Category: Film


  • The Guy Who Didn’t Like Musicals: Live (or Undead) on Stage (and YouTube)!

    I’ve written quite extensively on horror comedy musicals. In fact, I’ve written a horror comedy musical, Brides! (You can get an album of select songs from the show, Brides (World Premiere Sneak Peek), wherever you stream or buy music online!) Whether you like musicals or not, whether you like horror or not, The Guy Who…

  • SHF2024: Giving Up the Ghost Game

    Jill Gevargizian’s The Stylist was one of the most delightful surprises of 2020. Outside of Sweeney Todd, we hadn’t really seen a hairstylist killer, which gave the film an original feeling. Not to mention there were two fantastic performances from Najarra Townsend and Brea Grant. Gevargizian, who is a trained hair stylist, put a lot…

  • Five Underseen Vampire Movies You Need to Check Out

    It’s probably an exaggeration to say that vampire movies are the foundation of the horror genre, but it’s closer to the truth than you might think. Arguably the greatest silent horror film of all time, Nosferatu, is about a vampire, and vampire movies helped kick off the golden ages of both Universal Studios and Hammer…

  • SHF2024: Sweet Relief is a Bitter Pill of Small Town Chaos

    My favorite horror concepts are always the ones that are right in your face, and writer-director Nick Verdi’s Sweet Relief is abundantly that. A slow roll of suburban moral panic, Verdi paints the Rockwellian portrait of a sleepy small town and fills it with uproar over a viral internet challenge. It’s a song we’ve all…

  • 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…

  • 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…