Shudder
Film Review: Kandisha
Much of the genre landscape is unfairly dominated by films from North America, and to a lesser degree Britain and Australasia. This can largely be attributed to language and where the money is to finance filmmaking. Despite this, one of the most interesting movements in modern horror cinema has been that of the French new …
Film Review: Caveat
There’s a tendency today, especially within mainstream genre cinema, to rely on jump scares and manufacturing tension using abrasive soundscapes and invasive camera techniques. This can often leave a bad aftertaste and is no replacement for conjuring up a genuine atmosphere of dread. Of wrongness. Of anticipation. Look deep into the shadows and you’ll find …
Film Review: Seance
Loss is often hard to take. No longer having the presence of someone important in your life can leave a huge gap. A hole which cannot easily be filled. Since the dawn of time, humans have looked for ways to communicate with the dead. Many have turned to mediums, especially when spiritualism became popular in …
Film Review: Jakob’s Wife
There are no fans more committed in their dedication to, and their celebration of, iconic stars than the horror film community. A major role forty years ago can lead to a lifetime of appearances at genre festivals and countless film cameos. Barbara Crampton (Re-Animator) has achieved a lot more than just securing bit parts in …
Film Review: The Power
The UK economy was beset by high levels of inflation throughout the 1970s. As a response, governments capped public-sector pay, leading to unrest within trade unions. Eventually resulting in work-to-rule followed by strike action by the National Union of Miners. The response from Edward Heath’s Conservative Cabinet was to introduce a three-day week. Power outages …
Film Review: The Banishing
The haunted house is a perennial favourite of genre cinema. As anyone who has stayed in a really old building will know, they seem to have a life and personality of their own. Strange noises are common, as are unexplained occurrences. They have provided the atmospheric setting for many of the best horror films, including …
Film Review: Slaxx
The ‘villain’ in horror cinema comes in many shapes and sizes, including strange mythical creatures, supernatural terrors, terrifying children or simply just a human who has gone very, very bad. The one thing they usually have in common is that they’re living, breathing, intelligent entities. But that’s not always the case. We’ve been tormented by …
Film Review: A Nightmare Wakes
Mary Shelley, nee Wollstonecraft, knew what it’s like to be a woman scorned. For decades she was considered just a bit player in a group which included husband Percy and Lord Byron, often also overshadowed by her parents (William Godwin & Mary Wollstonecraft). Even after writing Frankenstein, she was constantly undermined by questions over its …
Film Review: The Queen of Black Magic
At the end of last century, horror cinema had lost its mojo. After the golden age of the 1980s and the rise of big franchises, the next decade was a damp squib. However, the twenty-first century has seen a huge resurgence, initially sparked by Japanese and South Korean films. In recent years, Indonesia has shown …
Film Review: Psycho Goreman
One of the major complaints about mainstream genre cinema is that much of it is highly derivative and annoyingly unoriginal. It often seems like there’s frighteningly little innovation or imagination involved. Independent horror is another beast entirely. There are so many creative and brilliant people working within the industry but none are quite as distinctive …