Be prepared; this is a scary shocking movie. I was heard to yell out quietly twice. Music by Javier Navarette, cinematography by Florian Hoffmeister, and production design by Tim Grimes set the stage, along with creepy and disturbing sounds that aren’t always identifiable. Helmed by director Scott Cooper, the filmmakers have created a film that is successful in a number […]
New horror thriller “The Night House” gets much right in the first two acts. The film’s use of location in upstate New York is beautifully isolated, the color palette of natural earth tones seen throughout the film demonstrates its attention to aesthetics. The selling point is underrated actress Rebecca Hall, who should have gotten Oscar
“The Purge” series of films takes aim at Texas in its latest installment, more specifically Marfa in West Texas. “The Forever Purge,” fifth in the horror franchise, focuses on immigration and white supremacy. The film was originally slated for a summer 2020 release, where the cruelty displayed on screen would resonate more with the tumultuous
Those who have followed the Conjuring series of films are familiar with the husband-wife duo of a demonologist (Wilson), Ed, and his psychic wife, Lorraine, (Farmiga) who set up their equipment on site wherever there are clues or trouble. In this instance, there is trouble in the Glatzel family where young David seems to be possessed. It’s one of
Part II follows along nicely from the first one, although I don’t think the first one really warranted a sequel. The vignettes from the previous one were helpful. And certainly the eeriness of the silence punctuated with loud squawking of the monsters is even more effective this time. It produced a number of jumps and convulsive gasps on
With a new title, marquee names on the poster and no jigsaw puppet, “Spiral” is a reboot of sorts to the “Saw” franchise (2004-2017) that ran out of steam around its third installment. Technically, “Spiral” is the ninth film in the franchise, and while there is new blood in front of the camera, director Darren
Yakov (Davis) is in a rather fragile state as a result of a traumatic event and subsequent stay in a protected Hassadic Jewish community. Those around him are supportive and helpful in guiding him through the transition back into normal life. He assures them he is just fine, only strapped for funds. When his old rabbi and friend
It’s very difficult to write a good horror story, and Kindred serves as an example of what can go wrong. Making the story horrific and plausible where the plausibility enhances the terror is key to a successful horror film or book. Jordan Peale’s Get Out is a prime example of success. Even though there’s only a remote chance that any of us will come
“I Still Believe”, the religious romance film, was one of the last times local film critics sat for a movie screening in person. That was early March, and while most of us have reviewed countless film titles, by way of screener links from our homes over the last five months; it’s become very clear the
First time feature film director Egor Abramenko’s Russian sci-fi thriller “Sputnik” makes the most out of a “less is more” approach. First off, the 1980’s retro theme from wardrobe, vehicles, even composer Oleg Karpachev’s score, fit the bill and isolate the viewer in this bleak Cold War scenario. Second, “Sputnik” writers take a very “X-Files”