Fantasia Fest 2018: ‘Brothers’ Nest’ is a Pitch Black Family Affair

brothers' nest

Our coverage of Fantasia Fest 2018 continues with Clayton Jacobson’s Brothers’ Nest, a pitch black comedy about brothers who are planning the elaborately detailed murder of their stepfather, hoping to inspire their dying mother to include them in her last will and testament.  Though it sounds far from funny on …

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The Enduring Visual Appeal of Ridley Scott’s ‘Alien’

Alien (1979) is my favorite horror movie, and I’m not alone; according to IMDb, this sci-fi classic appears on lists of the best films of all time and has been selected as “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant” by the Library of Congress. Why is Alien so compelling? It appeared post-Star …

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‘Euthanizer’ (2017) – The Rainbow Bridge Movie Review

The hardest part of owning a pet is watching them get old and suffer, or so one would think. Try being the person that has to do the physical act of  putting the animal down. The 2017 movie, Euthanizer, delves into the mind of such a person and shows the darkness …

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The Strange Saga of ‘Caligula’ (1979) – Retro Review

It’s time to talk about one of the most infamous movies to ever hit the screen, a film based off one of the most infamous men in recorded history. Caligula the man and Caligula the movie both had similar twisted and disturbed paths that led to both of their fates …

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Fantasia Fest 2018: ‘Tigers Are Not Afraid’ Will Rattle You

tigers are not afraid

Fantasia Film Festival is underway, and if you’re attending, you may want to invest in a box of Kleenex before seeing Tigers Are Not Afraid (Spanish title: Vuelven). The profoundly moving film comes from writer/director Issa López, and follows a group of young children who have been personally victimized by the Mexican drug …

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‘Martyrs’ Director in Razor Sharp Form with ‘Incident in a Ghostland’

There is no help in Incident in a Ghostland

Around the turn of the century, France gifted the horror-loving masses with a slew of powerful, intense, nerve-shredding films that came to be known as the New French Extremity movement. While no two movies were exactly the same, they were all commonly punctuated with extreme, uncomfortable, severe depictions of violence, …

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Fantasia Fest 2018: ‘One Cut of the Dead’ is a Different Kind of Zombie Film

one cut of the dead

One Cut of the Dead simply can’t be reviewed without spoilers, so continue no further if you want to remain spoiler-free. Zombie films hold a special place in my heart. As someone who frequently comfort-watches Night of the Living Dead in order to unwind before bed, I’ve yet to fall …

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From Music to Style, ‘Summer of 84’ Screams 1980s

When I first watched Summer of 84, the brilliant retro thriller from Roadkill Superstar Films (RKSS), I fell in love with the deep-seated mystery, the film’s oppressive air of dread and trepidation and the maturity-demanding exploits that the four boys in the film were fated to undertake. It wasn’t until after …

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