Will Lasley
Bio
I’m an actor and director of stage and screen. But I also dabble in standup, and on this site, horror movie criticism. I’m just a guy who loves horror movies, and I like to share that love with the world.
Stories (92)
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‘Willy’s Wonderland’ Movie Review
Willy’s Wonderland, yet another horror film clearly inspired by the hit video game series Five Nights at Freddy’s, is about a nameless drifter (Nicolas Cage) whose car breaks down in a small town with a dark secret. In order to pay for the repairs, he gets a job working as a janitor for a rundown restaurant and arcade called Willy’s Wonderland. But it turns out the animatronic characters are alive, and they want blood.
By Will Lasley5 years ago in Horror
‘Freaky’ Movie Review
Freaky is a slasher movie parody about a high school nobody named Millie (Kathryn Newton) who is stabbed by a legendary serial killer known as the Blissfield Butcher (Vince Vaughn). But, unbeknownst to both of them, the knife he uses is an ancient Aztec dagger used in blood rituals, and the enchanted blade causes them to switch bodies. Now, Millie (in the Butcher’s body) has just 24 hours to reclaim her own body and stop the Butcher from killing more people in his new disguise.
By Will Lasley5 years ago in Horror
'Come Play' Movie Review
Come Play, based on the viral short film “Larry” (link at the bottom), is about a nonverbal autistic boy named Oliver (Azhy Robertson). When Oliver reads a mysterious picture book that randomly pops up on his iPad, he learns about Larry, a tall, pale, otherworldly being who just wants a friend. But when Larry starts to wreak havoc in the real world, Oliver’s already struggling mother (Gillian Jacobs) finds herself helpless to protect her son.
By Will Lasley5 years ago in Horror
'Vampires vs. the Bronx' Movie Review
In this horror-comedy from SNL's Oz Rodriguez, three inner-city kids, Miguel (Jaden Michael), Bobby (Gerald W. Jones III), and Luis (Gregory Diaz IV), find out that a beloved bodega in their neighborhood is being forced to close, thanks to increasing gentrification. In order to save it, they organize a block party to raise money. But it turns out that the development company that's been "infecting" their neighborhood is run by vampires, and it's up to them to save it.
By Will Lasley5 years ago in Horror
'Shortcut' Movie Review
Shortcut is about a group of students: Nolan (Jack Kane), Reggie (Zak Sutcliffe), Bess (Sophie Jane Oliver), Karl (Zander Emlano), and Queenie (Molly Dew). They are all going on a field trip to watch a total solar eclipse. When a fallen tree blocks the road, they bus takes an alternate route through a backroad, only for a serial killer (David Keyes) to hijack their bus. But the serial killer becomes the least of their worries when they encounter a mysterious creature in a tunnel.
By Will Lasley5 years ago in Horror
‘The New Mutants’ Movie Review
The New Mutants is a spinoff of Fox’s X-Men film franchise about some of the younger and lesser known mutants within that universe. A teenage girl named Danielle (Blu Hunt) is the sole survivor of a mysterious freak disaster and is brought to a special institute run by Dr. Reyes (Alice Braga), who informs Danielle that she is actually a mutant. At her institute, Reyes studies the behavior of young, struggling mutants and helps them control their abilities. But when the other patients (Maisie Williams, Anya Taylor-Joy, Charlie Heaton, Henry Zaga) begin to experience nightmarish hallucinations, they start to realize that Reyes’ facility isn’t exactly what it seems.
By Will Lasley5 years ago in Horror
'Unhinged' Movie Review
In Unhinged, struggling single mom Rachel (Caren Pistorius) just can't catch a break. Her ex seems to have the better divorce lawyer, she's always running late, her career is slipping, and her day is only about to get worse. When she takes a detour to try to get her son (Gabriel Bateman) to school on time, she has a little road rage altercation with a disgruntled driver (Russell Crowe). Little does she know, this man has nothing left to lose, and he decides to stalk her, leaving a trail of destruction in his path.
