CategoryFilm Festivals
Horror film festivals worldwide — lineups, awards and the titles that break out of the festival circuit.
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Chattanooga Film Festival has announced its terrific second wave of films and special events for this year’s edition, scheduled for June 23–28. Twenty features, a bevy of short films, and special events ranging from live podcasts to super-special guests to a magic show are set to appeal to genre-film fans of every stripe. Following is the official press information. As the Chattanooga Film Festival (CFF) dates of June 23rd – 28th draw near, festival organizers are excited to announce the second and final wave of programming, consisting of 20 additional features, six blocks of short films, and a selection of events that can be described as magical because there is magic happening—literally. Highlighting the second half of CFF’s feature film lineup is a trio of world premieres. Leading the pack is CFF 2022’s Opening Night Film THE LEECH, from filmmaker and CFF alumni Eric Pennycoff. Pennycoff follows up his debut feature SADISTIC INTENTIONS with another wild piece of cinema ready-made
Continue reading →
EventsFilm FestivalsNews
Tribeca Festival has a tantalizing, sure-to-be-terrifying array of horror movies, thrillers, and related genre offerings slated for this year’s Midnight section of the renowned fest, which takes place June 8–19, 2022 in New York City. Along with the Midnight section, the TribecXploitation series offers three NYC-shot grindhouse classics on the big screen, presented by their directors. Following are brief descriptions of each film, followed by my thoughts in italics. Midnight Attachment Maja and Leah’s new relationship is interrupted when mysterious things start happening in their London flat. It seems that Leah’s disapproving mother, who lives downstairs, is using Jewish folklore to come between them. Folk horror is red hot at the moment, and religious horror is always a popular subgenre. It sounds as though this slice of Danish fear fare may have elements of both, and the acting is said to be particularly strong. The Black Phone Locked in a soundproof basement by a masked child killer, a teenage boy
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsForeignIndieMoviesNewsThrillerTrailers
Today, XYZ Films unleashed the first teaser and poster for the upcoming Mexican occult horror Huesera, the breakout feature debut from Michelle Garza Cervera, which will receive a theatrical release under their new distribution arm following the Tribeca Film Fest where it will make its world premiere as part of Tribeca’s Midnight section. Garza Cervera, a rising young director in the Mexican genre film scene, has been recognized internationally for her celebrated short films that have played in over a hundred film festivals around the world, including Fantastic Fest, and the Fantasia International Film Festival, and Sitges. In Huesera, Valeria’s (Natalia Solián) joy at becoming pregnant with her first child is quickly taken away when she’s cursed by a sinister entity. As danger closes in and relationships with her family become fractured, she’s forced deeper into a chilling world of dark magic that threatens to consume her. A group of witches emerges that could be her only hope for safety
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsForeignMoviesReviews
Dawning Young Min Kim makes his feature film directorial debut — he also wrote the screenplay — with Dawning, a psychological horror outing heavy on family drama. Haejin Park (Kim Ellis) may have physically left her home after her father’s suicide (shown in the film’s opening scenes) for a new life in New York, but the trauma of that memory still weighs heavily on her. She goes back to the California farm where she grew up to console her younger sister Soojin (Veronica Kim), who has just split up with her abusive boyfriend. There, dark secrets are uncovered and supernatural overtones are introduced. Writer/director Kim shows a deft hand at the helm, serving up some twists and turns that raise the suspense while addressing the scars that PTSD and trauma can cause. Although the dialogue is a bit stiff at times, Dawning looks great, boasts fine performances from its two leads, and leaves viewers with much to think about. Kageboshi
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsMoviesNewsTrailers
David Cronenberg, known for his body horror, like in The Fly, has a new film coming out, Crimes of the Future which made its world premiere recently at Cannes. Some viewers just couldn’t handle it and walked out within the first five minutes, with more leaving the theater “during a particularly grotesque scene involving Léa Seydoux and an open wound.” IGN reports. But Cronenberg expected it would happen. “There are some very strong scenes,” explained Cronenberg. “I mean, I’m sure that we will have walkouts within the first five minutes of the movie. I’m sure of that. Some people who have seen the film have said that they think the last 20 minutes will be very hard on people and that there’ll be a lot of walkouts. Some guy said that he almost had a panic attack.” Starring Kristen Stewart, Viggo Mortensen, and Léa Seydoux, the film is set in the not-so-distant future where humankind is learning to adapt to
