#horror film reviews (2020s)

[fibula-rasa]

Favorite New-to-Me Films

January ’24

READ on BELOW the JUMP!

(listed in order of collage above, L to R)

Eleven P.M. (1928)

[letterboxd | imdb | kanopy]

Synopsis: Sundaisy, a violinist, tries to fulfill a friend’s dying request to ensure his son is raised away from the criminal element of the city. Unfortunately, Sundaisy is duped by a phony priest, and the boy grows into a low-level crime boss. After a series of misfortunes spurred on by the boy over the course of decades, Sundaisy’s family is nearly ruined. However, Sundaisy’s will for vengeance leads to supernatural consequences. All this is couched in a frame story of a man trying to meet an 11 p.m. deadline.

This is easily my favorite first-time viewing of the month. The synopsis above admittedly does not capture the mystical/transcendental attitude that Eleven P.M. reflects. This is the only film Detroit-based Richard Maurice ever directed, but it displays sophisticated ideas about film storytelling, using an array of devices in inventive ways. It’s always a treat to be reminded of how creative and exciting independent filmmaking can be in America. If you want to check this one out, I advise you to keep an open mind and not approach it with an overly literal, nitpicky mindset. Let Richard Maurice take you on this ride and I don’t think you’ll regret it!

I watched this on the Pioneers of African-American Cinema box set, which I can’t recommend highly enough. The films are outstandingly curated and contextualized and the set showcases an often-overlooked but indispensable part of American cultural history. A lot of the films are also available on streaming through kanopy, which you may be able to access with your library card if you live in the US.

---

Lea on Rollerskates / Lea sui pattini (1912)

[letterboxd | imdb]

Synopsis: Lea isn’t allowed by her parents to go rollerskating with a friend, so she decides to skate in her own bedroom. She proceeds to wreak havoc in the home before an accidental self-defenestration sets her free to wreak havoc at the roller rink instead.

A jam-packed, stunt-heavy bit of nonsense led by Lea Giunchi. I’ve watched quite a few of her films now and I’ve learned this is pretty standard for her. I love each and every pratfall.

---

Two Girls are in Love with Foolshead / Le due innamorate di Cretinetti (1911)

[letterboxd | imdb]

Synopsis: Cretinetti is dating two girls at the same time. The girls decide to duel, but Cretinetti is the one who loses… repeatedly.

I’ve finally gotten around to watching more Andre Deed films and this one was a highlight for January. I don’t know who the skinny woman is, but she and Valentina Frascaroli are great together.

---

X (2022)

[letterboxd | imdb]

Synopsis: A crew of filmmakers leave Houston, TX for the country in order to film a farm-themed porn. The producer of course did not disclose the nature of their stay to the elderly property owners. Said owners have ulterior motives in renting their cabin and respond violently to the group.

Appreciative of all of Ti West’s work, and X has so much going on and so much to say that I originally typed out two full pages (single spaced) on it before I knew it. I won’t be sharing those two pages because I think there are a few points on the approach to gore in recent horror movies that I need to mull over more. For now though, I’ll just say, I didn’t enjoy X at all, but I deeply appreciate what Ti West is putting out there. I probably won’t watch it again and I’m going to be sure my stomach is prepared for whenever I get around to Pearl (2022).

---

The Hayseed (1919)

[letterboxd | imdb | Silent Comedy Watch Party]

Synopsis: Fatty wants to marry Molly, but so does the sheriff. Buster tries to keep the general store in working order while the sheriff plots against Fatty.

Luke the dog is one of my top 5 movie dogs of all time. I’ve never made an official list, but I know in my heart that Luke is at the top. Also, I adore how many modern professional wrestling moves you end up seeing in Fatty/Buster collaborations! In this instance, note the dance sequence with the lady who gets swung around wildly.

---

The Ghost Ship (1943)

[letterboxd | imdb]

Synopsis: Tom Merriam, a young officer, reports for his first commission on a long haul trip on the Altair. The captain has a bit of a strange vibe, but the newbie likes him, at first. As crewmen perish under the captain’s leadership, and the captain’s lectures take on a more sinister tone, Tom knows he needs to act to save the remaining crew and the ship. 

