“Stone has the look of a teenager with the earned maturity of someone who’s been through some heavy shit, which lends itself well to her teenage prostitute in ‘Honey Bee’ and works just as brilliantly in ‘Come True.'”
“Looking back on early-2000s fare, ‘Get Over It’ stands out as smarter, sweeter, funnier and weirder than many of its contemporaries…”
“Swab’s personal experience bleeds into every frame of ‘Body Brokers,’ making it a taxing watch at times, but its true power lies in the details…”
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“‘Saint Maud’ proves, once again, that horror, and particularly indie horror, provides the opportunity for first timers to take real risks.”
“‘Sator’ is a slow burn, and the payoff for waiting around will not suit everybody. Like ‘Blair Witch,’ it requires your full attention to really make an impact — half-watching while scrolling through Twitter won’t cut it.”
“‘The Reckoning’ makes a sharp point about the complicity of women, or more accurately white women, in the destruction of other women.”
“Making a gothic horror story about the creation of a gothic horror story is a worthy and potentially enlightening idea, but Unkel fumbles the ball at every turn with ‘A Nightmare Wakes.'”
“Benson and Moorhead’s typically dark, cynical tone is well-suited to the material until a too-neat ending tries to retcon ‘Synchronic’ into something else in the most jarring way possible.”
“‘Panda Bear It’ suggests plenty about the human condition without the need to bog itself down with exposition or endless, energy-sapping ruminations.”
“‘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…”
“There’s a timelessness to ‘The Bloodhound’ that puts it on a par with recent and similarly quietly-horrific offerings like ‘It Follows’ and ‘Piercing’…”
“‘Archenemy’ could easily ditch all the higher concept stuff and simply exist as a dark buddy comedy. As it stands, this is an interesting misfire for Mortimer…”
“‘Happiest Season’ may not be the cozy, easy and festive rom-com that many were expecting, but for those looking for something more challenging, it’s a vital, moving and essential watch any time of year.”
“Watching Ahmed flourish without words, typically an actor’s lifeline, is a joy. It’s a massive challenge, and he rises to it with aplomb in ‘Sound of Metal.'”
“Stone, who’s barely in her twenties, is truly exceptional in the lead role. Her naturalistic ‘Honey Bee’ performance is as raw as an exposed nerve.”
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“‘Murder Bury Win’ never runs out of steam, remaining consistently witty, unpredictable and super fun throughout.”
“Spindell pays homage to many horror productions, yet his film is its own uniquely strange, inventive, entertaining and frequently frightening little monster.”
“‘Madman’ frequently flirts with boundary-pushing concepts but ultimately settles for clichés or, worse, just weasels out completely and falls flat on its face.”