Collecting Movies with Mike Flanagan
Mike Flanagan Interview: Greg Carlson and the horror filmmaker discuss movie collecting.
Review: Marcel Walz’s ‘That’s a Wrap’
“As an indie Giallo, ‘That’s a Wrap’ fails to read the room.”
Review: André Øvredal’s ‘The Last Voyage of the Demeter’
“‘The Last Voyage of the Demeter’ doesn’t make enough of an impression to stand out amongst the veritable legions of other Dracula films that already exist.”
Manchester Film Festival Review: Matthew Butler-Hart’s ‘Dagr’
“‘Dagr’ isn’t a bad found footage movie, and it has its moments of fun, yet Butler-Hart’s film doesn’t sustain the promise of its opening scenes.”
Review: Arkasha Stevenson’s ‘The First Omen’
“What ‘The First Omen’ lacks in innovation it makes up for in boldness, pushing familiar supernatural genre tropes about the secret relationship between the Church and the Devil to ideological extremes.”
Review: Joe Lo Truglio’s ‘Outpost’
“‘Outpost’ is an auspicious introduction to Lo Truglio the filmmaker and suggests great things are to come for him. Based on this evidence alone, his leading lady should also have plenty more opportunities to lead a charge in the future.”
Review: Lee Cronin’s ‘Evil Dead Rise’
“‘Evil Dead Rise’ quickly devolves into a mean-spirited slog of self-consciously gruesome attempts at shocking an audience that will only be fooled if they’ve never seen another horror movie before.”
‘We’re All Going to the World’s Fair’: Time, Loneliness and the Internet
“‘We’re All Going to the World’s Fair’ prefers the space between categories. This position facilitates a unique experience of time, much like the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Review: Teresa Sutherland’s ‘Lovely, Dark, and Deep’
“‘Lovely, Dark, and Deep’ teases a bright filmmaking future for Sutherland while spotlighting one of the horror genre’s most promising stars.”
Review: Tyler MacIntyre’s ‘It’s a Wonderful Knife’
“‘It’s a Wonderful Knife’ is watchable but slight. And considering how popular Hallmark Christmas movies continue to be, maybe that’s all horror fans will really expect.”
Review: Ted Geoghegan’s ‘Brooklyn 45’
“‘Brooklyn 45’ is what happens when an experienced filmmaker finds their voice and brings everything together.”
Review: Ryan Stevens Harris’ ‘Moon Garden’
“More than just another dream-state drama, ‘Moon Garden’ is a moving ode to mother-daughter bonds.”
Review: Michelle Garza Cervera’s ‘Huesera: The Bone Woman’
“In a world where Roe v. Wade has been struck down, and the rights of both women and LGBTQ+ people are consistently under attack, Cervera’s story feels especially vital.”
Review: Ari Aster’s ‘Beau Is Afraid’
“If ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’ and ‘The Fabelmans’ were one film, complete with the excesses of both yet without the charm, that movie would be ‘Beau Is Afraid.'”
Review: Beth de Araújo’s Gripping ‘Soft & Quiet’
“The combination of real time chronology with the nauseating escalation toward violence makes ‘Soft & Quiet’ as powerful as it is difficult to watch.”
Review: Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett’s ‘Scream VI’
“One of the leanest, meanest and most violent ‘Scream’ sequels yet.”
Soundtracks of Cinema: ‘Totally Killer’
‘Totally Killer’ Soundtrack: A Vague Visages guide for every song in Nahnatchka Khan’s 2023 Amazon movie.
Berlinale Review: Soda Jerk’s ‘Hello Dankness’
“Through sheer technical editing brilliance that sculpts a world that is both recognizable and strange, Soda Jerk created a truly weird and engaging reflection of the uncanny valley that was the Trump era.”
Berlinale Review: Brandon Cronenberg’s ‘Infinity Pool’
“At its best, ‘Infinity Pool’ is astounding stuff, and one hopes Cronenberg senior is rightfully proud. But yet it is marred — not entirely, but enough — by a muddy texture at the sides, a failure of imagination and a cheap ethnic exoticism…”
Horror Fans Will Devour Mimi Cave’s ‘Fresh’
“Throughout ‘Fresh,’ Cave shows a sophisticated command of the screw-turning suspense in the material and the milieu.”
