Director Clarke Wolfe really has her eye on the ball when it comes to delivering darkly comic horror, and “A Shining Example” seems like she has so much more in store for us. Wolfe’s short horror film is an ode to “The Shining” that’s set in contemporary times dropping us in to a much more relatable conflict. What’s interesting about Wolfe’s film is that she sets up so much ambiguity that we’re never quite sure what’s fiction and what’s character Aiden’s imagination taking shape when all is said and done.
Tag Archives: Horror
The Curse of Willow Song (2020)
Following her release, Willow makes her way through life while trying to maintain her sobriety, deal with her abilities, and survive as an artist.
V/H/S/85 (2023) [Fantastic Fest 2023]
I’ve been an avid fan of the “V/H/S/” movie series since its initial release, and it’s been fun watching it evolve and run through the aughts over time. With Lo-Fi horror still a big deal in the modern internet stratosphere, “V/H/S/” has a surefire shelf life of at least two or three more entries. However, I do hope we get a much better installment than what “V/H/S/85” ends up becoming. It’s not to say that this newest entry in the series is terrible, it just feels so confused and lacking in the chaos and scares that make the original first two films so exciting.
Pet Sematary: Bloodlines (2023) [Fantastic Fest 2023]
This is the third adaptation of Stephen Kng’s “Pet Sematary” and we’re still not in that area where King’s story is remotely interesting or comprehensible. Never really confirming if “Bloodlines” is a prequel to the book or to the movie, Lindsey Anderson Beer’s is a confusing, lethargic and often grotesque horror drama that never has any idea what kind of movie it wants to be. It has eighty five minutes to unfold the narrative of Jud Crandall and despite the implications that Jud had seen a lot of horrifying disturbing imagery in his lifetime, we’re given a dull glorified remake of “Deathdream.”
Spooktacular! (2023) [Fantastic Fest 2023]
Director Quinn Monahan’s history of “SpookyWorld” is perhaps one of the most wholesome horror documentaries that I’ve ever seen. That’s by no means a slight, but it’s a wonderful testament to the often pure and unbridled passion that the horror community is capable of. I regret to admit that in all my time I never actually heard of “SpookyWorld” but it’s one of the forefathers of the horror attraction. It set the template and the bar for other haunts and horror attractions in America and would manage to become one of the biggest, if not the biggest, Halloween theme park in the world.
No One Will Save You (2023)
Director Brian Duffield’s science fiction home invasion film is a deceptively massive film. It’s simplistic in that it’s limited to a cast of mainly one person, and places the enormous crux of the dramatic weight on the shoulders of star Kaitlyn Dever. Thankfully Dever is more than up to the task, offering what is easily one of her best performances to date. Director Duffield mixes so many genres and sub-genres from home invasion, survival thriller, character-based drama, themes about grief and guilt, and extra terrestrials all colliding in an absolutely outstanding cinematic experience.
Tenebrae (1982) [Synapse films Re-Release]
While doing a book tour, a writer is stalked and people in his entourage and others are murdered by a serial killer who shows a connection to his latest book.