Studios pray that their films have a good “hold” in their second weekend of release.

That means the audience drop won’t be dramatic – think 30-40 percent as opposed to 60 or, gulp, 70 percent. Positive word of mouth helps the former, while bad buzz creates the latter.

“Project Hail Mary” is a fine example of a film that faded oh, so slowly, thanks to glowing word-of-mouth responses.

It’s just Hollywood math, but apparently Curry Barker skipped those classes.

The director’s first film, “Obsession” didn’t drop during its second weekend.

It grew.

Deadline reports “Obsession” earned 26 percent MORE in the last three days compared to its debut frame. (Final figures may be slightly different). (NOTE: Latest figures show “Obsession” scored 39 percent more than its opening weekend, not 26 as originally reported)

That’s not a typo.

The indie film has earned $55 million stateside, so far.

That shocking second weekend number came against “The Mandalorian and Grogu,” a film that is underperforming for a “Star Wars” entry but still generating millions in ticket sales.

That’s not the best part for Team Barker. He made the film for a microscopic amount – under $1 million. It may become one of the most profitable films of all time.

Barker is no stranger to tiny budgets. His breakthrough short film, “Milk & Serial,” cost just $800.

The weekend comparison couldn’t be more jarring, comparing title to title. “The Mandalorian and Grogu” is all lazy IP storytelling. It’s a film bereft of clever dialogue, engaging new characters and compelling narratives.

“Obsession” follows a young man who is granted any wish he chooses. He asks for his crush to fall in love with him, but the ramifications of the wish prove unnerving.

The plot sounds intriguing, but it’s hardly revolutionary. So what explains that crazy, word-of-mouth enthusiasm?

Look at Rotten Tomatoes. The site’s critic’s score and audience score are currently identical – 95 percent “fresh.”

That’s very rare.

Barker shared some of his filmmaking philosophies with AL.com, including how he got here in the first place. He recommends fledgling filmmakers embrace “quantity” over “quality,” at least at first.

“Make 10 s****y films and allow it to be bad and give yourself that permission, so you can earn your stripes.”

He’s done just that. “Obsession” put him on the map, and he’s already signed up to revive the dying “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” saga.

Hollywood will never give up on aging IPs and big-budget blockbusters. But whenever a movie like “Obsession” overperforms, it’s a sign that audiences will never stop craving something else.

Quality. 

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Writer/director Lucca Vieira’s “The Midway Point” begins with a title card announcing “Around 75 million people have Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). That is 19 percent of the world’s population, according to the CDC.”

We meet Jake (Sean Ryan Fox), a teen who struggles to connect with anyone at high school and only expresses his frustrations with his mother (Thora Birch). Every day at school is an endurance test for Jake, who tries but can’t make meaningful connections with his classmates.

To his surprise, Jake comes out of his shell when Alice (Catherine Daddario), the girl he crushes over from afar, finally shows an interest in him. The two form a strange bond (of all things, they share a love of bad movies, like “Manos: The Hands of Fate”).

When it turns into a romance, Jake tries to keep it a secret from his mother and everyone else.

Fox and Daddario are very good in the leads; they have a nice chemistry and bring unexpected layers to their roles. Julie Benz plays a school counselor, and the role is far too small for an actress this good.

Birch is excellent as always and Wes Studi is solid as Jake’s sympathetic teacher.

“The Midway Point” has lots of heart, but it’s awfully familiar and the third act runs into a wall of melodrama.
I would have been more impressed with the film had I not already seen “The Spectacular Now” (2013), “The Fault in Our Stars” (2014), Like Crazy” (2011), the films of John Hughes, all of those Nicholas Sparks movies and the ABC After School Specials I grew up on.

This is far from the first tortured teen romance we’ve seen before. The cast clearly cares about their characters but very little that happens here is a surprise.

Vieira, making his feature film debut, pads the running time by flashing back to scenes we just saw a minute ago. Also, the big moment of a first kiss is drowned out by an overly eager soundtrack.

Nevertheless, the film is well crafted, even as the director can’t inject the material with enough innovation to make it seem fresh.

The end credits include a special thanks to Jeff Fahey and other notable artists, leading me to think this was a labor of love for those involved. As an actor’s piece, particularly for Fox and Daddario, this should provide a showcase for them that leads to subsequent projects.

