As with all anthologies, Shudder’s latest offering is very much the mixed bag. Nightmare Cinema doesn’t make the most of its gleefully retro framework – a mysterious projectionist luring patrons in to show them short films of their worst nightmares – which is a crime, especially when said projectionist is played by Mickey Rourke! But it’s OK. This is a movie for Hallowe’en watch parties.
This is the second time I’m writing this entire post out – from memory – because WordPress’s new ‘block editor’ is a piece of fucking garbage and deleted an entire post that was ready to hit ‘publish’. Thanks, WordPress. You are the 99% Napster download of blog editors.
It’s better to watch Netflix’s new offering Wounds as a drama with horror-thriller elements, rather than a straightforward genre offering. Otherwise, you’ll come away feeling cheated by an anti-climactic ending that would have worked great in a single-setting short horror film (which would have been fitting, considering this was based on a novella).
I’ve already forgotten about Alexandra Aja‘s new movie Crawl. That’s not to say it’s bad, but it seems like a strange choice from the director of the likes of Horns and the (genuinely horrifying) remake of The Hills Have Eyes. In fact, it’s a glorious throwback to the solid monster flicks of the late ’90s, a brisk creature feature with flat but likeable characters and zero social commentary. Which, is a bit of a shame given that this set during some very-OTT Floridian floods.
[I’m getting so much better at posting these on time, aren’t I?]
I am reviewing – for want of a more amateur word – Marcin Wrona‘s Polish film Demon outside of the context of his tragic suicide, which was before he could know how truly well this was received. Watching this movie is a bittersweet experience nonetheless, and a fascinating mesh of historical and cultural horror notes that we really need more of in the genre.
By far, this is the scariest thing I’ve seen so far this month, and arguably one of the most frightening films I’ve ever watched. Few films (e.g. Hereditary) have been able to climb under my skin and stay there, freaking me out, days after I’ve watched it. To me, that’s the pinnacle of horror – especially to a desensitised horror nerd.
Not to be confused with the American teen comedy of nearly the same name, Extracurricular gets a nod for trying something new in the slasher subgenre, but fails to execute anything meaningful from its angle.
Which was promising – the story starts with a couple driving up to a romantic cabin getaway; after a few scenes of atmosphere-setting, the couple are quickly despatched by a group of masked knifers. And then the narrative rug is pulled out from under us by showing us that the protagonists are actually the antagonists – the killers themselves – who are a quartet of regular high-school kids. Who plan and execute murders for fun.
The best kinds of crappy movies are movies that know they are crappy and, thus, elevate their quality above truly crappy. President Evil is one of those so-bad-it’s-good crappy movies.
Ever wondered what it feels like to be trapped on a New England [woo!] rock with an increasingly strange boss who treats you like crap while a nor’easter storm brews ominously in the foreground? Then enter The Lighthouse.
Weirder than even The VVitch, Dave Eggers‘s sophomore offering is another entry in the modern-horror-fable subgenre, and a fine evocation of insidious sea shanties of yore.
I don’t enjoy writing bad reviews. I’m fully aware that this is someone else’s hard work and that I’ve yet to make a film myself. I actually, genuinely prefer describing the parts of a movie I like, because I want to try to (as objectively as possible) convince someone that this might be worth watching – especially if it’s a new or smaller movie.
Like many internetting humans, I have Netflix, and today they dropped Eli, so I thought ‘why not? how bad could it be?’
Hoo boy.
Filmed with Irish money but on Welsh soil and using just two English actors, A Dark Song is a truly British film indeed. The debut of writer/director Liam Gavin, the film works best if you approach it as a drama, in spite of how you might feel following the closing moments.
It’s out of character for me, but unavoidable spoilers after the jump.
An Englishwoman in Salem 