The Drama Review: Watch this One Unspoiled.

Directed by Kristoffer Borgli, The Drama stars Robert Pattinson and Zendaya as an engaged couple, Charlie and Emma, preparing for their big day.
However, one night, the two discuss the worst things they have ever done with their friends.
Everyone jokingly plays along, until Emma reveals a secret so shocking that it throws everything Charlie thought into question, as he wonders just how much he really knows his wife to be.
What is Emma’s dark secret?
Well, I am not going to spoil it and neither does the marketing.
It was the trailer which got me interested in seeing The Drama in the first place.
Any other studio would have spoiled the reveal to get butts in seats.
A24, on the other hand, wisely kept the secret… well, a secret.
And so, after finishing the trailer, I knew I had to watch this movie in theaters just to see what reveal could be shocking.
Thankfully, the anticipation I had more than paid off, because the reveal of what the secret was made my jaw hit the floor.

I had a number of guesses about what the reveal would be and absolutely none of those were right.

It discusses pretty risky subject matter which, if handled poorly, would have have left a terrible taste in my mouth and honestly made the film unwatchable for me.
The Drama handles the subject with grace though, being tasteful with its deep dive into the character of Emma, both in her dark and light moments.
Zendaya gives a great performance, as we see the guilt of her past still weighs on her.
Pattinson is also fantastic as Charlie, with his entire life seeming to fall apart after Emma’s confession.
The film is not all misery, however, because there are a lot of darkly comedic moments.
Again, given the subject matter, this could have ended badly, but the movie knew when to be comedic and when to be serious, hitting both points perfectly.
There was one scene with a wedding photographer that had my theater dying of laughter, despite how dark the whole thing was.

Try not to at least chuckle at the wedding photographer scene. I dare you.

Along with the comedy, there are also quite a few moments that made me wince and want to sink into the back of my seat.
I mean that in a good way, though, since this was clearly the feeling the director was trying to instill in his audience.
The editing of the film really helps sell all this, with plenty of flashback and imaginary scenes providing context to what the characters are thinking.
So, Emma and Charlie’s journey to their wedding is full of dark and comedic moments, comedy, along with cringe inducing lines, but what about how it ends?
Well, the conclusion to the film is fairly ambiguous, but I honestly liked that.
The matters discussed leave lingering scars in real life and the titular drama these scars cause Emma and Charlie to experience leave a lot of questions open to interpretation by the end.
If the film had wrapped everything up with a neat little bow, it would not have felt so true to life as it does.

When you have a film about Batman marrying Mary-Jane, of course there is going to be some drama.

The Drama is a great film.
Zendaya and Pattinson are expectedly compelling leads, the movie manages to be both dark and humorous, the editing is great, and the ending is fittingly ambiguous.
Thank you, whoever directed the trailer for not spoiling the secret of Zendaya’s character because the film was all the better going in not knowing that.
If you have not been spoiled about The Drama, then I would recommend you go see it before its big reveal and the chaos it creates is ruined for you.

Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees Review: This is No Disney Fairytale.

I am sure we all have childhood memories of watching shows or movies about anthropomorphic animals.
I doubt you could find someone who has not at least heard of iconic Disney characters like Mickey Mouse or Winnie the Pooh.
Well, just imagine for a moment that, instead of being obsessed with honey, Pooh was obsessed with murder (and no, I am not referring to that god awful Blood and Honey movie).
It is this imagination I suggest having when beginning Patrick Horvath’s Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees.
With the title taken from the classic Teddy Bear’s Picnic lyrics, Horvath’s graphic novel twists both this line and the trope of anthropomorphic animals, transforming them from something wholesome into something deathly morbid.

With the water colour style of a children’s book, *Beneath the Trees* makes something which should be charming horrifying.

Beneath the Trees is set in the small town of Woodbrook, where we follow the cuddly looking bear Samantha Strong, a hardware store owner.
To the citizens of Woodbrook, Sam is a beloved member of the community, who is always ready to lend a hand, along with a kind word, whenever she is not going on a trip to the city, that is.
What they do not know, and would be horrified to learn, is that on these trips Sam indulges her hobby of abducting and murdering people, before dissecting them and burying their remains in the woods; “Beneath the trees where nobody sees,” if you will.
Sam only has a few rules, and one of the most important is that she cannot kill anyone in Woodbrook.
If someone was murdered there, it would be all the town talked about for years.
So, when another serial killer emerges in Woodbrick, brutally killing residents and posing their bodies in gruesome fashion, Sam is none too happy.
The first volume follows her investigation to find who among the citizens of Woodbrick is the murderer.

