A group of friends who haven’t seen one another since university are invited to an old friend’s renovated hotel, a tiny house that looks somewhat like the Bates Motel. In fact, the whole thing, book and hotel, is an homage to Hitchcock. There are secrets and reveals as the story plays out through its three…
Tag: twists
Lake Mungo (2008) – Joel Anderson
I’ve wanted to see Lake Mungo for awhile. When I first heard about this found footage style film, I was immediately intrigued. And honestly, it’s not so much found footage. It’s put together like a documentary, and there’s no real shaky cam. And it’s by turns haunting, surprising, and with a hefty emotional impact. In…
The Night House (2023) – Jo Nesbo
Jo Nesbo has made a career of writing dark mysteries and psychological thrillers, but when I came across a horror novel he’d written, I just had to take a look to. It’s an interesting tale, if a little uneven, there are some nice twists and reveals and for the most part, it works well, but…
Dracula 2000 (2000) – Patrick Lussier
I’m enjoying a book about horror films in a book called Screaming and Conjuring, and it’s given me a bunch of films to take a look at that I either forgot about or couldn’t be bothered with. Dracula 2000 is mentioned, and I figured, why not? The only thing I remembered about its original release…
Dial M for Murder (1954) – Alfred Hitchcock
Hitchcock pairs with writer Frederick Knott to bring his stage play, Dial M for Murder to the big screen in this captivating and thrilling adaptation. The film features a top-tier cast, the luminous Grace Kelly, Ray Milland, Robert Cummings and John Williams. Everyone has secrets in this engaging film. Kelly is Margot Wendice, a wealthy…
Clown in a Cornfield (2025) – Eli Craig
I quite enjoyed the Bram Stoker award winning YA novel Clown in a Cornfield, so it made sense that sooner or later I was going to take in the film adaption of the story. It makes me laugh that the book is very much defined as a teen book, but the film itself, because of…
The Secret of Secrets (2025) – Dan Brown
Dan Brown sends his hero Robert Langdon off on another adventure with his latest novel, The Secret of Secrets. And I’m divided. I like the research and the information Brown is putting forth, it opens up a number of avenues for questions and research, but, the story doesn’t have the same punch and push as…
TIFF 25: Fuze dir. David Mackenzie
The one thing that I came out of Fuze knowing for sure is that this is the first time I’ve seen Aaron Taylor-Johnson in a role where I thought, yes, I can see this fella playing 007. Now, it hasn’t been announced he is, or anything of the sort, but I’m saying what I saw…
TIFF 25: Retreat dir. Ted Evans
Ted Evans wrote and directed this engaging thriller that takes us inside the lives of Eva (Anne Zander) and Matt (James Joseph Boyle) when Eva joins Matt and a collection of deaf people living at a residence they know as Chilmark. Under the watchful eye, and guidance of Mia (Sophie Stone), the residents are establishing…
Farscape (2003) – We’re So Screwed: Part 1 – Fetal Attraction, and Part 2 – Hot to Katratzi
The penultimate story of the series is a huge three-part tale, We’re So Screwed. Part 1 – Fetal Attraction was first broadcast on 24 February, 2003. It was written by David E. Peckinpah. Aeryn (Claudia Black) is still being held by the Scarrans, who believe they can extract Crichton’s (Ben Browder) wormhole information from the…
The Mind Reels 