Vicious Fun, the latest horror hit from writer and director Cody Calahan, is one of those rare movies that actually lives up to its title for the most part. Soaked in 80s neon colors and backed by a synth heavy score from Steph Copeland, Vicious Fun is a blood-splattered and comedic homage to slasher films of old, one with a sharp wit and a cast that’s more than game for the gory shenanigans.
Read MoreAn Unquiet Grave Takes Sorrow to Spine-Tingling Places→
/An Unquiet Grave is a chilling tale of grief, guilt, and the consequences of refusing to properly deal with those feelings. There’s no shortage of these kinds of stories, certainly not in the horror genre, but director Terence Krey’s feature-length debut shows that there’s still room for them to be effective.
Read MoreAwake is an Intense Reinvigoration of the Disaster Genre→
/TAwake is a disaster movie with an interesting sci-fi hook, wherein a mysterious event shuts down all electronics (car batteries and the like included). However, worse than that, people are no longer able to fall asleep. This sets up the usual “civilization starts to break down” apocalyptic mayhem, but with the twist that everyone is quickly losing their minds from sleep deprivation and will die in a matter of days.
hat’s a fun enough premise on its own, and writer/director Mark Raso delivers on the thrills by staging genuinely harrowing scenes–usually shot as one-takes–that have a true intensity to them. Taking a page from Alfonso Cuarón’s Children of Men, the film has a pair of gripping, long-take action sequences (a couple of which are even set in cars) and others filled with a quieter sort of tension where characters try to sneak around avoiding the notice of others. There’s a real viscerality to the entire film that’s impossible not to admire.
Read MoreGeorge A. Romero's Long-Lost Film The Amusement Park Finally Sees the Light of Day→
/The iconic horror filmmaker’s resurrected movie gives people one powerful scare from beyond the grave.
Read MoreCaveat is Creepy, Suspenseful and Unpredictable→
/Caveat is a standard low-budget horror setup: it has a minimal cast of only three people and takes place almost entirely in a single location – a spooky house of hidden and not-so-hidden horrors where things go bump in the night and strange noises echo through the halls.
But writer and director Damian McCarthy – who also serves as his own editor and production designer – quickly establishes a uniquely forbidding aesthetic and atmosphere all his own.
Read MoreA Quiet Place Part II Has More Monsters and More Nerve-Busting Tension→
/2018’s A Quiet Place wasn’t the first movie to use clever sound design (or lack thereof) as both a stylistic choice and a crucial part of the narrative, but it did apply it in a way that gave it blockbuster appeal.
Part post-apocalyptic survival tale and part monster flick, the film gave audiences uniquely tense thrills and showed star and director John Krasinski’s prowess as a filmmaker. As sequel’s tend to do, this year’s A Quiet Place Part II ramps everything up a notch, with new characters, more monsters and a larger scale.
Read MoreSkull: The Mask is a Grisly Brazilian Slasher→
/There’s nothing like an old fashioned slasher that racks up the kills and has a terrifying monster at its center, and Skull: The Mask certainly delivers on that front.
Read MorePsycho Goreman is Ridiculous Campy Fun→
/An instant cult classic, Psycho Goreman is kitschy sci-fi horror that defies easy definition.
Read MoreSpiral: From the Book of Saw - The Strongest Entry in Years→
/Spiral breathes new life into the franchise will still feeling familiar, and takes the series in a smart direction.
Read MoreFried Barry Just Might Be the Most Insane Movie of the Year→
/Probably best to indulge yourself and some friends with whatever substances treat you best and settle in for a deranged and thoroughly entertaining evening.
Read MoreEat Wheaties! - A Funny and Satisfying Comedy→
/Eat Wheaties! is as admirably sweet as it is funny, and features a career best performance from star Tony Hale.
Read MoreBeast Beast - An Intimate Yet Universally Tragic Teenage Drama→
/The film has a true sense of compassion for its characters and their stories, and thanks to exceptionally great performances from its three leads, offers a heartfelt plea and a resigned statement about growing up in a place that not only fails to curb its epidemic of violence, but actively pushes for it.
Read MoreMortal Kombat's Superb Action Overcomes Its Simplistic Story→
/The latest adaptation of the legendary fighting video game delivers on its violent fights and has a ton of fun doing it.
Read MoreBoys From County Hell Takes a Humorous Approach to Vampire Thrills→
/The Irish vampire film is a refreshingly funny take on the genre that still finds plenty of time for the bloody kills as well.
Read MoreShiva Baby Is a Painfully Hilarious Film→
/Both script and direction shine in this stunning debut.
Read MoreGodzilla vs. Kong Delivers On Its Promised Spectacle→
/It’s a true clash of the titans in Godzilla vs. Kong, which gives audiences exactly what they’re asking for - and just might save movies as we know it.
Read MoreNobody - Bob Odenkirk Gets His Own Action Franchise→
/Bob Odenkirk, like Liam Neeson and Keanu Reeves before him, finally gets his own middle-aged action star take in ‘Nobody’.
Read MoreSlaxx is a Ridiculous Yet Genius Slasher About a Possessed and Homicidal Pair of Pants→
/Slaxx has a lot of fun with its ridiculous premise and also surprises with a smart message about consumerism.
Read MoreZack Snyder's Justice League Delivers the Epic That Never Was→
/It’s been a rough road for Zack Snyder’s original vision for his superhero magnum opus to come to fruition, and it’s a miracle that it exists at all.
Read MoreLong Live Rock: Celebrate the Chaos Looks Into the Family That Music Creates→
/This documentary about the culture and camaraderie of the rock and metal scene will make you miss concerts more than ever.
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