Reviews

A young woman goes on a bloodthirsty rampage against those who she believed tortured her as a child as her best friend tries to stop her.

Martyrs takes some really big risks that lead to surprising twists throughout. It's a tough and brutal film to watch, but it does seem to have more of a purpose than your usual splatter/torture flick.

Toni Collette gives one of her finest performances as a grieving woman who believes her recently deceased mother has put a curse on her family.

Collette's performance is so excellent that it should be studied by acting students for years to come. She keeps things realistic while the story takes some potentially goofy twists and turns by the end.

A pregnant newlywed starts to believe the other tenants in her apartment building want to use her baby for nefarious Satanic rituals.

The scariest parts of Rosemary's Baby have nothing to do with the devil or any supernatural elements, but the fact that the people you should be able to trust might not always have your best interests at heart and might be manipulating you at every turn. Mia Farrow is fantastic and very vulnerable in the lead role.

A family gathering goes to hell in a handbasket when a bunch of masked maniacs break in and start killing everyone.

The script is darkly humorous, some of the kills are creative, and Sharni Vinson is an excellent final girl. It's always nice to see Barbara Crampton in a horror film as well.

Though it could stand a few cuts here and there, Ari Aster has fashioned an entertaining and creepy folk horror film about a grieving young woman who finds the support she needs from her boyfriend with a cult.

The colorful photography is a breath of fresh air in this day of desaturated horror films, actress Florence Pugh does a credible job of dissolving into madness, and the music score is hypnotic.

An aspiring model moves to L. A. and falls in with the wrong crowd of models who want the youth and beauty they feel they no longer possess.

Some good ideas and pretty photography are the main reasons to watch this underbaked but fascinating film that could have really been something if they had looked at the script a few more times.

This new adaptation of Dario Argento's horror classic does things differently right from the start. There's no big splashy opening kill, but instead a slowly unfolding mystery throughout even if some of the subplots could use a little trimming. Performances are great and there are scenes of Cronenberg-esque body horror that will haunt your dreams for awhile.

Even though the idea of a cursed video tape seems ancient 20 years later, this American remake of The Ring still has the power to terrify and unnerve. Naomi Watts grounds the supernatural premise with her warm and capable performance and the cinematography is appropriately rainy and grim and would be copied for years to come for many horror films.

A man goes to a dinner party at his ex-wife's house only to discover that it's more of a recruitment party for an odd cult.

The Invitation is a slow burn in the classic sense of Rosemary's Baby. It's not littered with jump scares or CGI monsters and, while it does get violent, it's not a gore fest either. It's true horror that builds deliberately to a shattering conclusion.

After a sexual encounter with a guy she barely knows, a young woman is stalked by mysterious figures who'll kill her if they ever catch up to her.

It Follows has one of the all-time great horror concepts and the filmmakers execute their ideas brilliantly for the first half of the film until it runs out of steam a little bit. It's still a worthwhile film to see that's beautifully shot with an excellent synth score that calls to mind John Carpenter.

A likable family have to rescue their young daughter from another dimension after a portal opens up in her closet.

Performances are excellent and Hooper directs with a lot of the same urgency and excitement that made his Texas Chainsaw Massacre so frightening. The visual effects are still well done to this day and look better than most CGI these days.

Never has ballet been so scary when Jessica Harper heads to Germany to study at a dance school run by evil witches.

Dario Argento hits a home run here with inspired production design, beautiful lighting, shocking violence, and an addictive score by rock group Goblin.

An appealing cast of college kids head off to an April Fool's day weekend at their rich friend's island mansion and are killed one by one by her psychotic twin sister.

The twists will either delight you or anger you and the film's sense of humor isn't for everyone, but it's very well made and witty and a breath of fresh air when compared to all the other horror films from the same time.

Orphan feels like a throwback to the 90's domestic thrillers like Single White Female and The Hand That Rocks the Cradle. This time, the villain is a recently adopted orphan who infiltrates a loving family and tears it apart from the inside. Major props go to young Isabelle Fuhrman who makes it looks so effortless.

Emile Hirsch and Brian Cox play a father/son mortician duo who get a mysterious corpse in for autopsy and, as they start exploring the body, strange things start happening. The atmosphere is heavy, the scares are solid, and there's a blessed subtlety present which is unusual in most films like this. Very solid and recommended!

Richard Donner spends more time than usual grounding the relationships between Gregory Peck and Lee Remick, getting the audience on their side before all the unholy terror shows up. It's a wise choice that makes everything much scarier and the horror set pieces are unforgettable. Jerry Goldsmith's bombastic score is out of this world!

Gillan and Thwaites have nice chemistry as sister and brother as they try to solve the mystery of a murderous cursed mirror that's tormented their family for years. Writer/director Mike Flanagan keeps the family drama high, grounding the silly premise in some form of reality.

A social worker tries to protect an abused child who may or may not be a much darker individual than she initially believed.

Zellwegger does a nice job in the lead role and the script takes a couple of interesting turns, but mostly plays out predictably with a few good scares and moments. Not a total waste of time.

A family falls apart the minute they move into a house right in front of a creepy cemetery that has the power to bring dead pets and people back to life.

Stephen King's own adaptation of his novel is solid and cinematic and director Mary Lambert has a talent for showcasing gory and nightmarish imagery that stays with you for awhile.

A porno film crew stumble upon an elderly couple's deadly secret when they film a movie on their property.

Ti West has made another retro-styled horror film and given his actors fun characters to work with and also let his effects team create some pretty nasty death scenes as well. Well worth your time!

Two teenage girlfriends go looking for drugs and find a den of psychotic hoodlums who torture them. In a bizarre twist of fate, these psychopaths wind up needing shelter and the door they knock on belongs to the parents of one of the girls they just murdered and the mother and father hatch a plot to make them pay.

It's shot like a home movie with very little style and some of the performances are brilliant while others are terrible, yet there's still so much power in this movie that makes it a compelling and unforgettable watch.

Wes Craven tackles race, class, and religion in one of his lesser known and most jam-packed horror films. It features a young child who must help rob his landlord's home in order to get the money to pay for his ailing mother's operation. Once inside, he find a house full of horrors with hidden tunnels, abused children, rabid dogs, and a whole lot of hidden treasure.

Craven creates a whole world inside this house full of depravity and still has a sense of humor about it all.

Udo Kier gives one of his best performances as a retired hairstylist who escapes from his retirement home to create one final masterpiece and come to terms with his past before it's too late.

It's a small scale, quiet indie film with a lot of heart and some great laughs and performances. It's nice to see Kier be given just a substantial role at this point in his career.

A stripper's lover is murdered and she goes after the ones who did him in.

This film will be an tough one for those that aren't fans of drag or wacky humor, but it's something you enjoy, you'll at least have a few laughs that make it worth a rental.

A nurse moves into a creepy old plantation to take care of an elderly man and starts to think there are some spirits that aren't at rest in the house.

The Skeleton Key gets by due to game performances and a lot of creepy swamp atmosphere. The script has its problems, but the final payoff is worth it and it's always nice to see Gena Rowlands having fun.