Checked this out as I was on a Val Lewton kick not knowing much about it beforehand. I did not expect it to be a movie about fascism done in microcosm. So, if you were looking for a movie about ghosts or a Flying Dutchman, this ain’t it. Its off-beat structure amped up the tension, though the denouement was a little too pat. Cinematography was fantastic, as you might expect from Nicholas Musuraca. I hope Sir Lancelot got two checks for how much his singing contributes to the movie. Richard Dix is such a skilled actor in everything I’ve seen him in, but he is pitch-perfectly terrifying in this movie.

---

Miss Pinkerton (1932)

[letterboxd | imdb]

Synopsis: A nurse who’s bored with hospital work gets assigned to an old woman who’s ailing after a big shock: finding the dead body of her nephew. The detective on the case asks the nurse to gather reconnaissance for him at the house and she gets all the excitement she can stomach as a result.

Miss Pinkerton is a pre-code gem I somehow have never seen before, despite my devotion to Joan Blondell. The plot and characters are interesting, the cinematography (done by Barney McGill) and staging of the film is very dynamic and Joan Blondell brings so much to Miss Pinkerton with her signature effervescent sass. It’s also just over an hour long, so it would make a great watch for one of those evenings where you’re indecisive but want to find something compelling but compact.

---

Phil-for-Short (1919)

[letterboxd | imdb]

Synopsis: Damophilia “Phil” Illington is a free-spirited tomboy brought up by a Greek-professor father and his right-hand man, Pat. Her lack of lady-like decorum raises the ire of two town elders, who are also the local killjoys. When her father passes away, one of the elders abuses his position of power to force her into a conservatorship. Phil disguises herself as a boy and hightails it with Pat. While on the lam, Phil makes the acquaintance of a young woman-hating Greek professor. Through a set of misadventures, Phil and the Professor end up married, but it takes quite a bit of work after the marriage for them to find happiness with one another.

Great characters and performances and I enjoyed marriage not being treated as the resolution or an end point to the story. It’s also very endearing to see such a pervasively queer story about a man and a woman getting together.

---

The Mystic (1925)

[letterboxd | imdb]

Synopsis: A con artist enlists the help of Hungarian travelling carnival performers to enact a phony medium scheme against the hoi polloi of New York City.

Tod Browning is a sure-bet filmmaker for me and The Mystic was no exception. Highlights for me were: the execution of the seance sequences, Erte’s gorgeous costumes for Aileen Pringle, and an ending that I hoped would happen but assumed wouldn’t!

---

There Ain’t No Santa Claus (1926)

[letterboxd | imdb | Silent Comedy Watch Party]

Synopsis: When Christmas rolls around, Charley doesn’t have enough money to both pay the rent and buy his wife a present. He uses his $80 to buy her a watch, instead of the rent, and his nasty landlord/next-door-neighbor steals the watch. Christmas Day turns into a free for all, when both Charley and his landlord dress as Santa and plan to enter via their respective chimneys for their respective children. 

Well-paced, great comeuppance, and very well-executed gags. Additionally, Charley Chase looks absolutely outrageous in his Santa wig and he knew it!

---

This one didn’t make it into the collage, but it’s still on the list:

Little Moritz Runs Away With Rosalie / Little Moritz enlève Rosalie (1911)

[letterboxd | imdb]

Synopsis: Little Moritz loves Rosalie and wishes to marry her, but her father objects. So, of course Rosalie and Mortiz run away together in his funky little flivver, but dad and the family dog give chase.

Most of this short is the chase sequence and it’s very well executed. Sarah Duhamel is so cute and so is her family dog. The location shooting is nicely done (was this shot in Nice?) This charming poster captures the vibe of the short perfectly:

---

In January we were hit with a nasty winter storm and, while we were relatively lucky in my neighborhood, we were without internet for a third of the month. So, we ended up relying on our home video collection, which accounts for five of the films above and me re-watching two seasons of Soap and Fritz Lang’s Niebelungenlied (1924). 

Despite the holdup, I continued my “Lost, but Not Forgotten” series with The Dancer of the Nile (1923) and started a limited spin-off series, “How’d They Do That?” about special effects and stunts in the silent era. 

I also made themed gif & still sets for: Miss Pinkerton, Dementia (1955), and A Christmas Carol (1971).

Here’s to a less eventful February! And, as always, if you’re interested in any of these films, but have specific content warning needs, feel free to ask me.

