Category: Horror Movies
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Panic Fest 2026: ‘Dead Bloom’ blossoms with rich social themes
Domonic and Damien Paris’ Dead Bloom lives within the same realm as R.T. Thorne’s sci-fi/thriller 40 Acres. Both films use genre as a vehicle to explore deeper themes of systemic oppression and generational trauma. The monsters simply add to the horror already raging on the outside, layering on a thick coating of inner anguish that…
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Panic Fest 2026: A Conversation with Benjamin & Sascha Montgomery-Pierson (Ekelbrode)
Ekelbrode emerges as among the more character-driven shorts out of Panic Fest 2026. Based in an apocalyptic world, two characters find themselves in a control room and discuss the morality of war. Filmmaking team Benjamin and Sascha Montgomery-Pierson dissect the long history of combat in the United States (and beyond!), crafting emotionally-rich characters, and their…
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Halloween Returns – Pitch Deck
We all know the Halloween franchise won’t stay dormant for long. In the aftermath of David Gordon Green’s trilogy, there have been plans to launch a TV series by Miramax (let’s hope for an anthology!). And I’m betting heated conversations are happening right now for what to do next with a theatrical release. It’s just…
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Horror in Frame: A Conversation with Harry Aspinwall (The House Was Not Hungry Then)
A house as a horror character is a long-standing tradition. From The Old Dark House (1932) to The Night House (2020), the genre has dabbled in the concept of a residence being the source of evil. With his new film, writer/director Harry Aspinwall tears down the walls and invites the audience into a house of…
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Panic Fest 2026: A Conversation with Bo Webb (UN-DEAD)
Zombie films are a dime a dozen these days. You really have to spin a deliciously unique yarn to make some noise. Writer/director Bo Webb lands with a cannonball splash with UN-DEAD, a short out of Panic Fest. It’s a bloody good time, and it features an actor you likely know, Brian Huskey, whose credits…
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Panic Fest 2026: ‘Frankie, Maniac Woman’ delivers the female rage we need
Toss Maniac (1980), Violation, and Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation into a blender, and you get Pierre Tsigaridis’ ferociously biting and bloody Frankie, Maniac Woman. Co-written with Dina Silva, who stars as the titular character, the film burns Hollywood’s obsession with body image (specifically, the grossly dated skinny white woman standard) to the goddamn…
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Review: ‘Mārama’ unpacks generational trauma of the Māori people
Taratoa Stappard’s Mārama gives voice to the voiceless. Born to an English father and an Indigenous Māori mother (Ngati Raukawa, Ngati Toa me Ngati Tuwharetoa), the writer/director excavates decades of brutality imposed against the Māori people. The film, which carries as much cultural and cinematic significance as 2019’s La Llorona, feels devastatingly raw and visceral…
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Review: Samara Weaving kills in ‘Over Your Dead Body’
Samara Weaving is already having quite a year. While Ready or Not 2 currently plays in theaters and Carolina Caroline with Kyle Galner releases this summer, she sees another project landing this weekend. Jorma Taccone’s Over Your Dead Body features Samara Weaving in her most primal state. Nothing will ever surpass that throaty wolf howl…
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Panic Fest 2026: ‘Don’t Sleep Alone’ provokes sleepless nights
If you suffer from sleep paralysis, you know how debilitating and terrifying it can be. For many, a black shape creeps from the corner of the room and hovers by their bedside. Others might not see a figure at all, but rather a suffocating blanket of dread surrounding them. Writer/director Talo Silveyra excavates pure fear…
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Panic Fest 2026: ‘Demonetize’ marries scares and silliness
Influencer Horror isn’t for everyone. From Deadstream to Super Host and Livestream, the subgenre applies exploitative behaviors to horrifying situations to explore the deterioration of humanity, social trends, and our complicity in brainrot. Writer/director Alexander Watson fits his new film, Demonetize, playing this year’s Panic Fest, snugly into a similar thematic box. The film’s title,…
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Panic Fest 2026: Shorts Roundup, Volume 2
Panic Fest 2026 is still not quite over yet. As I dash to the finish line (I have a few films to watch, as of this writing), numerous reviews and interviews in the can confirm that this year’s festival might be the best in a long time. Various short blocks have been particularly rich with…
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Review: ‘Better Anything’ digs up regret & retribution
Horror uniquely weaves many genres into one. That’s part of what makes it such a special medium. With his new short film, writer/director Jonjo Lyons knits drama, mystery, and horror into a gripping tapestry. Better Anything feels akin to An Unquiet Grave in tone, story, and visual identity. But it firmly carries its own gnarly…
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Panic Fest 2026: ‘Creature of the Pines’ redefines found footage
Found-footage freaks will want to put Creature of the Pines on their watchlist immediately. Playing this year’s Panic Fest, the film, co-written and co-directed by Tyler Transue and Chris Ruppert, makes camping scary again. It’s easy to draw comparisons to The Blair Witch, but that’s simply reductive. Creature of the Pines uses its 1999 predecessor as a…
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Overlook Film Festival 2026: ‘The Holy Boy’ delivers a twisted religious experience
Paolo Strippoli’s The Holy Boy, which plays the 2026 Overlook Film Festival, bears a striking (emotional) resemblance to Rose Glass’ 2019 breakout, Saint Maud. Both films analyze modern religion, the exploitation of the vulnerable, and the role the hive-mind plays in perpetuating evil in God’s name. Strippoli co-wrote the razor-sharp script with Jacopo Del Giudice…
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Review: ‘The Fuzzies’ will make you nightmarishly cozy
There are horror films like Josh Funk’s The Fuzzies that just make you all, well, warm and fuzzy inside. Co-written with Dustin Vaught, the film retools childhood wonder into an agonizingly bizarre stroll down memory lane. In adulthood, society tells us that we need to put away childish things, like our love of cartoons, anime…
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Comments
This is one of my favorite horror comedies that's came out in a long time. It's the absolute perfect popcorn…
[…] However, his songs here are as relevant and crushing as ever, as queer non-binary music critic Bee Delores recently…