Joseph reviews two features from Australia's A Night of Horror International Film Festival: German horror satire "Struwwelerror" and Australian folk horror "The Unlit" (AKA "Witches of Blackwood").
Joseph reviews two Brooklyn Horror Film Festival features: French science fiction fantasy/weirdo western mashup "After Blue" and Spanish doppelganger thriller "Ego."
Joseph reviews two excellent films from Fantastic Fest: Iranian supernatural chiller "Zalava" and the artistic "paper film" remix of Stephen King's "The Langoliers" enitiled "The Timekeepers of Eternity."
★★★ out of ★★★★★
The Secret of Sinchanee boasts solid acting from its ensemble cast and an effectively eerie atmosphere, but tries to delve into what feels like too many ideas for one film.
Joseph reviews three films from Arrow Video FrightFest: "Post Mortem," "As in Heaven, So on Earth," and "Nocturna: Side A - The Great Old Man's Night."
Joseph reviews two excellent films from Fantastic Fest: The Russian serial killer feature "The Execution" and U.K. horror mystery "Homebound."
Along with the terrific feature-film lineup from Vienna’s SLASH Film Festival, plenty of short-form fright fare is on tap, too. Here are capsule reviews of just a few of the short films on offer.
Provo, Utah’s FilmQuest film festival has announced its lineup of cinematic genre-film gems — including 14 feature films and dozens of short films from around the globe — for its 2021 in-person lineup. The fest takes place from October 29–November 6.
North Carolina's Wreak Havoc horror Film Festival presents award-winning independent horror features and shorts from around the world on October 1 and 2, 2021.
Among the Fantastic Fest films I have had a sneak peek at or can’t wait to watch are these half-dozen features, plus a bonus pair of newly restored rereleases.
Los Angeles’ Beyond Fest returns to indoor cinemas this year with a mouth-watering lineup of horror, science fiction, and genre-film fare. From September 29th–October 11th, the festival features cutting edge fear fare including world and west coast premieres, 4K restorations of beloved classics, and much more.
Joseph reviews three films from London's Arrow Video FrightFest: psychochiller "The Parker Sessions," comedy "Killer Concept," and the enigmatic "Mystery Spot."
★★★★ out of ★★★★★
If you are looking for something outrageously different, you need look no further than this mind-boggling slice of surreal Japanese comedy.
★★★★ out of ★★★★★
Macabre, mysterious, imaginative, and a delight to watch unfold, this Argentinian chiller is must-see viewing for fans of horror cinema.
★★★ out of ★★★★★
This frenetic independent chiller is a fun entry in the hotel-horror subgenre.
★★★1/2 out of ★★★★★
A true family effort, Hellbender sees a mother and daughter at odds when the youngster discovers a secret that her mother kept from her and the power that it involves.
★★1/2 out of ★★★★★
Swedish puzzler The House at the End of the Forest serves up more head scratching than it does hand wringing.
We’re All Going to the World’s Fair, Kratt, and Ultrasound screen as part of Montreal’s Fantasia 2021, which runs online from August 5–25, 2021.
★★★ out of ★★★★★
Man Under Table is a surreal, darkly comic commentary on the trials and tribulations of independent filmmaking. It has an air of dread and bleakness of the horror-adjacent kind.
Every year, Montreal’s Fantasia International Film Festival serves up North America’s largest selection of genre-film goodness, and this year’s 25th edition running August 5–25 is no exception. Along with science fiction, thriller, dark comedy, action, animation, and other exciting genres, horror has always been a big part of Fantasia. Here are six of Fantasia’s exciting fear-fare feature offerings on tap this year.
Here are three reviews from South Korea's Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival, for a highly artistic Spanish historical chiller, a moody Vietnamese horror based on Asian urban legends, and a fine Hong Kong psychological horror thriller.
If you’re as big a creature feature fan as some of us here at The Scariest Things are, you should...
★★★ out of ★★★★★
Great White delivers some effective shark-attack–movie thrills with solid acting but not many new elements.
The United Kingdom's superb Arrow Video FrightFest is one of the highlights each summer for scare-fare fans, and the fest has just presented its stunning poster this year, designed by Graham Humphreys. Following is the official press announcement.
★★★1/2 out of ★★★★★
This horror comedy about two ghosts trying to work their way out of purgatory features humor that ranges from the broad to the uncomfortable, and is brought to cinematic life by a game cast.
★★★★ out of ★★★★★
The new park ranger in town teams up with the local mail delivery person to try and calm down the unconventional locals when it seems a werewolf may be on the loose in this lighthearted creature-feature comedy.
The Fantasia International Film Festival has outdone itself with today’s mind-warping second-wave announcement. Featuring horror titles such as #BLUE_WHALE, Ghosting Gloria, and Hellbender (to name but a few) along with a plethora of science fiction, dark comedy, thriller, and other horror-adjacent genres, Montreal’s premiere genre-film fest promises to be a blast, as it is every year.
★★★ out of ★★★★★
Where does Annie Clark end and her St. Vincent rock star persona begin? Her friend Carrie Brownstein attempts to document that until the answer to that question winds up in an absurd, sometimes surreal blur in this ambitious mockumentary.
Washington’s North Bend Film Festival is back, and it is serving up a hybrid in-person and virtual version this July....