Woodbrook only has room for one serial killer, in Sam’s opinion.

This is only the first part of Samantha’s story, however, for there is also a sequel volume, Rite of Spring, along with a brief prequel, Praludium.
There has also been a third volume announced, so we can expect more murder mayhem in the future.
Speaking of that mayhem though, I would definitely only recommend Beneath the Trees to those with a strong stomach.
The comic is especially disturbing with its numerous dismembered victims shown in full display.
This is somehow made me even creepier with these murdered characters looking like animals you would expect to see in a Disney film.

Seeing what look like children’s book characters be dissected will never not be gruesome.

That makes Sam all the more despicable for her crimes.
Make no mistake, Sam is not an anti-hero.
She does not only kill bad people, like Dexter.
She does not have a traumatic backstory to explain why she is the way she is.
No, Sam is a born psychopath.
In the nature vs nurture debate, she lands squarely in nature, with her every action being used to further her killing spree.
While this does make the reader constantly root for her downfall, I will hand it to Patrick Horvath, he has crafted a fascinating character in Samantha Strong.

Her opponents are just as interesting, with the killer she hunts in the first volume, and the sister of one of her victims in the second making for compelling adversaries.
As for the quality of the two volumes, I would definitely say I prefer the first one.
Although, this is mostly down to the ending.
Not that I think there is anything wrong with the second conclusion.
It is just that the ending to Volume One felt pretty standalone, while the ending to Volume Two relies on the series’ eventual continuation.
I will have to see how Horvath delivers Volume Three before I have a full opinion on the current end point.
That being said, I have seen that a fair amount of people think Horvath went a bit over the top with the ending of Rite of Spring, with some even saying he jumped the shark.
So maybe my opinion is in the minority on that.

*Rite of Spring*‘s ending is certainly divisive among readers.

Overall, though, I absolutely love Beneath the Trees.
It is gruesome, compelling, and its main character somehow remains fascinating, while also being completely deplorable.
I could easily see this story being adapted into a movie or show in the future, and I would definitely watch that on the day of release.
Until that possible day, however, I will continue to recommend the comics.
So go and read Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees… if you think you can stomach its brutal violence and gore, that is.

Saga of Tanya the Evil Season Two: The Most Adorable War Criminal Finally Returns in July.

I have reviewed a lot of anime on my blog.
If I have learned anything in the process, it is that time plays a big part in my opinion.
I will often look back at a positive review I did of an anime and wonder, why did I rate that one so highly?
Not to say that my opinion of these anime have turned negative, but I would say that some of them are not as fantastic as I once thought.
However, there is one anime that I enjoyed and continue to enjoy whenever I revisit it, which is often.
That anime is Saga of Tanya the Evil, and it follows the story of a Japanese salaryman, cursed by a supposed god to be reborn into another world.
Now a little German girl named Tanya, the salaryman must survive an alternate universe World War One, where mages fly over the battlefield.
The anime has a lot of great qualities, the best of which being the titular Tanya herself.
She is a compelling character with her strict mindset, constant hilarious misunderstandings, and rivalry with the god she calls “Being X.”

Tanya’s constant mental battles with Being X were a highlight for me in the first season.

After finishing the anime, I was eagerly anticipating Season Two.
So, I waited… and waited… and waited…until it felt like we were never going to get Season Two.
Well now, in 2026, we finally have our first trailer (that is not just old footage), along with a release date.
The trailer begins by showing that Season Two will pick up from the movie.
Tanya has been gifted a full combat battalion by the military branch; despite the aneurysm it gives one of her superiors.
We get a brief look at all of the characters, including those in Tanya’s squad, two new communist characters and, of course, Tanya’s human rival Mary Sue (yes that is her actual name).
From there, the trailer goes through a series of fast animations, teasing what is coming.
We see Tanya engaging in an air battle, what looks to be some sort of demon and, most disgusting of all, Loria licking his finger.
Loria is based off Lavrentiy Beria, one of Stalin’s chief enforcers, who was definitely a sexual predator and probably also a serial killer.
Given that he obviously has nothing good planned for Tanya, I think we can all agree to pray to Being X that Loria receives a painful end.

