CategoryReviews
Honest horror reviews of films, series, games and books — no hype, no spoilers, just whether it is worth your time and your nerves.
3,430 stories
MoviesNewsReviewsThrillerTrailers
IFC kicks off 2022 with See For Me, director Randall Okita’s home invasion thriller that centers on a determined and independent blind young woman named Sophie (Skyler Davenport). Sophie makes extra cash by house and petting setting. Her latest gig takes her to a beautiful remote home. As she gets comfortable, she’s unaware that she will soon face three professional thieves (Pascal Langdale, Joe Pingue, George Tchortov) out for a big score. Sophie is guided through the house by a “See For Me” app that connects visually impaired users with people who can aid in all types of tasks including navigating and reading. In the film, Kelly (Jessica Parker Kennedy) serves as Sophie’s guide who becomes a key character, helping Sophie hide and defend herself. If you think Sophie would be a harmless pushover, simply because she can’t see, you would be sorely mistaken. She is tough, but she’s also realistic. There’s no superhero-style fighting or unrealistic events. This character
Continue reading →
Reviews
At least the third in a recent group of fear-fare films dealing with the “weeping woman” ghost from Mexican folklore, The Legend of La Llorona is well made but fails to deliver any original shudders. Carly Candlewood (Autumn Reeser) reluctantly goes on a trip to Mexico with her husband Andrew (Antonio Cupo) and their young son Danny (Nicolas Madrazo), which Andrew has planned so that he and his wife might reconnect both emotionally and physically after the death of their baby girl. As cinematic fate would have it, their lodging is a mere short walk away from the stomping grounds of the titular spirit, who seeks out children to replace the one she lost in life. Jose Prendes’ screenplay has some issues, including the relationship and dialogue between Carly and Andrew. Both characters come off initially as highly unlikable — she as an over-the-top characterization of a grieving mother and he as a selfish, hard-headed jerk — and by the
Continue reading →
IndieMoviesReviews
Two sisters, the timid, practical Elizabeth (Mary Buss) and artsy free spirit Alma (Ginger Gilmartin), reconnect with their friend, the suave and worldly writer Wesley (Ben Hall), after two decades apart. Over the course of many (bizarre ’70s era) meals (all announced in separate vignettes), the trio catch up… and we delve deeper and deeper into the triangle’s various psychoses while the atmosphere grows ever more like an extended fever dream where a normal relationship drama becomes something that grows completely into a psychotropic soap opera replete with a “love” triangle, strange offspring, and a whole mess of red wine. Let me sum things up a bit early and announce: “Holy fuck did I love Climate of the Hunter!” Set in a Neo-Romanticized Pseudo-Transylvania (all humble cabins sitting among leafless trees under slate grey skies) of sorts, director Mickey Reece (who also co-wrote the film along with John Selvidge) put a fiercely unique spin on the ol’ vampire biz… yup,
Continue reading →
ForeignMoviesReviews
Warner Bros. Home Entertainment provided me with a free copy of the DVD I reviewed in this blog post. The opinions I share are my own. As if you couldn’t guess from the above. our pals over at Warner Bros. Home entertainment have just released a swell collection of George Miller’s entire Mad Max franchise, all on glorious 4K UHD so you can see every dry grain of sand in those barren locales. First up comes 1979’s Mad Max: Just a few minutes into the future, the roads down Australia-way are a complete battleground thanks to psycho criminals doing whatever the fuck they please, traffic laws be damned! One such miscreant, The Nightrider (Vincent Gil) by name, goes on a rampage injuring police and causing major havoc. Enter “Mad” Max Rockatansky (Mel Gibson), number one law enforcement machine… and exit the Nightrider in a rather large explosion. This goes over like a fart in a submarine with Nightrider’s pals; the
Continue reading →
MoviesNewsReviewsShudderStreaming TV
What would you do if you found the man that sexually assaulted your daughter? That’s what the indie film For the Sake of Vicious, from directors Gabriel Carrer and Reese Eveneshen, is all about. The movie follows a vengeful father out for justice against the man who assaulted his young daughter. After beating the shit out of the man he seeks help from a nurse who becomes trapped as murderous men descend on her home. Nick Smyth plays the role of Chris, the avenging father. I was so impressed by the level of emotion Smyth emotes and the way he made his character feel real. Also, I was quite impressed with the fight he puts up against the masked men, and boy did he put up one hell of a fight! Speaking of fighting, this movie has a ton of action, and it doesn’t mind getting bloody and gory. My favorite blow came from actress Lora Burke (Romina) when she
