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Toxic relationships, sexuality, vigilante justice, and meat. Lots of meat.
★★★★★ out of ★★★★★
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Bring Her Back is the sophomore horror feature effort from the Australian Philippou brothers, who two years ago produced the surprise hit Talk To Me. I am happy to report that they have once again delivered a spine-tingling and intense thriller that will haunt your soul for years to come. Sally Hawkins provides a villainess for the ages, and the rest of the young cast become sympathetic pawns in a horrifying possession experiment. The movie is an excellent original story, but you need to be willing to sit through a slow, steady burn and withstand some savage gory moments.
For much of the Scariest Things crew, we are discussing horror movies from our backyard. This is our home turf. The Pacific Northwest is a suitable backdrop for horror, with its often gloomy weather, quirky urban cities, and history of cryptids. Famously, we keep it weird in the PNW, and the movies reflect these tastes.
Are you the type of gamer who enjoys battling hordes of the undead? Do you enjoy strategic scenarios that feel consequential, and every turn feels like life or death? Steam has two new zombie-apocalypse: Into the Dead: Our Darkest Days and Infection Free Zone are two zombie-themed games that will get your pulse pounding. As a bonus, both are relatively inexpensive games that will provide many hours of grim entertainment.
The Scariest Things has a new trailer/promo clip and images from POPEYE THE SLAYER MAN for you.
★★★ out of ★★★★★
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Control Freak might be the itchiest movie ever made. Vy Nguyen is a self-help guru on the rise and on the cusp of great fame. Despite her outward confidence, she has developed a nervous habit of scratching the back of her head. The psychological effect is due to a curse handed down to her from her parents, and what starts as an itch threatens to destroy her and everything she has achieved. You will be scratching your head by the end of this movie. (For many reasons)
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A spectacular documentary style, Lovecraft adjacent, conspiracy driven deep dive into a top secret government project. You have been warned.
⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
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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.
Jump Scares are the foundation of so many horror movies. This blast of adrenaline keeps horror fans coming back to the cineplex. Great horror movies, awful horror movies—they all use them. The Scariest Things team discusses our favorite use of the easiest and perhaps most essential trope in the genre.
★★★★1/2 out of ★★★★★
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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.
The Scariest Things presents our trailer alert and poster reveal for genre-bender BA.
The Long Walk, one of Stephen King's oldest un-filmed published works, will arrive in September in wide theatrical release. In The Long Walk, 100 young men participate in a walk down US Highway 1. It is a death march for 99 participants and a dream come true for the lone survivor. These contestants are to keep up a pace of three miles per hour or risk a warning. Three warnings, and the attending military patrol will shoot the straggler dead. The intense trailer created plenty of buzz.
Overlook, the great New Orleans Horror Film Festival, has delivered its goods. Long-time Patreon supporter of The Scariest Things, Robyn Marcotte, joined us to share her experiences with Eric and Liz on the festival. More than ever, I found that I didn't have enough time to see nearly enough of the movies. Still, I was able to catch eight feature films and 23 short films. You have to pick and choose, as it is physically impossible to see all the movies. So, it became a bit of a guessing game as to what was going to be the best watch. In this episode, we share our thoughts on everything we did at the Festival.
★★★★ out of ★★★★★
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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.
★★★★ out of ★★★★★
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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.
This is a SPOILER description of the tropes in Clown in a Cornfield. It isn't the actual review. Part of the fun with this movie was identifying all of the traditional themes and tropes that Clown in a Cornfield used to build up its story. This link was created so that people who didn't want to get spoiled for the film can avoid divulging the big story beats in the movie. For those of you who like spotting tropes like BINGO, read on! But, with a word of CAUTION, if you are spoiler sensitive.
A link back to the review is provided in this post.
★★★ out of ★★★★★
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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.
Horror Shorts are often the heartbeat of horror film festivals. They are frequently overlooked by audiences, but not at this year's Overlook Film Festival. Each session was full of horror fans, which was great. Listen in to these emerging directors and writers for insight into how to make festival-worthy films.
★★1/2 out of ★★★★★
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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.
★★★★.5 out of ★★★★★
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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.
★★★★.5 out of ★★★★★
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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.
★★★★★ out of ★★★★★
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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.
★★★.5 out of ★★★★★
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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.
★★★★ out of ★★★★★
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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.
★★★★.5 out of ★★★★★
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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.
Calgary Underground Film Festival announces its terrific 2025 lineup.
SXSW review of the superb short horror film VIDOE BARN, a valentine to video rental stores and a fine entry in the cinematic subgenre of high strangeness involving videotapes.
Looking forward to the horror offerings of 2025, The Scariest Things anticipates what will be our favorite horror films this year. The festivals are rolling out the best indie films, and the sequel slates have been set. Let's get scary!
The Overlook Film Festival, the annual celebration of all things horror, announced today the first wave of the lineup for its 2025 edition. Taking place April 3 – April 6 in New Orleans, Louisiana at the Prytania Theatres, the horror festival will welcome audiences back to America’s most haunted city with a terrifying selection of new and classic films as well as the extensive offscreen offerings including interactive events, live performances, immersive programming and special guests that the annual horror staple has become known for.
Memories of abuse are not the only things haunting an elderly mother and her adult son in the disquieting supernatural chiller THE HOME.