★★★ out of ★★★★★ An occult ritual that no one knows they are participating in on Independence Day leads to […]
Archive for ‘Reviews’
Eric’s Review: The Barge People (2018)
★★ out of ★★★★★
A lovely vacation in the canals in the English countryside gets turned upside-down when the vacationers are attacked by a band of toxic mutant cannibals. This wanted to be The Hills Have Eyes: UK. Unfortunately, it plays out a bit flaccid around the edges, rather like the mutants it showcases.
Mike’s Review: I’m Thinking of Ending Things (2020)
★★★ out of ★★★★★ I mean, really, who are we to ever question the greatness of the great Charlie Kaufman. A visionary. A cinematic poet. A deep thinker that throws head-scratchers our way every chance he gets. A repertoire filled with unimpeachable films. One after another. BUT, he’s never really dabbled in the horror genre, nor has he dealt with a storyline so chilling, unnerving, and downright baffling. And it kind of shows.
Joseph’s Review: The Owners
★★★1/2 out of ★★★★★ Three home invaders and a hapless girlfriend break into the wrong house in this sinister, often […]
Mike’s Review: Beyond the Woods (2018)
★★★.5 out of ★★★★★ Not all horror films need to be over-wrought. They needn’t be filled with hyper-complex multi-layered lore. CGI has its time and place, but that time in place is not in every time and every place. On occasion horror is able to lean simply on human emotions, quaint spaces, and languid settings. If you need a reprieve from the hustle and bustle of 21st century horror then Beyond the Woods is waiting for you…just beyond the woods.
Joseph’s Review: Blinders (Arrow Video FrightFest)
★★★1/2 out of ★★★★★ Fine performances and some clever variations on stalker-cinema tropes make Blinders a strong recommendation for fans […]
Mike’s Review: Mother of Tears (2007)
★ out of ★★★★★ All the old adages about aging are sadly true. While there are a handful of unique exceptions to aging, largely the process is mean, maddening, and without fail. The longer you stay in the game the harder it is to compete at your once prolific rate. That 12th album, might not quite be as fresh as that first lighting in a bottle 30 years prior. That 300th game might be a tad disinclined. It’s just a fact of our meager little life on planet earth and this impact is felt by all — including Dario Argento.
Robert’s Review: Verotika (2019)
★ out of ★★★★★
Danzig’s horror movie debut. No. Just no.
Joseph’s Review: The Curse of Audrey Earnshaw (Fantasia Film Festival)
★★★★1/2 out of ★★★★★ This Canadian occult tale is one of dread, rebellion, and revenge. It’s a masterful work that […]
Joseph’s Review: Before the Fire
★★1/2 out of ★★★★★ It takes some time for the thriller angles to get going in this pandemic-set outing, but […]
Eric’s Review: Contracted (2013)
★★★★ out of ★★★★★
A brutal and difficult to watch examination of a young woman laid low by a necrotic wasting case of VD. Emotionally rough and viscerally horrifying, this is not one for the weak of heart or stomach.
Joseph’s Review: Sputnik
★★★★ out of ★★★★★ This Russian take on a cosmic creature wreaking havoc on Earth is a winning effort that […]
Mike’s Review: The Pool (2019)
★★★★ out of ★★★★★ So close. Not quite. Just about there. One more try. Close but no cigar. You’re right in the ballpark. Just. One. More. Inch. This is the prevailing and effectively repeated trope in the 2019 (U.S. release) Thai film, the Pool.
Joseph’s Review: Host
★★★1/2 out of ★★★★★ Host is highly effective Zoom-based horror in which the cast members were also responsible for their […]
Joseph’s Review: Peripheral
★★★1/2 out of ★★★★★ Peripheral is a claustrophobic science fiction/horror hybrid that casts a satirical eye on technological addiction. It’s […]
Eric’s Review: Under the Skin (2013)
★★★★ out of ★★★★★
A look back at one of the least-sexy sexy movies ever made. Under the Skin is the rough equivalent cold wet blanket of a movie that will absorb your soul and use it as a cleaning rag. Scarlett Johansson takes huge risks at the height of her acting career, and it really pays off.
