The Lair (2022)

We get some on-screen preamble before the events of The Lair (2022) unfold before us. Locating the film in conflict-ridden Afghanistan in 2017, we’re told that a US bomb strike on a certain province, intended to destroy an insurgent stronghold, occurred after alleged ‘disturbing activity’ in the area. So there we have it: we’re going […]

Brotherhood of the Wolf (2001): a love letter…

In 2001, right on the cusp of the slew of New French Extremity and ordeal horror, a peculiar, lavish period horror emerged from France. It’s many things, but above all else, Brotherhood of the Wolf (2001) is a film made during changing times, about changing times. Taking for its basis the Beast of Gévaudan panic […]

The Last Thing Mary Saw (2021)

By Guest Contributor Chris Ward In Southold, New York in 1843 a young woman named Mary (Stefanie Scott) is being interrogated by the local authorities about what has happened in her family’s mansion house. The thing is, Mary is blindfolded and behind the blindfold there is blood trickling down her face, and as she starts […]

The Cellar (2022)

Now here’s a risky idea: returning to a short film, around seventeen years or so after making it, hoping to expand the universe of that film into a feature-length. A big ask at the best of times, no? Whilst it’s certainly not the first time this has been done, The Cellar (2022) was always going […]

Deadly Games (1982)

Review: Chris Ward Just when you thought there couldn’t be any more early ‘80s slasher movies for Arrow Video to exhume and give their customary polish to, they bring another lesser-known title to the party, this one being 1982’s Deadly Games. A fairly generic title that doesn’t give much away, Deadly Games is a slightly […]

Edge of the Axe (1988)

Slasher movies, we might theorise, are like the pizza of horror. In other words, even when they’re not much good, they’re still kinda good, so long as those same basic ingredients are being used in the right quantities: masked killer, witless sinful victims, creative or at least gory death scenes. Think of those as the […]

The House That Dripped Blood (1971) & Asylum (1972)

It’s easy to overlook the American contribution to the good old days of British horror. Take Amicus Productions: much as we think of them as a British institution, they were in fact run by a duo of American producers, Milton Subotsky and Max J. Rosenberg. On top of which, several of the most esteemed Amicus […]

Jessie’s Super Normal Regular Average Day (2019)

It’s sometimes said that, at heart, all filmmakers are basically trying to make the same film every time, but I doubt I’m alone in appreciating it when they appear to go in wildly diverging directions from film to film – even if, deep down, they may be addressing some of the same essential ideas. Jessie’s […]