On the heels of its 2021 Toronto International Film Festival premiere, British horror movie A Banquet arrived on VOD platforms earlier this year. Only a handful of horror fans would have had the chance to see this one in theaters. In addition to its limited theatrical run, A Banquet doesn’t have much buzz. Its premise […]
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The latest British horror movie, Homebound, treads some familiar ground with its premise. From first-time director Sebastian Godwin, this thriller mixes bits of ‘creepy kids‘ horror with a remote, seemingly idyllic country manor. In spite of its mixing of well-worn tropes, critics have been generally impressed with Godwin’s effort. And Homebound wouldn’t be the first […]
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Having children can be pretty scary sometimes. Contrary to horror movies, however, children themselves don’t make for very scary antagonists. No offence to fans of Children of the Corn, nostalgia is likely coloring your love of that middling 80s Stephen King adaptation. In most ‘killer kid’ horror movies, it’s not hard to imagine just putting […]
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Not to be outdone by The Conjuring’s use of historical hauntings, British haunted house thriller The Banishing rips its subject from the history books. The Borley Rectory, upon which The Banishing loosely bases its story, is Britain’s Amityville Horror. With its large Gothic structure, Downton Abbey period setting, and stately British accents, The Banishing promises […]
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As 2021 marches on, Shudder continues to lead the way in original horror programming. To date, Shudder has added new feature length horror movies each and every Thursday. While some of these releases have missed the mark (Shook), Violation, Hunted, Lucky, and Slaxx delivered solid chills early in the year. In addition to offering horror […]
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Since Audrey Hepburn fought off violent criminals in 1967’s Wait Until Dark, the home-invasion thriller has been a staple of horror. From Straw Dogs to The Strangers, Hollywood has exploited the suburban nightmare of ‘others’ invading the domestic sphere. And just when the subgenre was losing steam, a handful of filmmakers found ways to subvert […]
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Tobe Hooper directed several memorable horror movies over the course of his career. Though he’s best known for The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Hooper’s eclectic filmography included Poltergeist, Salem’s Lot, and ‘hillbilly’ horror Eaten Alive. To say that his 1985 movie, Lifeforce, might be his most bizarre would be an understatement. Based on a novel called […]
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British science fiction-horror hybrid Await Further Instructions has finally arrived on Netflix. To date, I’ve seen no marketing materials outside of a handful of trailers. Nonetheless, the British sci-fi thriller promises to mix Black Mirror ideas with the familiar narrative of a handful of survivors trapped and pitted against one another in a confined space. […]
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