Film Reviews, Interviews and Articles
The idea of a haunted Christmas is no novelty in 2015 though prior attempts to make a great “evil Santa Claus” movie (see Silent Night, Deadly Night and Santa’s Slay ) have landed with a dull thumpety thump thump. Krampus, with its stand-out indie cast that includes Adam Scott, Toni Collette, Allison Tolman and David Koechner, could just be the first great “Bad Santa” horror movie. Check out the first Krampus trailer below. Read More
Michael Medaglia’s fantasy/horror/comedy mindscrew Deep Dark updates the classic Monkey’s Paw trope, investigating the source and meaning of real art in the meantime. Have you ever experienced writer’s block? Felt like you had something to say, but just couldn’t quite find the words? Have you ever wanted something so bad you can taste it in the back of your throat? Read More
When most people think of reggae music, they think of Bob Marley; Jamaica; smoking sensamilla; the red, yellow, and green and the Jamaican flag. More informed heads might even think of Jah-on-Earth Haile Selassie, the last Emperor of Ethiopia, or the Lion Of Judah. No matter how into reggae you are, you are not likely to picture two skinny white Israelites from Tel Aviv, the subject matter of Ariel Tagar’s Congo Beat The Drum documentary.
The last film I saw at SXSW 2015 was a New Zealand splatter-horror by the name of Deathgasm, a righteous romp through the rolling hills of heavy metal and hell-freed demons. Deathgasm’s trailer celebrates both with torrents of viscus, a head-banging soundtrack and enough KISS makeup to coax your tongue from your righteous mouth. Read More
With this year’s very successful science fiction hits Mad Max: Fury Road and Turbo Kid already being referred to as “cult classics” in the making, the definition of the B-movie in the digital era must fit a different rubric beyond, for example, the use of practical effects or references to earlier films and aesthetics. The horror comedy has always been a genre prone to B-status – but can they all achieve the love that the ironically-adored low-budget classics of the past have? That’s the question facing a film like this week’s new release, Bloodsucking Bastards. Read More
Just the other day, we included Beasts of No Nation amongst our Fall 2015 preview, citing its African warlord premise, exciting cast and director each as reasons to start the hype machine early. After its Venice Film Festival premiere two days ago, critics are already swooning over star Idris Elba‘s performance as well as the film itself. No wonder then that Netflix has decided that the Beasts of No Nation trailer ought be seen be all. So it goes, strike while the iron’s hot. Read More
To say that no one asked for a Transporter reboot is putting things lightly. The franchise in which Jason Statham rose to fame hardly lit up the box office when it set off in 2002, barely crossing the 25 million dollar marker on a 21 million dollar budget. The second installment hardly fared better, scraping up 43 on 32 and by movie numero three, the second-rate action/car staple was hardly scraping by. 7 years later, we have the latest addition to the “Why In Hell Was This Rebooted?” pool in The Transporter Refueled, a near abomination of filmmaking, barely held together by flashy Audi commercial tie-ins, gratuitous sexual violence and Ray Stevenson’s equally flashy grin. At least Ray’s having some fun. We in the audience though are not privy to such leisure. Read More
The Deepest Cuts is a weekly invitation into some of the sleaziest, goriest, most under-explored corners of horror and cult film online. Every title will be streamable and totally NSFW. Whether it’s a 1960s grindhouse masterpiece, something schlocky from the 90s, or hardcore horror from around the world, these films are guaranteed to shock, disturb, tickle, or generally blow your mind.
In honor of the now-late, inarguably great Wes Craven, let’s get into one of his films that even longtime fans of Craven are often unaware of: Deadly Friend. The film is a unique mixture of after-school-special and science fiction, with a little splash of gore mixed in – a one-of-a-kind film for the true Craven connoisseur.
*This is a reprint of our 2015 Sundance review.
Robert Redford‘s adaptation of Bill Bryson‘s popular 1998 memoir A Walk In the Woods is an unremarkable journey with a short sprinkling of low-key chuckles and a heaving dose of schmaltzy sentiment. As Redford’s travel companion, co-star Nick Nolte manages to give this low-percolating buddy comedy/road-movie-on-foot at least some minor footing, but its not enough to balance the overwrought equilibrium. Mining the material for all its geriatric sitcom worth, director Ken Kwapis‘ internal clock ticks with the fervor of a retiree, as he fails to charge the material with any sense of driving momentum. As much as Nolte’s character drags his feet, it’s Kwapis who lags most. For a film all about the journey forward, that presents a major problem. Read More
It is the challenge of every young person to find and define their own selves, apart from expectations from society, family, friends, & personal history. This is, unfortunately, exponentially more true for women of all ages, but particularly young women, with everyone having opinions about their bodies, their style, even their mood (you’d be prettier if you smiled more). Birds Of Neptune, director Stephen Richter’s English-language debut after the Portuguese Center Of Gravity, investigates this battle for self-identification, by following two eccentric young sisters, Rachel and Mona, chilling portrayed by Britt Harris and Molly Elizabeth Parker. Read More