Coming off the critical success of Terrified (2017), and his standout segment in the horror anthology Satanic Hispanics (2022), Argentinian director Demián Rugna is back with another instalment of his brand of mean horror with When Evil Lurks – meaner and grimmer than before. Hot off the film festival circuit […]
Reviews
Pearls of the Deep (1966) Manifesto of the Czech New Wave (Review)
Anthology and portmanteau movies are often something of a curate’s egg, and never more so than when those films feature the work of several directors. Released by Second Run this week, Pearls of the Deep was a 1966 showcase for young Czechoslovakian filmmakers. It was subsequently heralded as the manifesto […]
The Horrible Dr Hichcock (1962) & The Night of the Devils (1972) Radiance Italian Gothic (Review)
It’s that time of year again. The nights are getting longer and darker, all the leaves are brown, and everywhere you go, jack-o’-lanterns and fake cobwebs adorn windows and doorways – the season of the witch is well and truly upon us. Brand-new Blu-Ray distribution label Radiance Films have had […]
8 Found Dead (2022) Crime Thriller Playing ‘Guess the Sub-Genre’ (Review)
For all screenwriters moan about how mobile phones and social media have made certain traditional thriller plots obsolete, the internet has also opened up new possibilities for suspense cinema. For example, future books about horror subgenres will have to include a section on “AirBnB horror”, as recent films like Barbarian, […]
It Lives Inside (2023): comfortingly uncomfortable horror with a twist (Review)
Spare a thought for the horror pseuds, folks like me who live to make strained sociopolitical interpretations of horror trends. The 21st century started off well for us, with the zombie revival and the torture wave mapping neatly onto post-9/11 anxieties. Why, though, is everything about exorcisms and possession all […]
Night of the Hunted (2023) – Sniper Terror Butts Heads with Political Bluntness (Review)
Shudder is the premium horror streaming service – for now – and you’d expect their acquisitions and original movies to reflect that status. If a Shudder Original isn’t a horror movie, it will at least have some tangential connection. Not to be confused with the Jean Rollin movie of the […]
The Dead Mother (1993) Dark Spanish Thriller with a Super Daring Twist (Review)
Spanish language genre cinema might be incredible as far as the UK is concerned, but we don’t know as so little makes it over to these shores. Of the few names that have appeared on our radars, the most well-known are directors like Guillermo Del Toro and Álex de la […]
The Puppetman (2023) Lost in a Year of Great Possession Horror (Review)
Directed by Brandon Christensen (Z, Superhost, Still/Born), and written by Ryan Christensen, The Puppetman follows Michal (Alyson Gorske) – a young woman haunted by her childhood and the murder of her mother by her father, who is now awaiting his fate on death row. Opening with the gruesome murder of […]
V/H/S 85 (2023) Found Footage Icon Continues its Rise (Review)
Since it’s inception in 2012, the V/H/S franchise has been a welcome edition to the world of both found footage and anthology horror. The popularity, and budget, has increased over the years, which has led to this bombastic, and at times more humorous entry, V/H/S 85. Always a tricky one […]
The House by the Cemetery (1981) The Odd Duck of the Gates of Hell Trilogy (Review)
Few people are as vital to the development of post-WW2 European horror as Italy’s Lucio Fulci, and although his films are not as beloved as Dario Argento’s or as critically acclaimed as Mario Bava’s biggest hits, his mixed oeuvre (which ranges from giallos to fantasy to westerns), is full of […]