Look Away: A Forgettable Doppelganger of Better Teen Revenge Flicks

January 7, 2019.Reading time 8 minutes.

Many people would probably agree that high school is an awful time. Generally, teens are a pretty mean-spirited and sulky lot. And don’t forget the cutthroat politics of teen popularity. Joss Whedon crafted Buffy the Vampire Slayer almost entirely around the concept that high school is literally Hell. Not surprisingly then, horror movies have made […]

Escape Room Breaks Out From Horror’s January Jinx

January 5, 2019.Reading time 6 minutes.

Cinephiles know that the major studios use January as a dumping ground. Sadly, many of these leftovers include bad horror movies. Anyone remember The Unborn? How about the insipid One Missed Call? Or the dreadful Texas Chainsaw 3D? Escape Room had a great trailer, but the January release date instantly lowered expectations. While reviews haven’t […]

Bandersnatch Asks Who Is in Control

January 2, 2019.Reading time 6 minutes.

Black Mirror fans got a nice Boxing Week surprise this past Christmas. No, it wasn’t a new season of the provocative Netflix series. Apparently, Season 4 is just around the corner in 2019. Instead series creator Charlie Brooker surprised fans with Bandersnatch, an interactive feature length movie. More specifically, Brooker has created a ‘choose-your-own’ adventure […]

Bird Box: See No Evil With the Latest Netflix Release

December 21, 2018.Reading time 7 minutes.

Netflix ends 2018 with one last big original release. Based on a novel by Josh Malerman, Bird Box marks yet another entry in the post-apocalyptic thriller genre. In 2018 alone, the film gods have given us Cargo, The Domestics, Hostile, The Cured, Extinction, and Stephanie. It’s a crowded field to say the least. But Bird […]

Cam: An Unsettling Look at Identity and Technology

November 18, 2018.Reading time 7 minutes.

A joint production between Blumhouse Productions and two smaller studios, Cam is the latest thriller to explore anxieties about technology and social identity. Over the past year, similarly-themed movies #FromJennifer and Tragedy Girls have found horror at the intersection between social media and our ‘Likes-obsessed’ culture. This time around, Cam takes us into the world of […]

Joy Ride is a High-Octane 18-Wheeler of Fun Thrills

October 6, 2018.Reading time 6 minutes.

Director John Dahl is best known for his neo-noir films from the 1990’s. His filmography includes critically-acclaimed thrillers Red Rock West, The Last Seduction, and Rounders. In spite of his track record, Dahl was an odd choice to helm the J.J.Abrams-penned thriller, Joy Ride. On the surface, Abrams’ highway thriller was essentially an MTV-update on […]