Chronic Pain Thoughts: Vol 36

 

Vol. 36

Dear Reader,

I have what I can only refer to as mush brain. Words don't form and I lose my thoughts in the middle of talking.

Certain medications can do this; however, I've gotten off almost all my medications.

I used to be smart, witty and easy to talk to. Now, I'm quiet, forgetful and not at all myself.

Was it years of being on the terrible medication Cymbalta? Is it my fibromyalgia or is it something else? No one seems to know, or really care for that matter.

I always answer the “How are you” at the doctor's office: “I'm always in pain, I never feel good and my brain is mush” and it's never ever addressed and when it all is, I'm told to get more sleep. Which is great advice except I can't sleep because I'm in pain and never feel good and for some reason, when I'm trying to sit and relax to go to sleep, my brain actually works. I don't get it and it's frustrating.

Here is a great article by The Cleveland Clinic about “Brain Fog”

Brain Fog: What It Is, Causes, Symptoms & Treatment

Movie; Mother (2017) Caution Spoiler Alerts

 Mother

Came out; 2017

Time; 2 hour 1 Minutes

Watched: Paramount Plus

Rated: R for strong disturbing violent content, some sexuality, nudity and language

IMDB Rating; 6.6/10

Rotten Tomatoes:

Tomato Meter 68%

Popcorn Meter 51%

Caution; Spoiler Alert

Staring;

Jennifer Lawrence as Mother

Javier Bardem as Him

Ed Harris as Man

Michelle Pfieffer as Woman

Brian Gleeson as Younger Brother

Domhnall Gleeson as Oldest Son

Story Line;

Amidst a wild flat meadow encircled by an Edenic lush forest, a couple have cocooned themselves in a secluded mansion that was not so long ago burned to the ground, devotedly restored by the supportive wife. Within this safe environment, the once famous middle-aged poet husband is desirous of creating his magnum opus; however, he seems unable to break out of the persistent creative rut that haunts him. Then, unexpectedly, a knock at the door, the sudden arrival of a cryptic late-night visitor and his intrusive wife will stimulate the writer's stagnant imagination. Little by little, much to the perplexed wife's surprise, the more chaos he lets in their haven, the better for his punctured male ego. In the end, will this incremental mess blemish, irreparably, the couple's inviolable sanctuary?

Thoughts:

What the fuck did I just watch? First, this movie was so dark in spots that you truly couldn't see what was going on. Second, I don't get it.

Is there a curse? Is the cure on Javier's character or the house or both? Why is he so strange with letting strangers into to the house like that and who just takes over someone's house.

What does this have to do with the crystal? Does he know

Is it Jennifer's character that we are watching descend into madness?

Like, what am I watching?!

The baby scene was weird and a true WTF moment, then they beat her?!

I really have no idea how the ratings on this movie are so high, I wouldn't watch it again

Oh, and this movie is so “edgy” none of the characters have actual names....

CAUTION; Spoiler Alert

Note: the characters in this film are unnamed and are referred to by descriptors.

The film opens with a woman standing in the midst of crackling flames. Her flesh burns to a crisp as screams are heard in the background.

We then see a man, "Him" (Javier Bardem), place a crystal object in his bedroom. The house then changes from burnt and rundown to completely refurbished. A young woman, "Mother" (Jennifer Lawrence), materializes in his bed and seeing his absence she calls out for Him, "Baby?" He doesn't answer. Mother walks through the house which seems completely empty and as she steps out onto the porch to look him outside, he comes up from behind and startles her, hugging her.

Him is a noted poet suffering from writer's block following the loss of his first wife. Mother is trying to paint one of the rooms in the house using different colors. She walks toward the wall and sees a vision of a beating heart within the walls.

Someone knocks on the couple's front door. Him welcomes the stranger, "Man" (Ed Harris), into his house. Him is polite toward Man, but Mother is not quite comfortable with his presence. Man was directed to the house under the impression that it was some kind of bed-and-breakfast. Him shows Man his office with his written works, and Man admits to being a fan of Him's work. Him spends most of the time chatting with Man, telling Mother it's nice to have someone to talk to who enjoys his work, despite Mother saying she loves his work too.. Still, she allows Man to stay. However, Man has violent coughing fits that Him tends to. Mother later sees Man puking in the toilet with Him standing over Man. Mother notices a chunk of flesh missing from Man's ribs, but Him covers it with his hand.

The next day, Mother asks Him how Man is doing. Man walks downstairs and says he feels wonderful. Moments later, another knock is heard at the door. Mother answers it to find Man's wife, "Woman" (Michelle Pfeiffer), at the front. Him welcomes her into the house as well. Him and Man go for a hike while Mother is left alone with Woman. She bothers Mother with questions about whether or not she and Him want children, as well as Woman's curiosity in going up to Him's office, but Mother says nobody can go in without his permission. Upon their return, Man has another coughing fit. Him explains to Mother that Man is dying, and he and his wife are big fans of Him, so they wanted to meet him before it was too late.

Man and Woman enter Him's office and accidentally shatter the crystal object. Him is devastated, ordering them out of the office. He holds the broken pieces in his hands, gripping them until he bleeds. Mother orders Man and Woman to leave, but they instead go into another room to get intimate. After a while, Man and Woman still have not left until Him and Mother both agree that they must leave.

As Man and Woman are getting ready to head out, their sons (Domhnall and Brian Gleeson) arrive, bickering over the state of their father's will. Oldest Son is angry at getting less than his brother. The confrontation turns violent as Oldest Son attacks his brother before Him separates them. They run into the bedroom where Oldest Son bludgeons his brother over the head, causing his skull to crack open and bleed. Him picks up Younger Brother and carries him to the hospital with Man and Woman following.

Mother cleans up the blood on the floor, but one stain in the floor won't come out. She presses against it and it starts leaking blood to the basement. Mother goes downstairs and sees blood leaking into a light bulb until it shatters. The sprayed blood forms around the wall. Mother breaks through and sees a furnace oil tank. Oldest Son appears from behind her, having been hiding. He simply takes something of his and leaves the house without a word.

When the others return, Him tells Mother that Younger Brother is dead. A wake is held for him in the house, with other strangers arriving to pay their respects. Mother becomes increasingly agitated with the behavior of the guests. She argues with Him over their stay until they begin to have passionate sex.

In the morning, Mother tells Him that she feels she is pregnant. Elated, Him is inspired to start writing again. He completes his work and sends it out, getting the attention of The Herald (Kristen Wiig).

Some time later, Mother is nearing the end of her pregnancy. As she cooks dinner to celebrate Him's written works, fans of Him start showing up at the house. One woman enters with her child who wet his pants. Mother goes to the bathroom and sees a man peeing in the sink. Soon, a horde of fans start walking up to the house, including The Herald, who wants to speak to Mother. Their growing presence starts to take a toll on Mother, who experiences a pain that causes the house to shake.

