Sara Paxton

Rating: 4.5/5.0

CHICAGO – Ti West’s “The Innkeepers” is one of the most effective horror movies of the last several years, a true gem of the genre that reminds a scary movie junkie like myself why I fell in love with them in the first place. With his stellar production values and a perfection of the slow burn pace that he employed in the arthouse hit “House of the Devil,” West takes a leap to the forefront of directors working in modern horror. Don’t miss this one.

Rating: 2.0/5.0

CHICAGO – “Shark Night 3D” is at the top of the food chain when it comes to the people-so-stupid-they-lack-basic-survival-skills category of horror thrillers, and has so many wrong elements it nearly swings back to be right.

Rating: 4.0/5.0

CHICAGO – Dennis Illiadis’ remake of “The Last House on the Left” is the exception the proves the rule that most horror movie remakes are a complete waste of time. With an incredible performance by Garret Dillahunt (“Deadwood,” “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford”) and great supporting work by Monica Potter, Sara Paxton, Tony Goldwyn, and others, “Last House” is the best mainstream horror movie in a long time.

CHICAGO – I recently tagged “Illegal Tender” as the must-miss movie of the year. I stand corrected. That unconquerable 2007 cake now goes to “Sydney White,” which opened on Friday.