Eric’s CFF Review: Attack of the Demons (2020)
★★★1/2 out of ★★★★★
Origami Horror! Attack of the Demons is a unique artisan-crafted animated cut-paper gore flick that worships at the altar of Dario Argento and Sam Raimi and largely succeeds in its efforts.
Mike’s Review: Impetigore (2019)
★★★★.5 out of ★★★★★ Ghosts, doomed villages, tortured family dynamics, the blackest of black magic, and thousand year old Javanese curses all come home to roost in the latest spookfest from Joko Anwar. Possibly (read: possibly) the best horror film director out currently, Anwar knows his way around a story, cinematic shots, and the creation of truly sympathetic characters.
Joseph’s Review: The Rental
★★★1/2 out of ★★★★★ If, thanks to horror movies, you already have enough reasons not to go in the water, […]
Robert’s Review: The Waiting (2020)
★★★1/2 out of ★★★★★
A brand new horror-romance-comedy from the mind of F.C. Rabbath.
Joseph’s Review: Deathcember (Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival)
★★★★ out of ★★★★★ It’s Christmas in July as South Korea’s Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival (BIFAN) film festival presents […]
Mike’s Review: The Beach House (2019)
★★★.5 out of ★★★★★ If you’re not completely freaked out by the current pandemic, the strange and uneven response to the greatest crisis the world’s faced in the modern era, then have we got a film for you! This is not a fun filled family fete at the beach, oh no, The Beach House is a dark and twisted look at our current state of affairs filtered through the very real possibility that the worst is yet to come.
Eric’s Review: Yummy (2019)
★★★ out of ★★★★★
Do you want to see a Euro-trashy zombie film in a Balkan backwater black market plastic surgery center? This film is proof positive that not all European horror films are intense and artistic sociological statements. Sometimes you just want to let it rip. Yummy cuts it loose (for better and worse).
Eric’s Review: After Midnight (2019)
★★★★ out of ★★★★★
After Midnight is a languid, beer-soaked monster metaphor for a romantic relationship in freefall. It’s a well-executed break-up movie, with terrific indie horror bona-fides, but it is also certainly not for your average horror movie fan.
Eric’s PHFF Review: Witness Infection (2020)
★★★1/2 out of ★★★★★
When worlds collide! Witness Infection is a goofy and fun mashup of mob movie and zombie movie tropes. Family, duty, and mob justice become secondary for nice-guy Carlo when tainted Italian sausages ignite a zombie pandemic. Ooooo, maybe you shouldn’t have had seconds!
Eric’s PHFF Review: The Brain That Wouldn’t Die (2020)
★★★1/2 out of ★★★★★
“Let me DIE! Let me Die!” The Brain that Wouldn’t Die is a loving note for note recreation of one of the great B movies of the 1960s. Cheeky and continually winking at the audience, the film embraces the silly camp classic and giving it a fresh coat of 4K technicolor paint.
Joseph’s Review: Two Heads Creek
★★★★ out of ★★★★★ This Australian offering serves up social satire, gallons of gore gags, and wince-inducing set pieces. It’s […]
Mike’s PHFF Review: Uncle Peckerhead (2020)
★★★★ out of ★★★★★ Pulling off a feature length film takes some serious gumption. Pulling off a film that balances impeccable comedic timing, a fully realized soundtrack, empathetic characters, complicated friendships, and a heaping dose of spatter gore — well, that’s a whole different story. Directed by horror short filmmaker Matthew John Lawrence, Uncle Peckerhead hits every single note and simultaneously manages to bang out a gory film that would make Herschell Gordon Lewis blush.
Eric’s Chattanooga Film Festival Review: Jumbo (2020)
★★★★★ out of ★★★★★
A young woman gets a job at an amusement park, and falls romantically in love with an amusement park ride, in this bizarre and brilliant dark fantasy. Not so much a horror movie, but it is an absolutely brilliant coming of age piece about madness and unconventional affection.
Mike’s Review: The Siren (2019)
★★.5 out of ★★★★★ A somber, quiet, and contemplative affair. This faux mythology, while largely devoid of dialogue, packs away some interesting social/sexual dynamics. Fans of Troma and Full Moon be forewarned, this film is NOT for you. While it is a monster movie that’s loosely based not the eastern European “Rusalka” water harpy myth, this is not the Toxic Avenger, nor is it the Evil Bong.