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Review: ‘Happily’ Is an Enthralling Marriage of RomCom and Thriller

Published

5 years ago

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Everyone is friends with ‘that’ couple. You know, the couple who are so in love that it hurts to be around them. They’re so perfect that being close to them only highlights your own flaws. That kind of couple. In this case, this is the lovely duo of Tom (Joel McHale) and Janet (Kerry Bishé). They’re on year 14 of their marriage and have somehow managed to maintain the peak of their affection after all these years. Be it happily cooking for each other, near instant reconciliations after fights, or having lots and lots of sex, both at home and everywhere they go. Even their friend’s houses and at restaurants. They are utterly insatiable. It’s enough to sicken their bougie L.A. pals who have different degrees of troubled relationships. Things take a turn for the bizarre when they’re confronted by a mysterious agent named Goodman (Stephen Root) who insists their marital bliss is a problem. A problem that must be fixed by extraordinary measures. Leading to murder, cover ups, and deeper lies and secrets as Tom and Jane head to a couple’s retreat with all their supposed friends…

Happily, the debut feature from writer/director BenDavid Grabinski (Are You Afraid of The Dark?) is an interesting and hilarious twist on a romcom that will keep you on the edge of your seat. There have already been comparisons to The Twilight Zone and Black Mirror and while accurate to an extent, the story plays out in such a grounded and comedic way, it’s easy for the supernatural and fantastical aspects to be gleaned over. Since a lot of the story is prefaced on mysteries and reveals, I’ll try to keep details to a minimum and to encourage going in as blind as possible.

This is first and foremost an ensemble movie, and we are treated to a wealth of quirky characters played by a talented and entertaining cast. Joel McHale and Kerry Bishé shine as Tom and Janet. They live out a relationship so ideal it’s like a cross between a 1950’s screwball comedy and a Cronenberg movie minus the tragedy/body-horror. Their marriage is like a living uncanny valley that upsets and infuriates their friends. But be it managing work, getting ready for social gatherings, or covering up a murder, the duo fully support each other a hundred percent. And as things escalate, this perfect marriage is put to the test by tensions both internal and external.

Once the couple get to the fancy and high-tech retreat house with their friends, it becomes an intriguing conflict of personalities and strenuous relationships and friendships. With a group including Natalie Zea, Paul Scheer, Jon Daly, Natalie Morales, and more creating a simultaneously tense but sardonic atmosphere while Tom and Janet try to sort everything out and make sense of things. As well, the soundtrack mix is masterfully selected and make for some memorable musical scenes. Particularly a few that are rooted in some genre classics such as The Lost Boys ‘I Still Believe’, sax and all.

On that end, the conspiratorial elements of Happily could be hit or miss for some. Played more subtle than expected but weaved almost seamlessly into the the ensemble side of the plot. Stephen Root also shines as the mysterious Goodman. Affable but with a determination to him that makes it clear there’s a lot more to him than the surface. The pacing can feel a bit disjointed jumping between these different plot lines of murder and dysfunction, but it also helps add to the jarring secrets hanging overhead. Your mileage may vary on the payoff, and I’d prefer not to get into it, but it’s still a cool journey getting there.

With great leads and an excellent ensemble cast that will keep you hooked on every line of dialogue,  Happily is an entertaining genre mash-up and one you will be happy with.

Happily will be released in Theaters, On Digital & On Demand March 19th, 2021

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Self Driver Runs Out of Road

Published

8 hours ago

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May 12, 2026

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Every few years someone makes a movie where a desperate person takes the money and watches his conscience become negotiable. I am always there for it. Cheap Thrills. Would You Rather. The whole subgenre of moral erosion for cash that does not have a name but absolutely should. Self Driver walks directly into that territory and for the first half of its runtime, it delivers.

Nathanael Chadwick plays D, a cab driver trying to keep his head above water, who gets recruited onto a mysterious new rideshare app that promises fast money and asks for increasingly terrible things in return.

Writer-director Michael Pierro shot this on cellphones with a skeleton crew. That constraint should work against the film. For the first act, it does not. Chadwick earns your sympathy without doing anything obvious to ask for it, and Pierro keeps things tense enough that the premise does exactly what it is supposed to do.

Then the psychedelic angle shows up.

Self Driver

I want to be fair about this. I understand the intention. But it lands the way a plot fix lands. You feel the seam. By the halfway point the script has accumulated a lot of threads, and the psychedelic detour is where those threads stop being pulled. They do not resolve. They just stop mattering.

That is the consistent frustration with Self Driver. It is not short on ideas. It is short on follow-through. Almost every interesting thing Pierro introduces gets picked up, examined, and set back down before it earns its place in the film. The bones of something genuinely great are visible throughout. The second half just never shows up to finish the job.

Chadwick won Best Actor at Grimmfest for this role, and it is not hard to understand why. He is doing real work here. He makes D worth following even when the film is not fully following through on its own premise. That is harder than it looks.