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsForeignMoviesReviewsThriller
One and Four Chinese feature One and Four (2021) is a nailbiter about Sanggye (Jinpa), a ranger who works alone at an isolated post in the Tibetan forest, whose solitude is interrupted when he finds a crashed car with a dead policeman on board. Returning to his cabin, he finds a wounded cop (Wang Zheng), but Sanggye suspects he might actually be a poacher. Kunbo (Kunde), a village acquaintance of Sanggye’s, returns to the cabin after a visit the night before, and eventually another wounded cop (Darggye Tenzin) stumbles onto the scene. As Sanggye becomes increasingly suspicious about each of the men, they do their part in creating further confusion and uncertainties. Naturally, weapons come into play, and as anger and confusion mount, danger threatens with every passing second. Writer/director Jigme Trinley’s debut feature looks terrific, with the snow-covered setting serving both a beautiful and bleak backdrop. He ratchets up the suspense masterfully, even if there’s not a whole lot
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsForeignMoviesReviews
Subject Subject, cowinner of this year’s Fantaspoa Best Film in the Brazilian Feature Film Competition category, tackles a familiar set-up: writer Max (Gustavo Falcão) has moved into a house in a rural area to work on his next book, but odd things occur inside the house. What director Leo Falcão does with this set-up is quite unlike what viewers might expect, though, as he takes a rather light-hearted, magical realism approach and sends Max on a weird journey involving suddenly-appearing texts, oddball locals, and the mystery of what happened to the writer who lived in the house before him. From characters who say strangely out-of-place words and instantly correct themselves to daily fistfights among friends, these locals are an enigmatic lot, and the actors who portray them do a marvelous job. Max finds himself grappling with existential puzzles, and Gustavo Falcão inhabits the character with a bemused, fish-out-of-water verve. Though not strictly a horror film, Subject definitely has scare-fare elements
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsMoviesReviews
Dashcam Director Rob Savage follows up his highly acclaimed 2020 feature Host with Dashcam. It’s a freaky effort that uses an intriguing style that falls somewhere between direct cinema and found footage. There’s much to recommend about the film, though the lead character is so grating — no matter which way your politics lie — that it cancels out some of Dashcam’s goodwill. Musician and anti-vaxxer Annie Hardy plays a revved-up version of herself, hosting a livestreaming show in which she raps in an improv style while driving around in her car. In an effort to escape what she feels is the overbearing strictness toward COVID-19 in the United States to visit an old bandmate Stretch (Amar Chadha-Patel) in the U.K. — obviously, she didn’t do much homework before purchasing her ticket. She wreaks havoc in Stretch’s life before stealing his car and winds up picking up a sick elderly woman (Angela Enahoro), but the woman isn’t merely sick, and
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsForeignMoviesReviews
Dark Glasses Italian/French coproduction Dark Glasses (AKA Black Glasses; Occhiali Neri, 2022) is the latest from Dario Argento, and while it isn’t quite a return to form for the legendary director, it is arguably one of his better later-career offerings. High-end call girl Diana (Ilenia Pastorelli) loses her sight when she is pursued in a car chase by a serial killer who targets sex workers, and her vehicle crashes into another, blidning her and killing the parents of young boy Chin (Andrea Zhang). She visits him at the nunnery for orphans where he stays until placed with a foster family, and he escapes to live with her illegally. Naturally, the murderer is still pursuing Diana, which puts both her and the boy in peril. There are no surprises in Dark Glasses other than an eerie opening sequence involving a solar eclipse. After that, it’s pretty standard giallo/slasher fare, and not as stylish as viewers might hope for Argento’s first film
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsMoviesNews
Before Alex Herron‘s new movie Leave has not arrived in the states yet and the director has already moved on to his next film, Dark Windows, which made its premiere at Cannes this weekend. The first image has arrived (via Bloody-Disgusting) for the movie that is said to “take audiences on a ride of passion, loss, terror and horrific, unthinkable ways of seeking revenge.” In the film, “Four teenagers are involved in a car crash. Tilly, Monica, Peter, and Allison. Allison dies of her injuries and at her memorial, Allison’s uncle confronts the group and blames them for her death. Monica suggests that they get out of town and stay at her grandparents’ summerhouse in the US countryside to work through the grief of losing their friend and to be out of sight until things have calmed down. As they get to the cabin everything is normal and peaceful until a masked man starts to terrorize and punish them in
