Category: Reviews
All Roads Lead to Hell
Buchan excels at short and twisted love stories, but it’s Simmonds’ graphic artwork that makes the author's prose shine.
The Thing (Devil’s Advocates)
An excellent study in its own right, well researched, informative and intelligently written in a clear, presentable style.
The Complex
Atmospheric and beautifully shot, it may not take any original paths, but should appeal to admirers of Japanese horror cinema.
Frankenstein (TV Miniseries, 2004)
A bloodless take that merely skims the surface of the story’s rich depth. Uninspiring direction further renders this dreary.
Shackled
A wonderful beginning to a story that promises surreal, and what follows calls to mind David Lynch in its dreamlike quality.
The People Under the Stairs
While it is often overlooked, it is an effective horror flick with a dark sense of unease that is still incredibly palpable.
My Amityville Horror
My Amityville Horror poses many questions, but by the film’s conclusion, very few have actually been answered.
Lifeforce
Unstrained and anarchic, Lifeforce may not be considered Hooper’s best work, but it’s certainly one of his most wildly entertaining.
Sharknado
Fearless in its idea, but disappointingly lacks the direction and acting needed to pull off its own wacky intellections.
Insidious: Chapter 2
Although the plot loses some of its intrigue, Wan superbly distracts us with his talent to make the audience feel constantly unsettled.
FrightFest: Big Bad Wolves
Deftly balancing genres, it's a remarkable script that never misses a beat, truly belying the writers' inexperience.
FrightFest: In Fear
A smart screenplay delivers an effective psychological thriller that wastes no time in initiating a tension that remains taut.
FrightFest: Missionary
Anthony DiBlasi maintains a firm hand on the reins and ensures Missionary slow-burns its way to a satisfying and moving finale.
FrightFest: No One Lives
Ryûhei Kitamura's second US venture is a riot; revelling in its throwaway nonsense, it's fun from the get-go and knows it.
FrightFest: The Paranormal Diaries – Clophill
One hell of a dull time, with nothing other than repetitive speculation to lull one to sleep.
FrightFest: Bring Me the Head of the Machine Gun Woman
Crams in every bit of exploitation style it can into the first 10 minutes alone.
FrightFest: Rewind This!
Nothing but fun is to be had here, the film a catalogue of gore and nudity posing as a behind-the-scenes survey of SFX techniques.
FrightFest: Haunter
Showcases a great deal of devil in its detail, with a tight-knit, metaphysical framework that may require multiple viewings.
FrightFest: 100 Bloody Acres
The upbeat tone is maintained so thoroughly that, even when the blood rises in gouts, it doesn't dampen the lightheartedness.
FrightFest: V/H/S/2
Improves on the formula established by the original film; by slim-lining the segments, and by featuring fewer, the impact is undeniable.
FrightFest: Wither
An entertaining if not very original demonic possession slash zombie gorefest that, at the very least, showcases energy and zest.
FrightFest: Hansel and Gretel – The 420 Witch
Incredibly fun with some fantastic gore, but falls just short of its own expectations.
FrightFest: Antisocial
Compare Antisocial to projects with similar production constraints, and there is no parallel in terms of cinematic experience.
FrightFest: The Dyatlov Pass Incident
The final act crosses the line between fantastical to slightly amusing ridiculousness.
Possession
Stark, exhilarating and utterly lacking in compromise, Andrzej Zulawski's film is an emotionally brutal watch.
The Seasoning House
A sense of conviction and commitment to realism prevents the film from seeming an exercise in exploitation.
Infection Z
Flounders between drafts, as confused as its one-dimensional characters. A jarring edit does nothing to help matters.
Hellsing Ultimate Volume 5–8
Follows original events more closely and benefits from this with a much more coherent and progressive storyline.
La Belle Dame sans Merci
A read with huge amounts of intrigue; there are enough unanswered questions to leave the reader looking forward to part two.
Konga
A hoot from beginning to end, this is sheer B-movie lunacy of remarkably bad proportions, and all the more essential for it.
Slice & Dice: The Slasher Film Forever
Enjoyable enough, but is more fond nostalgia as opposed to a true study of the subgenre.
Evil Dead
Overall, what the film does, which is torture porn, it does well. But Evil Dead does not do The Evil Dead well.
Evil Dead 2
The extras on offer here earn this release its entitlement to the term 'special edition', where so many others fail.
I Didn’t Come Here to Die
Thoroughly unlikeable characters played by terrible actors spout unnecessary predictive dialogue in lieu of characterisation.
The Corridor
A movie which feels like the filmmakers knew what they wanted to achieve, but were unsure on how to go about it.
The Bay
Piecing together its story in multi-format, it's an interesting spin on found footage, but it falls victim to an over-zealous edit.
247°F
Two opportunities for interesting subplot that could alleviate the tedium of watching an unlikeable trio pant and bicker were missed.
The Fallow Field
That rarest of films, one that genuinely keeps you guessing to culminate in some palpable tension come the third act.
Dracula (1958)
This new cut includes previously excised moments, while the top-drawer special features are worth the retail price alone.
Midnight Son
Eschews many of the vampire subgenre's tropes to present something more akin to a quietly observed character study.
London Falling
An interesting slab of urban fantasy, but while Cornell is incredibly talented at setting the scene, he isn’t as gifted in capturing dialect.
Piranha
Schlocky good fun, but Piranha straddles the line between dull and entertaining, twiddling its thumbs between fish attacks.
Vampire Ecstasy
After I had viewed it as many times as I could stand, I had to put on Red Roses of Passion to restore my respect for Sarno.
Christmas Evil
A classic in its own unique way, embraced now for 30 years by those who savour off-beat films that foil expectations.
Deadbeats
An incredible amount of humour, some memorable characters, and contextualisation that adds extra depth.