★★★1/2 out of ★★★★★
When your school is built on the ruins of a creepy old hospital you’re just asking for trouble.
Tag Archive for ‘2019’
Mike’s Review: The Pool (2019)
★★★★ out of ★★★★★ So close. Not quite. Just about there. One more try. Close but no cigar. You’re right in the ballpark. Just. One. More. Inch. This is the prevailing and effectively repeated trope in the 2019 (U.S. release) Thai film, the Pool.
Mike’s Review: Impetigore (2019)
★★★★.5 out of ★★★★★ Ghosts, doomed villages, tortured family dynamics, the blackest of black magic, and thousand year old Javanese curses all come home to roost in the latest spookfest from Joko Anwar. Possibly (read: possibly) the best horror film director out currently, Anwar knows his way around a story, cinematic shots, and the creation of truly sympathetic characters.
Mike’s Review: The Siren (2019)
★★.5 out of ★★★★★ A somber, quiet, and contemplative affair. This faux mythology, while largely devoid of dialogue, packs away some interesting social/sexual dynamics. Fans of Troma and Full Moon be forewarned, this film is NOT for you. While it is a monster movie that’s loosely based not the eastern European “Rusalka” water harpy myth, this is not the Toxic Avenger, nor is it the Evil Bong.
Mike’s Review: Z (2019)
★★★ out of ★★★★★ With an increasing number of horror films eschewing the well-trodden path of gore, gags, and scream queens, there’s always the risk of re-calibrating too far to the other end of the scare spectrum. Over the last 20 years there’s been a trend towards melancholy and family trauma — Shudder calls it parental terror, we’re calling it melancholy horror. Sometimes the quiet and somber affairs work and sometimes they’re just weighty, boring, and devoid of scares. The Shudder original Z certainly ran that risk, but effectively shook itself off the melancholy mantle.
Robert’s Review: Sea Fever (2019)
★★★1/2 out of ★★★★★
A beautifully shot and unintentionally timely creature feature highlighting the struggle between Human Nature and Science.
Robert’s Review: Mass Hysteria (2019)
★★1/2 out of ★★★★★
While it’s more comedy than horror, this splattery witch-based tale is an entertaining cat & mouse chase around Salem, Massachusetts.
Mike’s Review: 47 Meters Down: Uncaged (2019)
★★★ out of ★★★★★ Young women. Adventurous young women. Genetically perfect adventurous young women. Impossibly tight spaces. Blind killing creatures who’ve not seen the light of day for millennia. It’s the Descent for the tween generation! Plus, did we mention the forever hunky John Corbett?
Robert’s Review: Snatchers (2019)
★★★★ out of ★★★★★
A mildly raunchy, splattertastic, alien invasion creature feature with a Mean Girls twist crossed with a teen pregnancy after school special? Yes, please!
Mike’s Review: Bliss (2019)
🤟🤟out of 🤟🤟🤟🤟🤟
Are you a fan of a) Metal, b) vaguely satanic possessions, c) explicit drug usage, d) nudity, e) lots of blood (read: LOTS), and f) the word FUCK? I mean, sure who isn’t in favor of all these things right? Each has lots to offer. They’re interesting. Taken in small doses they can be a very powerful antidote to a lagging cinematic undertaking. When taken in over-dose-like proportions the gore and bad words take on an underwhelming status.
Robert’s Review: Countdown (2019)
★1/2 out of ★★★★★
This Final Destination rip-off is cliché, derivative, and predictable. You’ve got better things to do with your time.
Robert’s Top 10 Horror Movies of 2019
2019 was another epic year for our favorite genre! Choosing only 10 to be the Best of the Best this year was hard work!
Mike’s Review: Haunt (2019)
🤡🤡.5 out of 🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡 Writing is a struggle. Too much exposition gives the appearance of being a churlish jerk who sucks all of the oxygen out of a room. While too little exposition has the air of being aloof, uncaring, and unwilling to let the audience in on the scares. Weirdly, Haunt vacillates between both words, but manages to tell this spooky story in the most ineffective way possible.
Mike’s Review: Eli (2019)
★★ out of ★★★★★ Hey Netflix, we see you over there! Yeah, you. Trying your darnedest to jump on that horror bandwagon, peer in to the abyss, produce that oh-so-perfect horror film, and reap the ghoulish accolades of horror fans everywhere. Just so you know, it’s not working. While 2019’s Eli is awfully close to being a solid film you still have a lot of work to do to make in the fast-paced world of horror.
Robert’s Review: EndZeit (2018)
★★★ out of ★★★★★
A beautifully shot zombie-adjacent fable about nature, death, guilt, and self-determination.
Robert’s Review: The Drone (2019)
★1/2 out of ★★★★★
It’s the same team from Zombeavers (2014), but they’re not playing in the same league any more.
Robert’s Review: Sweetheart (2019)
★★★★1/2 out of ★★★★★
A fantastic heroine, an amphibious sea monster, and a tropical island. You should already be watching this movie.
Robert’s Review: Mary (2019)
★★ out of ★★★★★
In spite of some pretty camera work, Gary Oldman and Emily Mortimer couldn’t bail water fast enough to keep this movie afloat.
Robert’s Review: Level 16 (2018)
★★★ out of ★★★★★
While not super original, it’s a well told variation of a story we’ve seen before.
Scariest Interview: Brian Hanson, director of The Black String (2019)
Sitting down with writer/director Brian Hanson to talk about his first feature-length film, The Black String (2019).
Scariest Interview: “Never Hike Alone” Director Vincente DiSanti
The director who brought you “Never Hike Alone” talks with us about his new Friday the 13th short films.
Robert’s Review: Ens Rationis (2019)
★★★1/2 out of ★★★★★
Like sands through an hourglass, these are the days of our lives.
Trailer Alert: Black Christmas (2019)
Well, we’re not sure who asked for this, but it’s on the way. On December 13, 2019, we’ll all get a chance to sit down and ingest the latest spooky offerings from Blumhouse in the form of the re-re-re-make of Black Christmas.
Robert’s FilmQuest Review: The Black String (2019)
★★★1/2 out of ★★★★★
More witches! Or are they? At least we can watch Agent Cody Banks go slowly insane.
Scariest Interview Series: The Sonata #3 – Actor Freya Tingley
The final installment of our first Scariest Interview Series. We talk to Freya Tingley about preparing for the role of Rose Fisher and what comes next!
Scariest Interview Series: The Sonata #2 – Producer Laurent Fumeron
In part two of our interview series focussed on The Sonata we hear from the film’s stalwart producer!
Scariest Interview Series: The Sonata #1 – Director Andrew Desmond
The writer/director of the brilliant Gothic horror film, The Sonata (2019), gives us some of his valuable time.
Poster reveal for Color Out Of Space (2019)
Richard Stanley’s adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft’s story is almost here!
Robert’s Popcorn Frights Review: The Sonata (2018)
★★★★1/2 out of ★★★★★
A beautifully shot Lovecraftian tale of classical music and madness.
Robert’s Popcorn Frights Review: Infeccion (2019)
★★★ out of ★★★★★
The first zombie movie filmed in Venezuela hits the screen with some biting social commentary.