Saint Maud
Saint Maud, from director Rose Glass, finds religious obsession and psycho-sexual horror on the Whitby coast. The film is a surprisingly underhanded showcase for debut director Glass, not to mention her crew of British talent. Following in the footsteps of DePalma and Friedkin, the latest genre offering from A24 follows the studio’s penchant for quietly […]
Gretel & Hansel
Whichever version of the story you read as a kid, it usually takes a few years for the inherent brutality of Hansel and Gretel to dawn. As far as Grimm fairy tales go, it’s one of the grimmest, and has been brought to startling life by Oz Perkins in Gretel & Hansel, a feminist reinterpretation led by IT’s Sophia […]
Body Melt
In the 80’s and 90s Australian TV cranked out some of the most intense public service announcements released anywhere on the globe. The aim? To scare the living shit out of any potential drug users and drunk drivers. Philip Brophy’s 1993 horror film Body Melt takes a page out of the anti-drug PSA’s book and savages the […]
The Invisible Man
Of all the classic Universal Monster movies, The Invisible Man is debatably the most terrifying. Dracula, Frankenstein, and Wolfman are prey to thier own ghastly conditions, often painted as sympathetic figures. The Invisible Man however, based on the seminal sci-fi novel by H.G.Wells, is a different matter altogether. His discovery of an invisibility serum marks him a genius but […]
Tumbbad
An epic Indian fable with a heart of horror, Tumbbad is one of the most unique horror films currently available on Amazon Prime. From first time directors Rahi Anil Barve, Anand Gandhi, and Adesh Prasad, Indian export Tumbbad made waves with its debut at Fantastic Fest in 2018, for good reason. Its blend of pristinely realised period setting, gorgeous location shooting, and Lovecraftian […]
Birds of Prey
After a scene stealing turn in David Ayer’s calamitous Suicide Squad, it was only a matter of time until Harley Quinn got a film of her own. Robbie’s portrayal of the Batman villain was ICONIC. Sticking with her is smart business from a studio still trying to figure out its place in the world of Superhero cinema and Marvel/Disney domination. At cinemas the film […]
Countdown
Peruse some lists of fan-favourite genre flicks from 2019 and Justin Dec’s Countdown pops up regularly. Not high on the list, but consistently enough to tickle interest. Dec’s debut feature film won’t wow the sort of people who crawled apoplectic from screenings of Us and Midsommar, but it’s got enough insidious charm to please the friday night fright-lovers. In today’s app-strewn world, […]
Child’s Play (2019)
Lars Klevberg’s Child’s Play remake was crazy controversial on announcement. Understandable when Don Mancini, original Child’s Play creator and producer, is still writing and directing Chucky films. The latest, Cult of Chucky, got a lot of love on release last year, whilst pre-emptive buzz around the remake was fairly negative. However, Klevberg and co have […]
Satanic Panic
Directed by Chelsea Stardust from a story by Ted Geoghegan and a script by Grady Hendrix (Mohawk), Satanic Panic is a refreshingly daft horror comedy steeped in Satanic imagery. Its occult entertainment for The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina generation. Geoghegan’s story sports the self-aware nostalgia he first flaunted back in We Are Still Here, but […]
3 from Hell
Fourteen years ago Rob Zombie unleashed The Devil’s Rejects on unsuspecting horror audiences. The film was a hit and a major departure from the Tobe Hooper brand of theatrical nostalgia he flaunted in his debut project House of 1000 Corpses. Now, 14 years later, Zombie has returned to complete the story of the nefarious Firefly […]