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Overlook, the great New Orleans Horror Film Festival, has delivered its goods. Long-time Patreon supporter of The Scariest Things, Robyn Marcotte, joined us to share her experiences with Eric and Liz on the festival. More than ever, I found that I didn't have enough time to see nearly enough of the movies. Still, I was able to catch eight feature films and 23 short films. You have to pick and choose, as it is physically impossible to see all the movies. So, it became a bit of a guessing game as to what was going to be the best watch. In this episode, we share our thoughts on everything we did at the Festival.
★★★★ out of ★★★★★

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Daydreamers (Nguoi Mat Troi) announces that Vietnamese horror has arrived, boldly and with style. It takes the traditional Western tropes of vampires and packages them in a wholly Vietnamese wrapper. Two vampire brothers have taken different paths in their acceptance of vampirism. The older brother, Marco, revels in the power that is bestowed upon him. His younger brother Nhat seeks freedom from the restrictions and curse of vampirism and seeks to become human again. Themes of family honor, redemption, recovery, betrayal, and forbidden love play strongly throughout the film.

This is a SPOILER description of the tropes in Clown in a Cornfield. It isn't the actual review. Part of the fun with this movie was identifying all of the traditional themes and tropes that Clown in a Cornfield used to build up its story. This link was created so that people who didn't want to get spoiled for the film can avoid divulging the big story beats in the movie. For those of you who like spotting tropes like BINGO, read on! But, with a word of CAUTION, if you are spoiler sensitive. A link back to the review is provided in this post.
★★★ out of ★★★★★

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Clown in a Cornfield is a return-to-basics teen slasher movie that gets all the little things right, but shares the same narrative limitations as its precedent source material. Sometimes hilarious, often bloody, this adaptation of a popular YA novel by Adam Cesare is tonally pitched still at a younger audience, and will likely be quite popular with the teen scene.

Horror Shorts are often the heartbeat of horror film festivals. They are frequently overlooked by audiences, but not at this year's Overlook Film Festival. Each session was full of horror fans, which was great. Listen in to these emerging directors and writers for insight into how to make festival-worthy films.
★★1/2 out of ★★★★★

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Ash is a big, bombastic science fiction horror film that wears its influences on its sleeves. It offers a thrilling opening sequence and a monstrous conclusion but gets completely lost in its storytelling. Director/composer Flying Lotus crafted lovely psychedelic visuals and composed a soundtrack that thunders with propulsive energy, but unmemorable characters prove to be this film's undoing.

★★★★.5 out of ★★★★★

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It Ends travels with four college students on a road trip as a last hurrah before sending one of their own into the working world. What was meant to be a simple food run becomes a trip down a dreadful and endless road. As the miles add up, the group struggles to determine why they have been dealt this fate, fearing that this might be the afterlife with no off-ramp in sight.

★★★★.5 out of ★★★★★

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Good Boy is a ghost story told from a dog's perspective. If you have ever wondered why your dog has been barking at shadows or unheard sounds, you will understand the mechanics of this film. Our furry best friends know things that we can't fathom. Indy is a loyal pet to his ailing owner, who has moved into an old home with a cursed reputation.

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If we are honest with ourselves, most of us would identify more with the imperfect Elvira than the flawless Cinderella. Emilie Blichfeldt has produced a master class in deconstructing a modern myth. Beauty may only be skin deep, but its impact on one's self-worth can be devastating. The Ugly Stepsister is a boundary-pushing movie that is guaranteed to make you uneasy or even queasy and will leave an emotional mark on you.

★★★.5 out of ★★★★★

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In Redux Redux, a vengeful mother engages in a multiverse-hopping vendetta to exact justice on a serial killer who murdered her daughter. She hopes that in one of the alternate universes, she will find a world where her daughter is still alive. An interesting take, if a bit over-extended, on the causality loop of fate.

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How far will you go to protect your children from poor decision-making? Hallow Road hits the streets as a one-room black box stage thriller set in an automobile. Two parents race to the scene of an accident involving their daughter, as panic sets in and additional levels of tragedy are revealed. This movie will put you through the emotional wringer and has some cryptic plot twists hiding in the shadows.

★★★★.5 out of ★★★★★

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The post-apocalyptic Canadian survival tale 40 Acres is a savage and emotional story that tests the boundaries of Darwinian society at the brink. In the end, when countries and governments fail, the family unit survives. This movie has increased prominence due to the current tensions between Canada and the US. The sense of dread only increases when the plausibility factor of this story has increased tenfold in recent months. The plot mirrors a thrilling opening scene with a devastating closing act, which stacks the deck heavily against our protagonists. Pulses will pound.

