According to the production notes accompanying my screener, writer/director Steven Kostanski (The Void) grew up wondering what it would be like to hang out with the iconic villains of his youth: Skeletor, Megatron, Cobra Commander, etc. As an adult, his… Read More ›
horror
“Horror Noire: A History of Black Horror” Blu-ray Giveaway
In 2019, horror streaming service Shudder premiered the incredible documentary Horror Noire: A History of Black Horror, directed by Xavier Burgin, co-produced by Tananarive Due (instructor of Sunken Place Class), and inspired by Dr. Robin R. Means Coleman’s book. On… Read More ›
Prepare yourself to explore “The Dark & The Wicked” on home video.
The Dark and the Wicked is one of those films that has stuck with me long since I saw it for the first time back in August. I liked it in my first viewing, but it didn’t take long after… Read More ›
Psychological thriller “Archenemy” explores man’s superhero obsession, asking who is the real enemy of our heroes.
Writer/director Adam Egypt Mortimer is developing a very specific artistic aesthetic after only three full length features. The first, Another Kind of Hate (2015), appears to explore bullying with a supernatural bend. The second, Daniel Isn’t Real (2019), is an… Read More ›
“Possessor” is a cinematic experience unlike anything else this year.
There’s something particularly wonderful about a film that challenges you, one which unnerves, unsettles, and burrows in, prompting contemplation past its clear end. This happens with joyful films like Over The Moon (2020), whose infectious songs linger, instilling a desire… Read More ›
Return to Busan in the highly anticipated “Peninsula,” available on home video.
2016’s Train to Busan (Busanhaeng) is a marvel of a film. Directed by Yeon Sang-Ho and co-written with Park Joo-Suk, the story of a zombie outbreak in South Korea beautifully balances the emotional stakes (father-daughter) with the larger scope implications… Read More ›
Shudder’s “Porno” makes real that feeling where getting laid is a life-or-death proposition.
Look, if there’s one thing we can all agree on, it’s that trying to find something to do as a family during the holidays is hard. You’ve got competing interests to manage, a variety of talents, and maybe even ages… Read More ›
“The New Mutants” drops on home video and so ends the Fox Era of “X-Men” stories.
If you’ve been tapped into the entertainment industry at all over the last few years, you’ve likely heard about the tumultuous release of the final 20th Century Fox X-Men-related film, Josh Boone’s The New Mutants. Set for an original release… Read More ›
Don’t wait. “Run” toward Aneesh Chaganty’s latest psychological thriller.
You know when you have a friend who is smart, pretty, and generally good at everything, but has a significant other who constantly brings them down? And how you can’t imagine that someone with so much talent and potential could… Read More ›
Propelled by grief, haunted by loss, Johannes Nyholm’s repetitious “Koko-di Koko-da” is an unexpected ear worm of horror.
There is, in nature, an expectation of form and function. The seasons bring about growth and change as Earth undergoes a period of refreshment and blossoming before wilting and decaying, only to start it over again with the return of… Read More ›
“Train to Busan presents: Peninsula” Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack Giveaway
Elements of Madness is excited to announce we’ve partnered with Well Go USA on the upcoming home release of Train to Busan presents: Peninsula. In anticipation of the Blu-ray, DVD, and digital release on November 24th, we are giving away two… Read More ›
“Come Play” is a great starter for those looking to dip their toes in the horror genre, but not much else.
Think back in the recesses of your mind, what was your first horror film? Mine was Poltergeist, a film that I assumed was safe because it carried a PG rating but soon learned, with my sister and her friends, that… Read More ›
“Beetlejuice” Digital Code Giveaway
Halloween is coming and Elements of Madness is kicking things off by joining the Warner Bros. Home Entertainment #BeetlejuiceWatchalong hosted by Fuller House‘s Jodie Sweetin. The tweetalong starts at 5p PST/8p EST Friday, October 30th. Want to join in the fun?… Read More ›
“Spell” lacks that special something to conjure a proper incantation.
Horror films about religion and spirituality are not hard to find, with films like The Exorcist, Rosemary’s Baby, and The Omen being some of the highest-regarded horror films of all time. The issue with many of them is that they… Read More ›
In the mood for something nasty? Discover an old-fashioned gore-fest in new home release “Haunt.”
I love horror movies. I love my subscription to Shudder. I love Halloween. However, in recent years, I can’t say that I haven’t been drawn to the realm of “elevated horror” more and more. The term “elevated horror” in and… Read More ›
Horror thriller comic adaptation “The Owners” reminds that maybe it’s best to leave well-enough alone.
The horror genre is all about taking what terrifies you and giving it life so you can explore that terror in relative safety. Scared of the dark? Let’s personify it. Unnerved by the unknown? Let’s give it physical form. Chilled… Read More ›
Joining the Paramount Presents collection is the peculiar, yet absolutely charming Jan de Bont film “The Haunting.”
I love me some Shirley Jackson, and, more specifically, I love her 1959 novel The Haunting of Hill House and have since I first started getting into horror early in my adolescence. Jackson’s novel was one of the first horror… Read More ›
Time is but a conduit for an examination of self in creative duo Moorhead and Benson’s unique sci-fi thriller “Synchronic.”
Creative team Aaron Moorhead and Justin Benson have an obsession with time: how it moves, how it operates, how it functions in relation to the space we occupy. This curiosity has given rise to three films — Resolution (2012), Spring… Read More ›
“Luz: The Flower of Evil” offers a folk-horror tale that is both all-too-realistic and wonderfully fantastical.
Last year, Ari Aster set the bar high for “daylight” horror films with Midsommar, a terrifying fantasy that casts its disturbing events against a beautiful, blossoming, sunlit backdrop. The genre-play proved to be quite successful for Aster, although the effect… Read More ›
Supernatural thriller “Broil” is more of a low simmer.
Werewolves. Vampires. Zombies. Each of these monsters of the dark owe their origins to legends and myths, to a time before science when fear ran roughshod over reason. That part of ourselves remains present even now and yet we find… Read More ›