horror
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Lessons from the Wasteland: Weird Westerns
Welcome to class! Each film on this curated watchlist will highlight either a filmmaker, sub-genre, filmmaking technique, or significant topic in order to broaden your cinematic horizons. Continue reading
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“Fear Street: Prom Queen” Revives Shadyside For Another Nostalgic Spree (Review)
Come to “Prom Queen” for a much-needed return to Fear Street, stay for the gory delights of the modern horror genre – reverent, but assertive, forging its own path while generously indebted to its predecessors. Continue reading
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“Final Destination Bloodlines” is the Perfect Shot in the Arm
The biggest strength of this brutal return to form is a gleeful willingness to explore new avenues of the central premise, and to deliberately subvert expectations based on the franchise’s established rules. Continue reading
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Lessons from the Wasteland: John Carpenter
Welcome to class! Each film on this curated watchlist will highlight either a filmmaker, sub-genre, filmmaking technique, or significant topic in order to broaden your cinematic horizons. Continue reading
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“The Monkey” is a Terrifically Fatalistic Ode to Death Everlasting (Review)
Perkins’ wry personality shines through in this delightfully demented ode to the inescapable fate awaiting us all…after all, as long as we know it’s coming, there’s more than enough time to laugh about it. Continue reading
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“Heart Eyes” Has a Lot to Love (Review)
It doesn’t reinvent the wheel of either genre, but the novel approach to their combination gives a fan of both something new to see. Continue reading
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“The Gorge” is an Affectionate Genre Machine (Review)
“The Gorge” isn’t just a romance; it’s also a high-concept sci-fi action movie, with some horror (director Scott Derrickson’s specialty) thrown in there for good measure. Continue reading
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Remembering David Lynch
David Lynch, one of the most iconic and stylistically recognizable filmmakers of all time, passed away recently at the age of 78. Continue reading
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Our Most Anticipated Movies of 2025
There are plenty of films, whether they be original, adaptations, or sequels, that we’re looking forward to this year. Continue reading
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“Companion” is a Darkly Thrilling Genre-Bender (Review)
“Companion” is at its most entertaining when you surrender yourself to the wonderful chaos. Continue reading
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The 10 Best Films of 2024
Though it may not have reached the heights of years previous, 2024 has proven to be a fascinating year for cinema. Continue reading
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“Wolf Man” Gets Hairy, But Stays Harmless (Review)
If you’re looking for a decent horror flick from one of our more interesting genre filmmakers, you can do far worse than spend an evening in an abandoned farmhouse with the “Wolf Man.” Continue reading
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The Underseen Gems of 2024
Knock on Wood presents: our favorite under-appreciated masterpieces from 2024. Continue reading
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“Nosferatu” is the Visceral Nightmare We Deserve (Review)
As far as I’m concerned, no director has better control over their vision than Robert Eggers. Continue reading
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Too Many Movies, Too Little Time: A Summary of the 2024 Fall Movie Season (Part Two)
To commemorate the conclusion of the season, we have reviewed every new release (that I have seen) that has not been previously covered on our site. Continue reading
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“Werewolves” is All Bark and No Bite (Review)
“Werewolves” is not a good movie, but it is a successful one. Continue reading
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Awards Season Ramps Up: A Summary of the 2024 Fall Movie Season (Part One)
To commemorate the conclusion of the season, we have reviewed every new release (that I have seen) that has not been previously covered on our site. Continue reading
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Steven Soderbergh’s Experimental Horror “Presence” is a Haunting Delight
“Presence” is not a scary movie. It’s actually very sweet, charming, and strangely funny, and horror-averse moviegoers will be relieved at the lack of deliberately jarring jump scares. Continue reading
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Lessons from the Wasteland: Symmetrical Composition
Welcome to class! Each film on this curated watchlist will highlight either a filmmaker, sub-genre, filmmaking technique, or significant topic in order to broaden your cinematic horizons. Continue reading
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“Salem’s Lot” Captures the Crowd with a Thrilling Absurdity (Review)
I’m afraid my experience at this premiere makes this movie impossible to rate objectively – it was one of the most energetic and reactive crowds I have ever been a part of at the cinema, and everyone there seemed perfectly… Continue reading
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The Most Exciting Film Festival Premieres of 2024
Film festivals happen throughout the year, but the premieres ramp up from the end of the summer through the beginning of fall. Continue reading
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“Apartment 7A” Reflects the Timeless Horror of “Rosemary’s Baby” (Review)
For all intents and purposes, “Apartment 7A” is a remake of “Rosemary’s Baby.” If you’ve seen the original, especially recently (as I have), the beats will feel incredibly familiar Continue reading
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“Speak No Evil” Review: Reimagining Genre (and Cultural) Boundaries
