★ out of ★★★★★ Directed by Rob Jabbaz The Sadness, directed by Rob Jabbaz, begins the way your standard outbreak […]
Liz’s Review: The Best Horror Shorts of Panic Fest 2022
Ranging from the horrific to the hilarious, the short films showcased at Panic Fest have something for everyone.
Eric’s Review: The Essex Serpent (2022)
★★★★ out of ★★★★★
The Essex Serpent is a cryptid tale that explores a time and place at a time of great crossroads in society and in the lives of all the characters involved in the tale. It is a parable of faith, science, and the collision of the advances in society running headlong into long-held folkloric superstitions. Claire Danes and Tom Hiddleston headline an impressive cast, in a period piece production that finds beauty in all the bleakness in Essex marshes.
Joseph’s Review: “Monstrous”
★★★1/2 out of ★★★★★
Christina Ricci is the main reason to check out this tale of a mother and her young son haunted by something that emerges from a nearby body of water, but Monstrous definitely has other things going for it, as well.
The Scariest Thing Podcast Episode 145: Tropetown Showdown!
Remember who we are: Your Gateway to the Trends and Tropes of the Horror Genre. That means we had better know our tropes… like REALLY know our tropes. And as such, welcome to Tropetown! This is a speed round session where we try and come up with the best and most original example of the trope. It’s a game of can-you-top this? The winner gets to be named Mayor of Tropetown!
Joseph’s Review: “Revealer” (Panic Fest)
★★★★ out of ★★★★★
A peepshow dancer and a religious zealot must try to work together during the apocalypse or suffer abominable fates in this wild eighties-set chiller.
Eric’s Review: The Columnist (2019)
★★★★ out of ★★★★★
When a likable protagonist goes horribly, horribly wrong and the movie turns out to be very, very, right. The Dutch film, The Columnist, is an adult study of cyberbullying and the drastic measures that a journalist will go through to exact a pound of flesh from her trolls. The mix of emotions watching a character you like descend so far is palpable.
Mike’s Book Report: And Then I Woke Up (2022)
★★★★ out of ★★★★★
In the increasingly fast-paced world of horror sometimes it’s really nice to bathe in a simple and pastoral story. The intensity of fast zombies, flying chainsaws, and hyper-speed ghouls has a time and place, but it’s also a nice bit of calm when the characters and the story unfold in a relaxed and less apocalyptic way.
The 2022 Thingy Awards!
Celebrate the best of 2021 Horror in the 2022 Thingy Awards! Yeah, it’s a little late in the Awards season, but we’re all still recovering from the Will Smith slap heard around the world, and now that we have recovered from being stunned, it’s time to concentrate on the Scariest Things you saw from last year. Once again, you are invited to fill in a ballot for your favorites from 2021!
Liz’s Review: Candy (2022)
★★★1/2 out of ★★★★★
Hulu takes on an 80’s ax murder in its new original series Candy.
Mike’s Review: Night’s End (2022)
★★★ out of ★★★★★
There’s nothing worse than living alone in a bleak and dreary apartment. Add Covid19 and some additional isolation. That’s pretty awful. Mix in conference calls with your patronizing ex-wife, her husband, and your best pal trying to help you transition in to the next phase of your life. Well, that’s really awful. Mix in some black magic, demons from another dimension, and true ghost hunters — then you’ve got a real recipe for demonic disaster.
Mike’s Review: Vampire Circus (1972)
★★★ out of ★★★★★
Vampires and circuses! Two great tastes that pair wonderfully said together. Said no one. Ever. But it’s true. It happened. All courtesy of classic horror studio Hammer films. In 1972 someone thought up this brainy coupling and vampires were meshed together in to the world of circuses. Not necessarily a fad that lasted, but at least we got one vampire/circus mashup!
Joseph’s Review: “Legions” (Fantaspoa)
★★★★ out of ★★★★★
This Argentinian tale of a sorcerer trying to save his daughter from a diabolical creature is bound to put a lump in your throat as it sends shivers down your spine.
Liz’s Review: The Innocents (Panic Fest 2022)
★★★★ out of ★★★★★
The bright Nordic summer masks something sinister in The Innocents.
The Scariest Things Podcast Extra: An Interview with Dashcam Director Rob Savage (Panic Fest 2022)
The Pandemic fueled dread of Dashcam is showing at Panic Fest in Kansas City on May 1 and May 4. TST had the great opportunity to interview the director Rob Savage to discuss his latest creation.
