Pop the popcorn and get ready for a seriously fun time as we dive into the films of 2023's Popcorn Frights Film Festival! After the jump, check out our full coverage, including Dark Windows, Puzzle Box, and Saint Drogo. Films DARK WINDOWS Dark Windows has a setup typical of the slasher subgenre. Take a group … Continue reading Popcorn Frights 2023 Wrap-Up
Popcorn Frights 2023: That’s a Wrap
★★★★ In the style of the classic cheesy slashers of yesteryear, Marcel Walz’s instantly iconic That’s A Wrap brings gory mayhem and campy fun to a film wrap party environ. Old school horror aesthetic, propulsive synthy soundtrack, intimidating, androgynous masked killer donned in a flowy blonde wig, a chopping block of various character archetypes, and … Continue reading Popcorn Frights 2023: That’s a Wrap
Popcorn Frights 2023: Founder’s Day
★★★ Any upcoming slasher movie is always cause for excitement, let alone one led by filmmaking brothers the Bloomquists (Night at the Eagle Inn). I was excited to see what they would bring to the table with politically-charged Founder’s Day. The concept and aesthetic should be an instant home run—who doesn’t want to see a … Continue reading Popcorn Frights 2023: Founder’s Day
Popcorn Frights 2023: Don’t Look Away
★★★★ From the opening scene of Popcorn Frights selection Don’t Look Away, a mounting sense of creeping dread seeps into the film’s DNA. Being relentlessly pursued by either the unknown or the strange and unusual have been a tale as old as time in the horror genre—co-writer/director Michael Bafaro continues this tradition, albeit with a … Continue reading Popcorn Frights 2023: Don’t Look Away
Popcorn Frights 2023: Santastein
★★★ Don’t forget to leave out the milk and cookies for Santastein this Christmas season! The latest in a long line of Christmastime slashers, this movie should give exactly what that zany title promises. Most recently, director Joe Bezos delivered a crowd-pleasing Santa gorefest in the form of Christmas Bloody Christmas. While Santastein doesn’t quite … Continue reading Popcorn Frights 2023: Santastein
Fantasia 2023: It Lives Inside
★★ Every year, dozens of new horror hopefuls flood the market hoping to hook the next genre classic. It Lives Inside, the debut feature from director/co-writer Bishal Dutta, aims to put a new spin on religion-based terror by honing in on Hindi mythology in a major way. Unfortunately, absolutely nothing here can distinguish the film … Continue reading Fantasia 2023: It Lives Inside
Film Review: King on Screen
★★★★ One of the most prolific creatives of all time, Stephen King, is an absolute legend for a reason. His timeless stories and deep character work make any given tale uniquely original. As with many folks in documentary King on Screen, my introduction to him came during my childhood; my horror-obsessed Grandma who voraciously devoured … Continue reading Film Review: King on Screen
Film Review: The Passenger
★★★★ Queer director Carter Smith’s latest, The Passenger, is a colorful, gorgeously-filmed horror/thriller that also happens to be an intimate character study. Scream kings Kyle Gallner (2022’s Scream, Smile) and Johnny Berchtold (Snow Falls, A Hard Problem) headline this disturbing story depicting an intense rampage across a dying small town. Lou scribe Jack Stanley layers … Continue reading Film Review: The Passenger
Film Review: Natty Knocks
★★★ Anytime a newer horror flick boasts multiple legends of the genre within the same movie, there is always cause for concern. Far too many low budget offerings are content with simply resting on their laurels, putting forth not even a basic amount of effort to tell a compelling story. Each time a new entry … Continue reading Film Review: Natty Knocks
Film Review: Sympathy for the Devil
★★★★ Nicolas Cage somehow delivers one of his most unhinged performances yet while keeping it grounded in the grittiness of the movie, opposite an electric Joel Kinnaman, in Yuval Adler’s demented road trip horror/thriller, Sympathy for the Devil. This twisted little treat should give genre fans everything they want and more from one of cinema’s … Continue reading Film Review: Sympathy for the Devil