The 2022 Nashville Film Festival has kicked off, and I will bring you coverage from the entire festival. We have a loaded slate of films that are set to come out, and today I share everything I watched during day one.

The Return of Tanya Tucker: Featuring Brandi Carlile

Decades after Tanya Tucker slipped from the spotlight, music star Brandi Carlile takes it upon herself to write an entire album for her hero based on Tanya’s extraordinary life, spurring the greatest comeback in country music history.

Excerpt from my review: The movie doesn’t fit into the mold of other documentaries as it starts with a montage of the past but jumps right into the present day and this potential record that Brandi Carlile wants to make with her hero and icon, Tanya Tucker. From the first meeting with that larger-than-life personality, I knew we were in for a real treat over the next hour and a half.

Spirit Halloween

When a Halloween store opens in a deserted strip-mall, three friends, thinking they’ve outgrown trick or treating, decide to spend the night locked inside. But their night of spook-filled fun soon turns to outlandish survival.

I wanted so much for this movie to come out of the gate with a bang and maybe transition into the world’s building into the store. But, sadly, it sputters with this relatively slow and rough-around edges build that, as a result, doesn’t do a good job of setting up what is ahead for us, the viewer. Another thing I was hoping for was the film to be even remotely scary, but it felt more like a lower-end Goosebumps film without any scares.

You have a strong concept that doesn’t have a strong enough writing force behind it to make this anything other than a lackluster b-horror movie. I do think that kids may enjoy this one more than adults, but overall just a massive swing and miss for me.

Days Counted (short film)

A prisoner recounts his horrific crime from years ago is visited by a ghost from his past.

Days Count is an intense and haunting depiction of watching someone go through the aftermath of their crimes. Writer/Director Chandler Gibson has an eye for having the camera in the right place at the right time. I was blown away by every aspect of this short film, genuinely great work here.