Reviews

‘Things Will Be Different’ SXSW Review – Family Bonds Get Tested in Engaging Sci-Fi Thriller

Meagan Navarro Reviews, SXSW, SXSW 2024, Things Will Be Different

Writer/Director/Editor Michael Felker knows his way around time-shifting, metaphysical labors of love, having edited Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead’s Something in the Dirt, Synchronic, The Endless, and Spring. Felker’s feature directorial debut, Things Will Be Different, seamlessly fits into the Benson/Moorhead cinematic universe, introducing a fractured sibling relationship put through the physical and emotional wringer when they play with forces they don’t quite […]

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‘Kryptic’ SXSW Review – A Goopy, Esoteric Cryptozoology Psycho-Thriller

Meagan Navarro Kryptic, Reviews, SXSW, SXSW 2024

Bigfoot isn’t the only elusive cryptid in horror. Director Kourtney Roy‘s feature debut, Kryptic, centers around an amnesiac in pursuit of a missing cryptozoologist and the Canadian cryptid she was pursuing. Don’t expect a straightforward approach to this cryptid tale, though. Kryptic earns its title and then some, unfurling an esoteric psycho-thriller that uses its forest dwelling […]

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‘Dead Mail’ SXSW Review – An Offbeat, Lo-Fi ’80s Thriller

Meagan Navarro Dead Mail, Reviews, SXSW 2024

Obsession and profound loneliness drive writers/directors Joe DeBoer and Kyle McConaghy’s lo-fi psychological thriller, Dead Mail. On paper, the premise reads like a familiar crime tale, yet the filmmakers’ execution quickly proves Dead Mail to be anything but conventional. A reinvention of the ‘80s aesthetic, a deft genre blend, and intimate empathy afforded to all of its unique […]

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‘Family’ SXSW Review – Esoteric Arthouse Horror About Grief and Fear Induces Visceral Chills

Meagan Navarro Benjamin Finkel, Family, Reviews, Ruth Wilson, SXSW, SXSW 2024

The attention-grabbing opening scene in writer/director Benjamin Finkel’s Family effectively establishes the film’s peculiar, esoteric, yet bone-chilling tone. Evoking Relic or Ari Aster’s Hereditary, the cold open sees preteen protagonist Johanna (Cameron Dawson Gray) banging on the locked doors of a synagogue, pleading to be let in, only for her mother, Naomi (Ruth Wilson), to stalk across the lawn, […]

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‘Desert Road’ SXSW Review – A Roadtrip Thriller with an Affecting Sci-fi Twist

Meagan Navarro Desert Road, Reviews, SXSW, SXSW 2024

A woman finds herself trapped in a harrowing nightmare in writer/director Shannon Triplett’s feature debut, Desert Road, but not in the way you’d expect. While the road trip thriller traps its protagonist in place on a desolate stretch of highway, tossing harrowing encounters and obstacles her way against a ticking clock, a sci-fi twist and a […]

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‘Y2K’ SXSW Review – A24’s Teen Comedy-Horror is a Party Worth Rewinding the Clock For

Meagan Navarro A24, Jaeden Martell, Kyle Mooney, Rachel Zegler, Reviews, SXSW, SXSW 2024, Weta Workshop, Y2K

Ah, Y2K. The millennium bug that induced widespread fear over the possibility of a worldwide infrastructure crash once 2000 arrived becomes infectious fodder for a teen comedy infused with horror and nostalgia. Armed with a pitch-perfect, game-for-anything ensemble and great practical effects behind the carnage and calamity, A24’s latest offers up the most entertaining, apocalyptic funny-bone-tickling […]

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‘Birdeater’ SXSW Review – A Nail-Biting Deconstruction of Identity and Abuse

Meagan Navarro Birdeater, Reviews, SXSW, SXSW 2024

A blurred image of a Wake in Fright poster in an early shot in Birdeater cuts right to the heart of directors Jack Clark and Jim Weir’s feature debut, a hat tip to the style and tone of madness ahead. Like Ted Kotcheff’s 1971 classic thriller, Birdeater utilizes horror and thriller mechanics and tropes to deconstruct Australia’s masculine identity, one at odds with today’s […]

