Week 3 (July 5 – 11) – Maverick Entertainment Group

One of the most overlooked and consistent low-budget film companies of the 21st century, they’ve been full steam ahead in the streaming era while other indies have cratered. From the Maverick Entertainment Group website:

Founded in 1997, Maverick continues to be a leading distributor and producer of niche independent and Black Cinema content. Having released more than 1,300 films over the past 26 years, Maverick currently distributes the world’s largest library of feature-length Black Cinema.

Every Stepfather, Stepmother and Adopted movie is the same story: a normal family has a new person move in and blow the family the fuck up. I love this. I don’t know why, I don’t know what deep-seated hatred I have for the American nuclear family, but there’s nothing I love more than when a weird person puts everyone against one another and starts using sex and violence to get their way.

I also hate foreign exchange students. When I was a big, dumb teenage nerd, instead of an old white man nerd, I felt like no one wanted to have anything to do with me. Now, I realize who would want to hang out with a kid on the spectrum who only wants to talk about obscure bands and gore movies. But back then, I was enraged, wondering why these kids could move here and instantly leapfrog everyone in popularity. Yes, I was a jerk. But the only foreign exchange student I ever liked slept with the dad and was quietly kicked out of town.

Did I just have a breakthrough?

Anyway, Jonathan Milton made this movie, and I loved every single second of it.

Sinclair (Bianca Tonsall) killed her old boyfriend when he cheated on her back in Dominica, and she moves to Houston as an exchange student. The Reams are her host family — lawyer Monica (Natasha Jolivette), her barber husband (Roc Living), their daughter Jackie (Jaye Alexander) and son Bishop (Reggie Choyce) — and they all accept her, except for Jackie. Sinclair has already taken her room, and she just doesn’t trust her.

She totally shouldn’t.

Before it’s over, Sinclair has slept with her brother, prepping him for his first date, but not before asking if he’s gay. Then, she continually hits on Dad, even giving him a massage with a near happy ending. When Mr. Adams (Donny Boaz) catches her plagiarizing a paper, she tells Bishop’s best friend that he told her he wanted her to suck his cock. They put together a scheme where the kid bashes the team’s head with a baseball bat, then Sinclair stabs him with a knife that would make any slasher villain feel penis envy.

After all this killing, what causes the family to give up on their exchange student?

When she steals Jackie’s boyfriend.

Sinclair is sent to live with a social worker, whom she murders in seconds, then comes back to kill the whole family. Leave it to Jackie to end up slashing her throat, and as she dies, we get a POV shot of Jackie saying, “Don’t mess with Texas, bitch.”

It’s almost as good as “Adios, creep!” from Don’t Answer the Phone.

You might watch this and hate every single minute, but if you’ve been on this site for any length of time, you already know I have no taste.

You can watch this on Tubi.