Terrifier (2016) – Damien Leone

Let’s get this out of the way, Art the Clown is a very cool creation, and a very deadly mime. That being said, the narrative around the character and the way the film is shot left a little to be desired. Trapped in a rough script, the film is luridly garish, but its uninspired cinematography…

Ravenous (1999) – Antonia Bird

I like Robert Carlyle, I like Guy Pearce, and there’s some really horrific stuff in this film, but I have to be honest, the musical score kept ejecting me from the film. Beyond that it’s a tightly crafted film about cannibals, using the story of the Donner Party as a loose launching point. Guy Pearce…

When Evil Lurks (2023) – Demian Rugna

The Spanish language film, When Evil Lurks, from Argentina, has found its way into my favourite horror films along with Late Night with the Devil. It’s creepy, has some legitimate scares, and a real sense of menace. Two brothers, Pedro (Ezequiel Rodriguez) and Jimi (Demian Salomon), find themselves confronting true evil when they encounter a…

Bone Tomahawk (2015) – S. Craig Zahler

Kurt Russell saddles up for another western, and though the basic premise of the story may sound familiar, where that narrative takes you may be a little too gruesome for some viewers, but it’s a helluva ride. Russell is Hunt, the sheriff of Bright Hope, and he and a couple of locals are about to…

Imaginary Friend (2019) – Stephen Chbosky

Stephen Chobsky, perhaps currently best known as the author of The Perks of Being a Wallflower, gets his Stephen King on with his latest novel, Imaginary Friend, a tale of horror that pits a small town against itself in a battle of good versus evil. At the heart of the story is young Christopher, and…

Rambo (2008) – Sylvester Stallone

Stallone not only returns in one of his most iconic roles, but he also settles into the director’s chair to bring the grittiest incarnation of Vietnam vet to the screen. Continuity is key, and Rambo (Stallone) is still in the Far East, attempting to live a quiet life as best as he can, when, like…

TIFF 2021: Attica dir. Stanley Nelson

Taking a look at the five day rebellion, and hostage taking in September of 1971 at Attica prison, Nelson’s documentary is a stark, unflinching look at the prison system, the industry of it, the culture and race clash that is inherent in it, and the larger world as a whole. Filled with interviews from those…

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (2009) – Niels Arden Oplev

Back in 2009 it seemed everyone was reading and talking about the late Stieg Larsson’s Millennium Trilogy. I read each one voraciously, absorbing each and every detail and loving the dark, thrilling world he created, and the fantastic character of Lisbeth Salander, a brave and powerful heroine with a sense of justice and her own…

The Devil You Know (2006) – Mike Carey

UK author Mike Carey launched a new series with The Devil You Know, which sees him visiting territory that is very familiar to him considering his past writing credits, including The Girl With The Gifts as well as the comic series Lucifer, and Constantine. He treads the realm of the supernatural noir easily in a…

Ninth House (2019) – Leigh Bardugo

Galaxy Stern isn’t like other people. She can see ghosts, and Yale has recruited her for the fabled Ninth House, Lethe. They watch over the other Eight Houses on campus, houses which delve into areas of magic that aren’t taught in regular classes. Galaxy, Alex for short, was recruited by the Dean, and is paired…