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Spoiler-Free Film Reviews: “Sleep” and “Strange Kindness” (Boston Underground Film Festival 2024)

Sleep (South Korea, 2023) A sleepwalking man becomes a danger to his family in writer/director Jason Yu’s eerie feature Sleep. HyunSu (Lee SunKyun) and SooJin (Jung YuMi) are a married couple expecting their first child. HyunSu begins having bouts of somnambulism that become increasingly disturbing, and when SooJin suspects supernatural influence, tension between the spouses increases. Lee and Jung give solid performances as the troubled couple, and Yu ratchets up the tension well, leading to a highly satisfying third act. The “love conquers all” element is a bit on the nose, but overall the film is a gripping one that fans of occult horror should find well worth a watch. Strange Kindness (U.S., 2024) Writer/director Joseph Mault’s Cape Cod-set thriller Strange Kindness is a meditative feature with political commentary on violence in the United States woven in with family trauma drama. Rose (Leanne McLaughlin) is a young woman helping her reclusive aunt Chris (Deirdre Madigan) with home treatments for Chris’s

Continue reading →
Joseph Perry
Mar 26, 2024

A Dark Legend Comes to Life in ‘The Soul Eater’ From the Team Behind ‘The Deep House’

Acclaimed French filmmaking duo Julien Maury and Alexandre Bustillo, known for horror films like Inside and The Deep House, are set to terrify audiences again with The Soul Eater. New images have arrived, giving us a glimpse into the film and the monster that awaits. A Village Gripped by Fear The Soul Eater (not to be confused with Curse of the Soul Eater, also coming out this year) is a chilling adaptation of Alexis Laipsker’s novel. The film plunges us into the heart of a secluded mountain village. A place where a sense of unease hangs heavy in the air. After a series of disturbing events, whispers of an ancient legend about a malevolent creature resurface. Local children begin to vanish without a trace, and a wave of violent and gruesome deaths leaves the villagers terrified. Unraveling the Mystery As fear tightens its grip on the community, two investigations intertwine. Virginie Ledoyen (Rabid Dogs, The Beach) portrays a police officer

Continue reading →
Kelli Marchman McNeely
Mar 24, 2024

Spoiler-Free Short Film Reviews: “Apotemnofilia,” “Lullaby,” “The Bleacher,” “Make Me a Pizza” (SXSW)

Apotemnofilia The titular condition is the desire of amputation for a healthy limb, and writer/director Jano Pita’s Spanish horror short Apotemnofilia finds actress Clara (Lucía Azcoitía) dealing with that as her highly anticipated post-pregnancy comeback play is about to begin. The film addresses Clara’s mental breakdown through graphic displays of body horror elements made with impressive, disturbing practical effects work. Azcoitía gives a fittingly unsettling performance, with Pita delivering a shocking work infused with some dark humor. Lullaby U.K. slow-burn chiller Lullaby from writer/director Chi Thai examines the fragile mental state of a female refugee (Jane Le). She suffered a devastating loss that she finds herself reliving, with those around her providing no comfort or support. Thai uses ever-increasing dread in favor of jump scares and gore, crafting a mesmerizing short that packs a highly disturbing reveal. The Bleacher If you have ever wondered what happened to socks you lost after doing laundry, the animated short The Bleacher from cowriters/codirectors

Continue reading →
Joseph Perry
Mar 22, 2024

Spoiler-Free Film Review: “The Animal Kingdom” 

Director Thomas Cailley’s The Animal Kingdom (Le régne animal; France and Belgium, 2023) tackles the well-tread science fiction concept of “Can mutants and humans get along?” previously explored in X-Men comics and movies, and films such as 2018’s Freaks. Although not a lot of new ground is covered storywise, Cailley’s feature is such a well-acted and beautifully realized work that it stands out of the pack. Francois’ (Romain Duris) wife Lana (Florence Deretz) has taken on animalistic tendencies, both in action and physically. She is one of many people who have suddenly become stricken and hospitalized with this disease. With many people turning against those afflicted, the government has opened a new facility for patients like Lana. When the bus that takes her and other mutating patients to the facility crashes and the patients escape to the nearby forest, tensions rise further. Francois has moved near the facility with his teenage son Émile (Paul Kircher), who is hiding his own

