Boy, I really wanted to like this one. There’s so much in its favor: a dark, nihilistic social landscape reminiscent of what you’d find in the books of Jim Thompson. Skilled actors, especially the young protagonist played by Jack Dylan Grazer, and the possible antagonist played by Rainn Wilson. A plot centered around an excruciating…

When I was eighteen, a friend of mine showed me a copy of the 1978 rape revenge thriller “I Spit on Your Grave.” It was a movie with a stained aura, famous for its scenes of brutal violence and sex. This was before Internet video, so pertaining access to such taboo products came with a…

I don’t talk much about television shows here, partly because there isn’t much horror on television. (I’ve found seasons of American Horror Story hit or miss—sometimes brilliant, sometimes unwatchable.) Because it aired on STARZ, otherwise known as the network nobody watches, I missed the horror comedy series Shining Vale that ran a few years ago.…

From the title, this sounds like an episode in a British mystery show, or maybe an old Hardy Boys adventure. In fact, it’s a rather weird thriller set on the Canadian side of Niagara Falls. At the film’s beginning, Abby, a thirty-something woman, returns to her hometown to protest the sale of her recently deceased…

If you read my review of the film “Trapped”, you know my thoughts about M. Night Shyamalan. I thought “The Sixth Sense” was a terrific debut, but he, unfortunately, hasn’t made a strong film since. Hold that thought in your head while I discuss “Watchers,” a 2024 horror/fantasy work starring Dakota Fanning. I went into…

Ever wonder what the Nancy Drew stories would be like if she investigated the murders of a serial killer who, among other things, made his victims drink bleach? I have. At one point, I have the idea of writing a novel that took characters in the mold of the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew and…

Yeah, y’all can go ahead and skip this one. It came recommended to me on Facebook as being really scary. And it had a shot, but ultimately fell apart on landing. The plot is intriguing. A rookie police woman capably played by Juliana Harkavy is tasked with taking the last shift—manning the phone, dealing with…

Occasionally movies pop up that I want to like. They may not be the greatest, but they seem like the passion projects of young filmmakers trying to get a foothold in the business. I imagine they maxed out their credit cards and took loans from rich uncles to get the project funded. As such, I’m…

When I was in my twenties, I discovered the British film “Peeping Tom” about a serial killer who uses a movie camera to film his murders of young women. I suspect that film, made in 1960, as well as Hitchcock’s “Psycho”, released the same year, were big influences on 1965’s “The Collector.” All three movies…

Action horror” can be considered its own subgenre, one with distinct scenarios and tropes. A recurring setup involves characters trapped in a confined area, forced to fight amongst themselves to escape. In movie form, this might be “Escape from New York” (and “L.A.”), “Battle Royale”, and “The Warriors.” “Black Friday” has a lot of fun…