Category Archives: Reviews
FILM REVIEW: BLACK BOX channels GET OUT by way of FRANKENSTEIN in this sci-fi take on identity theft.
Posted by Victor Moreno
The inaugural entry in Amazon’s new WELCOME TO THE BLUMHOUSE series channels themes from some of the studio’s past films in this intriguing Black Mirror-like take on identity theft. The best science fiction and genre tales are those that work
FILM REVIEW: THE LIE is a powerful meditation on the extremes we can be driven to for those that we love.
Posted by Victor Moreno
Writer/director Veena Sud delivers a downcast look at a family broken by divorce and how committing to a lie to try and save that unit ultimately destroys it. Upon watching THE LIE, one of two feature-length films dropped by genre
FILM REVIEW: SPONTANEOUS is one of the year’s best genre mashups with engaging performances, clever writing, and compelling characters.
Posted by Victor Moreno
Writer Brian Duffield (Underwater, The Babysitter) makes his feature directing debut in this well-acted timely ensemble genre piece with echoes of Heathers and Donnie Darko. It goes without saying that 2020 has been an off-year for all of us, not
FILM REVIEW: THE CURSE OF AUDREY EARNSHAW serves up a compelling premise & setting but drags in the execution.
Posted by Victor Moreno
Writer/director Thomas Robert Lee serves up some scary atmosphere that seems to setup an intriguing premise worth exploring, but THE CURSE OF AUDREY EARNSHAW delivers a supernatural revenge horror that seems to lose focus in the execution. A slow-burn supernaturally
(BEYOND FEST 2020) FILM REVIEW: POSSESSOR transcends the body horror genre to be one of 2020’s best films.
Posted by Victor Moreno
Aided by tremendous performances throughout, writer/director Brandon Cronenberg’s science fiction take on the future of high priced assassination is a tragic character study on the loss of self-identity. Human beings define ourselves through our experiences and life choices. It’s the
FILM REVIEW: THE SWERVE is an unflinching look at a woman past the point of no return.
Posted by Victor Moreno
Writer/director Dean Kapsalis and star Azura Skye give us a haunting portrayal of a woman lost past the point of a nervous breakdown in this unflinching psychological horror chronicling a wife’s descent into madness. It’s hard to tell what is
FILM REVIEW: ANTEBELLUM strives to be GET OUT, but the cosplay comes up short.
Posted by Victor Moreno
Despite hosting a commanding screen presence from Janelle Monae, the feature debut from writer/directors Gerard Bush and Christopher Renz doesn’t really say anything much about race & prejudice except give us a greatest hits melody of its horrors minus any
FILM REVIEW: THE BROKEN HEARTS GALLERY sets up a great premise for rom-com gold, but strikes out.
Posted by Victor Moreno
Despite a pair of charismatic leads in Geraldine Viswanathan and Dacre Montgomery, THE BROKEN HEARTS GALLERY delivers fluff instead of feeling. There’s something to watching a really good romantic comedy. You need an interesting premise and compelling leads. It’s crucial
FILM REVIEW: NAIL IN THE COFFIN: The Fall and Rise of Vampiro covers the highs and lows of balancing a life as a career professional wrestler with fatherhood
Posted by Victor Moreno
Director Michael Paszt chronicles the crazy rock and roll luchador life of Ian Hodgkinson, a man who became an international wrestling icon known as Vampiro in his youth, but now struggles with injuries from his glory days and a frayed
(FANTASIA 2020) FILM REVIEW: DOPPELBANGER is an interesting vignette on the value of human interaction set in the world of sex work.
Posted by Victor Moreno
Writer/director Sofian Khan’s black and white stylized short serves up a potential future where the gig economy leads to people using their robotic clones as sex workers and the consequences that entail. If the year 2020 has taught human beings
FILM REVIEW: Christopher Nolan’s TENET: The hype is real.
Posted by Victor Moreno
Christopher Nolan’s high-concept science-fiction spy thriller delivers on all cylinders with exemplary performances from John David Washington and Kenneth Branagh that anchor the heady epic. There are very few modern filmmakers who can command the title of film auteur; a
(FANTASIA 2020) FILM REVIEW: HAIL TO THE DEADITES is a love letter about the positive aspects of fandom.
Posted by Victor Moreno
Director Steve Villeneuve’s documentary examines the fan culture and appreciation for the Sam Raimi EVIL DEAD film series but finds a lot of heart in appreciation for the gore-soaked horror classics. I think most people have a favorite film. A
(FANTASIA 2020) FILM REVIEW: CHANGELING conjures up a mother’s darkest fears in the flesh.
Posted by Victor Moreno
Director Faye Jackson’s horror short channels up a mother’s deepest fears about being a parent to an unsettling end. Oftentimes, the best film shorts are the ones that successfully manage to get an idea or feeling across as simply as
(FANTASIA 2020) FILM REVIEW: CRAZY SAMURAI MUSASHI is a 77-minute long one-take samurai showdown powered by the charisma of it’s leading man.
Posted by Victor Moreno
Director Yûji Shimomura crafts this largely one-cut film experiment based on legendary Japanese swordman Musashi completely around the talent and on-screen charisma of it’s lead, cult film hero Tak Sakaguchi (Versus) and it delivers a unique experience. Last year, one
(FANTASIA 2020) FILM REVIEW: YOU CANNOT KILL DAVID ARQUETTE explores the real need to belong in a world of make-believe
Posted by Victor Moreno
Directors David Darg and Price James take a personal dive into the world of actor-turned-wrestler David Arquette and look at what it means to feel a part of a countercultural scene. It’s a dark and barren background. In the distance,
REVIEW: BILL AND TED FACE THE MUSIC is an enjoyable nostalgia-driven comedy swan-song for the iconic 80s duo.
Posted by Victor Moreno
Writers Ed Solomon and Chris Matheson, along with director Dean Parisot, close out the big-screen trilogy 30 years in the making with a fun film that examines the ties that bind in love and friendship in this humourous finale with
MOVIE REVIEW: SHE DIES TOMORROW is a timely dark comedy where a contagious sense of impending death is an unstoppable pandemic
Posted by Victor Moreno
Writer/director Amy Seimetz strikes a timely note in this time of pandemic with this tale of contagious existential ennui. Amy (Kate Lyn Sheil) is going to die tomorrow. She just feels it. It’s in her bones. Nothing matters cuz there
REVIEW: THE RENTAL delivers quality tension and genuine scares.
Posted by Victor Moreno
First-time director Dave Franco delivers a deftly made thriller based on both the horror of the unknown and the emotional toll of blackmail with this excellent genre debut. There’s a special kind of trepidation that comes upon you when deciding
MOVIE REVIEW: PALM SPRINGS is the hilarious comedic take on the ennui of a repetitive existence that we deserve right now.
Posted by Victor Moreno
The Lonely Island’s Andy Samberg and How I Met Your Mother’s Cristin Milioti star in this hilarious and timely comedy that’s one part GroundHog Day Meets 50 First Dates premiering on Hulu July 10th. I’m a fan of The Lonely
MOVIE REVIEW: RELIC is a haunting allegory of the gradual loss of self inherent in aging and dementia.
Posted by Victor Moreno
Director Natalie Erika James explores the weakening bonds of family relationships as one grows old and the ravages of mental illness that can take hold through the lens of body horror in RELIC. One of my greatest fears in life
