Being Film #3 for Hooptober 2023 Man, there is just something about Dario Argento. Excepting The Five Days (only because I haven't seen it) his run of films from 1970's The Bird With the Crystal Plumage up to 1996's The Stendhal Syndrome (I'm giving a soft pass to 93's Trauma because I barely remember it)... Continue Reading →
Being Film #2 for Hooptober 2023 Tone is everything. So even if Sea Fever, the debut film from Neasa Hardiman isn't particularly scary, it holds its tone throughout a solid tale that on the surface may be about a parasitic life form that wreaks havoc on a down and out fishing vessel off the coast... Continue Reading →
Demián Rugna’s Terrified begins with a woman, Clara, standing over the sink in her kitchen. She tries to make dinner. Every time she runs the faucet, she hears voices. Much later, her husband Juan comes home smiling. He tells a story about a dog that miraculously getting hit by a car. However, Clara seems hollow.... Continue Reading →
Welcome to another year of Hooptober. Once again the criteria has been announced and the films assembled. Last year, I started my first full Hooptober wondering if I was going to complete 31 films. I ended it having seen 50 films from September 15th to October 31st. I started with a double feature of Pearl... Continue Reading →
I cannot believe a year has passed, and here we are again. It's the 10th year of the Hooptober Horror Movie Marathon, and for the third time we'll be covering it over here on Cinema Dual. That means for the next 45 days myself and Mr. Dan Morris will be exploding your eyeballs with copious... Continue Reading →
Coming up with a Sight and Sound ballot, even one that didn’t get submitted to the actual magazine, presents unique challenges. The only criteria put forth by the venerable magazine is to vote for the greatest films of all time, leaving voters free to interpret that. It opens things up to a wide set of... Continue Reading →
Imagine you are a filmmaker coming off the most well regarded film of your career. It’s the film that maybe you don’t realize now but will become what you’re best known. Regardless, the question that will be asked of you is “What’s next?” There’s two paths you can take. Do what’s expected of you, or... 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 →
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