Daniel Kurland – All Things Ick

“AHS: Delicate” Review – “Little Gold Man” Mixes Oscar Fever & Baby Fever into the Perfect Product

April 18, 2024 Daniel Kurland AHS: Delicate, American Horror Story, American Horror Story: Delicate, Halley Feiffer, Jennifer Lynch, Reviews, Rosemary's Baby, TV

‘AHS: Delicate’ enters early labor with a fun, frenzied episode that finds the perfect tone and goes for broke as its water breaks. “I’ll figure it out. Women always do.” American Horror Story is no stranger to remixing real-life history with ludicrous, heightened Murphy-isms, whether it’s AHS: 1984’s incorporation of Richard Ramirez, AHS: Cult’s use […]

The post “AHS: Delicate” Review – “Little Gold Man” Mixes Oscar Fever & Baby Fever into the Perfect Product appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

“AHS: Delicate” Review – “Ava Hestia” Just Delivered the Season’s Best Episode to Date

April 11, 2024 Daniel Kurland AHS: Delicate, American Horror Story, American Horror Story: Delicate, Annabelle Dexter-Jones, Halley Feiffer, Jennifer Lynch, Reviews, TV

‘AHS: Delicate’ turns out its best episode of the season with a flashback-focused installment that recants Adeline’s brutal backstory. “We don’t have to stay where we’re born…” Hestia, the namesake of AHS: Delicate’s antepenultimate episode of the season, is the Greek goddess of the hearth, home, and hospitality. This may seem like a benign thing […]

The post “AHS: Delicate” Review – “Ava Hestia” Just Delivered the Season’s Best Episode to Date appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

“AHS: Delicate” Review – “Opening Night” Delivers More of the Same for the Mid-Season Premiere

April 4, 2024 Daniel Kurland AHS: Delicate, American Horror Story, American Horror Story: Delicate, Emma Roberts, Halley Feiffer, Reviews, Ryan Murphy, TV

‘AHS: Delicate – Part Two’ returns with more of the same, yet Anna’s perturbing pregnancy finally starts to crown towards its creepy climax. “Down will come baby, cradle and all…” Part Two of American Horror Story: Delicate turns the clock back just over 35 years and begins with an unsettling vignette that chronicles how Emma […]

The post “AHS: Delicate” Review – “Opening Night” Delivers More of the Same for the Mid-Season Premiere appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

35 Years Later, Robert Englund’s ‘976-Evil’ Dials Back to a Bygone Era

March 22, 2024 Daniel Kurland 976-EVIL, Brian Helgeland, Editorials, Freddy's Nightmares, Jim Wynorski, Movies, Robert Englund

Robert Englund steps into the director’s chair with ‘976-Evil,’ a dark dive into Satanism and demonology where a bullied outcast uses an occult hotline to bite back. “Out of the darkness and into light, comes your horrorscope on this dark and stormy night.” Robert Englund is a name who needs no introduction in the horror […]

The post 35 Years Later, Robert Englund’s ‘976-Evil’ Dials Back to a Bygone Era appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

[Review] Graphic Novel ‘Tender’ Is Brilliant Feminist Body Horror That Will Make You Squirm & Scream

March 12, 2024 Daniel Kurland Beth Hetland, Comics, Fantagraphics, Graphic Novel, Reviews, Tender

Beth Hetland’s debut graphic novel, ‘Tender,’ is a modern tale of love, validation, and self-destruction by way of brutal body horror with a feminist edge. “I’ve wanted this more than anything.” Men so often dominate the body horror subgenre, which makes it so rare and insightful whenever women tackle this space. This makes Beth Hetland’s […]

The post [Review] Graphic Novel ‘Tender’ Is Brilliant Feminist Body Horror That Will Make You Squirm & Scream appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Michele Soavi’s ‘The Church’ Continues to Evoke Evil & Rip Faces After 35 Years

March 8, 2024 Daniel Kurland Dario Argento, Demons, Editorials, Italian Horror, Lamberto Bava, Michele Soavi, Movies, The Church

When Italian horror comes to mind, it’s the unholy trifecta of Dario Argento, Lucio Fulci, and Mario and Lamberto Bava that dominate the discussion. However, Michele Soavi is another essential – albeit underrated – Italian horror savant from the ‘80s and ‘90s who cut his teeth as Argento and Fulci’s apprentice, before ascending to become […]

The post Michele Soavi’s ‘The Church’ Continues to Evoke Evil & Rip Faces After 35 Years appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Netflix’s ‘The Program: Cons, Cults and Kidnapping’ Offers Disturbing Deep Dive into a Destructive Institution [Review]

March 5, 2024 Daniel Kurland Documentary, Katherine Kubler, Netflix, Reviews, The Program, true crime, TV

Katherine Kubler’s harrowing three-part documentary tells a suffocating survivor story that morphs into a terrifying takedown on America’s corrupt behavior modification boarding school business. “They tried to murder children’s souls here.” Alexandre Dumas’ The Count of Monte Cristo plays a recurring role as a beacon of escapism in The Program, Netflix’s three-part true-crime documentary, as […]

The post Netflix’s ‘The Program: Cons, Cults and Kidnapping’ Offers Disturbing Deep Dive into a Destructive Institution [Review] appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

‘The Truth About Jim’ Review – ‘Abducted in Plain Sight’ Director’s New True Crime Docuseries for Max

February 14, 2024 Daniel Kurland HBO Max, Jim Mordecai, MAX, Reviews, Skye Borgman, The Truth About Jim, true crime, TV

