The Invisible Man, but Make It Canadian In Geoff Redknap’s The Unseen (2016), we’re treated to a film that dares to ask the age-old question: “What if your midlife crisis literally made you disappear?” This Canadian psychological horror isn’t your typical creature feature or superhero origin story — it’s a slow, sad, funny, and deeply … Read More “The Unseen (2016): The Family That Fades Together, Stays Together” »
A Haunted House… with Bonus Air Raids If The Babadook had moved to Tehran during the Iran-Iraq War, learned Persian, and joined a feminist book club, you’d get Under the Shadow. Written and directed by Babak Anvari in his directorial debut, this 2016 Persian-language horror film manages to turn post-revolutionary Tehran into one of cinema’s … Read More “Under the Shadow (2016): The Djinn, the Chador, and the Mother of All Nightmares” »
When the Afterlife Moves to Las Vegas Let’s face it — the words “Telugu horror film set in Las Vegas” sound like the setup to a joke that ends with, “…and the ghost just wanted to gamble responsibly.” But Tulasi Dalam, directed by R. P. Patnaik, doesn’t just flirt with absurdity — it waltzes with … Read More “Tulasi Dalam (2016): Ghosts, Girlfriends, and a Graveyard Bet Gone Wrong” »
Welcome to the Circus of Regret If Terrifier were a carnival attraction, it would be that rickety funhouse at the edge of the fairground—sticky floor, flickering lights, and the faint scent of expired corn dogs. Written and directed by Damien Leone, this 2016 slasher film dares to ask the question: What if the scariest thing … Read More “Terrifier (2016): A Clown, a Hacksaw, and 84 Minutes of Poor Life Choices” »
Welcome Back to the End of the World If Stake Land was the gritty vampire Western we didn’t know we needed, Stake Land II (or The Stakelander, if you prefer your titles to sound like rejected superhero reboots) is its weary, blood-splattered follow-up — the cinematic equivalent of a hangover breakfast in a post-apocalyptic diner. … Read More “Stake Land II (2016): Blood, Guts, and the American Apocalypse—Again” »
When “Found Footage” Found Wi-Fi If The Blair Witch Project was the pioneering grandparent of found-footage horror, Sickhouse is its annoying teenage descendant who won’t stop live-streaming their own funeral. Written and directed by Hannah Macpherson, this 2016 “film” (and I use that term generously) was released on Snapchat — yes, Snapchat — in ten-second … Read More “Sickhouse (2016): Snapchat’s Greatest Crime Against Cinema” »
When Life Bites Back The Shallows is a film that asks a simple, profound question: what if Jaws was directed by Instagram? Directed by Jaume Collet-Serra and starring Blake Lively (and an uncredited bird), this 2016 survival thriller is a sun-drenched nightmare, a horror film that looks like a Corona commercial until the ocean starts … Read More “The Shallows (2016): Blake Lively vs. Shark vs. Existential Crisis” »
Lights, Camera, Massacre Ah, Australia — home to kangaroos, Vegemite, and some of the most entertainingly deranged horror movies ever made. Scare Campaign, written and directed by Colin and Cameron Cairnes, is one of those films that gleefully blurs the line between satire and slaughter. It’s a blood-splattered love letter to the reality TV era … Read More “Scare Campaign (2016): When Reality TV Finally Goes Straight to Hell” »
The Grudge Meets the Ring: Japan’s First Ghost Cage Match You know a horror crossover is truly unhinged when it starts as an April Fool’s joke and somehow ends up as an actual film. Sadako vs. Kayako—Japan’s 2016 supernatural slugfest—dares to ask the question nobody needed answered: what if the cursed VHS girl from The … Read More “Sadako vs. Kayako (2016): When Curses Collide and Horror Becomes Hilariously Self-Aware” »
Game Over (No, Seriously This Time… We Mean It, Probably) After five films, two dozen betrayals, fifty-thousand zombies, and one perpetually leather-clad Milla Jovovich, Resident Evil: The Final Chapter promises closure. What it actually delivers is cinematic motion sickness, philosophical confusion, and a two-hour-long montage of explosions so relentless you’ll feel like your brain’s been … Read More “Resident Evil: The Final Chapter (2017): When the Real Apocalypse Is the Editing” »