[queenofplaguerats]

So I just saw the new Blumhouse flick, The Black Phone.

I'll get it out of the way and say: I thought it was pretty good. Seems like everyone involved knew what they were doing, nothing egregiously wrong with it. Solid cinematography and sound design, thematically resonant, even some mostly good performances from the child actors involved. And of course, Ethan Hawke portrayed The Grabber PHENOMENALLY.

All that out of the way, some spoiler talk, mostly focusing on my favorite element of the film, and the one I can critique the most, The Grabber himself.

Immediately, I was interested when I saw this mask. Designed by horror effects master Tom Savini himself. It does a lot for the character, obscuring his features and muffling his voice. It adds to his sinister presence. But what makes it really unique is that it isn't really one mask!

The mask is composed of 4 separate pieces, as far as I can tell. One eye piece and three interchangeable mouths that can be attached to it, or worn as separate masks. This allows the pieces to be subbed out, allowing for more expression on Hawke's part, or a less muffled voice, without entirely removing the mask from the equation.

Now, on to what I think is a weaker part: it seems like they had competing ideas of what the grabber would be, and they chose an awkward compromise.

There are moments where the grabber is meant to come off as frightening and mysterious, but we the audience know he's just some guy with a black van and a coked up conspiracy theorist brother living upstairs who's too stupid to realize the killer he's obsessed with is living under the same roof.

There are allusions to the grabber having some troubled childhood, possibly abused in a way he reenacts on his victims (whipped with a belt) and interestingly paralleled by the abuse our protagonists suffer at the hands of their own father. There's probably something here trying to be said about the cycle of abuse, which Finney, the kidnapped boy the film follows, breaks by escaping The Grabber.

This could work really well, making the grabber another abused child, the person who Finney could become, his father's already become, that he needs to choose to be better than. Buuut... No. That idea is never really expanded on, the film kills the comic relief brother who could have enlightened us as quickly and abruptly as it introduces him.

It also feels like at some point in the writing the brother, Max, may have been an alternate persona of The Grabber (who interestingly is never named as anything else), but if this is the case it was probably dropped early on, the brother a bizarre vestige of a script deemed too similar to Split or Malignant.

Oh, also The Grabber and both protagonists are psychic. This is never really explained beyond throwaway lines and an insinuation that their mother had similar abilities which drove her to suicide, or that their father drove her to it by gaslighting her about her psychic abilities. It's... Kinda dumb, tbh.

Most of the sister's storyline could have been cut, along with the Grabber's brother, and nothing of substance would be lost. They had literally no influence on the final outcome of the film. Seriously, if you watched it, think back. Those plot threads lead nowhere.

Anyway, 6/10, it was a fun watch, Ethan Hawke was great, iconic mask, a story that could have benefited from a sequel hook if we're being honest.

The Grabber would make a better slasher than kidnapper.

[roseshavethoughts]

The Night House (2020)

My ★★★★ Review of The Night House (2020) #FilmReview

Synopsis – A widow begins to uncover her recently deceased husband’s disturbing secrets. Director – David Bruckner Starring – Rebecca Hall, Sarah Goldberg, Evan Jonigkeit Genre – Horror | Mystery Released – 2020 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Rating: 4.5 out of 5. “The Night House” is a chilling and thought-provoking supernatural thriller that masterfully weaves elements of horror, grief, and psychological…

[fanofspooky]

When I first saw this movie I genuinely didn’t like or understand this movie, but now seeing it again I actually found it very interesting and funny especially since I knew I was supposed to not like most the people. I think I didn’t understand that I was supposed to hate most everyone

At first I would’ve given this a 5 out of 10 but now an 8 outta 10

[oh-the-horror-reviews]

FILM REVIEW: Five Nights at Freddy's (2023)

As a FNAF fan, this film finally getting released made my year. A comfy night me and my little brother spent using the movie tickets I won at a coffee cart raffle, eating candy and popcorn and then having Thai takeout to wrap the night up. A nostalgia trip for both of us.

WARNINGS FOR: heavy plot spoilers for the film and original games, mentions and descriptions of gore, child death, child abuse (physical) and blood

POSITIVES

And that's really what this movie is, a nostalgia trip. Because I want to make one thing clear. If you haven't seen anything about FNAF, especially the silver eyes trilogy of novels, you probably aren't going to enjoy the film. If you only know fanon information and nothing about the canonical lore you probably aren't going to enjoy this film either... that's two things (/ref).