The ending, which I won’t describe, isn’t defeatist but surprisingly gives us an optimistic conclusion, a most refreshing touch. After all the seen-it-before teen drama, the last half is the least expected section and the most successful.

Too much of “The Midway Point” gave me Teen Movie Drama déjà vu but the final stretch, where the characters and the story go literally and figuratively into the unknown, was when it finally won me over.

Two and a half stars (out of four)

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Disney’s “The Fox and the Hound” (1981) arrived with an infamous production history, as well as muted enthusiasm from longtime Mouse House fans.

Made when the Walt Disney Company, a decade after their founder’s death, was trying to figure out its identity in the late 20th century, the film was completed during emotionally charged company confrontations, followed by a delayed release, revealing that the film’s making as a difficult and uncertain one.

Just looking at the credits reveals this, as no less than three directors and eight credited writers worked on this.

An orphaned fox named Tod (initially voiced by Keith Mitchell, later Mickey Rooney) is raised by the Widow Tweed, a kindly farmer who takes him in as though he were kin. Tod befriends Cooper (initially voiced by Corey Feldman and later Kurt Russell), a hound who becomes his best friend.

The tight kinship between Cooper and Tod is challenged when Tod is suddenly taken from his home and forced to live in the wild. When Tod returns to his original home, fully grown, he discovers his relationship with Cooper and the rest of the animals has changed.

“The Fox and the Hound” begins with a long, stunning opening shot that shows a fox (Tod’s mother) fleeing hunters, dropping her baby fox at a nearby fence, then running over a hill and – BANG! She’s dead.

Memories of “Bambi” (1942) spring to mind, as do the countless other Disney films that depict the protagonist having to overcome the tragedy that marked the start of their lives (everything from their 1999 “Tarzan” to the 2016 “Pete’s Dragon”).

It’s a compelling and bold way to open any movie.

The cute moments are contrasted with heartbreaking ones, particularly a second-act turn of events that is almost identical to the most wrenching scene in Steven Spielberg’s “A.I. Artificial Intelligence” (2001), both sequences involving a mother abandoning their child in the wilderness.

Despite sporting eight writers and three directors, “The Fox & The Hound” is better than most remember. Some scenes sport contrasting backgrounds and similar character designs to “The Rescuers” (1977), but this is a much better film (though nowhere near the masterpiece-level of the 1990 sequel).

While imperfect, the best aspects here aren’t just admirable but tough, bringing to mind not only “Bambi” but that other terrific Disney film that nobody likes, “The Good Dinosaur” (2016).

Russell, a veteran Disney actor at this point (and a movie away from going full tilt as a John Carpenter regular) embodies the complex shades of his role, but Pat Buttram (who also voiced the Sheriff of Nottingham in Disney’s 1973 “Robin Hood” and a talking bullet in “Who Framed Roger Rabbit”) steals the film as Chief, an old hunting dog.

“The Fox & The Hound” was made during the era of the infamous Don Bluth walkout, where Bluth and a handful of fellow animators ditched the Mouse House and started their own animation production company. Their output includes the 1982 masterpiece “The Secret of the NIMH”, the 1986 “An American Tail,” the 1988 “The Land Before Time” and the 1997 “Anastasia.”

Bluth began his animation career with the dream of working at Disney, only to become a major competitor the decade after he left.

Director Tim Burton was also briefly employed at Disney during this time – this was when the company allowed him to make the short film “Frankenweenie” (1984), then shelved it indefinitely when it merited a PG rating. Burton, flush with post-“Batman” (1989) success, would return to Disney decades later and become a major hitmaker for them.

Another sign of how topsy-turvy the company was during the production of “The Fox and the Hound”: the same year as the film’s hit release, the company also unveiled the fantastic but too-gory-for-the-PG-rating “Dragonslayer,” as well as “Condorman,” their embarrassing first stab at comic book movies.

A second attempt at a big win from the studio the same year: “The Devil and Max Devlin,” a high-concept adult comedy in which Elliot Gould makes a deal with Satan, played by Bill Cosby (!). To say the least, it was an unsteady time for the Mouse House.

