Movies Archives - Page 12 of 53

26 November 20218 January 2022

Blood in the Snow Review: ‘The Family’ is a worthy entry in the folk-horror genre

Religion and folk horror go together like peas and carrots. So much folk horror is about oppression and belief that religion is the most natural place to go. Dan Slater’s The Family, a new Canadian entry in the genre, explores how religions can be weaponized against someone and explore how much abuse people can take before their breaking point.

25 November 20218 January 2022

Review: ‘The Humans’ uses horror tropes to heighten family drama despite not being a horror movie

While a family dinner can be a daunting prospect, I don’t know that I would call it a horror story. Of course, there is always drama and expertly deployed guilt and passive aggression, but it’s not like a demon is going to crawl out of the walls and eat everyone. The Humans, directed and adapted by Stephen Karam from his own Tony Award-winning play of the same, uses that feeling, that spectre of something waiting to cause harm, to heighten and enhance the drama around family dinner, and it works to great effect.

24 November 20218 January 2022

Review: ‘The Unforgivable’ is at odds with itself but still works

There is no question that prison is hard on a person, especially in countries like the United States, where the system is set up to be punitive rather than rehabilitative. A long stint can leave a person a shell of their former self unless they have something on the outside to hold on to. In The Unforgivable, that something is a younger sister that the main character isn’t allowed to see. In this circumstance, how do you go on?

23 November 20218 November 2021

Home Video: Four Great Films by Ghostbusters: Afterlife director Jason Reitman and Where to Buy, Rent, or Stream Them

Jason Reitman, son of famed director Ivan Reitman, has had mixed results lately with his films, but he started his career with four great films in a row. Each of them is unique, and each of them has a human, comedic touch; here are Jason Reitman’s first four films and where to buy, rent, or stream them.

22 November 20218 January 2022

Review: ‘Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City’ is probably exactly what some people want in a Resident Evil movie

The bar for movies adapted from video games is pretty low. While there’s often a great well of source material to draw from in any given franchise, it is often either adapted too literally or too much is lost in translation, or in some cases, the filmmakers take a giant swing.

Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City is not one of these third films, but it does do one thing that many video-game movies don’t: it knows exactly what it is, and while I wouldn’t go so far as to say that it’s a good movie, that still ain’t nothin’.

21 November 20218 January 2022

Blood in the Snow Review: ‘Flee the Light’ is a well-intentioned but underbaked indie folk horror

When you think of folk horror, your mind goes to certain places: witchcraft, nature, dark spirits. Flee The Light delves into these areas with enthusiasm and a minimal budget.

20 November 20218 January 2022

Blood in the Snow Review: ‘The Chamber of Terror’ is proof you can’t make a good bad movie on purpose

There is a fine art to making an excellent bad movie. The kind of movie that never gets a lot of mainstream play but is fodder for young film nerds (like myself) surfing late-night channels looking for some new shock to discover. The Chamber of Terror wants to be one of those films, and it doubles down on most of its reasoning for doing so. The problem is that you can’t make a good bad movie on purpose, which is what these filmmakers must have been trying to do.

19 November 20218 January 2022

Blood in the Snow Review: ‘Peppergrass’ is a mixed bag

In what has quickly become the go-to scenario for indie horror filmmakers, Peppergrass is set amid a pandemic. Characters wear masks, are wary of strangers, and lament the slow collapse of their societies. It’s hard to blame them; the last two years have provided ample inspiration. In this version, a restauranteur and a bar owner go on a road trip to the middle of nowhere on a mission to steal some priceless truffles, a plan that sounds simple enough but will, of course, go awry.

18 November 20218 January 2022

Blood in the Snow Review: ‘Vicious Fun’ is Vicious and Fun

Of all the ingredients that go into the recipe of a good slasher movie, a compelling and menacing killer is the most important. Freddy Kruger, Jason, Michael Myers, Ghostface all have their own je ne sais quois. With b-movies, you need a premise that will hook the audience early and keep them invested. With Vicious Fun, director Cody Calahan drops an 80s kid into a room with half a dozen archetypal killers having a support group meeting.

I’d say that qualifies as both.

17 November 20218 January 2022

Review: ‘The Feast’ will slow roast you in dread

Long is the battle between man and nature, whether large scale mining or smaller scale resource extraction, humanity destroys that which is green in the pursuit of that which is shiny. An oversimplification, yes, but not an inaccurate one. What The Feast posits is what if nature fought back?

16 November 20217 November 2021

Home Video: Buy, Rent, Or Stream The Ghostbusters Franchise ahead of ‘Ghostbusters: Afterlife’

Jason Reitman’s addition to the Ghostbusters franchise is being released in cinemas this Friday, so what better time to refresh your memory of the franchise. Here is where you can buy, rent, or stream all of the Ghostbusters films.

14 November 202117 January 2022

Awesome Friday Movie Podcast: ‘The Harder They Fall’ & ‘Tick Tick…Boom’

Greetings, programs, and welcome to the latest edition of the Awesome Friday Movie Podcast! This week we are looking at two new Netflix movies. First up, The Harder They Fall, a western starring Jonathan Majors, Idris Elba, and a host of other talented actors. Second, Tick, Tick… Boom! , the new film adaptation of famed Rent composer Jonathan Larson’s one-person show directed by Lin-Manuel Miranda and starring Andrew Garfield. One of these movies we have differing opinions on, the other we unabashedly loved. Listen in to find out which!

13 November 20218 January 2022

Blood in the Snow Review: ‘Motherly’ works as a cat and mouse thriller, despite a predictable ending

Kate and her daughter are in hiding. They live in a farmhouse, far from anyone and everyone, but mainly from Beth’s father, who was recently arrested for the murder of one of Beth’s young friends. They’re in the witness protection program, and while Kate is happy to be away, Beth is buckling under the weight of all the downtime.

One night, their past comes calling in the form of a home invasion. The cat and mouse game that ensues is mostly good, except that you will see the ending coming from a mile away.

11 November 20218 January 2022

Review: ‘Double Walker’ balances on a tight rope between genres, and (mostly) succeeds

A ghost is, in most tellings, the spirit of a person with unfinished business on earth. Sometimes that business is vengeance; sometimes it’s simply an inability to let go. In Double Walker, it’s both.

10 November 20218 January 2022

Review: ‘Passing’; Rebecca Hall’s directorial debut is a heart-rending film with two exceptional performances

Passing feels like it might be the most appropriate to the format in a year full of exceptionally shot black and white films. Chronicling the story of two black women in the 1920s –one of whom is passing for white, and all the complications that entail, it’s a heartbreaking story elevated by the central performances from Tessa Thompson and Ruth Negga.

Awesome Friday!

Category: Movies