I hope Tanya eventually strikes the same fear into Loria that she does to this pilot in the trailer.

But the highlight of the trailer is Tanya’s crazed expressions.
We see these insane smiles while she fights and tells her troops to prepare for war.
It will never not be funny to see hardened soldiers terrified by a little girl who they constantly misunderstand.
Case and point, the final shots of the trailer are everyone looking horrified as Tanya puts on her little girl voice and smiles sweetly.
To be fair, the last time Tanya used this voice was to trick her enemies into thinking an attack was not coming in a way that would avoid war crime charges.

Knowing that, Tanya’s soldiers being afraid of this face is completley understandable.

It will be both interesting and terrifying to see how Tanya schemes her way out of such charges in the new season, now revealed to be airing in July.
I will be watching day one, and plan to review each episode weekly.
Hopefully Season Two can live up to the first and, if we do get a third season, we will not have to wait as long.

Chainsaw Man Final Chapter, Thank You Chainsaw Man Review: A Happy, But Nonsensical Ending.

Chapter 231 of Chainsaw Man left me concerned.
Instead of continuing the story naturally, it felt like author Tatsuki Fujimoto had just decided to abruptly end the story.
I started reading Chapter 232, “Thank You, Chainsaw Man,” with my fingers crossed that this would only be the conclusion of Part 2 and not the entire story.
Unfortunately, my fears were warranted.
Fujimoto really did get burned out and decided to end the story here.
I am not surprised, considering how aimless Part Two felt in comparison to Part One.
That is not to say Part Two did not have fantastic moments.
Asa and Yoru are great characters, I enjoyed their bond with Denji, and the Death Devil Twist was brilliant.
But Part One just felt way more cohesive because Fujimoto had a clear end goal.
If he had an end goal for Part Two, he definitely decided to abruptly scrap it.
The chapter begins with Denji, after Pochita reset the timeline, dying of the blood disease and being attacked by the Yakuza.
Pochita really did not think the whole eating himself thing through because of what it would mean for Denji.
Luckily for him, Power shows up to save Deni’s life for some reason, making the contract with him instead of Pochita.
The Control Devil then arrives to recruit them but, fortunately for Denji and Power, it is Nayuta not Makima.
How Nayuta is the current Control Devil, I do not know.
What makes even less sense is that she is supposedly a good Devil in this timeline, despite being taken in by Public Safety instead of Denji.
The entire reason Nayuta had good qualities was because Denji raised her like his little sister.
Public Safety would not do that, so it makes zero sense
What also makes little sense is Denji using a chainsaw to kill a Devil, but I suppose you could explain that away as humanity reinventing chainsaws, the same way they did nuclear weapons in the old timeline.
The Devil Denji kills is at Asa’s school, and it also kills her teacher, so at least we know he will not try to groom her in the future or anything.
In a moment that admittedly does bring Part Two full circle a little, Denji saves Asa from tripping and crushing Bucky.
The full page spread of him doing this is oddly touching for the last time we see the two interact, although their following conversation is brief.
Asa calls Denji “Chainsaw Man” because he fights with a chainsaw, making Denji’s heart flutter as we realize a part of Pochita is still in there.
Power misinterprets this as Denji’s disease, promising to cure him of it, and the two go to grab a meal… or at least go to scam some people for a snack.
And so, Chainsaw Man ends with a somewhat happy ending.
Denji has reunited with Power and Nayuta in a new timeline (although we do not know where Aki is), and Asa was saved from crushing Bucky, meaning she can make friends in her class.
Therefore, the ending is good, right?
Nope.
While this ending is happy, it is just way too abrupt.
Fujimoto probably sat down one day and decided he was too burned out to continue the story, so decided to end it early and quickly to potentially move onto other things.
What makes this obvious is how many unanswered questions Part Two leaves us with.
What happened to Yoru, Kishibe, Kobeni, and Reze?
What exactly was Public Safety’s plan for the entirety of Part Two?
Not to mention that the resetting of the storyline all the way to Part One makes Part Two feel pretty pointless in retrospect.
If I had to sum up my feelings about Chainsaw Man’s ending with one word, it would be “disappointment.”
The story ended out of nowhere, left so many questions unanswered, and reset the timeline to make a lot of things pointless.
If there is any consolation, it is that at least Denji and Asa got a happy ending.
And regardless of my frustration with Chainsaw Man‘s abrupt ending, I will still read whatever Fujimoto does next.
I just hope that whatever he goes on to write it will be in a way that avoids burnout.
Maybe give him the Sui Ishida treatment, where he can release a chapter on his own schedule, rather than weekly.
If that happens, then a well-executed ending for his next work will hopefully be assured.
As for Chainsaw Man as a whole, I still love this series, even though it suddenly ended out of nowhere.

