While their parents recover in hospital from a mystery illness, siblings, Iris and Lucas, must confront a series of strange happenings in their home. Is it a sense of paranoia between the two, or are they sharing the house with something more sinister? Following the release of Shudder exclusive Host […]
Movies & Documentaries
Maniacal Mayhem (1936/1940/1951) (Blu-Ray Review)
From the vaults of Universal Pictures comes Maniacal Mayhem, the Blu-Ray collection of three dark and moody tales of terror starring the iconic horror idol Boris Karloff. The Invisible Ray (1936) stars Boris Karloff as Doctor Janos Rukh, a scientist hellbent on the discovery and use of an element called […]
The Amusement Park (1975): George A Romero’s lost film comes back from the dead (Blu-Ray Review)
Of course, a man like George A Romero would leave us with one final shock. When he died in 2017, it seemed like his final film was Survival of the Dead, a middling 2009 entry into the zombie genre he redefined with his immortal 1968 debut Night of the Living […]
The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923) The Original Universal Monster makes his UK debut (Blu-Ray Review)
It’s a strange, spellbinding experience to witness Lon Chaney’s titular disfigured bell-ringer appear on-screen for the first time, knowing in hindsight that this film, in many ways, was the beginning of blockbuster cinema as we know it today. The first adaptation of many of Victor Hugo’s classic novel, Wallace Worsley’s […]
Take Back the Night (2021) A Disgustingly Evergreen Public Safety Movie (Blu-Ray Review)
Take Back the Night presents challenges for any prospective reviewer, especially this one. Gia Elliot’s micro-budget feature is not a broad, generalist horror movie: this is something which is bristlingly upfront about its goals and message. Take Back the Night is tackling sexual violence against women and the ramifications it […]
Shot in the Dark (2021) Mumblegore Torture Debut, minus the Torture (VOD Review)
Torture Porn was a ridiculous title to saddle upon horror and thriller movies that focus on people being held captive and subjected to grotesque violence. Yet somehow, once upon a time, they were a hot commodity. In 2022, they have become something of a curate’s egg – an occasional piece […]
Stalker (2022) Chamber Piece with Engaging commentary on gender power dynamics (Review)
Stalker made its UK debut at this August’s Frightfest. As actress Rose Hepburn (Sophie Skelton) returns to her rundown hotel after a day of filming her latest horror film, she begrudgingly uses the freight lift. As the lift breaks down mid-floor, Rose finds herself claustrophobically trapped with a strange man. […]
The Twin (2022) Ambitious Horror if full of contradictions (Blu-Ray Review)
The Twin is a film that offers many horror devices and tropes. Some of which are unsettling and startling, others are likely to leave the viewer asking what was the point of that? Taneli Mustonen’s blend of Midsommar and Rosemary’s Baby is reminiscent of various more accomplished horror films, and […]
Two Witches (2021) Gory Witch Horror that dips it toe into the fears of impending parenthood (VOD Review)
Directed by Pierre Tsigaridis, Two Witches is an ode to the darkly camp occult movies of the 1960s and 1970s. Split into three chapters, the film depicts black magic, the fear of the feminine and ancient occult customs through a matriarchal lineage. The first segment deals with a pregnant Sarah […]
Angela Mao: Hapkido and Lady Whirlwind (1972) – a must for any connoisseur of the Kung Fu genre (Blu-Ray Review)
There is a long tradition of on-screen female action stars in Chinese cinema history. Sometimes referred to as 打女/Du Na (see THIS excellent video by Accented Cinema for a deeper dive into this tradition) and starting back when Shanghai was the centre of the Chinese film-making world in the 1930s […]