A gore-filled, action packed love letter to revenge westerns from days gone by. Entirely shot on 16MM film using gear from the 1960s making the whole film positively drip with vintage style.
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Sinners proves positively that Ryan Coogler has mastered the art of making a horror blockbuster. He resides on a short list of directors who can not only deliver stunning artistic achievements, but at the same time knows how to please a demanding audience. Bathed in boozy, bluesy period atmosphere, it represents swampy cool, and celebrates the black experience of black culture in the 1930s Jim Crow South. Already a box office smash, the Academy should start preparing for another horror movie to crash the Oscar party come the next nomination period.
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Daydreamers (Nguoi Mat Troi) announces that Vietnamese horror has arrived, boldly and with style. It takes the traditional Western tropes of vampires and packages them in a wholly Vietnamese wrapper. Two vampire brothers have taken different paths in their acceptance of vampirism. The older brother, Marco, revels in the power that is bestowed upon him. His younger brother Nhat seeks freedom from the restrictions and curse of vampirism and seeks to become human again. Themes of family honor, redemption, recovery, betrayal, and forbidden love play strongly throughout the film.
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Sibling rivalry of the deadly kind abounds in Mexican chiller Don't Leave the Kids Alone. Here is The Scariest Things' review from Calgary Underground Film Festival 2025.
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Clown in a Cornfield is a return-to-basics teen slasher movie that gets all the little things right, but shares the same narrative limitations as its precedent source material. Sometimes hilarious, often bloody, this adaptation of a popular YA novel by Adam Cesare is tonally pitched still at a younger audience, and will likely be quite popular with the teen scene.
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Ash is a big, bombastic science fiction horror film that wears its influences on its sleeves. It offers a thrilling opening sequence and a monstrous conclusion but gets completely lost in its storytelling. Director/composer Flying Lotus crafted lovely psychedelic visuals and composed a soundtrack that thunders with propulsive energy, but unmemorable characters prove to be this film's undoing.
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It Ends travels with four college students on a road trip as a last hurrah before sending one of their own into the working world. What was meant to be a simple food run becomes a trip down a dreadful and endless road. As the miles add up, the group struggles to determine why they have been dealt this fate, fearing that this might be the afterlife with no off-ramp in sight.
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Good Boy is a ghost story told from a dog's perspective. If you have ever wondered why your dog has been barking at shadows or unheard sounds, you will understand the mechanics of this film. Our furry best friends know things that we can't fathom. Indy is a loyal pet to his ailing owner, who has moved into an old home with a cursed reputation.
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If we are honest with ourselves, most of us would identify more with the imperfect Elvira than the flawless Cinderella. Emilie Blichfeldt has produced a master class in deconstructing a modern myth. Beauty may only be skin deep, but its impact on one's self-worth can be devastating. The Ugly Stepsister is a boundary-pushing movie that is guaranteed to make you uneasy or even queasy and will leave an emotional mark on you.
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In Redux Redux, a vengeful mother engages in a multiverse-hopping vendetta to exact justice on a serial killer who murdered her daughter. She hopes that in one of the alternate universes, she will find a world where her daughter is still alive. An interesting take, if a bit over-extended, on the causality loop of fate.
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How far will you go to protect your children from poor decision-making? Hallow Road hits the streets as a one-room black box stage thriller set in an automobile. Two parents race to the scene of an accident involving their daughter, as panic sets in and additional levels of tragedy are revealed. This movie will put you through the emotional wringer and has some cryptic plot twists hiding in the shadows.
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The post-apocalyptic Canadian survival tale 40 Acres is a savage and emotional story that tests the boundaries of Darwinian society at the brink. In the end, when countries and governments fail, the family unit survives. This movie has increased prominence due to the current tensions between Canada and the US. The sense of dread only increases when the plausibility factor of this story has increased tenfold in recent months. The plot mirrors a thrilling opening scene with a devastating closing act, which stacks the deck heavily against our protagonists. Pulses will pound.
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The stakes are as high as the coke-snorting estate agent protagonist in director Gerard Johnson’s suspenseful thriller ODYSSEY.