Continue reading →
Joseph Perry
Mar 18, 2024

Movie Review: Bloodmoon (1990) – Severin Blu-ray

The girls at St. Elizabeth’s Catholic School are up to their teased-out tresses in trouble. If they aren’t constantly in danger of being caught by staff as they get hot n’ horny with the boys from nearby Winchester School (and occasionally a local or two… who just so happen to be the eternal subject of those rich Winchester lads bullying), there’s a killer on the loose on Lover’s Lane offing the student bodies of both academies with his barbwire killing implement! As the bodies (and suspects) go up exponentially the gals n’ guys must keep their wits about them if they are to survive this deadly ordeal with their Aquanetted coifs in-tact… and the rest of their bodies as well! Director Alec Mills certainly wanted to emulate the slasher genre that was sweeping America in the eerie ‘80s, and along with screenwriter Robert Brennan he does just that… but given the fact this film was produced in Australia we get

Continue reading →
DanXIII
Mar 15, 2024

Spoiler-Free Film Review: “Hunting Daze” (SXSW)

Writer/director Annick Blank’s French-language Canadian thriller Hunting Daze blends harshly realistic scenarios with dizzying drug-trip sequences. The result is a fascinating, often disturbing look at toxic masculinity. Sex worker Nina (Nahéma Ricci), after performing for a bachelor party in very rural Quebec, finds herself abandoning the rest of her group in anger and frustration. She asks Kevin (Frédéric Millaire-Zouvi), one of the party members, if she can stay there until a ride can be arranged for her. The group votes that to do so, she must pass some rites and become part of their self-professed wolf pack. Rather than turning into the rape revenge thriller that some might expect, Nina finds herself in no such danger from the group, which parties hard before and after hunting. Another stranger — African man Doudos (Noubi Ndiaye) — shows up, adding another element of “The Other” to the group dynamics, as well as the suspense. When a dangerous accident occurs, paranoia and tension

Continue reading →
Joseph Perry
Mar 14, 2024

Spoiler-Free Film Review: “Natatorium” (SXSW)

Writer/director Helena Stefansdottir’s Icelandic thriller Natatorium is the type of film where you just know that something is off from the onset, and the mystery as to what exactly is happening keeps you wrapped up until the climactic reveal. The dark family drama at the heart of this feature is thoroughly gripping. With dreams of traveling the world in a performance troupe, 18-year-old Lilja (Ilmur María Arnarsdóttir) stays at the home of her grandmother Áróra (Elin Petersdottir) and grandfather Grimur (Valur Freyr Einarsson) for an audition being held in their town. She has arrived at their home without announcing it in advance to her father Magnús (Arnar Dan Kristjánsson). He calls his sister Vala (Stefanía Berndsen) and asks her to check in on Lilja, and viewers learn right away that the older siblings have problems with Lilja staying there. The titular swimming pool seems to be one of the big reasons for their concerns. Áróra’s other son Kalli (Jónas Alfreð

Continue reading →
Joseph Perry
Mar 14, 2024

Spoiler-Free Film Reviews: “The Funeral” and “Custom” (FrightFest Glasgow)

THE FUNERAL (CENAZE; Turkey, 2023) Hearse driver Cemal (Ahmed Rifat Sunger) takes a job of which he is leary from the start: driving away with the body of a murdered young woman named Zeynep (Cansu Türedi) and hiding away with the corpse for a month until her family is ready to claim it. Matters become instantly complicated when Cemal checks into a motel and hears breathing coming from Zeynep’s casket. I don’t want to give away too much more of the plot, so suffice it to say so that in the first act, viewers learn that Zeynep is indeed quite dead — sort of — and that she develops a particular hunger, and that Zeynep’s feelings toward her drive him to do whatever it takes to feed her. Director Orcun Behram delivers a highly unique take on the living dead subgenre that boasts terrific lead performances from Sunger and Türedi. Engin Özkaya’s cinematography splendidly portrays the bleak tone of Behram’s

