CategoryEvents
Horror events, screenings and experiences — premieres, festivals and one-night-only shows.
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Film FestivalsMoviesReviews
Stag (2022) Writer/director Alexandra Spieth’s horror comedy Stag balances those two styles together nicely while adding some serious drama to the mix. The result is an amusing feature that aims for the feelings as well as the fear and fun factors. Jenny (Mary Glen Fredrick) learns through social media that her former best friend Mandy (Elizabeth Ramos) — “I go by Amanda now”— is getting married. The estranged friends make an awkward reconnection over the phone during which Mandy invites Jenny to her bachelorette party trip, which is being held at a remote property on which a young woman was rumored to have been sacrificed. Jenny gives new meaning to the term socially awkward as she finds herself among the other guests, maid of honor Willa (Liana Hunt) and her younger sister Casey (Stephanie Hogan) — whose family owns the property— Leslie (Safiya Harris), and Constance (Katie Wieland). Strangely acting one-eyed groundskeeper Devon (Daniel Boyd) is on hand to make
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Film FestivalsMoviesReviews
Tearsucker Seasoned fear-fare aficionados may be well versed in the set-up of director Stephen Vanderpool’s Tearsucker — a young woman falls for a seemingly charming stranger who turns out to be hiding a deadly side and goes on a trip with him despite her best friend’s uncertainties about the situation — but I can guarantee that the villain in this dark, macabre work has a disturbing perversion that you haven’t seen before. The film’s official logline, so that readers can rest assured I am spoiling nothing that isn’t already out for public consumption, is “Emotionally vulnerable women are preyed on by a charming psychopath who wants to suck their tears.” Tom (Sam Brittan) is the psycho in question, and he has his sights set on Lilly (Alison Walter), who has recently left an abusive relationship and is sharing her experience on social media, with tears aplenty flowing. Brittan’s screenplay is an intriguing, unsettling character study of both predator and prey.
Continue reading →
EventsFilm FestivalsMoviesNews
FrightFest, the UK’s largest celebration of genre cinema, always serves up a drool-worthy slate of fear fare, and while wait for this year’s lineup of movies, the fest has unleashed its poster reveal for its 2023 edition! Have a gander and check out the official press announcement below! FrightFest is proud to unveil Graham Humphreys’ stand-out poster design for 2023, which marks the 15th appearance for his iconic Monster. Graham revealed today: “This year’s FrightFest poster share it’s theme with the annual FrightFest book, exploring the subject of Mad Doctors. Once again, my artwork needed to be built in multiple parts that could be dismantled and rearranged across different formats, allowing individual elements to work on their own. Re-Animator’s Herbert West, is clearly referenced by the FrightFest ghoul. He is surrounded by a series of classic ‘mad doctors’ in film. Unsurprisingly, they are all men! This year’s annual Bank Holiday event, the UK’s largest celebration of genre cinema, takes place
Continue reading →
EventsFilm FestivalsMoviesNews
The Fantasia International Film Festival, North America’s largest genre-focused film fest, celebrates its 27th edition from July 20 through August 9, 2023 in Montreal, Canada at the Concordia Hall Cinema, with additional screens at the Cinémathèque Québécoise and Cinéma du Musée. I’ll be covering the festival for Horror Fuel, and here are six of the fear-fare features that I find highly intriguing, with more information available at https://fantasiafestival.com/en/. Following are official press descriptions, followed by my thoughts in italics. OPENING THE FESTIVAL, PASCAL PLANTE WILL BRING US INTO RED ROOMS Coming to christen Fantasia’s 27th edition days after its Karlovy-Vary competition debut, RED ROOMS (Les chambres rouges) is the haunting third feature from celebrated Quebec filmmaker Pascal Plante (FAKE TATTOOS, NADIA, BUTTERFLY). The high-profile case of serial killer Ludovic Chevalier (Maxwell McCabe-Lokos, STANLEYVILLE) has just gone to trial, and Kelly-Anne (Juliette Gariépy, BOOST) is obsessed. When reality blurs with her morbid fantasies, she goes down a dark path to seek
Continue reading →
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Christopher Beatty’s award-winning psychological horror-thriller, Bibi, is next screening at the Dances With Films Film Festival on June 29, 2023. Ahead of its screening, we have the first trailer. In the film, “Vivian Ashwood (Elizabeth Paige, Modern Love) is failing to cope after a tragic loss. Struggling to raise her daughter Bibi (Judith Ann DiMinni), she turns to prescription drugs and alcohol to soothe her anxieties and depression. Soon, the lines begin to blur between Vivian’s routine nightmare and her reality. A strange man begins stalking Vivian, causing her to unravel even further. Bibi, also devastated by the loss of her sister and upset at Vivian for not protecting them both, only makes Vivian more unsure of the truth. After continuous torment, Vivian searches for a way to protect herself and Bibi from the stalker by whatever means necessary.” Beatty says, “My inspiration for writing BIBI was to create a beautiful, colorful world that contrasts as we venture off into