Chainsaw Man Chapter 231, Goodbye Pochita Review: Well, That Was Abrupt.

In my review for the previous chapter of Chainsaw Man, I speculated on the story’s future.
It seemed like Fujimoto may have been gearing Denji and Asa up for a fight with Fami, powered up by the growing fear of insects and vermin.
Well, once again Fujimoto did the unexpected by delivering us an abrupt penultimate chapter to Chainsaw Man Part Two.
Yes, the next chapter of Chainsaw Man will be the last chapter for a while, maybe forever if Fujimoto decides not to make a Part Three.
Chapter 231 opens in the immediate aftermath of the previous one, and I was immediately struck dumb by the title, “Goodbye Pochita.”
To me at least, nothing prior seemed to be hinting at Pochita’s death.
Well, this is apparently what just happened.
The chapter begins with Pochita appearing before Denji, revealing they were eaten by the Devil that just attacked them.
Denji is horrified because he no longer has the chance to have sex, but Pochita says this is a good thing because some part of Denji was still unhappy, even when he connected with Asa.
Transforming into Chainsaw Man, Pochita tells Denji that he is, “One that can only find heaven when you’re in hell.”
While this is a compelling quote, I am not sure if I like its implications, considering that Pochita is now saying Denji would be happier being back under the Yakuza’s thumb.
After hugging Denji as Chainsaw Man, something Pochita always wanted, Pochita proceeds to eat his heart, erasing himself and Chainsaw Man from existence, seemingly creating a world where he and Denji never met.
The final panel takes us back to Denji’s rundown shack, where his story began.
So, Denji is seemingly back to square one.
He will probably be indebted to the Yakuza, dying of a disease that makes him cough up blood, and with no Pochita to help him.
Seriously, why did Pochita think Denji would be better off?
I guess we will see next chapter, along with whether this is the last chapter of just Part Two or the entire series.
The reason the latter might be a possibility is because this does feel like the setup for an ending, just not a good one.
If this is going to be the conclusion of Chainsaw Man, there will probably be many questions unanswered.
What happened to Asa and Yoru?
Does this mean Denji and Power will never reunite?
What was the point of this entire last fight if everything just gets reset?
Granted, we do not know for certain that this is the end.
Fingers crossed it is just the conclusion for Part Two.
Although, even if is that, I do not think it will be completely satisfying either.
This whole Pochita-eating-himself-and-sending-Denji-back-to-the-beginning ending just feels really out of nowhere, and not in the usual good way Fujimoto is able to pull off.
Pretty funny how the last chapter restored my faith in Fujimoto, only for this one to make me doubt him again.
On the day Chapter 132 releases, I will be anxious to see if my concerns are warranted.

Resident Evil: Requiem Review: An Intense Blend of Survival Horror and Action.

It is hard to believe that a decade ago it seemed like Resident Evil might be a dying franchise.
The last mainline installment, Resident Evil 6 in 2012, had not been well received by the fans and, even worse, Capcom had released Umbrella Corps in 2016, one of the most reviled games in the series.
Then Resident Evil: Biohazard arrived like a godsend in 2017, returning the series to its survival horror roots and revitalizing the brand.
This was the game that first got me into series, and what a time to become a fan because ever since then, Capcom have been on a roll.
Over the years, they have released Resident Evil: Village and numerous remakes, which are considered among the best video game remakes of all time.
Well, now we have another banger with Resident Evil: Requiem, the ninth mainline installment.