Despite Mother trying to hide from the crowd, the fans start to break things and steal stuff from the house. As she moves to different rooms, people begin to act violently toward one another. Some people are tied up and have bags over their heads. The Herald walks around casually shooting them in the head before calmly talking to Mother. A massive blast goes through the room, killing The Herald. A SWAT team has entered the house, fighting against the increasingly manic crowd of fans. It quickly becomes apparent that the fans are part of a pagan cult.

Mother starts to go into labor. Him brings her into his office where she gives birth to a baby boy. Him wants to hold his son, but Mother refuses to let him go. She demands that Him send the fans away. Mother sits in the office for a whole day holding her son until she falls asleep. When she wakes up, her baby is gone. Him brings their son to show to the crowd. They start passing the baby around, even as he pees on them. The crowd then breaks the baby's neck. Mother hears it and frantically tries running to the front of the room. When she gets there, she sees her baby has been horribly mutilated, and the fans are eating him. Mother screams in fury, causing the house's foundation to crack. She grabs a piece of glass and starts stabbing and slashing the fans, until their leader grabs her and whacks her over the head with a candlestick. The fans start brutally beating Mother and tearing her clothes off, calling her a whore and a bitch. Him runs in to stop them, holding his wife tearfully. Mother screams at Him that they killed their baby.

Mother runs to the basement where she comes upon the oil tank. She breaks it open and lets the oil flow out before taking out a lighter. Him pleads with Mother to not do anything, but she defies him and drops the lighter. The entire house goes up in flames, burning everyone in the house to ashes before everything around the house explodes. Him and Mother survive, but Mother is terribly burnt while Him is unscathed. Him carries Mother's body out of the basement. She asks Him who he is. He says "I am I and you are home." She asks where he is taking her and he says "to the beginning." When she asks what he wants, he says he wants her love. She tells Him he can have it. He digs his hands into her chest and pulls out her heart, causing her body to crumble to the burnt ash we'd expect to see from standing a the source of the fire.

Him crushes the heart in his hands and pieces fall away revealing a crystal object like the one he had before. He places it in the same spot in the remains of his office while chuckling to himself. The house once again turns from destroyed to brand new. A young woman then forms in the bed, calling out for her absent husband, "Baby?"

Chronic Pain Thoughts: Volume 35

 Dear Reader,

So many stupid quirky things happen to me, and I honestly don't know what to do or how to deal with it.

Walking through the mall yesterday, I was totally fine until I wasn't. I was walking and suddenly felt a sharp pain in my left hip. It was like it wouldn't work but then it was fine. It happened again later that day.

I have spiked fevers for no reason and my mind has gone “dumb” in the middle of a sentence. I've had zits suddenly appear on my face. I've never understood why it doesn't happen to everyone; I feel like it's just me.

I get dizzy for no reason out of nowhere. I could be sitting down, being active or just waking up. I've been to multiple different doctors and “all my test results are normal” so why does this happen? What do I do?

It's a very hard life to live. Not knowing what each minute will bring. Unfortunately, even though I feel alone, I know I'm not.

Movie: Drag Me to Hell (2009) Caution Spoiler Alert

 Drag Me to Hell

Came out; 2009

Time; 1 hour 39 Minutes

Watched: Peacock

Rated: PG-13 for horror violence, terror, disturbing images and language

IMDB Rating; 6.6/10

Rotten Tomatoes:

Tomato Meter 92%

Popcorn Meter 62%

Caution; Spoiler Alert

Staring;

Alison Lohman as Christine Brown

Justin Long as Clay Dalton

Lorna Raver as Mrs. Ganush

Dileep Rao as Rham Jas

David Paymer as Mr. Jacks

Adriana Barraza as Shaun San Dena

Reggie Lee as Stu Rubin

Story Line;

Christine Brown is a loan officer at a bank but is worried about her lot in life. She's in competition with a competent colleague for an assistant manager position and isn't too sure about her status with a boyfriend. Worried that her boss will think less of her if she shows weakness, she refuses a time extension on a loan to an old woman, Mrs. Ganush, who now faces foreclosure and the loss of her house. In retaliation, the old woman places a curse on her which, she subsequently learns, will result in her being taken to Hell in a few days' time. With the help of a psychic, she tries to rid herself of the demon but faces several hurdles in the attempt.

Thoughts:

I normally don't state the director, but this is a Sam Rami film. Sam Rami is a master of weird slasher/horror movies.

The plot was pretty good, almost believable. You can feel the old woman's torment about the bank not working with her.

The acting is good, it's always nice to see Justin Long in a more serious role, I always liked him as an actor. Weather it's a goofy or semi-serious role.

CAUTION; Spoiler Alert

In Pasadena, California in 1969, a young Mexican couple rushes to the home of medium Shaun San Dena (Flor de Maria Chahua). Their son had stolen jewelry from a group of Gypsies three days prior, and since then, has been complaining of seeing and hearing things not of this earth. San Dena tries to help the boy in a seance, but she and the boy's parents can only watch in horror as the boy is thrown from the balcony by an unseen force before being pulled into Hell by demonic hands. The spiritualist vows that she will meet this demon again one day.

Forty years later, Christine Brown (Alison Lohman), a loan officer at a local bank, is working in her office and desperately hopes to be promoted to assistant manager. Christine's boss, Mr. Jacks (David Paymer), tells her that the position has come down to her and the new guy, Stu Rubin (Reggie Lee). He advises her that she needs to demonstrate that she can make tough decisions when she needs to. On her lunch break, Christine visits her boyfriend, Professor Clay Dalton (Justin Long), in his office. Christine gives Dalton a rare coin she found at the office in circulation. Clay puts it in an envelope and puts it in his bag. When Christine leaves, Clays mother calls and tries to set Clay up with a girl who she feels is better for Clay than Christine. Christine hears this from the hall and leaves dejected, feeling that she is not enough to get what she wants (the guy, the job, etc.) Christine returns to work and sees Stu bribe Mr. Jacks with Lakers tickets. Later that day, Mrs. Ganush (Lorna Raver), an elderly gypsy woman, asks for a third extension on her mortgage because she is struggling with economic problems due to an illness. To prove herself to Mr. Jacks, Christine, against her better judgment, denies Mrs. Ganush the extension. In desperation, Mrs. Ganush prostrates herself before Christine, begging and kissing the hem of her skirt. Christine panics and shoves the woman away while calling for security, shaming her in public. As security guards escort Mrs. Ganush out, Mr. Jacks compliments Christine on how she handled the situation and implies that if she can close another big loan, the assistant manager position will be hers.

Mr. Jacks compliments Christine on how she handled the Ganush situation. He tells her that shes close to getting the promotion but has to seal the deal on a certain loan that is in limbo at work. Pleased, she walks to her car with her file and some office supplies. She walks out and sees Mrs. Ganushs car parked across from her own. She gets in her car and Mrs. Ganushs scarf is blown onto the windshield freaking Christine out. Christine turns around to follow the scarf and sees Mrs. Ganush behind her. Mrs. Ganush attacks and the two fight before Christine is able to lock Ganush outside of her car. Christine screams HA I BEAT YOU BITCH, before Ganush breaks the window with a cinder-block and drags Christine out. Ganush takes a button from Christines coat and mutters an incantation before handing back the button and disappearing.

