Renfield (2023)

One of the unfortunate realities that we all have to face when it comes to cinema is that some of the most ambitious ideas tend to be wasted on mediocre talents, or manifest in a way that is disappointing to say the least. One of the most recent examples of an exceptional concept not reaching…

The Evil Dead (1981)

The trope of the “cabin in the woods” horror (which focus on a group of characters that venture into some rural, isolated part of the world and find themselves confronted with sinister forces, whether tangible or supernatural) has become so taut and overworked, it seems impossible to fully comprehend where it started, if such a…

Cat People (1942)

If you read any material that discusses the life and times of Val Lewton, you will come across one word that is perhaps most defining of him as an artist – “atavistic”. The word, which means that which relates to the antiquity or ancestral worlds, is something that remained one of the primary themes behind…

The Body Snatcher (1945)

They quite simply don’t make horror films like they used to. Something about the way filmmakers during the Golden Age of Hollywood managed to terrify audiences has allowed several to remain as effective today as they were at the time of their original release. The rise of the B-movie and monster film allowed many directors…

Infinity Pool (2023)

Great filmmakers don’t necessarily produce the most auspicious progeny, and allegations of nepotism have never been more relevant than they are today, when we see the inexplicable rise to fame of some truly unworthy talents. Mercifully, there are a few that warrant their status, and when Brandon Cronenberg released Possessor a few years ago, it…

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931)

Over time, the premise established by Robert Louis Stevenson in The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde has become so taut and over-worn, it is a surprise anyone has been able to find a new perspective with which to approach this story, especially since it has been subjected to every conceivable genre coming…

Knock at the Cabin (2023)

There are some filmmakers that have such unsteady careers, you can almost visualize their work as a series of peaks and valleys, with the shift in quality sometimes signalling a decline in their dedication to their work, or simply having lost the skill needed to be an effective filmmaker. The best one of these people…

Bodies Bodies Bodies (2022)

The principle of “elevated” horror has become the bane of the existence of many fans of the genre, with the belief that this movement towards more trendy, auteur-driven horror is somehow indicative of the genre being taken seriously, rather than it just being the natural progression that tends to happen over time, where more prominent…

Pearl (2022)

Comparison can sometimes be a major impediment to the process of appreciating art, especially when it comes to looking at two works that share similar sources or creators, and where one is far better than the other – it can become less of a case where we are celebrating the superior one on its own…

M3GAN (2023)

As the famous saying mostly utilized when discussing the subject of friendship goes, “people come into your life for a reason, a season, or a lifetime – while others are built to give you companionship and then attempt to violently murder you and everyone you love” – or at least this is what M3GAN would…