While Michael may have started something, but The Devil Wears Prada is back to announce the arrival of the summer movie season. That said, some other films are here to play as well. This set of write-ups includes a couple of offbeat horror films, a social thriller, a shark-disaster movie, and a survival thriller. The following features reviews for Hokum, One Spoon of Chocolate, Deep Water, Apex, and The Serpent’s Skin.
Hokum: 7 out of 10
The Setup: When novelist Ohm Bauman (Adam Scott) retreats to a remote Scottish inn to scatter his parents’ ashes, he is consumed by tales of a witch haunting the honeymoon suite. Disturbing visions and a shocking disappearance force him to confront dark corners of his past.
Review: Writer/director Damian McCarthy’s previous film, Oddity, managed to get under my skin. It doesn’t happen often these days, given how much I love the horror genre, making the watches of excess amounts of horror somewhat neuter me to actually being scared, but there I was getting freaked out by what that film had to offer. Hokum is his follow-up, and while quite entertaining for blending supernatural horror, old folklore, and a sense of humor, I wonder if the effort to deliver something so clever may have gotten in the way of making a more striking horror movie. Granted, the film looks great, and there are some striking visuals, but peeling back the layers this time around only gave me so much.
The set design is terrific, however, and, most importantly, Scott is game to blend his sardonic tone with the severity of what’s taking place. Add to that several quirky characters for Ohm to interact with, and the film is never short on ideas. But perhaps there were too many for this film’s own good. As is, the movie plays something like a puzzle box combined with the paranoia generally found in folk horror. This all does make for a mostly entertaining movie; I just wish a follow-up to Oddity had a bit more to say or freak me out.
Where To Watch: Now playing in theaters.
One Spoon of Chocolate: 6 out of 10
The Setup: The story follows Unique (Shameik Moore), a veteran and ex-convict seeking a fresh start in a small town. After an altercation with a gang of locals, he starts to suspect they may have something to do with the disappearance of young men in the area – including his cousin (Isaiah Hill). As he digs for the truth, he finds himself the target of not only the gang but the local sheriff’s office, whose involvement in the disappearances may be even more sinister. Instead of waiting for his turn to be picked off, Unique and those closest to him (Paris Jackson, RJ Cyler) decide to fight back.
Review: The RZA is back, and this time he has one of his more impressive efforts on his hands. While still wearing the likes of Quentin Tarantino, Robert Rodriguez, and Eli Roth up his sleeves, this homage to the Blaxploitation period gains relevance thanks to the Wu-Tang frontman’s efforts to tie a gritty 70s-style story to the fears and horrors experienced because of race. Looking at RZA’s past couple of films, including Cut Throat City, it shows a filmmaker who has been building toward a proper balance of action, thrills, and thematic weight. One Spoon of Chocolate finds the proper outlet for these many ideas.
At the core of all of this is Moore, already a hero as Spider-Man in the Spider-Verse movies; here, he’s a believable, seasoned veteran who’s pushed too far to stand by. RZA creates a film that conveys the territory’s bigoted nature, and Unique’s handling of being a fish-out-of-water allows for an inevitable power-packed ending. Fortunately, while the action may be somewhat limited, the fairly creative fights are balanced by a significant conversation about the hero and the villain of this story. With so much physical proof of just how dark and nasty RZA gets with the story, having a climax so rooted in what it means to do the right thing and yet still be taken down for it provides One Spoon of Chocolate with far more than an exercise in pulp fiction.
[Additional note: Stay tuned for an interview I had with RZA about this film, coming soon to We Live Entertainment.]
Where To Watch: Opening in theaters on May 1, 2026.
Deep Water: 5 out of 10
The Setup: A flight from Los Angeles to Shanghai goes down in the middle of the Pacific. After surviving the crash, the survivors soon discover they’re not alone, and they must survive the shark-infested waters.
Review: I was excited to take on a disaster film that added sharks for good measure. Pros like Aaron Eckhart and Ben Kingsley being on board to add some gravitas felt like a nice bonus as well. Alas, following a trilogy of underwhelming Strangers films, I’m not sure if director Renny Harlin still has the juice to make something like this work. Perhaps the guy needs something else to recharge the engines, but a film from the director of Deep Blue Sea and Cliffhanger, feeling like it’s largely on autopilot, didn’t do any favors for my enjoyment. A true shame because the premise is sound.
A water landing is already scary enough to have to imagine, but the B-movie fun of adding a shark gang to the proceedings should have elicited more goofy thrills. Instead, much like the survivors, I just kinda sat there in the water, waiting for help to arrive. Finding excuses to get people back in the water is fun in bursts, but the movie never quite found a consistent flow for me to ride through.
Where To Watch: Now playing in theaters.
Apex: 7 out of 10
The Setup: A mountain climber (Charlize Theron) haunted by a fatal decision in Norway retreats to the Australian wilderness for isolation. Her journey turns into a desperate hunt when a deceptive local (Taron Egerton) targets her as his next ritualistic prey in the bush.
Review: Working as a much stronger film about survival, Apex delivered all the goods I wanted from the premise, with a few clever subversions to offset some of the more predictable moments. Sure, having a prologue with two notable stars means that, given what the movie is about, it could only mean one thing. However, later on, when we are with the true main two leads, certain ideas about what the threat is all about emerge, which certainly had me intrigued and reconsidering where I thought things were going. On top of all of this, the movie looks great.
Director Baltasar Kormákur has previously tackled Everest, worked with big talent in 2 Guns, and just recently had Idris Elba beating up lions to save his daughters in Beast. The guy is pretty talented, holding onto a grounded realism to go with high-concept premises or genre plays. For Apex, he has several elaborate shots that rely on both the training Theron and Egerton underwent to perform many stunts, actual stunt people to handle grand moments involving rapids and climbing, and the CG team when things seem too dangerous. More importantly, it’s the way this film goes from a cat-and-mouse game to one where they need to rely on each other. None of this is super deep, but there’s a large amount of fun to behold in this 90-minute quick hit that was much appreciated.
Where To Watch: Now streaming on Netflix.
The Serpent’s Skin: 7 out of 10
The Setup: A supernatural romance that follows Anna (Alexandra McVicker) after she escapes from her small, transphobic town, and the romantic relationship she develops with another young woman, a goth tattoo artist named Gen (Avalon Fast). After unwittingly unleashing a demon that begins feeding on their friends, the pair must face their insecurities to defeat the evil.
Review: I like the idea of these cult-classics-in-the-making using what they have to help navigate a real journey. Yes, director Alice Maio Mackay may have trans experience in mind when considering what to take away from the work presented. Still, there’s so much creativity on display in a just-above-DIY sort of way that I was happy just to embrace the mood and aesthetic of it all. I’ve heard “dreamlike” tossed around, and that’s quite fitting. Of course, the film is also just entertaining in the way we see these characters interact, how the horror and thrills matter to a degree, and even the layered approach to addressing tattoo culture. As something bizarre, fun, and different, this is a trippy one to keep an eye out for.
Where To Watch: Now available on digital and VOD.
