When the Devil Goes to Art School If you’ve ever wondered what would happen if The Exorcist were remade by an experimental German film student armed with a VHS camcorder, a crate of cigarettes, and a deep love of analog synths, congratulations — your unholy wish has been granted. Luz (2018), the debut feature by … Read More “Luz (2018): A Possession Film Possessed by Style” »
The Undead Have Never Looked So Sleep-Deprived Some films resurrect the vampire genre. Others drive a stake right through its heart and then ask you to pay for the privilege of watching it happen. Living Among Us (2018), written, directed, and produced by Brian Metcalf, belongs firmly in the latter category — a cinematic séance … Read More “Living Among Us (2018): The Documentary Nobody Asked For” »
When Franchises Refuse to Die Let’s face it — by the time a Lake Placid movie hits part six, the only real horror is that someone greenlit it. Lake Placid: Legacy (2018) tries to reboot the franchise with new characters, new lore, and a monster that’s allegedly “30 feet of pure terror.” What we get … Read More “Lake Placid: Legacy (2018): When the Crocodile Isn’t the Only Thing Dead in the Water” »
Apocalypse Now—Brought to You by Amazon Prime There are cinematic endings, and then there are cinematic autopsies. Kamen Rider Amazons the Movie: The Last Judgement belongs to the latter. After two seasons of blood, philosophy, and man-eating melodrama, the film attempts to tie it all together with a bow made of entrails and regret. This … Read More “Kamen Rider Amazons: The Last Judgement (2018): The Final Misfire” »
The Funeral of Coherent Filmmaking Every once in a while, a movie arrives that makes you question not only its existence but your own life choices. The Incantation (2018), Jude S. Walko’s directorial debut, is one of those cinematic experiences—a paranormal horror film that manages to summon neither fear nor coherence. It’s as if someone … Read More “The Incantation (2018): A Hex of a Film That Should’ve Stayed Buried” »
The Monster at the Door Might Be Boredom There’s a monster in After Midnight, and it’s not the one clawing at the door—it’s the yawning void of nothing happening for 80 straight minutes. Jeremy Gardner directs, writes, and stars as Hank, a man whose girlfriend leaves him after ten years, presumably because she saw the … Read More “After Midnight (2019) — Love Hurts, and So Does Watching This Movie” »
Here’s Danny… and He’s Tired If The Shining was a masterpiece of dread — a fever dream painted in Kubrickian precision — then Doctor Sleep is what happens when someone wakes up from that dream, makes coffee, and starts rambling about therapy. Mike Flanagan’s 2019 sequel is less “redrum” and more “read-room-temperature.” It’s beautifully shot, … Read More ““Doctor Sleep” — The Shining Sequel That Hits the Snooze Button” »
A Doll, a Curse, and a Whole Lot of Gothic Ambition Lawrie Brewster’s The Devil’s Machine (2019) is what happens when someone watches one too many Mario Bava films, drinks a gallon of black coffee, and says, “You know what this needs? An ancient cursed doll and a Scottish castle full of trauma.” It’s moody, … Read More ““The Devil’s Machine” — Wind It Up and Watch It Haunt You” »
The Doctor Will See You (and Probably Stitch You) Now Larry Fessenden’s Depraved (2019) is the rare Frankenstein retelling that feels both ancient and terrifyingly modern — like Mary Shelley got reincarnated as a Brooklyn filmmaker with a caffeine addiction and a serious case of survivor’s guilt. It’s Frankenstein for the age of antidepressants, LED … Read More ““Depraved” — Frankenstein Goes to Brooklyn and Finds Existential Dread” »
The Gospel According to “What the Hell Is This?” Pollyanna McIntosh’s Darlin’ (2019) is that rare horror sequel that manages to be both self-important and spectacularly confused. It’s the cinematic equivalent of a sermon delivered by someone who’s clearly possessed — earnest, sweaty, and screaming about feminism while juggling decapitations. Billed as a “social issue … Read More ““Darlin’” — The Holy Mother of Messes” »