★★★★★ It is official: my weak spot is 90s-style horror slashers. On the heels of the excellent Fear Street trilogy, Netflix delivers a fourth slasher this year that I loved from start to finish. The new horror film from director Patrick Brice (the brilliant found-footage horror Creep) and Shazam screenwriter Henry Gayden is brimming with … Continue reading Fantastic Fest 2021: There’s Someone Inside Your House
FrightFest 2021: Pretty Boy
★★★★ Valentine’s Day slashers are in short supply—beyond My Bloody Valentine or 2001’s Valentine, there is not much else out there. While Pretty Boy may not be some masterpiece of modern cinema, it maintains a fun, ridiculous tone that permeates from every facet of the production. I was not aware that Pretty Boy was a … Continue reading FrightFest 2021: Pretty Boy
Film Review: Candyman
★★★★★ 1992’s Candyman is a straight-up horror masterpiece with an incredible score, and the sequel, Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh is quite good as well, shifting the action to New Orleans. The less said about the third film the better; it is a poorly-made retread that is only watchable for another killer performance from Tony … Continue reading Film Review: Candyman
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: 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: Skull: The Mask
★★ When a film fails to do anything more than showcase flashy, admittedly impressive special effects, can it really be recommended? The new Shudder slasher, Kapel Furman and Armando Fonseca’s Skull: The Mask, sadly has little depth beyond its blood and gore. The clunky opening starts us in 1944, where the Mask of Anhanga, an … Continue reading Film Review: Skull: The Mask
Film Review: Initiation
★★★★ From Saban Films, horror film Initiation is 2021’s answer to Scream, minus the meta. The throwback simplicity to the narrative makes it feel like it belongs to a bygone era, where everything released was a different riff on Scream’s whodunnit style. A hip young cast of frat bros and sorority sisters fills up a … Continue reading Film Review: Initiation