Orbit Books brings me my first real creepy novel of 2023, Episode Thirteen. Using the familiar structure of the found footage genre, something that has been co-opted successfully for all of the ghost-hunting shows that seem to plague reality television, DiLouie compiles a literary found footage film, offering up video transcripts, EVP recordings, text messages,…
Tag: paranormal
Mission: Impossible (1973) – The Pendulum, The Western, and Imitation
This is it, the final instalment of Mission: Impossible as I complete my exploration of The Complete Series on Blu-ray, available now from Paramount Canada. The last three episodes of the series are much like those that went before it. They remain episodic in nature, interchangeable with anything that has gone before, and no real…
Mission: Impossible (1973) – Incarnate, and Boomerang
Phelps (Peter Graves) and his IMF team pursue a criminal to the Caribbean in an attempt to discover the location of the gold bullion that she has hidden away somewhere State-side. She’s a little superstitious, so what better way to get her to crack than to have Barney (Greg Morris) and the rest hint at…
Insidious: The Last Key (2018) – Adam Robitel
The final (?) installment of the Insidious films brings us full circle. It takes place shortly after the events of the third film and ends leading us into the events of the first. Elise (Lin Shaye), Specs (Leigh Whannell), and Tucker (Angus Sampson) are all back delving into an investigation into Elise’s own past. Whannell…
Insidious: Chapter Three (2015) – Leigh Whannell
Writer Leigh Whannell who had penned the previous two entries in the Insidious series slips into the director’s chair for the third installment, which also serves as a prequel to the Lambert story that occupied the first two films. The film introduces us to a small family living in the city. There’s Sean (Dermot Mulroney),…
Red Lights (2012) – Rodrigo Cortes
Red Lights is a bit of a mess, there are some solid ideas to it, but it doesn’t come off as well as it could have. It does feature a solid cast including Robert De Niro, Sigourney Weaver, Cillian Murphy, Elizabeth Olsen, Joely Richardson, and Toby Jones. Dr. Margaret Matheson (Weaver) is a skeptic who…
Fringe (2008) – Pilot
I never watched Fringe as it aired. I picked up the first season at a very affordable price shortly after it was released and that’s the way I watched the entire series, skip the airdates, and just binge the season on its Blu-ray release. I’ve seen each episode once so going back to revisit it…
Lord of Illusions (1995) – Clive Barker
I remember discovering the writings of Clive Barker, and how his writing actually got under my skin, and freaked me out a bit. He definitely won a fan in me, and then the film, Hellraiser, wow! And while Nightbreed garnered itself a bit of a cult following, Lord of Illusions never seemed to, which bums…
TAD 2021: Post Mortem dir. Peter Bergendy
Toronto After Dark delivers it’s first spectral tale of the festival, with the beautifully crafted Hungarian film, Post Mortem from director Peter Bergendy. This one, has all the trappings of a classic ghost story, and does it right, well, and without going overboard on the visual effects. Tomas (Viktor Klem) is recovering from a near…
The X-Files (2000) – Closure, and X-Cops
This episode tells us, in its opening credits to “believe to understand” instead of the usual “the truth is out there” as we dive into the conclusion of a two-parter which finally gives some resolution to Mulder (David Duchovny) in regards to his sister’s abduction. Written by series creator Chris Carter and Frank Spotnitz, this…
The Mind Reels 