Pet shop owners by day and swingers by night, Italian couple Hermes and Betta are still regular people. Director and cinematographer Mauro Russo Rouge was invited into their lives with no moment off-limits, which gives this documentary an honest, sex-positive look at the swinger lifestyle without the normal judgment or exploitation that you would expect.

Rouge said of the filming, “I hope that the audience watches the film with objectivity and without prejudice towards this couple who, despite being unscrupulous and transgressive, also have amazing heart and honesty. Hermes and Betta live an uninhibited but serene sexuality. “We are just like you.” Betta has been repeating this phrase to me for over a year. I can now confirm it is absolutely true!”

The thing I learned about this movie is that setting up all of these encounters with other couples is a lot of work, all to keep emotions out of the way and the right people coming together. Often the single people are simply sex toys for couples to use and move on; yet through all of this, Hermes and Betta share all things, even working together at their pet shop. It’s a level of sharing that many relationships would feel strained by; they seem to have a supportive and loving marriage and this film shines a welcome light on other lifestyles without any need for moralizing.

Bloom Up opens in New York City on August 12 at the Quad Cinema, expanding to the Laemmle Noho in Los Angeles and other markets on August 19 from Kino Lorber.

EDITOR’S NOTE: This film originally was on the site on October 9, 2021 as part of Salem Horror Fest. It’s now streaming on Shudder.

Alice Maio Mackay has been making movies since her teens — she got a Stephen King Dollar Baby film, A Tale of the Laundry Game, at 13 — and this Australian film — made as she turns 16 — is all about Kurt, an outcast in a conservative town who dreams of moving to the city to become a drag queen.

And then one night, he’s killed by a predatory old vampire.

That’s not the end.

He’s saved by a brood of young bloodsuckers and taught the ways of the vampiric world. They may not live forever, but they aren’t bothered by Holy Water. crosses or even sunlight. And they pray upon the people who bully others, like the counselors of a Christian pray away the gay camp.

With a quick run time, some fun musical numbers and plenty of emotional bonding between those young vampires — and some juicy Bram Stoker gossip — So Vam ha sits heart — and plenty of blood — on its sleeve. It’s also a blast.

A fun-filled camping trip turns into a desperate fight for survival after Scottie (Jason Gross) and Jamie (Juliet Rusche) end up witnessing their Uncle Joey (Jason London) being murdered by Wesley (Daniel de Weldon) after he suspects Joey of making time with his girl Amy (Pilot Paisley-Rose). As the young kids endure the harsh side of nature, the harsher side of its wildlife and Wesley’s henchmen, all to get back to civilization. 

Luckily, they have Chief Baumgardner (Corbin Bernsen), a local policeman, on their side.

Directed by Brett Bortle and Ritchie Greer, who also wrote the movie, this is a tense thriller with great scenery and an awesome bear attack. In fact, I think more movies should have bear attacks. The film doesn’t shy away from putting its young leads in harm’s way and there’s plenty of suspense on hand.

You can learn more about this movie on the official Mill Creek site and the official web site for the film. You can buy it from Deep Discount.

Phillipe (Marcel Dorian, who also directed and wrote this movie with Amanda Webster and Ian Armer) and his companion, Camille (Gabriella Brinza) have just arrived at a motel on a business trip. But Camille is not truly his, a fact that both will pay for.

That’s because Paul (Joseph Steyne), who works in the hotel, has already been making time with Phillipe’s wife Susan (Michelle J. Wright) and, as coincidence would have it, Paul is the husband of Camille.

This is a movie packed with characters trying to destroy one another when they aren’t making love to one another’s wives, often right in front of each other. The Orpheus Motel is a place that seems conducive to sin, whether it’s in the bed or at knifepoint.

I was pretty surprised not only by the sexual content of this movie, but by the sheer voracity of its profanity. I wasn’t offended — have you seen the aberrant movies that I watch on a daily basis? — but I was genuinely surprised that a movie that came out recently went this far.

That said — this pushes itself toward Cinemax fare — a compliment in my world — while trying unique things with its story, its performances and its camerawork.

You can watch this on Tubi.

I love when filmmakers send me their movies and ask me to watch them. It’s always a daunting proposition — all I do is throw a few hundred words at something that may have been their life’s work, you know? That said, when Catherane Skillen sent me a copy of her film AVA: A Twist In the Road, it didn’t seem like the kind of movie that I usually have on the site.

But then I watched it and I’m honestly fascinated by it.

Ava (Skillen) and Bobby (Bill Lewis) are an older couple who, if you met them, you may think that they’ve been married forever. But Ava came along as the second wife, taking care of Bobby while his first wife had mental issues and was hospitalized for years. Now, they travel the world, he keeps her in a gorgeous condo and she wants for nothing other than to have more of his time, because all Bobby does is work.

It’s not a bad life. It isn’t perfect. But again, it’s not a bad life.

But then Bobby dies. And that’s when everything changes.

Everything Ava owned belonged to his company. And his son Bob Jr. (Steve Dellatori) has been waiting to get Ava out of his life forever.

