Julia Garner shines but this Rosemary’s Baby prequel is a little too formulaic and cheap to be considered a worthy continuation.

PLOT: A struggling dancer finds herself drawn into dark forces by a peculiar couple promising her fame.

REVIEW: I would consider Rosemary’s Baby to be one of the greatest films of all time, horror or otherwise. Mia Farrow’s performance is absolutely sublime and paranoia can be felt in nearly every frame of celluloid. There’s plenty of intrigue with the cult of Satan that is deadset on birthing the Antichrist. It’s such a descent into madness and shows the extremes of gaslighting (to say the least). So it’s easy to be a bit nervous about a prequel coming along for such a beloved film. But then you add Julia Garner in the lead role and they seem to be on the right path. If only they’d kept on that path…

Rather than following a couple desperate for a baby, Apartment 7A follows a single lady, Terry (Garner), as she struggles to be a dancer in New York City. She meets a mysterious older couple and suddenly all of her dreams are coming true. She just has to follow their guidance. You can probably guess where this is going but I appreciated that it focuses on how someone would be susceptible to this situation. She’s had her world taken from her and is just looking for a way out. It’s easy to shout at the screen, imploring her to run but the stakes are properly ramped up subtlety. Though I do wish her back was more against the wall. Instead, her issues come entirely through ego.

Julia Garner is great in everything she does and here is no different. Her eyes say so much that the camera can just linger on her and so much is conveyed. Pretty sure this woman could play a stick and make it interesting. But the Terry character is ego driven and not nearly endearing enough. She also doesn’t cross over into paranoid mode until further into the story than I’d have liked. There’s a lot of setup and it can be a bit meandering. Terry also doesn’t feel nearly as isolated as Rosemary was, even being able to leave the apartment with little to no problem. She’s a single lady in New York City yet they never take advantage of the fear and isolation that can cause.

Ruth Gordon’s performance as Minnie Castevet in the original is so deliciously evil that made the role no cakewalk to replicate. And while there are elements that carry over, Dianne Wiest makes it her own. There’s something off about her from the beginning, and she only gets more and more controlling as the film progresses. Kevin McNally has such a jovial “dadness” to him that it’s all the more terrifying when he makes the switch. The cult itself doesn’t get as much screentime as you’d expect, with the story taking a similar path to the original.

The biggest issue I have with Apartment 7A is that it simply looks cheap. Everything about this feels like a streaming movie which clashes with everything about the original. Polanski’s film is so old school in its approach so it’s baffling as to why director Natalie Erika James took such a modern approach with the material. There are two different designs for Satan and one of them is this bejeweled monstrosity that gets far too much screentime. The other design looks better but we hardly even get a proper look at it.

In the end, Apartment 7A is a mixed bag. While Garner and Weist are absolutely fantastic, there’s little else to latch onto. Sturgess is severely underutilized and anyone who’s seen the original is going to know where this film ends up. While that can work (see: The First Omen) it’s hard to get invested here. This is another one of those films that feels like it would have been better served to just be entirely separate from the film it’s trying to connect itself to. I was desperate for them to try something different, though when they did, it came off as awkward. It’s a Catch-22 and results in a unsatisfying viewing experience.

APARTMENT 7A IS STREAMING ON PARAMOUNT PLUS ON SEPTEMBER 27TH, 2024.

Ryan Murphy’s latest horror story is not based on true crime but lives up to its title.

PLOT: A series of heinous crimes have unsettled a small community. Detective Lois Tryon feels these crimes are eerily personal, as if someone—or something—is taunting her. At home, Lois grapples with a strained relationship with her daughter, a husband in long-term hospital care and her own inner demons. With no leads and unsure of where to turn, she accepts the help of Sister Megan, a nun and journalist with the Catholic Guardian. Sister Megan, with her own difficult past, has seen the worst of humanity, yet she still believes in its capacity for good. Lois, on the other hand, fears the world is succumbing to evil. As Lois and Sister Megan string together clues, they find themselves ensnared in a sinister web that only seems to raise more questions than answers.

REVIEW: Think about the worst thing you could never unsee boiling in a pot. This line of dialogue spoken by Niecy Nash-Betts in the first episode of Grotesquerie perfectly sums up Ryan Murphy’s latest FX series. The third new production from Murphy in as many weeks, following Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story on Netflix and American Sports Story: Aaron Hernandez on FX (with a fourth, Doctor Odyssey, premiering this week as well), Grotesquerie takes viewers back to the wholly fictional scary stories the talented showrunner started with on American Horror Story. While Murphy’s flagship horror series tells scary stories with a decidedly supernatural bend, Grotesquerie blends the frightening with the realistic in a combination of police procedural and thriller that echoes The Silence of the Lambs and David Fincher’s Seven for what may be the writer/producer’s best effort in years.