Skye Borgman’s deep dive into an unsolved serial killer’s crimes unearths a whole family tree of pain, pathos, and progress. “A cold case is no substitute for a warm life.” True crime documentaries and serial killer investigations have become the latest cash cow for streaming services. Dozens of these slickly-packaged products flood streamers as they […]

The post ‘The Truth About Jim’ Review – ‘Abducted in Plain Sight’ Director’s New True Crime Docuseries for Max appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

‘The Fly II’ Remains Malformed & Misunderstood 35 Years Later

February 9, 2024 Daniel Kurland Anniversary, Chris Walas, Editorials, Eric Stoltz, Movies, The Fly, The Fly II

The horror genre is one that frequently insists upon sequels and franchises, even when they’re woefully misguided endeavors. There are too many sequels that are set up to fail and seem financially driven and creatively bankrupt, whether it’s Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2, The Rage: Carrie 2, or American Psycho II: All American Girl. […]

The post ‘The Fly II’ Remains Malformed & Misunderstood 35 Years Later appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

10 Directors Who Should Take Over ‘The Exorcist: Deceiver’

January 17, 2024 Daniel Kurland Aaron Moorhead, David Bruckner, David Gordon Green, Editorials, Eli Roth, featured, Jennifer Kent, John Carpenter, Justin Benson, Kyle Edward Ball, Mike Flanagan, Movies, Sam Raimi, Scott Derrickson, The Exorcist, The Exorcist: Believer, The Exorcist: Deceiver, Ti West, topnews

Some horror properties naturally lend themselves to incessant sequels, while others seem to will themselves into existence through sheer will, as if they’re the result of a demonic possession. William Friedkin’s The Exorcist, while over 50 years old, is still considered to be one of the scariest movies of all-time. Various Exorcist sequels and even […]

The post 10 Directors Who Should Take Over ‘The Exorcist: Deceiver’ appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Bloody Disgusting’s 10 Best International Horror Films of 2023

December 30, 2023 Daniel Kurland Attachment, Best of 2023, cameron cairnes, colin cairnes, Daniel Bandeira, Demian Rugna, Editorials, featured, Gabriel Bier Gislason, Godzilla: Minus One, Hideo Nakata, Huesera: The Bone Woman, Jason Yu, Jaume Balaguero, Late Night With the Devil, Michelle Garza Cervera, Movies, Paco Plaza, Property, Sister Death, Sleep, Takashi Yamazaki, The Forbidden Play, topnews, Venus, When Evil Lurks

2023 was a banner year for horror films from across the globe, which deserve just as much praise and attention as any domestic genre triumph. In a year that’s had its share of ups and downs at the box office, horror continues to be a top performer and one of the most consistent sources of […]

The post Bloody Disgusting’s 10 Best International Horror Films of 2023 appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Death Games: How Takashi Miike’s “As the Gods Will’ Was “Squid Game” Before “Squid Game”

December 6, 2023 Daniel Kurland As the Gods Will, death games, Editorials, Movies, Squid Game, Takashi Miike

The “death game” sub-genre sees ordinary people fight for survival through murderous games, puzzles, and exercises. These heightened stories have become so popular because of their tendency to turn torture and suffering into a twisted form of entertainment — a concept that feels increasingly authentic with each passing year. There are dozens of anime that […]

The post Death Games: How Takashi Miike’s “As the Gods Will’ Was “Squid Game” Before “Squid Game” appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

‘Puppet Master 4’ at 30: The Horror Tokusatsu Sequel You Never Knew You Needed

November 27, 2023 Daniel Kurland Editorials, Full Moon Features, Jeff Burr, Movies, Puppet Master, Puppet Master 4, tokusatsu

One wouldn’t think that a schlocky slasher series about killer puppets would produce more than a dozen films across three decades, let alone sequels that are still being discussed today, yet here we are getting deep in the weeds over the straight-to-video sequel bliss that is Puppet Master 4. Puppet Master is easily the most […]

The post ‘Puppet Master 4’ at 30: The Horror Tokusatsu Sequel You Never Knew You Needed appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

“American Horror Stories: Huluween Event” Review – A Surprise Halloween Highlight

October 26, 2023 Daniel Kurland American Horror Stories, American Horror Story, anthology, Brad Falchuk, FX, Gwyneth Paltrow, Hulu, Manny Coto, Reviews, Ryan Murphy, TV

Season three of ‘American Horror Stories’ isn’t afraid to push some uncomfortable buttons, delivering some of its creepiest stories ever. It can be increasingly easy to write off American Horror Stories, especially when a middling season of American Horror Story proper is currently airing. American Horror Stories began with a rocky start that was too […]

The post “American Horror Stories: Huluween Event” Review – A Surprise Halloween Highlight appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

‘Property’ Review – White-Knuckle Home Invasion Horror Locks Audiences in an Armored Car

October 19, 2023 Daniel Kurland BHFF, BHFF 23, Brooklyn Horror Film Festival, Daniel Bandeira, Movies, Property, Reviews

Horror is an endlessly broad genre that creates terror from diverse material. The genre’s depth can prompt audiences to question if gore and vicious murders are worse than systemic oppression and an impossibly-balanced class structure where the disenfranchised continually grow more helpless. It’s eerie how a blood-thirsty monster and societal strife can be equally destructive […]

The post ‘Property’ Review – White-Knuckle Home Invasion Horror Locks Audiences in an Armored Car appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.