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 […]
Jim Carl and the crew at the Carolina Theatre in Durham, North Carolina have been the home for some of the best up and coming horror films in the genre for two decades strong. On March 8 through March 10, The Nevermore Film Festival celebrates its 20th Anniversary with yet another incredible selection of horror, […]
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 […]
Nothing can get in the way of two sisters who have dreams of becoming Johnny Depp’s personal chefs — not even a crime of passion — in the hilarious, glop-ridden horror comedy short Lunch Ladies. This colorful, energetic romp is a fun blast of feel-good horror comedy. Seretta (Donna Pieroni) and LouAnne (Mary Manofsky) are […]
With Dementia Part II, co-writers and co-directors Mike Testin and Matt Mercer have crafted a horror film with darkly comic moments, filled with imagery and situations that will make even seasoned scare fare veterans squeamish. Most viewers will likely be constantly alternating between grinning and grimacing. The facts that the often comic film is a […]
Sometimes working on overcoming an obsession can lead to possibilities beyond a person’s imagination. In the case of Parker (Charlotte Lindsay Marron), the young teenaged protagonist of the Canadian short film Lay Them Straight, those possibilities can even lead to a terrifying new path. Parker is diagnosed with arithmomania, a disorder in which people feel […]
Folklore-based horror meets babysitter-in-peril fright fare in the Canadian short film The Whistler. Writer/director Jennifer Nicole Stang offers up an intriguing spin on Pied Piper tales, introducing a creepy villain who deserves a full-length expansion of his story. Lindsey (Karis Cameron) is charged by her parents with a sudden evening of babysitting her younger sister […]
A dark journey into the mind of a man increasingly obsessed with the desire to be eaten by either animals or monsters, the Belgian horror short Maw (Muil) is a fascinating, unsettling psychological shocker that aims for an artistic approach rather than focusing on the lurid. Matthieu Sys stars as Richard, a lonely elderly-care assistant […]
Rich in atmosphere and a treasure to watch, the short horror film Belladonna is a marvelous effort. From its terrific performances to its mesmerizing cinematography, this latest effort from director/cinematographer/editor Brett Mullen (Bombshell Bloodbath [2014], Fantasma [2017]) Â is an absolute gem. Opportunistic, smarmy Sam Franco (Sterling Hurst) sees a beautiful blind woman at a social […]
 Theeeeeeeeeeey’re back. On this week’s podcast the boys welcome writer/director/novelist and future video game developer Michelle Iannantuono. Michelle’s first feature film “Livescream” is currently making its way around the film festival circuit and receiving much deserved attention and awards. Michelle dominated all around with this feature but the thing that impressed the guys the […]
One of the Grue-Crew’s favorite film festivals is the NIGHTMARES FILM FESTIVAL held in Columbus, Ohio. HNR Co-host Christopher G. Moore, who attended the festival when his film Knob Goblins screened, is planning to return to promote his latest short GUT PUNCHED. The films screens in the Recurring Nightmares B short horror film block. Jason Tostevin […]