When the Strings Are Showing—Literally You know a film is truly unhinged when its opening credits make you ask, “Wait, are those… puppets?” and the answer is a confident yes. Abruptio, the long-gestating adult puppet horror from Evan Marlowe, is what happens when someone accidentally mixes Team America: World Police with Mulholland Drive and then … Read More “Abruptio (2023): The Puppet Apocalypse You Didn’t Know You Needed (and Possibly Didn’t Want)” »
A Horror Movie Lost Behind Enemy Lines You know a film is in trouble when the most frightening thing about it is Mickey Rourke’s wig. Warhunt, directed by Mauro Borrelli, promises a pulpy mix of war, witchcraft, and supernatural chaos — and somehow manages to lose the battle on every front. It’s like someone tried … Read More “Warhunt (2022): When the Real Horror Is the Script” »
Pass the Hand, Not the Trauma Ah, Talk to Me — the movie that singlehandedly ruined sleepovers, séances, and casual curiosity about embalmed body parts. Directed by Australian YouTube horror twins Danny and Michael Philippou, this film is what happens when Gen Z meets necromancy. Imagine if your local high schoolers discovered the Necronomicon on … Read More “Talk to Me (2022): Teenagers, Trauma, and the Most Cursed Party Trick in History” »
A Bottle of Water and a Whole Lot of Doom There are two kinds of horror movies: the ones that make you afraid to turn off the lights, and the ones that make you afraid to check the pH balance of your drinking water. So Cold the River proudly belongs to the latter. Written and … Read More “So Cold the River (2022): A Ghost Story for People Who Think Mineral Water Is Haunted” »
Attack of the Bland If you’ve ever thought, “What if Jaws was directed by a yoga instructor who just learned about trauma bonding?”—then The Reef: Stalked might be the movie for you. Directed by Andrew Traucki, this “spiritual sequel” to his 2010 survival thriller The Reef tries to blend feminist revenge drama with killer shark … Read More “The Reef: Stalked (2022): When the Shark Isn’t the Only Thing Dead in the Water” »
Holy Water and Heavy Metal Let’s get one thing out of the way: Qodrat is not your typical exorcism movie. This isn’t a polite priest mumbling Latin over a trembling teenager while everyone sweats under candlelight. No, this is Indonesia’s version — where religion meets martial arts, demons speak fluent rage, and the exorcist himself … Read More “Qodrat (2022): Faith, Fury, and Flying Demons in Glorious Indonesian Style” »
A Star Is Born (in Hell) Somewhere between The Wizard of Oz and Psycho lies Pearl, Ti West’s deliriously unhinged 2022 prequel to X. Imagine if Dorothy Gale grew up on a Texas farm, lost her mind, and traded her ruby slippers for a pitchfork. That’s Pearl — a Technicolor nightmare about ambition, repression, and … Read More “Pearl (2022): The Technicolor Psychopath Who Just Wanted to Dance” »
When Your Favorite Child Murderer Makes a Comeback There are horror sequels, there are horror prequels, and then there’s Orphan: First Kill — the cinematic equivalent of finding out your creepy porcelain doll has gone pro. Directed by William Brent Bell and starring the eternally unsettling Isabelle Fuhrman, this 2022 prequel to Orphan shouldn’t work. … Read More “Orphan: First Kill (2022): The Pint-Sized Psychopath Returns — and She’s Still Outacting Everyone” »
When Falling Down the Stairs Becomes a Metaphor for Life Every now and then, a film crawls out of the indie abyss, drenched in color, heartache, and existential glitter, and politely slaps mainstream horror across the face. Moon Garden—Ryan Stevens Harris’s surreal 2022 dark fantasy horror—does exactly that. It’s the kind of movie that feels … Read More “Moon Garden (2022): A Nightmare You’ll Actually Want to Live In” »
Welcome to the House That Mediocrity Built Every now and then, a film comes along that reminds you not every house needs to be revisited—and not every screenplay deserves to be resurrected. Mid-Century, directed by Sonja O’Hara and written by Mike Stern, is one such film: a 105-minute séance where boredom is the ghost that … Read More “Mid-Century (2022): A Haunted House Movie That Should Have Stayed Condemned” »