The Spirits Are Willing, But the Film Is Weak Every once in a while, a movie comes along that makes you wonder if ghosts can die of embarrassment. Altergeist, Tedi Sarafian’s 2014 paranormal thriller, is that movie. It’s a film so confused about what it wants to be—found-footage horror? Sci-fi spookfest? Wine-country soap opera?—that it … Read More “Altergeist (2014): The Only Thing Haunted Here Is the Script” »
Kingdom of the Bland You have to admire a movie that boldly promises Edward Furlong and Corey Feldman in the same sentence. It’s like advertising a horror film starring the ghosts of 1990s cinema itself—two actors who once ruled pop culture now meeting in a field somewhere in rural Britain, trying to resurrect their careers … Read More “The Zombie King (2013): When the Apocalypse Feels Like Amateur Hour” »
If anthology horror is a party, V/H/S/2 is the moment someone kills the lights, cranks the speakers, and screams, “Who invited the cult?” It’s faster, meaner, and way more confident than its predecessor—like the franchise went to boot camp, learned a foreign language, and returned with a demon for a plus-one. This is the rare … Read More “V/H/S/2 (2013): Found Footage, Lost Morals, and a Very Good Time” »
Love, Lies, and Low Battery There’s a special place in cinematic hell for found-footage horror—and right next to it, there’s a smaller, stickier corner reserved for To Jennifer. James Cullen Bressack’s 2013 microbudget nightmare was shot entirely on an iPhone 5, which might sound like a gimmick until you realize that’s the movie’s secret weapon. … Read More “To Jennifer (2013): The iPhone Horror That Out-Crazies Its Own Battery Life” »
The Factory That Built Madness If David Lynch, Alejandro Jodorowsky, and your high school drama teacher staged a séance in an abandoned power plant, the result would probably look something like Strange Factories. Directed by John Harrigan and produced by FoolishPeople—a name that feels like both a warning and a brand statement—this 2013 British experimental … Read More “Strange Factories (2013): A Fever Dream of Art, Madness, and Humming Doom” »
A Marriage Counseling Session From Hell If Hitchcock had ever directed an episode of Marriage Story on a Canadian budget, you’d end up with something like Separation. Greg White’s 2013 thriller opens with a familiar domestic scene: a couple on the brink of collapse, a daughter in need of therapy, and a mother-in-law who could … Read More “Separation (2013): Marriage, Murder, and the Monster Next Door” »
The Curse That Wouldn’t Die (But Probably Should Have) Let’s start with a confession: I love Japanese horror. The quiet dread, the slow-burn terror, the way a simple VHS tape could ruin your life—Ringu was a masterpiece. Then came the sequels, the reboots, the “this time it’s in 3D” gimmick, and somewhere along the line, … Read More “Sadako 3D 2 (2013): The Ghost Is Tired, and So Are We” »
The Pregnant Pause Before the Storm Let’s get this out of the way: Proxy is not your grandma’s horror movie—unless your grandma has a fondness for emotional terrorism and psychological sledgehammers. Zack Parker’s 2013 film doesn’t just want to scare you—it wants to peel you open like an onion and see what’s left after the … Read More “Proxy (2013): A Beautiful Nightmare in Four Acts of Madness” »
Welcome to Amity Mall—Where Logic Goes to Die Let’s get one thing straight: Darr @ the Mall isn’t a horror film. It’s an endurance test wrapped in neon lights, mall muzak, and bad CGI fog. Directed by Pawan Kripalani, who once gave us the tense, creepy Ragini MMS, this film feels like the cinematic equivalent … Read More “Darr @ the Mall (2014): Fear, Fluorescent Lighting, and the Ghost of Bollywood’s Horror Ambitions” »
Welcome to the Hills: Where the Wi-Fi Is Weak, but the Demons Are Strong Only in India could someone open a luxury hotel in the middle of a haunted Himachal forest and still look fabulous doing it. Creature 3D, directed by Vikram Bhatt, is Bollywood’s gloriously bonkers attempt at making a 3D monster movie — … Read More “Creature 3D (2014): A Monster Movie with Bite, Bollywood Glam, and a Dash of Divine Nonsense” »