Capitalizing on Niecy Nash-Betts’ acclaimed performance in Dahmer, Ryan Murphy has cast her in the lead role of Lois Tryon, a veteran police detective with a drinking problem. While Lois struggles with a morbidly obese daughter, Merritt (Raven Goodwin), and a comatose husband, Marshall (Courtney B. Vance), she is called in to investigate a crime scene that is beyond shocking. With Grotesquerie airing on FX and Hulu, I expected the visuals to be somewhat toned down. Still, the graphic first murder scene involves children, blood, and intentional staging that immediately brings to mind NBC’s Hannibal and the beauty hidden within the disturbing. Lois is taken aback by what she sees and even more so when a nun, Sister Megan (Micaela Diamond), arrives to report on the heinous deaths for a Catholic newspaper. Lois detects something slightly off about the kooky nun, but their partnership immediately develops as the crimes pile up.

Within the first two episodes of Grotesquerie, we witness four different crime scenes, all of which are successively more elaborate than the previous. Lois recedes into her liquor while Sister Megan is appalled and attracted to the crimes. Sister Megan confides in her editor, Father Charlie (Nicholas Alexander Chavez, most recently seen as Lyle Menendez in Murphy’s Monsters), who is fascinated with the macabre and some secret fetishes. Lois tries to contend with what she has seen while also dealing with a sexually voracious healthcare worker, Nurse Redd (Lesley Manville), who may or may not be taking advantage of Lois’ comatose husband. The crimes and Lois’ home life collide often as Grotesquerie, the self-named serial killer, seems to form a bond with the cop hunting them down. The series is structured to make us question whether any protagonists could be serial killers or just wacky players, as we have come to expect from Ryan Murphy productions.

Niecy Nash-Betts once again proves she is an underrated actress with her performance as Lois Tryon. Having worked for decades in comedy roles, including Reno 911! and The Bernie Mac Show, Nash-Betts only recently has been able to showcase her dramatic chops, including a lead role in The Rookie: Feds and Dahmer. This character feels tailor-made for the actress who runs the gamut in emotional range in these first episodes while never feeling miscast in the least. Equally good is Micaela Diamond, best known for her stage work as a singer and actress, who gives Sister Megan just enough quirkiness to keep us wondering if she is altogether sane. It may be too early in Grotesquerie to judge how the series will balance elements of dark humor with the deeply serious subject matter, but so far, it feels like this series is aiming for a unique tone about American Horror Story and American Crime Story. We have yet to see how Travis Kelce factors into the story this season, but any time you can get an acclaimed British actor like Lesley Manville to play a character as surreal and broad as this, you must have some tricks up your sleeve.

I have watched each and every Ryan Murphy series since Popular and Nip/Tuck. Grotesquerie feels distinct from the super-producer’s last dozen or so projects. Co-created with Jon Robin Baitz, Murphy’s collaborator on Feud: Capote vs. The Swans and Doctor Odyssey, and Joe Baken, Grotesquerie has the signature Murphy look and subject matter but handles it differently. This story could have been a season of American Horror Story, but the campiness is virtually non-existent in this show so far. Murphy’s recent forays into procedurals and true crime stories have certainly impacted the flow of his new projects. Still, the absence of his repertory players from this cast helps the series feel fresher. Murphy brings back multiple talented directors from prior projects, including Max Winkler. Winkler has helmed entries in American Horror Story, American Horror Stories, The Wathcer, Feud: Capote vs. The Swans, and Monster: The Lyle and Erik Menedez Story, and directs half of the ten-episode season of Grotesquerie. The other episodes come from Elegance Bratton and Alexis Martin Woodall, who bring to life the scripts written entirely by Murphy, Baitz, and Baken.

Grotesquerie has a cohesiveness that has been missing from recent Murphy products, which are rectified by the co-creators writing the entire series. I went in with pre-conceived notions that this would fit alongside any number of Murphy’s prior projects, but instead, it draws from them all while forging a voice that sets it apart. Grotesquerie is disturbing but not yet scary, and yet I am drawn to it because I want to know who the killer is as much as I want to learn more about Loius Tryon. Niecy Nash-Betts is a formidable presence on screen but also a deeply human performer who can be funny and brash when she needs to be but never ceases to make this character feel real. One of Ryan Murphy’s biggest issues in his fictional series is the ability to make the characters seem real rather than larger-than-life, and he and his colleagues may have finally done it with Grotesquerie. It is early to make a final judgment on this one, but I am invested in this series in a way I have not felt with a Ryan Murphy project since the early days of American Horror Story.

