Norwegian/U.S./U.K. production Mortal is a breathtaking origin story boasting engaging characters and performances, a wonderfully crafted story, rich visuals, and impressive special effects. Director André Øvredal (Troll Hunter, The Autopsy of Jane Doe, Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark) returns to Scandivian mythology and crafts a dark take on a man coming to grips […]
Severin Films’ documentary about horror anthology films Tales of the Uncanny started out as a bonus feature for the company’s upcoming release of The Theatre Bizarre. Then along came COVID-19, and the idea struck director and Severin Films chief David Gregory to use the Zoom platform to expand the film by reaching out to more […]
In his previous film Monstrous, writer/director Bruce Wemple combined a Bigfoot creature feature with other horror elements. In his new feature The Retreat, he tackles another North American legend in the Native American Wendigo, again adding other fear-fare ingredients to the mix. The result is a trippy film with an unreliable, not very likable main […]
No matter where you stand on killer doll movies, prepare to give your heart — or whatever piece of your anatomy the titular animated evil stuffed toy wishes to take — to Benny. Benny Loves You is a riotous, grue-heavy U.K. horror comedy that is the winning result of a five-year labor of love for […]
Writer/director/star Brandon Jordan takes a light-hearted look at the frustrations of being a filmmaker in his horror comedy short film The Greatest Horror Film Ever Made. A fun look at the creative process and at current thoughts on fright-fare tropes and trends, the short is a hilarious journey through the mind of Jordan as he […]
A group of people heads off into the woods to track down a deranged killer who, according to urban legend, slaughtered dozens of people a decade ago. Some of them have a direct connection to one of the victims, some are just there for the thrill of the hunt. One of them is there for […]
Australian short film Abduction combines social messages regarding shaming and victim blaming with a science-fiction setting. Frances Elliott’s screenplay and Paul Komadina’s direction masterfully balance these two elements, not allowing the science fiction elements to overpower the serious messages and vice versa. Mathilda (Alexandra Nell) enjoys a night out drinking and listening to live music […]
It’s clear from the way they pay tribute to the filmmakers that came before that first-time writers/directors Kenta Osaka and Hirohito Takimoto watched a lot of horror movies before sitting down to create Tokyo Home Stay Massacre. Some of their tributes will be immediately identifiable, such as the spooky creature with the extremely long hair […]
As someone with an aversion to on-screen torture, it truly means something when I say that director Sigurd Culhane’s dark comedy/thriller short Green Cobra is a hilariously uncomfortable, recommended watch. The short boasts both gut-churning and gut-busting sequences. Green Cobra is filmed using wide lenses and a thick green filter, and kicks off with a […]
A superb example of how to take a relatable feeling of tranquility and launch it into a surreal science fiction scenario, director Trish Harnetiaux’s short film You Wouldn’t Understand is a delightful, gorgeous-looking journey into the absurd. A man (Anthony Arkin, who also performed editing duties) is enjoying a relaxing solo picnic and reading a […]
I love it when a story surprises me – and Spontaneous has done just that. Not going to lie – I put this one on the back burner for a week or so – it gave off a little too much of a “romantic/comedy” vibe from the trailer and synopsis – and well, I don’t […]
“They want nothing from you and God help you if you try to interfere.” It seems a little corny for husband and wife filmmaking team Lane and Ruckus Skye to begin their feature film debut with a dire quote from a 2010 census to underline the dangerous nature of people living in the remote region […]
Two mad doctors — well, they may not be totally made yet, but they are well on their way — reanimate a corpse in the fun horror-comedy short Half-Cocked. The problem is, they chose the wrong person to try and gift with eternal life. Dr. Grant Kirby (Pat Healy) and Dr. Gabriella Flores (Vanessa Benavente) […]
It’s not easy being 18-year-olds adrift between the worlds of the teenage years and adulthood, but you certainly have to “adult” pretty quickly when you are first suspected of being robbers and then become the victims of a home invasion — especially if you hope to make it out of the situation alive. This is […]
Whether it’s a closeup of Lon Chaney Jr’s face getting hairier and hairier using lapse-dissolve photography in his various Universal Monster Movies or Rick Baker’s Oscar-winning full body transformation of David Naughton in An American Werewolf in London, the measuring stick for all werewolf films is the transformation scene. A good transformation scene not only […]