Hannah Stocking Archives

Review: ‘Skillhouse,’ starring Bryce Hall, Hannah Stocking, Curtis ’50 Cent’ Jackson and Neal McDonough

July 11, 2025

by Carla Hay

Dani Oliveros, Jacob Skidmore, Bryce Hall and Emily Mei in “Skillhouse” (Photo courtesy of Fathom Entertainment)

Directed by Josh Stolberg

Culture Representation: Taking place in areas in and near the California cities of Los Angeles and Ojai, the horror comedy film “Skillhouse” features a predominantly white cast of characters (with a few African Americans, Asians and Latin people) representing the working-class and middle-class.

Culture Clash: After a social media influencer is murdered during a livestream, 10 more social media influencers are kidnapped, held captive in a remote house, and forced to get as many views as possible on their social media content, or else they will be murdered, one by one.

Culture Audience: “Skillhouse” will appeal primarily to people who are fans of the movie’s headliners and poorly made horror films.

Hannah Stocking in “Skillhouse” (Photo courtesy of Fathom Entertainment)

The amateurish horror satire “Skillhouse” is proof of the cinematic train wreck that can happen when social media influencers mistakenly think that talking in front of a camera equals having acting talent. “Skillhouse” lazily copies ideas from the horror movie franchises “Saw” and “Scream.” Real-life social media influencers are the majority of the cast members in “Skillhouse.”

Written and directed by Josh Stolberg, “Skillhouse” is meant to parody social media culture and slasher films, but there’s nothing funny about this garbage dump of a movie that’s filled with horrendous acting, tacky visual effects and an extremely idiotic plot. Stolberg has previously written several other horror movies, including three from the “Saw” franchise: 2023’s “Saw X,” 2021’s “Spiral” and 2017’s “Jigsaw.” His previous films as a director include low-budget flicks such as the 2014 comedy “The Hungover Games” (a parody of “The Hunger Games” and “The Hangover”) and the 2012 horror movie “Crawlspace.”

“Skillhouse” does nothing new or clever. In fact, a 2021 horror movie titled “Funhouse” already had a plot about shallow, fame-seeking young people from social media and reality TV who are kidnappped and killed off, one by one, in a torture house, based on who was the least popular with a live viewing audience. “Funhouse” was also a terrible movie, but at least the acting and filmmaking in “Funhouse” are slightly better than in “Skillhouse.” Everything in “Skillhouse” looks like it was made by hopelessly inept beginner filmmakers.

“Skillhouse” takes place in areas in and near the California cities of Los Angeles and Ojai. The movie begins by showing social media siblings Carter Swick (played by Bryce Hall) and Lauren Swick (played by Hannah Stocking) in an airplane hangar, where there are several parked planes. Lauren is a bossy and rude diva, who is inside a parked plane with Carter, as she pretends to be in flight on a luxury private plane. Carter is the camera operator for a video where Lauren brags that she’s on a private jet and thanks her followers for making it possible.

Suddenly, Lauren sees a dead man’s face through the plane window and screams. (Don’t expect to find out who this dead man is and why he was killed.) And in a badly edited rush, Lauren is then seen tied to a chair inside the hangar. Carter is knocked unconscious nearby. Their predicament is being shown on a livestream.

And just like in “Saw,” a mysterious killer with a deep and menacing voice can be heard telling Lauren that she’s going to die in a limited period of time unless she can complete a certain task. Her challenge is to get a certain number of people to watch and “like” this livesteam in order to save her. She doesn’t get enough “likes,” so she is murdered by having a sword plunge down from the ceiling into her open mouth.

Why was Lauren targeted? Apparently for being an obnoxious social media influencer. Carter ends up in a hospital and is later discharged. Because he was the only known person to be in the hangar with Lauren, he is under suspicion for her murder, but he is eventually cleared in an investigation. However. Carter’s social media following significantly decreases because of the scandal.

Not long after Carter’s fall from grace, he is adbucted at the same time as nine other social media influencers, who find themselves waking up in body bags on a floor inside a large house in a hilly area. The social media influencers are all strangers to each other and don’t know the city where the house is located, but they have a vague idea that the house is probably in California. The kidnapped influencers all have one thing in common: They were chosen because they have despicable personalities.

The same mysterious voice announces to them on a house speaker that they will be killed off, one by one, based on who has the least number of social media views for their livestreams in a certain period of time. The people watching these livestreams will know that the influencers’ lives are at stake. The last person in the group who survives is the person who won’t be murdered and can be set free.

Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson has a small role in “Skillhouse,” which can only be described as an embarrassing career move for him. He appears on a pre-recorded video as himself. In the video, he tells the kidnapped influencers that they have to follow four rules in this twisted game:

If you try to leave, you die.
If you try to signal for help, you die.
Your phone must be near you at all times, and you can’t lose your Internet connection, or else you die.
There can only be one winner in the group.