Self Driver is out now on UK digital via GrimmVision. At 2.5 out of 5, it is worth your time if you have patience for low-budget genre work and can make peace with a film that is better than it finishes. Pierro has instincts. Watch for his next one.

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Indie Horror

Panic Fest 2026 Review: ‘Frogman Returns’ Is A Thrilling Sequel That Goes For The Croak!

Published

6 days ago

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May 6, 2026

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Horror as a genre has a greater propensity for sequels than almost anything else in the world of cinema. There have been scores of slasher sequels from the likes of Friday The 13th to A Nightmare on Elm Street to even sequels to seemingly stand-alone affairs like The Exorcist and The Blair Witch Project. While some may be seen as cash grabs or of diminishing returns, it cannot be argued that there have been some phenomenal sequels to horror films such as Aliens and Evil Dead 2 among many others. So imagine my pleasant surprise to see that 2023’s Frogman is back in the aptly named Frogman Returns!

The sequel picks up not too long after the original’s cryptid catastrophe. The Loveland, Ohio Frogman and surrounding cult that was exposed by amateur filmmaker Dallas (Nathan Tymoshuk) has since disappeared and the terror of the magic wand wielding amphibian seemingly ended. Having lost his friend Scotty (Benny Barrett) and a falling out with Amy (Chelsey Grant), Dallas has found a new life heading a cryptid reality web show. But when strange forces call him and his team back to Loveland, will he have to face the Frogman for a final battle?

I was a big fan of the original Frogman upon release, and was interested in seeing where director Anthony Cousins was going to take the story. I’m happy to report that he did the best kind of thing you can do for a sequel like this: made it weirder and wilder! Not only is there Frogman, but a number of classic cryptids have encounters as the genie is out of the bottle and Dallas irrevocably proved that there are truly monsters among us. There is a pretty memorable scene involving a run-in with the living pants-like Fresno Nightcrawler creature that establishes what a brave and bizarre new world things have become since the previous film. Monsters are basically a fact of life now. So, of course, people are finding ways to profit from it.

Dallas’ arc continues from the first film and I do like how he carries the weight and guilt of Scotty’s disappearance and his disconnection with Amy. There are real consequences to the ways things went wrong previously and Dallas is haunted by the consequences of his obsession. Now he attempts to make things right in some form as his adventures bring him back to where it all began. And for those here for Frogman… without spoiling too much, everyone’s favorite amphibious cryptid does make a triumphant return. With a neon explosive finale that left me craving even more.

Frogman Returns does a fine job of documenting the new adventure in the traditional found footage format, with the foundation of Dallas’ new reality web show keeping the cameras rolling. Combining that with ample and memorable practical fx for all manner of beasts and gore to see. Exploding heads, zapped limbs, and so much more get captured on camera in all their visceral glory.

Overall, if you were a fan of the first Frogman, then Frogman Returns is a more than worthwhile follow up to digest.

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Indie Horror

Panic Fest 2026 Review: ‘Creature Of The Pines’ Is An Interesting Found Footage Horror That Walks A Beaten Path

Published

7 days ago

on

May 5, 2026

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There are certain parts of the world that have an inherent evil or cursed nature to them. The Bermuda Triangle, where so many ships have vanished in its waters. Death Valley, where many have met their end in the unforgiving desert. And then there’s The Pine Barrens of New Jersey. A woodland infamous for the cryptid named The Jersey Devil.

While The Jersey Devil may be the mascot or face of sorts for the area, there are other dangers within those woods. Specifically, an area known as Pine Hollow. Infamous for numerous disappearances of local and hikers. While some attribute it to natural hazards, others say the source of these incidents may be tied to folklore. An ancient mimic of indigenous legend that targets those wandering its woods. After a trio of hikers disappear and leaves only one shell shocked survivor and witness wandering the wilderness, a documentary crew attempts to clarify between fact and fiction… only to find themselves subject to their own torments.

Creature Of The Pines is a decent found footage/mockumentary endeavor, and I’m always a sucker for that kind of framing. I will also give points for taking an original approach on the region rather than using a more well known cryptid or monster. Instead, crafting their own beast with the shapeshifting demon of indigenous lore. It did make it more interesting than relying on a more infamous antagonist, allowing the movie to make up its own rules and history behind the titular creature.

Unfortunately, the story does fall into a lot of the cliches of the sub-genre as well. Lots of scenes building up strange sounds coming form the woods leading to some shaky cam segments as a character is dragged off by an unseen force and such. The talking heads portions of the mockumentary featured some decent actors and subjects that kept things fairly fresh. Especially the former forest ranger who discussed the dark and terrible history of Pine Hollow.

Even still, the third act was kind of a mixed bag with the final confrontation and reveal of the horror. Ambiguity tends to work better in found footage for a reason, sometimes its better to leave the evil up to the imagination. There’s also a twist to the ending that felt a bit obvious considering the build up.

But, if you’re a big fan of found footage and mockumentary horror like I am, (especially for New England based horror) then Creature Of The Pines is worth at least a watch.

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