Cody Calahan Archives - Awesome Friday!

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.

30 August 202023 September 2023

Fantasia Review: ‘The Oak Room’ weaves stories within stories to great effect

On a cold winter night during a snowstorm, a man walks into a bar. The bar is deserted, but for the bartender. After a drink and some conversation, he offers to tell the bartender a story that starts like this:

On a cold winters night during a snowstorm, a man walks into a bar. The bar is deserted but for the bartender.

You might be sensing the start of a pattern, and you are not wrong. The Oak Room weaves together several stories, each told between a man and a bartender and appearing separate until they are not, of course.