Paranormal Operator Podcast Episode 18: The Bishopville Lizard Man
There is something lurking in Scape Ore Swamp. Is it a reptilian? Is it just a misidentified skunk ape? No one really knows. All I know is we will search in the darkness for the truth.
This film came out at the beginning of January 2024, and from the original trailer it had my interest. The overall idea of a haunted body of water is not original, but condensed into a pool, does seem original to my memory. This post will not be a complete breakdown of the film, only a brief summary.
***SPOILER FREE***
The first trailer is what originally caught my interest, and the best part about it was that it gave nothing away only the general idea of the plot. A family moves into a house that has a pool, and at some point during its use people are almost got by something. The cinematography and sound design was good. The characters all acted believable so the writing, or at least the acting was good. The creature design, which you do see a little of in the trailer is eh. I think a lot more could have been done with this movie, but it is a decent film.
Verdict: 3/5
***SPOILER WARNING***
Now you might be wondering: “Operator, why did you put the second trailer in the spoiler section?” You would be justified for asking. The second trailer virtually gives away the entire movie. The son encounters the ghost daughter who was sacrificed, to the water spirit (?), by her mom who was a previous owner. The daughter nearly gets got by the entity. The parents are oblivious until The Mom (current owner) notices her son acting odd. After being told that weird stuff happened and doing a bit of research she seeks out the previous owner mom only to realize that what happened to her is happening to her husband. That is why you see him freaking out. Also, the demon, or water spirit, or whatever it is gets the cat Cider.
Why do I not know what this entity is? Because the film never tells us and current owner mom does not look into it beyond the ton of people who have gone missing. This, the discovery and establishment of the antagonist, is lacking. I feel that more time should have been given to the mom to research because in the end they just fill in the pool. Does this “defeat” the demon, spirit, djinn, etc.? Does it even confine it to their pool? After all, the pool guy states that the whole area was known for healing springs. Who knows?, Probably not even the writer. The villain is there and conquered easily enough. Accept that it must be paid regardless of whose wish it grants.
About the only thing the trailer does not give away is the ending. The dad, Captain America, who is the recipient of a wish and therefore has his health restored, sacrifices himself to save his son.
The world building is pretty good except for the massive gapping hole where we should have learned who and/or what the antagonist is. I saw this film in theaters and paid $24.00 including popcorn and drink. It is available on Amazon for $30! I think someone is greatly overestimating the demand for this movie. I might have paid $30 if it were in Imax, but not to watch it in my house.
When I first saw the original The Exorcist (1973) during my high school years 2005-2009 I did not appreciate the impact it had on some. My dad admitted it gave him nightmares. I wish I could have see it through his eyes. Having rewatched the original in preparation for this review, the difference in quality is noticeable. That being said, while this 2023 movie did get one jump scare in on me, I cannot say it is terribly scary. So, lets get into The Exorcist: Believer.
***SPOILER FREE***
The movie is boring. The cinematography is well done, the music is fine, and the acting kind of falls short in places. The characters are almost nonexistent in that there is only one, Mr. Fielding. The story is an interesting one of fate, choice, love, regret, faith, and family. Too bad that the film only illuminates these ideas about as well as flashlight with a dying battery. It is a sequel to the original 1973 film and you will find some lines of dialog and at least one shot tying the two together.
Overall, if you want to watch a good exorcist movie, watch the original or The Pope’s Exorcist (2023). Don’t get me wrong, it could always be worse, but it could have been better.
Verdict: 2.6/5
***SPOILER WARNING***
The story is about two teen girls who, like in the original, are dabbling with what could be perceived as witchcraft. In this case Mr. Fielding’s daughter is trying to communicate with her deceased mother — using a pendulum? So you can use pendulums in spirit communication, but what the girls describe is not something as mundane as pendulum work but full on channeling, so I am not sure why they have a pendulum. Anyway, they sneak off to the woods, as you do, to perform their “ritual” ( I am putting that in quotes not because they call it that but because I am calling it that). They awake three days later having missing time. After they go missing the parents are introduced and we meet the other not characters. Everyone in this story except for Mr. Fielding is a foil strictly speaking regardless of what the writer/director/executive producer David Green intended. The West family is basically a caricature of the picture perfect “Christian” family. The dad is pretty much introduced as a dick and never really redeems himself, except maybe a little at the end and even that is walked back. The mom is quiet and submissive as I suspect some stereotype Christian women to be.
Once it is established that this is not a medical problem the story quickly shifts to full blown supernatural mode. Remember in the original film when the mom spent a lot of the movie trying to find a medical answer, and established characters as people who could help? It gave depth to the world as even psychiatry was looked down upon by the doctors, but here it is all, as Nick Fury puts it, “black girl magic!” Don’t get me wrong magic is magic no matter whose culture it comes from, but every Christian person and every Christian action taken or presented in this movie is weak, impotent, and second rate to the root magic of Dr. Beehibe. Oh, and I wouldn’t wan to forget to mention Ellen Burstyn reprising her role as Chris MacNeil except that she shows up just long enough to have her eyes stabbed out and does not contribute anything of substance except to complain about the patriarchy.