Continue reading →
ForeignMoviesReviews
Michele Soavi’s directorial debut Stagefright (AKA Aquarius; Italy, 1987) is already well known as one of the craziest entries in the slasher genre, and now it looks super thanks to Shameless Films’ terrific 4K restoration. The film combines giallo elements with the slasher approach and — a stage musical! Alicia (Barbara Cupisti of Soavi’s later directorial features The Church and Cemetery Man) is an actress in a destined-to-bomb musical called The Night Owl, which is about a murdered prostitute who comes back to life to rape the man who killed her. Things only get more lurid from here, so hang on as the musical’s director Peter (David Brandon) goes off on a megalomaniacal trip after Alicia sneaks off to a nearby hospital to have her sore ankle checked with wardrobe mistress Betty (Ulrike Schwerk) — it’s a psychiatric hospital, and the young ladies unknowingly bring back to the theater Irving Wallace (Clain Parker), a psychotic former actor who has killed
Continue reading →
GamingHoliday HorrorProductReviews
The gaming industry surely made up for lost time this year and horror games were among them. I’ve reviewed a lot of games this year and there were quite a few horror titles among them. going through my lists I picked out all the horror titles and broke down the list more to pick out games that were fun, had good scares, and were just overall good horror games. So without further ado, here’s the Top 5 Horror Games Reviewed in 2021 starting off from good and working our way up to best! 5: The Medium Bloober Team is no stranger to making good horror games but The Medium was on another level with its amazing artwork showing the world of the living and the dead through the eyes of a psychic. The game follows Marianne, a medium who visits an old soviet resort in 1999 Poland after being called upon to investigate. Marianne soon learns that something very wrong
Continue reading →
NetflixNewsReviewsStreaming TVTrailers
After nearly a two-year wait, season two of Netflix’s hit series “The Witcher” finally made its premiere earlier this month much to the joy of fans, including this one. The series picks up with monster slayer Geralt (Henry Cavill) fighting to protect his “Child Surprise” Princess Ciri (Freya Allen), who is now technically his daughter, from both monsters and men as she is hunted by multiple kingdoms who want to use her to claim her throne or to kill her because they are threatened by her immense power. Ciri is also the target of Geralt’s love interest Yennefer (Anya Charalto) who lost her powers in the first season. Yennifer aims to deliver Ciri to an ancient witch with the hope of trading her to get her powers back. The season we get a deeper story and we get more insight into the characters as well as into the world of Elves as they suffer and try to secure a new
Continue reading →
MoviesNewsReviewsTrailers
Director Scott Cooper’s highly anticipated horror Antlers got hit with delay after delay but it is finally available on VOD. The question is, was it worth the wait? I will answer that in this review. The film centers on the 12-year-old boy Lucus, who after his father and brother come in contact with a mythological creature, a Windigo, is left to care for the two as they begin to morph into one themselves. After Lucus’ teacher notices signs of abuse she sets out to rescue the kid, not knowing what she’s about to face. Keri Russell plays the role of Julia, the teacher who is struggling with the memories of the abuse she suffered at the hands of her father. When she recognizes the same signs in Lucus she will stop at nothing to protect him. While Keri did a fantastic job, the true star of the film is Jeremy Thomas, who plays Lucas. He is absolutely incredible. I have
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsForeignIndieMoviesReviews
This year was an outstanding one for horror films making the film festival rounds, which is where I see most of my movies each year. Thankfully, many films are making it to wider release quicker than in the past — for example, my #1 film of 2021 is already available on VOD, and several of my honorable mentions are on streaming services or on DVD or Blu-ray. Keep the following films in mind because some of them just may be future favorites for you in 2022! 1. The Feast (Wales) Director Lee Haven Jones’ Welsh outing The Feast — a blend of folk, psychological, environmental, and supernatural horror — instantly became my favorite film of the year, regardless of genre, when I saw it as part of SXSW Online 2021 in March. In my Horror Fuel review, I said that The Feast is an “eerie slice of horror cinema that jangles the nerves and does a beautiful job of slowly
