Author: Sean Parker


  • SHF 2024: A Wild Possum

    SHF 2024: A Wild Possum

    We all go a little mad sometimes. Thatโ€™s what Psychoโ€™s Norman Bates says anyway. Sure, the original silver screen slasher had his problems and went on to kill a bunch of people after issuing the statement, but on this point, he was indisputably correct. Thereโ€™s a fire in everyone, and if itโ€™s not ventilated properly,…

  • SHF2024: Sins of the Father Doesn’t Get Absolution

    When someone says folk horror, Iโ€™m sure your mind goes to the same places mine does: Robert Eggers, Ari Aster, maybe some Ben Wheatley, and for sure Robin Hardyโ€™s The Wicker Man. These directorโ€™s films are the peak of folk storytelling. They offer the mystical, the natural, and the terror that all other films will…

  • SHF2024: Livescreamers, A Biased Review

    Aimlessly scrolling through Prime video, desperate for something to take my mind off the ongoing pandemic that halted society and hijacked the news, the graphic design of a bloodstained video game controller dripping into a pool as it hovered above a pixelated title caused me to pause. That was the one. With the clever title…

  • SHF2024: When It Comes to Found Footage, It Doesn’t Get Any Better Than This

    What is your relationship with the macabre like? Some people compartmentalize their love for ghouls and goblins to just the Halloween season, while others find real-world connection in the paranormal by keeping that spirit open all year long. I, myself, am probably among the latter individuals, devouring horror films, books, and games all year long.…

  • A Bit of a Mixed Baghead

    Toward the end of 2023, I started hearing the name Baghead a lot. The film played a few fests and had a theatrical run overseas before finding its home at Shudder. The trailer had dropped at the start of December, and I have to admit, I was hyped. It boasted an interesting bit of originality…

  • BUFF24: Femme is a Gripping Revenge Thrillride

    In 1974, a moment in Liliana Cavaniโ€™s The Night Porter made our hearts stop as Charlotte Rampling saw Dirk Bogarde at the desk of the Vienna hotel she was staying in. Any audience watching, knowing what the picture was about, remembers it vividly as it sends Ramplingโ€™s character, Lucia, into a spiral of trauma. Bogardeโ€™s…

  • BUFF24: If You Don’t Fear Spiders, You Will After Infested

    It seems as if weโ€™re celebrating an arachnid Spring in horror this year. Wyrmwood director Kiah Roache-Turnerโ€™s Sting is about to spread the creepy crawlies in theaters next week (April 12). Then thereโ€™s Chandler Riggsโ€™ horror take on Spider-Man, The Spider, a fan-made film garnering widespread attention for an imminent YouTube direct release. And finally,…

  • BUFF24: Perspective and Serenity Allure in Chris Nash’s In A Violent Nature

    After ten films, a crossover, a reboot, and an upcoming television series, youโ€™d think every avenue in the Friday the 13th franchise had been thoroughly exhausted. Honestly, finding any originality in the slasher genre is difficult. However, on rare occasions, the horror gods favor us with something special. Last weekend, The Boston Underground Film Festival…

  • Make Believe 2024: A Most Atrocious Thing is A Most Excellent Time

    Indie films are kind of my jam. If youโ€™ve read any of my work on this or any other site, thereโ€™s a good chance it was for an underdog movie made by passionate people. When it was announced that A Most Atrocious Thing would have its World Premiere at the Make Believe Film Festival, I…

  • Make Believe 2024: Lovecraft, Covid, and The Lonely Man with the Ghost Machine

    If youโ€™re a fair-weather horror fan who only takes in the biggest Hollywood horror titles and rarely ventures into the mid-level or microbudget worlds of the macabre, then the name Graham Skipper might not ring a bell. But for the rest of us, the prospect of new Graham Skipper material is always great news. Skipper…