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsMoviesReviewsTrue Crime
What do you get when you cross a serial killer saga, a road movie, a thriller, some comedy, a variation on an odd-couple buddy film, and a celebrity chimpanzee? In the case of He Went That Way (U.S., 2023), the answer is a film that lacks clear focus but is nevertheless entertaining throughout. He Went That Way features a title card that proclaims that the events in the film mostly happened. The real-life story involved animal trainer Dave Pitts and the actual chimpanzee Spanky traveling with hitchhiker and serial killer Larry Lee Ranes. Pitts gives an accounting of his tale during the end credits, which also feature a clip of Spanky performing in The Ice Capades. For the fictionalized version, animal trainer Jim (Zachary Quinto) is traveling America’s Route 66 with his beloved chimpanzee Spanky, who was once the toast of highly rated television variety shows and live performances but who has fallen out of favor in the film’s 1964
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsMoviesReviews
Imagine a horror film that combines elements found in Hiroshi Teshigahara’s classic Woman in the Dunes (Japan, 1964) with your favorite evil/feral child horror movie, add in a good deal of weirdness and mystery, and you’re only partially on your way to what writer/director Barney Clay’s The Seeding (U.S., 2023) holds in store for you. This harrowing work has stayed with me for days after watching it, and I’m certain that its grip will linger with me for quite some time. I’m only going to discuss the initial set-up, as viewers should go in as cold as possible. A man (Scott Haze) is in the desert to photograph an eclipse. A young teen boy appears to be lost, and the man attempts to help him, reluctantly following as the boy leads them further away from the main road. The boy disappears and the man is lost, with night and foul weather coming on. He finds his way to a chasm
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsForeignMoviesReviews
Two strangers, one home in a trailer park, and one dark and stormy night make for one exciting feature destined for my Top 10 Horror Films of 2023 list in the Australian chiller You’ll Never Find Me (2023). Codirectors Josiah Allen and Indianna Bell have crafted a tense film ready to burst at the seams with suspense and dread. Patrick (Brendan Rock) tells whoever is knocking at his door as rain pours down heavily in no uncertain terms what they should do, which involves profanity and being unwelcome. The visitor (Jordan Cowan) is persistent, though, and Patrick reluctantly lets her in. From this simple premise, Allen and Bell — working from a screenplay written by Bell — deliver a slow burn film loaded with anxiety and mystery during which viewers know something is off but cannot figure out the motivations of each character — until a secret is revealed and a dizzying third act follows. You’ll Never Find Me is
Continue reading →
Amazon Prime VideoEventsNewsStreaming TV
To celebrate the upcoming trailer premiere for the new Amazon Original Series The Horror of Dolores Roach, Blumhouse is counting down with a series of giveaways! Every three hours, the time it took the show’s food stylist, Rossy Earl, to make a batch of empanadas -will be asked to answer a question for the opportunity to win some fantastic prizes, including a catered empanada meal, $100 massage gift cards, scented candles, chef essentials, Blumhouse merch and more! The giveaway kicks off on Sunday, July 11, at 8:30 am PT/ 11:30 ET. Check Blumhouse’s social media channels for announcements and updates on The Horror of Dolores Roach countdown to the trailer drop. Follow Blumhouse on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to enter. Also follow the series to stay updated. “The Horror of Dolores Roach” is a contemporary Sweeney Todd-inspired urban legend of love, betrayal, weed, cannibalism, and survival of the fittest. Dolores Roach (Justina Machado) is released after an unjust 16-year prison
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsMoviesReviewsThriller
Writer/director Olivia West Lloyd’s Somewhere Quiet is a drama/mystery feature with horror and thriller elements. Psychological fear and illusions vs. reality are in constant play. Meg (Jennifer Kim) was the recent victim of a kidnapping and naturally she is still suffering PTSD from the ordeal. Her significant other Scott (Kentucker Audley) is having difficulty with her state, including her distrust of him and her wanting to discuss the details of her kidnapping. The couple takes time away from their lives in the city to spend a quiet retreat at his rather remote family estate in Cape Cod. Not long after settling in, though, a woman named Madelin (Marin Ireland) makes her presence known. She is a brusque person who is immediately at odds with Meg. Scott and Madelin tell Meg that they are cousins, and here Somewhere Quiet begins to further cloud Meg’s grip on reality. Already prone to visions, hallucinations, and flashbacks, she now may or may not also