*Resident Evil* goes back to the Umbrella well with *RE9.*

After finishing my first playthrough, I am excited to say that Requiem is definitely in the top five best Resident Evil games.
It does a truly fantastic job of blending the survival horror of Biohazard with the over-the-top action of 4.
The story follows FBI Agent Grace Ashcroft (Angela Sant’Albano), the daughter of one of the previous game’s protagonists, Alyssa,
Tasked with investigating a mysterious disease tied to the Raccoon City Incident, Grace finds herself kidnapped by Umbrella scientist Dr Victor Gideon (Antony Byrne) and must survive his care facility of horrors.

You have to wonder how these crazy looking, mad scientists keep getting people to help with their potentially world ending experiments.

Grace’s segments of the game are pure survival horror, and I found myself screaming many a time when faced with terrifying zombies.
What makes these zombies so unique is that they retain parts of their personalities from when they were alive.
A massive zombie chef tries to cook human flesh, a maid cuts herself repeatedly on glass trying to keep everything clean, and some zombies even apologise for trying to hurt you when they are killed.
It makes them not only scary but also pretty pitiable.
But the true horror of Grace’s segments is The Girl, a hag-like monstrosity with a weakness to light that pursues Grace throughout the facility.

The Girl is *Resident Evil*‘s scariest stalker enemy since the baby in *Village.*

With Grace’s limited stock of weapons, every fight with the undead could be her last.
It is a good thing then that she is not alone because the one-man army Leon Kennedy (Nick Apostolides) is also investigating Gideon, with Sherry Birkin (Eden Riegel) acting as his handler.
Leon’s segments of the game are when the over-the-top action comes into play and, I have got to say, after a few hours of hiding in the dark terrified as Grace, it is such a relief to kick zombie ass as Leon, shooting them, hacking them up, and cutting them apart with a chainsaw.
I never thought the survival horror of the series could blend so well into the action and yet Capcom achieved this.

How Leon is still doing roundhouse kicks on zombies in his 50s is unknown to me. Not complaining though. Rule of cool, and all.

They even provided different styles of gameplay for different playthroughs, with the choice between first or third person for both Grace and Leon.
I went with the recommended first-person for Grace and third-person for Leon, which felt perfect for their playstyle’s differing atmosphere.
Just as perfect was the game’s use of nostalgia, which can be a slippery slope.
Too much and it will feel like the game is just pandering to fans for cheap points, rather than doing something new.
Thankfully, Requiem offers plenty of new with that old, and the old content is lovingly handled.

Returning to the RPD was just one of many nostalgic moments in *Requiem.*

Well, I have spent so long lathering this game with praise, you have to be wondering if I have any problems with it.
A few, but I really had to think about it for a bit.
For starters, I think we can all agree that there was one antagonist who deserved a boss fight but did not get one.
Along with this, there is one segment of the game which reminded me of the cannon section in the Resident Evil 4 remake.
Since that was my least favorite section of that game, you would be right in assuming it was my least favorite part of Requiem as well.
Finally, there is one reveal towards the end that feels like a bit of a copout, but it was a convenience that made me smile so I can let it go.
And that is it for my issues.
The rest of the game is so good that it overwhelmingly overshadows any bad.

The game looking fantastic also helps matters.

Resident Evil: Requiem is one of the best Resident Evil games.
The story is investing and the gameplay styles of Grace and Leon blend perfectly.
I know it is only March, but it would not surprise me if Requiem ended up topping a lot of best games of 2026 lists.
And, with new story DLC probably dropping at some point, the game is only going to get better.
If you are a Resident Evil fan and have somehow not played this yet, hurry up and do so.
It is one of the series’ best.

Scream 7 Review: A Gutting Disappointment.

I am a fan of the Scream franchise.
I enjoyed the first four movies as a teenager and got back on board with the fifth and sixth film.
While in retrospect Scream 6 had some issues, I was still looking forward to the conclusion of the new trilogy to see how the Carpenter sisters’ story would end.
Then Melissa Barrera was unjustly fired for her comments on Palestine.
Then Jenna Ortega also dropped out.
The director bailed and the script for the seventh film was thrown out.
Needless to say, these events had me extremely worried for Scream 7’s quality.
Unfortunately, these concerns were justified because, after seeing the seventh film, I can say that the Scream franchise has finally had a bad film.