Looking forward to the horror offerings of 2025, The Scariest Things anticipates what will be our favorite horror films this year. The festivals are rolling out the best indie films, and the sequel slates have been set. Let's get scary!
The Overlook Film Festival, the annual celebration of all things horror, announced today the first wave of the lineup for its 2025 edition. Taking place April 3 – April 6 in New Orleans, Louisiana at the Prytania Theatres, the horror festival will welcome audiences back to America’s most haunted city with a terrifying selection of new and classic films as well as the extensive offscreen offerings including interactive events, live performances, immersive programming and special guests that the annual horror staple has become known for.
Happy New Year! It's a little late, but the Lunar New Year celebrations go on for weeks, so we're still in celebration mode, even as the calendar turns from February to March. 2025 marks the year of the snake, and one of our fans, John Foley, suggested that we do a snake-themed horror movie podcast. We'll do that one better—we're going to find representatives for all the critters of the Lunar Zodiac Horrorscope!
★★★★ out of ★★★★★

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The Gorge is the ultimate mash-up film. Science fiction, romance, war, and horror are all bottled into one package. What The Gorge does best is character building. Anya Taylor-Joy and Miles Teller have real star power and great chemistry. The action sequences rock, with great choreography and impressive production values. The monsters, though, are a mixed bag and are window-dressing MacGuffins to the main event, romance.

Valentine's Day is here, and for some weird reason, some people want to Netflix and chill with a... horror movie! It makes sense, as a horror movie gets the emotions stirring. And sometimes, you can get just the right alchemy of love and terror. Kissing turns to killing, and then maybe kissing again. It's all about the passion, right? No matter what, a Valentine's Day horror movie will need to deliver the love.
Who needs your fancy schmancy elevated horror?!? Turn the page back to when real horror villains had no feelings or emotional depth other than deep blood lust. Join us, won't you, as we tour the sordid world of exploitation, lesbian vampires, biker gangs, and grimy savagery. It's Grindhouse time at The Scariest Things Podcast!
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Here for Blood mixes wrestling suplexes and a murderous KISS-like death cult with a babysitting plot. Surprisingly, the movie pulls it off. The movie's action pounds through the plot with splattery glee and aplomb. Moreover, the unlikely partnership between hulking Shawn Roberts and 10-year-old Maya Miseljevic is pure magic.

★★★1/2 out of ★★★★★

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When the world begins to fall apart, civilizations do some pretty crazy shit. Caitlin Cronenberg's first feature film, Humane, explores the possibilities in this dark satire. The Canadian government offers compensation for voluntary euthanasia. A prominent and wealthy family patriarch intends to make a grand political, patriotic gesture, but it goes horribly, bloodily wrong.

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Don't Move is a surprisingly tight and tense thriller that knows the story it wants to tell and keeps its focus. The result is a highly stressful viewing that keeps you calculating the odds in anticipation of escape from our heroine who spends a large portion of the movie paralyzed.

★★1/2 out of ★★★★★

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Brimming with inventive promise, Never Let Go is a movie of half-moves that never resolves its post-apocalyptic and psychological horror concepts. Halle Berry tries her best, but it becomes a frustrating endeavor by its conclusion.

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Your Monster is that rare Horror Rom-Com that succeeds on multiple levels. It takes the breakup film and mashes it up with the Beauty and the Beast and Imaginary Friend tropes. And then it pours madness sauce on top. The comedy hits. The romance is likable and endearing. And, though it saves the horror for quite a long stretch, Your Monster eventually delivers a great coup de grace of horror.

Well, that was fun! 2024, though it started slow, managed to pack in quite a few worthy films. The six critics of The Scariest Things debated who deserved a spot in the top 10, and there was a wide spread of picks. There were a few standouts most of us agreed to, but to find out, you'll have to listen to the podcast!
With the New Year on us, it is time to rate the best horror movies of 2024. What initially appeared to be a tough year for the genre turned itself around late. This year won't be as impactful as last year, but it had some terrific films at the front of the pack that fans will remember and cherish.
★★★★★ out of ★★★★★

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Nosferatu is a staggering accomplishment. Visually stunning, with sublime acting, Nosferatu is everything you would hope for in a horror costume drama. It helps that the director is the master of the period-piece horror movie.

The horror world just lost an icon. Olivia Hussey has passed away at age 73. Known to most for her portrayal of Juliet in Romeo and Juliet (1968), at the peak of her career, Hussey starred in one of the most pivotal movies in horror history, Black Christmas (1974). Before Laurie Strode and Sally Hardesty, there was Jess Bradford. Jess became the standard for the modern final girl in horror slasher films.
Horror Musicals: When they work they are next-level works of art. It's some of the worst material ever created when they don't work. Eric cajoled/dragged Liz and Mike to participate in evaluating one of his favorite sub-genres, the Horror Musical. A spotify soundtrack list is included in this post for you to hear the songs from the films we discuss in Ep 191.
Once upon a time, the major broadcast television networks used to produce feature films for their movies of the week. Many of the great made-for-tv horror movies have found new audiences with restored Blu-Ray issuances and streaming options, giving some long-lost classics a new lease on viewing life.

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