Continue reading →
Joseph Perry
Mar 11, 2024

Movie Review: Burial Ground (1981) – Severin 4k/Blu-ray

You know how when you are a connoisseur of something, let’s say for instance; Italian fright flicks, there tends to be tiers of quality? I mean you got your Suspiria and your The Beyond, then you get a bit further out and you have your Buio Omega and other delightfully hardcore shit… then things get a bit cheaper with the likes of Bruno Mattei and titles like Hell of the Living Dead… and then you get right down there towards the bottom and you find things like the flick we are taking a look at today, Burial Ground, and well… that’s the type of unadulterated nonsense that yours cruelly can really sink his fangs into! After an opening where the European equivalent of Rick Rubin attempts to stave off a zombie attack with this bon mot; “Wait, stand back; I’m your friend!” we get into the story proper of ol’ Burial Ground… and by that I mean a bunch of

Continue reading →
DanXIII
Mar 9, 2024

Movie Review: Tombs of the Blind Dead (1972) – Synapse

While vacationing, Virginia (María Elena Arpón), and her pal Roger (César Burner) bump into Virginia’s former boarding school chum/former lover Betty (Lone Fleming) decide to take a train ride. Whoopie-shit you may say, but wait… Virginia gets super jealous of Roger’s interest in Betty and decides to hop of that train and goes for a stroll where she ends up wandering in the wind-swept ruined town of Berzano. While that would be creepy enough on it’s own, this location was once home to a cadre of Knights Templar in the Middle Ages… but they were executed by hanging for crimes of cavortin’ with the Devil… oh, and performing ritual, cannibalistic sacrifice… but unfortunately for our good friend Virginia, they are more of the walking dead-style of deceased… and at night they rise as rotted, eyeless, hooded cloak wearing zombie mother fuckers… and their horses too! Being the supernatural menace that they are, the knights dispatch Virginia by biting the living

Continue reading →
DanXIII
Mar 7, 2024

More from Foreign

Spoiler-Free Film Reviews: “Sleep” and “Strange Kindness” (Boston Underground Film Festival 2024)

Sleep (South Korea, 2023) A sleepwalking man becomes a danger to his family in writer/director Jason Yu’s eerie feature Sleep. HyunSu (Lee SunKyun) and SooJin (Jung YuMi) are a married couple expecting their first child. HyunSu begins having bouts of somnambulism that become increasingly disturbing, and when SooJin suspects supernatural influence, tension between the spouses increases. Lee and Jung give solid performances as the troubled couple, and Yu ratchets up the tension well, leading to a highly satisfying third act. The “love conquers all” element is a bit on the nose, but overall the film is a gripping one that fans of occult horror should find well worth a watch. Strange Kindness (U.S., 2024) Writer/director Joseph Mault’s Cape Cod-set thriller Strange Kindness is a meditative feature with political commentary on violence in the United States woven in with family trauma drama. Rose (Leanne McLaughlin) is a young woman helping her reclusive aunt Chris (Deirdre Madigan) with home treatments for Chris’s

Continue reading →
Joseph Perry
Mar 26, 2024

A Dark Legend Comes to Life in ‘The Soul Eater’ From the Team Behind ‘The Deep House’

Acclaimed French filmmaking duo Julien Maury and Alexandre Bustillo, known for horror films like Inside and The Deep House, are set to terrify audiences again with The Soul Eater. New images have arrived, giving us a glimpse into the film and the monster that awaits. A Village Gripped by Fear The Soul Eater (not to be confused with Curse of the Soul Eater, also coming out this year) is a chilling adaptation of Alexis Laipsker’s novel. The film plunges us into the heart of a secluded mountain village. A place where a sense of unease hangs heavy in the air. After a series of disturbing events, whispers of an ancient legend about a malevolent creature resurface. Local children begin to vanish without a trace, and a wave of violent and gruesome deaths leaves the villagers terrified. Unraveling the Mystery As fear tightens its grip on the community, two investigations intertwine. Virginie Ledoyen (Rabid Dogs, The Beach) portrays a police officer

