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Reviews

‘Hellraiser’ Has Some Sights to Show You, and Not Much Else

I don’t think there’s a horror franchise out there with a bigger disparity between quality and quantity than Hellraiser. Ten films, over three decades, from a whole host of different writers, directors, and creative teams, and yet not single installment, save the original, comes anywhere close to being what a sane individual would consider ‘good.’ Which is a damn shame, really, because the first film, … Continue reading ‘Hellraiser’ Has Some Sights to Show You, and Not Much Else

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Marvel Revives the Universal Monster Movie With ‘Werewolf By Night’

There is a staggering amount of overlap between horror films and superhero movies. James Wan (Aquaman), Sam Raimi (Spider-Man/Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness), Scott Derrickson (Doctor Strange), Jon Watts (Spider-Man: Homecoming), David F. Sandberg (Shazam!), and James Gunn (Guardians of the Galaxy), among others, all got their starts directing major horror movies. There’s something about the genre that the studios behind these big-budget … Continue reading Marvel Revives the Universal Monster Movie With ‘Werewolf By Night’

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‘Smile:’ A Heart Attack With a Friendly Face

So, in full transparency, today’s post was supposed to be about Deadstream, a new found footage horror-comedy that premiered this on Shudder this week. It’s a fun, if somewhat cliché takedown of Youtuber/Twitch-streamer culture, filtered through the lends of a first-person Evil Dead film, featuring some fantastic practical effects and some clever uses of streaming technology like chat feeds and facecams. But coincidentally, on a … Continue reading ‘Smile:’ A Heart Attack With a Friendly Face

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‘One Cut of the Dead’ and the Magic of Genuine Surprise

Sometimes, I come across a movie that’s so unique and so weird that I find myself at sort of a loss for words. Not because the film is indescribably amazing or anything like that, but because the very act of trying to give a synopsis spoils it. These are the kinds of movies that are best gone into completely blind, and having it reveal itself … Continue reading ‘One Cut of the Dead’ and the Magic of Genuine Surprise

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Reviews

Ti West Crafts the Perfect Prequel With ‘Pearl’

Earlier this year, director Ti West and A24 gifted us with the wonderfully subversive X, a stylish, thoughtful send-up of 70s slasher and grindhouse sensibilities. It was a clever, brutal film, dripping with subtext and artistry, yet still managed to deliver on the requisite kills and thrills in a way that even the most disinterested of horror audiences could appreciate without feeling bogged down by … Continue reading Ti West Crafts the Perfect Prequel With ‘Pearl’

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‘Barbarian’: You’ll Never Use Airbnb Again

Horror films can often come from the most unexpected of people. And perhaps surprisingly, a lot of these people end up being comedians. Bobcat Goldthwait gave us the excellent Bigfoot found-footage film Willow Creek. Danny McBride was responsible in part for bringing Halloween back from the dead in 2018. And who would have thought the man behind this gem would go on to make such … Continue reading ‘Barbarian’: You’ll Never Use Airbnb Again

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Reviews

The Predator Gets Some Much-Needed Redemption in Hulu’s ‘Prey’

The older I get, the more I realize that my taste in movies is probably the direct result of having been raised by people who had absolutely no idea what was appropriate for a child to watch. Some of my earliest, fondest memories as a kid revolve around watching a revolving cavalcade of sex, violence and adult language that I had no business whatsoever experiencing, … Continue reading The Predator Gets Some Much-Needed Redemption in Hulu’s ‘Prey’

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Savageland: Found Footage Horror Gets Sickeningly Political

I’ve been on a bit of a found footage kick lately. I know some of you out there really can’t stand the genre, due either to its conventionally low production values or its tendency to induce motion sickness faster than not-quite-up-to-code teacup ride at a sketchy carnival, but I’m a huge sucker for any film made with a handheld camera and roughly six dollars. They … Continue reading Savageland: Found Footage Horror Gets Sickeningly Political

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Nic Cage Soars as Nic Cage in Stellar Love Letter to Nic Cage ‘The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent’

I feel like I’ve gone on the record more than enough times on this site in defense of Nicholas Cage. The movies of his that I’ve explicitly covered, Mandy, The Color Out of Space, and Pig, are all amazing films because they exist in what I like to call the “Post-Cage” era. That is, the age of cinema where we’ve all sort of collectively identified … Continue reading Nic Cage Soars as Nic Cage in Stellar Love Letter to Nic Cage ‘The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent’

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‘Everything, Everywhere, All at Once’ is Wonderful, Beautiful Madness

Coming off of last month’s X, I didn’t think it was possible for me to love A24 any more than I already did. Boy, was I wrong about that. If you have even a casual interest in film, odds are you’ve been hearing quite a bit of buzz about Dan Kwan and Daniel Scheinert’s (or simply Daniels, as the duo call themselves) new film Everything, … Continue reading ‘Everything, Everywhere, All at Once’ is Wonderful, Beautiful Madness

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