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
HalloweenHoliday HorrorProductReviews
Scented Candles… they’re everywhere, some smell amazing as they are intended, some miss the mark but are still decent, and some are supposed to smell good… but don’t, seriously, how can you mess up pine?! but I digress, what if there are candles that are supposed to not smell good or smell strange ON PURPOSE? Well, you have The Stinky Candle Company the makers of candles that will get you thrown out of the house OR confuse the hell out of your dorm roommates. I want to thank Jeff and the other folks over at The Stinky Candle Company for sending over some of their candles for me to try out! The range of candles and wax melts they have in their arsenal of scents range from pleasant to Jesus Christ What The F*ck Is Wrong With You?! with some “Huh?” scents mixed in there… I have scents from each of those categories. First the more pleasant scents. My favorite
Continue reading →
MoviesNewsReviewsTrailers
The Last Voyage of the Demeter, inspired by a single chilling chapter, “The Captain’s Log,” from Bram Stoker’s classic novel Dracula, opens in theaters today. Is it worth all the hype? I can answer that. Just a heads up, unlike the majority of our reviews, this one does feature mild spoilers. Directed by André Øvredal, the film tells the terrifying story of the merchant ship Demeter, which was chartered to carry private cargo—fifty unmarked wooden crates—from Carpathia to London, with the crew unaware of the horrors they contain. The impressive cast for the film includes Corey Hawkins (In the Heights, Straight Outta Compton) as Clemens, a doctor who joins the Demeter crew. Hawkins gives a fantastic performance, bringing empathy and wonder to the film. Aisling Franciosi (Game of Thrones, The Nightingale) plays Anna, a stowaway. Once her reality is revealed, your heart breaks for her, but at the same time, she emotes a strength like no one else aboard. Javier
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsMoviesReviews
Where the Devil Roams (2023) In arguably their darkest and certainly their goriest offering yet, filmmakers The Adams Family — John Adams, Toby Poser, and their daughter Zelda Adams — invest Where the Devil Roams with an inescapable air of dread. The family members play members of a traveling carnival troupe trying to eke out a meager existence during America’s Great Depression. Father Seven (John Adams) is an emotionally scarred war veteran who must be blindfolded when violence occurs around him, mother Maggie (Poser) possesses a vicious killing streak, and daughter Eve (Zelda Adams) — who is mute except for singing — photographs the gruesome aftermaths of Maggie’s murders. The motives for the murders vary but depend on Maggie, from feeling slighted or looked down upon by those in better financial positions than the family or by mistaking a man for a German, who Seven fought in the war. Where the Devil Roams blends killers-on-the-road and “bizarre carnival” elements, and
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsMoviesReviews
Perpetrator (2023) Combining slasher, supernatural, and even superhero elements, writer/director Jennifer Reeder’s Perpetrator is a thrilling, chilling feature that is a deliciously twisted display of teen girls taking on the patriarchy. Jonquil “Jonny” Baptiste (Kiah McKirnan) is too much of a handful for her father, who ships her off just before her 18th birthday to her Aunt Hildie (Alicia Silverstone having a blast in an “Is she or isn’t she evil?” role). Hildie sends Jonny to a private girls’ school from which students go missing, and viewers see that their disappearances lead to gory proceedings. Jonny and her new girlfriend Aviva (Casimere Jollette) are on the case, though, and determined to solve the mystery. Reeder’s coming-of-age horror looks great, boasts a solid cast, is directed with verve, and provides a great deal of suspense, mystery, and no shortage of gore. Plenty of dark humor is on display, as well. Reeder follows up her 2019 feature Knives and Skin with a
Continue reading →
ProductReviews
That’s right, you didn’t read the title wrong, this is a whiskey review! Many of us like to let loose and enjoy our favorite slasher films while treating ourselves to a nice glass of spirits. The problem is, too many whiskeys and other spirits are pretty generic and too…normal. This also extends to their bottles. You want something you can display on your shelf to make guests go “What’s that?!” instead of “Hey I have that too.”. Allow me to introduce you to Von Payne Spirits with their signature whiskey, Von Payn Black. I want to give a big thank you to Von Payne for making this review possible by allowing me to responsibly try their whiskey! Von Payne Black is a whiskey that’s infused with black currants, a type of berry found in Europe. What makes this whiskey stand out among the rest is the bottle! This hefty decanter bottle is adorned with a metal Gargoyle stopper that is