Grotesquerie debuts two episodes weekly on FX beginning September 25th.

Trailer: Jill Gevargizian, Adam Cesare, and Eduardo Sánchez have teamed up to bring us Ghost Game, coming to theatres and VOD

The upcoming horror film Ghost Game is coming our way from quite an interesting creative team. It was directed by Jill Gevargizian, who was previously at the helm of The Stylist, from a screenplay by Adam Cesare (the author of the popular Clown in a Cornfield series of novels, and co-writer of the horror film Last Night at Terrace Lanes), and has The Blair Witch Project co-creator Eduardo Sánchez serving as an executive producer. Epic Pictures’ DREAD will be giving Ghost Game a limited theatrical release on October 18th, with a VOD release to follow on October 22nd, and with those dates swiftly approaching, a trailer for the movie has made its way online. You can check it out in the embed above.

Ghost Game has the following synopsis: After discovering his girlfriend Laura’s involvement in an internet challenge to secretly live alongside unsuspecting residents, Vin persuades her to take him on her next adventure. They target Halton House, a notoriously haunted manor recently purchased by a new family. Upon entering, the thrill-seeking couple experiences chilling, unexplained phenomena. It quickly becomes clear they are not the only ones haunting the manor. As the new owner descends into madness and threatens the family, what began as a game turns deadly, forcing Laura and Vin to fight for their survival.

The film stars Kia Dorsey (The Neighbor Who Saw Too Much), newcomer Zaen Haidar, Aidan Hughes (My One and Only), Vienna Maas (Mister K’s Clubhouse), Emily Bennett (Alone with You), Sam Lukowski (The Jester), Carlo Glorioso (Getting Hal), newcomer Luca Glorioso, Stella Glorioso (Stinky Summer), Sharrie McCain (For My Man), Anita Sharma (The Resident), Jesse L. Green (Killer Campout), and The Blair Witch Project’s Michael C. Williams.

Patrick Ewald, Carlo Glorioso, Jamie Nash, and Cory Okouchi produced Ghost Game, with Sánchez executive producing alongside Mary Beth McAndrews. Anita Sharma was co-producer.

What did you think of the Ghost Game trailer? Does this look like a movie you’ll be watching next month? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

Speaking of Clown in a Cornfield, Tucker & Dale Vs. Evil and Little Evil director Eli Craig has made a film based on Cesare’s novel that recently earned an R rating for bloody horror violence.

Hideo Kojima gives an update on the live-action Death Stranding movie, including whether or not he’ll direct it himself.

It was announced last year that Hideo Kojima would team up with A24 for a live-action movie adaptation of Death Stranding. While speaking with Variety, Kojima gave an update on the project and whether or not he will direct it himself.

“I have only ever thought of ‘Death Stranding’ as a game. People tell me it feels like a movie, but I made it as a game – the direction, the settings, the story. So, I don’t intend to look back at it and try to see it from a movie perspective. Those works are my babies, and I love movies, so I want it to be something that movie fans will really enjoy!” Kojima said. “I’ll supervise the plot and help them make it, but I won’t direct it. I can’t right now with three on-going projects! I’ll help by communicating with a director I really trust.“

Kojima added that there are “several Death Stranding adaptation projects currently underway, but there is a different story I’ve written that’s intended for a movie. But I don’t have the time to direct it, so I won’t.“

In a statement last year, Kojima explained that the Death Stranding movie would not be a direct adaptation of the game. “There are a lot of ‘game adaptation films’ out there but what we are creating is not just a direct translation of the game. The intention is that our audience will not only be fans of the games, but our film will be for anyone who loves cinema. We are creating a ‘Death Stranding’ universe that has never been seen before, achievable only through the medium of film, it will be born.“

Death Stranding was originally released in 2019 on PlayStation 4 and found players taking control of Sam Porter Bridges (Norman Reedus), a courier who brings resources to isolated colonies and reconnects them via a wireless communications network. The film featured an all-star cast, which included Mads Mikkelsen, Léa Seydoux, Margaret Qualley, and more, who also lent their likenesses to the characters.

Kojima has also been developing a Death Stranding sequel, Death Stranding 2: On The Beach. The game will be released on PlayStation 5 in 2025.

