Author Archives
UNC Charlotte '18 graduate | Film Intern at CLTure | North Carolina Film Critics Association member | Lover of bad teen horror movies and 90s pop music
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The biopic to end all biopics, Pablo Larraín’s “Spencer” offers an understanding of its subject rather than a recreation. [Film Fest 919]
My mother is absolutely obsessed with the Royal Family. The intrigue, mystery, extravagance, drama, strange practices, rules, traditions, quirks, and even the general consensus that it’s an entirely obsolete and unnecessary thing to have in the 21st century are all… Read More ›
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“The French Dispatch” is Wes Anderson undiluted and bound to delight fans of the acclaimed creative. [Film Fest 919]
There’s been a whole hullabaloo on social media regarding The French Dispatch, with disgruntled Twitter account owners accusing Wes Anderson of relying on the laurels of being Wes Anderson, and like…yeah dude…what do you expect? There’s this expectation in the… Read More ›
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“Escape Room: Tournament of Champions” offers popcorn entertainment right at home.
Escape Room was a cute little Saw-esque surprise of January of 2019, and while there were certainly some struggles with the screenplay, as well as its PG-13 rating feeling as if it was holding itself back from its pure potential,… Read More ›
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The heaviness within “Mass” is neither constrictive nor oppressive, but it will leave you staring at the ceiling. [Film Fest 919]
There was a moment in Mass that felt so profoundly terrifying to me, not in the film itself, but from the implication of said film and its message. I began to think of 2019, when an armed student killed two… Read More ›
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The unique atmosphere of video game adaptation “Detention (返校)” evokes that helpless feeling of a good survival horror game.
When you think of a movie based on a video game, do pleasant thoughts come to mind? Despite some genuinely great films based on video games (Silent Hill’s 32% on Rotten Tomatoes is a homophobic microaggression; Silent Hill: Revelation’s 6%… Read More ›
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Despite being smart and compelling on its own merits, there’s little original within “No One Gets Out Alive.”
As a writer, you have to have some insane measure of confidence to title a horror novel No One Gets Out Alive and still purport to have something up your sleeve as a storyteller. Adam Nevill’s 2014 novel seemingly did… Read More ›
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“The 12 Day Tale of the Monster that Died in 8 (8日で死んだ怪獣の12日の物語)” is a carefully produced, lovingly crafted COVID-related tale. [Fantasia International Film Festival]
I don’t mess with COVID-related content. I’ve lived it for the past 18 months and, when I watch a movie, I absolutely do not want to be reminded of it in any way. Locked Down? I refuse to watch it…. Read More ›
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Zom-com “Brain Freeze” has its heart in the right place, yet still arrives DOA. [Fantasia International Film Festival]
Fine, let’s just get it out of the way: I am not a very big fan of zombie films on the base level. There are many other things that can make a zombie film good, that I can identify with… Read More ›
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Horror drama “Agnes” may not be for you, but you damn well better respect it. [Fantasia International Film Festival]
There’s a demented fascination with nuns in modern society that I feel is worth examining. It’s an alien world of pious faith that most cannot even begin to understand, but we have taken many steps in trying to. From Black… Read More ›
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Beautiful, strange, and bonkers, welcome to “Wonderful Paradise (脳天パラダイス).” [Fantasia International Film Festival]
Japan is gonna Japan whether or not you want Japan to Japan, and when it Japans, it Japans hard. That in and of itself could be the singular tagline for Masashi Yamamoto’s Wonderful Paradise (脳天パラダイス), celebrating its North American premiere… Read More ›
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Lackluster special features can’t reduce the shine of Simon Barrett’s “Seance.”
Seance low-key took my world by storm during its initial release in May, and while I never was lucky enough to live anywhere near a theatre that was playing it, even in its SVOD release, it still remains my #1… Read More ›
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“Fear Street Part 3: 1666” sticks the landing as it ends the trilogy where the core narrative began.
“I get knocked down, but I get up again. You are never gonna keep me down” – Chumbawumba The first installment in the Fear Street trilogy of Netflix films was a loving, if not sometimes heavy-handed homage to the resurgence… Read More ›
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Coming off the heat of “Part 1,” “Fear Street Part 2: 1978” cools the intensity as the middle of the trilogy.
After a strong, but not mind-blowing first installment with Fear Street Part 1: 1994 last week, Leigh Janiak and Netflix’s unique approach to a horror trilogy based on R.L. Stine’s young adult novels adapted as hard-R slashers had decent-sized shoes… Read More ›
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“Fear Street Part 1: 1994” may be a YA adaptation at its core, but that doesn’t stop it from getting buckwild.
There are some things that just work better on Netflix. For as much as some films like The Old Guard and The Midnight Sky practically beg to be seen on a big screen, the streaming giant does offer films and… Read More ›
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“The Unholy” is a painful, sacrilegious experience.
Saint Maud is one of my favorite films I’ve seen this year, and I think it’s a damn shame how A24 treated it by hocking it to EPIX, of all streamers, for its tiny release. It represents the best that… Read More ›
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Tragically haunting, “My Heart Can’t Beat Unless You Tell It To” forces the audience to consider difficult questions.
Quiet horror is not a particularly marketable asset to a major studio, and it’s because of that that we just don’t see much of it in the immediate landscape of the genre today. Audiences demand bigger thrills, louder jump-scares, and… Read More ›
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Deeply unpleasant and horrifying, one visit to George A. Romero’s “The Amusement Park” is all you need.
When you have done great work in life, your work will speak for your legacy long after you are gone. If you’re George A. Romero, you know how to do that while also staying on-brand and releasing a new film… Read More ›
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Simon Barrett’s feature directorial debut “Séance” is a first class experience.
As someone who, like many, spent the entirety of their education in public schools, I’ve always had a sick fascination with the mystique of the private school experience, particularly that of the private boarding school experience. There’s something so strangely… Read More ›
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“Spiral: From The Book of Saw” is not a game you want to play.
As a child, I truly believed the pinnacle of horror was the Saw series. As someone who feared horror films up until age 13-ish, it was difficult for me to distinguish between something that was actually scary, and something that… Read More ›
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Though magnetic and fascinating, “Things Heard & Seen” is ultimately a harmless a slow-burn haunted house tale.
Horror films are like snowflakes. Some may look incredibly similar to each other, but at their heart, each one has something unique and new to bring to the table different than anything before (unless you’re Gus Van Sant remaking Psycho…that… Read More ›