Martha (Eline Schumacher) works as a cleaner and lives with her brother, Félix (Benjamin Ramon), who follows in his father's footsteps by becoming a serial killer.

      The screenplay by writer/director Karim Ouelhaj looks at the dark side of human nature, but it's tediously grim, pointless and exhausting. Those are similar systemic ailments that also plague the recent horror/thriller Beaten to Death. Throughout the course of the film, the audience learns very little about Martha and Félix except that they come from a very dysfunctional family and have a deceased father who was a notorious serial killer. Martha gets harassed at work and raped by some of her co-workers. Not surprisingly, when it comes to Félix, the apple didn't fall very far from the tree because he soon goes on a killing spree and kidnaps a woman, holds her hostage and tortures her. You learn very little about the victim, too, so she becomes just a plot device like in Saw. However, Félix is not even remotely as interesting or memorable as a villain as Jigsaw. Megalomaniac could've either been a nail-biting thriller, a dark, psychological character study or both simultaneously. Those two genres aren't mutually exclusive. Instead, it's nothing but dark and eerie with no character to connect with on any level. It doesn't bother to get to know Martha or Félix, so they remain strangers to the audience. Moreover, there's no comic relief or any form of levity which means that the film gradually becomes monotonous and dull with very little narrative momentum.

      The cinematography is fine with stylish use of lighting that adds some grittiness and creepiness, but nothing more than that. The film's visual style doesn't compensate for its lack of substance. The performances are decent, but nothing exceptional. Moreover, too many scenes drag and overstay their welcome with uneven pacing that's sometimes too slow. There's some gore, but, fortunately, Ouelhaj leaves some of the brutal violence to the audience's imagination. This isn't A Serbian Film, after all, so it doesn't really push the envelope like that depraved cult classic. At a running time of 1 hour and 58 minutes, Megalomaniac is overlong, tedious, vapid and exhausting.
  

      Heather (Bobbi Salvör Menuez) lives in a small town with her father, Henry (Stephen McHattie) and alcholic mother, Patti (Heidi von Palleske). She strikes a relationship with Jonny (Amandla Stenberg), a new girl in town. Little does Jonny know that Heather is secretly werewolf.

      The screenplay by Jae Matthews falls flat as a horror thriller, character study and romance. Heather comes across as an interesting character because she comes from a broken home, she's alienated and a social misfit---similar to the teenagers in The Perks of Being a Wallflower. She and Jonny hit it off right away and, soon enough, they're in a sexually-charged relationship. Not surprisingly, Heather's dark secret about being a werewolf---which is no secret to the audience---affects their relationship. My Animal doesn't offer nearly enough exposition about Heather's werewolf curse except that she inherited it from her father. The screenplay neglects to explore the relationship between her and her father, though. Why keep the audience at such a cold distance from Heather? There's clearly a lot going on inside of her, i.e. love, anger, sadness and fear, but the film doesn't go dark and deep enough to allow the audience to understand how emotionally mature and introspective Heather is as a human being. Jonny also remains an underdeveloped character. She's seductive and beautiful, but what does Heather see in her beyond their physical attraction? If you're not a fan of horror, you'll be pleased to know that My Animal doesn't have a single scary moment. It's not as cheesy, dumb or contrived as Twilight, but it nonetheless squanders its opportunities to be a powerful love story or a profound portrait of someone struggling with their sexuality.

      My Animals has a few elements that keeps it at least mildly entertaining. Firstly, there's the strong performances by Bobbi Salvör Menuez and Amandla Stenberg who try their best to rise above the dull screenplay. They do have chemistry together, but not enough to elevate the film above mediocrity. Secondly, there's the exquisite cinematography with stylish use of lighting and color that become part of the film's substance as well as providing some atmosphere. Thirdly, the music score is lively and well-chosen. To be fair, though, at times, the film's style does go a little too far while bombarding the audience with trippy visuals. Just like the recent film Piaffe, My Animal is repetitive with its use of visual poetry. Less is more. Why not trust the audience's intelligence more for a change? At a running time of 1 hour and 40 minutes, My Animal is a stylish, but shallow and heavy-handed love story.
  

      In 1956, Valek (Bonnie Aarons), a demon, terrorizes a French boarding school. The Catholic Church sends Sister Irene (Taissa Farmiga) and Sister Debra (Storm Reid) to investigate.

