The country most people associate with the idea of a horror franchise is America. The UK has a few, as do Hong Kong, Japan, and Thailand, but the notion of anyone competing with the USA on franchising is laughable. Which is why the existence of a Norwegian slasher trilogy isn’t […]
Reviews
Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie (2025)(II) – Long-gestating gutbuster from Canada’s finest pranksters
When it comes to stealing intellectual property, asking for permission is overrated. The same goes for dangerous stunts, particularly that of the skydiving variety, especially if it means a shot at playing a gig at the most esteemed live venue in your hometown. At least, that’s the logic preached by […]
Love is the Monster (2026) A Handsome, Horny, Hopelessly Chaotic Horror
After the cultural success of Ari Aster’s Midsommar, I’m surprised there weren’t more Scandisploitation, English‑language horror movies. Just as countless people became fascinated with Norse mythology off the back of Chris Hemsworth’s now‑iconic turn, this too felt like the perfect set‑up for more. There have been a few, but the […]
Madhouse (1974) The Price is Right
There’s a point in a horror icon’s career, usually when they’re still bankable but aren’t the newest fright any more, when they go meta. The roots of this can probably be traced back to all those Universal movies that pitted the studio’s once-formidable monsters against Abbott and Costello. Later on, […]
Kraken (2026) A tale of tension, patience, and a creature waiting in the wings
Since André Øvredal’s era‑defining Trollhunter in 2010, there’s been a small but persistent Scandinavian micro‑scene of giant‑monster movies, even Netflix got involved through its Troll outings (2022 & 2025). Now in 2026, we have a new addition to that tradition: Pål Øie’s Kraken, released by Signature Entertainment. At one end […]
Signal One (2026) A small‑scale sci‑fi that refuses to stay small
One of the great existential questions for modern man is whether we are alone, and given the sheer expanse of the universe surrounding us, the answer cannot possibly be no – there’s simply too much out there for us to be the only ones. It’s a statistical probability bordering on […]
Empire of the Ants (1977) The Surprising Liminality of a B.I.G Killer Ant Movie
Bert I. Gordon was a filmmaker who constantly strived to live up to his B.I.G. initials; beginning in 1955 with King Dinosaur, the cult director-producer would quickly carve out a name for himself as the master of the giant creature-feature, going on to direct monster-movie classics such as The Amazing […]
Familiar Touch (2024): dementia drama without the melodrama
On a recent episode of the Adam Buxton Podcast, Kathy Burke spoke about going to see Alexander Zeldin’s play Care, which chronicles the last year or so of a woman’s life in a care home. After effusively describing it and the effect it had on the audience, the host asked […]
Affection (2026): A Familiar but Disturbing Twist on Memory-loss Thriller
Jessica Rothe, best known for the Happy Death Day films, returns to the horror genre in a much smaller scale project – an indie first time feature from BT Meza. However, it immediately displays a confidence of someone far more experienced as it opens in the aftermath of a car […]
Hi Mom! (1970) De Palma’s Wildest Early Provocation
Brian De Palma has been accused of many things as a filmmaker, from being a Hitchcock copyist to a rampant sexist, whether accurately or not. Outside of the outliers, however, there’s a pretty standardised image of what one of his movies is, from its narrative concerns to the way he […]