Horror Tag Archive
Contamination – Blu-Ray Review
Banned by the BBFC in 1984 but not prosecuted, Contamination (AKA Alien Contamination AKA Toxic Spawn) is a relatively tame title on the notorious list of 72 censored films. Director Luigi Cozzi, here operating under the name Lewis Coates, is blatantly compacting successful ideas into one Sci-Fi, adventure, horror, mash-up and it just about works.
Dead Rising – EIFF 2015
Considering how saturated the zombie genre is, its difficult to craft an exceptional or even noteworthy entry. Dead Rising: Watchtower, the screen adaptation of the popular Capcom game franchise, has even more pressure since its namesake is a hugely successful part of modern zombie culture, loved by fans worldwide.
Society – Blu-Ray Review
Brian Yuzna, Stuart Gordon acolyte, producer of From Beyond, Re- Animator (and its sequels), all-round 80’s Indy horror maestro, delivered one of his most startling projects in his directorial debut Society. A cult classic now, Society finds its way into midnight screenings and festival line-ups every year, its continual appeal fed by the immortality of […]
Island of Death – Blu-Ray Review
Island of Death, directed by Nick Mastorakis, is one of the nefarious features censored in the 80’s in conjunction with the Obscene Publications Act of 1959. The 72 banned films known as the Video Nasties, are a kind of variable cinematic gauntlet reserved for the most passionate of horror fans. Though a number of these […]
Ava’s Possessions – DbD 2015
The exorcism sub-genre has successfully stood its ground time and time again in every mode of the horror genre, so it’s a tough place to make your voice heard. Even then, Jordan Galland’s Ava’s Possessions is an absolute treat, not least because there seems to be a lack of post-exorcism films.
Musaranas – DbD 2015
Winning the audience award for best feature at Dead by Dawn is no small feat. The Edinburgh horror festival has a tight group of in-depth genre fanatics who know their stuff and get exposed to the newest and best once a year. Juanfer Andres and Esteban Roel’s Musaranas (AKA Shrew’s Nest) is a beautiful powerhouse […]
Amnesia – DbD 2015
Amnesia, the second directing credit from Norwegian filmmaker Nini Bull Robsahm, is a slow but often jolting consideration of domestic abuse. A couple travel to their beautiful remote island getaway for a week of writing and romance. Both are authors, but Kathrine (Pia Tjelta) is perfecting her first novel in the hope she can become […]
Cub – DbD 2015
At the screening of Jonas Govaerts’ Cub, Dead by Dawn festival director Adele Hartley voiced her belief that the Belgians are making some of the most fucked up films out there. Cub isn’t exactly an argument against that. Where De Poel took a quietly-mounting thriller route, Cub takes the camping sub-genre on a comparatively bombastic […]
De Poel – DbD 2015
Easily one of Dead by Dawn 2015’s stand-out films, De Poel is a finely tuned masterclass in mounting tension. Director Chris W. Mitchell’s debut feature is an impressive piece of work on all counts, engaging Horror’s age-old love affair with woodland terror in a consistently intriguing objectiveness.
Tusk – DbD 2015
Kevin Smith is one brazen son of a gun. His first foray into horror, Tusk is a tricky sell, too silly to be scary, to nihilistic to be widely enjoyed. But screw it, this isn’t about making flavour of the month, Smith’s latest is bold as far as genre mash-ups go. Tusk mashes rural craziness […]