Continue reading →
Kelli Marchman McNeely
Mar 24, 2024

Spoiler-Free Short Film Reviews: “Apotemnofilia,” “Lullaby,” “The Bleacher,” “Make Me a Pizza” (SXSW)

Apotemnofilia The titular condition is the desire of amputation for a healthy limb, and writer/director Jano Pita’s Spanish horror short Apotemnofilia finds actress Clara (Lucía Azcoitía) dealing with that as her highly anticipated post-pregnancy comeback play is about to begin. The film addresses Clara’s mental breakdown through graphic displays of body horror elements made with impressive, disturbing practical effects work. Azcoitía gives a fittingly unsettling performance, with Pita delivering a shocking work infused with some dark humor. Lullaby U.K. slow-burn chiller Lullaby from writer/director Chi Thai examines the fragile mental state of a female refugee (Jane Le). She suffered a devastating loss that she finds herself reliving, with those around her providing no comfort or support. Thai uses ever-increasing dread in favor of jump scares and gore, crafting a mesmerizing short that packs a highly disturbing reveal. The Bleacher If you have ever wondered what happened to socks you lost after doing laundry, the animated short The Bleacher from cowriters/codirectors

Continue reading →
Joseph Perry
Mar 22, 2024

Spoiler-Free Film Review: “The Animal Kingdom” 

Director Thomas Cailley’s The Animal Kingdom (Le régne animal; France and Belgium, 2023) tackles the well-tread science fiction concept of “Can mutants and humans get along?” previously explored in X-Men comics and movies, and films such as 2018’s Freaks. Although not a lot of new ground is covered storywise, Cailley’s feature is such a well-acted and beautifully realized work that it stands out of the pack. Francois’ (Romain Duris) wife Lana (Florence Deretz) has taken on animalistic tendencies, both in action and physically. She is one of many people who have suddenly become stricken and hospitalized with this disease. With many people turning against those afflicted, the government has opened a new facility for patients like Lana. When the bus that takes her and other mutating patients to the facility crashes and the patients escape to the nearby forest, tensions rise further. Francois has moved near the facility with his teenage son Émile (Paul Kircher), who is hiding his own

Continue reading →
Joseph Perry
Mar 18, 2024

Movie Review: Bloodmoon (1990) – Severin Blu-ray

The girls at St. Elizabeth’s Catholic School are up to their teased-out tresses in trouble. If they aren’t constantly in danger of being caught by staff as they get hot n’ horny with the boys from nearby Winchester School (and occasionally a local or two… who just so happen to be the eternal subject of those rich Winchester lads bullying), there’s a killer on the loose on Lover’s Lane offing the student bodies of both academies with his barbwire killing implement! As the bodies (and suspects) go up exponentially the gals n’ guys must keep their wits about them if they are to survive this deadly ordeal with their Aquanetted coifs in-tact… and the rest of their bodies as well! Director Alec Mills certainly wanted to emulate the slasher genre that was sweeping America in the eerie ‘80s, and along with screenwriter Robert Brennan he does just that… but given the fact this film was produced in Australia we get

Continue reading →
DanXIII
Mar 15, 2024

Spoiler-Free Film Review: “Hunting Daze” (SXSW)

Writer/director Annick Blank’s French-language Canadian thriller Hunting Daze blends harshly realistic scenarios with dizzying drug-trip sequences. The result is a fascinating, often disturbing look at toxic masculinity. Sex worker Nina (Nahéma Ricci), after performing for a bachelor party in very rural Quebec, finds herself abandoning the rest of her group in anger and frustration. She asks Kevin (Frédéric Millaire-Zouvi), one of the party members, if she can stay there until a ride can be arranged for her. The group votes that to do so, she must pass some rites and become part of their self-professed wolf pack. Rather than turning into the rape revenge thriller that some might expect, Nina finds herself in no such danger from the group, which parties hard before and after hunting. Another stranger — African man Doudos (Noubi Ndiaye) — shows up, adding another element of “The Other” to the group dynamics, as well as the suspense. When a dangerous accident occurs, paranoia and tension