The reason why I’m fascinated with AVA is that it has such an intriguing narrative because it drops us into her life and by the end, we’re unsure if she’ll be able to succeed. All of her monetary possessions no longer seem important to her, she’s found an actual job that before would be beneath her and she’s trying to connect with others. And then…that’s the end.

The camera in this has a strange focus, darting all over, cutting to images in the middle of conversations and at times feeling hallucinatory yet that adds to the overall experience for me. Because unlike so much of what we consume for entertainment, AVA is incredibly real and honest. It feels lived in. It feels authentic.

There are moments when the tone wildly shifts — I saw one review that took the movie to task for this — and I think that makes it feel true to life. And while not all of the acting is perfect, Skillen is really great at the role. You can’t help but be on her side.

I’d really be interested to know how she was inspired to make this. It seems like she acted in the 70s — an episode of Columbo in 1976, the TV movie Dog and Cat in 1977 with Richard Lynch and an appearance in 1978’s Katie: Portrait of a Centerfold and the TV series Jessie in 1984 are all that are on her IMDB before she started creating AVA as a web series in 2017.

So yeah. If you have a movie, send it my way. I do so love seeing original visions. This is definitely one of those. And it’s cool to see an older — but still fabulous — woman in the spotlight (and heading up the creative end, too).

You can watch this film on TUBI. To learn more, visit the official Facebook page.

Chase Brown plays a kid named Robin Hoode, so you know that he has to live up to that and be the one that steals from the head of the school board (Jon Lovitz) when he finds out that that fatcat is stealing money from the fundraisers he and his friends worked so hard to get. 

It’s kind of amazing that this is an Asylum movie to me, because there are no bad CGI monsters or warehouses. Well done.

Directed by Dylan Vox (who has moved into directing but was once in Showgirls 2) from a script by Anna Rasmussen and Ryan Ebert (the team that wrote the upcoming Shark Side of the Moon), this is an innocuous comedy about smart kids and dumb adults. Don’t go in expecting Woody Allen or Bergman or whatever fancypants name you want me to come up with.

I’m just glad Lovitz is getting work. I doubt anyone from the latest cast of SNL will be doing direct to streaming movies in thirty years.

You can watch this on Tubi.

Howard High School become the lowest-ranked school in the state and there’s nothing that former honor role graduate Frank King (Brian White) can figure out to save it. Then he learns that the Performing Arts Music program has truly talented kids. So that means it’s time to put on a show and save the school.

Chris Stokes, who directed and wrote this movie, also wrote You Got Served, which it’s very similar to. From what I can tell, this started as a series and has been turned into the movie that’s currently playing on Tubi.

You know how I can tell every giallo apart and comment on their quality? I can’t with teen movies because they all seem the same to me and I get all emotional when plucky kids save their school, so I end up crying and realizing that I’m closer to 80 than 20 and can never dance to save my high school, which I hated. Man, why would I want to save it?

You can watch this on Tubi.

Directed by Stacia Crawford from a script by Joyful Drake and Scotty Mullen, this movie has a familiar face or maybe I’m watching too many Tubi originals. Simone is played by Crystal Lee Naomi, who was Alicia in Twisted House Sitter.

She and her friends Parker (Brittany S. Hall) and Bailey (Tanisha Long) have decided to take a break and head out for a girl’s only weekend for Parker’s birthday. But as the title warns you, things aren’t going to go well.

Soon they learn that one of their friends, Kate Alessa (Rebecca Galarza) has taken a header off of the balcony of the hotel. Parker had just been flirting with Kate’s boyfriend, but then again, that man — Antonio (Donny Boaz) — is married to Elizabeth (Sunny Mabrey), the owner of the hotel. Oh man, this thing is complicated and it hasn’t even started yet.

There’s also a ton of social media one-upmanship, our heroic leads getting drugged and blamed for the crime and, of course, a late dramatic reveal of who the real killer is. If you like those Lifetime movies, good news. Tubi has you covered.

You can watch this on Tubi.

Steven R. Monroe has several movies up as Tubi Originals — First Person Shooter, Unborn and Teardrop — and he’s best known for the remake of I Spit on Your Grave and the sequel.

Along with co-writer John Thaddeus, he’s telling the story of The Spirit Chasers, a reality show team of ghost hunters made up of Jeanie (Camille Sullivan), Evan (Dion Johnstone), Gilroy (Jeremy Walmsley) and Zeke (Jonathan Lawrence), as they try to find the perfect ending to their season.

They find Harland Manor. Seeing as how this place once was home to so many murders and illegal abortions, you can only imagine the orbs floating around. This is also the kind of haunted environment filled with ghosts, like the infernal Harland himself as well as a young specter named Sarah (Summer H. Howell) who is with child. The child of Satan!

Perhaps a haunted underground abortion clinic is not the best place for Jeanie, who just miscarried the child of one of her fellow Spirit Chasers the night before, but look. I know better than to chase after evil. I’m content with sitting on my couch and not needing to have any paranormal adventures, thank you very much.

You can watch this on Tubi.