Colorful puppet show scene with a sinister puppet and stage curtains.

Big City Pizza (2026): Popcorn Frights Review

★★★★1/2 out of ★★★★★

Intensity: 🩸 out of 🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸

Adult animation can be a wild, confusing ride. Big City Pizza shoots for the moon and hits a bullseye with its hypnotic and amusing slice of pizza life. We follow skeleton delivery man Boney and his wild adventures delivering Big City Pizzas. It threatens to be too weird to watch, as it dances right on the edge of being too artsy. We've all been there with independent animation films, particularly in this genre. However, the pacing is perfect, and it is filled with raunchy, hysterical moments with wonderfully colorful characters. I had a blast with this film, which played on the Popcorn Frights Streaming Program.

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Creepy cat camera footage with shadowy figure in the background.

Cat Cam (2026) Popcorn Frights FF Review

★★★1/2 out of ★★★★★

Intensity: 🩸1/2 out of 🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸

Cat Cam marries up the themes of Paranormal Activity and Good Boy. It utilizes stationary cameras (by way of "cat cams") to document the goings-on of a haunted house. The couple who own the house prepare to leave for a French vacation, and the underachieving little brother is left to cat-sit while they are away. When the owner's away, the ghost will play, and Nug knows what's up. Cats have that extra sense, plus the cunning instincts to know to stay away from the ghost.

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Close-up of a smiling ice cream man in uniform with a retro style.

Ice Cream Man review (2026)

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ out of ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Intensity 🩸🩸🩸🩸 out of 🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸

From the jump audiences are treated to a treasure trove of songs that sound like they were ripped straight from a 1979 Italian Giallo film. In fact, true blue Giallo fans will recognize some melodies that are reminiscent of the Ennio Morricone's work on the Argento classic the Bird with the Crystal Plumage. It’s a pure and loving homage that’s employed in a way that practically lulls audiences into a false sense of security only to be jostled into gory mayhem.

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Eerie alien creature with skeletal features in a dark, ominous setting.

The Deep Dark (2026)

★★1/2 out of ★★★★★

Intensity: 🩸🩸 out of 🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸

The Deep Dark takes a trip into a coal mine in France, where an ancient evil being awaits. An overzealous archaeologist hires a group of miners to unknowingly help him find the crypt. Stylish but stiff, this subterranean horror show utilizes stock characters and subjects them to a predictable script. The monster is visually impressive until it moves and reveals itself to be an awkward puppet. On the plus side, the production team at least tries to apply actual mining terminology. (Though I am no expert in such things.) The film can be entertaining at times, as a generic monster movie, but it can't elevate itself beyond a semi-mummy trope.

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The Gospel of Noah (2026) Book Review

⭐⭐⭐
Intensity: 🩸 out of 🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸
Good vs. evil in a modern retelling of myths surrounding witches and magicians, particularly in the southeastern United States, with some original twists.
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Man in beige shirt touching yellow wall in empty room with fluorescent lights.

Backrooms (2026) Review

★★★★ out of ★★★★★

Intensity: 🩸🩸 out of 🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸

It's finally time to do a review for Backrooms. I know, I know. I'm a little late to the party. The great uncanny valley that is the Backrooms phenomenon led to the great unexpected hit of the summer. How the hell did a slow-burning philosophical liminal horror movie manage to beat Star Wars straight up at the Box Office in the summer of 2026? Even after seeing the film, the improbability stuns me. The power of alternate media certainly plays a part, but it's not the whole story. Two tremendous performances by Chiwetel Ejiofor and Renate Reinsve sold the wildly original story, and word of mouth could not have been better. Let us dig in to how this came to be.

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A person in horror costume stands amidst chaos and fire in a haunted house scene.

They Will Kill You (2026) Review

★★★★ out of ★★★★★

Intensity: 🩸🩸🩸1/2 out of 🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸

Ladies and Gentlemen, may I present to you the most violent horror movie I have seen this year: They Will Kill You. This stylish and gleefully gory action-horror-comedy takes on a familiar theme and injects it with nitro boosters. Zazie Beetz plays Asia Reves, a woman searching for her sister at her last known location: a New York Hotel that is secretly a Satanic Temple. Is she trapped? Or are the cultists inside the ones who are stuck with a woman with some serious fighting mojo? It's a bit of both. This is a fan-favorite film from the 2026 festival circuit, now available on HBO.

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Slashers Come of Age and Horror Finds Religion 1975-1979: Episode 213

We're going back to horror history class with Episode 212: Slashers Come of Age and Horror Finds Religion 1975-1979. Seven years ago, in the early days of the Scariest Things, we did some horror history, diving into some of the more obscure titles that you may not be aware of. We stopped at the early seventies, and then went on a very long hiatus. But now we are back with some (maybe) forgotten gems from 1975 to 1979. Friend of the podcast Ian Parker joins Eric and Mike in this deep dive.
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Colorful poster for Popcorn Frights with a dinosaur breathing fire over a cityscape.

