A superbly edited travel montage doubling as an opening credits sequence stylishly opens John Ainslie’s sophomore feature film Do Not Disturb, as viewers are effectively introduced to the South Florida setting and lead characters in the process. Chloe (Kimberly Laferriere of In The Dark, injecting a great deal of nuance into her show-stealing performance) and Jack (Rogan Christopher of 2018’s […]
Alexis Bruchon’s The Eyes Below is an experimental horror film that for the vast majority of the runtime, takes place in a bed. On top of that, there is almost no dialogue beyond screams, grunts, and exasperated sighs. This isn’t going to be for everyone, but it was a fascinating watch. Eugène (played by Vinicius Coelho) gets into bed but […]
Christian Schultz’ debut narrative feature Presence takes a fairly standard plot of a haunting/possession, places it on a yacht, and adds a dose of Jungian psychology accompanied by some impressive visuals to keep the story feeling fresh. It’s a slow burn that takes a little bit to find its footing. The beginning is also a bit jarring with how it […]
Rather strangely, truffles (the fungus, not the chocolate) have become hot fodder for independent films as of late due to the existence of some evidently rather violent and treacherous black market trading. Brought to the mainstream by Michael Sarnoski’s triumphant anti-revenge film Pig starring Nicolas Cage, Steven Garbas and Chantelle Han are now taking a shot at their own version […]
The idea of a social media influencer has taken off greatly within the last couple decades but it’s never been at more of the forefront than it is right now in 2022. Sylvia Caminer’s feature length directorial debut, Follow Her, takes the idea of a social media influencer and places it firmly into a psychological thriller when an aspiring actress […]
Scott Slone’s decade-plus-long endeavor Malibu Horror Story opens by revealing a team of young paranormal researchers in a remote Malibu Canyon cave who are recording the pilot episode of their web series. They’re preparing for the inaugural EVP session and in the process describe their roster of standard spirit hunting tech, including the spirit box they’ll use to communicate with […]
Cringe-inducing body horror delivered via a tightly-paced, timely thriller about a queer couple smuggling drugs across an international border surely isn’t something anyone had on their horror movie bingo cards, though it’s exactly what Carter Smith’s Swallowed shoots for and achieves with flying colors. The film opens with a hypnotic credits sequence intercut with the leads dancing in a club, […]
“This is the kind of place that will make you feel uncomfortable, I can promise you that.” is how we are introduced to Tyler Cornack’s Tiny Cinema. Unfortunately for me I was only uncomfortable due to a number of cringeworthy moments. Several of the chapters are bogged down by lowbrow humor that missed the mark and had me rolling my […]
After the words “The following actually happened. My dad asked me to tell you it didn’t.” flash across the screen viewers get their first glimpse of the lead as Chuck (Patton Oswalt of Young Adult and Ratatouille delivering another heartfelt and hilarious performance) finds a puppy in the park while on a walk with his son Franklin. He’s seen ripping […]
When a research scientist makes national headlines by seemingly proving the existence of an afterlife and opening a facility that facilitates the peaceful transition to the other side for research purposes, people from all over the country travel to be the first ones to experience it. Two lost souls, Rose (Katie Parker) and Teddy (Rahul Kohli) arrange travel plans with […]