Category Archives: Horror

Renfield review — A bloody waste of time

August 24, 2023 flawintheiris

Directed by Chris McKay | Written by Ryan Ridley, Robert Kirkman, and Ava Tramer | 93 min | ▲▲△△△ | Crave Like Cocaine Bear, this was one of those high-concept comedies that came out in the spring and I missed in cinemas, expecting to catch up with it on another platform. Sure enough, it's now…Read More

The Last Voyage of the Demeter review — Dracula sets sail on blood and water

August 14, 2023 flawintheiris

Directed by André Øvredal | Written by Bragi F. Schut and Zak Olkewicz, based on a chapter of Bram Stoker's Dracula | 118 min | ▲▲▲△△ It's hard to argue against the notion we've seen this kind of thing before — this film's a solemn, genuine throwback to gothic creeps of Hammer Horror and the…Read More

Talk To Me review — Terrifying horror delivers lethal dose

August 2, 2023 flawintheiris

Directed by Danny Philippou and Michael Philippou | Written by Danny Philippou and Bill Hinzman | 95 min | ▲▲▲▲△ The filmmakers, two brothers from Australia, have credited many of their actors with "based on a concept by," which speaks to the level of collaboration behind the camera. I'm not familiar with their process, but…Read More

Cocaine Bear review — Something of a phenomenon (baby)

August 1, 2023 flawintheiris

Directed by Elizabeth Banks | Written by Jimmy Warden | 95 min | ▲▲▲△△ | Amazon Prime Cocaine Bear is an entirely unlikely reunion of cast from The Americans. To recommend it only for that would be a mistake, but it's definitely worth noting the movie features Keri Russell, Margo Martindale, and Matthew Rhys, though…Read More

Beau Is Afraid review — An epic, shame-filled odyssey

May 7, 2023 flawintheiris

Written and Directed by Ari Aster | 179 min | ▲▲▲△△ This is the most polarizing film of the season — it arrived with a deluge of negative reaction on social media from the Asterphiles hoping for another Hereditary or Midsommar, followed by more muted, but largely positive, critical response. I come down somewhere in…Read More

Blood Quantum (2020) review — Zombie pandemic movie a solid brain eater

April 19, 2023 flawintheiris

Friday night (April 21st) at 9pm, Carbon Arc Cinema (in partnership with the Hellifax Horror Fest) will show this terrific zombie picture from the late Mi'kmaq filmmaker, Jeff Barnaby, as part of a celebration of National Canadian Film Day (which technically was Wednesday). Advance tickets are sold out but a few will be available at…Read More

We Have A Ghost review — Haunted house comedy dead on arrival

March 17, 2023 flawintheiris

Directed by Christopher Landon | Written by Landon, based on the short story Earnest by Geoff Manaugh | 126 min | ▲▲△△△ | Netflix I came of age as a movie lover in the 1980s, an era when the horror comedy really took hold. But for every Beetlejuice, Lost Boys, or Ghostbusters there was a Mr…Read More

Knock At The Cabin review — Disappointed at the end of the world

February 11, 2023 flawintheiris

Directed by M Night Shyamalan | Written by Shyamalan, Steve Desmond, and Michael Sherman, based on the book The Cabin at the End of the World by Paul Tremblay | 100 min | ▲▲△△△ | Amazon Prime I've always admired M Night Shyamalan's willingness to set his films in entirely recognizable realities but still push…Read More

Infinity Pool review — Gleeful bad-trip movie goes off the deep end

January 30, 2023 flawintheiris

Written and Directed by Brandon Cronenberg | 117 min | ▲▲▲△△ | Crave I'm not the first critic to recognize the apple hasn't fallen far from the tree with the younger Cronenberg, son of David. Consider his first two features — Antiviral and the remarkable Possessor. The son's thematic concerns are similar to the…Read More

M3GAN review — Batteries charged for killer doll movie

January 16, 2023 flawintheiris

Directed by Gerard Johnstone | Written by Akela Cooper and James Wan | 102 min | ▲▲▲△△ | Amazon Prime Writer-Producer-Director James Wan has some experience with murderous doll movies, but this isn't any Annabelle picture, this is something quite different. M3GAN, and, yeah, that's a title the producers are bound to regret when they…Read More