The moment was a few years away from the Michael Eisner/Jeffrey Katzenberg era, where the animation unit was given greater priority (“The Little Mermaid,” “Beauty and the Beast,” “Aladdin” and “The Lion King” all opened within six years) and Touchstone Pictures gave the grown-up movies a proper place and handling.

Disney historians often place “The Fox and the Hound” alongside misfires such as the infamous “The Black Cauldron,” the 1985 bomb so disastrous, that it nearly bankrupted the studio. At the time, the only thing keeping Disney alive was park admission revenue!

The truth is “The Fox and the Hound” is a much better, harsher and more potent work than most remember. The big finale, involving a bear attack, is a stunner. Following the magnificent climax, there’s the ending, which is nowhere near as triumphant as it seems and, upon reflection, is much more bittersweet and sad than the music assures us.

The tragic element to “The Fox and the Hound” is there from the first scene and gives the film its lasting power.

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Sacha Baron Cohen should have been a free speech warrior.

After all, the British actor broke out after “Borat,” the 2006 comedy that pushed the boundaries of humor, class and good taste.

That gave Cohen a rare position in Hollywood, a newly minted comedy outlaw. What would he do with his well-earned status?

Turns out he went from subversive to obedient. 

How? 

He turned his iconic Borat character into an anti-Trump cudgel. “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm” was a sorry sequel that existed for one reason.

To bring down Trump. 

Later, he cheered when social media platforms canceled the world leader. Some free speech warrior. He was just like other liberal stars, looking the other way as speech got crushed.

Now, Cohen is leaning into his progressive side anew with “Ladies First.”

RELATED: SACHA BARON COHEN SEXUALIZES FLOTUS

The new Netflix comedy, released with little fanfare last week, finds him playing a chauvinist who bonks his head and wakes up in a world where women rule.

Down with the Patriarchy! Up with the Matriarchy!

That gimmick feels like a 2020 fever dream, born from the BLM protests era and Hollywood’s woke revolution.

Except this is 2026, and woke isn’t in fashion. Even liberal film critics aren’t always eager to grade woke content on a curve. They may have done just that with the execrable “Starfleet Academy,” but they did no such thing for Cohen’s new film.

“Ladies First” currently has an 18 percent “rotten” rating at RottenTomatoes.com. The reviews are unsparing.

The left-Leaning Guardian gives “Ladies First” one out of five stars:

…for a film so unashamedly silly, it’s also incredibly, tiresomely un-fun and, by the end, laughably earnest, as if we should all be learning a very important lesson.

The Financial Times’ take is downright cruel.

Sacha Baron Cohen is knocked unconscious early in Netflix comedy Ladies First, a film that only sometimes makes you wish the same for yourself.

Even the reviews that side with the film’s premise aren’t happy with the results.

It makes some valid points, then proceeds to beat them to death.

Most film critics are unabashedly liberal. That’s just science. And, more often than not, they pull their punches on progressive or “woke” content.

Even liberal critic Richard Roeper said as much regarding the reception for 2016’s “Ghostbusters” reboot.

“Ladies First” is either so lousy that liberal critics couldn’t give the film a pass, or they understand the woke era was a massive mistake, one that’s best left in the dustbin of history.

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The Force may be strong, but it could be taken down by an indie horror film this weekend.

“Backrooms,” an A24 release, has no A-list stars nor an IP connection. Box office soothsayers still predict it could snag up to $33 million this weekend. Others say the film’s pre-release sales match “Scream 7,” which debuted with $64 million.

And, if “The Mandalorian and Grogu” stumbles badly at the box office, that puts this indie thriller in striking distance.

How is this possible?

The better question may be, how could a micro-indie like “Obsession” grow nearly 40 percent from its opening weekend? Director Curry Barker’s big-screen debut did just that days ago, a stunning development in La La Land.

Editor’s Note: It’s a brutal time to be an independent journalist, but it’s never been more necessary given the sorry state of the corporate press. If you’re enjoying Hollywood in Toto, I hope you’ll consider leaving a coin (or two) in our Tip Jar.

“Obsession” also lacks A-list stars and IP ties. Word of mouth did the trick, and the film could become one of the most profitable titles of all time.

You can’t pin these numbers on Halloween, a season when horror movies often thrive. Nor can we blame any radical marketing schemes, like the one that catapulted 1999’s “The Blair Witch Project” into the stratosphere.

