It’s crime, but is it art? Art forgers are a strange breed of criminals, in that the criticism they inspire is closer to the criticism I’m writing here than the moral denunciation given out to other outlaws. Most people aren’t ethically offended by someone turning out counterfeit Roman sculptures or […]
Movies & Documentaries
ELSE (2024) A Claustrophobic French Body Horror That Gets Under Your Skin
Not that it needs explaining, but there’s a marked difference between a traditional horror movie and one that deals in body horror. A traditional movie would feature an external threat hunting down our heroes, and although there are exceptions, it’s as close to a hard-and-fast rule as you are likely […]
The Stunt Man (1980) When Making a Movie Becomes a Matter of Life and Death
One of the Special Feature commentaries for The Stunt Man opens with director Richard Rush claiming that “Putting a dog licking his balls in the title sequence, I suppose, is letting the audience know it’s going to be an iconoclastic picture.” It’s an eye-catching opening, a wild accompanying statement and […]
The Ugly Stepsister (2025) A Beautifully Deranged Fairy Tale
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but it’s generally determined by the standards of society, and when that society is patriarchal, women suffer. It’s a fairly trite observation that’s the subject of a fascinating exploration in The Ugly Stepsister – a version of Cinderella that’s dark and malevolent […]
Libido (1965) Argento may be The Artist, but Gastaldi is The Man
Giallo is known by its directors – Fulci, Bava, Argento, maybe Sergio Martino if you do some digging, but someone just as important is screenwriter Ernesto Gastaldi. Active for nearly thirty years in Italian cinema, he penned the scripts for some of the most iconic gialli, his many credits including […]
Redux Redux (2025) Reclaiming the Multiverse, One Brutal Reality at a Time
After its UK screening at FrightFest 2025, I’ve long wanted to revisit Redux Redux, the follow-up to Kevin and Matthew McManus’s lo-fi horror The Block Island Sound. That movie felt like something a few friends could knock together in their local community — a modern regional horror piece pitched far […]
Missing Child Videotape (Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme 2026)
Despite what the title suggests, Missing Child Videotape isn’t a found footage movie. Instead, director Kondo Ryota’s feature length debut is crafted around its titular subject, which arrives at the home of Keita Kodoma (Rairu Sugita). Unlike Ring, where the videotape has mysterious origins, Keita used it as a child […]
Jimmy & Stiggs (2024) The Messy, Mean, DIY Splatterfest Begos Was Born to Make
In returning to his roots with Jimmy & Stiggs, Joe Begos becomes a conflicting and truly beguiling filmmaker. As a fan of independent music and the punk ethos, a filmmaker who champions those ideals should be right up my street — and for his breakout Bliss (2019), he was. However, […]
Charisma (1999) / Cloud (2024): A Showcase for One of the Greatest Living Filmmakers
A new physical release of a Kiyoshi Kurosawa film is always something to celebrate, however what is notable about Eureka’s choices for the latest release in their Masters of Cinema series is that they highlight Kurosawa’s skills outside the horror genre. With films like Cure and Pulse arguably being his […]
Illustrious Corpses (1976): The Paranoid Style in Italian Thrillers
The American historian Richard Hofstadter wrote The Paranoid Style in American Politics, but if you want some truly paranoid style – one which gives equal weight to the paranoia and the stylishness – you have to go to Italy. Late twentieth century Italy, in particular, saw a strange collision of […]