Brazilian genre-film festival Fantaspoa served up an amazing array of horror, science fiction, thriller, and other exciting movies for its second online edition, as the fest’s 2021 awards attest. Following is the official press announcement for Fantaspoa’s wrap-up of this year’s edition. The seventeenth edition of Fantaspoa was again a landmark for the long-running Brazilian […]
In only about 4 minutes not counting credits, writer/director Ryan Cauchi’s Australian short horror film Golem spins an action-packed tale about the titular anthropomorphic clay creature from Jewish folklore while also setting the stage for a much larger story. The result is a gripping short creature feature boasting some fun monster effects. The set-up is […]
Ahead of the U.K. digital release of his latest film The Lockdown Hauntings, director and writer Howard J Ford talks about being a one-man crew, casting Tony Todd, his do-it-yourself SFX kit, and losing his uncle to the pandemic. The following is a review for syndication. You shot THE LOCKDOWN HAUNTINGS during the UK’s first lockdown. […]
Warped Dimension, a Zoom-based online film festival from the fine folks behind San Francisco’s Another Hole in the Head film fest, returns for its second edition May 7th through 9th this year, and horror, science fiction, and genre-film fans of all stripes will want to dive into the offbeat, quirky, and unusual features and shorts […]
Director Christoper Bickel blew minds with his 2017 feature film debut The Theta Girl, but his new follow-up Bad Girls is even more wild, warped, and wacky. Imagine classic bad-girl movies such as Russ Meyer’s Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! on steroids and amphetamines, and in lurid color, and you are on your way to getting […]
Eighties slasher throwback Slashlorette Party is a valentine to direct-to-video horror fare of that decade. It’s chock full of gory kills and naked gals, and is an impressive independent effort that rises above being mere pastiche. Brie (Molly Souza) is engaged to controlling, full-on chauvinist jerk Dolph (Andrew Brown). After consulting with her therapist Dr. […]
Argentinian horror offering History of the Occult (Historia de lo Oculto; 2020) is a tantalizing puzzle that takes place just before and during the final broadcast of a television news show. Cristian Ponce makes an intriguing feature-film debut as a writer/director, combining elements of fear fare, film noir, and mystery. Sixty Minutes Before Midnight is […]
Writer/director Parish Malfitano’s Australian feature film debut Bloodshot Heart examines the themes of obsession, loss and the trauma it can cause, depression, visions of grandeur, and other psychological issues in its tale of the downward mental spiral of lonely Italian driving instructor Hans (Richard James Allen). The film uses multiple actors in one role à […]
Director McClain Lindquist takes Edgar Allan Poe’s classic short story “The Tell-Tale Heart” and gives it a modern updating that is true to the source material but adds a new approach in his short film The Tell Tale Heart. The result is a fascinating character study of a narrator who speaks in 19th-century fashion while […]
After its wildly successful online edition last year, The Fantasia International Film Festival will once again go the virtual route as it celebrates its 25th edition from August 5 through August 25, 2021. The festival has announced its opening night feature film, the world premiere of Julien Knafo’s Québécois zombie comedy Brain Freeze, and revealed […]
Australian short film The Moogai won this year’s SXSW Jury Prize in the Midnight Short section, and for good reason. Writer/director Jon Bell’s harrowing short film is rich in spine-tingling atmosphere, with a gripping, meaningful story and solid performances. Sarah (Shari Sebbens) and Fergus (Meyne Watt) have a newborn baby, and Sarah begins seeing haunting […]
Writer/director Nicholas Woods’ Echoes of Violence is a taut revenge thriller with occasional moments of dark humor. It is headier than the usual offerings in this subgenre, looks great, is well acted and directed, and offers some intriguing subplots. Job-hating real estate agent Alex (Heston Horwin) is trying to show a remote property in Sedona, […]
Winner of this year’s MidWest WeirdFest Best Horror Film award, writer/director George Adams’ Lady Usher is an outré, warped modern reimagining of the Edgar Allan Poe story “The Fall of the House of Usher.” It’s a delirious psychosexual trip featuring solid performances and an auteur vision. Roderick (John Tupy) takes a break from college to […]
No matter the number of extraterrestrial contact documentaries you have watched in the past, the chances are good that you have never seen one quite like the short film Alien Abduction (2021). It hovers somewhere in the planes of the experimental, pop art, and the outré. AV Super Sunshine and Philomena, members of the Wisconsin […]
The tension between Abel (Eoin Slattery) and his wife Grace (Rebecca Palmer) is palpable, but their strained relationship takes a back seat when the titular creature comes calling in the U.K. horror short The Thing That Ate the Birds. It’s obvious from their terse interactions that the couple has had problems for a long time, […]