Directed by Seth A. Smith (Lowlife) and written by Darcy Spidle, this is yet another story of a coastal town that is filled with menace, a place where people should not go. After the death of her husband Peter (Andrew Gillis), Beth (Danika Vandersteen) and her son Lowen (Woodrow Graves, the son of Smith and producer Nancy Urich) retreat from life to live in a beach house. Perhaps the new surroundings will ease her grief and give her time to explore her art, paper marbling, the art of transforming paper with water, collage and painting.

As Lowen begins to act out — how else would a child deal with the death of his father? — Beth is menaced by a strange man named Joseph (Terrance Murray). He pushes her over the edge as she abandons her son and tries to drown herself, leaving him alone with a beach filled with whatever the residents of this town may be.

If you’re looking for something fast and easy to figure out, this is not that movie. This is a slow scene of people wandering open spaces, living in lonely houses, and answering telephone calls from ghosts. It is swirling paint, walking into the ocean, and flashbacks that feel tense when they should be freeing. Beth’s mother ((Andrea Kenyon) told her that she couldn’t care for her son correctly, and we wondered, “Is she right?” What will happen to a boy left alone, wandering the spectral shores of a town that feels between death and whatever is next?

Yes, I can see how people could hate this movie as easily as they love it.

You can watch this on Tubi.

The tenth movie, co-directed by Johnnie To and Wai Ka-Fai, this is the story of Big (Andy Lau), a man who has become a bodybuilder and exotic dancer after turning his back on his life as a Buddhist monk when he was overcome by his ability to see past lives and how karma can play into peoples’ current existence. After he meets a cop named Lee Fung-yee (Cecilia Cheung), he decides to use his ability to help her solve a murder but worries that he will see too much when he looks into her many lives.

In Love On a Diet, Lau wore a suit to look overweight. Here, he has on a muscle suit that makes him look filled with growth hormone. Yet once you get past that special effect, this is quite a special film that presents the nature of karma and that we must come to terms with not only the path in this life but in all of our former lives to achieve balance. If this were a Western film, the end of the movie would not be so upsetting and put Big through so much, yet it is through this journey that he finally finds peace and gets past the artificial world that he now lives in, a place where he tries to forget all that he can see and do. That said, when this was released in mainland China, it was cut to pieces and lost much of what makes it perfect.

Available for the first time on Blu-ray outside of Asia, this Eureka! release has extras such as a limited edition O-card slipcase featuring new artwork by Time Tomorrow; two audio commentary tracks (one by East Asian film experts Frank Djeng and F.J. DeSanto and another by Djeng going it alone); a new interview with Gary Bettinson, editor-in-chief of Asian Cinema Journal; a making-of featurette; a trailer and a collector’s booklet featuring a new essay by David West of NEO Magazine. You can order Running On Karma from MVD.

Directed by Sophia Takal (Black Christmas) and written by Lawrence Michael Levine — they’re a couple, in case you wondered — this film follows two actresses, Beth (Caitlin FitzGerald) and Anna (Mackenzie Davis), who decide to take a vacation away from Los Angeles to Big Sur.

Beth has had career success based more on her body than acting; Anna is the better thespian but is less known. Beth is almost embarrassed that she’s been featured in a “Young Hollywood” magazine, while Anna is dealing with issues with her boyfriend and boss outside of the worries of being an actress.

Beth, the more recognized actress, is often the center of attention, while Anna, the more talented actress, works behind the scenes to prepare her for new roles. However, when Beth fails to inform Anna about a director’s interest in casting her, it leads to a confrontation that escalates into a physical altercation. This conflict highlights the power dynamics and jealousy that exist in their relationship, as well as the competitive nature of the entertainment industry. 

After the confrontation, Anna, in a state of confusion and desperation, begins to emulate Beth’s appearance and behavior. She even manages to attract the bartender’s attention, who previously showed no interest in her. However, as she continues to impersonate Beth, she starts to lose her sense of self. This sequence of events is not a depiction of reality but rather a metaphor for Anna’s struggle to come to terms with her actions and identity in the aftermath of the confrontation.

Of course, this is a dark film, yet it’s got great talent in it — Colleen Camp! — and I loved the way it looks. 

Sloane (Emma Elle Paterson) is obsessed with true crime and serial killers to the point that she’s created a kit for women, “If I Go Missing,” which they fill out with all of their information when they are taken and murdered. While working at a coffee shop, she becomes sure that someone is a murderer, but then again, she thinks that all the time. What if she’s right this time?

