I am a lifelong fan of classic horror comic books, especially the EC Comics titles. I have read pre-code horror comics and the later black-and-white fright-fare magazines, but I had […]
Super Scary Shorts Saturday
[Review] Shadow of the Rougarou [Blood in the Snow Film Festival]: A Young Woman Faces Her Childhood Terror in the Wilds of 19th Century Canada
Originally a six-part series on the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (APTN) streaming service APTN Lumi, folk horror short Shadow of the Rougarou (Canada, 2022) was presented in its 40-minute entirety […]
[Review] VRDLK: Family of Vurdulak [Blood in the Snow Film Festival]: Animated Short Brings a Fun Vibe to a Tolstoy Horror Tale
Can a skeptical marquis be made to believe by a family of commoners that a vampire attack is inevitable? The answer is yes, if a comely young woman is part […]
[Review] Unbidden [Nightmares Film Festival]: A Mysterious Boy Brings Terror to a Troubled Family
When a family unit has lost trust in one another, what remains to keep — and what might become of them under pressure? Writer/director Andrés Rothschild Pérez explores these questions […]
[Review] Strange Waters [Fortean Film Festival]: Otherworldly Terrors Await Invited Guests on an Isolated Sea Fort
Director Andy McLeod and screenwriter Rowena Amos take the classic mystery/horror film set-up of a group of people, some of them strangers, being invited to a remote location by an […]
[Review] We Got a Dog [Popcorn Frights]: A Pair of Surprises Spells Unnerving Dread in This Tight Horror Short
Writer/director Ryan Valdez’s short film We Got a Dog packs a lot of eeriness into its brief running time. Morgan (Morgan Taylor) is flustered that her boyfriend Mason (Mason Conrad) […]
[Review] SWALLOW [Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival]: A Vain Actress Learns a Shocking Beauty Secret in Atmospheric Horror Short
Competition in the acting business can be a cutthroat affair, and the lengths to which some people will go to have an edge on their rivals is the subject of […]
[Review] Meat Friend [Portland Horror Film Festival]: A Young Girl Befriends Gruesome Ground Beef in Horror Comedy Short
Prolific director Izzy Lee knows her way around horror, and has found success in her works boasting absurdist humor, as well. Her latest short film Meat Friend combines both of […]
[Review] I Call Upon Thee [Portland Horror Film Festival]: Two Young Sisters Summon a Terrifying Entity
Absolutely chilling, unsettling, and macabre, writer/director Michael Kratochvil’s Australian short film I Call Upon Thee takes the concept of a children’s horror story and places it firmly in the world […]
[Review] Mary: A Young Man Haunted by Guilt Meets a Mysterious Elderly Woman in This Eerie Horror Short
A razor-sharp look at the gap between trying to make ends meet and providing quality personal care for aged relatives as well as a chilling supernatural story, Mary, from codirectors […]
[Review] The Man from Boggy Creek [MidWest WeirdFest]: Short-Film Documentary Pays Tribute to Independent Filmmaker Charles B. Pierce
In their documentary short The Man from Boggy Creek, cowriters/codirectors Paul Glover and Scott McKinnon pay tribute to maverick independent filmmaker Charles B. Pierce, whose movies The Legend of Boggy […]
[Review] The Martyr [MidWest WeirdFest]: Meet the Woman Trying to Clear the Name of a Man Who Some Claim to Be a Monster
Margot K. Juby, British author of the 2018 book The Martyrdom of Gilles de Rais, has spent much of her life fascinated with de Rais, the controversial French historical figure […]
[Review] Not Alone — The Life Above [MidWest WeirdFest]: Could Some UFOs Be Aerial Living Creatures?
For much of recorded history, and especially since the earlier 20th century, people have reported unexplainable phenomena in the skies. From strangely behaving lights to cigar-shaped objects to classic flying […]
[Review] It Came from the Kitchen! [Final Girls Berlin]: Lighthearted Creature Feature Boasts Some Old-School Effects
We’ve all had those days, sometimes even weeks, when straightening up our living spaces just doesn’t rate high on the old to-do list, until something happens that makes it absolutely […]
[Review] The Blood of the Dinosaurs: Joe Badon’s Latest Leap into Lunacy Hits the Surreal Jackpot Once Again
When reviewing a Joe Badon film, words such as “ersatz,” “systematically,” and “avuncular” will never work. Nor will attempting diatribes or didacticism. His films are like surreal gossamer coated with […]