Ghostface walking away from torching the *Scream* franchise.

Before this, the weakest film in the series was Scream 3, but even that had its fun with campy moments and good characterization.
The seventh film has none of that, with an extremely boring and forgettable cast overall, twists that are somehow both predictable and completely stupid, and an eye-rolling amount of callbacks.
The story once again follows Sidney Prescott, as her daughter Tatum (Isabel May) and husband Mark (Joel McHale) are threatened by the return of Ghostface.
With a cast of boring suspects, she must stop the killer before it is too late, all the while trying to determine if Stu Macher (Matthew Lillard) has really returned.
Neve Campbell is back as Sidney and, while it is good to see her return, after a pay dispute caused her to leave Scream 6, her character does no have much meaningful development.

Although Neve Campbell does a good job, as expected.

Her character’s husband and daughter also feel bland, and the latter is supposed to be the secondary main character.
Sidney is not the only returning character however because Gale (Courtney Cox), Mindy (Jasmin Savoy-Brown) and Chad (Mason Gooding) also return but, for the life of me, I cannot understand why.
I mean, I get why Gale would try to pursue the story of another Ghostface killer, but she does not have enough presence in the film to warrant a return.
Neither do Chad and Mindy, since the two could have been absent and nothing about the story would change.

It feels really weird that the Meeks siblings are back but not Sam and Tara.

So, the characters are a bust, but what about the mystery?
It is always fun to watch a Scream movie and guess who the killers are before the big reveal.
Well, not this time.
The hints towards the killers are so blindingly obvious, I guessed it from their first appearances.
What makes it worse is that in practically every Scream movie, there is a killer with a deep connection to our main cast.
Either that or their motive ties into the themes.
Not this movie.
No, instead the characters playing the Ghost Face killers are barely in the movie before the reveal, and their motivations make zero sense.
In my opinion, these are the worst Ghost Face killers of the entire series.
They have so little screen presence, their plans are dumb and I cannot for the life of me even remember their names.

The killers who got murdered at the beginning of *Scream 6* were better characters than these clowns.

The only memorable thing about this film’s killers is their frequent nostalgia baiting, but that is not the kind of thing I want to remember.
The callbacks to prior films made my eyes roll so far to the back of my head, I was worried they would get stuck there forever.
The only redeeming qualities to this film are that the performances are admittedly decent, some of the action is well-done, and the gore made me wince.

If you are a fan of gory horror movies, you might get some enjoyment from the horror. Some.

Other than these few positives, Scream 7 is a disaster.
The new characters are dull, most of the old ones do not have a reason to be here beside nostalgia, said nostalgia is handled in an extremely annoying way, and, to top it all off, the film has the worst killers of the franchise.
Scream 7 is the worst Scream film and it is not even close.
They should have gone with the original plan for this movie and never fired Melissa Barrera.
It would probably have been good and not… whatever this was.
If I were to rewatch the Scream movies, this is one I will undoubtedly skip.

Chainsaw Man Chapter 230: Sex and Selection Review: The Most Powerful Horseman.