Directed by Stefan Brogren (the director of twenty episodes of Degrassi: The Next Generation — he was Archie “Snake” Simpson on the show — as well as Billion Dollar Bluff and A Chance for Christmas, Obsessed to Death and Twisted Neighbor) and written by Andrea Shawcross, this takes an idea directly from a true crime podcast, as the Crime Junkie podcast — hosted by Ashley Flowers and Brit Prawat — has the hosts discuss what goes into their folder, like a written will, lists of people that know them and even email and phone log-in data.

Will the killer be Nathan (Damon McLean) or Elliot (Robert Bazzocchi)? Where is Sloane’s missing cousin? Will I watch any movie that Tubi produces?

You may not know the answers to the first two, but the last one? Yes, you knew that one.

This is fine, a quick and enjoyable little film about a coffee shop that seemingly is the center of all the death and murder happening in this town. That said, if the cold brew is good, it’s worth it.

You can watch this on Tubi.

Constance (Ashley Love-Mills) wants to be famous, but her boyfriend and manager, Lucas (Donovan Carter), is bad at his job. She wants a showcase with Arbor Way Records’ Tyree (Barton Fitzpatrick) and J Money (Jamal Lloyd Johnson), but they laugh in his face. However, she talks them into giving her a chance but be careful about what you wish for.

Darla (Lauren Darlene) had been at the label for some time, and she tried to warn Constance and her fellow new girl on the block, V Shaw (Miah Blake). She’s unhoused now and addicted to drugs, so they don’t believe her. But didn’t the opening of this movie show someone else getting killed? Maybe this recording career isn’t safe.

Poor Constance. First, she’s in a three-person band called Gemini singing a song called “Loosey Pussy,” then she’s having music executives try to steal her from her man; then, by the middle of the movie, everyone around her starts getting murdered.

Directed by Kevin Arbouet (Gridiron Grind) and written by Briana Cole (Sugar Mama) and Patricia Cuffie-Jones (who wrote Immortal City Records, which is nearly the same movie as this one), this wants to be the story of Diddy, yet it skips the filth and baby oil. I wanted it to be as unhinged as the best Tubi Originals, yet it stayed in the world of the expected.

You can watch this on Tubi.

Janie (Sarah Hagan, Millie from Freaks and Geeks) isn’t sure of her past. Did she have a traumatic incident? Were her parents something out of a fairy tale? Why have they left her in the care of the brutal Irma (Barbara Crampton), who keeps her on a strict diet and treats her as if she were a prisoner? Why does Irma use a tuning fork on her? And just what is wrong with Janie, who has regular seizures and violent outbursts?

Perhaps Irma was right to treat Janie this way after we see how she stalks Savannah (Sara Malakul Lane) and her boyfriend Connor (Riley Litman). That may be true when Janie snarls that she’s just the housekeeper. But Irma promised Janie’s mother in death that she would take care of her, and Janie’s father is gone. So she remains in this stark home, making her nutrition shakes, doing yoga with he,r and even putting her into a shock collar to keep her from leaving the house.

Except that Janie learns to love the pain and overcomes it.

Soon, she’s using the same abusive treatment on Savannah — spoiler warning: after bashing her lover’s brains in a mid-sex act — and forcing her to wear the shock collar. Directed and written by Ben Cresciman, this seems like an art film, yet it has the exploitation that makes it seem like a film that would play at a less reputable movie theater. Barbara Crampton is always the best part of this, but Hagan is also immensely talented.

I can see why some people reviewed this and hated it; it’s slow-moving, it’s confrontational in its gore, and it has a lesbian lead who is going mental for the entire running time and her obsession with a woman is presented as another part of her mental illness. But hey, I got this from Gregory Joseph’s Movies Jean Rollin and Jess Franco Might Like, If They Were Still Alive Letterboxd list, which fits right into their movies.

You can watch this on Tubi.

This Tubi Original comes from director Victoria Drew (Love You to Death: Mommy’s Missing) and writer Savannah Lucas (Viewer Discretion Advised: The Story of OnlyFans and Courtney Clenney, Scariest Monsters In the World) and is all about Lonnie David Franklin Jr., known as the Grim Sleeper because, unlike many serial killers, he took a break from killing for 14 years before starting again. He was convicted for the murders of nine women and one teenage girl.

His crimes may have started in 1974 when he was in the Army. A 17-year-old girl in West Germany was assaulted by Franklin and two other soldiers while he took photos. After she told him she wanted to see him again, he gave her his phone number, which is how he was caught.