These are the other nine influencers who are in this group:

Sebastian Bousman (played by Jacob Skidmore) is a stereotype of a flamboyant gay man, and he spends most of his screen time either whining or screaming.
Rumer Brandjes (played by Leah Pipes) is the group’s oldest member (she’s in her 30s), and she thinks she’s better than everyone else in the group because she says she’s a professional actress.
Josiah Wolk (played by McCarrie McCausland), who uses the social media handle Josiah Smashes, has 19 million followers on social media.
Amanda Lashing (played by Emily Mei) dresses like she’s a Comic-Con cosplayer.
Maureen “Mo” Hart (played by Caitlin Carmichael), who uses the name Mo H2O, immediately has ego clashes with Rumer.
Kirsten Anderson (played by Dani Oliveros) is mostly known for showing off her body on social media.
Keo Lau (played by Ivan Leung), whose social media handle is Keo13, has 3 million folllowers on social media.
Peyton Hackl (played by Paige VanZant) is a generically pretty model type who isn’t in the movie long enough to make an impression.
A.J. Berg (played by John DeLuca) is a non-descript bearded guy who also isn’t in the movie long enough to stand out.

Among the people in the general public who are watching this murder-spree spectable are Asher (played by Gunner Burkhardt) and Finn (played by Kaitlyn Squires), who are co-hosts of a sleuthing true crime show and provide commentary as the murders are happening, but these two idiots don’t do anything to help solve these murders. Throughout the movie, there are quick montages of people in the general public watching the murders on the livestreams, but there is no mention of the news media and law enforcement knowing about these serial killings that are being livestreamed. Yes, the movie really is this stupid.

And so, it’s up to Josiah’s girlfriend Molly Rose Richardson (played by Abigail Killmeier, also known as Abigail Fierce) to do the only investigating that’s shown in the movie. Josiah is apparently the kidnapped group’s only person with a loved one who cares about finding out where he is when he has a high likelihood of being murdered. It leaves no room for suspense that Josiah will be one of the last people standing.

A character named Brandon Vega (played by Neal McDonough) shows up as an aggressive cop in a pivotal part of the story. McDonough, who is the most experienced actor in the “Skillhouse” cast, is the only member of the cast to display some acting talent. He seems to be having fun in this role, but it’s not enough to save this abysmal film, which has elements of 1996’s “Scream” for a few plot developments.

In a movie about annoying social media influencers, it should come as no surprise that no one in “Skillhouse” is likable. “Skillhouse” is also a misogynistic film, where the female murder victims get the worst and most torturous killings. In social media terms, “Skillhouse” is such time-wasting brain rot, it will get more “dislikes” than “likes” from people who have the misfortune of watching it.

Fathom Entertainment released “Skillhouse” in U.S. cinemas for a one-week engagement on July 11, 2025.

Review: ‘Vanquish’ (2021), starring Morgan Freeman and Ruby Rose

May 7, 2021

by Carla Hay

Ruby Rose in “Vanquish” (Photo courtesy of Lionsgate)

“Vanquish” (2021)

Directed by George Gallo

Culture Representation: Taking place in an unnamed U.S. city, the action film “Vanquish” features a predominantly white cast of characters (with a few African Americans) representing the criminal underground and law enforcement.

Culture Clash: A corrupt and retired police officer forces a former colleague to do some of his dirty work, in exchange for setting her kidnapped underage daughter free from captivity.

Culture Audience: “Vanquish” will appeal primarily to people who don’t mind wasting time watching a dimwitted, poorly made and incoherent film.

Morgan Freeman in “Vanquish” (Photo courtesy of Lionsgate)

At some point while filming the horrific embarrassment that is “Vanquish,” Oscar-winning actor Morgan Freeman must have asked himself, “How did I end up in this garbage movie?” It might have been an easy paycheck for Freeman, but it came at a cost to some of his dignity to be in this putrid cesspool of terrible filmmaking. Freeman seems to know it too, based on his zoned-out performance, which is barely distinguishable from the rest of the stiff and terrible acting that stinks up this trash pile of an action flick.

Viewers unlucky enough to watch “Vanquish” might think that the movie’s sloppy and amateurish filmmaking might be from a first-time feature-film director. No, “Vanquish” is the 13th feature film directed by George Gallo, who made his feature directorial debut with the 1991 dramedy “29th Street,” starring Anthony LaPaglia, Danny Aiello and Lainie Kazan. Gallo is best-known as the screenwriter for the 1988 crime-caper comedy “Midnight Run” (starring Robert De Niro and Charles Grodin) and for coming up with the story that would turn into the 1995 action hit movie “Bad Boys,” starring Will Smith and Martin Lawrence.

