The Ghost of Sequels Past If there were ever a cinematic séance best left unperformed, Avunu 2 would be it. Written, directed, and produced by Ravi Babu, this 2015 Telugu-language “horror thriller” serves as a sequel to Avunu (2012)—a film that, while flawed, at least had a pulse. Its successor, however, feels like what happens … Read More “Avunu 2 (2015): The Spirit That Should’ve Stayed Dead” »
The Apocalypse, Now With Extra Screaming Shinji Higuchi’s Attack on Titan is the kind of film that asks a bold question: what if humanity’s last hope wasn’t bravery, but pure, uncut stupidity? The answer, delivered with explosions, flesh-rending Titans, and a metric ton of shrieking, is a two-hour fever dream wrapped in blood and existential … Read More “Attack on Titan (2015): Humanity’s Dumbest Hope Gets Eaten, and It’s Glorious” »
The Teen, the Tag, and the Tormented Timeline If Alfred Hitchcock had grown up in the age of Snapchat and bad Wi-Fi, Dark Summer might have been his Rear Window. But since it’s a Blumhouse production directed by Paul Solet — the man behind Grace — it’s more like Rear Window meets The Ring, with … Read More “Dark Summer (2015): The Ghost in the Wi-Fi” »
Love, Terror, and the Open Road In the grand tradition of “women making terrible road trip decisions,” Curve takes a simple setup — a broken-down car, a creepy stranger, and a deadly stretch of highway — and turns it into a blood-soaked survival thriller that’s as tense as it is darkly funny. Directed by Iain … Read More “Curve (2015): A Car Crash You’ll Actually Enjoy Watching” »
Please Remain Seated — The Real Horror Is the Film There are bad movies, and then there’s The Coven — a film so aggressively dull that it could be used as a sedative in psychiatric wards. Directed by John Mackie and allegedly “based on actual events” (which must be news to reality itself), this 2015 … Read More “The Coven (2015): A Hex Upon Good Cinema” »
Welcome to the Afterlife, Please Take a Number Drew Hall’s Convergence opens like a straightforward thriller—a cop, an explosion, a hospital—but before you can say Grey’s Anatomy meets Ghostbusters, it morphs into a spiritual fever dream about faith, guilt, and the fine print of divine bureaucracy. It’s a horror movie wrapped in a mystery, wrapped … Read More “Convergence (2015): Where Heaven, Hell, and Hospital Paperwork Collide” »
Please Remain Calm—The Situation Is Surprisingly Good Neil McEnery-West’s Containment might sound like your standard low-budget British thriller—a handful of strangers trapped in a concrete box, cut off from the world, surrounded by faceless men in Hazmat suits—but it’s smarter, darker, and far funnier than it has any right to be. Think 28 Days Later … Read More “Containment (2015): A Quarantine You’ll Actually Enjoy” »
The Most Wonderful Time to Die Ah, Christmas. A time for family, cheer, and mild alcohol poisoning. But for those who prefer their eggnog spiked with arterial spray, A Christmas Horror Story offers the perfect seasonal blend of yuletide charm and gleeful depravity. Directed by Grant Harvey, Steven Hoban, and Brett Sullivan—the unholy trinity behind … Read More “A Christmas Horror Story (2015): Ho-Ho-Holy Hell, This Is Fun” »
Five Senses, Zero Sense Every year, the Metro Manila Film Festival blesses us with movies that range from heartfelt dramas to horror films that make you want to personally apologize to your eyeballs. Buy Now, Die Later proudly belongs in the latter category—a movie so aggressively mediocre that you almost admire its commitment to chaos. … Read More “Buy Now, Die Later (2015): A Bargain Bin Deal with the Devil” »
Welcome to the Middle of Nowhere Craig Macneill’s The Boy isn’t your typical horror movie—it’s not about ghosts, demons, or even the jump scares that Hollywood loves to shove down your throat. No, this film is about something much scarier: a lonely child with too much free time, too many dead animals, and not nearly … Read More “The Boy (2015): A Child, A Motel, and the Birth of a Monster” »