There’s a special place in horror hell reserved for movies that proudly declare themselves a “love letter to 80s slashers” and then proceed to misread every page. The Lurker is one of those movies. It’s like someone watched Friday the 13thand Prom Night while scrolling their phone, remembered about 40% of what happened, and said, … Read More “The Lurker” »
There are bad movies, and then there are movies that slap “India’s first stereoscopic 3D horror film” on the poster like that alone will distract you from the script slowly dissolving in front of your eyes. Lisaa is very much in the second category: a film that proudly walks into the room yelling “TECHNOLOGY!” while … Read More “Lisaa” »
There are family camping trips where you toast marshmallows, reconnect with nature, and maybe argue about the tent. Then there’s Koko-di Koko-da, where your grief manifests as a murderous music-box cabaret and a dapper nightmare clown stabs your relationship to death over and over again in the woods. Honestly? As metaphors for marriage counseling go, … Read More “Koko-di Koko-da” »
There’s a moment not very far into the 2019 Jacob’s Ladder when you realize the real horror isn’t PTSD, government conspiracies, or hellish visions—it’s the dawning knowledge that you still have over an hour of movie left. Remaking the 1990 Jacob’s Ladder is already a questionable life choice, like deciding to do a “modern, gritty … Read More “2019 Jacob’s Ladder” »
There are two kinds of people in this world: those who think “giant spider in an old house” is a horror movie, and those who think it’s a biography of their worst nightmare. Itsy Bitsy cheerfully aims at both groups and says, “What if the spider is actually the least dysfunctional thing in the building?” … Read More “Itsy Bitsy” »
There are movies called Dark because they’re moody and profound, and then there’s Iruttu, which is called Dark because you will spend most of the runtime trying to find the plot with a flashlight and a forensic team. On paper, this is a supernatural horror thriller about an upright cop, an evil jinn, and a … Read More “Iruttu” »
There are love stories, there are monster movies, and then there’s Inhuman Kiss—a film that looks at both and calmly asks, “What if the person you’re pining for is literally just a head with dangling viscera after dark?” Somehow, against all logic and anatomy, it ends up being one of the sweetest, saddest, most beautifully … Read More “Inhuman Kiss” »
Life Support, Plot Flatline There’s something uniquely depressing about watching a horror movie where the scariest thing on screen is the runtime. The Influence (La influencia) is that movie. It’s based on a Ramsey Campbell novel, features a comatose witch-matriarch hooked up to machines in a crumbling family mansion, and somehow still manages to be … Read More “The Influence (La influencia)” »
Sleeping With the Enemy (In Your Brain) Every few years a movie comes along that dares to ask the big questions: What is reality? Where do dreams end? And how much moral flexibility does a psychology professor get if his hair is good enough? Impossible Monsters—Nathan Catucci’s moody, stylish 2019 debut—dives headfirst into nightmares, sleep … Read More “Impossible Monsters” »
Home for the Holidays (and Also the Devil) There are Christmas movies where a family gathers to heal old wounds, drink cocoa, and learn the true meaning of togetherness. Then there’s I Trapped the Devil, where the true meaning of togetherness is “we might have locked Satan in the basement and everyone is emotionally unstable.” … Read More “I Trapped the Devil” »