Cabin Fever, Reimagined It takes a certain kind of courage — or madness — to remake The Evil Dead, one of horror’s most sacred splatter totems. But director Fede Álvarez didn’t flinch. He didn’t wink, didn’t joke, didn’t even blink. Instead, he soaked the screen in more blood than the Red Sea at low tide … Read More ““Evil Dead” (2013) — A Blood-Soaked, Chainsaw-Loving Resurrection Done Right” »
Magic, Madness, and the Mane Event Let’s be honest — when you hear the phrase Indian horror film about a witch with a killer braid, you don’t expect a polished supernatural thriller that actually works. You expect melodrama, shaky CGI, and possibly a musical number about Satan. But Ek Thi Daayan (2013), directed by Kannan … Read More ““Ek Thi Daayan” — Hair-Raising Horror with a Wink and a Wicked Smile” »
Paging Dr. Frankenstein: Your Botox Is Ready If there’s one thing scarier than a mad surgeon with a scalpel, it’s a filmmaker with no anesthesia for his audience. Doctor(2013), the South Korean horror film written and directed by Kim Sung-hong, promises a slick blend of medical horror, psychological descent, and cosmetic carnage. What it delivers … Read More ““Doctor” — A Plastic Surgery Horror That Could Use a Little Work (Preferably a Full Reconstructive One)” »
When “Student Film Project” Meets “Russian Death Portal” Every film student dreams of making a groundbreaking documentary. Few dream of making one that literally ends with them becoming wormhole-mutant popsicles in Soviet-era Russia. Enter Devil’s Pass (2013), Renny Harlin’s icy, delirious mash-up of The Blair Witch Project, X-Files, and “that one Discovery Channel show you … Read More ““Devil’s Pass” — Found Footage, Frozen Fingers, and the Funniest Existential Nightmare This Side of Siberia” »
Welcome to the Wi-Fi Apocalypse Every so often, a horror film comes along that makes you rethink your relationship with technology — and then promptly makes you want to smash your laptop with a hammer and move to a cave. The Den (2013), directed by Zachary Donohue, is one such masterpiece of digital dread. A … Read More ““The Den” — The Internet Is Trying to Kill You (and It’s Working)” »
When Corporate Life Literally Drives You Bug-Nuts There are bad workdays, and then there’s Dementamania — a 2013 British horror film where the phrase “I’m losing my mind” stops being figurative about 15 minutes in. Directed by Kit Ryan, this is a movie that asks the eternal question: What if Kafka’s “The Metamorphosis” had been … Read More ““Dementamania” — Office Horror, or Just an HR Complaint Gone Wrong” »
The Horror of Writer’s Block — Literally There’s nothing more terrifying than staring at a blank page — except maybe realizing that your blank page is actually your memory. Deadly Revisions (2013), the debut feature from writer-director Gregory Blair, takes that fear and drenches it in nightmares, hallucinations, and enough meta-horror irony to make Stephen … Read More ““Deadly Revisions” — When the Horror Writer Becomes the Horror Story” »
When the Devil Offers You a Sequel Deal There’s a special place in cinematic purgatory for straight-to-video Westerns — somewhere between “TV movie hell” and “Nicolas Cage’s recent career choices.” But every now and then, a film like Dead in Tombstone rides in, kicks the saloon doors open, and declares, “Yes, we know we’re ridiculous … Read More ““Dead in Tombstone” — Six Feet Under and Still Kicking Ass” »
Welcome to Suburban Horror — Now With Aliens If Poltergeist and Signs had a baby during a neighborhood HOA meeting, it would be Dark Skies (2013) — a film that asks, “What if your middle-class financial anxieties were also being probed by extraterrestrials?” Directed by Scott Stewart and produced by Jason Blum (because of course … Read More ““Dark Skies” — When Suburbia Gets a Close Encounter with the Mortgage Crisis” »
Hell Is Other People. And Also This Movie. Every so often, a horror movie comes along that’s so bland it feels like the cinematic equivalent of cold oatmeal — mushy, gray, and technically edible but spiritually repulsive. The Damned (a.k.a. Gallows Hill) is that movie. Directed by Víctor García — the man who’s never met … Read More ““The Damned” (2013) — Gallows Hill? More Like Shallow Chill” »