Puritanical superstition, paranoia, and repression run rampant in 19th-century horror, especially when set in or near New England. Much like The Witch or Fear Street Part 3: 1666, The Last Thing Mary Saw is the latest to explore the haunting ramifications of unwieldy religious fanaticism. It doesn’t forge any new ground, but this atmospheric, intimate portrait of forbidden love does […]
Reviews
[Fantasia Review] Revenge Thriller ‘Bull’ Surprises With Visceral Violence and Horror Leanings
Revenge-thrillers tend to lend well to horror, especially if they push the violence far enough into gory genre territory. The latest by Paul Andrew Williams (The Cottage, Cherry Tree Lane) reads like a classic, gritty crime thriller turned vengeance quest but plays like a horror movie in many ways. Bull stuns with its shocking violence, keeps you guessing throughout, then […]
Shudder’s ‘Hellbender’ Review – An Exciting Coming-of-Age Horror Movie
Hellbender is now streaming on Shudder. Read on for our review. The Adams Family are doing the kind of pioneering DIY work that most low-budget independent filmmakers can only dream of. The trio – composed of John Adams, Toby Poser and their daughter Zelda Adams – write and direct all of their films collaboratively. They […]
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[Review] Netflix’s “Brand New Cherry Flavor” Is ‘Mulholland Dr.’ Meets “Channel Zero” and It’s Glorious
Netflix’s horror opus is a lucid love letter to revenge that thrives on nightmare logic, unhinged performances, and Hollywood’s fake veneer. “Curses aren’t real.” There’s a line of dialogue early on in Nick Antosca and Lenore Zion’s Brand New Cherry Flavor where a character innocently remarks, “You know those nights where every twenty minutes you […]
[Review] “American Horror Stories” Goes “Feral” in the Woods for the Spinoff’s Best Episode Yet
American Horror Stories turns to the many horrors that lurk in the woods with a strong entry that subverts expectations and takes big swings. “This is about experiencing nature; getting outside of our comfort zones.” American Horror Stories has turned to many of horror’s most popular premises for its debut season and so an episode […]
[Review] ‘Don’t Breathe 2’ Pits Monster Against Monster in Less Suspenseful, More Savage Sequel
Fede Álvarez’s Don’t Breathe saw a trio of unlikeable characters break into a house with the intent to steal cash from a Blind Man (Stephen Lang). The twist was that these characters garnered sympathy because the Blind Man quickly established himself to be the bigger monster that doled out gruesome punishments for their trespass. The heinous acts […]
[Review] “Chapelwaite” Expands Stephen King Story and Sinks Its Teeth into Classic Gothic Tradition
The fictional town of Jerusalem’s Lot, Maine, gets mentioned frequently in author Stephen King‘s works. Most famously, it’s the setting for his vampire novel ‘Salem’s Lot and, to a lesser extent, a stand-alone prequel short story “Jerusalem’s Lot.” The latter channeled Bram Stoker’s The Lair of the White Worm, with an 1850’s tale of terror told in the […]
[Fantasia Review] ‘King Knight’ Is a Silly, Heartfelt Ode to Being True to Yourself
A new Richard Bates Jr project is always a cause for celebration because it’s guaranteed to a) make you squirm or b) make you laugh (often despite yourself). With King Knight, the writer/director, known for his caustic comedies and macabre horrors, delivers a bemusing property that broadly satirizes the New Age self-improvement movement, albeit with […]
[Review] ‘Jupiter Hell’ Makes Ripping and Tearing a Tactical Turn-Based Affair
When I first started playing PC games, DOOM II and X-COM were among the first things I got into, shaping my gaming tastes for years after. Now more than two decades on, I’m only just playing a game that combines aspects of the two? ChaosForge’s Jupiter Hell hopes to be better late than never as […]
[Fantasia Review] ‘Brain Freeze’ Thaws Out Zombie Formula with Smart Commentary and Humor
Quebec-set Brain Freeze honors the George A. Romero tradition of using zombies as social satire and commentary. Director and co-writer Julien Knafo juggles numerous critiques at once, from classism to environmental concerns to the digital divide. Brain Freeze builds upon the traditional zombie outbreak formula and tropes, adding regional specificity and a modern twist that keeps it […]
[Review] “American Horror Stories”: ‘BA’AL’ Explores the Fears of Early Parenthood With Predictable Episode
“All I ever wanted to do was to be a mom, and I suck at it.” One of the more disturbing sub-genres to invade horror is the uncomfortable territory of “pregnancy horror.” There are few things more horrifying than a woman at the height of pregnancy–and vulnerability–becoming the target of a vicious attack. There are […]
[Review] James Gunn’s ‘The Suicide Squad’ Is a Joyous, Ultra-Violent Crowd Pleaser
The Suicide Squad is what happens when you give James Gunn complete creative control of a DC movie centered around expendable supervillains. The filmmaker assembles the most unlikely of lowlifes to accompany the already established antiheroes, then subjects them all to a splatstick voyage of abject madness. The result is an absolute crowd pleaser filled with ultra-violence, insane […]
[Book Review] Stephen King Snipes Our Heart With ‘Billy Summers’
Stephen King respects pulp. Scroll through his Twitter feed long enough, and you’ll see that the best-selling author lives for hard-boiled stories centered around characters with guns in their hands, heat in their hearts, and principles on their mind. Bosch, The Good Fight, Big Sky, Designated Survivor, Chance, the list goes on. Hell, one cursory […]
[Review] ‘Masquerade’ Sleepwalks Through Home Invasion Thriller
Masquerade is defined as a false pretense or pretending to be someone or something else. Writer/Director Shane Dax Taylor opens his home invasion thriller to a masquerade fundraiser as a misdirect, instead of hoping to make something more meaningful out of his title by the end credits. But Masquerade sticks too closely to the formula for too long, unable […]
[Review] “American Horror Stories”: Danny Trejo Stars as Killer Santa in “The Naughty List”, a Mixed Bag That’s Filled With More Coal Than Toys
American Horror Stories conjures inspired scares with a murderous Santa, but falls flat with its vile cast of social media-obsessed Grinches. “We’re not just gonna sit here, Barry. We’re gonna record it.” I love Killer Santas. There’s something absolutely twisted about the perversion of this symbol of purity and childhood innocence, whether it’s through the […]