Continue reading →
MoviesReviewsTrailers
I’ve followed the Insidious franchise since it first premiered back in 2010. I love supernatural horror. This weekend I popped a bag of popcorn and settled in to watch Insidious: The Red Door, and I have a few thoughts. Warning, mild spoilers. Set nine years after the original film, the sequel sees Dalton, played by Ty Simpkins, who reprises his role from the first film, is heading off to college, driven to school by his father, Josh (Patrick Wilson), in what is an incredibly awkward ride. Dalton and his father have a strained relationship, with Josh not being around much as the kid has grown up after Josh and his wife divorced, and Josh’s head has been in a fog, thanks to the fact that both father and son were hypnotized to forget the events in the first film. The action kicks off after Dalton’s art professor makes the class count down from ten. Suddenly, Dalton and Josh begin to
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsForeignMoviesReviews
Convenience Story (2022) is a surreal odyssey with film noir elements. If that sounds like a reference to David Lynch’s work or to the many Lynchian knock-offs, sure, there are shared concepts here, but writer/director Satoshi Miki’s Japanese feature leans more to the whimsical and weird than the dark. The 24/7 convenience store (konbini) is a major part of Japanese culture, and Miki places his deadpan, struggling screenwriter protagonist Kato (Ryo Narita) in a decidedly bizarre remote one after he abandons his actress girlfriend Zigzag’s (Yuki Katayama) dog nearby. With the rented truck that he drove there suddenly not running, he takes up the somewhat eager offer of married-couple convenience store owners Keiko (Atsuko Maeda) and Nagumo (Seiji Rokkaku) to stay the night. While Nagumo spends time in the forest air-conducting classical music, Keiko and Kato find themselves in an offbeat relationship reminiscent of The Postman Always Rings Twice. Giving away any more of the plot would be a disservice
Continue reading →
AdaptationBooksMoviesNetflixNewsReviewsStreaming TV
Mike Flanagan’s adaptation of Stephen King’s Gerald’s Game is now out on Netflix and I have some thoughts. In the film, Jessie and Gerald Burlingame are going to their secluded lake house on a weekend trip. Their marriage is strained, and their love life has turned stagnant, but Gerald has something in mind to reignite that old flame, as it were. They arrive at their home, and everything is ready: landscaping done, house cleaned and prepared, pantry and fridge are stocked. Now it’s time for a little “afternoon delight,” so Jessie puts on a new sexy slip that she bought especially for the occasion and waits for Gerald in the bedroom. He pops a little blue pill and cuffs her to the bed, and then the “game” begins. However, Jessie is not fond of the rough turn Gerald’s game takes and rebuffs his attempt to fulfill what is little more than a rape fantasy. She begs him to uncuff her,
Continue reading →
MoviesNewsReviewsThrillerTrailers
The intense, emotional thriller The Passenger is set to be released this week, and I had the opportunity to check it out. Don’t worry. I’m not going to spoil anything for you. This is a spoiler-free review. The film centers on a shy, passive young man who is forced to face his fears and confront his troubled past and must find a way to survive when his co-worker snaps and goes on a violent killing spree, dragging him along for the ride. Directed by Carter Smith from the script by Jack Stanley, the film stars Kyle Gallner (Smile) and Johnny Berchtold (“Tiny Beautiful Things”), as well as Liza Weil, Billy Slaughter, and Morgan Shaw. After watching the trailer, my curiosity peaked, and I’m so glad it did. As I watched the film’s events, I was sucked in, something that doesn’t often happen these days, and for its entire run time, I was completely invested. Director Carter Smith did an incredible
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsForeignMoviesReviews
Japanese feature Best Wishes to All (2023) tackles that country’s problem with its aging population in a fright-fare context that combines folk horror and supernatural elements. The result is an intriguing work that starts off in slow-burn style but delivers a jaw-dropping revelation that kicks off a dizzying whirl of suspense and paranoia. Kotone Furukawa gives an excellent performance as a young nursing student from Tokyo (all characters in the film are nameless) who visits her grandparents in the small rural town in which she grew up. As a little girl, she was greatly bothered by a locked door in their house so much that it haunted her dreams even as an adult. After her grandparents display decidedly odd behavior — which she at first considers might be dementia — she soon learns that he fears about what might be behind that door were nowhere near what she could imagine. Director Yūta Shimotsu, working from a screenplay cowritten with Rumi
