Elements of Madness

Recent Posts - page 2

• Documentary “Mockbuster” or how the process of making a low-budget feature made me enjoy what I love without guilt. [SBIFF]

  By Douglas Davidson on February 7, 2026 • ( 1 )

  

  Of all the terms to be used to describe media consumption, “guilty pleasure” should be stricken from the record. The phrase implies that, regardless of perceived quality, the thing itself is not good in some way and that the enjoyment… Read More ›

• “Hamnet” Digital Code Giveaway

  By Douglas Davidson on February 6, 2026 • ( 0 )

  

  Hamnet, the new feature and novel adaptation from Oscar-winning filmmaker Chloé Zhao (Nomadland), is coming available on home video in both digital and physical formats. Starring Jessie Buckley (Women Talking) and Paul Mescal (Aftersun) as Agnes and William Shakespeare, respectively,… Read More ›

• “Magellan:” Everything is Magellan now.

  By Andrew J. Eisenman on February 6, 2026 • ( 0 )

  

  In the opening shot of Magellan (2025), an Indigenous Malaysian woman walks into a stream, filling a vessel. Suddenly, she spots a white man past the fourth wall of the proscenium and takes off running. She shouts through her village… Read More ›

• “Twisted” comes up short taking the road well-traveled.

  By AJ Friar on February 6, 2026 • ( 0 )

  

  Twisted is a new horror film from Darren Lynn Bousman, a director whose fingerprints are permanently etched into the genre thanks to his work on the Saw series. Bousman helped elevate that franchise into a cultural phenomenon, and while he… Read More ›

• “The Morrigan” Digital Code Giveaway

  By Douglas Davidson on February 5, 2026 • ( 0 )

  

  Anytime is a good time to get your scare on. Out now is writer/director Colum Eastwood’s sophomore feature, the horror tale The Morrigan, on digital and VOD via Cineverse. In support of the release, Cineverse has given EoM one (1) digital… Read More ›

• A Conversation with “Teacher’s Pet” filmmaker Noam Kroll and actors Barbara Crampton and Luke Barnett.

  By Joel Winstead on February 5, 2026 • ( 0 )

  

  Today we welcome writer/director Noam Kroll and actors Barbara Crampton and Luke Barnett to discuss their new horror/thriller Teacher’s Pet, coming available from Quiver Distribution on February 6th. They sit down with EoM Contributor Joel Winstead to discuss how Crampton… Read More ›

• A complex love story brilliantly masked in a survival story and political thriller, “Kiss of the Spider Woman” receives a beautiful digital restoration, courtesy of The Criterion Collection.

  By Blak Cinephile on February 5, 2026 • ( 0 )

  

  Two prisoners. Two different pasts. One love story that keeps them going. Set within the Brazilian military dictatorship, Héctor Babenco’s 1985 film Kiss of the Spider Woman (adapted by Leonard Schrader, based on Manuel Pieg’s 1976 novel) is about two… Read More ›

• Edward Yang’s “Yi Yi” gets a boost to 4K UHD as it enters The Criterion Collection

  By Andrew J. Eisenman on February 4, 2026 • ( 0 )

  

  Life is like a dyad-god, both finite and infinite. Your life is finite because it ends, but Life goes on regardless of how you live yours. Few things narrow as quickly as the infinite possibilities of a newborn’s life, except… Read More ›

• “Shelby Oaks” uses chilling found footage to solve a mystery of a missing YouTuber and is now available on Blu-ray from NEON.

  By Michelle Swope on February 3, 2026 • ( 0 )

  

  Chris Stuckmann is a YouTuber, author, film critic, and filmmaker, who started his career posting short-form movie reviews on YouTube called “Quick Movie Reviews” in 2009. He eventually began making longer movie reviews as well as reviews of television shows,… Read More ›

• 13 Santa Barbara International Film Festival 2026 films I’d like to cover.

