CategoryReviews
Honest horror reviews of films, series, games and books — no hype, no spoilers, just whether it is worth your time and your nerves.
3,437 stories
MoviesReviews
The Elephant Man turns what could be a standard biopic about an extraordinary subject, into an artistic emotional gut-punch masterpiece of cinema… but we’re putting the horse before the cart a bit there… For those not familiar, The Elephant Man concerns the life and times of Joseph Merrick (John Hurt, Alien), a man living in the late-Victorian era, stricken with what was believed to be Proteus Syndrome. The illness left him drastically deformed and therefore only able to survive by appearing in various sideshows… a lifestyle that led to shocking emotional and physical abuse. Fortunately Merrick falls under the care of London surgeon Dr. Frederick Treves (Anthony Hopkins, The Silence of the Lambs) who treats him with kindness before inadvertently turning John into the toast of ol’ London Town. But, has John just become a more classed-up sideshow exhibit, displayed to the elite of society instead of for the common man, or has he genuinely found a home and happiness?
Continue reading →
MoviesNewsReviewsShudderStreaming TVTrailers
Director Jordan Downey delivers a terrifying new cinematic nightmare in his latest horror release, The Cycle. This brutal film plunges viewers into a dark mystery filled with relentless death and tragedy. The story also offers a remarkably fresh twist on the classic werewolf genre. As a result, the movie seamlessly blends deep psychological trauma with shocking creature-feature carnage. Warning: Spoilers A Fantastic Cast The narrative centers on Meg, a forensic anthropologist suffering from severe childhood heartbreak. Decades ago, her father suddenly abandoned her family without explanation. However, law enforcement officers recently discovered his strangely preserved body near a horrific crime scene. As a result, Meg must confront her father’s sinister secrets while analyzing the terrifying evidence. Star Deborah Ann Woll gives an exceptional performance as an adult shaped by unresolved trauma. Woll gives her best performance in years, since her role in “True Blood.” She makes your heart break for her character, Meg. But even as she experiences the horrors,
Continue reading →
GamingIndieParanormalProductReviews
It’s a fact that there’s a right way and a wrong way to make a horror game. Unfortunately, ASD Studio and Axyos Games’ first-person horror game, FIRE AND ASHES, has committed some of what I can call sins of horror gaming. FIRE AND ASHES follows Harry, a man who’s been institutionalized and trapped in a twisted asylum where he must fight for his survival and uncover why he’s there. The controls for FIRE AND ASHES are alright but are overcomplicated for combat for some reason. Graphics-wise, the game looks decent, along with the lighting…and that’s where the praise stops. Combat is clunky; animations for opening doors are bugged, there are supposed to be subtitles (if you turn them on), but they don’t appear, or when they do, it’s late. You can “Swim,” but I shit you not, they just animated the arms making the swimming motion, but you’re actually just WALKING underwater; yes, you sink to the bottom and just walk.
Continue reading →
ForeignIndieMoviesReviews
Visual Vengeance have collected a duo of ninja films and put them out on Blu-ray, the first of which, Commando the Ninja (1988), was produced and co-created by Godfrey Ho (we are just going to go with the gloriously mentally unstable Cynthia Rothrock martial arts experience, Undefeatable… but he has been associated with…sometimes in a rather bullshit way… bananas cinematic fried gold on any number of other features such as Ninja Terminator)… Anyway, a dude named Tanaka went and developed a form of germ warfare during World War II, and nowadays plenty of folks are hot on his ass to obtain that formula right quick! Vying for possession of said formula are evil businessman Martin who desires the formula to sell at a tidy profit… there’s also a ninja named David involved… as well as Brenda, a woman in a bedazzled all-denim outfit who kicks a rather outrageous amount of ass… for instance she pounds another character in a scene
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsIndieMoviesReviews
My Love for You Is Deep But the Devil Loves Me Deeper (U.S., 2026) Official synopsis Alice, a young woman shattered by heartbreak after being dumped from her nebbish boyfriend Ryan, encounters the Devil and makes a deal for “all the love in the world.” Review If you have memories of encountering light-night cable TV movies involving “sex from out of nowhere” scenarios and the occasional erotic thriller or offbeat horror outing, you’ll have a decent idea of the vibe that director Casey Donahue has conjured up for My Love for You Is Deep But the Devil Loves Me Deeper. Alice (Emily Whittemore) has had it with her noncommittal ex, and somewhat unknowingly enters a Faustian pact with a stranger in a bar. Poor choice for her but a good one for viewers, as we are treated to her escalating descent into the realm of the demonic. Donahue delivers on his vision, from the opening cable TV announcement to
Continue reading →
GamingProductReviews
GUNNAR has always been there to ensure gamers and anyone else who stares at screens for long periods gets the best protection while staying stylish, but what about when it’s time to relax? Yes, you can just turn off the lights and close your eyes, but what about treating your eyes to a spa-like treatment from the comfort of your own home? The answer is GUNNAR’s Ojai, a new vision recovery system designed to help you and your eyes to relax after looking at a screen for hours! I want to give a massive thank you to GUNNAR for sending over the Ojai for me to try for myself! Out of the box, the Ojai Vision Recovery System is ready for use. It fits snugly over your eyes and blocks out all light. The system has five massage modes; I tried out mode 5, which has maximum pressure and a full experience designed for intensive recovery. The air-compressed massage tool
