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Today’s quick review double-feature focuses on a couple of movies with dream-like qualities. One is fluid with how it approaches its story, and the other is literally about dreams. There’s also some news about a new video game based on a popular horror franchise coming next year, and, of course, daily trivia!
Movies of the Day
Custom
Star Rating: 3.5 out of 5
Custom is about a couple, Jasper and Harriet, who make a living by creating custom erotic videos. They agree to an unusual request from a client to do a video that includes an audio recording that they can’t understand. After they’re done recording, Jasper watches the footage and sees himself and Harriet doing things that neither of them remember. This leads Jasper into paranoia about what they’ve gotten themselves into, and his search for answers leads to some dark truths.
The pace of Custom is rather methodical, and for many people the wait for answers won’t be worth the journey to get there. I found myself enjoying the movie for the most part. I liked how the story was resolved, though I wasn’t blown away by it. This is an arthouse thriller that invites viewers to explore its themes without sharpening them to a fine point. I appreciate that about it, but I think it needed to be even more uncomfortable and dark in order to emphasize its points. It needed to elicit more of an emotional response from audiences rather than relying predominantly on more intellectual aspects like mystery and metaphor. It needed a gut punch, but it feels more like a pat on the back when you get what the movie is trying to give you. Meaning, it’s good, but it could be much more impactful.
The Dreadful Place
Star Rating: 3 out of 5
The Dreadful Place follows Willow, a 22-year-old woman whose father died in a car accident when she was 16. The anniversary of his death is approaching, and Willow is suffering from recurring nightmares. They’re getting so bad that she’s having trouble discerning dreams from reality. When she gets stuck in one of her nightmares, she will have to confront her own fears and insecurities to find the way back out.
I love it when movies use dream logic, and since most of The Dreadful Place is a dream, that works out great. The attention to detail is very well done. There is a lot of meaning written into every scene, some of which we don’t realize is meaningful until later. I also really enjoy that there are elements of Willow’s dream that don’t necessarily mean much, but we can see that her mind is incorporating things she experiences outside of her dreams into her dream state. Such as, something she saw on TV, or sounds she hears while she’s asleep. It really does feel like an actual dream in many ways.
The movie did need some more finesse though. This is especially apparent in the scenes that are supposed to be on the scarier side. They’re few and far between (the movie is a drama first and a dark thriller second), but the spooky moments aren’t as scary as they should be. A more subjective and obscure approach to the visuals in those moments might have helped. Overall though, The Dreadful Place is pretty good.
In the News
- Sophie Wilde (Talk to Me) and Chase Sui Wonders (I Know What You Did Last Summer 2025) have been cast in Jeremy Saulnier’s (Green Room) Halloween-set thriller titled October. (Deadline)
- A Halloween video game is being developed by IllFonic (Friday the 13th: The Game, Killer Klowns from Outer Space: The Game) and published by Gun Interactive (Friday the 13th: The Game, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre). The game will be another asymmetrical multiplayer game, but it will also include a story mode and a solo mode. It’s expected to be released in 2026. You can check out a teaser trailer on YouTube.
Birthdays
Hayden Panettiere was born on August 21, 1989. In horror, Hayden is best known for playing Kirby Reed in Scream 4 (2011) and Scream VI (2023). She was also featured in the AI-dog-horror abomination that is A Breed Apart (2025). For fans of horror video games, she’s also known for playing Samantha in Until Dawn (2015 & 2024), though her character was not included in the movie. For general audiences, Hayden’s most famous role is probably as Claire Bennet in the TV series Heroes. After all, who could ever forget the quote, “save the cheerleader, save the world”?
Also born on August 21st, in 1971, is Kristi Angus. Kristi’s most memorable role in horror is in Jason X (2001). She played Adrienne, the woman who has her face frozen and smashed to bits by Jason. She doesn’t have many more horror credits, but she was in a 2003 episode of the Twilight Zone revival series, and she appeared in a Sci Fi Channel movie titled Kraken: Tentacles of the Deep (2006) with Charlie O’Connell and Victoria Pratt.
Events on This Day
Perhaps the greatest werewolf movie ever made, An American Werewolf in London, was released on August 21, 1981. The story is great, and the special effects might be even better. Rick Baker won the very first official Academy Award for Best Makeup for his effects work in the film. A sequel, An American Werewolf in Paris, was released in 1997, but it’s not very good. A remake/reboot keeps being threatened by various filmmakers, but it hasn’t happened yet. An American Werewolf in London is currently streaming on Prime Video.
The Italian slasher film Stage Fright was released in Italy on August 21st, 1987. Directed by Michele Soavi (Cemetery Man, The Church), Stage Fright is set within a rehearsal space where an owl-masked killer stalks the cast and crew of a stage musical. The movie includes the director’s knack for creating beautiful scenes filled with lots of blood and violence. You can watch Stage Fright on Tubi.
On August 21st, 2019, Ready or Not was released in US theaters. The film, directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett (Scream 5 & 6, Abigail), performed well at the box office. Well enough that a sequel is happening, and it’s coming in 2026. Watch Ready or Not on Hulu.
More movies released on August 21st:
- Blade (1998)
- Carnival of Souls (limited, 1998)
- Lake Placid 3 (Syfy, 2010)
- Sinister 2 (2015)
Thank you for reading!
