film review

A collection of 367 posts

Film

Fear Itself: S1E06 "New Year's Day"

The Fear Itself series continues at The Avocado with Darren Lynn Bousman’s New Year’s Day. Do you remember when Bousman was the new “it” director in horror? I do. What a glorious time for incredible theatrical, grotesque, and absurd horror films. He used the success of his participation

Film

Don't Listen Review (Film, 2020)

In Don’t Listen (Voces), a family moves into a new home and faces a strange problem. Their son claims he hears voices that tell him to do things. The story occupies an unusual space between haunted house and evil child film and moves in very unexpected ways.

Film

A Short Vision Review (Short Film, 1956) The Archives

A Short Vision is an experimental animated short from 1956 about the destructive power of nuclear weaponry.

Film

Fear Itself: S1E05 "Eater"

We continue our Fear Itself series over at The Avocado with Stuart Gordon’s Eater. This is arguably the best episode of Fear Itself and one of the best episodes in the entire Masters of Horror/Fear Itself series. You can read the full review over at The Avocado [https://the-avocado.org/2020/11/25/fe

Film

Invisible Agent Review (Film, 1942) The Archives

You know that amazing storyline in Inglourious Basterds where Diane Kruger plays a German film star secretly spying for the British troops? All the twists and turns as she comes up with whatever lies to save her life after Plan A fails miserably? The Invisible Agent is basically that storyline as it

Film

The Binding Review (Film, 2020)

A woman and her daughter visit her fiance’s mother in the countryside. The daughter wanders off, as children do, and winds up being hit with a curse from exploring the wrong part of the estate. Now the family is fighting against the forces of evil and the impenetrable secret rites of the locals to s

Film

Fear(s) of the Dark Review (Film, 2008) The Archives

Fear(s) of the Dark is a French animated anthology horror film from 2007. Six graphic designers/illustrators were invited to participate. The challenge was to represent their fears in short horror films. They more than delivered.

Film

Cadaver (Kadaver) Review (Film, 2020)  

It is the end of the world after a nuclear disaster. The survivors are struggling, digging through abandoned buildings for what little supplies remain. Leo, Jacob, and their daughter Alice are invited to attend a play at a luxury hotel that includes a free meal. It is pure spectacle, a bright spot i

Books/Print

Spookier Times Episode 4: Gothic versus Ghost Stories, the Gothic Epistolary, and The Turn of the Screw

In this episode of Spookier Times, we take a deep dive into Henry James' The Turn of the Screw. We look at its genre, its modern adaptations, the use of epistolary structure in Gothic Literature, and some of the best adaptations of James' classic Gothic/ghost story.

Film

Inner Demons Review (Film, 2014) The Archives

Inner Demons is a possession/exorcism film and a satire of docudrama reality series. Carson Morris is a teenager addicted to any injectable drug she can find. It is revealed that Carson was a perfect little Christian, even a national champion in Bible verse competitions, until she attended Catholic

Film

Fear Itself: S1E02 "Spooked"

The new article is up at The Avocado. Our subject is Brad Anderson’s “Spooked,” a beautifully styled paranormal thriller about a corrupt police detective being haunted by a suspect he killed. Shame the story doesn’t hold up to Anderson’s particularly over the top brand of psychological horror. You c

Film

What the Constitution Means to Me Review (Film, 2020)

What the Constitution Means to Me is a proshot of the Broadway play What the Constitution Means to Me. Heidi Schreck is the writer and star of the play. She recounts her experience competing in public speaking competitions about the United States Constitution. She steps back in time to recreate one

Film

Phantasm: Ravager Review (Film, 2016) #31DaysofHorror

Phantasm: Ravager is the fifth and final entry in the horror/sci-fi/slasher/action series that started in 1979. The story jumps between two timelines. It starts with Reggie’s quest to find Mike and defeat the Tall Man after the events of Phantasm IV: Oblivion. Then it jumps to one of the saddest tur