Continue reading →
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EventsFilm FestivalsMoviesNews
Chattanooga Film Festival has announced its terrific second wave of films and special events for this year’s edition, scheduled for June 23–28. Twenty features, a bevy of short films, and special events ranging from live podcasts to super-special guests to a magic show are set to appeal to genre-film fans of every stripe. Following is the official press information. As the Chattanooga Film Festival (CFF) dates of June 23rd – 28th draw near, festival organizers are excited to announce the second and final wave of programming, consisting of 20 additional features, six blocks of short films, and a selection of events that can be described as magical because there is magic happening—literally. Highlighting the second half of CFF’s feature film lineup is a trio of world premieres. Leading the pack is CFF 2022’s Opening Night Film THE LEECH, from filmmaker and CFF alumni Eric Pennycoff. Pennycoff follows up his debut feature SADISTIC INTENTIONS with another wild piece of cinema ready-made
Continue reading →
EventsFilm FestivalsNews
Tribeca Festival has a tantalizing, sure-to-be-terrifying array of horror movies, thrillers, and related genre offerings slated for this year’s Midnight section of the renowned fest, which takes place June 8–19, 2022 in New York City. Along with the Midnight section, the TribecXploitation series offers three NYC-shot grindhouse classics on the big screen, presented by their directors. Following are brief descriptions of each film, followed by my thoughts in italics. Midnight Attachment Maja and Leah’s new relationship is interrupted when mysterious things start happening in their London flat. It seems that Leah’s disapproving mother, who lives downstairs, is using Jewish folklore to come between them. Folk horror is red hot at the moment, and religious horror is always a popular subgenre. It sounds as though this slice of Danish fear fare may have elements of both, and the acting is said to be particularly strong. The Black Phone Locked in a soundproof basement by a masked child killer, a teenage boy
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsForeignIndieMoviesNewsThrillerTrailers
Today, XYZ Films unleashed the first teaser and poster for the upcoming Mexican occult horror Huesera, the breakout feature debut from Michelle Garza Cervera, which will receive a theatrical release under their new distribution arm following the Tribeca Film Fest where it will make its world premiere as part of Tribeca’s Midnight section. Garza Cervera, a rising young director in the Mexican genre film scene, has been recognized internationally for her celebrated short films that have played in over a hundred film festivals around the world, including Fantastic Fest, and the Fantasia International Film Festival, and Sitges. In Huesera, Valeria’s (Natalia Solián) joy at becoming pregnant with her first child is quickly taken away when she’s cursed by a sinister entity. As danger closes in and relationships with her family become fractured, she’s forced deeper into a chilling world of dark magic that threatens to consume her. A group of witches emerges that could be her only hope for safety
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsForeignMoviesReviews
Dawning Young Min Kim makes his feature film directorial debut — he also wrote the screenplay — with Dawning, a psychological horror outing heavy on family drama. Haejin Park (Kim Ellis) may have physically left her home after her father’s suicide (shown in the film’s opening scenes) for a new life in New York, but the trauma of that memory still weighs heavily on her. She goes back to the California farm where she grew up to console her younger sister Soojin (Veronica Kim), who has just split up with her abusive boyfriend. There, dark secrets are uncovered and supernatural overtones are introduced. Writer/director Kim shows a deft hand at the helm, serving up some twists and turns that raise the suspense while addressing the scars that PTSD and trauma can cause. Although the dialogue is a bit stiff at times, Dawning looks great, boasts fine performances from its two leads, and leaves viewers with much to think about. Kageboshi
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsMoviesNewsTrailers
David Cronenberg, known for his body horror, like in The Fly, has a new film coming out, Crimes of the Future which made its world premiere recently at Cannes. Some viewers just couldn’t handle it and walked out within the first five minutes, with more leaving the theater “during a particularly grotesque scene involving Léa Seydoux and an open wound.” IGN reports. But Cronenberg expected it would happen. “There are some very strong scenes,” explained Cronenberg. “I mean, I’m sure that we will have walkouts within the first five minutes of the movie. I’m sure of that. Some people who have seen the film have said that they think the last 20 minutes will be very hard on people and that there’ll be a lot of walkouts. Some guy said that he almost had a panic attack.” Starring Kristen Stewart, Viggo Mortensen, and Léa Seydoux, the film is set in the not-so-distant future where humankind is learning to adapt to
