The Black Phone Dials Up a Dark Coming-of-Age Story

June 24, 2022.Reading time 8 minutes.

The Black Phone has taken a bit of a winding road to get to theaters. Filmed amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, the Blumhouse production was twice delayed before getting its release today. It’s also worth noting that director Scott Derrickson jumped on this project after leaving the Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness production. Based […]

Blood in the Water a Bad Kiddie Pool Mashup of Saw and Jaws

June 22, 2022.Reading time 5 minutes.

Welcome to summer! What better time of the movie season then for studios to release a killer shark into the water. Unfortunately, not every killer shark movie can be Jaws. Or even just The Meg. But there’s a pretty simple premise to exploit for even a middle-of-the-road killer shark movie. And when all else fails, […]

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness Has Enough Raimi Magic to Overcome Franchise Obligations

June 21, 2022.Reading time 8 minutes.

While COVID-19 slowed it down momentarily, the Marvel Cinematic Universe is once again firing on all cylinders. Following on the heels of Spider-Man: No Way Home’s massive success, Doctor Strange in The Multiverse of Madness set some of its own box office marks. That’s pretty impressive for a sequel to a movie for what’s essentially […]

Men is Alex Garland’s Most Thematically Dense Movie To Date

June 18, 2022.Reading time 8 minutes.

British writer and filmmaker Alex Garland has put together an impressive résumé. In addition to penning the 1990s novel, The Beach, Garland has written screenplays for 28 Days Later, Dredd, and Sunshine. His directorial debut was the critically-lauded Ex Machina and his follow-up, Annihilation, was criminally underseen. His latest movie, Men, marks his third collaboration […]

Nomads an 80s Supernatural Thriller That Wanders Into Incoherence

June 15, 2022.Reading time 7 minutes.

Before John McTiernan made two of the best action movies of all time (Die Hard, Predator), he took on a small horror novel for his first feature length movie. Starring a pre-James Bond Pierce Brosnan and New Wave rocker Adam Ant, Nomads did actually enjoy a theatrical release. No, it didn’t make much money. And […]

Dear Billy Finds Max ‘Running Up That Hill’ in a Strong Episode of Stranger Things

June 13, 2022.Reading time 10 minutes.

And here’s the episode that has had Stranger Things fans – and the larger media – talking. This is the episode that pushed Kate Bush’s 1980s single, Running Up That Hill, into the public consciousness. Every bit as ambitious as Season 4’s first three episodes, Episode 4, which is entitled Dear Billy, boasts the same […]

The Overnight Forgets To Include Scares With Its Turndown Service

June 8, 2022.Reading time 7 minutes.

If you read enough Yelp or TripAdvisor review, just about any hotel can seem scary. One of two new releases on VOD platforms this week – including Unhuman – The Overnight checks into a familiar horror setting. From The Bates Motel to The Overlook, plenty of horror movies have turned up the scares alongside the […]

Unhuman Tries to Put a Zombie Twist on The Breakfast Club

June 7, 2022.Reading time 7 minutes.

Over the last several months, A24 has released several high profile, critically-acclaimed horror movies. Ti West’s X, Lamb, Everything Everywhere All At Once, and most recently Men have all enjoyed various levels of success. But Blumhouse Productions continues to crank out more mainstream horror offerings. While we wait for Halloween Ends, Blumhouse has offered horror […]