Black Phone 2 is a template for how sequels can reach further and push for standalone appeal, bringing us as close to Freddy Krueger as we'll get until there's another A Nightmare on Elm Street.

Justin Tipping’s flimsy football horror movie Him is papered over with colorful lighting but underscored by bland ideas. Despite Marlon Wayans’ bravura performance, it makes very little visceral impact while en route to one of the most confounding third acts of any horror movie this year.

There are so many little details, seemingly inconsequential touches – the filmmaker’s style, if you will – that all add up bit by bit to turn this amazing movie into a masterpiece.

Wake Up Dead Man is a solid third entry for Benoit Blanc, finally delivering the classic-style mystery the series has sorely needed.

Eternity is a bizarre but heartfelt dramedy that balances a wacky vision of the afterlife with strong performances and direction.

While it picks up threads from the original, like the mysterious curse of their dying drummers or stage props misbehaving, nothing gets anywhere close to the original.

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle offers plenty of action and some emotional flashbacks, but it suffers from an overuse of flashbacks that undermine the story's pacing.

After a strong first act, The Conjuring’s intended finale disappoints, keeping its central duo of Ed and Lorraine away from the action for too long.

Anchored by strong performances from Cooper Hoffman and David Jonsson, The Long Walk overcomes the repetitive nature of its story to deliver a timely and powerful condemnation of normalized violence . . . with some seriously brutal, R-rated violence.

Ne Zha 2 starts out tedious and juvenile, but after its first hour it pivots to enormous and spectacular fist-pumping action and tear-jerking intimacy.

As is expected from a sequel to a surprise action-comedy hit, Bob Odenkirk’s second round of ass-kicking gets a bit more goofy than the first film, in the process losing some of the charm of the original’s more grounded look at an assassin now living as a suburbanite. But Odenkirk’s commitment to the role and director Timo Tjahjanto’s flourishes make this an entertaining sequel that proves that there is a lot of joy to still be found in watching a legendary comedian turn into a one-man army when he’s pushed too far.

Freakier Friday clumsily juggles way more plotlines than the original, but the movie shines bright when it focuses on the original duo.

The Bad Guys 2 provides more of what made its predecessor great, but doesn’t improve enough on its predictable plot.

Weapons is a righteous, fully actualized genre-bender in which writer-director Zach Cregger hones Barbarian’s blend of unbearable tension and dark humor to a new level of razor-sharpness.

Bambi: The Reckoning is an audaciously bloody but distractingly humorless creature feature.

With more jokes than you can possibly catch in a single viewing, The Naked Gun proudly brings cinematic groaners and outrageous sight gags into the 2020s.

As a horror-comedy, Ick commits the sin of not being remotely haunting enough to make for a decent horror movie or anywhere near funny enough to be a good comedy.

Pete Davidson does solid enough work in a more dramatic role and the supporting cast does the best they can with the material, but The Home collapses under its muddled messaging, overly familiar and sometimes ridiculously heavy-handed imagery, and a lack of tension.

Osiris is an Aliens retread that brings the firepower and little else.

In House on Eden, TikTok stars make found-footage horror that forgets the scares.

These First Steps might not be the great strides I was hoping for, but they are sure footing for the Fantastic Four to officially leap into the MCU.

A movie that’ll just about keep young viewers’ attention, Smurfs is part Rihanna jukebox musical, and part flimsy attempt to give the little blue critters an identity that’ll stick.

With no new ideas and little filmmaking panache, Don’t Log Off is a tedious attempt at computer screen horror that fails to make the most of its format.

Though the aesthetics are consistently on point – great camerawork, suspenseful use of shadows and light – its characters and plot lack coherence. Tension builds promisingly in the first half, but by the climax, muddled action and shallow character motivation sap the suspense, and any opportunity for commentary is wasted

Cloud is a masterful, paranoia-inducing action-thriller with a horror maestro’s touch, filled with great performances, terrifying scares, and a finale that will linger in your mind long after it’s over.

There’s a fun slasher buried beneath the too-faithful reboot plot of the new I Know What You Did Last Summer. Unfortunately, it’s overshadowed by too many callbacks to the first movie in the series and too little originality. The mix of new stars and returning favorites provides some urgency, but does little to give it an identity all its own.

Abraham’s Boys has some interesting ideas when it comes to a Van Helsing-based Dracula spinoff. Unfortunately, its weak visuals and lack of atmosphere stop it from fully delivering.

Amazon’s Heads of State is a near-humorless buddy comedy film, saved by its compelling leads and elaborate action sequences.