A Filipino Horror Gem That Earned Its Scars If you ever find yourself driving down an isolated dirt road in the Philippines at night and think, “This seems fine,” you’ve probably never seen The Road—and you should, preferably before your next road trip. Directed, shot, and co-written by Yam Laranas, this haunting 2011 film is … Read More “The Road (2011): A Ghost Story, a Family Tragedy, and a Scenic Route to Madness” »
Faith, Fear, and Fifty Shades of Beige If Hollywood has taught us anything, it’s that there’s no problem that can’t be solved by sending a confused young man to Italy. Unfortunately, The Rite (2011) proves there’s also no movie that can’t be ruined by sending him there, too. Directed by Mikael Håfström and “inspired by … Read More “The Rite (2011): The Devil Made Them Do It—Poorly” »
When the Good Book Meets the Bad Movie—and Somehow Becomes Glorious Every now and then, a movie comes along so weird, so spectacularly misguided, that it transcends its own failure and becomes a miracle of unintentional entertainment. Enter The Reverend (2011), a British horror film that asks, “What if The Book of Job had vampires?” … Read More “The Reverend (2011): Holy Water, Fangs, and a Dash of Divine Absurdity” »
Welcome to the Casino Apocalypse, Where the Odds Are Never in Your Favor If you’ve ever wondered what would happen if The Walking Dead and Ocean’s Eleven had an underfunded baby that grew up in Reno, Nevada and developed a gambling problem, congratulations—you’ve already imagined Remains. Released in 2011 by the Chiller Network (the basic … Read More “Remains (2011): When the House Always Loses—Especially to Zombies” »
Introduction: When Even the Yeti Looks Embarrassed Every once in a while, a movie comes along that makes you question the fundamental purpose of art. Rage of the Yeti(2011), a Syfy “original” film (a word here meaning “produced under duress”), is one such movie. Directed by David Hewlett and broadcast on the Syfy Channel—a network … Read More “Rage of the Yeti (2011): The Cold Never Bothered Them Anyway (But It Sure Bothered Me)” »
A Found Footage Fairy Tale of Family, Fear, and Faulty Parenting Ah, Paranormal Activity 3. The movie that dared to ask: what if your imaginary friend wasn’t imaginary—and also happened to be a demon with a long-term investment in your family’s real estate? Directed by Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman (yes, the Catfish guys—because who … Read More “Paranormal Activity 3 (2011): When Your Imaginary Friend Turns Out to Be a Demon With Excellent Timing” »
When Trauma Meets Terrible Filmmaking Let’s start with the good news: The Orphan Killer is, indeed, a movie. It has actors, dialogue (sort of), and a plot that exists in the same way that Bigfoot “exists”—you hear about it, but you never really see it clearly. Written and directed by Matt Farnsworth, this 2011 independent … Read More “The Orphan Killer (2011): A Bloody Reminder That Some Orphans Should Stay Forgotten” »
Welcome to the Woods—Please Abandon All Hope (and Logic) There are many reasons not to go camping in the British countryside: unpredictable weather, midges the size of helicopters, and, apparently, the overwhelming threat of boredom disguised as horror. A Night in the Woods (2011), written and directed by Richard Parry, is proof that not every … Read More “A Night in the Woods (2011): The Found Footage Film That Should Have Stayed Lost” »
The Fangdango of Awkward Youth There’s a fine line between parody and homage, and My Sucky Teen Romance (2011) doesn’t so much walk it as skip awkwardly down it while wearing a plastic vampire cape from Party City. Written and directed by Emily Hagins—who, let’s not forget, was still a teenager herself when she made … Read More “My Sucky Teen Romance (2011): When First Love Bites Back (Literally)” »
The Night the Dead Got Artsy If you’ve ever sat in a midnight screening of Night of the Living Dead and thought, “This is great, but what if I could actually BE in it?”—then congratulations, you’re probably the exact kind of person Mimesis: Night of the Living Deadwas made for. Directed by Douglas Schulze and … Read More “Mimesis: Night of the Living Dead (2011): When Horror Fans Go Method and Zombies Get Meta” »