Review by Ben Bussey The problem with movies that centre on a big twist is that more often than not that twist becomes the very thing that the movie is sold on, and often not too subtly. Witness the posters and covers that highlight Janet Leigh’s screaming face in the shower, the Statue of Liberty […]
Review by Ben Bussey If this really is James Wan’s kind-of/sort-of/almost-certainly-not-really last horror movie, the director certainly hasn’t shamed himself. We might ponder whether he’s not selling himself short kissing the genre goodbye, however, when his supposed swansong is essentially a direct retread of (arguably) his finest hour. Yes, I really enjoyed the original Insidious. It […]
By Keri O’Shea Camping is for idiots. No, really, come on. Level with me here. It doesn’t matter how you dress it up (or indeed how many mod cons you actually need to take along for the ‘back-to-nature’ experience to be at all palatable). Fact is, we invented permanent dwellings millennia ago because living out […]
Review by Comix Cal McDonald has been shot, stabbed, bitten by creepy, grimy ghoulies, probably set on fire, and survived death itself, but now he’s facing something that many who have fought a horde of blood-sucking vampires rarely get to face. ANOTHER GODDAMN SERIES! That’s right, he’s back! After a nail-biting fight between Steve Niles’ […]
Review by Tristan Bishop I’ll start this review with a warning – A Magnificent Haunting is not a horror film. Yes, it contains ghosts – several in fact – but what we’re dealing with here is a light-weight, low-key comedy more inspired by Almodovar than Insidious. Director Ferzan Özpetek, known for several gay-themed dramas and […]
Review by Ben Bussey Ever watch a horror movie that felt like it just got that bit too close to the bone? Cheap scares are ten-a-penny; for horror to really have an impact, sometimes it has to come and get you where you live. It has to present a fantasy scenario that the audience can […]
By Comix With the increasing popularity of horror and horror icons, other genres have begun to crossover to the torrid side, creating works that either suck, rock, or defy all explanation. Vampires and romance? BAM, Twilight. Zombies and comedy? BAM, Shaun of the Dead. Sharks and Tornados? BAM, we call that Sharknado! Another popular crossover, […]
By Comix One thing I learned from being around the comic circuit is that no one is more expandable (and replaceable) than the creative talent. Writers, each as unique as a snowflake, are a dime a dozen; artists, limited to the writers’ words, are even more so. Unless you’re one of the lucky few that […]
Review by Ben Bussey Can’t you just picture the scene? Bunch of filmmakers sitting around, just watched an episode of Game of Thrones, opened a few beers, put Led Zeppelin III on… voila. Well, okay, perhaps a little more thought went into Hammer of the Gods then that. Presumably someone also threw the Cliff’s Notes […]
By Stephanie Scaife Read part 1 of Steph’s FrightFest round up here. Day three of FrightFest started with The Hypnotist, a Swedish crime thriller directed by Lasse Hallström (Safe Haven, Dear John) and based on the bestselling novel of the same name by Lars Kepler (husband and wife duo Alexander Ahndoril and Alexandra Coelho Ahndoril). […]
Review by Stephanie Scaife I was pretty surprised when I read that Jim Mickle (Mulberry Street, Stake Land) was working on a remake of Jorge Michel Grau’s film of the same name. But as an admirer of Mickle’s previous work I went in with an open mind, happily to discover that We Are What We Are […]