2023 Tag Archive
The Pope’s Exorcist
At first glance, The Pope’s Exorcist is another tired venture into spiritual warfare led by another vaguely daft late-stage Russell Crowe performance. Yet, under the lazy scares and formulaic structure, there’s the beating heart of a genuinely fun B-Movie and the groundwork for a demonically daft franchise. Its 1987 and Father Gabriel Amorth (Russell Crowe), […]
Suitable Flesh
After wowing crowds at Fantastia Fest and Frightfest hype for Joe Lynch’s latest film Suitable Flesh has been high. Adapted from Lovecraft’s ‘The Thing on the Doorstep’ by Dennis Paoli (the man behind Stuart Gordon’s iconic 80’s Lovecraft adaptations) Suitable Flesh is a camp creeping tale of spiritual terror and body swapping led by two […]
Saltburn
Saltburn, the sophomore film from Promising Young Woman writer/director Emerald Fennell, quickly became one of the most talked-about films of 2023. For some the cutthroat class parable was relatively vanilla, for others it was rampant filth. Debates about its High-Brow or Low-Brow aspirations became mind-numbing whilst contrarian arguments blossomed from the fertile grounds of shock, […]
Sisu
Sisu is the long-awaited latest from Finnish director Jalmari Helander, director of Christmas horror Rare Exports and pulpy presidential adventure Big Game. Since Big Game in 2014, Helander hasn’t had a feature film and, whatever the reason, it’s great to see him back swinging with such an explosive, beautifully shot, and timely reintroduction. Aatami (a […]
Sick
It’s kind of mad that a new film written by Scream scribe and co-creator Kevin Williamson slipped out into the world unannounced this year. Sick, directed by John Hyams (director of the much loved, sadly overlooked Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning), is a pandemic horror, something we’ll probably see a lot more of over the […]
The Last Voyage of the Demeter
In the context of fatigued properties, André Øvredal’s The Last Voyage of the Demeter, adapted from just one short chapter in Bram Stoker’s Dracula, is a refreshing concept. It’s a big budget Gothic sea-fairing horror, a cinematic curiosity somewhere between Hammer Horror and The Pirates of the Carribean. When it was announced that the man who […]
Saw X – Reboot or Game Over?
After months of anticipation and one of the most aggressive hype campaigns of the franchise, Saw X is finally here, but is it any good? Written by Josh Stolberg and Pete Goldfinger, and directed by long running franchise editor Kevin Greutert, the latest entry is an incredible treat for fans and one of the finest […]
