The Devil's Candy is yet another film about demonic possession, but it's far better than the vast majority of Hollywood's current horror films. A husband (Ethan Embry), his wife (Shiri Appleby) and teenage daughter (Kiara Glasco) move into a new house in rural Texas that has quite a tragic history. Little do they know that the devil his on his way to take over their lives. Pruitt Taylor Vince is perfectly cast as a creepy man who's already been possessed by the devil. Writer/director Sean Byrne generates many decent scares for most of the film, and the performances are all surprisingly good for a horror film. Production values are all top-notch, but the musical score does tend to get heavy-handed, and the story itself isn't as inventive or surprising as Goodnight Mommy or It Follows, but that's forgivable. Expect symbolisms, of course, of the color red, and a few gory scenes. Unfortunately, the last 5 minutes sink the film a bit with a silly action scene involving a fire that gets increasingly implausible and illogical much like the fire scene in The Boy Next Door. The Pack, directed by Nick Robertson, is about a family that defends itself against a pack of wild, blood-thirsty dogs. It's been before a lot more effectively in Cujo; in this case, the film gets repititive quickly without generating much in terms of scares. The uneven, cheesy ending doesn't help much, either. In The Last Winter, a team working to extract oil from the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge encounters a strange, supernatural entity. Ed (Ron Perlman) leads the team on their mission and doubts the severity of the situation, even when one of their team members mysteriously dies. James (James LeGros), an environmental expert, along with Abby (Connie Britton) both warn their team of the hazardous dangers of global warming in the Arctic and, so, they’re not so surprised when weather conditions worsen. Co-writer/director Larry Fessenden creates an eerie, foreboding atmosphere which generates a few chills, especially given the isolated setting in the Arctic. He gradually builds tension, but, unfortunately, the plot loses its momentum and imagination later in the second act as the team continues to struggle and figure out what’s going on. The third act feels tacked-on and over-the-top. The Thing, directed by John Carpenter, treads the same waters which much more success.



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