Author: Mihail Baltateanu
Let’s jump straight to the point for once: Netflix has largely succeeded in adapting Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman, a popular and critically-acclaimed graphic novel which had been deemed “unfilmable”. With Gaiman onboard, a Doctor Who director (Jamie Childs) attached for most of the episodes and a cast comprised of veteran British actors, it’s ultimately the
Recently, the “adventure survival” thriller has seen a sizeable spike in popularity. Gone are the nastiness, the unbearable tension, the relentless bad luck and shaking-in-their-boots protagonists of survival classics like 127 Hours, The Shallows, A Lonely Place to Die or Black Water. Films like Shark Bait, The Reef: Stalked, and Horizon Line feature level-headed characters
A Wounded Fawn opens with a quote from Surrealist painter and author Leonora Carrington: “I suddenly became aware that I was both mortal and touchable and that I could be destroyed“. Centering the film around a serial-killer protagonist who slowly comes to the same realization, director Travis Stevens (Girl on the Third Floor, Jakob’s Wife)
The Harbinger, Andy Mitton’s follow-up to his delightfully creepy Witch in the Window, is, simply put, the most terrifying COVID-era horror film. Dealing with many of Mitton’s signature themes – the loss of a loved one and what remains after death – the movie is one uninterrupted, unrelenting nightmare that amplifies the viewer’s pandemic fears
Seth A. Smith’s Tin Can is a confinement horror with staying power, managing to walk the audience through no less than seven different subgenres, and delight them with delirious imagery, and a dazzling series of twists. One of the most ambitious and thought-provoking movies of the year, watching Tin Can feels like binging the latest
Chloe Okuno’s Watcher, which delighted lucky Sundance Festival-goers earlier this year, is a step forward for the horror genre and doubles as a neat entry point (for those curious) into the landscape of contemporary Romanian cinema and culture. Shot in Bucharest and featuring the amazing Maika Monroe alongside some of the most recognizable Romanian actors working
KD Amond and Sarah Zanotti’s Faye might be the must-watch indie horror of the year. Shot on an iPhone with a total crew of five people, almost entirely built around Zanotti’s go-for-broke performance, Faye is a one-of-a-kind tale of grief, a masterclass in overcoming budgetary restrictions, a deeply terrifying psychological horror, and another confirmation of
Fabián Forte’s Legions, an Argentine horror-comedy that premiered at the 2022 edition of the Fantaspoa Film Festival, is a delightful concoction bound to please fans of Sam Raimi, Alex de la Iglesia, Rodrigo Aragao and even Will Ferrell. A clever mix of horror and comedy is a really tricky balance to achieve, but Legions mostly succeeds
Leo Falcão’s feature film debut Subject (Sujeito Oculto) is a rare genre offering that transcends its format and offers a meditative study of the power of storytelling and life among mythical beings. Best described as a meta-existentialist, bizarrely-funny yet realist multiple-character study, benefiting from tons of writerly insight and details to please book-lovers and fans of
Bringing the Greek Weird Wave touch to German cinema is Der Bunker director Nikias Chryssos, who in his second feature film does at times leave the impression that he’s working with too many obvious sources of inspiration, but manages to overcome all weaknesses with a singularly brave, spectacular third act. A Pure Place is simply