Popcorn Frights 2026 First and Second Wave Announcements

Get ready Florida! Popcorn Frights is coming! The kaiju-sized festival is going to be scaring up horror fans from August 6-16, and they have made their big programming announcements. This has been one of our favorite festivals, and has one of the biggest horror-only platforms in the country.
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A man is attacked by a large snake in a tense scene from Anaconda (2025) review.

Anaconda (2025) Review

★★1/2 out of ★★★★★

Intensity: 🩸1/2 out of 🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸

In a meta reboot brimming with promise, the re-imagined Anaconda (2025) lost the plot early and often. The cast? Star packed. The trailer? Very funny. The concept? Surprisingly original, but the story meanders and squanders the core ideas. The snake? We didn't see enough of it, and it has been done better in movies with much smaller budgets. Was it scary? Not in the slightest. This was a lost opportunity.

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Scary mummy with hieroglyphs on bandages from Lee Cronin's The Mummy review.

Lee Cronin’s The Mummy (2026) Review

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ out of ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Intensity 🩸🩸🩸🩸out of 🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸

Mummies have been around since…well…maybe forever? Some Asian cultures were way ahead of the mummy curve and jumped into mummification nearly 14,000 year ago. Mummies are definitely part of our collective consciousness. Whether it’s the goofy mummy from Hotel Transylvania, or the super sexy and sumptuous mummy from 1971’s Blood from the Mummy’s Tomb, mummies have captured our attention.

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Close-up of a woman with wide eyes holding a DVD titled 'Night of the Lurkers'.

Dead Media review (2026)

⭐️⭐️⭐️ .5 out of ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Intensity 🩸🩸 out of 🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸

In the new horror comedy, Dead Media, director Joseph Scrimshaw explores the concept of physical media. Is it better to unwind by mindless scrolling through a seemingly endless array of streaming options, or will you be rewarded by exploring the dark recesses of the Salvation Army to find that perfectly imperfect VHS copy of The Mutilator?

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Two women with surprised expressions in front of neon sign reading 'Show and Tell'.

Grind (2026): PHFF Review and Interview

★★★★ out of ★★★★★

Intensity: 🩸🩸 out of 🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸

Does working in today's economy feel like you are on a treadmill that is getting too fast for you? Has your job killed your dreams? Employment in the modern world can be, in a word, a Grind. Grind is a timely anthology that is neatly stitched together and explores how working for the Mega-Corporations (TM) can erode your sense of being and may cost you more than a diminished paycheck. If you ever thought "This job is gonna kill me." Grind will resonate with you.

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A menacing hippopotamus with its mouth open in a dark, swampy environment.

Hungry (2026) Review

★★★ out of ★★★★★

Intensity: 🩸🩸 out of 🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸

Hungry (2026) presents a rampaging hippopotamus that wrecks an alligator-touring flatboat group in the Louisiana bayou. The film paddles through familiar territory, but swaps out the traditional crocodilian menace for a legitimately dangerous mega-mammal. Capable and earnest performances and impressive visuals bolster what would otherwise be a by-the-numbers production.

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Evil Dead-inspired horror scene with a possessed woman holding a lit lighter.

Evil Dead Burn (2026) Review

★★★1/2 out of ★★★★★

Intensity: 🩸🩸🩸🩸1/2 out of 🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸

In Evil Dead Burn, it's all gas, no brakes, with copious gory violence but not a whole lot of plot, in the most recent edition of the Evil Dead Franchise. This film is a white-knuckle ride. It upholds the franchise's tradition with extreme elements that will please many loyal fans. It does not, however, provide the charm and certainly lacks the goofiness of the Raimi movies. From the moment the movie starts, the action doesn't let you up for air. For some, that's a thrill. For others, it may prove exhausting.

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A person standing next to a snowmobile in a snowy, desolate landscape with a weathered structure.

Freezing Cold Horrors: Episode 212

BRRRRRR! It's so cold outside! Wait, what? The thermometer reads 102? What's the date? Ah, forget the date; this is a brain freeze for you because we decided to cool you off with some freezing cold horror films just in time for the summer heat wave! YES! Cold themes are the icy wet blanket that puts you at unease. Friend of the Podcast, Ian Parker joins the Scariest Things, as we put our parkas on for a discussion of some frozen horror treats. Enjoy!
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Person in yellow glove holding a large kitchen knife in a garden setting.