Continue reading →
More from Reviews
HalloweenHoliday HorrorProductReviews
Scented Candles… they’re everywhere, some smell amazing as they are intended, some miss the mark but are still decent, and some are supposed to smell good… but don’t, seriously, how can you mess up pine?! but I digress, what if there are candles that are supposed to not smell good or smell strange ON PURPOSE? Well, you have The Stinky Candle Company the makers of candles that will get you thrown out of the house OR confuse the hell out of your dorm roommates. I want to thank Jeff and the other folks over at The Stinky Candle Company for sending over some of their candles for me to try out! The range of candles and wax melts they have in their arsenal of scents range from pleasant to Jesus Christ What The F*ck Is Wrong With You?! with some “Huh?” scents mixed in there… I have scents from each of those categories. First the more pleasant scents. My favorite
Continue reading →
MoviesNewsReviewsTrailers
The Last Voyage of the Demeter, inspired by a single chilling chapter, “The Captain’s Log,” from Bram Stoker’s classic novel Dracula, opens in theaters today. Is it worth all the hype? I can answer that. Just a heads up, unlike the majority of our reviews, this one does feature mild spoilers. Directed by André Øvredal, the film tells the terrifying story of the merchant ship Demeter, which was chartered to carry private cargo—fifty unmarked wooden crates—from Carpathia to London, with the crew unaware of the horrors they contain. The impressive cast for the film includes Corey Hawkins (In the Heights, Straight Outta Compton) as Clemens, a doctor who joins the Demeter crew. Hawkins gives a fantastic performance, bringing empathy and wonder to the film. Aisling Franciosi (Game of Thrones, The Nightingale) plays Anna, a stowaway. Once her reality is revealed, your heart breaks for her, but at the same time, she emotes a strength like no one else aboard. Javier
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsMoviesReviews
Where the Devil Roams (2023) In arguably their darkest and certainly their goriest offering yet, filmmakers The Adams Family — John Adams, Toby Poser, and their daughter Zelda Adams — invest Where the Devil Roams with an inescapable air of dread. The family members play members of a traveling carnival troupe trying to eke out a meager existence during America’s Great Depression. Father Seven (John Adams) is an emotionally scarred war veteran who must be blindfolded when violence occurs around him, mother Maggie (Poser) possesses a vicious killing streak, and daughter Eve (Zelda Adams) — who is mute except for singing — photographs the gruesome aftermaths of Maggie’s murders. The motives for the murders vary but depend on Maggie, from feeling slighted or looked down upon by those in better financial positions than the family or by mistaking a man for a German, who Seven fought in the war. Where the Devil Roams blends killers-on-the-road and “bizarre carnival” elements, and
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsMoviesReviews
Perpetrator (2023) Combining slasher, supernatural, and even superhero elements, writer/director Jennifer Reeder’s Perpetrator is a thrilling, chilling feature that is a deliciously twisted display of teen girls taking on the patriarchy. Jonquil “Jonny” Baptiste (Kiah McKirnan) is too much of a handful for her father, who ships her off just before her 18th birthday to her Aunt Hildie (Alicia Silverstone having a blast in an “Is she or isn’t she evil?” role). Hildie sends Jonny to a private girls’ school from which students go missing, and viewers see that their disappearances lead to gory proceedings. Jonny and her new girlfriend Aviva (Casimere Jollette) are on the case, though, and determined to solve the mystery. Reeder’s coming-of-age horror looks great, boasts a solid cast, is directed with verve, and provides a great deal of suspense, mystery, and no shortage of gore. Plenty of dark humor is on display, as well. Reeder follows up her 2019 feature Knives and Skin with a
Continue reading →
ProductReviews
That’s right, you didn’t read the title wrong, this is a whiskey review! Many of us like to let loose and enjoy our favorite slasher films while treating ourselves to a nice glass of spirits. The problem is, too many whiskeys and other spirits are pretty generic and too…normal. This also extends to their bottles. You want something you can display on your shelf to make guests go “What’s that?!” instead of “Hey I have that too.”. Allow me to introduce you to Von Payne Spirits with their signature whiskey, Von Payn Black. I want to give a big thank you to Von Payne for making this review possible by allowing me to responsibly try their whiskey! Von Payne Black is a whiskey that’s infused with black currants, a type of berry found in Europe. What makes this whiskey stand out among the rest is the bottle! This hefty decanter bottle is adorned with a metal Gargoyle stopper that is