DC Studios is developing a movie centering on iconic Batman villains Bane and Deathstroke from Captain America 4 writer.

DC loves spotlighting its villains, and THR reports that another villain-centric project is in the works. The outlet has heard that DC Studios is developing a movie that will unite Bane and Deathstroke. Matthew Orton, who worked on Captain America: Brave New World, has penned the script but no director is attached to the project.

DC has always excelled at highlighting villains, with the recently released Penguin series starring Colin Farrell as an example. We’ve also got Joker: Folie à Deux coming next week. I’ll confess that I’m not a big comic-book guy, so Deathstroke and Bane seem like a random pairing, but I’m sure the more comic-literate among you will be able to set me right. Maybe they’re good buds.

Bane has made the leap to live-action on several occasions. He was portrayed by Robert Swenson and Michael Reid MacKay in Batman & Robin, by Shane West in Gotham, and by Tom Hardy in The Dark Knight Rises. As for Deathstroke, we’ve seen several incarnations of the character in live-action, including Antonio Sabàto Jr. in Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, Michael Hogan in Smallville, Manu Bennett in Arrow, and Esai Morales in Titans.

Joe Manganiello played the character in the post-credit scene of Justice League. He was intended to continue the role as the main villain in Ben Affleck’s standalone movie. “There were similarities to [David Fincher’s] The Game,” Manganiello previously explained, adding that the original pitch would have found Deathstroke systematically destroying Bruce Wayne’s life piece by piece. “It was a really dark story in which Deathstroke was like a shark or a horror movie villain that was dismantling Bruce’s life from the inside out. It was this systemic thing: He killed everyone close to Bruce and destroyed his life to try and make him suffer because he felt that Bruce was responsible for something that happened to him.” As we know, that project fell apart when Affleck exited. Matt Reeves took it over and elected to make the project a relaunch of the character starring Robert Pattinson.

What do you think of this potential Deathstroke, Bane movie? Who should play the characters?

Daniel Radcliffe pays tribute to Dame Maggie Smith, who he starred alongside in the Harry Potter franchise.

This morning, it was revealed that Dame Maggie Smith had died at the age of 89. While we’re still deeply saddened by the news, it’s been heartwarming to see tributes to the iconic actress pouring in from across Hollywood. Daniel Radcliffe, who starred alongside Maggie Smith in David Copperfield and the Harry Potter franchise, posted his own tribute, praising the actress as a “fierce intellect” with a “gloriously sharp tongue.“

“The first time I met Maggie Smith I was 9 years old and we were reading through scenes for ‘David Copperfield,’ which was my first job. I knew virtually nothing about her other than that my parents were awestruck at the fact that I would be working with her,” Radcliffe said in a statement. “The other thing I knew about her was that she was a Dame, so the first thing I asked her when we met was ‘would you like me to call you Dame?’ at which she laughed and said something to the effect of ‘don’t be ridiculous!’ I remember feeling nervous to meet her and then her putting me immediately at ease. She was incredibly kind to me on that shoot, and then I was lucky enough to go on working with her for another 10 years on the ‘Harry Potter’ films.”

Radcliffe continued, “She was a fierce intellect, a gloriously sharp tongue, could intimidate and charm in the same instant and was, as everyone will tell you, extremely funny. I will always consider myself amazingly lucky to have been able to work with her, and to spend time around her on set. The word legend is overused but if it applies to anyone in our industry then it applies to her. Thank you Maggie.“

Bonnie Wright, who played Ginny Weasley in the franchise, also paid tribute to Smith. “You will be so missed by the Harry Potter community. My favorite scene with Maggie was when we were all learning to dance for the Yule Ball,” Wright wrote on social media. “She embodied that perfect balance of sass and loving care that McGonagall has. She kept Gryffindors on their toes. My deepest condolences to Maggie’s family at this time.“

Smith’s performance as Professor McGonagall is cemented in the minds of fans who grew up with the movies. Much like Smith herself, McGonagall was a stern yet loving figure with a dry sense of humour. It’s a tough loss, but her work in Harry Potter (not to mention all her other wonderful projects) will live on for a new generation.

After three seasons of terror on the USA Network and Syfy, Don Mancini’s Chucky series has been cancelled.

Chucky’s reign of terror has sadly come to an end. It’s been announced that Chucky has been cancelled after three seasons, which aired on both USA Network and Syfy.