Continue reading →
ForeignIndieMoviesReviewsSci-Fi
Long thought lost, Mexican-produced animated feature Roy del espacio (1983) begins as only it… and Flash Gordon… could. Evil space emperor Alome (Rubén Moya) gets a wild hair up his space-ass to put a threat upon the Earth. To counter this, Roy (Salvador Nájar), Dr. Faz (Esteban Siller), and comely psychologist Helena (Rommy Mendoza) launch themselves into the cosmos to battle the threat! While that synopsis won’t exactly start a blaze based on it’s red-hot originality, Rafael Angel Gil and Hector Lopez Carmona’s Roy del espacio (which the duo co-wrote with Ulises Pérez Aguirre) instead offers a ton of heart… if not technical razzle-dazzle. Boasting an animation style that could best be described as a lil’ bit Sport Billy with a dash of Chargeman Ken and all of the jank and animation-whoopsies those pieces contained (including limited movement, costume inaccuracies, and uses of perspective that’ll have you think you snorted a fistful of premium Moon Dust)… but here
Continue reading →
BooksNewsProductReviews
Earlier this week, a mysterious box arrived right on my doorstep. When I saw the package was from The Folio Society, my excitement grew instantly. A week ago, I reported on the launch of the stunning volume Japanese Ghost Stories, and I hoped it was a copy. It was. The book’s online promotional images looked absolutely mesmerizing. Therefore, I decided to film a complete unboxing video for readers to enjoy. Classical Folklore Tales Come Alive This new edition compiles twenty haunting tales translated by nineteenth-century writer Lafcadio Hearn. The deluxe release also features breathtaking original artwork by award-winning artist Yuko Shimizu. Novelist Yoko Ogawa also contributed a thoughtful new introduction. As a result, the collection captures ancient Japan’s haunted atmosphere through classic supernatural folklore. Readers will encounter vengeful phantoms along with flesh-devouring priests. Iconic monsters like flying heads and faceless stalkers also lurk within these pages. Notable stories include The Story of Aoyagi, Oshidori, The Dream of Akinosuké, and Rokuro-Kubi.
Continue reading →
ForeignMoviesReviewsSci-FiThriller
Official synopsis Czech director Otakar Vávra’s astonishing fever dream of a movie that mixes 1940s film noir, paranoid thriller, and speculative atomic-bomb sci-fi in the story of a chemist named Prokop who hallucinates fragments of how he’s invented a proto-nuclear weapon. OVID Exclusive Directed by Otakar Vávra Deaf Crocodile, Drama, 1948, 110 mins Czechoslovakia Review Krakatit is a seminal science fiction/film noir hybrid that finds a scientist named Prokop (Karel Höger) on a wild odyssey involving the titular dangerous explosive that he invented. He encounters a former classmate, a mysterious veiled lady, an arms dealer, a princess interested in marrying him, and others, many of whom are intent on getting the secret formula for krakatit from the desperate man. There is also a nameless man in a hospital in dire straits, but no spoilers here. Director Otakar Vávra crafts a genre film carrying a message about the need for world peace, with paranoia and double-dealings galore. The mystery unwraps slowly
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsForeignMoviesReviewsShort Films
When She Sings (U.K., 2026) Official synopsis In a dreary, British seaside town, a talented artist is haunted by a sinister mermaid, and terrorized by a coven of strange locals. Review When She Sings is a classic example of fine folk horror cinema. Director Paul Holbrook invests his short film with a sense of dread throughout as artist Fay Corr (Laura Bayston, who cowrote the screenplay with Holbrook) is harassed by local townsfolk speaking in mysterious short bursts as she grieves over the death of her sister. Cinematographer James Oldham wonderfully captures the beauty of the coastal setting and the bleakness of Fay’s world, with Composers Hannah Cartwright and Ross Tones aiding greatly with the short’s mood. Moryow (U.K., 2026) Official synopsis A recovering addict, desperate to escape her past, finds herself on a cursed fishing boat headed into a Lovecraftian nightmare where the depths of the ocean feed on her darkest sins. Review Writer/director Ted Wilkes weaves
Continue reading →
More from Reviews
MoviesReviews
The Elephant Man turns what could be a standard biopic about an extraordinary subject, into an artistic emotional gut-punch masterpiece of cinema… but we’re putting the horse before the cart a bit there… For those not familiar, The Elephant Man concerns the life and times of Joseph Merrick (John Hurt, Alien), a man living in the late-Victorian era, stricken with what was believed to be Proteus Syndrome. The illness left him drastically deformed and therefore only able to survive by appearing in various sideshows… a lifestyle that led to shocking emotional and physical abuse. Fortunately Merrick falls under the care of London surgeon Dr. Frederick Treves (Anthony Hopkins, The Silence of the Lambs) who treats him with kindness before inadvertently turning John into the toast of ol’ London Town. But, has John just become a more classed-up sideshow exhibit, displayed to the elite of society instead of for the common man, or has he genuinely found a home and happiness?
