Picked Clean: Reviews from The Realm of The Carrion Crow

By Stephen Pytak I can't remember the last time a studio set out to make a slasher film trilogy, a three-part story that was planned from the start. So, no matter how Renny Harlin's three-part take on The Strangers turned out, I was curious about the project. I wasn’t a fan of  The Strangers: Chapter 1  (2024). But I didn't mind  The Strangers: Chapter 2 (2025). And I kind of enjoyed part three, even though it's far from perfect. I'd like to see all three parts cut together into one film, like Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair , which was released to theaters last year. Perhaps then I'll really get to experience the vision of the writers and filmmakers as it was intended. According to  "The Ultimate  Home for  The Strangers  News" at https://istamarahome.net/, we should see a "supercut" later this year. In general, the critics weren't kind to The Strangers: Chapter 3 (2026). It has a 17 on the RT.   To date, there have been five film...

  By Stephen Pytak Since her breakout role in Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens (2015), Daisy Ridley has continued working steadily before the camera, struggling to prove she is truly a force to be reckoned with. After seeing her doing her best with what she was given to work with in Episodes VIII and IX , the English actress found a few interesting opportunities. They included her work in  Magpie (2024) and Young Woman and the Sea (2024), Sometimes I Think About Dying (2023) and The Eagle Huntress (2016). In 2025, she played the lead in a post-apocalyptic film in which she has a few run-ins with some animated corpses. Called We Bury the Dead , it's more arthouse fare than splatterfest.  That doesn't mean you can't watch it in a marathon with films like Jean Rollin's The Night of the Hunted (1980) or George A. Romero's Day of the Dead (1985). Actually, it would fit nicely sandwiched between those two films. But the filmmakers seem to be more concerne...

  By Stephen Pytak While watching Primate (2025) at a sneak preview on Monday, Jan. 5, 2026, I kept wondering what kind of monkey wrangling Dario Argento and his crew had to deal with 40 years ago. See, back in 1985 Argento released Phenomena , a flashy giallo with comic book sensibilities and heavy MTV vibes. One of the supporting characters in it is a chimpanzee. Real name, "Tanga." Character name, "Inga." It's a fun idea. And at one point during this thriller, the chimp gets to wield a straight razor. The image of the money with the weapon inspired some great poster art for the film. But I figured it couldn't have been easy for Argento and his crew to get a performance out of the chimp. And I don't think actress Jennifer Connelly talks all that much about her experiences on the film. That's probably because Tanga reportedly bit off part of her finger at some point and it had to be surgically attached. I have a feeling the makers of Primate (202...

By Stephen Pytak My favorite films of 2025 were Weapons and  Sisu: Road to Revenge . I also had a soft spot for the science-fiction thriller  Companion.   Sophie Thatcher as "Iris" in "Companion (2025)." Copyright 2025 New Line Cinema. But in the past year I found myself, more often than not, looking  backward. My best cinematic experiences were screenings of older films, some   being classics remastered for IMAX, some being grindhouse fare on 35mm.  I'm a cinephile who still enjoys going out to the cinema to see  movies. And in 2025, the most significant thing to happen in my area regarding film was the opening of GAP Theatre at 47 Broadway in Wind Gap, Pennsylvania. A  single screen theater located in a small community, it  opened in the 1940s and closed in 2020. In early 2025, it was remodeled and reopened by Harry Guerro of  Exhumed Films. And he started showing classic films on 35 mm seven days a week. For showtimes, visit...

 By Stephen Pytak In the 1980s, the glut of slasher films playing at the multiplex followed a formula which included a few key tropes. For example, these flicks had to have a wild ending, something to surprise the audience. And sometimes filmmakers employed a twist, something no one (hopefully) saw coming. Sleepaway Camp (1983) had one. And it might be the best one ever. It was the reveal of the identity of the killer.  Endings like these had to elevate the material and make the movie more than just a flesh and blood show. The catalysts the filmmakers employed had to somehow tickle the gray matter. The twist at the climax of J. Lee Thompson's  Happy Birthday to Me (1981) is certainly unique. And I'm sure back in the day it made an impression on some folks. Maybe it really impressed a few, and left some others scratching their heads. The film will be screened at The Colonial Theatre at 227 Bridge St. in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania at 9:45 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 22, 2025. It ...

 By Stephen Pytak Some new plot twists and a dash of '80s excess give "The Shape" some new life here. But I think my favorite thing about this film is Donald Pleasence. His wide-eyed reactions to the madness surrounding him and ramblings about evil were always a treat. And this time out,  he gets the chance to escape from an exploding gas station, then talk about the forces of darkness while he drinks with a traveling preacher. The adventures of "Dr. Samuel Loomis" are a highlight in Halloween 4 , one of the best entries in this long-running series. Donald Pleasence as "Dr. Sam Loomis" in "Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988)." Copyright 1988 by Trancas International Films.  I saw Halloween 4 opening weekend at the former Cinemette East Theatre on Mall Boulevard at Monroeville Mall in Monroeville, Pennsylvania, the mall where Romero filmed Dawn of the Dead (1978). At the time, I was a freshman at Point Park College in Pittsburgh,...