movie review

Movie reviews for horror fans; from gruesome bone-chillers to dark horror thrillers, a showcase for frightful films that seek to entertain and to terrify.

Reed Alexander's Horror Review of 'Escape from New York' (1981). Content Warning.
Can we please talk about the fact that the first half of this cult classic is essentially Kurt Russell just walking around looking cool? And you know what's fucking dumb about that? That is the perfect embodiment of the Action Hero Trope throughout the history of the Action Genre. Literally, just the hero looking cool. Everything the hero does, HE HAS TO LOOK COOL. Not just cool, but fucking cool, a blown-out caricature of what a hyperactive, fifteen year old boy thinks is cool. I argue no one has ever done it better than Kurt Russell's Snake Plissken. I mean, at one fucking point he sits down in a lawn chair and just sits there looking cool. So, technically, that means the acting is superb because it's the right kind of perfectly fucking hammy.
By Reed Alexander2 years ago in Horror
INTO THE DARK
The night loomed over the quiet town of Ravenshade, casting shadows that seemed to stretch and twist, morphing into sinister shapes. The air was thick with an eerie stillness, as if nature itself held its breath, anticipating something unspeakable. In this ominous setting, the residents of Ravenshade were unaware that their peaceful town was about to be plunged into a darkness far more profound than the absence of light.
By Bobby Brown2 years ago in Horror
Reel Wild Cinema (1995-97)
The Mid-Nineties were a time of relative ease, strangely, on the American landscape. Despite race riots, political scandals, the uprooting of cultural mores, and the gradual emergence of mass casualty violence in the form of domestic terror and school shootings, it was, by and large, still a period where American preeminence was unchallenged, a fixity on the world stage, one that could be relied upon. I lived in a little blue house, under a vast, sprawling Midwestern blue sky, at the edge of farm fields and on a street with well-clipped lawns. And I thought I was PUNK.
By Tom Baker2 years ago in Horror
THE HUNTED MANSION
Nestled at the edge of a dense, ancient forest, the Hunted Mansion stood as a mysterious relic from a forgotten era. Shrouded in mist and surrounded by towering trees, it held a daunting reputation among the locals. Tales of strange occurrences and ghostly apparitions had woven themselves into the fabric of the mansion's history, turning it into a place whispered about in hushed tones around campfires.
By Bobby Brown2 years ago in Horror
5 Cerebral Gore Films Featuring Women: When Slasher Meets Women's Horror. Top Story - January 2024.
Horror has a long history of murdering its woman characters. This happens because horror films uphold the gender ideology that women are far less superior to men. One might argue that the lack of a woman’s gaze or relatable women characters leads many women spectators to not fall in love with the slasher genre. While Carol Clover’s coined Final Girl trope might make women pumped up about seeing a woman survive a horror film, that doesn’t mean all women would identify with the Final Girl (especially if she’s written stereotypically). I’ve discovered that there’s a new horror genre: a genre that combines slasher, cerebral (psychological horror), or women’s horror that is often directed, written, produced, and/or starring women. Coined by Amy Jane Vosper comes a new hybrid horror genre: cerebral gore.
By Semoy Booker 2 years ago in Horror
Reed Alexander's Horror Review of 'The Boarderlands' (2013). Content Warning.
Can I just start off by saying the Shakey Camera style of filming was completely un-fucking-necessary? Imagine the money they wasted on crappy webcams and headsets when they could have just had one or two cameras shooting the whole film. And there were basically no other FX outside of the cinematography so why did they need it? Are filters and lighting honestly so expensive that an indie film would rather burn money on a gimmick? In my review of Alien Abduction (2014), I explain when Shakey Camera is appropriate and in my review of The Taking of Debora Logan (2014) (TDL), I explain when it's not. It boils down to this. Was it necessary because you couldn't afford to make the practical FX look good, or was it necessary because you had no talent for creating atmosphere? In this case, how hard would it be to make such a beautiful set look good with filters and lighting? Again, there were really no practical FX to hide with the Shakey Camera so why go that rout?
By Reed Alexander2 years ago in Horror
The Tingler
The Tingler is a 1959 horror shlock monster send-up produced by exploitation gimmick auteur William Castle, whose stable of low-rent films always featured an added "bonus" for audience members: a free Rasputin beard, "life insurance" for anyone that should happen to die of fright during the viewing of his Psycho kock-off Homicidal (1961), and, in the case of The Tingler, select theater seats wired with joy buzzers or electrodes or some shit, to shock the asses of the American monster movie-going public. (Needless to say, he would have been sued, arrested, possibly deported, or even executed for trying such shenanigans in modern times, particularly if his little stunt resulted in some unsuspecting movie patron having a massive coronary. At the very least, he would have faced a civil suit due to "emotional trauma".
By Tom Baker2 years ago in Horror
The Unsettling Antiques
part1 : In the quiet town of Hollow Creek, where whispers of the supernatural lingered in the crisp night air, Emily found herself drawn to an old antique shop tucked away on the outskirts. The shop's creaking door and dimly lit interior hinted at mysteries waiting to unfold.
By Mohammad nour2 years ago in Horror
Whispers in the Shadows
Whispers in the Shadows In the small, forgotten town of Ravenswood, a dense fog clung to the streets, shrouding the buildings in an eerie silence. The townsfolk, long accustomed to a life in the shadows, went about their business with a sense of unease. However, a far more sinister force lurked in the darkness.
By Mohammad nour2 years ago in Horror
Where is the missing child?. Content Warning.
Part 1: The Vanishing Act The quaint town of Ravenswood, bathed in the silvery glow of the harvest moon, held its collective breath on that fateful autumn night. The wind, a spectral messenger, whispered ancient secrets through the rustling leaves, casting long shadows that danced upon cobblestone streets. Unbeknownst to its unsuspecting residents, a chilling mystery loomed within the heart of their seemingly tranquil enclave—a mystery destined to unfold in a series of events that would send shockwaves through the very soul of Ravenswood.
By STGg2 years ago in Horror
Finally Watched the Pop's Exorcism
🎬 Picture this: a quiet evening, a bowl of popcorn in hand, and the title "The Pope's Exorcist" glowing on the screen. Little did I know, I was about to embark on a cinematic journey that would redefine my perception of supernatural thrillers. Buckle up, because this is a ride you won't want to miss! 👻✨
By Blaise2 years ago in Horror
Blumhouse's BLACK CHRISTMAS remake is a godforsaken cinematic calamity
There is a passage from Mark Kermode's 2011 book, The Good, The Bad, and the Multiplex, wherein he talked of a phenomenon in media consumption that he referred to as "diminished expectations" - in essence, the act of going into something expecting it to be completely bad, only for your opinion of it to increase in positivity upon the sight of even the barest sliver of something good within it, like a dehydrated person in a vast, barren desert being grateful for a sip of water, even though they deserve so much more, and so much better, than just the bare minimum.
By Jack Anderson Keane2 years ago in Horror