Continue reading →
More from Reviews
MoviesNewsReviewsThrillerTrailers
IFC kicks off 2022 with See For Me, director Randall Okita’s home invasion thriller that centers on a determined and independent blind young woman named Sophie (Skyler Davenport). Sophie makes extra cash by house and petting setting. Her latest gig takes her to a beautiful remote home. As she gets comfortable, she’s unaware that she will soon face three professional thieves (Pascal Langdale, Joe Pingue, George Tchortov) out for a big score. Sophie is guided through the house by a “See For Me” app that connects visually impaired users with people who can aid in all types of tasks including navigating and reading. In the film, Kelly (Jessica Parker Kennedy) serves as Sophie’s guide who becomes a key character, helping Sophie hide and defend herself. If you think Sophie would be a harmless pushover, simply because she can’t see, you would be sorely mistaken. She is tough, but she’s also realistic. There’s no superhero-style fighting or unrealistic events. This character
Continue reading →
Reviews
At least the third in a recent group of fear-fare films dealing with the “weeping woman” ghost from Mexican folklore, The Legend of La Llorona is well made but fails to deliver any original shudders. Carly Candlewood (Autumn Reeser) reluctantly goes on a trip to Mexico with her husband Andrew (Antonio Cupo) and their young son Danny (Nicolas Madrazo), which Andrew has planned so that he and his wife might reconnect both emotionally and physically after the death of their baby girl. As cinematic fate would have it, their lodging is a mere short walk away from the stomping grounds of the titular spirit, who seeks out children to replace the one she lost in life. Jose Prendes’ screenplay has some issues, including the relationship and dialogue between Carly and Andrew. Both characters come off initially as highly unlikable — she as an over-the-top characterization of a grieving mother and he as a selfish, hard-headed jerk — and by the
Continue reading →
IndieMoviesReviews
Two sisters, the timid, practical Elizabeth (Mary Buss) and artsy free spirit Alma (Ginger Gilmartin), reconnect with their friend, the suave and worldly writer Wesley (Ben Hall), after two decades apart. Over the course of many (bizarre ’70s era) meals (all announced in separate vignettes), the trio catch up… and we delve deeper and deeper into the triangle’s various psychoses while the atmosphere grows ever more like an extended fever dream where a normal relationship drama becomes something that grows completely into a psychotropic soap opera replete with a “love” triangle, strange offspring, and a whole mess of red wine. Let me sum things up a bit early and announce: “Holy fuck did I love Climate of the Hunter!” Set in a Neo-Romanticized Pseudo-Transylvania (all humble cabins sitting among leafless trees under slate grey skies) of sorts, director Mickey Reece (who also co-wrote the film along with John Selvidge) put a fiercely unique spin on the ol’ vampire biz… yup,
Continue reading →
ForeignMoviesReviews
Warner Bros. Home Entertainment provided me with a free copy of the DVD I reviewed in this blog post. The opinions I share are my own. As if you couldn’t guess from the above. our pals over at Warner Bros. Home entertainment have just released a swell collection of George Miller’s entire Mad Max franchise, all on glorious 4K UHD so you can see every dry grain of sand in those barren locales. First up comes 1979’s Mad Max: Just a few minutes into the future, the roads down Australia-way are a complete battleground thanks to psycho criminals doing whatever the fuck they please, traffic laws be damned! One such miscreant, The Nightrider (Vincent Gil) by name, goes on a rampage injuring police and causing major havoc. Enter “Mad” Max Rockatansky (Mel Gibson), number one law enforcement machine… and exit the Nightrider in a rather large explosion. This goes over like a fart in a submarine with Nightrider’s pals; the
Continue reading →
MoviesNewsReviewsShudderStreaming TV
What would you do if you found the man that sexually assaulted your daughter? That’s what the indie film For the Sake of Vicious, from directors Gabriel Carrer and Reese Eveneshen, is all about. The movie follows a vengeful father out for justice against the man who assaulted his young daughter. After beating the shit out of the man he seeks help from a nurse who becomes trapped as murderous men descend on her home. Nick Smyth plays the role of Chris, the avenging father. I was so impressed by the level of emotion Smyth emotes and the way he made his character feel real. Also, I was quite impressed with the fight he puts up against the masked men, and boy did he put up one hell of a fight! Speaking of fighting, this movie has a ton of action, and it doesn’t mind getting bloody and gory. My favorite blow came from actress Lora Burke (Romina) when she
