Over time, the meanings of things often change. This can be a product of shifting social mores, alterations in language, or incidental innocuous moments which lead to global change. One of them is the idea of chivalry as being strictly… Read More ›
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There’s Nothing to fear in “The Night House.”
Loss hits us all differently and unexpectedly. We can *know* that someone is no longer with us, yet feel them, as though they are lingering in the air. We can *know* that they may not see them again, yet we… Read More ›
“Halloween Kills” turns its attention from Laurie Strode to Haddonfield with mixed results.
The Boogeyman. The Shape. Michael Myers. Whatever name you call him, wherever he goes, death follows. Just as simple as that. But what’s left in his wake besides dead bodies? In Halloween (2018), director/writer David Gordon Green and cowriters Jeff… Read More ›
“Knocking” takes its time building suspense, but Cecilia Milocco’s steady performance will keep you hooked.
If you’ve spent any time living in an apartment building or a dorm, you’ve probably had a few run-ins with noisy neighbors. It takes guts to knock on a stranger’s door and ask them to keep it down. Depending on… Read More ›
“LandLocked” offers an intriguing exploration of the dangers of nostalgia, but little else. [Nightstream]
There’s something truly arresting about grief. It impacts us all differently: some a little bit at a time, while others feel upended by a sledgehammer. There’s no real right or wrong way to grieve unless you lose yourself entirely to… Read More ›
Documentary “Satoshi Kon, The Illusionist” invites all to learn about the animation auteur and the legacy he left behind. [Nightstream]
Do you know what Requiem for a Dream (2000) and Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018) have in common? It’s ok if you struggle to work this out. Directed by Darren Aronofsky, Requiem is an exploration of addiction that stares, unblinking,… Read More ›
We are all just “Bloody Oranges (Oranges sanguines)” and we’d be better served to remember it. [Nightstream]
Director Jean-Christophe Meurisse’s (Apnée) Bloody Oranges (Oranges sanguines) mixes truth with fiction to create a concoction that’s as eager to amuse as it is to profoundly unsettle. Its premise is of three interwoven stories involving a dance competition, a finance… Read More ›
Writer/director Carlos Conceição’s “Name Above Title (Um Fio de Baba Escarlate)” explores the symbiotic duality of celebrity through the lens of a serial killer. [Nightstream]
The spotlight isn’t for everyone. Some people thrive in it, while others freeze up. Others are a mixture of the two. You might not know which one you are until opportunity knocks. In an always-on world where anyone can post… Read More ›
Nothing is as it seems when “Cosmic Dawn” arrives. [Nightstream]
Nightstream returns in its second year with a lineup of films from all around the world, each vying for a different part of your imagination. Whether they titillate or terrify has more to do with the audience than the material… Read More ›
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 ›
Audacious thriller “South of Heaven” explores how one bad decision can snowball.
Mistakes and bad decisions are simply a part of human nature. We are flawed, imperfect beings, and it is up to each of us, on an individual level, to learn from our errors and make the most of the positive… Read More ›
Strange and bittersweet, Alex Piperno’s “Window Boy Would Also Like to Have a Submarine” ponders humanity’s need for connection. [Nashville Film Festival]
Writer/director Alex Piperno’s first feature-length film, Window Boy Would Also Like to Have a Submarine, debuted in 2020 and is now screening during the 52nd Nashville Film Festival. Piperno’s tale is one of the most unique cinematic experiences I’ve had… Read More ›
Documentary “The Neutral Ground” balances truth and humor on a razor’s edge. [Nashville Film Festival]
In 2015, the New Orleans City Council passed a proposal by then-mayor Mitch Landrieu to remove five monuments around the city dedicated to Confederate soldiers. It took several years for these five to be removed due to legal action attempting… Read More ›
“Night of the Animated Dead” offers little new in its adaptation of the zombie classic beyond blood and gore.
**Warner Bros. Home Entertainment provided me with a free copy of the DVD I reviewed in this Post. The opinions I share are my own.** Horror changed in 1968 when a small indie picture directed by George A. Romero from… Read More ›
“a-ha: The Movie” makes it clear that it’s no better to be safe than sorry. [Nashville Film Festival]
Music is absolutely a paradox when it comes to its tether to time. It’s at once a product of when it was made, but it can feel entirely free of that period, being discovered or rediscovered over and over again…. Read More ›
Midnight movie “The Murder Podcast” may require a specific frame of mind to appreciate fully. [Nashville Film Festival]
Podcasting is older than most think. With the birth of digital audio playback technology in the late 1990s and early 2000s, most think of podcasts as coming up with those devices, but they really started well before that in the… Read More ›
One-woman show “Faye” finds hope in the horror. [Nashville Film Festival]
It’s confounding the lengths people will go to denigrate or dismiss the horror genre in favor of more populist genres like action, drama, or comedy. For generations, horror stories have been used as social warnings, explorations of loss, and even… Read More ›
A road trip with the Addams Family shouldn’t be so unexpectedly disastrous.
They’re creepy, kooky, mysterious, spooky, and are back for a second animated film from returning directors Greg Tiernan (Sausage Party) and Conrad Vernon (Monsters vs. Aliens). Where the first film explored assimilation versus individuality, the second outing is more interested… Read More ›
Writer/director Jean Luc Herbulot’s “Saloum” will make you believe in legends. [Fantastic Fest]
The premise is a simple one: three hired guns extract and protect a druglord but find themselves seeking shelter in a remote village in Saloum, Senegal, when their transport malfunctions, landing them in a situation they could never predict. With… Read More ›
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 ›