Continue reading →
Joseph Perry
Mar 14, 2024

Spoiler-Free Film Review: “Natatorium” (SXSW)

Writer/director Helena Stefansdottir’s Icelandic thriller Natatorium is the type of film where you just know that something is off from the onset, and the mystery as to what exactly is happening keeps you wrapped up until the climactic reveal. The dark family drama at the heart of this feature is thoroughly gripping. With dreams of traveling the world in a performance troupe, 18-year-old Lilja (Ilmur María Arnarsdóttir) stays at the home of her grandmother Áróra (Elin Petersdottir) and grandfather Grimur (Valur Freyr Einarsson) for an audition being held in their town. She has arrived at their home without announcing it in advance to her father Magnús (Arnar Dan Kristjánsson). He calls his sister Vala (Stefanía Berndsen) and asks her to check in on Lilja, and viewers learn right away that the older siblings have problems with Lilja staying there. The titular swimming pool seems to be one of the big reasons for their concerns. Áróra’s other son Kalli (Jónas Alfreð

Continue reading →
Joseph Perry
Mar 14, 2024

Spoiler-Free Film Reviews: “The Funeral” and “Custom” (FrightFest Glasgow)

THE FUNERAL (CENAZE; Turkey, 2023) Hearse driver Cemal (Ahmed Rifat Sunger) takes a job of which he is leary from the start: driving away with the body of a murdered young woman named Zeynep (Cansu Türedi) and hiding away with the corpse for a month until her family is ready to claim it. Matters become instantly complicated when Cemal checks into a motel and hears breathing coming from Zeynep’s casket. I don’t want to give away too much more of the plot, so suffice it to say so that in the first act, viewers learn that Zeynep is indeed quite dead — sort of — and that she develops a particular hunger, and that Zeynep’s feelings toward her drive him to do whatever it takes to feed her. Director Orcun Behram delivers a highly unique take on the living dead subgenre that boasts terrific lead performances from Sunger and Türedi. Engin Özkaya’s cinematography splendidly portrays the bleak tone of Behram’s

Continue reading →
Joseph Perry
Mar 11, 2024

Movie Review: Burial Ground (1981) – Severin 4k/Blu-ray

You know how when you are a connoisseur of something, let’s say for instance; Italian fright flicks, there tends to be tiers of quality? I mean you got your Suspiria and your The Beyond, then you get a bit further out and you have your Buio Omega and other delightfully hardcore shit… then things get a bit cheaper with the likes of Bruno Mattei and titles like Hell of the Living Dead… and then you get right down there towards the bottom and you find things like the flick we are taking a look at today, Burial Ground, and well… that’s the type of unadulterated nonsense that yours cruelly can really sink his fangs into! After an opening where the European equivalent of Rick Rubin attempts to stave off a zombie attack with this bon mot; “Wait, stand back; I’m your friend!” we get into the story proper of ol’ Burial Ground… and by that I mean a bunch of

Continue reading →
DanXIII
Mar 9, 2024

Movie Review: Tombs of the Blind Dead (1972) – Synapse

While vacationing, Virginia (María Elena Arpón), and her pal Roger (César Burner) bump into Virginia’s former boarding school chum/former lover Betty (Lone Fleming) decide to take a train ride. Whoopie-shit you may say, but wait… Virginia gets super jealous of Roger’s interest in Betty and decides to hop of that train and goes for a stroll where she ends up wandering in the wind-swept ruined town of Berzano. While that would be creepy enough on it’s own, this location was once home to a cadre of Knights Templar in the Middle Ages… but they were executed by hanging for crimes of cavortin’ with the Devil… oh, and performing ritual, cannibalistic sacrifice… but unfortunately for our good friend Virginia, they are more of the walking dead-style of deceased… and at night they rise as rotted, eyeless, hooded cloak wearing zombie mother fuckers… and their horses too! Being the supernatural menace that they are, the knights dispatch Virginia by biting the living

Continue reading →
DanXIII
Mar 7, 2024
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