By Will Lasley5 years ago in Criminal
Sergio Martino’s Underrated Western Masterpiece
Director Sergio Martino is a cult favorite among fans of Italian horror, having directed such classics as Torso, Your Vice is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key, and The Case of the Scorpion’s Tale. But he has dabbled in other genres as well, albeit to varying degrees of success. In fact, Martino made two westerns in his career as a director Arizona Colt, Hired Gun and Mannaja (aka A Man Called Blade). I’m a huge fan of spaghetti westerns, and the latter of those two is actually one of my all-time favorites. For some reason, I don’t see a lot of people talking about this one, especially when describing the best spaghetti westerns. But since it’s one of my favorites, I’d like to talk about it here.
By Will Lasley5 years ago in Geeks
EDITORIAL: Can a Horror Movie Go Too Far?
Shock value is a valuable, and versatile, tool in horror movies, and some types of horror are more reliant on shock value than others. Some movies, like Dead Alive and my personal favorite horror film, Evil Dead II, use absurdly excessive gore for black humor. Other horror films, like Pieces and The New York Ripper, show brutal violence in graphic detail for (consciously) cheap thrills. And some films, like Midsommar and I Spit On Your Grave, starkly depict abuse as a way of generating awareness for such atrocities. But whether it’s being used for comedy, exploitation, or social commentary, is it possible for a horror movie to go too far with its shocking content? Sure, plenty of films over the years have been accused of doing so, but pretentious critics have been dismissing horror movies as filth for decades, even going back to Psycho, a movie that, while fantastic, is incredibly tame by today's standards. But has it ever actually been true?
By Will Lasley6 years ago in Horror
EDITORIAL: Modern Exploitation Throwbacks
I’m somewhat of an aficionado of exploitation movies. The good ones are awesome and entertaining, and the bad ones are just plain fascinating. For those who don’t know, exploitation movies are movies that are typically low-budget, and whose major appeal/selling point is their (often excessive) lurid content, sometimes in reference to controversial topics of the time. And I’m certainly not the only fan of movies like these. Hell, I was born after the majority of the most beloved ones were made. But in the early 2000’s (beginning with movies like Rob Zombie’s House of 1000 Corpses and Eli Roth’s Cabin Fever), people started becoming nostalgic for these movies, and thus began the market for exploitation throwback films.
By Will Lasley6 years ago in Horror
EDITORIAL: Just What the Hell is ‘Antropophagus’?
In 1980, director Joe D’Amato made a movie called Antropophagus (aka Anthropophagus) (aka The Grim Reaper), and it’s quite... unique. It’s not unique in the way that surreal horror like Hausu or Eraserhead is; more so in its execution. I’ll elaborate on that shortly.
By Will Lasley6 years ago in Horror
EDITORIAL: Why Lucio Fulci's Gates of Hell Trilogy Rocks
Often referred to as the "Italian godfather of gore" by fans, cult director Lucio Fulci is one of the most beloved horror filmmakers of all time. While he has dabbled in other genres, including westerns, comedies, and even a couple of kids' movies, it is his horror films that made him a legend. While I would consider 1979's Zombie to be his masterpiece, his Gates of Hell trilogy is very much worth examining. Despite not being quite as controversial as Don't Torture a Duckling or The New York Ripper, Fulci's reputation as a purveyor of nastiness is still quite evident in these films. All three of them involve, of course, some sort of property being constructed on one of the supposed gateways into Hell (a sort of spin on the “Indian burial ground” trope). Obviously, this leads to the residents of said area to be endangered. While none of the three films are connected by shared stories or characters, the thematic connection(s) has led them to be deemed a trilogy of sorts. All three were directed by Fulci and co-written by himself and Dardano Sacchetti (among some additional writers). All three films also happened to star actress Catriona MacColl, albeit as three entirely different characters.
By Will Lasley6 years ago in Horror