Film

Kakurenbo (Hide & Seek) Review (Short Film, 2005) The Archives #31DaysofHorror

“Kakurenbo (Hide & Seek)” is an animated short horror film from Japan. It is 30 minutes of a game of hide and seek with deadly consequences. Once seven children follow the clues in old street signs (O-to-ko-yo), they wind up at the gates of the city of the dead. They must wear fox masks to conceal t

Film

The Shed Review (Film, 2019) #31DaysofHorror

Stanley is a 17 year old living under strict parole conditions after being sent to juvenile hall multiple times. He has to live with his grandfather, who is extremely abusive, in a town that despises him because both of his parents are dead and he is poor. One day, he discovers a vampire living in h

Film

Fear Itself: S1E01 "The Sacrifice" #31DaysofHorror

We’re starting our new recap series at The Avocado today with the unoffical third season of Masters of Horror. Fear Itself aired for one season, and actually, the second half of the show was pushed to the NBC website rather than be aired on TV. Here’s our review of S1E01 “The Sacrifice” from directo

Film

The Strangers Prey At Night Review (Film, 2018) #31DaysofHorror

A family travels to a trailer park owned by their relatives. They’re preparing to settle their teenage daughter into boarding school to help her improve her behavior. Too bad the Strangers are prowling the grounds and they choose to open the door.

Film

Spiral Review (Film, 2020) #31DaysofHorror

Spiral is a concept horror film. The year is 1995. Malik and Aaron, a gay couple, move into a quiet suburban town with their teenage daughter Kayla. Malik is worried about leaving the safety of the city after surviving a vicious homophobic attack in his earlier years. Aaron thinks he’s worried for n

Film

Blanketyy Review (Short Film, 2020) #31DaysofHorror

A team of researchers and coders are working around the clock on a project that could change the course of literary history. Their goal is to teach a computer AI to write fictional stories. The problem is what the computer produces is not sensible. It goes into a tailspin of possibility, turning the

Film

Primal Screen Review (Short Film, 2017) #31DaysofHorror

“Primal Screen” explores this with the uncanny valley and the fear of dolls and puppets. The shared inciting incident for the interview subjects is one of my favorite films, 1978’s Magic. This is the evil ventriloquist dummy film starring Anthony Hopkins and it is terrifying. I never saw the trailer

Film

Phantasm IV: Oblivion Review (Film, 1998) #31DaysofHorror

Phantasm IV: Oblivion is the fourth entry in the long-running Phantasm series. The actual history of production makes the passage of time a significant part of the story with each new entry. The original debuted in 1979. Nine years later, Phantasm II. Six years later, Phantasm III: Lord of the Dead.

Film

Unfriended Review (Film, 2015) The Archives #31DaysofHorror

The plot of Unfriended is simple and effective. Six friends chat in Skype with a mysterious seventh person on the call. That person claims to be the ghost of Laura who wants them to confess to their roles in her death by suicide. One by one, the friends are forced to play various games all connected

Film

The Lighthouse Review (Film, 2019) #31DaysofHorror

The Lighthouse is a psychological horror film about two men tending to a lighthouse in the 1890s. The younger man wants to do everything by the rules. The older man is an experienced keeper who knows and understands the true dangers of the job.

Film

Masters of Horror S2E13: "Dream Cruise" #31DaysofHorror

We’ve finally reached the series finale of Masters of Horror in our review/recap series at The Avocado. Norio Tsuruta’s Dream Cruise is one of the most unique episodes of the second season, which is largely filled with far more adventurous titles than the first season. For one thing, he filmed it as

Film

Climax Review (Film, 2019) #31DaysofHorror

Climax is a horror film that pulls inspiration from queer ball culture. A group of dancers are interviewed as part of an audition for an international touring company. Think A Chorus Line, but far more invasive. The dancers are asked about their sexuality, their history of drug use, and why they dan