★★★★ out of ★★★★★
The latest crytpozoology documentary from the terrific Small Town monsters production company is another solid effort, this one focusing on the history and social issues surrounding the Jersey Devil.
Mike’s Review: No Exit (2022)
★★★ out of ★★★★★
Part thriller, part mystery, part horror, and all metaphor! No Exit is a pretty fun thrill ride that never gets too gory, grimy, or grody. Just a little bit of each, but not too much of any.
Eric’s Review: Mad God (2022)
★★★★ out of ★★★★★
The living master of stop-motion animation, Phil Tippett has finished his 35-year-old passion project, Mad God. It is a technical and visual triumph, an astounding achievement of effort, care, and craftsmanship. Notably, Mad God is also full of yucky puppets. It is also devoid of a clear narrative story. It resembles the visions of Hell by Hieronymous Bosch put into animated stop motion.
Simply put: Mad God is surreal, profane, disturbing, confusing… and FREAKY.
Joseph’s Review: Seire (London Korean Film Festival)
★★★1/2 out of ★★★★★
A skeptical husband goes against his superstitious wife’s wishes and finds himself in a downward spiral of tragedy in this brooding Korean chiller.
Mike’s Review: Satan’s Slaves: Communion (2022)
★★★★.5 out of ★★★★★
If 2022 has you a little jaundiced with reboots, sequels, prequels, and re-imaginations your feelings are not unwarranted. Let’s face it, Halloween Ends was confusing and largely devoid of Michael Myers. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre was silly and uncooked. Hellraiser was pretty to look at, but became an unnecessary and boring reboot.
Have no fear. The Indonesians are here to save us!
Mike’s Review: Umma (2022)
★★ out of ★★★★★
A quiet and contemplative affair that sadly just remains a quiet and contemplative affair. No highs, no lows, and few scares.
Joseph’s Book Review: FrightFest Guide: Vampire Movies
★★★★★ out of ★★★★★
FRIGHTFEST GUIDE: VAMPIRE MOVIES is a lavish, highly informative guide to cinema of the undead.
Joseph’s Review: The Lair (2022)
★★★1/2 out of ★★★★★
U.K. creature feature The Lair may not win any awards for originality or win accolades for its characters, but if you are in the mood for action horror with monsters and grue aplenty, it is a fun watch.
Joseph’s Nightmares Film Festival Shorts Reviews: “Prom Car ‘91” and “Gnomes”
Prom Car ’91 ★★★★ out of ★★★★★
Gnomes ★★★★ out of ★★★★★
Joseph reviews two excellent shorts from Nightmares Film Festival.
Eric’s Review: Werewolf by Night (2022)
★★★★ out of ★★★★★
Marvel is dipping its toe into the horror genre. It’s an homage to the great Universal and Val Lewton era of film, with glorious black-and-white. It’s gorier than you would expect a Marvel/Disney production to be, and it has all the right feels. It’s short, punchy, and a whole lot of fun. Michael Giacchino steps away from his composer’s chair to take the director’s set, with great success. Here’s hoping they turn it into a continuing series.
The Scariest Things Podcast Episode 156: The Top 100 Horror Movies of All Time #20-1
A drumroll, please!
At long last, The Scariest Things is proud to present to you our TOP 20 Horror Movies of All Time, as curated by a selection committee of 72 expert jurors. No sleeper films here. These are all beloved landmark films, but the question is, how do they rank against each other?
Mike’s Review: Dark Glasses (2022)
★★.5 out of ★★★★★
Black gloves! The stabiest of stabbings! Groovy Goblin-esque soundtrack! Mysterious subterfuge! A nod (maybe) to the 1971 classic Cat O’ Nine Tails. Argento is back! Well, maybe he’s back. The vote’s still out on that wild proclamation.
Liz’s Review: The Retaliators
My head says ★★ out of ★★★★★
My heart says ★★★★ out of ★★★★★
The Retaliators is a blood soaked revenge horror rock show.
The Scariest Things Podcast Episode 155: The Top 100 Horror Movies of All Time #40-21
We arrive now at our big hitters in the horror genre. It’s #40-21! But surprisingly, there were some surprises! Some movies that were completely absent from our 2018 list vault all the way to this portion of the rankings! It’s amazing what happens when you add in a bunch of new members of the selection committee. Zombie lovers and fans of the new Golden Age of Horror will appreciate the films in this section of our rankings. Enjoy!
Joseph’s Reviews: SUMMONERS and MOTHER, MAY I? (Brooklyn Horror Film Festival)
Summoners ★★★ out of ★★★★★
Mother, May I? ★★★1/2 out of ★★★★★
Joseph reviews two “But is it horror?” features from Brooklyn Horror Film Festival.
Liz’s Reviews: Good Boy and Stéphane (Beyond Fest 2022)
Good Boy ★★★1/2 out of ★★★★★
Stephane ★★★ out of ★★★★★
Look out for two new European thrillers fresh from their world premiers at Beyond Fest!