Based on his filmography, Gallo has done plenty of movies about mismatched people who are involved in some criminal activities. In other words, this type of subject matter isn’t new to him. And that’s why it’s even more mind-boggling that “Vanquish” (which Gallo wrote with Sam Bartlett) is so badly bungled on every single level of filmmaking. The plot is nonsensical, the aforementioned acting is cringeworthy, and the way that the film was shot and edited makes some no-budget YouTube prank videos look like masterpieces in comparison.

It’s a very bad sign when “Vanquish” has an opening credits sequence that lasts for a bloated six minutes. That’s how long it takes for the movie to repetitively show newspaper clippings and news footage of police officer Damon Hickey (played by Freeman) becoming a decorated hero during the course of his long career. (The movie doesn’t mention where this story takes place, but it’s supposed to be in a U.S. city.)

Damon’s career was cut short when he was gunned down in a shootout that left him with paraplegia. And so, throughout this entire dull and dreary movie, Damon is in a wheelchair while he lives by himself in a sleek-looking mansion worth millions. How could a retired police officer afford such a luxurious home when he doesn’t come from a rich family and there’s no sign that he married into wealth? And how could Damon’s ownership of this mansion, which is beyond his cop salary, not raise suspicions from law enforcement?

This illogical movie never answers the second question, but it answers the first question. Damon has been a corrupt cop involved in skimming money from drug deals and other crimes. And he’s been able to get away with it. For reasons that aren’t made clear except for vague references to revenge, Damon now wants payback from certain people in the criminal underworld. And he plans to steal loads of cash from them.

And that’s where Victoria (played by Rose) comes into the picture. Victoria, who is originally from Australia (as is Rose in real life), is Damon’s caretaker and a single mother to a daughter named Lily (played by Juju Journey Brener), who’s about 8 or 9 years old. Victoria is in for a shock one night when she and Lily are in Damon’s home, and Lily goes missing. Damon calmly informs Victoria (whom he calls Vicky) that Lily is safe but in captivity, and Victoria won’t get Lily back unless Victoria does what Damon says.

Damon wants Victoria to go to five different pre-planned places to pick up cash. But it’s not as simple as that. Damon also wants Victoria to murder anyone who gets in her way. Damon knows exactly where his criminal targets are gathered at these places. And so, even if any of these crooks owed Damon any money, he won’t be satisfied with just the money. He wants them dead.

And why is Victoria so qualified to do these dirty deeds? She used to be a drug courier for the Russian mafia, which explains why she has assassin skills. It doesn’t explain why viewers have to be subjected to the idiocy of scene after scene where she’s able to single-handedly take on several armed opponents at once and never miss a target when she fires a gun.

After Victoria goes to each of the location to murder people and pick up a bag of cash, she gets on her motorcycle and delivers the cash to Damon. Then, Damon and Victoria spew some badly written lines that are supposed to be arguments. And then, Victoria hops on her motorcycle to go to the next destination. Freeman literally does nothing in this movie but sit in a wheelchair and act cranky and self-righteous.

During the course of this movie, viewers find out that Victoria can not only speak Russian but she can also speak German and French. Be prepared to hear Rose mangle words in different languages. With her limited acting range (and that’s putting it nicely), she barely has command of the English language.

Near the beginning of the movie, there’s a muddled storyline about some gangsters who’ve caught a snitch in their group. This snitch’s secret audio surveillance was found on a portable cassette tape recorder that would need a wire for remote recording. What year is this? 1991?

Viewers know that this movie takes place in the era of digital, wireless recorders because Damon keeps track of Victoria through a high-tech digital video surveillance system that he requires her to wear during her robbery/killing spree. And that’s why it’s almost laughable that the snitch was found with a cassette recorder that looks like it was left over from an old episode of “Law & Order.”

The snitch has been killed, and the people he secretly recorded are corrupt cops who used to work with Damon. They include B.J. (played by Paul Sampson), Erik (played by Miles Doleac), Sniper (played by Richard Salvatore) and Max (played by Ele Barda). These goons show up at various points in this messy story, where not even the clergy is immune to the corruption. In a flashback scene, Damon is shown in a confessional with a priest named Father Thomas (played by Bill Luckett), who’s been in cahoots with Damon in their criminal activities.

Are there any good cops in this story? Not really. There are some law enforcement people who turn up at various points in the movie, but they don’t do anything except say moronic lines while they hang out in seedy bars. The cops in the movie certainly don’t seem to be doing any real police work.

