Titanic 666 (2023)

If you look through the films made by director Nick Lyon, or the films written by Jason Cooney or Jason White, you may notice a number of . . . interesting (yes, let's go with interesting) titles listed. Don't be too quick to dismiss their work though, because they all seem interested in making films that are at least fun, even if limited budgets and resources undermine whatever vision they're trying to put onscreen. That approach is also clear in the silly, but not entirely unenjoyable, Titanic 666.

The plot is on a level of silliness that you might expect. A group of people are on board the Titanic III - the usual mix of people you might root for, people you might hate, and someone who seems to have their own mysterious agenda - and there are also cabinets displaying items salvaged from the original Titanic. Could that be just asking for bad luck? Maybe, but Professor Hal Cochran (Jamie Bamber) doesn't believe so. He thinks there's a lot of money to be made. Idina Bess (Lydia Hearst), on the other hand, thinks that there's another way for people to pay for a piece of the past.

It's never scary, not really, but Titanic 666 is also never too dull, whether viewers are being introduced to the selection of characters (including a pair of influencers, played by AnnaLynne McCord and Derek Yates) or shown the appearance of numerous spirits about to cause havoc on the ship. It's typical of many movies from The Asylum, with very simple plotting, plenty of stereotypes populating the narrative, and runtime that's padded out by judicious use of stock footage, but those who know what they're getting into should find enough to enjoy here. While I wouldn't rush to rewatch this, nor would I recommend it to many people, I didn't have a bad time watching it. I wanted more AnnaLynne McCord, she's sadly underused, but everything else worked on the level I expected.

Aside from McCord, the cast members worth mentioning are Keesha Sharp (playing the Captain of the ship), Joseph Gatt (definitely up to something that may make the situation much worse), and both Bamber and Hearst, playing central characters with opposing viewpoints on the history of the Titanic, and the weight of the tragedy. 

The script is more concerned with filling time in between the minor ghostly set-pieces, and the direction is more competent than skilled, and let's not dwell on the quality of the special effects on display, but I cannot bring myself to loathe this. It was fine. I've seen plenty of other people eager to pick this apart. If you want to do that then there's plenty here to pick at. But if you just want to watch something that aims to entertain, something that isn't challenging or too complicated, then this is perfectly fine. I wouldn't call it good, but it does what it sets out to do.

4/10

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68 Kill (2017)

Based on the novel by Bryan Smith, 68 Kill is another darkly comedic crime thriller from Trent Haaga, and if you don't know of Haaga by now then you should really change that. He has been acting since his years at Troma, making his credited debut in the superb Terror Firmer, and will be very familiar to any fans of the Killjoy movies (thanks to his turns as the titular killer clown). He has been writing films as varied as Citizen Toxie: The Toxic Avenger IV, Deadgirl, and Cheap Thrills. And he has directed films such as, well, this one and the wonderfully twisted Chop (a film I wish everyone would see ASAP, despite it being made unnecessarily difficult to get hold of, hence the link for the R1 disc there, please take note of that).

Considering his growing body of work, it's a surprise that this is the first feature that Haaga has both written and directed (his debut directorial work was written by Adam Minarovich). But the mix of violence and sheer fun makes it an obvious choice for something that he would want to turn into an entertaining movie, and that's exactly what he does.

Matthew Gray Gubler plays Chip, a young man who ends up in a whole heap of trouble when he is persuaded by his batshit crazy girlfriend, Liza (AnnaLynne McCord), to help commit a robbery. Liza claims that nobody will get hurt, it should be an easy job, but it's not long until blood starts to flow, leading Chip to doubt whether or not he really does want to spend the rest of his days with someone who terrifies the life out of him. And so starts a chain of twists and turns, treacheries, and pain. All doled out with a fine vein of humour running throughout.

There are plenty of supporting characters here, most of them unsavoury types who would rob you in an instant, but it's testament to the script and central performances that McCord and Gubler rule over this entire film. That's especially true of McCord, absent from many scenes but always seemingly ready to reappear and ruin the lives of anyone getting in the way of her grand plan.

It's brisk, it's very funny, it has moments of grim nastiness, and it takes the male sap archetype from film noirs through one of the darkest and bloodiest journeys seen outside of a Quentin Tarantino film. 68 Kill deserves your time, if you don't mind the subject matter, and Trent Haaga deserves to keep going from strength to strength. I tend to look forward to everything that his name gets attached to.

8/10

68 Kill is available to buy here.
If you are in America then order it here.