The Scariest Things Top 100 Jury Vote Breakdown
Our Top 100 is being revealed in the October month of Horror that leads up to Halloween. If you want to try and piece together what the winning film might be, or want to know how we did this, check out the full Scariest Jury list right here! If you love rankings and ratings, and you love horror movies… this is for YOU!
Joseph’s Review: V/H/S/99 (Brooklyn Horror Film Festival)
★★★1/2 out of ★★★★★
V/H/S/99, the latest installment in the V/H/S horror anthology franchise, delivers plenty of the gory and the gruesome along with a nice balance of chills and chuckles.
Joseph’s Review: In the Woods (A Night of Horror International Film Festival)
★★★1/2 out of ★★★★★
A father and daughter going through difficult times are about to have matters get even worse, as they are stranded on a road next to a forest at night, and they are definitely not alone.
Joseph’s A Night of Horror International Film Festival Shorts Reviews: “The Trunk,” “The Junket,” and “Tistlebu”
The Trunk ★★★★ out of ★★★★★ Directed by Travis Laidlaw In Canadian supernatural shocker The Trunk, Marco (Craig Monk) and […]
Mike’s Review: Halloween Ends (2022)
★★ out of ★★★★★
Like all hyper-beloved franchises there’s no way to end them in a satisfactory way. Save for MASH and the great Hawkeye Pierce, every last franchise has fumbled, bungled, and tied themselves in the most Gordian of Gordian Knots. Sadly, even with a stellar writing and directing crew, Halloween was not able to properly end.
The Scariest Things Podcast Episode 154: The Top 100 Horror Films of All Time #60-41
We have reached the mid-point of our top 100. The eighties are done proud in this batch, and J-Horror has a couple of Iconic films as well. We also have perhaps the greatest Folk Horror Film in this grouping. Is this the highest that a classic silver age film will post? We shall see! Check out, and listen in to The Scariest Things Podcast Episode 154: The Top 100 Horror Films of All Time #60-41!
Eric’s Review: Freeze (2022 H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival)
★★★1/2 out of ★★★★★
Freeze takes elements from the Legenary H.P. Lovecraft library: The Shadow over Innsmouth and At the Mountains of Madness have been combined to make it into an entertaining romp through the arctic. For the independent production house Dark Temple Motion Pictures, this is their most ambitious effort to date, and it looks terrific, though it really could have used several more actors to flesh out the environment. (literally).
Mike’s Review: Hellraiser (2022)
📍📍📍 out of 📍📍📍📍📍
You either love the Cenobites or you don’t. You’re either interested in freaky BDSM emo-demons or you’re not. You either like non-linear otherworldly sci-fi based horror or it holds little interest to you. It’s possible there’s a third category — indifference — and that’s probably where I fall on the Hellraiser spectrum.
Joseph’s Review: After She Died (A Night of Horror International Film Festival)
★★★★ out of ★★★★★
This Australian indie effort punches above its weight and delivers a thrilling, mesmerizing watch about a teenage girl whose recently deceased mother has been replaced in the family unit by a woman who looks alarmingly like that very mother.
Eric’s Review: Something in the Dirt (2022 H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival)
★★★★ out of ★★★★★
Fear the Pythagorean Theorem!
Wait… what?
The latest film from trendsetting actor/directors Aaron Moorhead and Justin Benson explores the fear of pattern languages. Math can be a frustratingly daunting experience at best and mind-bogglingly cryptic at the extremes. Think of it. Irrational numbers. ∞. Triskadecaphobia. π. Abstract numbers. Dividing by zero. What does it all mean? The laws and rules of mathematics that govern our lives can be twisted. Oh, the Horror!
Mike’s Review: My Best Friend’s Exorcism (2022)
★★ out of ★★★★★
A “C” is passing, but it ain’t that great in the scheme of things. It’s just OK. Sometimes it’s from lack of trying, sometimes it’s from a poor teacher, and sometimes the student doesn’t have a lot to work from. In the case of 2022’s My Best Friend’s Exorcism, it had great source material, a great story, and the backing of one of the biggest corporations on the planet. So what the hell happened to one of the most anticipated films of 2022?
Robert’s Review: Jeepers Creepers: Reborn (2022)
⭐️ out of ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Creeper is back! Unfortunately, he’s as painful to watch this time as he was the last time we saw him.
The Scariest Things Episode 153: The Top 100 Horror Movies of All Time #80-61
The Scariest Things continues the reconstruction of our Top 100 Horror Movies of All Time list! Listen in as Ian Parker once again helps host our rollout of the best of the scary. Liz, Mike, and Eric also compete to see how many of their favorite films ended up in the top 100, with the winner getting to claim the title of Mayor of Horror Tropetown! So far, it’s looking pretty good for Liz. There’s a little something for everyone at this point in the list, and perhaps a few movies that you might not be familiar with, though most of these are bonafide classics!
Sinister Six: A Half-Dozen Films We Can’t Wait to See at Brooklyn Horror Film Festival
Here are six slices of fright-fare from Brooklyn Horror Film Festival that we here at The Scariest Things are itching to see.