The police arrive to investigate the incident and Clay arrives to drive her home. On the way, Christine hears a strange whispering and decides she wants to get her fortune told. Clay is skeptical as to the legitimacy of the fortune teller and trades jabs with the spiritualist, Rham Jas (Dileep Rao). Rham says hell read her fortune for $60. However, during the reading, Rham is greatly disturbed by the mental appearance of the demon which makes him end the session. He gains Christines trust by telling her that he knows about the button. Clay drives Christine home and leaves to get something from his office. Alone at home, Christine bakes a cake in her kitchen and plays with her kitten while waiting for Clay. She looks in a cookbook and sees a picture of her winning a dessert contest as a teenager and she is very overweight. She crumples up the photo and throws it out to continue baking. While still baking, all the lights go out and Christine is left alone in the dark. Her gate starts creaking and she sees a silhouette of a goat's head on the wall which then throws her into the cabinets causing minor injuries. Clay arrives home and assumes that Mrs. Ganush followed them and attacked Christine again. However, when she insists that no one attacked her, they contact a psychologist. After a quick visit from the psychologist who says that victims of assault often relive past trauma, Christine calms down and they go to bed. She has a very disturbing dream which involves a fly and being attacked by Ganush. She wakes up screaming, alarming Clay. Christine says it was only a dream and goes to work.

At work, Christine is approached by Stu, who wants to learn about the loan guidelines of the branch. As she starts to explain she has a flash to Ganushs visit. Mr. Jacks comes over to calm her down, but Christine gets a bloody nose which then turns into a hemorrhage that covers Mr. Jacks in blood. Christine leaves the bank while everyone is left wondering what is going on. When no one is looking, Stu steals the files for the big loan Christine is working on.

Christine goes to the house of Ganushs granddaughter, having gotten the address from Ganushs papers. The granddaughter doesnt want to let her in, but Christine says that she wants to make things right. The granddaughter lets her in and tells her to go down the hall to the left. Christine walks in on a bunch of gypsies sitting around eating together and sees that this is the wake for Ganush. Christine falls on the body, which rolls and spews embalming fluid all over Christines face. Ganushs granddaughter says that Christine deserves what is coming for her.

Christine goes back to Rham seeking guidance. Rham tells her that the demon coming for her is called the Lamia. He tells her that Ganush cursed the button from Christines coat and that in three days the Lamia comes to take the soul of the person who owns the button. He speculates that a sacrifice to appease the Lamia may be able to convince the demon not to take her soul. He gives her a book on animal sacrifices but Christine tells her he wont do it. You will be surprised by what you will be willing to do when the Lamia comes for you he retorts.

Christine goes home and is stalked by the shadow of the Lamia. It comes for her and throws her around the room and throws her against a few walls before throwing Christine into her Dresser. Christine freaks and grabs a kitchen knife and calls for her kitten.

Christine is burying her dead kitten when Clay arrives. Clay asks why she has blood on her arm, but Christine shrugs it off and tells Clay that everything is fine now. They go and have dinner at Clays parents house. Christine gives them a harvest cake, which she learned how to make when she grew up on a farm. Clays mother talks down to her until Christine shows that shes smart and capable and brutally open about her past. She reveals that she doesnt talk to her mother because, after her father died, her mother became an alcoholic and doesnt want to see anyone. This impresses Clays mother since her father was also an alcoholic but she never told anyone. The group enjoys the cake while Christine starts seeing an eyeball in hers. She stabs it and it bleeds and she fakes putting a piece of cake into her mouth to put on a show, but she then coughs up the fly from her dream. This disgusts Clays parents, who think the cake has flies in it. To make matters worse, the Lamia starts to bang on the door, causing Christine to freak out. She leaves and Clay tries to follow but his parents tell him he cant help her because she is ill.

Christine consults Rham Jas again, who tells her that there is one person who can help her fight the Lamia but that this person will only do so for $10,000 dollars. Christine immediately takes everything she owns of value to sell but only comes up with $3,500. She goes to Mr. Jacks to ask for a $10,000 dollar advance on the Assistant Manager position, but Mr. Jacks tell her that the loan she was working on fell through since another bank was able to undercut them. He tells her he will have to investigate and then gives the Assistant Manager position to Stu. She leaves the office angrily and goes home.

Clay arrives to find her eating a pint of ice cream in her kitchen. He tells her that the second he knew he loved her, he swore hed do anything to protect herso he paid the $10,000 dollars.

Clay drives her to the house of Shaun San Dena and Christine goes in alone. Shaun wants to host a séance to draw the spirit into the physical realm in order to kill it. Shauns assistant brings a goat into the room so that they can force the Lamia into it. Shaun tells Christine that once Shaun is possessed, Christine must put her hand on the goat to draw the Lamia out. Shaun, Rham, Christine and the assistant begin the séance. They use an incantation to bring it forth but manage to summon a group of lost souls. Shaun banishes them before realizing the Lamia is coming. The Lamia possesses Shaun and addresses the group. It tells them it will take Christine to hell, where it will feast on her soul. Christine grabs Shauns hand and forces it onto the goat. The Lamia gets angry and starts screaming. The assistant tries to use a machete to kill the Lamia, but the Lamia moves, the machete misses and the Lamia bites the assistant.

Christine goes to help the assistant but he is revealed to be the new host. It starts mocking Christine and a mini fight ensues. Rham is knocked out by a chair and Shaun is in a trance. It summons flames and dances over the table. It tells Christine it doesnt want her cat, and draws the cat out of its mouth and throws it at her. He tells her that hes going to enjoy feasting on her Porker soul. Shaun breaks out of her trance and uses a powerful incantation to banish the Lamia from the séance. She collapses and dies immediately after. Christine takes this to be a great irony, in that Shaun waited 40 years for a rematch with the Lamia and beat it on her last night alive, but Rham interjects. He tells her that the Lamia is not banished and that Shauns death proves that nothing can stop the Lamia. Rham tells her that the Lamia is coming for the owner of the buttonand that her last hope is to make a gift of it. He takes out an envelope and has the button sealed in it. He tells her that whoever she gives the button to, she curses to hell and that the reason Rham didnt tell her was because he didnt want to be her accomplice in sending someone to hell.

Christine gets in Clays car and tells him its over. They almost hit an old man (who appears to Christine as Ganush) and the old man tells Christine that shes going to hell. Christine drops the envelope with the button and Claytons bag opens and spills his papers over her envelope. Christine freaks when she cant find it but grabs the envelope that has a circular shape inside. Clay drops her off at home and tells her to meet him at the train station so they can go to his parents cabin.