These are well crafted indie horror films drawing big crowds.

But why?

RELATED: INDIE HORROR GETS SATIRIZED WITH ‘FOUND FOOTAGE’ ROMP

Wouldn’t Hollywood like to know? The return on investment here is through the roof, something that can’t be said of films like “The Mandalorian and Grogu.” The Disney title will have to keep earning over the next month to make back its sizable investment.

That’s typically how Hollywood rolls in the 21st century. It’s blockbuster or bust.

Horror films offer a smart alternative. Even more traditional shockers, like “Scream 7” ($121 million US) and “Send Help” ($64 million US) performed well earlier this year.

Let’s throw some theories out as to why indie horror is suddenly all the rage.

First, horror remains a perfect vehicle for escapism. The genre offers less intellectual rigor and more “fight-or-flight” style storytelling. That never goes out of vogue.

We’re also living in a deeply divided age, where social media makes it feel like a new civil war is just around the corner. It isn’t, but that sense of anger and isolation makes a horror movie a fine antidote to modern times.

This critic can relate.

Around 2020, I faced a dual threat unlike any I’ve experienced before. My wife was undergoing cancer treatment, and the government had locked down society to “stop the spread” of COVID-19.

As a movie critic, I generally gravitate to serious, sober films. Oscar-bait movies matter deeply to me. Except now I wanted little to do with them.

I craved escapism, the kind of emotions that only genre films could offer. It explains why my favorite film that year was “Alone,” a taut, terrific thriller that likely didn’t make it onto any other critic’s Top 10 list.

Let alone the top spot.

Plus, we’re lucky enough to have several storytellers who luxuriate in the horror genre sans apology. In the past, young filmmakers may cut their teeth in the genre before moving on to more “serious” storytelling.

Think Peter Jackson, James Cameron and Francis Ford Coppola.

Today, directors like Osgood Perkins (“Longlegs”), Zach Creggers (“Weapons”), Jordan Peele (“Get Out,” “Us”) and now Curry Barker unabashedly embrace the genre.

This may collectively explain why horror is crushing the box office. 

Why do YOU think horror movies are exploding in theaters now?

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Late-night TV has never been this dark or angry.

We saw it with the just-canceled “Late Show,” where host Stephen Colbert raged against President Donald Trump with a mix of Fake News and DNC talking points.

“Saturday Night Live” peddles assassination gags to its cheering throng.

“Jimmy Kimmel Live!” saw its host holding up a T-shirt that read, “Donald Trump Is Going to Kill You.” That same show yukked it up over violent attacks on Tesla dealerships and staffers crushing on alleged murderers.

Late-night veteran Jon Stewart looked aghast when his audience booed the arrest of suspected killer Luigi Mangione.

Dark. Angry. Ugly.

Irresponsible.

Now, a regular host on “The Daily Show” is joining the melee. And what he said on a separate program might be the worst of all.

RELATED: HATE NIGHT TV LAUGHS OVER TRUMP’S CANCELLATION

Host Josh Johnson weighed in on both threats against President Trump and the nation’s healthcare system on the “Talk Easy with Sam Fragoso” podcast.

The two don’t seem to go together, but Johnson forced the issue during the ghoulish chat.

How?

The far-Left comic attempted to rationalize why anyone would pick up arms to eliminate Trump. We’ve already seen three attempts to do just that.

RELATED: LATE NIGHT HACKS ON LA RIOTS: ‘RIOTS? WHAT RIOTS?

Even worse?

The interview debuted after yet another gunman stalked the White House. This time, the man in question sprayed the property with bullets before Secret Service agents took him down.

For Johnson, the ends may justify the means.

“I think that there has been a co-opting of non-violence to the point of almost being a psyop,” Johnson said. “You can only take away so much from a person before they have no options left, other than to scream in the street — sort of riot or something like that … Or before they pinpoint certain individuals that they see as the perpetrators of all these crimes against making a way of life.”

How else can one read those words than a justification of violence or, at the very least, violent protests?

Johnson wasn’t done.

“You shouldn’t have to earn the right to live … When people, of no fault of their own, get sick and they can’t afford whatever this astronomical bill is, and then they get on the hook for this bill for their care…”

“But then the insurance company is over here side-stepping them left and right, putting them on hold for three days or putting them in a circle of reasoning around paperwork until they die anyway, it’s like, that’s not considered violence by us.”

