Welcome to the Apocalypse: Please Mind the Plot Holes If you’ve ever wondered what would happen if World War Z and 28 Days Later had a baby raised on expired Red Bull and broken promises, Patient Zero is your answer. Directed by Stefan Ruzowitzky — who once won an Oscar, presumably in a past life … Read More ““Patient Zero” — The Cure for Insomnia Masquerading as a Zombie Movie” »
A Bloody Good Time Behind Enemy Lines Some movies whisper their genius. Overlord kicks in the door, throws a grenade, and yells, “Let’s make D-Day weird!” Directed by Julius Avery and produced by J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot, this 2018 action-horror mashup asks the question: What if Saving Private Ryan did a keg stand of zombie … Read More ““Overlord” — Where Nazis, Zombies, and Explosions Go to Church” »
Now Showing: Nothing Happens, Then Everyone Dies There are horror movies that thrill you. There are horror movies that haunt you. And then there’s The Open House, a movie that just sort of… exists. Released on Netflix in 2018, this American “horror” film is written and directed by Matt Angel and Suzanne Coote, who apparently … Read More ““The Open House” — A Haunted Airbnb Listing You’ll Wish You’d Canceled” »
A Howl of Disappointment Some films are so bad they’re good. Others are so bad they’re instructional warnings against filmmaking. Onaaigal Jakkiradhai — which translates to Beware of Wolves — belongs squarely in the latter category. Written, directed, and produced by JPR (a triple threat if the threat is to cinema itself), this 2018 Tamil … Read More ““Onaaigal Jakkiradhai” — Beware of Wolves, or Worse, Boring Ghosts” »
Welcome to the Multiplex of Madness Horror anthologies are like buffets — messy, uneven, and always featuring at least one dish you regret trying. Nightmare Cinema (2018), however, is that rare all-you-can-scream experience where everything’s deliciously disturbing. It’s a five-course meal of fear served with a wink, curated by a team of horror legends who … Read More ““Nightmare Cinema” — Popcorn, Panic, and Five Ways to Die Laughing” »
Welcome to the Haunted Multiplex If you’ve ever wondered what would happen if a soap opera, a social-issue PSA, and a ghost movie had a drunken love child, Nagesh Thiraiyarangam is your answer — and it’s not a pretty sight. Directed by Mohamad Issack, this 2018 Tamil horror film promises chills, thrills, and moral lessons … Read More ““Nagesh Thiraiyarangam” — The Theatre Where Logic Went to Die” »
Dinner Is Served (and So Is Dismemberment) Sometimes a film comes along that feels like someone took a blender to Clue, The Purge, and American Psycho — and then accidentally hit “purée” with the lid off. Monster Party is that glorious mess. Chris von Hoffmann’s 2018 horror-thriller is a violent, absurd, blood-soaked satire of privilege … Read More ““Monster Party” — Murder, Mayhem, and Malibu Manners” »
Welcome to the Swamp of Eternal Regret Every horror fan knows the golden rule: if a movie opens with a group of young scientists in the middle of nowhere, it’s only a matter of time before someone screams, “Did you hear that?” and promptly dies. The Marshes — a 2018 Australian supernatural horror film directed … Read More ““The Marshes” — Nature Calls, and You Should Let It Go to Voicemail” »
Haunted Houses and Even More Haunted Siblings If you’ve ever wanted to watch Florence Pugh act circles around the undead, con artists, and her own movie, Malevolentis the Netflix horror for you. Released in 2018, this Scottish-set supernatural story follows a brother-sister team of professional ghost-fakers who discover — surprise! — that ghosts don’t take … Read More ““Malevolent” — Ghosts, Guilt, and Florence Pugh Saving Another Genre from Itself” »
Reflections on Regret There are horror movies that make you afraid to look in the mirror, and then there’s Look Away — a film that just makes you afraid you’ll die of boredom before your reflection blinks. Written and directed by Assaf Bernstein, this 2018 Canadian psychological horror-drama dares to ask, “What if your reflection … Read More ““Look Away” — Mirror, Mirror on the Wall, Who’s the Blandest of Them All?” »