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‘Oddity’ SXSW Review – A Creepy Tale of Mannequin Horror and Supernatural Karma

Meagan Navarro Caveat, Oddity, Reviews, Shudder, SXSW, SXSW 2024

Writer/Director Damian Mc Carthy‘s sophomore effort, Oddity, serves as a welcome extension of his feature debut, Caveat, in many ways. Aside from the brief return of at least one familiar face and a nightmare bunny, Oddity continues the filmmaker’s exploration of supernatural karma and retribution with offbeat characters and a unique vision for scares. Armed with a tighter narrative, a […]

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‘The Piper’ Review – ‘Rift’ Director’s Fairy Tale Horror Movie Plays a Deadly But Familiar Tune

Paul Lê Charlotte Hope, Erlingur Thoroddsen, Julian Sands, Movies, Reviews, The Piper

The German legend of The Pied Piper of Hamelin is the basis of two recent horror productions. The first of these “twin films” to receive a wide release is Erlingur Thoroddsen’s take, which shares the same title as Anthony Waller’s adaptation. And although both reimaginings feature demonic updates of that famous ratcatcher, only Thoroddsen’s story […]

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‘Drag Me to Hell’ – New Australian Blu-ray Celebrates 15 Years of Sam Raimi’s Horror Return [Review]

Alex DiVincenzo Drag Me to Hell, Home Video, Reviews, Sam Raimi, Via Vision Entertainment

Of all the masters of horror that helped to reshape the genre as we know it in the ’70s and ’80s, none were more successful in branching out and achieving commercial success within the studio system than Sam Raimi. His Spider-Man trilogy laid the groundwork for the influx of comic book movies that would follow, […]

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‘Imaginary’ Review – Teddy Bear Horror Movie Plays It Too Safe and Toothless

Meagan Navarro DeWanda Wise, Imaginary, Jeff Wadlow, news, Reviews

The Curse of Bridge Hollow and Fantasy Island director Jeff Wadlow’s Imaginary adheres to the time-honored tradition of transforming make-believe childhood pals into sinister manifestations that torment their abandoners. Here, a cuddly teddy bear named Chauncey harbors dangerous resentment for being forgotten, igniting a wave of terror for an unsuspecting family. If only that terror extended to the audience experience. A […]

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‘Frogman’ Review – Found Footage Oddity Finds a Bizarre Monster and Delivers on Its Promises

Matt Donato found footage, Frogman, Movies, Reviews

It was only a matter of time before we got a found footage horror film about Ohio’s cryptid oddity, Loveland’s Frogman (that’s not sarcastic; I’ve seen far stranger indie horror concepts). Anthony Cousins’ search for a slimy urban legend (shot almost exclusively on HI-8), aptly titled Frogman, is a weirdo treat for fans of V/H/S/94‘s […]

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

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 […]

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‘The Outlast Trials’ Review – An Addictive, Uniquely Depraved Multiplayer Horror Video Game

Harrison Abbott Reviews, the outlast trials, Video Games

Centering a game review around comparisons to other releases can feel, at best, kind of lazy and, at worst, downright unfair. After all, even when titles do share particular traits, stylistic touchstones or behind-the-scenes talent, they’re often aiming for completely different things. As a general rule of thumb, unless you are dealing with a blatant […]

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‘Pacific Drive’ Review: Unique Survival Horror Driving Sim Takes You On a Road Trip from Hell

Luiz H. C. Pacific Drive, Reviews, roguelite, survival, Video Games

Since time immemorial, storytellers have been fascinated by the near-supernatural connection between people and their trusty vehicles. At first, it was just with horses and their wheeled extensions, but the rise of the automobile and the freedom that it appeared to represent soon led us to bond with inanimate objects – and our stories adjusted […]

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