★★★★ Lonnie Chavis proves, without a doubt, than he can carry his own film in the intense and harrowing horror thriller, The Boy Behind the Door. Like Don’t Breathe before it, this film focuses on nail-biting suspense buoyed by exceptional sound design and directorial flourishes. While on surface level it may seem to share DNA … Continue reading Film Review: The Boy Behind the Door
Film Review: Room 9
★ Every now and then a movie comes along so bafflingly awful that you have to call into question how it even got made in the first place. Envision a film so poorly made that it feels like a film school student project. A cheesy vintage filter puts a layer of shoddy sheen over everything, … Continue reading Film Review: Room 9
Film Review: Escape Room: Tournament of Champions
★★★★ The first Escape Room, released in 2019, was basically a PG-13 version of Saw, with themed rooms and non-stop thrills. As much as I loved it, Escape Room: Tournament of Champions is bigger and better than the original in just about every way you can imagine. It manages to remain faithful to the two … Continue reading Film Review: Escape Room: Tournament of Champions
Film Review: Fear Street Part Three: 1666
★★★★★ Three movies deep, and I can safely say that Leigh Janiak is one of my favorite new creatives in horror. Netflix’s Fear Street trilogy, based on the book series from acclaimed author R.L. Stine, concludes its three week summer event with a bang! Fear Street Part Three: 1666 brings things full-circle in an incredibly … Continue reading Film Review: Fear Street Part Three: 1666
Film Review: A Classic Horror Story
★★★★ If atmospheric genre flick A Classic Horror Story proves anything definitively, it’s that Italian cinema is capable of executing meta commentary on a sophisticated level. The familiarity in the setup and storyline is purposeful, with the actual filmmaking a true bright spot. The deep bright red color scheme and lighting means the cinematography is … Continue reading Film Review: A Classic Horror Story
Film Review: The Sleepless Unrest: The Real Conjuring Home
★ I am a huge fan of WB’s The Conjuring Universe, so a creepy documentary set at the real-life house from the original movie sounded like it would be right up my alley. An unintentionally funny opening crawl, with a creepy robotic voice setting up the events, was the first warning sign of things to … Continue reading Film Review: The Sleepless Unrest: The Real Conjuring Home
Film Review: Great White
★★ I am a self-professed fan of aquatic horror, though my viewing of the subgenre definitely has some holes. Sharks are some of the most imposing and scary creatures in the ocean; so it is no surprise they are host to some terrific films—Deep Blue Sea, Jaws, and Shark Night 3D are a few of … Continue reading Film Review: Great White
Cannes 2021: Medusa
★★ Medusa is quite possibly one of the strangest horror films I have ever watched, and I have seen a hell of a lot of them. It tries to follow in the footsteps of Luca Guadagnino’s Suspiria, the nearest movie tonally, but it does not come close to nailing the right level of both drama … Continue reading Cannes 2021: Medusa
Film Review: Fear Street Part Two: 1978
★★★★★ Part two of Netflix’s R.L. Stine young adult book series adaptation, aptly titled Fear Street Part Two: 1978, amps up the gore and action of 1994. The horror trope of kids getting killed off at camp, memorably seen in such greats as Sleepaway Camp and Friday the 13th, is a slasher goldmine for the … Continue reading Film Review: Fear Street Part Two: 1978
Film Review: Blood Red Sky
★★★ Netflix’s newest foreign offering, Blood Red Sky, can be pared down to four simple words: vampires on a plane. It’s FX’s The Strain, set in the air. This fast-paced, bloody thrill ride delivers on the monster mayhem, but comes up short both narratively and in its thinly-sketched characters. The action comes fast and furious, … Continue reading Film Review: Blood Red Sky