U.K. horror feature The Last Rite mixes a few different elements of terror, resulting in an effort that tries to pack too much into one film but boasts some effective spookiness. Bethan Waller’s performance, especially during the second half, is enough to warrant a recommendation. Waller stars as Lucy, a young woman who begins seeing […]
What’s a young girl to do when she has a mother that isn’t big on communication and interaction, a teen sister who worships H.P. Lovecraft’s fictional Old Gods, her father has recently passed away — and she begins seeing a strange, frightening creature outside her window? Writer/director O.B. De Alessi explores these questions and others […]
Writer/director Michiel Blanchart’s Belgian/French short film You’re Dead Hélène (T’es morte Hélène; 2021) is a remarkable genre-blending effort that takes viewers on a ride through three different storytelling genres and a wide range of emotions. Hélène (Lucile Vignolles) is in a complicated relationship with Maxime (Théophile Roux). She is having a hard time letting go […]
The Australian feature An Ideal Host (2020) is a horror/science fiction/comedy hybrid that delivers on all three fronts. Liz (Nadia Collins) and Jackson (Evan Williams) are planning the ideal dinner party at which Jackson will “spontaneously” propose to Liz — something that the couple has rehearsed well — surprising all the guests. We all know […]
The latest entry in the folk horror/religious cult subgenres of cinema is the Canadian offering The Family (2021) and it is a dark film, indeed. It offers top-notch acting and a heavy sense of dread from the opening scenes, but unfortunately recalls films — one in particular that I won’t spoil here — that have […]
The Grue-Crew members love a good monster movie, and it looks like we have one coming our way from the U.K. Walking Against the Rain from first-time feature director Scott Lyus has entered its post-production stage, and the filmmakers have released a few images to whet our fright-fare appetites. Following is the official press announcement. […]
Writer/director Kåre Bergstrøm’s Lake of the Dead (De dødes tjern, 1958), stated by some sources as being Norway’s first horror film and voted by critics in 2001 as one of the country’s top five films of all time, is a superb folk horror film filled with haunting black-and-white imagery. It boasts top-notch acting and intelligent […]
Writer/director Philipp Yuryev’s Russian short Tale of the Deaf is one of the most visually extraordinary films of this year. Shot in sumptuous black-and-white by director of photography Mikhail Kasaya, this gothic chiller is a diabolical delight. A deaf man (Russian rapper Husky) tries to entertain a tavern full of paupers with shadow play but […]
Los Angeles’ Beyond Fest triumphantly returns to indoor cinemas this year with an incredible lineup of horror, science fiction, and genre-film fare from around the world. From September 29th–October 11th, the festival features world and west coast premieres, 4K restorations of beloved classics and more obscure titles, and much more. Following is the official press […]
Two years after his dark, surreal cult classic Testsuo: The Iron Man was unleashed on an unsuspecting world, director Shin’ya Tsukamoto unveiled his first studio effort, Hiruko the Goblin (1991). Based on two yōkai stories from manga artist Daijiro Morohoshi, the film is a frenetic, madcap tale of demons whose gate from Hell happens to […]
Short horror films can range from diabolical delights to monstrous mayhem, creepy comedy to scintillating suspense, and much more, with film-making voices ranging from new talents to old favorites. Arrow Video FrightFest 2021 is proof of this, as its just-announced slate of fear-fare shorts is absolutely astounding. Following is the London-based festival’s official press announcement. […]
I strongly recommend watching U.K. horror short Hungry Joe on an empty stomach. Codirectors/cowriters Samuel Dawe and Paul Holbrook pull no punches in their 23-minute meeting of body horror and family drama, a tale of a child’s insatiable appetite and the trouble it brings to his family. As the short film begins, Craig (Joe Sims) […]
Peruvian horror film Face of the Devil (La Cara del Diablo; 2014) combines the beats of a slasher film with supernatural goings-on. The result is a fun, eerie watch bolstered by solid characterization. In a familiar set-up, seven college-age friends, including two couples, go on a weekend vacation to a remote area. After some topless […]
The cries of a baby and the slow but caring response of the child’s weary mother kick off a sense of dread in Scottish writer/director Faye Jackson’s U.K. short horror film Changeling. That sense builds ever more relentlessly during the film’s 10-minute running time, leading to a gut-wrenching climax featuring a novel approach to the […]
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 […]