Continue reading →
ForeignMoviesReviews
Michele Soavi’s directorial debut Stagefright (AKA Aquarius; Italy, 1987) is already well known as one of the craziest entries in the slasher genre, and now it looks super thanks to Shameless Films’ terrific 4K restoration. The film combines giallo elements with the slasher approach and — a stage musical! Alicia (Barbara Cupisti of Soavi’s later directorial features The Church and Cemetery Man) is an actress in a destined-to-bomb musical called The Night Owl, which is about a murdered prostitute who comes back to life to rape the man who killed her. Things only get more lurid from here, so hang on as the musical’s director Peter (David Brandon) goes off on a megalomaniacal trip after Alicia sneaks off to a nearby hospital to have her sore ankle checked with wardrobe mistress Betty (Ulrike Schwerk) — it’s a psychiatric hospital, and the young ladies unknowingly bring back to the theater Irving Wallace (Clain Parker), a psychotic former actor who has killed
Continue reading →
GamingHoliday HorrorProductReviews
The gaming industry surely made up for lost time this year and horror games were among them. I’ve reviewed a lot of games this year and there were quite a few horror titles among them. going through my lists I picked out all the horror titles and broke down the list more to pick out games that were fun, had good scares, and were just overall good horror games. So without further ado, here’s the Top 5 Horror Games Reviewed in 2021 starting off from good and working our way up to best! 5: The Medium Bloober Team is no stranger to making good horror games but The Medium was on another level with its amazing artwork showing the world of the living and the dead through the eyes of a psychic. The game follows Marianne, a medium who visits an old soviet resort in 1999 Poland after being called upon to investigate. Marianne soon learns that something very wrong
Continue reading →
NetflixNewsReviewsStreaming TVTrailers
After nearly a two-year wait, season two of Netflix’s hit series “The Witcher” finally made its premiere earlier this month much to the joy of fans, including this one. The series picks up with monster slayer Geralt (Henry Cavill) fighting to protect his “Child Surprise” Princess Ciri (Freya Allen), who is now technically his daughter, from both monsters and men as she is hunted by multiple kingdoms who want to use her to claim her throne or to kill her because they are threatened by her immense power. Ciri is also the target of Geralt’s love interest Yennefer (Anya Charalto) who lost her powers in the first season. Yennifer aims to deliver Ciri to an ancient witch with the hope of trading her to get her powers back. The season we get a deeper story and we get more insight into the characters as well as into the world of Elves as they suffer and try to secure a new
Continue reading →
MoviesNewsReviewsTrailers
Director Scott Cooper’s highly anticipated horror Antlers got hit with delay after delay but it is finally available on VOD. The question is, was it worth the wait? I will answer that in this review. The film centers on the 12-year-old boy Lucus, who after his father and brother come in contact with a mythological creature, a Windigo, is left to care for the two as they begin to morph into one themselves. After Lucus’ teacher notices signs of abuse she sets out to rescue the kid, not knowing what she’s about to face. Keri Russell plays the role of Julia, the teacher who is struggling with the memories of the abuse she suffered at the hands of her father. When she recognizes the same signs in Lucus she will stop at nothing to protect him. While Keri did a fantastic job, the true star of the film is Jeremy Thomas, who plays Lucas. He is absolutely incredible. I have
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsForeignIndieMoviesReviews
This year was an outstanding one for horror films making the film festival rounds, which is where I see most of my movies each year. Thankfully, many films are making it to wider release quicker than in the past — for example, my #1 film of 2021 is already available on VOD, and several of my honorable mentions are on streaming services or on DVD or Blu-ray. Keep the following films in mind because some of them just may be future favorites for you in 2022! 1. The Feast (Wales) Director Lee Haven Jones’ Welsh outing The Feast — a blend of folk, psychological, environmental, and supernatural horror — instantly became my favorite film of the year, regardless of genre, when I saw it as part of SXSW Online 2021 in March. In my Horror Fuel review, I said that The Feast is an “eerie slice of horror cinema that jangles the nerves and does a beautiful job of slowly
Continue reading →
