What if you mashed up Cool Hand Luke, Midnight Express, Escape from Alcatraz and added extreme gore, mayhem, and a dash of empathy? Well, put simply, you’d get one of the best prison films ever, Ghost in the Cell.
Other Mommy weirdly and jarringly dumps the audience into the third act of the film at the very start of the film. There’s no languid pacing. No exposition. No breathing room. It’s just an oddball other mommy hellbent on terrorizing a young family. Mind you there's no first or second acts. The entire film unfolds as an overly long third act.
There are many films of this ilk. Ghost hunters in mausoleums, film crews at abandoned mental institutions, and even the exceptional, Last Shift follows similar themes and tropes. But be warned, horror hounds, Infirmary is not worth your time.
The most recent entry into the fold is not only the best Resident Evil film made, it’s also one of the most pop-corn-chomping film that’s hit the screens in years. This is a five out of five with no notes. Well maybe one or two notes.
Penny Lane is Dead is one of the newer offerings from Shudder that doesn’t fit neatly into the horror category, and if we’re being honest, is probably more of a thriller. Alas, it’s a revenge-based thriller, so we’re claiming it in the name of all things HORROR.
From the jump audiences are treated to a treasure trove of songs that sound like they were ripped straight from a 1979 Italian Giallo film. In fact, true blue Giallo fans will recognize some melodies that are reminiscent of the Ennio Morricone's work on the Argento classic the Bird with the Crystal Plumage. It’s a pure and loving homage that’s employed in a way that practically lulls audiences into a false sense of security only to be jostled into gory mayhem.
In the new horror comedy, Dead Media, director Joseph Scrimshaw explores the concept of physical media. Is it better to unwind by mindless scrolling through a seemingly endless array of streaming options, or will you be rewarded by exploring the dark recesses of the Salvation Army to find that perfectly imperfect VHS copy of The Mutilator?
What do you get when you mash up Alice in Wonderland with Rosemary’s Baby, add in hint of Midsommar, and include the American sister of the most famous scream queen, with an Italian writer and director for a film that’s shot in Germany? Why you get The Sect — AKA The Devil’s Daughter.
What if a film tried to mash up the Oedipus complex with vampires, Crips, Bloods, crooked cops, not-so-crooked cops, vampire cops, mother/son tensions, father/son tensions, and African mysticism? Not possible, right?
A film that roils in equal parts gore, humor, and the paranormal, Silent Night Deadly Night is a true Yuletide crowd pleaser. By playfully pulling apart the most sacrosanct holiday figure of all time — Ol’ St. Nick — this film manages to have something for the entire family to enjoy on Xmas morning.
Intensity: 🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸 out of 🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸
This is a BRUTAL film with the biggest capital B that there ever was. Revenge with a capital R and blood with another capital B. NOTE: This film is not for the faint of heart!
Intensity: 🩸🩸 out of 🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸
Companion is one big love triangle. Literally and figuratively. It deftly balances a series of human and non-human relationships, while at the same time trying to thread a very delicate needle between comedy, horror, and the sci-fi thriller genres.
If you’re looking for originality you may have to look elsewhere. Bloody Tennis is a literal homage to Suspiria. Replace ballet with tennis and you’ve effectively got the exact same film.
Frayed parent-child relationships! Academic imposter syndrome! Sexual identity uncertainty! Failed expectations! Body image regrets! It’s a trauma smorgasbord.
Sometimes mothers have their children’s best interests at heart. Sometimes this is a purely hateful and resent-filled relationship. And sometimes it’s a work in progress. Mind you, mothers are trying their best, but often the strange and oedipal relationship with the children can fray the rearing process.
Mummies have been around since…well…maybe forever? Some Asian cultures were way ahead of the mummy curve and jumped into mummification nearly 14,000 year ago. Mummies are definitely part of our collective consciousness. Whether it’s the goofy mummy from Hotel Transylvania, or the super sexy and sumptuous mummy from 1971’s Blood from the Mummy’s Tomb, mummies have captured our attention.
Horror films in the modern era tend to tilt towards the academic and erudite. Sure there’s still wealth of garbage floating around in the ocean, including Minnie’s Midnight Massacre, Spiders on a Plane, and Meth Gator. However, these two worlds — trash and highbrow — seldom come together in perfect harmony.
Truth be told Dolly is a pretty boring affair. That said, the film is punctuated with some pretty exceptional pieces of gore — including one moment that may not have ever been laid down on celluloid.
If the new A24 film Undertone is considered to be “liminal horror” then count me as a true blue liminal horror fan. Operating in between the spaces, notes, and shadows, this is a film that evokes surreal and unsettling perspectives from — the nothingness.
Intensity: 🩸 out of 🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸
When a film becomes so firmly ensconced in our nation’s, nay the world’s, cultural zeitgeist there’s often nothing left to say about it. The film score, the triad of perfectly perfect actors, one of the best villains of all time, and more metaphorical subtext than you can shake a stick at.
Intensity: 🩸🩸🩸🩸 out of 🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸
28 Years Later is an exceptional cinematic achievement replete with iPhone footage, goat cams, and lots of drone footage. The problem is Danny Boyle and Alex Garland’s non-sequitur approach to the film has audiences ending up feeling like they’ve watched three films instead of one. Each act of the film ends up almost being an entirely different film.
Intensity: 🩸 🩸 🩸 out of 🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸
This is the first horror film in 2025 that you can safely skip. To be clear, it’s a good looking production with a great soundtrack, but The Wolf Man is one of the poorest excuses for a werewolf you’ll ever lay your eyes on.
Intensity: 🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸out of 🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸
This one’s a real puzzler. On the one hand it’s a full-on gross-out B-movie, with questionable acting and an equally questionable plot. On the other hand Terrifier 3 is a real achievement. The gore is certainly like nothing you’ve ever seen before — unless you already watched Terrifier 1 and 2 -- and the mean-spirited depravity is something to behold. This is a film that would have Herschell Gordon Lewis, Tom Savini, and Lucio Fulci hunched over a stain-soaked toilet.