Shameless Self Expression

BFFs Francesca Xuereb and somewhat reckless Viktoria Vinyarska move into the title apartment. Xuereb starts to suspect it’s haunted, particularly disturbed by a stained glass window that is even creepier than the creepy landlord. So she and her new man (Eric Wiegand) start to look into the history of the apartment. Then there’s a creepy-arse necklace, and someone gets possessed by a demonic entity.   A really good opening act had me thinking this 2022 film from director Ben Jagger ( “Corbin Nash” with Corey Feldman, Malcolm McDowell, and Rutger Hauer) was somewhere up my horror alley. I like a good haunting movie as much as the next person. Yes, some of the imagery is clearly J-horror inspired, but for a while, Jagger doesn’t lean too hard in that direction. It’s quite creepy and unnerving at times, and you actually care about the lead character and her BFF. Their bond is quite strongly felt, and character is key to me. Unfortunately, it’s based on a novel by Japanese writer Nanam

Anthony Edwards plays a milquetoast schoolteacher who reads dime store western hero novels about gunslinger Kid Durango. When a pretty young local lady (Sarah Trigger) gets kidnapped by bandit El Diablo (Robert Beltran) and his gang, Edwards is irate. However, no one in town is willing to do anything about it. So the meek bookworm decides to go find the real Kid Durango to aid him in his quest to rescue the girl and defeat El Diablo. When he does find the Kid, he finds the real Kid Durango (played by Joe Pantoliano) is not quite what he’s written up to be.   So far as TV movie westerns go, this light-hearted 1990 offering from director Peter Markle (the ice hockey flick “Youngblood” , the notorious “Wagon’s East!” ) is a pretty enjoyable one. The screenplay comes from western fan John Carpenter (director of “Halloween” and “They Live” ) alongside Tommy Lee Wallace (director of “Halloween III: Season of the Witch” , and “Stephen King’s IT” ) and Bill Phillips (who scripted Carpente