Towards the end of Claire Denis’s Stars At Noon, Benny Safdie’s CIA agent describes Central America as a “gambler’s paradise”. He says this with a smile and unconcerned attitude. Margaret Qualley’s journalist Trish looks at him with scorn. These two individuals know enough about this region that if it is a “gambler’s paradise”, then the... Continue Reading →
Watching a film like Amanda Kramer’s Please Baby Please feels like looking into a window of the past. Not so much because it’s a period piece though that is a window into the past. No, it seems like a film that would fit alongside independent films made in the 1980s like Blue Velvet or Stranger... Continue Reading →
Right now, there's a bit of slasher revival happening. There's been enough time since the end of the last slasher cycle that folks can come back to the genre with new eyes. It also allows for new perspectives. The feature debut of screenwriter John Logan (Skyfall, Alien: Covenant), They/Them brings a queer perspective to a... Continue Reading →
Right now, a modern storytelling tool is tools of the past. What might have been an older technique, or a formerly technical limitation is now an aesthetic. Musical genres like chiptune which utilize 8-bit video game sound processing or video games that seek to emulate the heyday of Nintendo have carved a niche for themselves.... Continue Reading →
In my review for Saint Maud, I noted that most religious horror isn't actually about religion it portrays. Most religious horror films tend to be about fights with monsters rather than faith. Instead of a test of faith, these films end being battles between good priests and evil demons. Monsters with rules that can be... Continue Reading →
I am not averse to remakes. I’m also not averse to making new adaptations of books. I think it’s important to revisit texts and re-examine them. “New” is key word here though. Something has to be done that brings something to the table. For better or for worse, we live in a new cycle of... Continue Reading →
Being Film #31 for Hooptober 2022 And so at last we come to the end of Hooptober 2022, at least for me. 31 and done. I've watched more films, and more horror (currently relishing every delicious moment of Guillermo del Toro's Cabinet of Curiosities), but I'm also relishing simply watching without thinking about what to... Continue Reading →
Being Film #30 for Hooptober 2022 And so at last we come to the end of Michael Myers. No more will we have to deal with his nasty shenanigans, as I am sure this is without a doubt the definitive end of this storied franchise. HA! I kid - where there's money to be made... Continue Reading →
Being Film #28 for Hooptober 2022 I'm as shocked as you are that I am reviewing Deadstream. Found footage is not my thing, and yet here we are, not only reviewing a found footage film but sheepishly admitting it worked like gangbusters on me. All credit to Joseph Winter, who along with his wife Vanessa... Continue Reading →
Being Film #27 for Hooptober 2022 There are a lot of folks saying that Dark Glasses, the first film from Dario Argento in a decade and his return to giallo in even longer is a return to form. Certainly it's his best film in over 20 years, but if you look at those film (and... Continue Reading →
Cinema Dual 