Review: Mickey Reece’s ‘Climate of the Hunter’
“‘Climate of the Hunter’ is fatally enthralled by its own bizarre, overwrought stylistic tics, from the exaggerated performances aiming squarely for the cheap seats to the Wes Anderson-style PSAs…”
Review: Christopher Landon’s ‘Freaky’
“‘Freaky’ is uneven, but it has moments of magic.”
London Film Festival Review: Brandon Cronenberg’s ‘Possessor’
“There is so much stuff in ‘Possessor’ that you might think you’re at a venerable cinematic feast. But take away the squelching and splatter and there’s barely enough to fill an episode of ‘Black Mirror.”
London Film Festival Review: Natalia Meta’s ‘The Intruder’
“‘The Intruder’ interpolates the parts of Giallo without the scares, keeping true to the genre’s more strictly crime-oriented titles like ‘The Cat o’ Nine Tails.'”
Review: Luis Iga’s ‘Murder in the Woods’
“‘Murder in the Woods’ is a slight but entertaining offering, sold completely and committedly by a talented cast of fresh, new faces and with a bonus appearance by the always-welcome Danny Trejo to boot.”
Fantasia 2020 Review: Sabrina Mertens’ ‘Time of Moulting’
“It may seem strange to qualify Mertens’ audaciously original production as ‘horror’ when it has no gory set pieces, jump scares, monsters or special effects. Yet, despite a lack of these things, ‘Time of Moulting’ is very much a horror film.”
Fantasia 2020 Review: Natasha Kermani’s ‘Lucky’
“‘Lucky’ is a rallying cry for women everywhere to fight back, to keep speaking up and to go it alone when all else fails.”
Fantasia 2020 Review: Brea Grant’s ’12 Hour Shift’
“As the debate rages on about whether strong female characters in movies should evoke admiration through heroism or just be flawed, human and sometimes downright unlikeable, it’s nice to see that Brea Grant created a film that’s full of different women.”
Review: Egor Abramenko’s ‘Sputnik’
“‘Sputnik’ is a thoughtful, knotty sci-fi thriller that’s firmly character-driven and also boasts a horrifyingly beautiful creature.”
Review: Dave Franco’s ‘The Rental’
“The ideas present are intriguing, however The Rental’s ultimate staying power is questionable.”
Review: Jeffrey A. Brown’s ‘The Beach House’
“‘The Beach House’ signals an exciting new star in horror.”
Review: Lorcan Finnegan’s ‘Vivarium’
“Taken purely at its basest form, ‘Vivarium’ is a terrifying isolation horror movie that goes for the jugular.”
Review: Neasa Hardiman’s ‘Sea Fever’
“In these increasingly confusing times, taking solace anywhere we can is more important than ever, and it’s impressively weird, intelligent movies like ‘Sea Fever’ that offer such comfort.”
Review: Malgorzata Szumowska’s ‘The Other Lamb’
“The female gaze is strong in ‘The Other Lamb,’ lovingly capturing Cassidy’s delicate, open features particularly when they begin twisting into something resembling anger…”
Review: ‘Dark Whispers: Volume 1’
“The problem with ‘Dark Whispers: Volume 1’ is the same as with any horror anthology — the stories are only as good as what’s come before.”
Review: ‘The Invisible Man’ Is a Sight for Sore Eyes
“Whannell’s ‘The Invisible Man’ is an absolute banger, and stands tall as the most spectacular evolution of the story to hit the big screen.”
Berlinale 2020 Review: Abel Ferrara’s ‘Siberia’
“Ferrara throws everything at ‘Siberia,’ turning it into a playground for emotive relation. But it is Dafoe, his muse, who so thoroughly brings the audience along with the randomness…”
Review: Severin Fiala and Veronika Franz’s ‘The Lodge’
“Franz and Fiala scale down Kubrick’s more expansive vision, and the result offers its own kind of skin-crawling satisfaction.”
Review: Joe Begos’ ‘VFW’
“A thrilling, gloriously gory and gleefully simple exercise in cyberpunk nastiness, led by a crew of done-with-this-shit action movie icons, ‘VFW’ is a relentlessly entertaining riot.”