EVIL EYE and NOCTURNE step up the offerings from Amazon/Blumhouse
We look at Evil Eye and Nocturne, the most recent films from Amazon’s partnership with horror studio Blumhouse.
Category: Film
POSSESSOR is a fascinating, if a bit thin, sophomore effort for Brandon Cronenberg
Possessor marks a startling step-forward for Brandon Cronenberg.
BLACK BOX and THE LIE, Blumhouse’s first Amazon offerings, range from decent to dud
Blumhouse, the sort of oasis in the perpetual wasteland that is moderate to bigger budget horror, is now expanding its empire into the auspices of a streaming partnership. Having found a new collaborator in Amazon, “Welcome To The Blumhouse” is a series of films being released over time by a …
THE TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7 is Netflix’s Best Original Yet
Riding in the background, or perhaps its even in the foreground depending upon your political persuasions, in Aaron Sorkin‘s latest is an element of timeliness. It shouldn’t be lost on any viewer that a film about a group of activists being put on trial by a corrupt administration, and aided …
THE SWERVE finds its horror in the mundane
Two kids. A husband. A house in the suburbs. Bowling. Apple Pie.
The Swerve introduces us to the dread of its world in everyday, comfortable objects.
AFF 2020: FULLY REALIZED HUMANS is an Effective Indie Rom-Com
Jackie (Jess Weixler, Teeth, The Death of Dick Long) and Elliot (Joshua Leonard, The Blair Witch Project, Unsane) are a month away from their first baby’s due date. They are taking the classes, reading the books, and doing all the things they’re supposed to be doing. At their baby shower, however, their …
AFF 2020: Bigotry, Addiction, and Changing Minds in FOR THE LOVE OF RUTLAND
In the Summer of 2016, the small town of Rutland, Vermont was thrown into chaos. Then Mayor Chris Louras announced that the town would be be housing 100 Syrian refugees. This was one of the few cities in the U.S. to do so, and while some citizens were thrilled and …
THE NEST is among 2020’s best
Can you have a haunted house movie without any ghosts? You can — THE NEST is a brilliant domestic drama with the trappings of a horror film.
AFF 2020: We’re All Still Figuring Out Who We Are in SOME KIND OF HEAVEN
In popular media, the elderly are often used as a quirky punchline. They move to Florida, watch Matlock and Murder She Wrote, can’t figure out how to use the TV remote, and lose their dentures. Think rambling Abe Simpson in The Simpsons or Pam’s puritanical grandma in The Office. It’s …
Is MURDER DEATH KOREATOWN great found footage horror or exploitative nonsense?
MURDER DEATH KOREATOWN is a chilling new found footage horror film. Or is it a disgusting exploitation film? Outsider art? It’s hard to say.
SPIRAL is a moving thriller about outsiders
Kurtis David Harder’s SPIRAL is a memorable and chilling low-budget horror movie with a star-making turn from Jeffrey Bowyer-Chapman.
THE EIGHT HUNDRED can’t escape the horrors of war movie cliches
China’s World War 2-era epic THE EIGHT HUNDRED was a massive hit in its homeland. Can that success translate to American audiences?
TENET, or trying to solve a math problem in a car crash
The latest blockbuster effort from Christopher Nolan falls a bit short
THE PERSONAL HISTORY OF DAVID COPPERFIELD delivers, but may not live up to my great expectations
The Personal History of David Copperfield has been part of a parade of ‘oh-wow-are-they-making-a-movie-of-that-again?’ literary classic film adaptations to roll through the theaters (or, perhaps, our at-home-theaters) in the last 12 months.
I’M THINKING OF ENDING THINGS – a masterpiece of miserabalism
The latest effort from Charlie Kaufman is a perfect counterpoint for Synecdoche, New York