‘ROSARIO’ (2025) Horror, culture, and grief collide

ROSARIO Director Felipe Vargas tells the story of a successful investor and titular character, ROSARIO. When her estranged grandmother dies, Rosario returns to the apartment to discover a hidden chamber and deadly family secrets. She must confront the past to survive the night. Carlos Osorio‘s production design brims with sumptuous, decaying jewel tones. The practical FX are fantastic. Carmen Cabana‘s Read More →

‘THE MOOGAI’ (2025) Jon Bell expands his 2021 short folk horror into a trauma filled feature.

THE MOOGAI Filmmaker Jon Bell delivers a horrific manifestation of unresolved cultural trauma in THE MOOGAI. The film opens in 1970. Aboriginal children have been forcibly removed from their families and adopted into white families for decades. Present day, Sarah Bishop eschews her cultural roots. Once a stolen child, a fact she vehemently denies, the difficult birth of her second Read More →

‘FRÉWAKA’ (2025) Shudder original delivers Irish folk-horror at its finest

FRÉWAKA Filmmaker Aislinn Clarke brings Shudder audiences a dark and tense story of a primary caregiver and the odd elderly ward she finds herself assigned. Following the death of her estranged mother, Shoo travels to a small town riddled with foul energy for the woman she must look after. Peig is a household name, and not in a good way. Read More →

‘THE DAMNED’ (2025) A haunting psychological horror that chills you to the bone.

THE DAMNED Young widow Eva endures a particularly harsh winter on an Icelandic fishing island. After the small population witnesses a shipwreck off their coast, Eva discovers a barrel of rations that have washed up on the beach. In desperation, our hungry villagers row their dingy through the icy waters in search of any further rations. Instead, they come upon Read More →

‘TEACUP’ (Fantastic Fest 2024) Peacock’s Original Horror-Thriller Series is finally here!

TEACUP The First Two Episodes, “Think About the Bubbles” & “My Little Lighthouse,” Premiere Thursday, October 10, Only on Peacock Ep 1: Think About the Bubbles Based on Robert R. McCammon‘s novel Stinger, Peacock’s original series TEACUP finds a tiny rural community in distress as something unknown affects the animals and the electricity. We meet veterinarian Maggie Chenoweth, her two Read More →

‘STOMACH IT’ (Screamfest 2024 short) The rot of trauma manifests in this affecting body horror

STOMACH IT Peter Klausner‘s Screamfest 2024 short film STOMACH IT highlights the impossible nature of emotionally disconnecting from your job. Jon Lee Richardson holds us captive with a viscerally pained performance as a crime scene cleaner who experiences worsening digestive issues from one job to the next.  In the first two minutes, the most skin-crawling aspect of this short is Read More →

‘ABOVE THE KNEE’ (Beyond Fest 2024) This visceral ride into madness is body horror at its finest

ABOVE THE KNEE WORLD PREMIERE / RELEASED IN: 2024 / 76 MINUTES / DIRECTED BY: VILJAR BØE Norwegian filmmaker Viljar Bøe brings his psychological thriller ABOVE THE KNEE to Beyond Fest 2024. The film follows Amir, a man who has a rare psychological disorder called BID (Body Integrity dysmorphia). It is the desire to have a sensory or physical disability Read More →

‘BAAL’ (Beyond Fest 2024) Nonlinear familial horror show.

BAAL WORLD PREMIERE / RELEASED IN: 2024 / 97 MINUTES / DIRECTED BY: JOSEPH SIMS-DENNETT Joseph Sims-Dennett brings BAAL to Beyond Fest 2024. Upon hearing the news of her father’s death, Grace finds her estranged brother missing from their hometown. Following a strange lead and ignoring the ominous warnings from her remaining family members, she takes a journey into the Read More →

‘HAYRIDE TO HELL’ (2024) Hallmark meets horror and becomes my new annual Halloween comfort film.

HAYRIDE TO HELL As someone who has participated in an annual haunted hayride as both a viewer and a performer, Dan Lantz‘s HAYRIDE TO HELL opens in the perfect, immersive fashion. The plot begins as a classic story of a beloved farmer on the verge of bankruptcy and the curmudgeonly and corrupt small-town authority figures who want to take him Read More →

‘ART OF A HIT’ (2024) The horror of art and fame makes Gaelan Draper’s latest film rock.

ART OF A HIT A has-been rock band heads to the middle of the French countryside to record an album. With a new member and a warning from a local bartender, the group arrives at a castle to meet a mysterious guru producer. As the days pass and secrets spill, things get complicated. ART OF A HIT is not what Read More →

‘LIZZIE LAZARUS’ (Popcorn Frights 2024) A twisty horror mystery destined for cult status.