The Grim Sleeper’s crimes were a big deal in the 1980s when he was known as the Southside Slayer and committed the Strawberry Murders, which was a code word for sex workers who did hard drugs. The killer only came for black women in South Central Los Angeles, and the police may not have warned them enough of the danger. By 1987, when the case went cold, the Los Angeles Police Department. They believed that there could be as many as four serial killers committing these crimes.

Today, it’s believed that some clients of these sex workers could have killed these women unrelated to the overall crimes. At the same time, serial killer Louis Craine committed at least two of the murders, and Daniel Lee Siebert, Chester Turner, Ivan Hill and Michael Hughes killed one victim. Yet seven victims were all killed with a .25 caliber gun, and the murderer was never found.

In 2007, Janecia Peters’ murder — and the DNA analysis that didn’t exist in the past — led to evidence in at least eleven unsolved murders. LA Weekly reporter Christine Pelisek reported on this case extensively and even interviewed the sole survivor, Enietra Washington, who described Franklin, who was on unsupervised probation and didn’t have to add his DNA to the national database.

How did they catch him? He did this by getting his saliva off the pizza crust where he worked. When they searched his home, they immediately found over 180 photos of victims — some unknown — were found. By the end of the searches, 1,000 or more photos and several hundred hours of videos of his victims were found.

This Tubi Original may not tell true crime fans anything new, but it certainly will get you started if you don’t know the entire story. What’s crazy is that there are so many murders — including the crimes of the Belize Ripper — that Franklin may have been responsible for. He died in prison in 2020 with no signs of trauma.

You can watch this on Tubi.

In February of 2018, Patrick De La Cerda was shot four times when he answered the front door, thinking that a package had arrived. He thought it was an engagement ring for his fiancée, Jessica Devnani. Instead, he found death.

According to Devnani, her ex-boyfriend, Gregory Bender, was responsible. They already had a restraining order against him after hundreds of abusive calls and messages. A judge made Bender turn over his extensive gun collection. The calls stopped until one night. The same night that De La Cerda was murdered.

Bender’s ex-wife, Daymara Sanchez — he was dating Devnani while married to her — found a notebook with the entire plan, which she gave to the police. The notebook pages had De La Cerda’s address, drawings of his home, and notes on how to enter and leave without being seen.

In May of 2021, Bender was found guilty of first-degree murder and is now in prison, doing a life sentence. This Tubi Original, directed by Victoria Duley (who has made several Tubi true crime stories) and written by Curtis Paine, explains the events of this case and how the law got justice for De La Cerda.

You can watch this on Tubi.

Directed and written by Alex Ross Perry (Her Smell), this film explores the lifelong relationship between Catherine Hewitt (Elisabeth Moss) and Virginia Lowell (Katherine Waterston). Last year, Virginia was going through a bad time, and Catherine tried to help her; this year, Catherine is dealing with the suicide of her father, a man to who she gave everything, and her boyfriend James (Kentucker Audley) leaving her.

Last year, James took away from their relationship and this year, the man who gets in the way is Virginia’s neighbor Rich (Patrick Fugit). We quickly discover that Catherine’s issues are way worse than anyone believed; Virginia says she has nothing and is no one, as the only two men she put her life into have left her.

This happens when two people who say they know each other so well soon learn that they have no clue at all about each other. This leads to dialogue like “What’s it like, having all the answers all the time to everything?” and a feeling that a hagsploitation breakdown is about to happen at any moment, but what is sadder is that instead of being served a dead bird or shoved down the steps, these women inflict greater misery upon one another by the breaking of whatever supposed connection they once had.

At one point, Catherine takes all of her rage and explodes at Rich, saying, “You fucking animal. You unrepentant piece of shit. You click your tongue, and you revel in the affairs of others. You are worthless. You don’t know anything about me. You show up to fuck my best friend, and you pry into the lives of others to conceal how worthless and boring your own life is. I don’t deserve this. I just want to be left alone. I want to be left alone with the few people who are left in this world who are decent. You are weak and greedy and selfish, and you are the root of every problem. You are why people betray one another. You are why there is nowhere safe or happy anymore. You are why depression exists. You are why there is no escape from indecency and gossip and lies. You, Rich, you are why my father had to die. Because he couldn’t live in a world like this.”

Yeah, it’s not a fun vacation.

This has tones of Rosemary’s Baby (that party nightmare), Repulsion, Persona, Images, The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant, Sisters and Interiors while having some Let’s Scare Jessica To Death without getting into the supernatural. It feels even more frightening like you’re trapped in the house with these people, waiting for their reality to implode.

Also: Elisabeth Moss being unhinged in this has only increased my crush. I can admit that.