An abused little boy retreats to a fantasy world in writer/director Davide Melini’s U.K. short horror film Lion, but his violent, drunkard father and intimidated mother (Tania Mercader as Amanda) come face to face with a harsh reality. Lion is still on its film festival run, and has claimed more than 263 awards so far, […]
Josh Lobo’s writing and directing debut I Trapped the Devil oftentimes feels like an extended episode of The Twilight Zone. More specifically, it is reminiscent of one episode in particular — episode 41 from 1960, “The Howling Man,” written by the legendary Charles Beaumont. Both stories deal with a person holding someone behind a locked […]
When a film kicks off with a cold open of an injured man (Day, played by Theeradej Wongpuapen) groggily waking up in an empty swimming pool — six meters deep, with no ladder — being attacked by a huge crocodile, it has my attention. Thai survival horror/thriller The Pool is heavy on the suspense, if […]
Imagine Film Festival, which runs April 10–20 at EYE Filmmuseum in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, is loaded with amazing genre film fare from around the world. Among the outstanding slices of cinema offered during the fest’s first few nights this year were two films dealing with different types of domestic horror, and a behind-the-scenes documentary about […]
Imagine Film Festival, which runs April 10–20 at EYE Filmmuseum in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, is loaded with amazing genre film fare from around the world. Among the outstanding slices of cinema offered during the fest’s first few nights this year were two films dealing with different types of domestic horror, and a behind-the-scenes documentary about […]
Imagine Film Festival, which runs April 10–20 at EYE Filmmuseum in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, is loaded with amazing genre film fare from around the world. Among the outstanding slices of cinema offered during the fest’s first few nights this year were two films dealing with different types of domestic horror, and a behind-the-scenes documentary about […]
The 2019 edition of the Milwaukee Twisted Dreams Film Festival took place from April 4–7 at Times Cinema. Among the diverse range of features and shorts that screened there were two decidedly offbeat offerings, the animated crime film The Next Kill and the quirky creature feature comedy The Lake Michigan Monster. The Next Kill A […]
Writer/director Larry Fessenden’s Depraved is a gory, thrilling modern adaptation of the Frankenstein mythos, replete with commentary on today’s society and many of its shortcomings. Like the majority of Fessenden’s directorial efforts, it’s a thinking person’s horror film, but one that pulls no punches in the visceral shocks department. Alex (Owen Campbell of Super Dark […]
Arrow Video FrightFest Glasgow featured three films highlighted by powerful, mysterious female characters for its March 2nd screenings. These films ranged from subtle and understated to violent and gory. The Rusalka (AKA The Siren) Writer/director Perry Blackshear’s The Rusalka (retitled The Siren for its U.K. release), his follow-up to his terrific debut They Look Like […]
Arrow Video FrightFest Glasgow offered up horror, comedy, and deadly serious dystopian drama with its Friday, March 1st screenings. Besides the world premiere of the terrific British indie shocker Here Comes Hell, this reviewer also had the opportunity to watch the American metalheads vs. giant ants movie Dead Ant (retitled Giant Killer Ants for its […]
Black-and-white independent U.K. feature Here Comes Hell starts off as a British comedy of manners mashed up with classic old dark house elements before suddenly rocketing into full-on horror territory. First-time director Jack McHenry and his cast and crew serve up a fun, frenetic helping of supernatural chaos. George Walker, Jr., (Tom Bailey), son of […]
Director Matt Wisniewski’s short film Pappy’s World (2018) is a surreal, jaw-dropping, pleasantly confounding blend of live action and animation. It’s bizarre yet wholly accessible in its telling of the carnage of an evil doll secretly unwrapped before Christmas. A girl (Jaz Frazier) uses her sleeping grandfather’s cane to reach a box at the top […]
Writer/director Hyun Lee’s Australian short Asian Girls is an enigmatic, wholly arresting look at two young neighbor women who live highly contrasting lives – and who haunt each other’s dreams. Striking visuals and a striking soundtrack drive this dialogue-free piece. Chan (Rainbow Chan) is a Chinese seamstress who subsists on instant noodles and boiled black […]
A young woman seeking to escape the doldrums of a dreary life often pretends to be something she is not in the engaging psychological thriller Nancy. When she sees a newscast about a long-missing kidnap victim, however, reality blurs even further for her. Andrea Riseborough, who played the haunting title character in last year’s gonzo […]
Bohemian Industries’ short film Kiss the Devil in the Dark is an eye-popping visual feast that blends a dark Faustian fantasy with shades of classic Hammer Film Productions and Eurohorror vibes. Fans of practical creature effects will find plenty to enjoy here, as well, with the legendary Doug Jones on hand in dual roles. The […]