LIZZIE LAZARUS Filmmaker Aviv Rubinstien gives Popcorn Frights 2024 audiences a reason to stand up and cheer with LIZZIE LAZARUS. Set in 1990, Bethany’s sister dies in a car crash on the way to her house. Lizzie’s mental state causes Bethany to question if her death was intentional. Enlisting the assistance of Lizzie’s ex, Eli, truth is stranger than fiction. Read More →

‘THE THAW’ (HollyShorts 2024) A stunning horror folklore begging for a feature

THE THAW Filmmakers Sarah Wisner and Sean Temple‘s striking horror folktale has been killing it on the festival circuit, and rightly so. THE THAW tells the story of a family running low on food for the winter months, tasking their daughter to prepare a sleeping tea that would put them into a deep hibernation state. It does not go well. Read More →

‘BOOGER’ (Popcorn Frights 2024) Body horror meets grief in Mary Dauterman’s festival favorite

BOOGER In filmmaker Mary Dauterman‘s Popcorn Frights film, BOOGER, Anna spirals following the sudden death of her roommate. Holding tight to Izzy’s phone and their adopted stray cat. When Booger bites her and escapes out the window, Anna’s grief journey is derailed by unusual symptoms from her injury. Heather Matarazzo‘s initial appearance is one of the best scenes in the Read More →

‘CARNAGE FOR CHRISTMAS’ (Fantasia 2024) A murder podcaster’s unresolved trauma turns holiday horror in Alice Maio Mackay latest

CARNAGE FOR CHRISTMAS Alice Maio Mackay‘s fifth film makes its Montreal premiere at Fantasia 2024. CARNAGE FOR CHRISTMAS finds a murder podcast host answering a listener’s question, “How did you get into true crime?” Lola recounts a childhood hometown legend, then returns to said location for the Christmas holidays. When the town’s queer population starts getting murdered, and with a Read More →

The Deliverance (2024) | Lee Daniels | Official Trailer | Netflix horror looks terrifying

The Deliverance Synopsis Ebony Jackson, a struggling single mother fighting her personal demons, moves her family into a new home for a fresh start. But when strange occurrences inside the home raise the suspicions of Child Protective Services and threaten to tear the family apart, Ebony soon finds herself locked in a battle for her life and the souls of Read More →

‘COLD BLOWS THE WIND’ (2024) Fresh meat on a bone in this indie horror from Eric Williford

COLD BLOWS THE WIND When a husband and wife (Victoria Vertuga and Danell Leyva) find their night blown wildly off-course, they’re forced to band together in order to survive in the most extreme of circumstances. COLD BLOWS THE WIND finds Tasha and Dean in a moral predicament. After drunk driving, striking a jogger with their car, a stranger makes things Read More →

‘THE COFFEE TABLE’ (2024) is the year’s most disturbing horror film.

THE COFFEE TABLE THE COFFEE TABLE follows Jesus and Maria, a couple going through a difficult time in their relationship. Nevertheless, they have just become parents. To shape their new life, they decide to buy a new coffee table. A decision that will change their existence. A film about a coffee table and not at all about a coffee table, Read More →

Brooklyn Horror Film Festival short films: ‘MOSQUITO LADY’ & ‘ALICIA’

MOSQUITO LADY Phillipino folklore Manananggal meets Catholic guilt in Kristine Gerolaga‘s short film, MOSQUITO LADY. When a young woman can no longer hide her pregnancy from her devout parents, she resorts to a legendary monster to assist her. The practical and Special FX are exquisitely gag-worthy. What a frightening jab at religious righteousness and an exploration of culture. ALICIA A Read More →

Brooklyn Horror Film Festival 2023 shorts: ‘RIDE BABY RIDE’ & ‘THE WYRM OF BWICH PEN BARRAS’

RIDE BABY RIDE Feminist companion for CARRIE lovers, Sofie Somoroff‘s short RIDE BABY RIDE finds a female mechanic in the new ownership of a possessed car. As the vehicle attempts to incapacitate and sexually assault her, she must fight for her life. Celina Bernstein effortlessly commands the viewer with what may amount to all five lines of dialogue. She acts Read More →

Brooklyn Horror Film Festival 2023 shorts: ‘THE QUEUE’ & ‘MY SCARY INDIAN WEDDING’

The Queue Cole is a new online content monitor for the FBI. Upon discovering the final message of his predecessor, he finds a new meaning of “images seared into your brain.” Michael Rich‘s THE QUEUE is the physical manifestation of PTSD from vile online videos. This superb film thrives on audio and the performance of Burt Bulos. There is a Read More →