Those comments ignore a massive elephant in the room. The current health care mess we’re in is based, in large part, on ObamaCare, President Barack Obama’s “signature” achievement.

Prices have soared since the Democrats pushed that legislation over the finish line without a single GOP vote but plenty of gaslighting. Remember, “If you like your health plan, you can keep it?” 

AKA the PolitiFact Lie of the Year.

Now, Johnson didn’t share these views from “The Daily Show” pulpit. It’s still a chilling perspective for any mainstream media comedian to share.

Will he expound upon those views from his Comedy Central perch? Or will the cable channel realize those kinds of comments are deeply irresponsible, at best?

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The most consequential battle of World War II almost got rained out.

That stunning truth powers “Pressure,” a D-Day film from an angle sure to catch most movie goers flat-footed. The drama zeroes in on three key figures in the runup to the Normandy invasion, plus a fourth whose quiet strength brought balance to their struggles..

The result? One of the year’s most invigorating stories showcasing a side of the war many never knew.

That’s why historical dramas matter, right?

Andrew Scott stars as James Stagg, a meteorologist hired by the Allies to strike a decisive blow against the Nazi regime. How? Stagg must predict if the weather in France will be conducive to an invasion meant to recapture the country and strike a blow against Hitler’s minions.

We’re used to glancing at an app to sense what the next few days will bring, weather-wise. And, more or less, the predictions are on target.

Mostly, to quote Newt from “Aliens.”

Meteorology was far less sophisticated in 1944, turning the science into a near-guessing game based on less definable data.

The Allied forces’ resident expert, Irving Krick (Chris Messina), thinks the weather will be just good enough to launch the invasion on June 5. Full steam ahead!

Stagg disagrees, giving General Dwight Eisenhower (Brendan Fraser) the mother of all decisions.

Yes, a major World War II drama finds its heroes poring over maps, releasing weather balloons and arguing over storm comps. It’s hardly the stuff of high drama, at least at first blush, but director Anthony Maras (“Hotel Mumbai”) keeps the focus on the high stakes poker game that could give Team Hitler the war.

Scott’s Stagg is a curiosity, a soft-spoken soul with zero room for imperfections. He throws his weight around when he first joins the mission, demanding fealty to the task at hand. No joviality on his watch.

Every second counts.

The only one bold enough to stand up to him is his commanding officer.

Fraser’s Ike wants to believe Krick. He’s never let the U.S. Military down before, and his sunny prediction is exactly what the Allies need. Desperately.

Stagg won’t be shaken, not by Ike’s commanding presence nor a very real tragedy that lands mid-movie.

It’s all about duty, honor, sacrifice and personal responsibility. That isn’t just a tribute to the World War II generation but a gentle rebuke to modern society.

No victims or blame games. The buck stops with every consequential character on screen.

Few filmmakers would dare out-Spielberg “Saving Private Ryan,” featuring the most grueling war sequence in Hollywood history. “Pressure” evokes that meat grinder of an invasion in ways that flatter what “Pressure” explores.

You can’t have a battle royale over weather forecasting without a glimpse of the battle in question. We need to see some of what that invasion entailed, even if the sequences are shorter and less ghastly to witness.

World War II films can easily let female characters get overshadowed. Not Kerry Condon, cast as Ike’s assistant. She’s the film’s maternal presence, nurturing the squabbling men as needed and nudging them to deliver their best.

She’s nestled expertly into the story without feeling like an afterthought or GirlBoss addendum. The actress’s natural ability to underplay her characters suits the period and material.

That said, it takes a few scenes to process Fraser as Ike. Not only was the future president much smaller than the towering “Mummy” alum, but we’re not used to seeing the actor this way.

Yes, “The Whale” offered the ultimate physical makeover, but his Ike identity remains hard to initially digest. The Oscar winner focuses on Ike’s ability to lead and not let ego win the day, and that pose is more than enough for “Pressure.”

The rest is, well, history, one that “Pressure” captures with elan.

HiT or Miss: “Pressure” can’t replace “Saving Private Ryan” as the ultimate D Day film. Instead, it’s a vital companion piece putting the emphasis on duty, honor and sacrifice.

