I do not consider myself someone who scares easily. Sure, a jump scare may get to me and make me uneasy, but it takes a lot to shake me to my utter core and have me wincing and nearly looking… Read More ›
horror
“The Dead Thing” is pitch-perfect horror set in the world of online dating. [Fantasia International Film Festival]
The dating scene has always been rather bleak. This is not news. With the creation of “dating” apps, the odds of meeting someone this way and it working were always slim and bleak. I haven’t had to be out there… Read More ›
“Cuckoo” loudly calls its shot and still hooks its audience with mystery and plagues them with horror. [Fantasia International Film Festival]
In 2019, writer/director Tilman Singer made an enormous splash with his possession thriller Luz. It’s as much an homage to the horror films of the ‘60s and ‘70s, evoking the look via cinematography and art direction, while telling a unique… Read More ›
Director Tatsuya Oishi composites the “Monogatari” prequel trilogy into “Kizumonogatari -Koyomi Vamp-” an interesting curio of a cinematic experience. [Fantasia International Film Festival]
Shtriga, vrykolakas, strigoi, vampire — they are mythical creatures of the night who feed on human blood, exist in a perpetual outward appearance of the moment of their transformation, and can live forever under specific conditions. Stories of their existence… Read More ›
“Chainsaws Were Singing” falls short on its promise but is well worth the price of admission. [Fantasia International Film Festival]
When a movie is pitched as “The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) meets Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) meets Les Misérables (2012),” there is something that immediately grabs my attention because a musical that is zany and over-the-top… Read More ›
“The Strangers – Chapter 1” cuts … and pastes too much from the previous films to be its own entry.
When I was just a wee lad, 11 years old to be precise, I had two fears: frogs (still do to this day) and home invasion. For some reason, I figured that I was a special enough little boy to… Read More ›
A well-cultivated pairing of performances makes “Starve Acre” a worthy addition to the British folk horror genre.
MaXXXine (2024) is a tribute to giallo horror of the ‘80s, The First Omen (2024) pays homage to the psychological horror of the late ‘70s/early ‘80s, In A Violent Nature (2024) adds a twist to the great American slasher film,… Read More ›
Poor CGI quells any well-developed suspense in horror thriller “The Last Breath.”
Since 1975, filmmakers have tried to capture the horror and the magic of a killer shark movie. Jaws broke all kinds of box office records and terrified millions of theater-goers enough that going to the neighborhood pool was panic-inducing. Even… Read More ›
“The Beast Within” leaves telltale tracks resulting in an immediate blood-letting of tension. [Fantasia International Film Festival]
Whether textually or subtextually, horror films explore elements of society that upend or terrify. Sometimes the horror comes from the loss of bodily control from foreign invasion (Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978)), other times it’s from the very natural… Read More ›
Filmmaker Fábio Powers’s “The Old Man and the Demon Sword” asks its audience to consider the value of a soul. [Fantasia International Film Festival]
Every day, someone picks up a camera — 8 mm, 16 mm, 35 mm, iPhone, iPad, Android, whatever they can find — and they tell a story with it. They combine image with sound to inspire, delight, terrify, or simply… Read More ›
Dig into all the horrid details that envelop filmmaker Arkasha Stevenson’s horror prequel “The First Omen” from the safety of your viewing space.
Prequels seem like a good idea on paper as they often seek to answer questions impossible to explore in initial outings. Through prequel stories, we can discover how Han Solo (Harrison Ford) came to own the Millennium Falcon (Solo: A… Read More ›
The whole of “Tarot” is as entertaining as its depiction of the practice is accurate.
I have a friend who is witchy in that they love to imbibe tarot readings and other spiritual practices of the same ilk, and when I sent them the trailer for the new home media release from Sony Pictures, Tarot… Read More ›
“Crumb Catcher” is an excellent honeymoon thriller.
Chris Skotchdopole’s very impressive directorial debut, Crumb Catcher, is a slow descent into absurdist thrills. The rare new entry in the honeymoon horror sub-genre of romantic thriller, home of RedBox classics like A Perfect Getaway (2009), Crumb Catcher trades the… Read More ›
Imprint Films Goes all-in for “The Queen of Spades.”
Imprint Films has played a great hand with their Blu-ray (debut) of The Queen of Spades, the 1949 horror film famously beloved by filmmakers like Martin Scorsese. They’ve stacked the deck with special features, including three commentary tracks, an introduction… Read More ›
The skills of Oz Perkins are on full display in the audience-dividing “Longlegs.”
When you think of the scariest films you’ve ever seen, what is it about them that truly scares you? Is it the immediate fear of being gutted by a silent, masked killer? Is it the ethereal impermanence of a ghostly… Read More ›
Short film “A Family Guide to Hunting” bags its prize with its talent on and off screen. [Tribeca Film Festival]
There is nothing more encouraging than someone wanting to introduce you to their family, especially when you’re dating. Now, that is not to say that is the premise to Zao Wang’s (Full Moon Club) short A Family Guide to Hunting,… Read More ›
“The Vourdalak” sets a new standard for the genre with Adrien Beau’s fresh take on vampire movies.
If you watched The Vourdalak with no background information, you might think you’d discovered a lost made-for-TV gem from 1980-something. With its grainy appearance, humble sets, and Jim-Henson-esque puppet villain, how could this dark yet charming vampire fantasy not be… Read More ›
Beat the summer heat with the latest “Ghostbusters” adventure, “Frozen Empire,” now on home video.
A sequel is a tricky proposition. Audiences who enjoy one story are keen to want more, yet the follow-ups aren’t always as strong or long-lasting as the initial outing. When you add in the complaint of feeling like nothing new… Read More ›
Calvin Lee Reeder’s “The A-Frame” is a twisty, goopy sci-fi ride that aims higher than it delivers. [Tribeca Film Festival]
According to a March 2024 report, the leading cause of death for Americans in 2022 (the most recent year with full data) was all types of heart disease with cancers in second place. Advancements in early detection and treatment of… Read More ›
A Conversation with “Things Will Be Different” writer/director Michael Felker and actors Riley Dandy and Adam David Thompson. [Chattanooga Film Festival]
EoM Senior Interviewer Thomas Manning recently sat down with writer and director Michael Felker and actors Riley Dandy and Adam David Thompson to talk about their sci-fi drama Things Will Be Different, an official selection of the 2024 Chattanooga Film… Read More ›