“Evil Dead Rise” is a Gory, Groovy, and Genuinely Great Revival of One of Horror’s Best Franchises

As much as I love horror films, it’s a sad reality that it’s nearly impossible for a franchise to stay on top of their game forever. Friday the 13th, Halloween, and A Nightmare on Elm Street are all huge, notorious horror properties, giants of pop culture, and yet, there’s probably only three or four truly great films between them. Inevitably, no matter how stellar an … Continue reading “Evil Dead Rise” is a Gory, Groovy, and Genuinely Great Revival of One of Horror’s Best Franchises

‘Scream VI’ Is A Raucous Rumble In The Big Apple

Scream is kind of a unicorn when it comes to long-running horror franchises. There aren’t many major slashers that can claim to have persisted the same nearly 30-year span that Ghostface has, and even fewer still that have held up the same standards of quality. Inevitably, there’ll be a remake, or a reboot, or a requel, (and if you’re Halloween, all of the above) or … Continue reading ‘Scream VI’ Is A Raucous Rumble In The Big Apple

‘Cocaine Bear’ is A Pure, Uncut B-Movie High

Look, I like smart, elevated, allegorical horror as much as the next pretentious film nerd with a mediocre movie blog. The past two reviews on this site, Skinamarink and The Outwaters, were both focused on how much I appreciated the surreal, avant-garde risks those films took, and the unconventional way they approached their stories and scares. I really, really enjoyed those movies. But sometimes, you … Continue reading ‘Cocaine Bear’ is A Pure, Uncut B-Movie High

‘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’

Chucky Finally Has Some Competition in the Slick, Sinister, and Sincere ‘M3GAN’

James Wan, the undisputed champion of modern franchise horror, has blessed the world with some of the biggest names in pop-culture terror. From Saw to Insidious and The Conjuring, Wan is a virtual King Midas within the genre, cranking out hit after hit for nearly two decades now. Also, he made Aquaman. So win some, lose some, I guess. But the writer/director superstar didn’t achieve … Continue reading Chucky Finally Has Some Competition in the Slick, Sinister, and Sincere ‘M3GAN’

‘Wendell & Wild’ Is Middling Stop-Motion Madness

Is there any movie more synonymous with Halloween than The Nightmare Before Christmas? It’s pretty much the ultimate holiday movie, pulling double-duty as both the perfect film for the spooky season as well as its holly-jolly counterpart in December. Plus, I’m pretty sure that it single-handedly keeps Hot Topic alive as a business model. The tragic thing about it though is that people continuously lump … Continue reading ‘Wendell & Wild’ Is Middling Stop-Motion Madness

‘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

‘Halloween Ends’ Is A Mercy Killing

The Halloween franchise has certainly had its share of highs and lows over the years, but it’s recently been on a relative upswing. Director David Gordan Green and writer Danny McBride (yes, that Danny McBride) successfully revived the floundering series in 2018 with their reboot/sequel/rebootquel of the original John Carpenter classic in 2018 with the confusingly-titled Halloween. This installment, which was met with both critical … Continue reading ‘Halloween Ends’ Is A Mercy Killing