Mike’s Review: Intruder (1989)
★★★ out of ★★★★★
This hop, skip, and jump down memory lane provides an incredible gory realization that horror films from the 1980s were silly, confusing, and nasty bits of business. Sure they were rather amateur-ish, but they were also exciting jumping off points for the masters of horror for decades to come! There’s Sam Raimi, Ted Raimi, Greg Nicotero, Bruce Campbell, Renée Estevez, and even famed Tarantino producer, Lawrence Bender. Some parts are smaller than others, but rest assured, they’re all there!
Liz’s Review: Dashcam (Panic Fest 2022)
★★★★ out of ★★★★★
Strap in for the most uncomfortable ride of your life with Rob Savage’s Dashcam.
Monsters, Murderers, and Martial Arts Mayhem: The Chattanooga Film Festival’s Virtual Lineup First Wave Is Here!
The Chattanooga Film Festival (CFF) brings another fine assortment of chillers, thrillers, the funny, and the fantastic, to this year’s virtual edition. The fest has announced its first wave of films, and from the frightening (such as The Ones You Didn’t Burn) to the freaky (the found footage mind-bender The Outwaters), CFF has something for genre film aficionados of all kinds.
Trailer Alert! Watcher (2022)
IFC Midnight has dropped the official trailer and a brand new poster for Chloe Okuno’s debut feature film, Watcher. Watcher […]
Joseph’s Calgary Underground Film Festival Reviews: “Luzifer” and “Gatlopp”
Luzifer ★★★1/2 out of ★★★★★
Gatlopp★★★1/2 out of ★★★★★
Joseph reviews two films from Calgary Underground Film Festival.
Liz’s Review: When the Screaming Starts (Panic Fest 2022)
★★★★ out of ★★★★★
The family that slays together…will have you laughing right until the screaming starts.
The Scariest Things Podcast Extra: An Interview With the Cast and Crew of When the Screaming Starts (Panic Fest 2022)
At Panic Fest in Kansas City, a wicked slice of horror-comedy has been ordered up in the form of an indie UK feature, When the Screaming Starts. The Scariest Things podcast crew immediately fell for this mockumentary about a Manson Family-style murder cult setting its roots in London. We were joined by the Director and Actor/Producers of the film to discuss the story of the “family” that slays together and doesn’t stay together (ahem!).
Mike’s Review: The Scary of Sixty-First (2021)
★ out of ★★★★★
A new age of horror is upon us! It’s Jeffrey Epstein Horror. For the record, Jeffrey Epstein is a pretty repugnant character and no one ever asked for Jeffrey Epstein Horror. But it is kind of…uh…interesting.
Joseph’s Fantaspoa Reviews: “Follow Her,” “Ox-Head Village,” and “Yellow Dragon’s Village”
Follow Her ★★★1/2 out of ★★★★★
Ox-Head Village ★★★1/2 out of ★★★★★
Yellow Dragon’s Village ★★★★ out of ★★★★★
Joseph reviews three films from Brazil’s Fantaspoa film festival, all of which are well worth seeking out!
Panic Fest 2022 Preview
Panic Fest is turning TEN, and you can join the celebration this spring!
Mike’s Book Report: Shelter of the Damned (2021)
★★★★ out of ★★★★★
Equal parts Stand By Me, Stranger Things, and Hellraiser, the Shelter of the Damned presents a pretty dark look at adolescence and the lengths that kids will go to to get out of school.
Robert’s Review: Room 203 (2022)
⭐️⭐️⭐️ out of ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Based on a J-Horror novel by Nanami Kamon, Room 203 serves up familiar tropes in a solid apartment horror flick.
Mike’s Review: Morbius (2022)
★★ out of ★★★★★
It’s a new form of vampirism! It’s vampirism without vampires! Morbius is that oh-so-special vampire that’s content with Gatorade mountain blueberry blast-looking blood and who doesn’t burst in to flames every time he sees a crucifix. The dawning of a new and decidedly less malevolent Dracula.
Dead List: 20 Years of Resident Evil
In honor of the 20th anniversary of the original Resident Evil’s release, here’s everything you need to know about every feature-length RE movie ever made!
The Scariest Things Podcast Episode 144: The SXSW 2022 Recap
SXSW made its return to live audiences in Austin in March of 2022, and The Scariest Things was present for the event. Liz Williams took in as much as she could at the festival, and the rest of TST’s staff followed by streaming for one of the world’s great film festivals.