Continue reading →
MoviesNewsReviewsShudderStreaming TVTrailers
Director Jordan Downey delivers a terrifying new cinematic nightmare in his latest horror release, The Cycle. This brutal film plunges viewers into a dark mystery filled with relentless death and tragedy. The story also offers a remarkably fresh twist on the classic werewolf genre. As a result, the movie seamlessly blends deep psychological trauma with shocking creature-feature carnage. Warning: Spoilers A Fantastic Cast The narrative centers on Meg, a forensic anthropologist suffering from severe childhood heartbreak. Decades ago, her father suddenly abandoned her family without explanation. However, law enforcement officers recently discovered his strangely preserved body near a horrific crime scene. As a result, Meg must confront her father’s sinister secrets while analyzing the terrifying evidence. Star Deborah Ann Woll gives an exceptional performance as an adult shaped by unresolved trauma. Woll gives her best performance in years, since her role in “True Blood.” She makes your heart break for her character, Meg. But even as she experiences the horrors,
Continue reading →
GamingIndieParanormalProductReviews
It’s a fact that there’s a right way and a wrong way to make a horror game. Unfortunately, ASD Studio and Axyos Games’ first-person horror game, FIRE AND ASHES, has committed some of what I can call sins of horror gaming. FIRE AND ASHES follows Harry, a man who’s been institutionalized and trapped in a twisted asylum where he must fight for his survival and uncover why he’s there. The controls for FIRE AND ASHES are alright but are overcomplicated for combat for some reason. Graphics-wise, the game looks decent, along with the lighting…and that’s where the praise stops. Combat is clunky; animations for opening doors are bugged, there are supposed to be subtitles (if you turn them on), but they don’t appear, or when they do, it’s late. You can “Swim,” but I shit you not, they just animated the arms making the swimming motion, but you’re actually just WALKING underwater; yes, you sink to the bottom and just walk.
Continue reading →
ForeignIndieMoviesReviews
Visual Vengeance have collected a duo of ninja films and put them out on Blu-ray, the first of which, Commando the Ninja (1988), was produced and co-created by Godfrey Ho (we are just going to go with the gloriously mentally unstable Cynthia Rothrock martial arts experience, Undefeatable… but he has been associated with…sometimes in a rather bullshit way… bananas cinematic fried gold on any number of other features such as Ninja Terminator)… Anyway, a dude named Tanaka went and developed a form of germ warfare during World War II, and nowadays plenty of folks are hot on his ass to obtain that formula right quick! Vying for possession of said formula are evil businessman Martin who desires the formula to sell at a tidy profit… there’s also a ninja named David involved… as well as Brenda, a woman in a bedazzled all-denim outfit who kicks a rather outrageous amount of ass… for instance she pounds another character in a scene
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsIndieMoviesReviews
My Love for You Is Deep But the Devil Loves Me Deeper (U.S., 2026) Official synopsis Alice, a young woman shattered by heartbreak after being dumped from her nebbish boyfriend Ryan, encounters the Devil and makes a deal for “all the love in the world.” Review If you have memories of encountering light-night cable TV movies involving “sex from out of nowhere” scenarios and the occasional erotic thriller or offbeat horror outing, you’ll have a decent idea of the vibe that director Casey Donahue has conjured up for My Love for You Is Deep But the Devil Loves Me Deeper. Alice (Emily Whittemore) has had it with her noncommittal ex, and somewhat unknowingly enters a Faustian pact with a stranger in a bar. Poor choice for her but a good one for viewers, as we are treated to her escalating descent into the realm of the demonic. Donahue delivers on his vision, from the opening cable TV announcement to
Continue reading →
GamingProductReviews
GUNNAR has always been there to ensure gamers and anyone else who stares at screens for long periods gets the best protection while staying stylish, but what about when it’s time to relax? Yes, you can just turn off the lights and close your eyes, but what about treating your eyes to a spa-like treatment from the comfort of your own home? The answer is GUNNAR’s Ojai, a new vision recovery system designed to help you and your eyes to relax after looking at a screen for hours! I want to give a massive thank you to GUNNAR for sending over the Ojai for me to try for myself! Out of the box, the Ojai Vision Recovery System is ready for use. It fits snugly over your eyes and blocks out all light. The system has five massage modes; I tried out mode 5, which has maximum pressure and a full experience designed for intensive recovery. The air-compressed massage tool
