Despite all my rage, I am still just a rat in a cage… “Butter with Butterfly Wings,” The Smashing Pumpkins There are terms and conditions within a society that we all agree to, whether consciously or not. This social contract… Read More ›
XYZ Films
“Restore Point” offers a thrilling ride even along a predictable path. [Fantasia International Film Festival]
One of the great things about science fiction stories is the way audiences can jump past an infraction point in society — all the failures, all the arguing, all the attempts at restoration — and explore a world that’s seemingly… Read More ›
Teresa Sutherland’s directorial debut, “Lovely, Dark, and Deep,” speaks to humanity’s quest for answers as they rage against the unknown. [Fantasia International Film Festival]
“The woods are lovely, dark, and deep, But I have promises to keep, And miles to go before I sleep, And miles to go before I sleep.” – The final stanza of Robert Frost’s Stopping by Woods on a Snowy… Read More ›
“Stay Online” pulls the audience into a personal battle set during a current war and pins you down. [Fantasia International Film Festival]
Trigger Warning: A newsreel montage near the beginning includes footage of wartime incidents, including the dead and wounded. We are a world on the brink of a third global war all because of pride and greed. For nearly 10 years,… Read More ›
Director Philip Barantini’s latest social-cultural dramatic thriller leaves us all “Accused.” [The Overlook Film Festival]
It used to be that when something horrible happened, citizenry had to wait for official word before they knew what was going on. This meant that their imaginations could run wild with speculation, their worst fears, their most depraved visualization,… Read More ›
“Godless: The Eastfield Exorcism” will swallow your soul. [The Overlook Film Festival]
There is something that is truly horrifying about exorcisms and it usually is the horrors behind them. Something about being possessed by an entity is just something that makes my skin personally crawl, and seeing the more modern versions and… Read More ›
Director Jacqueline Castel explores the torment that comes without self-love in horror-romance “My Animal.” [Sundance Film Festival]
For some reason, despite its longevity in the realm of storytelling (not just cinema), horror is often pushed to the sidelines in the hallowed halls of critical praise in favor of dramas, comedies, thrillers, or traditional action-oriented narratives. Even though… Read More ›
Dive into the details of the darkly comic “Dual” from writer/director Riley Stearns via home video.
If you could clone yourself, would you? For some, the answer is “yes” because their mind goes to all the things that they dislike doing which they could put off on their clone — your errands, your job, maybe the… Read More ›
“Gatlopp: Hell of a Game” is best played with parties of two or more.
When you get together with old friends, one of two things can happen: you realize that you’ve grown apart or you click together like no time passed. Both are beautiful and tragic in their own way, but it seems safer… Read More ›
When one realizes that there’s always a “Next Exit,” life becomes an unending journey, not a quest with a hard stop. [Tribeca Film Festival]
**Trigger Warning: Next Exit explores concepts of life and death, which involves discussion/examination of self-harm, suicidal ideation, and euthanasia.** “On this bridge,” Lorca warns, “life is not a dream. Beware. And beware. And beware.” And so many think because Then… Read More ›
Addison Heimann’s “Hypochondriac” is horror as therapy. [SXSW Film Festival]
Addison Heimann deals with the ghosts in his past by bringing them to light, inviting scrutiny from whoever chooses to open the Pandora’s box that is Hypochondriac. While few directors probably choose to enter the game with an exposé into… Read More ›
Aisha Dee slays in Australian horror comedy “Sissy.” [SXSW Film Festival]
We’ve all had our experiences with bullies. Some more than others, certainly, but looking back on the pitfalls of adolescence in the light of adulthood, there’s always that nagging voice in the back of your head telling you “If you… Read More ›
A Conversation with “Hypochondriac” director Addison Heimann and actor Zach Villa. [SXSW Film Festival]
EoM contributor Lindsey Dunn speaks with Addison Heimann and Zach Villa, the director/writer and star of Hypochondriac. Heimann speaks frankly about the events in his life that inspired the movie and why he decided to detour from comedy for his… Read More ›
The haunting quality of “Ghosts of the Ozarks” is undercut by its silly approach.
I love me a good period horror film, and I particularly love those set on the American frontier, and while Ghosts of the Ozarks isn’t *technically* frontier territory, there was a down-home charm the trailer gave off that made me… Read More ›
Director Riley Stearns’s duplicitous “Dual” is a deceptively disarming droll deposition delving into diacritic distinction. [Sundance Film Festival]
Last at Sundance with his short The Cub (2013), writer/director Riley Stearns is back and brought his new feature film Dual which is, at a glance, a science fiction film in which a woman faced with losing her life must… Read More ›
Sion Sono’s odd and beautiful “Prisoners of the Ghostland” arrives in four flavors: 4K UHD, Blu-ray, DVD, and streaming.
If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it countless times: revisiting a film is always bound to reveal something new. We have to be willing — correction — open to that newness because, whether a film is a longtime favorite… Read More ›
“Prisoners of the Ghostland” Blu-ray Giveaway
There are some films that are so wild that once seen, cannot be forgotten. Such is the case with Sion Sono’s first English-language film, Prisoners of the Ghostland, which premiered at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival. It’s a wild mix of… Read More ›
Enjoy some wholesome tokusatsu fun in Eric McEver’s “Iké Boys.” [Fantastic Fest]
Tell me if you’ve heard this one before: a group of outcasts finds themselves at the center of a prophecy that holds the fate of the world in its hands. In brief, that’s the summary for Eric McEver’s (A Utopia)… Read More ›
A riveting thriller from start to finish comes down to “The Execution.” [Fantastic Fest]
Between 1978 – 1990, a series of brutal murders were committed by Russian serial killer Andrei Chikatilo, totaling more than 50 women and children before he was captured, convicted, and executed via firing-squad. This absolute horror serves as the narrative… Read More ›
“Yakuza Princess” offers a breakout performance from lead MASUMI. [Fantasia International Film Festival]
The list of Yakuza-centric films runs the gamut from dramas like Lost Girls & Love Hotels (2020) to martial arts films like Chocolate (2008) to science-fiction horror like Versus (2000) to straight up thrillers like Black Rain (1989). What the… Read More ›