★★★★ Rohan Campbell may be one of the most underrated young actors in the modern horror sphere, cementing a scream king status with each new genre notch on his belt. Violence only entered my orbit when I spotted Campbell among the cast. Later this year, he has another major horror franchise release incoming with a … Continue reading Brooklyn Horror 2025: Violence
Brooklyn Horror 2025: Every Heavy Thing
★★★★ Now this one was a pleasant surprise. My only familiarity with writer/director Mickey Reece was 2021's genre oddity Agnes, a film that featured a strange gear shift to the narrative that frankly did not sit very well with me. Whilst Every Heavy Thing certainly had a more compelling hook to it than Agnes, it … Continue reading Brooklyn Horror 2025: Every Heavy Thing
Brooklyn Horror 2025: Affection
★★★★ A genre-bending horror/sci-fi flick is always a welcome addition to any film festival. Enter: Affection, a twisty single-setting slice of horror with budding scream queen Jessica Rothe (Happy Death Day) at the center. Going in blind was probably a good choice, as writer/director BT Meza crafts an exciting feature debut full of shocks and … Continue reading Brooklyn Horror 2025: Affection
Brooklyn Horror 2025: Tinsman Road
★★★★★ Robbie Banfitch's debut, The Outwaters, was a kaleidoscopic vision of found footage horror, a vibe-driven, sun-drenched, chaotic creation that left me craving more. For his sophomore feature, Banfitch tethers his family to a decidedly different brand of genre curiosities. An emotionally moving and fully-formed narrative give Tinsman Road an entirely different feel from what … Continue reading Brooklyn Horror 2025: Tinsman Road
Fantastic Fest 2025: V/H/S Halloween
★★★★ Eight movies deep, and still the unexpectedly brilliant found footage V/H/S franchise shows no signs of stopping. The latest, aptly titled V/H/S Halloween, presents a new frontier for a series that constantly reinvents itself with new blood thanks to its anthology format. This time around, the Halloween theme seeps into each separate segment. As … Continue reading Fantastic Fest 2025: V/H/S Halloween
Film Review: Bone Lake
★★★★★ Falling somewhere between twisted erotic thriller goodness, VC Andrews sleaziness, and gory horror schlock, Bone Lake may be one of the most surprising films of the year. Led by a four-way ensemble cast, this unique chamber piece throws together two straight couples for a twisted weekend of sex and secrets. The simplistic setup seems … Continue reading Film Review: Bone Lake
Fantastic Fest 2025: Meat Kills
★★★★ Dutch horror earns its place in the annals of horror history with satisfyingly brutal import, Meat Kills. Neither director Martijn Smits nor screenwriter Paul de Vrijer hold back when it comes to the metaphorical symbolism of the title. In a cruel twist of irony, a radical activist group known as the Animal Army meet … Continue reading Fantastic Fest 2025: Meat Kills
Fantastic Fest 2025: Dolly
★★★★ Evoking the spirit of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre has been attempted by many a horror film over the years. Writer/director Rod Blackhurst gets perhaps the closest we have seen in awhile—his Dolly makes for a modern Leatherface equivalent, donning a sadistic ceramic doll mask. Perhaps the most surprising aspect of this grimy indie … Continue reading Fantastic Fest 2025: Dolly
Fantastic Fest 2025: Coyotes
★★★★ A campy creature feature starring scream king Justin Long sounded to good to be true, but Coyotes was determined to prove itself worthy of an instant cult-classic status anyway. Set in the Hollywood Hills amongst a ferocious storm, courtesy of the Santa Anna winds, a wild pack of feral coyotes lets loose on the … Continue reading Fantastic Fest 2025: Coyotes
Fantastic Fest 2025: Body Blow
★★★ Genre-bending queer movies are my bread and butter, so seeing Body Blow amongst the Fantastic Fest lineup was just a no-brainer. To call it bizarre would be an understatement—this oddball flick has it all, from cock cages to promiscuous sex, from drag queens to hidden breastplate drugs. Every character has one form or another … Continue reading Fantastic Fest 2025: Body Blow