She goes to an all night diner and drinks a ton of caffeine and struggles over whom to give the button to. She calls Stu and tells him to meet her otherwise shell tell Mr. Jacks that Stu gave her loan papers to the other bank. He meets her and begs her not to tell Mr. Jacks. She is about to give him the button but decides against it.

Christine asks Rham if the cursed object can be transferred to the dead. Rham says that while Gypsys place good luck wishes on the dead, formal offerings can be made. He tells her Yes. Christine drives to the cemetery and digs up Ganush. She Takes the envelope, makes a formal offering and shoves it down Ganushs throat. The rain fills the grave with mud and Christine almost drowns but she makes it through.

The next morning, Christine goes to meets Clay at Los Angeles Union Station, they have plans to spend a relaxing weekend in Santa Barbara. She is wearing a beautiful new coat and walks up to Clay. Clay is on the platform checking his ring box, mentally prepping for a proposal. He notes the new coat and asks Christine what happened to her old one. Christine tells him she threw it out and before she can elaborate, Clay tells her its unfortunate and gives her the envelope with the button in it. She had dropped it in his car the night before and accidentally picked up a similar one, which contained the rare coin she gave to Clay. Horrified, Christine panics and walks backwards from Clay and falls onto the train tracks. Clay starts yelling for help and, as the train approaches, the ground starts cracking around her. As Clay looks on, demonic arms pull her down and Christine is brutally dragged to hell screaming to Clay for help. As the train roars through, Clay can only watch, frozen in terror as his girlfriend disappears under the stoned track. Tearful for the horrific sight that he has just witnessed, he has a brief glance at the button he is still holding in his hand before returning his attention back to the spot where Christine was dragged to her death.

Movie: The Finals Girls (2015) Caution Spoiler Alert

 The Final Girls

Came out; 2024

Time; 1 hour 31 Minutes

Watched: Peacock

Rated: PG-13 for horror violence, some crude and sexual material, language and drug use

IMDB Rating; 6.5/10

Rotten Tomatoes:

Tomato Meter 76%

Popcorn Meter 71%

Caution; Spoiler Alert

Staring;

Tassia Farmiga as Max Cartwright

Malin Akerman as Nancy Cartwright and Amanda

Adam Devine as Kurt

Thomas Middeditch as Duncan

Alexander Ludwig as Chris Briggs

Nina Dobrev as Vicki Summers

Alia Shawkat as Gertie Michaels

Angela Timbur as Tina

Chloe Bridges as Paula

Tory N Thompson as Blake

Daniel Norris as Billy Murphy

Story Line;

When Max (Taissa Farmiga) and her friends reluctantly attend a tribute screening of an infamous '80s slasher film that starred Max's late mother (Malin Akerman), they are accidentally sucked into the silver screen. They soon realize they are trapped inside the cult classic movie and must team up with the fictional and ill-fated "Camp Bloodbath" counselors, including Max's mom as the shy scream queen, to battle the film's machete-wielding, masked killer. With the body count rising in scene after iconic scene, who will be THE FINAL GIRLS left standing and live to escape this film?

Thoughts:

I feel like I was sleeping for several years, I wasn't. I was busy with my kids. I feel like I missed so many good movies! I found this movie when I was looking up Alexander Ludwig from the other movie I watched, I also looked up Alia Shawkat from the Old Man and found they were both in this movie.

This was perfect, these are the best types of slasher movies! This one was different and had Last Action Hero Vibes except no one came out of the movie, everyone went in.

This was different, yet not. The story line was awesome, the acting was great. This was the perfect scary slasher movie!

CAUTION; Spoiler Alert

The film starts with a trailer for an old school "Friday The 13th"-esque slasher film called "Camp Bloodbath", which features a group of counselors at Camp Blue Finch being terrorized by a masked killer named Billy Murphy (Dan B. Norris). Watching the trailer on her phone is Max Cartwright (Taissa Farmiga). Her mother Amanda (Malin Akerman) was one of the leads in that film. Max waits for her mom as she leaves an audition. Amanda is a bit discouraged since she feels she is only known for "Camp Bloodbath" and has thus been typecast.

The two drive away with Max telling Amanda all the bills she has to pay. She puts on the radio, which is playing Kim Carnes' "Bette Davis Eyes", Amanda's favorite song. Max then accidentally spills her milkshake on Amanda's headshot, distracting Amanda and causing her to hit a car, and then roll against traffic cones and tumble hard across the deserted street.

Three years later, Max is now living with her aunt. Her best friend Gertie (Alia Shawkat) picks her up to go study at a diner with their friend Chris (Alexander Ludwig). Gertie's stepbrother Duncan (Thomas Middleditch) enters and pleads with Max to attend a double feature for "Camp Bloodbath" and its sequel, "Camp Bloodbath 2: Cruel Summer". Since the show falls on the anniversary of Amanda's death, Max refuses, but Duncan eventually convinces her to show up as a special guest.

The four go to the double feature. They encounter Chris's ex-girlfriend and Max's former best friend Vicki (Nina Dobrev), who becomes a nuisance to the friends. They later watch the first movie, which plays to a huge crowd. Max feels a bit emotional watching her mom on the screen again. In the crowd, two guys pass around a liquor bottle, which gets dropped and rolls across the floor, spilling booze everywhere. Another guy lights up a cigarette, and the ash falls onto the liquor, igniting it and setting a curtain on fire that eventually spreads through the whole theater. The audience runs for the exits, blocking it for Max and her friends. She grabs a sharp item and leads Gertie, Chris, Duncan, and Vicki toward the screen. Max cuts through the screen and they enter through a blinding white light.

The friends find themselves in the woods, right at the start of "Camp Bloodbath". The main counselors - horny idiot Kurt (Adam Devine) and bimbo Tina (Angela Trimbur) - drive by the friends and ask where Camp Blue Finch is. Not realizing what happened, the friends let the counselors drive away from them. They wait over two 92-minute periods (the film's runtime, twice) before the counselors return and Duncan tells Tina they are also counselors and would like a ride to the camp. In the van, the friends meet another counselor, Blake (Tory N. Thompson), and Amanda, in character as Nancy, the "shy girl with a clipboard and guitar".

The group arrives at Camp Blue Finch. Duncan tries to get Kurt to give him the keys to the van so they can find a way out of the movie, but Kurt tosses the keys into the woods. Max tries to get Nancy away from Kurt, because her character is fated to die after having losing her virginity to him. The five friends then go into the woods to look for the keys, just as the first kills in the film are set to take place. The five watch as Billy shows up and kills two horny counselors. Billy appears to spot them, and everyone except Duncan runs. He realizes that since they're not part of the movie, Billy doesn't know what to do with them. Duncan thinks he's invincible, until Billy hurls his machete into Duncan's side, apparently killing him, and proving to the other four that they have no immunity.