“I’m heartbroken over the news that ‘Chucky’ won’t be coming back for a fourth season, but am so grateful for the killer three years we did have,” said series creator Don Mancini in a statement. “I’d like to thank UCP/SYFY/Peacock/Eat the Cat, our awesome cast and Toronto-based crew (the best in the business), and finally, to our amazing fans, a big bloody hug. Your incredible #RenewChucky campaign really warmed Chucky’s cold heart. Chucky will return! He ALWAYS come back.”

The third (and now final) season of Chucky concluded in May, and at the time, the fate of the series was still undecided. Although there was reportedly talk of an abbreviated fourth and final season or a potential wrap-up movie, the series ultimately got the axe.

Before the third season came to an end, Mancini said that he had already pitched a fourth season to the network. “There’s very little I can say about that. I can’t tell you my idea for Season 4, but I’m really excited about it. I already pitched it to the network,” Mancini said. “So fingers crossed because it’s something I really like to do. I think it’s really fun, new, and again, another left turn in terms of what we’ve been doing so far. We don’t know the status of the show yet. So again, fingers crossed that we will get picked up, right?” D’oh!

As Mancini mentioned in his statement, Chucky always comes back. He revealed earlier this year that he was in the “early stages” of working on the new Chucky movie that was being designed to “work in tandem with the TV show.” Now that the series has been cancelled, that connectivity may change, but you should never bet against Chucky. Even Brad Dourif, who told us that he considers himself retired, has said that he will always return for Chucky.

How do you feel about Chucky getting cancelled?

Some cliche somewhere said that ‘a picture is worth a thousand words.’ This has proven to be the case for me and especially when it comes to fan art. I have always sought out great fan art and have wanted to share it with as many people as possible. “Awesome Art We’ve Found Around The Net” is the outlet for that passion. In this column, I will showcase the kick-ass artwork of some great artists, with the hopes that these artists get the attention they deserve. That’s the aim. If you have any questions or comments, or even suggestions of art or other great artists, feel free to contact me at any time at [email protected].

Berserk by Dejan Delic

Big Trouble In Little China by John Dunn

Elektra by Grobi Grafik

Joker: Folie à Deux by ChunHann Ho

Kill Bill Vol. 1 by Alex G.

A Nightmare on Elm Street by Nerd Designre 1

Seven Samurai by Joseph K. Roman

Squid Game 2 by John Scarratt

Three Amigos by Graham Corcoran

Ultraman by Rick Forgus

The Wild Robot looks like it’s going to open north of $30 million, while Transformers One has lost a huge chunk of its audience.

In a surprising twist of fate at the often fickle box office, the exceedingly well-reviewed The Wild Robot is opening way ahead of expectations. Deadline has the film now opening at about $35 million, which is about $10 million more than even the most optimistic industry estimates and $20 million or so ahead of my own predictions. Good for Dreamworks, as this really is one of the best movies they’ve ever made (check out Steve Seigh’s rave review right here). In the meantime, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is moving down to second place, with $15.5 million, which will easily put it past the $250 million domestic mark.

Sadly, Transformers One, despite excellent word-of-mouth, is crashing and burning at the box office, posting a huge 59% decline in week two for a $10 million weekend. With a $39 million domestic total, this one will be lucky to cross the $55 million mark by the end of its run, which is disastrous for the franchise. That’s too bad, as it’s actually a good movie! It seems this is one franchise that has maybe run its course, even if Paramount is still planning that crossover movie with G.I Joe. 

Meanwhile, Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis is already being dubbed Megaflopulous online after being beaten Friday night by the Indian Telugu-language flick, Devara Part 1 (which stars RRR’s N.T. Rama Rao Jr.), with Deadline having a hard time pegging the final number. They say it may total anywhere between $3.2-5 million, but either way, that’s a disastrous start for Coppola’s passion project. Truth be told, while I didn’t like the movie (at all – and you can see from my review) it makes me sad that the movie is collapsing so completely at the box office, as even if I didn’t like it – I still kinda think people should see it.

Here at JoBlo – we love Jean-Claude Van Damme. Here are five movies of his that we consider to be essential!

Jean-Claude Van Damme. The Muscles from Brussels. If you grew up in the early nineties, this handsome Belgian was everywhere. With his unique accent, good looks, and a butt he was all but too happy to show off at least once a film, he was the rare action star that was just as popular with the ladies as the dudes. Changing tastes in the mid-nineties meant that his career as a viable lead in theatrical films started to dry up, which wasn’t helped by some off-screen issues he had with drugs (a Hollywood tale as old as time). But, while his contemporary, Steven Seagal, became something of a parody of himself, JCVD got clean and doubled down on his craft, emerging as a surprisingly potent actor in some DTV movies that are way better than anyone gives them credit for. 

