Sean Patrick
Bio
Hello, my name is Sean Patrick He/Him, and I am a film critic and podcast host for the I Hate Critics Movie Review Podcast I am a voting member of the Critics Choice Association, the group behind the annual Critics Choice Awards.
Stories (294/1980)
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Movie Review: 'The Djinn' is a Fun Experiment in Horror Storytelling
The writing and directing duo behind the new IFC Midnight horror movie, The Djinn, gave themselves quite a task. The main character in The Djinn is a 12 year old boy who is mute, he is unable to speak. Played by Ezra Dewey, the main character, Dylan, spends most of the film alone in the apartment he shares with his father, Michael, played by Rob Brownstein. Dad works the late night shift on a radio station which forces him to leave Dylan home alone. On this night, Dylan has discovered a book of magic in their new apartment and he hopes to use it to give himself a voice for the first time in his life.
By Sean Patrick5 years ago in Horror
Movie Review: 'Scavenger' is One of the Worst Movies Ever Made THAT'S NOT A REASON TO SEE IT
Scavenger is among the most ugly, nasty and genuinely unpleasant movies I’ve ever endured. I hate saying that, I know I should not open the review with that. I know that people who release a movie as ugly and vile as Scavenger love for critics to say how awful they are, they consider a negative review such as this as good publicity. I hate that fact but I can’t put this lightly or simply dismiss the revulsion I felt while watching Scavenger.
By Sean Patrick5 years ago in Horror
TCM Film Festival Review: 'Doctor X' and the Horror Films of Michael Curtiz
In his insanely prolific career with more than 170 film credits in just over 40 years in Hollywood and Germany, Director Michael Curtiz made only three horror movies. As is typical of Michael Curtiz, these aren’t merely horror films, they are incredibly detailed, exceptionally well made horror films. Curtiz did nothing halfway in his remarkable career and while Doctor X may not be well remembered today, it’s an exceptional 1930’s horror movie filled with suspense, drama and a touch of comedy to make the scares more fun.
By Sean Patrick5 years ago in Horror
Movie Review: 'Things Heard & Seen'
I have a reputation, via the Everyone’s A Critic Movie Review Podcast, for being hard on haunted house movies. Indeed, I’ve trashed most of them. Whether it’s The Conjuring franchise and its associated films or just the random September/October studio detritus, made to capitalize on the ravenous horror fandom, I’ve not been impressed with Hollywood’s ghost stories. It’s not a particular bias ghosts ghosts. Rather, it’s an issue with overused tropes, vague motivations, and screenwriting shortcuts that have put me off of Hollywood’s over-familiar ghost formula.
By Sean Patrick5 years ago in Horror
Movie Review: 'In the Earth'
To say I didn’t care for director Ben Wheatley’s take on Alfred Hitchcock’s incredible masterpiece, Rebecca, would be an understatement. Not only did I write a lengthy negative review, I then wrote a second scathing take on the movie in the form of a numbered list of everything wrong with the movie. So yeah, me and Ben Wheatley are not on the same page. I felt the same wearying feeling about his breakthrough feature Free Fire starring Brie Larson, though I wasn’t inspired to chronicle my disdain as I did with Rebecca.
By Sean Patrick5 years ago in Horror
Movie Review: 'The Unholy'
The Unholy is a wildly frustrating movie. The film is quite good in so many ways and quite silly and impossible in others, thus why it is so frustrating. Star Jeffrey Dean Morgan is so interesting, effortlessly charismatic and has that kind of shambling, messy, handsomeness where going unshaven could be lazy or a legit fashion choice. Because of Morgan’s appeal, I wanted The Unholy to succeed. Sadly, the silly is too silly for the movie to survive.
By Sean Patrick5 years ago in Horror
Movie Review: 'The Vigil'
The Vigil uses the specificity of Jewish tradition to put a fresh spin on the supernatural horror genre. Dave Davis stars in The Vigil as Yakov, a former member of an orthodox Jewish community. A tragedy in his recent past led Yakov to reassess his faith and leave the orthodox tradition. He’s found support in a support group of fellow former orthodox Jews. The group includes Sarah who is the first non-orthodox woman Yakov has had an opportunity to spend time with.
By Sean Patrick5 years ago in Horror
Movie Review: 'Impetigore' is Indonesia's Oscar Hopeful
Impetigore is a creeptastic horror movie from Indonesia that is competing to be Best Foreign Film at this year’s Academy Awards. The film is Indonesia’s official entry into the awards season and it is not your typical Oscar movie. This is a blood and guts shocker about curses, babies born without skin, and two innocent women whose desire for wealth overwhelms their good judgment.
By Sean Patrick5 years ago in Horror
Movie Review: 'Curse of Aurore' Beats the Found Footage Curse
Found footage horror is the sub-genre that will not die. Despite the repeated and tiresome tropes and the sameness of the look of found footage, filmmakers continue to return to this well worn subset of the horror genre. The reason for this is obvious, it’s a way to make a movie cheap and fast. This doesn’t mean a found footage movie can’t be good, but the challenge grows to make a found footage movie that isn’t like every other found footage horror film.
By Sean Patrick5 years ago in Horror
Movie Review: 'I Blame Society'
I Blame Society is an absolute, start to finish, blast. This insanely dark comedy about a documentary filmmaker plumbing the depths of her psychosis is a thrill ride of rising stakes and rising insanity. Written and directed by Gillian Horvat, I Blame Society is bold, unique and shockingly original. Imagine the movie May but made by a female Christopher Guest character and you have a sense of what I Blame Society is like.
By Sean Patrick5 years ago in Horror
Movie Review: 'The Invisible Man' is a Weighty Thriller
Leigh Whannell’s The Invisible Man is one of the most exciting movies of 2020. Released in February of 2020, the movie has not left my Top 5 movies of the year since it was released. Whannell has come into his own as a director since first debuting as the writer and star of the Saw franchise all the way back in 2004. Since then, he co-created the terrific Insidious horror franchise and went on to direct three terrific movies, Insidious Chapter 3, Upgrade and now, The Invisible Man.
By Sean Patrick5 years ago in Horror
Movie Review: 'The Giant' is a Confounding Murder Mystery
The Giant is a baffling mess of arty pretension, horror imagery, and strong intentions ultimately amounting to nothing. This divisive teen horror movie has strong elements including a compelling visual style and a crime story at the heart that should help give shape to the flights of artistic fancy. Unfortunately, The Giant is so muddy, laconic and confounding that it’s difficult to surmise what the actual story of the movie is.
By Sean Patrick5 years ago in Horror