It’s not a horror movie, per se, but more of a ticklish, unsettling character comedy before it becomes a full-throttle thrill ride straight to the finish line. Continue reading
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Everything We Didn’t Review: A Summary of the 2024 Summer Movie Season
To commemorate the conclusion of the season, we have reviewed every new release (that I have seen) that has not been previously covered on our site. Continue reading
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“Alien: Romulus” Revives the Spacebound Terror (Review)
“Alien: Romulus” is at its best when Álvarez releases any inhibitions and lets loose: a slice of dismal future life, injected with a healthy dose of creature-driven terror. Continue reading
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Lessons from the Wasteland: Horror (Part II)
Welcome to class! My full time job is working at a university, and I teach as well. One of my dreams has always been to teach a film class. Taking students through the world of cinema and helping them learn… Continue reading
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The Singular Horror Experience of “Longlegs” (Review)
“Longlegs” gets under your skin in a way that’s very difficult to put into words. Continue reading
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“MaXXXine” Blends Sex, Violence, and Hollywood in Ti West’s Trilogy Capper (Review)
Despite some very clunky plotting, West’s homages are so well done that I ultimately find myself coming down in their favor. Continue reading
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“A Quiet Place: Day One” is Proof Positive of Hope Amidst Desolation
Worries about “prequel-itis” and the unnecessary additions to an already-developed world are warranted and understandable, but “Day One” instantly distinguishes itself with a self-sufficient narrative and character development that properly takes advantage of the series’ intentional visual storytelling. Continue reading
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The Wasteland Spotlight: The 2024 Tribeca Film Festival
If you’re looking for new outlets for checking out films, this article series is a perfect way to seek out new channels to dive into. Continue reading
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“The Exorcism” is the Poster Child of Squandered Potential (Review)
Conceptually, it could be brilliant – but how does one pull it off? Continue reading
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“The Watchers” is a Convincing Argument for a Career (Review)
Shyamalan’s debut is clearly inspired by her father’s thriller and horror work, but forges a path all its own by way of presentation. Continue reading
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The Sweet, Unconventional Love of “Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person” (Review)
Despite the delicious tease of the title, there’s a deliberate play on expectations – instead of a morose meditation on the inevitability of death, “Humanist Vampire” is a black comedy about morality and obligation that asks us to confront the… Continue reading
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Lessons from the Wasteland: Stanley Kubrick
Welcome to class! Each film on this curated watchlist will highlight either a filmmaker, sub-genre, filmmaking technique, or significant topic in order to broaden your cinematic horizons. Continue reading
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Lessons from the Wasteland: Horror
Welcome to class! Each film on this curated watchlist will highlight either a filmmaker, sub-genre, filmmaking technique, or significant topic in order to broaden your cinematic horizons. Continue reading
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Bloody Romp “Abigail” is Another Win for Radio Silence (Review)
“Abigail” falls directly in the Radio Silence wheelhouse – limited locations, a horrific twist or two, with a few exploding blood splatters thrown in for good measure. Continue reading
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Off the Beaten Path: Discovering the Unforgettable Sisterhood of “Ginger Snaps”
As of writing, it has been exactly nine days since I watched the 2000 film “Ginger Snaps” for the first time. Of those nine days, I have been able to stop thinking about it for about zero of them. Continue reading
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Looking Ahead to the 2025 Oscars
Every year, when the Academy Awards are done and over with, the minds of curious cinephiles are always thinking ahead. It will be nearly a year before next year’s ceremony, but it’s never too early to start predicting – especially… Continue reading
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Our Most Anticipated Movies of 2024
It’s always too early to tell for the first few months, but 2024 is shaping up to be another great year for film. Apart from the return of several high-profile creative voices to the fold, there’s also a notable lack… Continue reading
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The Wasteland Spotlight: 2024 Sundance Short Films
If you’re looking for new outlets for checking out films, this article series is a perfect way to seek out new channels for new films to dive into. For this edition, I highlight some of the short films premiering at… Continue reading
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If I Picked the Oscars: A Dream of 2024
If you had control over the Academy Awards…what would you nominate? It’s a question that’s almost certainly run through the minds of every cinephile, and instead of hopelessly dreaming this year, I decided to put them into words. Continue reading
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The 10 Best Films of 2023
By all accounts, 2023 was an incredible year for film. Our contributors saw a cumulative hundreds of films from January to December, but there were some clear favorites. What follows is the combined Knock on Wood Top 10 of 2023. Continue reading
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The Underseen Gems of 2023
While some films garner awards attention and spread rapidly across the zeitgeist through word-of-mouth, the majority find it difficult to break through the myriad of new releases. Each of our writers will take you on a journey through some of… Continue reading
