horror
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Horror for the Holidays (May’s Monthly Horror Recs)
Welcome to the fifth edition of May’s Monthly Horror Recs, where it’s always the time of year for scary movies! Continue reading
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November Blues (May’s Monthly Horror Recs)
Welcome to the fourth edition of May’s Monthly Horror Recs, where it’s always the time of year for scary movies! Continue reading
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Welcome to the Apocryphal Tale of “The Carpenter’s Son” (Review)
I’m a simple man. I enjoy the art of cinema. I hear “Nicolas Cage in a faith-based horror movie,” and I’m intrigued. Continue reading
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“Frankenstein” is the Fiery Culmination of Guillermo del Toro’s Career (Review)
If there’s anyone who can frame a tale about the true nature of monsters and the utter agony of being alive, it’s him. Continue reading
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A Double Feature for Spooky Season (May’s Monthly Horror Recs)
Welcome to the third edition of May’s Monthly Horror Recs, where it’s always the time of year for scary movies! Continue reading
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“Black Phone 2” Rings Twice as Loud (Review)
“Black Phone 2” swaps out dank basement grime for a snow-laden landscape, providing an all-too-clean canvas that begs to be decorated with stark red blood. Continue reading
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Chris Stuckmann’s “Shelby Oaks” is a Warm, Haunting Hug (Review)
There’s no bigger success story than Chris Stuckmann, who began reviewing movies on YouTube in 2009. Now, he has successfully led the biggest horror movie crowd-funding endeavor in history. The difference 15 years can make! Continue reading
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“Primate” Goes Apeshit in True Slasher Fashion
With a shocking amount of gore and violence, you can tell just how happy this movie is to exist. Continue reading
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“The Long Walk” Confronts the Unvarnished Truth of Life and Death (Review)
We come to understand that, by premise alone, death for all but one of these boys is inevitable. The question becomes…how will we get there? Continue reading
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Five Underseen Horror Films to Watch This July (May’s Monthly Recs)
Welcome to the second edition of May’s Monthly Horror Recs, where it’s always the time of year for scary movies! Continue reading
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Danny Boyle Viciously Reinvigorates Franchise Filmmaking with “28 Years Later” (Review)
“28 Years Later” makes a compelling argument for Boyle to be considered one of the most innovative and influential filmmakers of the 21st century. Continue reading
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Five Underseen Horror Films to Watch This June (May’s Monthly Recs)
Welcome to the first-ever edition of May’s Monthly Horror Recs, where it’s always the time of year for scary movies. Continue reading
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Every Mike Flanagan Film Ranked (including “The Life of Chuck”)
Flanagan doesn’t rely on jump scares, but he utilizes them well, and has been able to craft a perfectly eerie and unsettling atmosphere in his seven horror features, as well as a captivating, inspirational ambience in his latest release. 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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“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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“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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“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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“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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“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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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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“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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“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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“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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“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 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 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: 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
Knock on Wood 