After last week’s glut of good movies, it has been down to earth with a bump this week!

The pick of a mediocre bunch is Marionette (available to rent digitally), a psychological thriller about Marianne (Thekla Reuten) a grieving therapist who moves from upstate New York to a small Scottish town. Her predecessor had a breakdown and when she soon starts to have problems herself with a patient, a young boy who might have terrifying powers.

I enjoyed the slow build up and Reuten is pretty convincing as the vulnerable heroine and the demonic child plot is a nice throwback to films like The Omen. The major twist that occurs at the end of the second act is bold but I don’t think it was the best way to resolve the story and the formidable talent in the supporting cast, Peter Mullan, Rebecca Front and Bill Patterson, is not fully utilised.
Marionette: 7 out of 10

Although not an out and out horror, I assume Marionette was released to coincide with Halloween, as is The Wolf of Snow Hollow (also available to rent). Jim Cummings follows up his patchy Thunder Road with another quirky effort that he has written, directs and stars in. It is a similarly patchy affair. He plays John Marshall, a police officer investigating a series of horrific crimes that look like they might have been carried out by a werewolf. The main story is involving and pretty well told but the subplots about John’s alcoholism and his Dad’s medical condition just slow the action down. However, it is nice to see Robert Forster is his final role even if he does look really ill.
The Wolf of Snow Hollow: 6 out of 10

Sky subscribers can watch Uncle Peckerhead. An obscure rock band on their first tour need to find a way to transport themselves and their gear. They meet a strange older guy with a van and they take him on as a roadie, but he has a horrific secret. Although awash with gore at times, it is never really scary. It does, though, have a few laughs, a nice energy to it and Chet Siegel is good as lead singer.
Uncle Peckerhead: 6.5 out of 10

Adam Sandler was proved himself to be an excellent dramatic actor in recent years, but his comedies still mostly leave me cold. When starting to watch Hubie Halloween (Netflix). My first thought when Sandler appeared on screen was “Oh, he’s not going to use that stupid voice all film is he?”. Unfortunately he does in the role of Hubie Dubois, a mentally challenged guy who loves Halloween. He is a figure of fun in his town but this year, he has to save Halloween…

The film is peopled with a gallery of grotesque characters played by the usual suspects in Sandler’s movies such as Kevin James and Rob Schneider but there are very few laughs to be had. The plot line involving a beautiful woman (Julie Bowen) who secretly loves Hubie is straight out of a Norman Wisdom/George Formby film and just as believable now as it was then.Not scary. Not funny.
Hubie Halloween: 4 out of 10

But it is more watchable than the other Netflix offering this week, The Rest of Us. A boring and selfish woman who has a boring and selfish daughter allows her deceased husband’s ex-wife, who she hates, and her daughter move in. The reasons why are not really explained and the consequences are predictable.
The Rest of Us: 3.5 out of 10

The biggest disappointment this week is Eternal Beauty (available to rent digitally). With Sally Hawkins in the lead role of Jane, a wonan suffering from schizophrenia, and a supporting cast that includes David Thewlis and Penelope Wilton, I had high hopes. Their performances are fine but writer/director Craig Roberts seems so determined to offbeat and quirky that Jane’s illness seems trivialised. In truth, it is a bit of a slog to sit through, though the ending is effective.
Eternal Beauty: 4.5 out of 10

Finally back to Sky for yet another telling of Frances Hodgson Burnett’s The Secret Garden. In some ways this feels really old fashioned, with the stiff, overly trained in acting school performances from the kids. In other ways it is a more modern telling. Instead of using hard graft to transform the garden, it appears magically for the petulant Mary (Dixie Egerickx) to enjoy. Colin Firth adds some gravitas as Lord Archibald but the film is no more than adequate.
The Secret Garden: 5 out of 10