These useless characters include Detective Stevens (played by Nick Vallelonga), Detective Kehoe (played by Chris Mullinax) and Agent Monroe (played by Patrick Muldoon). Freeman isn’t the only Oscar winner in the “Vanquish” cast. Vallelonga won two Oscars for being a writer and a producer of the 2018 dramedy “Green Book.” It goes to show that being an Oscar winner doesn’t automatically give someone the good sense to avoid bottom-of-the-barrel projects.

While Victoria speeds around the city in her motorcycle to go from destination to destination, Damon inexplicably acts as if he’s her personal GPS, by giving her directions. Expect to see a lot of footage of Freeman sitting in a wheelchair and barking empty lines such as “Go there!” or “Turn left!” The only direction this movie goes is off the rails.

Victoria is armed with two large guns that she keeps exposed in full view while they’re tucked into the back side of her jeans. And so, there’s scene after scene of her walking into these criminal hangouts, where her guns are exposed and no one stops her or questions her. The bodyguards who are supposed to protect the criminals are completely incompetent (just like this movie’s screenplay is incompetent), because it doesn’t take long for Victoria to open fire and slaughter everyone in sight. Remember, she never misses a target.

During her first stop at a nightclub where her targets are, Victoria shoots and kills some people in a back room without a gun silencer, and the movie wants viewers to believe that no one could hear the gunshots because the door was closed. These lunkheads apparently didn’t think that a known associate of Damon’s who walked into the club with two guns sticking out of her back wasn’t going to use these guns.

After these murders, Victoria manages to rescue a prostitute named Galyna (played by Hannah Stocking), who begs to be set free from these thugs. Victoria decides that she and Galyna should play it cool and walk out of the club as if they’re friends having a laugh. “Can you pretend I’m funny?” Victoria asks Galyna. Galyna replies, “I’m a prostitute!,” as if to say “I already know how to act.” Too bad no one knows how to act in this film.

Another mindless massacre scene is one where Victoria encounters an over-the-top effeminate/flamboyant gangster named Rayo (played by Joel Michaely), who has one of the worst fake Southern accents you’ll ever hear in a movie. Victoria shows up unannounced at Rayo’s home. Rayo offers Victoria some Mint Julep, as if she’s at the Kentucky Derby, not in the lair of a sleazy criminal who has some heavily drugged young men on his living room sofa. (Adults will know exactly what those young men are doing there and why they’ve been drugged.)

And because Victoria is as dimwitted as this movie’s screenplay, she drinks the Mint Julep, even though she sees that there are people on the sofa who are in a drugged stupor. The Mint Julep is laced with a sedative, of course. Damon is watching this fiasco the whole time on his video surveillance camera. As Victoria is about to pass out from the unnamed drug that she ingested in the Mint Julep, Damon sees that there’s a small mound of cocaine on a nearby table. You can easily guess what he tells Victoria to do and what happens next.

And did we mention that Victoria used to have a (now-dead) brother who was her partner in crime? It’s of no consequence to this movie’s plot because it’s just another useless detail that’s thrown in to make it look like Victoria has a backstory. She really doesn’t.

That’s why there’s a ludicrous moment toward the end of the film where viewers find out that Victoria’s mother is the governor of the unnamed state where this movie takes place. Governor Ann Driscoll (played by Julie Lott) had not one but two children caught up in running drugs for the Russian mafia, and somehow this was never exposed by her political opponents. What a way to get elected.

One of the most annoying aspects of “Vanquish” is how it over-saturates the movie with fade-in/fade-out editing, as if to mimic a fever dream. It’s more like a nightmare to sit through this rubbish. The movie’s blaring soundtrack is distracting and often drowns out the dialogue.

And the filmmakers mistakenly thought that “Vanquish” would look artsy by having substandard cinematography that tries to make almost every interior look like a neon aquarium. It doesn’t look artsy. It looks garish and tacky.

In the production notes for “Vanquish,” director/co-writer Gallo makes this statement that reads, in part: “I have always enjoyed the Korean gangster film genre ever since I first became aware of them. These films have a cool, bouncy and deliciously dark vibe and most importantly, a great sense of humor … My attraction to ‘Vanquish’ was that I could make a film that I hadn’t really done before and infuse my love of these genres into my film.”

First of all, please don’t insult Korean cinema by comparing “Vanquish” to Korean gangster films. It’s like comparing toxic trash to works of art. Secondly, there is absolutely no humor in “Vanquish,” unless viewers want to laugh at how horrible everything in this movie is. And lastly, “Vanquish” does the exact opposite of what Victoria does every time she fires her gun: The movie completely misses the mark.

Lionsgate released “Vanquish” in select U.S. cinemas on April 16, 2021, on digital and VOD on April 20, 2021, and on Blu-ray and DVD on April 27, 2021.