The final 'twist' isn't well set up because that's not what they were trying to do. From the very start a FNAF fan knows that 'Steve Raglan' (played by THE Matthew Lillard! One of two original Ghostface killers!) is absolutely William Afton. The final fight is just fan service for us fans and not a well plotted, set up reveal. What's the point of it? Acting as if we don't already know?

The choice to make the characters like Mike, Abby, Garrett, the missing children, Vanessa, etc parallels of existing characters in the FNAF universe instead of new people or exact adaptations is something I actually liked as well. I've heard some people are confused about it or just don't like it but a lot of that comes from expectations before the film released.

A LOT of people had it in their heads that the movie was going to be some hardcore jumpscare and gore-fest because "FNAF is so dark!" when... let's be real here. The darkness of FNAF has always come from lore behind the games and not visual representations of it. The closest we've ever really gotten to gore is some red pixels during one of the FNAF 3 minigames depicting William Afton's death in the springlock suit.

It's 2023 we can like kids horror either out of nostalgia or genuinely thinking it's good. Plenty of adults like Goosebumps and whatever. This movie was never going to be an R16-R18 horror. Imagine cutting off a good 3 years of your fanbase for 'accuracy' that isn't even accurate! Knowing how trapped and lost the missing children are after having their lives cut so short by such a selfish monster is already dark and way more accurate to how the games handled the lore.

It probably doesn't help that Scott helped work on the film and considering he's a devout anti-abortion, donating to homophobic politicians in secret Christian I doubt he would've been okay pushing the gore too far.

If anything, the lighthearted tone touching on the missing children still being actual children and not just murder machines makes the few gore and blood scenes even more shocking. The aunt's team of vandals getting attacked, the babysitter getting CUT IN HALF and the springlock scene at the end of the film are all good at raising the tension in such a colourful environment focusing on a family focused story.

CRITICISMS

The only two things I could criticize are:

1) Elizabeth Lail's acting. As Vanessa, she's noticeably more... exaggerated than her other cast members who all try to come off as realistic as they can for their characters. And not in a Renfield or Jack Griffin type of way where they're just purposefully odd or straight up nuts compared to everyone else. Just some of her line deliveries are a bit 'off' or even a little cringy? It's not that big of an issue and you don't notice it most of the time but I thought I'd mention it.

2) The lack of context for Vanessa and William's father-daughter relationship. It's heavily implied that William abused Vanessa as a child. Seeing how he behaves around her even as an adult, treating her less like a person and more of a tool or a verbal punching bag and with his track record with his kids in other universes (slapping daughters and gassing sons with hallucinogenic gas really doesn't get you father of the year) and the fact he gave a dead kids toy to his own kid as some fucked up 'trophy', it's pretty obvious.

But we really don't get any deeper context for her behaviour during the film specifically. Vanessa constantly lies and hides information in the film and it comes off as very, very annoying for a while. We can see by the end that William put that behaviour in her as a child so he wouldn't be caught murdering kids because his daughter told people what he was doing. But we never get to see much of this other than the brief confrontation at the final fight so it's harder to sympathize with her almost getting Abby killed. The movie's pacing is good so I think they could've pushed a few extra scenes in with her and William without slowing anything down. We all knew who he was anyway and they didn't have to reveal she was his daughter before the end because in the games she's already a brainwashed follower of his ideals.

WOULD I RECOMMEND THIS MOVIE?

Yes! It's fun, colourful and good for people who don't like non-stop nasties for a movie night but are still interested in something tense. Just don't expect to love it nearly as much if you know nothing about FNAF or the canon lore ("why is Cassidy not a girl?" "why is Cassidy blonde?" tiktok comments are starting to get to me)

A fun watch for fans and light horror fans :)

[videoreligion]

McMurderer (2021) Review by RevTerry

[crackny2k]

actually you know what i will talk about antebellum (the movie, not the time period) outside of the tags.

it is so shockingly obvious that it was rated so poorly because a bunch of fragile white people didn't like how they were being portrayed on screen. half of the comments were 'not all white people :( this isn't even horror, it's just making me think about stuff i don't want to :('

that IS a type of horror. how the fuck do you watch a movie CALLED ANTEBELLUM and NOT think it's going to show you some really fucking uncomfortable truths and actual, Human Horror. being a witness to something awful is horror, having to sit there and think about what you've seen IS HORROR.