While his days as an A-list lead might be behind him, JCVD remains a guy you can’t help but love, and his legacy has been assured by the fact that he never stopped delivering decent movies (even if the budgets are lower) and has a good sense of humour about himself. And, oh yeah, he’s known to be a pretty nice guy to boot (and is the subject of one of our biggest What Happened to this Celebrity episodes of all time). But what are the best JCVD movies? Here are five (in chronological order).

Bloodsport (1988):

The fact is, you can’t do a Jean-Claude Van Damme best movies list without Bloodsport at the top of said list. The ironic thing is that Cannon Pictures, the film’s distributor, thought it was a disaster and it spent months on the shelf, with it coming very close to going straight to video. What saved the movie was the fact that the company badly overextended itself with a few big-budget duds in 1987, so in 1988, they needed product they could push. Bloodsport is probably the most profitable movie they ever made. Its theatrical gross was modest, but on home video, this cult movie became a monster, and it was an important stepping stone for Van Damme, who plays a real-life (and very controversial) martial artist named Frank Dux, who fights in the deadly underground Kumite. Everything about this movie is iconic at this point, from the power ballad-heavy soundtrack to Bolo Yeung as the villain and the many, many hard-as-nails fight sequences.

Kickboxer (1989):

While I don’t think Kickboxer is quite as slick or as well made as Bloodsport, it’s just as iconic in its way. In this one, JCVD avenges the maiming of his brother at the hands (and feet) of a brutal (and iconic) Muay Thai master, Tong Po. Van Damme has a great fight in this one at the end with Tong Po, where the fighters have to dip their hands in oil and broken glass to make the hand-to-hand fight all the more brutal (I loved in Hot Shots: Part Deux where they made fun of this by having the fighters dip their hands in hot fudge and candy). Plus, this is the one where Van Damme dances. 

Double Impact (1991):

Double the Van Dammage! That was the tagline my friends and I used to scream at each other at recess around when this movie was coming out. The fact that JCVD was playing twins in this one was a BIG deal at the time. My gym teacher was so enamoured with Van Damme that the door to his office prominently displayed this movie’s poster for most of the first half of the nineties. It’s an extremely rewatchable action movie, with Van Damme playing the wimpy ladies man, Chad, and the tough-as-nails anti-hero, Alex. Of course, in the end, Chad, who starts off as a wimp, becomes a total badass, while the hard Alex learns to embrace his softer side. They both learn something! The line readings in this one crack me up, such as the way JCVD says, “Hong Kong? Uncle Frankie – we have a business to run!” or, “I’d never wear silk underwear!” I also love that the producers were so desperate to squeeze a sex scene into this movie that they did it as a fantasy sequence. Then again, Jean Claude and his co-star Alonna Shaw looked good, so why not?

Universal Soldier (1992):

This one is slightly controversial. I considered putting Peter Hyams’s Timecop on the list, but our Director of Operations here at JoBlo, John Fallon, is a JCVD superfan and convinced me that Timecop nowhere near as good as Universal Soldier. Given his bonafides (check out his pic with JCVD at the bottom of the article), I defer to his wisdom. Universal Soldier is pretty iconic, with JCVD and Dolph Lundgren playing reanimated Vietnam War veterans on a rampage. Lundgren steals this one with his necklace of ears and his whole “the war is out there, man” grocery store monologue. That said, JCVD would have his revenge years later when they both appeared in Universal Soldier: Day Of Reckoning, which might be the greatest DTV B-action movie ever. Van Damme KILLS in that one.

Hard Target (1993):

For me, Jean-Claude Van Damme’s best all-around movie is still Hard Target (in fact, it ended up on our 25 best action movies of all time list). John Woo is probably the greatest action movie director of all time, and it figures that he would deliver JCVD’s most impeccably assembled flick, with him playing a Cajun sailor named Chance Boudreau sporting one of the most glorious mullets since Patrick Swayze cleaned up the Double Deuce in Road House. However, it can’t be denied that the movie gets stolen by the amazing supporting cast, in particular Lance Henriksen, but also Arnold Vosloo, Yancy Butler, and Wilford Brimley, who, just like Christopher Lloyd many years later in Nobody, proves he was born to do action even if no one gave him the chance before he hit senior citizen status. 

What do you think are the five most essential Van Damme movies? Which ones should we add when we make this one into a top 10? Let us know in the comments!