The film's badass final girl, Paula (Chloe Bridges), shows up to the camp. Since she is the one that kills Billy at the end of the film, the friends decide to stick with her, while also trying to stop anyone from having sex so that Billy won't show up. Billy is mentioned, and Nancy tells his urban legend, taking Max and her friends into a black-and-white flashback to 1957 when Billy was a camper. He was always made fun of for being different and ugly, so he hid in an outhouse to escape the bullying. One camper throws firecrackers into the outhouse, burning Billy's face and scarring him. After eight months in the burn ward, Billy went back to camp to exact his revenge. Now wearing a creepy mask and wielding his machete, he murdered eight counselors (one for each month of his time in the ward). As the friends watch Billy's murders, some blood sprays on Gertie's face. When they return from the flashback, the counselors see the blood on her face. Paula and Kurt panic, and Paula drives them both away in her car. Duncan emerges alive, but he gets hit by the car. Paula crashes into a totem pole, ejecting Kurt from the passengers seat and causing him to die with all his bones breaking. Paula meets her end when her car explodes.

Max and her friends then reveal to the surviving counselors that they are all in a movie and that they need a new final girl to kill Billy. They even made Tina put on a life jacket with mittens (she is fated to die after doing a striptease). Since the final girl has to be a virgin, everyone thinks it should be Max. Max says Nancy should be the new final girl, but Vicki comments that she can't be because of who her character is (shy girl with a clipboard and guitar). Nancy runs away crying, so Max goes to console her. She wants to have Nancy survive so that they can make it out of the movie together and perhaps start a new life for Nancy/Amanda.

The gang prepares for Billy's arrival that night. Vicki apologizes to Max and Gertie for her behavior, because she used to be good friends with Max before Amanda's death, and Max shut Vicki out and became friends with Gertie, making Vicki feel jealous and hurt. The girls forgive Vicki.

The cabin has been booby-trapped in anticipation of Billy. Tina, who is hopped up on Vicki's adderall, does a crazy striptease and flashes her breasts, summoning Billy to the cabin. As he walks toward the cabin, Tina panics and runs away, tripping over a string and getting her head caught in a bear trap. Chris sets off another trap as Billy enters, wherein a log swings from the ceiling and knocks Billy into some antlers on the door to impale him. Thinking they've won, Gertie and Blake kiss. However, Billy is still alive and he kills Blake. The others run upstairs where Billy chases them. The heroes shoot flaming arrows at Billy's chest. He knocks a bookcase on top of Gertie and Vicki, and then impales Gertie with his machete. Max, Nancy, and Chris flee while Vicki takes Gertie's hand and drops a bucket of lighter fluid from the ceiling, causing an explosion. This doesn't kill Billy, and he bursts out the window on fire and in slow motion.

The three run away (still in slo-mo) until Billy grabs Chris's leg and breaks the slo-mo. Chris gets stabbed while Billy kidnaps Nancy. Max brings Chris into an abandoned chapel and stays with him so he won't die alone, but Max assures him that he won't die. She runs to find Nancy in Billy's barn. Max fights Billy, but gets stabbed. Nancy gets Billy off Max and they run back to the chapel.

Nancy realizes that since only the final girl can kill Billy, it has to be Max. Max breaks down in tears and tells Nancy who she is outside of the movie and how Max wished she could make her mom's dream of becoming a star come true. Nancy tells Max that she knows where to find her. Nancy walks out of the chapel and does a striptease to summon Billy. The killer emerges and impales Nancy with his machete. Max then walks out and dukes it out with Billy, eventually taking his machete and chopping his head off. Chris walks over to Nancy as the sun rises and the credits roll. They share a kiss. The film's rating stamp shows up before the reel starts to break off.

Max wakes up in a hospital with Chris in the bed next to her. She hears voices and pulls back the curtain to find Duncan, Gertie, and Vicki, all alive. Max asks if it was a dream, but Duncan disproves that by showing off his machete wound. The friends look outside the room to find a doctor and nurse about to get intimate. Billy then bursts through the window, as the friends realize they are in the sequel. Max wastes no time in grabbing the nearest item and running to fight Billy again.

Movie: Abigail (2024) Caution Spoiler Alerts

 Abigail

Came out; 2024

Time; 1 hour 49 Minutes

Watched: Peacock

Rated: R for strong bloody violence and gore throughout, pervasive language and brief drug use

IMDB Rating; 6.6/10

Rotten Tomatoes:

Tomato Meter 83%

Popcorn Meter 84%

Caution; Spoiler Alert

Staring;

Melissa Barrera as Joey

Dan Stevens as Frank

Alisha Weir as Abigail

William Cartlett as Rickles

Kathryn Newton as Sammy

Kevin Durand as Peter

Angus Cloud as Dean

Giancarlo Esposito as Lambert

Matthew Goode as Father

Story Line;

After a group of criminals kidnap the ballerina daughter of a powerful underworld figure, they retreat to an isolated mansion, unaware that they're locked inside with no normal little girl

Thoughts:

This was perfect! It was the perfect slasher movie with a twist!

It's not at all what you expect and everything you do!!

This movie was great, seriously starts as a “simple” kidnapping movie and it doesn't turn until almost the middle.

For a movie with not big-time actors/actresses this was just perfect. I loved every second of it

CAUTION; Spoiler Alert

Young ballet dancer Abigail is abducted by six criminals and taken to the secluded Wilhelm Manor. Before leaving, their leader Lambert instructs them to guard Abigail for 24 hours, at which point they will receive an equal share of a $50 million ransom paid by her father. The group, using fake names from the Rat Pack to avoid identifying each other, consists of former Army medic and recovering drug addict Joey, former NYPD detective Frank, thrill-seeking hacker Sammy, former Marine sniper Rickles, dimwitted mob enforcer Peter, and sociopathic driver Dean.

Though reluctant to continue with the plan as she was unaware the target was a child, Joey is tasked with managing Abigail. Joey is sympathetic to her, sharing that she has a son and promising to protect Abigail from harm. Abigail admits her father does not care about her and will not pay the ransom, before apologizing for what is going to happen to Joey. Perturbed by Abigail's words, Frank violently confronts her, learning that her father is Kristof Lazaar, a powerful, almost mythical crime lord.

After unsuccessfully flirting with Sammy, Dean enters the basement where he is attacked by an unseen assailant. Investigating his screams, Sammy finds Dean's decapitated corpse. The group realize that Lazaar's legendarily violent enforcer Valdez must be inside the house and try to leave, but the home's security system seals it, preventing escape. While looking for a way out, Rickles is mutilated and killed. The group confronts Abigail for information, but she transforms into a vampire, revealing she is Valdez. Frank shoots Abigail, but when her injuries instantly heal, the group flees.

Frank, Sammy, and Peter return and attack Abigail with garlic, crucifixes, and other folkloric weapons against vampires to no effect, and her strength and speed allow her to easily overwhelm and prevent them from stabbing her through the heart with wooden stakes. Joey successfully incapacitates Abigail with a tranquilizer and the team imprison her, though not before she bites Sammy. Upon awakening, the centuries-old Abigail reveals that she knows the group's true identities and arranged for them to abduct her, through Lambert, so she can kill them for wronging her father. Joey deduces that Abigail has killed dozens of her father's enemies in a failed effort to earn her father's love.

