Most seasoned fright-fare fans have usually seen their fair share of films about the dead haunting those who killed them, but director Stefan Georgiou’s U.K. supernatural horror short The Dead Ones adds a new spin on things. This unique approach and fine performances by its four cast members help make this short film a rousing […]
The fifth edition of Final Girls Berlin Film Festival takes place February 6–9, 2020 at City Kino Wedding, showcasing horror movies written, directed, and/or produced by women and nonbinary filmmakers. Festival codirector Eli Lewy calls this year’s festival edition the “most expansive and international yet, presenting a wide array of films by visionary filmmakers that represent […]
Director Geoff Harmer’s U.K. horror comedy short Dead Air is a colorful, playful blast featuring evil creatures sensationally brought to cinematic life by puppetry and practical effects. Monster movie fans are sure to have a super time with this offering. Female punk band Monster Kitten and their manager are onboard a plane to the final […]
The Japanese short film Furube is a contemplative meditation on not forgetting old traditions and beliefs as modern “progress” marches on. It invokes different forms of the otherworldy: aliens from outer space and traditional gods of Japan who are believed to protect the Earth and humans. Shibata (Yujiro Taguchi) is spending a peaceful day in […]
The sophomore album from Portland, Oregon’s Blackwater Holylight, Veils of Winter (RidingEasy Records), is, like the quintet’s debut, a bewitching, mesmerizing effort that marvelously marries the earthy and the ethereal. Heavy guitar-rock influences from the 1960s and 1970s hard rock, psychedelic rock, progressive rock, and doom metal (think Black Sabbath and early Blue Oyster Cult […]
The dating world has never been easy, but Ed Larson is making it even tougher on some people: his murder victims. He is obsessed with serial killers — photos of whom adorn his bedroom walls — and with serial killing. Director Colton Tran’s horror–comedy short Killer Date takes a look at Ed’s methods and at […]
The year 2019 continued this decade’s trend of providing top-notch fare for fear-fare and genre cinema fans. From supernatural shockers to arthouse horror to truly hilarious horror comedies and beyond, 2019 offered a wealth of riches, and narrowing my favorites down to 10 was no easy feat, but here we go! (10) Tie: The Lighthouse […]
Meet the Vaubarns, husband Peter (Max Cavenham) and expectant wife Louise (Emma Kelly), a British suburban couple at the center of the U.K. horror short Burn. They quibble over watching some gruesome news on the television and joke about washing the dishes. They seem to have a happy relationship and are thrilled at the prospect […]
A group of internet hoax busters goes on a team-building retreat to Whiskey Flats, Oregon, and winds up finding out the hard way that not all urban legends — or in this case, a very rural one — are ruses in the new horror outing Get Gone. Writer/director Michael Thomas Daniel’s first narrative feature is […]
Writer/director Heidi Lee Douglas blends virus horror with an ecological message in her latest Australian short film, Devil Woman. The result is an engaging effort that both educates and entertains. Eddy (Marigold Pazar) is a university science student helping fellow ecology researchers Possum (Leith Alexander) and Alice (Flame Kimball) find proof that endangered Tasmanian devils […]
One of the main draws about foreign horror films is that they often introduce viewers to new or unfamiliar mythologies, or unusual takes on familiar stories. This is certainly the case with the South African film 8, and viewers looking for something out of the ordinary in the supernatural vein should be quite pleased with […]
The first film from Newfoundland selected in the history of Canada’s Blood in the Snow Film Festival, New Woman is a remarkable gothic horror short. It is absolutely drenched in atmosphere. The gorgeous exterior shots and wonderfully detailed interior shots belie the film’s modest budget, and the horror is of the classic, slow-reveal kind. In […]
Caper movie meets horror story in the Canadian short film The Remnant when a group of con artists try to pull one over on an elderly lady. Director Navin Ramaswaran serves up a thrilling supernatural tale that is an absolute blast to watch unfold. Sheila Hargrave (Jill Frappier) lives alone in a large, well-appointed home. […]
SF IndieFest’s Another Hole in the Head Film Fest celebrates its 16th anniversary this year with a December 1st –15th run at New People Cinema in San Francisco’s Japantown. According to the festival’s website, this will be “a two week cinematic excursion into the realms of science fiction, fantasy, horror, and other assorted genres . […]
Horror shorts and feature films that hearken back to the 1980s heyday of theater releases and straight-to-video in the fright fare genre have been plentiful for the past few years, with the quality ranging from incredible to practically unwatchable, and the nods ranging from homage to pastiche to unoriginal aping. Writer/director Rich Ragsdale’s new short […]