Despite my continued enjoyment of Chainsaw Man, I had been wondering recently if Tatsuki Fujmoto knew where he was taking his story.
It just seemed like a lot of random things were happening in the story.
Well, random for Chainsaw Man anyway.
For example, a few chapters ago, a mysterious and extremely powerful bug Devil interrupted Denji and Yoru’s fight.
This bug was then immediately defeated in the following chapter, with no explanation why it was so strong.
Well, I should not have doubted Fujimoto because he provided an answer in Chapter 230, “Sex and Selection.”
The chapter begins with Yoru continuing to laugh at Denji’s desperation to have sex with her.
After Denji compares her to Power (good to know Fujimoto has still not forgot about her), Yoru agrees to sleep with him, saying Asa consents as well.
Given that Yoru gave Denji a handjob without Asa’s consent a few arc back, I think it is safe to say that Asa really needs to get a say before the deed is done.
Denji will have to wait for any potential deeds, however, because the moment he begins to celebrate, an army of powerful bug Devils ambush them.
Through the communications between various Fumiko’s around the world, we learn that because death has been erased bugs, bats, and other types of animals with a high fertility rate no longer have a large culling of the young to counteract that.
The end result is a large population of predatory insects which will feast upon humanity forever, thus making the Devils representing them extremely powerful.
This is a unique and horrifying consequence to the removal of death, which I had not thought of.
It also has an interesting implication for the future of the story.
After all, what horrifying concept are bugs like locusts associated with?
Famine.
Prior to her erasure, Death was the most powerful Devil, but with people now unable to die and facing the torment of an eternal famine where they are also devoured by insects, Fami may very well take her place.
Since Fami is all about seeing death as salvation, I can see her fighting Denji to force him to throw up Death and return balance of the world.
That being said, Denji is not going to go down without a fight since Yoru promised him sex.
We see this at the end of the chapter when he is determined to stay and fight the bug Devils.
In an excellent callback to the first Chainsaw Man chapter, all of those years ago, Denji declares, “If you’re going to get in our way, then… how’s it go again?”
Denji preparing to deliver his first badass statement of the series, only to fail because he can no longer remember death as a concept is textbook Fujimot humor.
I look forward to seeing Denji and Yoru face off against the Bug Devils and a potentially overpowered Fami in the following chapters.
As for Chapter 230, it restored a lot of my faith in the story.
It paid off the mystery of the powerful bug Devil, had a humorous ending and, not to mention, put the idea of a council of Fumikos in my head.
It would be pretty funny if Fujimoto paid that off by showing said council discussing the events, after everything is said and done.

Send Help Review: Bloodiest Survivor Episode Ever.

Long before he entered the realm of superheroes with his Spider-Man trilogy and, much later, Dr Strange movie, Sam Raimi was a master of horror comedy, most commonly known for his Evil Dead trilogy.
Well, with his latest film Send Help, Raimi has returned to his horror comedy roots, delivering both a funny and gory movie following two highly questionable people.

Prepare for your opinion on the characters to switch a bunch in this film.

Send Help stars Rachel McAdams and Dylan O’Brien, and tells the story of Linda Liddle (McAdams), a socially awkward yet hard working woman who has more than earned a promotion at the company she works for.
These hopes are cruelly dashed with the arrival of her new boss Bradley Preston (O’Brien), a petulant man child who only has the position of CEO because he inherited it.
When the two are stranded on an island as the sole survivors of a plane crash, they find their positions reversed, with Bradley now at the mercy of his cruel boss, Linda.
What follows is a battle of wills between the two, improved by great character writing and fantastic performances from both McAdams and O’Brien.

Not to mention a whole lot of fake blood.

The script does a great job of flipping the initial situation on its head.
After the crash it is extremely cathartic to see the immature Bradley be put in his place by Linda and have to count on her survival expertise to survive.
However, as the movie goes on and we get more insight into Linda’s psych and the actions it drives her too, Bradley becomes more pitiable.
This culminates in the most uncomfortable scene of the entire movie, which will have every man who watches cringing into the back of their seats.

This scene had me experiencing *Misery* flashbacks. If you know, you know.

Speaking of, this movie is very gory.
The first moment of bloody violence on the island had me sitting back and thinking, ‘Oh, yeah, this is a Sam Raimi film!”
His style is all over the movie, from its great dark humor, to the gory sequences, delivering a pretty enjoyable movie overall.
Granted, I do think the ending felt kind of lackluster, but that does certainly not destroy the film.
The film maintains a great conflict between its two lead characters, both of whom are backed up by excellent performances from their actors, delivering a funny, disturbing, and all around good time at the movies.
I recommend checking this one out, especially if you are a fan of Sam Raimi’s horror comedies.

28 Years Later: The Bone Temple Review: Turning it Up to Eleven.

28 Years Later was one of my favorite films of 2025.
I found it to be a gripping post-apocalyptic coming-of-age story, which carried a touching message about the acceptance of death.
That being said, the film was divisive among general audiences, mostly due to its bizarre ending.
While I did enjoy said ending, I can definitely see how a group of ninja, Satan worshipping, Jimmy Saville cosplayers showing up out of nowhere rubbed people the wrong way.

The wackiness of *28 Years Later*‘s ending is instantly dropped for a brutal reality.

