When I heard the news that Radiance Films would be launching Chasm Films, a new sub-label dedicated to underground genre cinema from across the world, I was delighted and intrigued. When it was announced that their first release under this label would be the world Blu-Ray premiere of Hungarian filmmaker […]
Movies & Documentaries
Panic Fest 2026 – Online Shorts Roundup
If there’s one thing I’ve learned from attending and writing about horror film festivals over the past few years, it’s that the short film selections often end up being more interesting and memorable than the features. I have a real soft spot for short-form horror fiction, and I frequently find […]
DEBONE (Panic Fest 2026)
Is there something in the water at Korean universities? Before Debone kicks off, it states on screen that it’s the work of a remarkable student, which basically means that writer/director Lee Dae-han’s debut feature is of such a high standard that even his old teachers at university applaud his work, […]
Exit 8 (2025) Liminal Horror More Emotionally Potent than Horrific
2026 seems to be the year of horror films where our protagonists are trapped in claustrophobic spaces. We had Markiplier emerge onto the film scene with Iron Lung, we’re about to have Kane Parsons capitalise on his Backrooms success with a full feature film, and here, from Japan, we have […]
Extreme Private Eros: Love Song 1974 (1974): emotional violence transcending the limits of documentary form
Some directors are primarily famous for one scene, and in the case of Kazuo Hara it’s easy to pinpoint which one it is. Hara’s 1987 documentary The Emperor’s Naked Army Marches On is notorious for a moment in which the film’s subject Kenzo Okuzaki, a Japanese World War II veteran […]
Salem’s Lot (1979): A Masterclass in Slow-Burn Horror
Strange things are happening in Jerusalem’s Lot – the residents are turning into vampires! Salem’s Lot (1979) is a two-part miniseries based on the 1975 Stephen King novel of the same name, following author Ben Mears (David Soul), who returns to his hometown to write about the mysterious Marsten House, […]
New Directors from Japan: Takashi Ono (2016-2023)
Every now and then you see a film where the only viable response is: where did that come from? The beauty of Third Window’s new Takashi Ono collection is that it answers that question. As collections go, it’s modestly-scaled stuff; three shorts and a feature, and the feature’s only just […]
Dead Bloom (Panic Fest 2026)
Eco-horror has never felt so timely as a genre. From the rise of AI threatening clean water, to water companies pumping sewage into seas and rivers, there are constant headlines of man-made threats to our environment. At the heart of it is corporate greed and indifference, no matter how much […]
Creature of the Pines (Panic Fest 2026)
From its origins in movies like Cannibal Holocaust, The MacPherson Tapes and The Blair Witch Project, found footage has evolved from a way to imply unreal events took place in the real world into a surprisingly expansive genre. It struggled in the early 2010s when it seemed every other horror […]
Break A Leg (Panic Fest 2026)
Within the indie sphere of any art form there will always be room for projects where performers make their own opportunities rather than waiting for someone else’s validation or permission. It’s the lifeblood of the independent ideal, and one of the reasons why so many actors transition into directing, and […]