      In terms of plot alone, the screenplay by co-writers Ian Goldberg, Richard Naing and Akela Cooper has nothing new or surprising to offer. A prologue sets up the story by showing some of Valek's mayhem at the boarding school before cutting to the Catholic Church trying to convince Sister Irene and Sister Debra to travel there to find out what's going on. By then, the audience already knows for sure that the demon nun has returned, so they're a step ahead of the two nuns sent to investigate. It takes them a long time to figure out what Valek actually wants and how she ended up terrorizing the boarding school, including its staff members, namely, Kate (Anna Popplewell) and Maurice (Jonas Bloquet). Of course, just as expected, there's a MacGuffin---an item that the demon wants which the two nuns have to find before it's too late. The dialogue is stilted with very little comic relief, and the expositional scenes are clunky which means that you can hear the screenplay turning as the filmmakers spoon-feed the audience. They leave nothing open to interpretation which is an essential quality that elevates most horror films and can turn them into a classic---just as Lars Von Trier who explained that to me when I interviewed him for Antichrist. That said, there are some palpably terrifying scenes and a few exhilarating ones. Moreover, the filmmakers avoid relying on excessive jump scares to entertain the audience. It's too bad that the narrative isn't as impressive as the scares.

      Taissa Farmiga gives a dull and wooden performance that fails to breathe any life into her role, especially during the contrived scenes that are supposed to be moving. Anna Popplewell and Suzanne Bertish are terrific, though, even in their smaller, poorly developed roles. Popplewell has a well-acted albeit brief scene where her character, Kate, tells one of her students politely, but firmly to mind her own business when she eavesdrops on her conversing with Maurice. The true star of the film,though, is the production design which effectively uses lighting, camera work, set design and color to create a foreboding and eerie atmosphere. There are more than a few visually breathtaking scenes which won't be spoiled here. Also, the film has a few very gruesome kills with some blood and guts, it's great that it doesn't shy away from being physically gritty or disturbing---it makes the most out of its R-rating, although it's not nearly as bloody as Evil Dead Rise. At a running time of 1 hour and 50 minutes, The Nun II is visually stylish and atmospheric with some palpable scares, but it's also overlong, unsurprising and unimaginative.
  

      Jordan (Jordan Firstman), a popular social media influencer, arrives in Mexico City to work on a project with a filmmaker, Sebastián (Sebastián Silva), at his apartment. When Sebastián goes missing, Jordan suspects that the cleaning lady, Vero (Catalina Saavedra), might be behind his disappearance.

      The screenplay by writer/director Sebastián Silva and Pedro Peirano begins as a story from the perspective of Jordan, a filmmaker who has reached rock bottom, feel depressed and desperately needs work when he first meets Jordan on a nude beach. Then, after a tragic event that won't be spoiled here, it switches to the perspectives of Vero and Jordan. The audience knows early-on why Sebastián has gone missing and who's responsible for his disappearance, so they're already many steps ahead of Jordan who doesn't know the truth. Instead of turning the film into a nail-biting Hitchcockian whodunit or a Benoit Blanc mystery, the filmmakers take it in a completely different, less conventional direction when it becomes a provocative character study with a touch of dark comedy and moral ambiguity. When will Jordan discover the truth? What will happen when he discovers it? Will the person responsible for Sebastián's disappearance get away with it? More importantly, will he or she have a moral conscience? The answer to that last question is, yes, as it turns out, which makes the film all the more compelling while changing the way you'll look at the villain. The less you know about the plot, the better because it does actually have a few surprises despite the general lack of Hitchcockian suspense.

      Catalina Saavedra stands out the most among the fine cast because she has the most complex and well-written role. Fortunately, not only does the screenplay provide her with the space to bring her character to life, but she gives a nuanced performance that humanizes the character even further. One of her best scenes, though, is at the very end when she delivers a very moving speech. The film does have some pacing issues because it's slow at first as it takes its time to get to the meat of the story, but once Sebastián disappears, the pace picks up a little bit. The opening and closing credits are quite stylish and imaginative, but beyond that, there's nothing exceptional about the film in terms of its visual style nor is there anything shocking or bold about its full frontal nudity in the first act. At a running time of 1 hour and 49 minutes, Rotting in the Sun is a provocative and surprisingly poignant dark comedy.