Abraham’s Boys
Star Rating: 3 out of 5 (pretty good)
Abraham’s Boys is based on the short story of the same title by Joe Hill, which is in turn inspired by Bram Stoker’s novel Dracula. The story focuses on Abraham Van Helsing and his family eighteen years after the death of Dracula. Van Helsing married Mina, and they have two sons, Max and his younger brother Rudy. They’re all living together in an isolated house in California when Abraham begins to suspect that vampires might be getting near their home. Mina becomes ill, and before long Max and Rudy are brought into their father’s line of work which he’d hidden from them up until now.
The idea behind Abraham’s Boys is moderately intriguing, but the movie’s biggest fault lies in its characters. They just aren’t fleshed out enough to maintain great interest in a movie that is already rather slow. Every character feels flat for most of the film, despite the actors doing a good job with what they were given. The interesting character moments are too few and far between. I was debating between giving this a 2.5 or 3, but I went with the higher number mostly because the movie looks great visually. Plus, the plot isn’t bad, it’s just too drawn out. Abraham’s Boys is a digital rental on Prime Video.
In the News
- Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein is getting a theatrical release on October 17th. (read more)
- A popcorn bucket for The Conjuring: Last Rites featuring Annabelle will be on sale through Regal cinemas on August 20th. (read more)
- The re-release of Shin Godzilla has already surpassed the total box office of the movie’s original North American release in 2016. (read more)
- Trailers released yesterday:
Birthdays
William Marshall was born on August 19th, 1924. William is most famous for playing the title role in Blacula (1972) and the sequel Scream Blacula Scream (1973). Many people will also recognize him as the King of Cartoons from Pee-wee’s Playhouse. He also played the Grim Reaper in a Halloween episode of Benson that aired in 1985.
Also born on August 19th, in 1926, was Angus Scrimm. Angus is best known as the iconic Tall Man from the Phantasm series. His unmistakable stature and presence led to Angus appearing in many horror films beyond the Phantasm series throughout his career, including Chopping Mall (1986), Subspecies (1991), Vampirella (1996), I Sell the Dead (2008), and more.
Events on This Day
A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master was released in theaters on August 19th, 1988. Directed by Renny Harlin, this was the movie that introduced Alice (played by Lisa Wilcox), who went on to star in part five as well.
Wes Craven’s Red Eye was released on August 19th, 2005. This thriller is about a terrorist who holds a woman hostage, in secret, on a crowded airplane. Once Wes Craven read the script, he saw it as a relatively rare chance to direct a movie that wasn’t firmly rooted in horror (though it is still quite dark).
More movies released on August 19th:
- Zombie 5: Killing Birds (Italy, 1988)
- Leeches! (2003)
- The Last Sharknado: It’s About Time (Syfy, 2018)
- Orphan: First Kill (2022)
Thank you for reading! Today should have a few new streaming movies to pick from, so I’ll look for something a bit more exciting for tomorrow!
