In & of Itself (2020): I can hardly believe that Derek Delgaudio’s performance remains this kind of hidden gem? I mean, I wrote about it five years ago, yet it only has 6k votes on IMDb, how is that possible? Rewatching it felt almost like a new experience, with the same emotional power hidden throughout the carefully crafted storylines that Derek explores. More so than ever, with the looming age of purposelessness caused by AI displacement, the question of who you see yourself as becomes heavier. I think this performance also identifies two kinds of people: those focused on understanding the magic and those who just accept it as a pretext for something else. At no point did I really care about how something came about – the answer, I’m sure, can only take away from the end result. Which is not to say the craft is not appreciated, but the craft is a means to an end. I must stress: experience it for yourselves. I think you might just easily find it through a quick internet search. 9
Night Patrol (2025): Training Day meets the supernatural in Ryan Prows’s brutal, slick, yet flawed thriller. It’s the kind of flick where the follow up doesn’t live up to the premise, which plays as a taut crime drama, sprinkled with inklings of what is to come. Yet, when it all comes together, the movie falls short on the panache required to elevate this to Sorry to Bother You (2018) kookiness level. The cast is led by RJ Cyler, Jermaine Fowler and Justin Long, with the latter’s character the most compelling one. Even though there are some cool scenes in the final showdown, it’s neither vicious, nor exotic, nor incisive enough to leave a lasting mark. But it’s also not as throwaway as the IMDb rating might imply, especially if you’re into the genre. 6
Blood for Dracula (1974): More than fifty years ago, under the guise of making an irreverent art movie, Paul Morrisey wrote and directed this questionable affair. Starring a young Udo Kier and with appearances from famed directors Vittorio de Sica and Roman Polanski, the movie purports Dracula is in search for virgin blood and leaves for Italy, where his infamy does not precede him. There he comes upon a decaying noble family with four daughters, most of whom have unfortunately been engaging in sexual misgivings with the handsome communist gardener. The movie definitely has some style and humor, with Kier an easy watch and de Sica providing the comic relief. It is also littered with scenes of sexual abuse, incest and worse, involving underage women. Far for me to be a prude about things, but most of those scenes just played like bad comedy, as the movie descended into an unimpressive conclusion. Add to that the pained acting attempts by most of the cast, in true B-movie style, and you have a production that’s all over the place, a typical midnight viewing, whose endurance is more a matter of cult following than quality. 5
Shelter (2026): It’s another Jason Statham vehicle, which barely stands out from other Jason Statham vehicles. Meaning: you’ll get some action and a grumpy guy softening as the plot moves along. Here, JS is a solitary dude living on a small island off the coast of Scotland, but his hermit nature is challenged when a young girl needs some saving. This compromises his location and we get onto a complicated, yet very simple who’s double-crossing who situation, which ends in a satisfying manner for all involved. Perhaps I would have enjoyed this more if Bodhi Rae Breathnach, playing young Jessie, had been more endearing. As is, I found it hard to root for anyone. 5
Supergrid (2018): After quite enjoying Lowell Dean’s Die Alone (2024), I went closer to his origins with this low-budget post-apocalyptic action movie. I can appreciate that the work is done with little money and mostly local cast and crew, but this one has very few ambitions to use more than the genre starter kit. We follow two brothers who are tasked to recover a mysterious item from across the border, while driving along the usually fatal supergrid. Think the original Mad Max, which it is fairly close to in looks and theme, but with no charisma or flair. The flat acting sends this one deep in B-movie territory, with no path to redemption. 4
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