Category Archives: Horror

Swallow review — Open wide!

December 30, 2020 flawintheiris

Written and Directed by Carlo Mirabella-Davis | 94 min | On Demand Swallow is a single-minded psychological thriller that reaches for the unbearable queasiness of body horror, but in such a discreet way as to undercut the suggestion of genre. That's fully to its credit. It stands as a character study and a bloody, bold…Read More

Color Out Of Space review — Lovecraftian horror a mixed bag

November 5, 2020 flawintheiris

Directed by Richard Stanley | Written by Stanley and Scarlett Amaris, based on a short story by HP Lovecraft | 111 min | On Demand Lavinia Gardner (Madeleine Arthur, terrific) is a willful teenager dipping into witchy rituals down at the river in order to cleanse her mother, Theresa (Joely Richardson), of her cancer. They…Read More

Tremors (1990) review — Creature feature just as good 30 years later

October 21, 2020 flawintheiris

Directed by Ron Underwood | Written by Underwood, SS Wilson, and Brent Maddock | 96 min | On Demand There's a good reason Tremors has become a monster movie cult classic in the 30 years since its release and spawned a host of straight-to-video sequels, a one-season TV series, and even, recently, a pilot for…Read More

Hellifax Horror Fest preview

October 13, 2020 flawintheiris

There's a new film festival in town, and it's spooky. The Hellifax Horror Fest screens an international collection of the best short films to scare the pants off you. The executive directors are film guys Angus Swantee and Walter Forsyth, whose names should be familiar to anyone who's worked in the local biz, and they're…Read More

Books of Blood review — Don’t bother cracking the spine

October 6, 2020 flawintheiris

Directed by Brannon Braga | Written by Braga and Adam Simon, based on the books by Clive Barker | 108 min This review was written during the 2020 FIN Atlantic Film Festival, but the folks at Hulu got in touch to suggest an embargo two days after the review was published in September. With the…Read More

Possessor Uncut review — Ruthless and brilliant horror sci-fi

October 2, 2020 flawintheiris

Written and Directed by Brandon Cronenberg | 103 min | Crave Plus Brandon Cronenberg's second feature is a bloody marvel of nightmare fuel. I enjoyed Cronenberg's first, AntiViral, but, like a lot of people, I'm sure, I drew a lazy parallel or two between his work and his well-known, body-horror-loving daddy, the legendary David. This…Read More

The New Mutants review — X-Men spin-off better than the buzz

September 2, 2020 flawintheiris

Directed by Josh Boone | Written by Boone and Knate Lee, based on the Marvel Comics by Chris Claremont, Bob McLeod, and Bill Sienkiewicz | 94 min I can't remember the last summer superhero movie to arrive with so little positive hype. The New Mutants was originally to have debuted in cinemas in April 2018,…Read More

Apostle review — Bloody, muddy Brit horror takes time but gets there

July 20, 2020 flawintheiris

Written and Directed by Gareth Evans | 130 min | Netflix It's 1905, and a young woman has written a letter to her father in London, pleading for him to come pay her ransom and rescue her from an evil religious group on a god-forsaken island. Her father is indisposed, so a troubled brother, Thomas…Read More

Porno review — A shock and laugh-bereft horror-comedy

June 25, 2020 flawintheiris

Directed by Keola Racela | Written by Matt Black and Laurence Vannicelli | 98 min | On Demand This one is a little painful. It's an ode to comedy horror movies of the past by filmmakers who deliver something that feels entirely ersatz — neither funny enough nor frightening enough to qualify for the genre.…Read More

Kristen Stewart film reviews: Seberg, Lizzie, JT LeRoy, Underwater

June 4, 2020 flawintheiris

Kristen Stewart is working nonstop these days — she's been in five features in the past three years, the highest profile being Charlie's Angels, with Happiest Season still expected later in 2020. The actor achieved fame through the sparkly vampire-ridden Twilight series, but in recent years has pursued far more interesting and varied feature work.…Read More