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Inhabitants is a Psychological Thriller That Will Have You Pondering – Review

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Upon relocating from Arizona to their new residence in California, a past negative energy – spirit haunts Francis (Josh Rivera) and his new age hippie girlfriend Olivia (Anna Jacoby-Heron), which tests their approach into finding a solution for putting the agitated spirit to rest.

Francis receives a home warming package from his mother containing religious artifacts – rosaries, crucifixes, a painting of Jesus and a spiritual postcard. Although he admits that it is something he no longer practices, it seems to upset Olivia who is an alternative healer – using crystals, rocks and mystic emblems.

Francis begins to witness strange occurrences from seeing a silhouette of a man, gas line bursting, to even possibly being possessed. Perhaps Francis mood stabilizers are causing psychosis?

Olivia does some digging into Francis’s past and discovers some disturbing events that happened at a Christian retreat for troubled boys and believes that his ministry director Vernon (Todd Robert Anderson) might be the entity haunting them, for she also begins to witness strange phenomena. Could Olivia be also experiencing psychosis?

Francis explains to Olivia the events that led up to Vernon’s tent catching on fire and to his death, which coincides with the earlier scenes in the movie. Francis blames himself for what happened to Vernon. He visibly is overwhelmed with guilt and sees himself as a sinner – It could be the most logical sense that resulted in his radical emotional outbursts.

Olivia’s solution is to take Francis to see Denny (Kevin Nealon), her boss at the crystal healing shop, to help with banishing the negative spirit. Conflicted with his religious faith to healing crystals Francis decides to reach out to his mother Lillian (Ana Author) for help, which will only invite tension amongst them as Lillian is a devoted Christian who does not approve of her unmarried son living with his girlfriend. Francis overcomes with anxiety and decides to resolve his own issues by taking drastic measures putting his and Olivia’s life at risk. Will faith and, or the power of healing crystals save them from the haunting of Vernon?

Director Matt McClung did a fantastic job on presenting a serious condition that many people struggle with and the challenges they face to live a normal life. Josh Rivera and Anna Jacoby-Heron showed to have great chemistry and delivered a natural performance. I liked that Kevin Nealon brings that soothing zen vibe to the scene. This psychological thriller film will have you pondering if there really was a haunting or was it simply the effects of post-traumatic stress disorder.

Inhabitants releases on February 14, 2025.


Sabrina - Kiddo is the newest member of Countdown City Geeks and is a contributor of movie and television show reviews. Her passion for film derived from her college days where her rhetoric-writing professor focused on the aspects of screenwriting and music lyrics. She also has a knack for saying movie quotes.

Movie Reviews

‘Dangerous Animals’ –  A Thriller That Takes a Bite Out of Fear!

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Just when you though it was safe to get back in the water at Volente Beach in Austin, Texas, Dangerous Animals celebrates its premiere screening presented by Alamo Drafthouse Cinema Rolling Road Show and hosted by Fons Pr.

Director Sean Byrne and Texas native Hassie Harrison made a special appearance to introduce their film Dangerous Animals. Guests had a fun time floating on the lake in shark themed tubes while watching the movie, there were even two guys in scuba gear submerged in the water with red lights to set a frightening tone.

Dangerous Animals is the perfect summer thriller on the beach movie. It takes place in Australia where charter boat operator Bruce Tucker (Jai Courtney) takes tourists for shark excursions, but uses them as bait for his sick and twisted sadistic pleasure. Bruce goes on the hunt to seek out his next victim, which happens to be a strong willed surfer Zephyr (Hassie Harrison). To Bruce’s amazement, the situation now becomes predator-prey reversal.

This thriller movie has intense graphic scenes, with many nail biting situations and of course, huge ferocious sharks! It will definitely make viewers jump out of their inner tubes. Yes, Jaws would approve.

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Movie Reviews

‘Appalachian Dog’ – An Astonishing Dramatic Indie Film

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If you are a true cinemaholic, you will appreciate this independent film. Appalachian Dog is written and directed by Colin Henning who also stars in his film along with a decent cast: Georgia Morgan (“Interview with a Vampire”, “Penelope!”), Hayleigh Hart Franklin, Brooke Elizabeth (“Dear DIEry”), Colin Henning (“Wild Crime”).

The storyline is intriguing with many plot twists. It takes place post War World II, a young solider, Teddy, returns to his home in the Appalachian Mountains where is wife Marion has set up a small welcoming gathering with two of her female friends, Peggie and Cate. Teddy appears aloof and uninterested in resuming his life as a tailor. He ponders the whereabouts of his dog and how to avoid working.

Teddy learns that while he was away Marion hired Peggie to assist as a seamstress, which seems to bother him due to their finances and expects Marion to just take over. He comes up with several failed excuses to evade from sewing clothes. However, Marion has secretively prepared a plan of her own.

Meanwhile, Cate is having to deal with the challenges of taking over the daily farm chores due to Andrew being mentally, physically incapable of manual labor. It appears he might be suffering from post war trauma, or at least that is what he wants others to believe.

Just like the twisted trails found in the Appalachian Mountains, this film has it’s share of unexpected turns and eerie settings, but one question still remains… What happened to Teddy’s dog?

Appalachian Dog can be viewed on streaming platforms such as Amazon, Tubi, Hoopla and Verizon Fios.

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Movie Reviews

‘Jane Austen Wrecked My Life’ Will Have Your Heart Fluttering

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Calling all hopeless romantics. This movie will be on your list of favorite foreign love stories. It has a young-quirky single lady, Agathe, who works in a bookstore in France and has aspirations of becoming a writer. She is inspired by her favorite author Jane Austen, however, comes to realize that she has writer’s block. Agathe will have to overcome her fears to liberate her emotions and transfer them onto paper.

Agathe (Camille Rutherford) believes that she is struggling to write due to her love life being nonexistent – ever since the tragic car accident where her parents were inside the car with her, but they did not survive. On the other hand, her friend and co-worker Felix (Pablo Pauly) is the type that is a freedom-loving who is reluctant to commit to a relationship as he reveals to Agathe about the many dates he has been in. Without hesitation, Felix discretely submits some of Agathe’s writings to the Jane Austen Residency and remarkably she gets accepted for a writer’s retreat in England.

This lighthearted movie takes you to the beautiful English countryside, where Agathe is greeted by the handsome Oliver (Charlie Anson), a distant descendant of Jane Austen. They get off to a rough start, but they gradually seem to be drawn to one other. The romantic connection develops when it’s discovered they have been emotionally shattered, but somehow their broken pieces come together and mend their painful past. Then, like getting spit on by a llama, Felix shows up at the mansion for the Residency’s annual ball and Agathe finds herself in a love triangle and discovers material for her novel.

Director and Screenplay Writer Laura Piani magnificently created the essence of the 1800’s literature of a romantic satirical comedy in Jane Austen Wrecked My Life. The cast are amazing and original. Though, the movie is mostly in French, it is easy to follow with subtitles, which adds authenticity to the story.  

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