[moviesandmania]

THEY'RE OUTSIDE (2020) Reviews of British pagan horror - free to watch on YouTube

THEY’RE OUTSIDE (2020) Reviews of British pagan horror – free to watch on YouTube

‘Fear will find you…’ They’re Outside is a 2020 British found-footage horror film about a celebrity psychologist who is drawn into supernatural events while filming a documentary about an agoraphobic woman. Directed by Airell Anthony Hayles (Heckle) and Sam Casserly from a screenplay written by the former, The movie stars Emily Booth (Shed of the Dead; Inbred; Doghouse; Evil Aliens), Nicholas…

[twenty-words-or-less]

Possessor

Summary: Assassin Tasya Vos (Andrea Riseborough) carries out her work by possessing the bodies of other individuals. However, she encounters difficulties with her latest assignment when the body's host starts fighting back.

Inventive concept with suitably gory execution (so to speak) and stiff, twitchy performance from Riseborough. Definitely a Cronenberg work.

Rating: 3.75/5

Photo credit: The Movie Isle

[noeljpenaflor]

This Review of The Rental (2020) Comes With a Free Franco Brother!

[satanachia666]

Happy Pride Month! I wrote a horror movie review of Bit (2020). It’s about a group of feminist vampires who primarily target privileged and predatory men. We could sure use them to take care of the politicians who overturned Roe v. Wade!

[coffeebookslovegt]

Nunca es demasiado tarde para cambiar. Quiero decir, especialmente si lo que dices es cierto, cada nuevo día es... es una oportunidad para ser alguien mejor.

[roseshavethoughts]

Fantasy Island (2020)

#SundayCinemaClub Fantasy Island (2020) - Quick Review ★★★

[jasonsutekh]

Hunter’s Moon (2020)

A new family move into the house of a dead serial killer but when strange men invade their home, they’re aided by mysterious creatures.

There’s a little more plot that the basic creature feature that fills in time between each kill. Including killers and abusers makes for a different kind of threat and serves the purpose of getting us more on the side of both the perceived victims as well as partly in favour of the monster ripping some mean people up.

Two of the best elements about most great werewolf movies is either the ethical dichotomy where a good person is forced to change and do bad things, usually also requiring a good transformation, or it’s a who-dunnit where we have to guess who the creature is. This film is neither, it’s obvious in the plot since there are few suspects, the ethics are excused clearly from the outset, and there’s no on-screen transformation.

Some of the effects are pretty decent but it feels like earlier films were able to do a lot more with less. The creature is only seen clearly once and then it’s an underwhelming scene. There are at least a fair few strong female characters, although the sexual element is exploited beyond the mileage that the plot device had.

Overall, there may have been more than just monsters and violence but the plot still had little substance and was too predictable. There were only a few effects and those appeared brief. The acting was just about passable but the greatest omission was that even the bad guys showed little reaction when their own family was being massacred.

3/10 -This one’s bad but it’s got some good in it, just there-

[subjectivecuriosities]

My ★★ review of Pastacolypse (2023) on @letterboxd: https://boxd.it/4ADbnJ #Animation #Tubi #JasonShwartz #MattMaiellaro #HorrorComedy #FirstTimeWatch #FilmTwitter

[eddiescorner]

Saw “Scare Me” (2020) last night

Ok, so a couple of writers spent the night in a cabin during a blackout, and to pass the time they tell (and act) scary stories to each other.

The two main characters are unlikeable weirdos and the movie’s ending sucks.

BUT when they are acting and telling the scary stories the film becomes very, very entertaining.

The movie barely cuts away from the little cabin they are in, instead using sound effects, camera angles and movements, a bit of practical effects and make up and the acting of Josh Ruben and Aya Cash to tell every story.

They are fun to watch during these secuences of story-telling. At least to me.

If you enjoy “bottle-episodes” of shows that happen in one place and seeing people narrating spooky stories, you will probably get some entertainment value out of this. Movie’s on the Shudder streaming service.

Just ignore how the characters and the ending suck big time.