Charlie Cargile

Central Illinois based film journalist. Lover of cinema of all varieties but in love with films with an independent spirit. Elder Emo. Cat Dad. Metalhead.

A New Indie Horror Holiday Classic: Mrs. Claus (2018) Movie Review

I’ve been following Troy Escamilla’s work (read our interview with him here) since I first started writing for PopHorror, just after he had recently finished his first feature, Party Night.(you can read our review here). It wasn’t long after that I backed his second feature, Stirring (read our review here), on Kickstarter. …

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A Brilliant Monster (2018) Movie Review

How far would you go to be successful? How much are you willing to sacrifice? These are they themes that A Brilliant Monster deals with. While this subject has been covered in other films over the years, this film covers this subject well on a microbudget, which is not an …

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Blood Fest (2018) Movie Review

I first saw Blood Fest at Horrorhound Weekend Indianapolis earlier this year. I remember enjoying the film, but there was a drinking game involved, so my memory was a little hazy. Recently, I picked up Blood Fest on Blu-ray to revisit it. Was it just as fun without booze? Read …

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‘I’m Dreaming of a White Doomsday’ (2017) Movie Review

Here at PopHorror, we are huge fans of Yuletide terror. From ’80s classics like Silent Night Deadly Night, guilty pleasures like Santa’s Slay and Jack Frost, and modern indie films like Stirring and All Through The House, it’s something that even the biggest Scrooges in our writing staff can’t help …

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‘Molly’ (2017) Movie Review

I really dig post post-apocalyptic stories. There is something about the world as we know it ending that brings out the best and worst in humanity. It makes for compelling storytelling. A couple months ago, I saw the trailer for the film Molly, and it looked amazing, and now, I’ve finally …

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‘Better Off Zed’ (2018) Movie Review

I used to really love zombie movies, but over the past 10 years or so, they have became a done to death (no pun intended) subgenre. While I’ve experienced burnout on zombies films, I do still dig the occasional zombie comedy. When I saw Better Off Zed on the shelf …

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Amazon Hot Box (2018) Movie Review

James Bickert and Brian K. Williams are two indie filmmakers that I have been following for the past couple years. When they announce new films, I genuinely get excited to see what they have come up with. A few months back, James and Brian launched a Kickstarter campaign for Amazon …

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‘Found Footage 3D’ (2016) Movie Review

Most of our readers know by now that I really don’t care much for found footage films, with the exception of Wekufe: Origin of Evil and Room For Rent (you can read my reviews of the films here and here). I feel like the genre is full of potential to tell a compelling …

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“A Heartbreaking And Beautiful Tragedy”- Hostile (2017) Movie Review

While I tend to enjoy post-apocalyptic films, they have been overdone lately, a slew of more of the same and less of something new. When I heard about the post-apocalyptic film, Hostile, it sounded like something with the potential to put a fresh spin on a well-worn genre, and I knew …

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