Abigail effortlessly escapes her confines and attacks Frank, but Joey rips wooden planks off a window to expose Abigail to sunlight, which severely wounds her. With only hours before sunset, the group splits up to find an escape route, but Sammy is transformed into a vampire thrall and kills Peter. Abigail has Sammy attack Frank and Joey, forcing Joey to destroy Sammy with reflected sunlight.

Lambert lures Frank and Joey to the hidden security room, where he reveals Abigail turned him into a vampire years earlier for helping Frank avoid Lazaar's wrath. Frank allows Lambert to turn him into a vampire so they can work together to kill Abigail and Lazaar, but following his transformation, Frank kills Lambert for leading him into Abigail's trap. Abigail attacks Frank, but he overpowers her and drains her blood, leaving her weakened. Cornered, Joey leaves a phone message for her son, apologizing for having been absent from his life for many years. Reveling in his power, Frank bites Joey, intending to turn her into his thrall and force her to kill Abigail and eventually her own son. However, Joey's enthrallment fails due to Frank's inexperience with his new abilities, and she and Abigail team up to kill him.

With Joey's hold broken, Abigail encourages her to leave and be present in her son's life, but Lazaar arrives and threatens Joey.[a] Abigail defends Joey for being present when she needed her while Lazaar was not. Although Lazaar angrily rebukes her, he relents for Abigail's sake and allows the bloodied and battered Joey to leave.

Movie: Bad Boys: Ride or Die (2024) Caution Spoiler Alert

 Bad Boys: Ride or Die

Came out; 2024

Time; 1 hour 55 Minutes

Watched: Netflix

Rated: R for strong violence, language throughout and some sexual references

IMDB Rating; 6.6/10

Rotten Tomatoes:

Tomato Meter 65%

Popcorn Meter 97%

Caution; Spoiler Alert

Staring;

Will Smith as Mike Lowrey

Martin Lawrence as Marcus Burnett

Vanessa Hudgens as Kelly

Alexander Ludwig as Dorn

Paola Nunez as Rita

Eric Dane as McGrath

Ioan Gruffudd as Lockwood

Jacob Scipio as Armando

Melanie Liburd as Christine

Tasha Smith as Theresa

Rhea Seehorn as Judy

Tiffany Haddish as Tabitha

Joe Pantonliano as Captain Howard

Biance Bethune as Megan

Dennis Greene as Reggie

Quinn Hemphill as Callie

Story Line;

When their late police captain gets linked to drug cartels, wisecracking Miami cops Mike Lowrey and Marcus Burnett embark on a dangerous mission to clear his name

Thoughts:

This was much better than the last attempt at making one of these movies.

This one had a better story line that was more on-par with the originals.

A few things I noticed: Vanessa Hudgens doesn't look like she used to, she is unrecognizable from her early years.

Alexander Ludwig (Dorn) I can't unsee him as the kid from Grown Up's 2, he looks exactly the same except older

Love, Love LOVE that they made Reggie the hero. That was an amazing part of this movie and finally showed character growth. I always loved the character as the “dimwitt” and you knew something was hiding just beneth the serface.

I didn't like that Jacob Scipio's character Armando was still somehow Will Smith (Mike Lowrey) kid. I didn't like the “broke him out of an airplane while in transport” portion but I did love that he turned into a “good guy”

CAUTION; Spoiler Alert

The film opens in Miami, as Detectives Mike Lowrey (Will Smith) and Marcus Burnett (Martin Lawrence) are speeding through the streets on the way to an event. Marcus complains about being nauseous, and Mike allows him to take a quick time to get a ginger ale. Marcus gets the ginger ale, plus Skittles and a hot dog. A gunman then enters to try and rob the place, but Mike enters and chastises Marcus for getting snacks before Marcus moves the gunman's arm, and Mike shoots him in the leg.

The two then make their way to Mike's wedding, as he is marrying his physical therapist Christine (Melanie Liburd). They are joined by Marcus's wife Teresa (Tasha Smith), daughter Megan (Bianca Bethune), son-in-law Reggie (Dennis Greene), plus Captain Rita Secada (Paola Nunez), her boyfriend, District Attorney and hopeful mayoral candidate Adam Lockwood (Ioan Gruffudd), and AMMO agents Kelly (Vanessa Hudgens) and Dorn (Alexander Ludwig), as well as the late Captain Howard's (Joe Pantoliano) daughter, U.S. Marshal Judy (Rhea Seehorn) and her daughter Callie (Quinn Hemphill). In the middle of the festivities, Marcus suffers a near-fatal heart attack and collapses. As his friends and family call for help, Marcus sees himself by a beach where Howard is standing by a tree. He approaches Marcus and tells him it's not his time.

Marcus wakes up in the hospital after a couple weeks, now having a newfound appreciation for life and an inflated sense of confidence over his mortality. He returns home to Mike, Christine, and the rest of his family all celebrating his return, but Marcus is annoyed to find that Teresa got rid of all his snacks to start putting him on a healthy diet.

Somewhere else in Miami, a former DEA officer named James McGrath (Eric Dane) meets with a cartel banker and has him transfer funds to an account in Captain Howard's name. After the process is done, McGrath has one of his goons shoot the banker's bodyguard and then have the banker's girlfriend hold the gun to shoot the banker and then herself.

Soon, news breaks that Howard is being posthumously framed for his involvement with cartels. Mike and Marcus head to the station to confront the higher-ups who believe Howard was crooked. Judy comes in trying to get herself on the case, while also vowing to Mike that if she ever comes across Armando (Jacob Scipio), she will kill him in retribution for him killing her father. Mike and Marcus later visit Armando in prison and find out that Howard was targeted after his previous victims were eliminated due to the work he had against the cartels. He doesn't remember McGrath's name but remembers his face since he worked with Armando's mother, and so he can identify him

McGrath and his goons try to continue their work, but once they try to break into Howard's accounts, they activate a fail safe that sends video messages from Howard to Mike and Marcus. In it, he explains that he knows they're watching this if he's dead, and he knows they're setting him up to take the fall for something that goes back over 20 years. Howard tells the two to follow the "coke bottle giant," meaning a former informant of his named Fletcher (John Salley).

Mike and Marcus go to Fletcher's club to try to talk to him. He knows they're coming on Howard's behalf, but just before he can tell the two what they want to know, McGrath shoots Fletcher in the head while Marcus is already pointing his gun at him to make him talk. McGrath walks away from him as his gunmen pursue Mike and Marcus. In the middle of the shooting, Mike suffers a panic attack. The gunmen escape before Rita and her officers arrive. Mike stops Marcus from letting him know that Howard gave them a lead.

