Reviews

Overlook Film Festival: ‘Smoking Causes Coughing’ (2022) – Review

Smoking Causes Coughing

The team that Smoking Causes Coughing focuses on, Tobacco Force, are Power Ranger expies that use the chemical components of cigarettes but are “heroes” fighting off human-sized rubber monsters. There is no indication these monsters present a threat to anything beyond what the team says, and even kids above 6 …

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A Night To Die For: ‘PROM NIGHT’ (Nelson McCormick) Turns 15 – Retro Review

Prom Night (2008)

Back in the early 2000s, my friends and I would regularly grace the local movie theater to see the latest horror movies, from Paranormal Activity and The Unborn to The Exorcism of Emily Rose. Therefore, when previews began dropping for Nelson McCormick’s Prom Night, it was a given that I’d go. Plus, I had to see …

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‘THE BLACK DEMON’ Review: A Sharkbuster with Bite – and Heart

The Black Demon

The newest sharkbuster, THE BLACK DEMON, is righting capitalism’s wrongs and giving horror fans the R-rated megalodon movie it’s been waiting for. From Adrian Grunberg, director of Rambo: Last Blood (2019), comes THE BLACK DEMON, starring Josh Lucas (American Psycho, (2000), Fernanda Urrejola (Cry Macho, (2021), Julio Cesar Cedillo (Cowboys vs. Aliens, (2011), …

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‘SWEENEY TODD’ Broadway Revival – Review

A few months ago, I snagged a ticket to see the April 22 matinee performance of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street on Broadway. As Ticketmaster sent over the customary “You Got the Tickets” email, I had mixed feelings. Largely, I was excited. Since I wasn’t born during the …

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Ari Aster’s ‘BEAU IS AFRAID’ – A Divisive Vision

If your central complaint about modern cinema is that we live in a world of sequels, prequels, requels, reboots, and a general sense of unoriginality, allow me to introduce you to Beau is Afraid. With his third feature, Ari Aster challenges the audience in a way not often seen in …

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Unsettling Real-Life Parallels in XYZ’s AI Drama, ‘THE ARTIFICE GIRL’

The Artifice Girl

ThouFuturistic Drama ‘The Artifice Girl‘ imagines a reality exceptionally close to ours. With all the advancements of artificial intelligence, and traipsing around in the Uncanny Valley, there are a lot of incredible and frightening possibilities. In ‘The Artifice Girl‘, the idea of AI crossing the line from a controlled program …

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Evil Wants to be Seen – ‘WATCHER’ (2022) – Review

Being a transplant to a new town is isolating enough. Now mix in a language barrier, and reevaluate your career path – aka unemployed superstar. They say idle hands are the devil’s playground, well The same can be said about an idle mind. It’s a catalyst for a self-imposed existential …

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