Horror
Judas Ghost
There’s something about the phrase ‘cracking little ghost story’ that seems a bit patronising. So perhaps this review should start with a run down of some of this cracking little ghost story’s credentials. Written by New York T...
The Voices
Marjane Satrapi – known primarily for critically acclaimed animated coming-of-age drama Persepolis (2007) – has clearly taken a bold u-turn with her first foray into the landscape of English-language film. Playing l...
It Follows
For quite a long time there has been a close relationship between sex and death in horror films, both in metaphorical and literal terms. We all know the cliché of the virginal “final girl” leads in slasher films, even though th...
The Woman In Black: Angel of Death
The Woman in Black from 2012 was the biggest success (so far) of the recently revived Hammer Films. Capturing much of the essence of Susan Hill’s novel, along with a big dose of old fashioned gothic, it was a huge success at t...
Horns
While the author of Horns Joe Hill may sound like a Batman villain he is in fact the son of horror maestro Stephen King. And like his dark minded dad Hill seems to have a wondrous ability to tap into a macabre, twisted sense of...
The Babadook
Whilst on the surface just another foray into the ‘monster in the attic’ genre, The Babadook serves a slightly more thoughtful entry into the world of scary cinema. Positioning itself as a psychological thriller rat...
Annabelle
There’s a line delivered in Annabelle that sort of says ‘the more we know about monsters, the less they can frighten us’. That’s a dangerous thing to say in the context of this prequel to The Conjuring. In the origi...
Life After Beth
Jeff Baena’s directorial debut if anything can be classed as unique. Zombie comedies, and even romantic zombie comedies have been brushed upon before as the undead factor brings further complications to an angst ridden relation...
Honeymoon
If you’re looking for the quintessential body-horror about a marriage collapsing around all manner of icky and existential terrors then seek out Andrzej Zulawski’s Possession. It’s a wonderfully dark and disturbing little film ...
Oculus
Oculus is based on a short film by the same director (Mike Flanagan), Oculus: The Man with a Plan. After the director’s previous feature film, Absentia, expectations were pretty high for this one and this does emerge as ...
Under The Skin
The less you know going into Under The Skin the better. The reason being that what director Jonathan Glazer has created is an often daunting, visually arresting experience that taps into a very primal fear of the unknown. Hen...
Devil’s Due
Team Radio Silence originally started out making viral YouTube videos as little showcases for their directing and special effects skills. They became viral hits, so much so that the team got the chance to showcase in a feature...
Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones
Remember when Paranormal Activity seemed like something new and fresh? Seems a really long time ago doesn’t it? The first film was a slick, lean, keep-it-simple-stupid piece of work, getting great mileage from focusing ...
Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror
We are unbelievably lucky to be able to see Nosferatu at all. This is famously the earliest film adaptation of Bram Stoker‘s Dracula, although not exactly officially. Director F.W. Murnau didn’t get the rights to ...
V/H/S/2 – FrightFest Review
The V/H/S franchise is a revival of the old portmanteau horror format combined it with the current vogue for found footage films. The first film though was a severely flawed piece of work. While the idea was sound, and itR...
The Wicker Man – The Final Cut
Given 2013 marks The Wicker Man’s 40th Anniversary it is a high accolade indeed that it is still considered one of the greatest horror films of all time. With an original, previously thought lost, cut recently discovered, the ...
Insidious: Chapter 2
Insidious Chapter 2 will surprise no one familiar with the first film, using as it does the same jump techniques and beats as the superior original. Thus this renders it a far less visceral and heart thumping experience than it...
Haunter – FrightFest Review
Surprise; they were dead all long! It’s been used in many horror films over the years, but nearly always at the last minute as a final “what a twist!”. However, Haunter does things very differently, as, thou...
Stalled – FrightFest Review
Ever since Night of the Living Dead (and arguably Invisible Invaders to get really obscure), the zombie siege has been an ever-reliable format for low budget horror. However, never before Stalled has a feature confined the sie...
You’re Next
The home invasion subgenre of horror has grown steadily over the last few years with the likes of Funny Games and this year’s The Purge. An off-shot of the slasher genre, the main reason these can have such resonance is ...