  By Douglas Davidson on February 3, 2026 • ( 0 )

  

  After taking a year off, EoM returns to cover Santa Barbara International Film Festival 2026 edition! This festival features a number of world and U.S. premieres, several of whom have ended up on my year-end favorites list. Time will tell… Read More ›

• “Misdirection” Digital Code Giveaway

  By Douglas Davidson on February 2, 2026 • ( 0 )

  

  Action thriller Misdirection, directed by Willy’s Wonderland (2021) and Pig Hill (2025) director Kevin Lewis and starring Frank Grillo (Superman) and Olga Kurylenko (Quantum of Solace), comes available on digital February 10th. Courtesy of Cineverse, EoM is giving away one (1) Apple… Read More ›

• A Conversation with “Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die” director Gore Verbinski.

  By Thomas Manning on February 2, 2026 • ( 1 )

  

  Oscar-winning filmmaker Gore Verbinski joins EoM Senior Interviewer Thomas Manning for a discussion on Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die. This is Verbinski’s first film as director since 2016, and his signature kinetic energy is back and better than ever…. Read More ›

• Gore Verbinski’s darkly comic sci-fi actioner “Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die” is a hilarious harbinger for our digital times.

  By Douglas Davidson on February 1, 2026 • ( 1 )

  

  Photosensitivity Warning: The climax of the film includes an extended sequence of flashing that may prove triggering for photosensitive individuals. Take precautions. “Information devours its own content. It devours communication and the social.” – Jean Baudrillard’s Simulacra and Simulation from… Read More ›

• “Birth” is given a second life on 4K from The Criterion Collection.

  By justin waldman on January 31, 2026 • ( 0 )

  

  If you’ve never seen a Jonathan Glazer film before, his second feature may be his most accessible in terms of content and execution. Birth (2004) is weird and unsettling, but not in the same ways as Under the Skin (2013)… Read More ›

• Jason Statham-led action thriller “Shelter” is a simple tale that’ll satisfy your January cinematic doldrum needs.

  By Douglas Davidson on January 30, 2026 • ( 0 )

  

  A figure living a controlled life is interrupted, ripped even, from his organized lifestyle when the unexpected happens and the man is forced into action. This is the general premise that applies to countless action titles and thrillers (even with… Read More ›

• Jodie Foster est magnifique in French dark comedy thriller “A Private Life (Vie Privée).”

  By Michelle Swope on January 29, 2026 • ( 0 )

  

  Born in Paris, French filmmaker Rebecca Zlotowski initially planned to be a teacher and graduated from École Normale Supérieure before earning an Agrégation higher degree in literature. Then she joined the screenplay department of La Fémis and met several students… Read More ›

• “The Voice of Hind Rajab” masterfully utilizes subtle dramatization to portray the real experiences of those who try to save lives in Gaza.

  By Andrew J. Eisenman on January 29, 2026 • ( 0 )

  

  When the world first stopped to hear the voice of Hind Rajab, the little girl from Gaza hiding from bullets in her family’s car, Kaouther Ben Hania was standing frozen in the airport. Now, she’s delivered a masterpiece that asks… Read More ›

• Derek Cianfrance’s “Roofman” is far more character study than crime antics.

  By Gabe Lapalombella on January 28, 2026 • ( 0 )

  

  Director Derek Cianfrance is a filmmaker who is near and dear to my heart. His 2013 film The Place Beyond the Pines hit me on a deep emotional level with its themes of fatherhood and legacy. Even with its heavier… Read More ›

• Reginald Hudlin’s feature film directorial debut and seminal teen comedy “House Party” receives a 4K UHD edition via The Criterion Collection.

  By Douglas Davidson on January 27, 2026 • ( 0 )

  

  “All my memories are movies.” – George Clooney as Jay Kelly in Jay Kelly (2025). As a child born on the cusp of 1981, I reside firmly on line between Gen X and Millennial, meaning that I can remember a… Read More ›

• Gordan Chan’s folktale adaptation “King of Beggars” receives a 2K restoration from Eureka Entertainment.

  By Douglas Davidson on January 27, 2026 • ( 0 )

  

  Cinema borrowing from folktales is a natural fit given that folktales often elevate figures or events and cinema does this innately through projection. Who wouldn’t want to see the figures or events of lore cast upon a 40-foot screen or… Read More ›

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