Continue reading →
ForeignIndieMoviesReviewsSci-Fi
Long thought lost, Mexican-produced animated feature Roy del espacio (1983) begins as only it… and Flash Gordon… could. Evil space emperor Alome (Rubén Moya) gets a wild hair up his space-ass to put a threat upon the Earth. To counter this, Roy (Salvador Nájar), Dr. Faz (Esteban Siller), and comely psychologist Helena (Rommy Mendoza) launch themselves into the cosmos to battle the threat! While that synopsis won’t exactly start a blaze based on it’s red-hot originality, Rafael Angel Gil and Hector Lopez Carmona’s Roy del espacio (which the duo co-wrote with Ulises Pérez Aguirre) instead offers a ton of heart… if not technical razzle-dazzle. Boasting an animation style that could best be described as a lil’ bit Sport Billy with a dash of Chargeman Ken and all of the jank and animation-whoopsies those pieces contained (including limited movement, costume inaccuracies, and uses of perspective that’ll have you think you snorted a fistful of premium Moon Dust)… but here
Continue reading →
BooksNewsProductReviews
Earlier this week, a mysterious box arrived right on my doorstep. When I saw the package was from The Folio Society, my excitement grew instantly. A week ago, I reported on the launch of the stunning volume Japanese Ghost Stories, and I hoped it was a copy. It was. The book’s online promotional images looked absolutely mesmerizing. Therefore, I decided to film a complete unboxing video for readers to enjoy. Classical Folklore Tales Come Alive This new edition compiles twenty haunting tales translated by nineteenth-century writer Lafcadio Hearn. The deluxe release also features breathtaking original artwork by award-winning artist Yuko Shimizu. Novelist Yoko Ogawa also contributed a thoughtful new introduction. As a result, the collection captures ancient Japan’s haunted atmosphere through classic supernatural folklore. Readers will encounter vengeful phantoms along with flesh-devouring priests. Iconic monsters like flying heads and faceless stalkers also lurk within these pages. Notable stories include The Story of Aoyagi, Oshidori, The Dream of Akinosuké, and Rokuro-Kubi.
Continue reading →
ForeignMoviesReviewsSci-FiThriller
Official synopsis Czech director Otakar Vávra’s astonishing fever dream of a movie that mixes 1940s film noir, paranoid thriller, and speculative atomic-bomb sci-fi in the story of a chemist named Prokop who hallucinates fragments of how he’s invented a proto-nuclear weapon. OVID Exclusive Directed by Otakar Vávra Deaf Crocodile, Drama, 1948, 110 mins Czechoslovakia Review Krakatit is a seminal science fiction/film noir hybrid that finds a scientist named Prokop (Karel Höger) on a wild odyssey involving the titular dangerous explosive that he invented. He encounters a former classmate, a mysterious veiled lady, an arms dealer, a princess interested in marrying him, and others, many of whom are intent on getting the secret formula for krakatit from the desperate man. There is also a nameless man in a hospital in dire straits, but no spoilers here. Director Otakar Vávra crafts a genre film carrying a message about the need for world peace, with paranoia and double-dealings galore. The mystery unwraps slowly
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsForeignMoviesReviewsShort Films
When She Sings (U.K., 2026) Official synopsis In a dreary, British seaside town, a talented artist is haunted by a sinister mermaid, and terrorized by a coven of strange locals. Review When She Sings is a classic example of fine folk horror cinema. Director Paul Holbrook invests his short film with a sense of dread throughout as artist Fay Corr (Laura Bayston, who cowrote the screenplay with Holbrook) is harassed by local townsfolk speaking in mysterious short bursts as she grieves over the death of her sister. Cinematographer James Oldham wonderfully captures the beauty of the coastal setting and the bleakness of Fay’s world, with Composers Hannah Cartwright and Ross Tones aiding greatly with the short’s mood. Moryow (U.K., 2026) Official synopsis A recovering addict, desperate to escape her past, finds herself on a cursed fishing boat headed into a Lovecraftian nightmare where the depths of the ocean feed on her darkest sins. Review Writer/director Ted Wilkes weaves
Continue reading →
