New titles added February 11-19
Certain horror films have a knack for making viewers ask themselves, “Okay, what are we doing here?” and in this regard, 1983’s Sleepaway Camp is a prime example of the sometimes-edifying effectiveness of the tonal shift, which may say more about our preconceptions than what a work is really doing—and building toward—all along.
With only three brisk features over 16 long years, Sean Byrne has become perhaps the most fervently anticipated horror filmmaker, to the frustration of impatient fans. His latest, Dangerous Animals—like his belated sophomore feature, The Devil’s Candy (2015)—proves worth the wait, and both fit in perfectly alongside The Loved Ones (2009)…
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BY VIOLET LUCCA | October 31, 2021
One of the earliest memories I have is of my father pointing over to an abandoned rowboat in Dublin’s River Tolka and quite matter-of-factly stating that “a monster lives in there.”
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BY GLENN McQUAID | October 31, 2021
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BY MARGARET BARTON-FUMO | October 31, 2021
The TV is always on in Fatal Pulse. Set in 1991, the underground horror legend Damon Packard’s latest film is drenched in pinkish-bluish gel lighting, a movie-world glow enveloping all in its path—especially antihero Trent Dupont...
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BY CHLOE LIZOTTE | October 31, 2021
Marie Belloc Lowndes’s 1913 novel The Lodger—an expansion of her short story of the same name—has been an enticing proposition for filmmakers, and well it should, given its...
BY COLIN FLEMING | June 3, 2025
In my earlier Bloodvine Guide entry on Jean Rollin’s The Living Dead Girl, I tried to sum up the narrative and visual tropes of the lesbian…
BY LAURA WYNNE | May 30, 2025
Fine art photographer Alex Clark (Kai Lennox), creeping into the haze of deep middle age, wants to go back to the old ways of doing things. He made a splash years ago with a series...
BY JOSÉ TEODORO | May 2, 2025
Movies don’t save lives, but they do relitigate memory and imagination. The beloved suddenly reappears in frame, reanimated through some alchemical bargain of light and motion.
BY FRANK FALISI | April 21, 2025
The title of David Cronenberg’s latest film resonates in myriad ways. “The Shrouds” is the name of an exclusive Toronto cemetery co-owned by inventor/entrepreneur Karsh...
BY JOSÉ TEODORO | April 15, 2025
In the discussion of the ’80s being the golden age of horror, Bad Dreams is far too often left out of the conversation. Granted, the film has its competition—coming from 1988, no less...
BY LAURA KERN | March 28, 2025
“This phrase ‘point of view’ has to be taken seriously,” said Serge Daney, referencing Fritz Lang’s great and Gothic Moonfleet (1955).
BY FRANK FALISI | January 13, 2025
Evil father figures account for some of the most memorable characters in genre films and beyond. And, well, if you happen to have a shitty dad...
BY LAURA KERN | December 31, 2024
I recently visited Queen Hatshepsut, the model for the mummy in The Awakening and the novel it’s based on: Bram Stoker’s wild horror/fantasy The Jewel of Seven Stars. Stoker was with me in spirit in Cairo’s Grand Egyptian Museum...
BY KEVIN McNEER | November 9, 2024
Before we assess the villain, let’s begin with the hero—and “hero” is the correct...
BY JOSÉ TEODORO | November 3, 2024
The Substance opens with its simplest, most natural image: a raw chicken’s egg, the yolk yellow and dewy, lying flat on a white background. A long needle full of an unnaturally green fluid enters the frame and is injected...
BY VIOLET LUCCA | September 21, 2024
BY MICHAEL KRAS | September 6, 2024
I say “hello” into a telephone and Chucky says “hi” back. I realize that I perhaps haven’t adequately prepared myself for what this might feel like.
BY FRANK FALISI | September 3, 2024
After he’d fundamentally abandoned Hollywood moviemaking and cast his lot...
BY STEVEN MEARS | August 20, 2024
Consider the Dies Irae. Eight dire notes to remind you that you are going to die. This musical phrase from a 13th-century plainchant...
BY TOM PHELAN | July 26, 2024