Every now and then, a movie comes along that makes you question the entire filmmaking process — the casting choices, the budget, and, most importantly, the sanity of everyone involved. Burning Bright (2010) is one of those cinematic curiosities — a movie where a woman, her autistic brother, and a live Bengal tiger are all … Read More “Burning Bright (2010): When the Tiger Has More Acting Range Than the Cast” »
There’s a certain charm to low-budget horror — that gritty, duct-taped enthusiasm where you can practically smell the fake blood and desperation. But Blood Junkie (2010) isn’t so much a love letter to 1980s slashers as it is a ransom note cut out of old Fangoria magazines and glued together with Milwaukee beer. Directed, written, … Read More “Blood Junkie (2010): When Nostalgia Trips Over Its Own VHS Tape” »
If you’ve ever wondered what would happen if Mean Girls joined a Japanese horror club and then tried to out-brood The Ring after three Red Bulls, allow me to introduce you to Black Rat (2010). Directed by Kenta Fukasaku — yes, the son of Battle Royale’s director, which makes this movie’s mediocrity even more tragic … Read More “Black Rat (2010): The Mouse That Roared, Then Tripped on Its Own Tail” »
Some films aim for greatness. Others aim for cult status. Bikini Frankenstein doesn’t so much aim as it lounges around in a silk robe, sipping boxed wine, and occasionally remembers it’s supposed to be a “movie.” Directed by the late-night cable auteur Fred Olen Ray (under the pseudonym Nicholas Juan Medina, because apparently even Fred … Read More “Bikini Frankenstein (2010): The Monster Mash Nobody Asked For — But Maybe, Secretly, Everyone Needed” »
There’s a special kind of horror movie that doesn’t so much entertain you as it does emotionally bludgeon you for two hours, steal your will to live, and then have the nerve to call it “art.” Bedevilled is that movie. Jang Cheol-soo’s 2010 Korean revenge horror is a grueling exercise in rural misery porn — … Read More “Bedevilled (2010): When Revenge Needs a Vacation” »
If you’ve ever wondered what would happen if The Blair Witch Project went to Spain, had a nervous breakdown, and started filming family therapy sessions in a hedge maze, Atrocious is your answer. Directed by Fernando Barreda Luna, this scrappy little Spanish horror flick proves you don’t need a huge budget, fancy monsters, or even … Read More “Atrocious (2010): A Terrifyingly Good Time in Found Footage Hell” »
If John Waters and Ed Wood had a love child who was raised in a decrepit San Francisco movie theater and fed a steady diet of bad espresso and Fangoria magazines, that kid would grow up to make All About Evil. Written and directed by Joshua Grannell — a man who loves horror movies so … Read More “All About Evil (2010): When Camp Goes Cannibal” »
Let’s be honest — Affair (2010) is the kind of movie that makes you question not only the characters’ decision-making but also the filmmakers’. Directed by Nayato Fio Nuala (who apparently directs as often as most people breathe), this Indonesian horror slasher-slash-romantic-tragedy is like watching a soap opera get lost in a meat grinder. There … Read More “Affair (2010): When Melodrama Meets Mutilation” »
If vampires have taught us anything, it’s that sequels are hard to kill — especially when they smell residual box office blood. 30 Days of Night: Dark Days (2010) rises from the cinematic grave dug by the 2007 original, still twitching, still thirsty, and still unreasonably fond of mood lighting and eyeliner. While it lacks … Read More “30 Days of Night: Dark Days” »
Guillermo del Toro has always had a soft spot for the whimsical and the grotesque—like if Tim Burton actually read a book once in a while. In Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark (2010), del Toro trades his usual giant monsters and baroque ghosts for something smaller, toothier, and just as likely to ruin your … Read More ““Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark” (2010) “A Family-Friendly Reminder That Renovating Old Mansions Is a Terrible Idea”” »