 | Schock 1977 The latest cinematic chapter of the Italian master Mario Bava, Shock, presents itself as a farewell to his directorial career, emerging from a decade marked by a rebirth of Italian cinema imbued with anger, ambiguity and a fascination for the macabre. The film, a cross between giallo, thriller and horror, is a testimony to that essential contribution of Bava, which had already inspired entire generations of directors.
In this work, however, one senses the loss of that personal imprint: the meticulousness in the photography, a distinctive sign that had made the director famous, as well as that bitter irony capable of mocking... Read More |
 | Lord of Misrule 2023 Bland horror that mixes paganism, thriller and folklore of British popular traditions. The story recalls the 1973 film "The Wicker Man" with Christopher Lee
but is much less exciting, due to a watered down script and a perhaps improvised direction even if it must be said that the real and the supernatural mix in an interesting crossover and the atmosphere is fascinating, especially the sequences in the woods during a lunar eclipse. Ultimately a disappointing film but one that is worth watching. |
 | Ghostland 2018 10 years after the traumatic and now cult work "Martyrs", French director Pascar Laugier returns with a rural horror film -home invasion- that takes place within the walls of an old house populated by dolls and lace.
Given the director, I expected to find myself in front of another film at the limits of endurance, instead the film is violent and dark but without useless, in my opinion, splatter sequences. The fear runs on a thin thread, touching very well the keys of morbidity, madness and dream.
The director has fun disorienting the viewer by making him believe that evil lives inside disturbing ceramic dolls, which instead turn... Read More |
 | Goodnight Mommy 2022 A psychological thriller with horror nuances, a remake of a 2014 Austrian film described as disturbing and highly praised by critics. Hidden behind a mask, we find the always good Naomi Watts, here also a producer, in the role of a mother who whispers a horror lullaby in the ears of her children... to tell us that very, too often the monster lives within the walls of the home and in the people closest to us. Compared to the original film, there is much less ferocity and cruelty, but it is still a good film of tension and mystery. The dream sequences are particularly suggestive. |
 | Ritual 2013 A married couple with a complicated relationship, a corpse, and a room at a less than reputable motel. It’s a classic formula for a horror movie that’s no doubt familiar for many genre fans. It’s also the set-up for Mickey Keating’s 2013 film, Ritual. Ritual is the 14th original film distributed by After Dark Originals. It stars Dean Cates (Pod) and Lisa Summerscales as married couple, Tom and Lovely. Additional costars include Derek Phillips (Serum), Brian Lally, and Katherine Skelton.
Ritual opens with a warning title card, promising plenty of violence to come. It then shifts to a beautifully filmed sequence that introduces us... Read More |
 | The Noonday Witch 2016 When you think of the most chilling horror tales of all time, there are a lot of staples that come immediately to mind when it comes to possible settings – like dank asylums, haunted houses, isolated forests, or just about anywhere that feels a little creepier and more sinister under cover of darkness. You don’t probably think of sun-drenched corn fields or bright summer days in the countryside, but The Noonday Witch may just change your mind about that.
The Noonday Witch is a 2016 Czech language film brought to the screen by promising Czech director, Jiri Sadek. (In fact, Sadek is discussed in many genre circles these days as a... Read More |