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Adam Carolla is no Howard Stern.

The flailing King of All Media once stood tall for free speech – mostly, in retrospect, when it involved his FCC battles.

Now, Stern is mostly silent on woke gone wild, Cancel Culture the recent progressive attempts to silence speech. How many conservatives have been attacked or shouted down on college campuses in recent years?

Too many. And Carolla even made a movie about it.

Carolla never stops standing up for his fellow comics’ right to say the jokes they want to share. He’s repeatedly defended former “Man Show” partner Jimmy Kimmel over his more notorious gags.

Now, Carolla is coming to the defense of Shane Gillis and Tony Hinchcliffe. The rebel comics are under fire from the far-Left for telling tasteless jokes at Netflix’s “The Roast of Kevin Hart.”

Roasts invite the most outrageous, offensive gags possible. No rules. None.

That was the case until the woke era took over. Now, as woke fades, roasts are back in vogue.

Tell that to Chelsea Handler. She literally took part in the Hart roast and complained about it later. She slammed Gillis and Hinchcliffe for gags involving race, lynchings and George Floyd. She also made it personal, slamming them as racist, bigoted and sexist.

Gillis responded sarcastically, wishing her well while promoting her woke bona fides.

Followng Chelsea Handler’s claims that Shane Gillis is racist… Comedian Gillis has released a statement, finally… pic.twitter.com/KnK9NBliGP

— Craig Duncan / @fludded (@Fludded) May 21, 2026

Hinchcliffe repeatedly slammed Handler from his “Kill Tony” pulpit, which invites comedians from all backgrounds to share his stage.

Tony Hinchcliffe hurls vulgar expletive at Chelsea Handler after she blasts his ‘racist’ roast jokes https://t.co/WhGjIpy1IP pic.twitter.com/oB1mHXdgPZ

— New York Post (@nypost) May 26, 2026

Now, it’s Carolla’s turn.

“Chelsea Handler is such a piece of s***,” Carolla said on his signature podcast about the “controversy.”

“No one cares what you find to be funny. It’s a Kevin Hart roast. The audience was laughing their ass off, so they find it to be funny. We’re not there so Her Highness can be pleased by jokes. It’s not your roast. It’s Kevin Hart’s. 

The podcaster also questioned her liberal bona fides.

“First, stop saying ‘white white white.’ You’re a blond. You’re the whitest of them all, and you’re skating by on your blond hair,” he said. “Just shut up, tell the jokes or don’t.”

Carolla extended his attack to her comments regarding L.A. Mayoral hopeful Spencer Pratt. Rather than attack his policies, Handler played the white male card against him.

“He’s white. He’s male. He’s heterosexual … who’s the racist here?” Carolla asked.

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It’s easy to find flaws in “Backrooms,” the directorial debut of YouTube-trained Kane Parsons.

It’s better to imagine what this 20-year-old wunderkind might do next. If he makes more movies as inventive, creepy and fresh as “Backrooms,” horror fans will be more than satisfied.

They’ll be ecstatic.

The film bears a strong arthouse vibe, one suggesting a seasoned soul behind the camera. Parsons age is what it is, but what we see on screen is something consequential. This director understands why minor details matter, sometimes even more than the major set pieces.

It’s why this small but probing story will stick with you for some time.

Chiwetel Ejiofor stars as Clark, a furniture store owner with a rage that bubbles just beneath the surface. He’s in therapy to process his failed marriage, and his therapist Dr. Mary Kline (Renate Reinsve), suggests a role -playing exercise that proves … revealing.

It doesn’t take much digging to let Clark’s fury surface, but he’s soon more preoccupied with something else.

RELATED: HORROR IS HAVING A MOMENT … BUT WHY?

His furniture warehouse or, at the very least, its substandard electrical system, is driving him to drink. Clark discovers something else within the building, a wall that allows him to glide into a separate series of rooms as if an invisible door beckoned him.

To say more would spoil what follows. Just know it may not make sense, but the film’s sense of narrative disruption is never less than pristine.

“Backrooms” is shrewd enough to add both texture and storytelling tics to make this world feel real yet wobbly. We’re also privy to smaller character tells that ground the experience.

