‘The Outwaters’ is a Beautiful, Baffling Hellscape in the High Desert

2023 has been off to a relatively lively start in regards to indie, viral horror. Festival darling Skinamarink saw a limited release in late January following its leak onto major torrenting platforms last year, prompting spirited discourse online within the horror community. Likewise, public domain meme film Blood and Honey hit select theater screens earlier this week to similar chatter. And yesterday, we were blessed … Continue reading ‘The Outwaters’ is a Beautiful, Baffling Hellscape in the High Desert

Oh, Bother: ‘Blood and Honey’ is a Steaming Pile of Pooh

The Public Domain is a wonderful thing. Thanks to the natural expiration of copyright, Hollywood has been able to adapt hundreds of classic literature’s most beloved works and characters to the big screen. Sherlock Holmes, Dracula, The War of The Worlds, The Wizard of Oz; all these and many, many more have become media staples thanks to the unfettered rights to bring them to cinemas … Continue reading Oh, Bother: ‘Blood and Honey’ is a Steaming Pile of Pooh

Tormenting My Inner Child With ‘Skinamarink’

When I was a kid, I used to have horrific night terrors. They were reoccurring – at their worst, happening nearly weekly – and they terrified me beyond anything I have since experienced in life. They would leave me trapped in an almost fugue state, eyes open and seemingly conscious but screaming bloody murder and completely incapable of being awoken by my concerned parents. This … Continue reading Tormenting My Inner Child With ‘Skinamarink’

Why the Underrated ‘Season of the Witch’ is the Most Halloween-y ‘Halloween’ Sequel

John Carpenter’s 1978 slasher Halloween was a smash hit (and one of the most financially successful independent films ever made), and for good reason: It was a tense, atmospheric thriller that relied on its mastery of suspense to scrounge up scares, rather than over-the-top blood and gore. It had a stellar lead in final girl Laurie Strode, launching Jaime Lee Curtis to well-earned stardom overnight. … Continue reading Why the Underrated ‘Season of the Witch’ is the Most Halloween-y ‘Halloween’ Sequel

Short Film Showcase Sunday: Short Films as a Springboard for Mainstream Success

For our final Sunday of the month, I thought I’d show you guys just exactly why these internet short films are so cool. Sure, they’re great bits of horror content in their own right, provided quick little jolts of spooky atmosphere to your system like a 5 Hour Energy shot. But the really exciting thing is how they’ve leveled the playing field for filmmakers. Long … Continue reading Short Film Showcase Sunday: Short Films as a Springboard for Mainstream Success

Fatal Finales: The Bleakest Endings in Horror

Horror isn’t exactly known for being a genre full of sunshine and rainbows. It can be depressing. Grimy. Morbid. And sure, a lot of horror films have (reasonably) happy endings. Our heroes may lose friends or loved ones, and even lose a limb or two themselves along the way, but in the end, they usually manage to beat whatever’s chasing them and live to see … Continue reading Fatal Finales: The Bleakest Endings in Horror

Bad Moon Rising: Horror’s Most Fantastically Ferocious Werewolf Flicks

Werewolves are one of the most enduring pieces of horror pop culture iconography. And although they’re considered to be one of the quintessential mascots for the genre, and for the Halloween season, I would wager that the vast majority of people have never actually seen a werewolf movie. Well, a good one, anyhow. Twilight, Underworld, and Van Helsing all feature the beasts in some capacity, … Continue reading Bad Moon Rising: Horror’s Most Fantastically Ferocious Werewolf Flicks

‘Dead Silence’ is Horror For Dummies, And I Kind of Love It

You know what’s really creepy? Ventriloquist dummies. Seriously, look at this little bastard: There’s no way that thing hasn’t killed a child. I hate those things with a fiery passion. As a child, I was shown Bride of Chucky at a waaaay too early age by a nefarious cousin, and it messed me up pretty bad, sparking a decade-long fear of anything remotely in the … Continue reading ‘Dead Silence’ is Horror For Dummies, And I Kind of Love It

Short Film Showcase Sundays: The Backrooms

The internet, to the absolute surprise of no one in the Fake News era, is a fertile breeding ground for mythology and lore. The urban legends and campfire stories of days past have since given way to stories told in obscure chat rooms and anonymous forums, built up over time before eventually breaching the mainstream and ingraining themselves into popular culture. From the earliest days … Continue reading Short Film Showcase Sundays: The Backrooms

‘V/H/S 99’ is Flashback, Millennial Horror Fun

I’ve talked a lot on this site about found-footage horror films. It’s probably my favorite subgenre of horror. I’ve also been equally vocal about my love of anthology horror films, serving up bite-sized, easily digestible chunks of spooky goodness without running the risk of boring the audience with unnecessary narrative beats. And luckily, these two flavors of horror mix together wonderfully, working in tandem to … Continue reading ‘V/H/S 99’ is Flashback, Millennial Horror Fun