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsForeignMoviesReviewsThriller
One and Four Chinese feature One and Four (2021) is a nailbiter about Sanggye (Jinpa), a ranger who works alone at an isolated post in the Tibetan forest, whose solitude is interrupted when he finds a crashed car with a dead policeman on board. Returning to his cabin, he finds a wounded cop (Wang Zheng), but Sanggye suspects he might actually be a poacher. Kunbo (Kunde), a village acquaintance of Sanggye’s, returns to the cabin after a visit the night before, and eventually another wounded cop (Darggye Tenzin) stumbles onto the scene. As Sanggye becomes increasingly suspicious about each of the men, they do their part in creating further confusion and uncertainties. Naturally, weapons come into play, and as anger and confusion mount, danger threatens with every passing second. Writer/director Jigme Trinley’s debut feature looks terrific, with the snow-covered setting serving both a beautiful and bleak backdrop. He ratchets up the suspense masterfully, even if there’s not a whole lot
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsForeignMoviesReviews
Subject Subject, cowinner of this year’s Fantaspoa Best Film in the Brazilian Feature Film Competition category, tackles a familiar set-up: writer Max (Gustavo Falcão) has moved into a house in a rural area to work on his next book, but odd things occur inside the house. What director Leo Falcão does with this set-up is quite unlike what viewers might expect, though, as he takes a rather light-hearted, magical realism approach and sends Max on a weird journey involving suddenly-appearing texts, oddball locals, and the mystery of what happened to the writer who lived in the house before him. From characters who say strangely out-of-place words and instantly correct themselves to daily fistfights among friends, these locals are an enigmatic lot, and the actors who portray them do a marvelous job. Max finds himself grappling with existential puzzles, and Gustavo Falcão inhabits the character with a bemused, fish-out-of-water verve. Though not strictly a horror film, Subject definitely has scare-fare elements
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsMoviesReviews
Dashcam Director Rob Savage follows up his highly acclaimed 2020 feature Host with Dashcam. It’s a freaky effort that uses an intriguing style that falls somewhere between direct cinema and found footage. There’s much to recommend about the film, though the lead character is so grating — no matter which way your politics lie — that it cancels out some of Dashcam’s goodwill. Musician and anti-vaxxer Annie Hardy plays a revved-up version of herself, hosting a livestreaming show in which she raps in an improv style while driving around in her car. In an effort to escape what she feels is the overbearing strictness toward COVID-19 in the United States to visit an old bandmate Stretch (Amar Chadha-Patel) in the U.K. — obviously, she didn’t do much homework before purchasing her ticket. She wreaks havoc in Stretch’s life before stealing his car and winds up picking up a sick elderly woman (Angela Enahoro), but the woman isn’t merely sick, and
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsForeignMoviesReviews
Dark Glasses Italian/French coproduction Dark Glasses (AKA Black Glasses; Occhiali Neri, 2022) is the latest from Dario Argento, and while it isn’t quite a return to form for the legendary director, it is arguably one of his better later-career offerings. High-end call girl Diana (Ilenia Pastorelli) loses her sight when she is pursued in a car chase by a serial killer who targets sex workers, and her vehicle crashes into another, blidning her and killing the parents of young boy Chin (Andrea Zhang). She visits him at the nunnery for orphans where he stays until placed with a foster family, and he escapes to live with her illegally. Naturally, the murderer is still pursuing Diana, which puts both her and the boy in peril. There are no surprises in Dark Glasses other than an eerie opening sequence involving a solar eclipse. After that, it’s pretty standard giallo/slasher fare, and not as stylish as viewers might hope for Argento’s first film
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsMoviesNews
Before Alex Herron‘s new movie Leave has not arrived in the states yet and the director has already moved on to his next film, Dark Windows, which made its premiere at Cannes this weekend. The first image has arrived (via Bloody-Disgusting) for the movie that is said to “take audiences on a ride of passion, loss, terror and horrific, unthinkable ways of seeking revenge.” In the film, “Four teenagers are involved in a car crash. Tilly, Monica, Peter, and Allison. Allison dies of her injuries and at her memorial, Allison’s uncle confronts the group and blames them for her death. Monica suggests that they get out of town and stay at her grandparents’ summerhouse in the US countryside to work through the grief of losing their friend and to be out of sight until things have calmed down. As they get to the cabin everything is normal and peaceful until a masked man starts to terrorize and punish them in
Continue reading →