Nevertheless, after the film ended, I was immediately on board for its follow up, The Bone Temple.
Being shot back-to-back with 28 Years Later, we thankfully did not have to wait two years to see it, like most sequels these days.
Having seen the film on the day of release, I can say that The Bone Temple definitely lived up to my expectations, even if I do prefer the previous movie.
Picking up from 28 Years Later’s cliffhanger, The Bone Temple sees the young Spike (Alfie Williams) violently inducted into the Jimmy gang, led by the charismatic and deranged sadist, Jimmy Crystal (Jack O’Connell).
At the same time, Dr Ian Kelson (Ralph Fieness) finds himself forming an unusual bond with the Infected Alpha he has named Samson (Chi Lewis-Parry) and begins to wonder if treating the Rage Virus is possible.
As the film progresses, the two storylines converge, resulting in a confrontation between Jimmy and Kelson at the titular Bone Temple and the conflict of their embodied ideals: peace vs chaos, kindness vs brutality.
These two opposing characters with their opposing beliefs are the focal point of the film.

Pure good meets pure evil in *The Bone Temple.*

I already loved Dr Kelson’s character from 28 Years Later.
Spending over two decades in isolation and building a temple of bone to memoralize the deaths of millions, Kelson kept his humanity, helping to ease the suffering of Spike’s mother.
He continues his humanitarian efforts in The Bone Temple through his aid of Samson, with Ralph Fieness playing the role to perfection.
In times of despair and chaos, we need a man like Dr Kelson.

Kelson’s humanity is a shining light in a world of darkness.

What we certainly do not need is a man like Jimmy Crystal.
Played brilliantly by Jack O’Connell, the traumatised young survivor of the outbreak has transformed into a demented cult leader, hellbent on bringing as much pain and suffering he can in the name of his imagined father “Old Nick.”
His cult members are almost as demented, gleefully indulging in Jimmy’s idea of “charity.”
Their childlike nature is just as disturbing, with it being abundantly clear that these violent lunatics were once ordinary children before Britain fell.

O’Connell has a knack for playing unhinged villains.

This makes the characters obvious visual similarities to notorious predator Jimmy Saville all the creepier.
Just as he twisted the innocence of children in real life, so has this brutal world the Jimmys grew up in.
And, boy, is it brutal.
28 Years Later was violent but The Bone Temple is on another level.
Brains are eaten and skin is flayed in numerous wince inducing scenes which, again, made the humanitarian efforts of Dr Kelson all the more important.
If the Jimmy gang are the children destroyed by the world, Samson is the child Kelson hopes to restore.
Chi Lewis-Parry brings both a sense of brutality and innocence to the role of the Infected Alpha.
Samson is a complex character, whether he is ripping someone’s head off, remembering the past or, more often than not, running around butt naked with all 28 inches flopping around in the wind…

Sorry, could not resist making that joke.

However, while I do think the characters of Kelson, Jimmy and Samson are all great, I unfortunately found Spike’s to be a bit limited in this move.
He mostly just stands around looking horrified at what the Jimmys are doing which, fair enough, but I kind of wanted to see him do more after the first film.
There is also the character of Jimmy Ink (Erin Kellyman), by far the most humanized of the Jimmys, due to her sibling-like bond with Spike.
While I think she was well acted, the writing let her down a little because, even after the movie ended, I was not entirely sure what her goals were, or what she had planned after those goals were met.

I feel like I needed a little more detail to fully understand Jimmy Ink’s character

Along with this, while I liked the style of director Nia DaCosta, I missed the unique flair of Danny Boyle’s from 28 Years Later.
My final criticism is that there was one scene hyped up in the trailer that was absent from the film.
Although this is more the trailer’s fault than the movie’s.
All of that being said, these are only minor issues, and the rest of the film more than makes up for them, especially the third act.
As I stated, the conflict between Kelson and Jimmy is the highlight of the film, culminating in a tremendous climax, which needs to be seen in theaters.

Prepare to get Iron Maiden’s The Number of the Beast stuck in your head.

Although I prefer 28 Years Later’s emotional journey, The Bone Temple offers a more than worthy sequel, with a compelling battle of ideals between its protaganist and antagonist.
I look forward to seeing the third film in this trilogy, where an iconic actor is poised to take center stage… or, at least, he will in about two years when that final film comes out.
Yeah, since the third movie was only recently greenlit, we are unfortunately going to have to wait a while for its release, unlike The Bone Temple.
So, until then, memento mori.