The boys then take photographs and surveillance footage to Kelly and Dorn, who help unlock a scan code containing another message from Howard. He further explains that he was working a cartel case and kept Mike and Marcus out of it because two other detectives (Ruiz and Sánchez from the first film) were assigned and killed. Howard warns the guys that the cartel has people working with the police and the FBI.

In prison, Armando is attacked by thugs on the inside sent by McGrath. Mike makes an argument to have Armando transported in a chopper. Unfortunately, McGrath and his goons have already hijacked the helicopter and forced the pilot to send a distress message framing Mike and Marcus for the attack before McGrath slits his throat. McGrath escapes with some of his guys and leaves the chopper to go down. Mike and Marcus fight the remaining guys while trying to save Armando from flying out of the open hatchback. After they free him, Armando helps them make a crash landing into a lake.

Authorities survey the crash site and receive the distress message, so Mike, Marcus, and Armando are all labeled wanted fugitives, while McGrath puts out a large bounty on their heads to every gangster in Miami. Mike and Marcus follow Armando with how to be on the run, which Marcus sees as a good opportunity for Mike to bond with his son, but neither is interested in connecting and just wants to get their names cleared. They come upon a trailer park and try to swipe clothes from some rednecks, but they are discovered and held at gunpoint before Armando hot-wires a truck and gets them out of there.

After driving back into Miami, the truck breaks down. Mike calls a contact named Tabitha (Tiffany Haddish) and agrees to meet at her club in exchange for guns, clothes, and a vehicle. When they get there, Tabitha pretends to help them but is only stalling to get other gangsters in there to bring the three out for the bounty. Just as they are taken outside, rival gangsters come to shoot the captor gangsters, including Manny The Butcher (DJ Khaled), who wants to get back at Mike for smashing his hand with a meat hammer. Manny's ambitions are short lived as the guys board a van and crush Manny into another car, and he then gets hit with a Molotov cocktail. The three drive away and shoot at the incoming gangsters, but Judy also pursues and tries to fire at Armando. The three then jump from the van as the engine catches fire and explodes.

In prison, Armando is attacked by thugs on the inside sent by McGrath. Mike makes an argument to have Armando transported in a chopper. Unfortunately, McGrath and his goons have already hijacked the helicopter and forced the pilot to send a distress message framing Mike and Marcus for the attack before McGrath slits his throat. McGrath escapes with some of his guys and leaves the chopper to go down. Mike and Marcus fight the remaining guys while trying to save Armando from flying out of the open hatchback. After they free him, Armando helps them make a crash landing into a lake.

Authorities survey the crash site and receive the distress message, so Mike, Marcus, and Armando are all labeled wanted fugitives, while McGrath puts out a large bounty on their heads to every gangster in Miami. Mike and Marcus follow Armando with how to be on the run, which Marcus sees as a good opportunity for Mike to bond with his son, but neither is interested in connecting and just wants to get their names cleared. They come upon a trailer park and try to swipe clothes from some rednecks, but they are discovered and held at gunpoint before Armando hot-wires a truck and gets them out of there.

After driving back into Miami, the truck breaks down. Mike calls a contact named Tabitha (Tiffany Haddish) and agrees to meet at her club in exchange for guns, clothes, and a vehicle. When they get there, Tabitha pretends to help them but is only stalling to get other gangsters in there to bring the three out for the bounty. Just as they are taken outside, rival gangsters come to shoot the captor gangsters, including Manny The Butcher (DJ Khaled), who wants to get back at Mike for smashing his hand with a meat hammer. Manny's ambitions are short lived as the guys board a van and crush Manny into another car, and he then gets hit with a Molotov cocktail. The three drive away and shoot at the incoming gangsters, but Judy also pursues and tries to fire at Armando. The three then jump from the van as the engine catches fire and explodes.

Mike, Marcus, and Armando make their way to Dorn's place, where they find that he is in a secret relationship with Kelly. While they are none too happy about helping Armando, they agree to help Mike and Marcus go through tons of evidence so that Armando can identify McGrath. They eventually manage to get somewhere after finding him on surveillance footage. Dorn digs up McGrath's history, learning that he and his team were taken hostage by the cartel, and he gave them up after being tortured, leaving him as the only survivor.

Mike contacts Rita and tells her about McGrath. Moments later, the guys see through Dorn's security cameras in both their houses that McGrath has sent guys to get Christine, as well as Marcus's family. While Mike tries to contact Christine, Marcus gets in touch with Reggie and warns him about the incoming threat. Reggie gets Teresa, Megan, and Little Marcus somewhere hidden while he grabs his gun and puts his combat/firearms skills to good use, taking out 15 goons and keeping the family safe (and finally earning Marcus's respect). Meanwhile, Christine is visited by Callie, who wanted to offer help in proving Mike and Marcus's innocence, but McGrath's goons have already made their way inside. McGrath contacts Mike and lets him know that he will return Christine and Callie unharmed if he gives up Armando and all of Howard's evidence. Armando is willing to turn himself in, but Mike has another idea since he knows who has been feeding McGrath information on all of their whereabouts.

Mike calls Rita again while she is with Lockwood to tip her off. She tells him she is going to the station, and he insists on going with her. As they go down the elevator, Rita confirms that Lockwood is working with McGrath. Lockwood attempts to kill her, but Kelly and Dorn arrive just in time and take him down. They get Lockwood to talk long enough and give up his motive (profiting from cartel association) to scan his voice and have Mike set up a call posing as Lockwood to McGrath to meet up. Mike tells Marcus, Armando, Rita, Kelly, and Dorn that they are the only ones that each other can trust right now.

The heroes arrange to meet the villains at a former alligator park, said to be home to a huge albino alligator named Duke. They have a plane arrive to bring McGrath out with Christine and Callie, but while Mike has a shot on McGrath, he starts to have another panic attack and fears he might hit Christine. The gators in the water then start to come close to Armando's location, which clues McGrath to someone being nearby. Before one goon can spot him, Armando shoots at him before he falls in the water and gets eaten by the gators. Mike goes after McGrath and Christine, while Lockwood makes an escape attempt. The others engage in a shootout with McGrath's guys.

Lockwood tries to hijack the plane for himself, but Rita shoots it down and has the plane crash into the building. Lockwood shoots Dorn in the arm and tries to shoot Rita, but she kicks him into a pit that happens to be where Duke resides, and Lockwood becomes Duke's dinner. Meanwhile, Armando keeps Callie safe from McGrath's other goons and kills them before taking her to safety. At the same time, Mike snaps out of his panic attack when he sees his own vision of Captain Howard, telling him to forgive himself for thinking it was his fault that Howard got killed.

Marcus ends up on the same beach he saw in his vision, only for McGrath to catch him. Mike gets to them, and McGrath orders him to choose between Marcus or Christine to die. Mike shoots Marcus in his vest to get a clear shot at McGrath, pumping him full of lead before finally blowing his brains out. Judy then finds Armando and prepares to execute him, but Callie stands in the way and tells Judy that he saved her life. Judy relents and lets Armando go, and Mike helps Armando find a way to get out. As authorities come to the crime scene and arrest McGrath's surviving goons, news reports state that Howard has officially been exonerated.

