 | Late Night with the Devil 2023 Late Night with the Devil by directors Cameron and Colin Cairnes uses a retro TV show setting to create an unnerving atmosphere that draws viewers into a slowly intensifying horror. The film’s attention to detail, from the 70s grainy footage style to shifting between black-and-white and color, sets the tone perfectly. The clever cinematography immerses audiences as if they’re watching a live broadcast unraveling in real time, a technique that intensifies the suspense, especially during the eerie "commercial breaks." David Dastmalchian’s portrayal of Jack Delroy is a highlight, conveying both desperation and a subtle descent... Read More |
 | La Reliquia 2020 Disturbing Rosemary's Baby in southern sauce, "La reliquia" (seen online at the Fantafestival in Rome) is a successful insight into the practices and rituals of southern Italy. The theme is the atmosphere is very interesting and original, but the narrative suffers from the short duration. The cast of actors is exceptional, mostly comedians, but perfectly in part in histrionic (Paolantoni) or slimy (Rizzo) roles. The beautiful and evocative photography creates a dark atmosphere. Effective direction. Note of merit: the use of the lunar music by Egisto Macchi, author of the beautiful soundtrack of the film "The assassination of... Read More |
 | Gretel & Hansel 2020 Anyone familiar with the original versions of classic fairy tales like “Hansel and Gretel” already knows that they have lots of horror movie potential. As a rule though, most attempts to capture these tales on film tend to miss the mark. It’s clear from the conspicuous reversal of the titular names that Gretel & Hansel hopes to distinguish itself from the rest of the pack right from the get-go, but does it actually do the job, or are you better off spending 90 minutes of your time on some other film?
Gretel & Hansel is the brainchild of writer/director Oz Perkins (The Blackcoat’s Daughter, I Am the Pretty Thing That... Read More |
 | 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 |
 | Kairo (Pulse) 2001 It’s safe to say that we’ve created our share of iconic horror characters here in America. Horror icons like Freddy Krueger (A Nightmare on Elm Street), Michael Myers (Halloween), or Jason Vorhees (Friday the 13th) are so highly recognizable, that they’re pretty much synonymous with the mere concept of a horror movie. Even so, no country handles horror quite like Japan does.
Japanese horror films have a much-deserved reputation for being exceptionally horrifying and thought-provoking at the same time. You won’t find as many homicidal maniacs gracing genre screens in Japan (although you’ll definitely meet plenty of vengeful... Read More |