Moving on, the who diverse community of non-characters and Mr. Fielding come together for an exorcist. You have Mr. and Mrs. West, their pastor, generic Christian friend, Dr. Beehibe, and random nurse neighbor. A priest does eventually show up only to get his head spun 90 degrees which the special effects did looked pretty good. By the end however, a choice must be made: They must choose the form of the destructor, no wait that was a better movie… They must choose which girl to save. Like in Ghostbusters the decision is left up to the first person to speak up, and like the bad guy in Indian Jones and the Last Crusade they chose poorly. Funny thing actually, there is no choice. Mr. Fielding’s daughter received a prenatal blessing (more black girl magic) and Mr. West’s daughter had not been baptized, it is the West daughter who is sacrificed on the proverbial alter of “white Christians bad.” Does the film say this? Not explicitly, but every man who is a foil in this movie are depicted as weak, ineffectual, overbearing, tone deaf, or irresolute. Every woman and person of color is shown as selfless, in-charge, and willing to do whatever is necessary to storm the gates of Hell and fight evil incarnate.
Mr. Fielding, who presumably having lost his faith at the beginning of the film after loosing his wife, comes full circle and believes once again. He lovingly embraces his daughter while the West’s daughter is drug to hell. Unfortunately however, we are left guessing as the nature of Mr. Fielding’s faith at the beginning of the film as it is not shown and only brought up in a throw away line of dialog.
With that said, it is not a bad movie, but it was not worth seeing in the cinema. If you want to see it, I would rent it.
I saw Thanksgiving (2023) the day before Thanksgiving, and now the day after Thanksgiving I am going to give you my initial reaction. Happy Thanksgiving by the way!
*** SPOILER FREE ***
Watching the trailer gives nothing away and it gives a pretty gauge for the overall feel of the movie. I would say that Thanksgiving is firmly planted in the suspense genre with a hint of a “who done it” murder mystery. The story revolves around a group of high school friends and the main character’s family who are slowly being murdered and/or abducted. If you like body horror then this movie is probably for you.
My only complaints that there are too many characters, no character development, and some of the kills, while they look good, stretch my suspension of disbelief.
Verdict: 3/5
*** SPOILER WARNING ***
Having seen the movie, If you are security or law enforcement, the trailer kind of gives away who the killer is with the close ups on the boots. You might assume that the killer is some random person who was caught in the inciting event. However, you are introduced to all of the characters including a couple of red herring characters as well.
The movie starts with Black Friday which starts on Thursday night and not Friday morning. Cut to the big box store with an insane crowd of irate impatient shoppers. Because our main characters get in before everyone else through an employee entrance, Football Jock gets his hands on a megaphone and causes a stampede leading to the deaths of at least two people. Several other NPCs get killed due to the ensuring mayhem. And because capitalism bad of course the business owner gets the blame for only having two security guards on duty (one of whom died trying to save the Football Jock). Due to the utter inhumanity of the crowd and lunacy of the scenario pushed my suspension of disbelief to the limit. According to BlackFridayDeathCount.com there have been 17 deaths and 125 injures on Black Friday from 2006-2021. I am not going to go into that any deeper until the review.
Anyway, this inciting incident motivates the killer to to go on a killing spree against the people he blames for the deaths, mainly our main characters, Football Jock and his Cheerleader, snobby Waitress, cowardly Security Guard, and the protagonist’s father and step mother who own the store. The kills look good even if they do not follow the laws of physics or may be convenient. There were a few scenes that made me chuckle although it may have just been me.
Overall the characters act like relatable yet stereotypically stupid teenagers and the police are not negligently incompetent but actually somewhat believable. I feel they could have written a better story and added some depth to the characters not just for the killer. I would say anyone who are fans of body horror and slasher films will probably enjoy Thanksgiving.
If you follow me on social media then you know that this Saturday, October 7 from noon to midnight is the Sick Chick Flick Film Festival taking place at the Varsity Theater in downtown Chapel Hill, NC. I will be covering this event live on YouTube. What sets this film festival apart from most is that it promotes both short and feature length films that have females in prominent creative and production roles. 8 films’ creators will be present for Q&A, and at 11:30 we will be handing out the coveted Bloody Raven awards.
In all there will be 47 films screened. Award categories include best short film, best feature film, best horror film, best SciFi film, best fantasy film, best director, best cinematography, best writing, best special effects, best female lead, and best male lead. For a full listing, schedule, and to purchase tickets visit https://www.sickchickflicksfilmfestival.com/ .
Saturday, October 28, the Paranormal Operator Podcast is hosting a neighborhood event that all are welcomed to attend. We will be making ragdolls, bobbing for apples, making smores, and you can try your hand at writing with a feather quill. The candy for trick-or-treaters is free but there it is $5 to participate in the activities. Tickets can be purchase through eventbrite.com. Please purchase tickets before the event so I know how many people to expect since we may need to move the location up the road as our first location does not have much parking. This is a family friendly event primarily for children.
Paranormal Operator 