Mike, Marcus, and their loved ones gather at the park for a barbecue. While Mike and Marcus argue over who cooks what on the grill, Reggie brings his chicken and asks if he can grill. The Bad Boys laugh him off for a moment before remembering that Reggie killed McGrath's henchmen and saved the family, so they agree to back off this time. Reggie then gives a satisfied smile.

Movie; Damsel (2024) Caution Spoiler Alert

 Damsel

Came out; 2024

Time; 1 hour 50 Minutes

Watched: Netflix

Rated: PG-13 for sequences of strong creature violence, action and bloody images

IMDB Rating; 6.1/10

Rotten Tomatoes:

Tomato Meter 56%

Popcorn Meter 59%

Caution; Spoiler Alert

Staring;

Millie Bobby Brown as Elodie

Ray Winstone as Lord Bayford

Angela Bassett as Lady Bayford

Brooke Carter as Floria

Nick Robinson as Prince Harry

Robin Wright as Queen Isabelle

Milo Twomey as King Roderick

Story Line;

A young woman, Elodie, meets a handsome prince and they fall in love. At their wedding it is revealed that the prince had more sinister reasons for courting her: she is to be sacrificed to a dragon that has been terrorising the kingdom. Elodie now has to fight for her survival

Thoughts:

The previews made this look a little different that your normal damsel movie. It was, it was different.

This was a really good movie, it had a good different plot and it was well put together. I very much enjoyed it

CAUTION; Spoiler Alert

The first king of Aurea leads a futile attack on a dragon (Shohreh Aghdashloo) residing in his realm. All the king's men are killed, leaving the king at the dragon's mercy.

Centuries later, Elodie (Millie Bobby Brown), the adolescent daughter of Lord Bayford (Ray Winstone), receives a proposal from Queen Isabelle (Robin Wright) of Aurea to marry her son, Prince Henry (Nick Robinson). King Roderick (Milo Twomey) commands a fleet of ships and carriages full of gold. On her father's urging, Elodie agrees to the marriage to help their impoverished people. Lord Boyford says that their Kingdom is far to the North and encounters harsh winters. He says that their stores are empty, and they will not make it to the next summer without help. Floria (Brooke Carter) is Elodie's younger sister. Elodie travels to Aurea with Lord and Lady Bayford and Floria. Elodie is shown to be an expert in designing mazes.

Upon arriving in Aurea, the Bayford's are impressed with the wealth and opulence of the Kingdom. At night, from her chambers, Elodie notices a fire burning at the top of a nearby mountain. Elodie and Henry initially both seem uninterested in each other but begin to bond as they share a desire to travel. Lord Boyford confers with the Queen in private and is offered more gold than he could ever imagine. Yet, Lady Boyford can see that something bothers him when he comes out of the meeting. Elodie's stepmother, Lady Bayford (Angela Bassett), fails to befriend Queen Isabelle. Isabelle insults Lady Bayford by saying that she is the daughter of a rope maker and not of royal blood. Isabelle is clear that this marriage is a transaction, as her family needs a bride and Bayford need money. Isabelle does not even remember Elodie's name and calls her Eloise. Lady Bayford futilely implores Elodie to end the engagement.

After the wedding the next day, Elodie and Henry take part in an ancient ritual in the mountains, supposedly to celebrate their union. Isabelle says that when their ancestors first settled on this land, they found the dragon who ravaged their villages. The dragon was the last of its kind, but savage. The King attacked the dragon in its lair and was defeated. Isabelle describes the pact between the first king and the dragon, where he had to sacrifice his three daughters for peace. The King put the duty to his subjects above than the love of his daughters. This sacrifice is commemorated every generation. Following a ceremony where their hands are cut and held together, Henry carries Elodie across the narrow path over the dragon's lair, then throws her into the chasm.

Recovering from the fall, Elodie realizes that she is the actual sacrifice. Her cries wake the dragon. Elodie finds many other pieces of jewelry (that didn't belong to her) at the bottom of the chasm indicating that she is certainly not the first one there. As the dragon talks to Elodie, she realizes that the dragon believes she is from the royal Aurean family, as her blood scent has been masked by Henry's blood in the ceremony. Elodie escapes the dragon after it burns her leg and discovers an illuminated cave filled with glowing slugs, which she collects as a light source. Elodie reaches a chamber with the note "Safe Here She Cannot Reach," the names of past victims (Beatrice, Victoria, Artemis, Genevive, Fatima, Carlotta, and many more) and a map carved into the wall. While Elodie is asleep, the slugs heal the burn on her leg.

Elodie follows the map, but it leads to a dead end at a high vertical drop on the mountainside. Elodie is distraught that there is no escape from the dragon's lair. She discovers the remains of dead dragon hatch-lings, providing the reason for the royal sacrifices. Elodie surmises that 3 dragon hatch-lings were killed by the first King and hence the dragon was provoked into attacking them. The first King begged for mercy and promised to pay any price. The dragon demanded a royal sacrifice of 3 daughters from their bloodline in each generation to maintain the peace. A rescue party led by Lord Bayford arrives. Lord Bayford is confronted by the dragon and admits that he traded the life of his daughter for gold and the prosperity of his people. But he could not live with the guilt. The dragon kills them, but the distraction allows Elodie to escape the mountain. She takes one of the rescue party's horses and hides under a rock as the dragon burns the surrounding area in an unsuccessful pursuit.

The conflagration alerts Isabelle that Elodie's sacrifice has failed, forcing her to kidnap Elodie's younger sister Floria as a replacement. After Lady Bayford rides out and informs her, Elodie returns to the mountain to rescue Floria, who is left alive as bait.

Elodie creates a diversion for the dragon to reach Floria. Telling her sister to hide, she confronts the dragon and tries to convince her that they were deceived by the Aureans. The Aureans claim that the King only attacked the dragon to defend his people, but the dragon says that he came unprovoked. Elodie says that by joining their cut hands at the wedding, the blood of the brides and the Aurean royals mingled, making the dragon think of the princesses as Aurean royalty. The dragon refuses to believe Elodie, and then attacks her, but Elodie tricks her into burning herself by spewing fire in front of a rock that deflects the fire back onto the dragon. With the dragon at her mercy Elodie tells her that she has been killing innocent daughters for centuries just like the first King did. Elodie heals both of them with the glowing slugs, thus gaining the dragon's trust and loyalty.

Elodie then interrupts another wedding at the palace (After Elodie and Floria, this would be the 3rd princess to be offered to the Dragon in this generation), exposing the Aureans' treachery. Elodie advises the new bride and her family to flee, and the dragon burns the palace with all the Aurean royals and nobles inside. Days later, Elodie, Floria, and Lady Bayford sail home, loaded with supplies and accompanied by the dragon.