Friday the 69th (2026): PHFF Review

★★★ out of ★★★★★

Intensity: 🩸🩸 out of 🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸

Friday the 69th prescribes a gonzo premise: What if a porn studio tries to rescue its fortunes by going straight and making a mainstream horror movie? This debut film from Alex Montilla was featured at the Portland Horror Film Festival. This retro grindhouse spoof behaves itself... mostly. The movie isn't nearly as dirty as it potentially could have been. It pays homage to the slasher movies of the early '80s and has subtle nods to the adult-film roots of the characters making the movie-within-the-movie. The comedy is a bit uneven, but it hits often enough to put a smile on your face.

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Collection of horror film posters from The PHFF Horror Short Film Director Roundtable.

The PHFF Horror Short Film Director Roundtable

The Horror Short Film Director Roundtable is one of the most important things that we did at the Portland Horror Film Festival. It provided an elevated platform for horror short filmmakers. Oftentimes, this is ground zero for original horror ideas. Unless you are a Hollywood nepo-director, short film creation is where you learn your chops. I wanted to give these creatives an opportunity to share their experiences in making movies, both good and bad, so that we can all learn a little more about the craft.
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Close-up of a man with bloodied face and intense expression, horror scene from Dracula review.

Dracula: The Night Around Us (2026): PHFF Review

★★★★ out of ★★★★★

Intensity: 🩸🩸🩸 out of 🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸

Sometimes it takes an indie take on a classic to make the story scary again. Dracula: The Night Around Us does exactly that. It is a dark, brooding, modern take on the Bram Stoker classic. Literal chills ran through my nervous system. This film won the Goul D'Or award at the Portland Horror Film Festival for the best Feature at the Festival in 2026.

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Goth woman holding a Rue Morgue magazine with a spooky cover image.

Rue Morgue Editor Andrea Subissati Interview at PHFF 2026

The Bloody Judge for the 2026 Portland Horror Film Festival was Andrea Subissati, the Executive Editor of Rue Morgue. She is one of the most compelling voices within the horror community, and is a powerful advocate for women within the genre. Andrea was kind enough to set some time aside to talk some terror with us between feature film showings at the festival.
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Futuristic scene with glowing green lights and a mysterious figure in darkness.

Frogman Returns (2026) Review: Portland Horror Film Festival

★★★★ out of ★★★★★

Intensity: 🩸🩸 out of 🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸

The Frogman is back! The first Frogman was something of a found footage cult hit. Now, both the actual film and the film within the film have a bigger budget this time out, and the results go gonzo crazy. Forget the cryptids; this sequel takes the concept into cosmic insanity. See this in a full theater, as the audience I saw it with went completely bananas. It starts out like a natural extension of the first film, but expands the story into realms practically unthinkable. This feature won the Horde Award at the Portland Horror Film Festival as the audience choice for best film.

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Leather-clad woman with whip in a BDSM-themed room with bondage gear and neon lighting.

The Demonatrix (2026) Review: Portland Horror Film Festival

★★★1/2 out of ★★★★★

Intensity: 🩸🩸 out of 🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸

The Demonatrix is a cheeky, lightly racy horror-comedy that reflects on the economic troubles of the time. A dominatrix looking to get some extra income turns to hosting fake séances to make ends meet. When things inevitably go awry, she turns to a priest working in a church across the street from her kink studio. It's a silly, simple tale that features some great costumes and a couple of horror legends you will recognise.

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Disappears completely poster with red text on dark background.

Disappear Completely (2022) Review

⭐⭐⭐⭐
Intensity: 🩸🩸🩸 out of 🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸

What starts off as a creepy little film about a curse spirals into one of the most uncomfortable viewing experiences of the year.

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A woman standing alone at night on a deserted street with a flashlight and a book.

LandLord (2025): Portland Horror Film Festival Review

★★★★ out of ★★★★★

Intensity: 🩸🩸1/2 out of 🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸

LandLord poses the question "If vampires can't come into your home without an invitation, what happens if they own your housing?" A bounty hunter checks her conscience in order to save an orphaned boy from the predations of a vampire landlord consuming the tenants of a Lousiville housing complex. This gritty and moody debut from writer director Remington Smith was featured at the Portland Horror Film Festival.

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A terrifying figure in a dark uniform with a gas mask and axe in a dimly lit room.

My Bloody Valentine at 45: An Interview with George Mihalka at PHFF 2026

My Bloody Valentine turns 45 years old this year. The director, George Mihalka, was the guest of honor at this year's Portland Horror Film Festival. George was kind enough to speak with the Scariest Things, who are huge fans of the film. Lost cutting room footage was recently found when the producer was absorbed by Lionsgate, allowing some of the missing gory effects to be brought back into the movie. So, it's time to revisit this movie and talk to the creator about why it remains important today.
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