For the second year in a row, our favorite film festivals were presented to us in a streaming format (though some festivals had theatrical releases). This has allowed the Scariest Things to watch lots of horror from the comfort of our own homes, with some (mostly) pretty awesome content. We recap the best and the worst of the Summer Festivals from 2021.
★★ out of ★★★★★
Buckle up for a very bumpy ride with Night Teeth.
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."
★★ out of ★★★★★
Halloween Kills harkens back to the old traditions of the Halloween sequels. And that's not a good thing. The movie delivers expert gore effects and the cruel hyperviolence is superbly done. Old-school slasher fans will likely be quite pleased. But, for those who have grown accustomed to smart protagonists and the nuanced scripts of modern horror, you will be disappointed. This movie is simply an exhausting bloody trudge, setting up the next and nominally final chapter to this trilogy.
★★★★ out of ★★★★★
As demonic crooner Ronnie James Dio once famously opined “when you listen to fools, the mob rules.” Maybe this prescient piece of advice was being plied to the January 6 insurrection, maybe it was being plied to Halloween Kills, but just maybe Dio’s magical ways were sorting out many future truths.
★★★★★ out of ★★★★★
Being picked last on the playground may be an advantage when you're playing the Squid Game.
★★★1/2 out of ★★★★★
UFO abductees and true believers gather together in a secretive communal cult, hoping to reconnect with their alien encounter. Cosmic Dawn is more about the cult and its actions than the actual alien encounters, and threads enough menace and strangeness to keep you conflicted about whether
Once upon a time... horror was something you learned from your grandmother or the tribal elder. It is ancient horror by way of magic and myth, bolstered by the shared beliefs of a culture. This sub-genre is open to a broad range of interpretations and can be somewhat hard to pin down for definition. Leave it to the Scariest Things who were not afraid to give our own takes on what Folkloric horror is all about.
★ out of ★★★★★
or
★★★★★ out of ★★★★★
A five star film that’s also simultaneously a one star film? A film that occupies an incredibly rare space. It’s loved. It’s hated. It’s revered. It’s reviled. A film that’s poorly shot, conceived, and acted, but its legendarily awful veneer gives way to a blood soaked interior that’s impossible not to LOVE.
★★★★ out of ★★★★★
Destroy all Media has once again teamed up with The H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society, and are in the process of developing a television series, Black Goat, for which they debuted the pilot at the H.P Lovecraft Film Festival. The Pilot episode drips with cultish dread and portends apocalyptic omens. The cosmic horror universe is ripe for development, and it will be fascinating to see who picks up the series.
⭐️⭐️⭐️ out of ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
An oddly touching movie about family, loneliness, depression, and a creepy man who can swallow people whole.
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.
★★★★ out of ★★★★★
It is wholly appropriate that The Whisperer in the Darkness is an adaptation of an H.P. Lovecraft story. As in Love + Craft. It is a lovingly and well-crafted period piece creation of Cosmic horror. Not only does the film take the look of the era when the story was written, but it also captures the film noir aesthetic in glorious shadowy black and white. If you like Cthulhu and cold walks in the rain, this is a movie for you!
★★★★ out of ★★★★★
A determined novel that spans multiple time frames and plumb near covers every last aspect horror genre -- except for UFOs and Bigfoot. That might sound like a stretch, but it ain’t. There’s witches. There’s ghouls. There’s 1970s grindhouse lore. There’s the conventions and their inevitable fan-boy hangers on. There’s even true crime podcasters. This book covers it all. Maybe that’s a good thing and maybe it’s not.
The Scariest Things loves its short horror films, and we had the privilege to talk with director Tim Shechmeister who gave us our favorite horror short from the extensive roster of great shorts that played at the Portland Horror Film Festival. Check out an exclusive release of Hello? right here in this post!
★★★ out of ★★★★★
Small-time, trailer park professional wrestling meets zombie grindhouse mayhem in director Max Martini's sophomore outing.
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."
★★★★★ out of ★★★★★ By Catriona Ward Way back in April (it’s almost October!) I was given an advance reader...
Joseph reviews two excellent films from Fantastic Fest: The Russian serial killer feature "The Execution" and U.K. horror mystery "Homebound."
★★ out of ★★★★★
🩸🩸🩸 out of 🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸
The fungal body horror Russian showcase Superdeep has the trappings of a better movie, but completely undercuts its fabulous practical effects and makeup work with characters who seem to be willfully stupid in their actions.
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.
★★1/2 out of ★★★★★
Malignant is the sloppy drunk Auntie of horror movies. It meanders along confusingly for the first two thirds of the movie, and then goes preposterously entertaining for a brief spell, and then closes with a logic defying conclusion. It is a hot mess of a movie but it has some redemptive high points.
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.
A little extra treat for our Podcast Listeners. We had a live run through of one of our favorite activities: A Bracket Fight! A live audience of about 150 got to hoot and holler for their favorite monsters and selecting a creature feature champion. There were some great upsets and definite fan favorites. Who won? You'll have to listen in to find out.