• I Took One for the Team and Watched Tarot

    I’m not going to lie and tell you that I’ve been anxiously looking forward to Tarot. Like every other horror fan, I thought this movie looked like the worst kind of generic genre drivel, so I went into it with just about the lowest expectations possible. In fact, I was basically dreading the experience, so…

  • SHF2024: My Mother’s Eyes Spies Technoparanoia Through Sensory Overload

    If there’s anything I know about Takeshi Kushida, it’s that he can craft a visually striking horror movie. Whatever side of the fence you fell on with Kushida’s debut feature, Woman of the Photographs, you can’t say it wasn’t a lavishly colored and beautifully shot debut feature. Kushida’s artistic prowess combined with a love/hate relationship…

  • SHF2024: Faceless After Dark Gets Vengence on Toxic Fandom

    Typecasting is a terrible thing that happens far too often in the horror genre. Fans are often quick to embrace the idea of seeing their favorite “scream queens” or slasher icons return for new rounds of chaotic violence filled with one-liners, gore, and a possible final chapter to a beloved character’s storyline. As much as…

  • The Secret of Skinwalker Ranch: Holy Cow (S5E2)

    By the end of Season 5 Episode 2 “Holy Cow” of The Secret of Skinwalker Ranch, ranch owner Brandon Fugal will boldly exclaim, “We are on the cusp of discovering the secret of Skinwalker Ranch.” How did we get here? Before we cover the experiment, yes singular, in “Holy Cow” I think it’s pertinent to…

  • Mind Body Spirit Leads You on a Terrifying Journey of Self-Discovery

    I’ve had my eye on Mind Body Spirit for a while now. I first heard about the film when it was making its festival run several months ago, and I thought both the premise and the trailer were pretty intriguing. I really wanted to check this movie out, so when I learned that I’d be…

  • Winter Island Hides an Unspeakable Secret Behind Its Spectral Trappings

    As a horror movie critic, I’m pretty plugged into the horror world. I know about most of the new genre releases, whether they’re big theatrical films or smaller VOD movies, so it’s always nice to be pleasantly surprised by a title that completely slipped through the cracks for me. It’s one of my favorite things…

  • SHF2024: Exclusive Interview with The Power of the Strike Director Dima Barch

    Dima Barch sits on a linen sofa. From the other end of my computer screen, I see his soft eyes, wide smile, and slightly tussled hair as I mess with the settings on Zoom, which has logged me out and won’t let me record. Barch is calm, patiently waiting for me to ask him about…

  • SHF 2024: A Wild Possum

    SHF 2024: A Wild Possum

    We all go a little mad sometimes. That’s what Psycho’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. There’s a fire in everyone, and if it’s not ventilated properly,…

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

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

  • Monolith: When Podcasters Get High on Their Own Supply

    Monolith opens with a single enticing line spoken over a black screen, “I want to tell you a story.” Over the next moments, a narrative unfolds into lunacy. The screen pulls back to an extreme close-up of a microphone, then to a home office, in the same space where viewers will spend all but a…