“We are the weirdos, mister.” – Nancy (Fairuza Balk) in The Craft (1996) These five lines are iconic for a number of reasons, many of them quite personal to the individuals who recall and restate them nearly 30 years later;… Read More ›
Fantastic Fest 2025
Bruno Martín’s crime thriller “Luger” is a lean mean machine with bone-crushing action. [Fantastic Fest]
Nothing is valuable until someone says it is. This may seem obvious, but entire systems are built around what society (locally or globally) deems as worthy of monetary value. It’s why everything from the obvious (gold and jewels) to the… Read More ›
A Conversation with “The Curse (咒死你)” writer/actor Ken’ichi Ugana. [Fantastic Fest]
EoM Senior Interviewer Thomas Manning recently spent time talking with writer and director Ken’ichi Ugana about his film The Curse, which screened at Fantastic Fest 2025. This gnarly, supernatural thriller comments on the increasingly dangerous potential of the digital world… Read More ›
Sean Cisterna’s “Silver Screamers” is a charming, warm-hug of a film that highlights how we all have something to give back to our community. [Fantastic Fest]
There’s a school of thought that implies a person’s value only exists if they are a productive member of society. This, of course, correlates one’s existence to what they can produce versus what they can contribute, which are two drastically… Read More ›
Glenn McQuaid’s “The Restoration at Grayson Manor” is an alchemical mixture of melodrama and body horror which asserts some rehabs are best treated with napalm. [Fantastic Fest]
Names mean something. They hold power. Names withheld can create mystery and names known can open doors. They are the things that can be passed down from generation to generation — be it a surname, a given name, a middle… Read More ›
Make it weird, make it big, make it bloody – make it “Deathstalker.” [Fantastic Fest]
Photosensitivity Warning: There is a brief flashback sequence near the start of the film and a longer sequence during the climax wherein lights flash quite frequently. There’s no strobing and it’s somewhat predictable, but may still be triggering for photosensitive… Read More ›
Surviving horror comedy “Coyotes” is simple: stay with your pack. [Fantastic Fest]
“Il meglio è l’inimico del bene. (Perfect is the enemy of good.)” – Attributed to Voltaire in 1770. If we spend our time pursuing perfect, we’ll miss out on a great deal. What ideal we set up for ourselves —… Read More ›
Filmmaker Ken’ichi Ugana’s onryō tale “The Curse (咒死你)” blends cultural customs with modern conveniences in order to craft maximum carnage. [Fantastic Fest]
It’s not an uncommon practice for a filmmaker to release two films in a year. John Huston released The Treasure of the Sierra Madre the same year as Key Largo (1948), Akira Kurosawa released Scandal in the same year as… Read More ›
Realities collide in Lucile Hadžihalilović’s fantastical drama “The Ice Tower.” [Fantastic Fest]
Danish author Hans Christian Andersen is known for many a tale from The Emperor’s New Clothes, The Princess and the Pea, The Ugly Duckling, Thumbelina, and, of course, The Little Mermaid. One title that’s well-known in the U.S. is his… Read More ›
22 Fantastic Fest 2025 films to build a schedule around.
2025 brings with it the 20th Fantastic Fest and the fifth time that I’m covering the festival for EoM. Past fests brought personal favorites like The Execution (2021), Baby Assassins (2021), Unicorn Wars (2022), The Last Stop in Yuma County… Read More ›