Trick or Treat 2! (2022)

You have to give it to Wesley Mellott. He brings his A game to what has been a pretty fun set up for a potential series of films or even a feature. While I’m always a Sam devotee, I could see The Magician becoming one of the many Halloween horror icons. He’s just such a great character. Donning a top hat and tuxedo, he also dons a great skull visage that may or may not be a well detailed mask. Either way, The Magician takes Halloween deathly serious and doesn’t mind offing anyone that doesn’t respect the rituals of the holiday.

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Trick or Treat! (2021)

One of the best elements of Halloween is that you can really pull a lot out of horror material from it, and “Trick or Treat!” is no exception. One of the things I love about “Trick or Treat!” is how inexplicable everything that goes down here is. There are a ton of events that amount to merely hapless people falling victim to the Halloween rituals that many people and beings hold sacred. Continue reading

Peter & The Wolf (2023)

“Beware. For Wolves come in many disguises.”

Sergei Prokofiev’s classic musical fairy tale “Peter and the Wolf” is a story that’s been adapted, and adapted, and re-interpreted, and remade, and rebooted, for sheer decades. My first introduction to “Peter and the Wolf” was the animated adaptation from an episode of “Tiny Toons Adventures,” and since then the story pops up every now and then for modern audiences. This one is written by musician Gavin Friday and the one and only Bono, both of whom originally collaborated on this story to produce a book to benefit the Irish Hospice Foundation. Their version is brought to screen thanks to Gavin Friday who offers up a minimalist but beautiful truncated take on the original story.

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Home Invasion 2 Shorts Block [Brooklyn Horror Film Festival 2023]

It’s the number two block for the “Home Invasion” shorts list and it’s a stellar list of great short films by up and coming directors and artists. With the “Brooklyn Horror Film Festival” coming to an end, I happily viewed their third big short film program which centers on some form of personal invasion.

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Home Invasion 1 Shorts Block [Brooklyn Horror Film Festival 2023]

 

The Home Invasion Shorts block for the Brooklyn Horror Film Festival is a mixed bag this year with some gems and some missteps. In either case, there’s some genuine talent and interesting ideas on display for festival goers. 

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Nightmare Fuel Shorts Block [Brooklyn Horror Film Festival 2023]

This year’s the Brooklyn Horror Film Festival kicks off at the Nitehawk theater, and they premiered one of their trio of short film blocks. “Nightmare Fuel” is one of their absolute best with eight memorable horror entries from all over the world.

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