Continue reading →
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Film FestivalsMoviesReviews
Stag (2022) Writer/director Alexandra Spieth’s horror comedy Stag balances those two styles together nicely while adding some serious drama to the mix. The result is an amusing feature that aims for the feelings as well as the fear and fun factors. Jenny (Mary Glen Fredrick) learns through social media that her former best friend Mandy (Elizabeth Ramos) — “I go by Amanda now”— is getting married. The estranged friends make an awkward reconnection over the phone during which Mandy invites Jenny to her bachelorette party trip, which is being held at a remote property on which a young woman was rumored to have been sacrificed. Jenny gives new meaning to the term socially awkward as she finds herself among the other guests, maid of honor Willa (Liana Hunt) and her younger sister Casey (Stephanie Hogan) — whose family owns the property— Leslie (Safiya Harris), and Constance (Katie Wieland). Strangely acting one-eyed groundskeeper Devon (Daniel Boyd) is on hand to make
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsMoviesReviews
Tearsucker Seasoned fear-fare aficionados may be well versed in the set-up of director Stephen Vanderpool’s Tearsucker — a young woman falls for a seemingly charming stranger who turns out to be hiding a deadly side and goes on a trip with him despite her best friend’s uncertainties about the situation — but I can guarantee that the villain in this dark, macabre work has a disturbing perversion that you haven’t seen before. The film’s official logline, so that readers can rest assured I am spoiling nothing that isn’t already out for public consumption, is “Emotionally vulnerable women are preyed on by a charming psychopath who wants to suck their tears.” Tom (Sam Brittan) is the psycho in question, and he has his sights set on Lilly (Alison Walter), who has recently left an abusive relationship and is sharing her experience on social media, with tears aplenty flowing. Brittan’s screenplay is an intriguing, unsettling character study of both predator and prey.
Continue reading →
EventsFilm FestivalsMoviesNews
FrightFest, the UK’s largest celebration of genre cinema, always serves up a drool-worthy slate of fear fare, and while wait for this year’s lineup of movies, the fest has unleashed its poster reveal for its 2023 edition! Have a gander and check out the official press announcement below! FrightFest is proud to unveil Graham Humphreys’ stand-out poster design for 2023, which marks the 15th appearance for his iconic Monster. Graham revealed today: “This year’s FrightFest poster share it’s theme with the annual FrightFest book, exploring the subject of Mad Doctors. Once again, my artwork needed to be built in multiple parts that could be dismantled and rearranged across different formats, allowing individual elements to work on their own. Re-Animator’s Herbert West, is clearly referenced by the FrightFest ghoul. He is surrounded by a series of classic ‘mad doctors’ in film. Unsurprisingly, they are all men! This year’s annual Bank Holiday event, the UK’s largest celebration of genre cinema, takes place
Continue reading →
EventsFilm FestivalsMoviesNews
The Fantasia International Film Festival, North America’s largest genre-focused film fest, celebrates its 27th edition from July 20 through August 9, 2023 in Montreal, Canada at the Concordia Hall Cinema, with additional screens at the Cinémathèque Québécoise and Cinéma du Musée. I’ll be covering the festival for Horror Fuel, and here are six of the fear-fare features that I find highly intriguing, with more information available at https://fantasiafestival.com/en/. Following are official press descriptions, followed by my thoughts in italics. OPENING THE FESTIVAL, PASCAL PLANTE WILL BRING US INTO RED ROOMS Coming to christen Fantasia’s 27th edition days after its Karlovy-Vary competition debut, RED ROOMS (Les chambres rouges) is the haunting third feature from celebrated Quebec filmmaker Pascal Plante (FAKE TATTOOS, NADIA, BUTTERFLY). The high-profile case of serial killer Ludovic Chevalier (Maxwell McCabe-Lokos, STANLEYVILLE) has just gone to trial, and Kelly-Anne (Juliette Gariépy, BOOST) is obsessed. When reality blurs with her morbid fantasies, she goes down a dark path to seek
Continue reading →
EventsFilm FestivalsIndieMoviesNewsThrillerTrailers
Christopher Beatty’s award-winning psychological horror-thriller, Bibi, is next screening at the Dances With Films Film Festival on June 29, 2023. Ahead of its screening, we have the first trailer. In the film, “Vivian Ashwood (Elizabeth Paige, Modern Love) is failing to cope after a tragic loss. Struggling to raise her daughter Bibi (Judith Ann DiMinni), she turns to prescription drugs and alcohol to soothe her anxieties and depression. Soon, the lines begin to blur between Vivian’s routine nightmare and her reality. A strange man begins stalking Vivian, causing her to unravel even further. Bibi, also devastated by the loss of her sister and upset at Vivian for not protecting them both, only makes Vivian more unsure of the truth. After continuous torment, Vivian searches for a way to protect herself and Bibi from the stalker by whatever means necessary.” Beatty says, “My inspiration for writing BIBI was to create a beautiful, colorful world that contrasts as we venture off into