Parsons and screenwriter Will Soodik uncork a silly TV commercial where Clark yuks it up as a wily pirate pushing his furniture shop. It’s funny by itself, but its placement in the story proves less than random.

That sturdy approach exists throughout the film, even if we rightly fear the disparate dots won’t be connected to our satisfaction. Better to let the film’s creep factor wash over you, inch by inch, while the threat level quietly spikes.

Clear that armrest space. You’ll be gripping it shortly.

The ensuing scares are remarkable and raw, resembling nothing we’ve seen before. The movie’s “found footage” elements are another story, as is a prelude that isn’t as effective as needed.

What should have started “Backrooms” with a bang reminds us why found footage went the way of 3D films and pagers.

Visually, the film didn’t break anyone’s bank, but the resources marshalled to tell this tale are never flimsy or distracting. This is a world of consequence, a bleak landscape brimming with muted colors, discarded furniture and the impression that the creators aren’t too keen on talk therapy.

Or is something else at play? Just know Parsons co-created the eerie soundtrack, another way “Backrooms” burrows into the genre.

Some subplots never explain themselves, and a bit part by indie darling Mark Duplass feels unfinished, albeit undeniably disturbing.

Then again, so is everything else in Parsons’ funhouse mirror of a movie.

HiT or Miss: “Backrooms” will strike some as maddening, but few will deny its ability to demand our attention … and keep it.

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Writer/director David Roher’s “Tuner” is the very definition of a sleeper, a phrase that, in my childhood, I initially believed to be a movie that put you to sleep.

The phrase actually means an unexpected success, which can apply to the film’s quality, a surprisingly robust box office or both. “Ghost” (1990) and “Good Will Hunting” (1997) are obvious, noted examples of this.

As of press time, I have no idea if the buzz I encountered at the “Tuner” preview screening will translate to strong word of mouth.

Leo Woodall stars as Niki, an expert piano tuner who works for his uncle, the noted Harry Horowitz (Dustin Hoffman), who has been in the business far too long. Nevertheless, while the worn-out Harry drags his way through assignments, Leo’s expert hearing makes him the best piano tuner in the business.

When Niki encounters Ruthie (Havana Rose Liu), a gifted pianist, he is initially off putting and distancing, his usual way with those he distrusts, but Ruthie draws him in. Just when things seem to be finally turning around for Leo, a random encounter forces him to consider something else about his talent: his uncanny hearing and ability with pitch.

That also makes him a safe cracker, who can hear the exact moment the combination of a safe is cracked open.

Both Woodall and Liu give dynamic turns, playing characters who are not idealized or flawless. Both draw us in as thoroughly as the actors do and, in a refreshing touch, Niki and Ruthie are frustrating and real.

“Tuner” has the snap of a Steven Soderbergh crime caper, minus the pretension. Roher somehow manages to mirror the perfect pitch of his protagonist, as this tonally balances a love story, a slice of life drama, crime story and an unorthodox musical journey.

Hoffman doesn’t give a glorified cameo – he adds greatly to the proceedings in a textured supporting role (the character isn’t Willy Loman, but there is something tragic about Harry’s role in his life).

There is a visible bobblehead of Harry that he keeps in his van that says so much about him – he was once famous enough to merit a bobblehead, but the plastic visage of his face suggests this was a long time ago and when he was far younger.

Hoffman is wonderful, but the film belongs to Woodall and Liu.

The villains are amusing at best, cartoonish at worst. Thankfully, while the crime subplot takes focus, the film itself doesn’t become some forced action movie and finds unpredictable ways to develop that part of the narrative.

It’s similar to how Jean Reno’s character enters the film late and becomes a pivotal figure in both Niki and Ruthie’s lives.

Roher leans into the sound design to convey what the world sounds like to Niki, cleverly creating a soundscape for each sequence. “Tuner” isn’t a violent film, but the scenes where Niki experiences pain in the form of loud sounds are hard to watch.

There’s a moment at the midpoint where Ruthie plays piano for Niki, who sits next to her and watches her, one of the most blissfully romantic scenes I can think of.

“Tuner” has at least one ending too many, but the final scene is golden. I would have liked just a little more of an epilogue, but the film ends, literally and figuratively, on the perfect note.

Three and a half stars (out of four)

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