Continue reading →
MoviesReviewsTrailers
I’ve followed the Insidious franchise since it first premiered back in 2010. I love supernatural horror. This weekend I popped a bag of popcorn and settled in to watch Insidious: The Red Door, and I have a few thoughts. Warning, mild spoilers. Set nine years after the original film, the sequel sees Dalton, played by Ty Simpkins, who reprises his role from the first film, is heading off to college, driven to school by his father, Josh (Patrick Wilson), in what is an incredibly awkward ride. Dalton and his father have a strained relationship, with Josh not being around much as the kid has grown up after Josh and his wife divorced, and Josh’s head has been in a fog, thanks to the fact that both father and son were hypnotized to forget the events in the first film. The action kicks off after Dalton’s art professor makes the class count down from ten. Suddenly, Dalton and Josh begin to
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsForeignMoviesReviews
Convenience Story (2022) is a surreal odyssey with film noir elements. If that sounds like a reference to David Lynch’s work or to the many Lynchian knock-offs, sure, there are shared concepts here, but writer/director Satoshi Miki’s Japanese feature leans more to the whimsical and weird than the dark. The 24/7 convenience store (konbini) is a major part of Japanese culture, and Miki places his deadpan, struggling screenwriter protagonist Kato (Ryo Narita) in a decidedly bizarre remote one after he abandons his actress girlfriend Zigzag’s (Yuki Katayama) dog nearby. With the rented truck that he drove there suddenly not running, he takes up the somewhat eager offer of married-couple convenience store owners Keiko (Atsuko Maeda) and Nagumo (Seiji Rokkaku) to stay the night. While Nagumo spends time in the forest air-conducting classical music, Keiko and Kato find themselves in an offbeat relationship reminiscent of The Postman Always Rings Twice. Giving away any more of the plot would be a disservice
Continue reading →
AdaptationBooksMoviesNetflixNewsReviewsStreaming TV
Mike Flanagan’s adaptation of Stephen King’s Gerald’s Game is now out on Netflix and I have some thoughts. In the film, Jessie and Gerald Burlingame are going to their secluded lake house on a weekend trip. Their marriage is strained, and their love life has turned stagnant, but Gerald has something in mind to reignite that old flame, as it were. They arrive at their home, and everything is ready: landscaping done, house cleaned and prepared, pantry and fridge are stocked. Now it’s time for a little “afternoon delight,” so Jessie puts on a new sexy slip that she bought especially for the occasion and waits for Gerald in the bedroom. He pops a little blue pill and cuffs her to the bed, and then the “game” begins. However, Jessie is not fond of the rough turn Gerald’s game takes and rebuffs his attempt to fulfill what is little more than a rape fantasy. She begs him to uncuff her,
Continue reading →
MoviesNewsReviewsThrillerTrailers
The intense, emotional thriller The Passenger is set to be released this week, and I had the opportunity to check it out. Don’t worry. I’m not going to spoil anything for you. This is a spoiler-free review. The film centers on a shy, passive young man who is forced to face his fears and confront his troubled past and must find a way to survive when his co-worker snaps and goes on a violent killing spree, dragging him along for the ride. Directed by Carter Smith from the script by Jack Stanley, the film stars Kyle Gallner (Smile) and Johnny Berchtold (“Tiny Beautiful Things”), as well as Liza Weil, Billy Slaughter, and Morgan Shaw. After watching the trailer, my curiosity peaked, and I’m so glad it did. As I watched the film’s events, I was sucked in, something that doesn’t often happen these days, and for its entire run time, I was completely invested. Director Carter Smith did an incredible
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsForeignMoviesReviews
Japanese feature Best Wishes to All (2023) tackles that country’s problem with its aging population in a fright-fare context that combines folk horror and supernatural elements. The result is an intriguing work that starts off in slow-burn style but delivers a jaw-dropping revelation that kicks off a dizzying whirl of suspense and paranoia. Kotone Furukawa gives an excellent performance as a young nursing student from Tokyo (all characters in the film are nameless) who visits her grandparents in the small rural town in which she grew up. As a little girl, she was greatly bothered by a locked door in their house so much that it haunted her dreams even as an adult. After her grandparents display decidedly odd behavior — which she at first considers might be dementia — she soon learns that he fears about what might be behind that door were nowhere near what she could imagine. Director Yūta Shimotsu, working from a screenplay cowritten with Rumi
Continue reading →
