There’s a realty good film desperate to break free tom “Sorry About the Demon.” While it’s not what I’d call a bad movie, it’s a movie that director Emily Hagins kind of loses grip over in its final half. It’s overlong for such a paper thin premise, and most times it feels like the movie can never decide if it’s horror rom-com or rom-com with a touch of horror. It’s a shame because the ingredients are there, but “Sorry About the Demon” never adds up to much of a genre film.
Tag Archives: Horror
Kids vs. Aliens (2023)
I’m a big fan of the “V/H/S/” movie series and one of my all time favorite segments is Jason Eisener’s “Slumber Party Alien Abduction” from “V/H/S/ 2.” It’s a chaotic, and creepy segment about aliens literally crashing a slumber party. So I was elated to see that director Jason Eisener of “Hobo with a Shotgun” was adapting that segment in to a virtual loose remake called “Kids vs. Aliens.” Suffice to say he and co-writer John Davies not only does justice to the previous short form segment, but might have just built an epic series.
The Last of Us: Series Premiere
I’d be lying if I told you I ever played “The Last of Us.” I only know of it through various online game reviewers and understand the general gist of it. Going in blindly, I was able to completely separate myself from the source material and completely engulf myself in to this world. And I’m glad that I did because “The Last Of Us” thankfully works for gamers and the broader audience. “The Last Of Us” has a lot of information to dump on the audience to establish where it lies and what we’re playing with.
The Thing That Ate the Birds (2021)
Director Dan Gitsham and Writer Sophie Mair’s horror short is a masterful creepy tale about dysfunction and what happens when your actions have dire consequences. I wasn’t sure what to expect with “The Thing that Ate the Birds,” but partners Mair and Gitsham deliver on all fronts as a complex and creepy genre entry.
Night of the Bastard (2023)
Erik Boccio’s horror survival thriller is a film that sets its foot firmly in the Satanic cult sub-genre. It’s “Straw Dogs” meets “Race with the Devil” but with none of the charm or creativity of the aforementioned. It’s not to say that “Night of the Bastard” isn’t a spirited effort, but the movie spends so much time propping up plot points that it never quite answers, and can also never quite get past the shaky performances and silly dialogue.
There’s Something Wrong With The Children (2023)
It’s not often anymore that we get horror movies about the horrors of domesticity. Films like “Rosemary’s Baby” and “Stepford Wives” turned the idea of domestic bliss in to an absolute nightmare, and “There’s Something Wrong with the Children” carries on that fine tradition. It’s a very creepy evil children flick that also works as a deeply embedded allegory for impending parenthood that sparks a slick sense of humor about itself. Director Roxanne Benjamin’s film is another one of the more intelligent horror entries of 2023 so far, as it uses the idea of impending parenthood as an absolute waking nightmare.
Sick (2023)
I think soon enough we’ll be at a point where the new generation of filmmakers will be making movies that reflect on the COVID pandemic and how it traumatized the world. The team of John Hyams, Kevin Williamson, and Katelyn Crab concoct what is easily one of the most clever slasher movies of the year, and yet another genre gem in what promises to be a year full of them. “Sick” is a movie that reflects on a COVID ravaged society that also explores ideas about self responsibility and how actions can have dire consequences.