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsMoviesReviewsTrue Crime
What do you get when you cross a serial killer saga, a road movie, a thriller, some comedy, a variation on an odd-couple buddy film, and a celebrity chimpanzee? In the case of He Went That Way (U.S., 2023), the answer is a film that lacks clear focus but is nevertheless entertaining throughout. He Went That Way features a title card that proclaims that the events in the film mostly happened. The real-life story involved animal trainer Dave Pitts and the actual chimpanzee Spanky traveling with hitchhiker and serial killer Larry Lee Ranes. Pitts gives an accounting of his tale during the end credits, which also feature a clip of Spanky performing in The Ice Capades. For the fictionalized version, animal trainer Jim (Zachary Quinto) is traveling America’s Route 66 with his beloved chimpanzee Spanky, who was once the toast of highly rated television variety shows and live performances but who has fallen out of favor in the film’s 1964
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsMoviesReviews
Imagine a horror film that combines elements found in Hiroshi Teshigahara’s classic Woman in the Dunes (Japan, 1964) with your favorite evil/feral child horror movie, add in a good deal of weirdness and mystery, and you’re only partially on your way to what writer/director Barney Clay’s The Seeding (U.S., 2023) holds in store for you. This harrowing work has stayed with me for days after watching it, and I’m certain that its grip will linger with me for quite some time. I’m only going to discuss the initial set-up, as viewers should go in as cold as possible. A man (Scott Haze) is in the desert to photograph an eclipse. A young teen boy appears to be lost, and the man attempts to help him, reluctantly following as the boy leads them further away from the main road. The boy disappears and the man is lost, with night and foul weather coming on. He finds his way to a chasm
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsForeignMoviesReviews
Two strangers, one home in a trailer park, and one dark and stormy night make for one exciting feature destined for my Top 10 Horror Films of 2023 list in the Australian chiller You’ll Never Find Me (2023). Codirectors Josiah Allen and Indianna Bell have crafted a tense film ready to burst at the seams with suspense and dread. Patrick (Brendan Rock) tells whoever is knocking at his door as rain pours down heavily in no uncertain terms what they should do, which involves profanity and being unwelcome. The visitor (Jordan Cowan) is persistent, though, and Patrick reluctantly lets her in. From this simple premise, Allen and Bell — working from a screenplay written by Bell — deliver a slow burn film loaded with anxiety and mystery during which viewers know something is off but cannot figure out the motivations of each character — until a secret is revealed and a dizzying third act follows. You’ll Never Find Me is
Continue reading →
Amazon Prime VideoEventsNewsStreaming TV
To celebrate the upcoming trailer premiere for the new Amazon Original Series The Horror of Dolores Roach, Blumhouse is counting down with a series of giveaways! Every three hours, the time it took the show’s food stylist, Rossy Earl, to make a batch of empanadas -will be asked to answer a question for the opportunity to win some fantastic prizes, including a catered empanada meal, $100 massage gift cards, scented candles, chef essentials, Blumhouse merch and more! The giveaway kicks off on Sunday, July 11, at 8:30 am PT/ 11:30 ET. Check Blumhouse’s social media channels for announcements and updates on The Horror of Dolores Roach countdown to the trailer drop. Follow Blumhouse on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to enter. Also follow the series to stay updated. “The Horror of Dolores Roach” is a contemporary Sweeney Todd-inspired urban legend of love, betrayal, weed, cannibalism, and survival of the fittest. Dolores Roach (Justina Machado) is released after an unjust 16-year prison
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsMoviesReviewsThriller
Writer/director Olivia West Lloyd’s Somewhere Quiet is a drama/mystery feature with horror and thriller elements. Psychological fear and illusions vs. reality are in constant play. Meg (Jennifer Kim) was the recent victim of a kidnapping and naturally she is still suffering PTSD from the ordeal. Her significant other Scott (Kentucker Audley) is having difficulty with her state, including her distrust of him and her wanting to discuss the details of her kidnapping. The couple takes time away from their lives in the city to spend a quiet retreat at his rather remote family estate in Cape Cod. Not long after settling in, though, a woman named Madelin (Marin Ireland) makes her presence known. She is a brusque person who is immediately at odds with Meg. Scott and Madelin tell Meg that they are cousins, and here Somewhere Quiet begins to further cloud Meg’s grip on reality. Already prone to visions, hallucinations, and flashbacks, she now may or may not also
Continue reading →
