★★★★★ Oh look, there’s a new entry in the ever-growing ‘crazy bitch’ subgenre of horror! Joining personal favorites including Poison Ivy, The Hand That Rocks the Cradle, and The Devil in the Flesh, Superhost goes full 90s mode, and allows Gracie Gillam ample space to play a psychotic, overly enthusiastic host to two lovebird bloggers. … Continue reading Popcorn Frights 2021: Superhost
Film Review: Mosquito State
★★★ The newest offering from streaming service Shudder comes in the form of bizarre psychological horror film, Mosquito State. It takes the body horror of Cronenberg and tries to modernize it with clumsy metaphors. A premise this instantly ridiculous begs for the embracing of its campy sensibilities. Co-writer and director, Filip Jan Rymsza, is far … Continue reading Film Review: Mosquito State
Chattanooga 2021: Kandisha
★★★★ I kept waiting for one of the movies at the Chattanooga Film Festival to wow me, and finally there was Kandisha! The horror movie from directors Alexandre Bustillo and Julien Maury (the masterful gory home invasion masterpiece, Inside; Texas Chainsaw Massacre prequel film Leatherface) is not just gorgeously filmed and visually complex—it has an … Continue reading Chattanooga 2021: Kandisha
Film Review: Vicious Fun
★★★★ Vicious Fun is a visceral bloodbath that never stops being a complete blast. Set in 1983 Minnesota, deputy assistant of a horror magazine (or, as he likes to call it, a ‘horror journalist’), Joel (Evan Marsh in a great, cringe-comedy and nerdy-hero role) follows a weird guy his ex is dating, Bob (Ari Milleen, … Continue reading Film Review: Vicious Fun
Film Review: An Unquiet Grave
★★ The disturbing setup for indie Shudder entry, An Unquiet Grave, is almost too good to be true. A grieving husband, Jamie (Jacob A. Ware), and his wife’s twin sister, Ava (Christine Nyland, who also wrote and produced), get together with a strange promise: Jamie has discovered a way to bring back his deceased wife. … Continue reading Film Review: An Unquiet Grave
Film Review: The Superdeep
★★★★ Every horror movie with a wintery setting and a large cast of characters seems to be some riff on The Thing in one way or another. Welcome to The Superdeep, a goopy and nasty body horror flick with impressive creature design and horrifying imagery. And yes, this too owes quite a big deal to … Continue reading Film Review: The Superdeep
Film Review: The Amusement Park
★★★ The Amusement Park is barely a movie in a conventional sense. With a runtime of only 52 mins, this long-lost piece of George A. Romero’s filmography was shot in 1973, and a more apt moniker would be to call this an episode of television. The eerie vibe, teachable lesson, and a host to both … Continue reading Film Review: The Amusement Park
Film Review: The Reckoning
★★★★ Director Neil Marshall is responsible for one of my top 5 favorite horror films of all time, The Descent, which only served to set an impossibly high standard for witchy horror thriller, The Reckoning. Set in England, amidst the 1665 backdrop of the Great Plague (and inspired by actual events!), the film seeps us … Continue reading Film Review: The Reckoning
Film Review: Boys from County Hell
★★★★★ An opening scene with an elderly couple immediately sets the stage with gory visuals, and from that introduction, I knew Boys from County Hell would be something special. The new Irish vampire film from writer/director Chris Baugh (and co-writer Brendan Mullin) suggests that Bram Stoker’s Dracula was a rip-off: the true OG king of … Continue reading Film Review: Boys from County Hell
SXSW 2021: Violation
★★★★★ When you think of a typical rape revenge tale, like Last House on the Left, or I Spit On Your Grave, there’s inherent cathartic moments baked into the script. Violation lacks these moments, instead taking a hyper-realistic approach to the subgenre. The structure of the storyline, and the depth to these characters, elevates Violation … Continue reading SXSW 2021: Violation