There’s a scene early on in Autumn Road, a moment of innocence and tenderness between a young boy, Charlie, and his crush Winnie, with a haunted attraction on Halloween serving as the backdrop. It’s a genuinely sweet and touching moment that turns terrifying on a dime as Winnie, played wonderfully by Maddie Lea Hendrix, suffers an allergy attack. For the audience, it should be heartbreaking as we realize this boy’s terror and helplessness, but instead, it’s undercut by poor acting on the part of the actor playing Charlie, who gives such a stilted performance that the scene is robbed of any emotion.
Read MoreMassacre Academy (2021)
As the world spins, what was old inevitably becomes new again, and there has never been a greater example of this in genre filmmaking than with the slasher film. Rising to prominence in the late 1970s and early 1980s, slashers became a staple of the horror genre, churning out countless films where masked killers stalked clueless teenagers before killing them in some violent, and usually creative way. After a brief lull, the slasher film had a resurgence in the 90s after the success of Wes Craven’s Scream, and today we seem to be in the early stages of a mini slasher revival, with a revitalized Halloween franchise in theaters, a new Scream on the way, and the Fear Street trilogy on Netflix, just to name a few.
Read MoreLair (2021)
Lair may not be the best horror movie I've seen this year, but I'm still thinking about it, and that says something. There is a current resurgence of possession genre horror, and I feel comfortable placing Lair in the company of well-reviewed films like The Old Ways and Malignant. A messy but entertaining film, Lair has the pace and tension of a thriller as it slowly evolves into a genuine horror movie.
Read MoreV/H/S/94 (2021)
The anthology is something that goes hand in hand with the horror genre, with titles like Goosebumps, Are You Afraid of the Dark, and the classic Tales From the Crypt offering bite-sized tales of terror to viewers across multiple generations. One of the most unique anthologies of the past few years is the V/H/S series, which offered a unique take on the format, with each film usually revolving around VHS tapes containing lurid and violent stories of monsters and the macabre. By using a found footage approach to the classic horror anthology, the V/H/S franchise is able to tell fun, fast-paced, and creative horror stories that stand apart from the typical anthology fare.
Read MoreErnest Scared Stupid (1991) #RetroReview
Looking for a kid-friendly Halloween flick this season? John Cherry’s Ernest Scared Stupid from 1991 is perfect for the occasion. There is certainly a slew of harmless and silly Ernest films, but I feel this one might be the best of the series.
Read MoreDashcam (2021)
In a time when trust and faith in government institutions are at an all-time low, it seems like now is a perfect atmosphere for paranoia-fueled conspiracy thrillers to make a comeback. Films revolving around wild-eyed protagonists on the run from shadowy government agents were all the rage in the post-Watergate 70s, but sadly, big-budget blockbusters rule the roost these days, with more adult-orientated fare often being overlooked or pushed to the side. Enter Dashcam by director Christian Nilsson, a tight little indie that throws back to films like Antonioni’s Blow Up or De Palma’s update of that story, Blow Out, where a regular joe may or may not have stumbled upon a secret that those in power will kill to keep.
Read MoreBehemoth (2020)
Why can't so many indie filmmakers get it right? It's not entirely a question of budget. Behemoth was made for just under $70,000, and I have seen far better moves made for less Behemoth, the directorial debut of VFX digital artist Peter Sefchik, proves that although you may be a true talent in your original field, it doesn't mean you should direct a feature film.
Read MoreSo Help Me God (2021)
Staring directly into the camera, a man delivers an unbroken, minutes-long monologue about the route that's led him to his present situation, living as part of an impromptu community of drifters, beggars, and the people society has left behind. This is the world of North Texas filmmaker Cody McClain's debut feature, So Help Me God, a raw, unflinching cinema verité exploration of homelessness that literally gives voice to its subjects by simply allowing them to tell their stories. Devoid of narration and composed of a series of heart-wrenching, raw, sometimes funny, and always vulnerable monologues, the film emerges as an elegiac meditation on a world that's been left behind, especially in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, which devastated the country’s vulnerable homeless communities.
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