Skinamarink (2023) - Movie Review

A while back, I reviewed David Lowery’s A Ghost Story. It was an odd one to sort out my opinion for, as there was a clear artistic vision to it, one that was ideal for the story being told, and it showed real creativity in unexpected ways. And yet I didn’t like it. For as much credit as I could give it as one of the more daring films I saw that year, that wasn’t enough to cover up how much it bored me silly. If nothing else, I’d at least point to my write-up for it as proof that I am fair with the films I review, even if I didn’t enjoy them personally.

I find myself in a similar position when looking at this film, which went viral late last year and finally made it onto streaming near the start of this one. It is emphatically unlike any other horror film I’ve ever watched before, and likely to stand out from any of them that I watch after. Like A Ghost Story, there is a clear artistic vision here, and a story that suits it perfectly, and it twists cinematic conventions in interesting ways. Also like A Ghost Story, I still struggled to stay engaged for its entirety in spite of all that.

Kids Vs. Aliens (2023) - Movie Review

With how well Thanksgiving turned out, I figured it’d be worthwhile to check out what another Grindhouse alumnus has been up to. And oddly enough, this one also involves turning a short film into a full feature (albeit still a short one at around 70 minutes). After winning his way into the Grindhouse project with the fake trailer for Hobo With A Shotgun (which got a pretty kick-arse feature adaptation in his own right), his next feature is a fleshing-out of Slumber Party Alien Abduction, a segment he made for the V/H/S/2 anthology.

Glorious (2022) - Movie Review

A man comes face-to-face with a demigod. Well, as face-to-face as you can get to a being whose mere presence would drive the man mad. What seemed like a chance encounter was in fact ordained by fate, for the demigod has a tremendous favour to ask of the man. A favour that could mean saving the entire universe, or dooming it at the hands of an even greater God. Now, have all of this take place in a disgusting truck stop restroom, and have the man (Ryan Kwanten) be a viciously hungover man depressed over a recent break-up, and you have the plot for this absolute gem of a film.

Hellbender (2022) - Movie Review

 

Now this is a family picture right here!

I mean, yeah, it’s a story about the relationship between a mother and daughter, but this is one of the more holistically family-oriented films I think I’ve ever looked on here. Pretty much every aspect of the production here (directing, writing, producing, acting, camera work, editing, soundtrack) is shared among the four members of the Adams family: Father John, mother Toby Poser, and daughters Zelda and Lulu. I’ve said a few times before that I think women who love horror are awesome people, but it’s another level when an entire family bonds over that kind of subversive material.

Mad God (2022) - Movie Review

 

Those who don’t follow the names of people attached to films as obsessively as I do may not be familiar with the name Phil Tippett, but chances are you are at least familiar with his work already. Star Wars, Jurassic Park, RoboCop, Willow, Starship Troopers, the birthing scene in Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part 1; when it comes to the art of stop-motion animation and visuals effects in general, he is one of the masters. And over the past thirty years, he has been gradually working on the film that would be his magnum opus. An 83-minute stop-motion film which he would direct, write, produce, and of course, lovingly craft everything on the screen. And in June of this year, this work finally found public release on home of streamed horror Shudder, and holy shit, is this a film that needs to be seen.

Sissy (2022) - Movie Review

This film has a lot in common with Bodies Bodies Bodies. It’s a black comedy-horror slasher type deal that takes the piss out of social media influencers and the kind of attitudes they engender. Except, where Bodies Bodies Bodies had a bit of a voyeuristic bent to it, treating the influencers with some distance between them and the audience in terms of relatability, this one is more of an inside-out affair. It focuses on Cecilia (Aisha Dee), a mental health advocate on social media, who is invited to the hen’s night of her school bestie (Hannah Barlow’s Emma, who also co-wrote and co-directed the film with her husband Kane Senes). Shit accidentally goes wild.

PG: Psycho Goreman (2021) - Movie Review

Well, after how well the last review went, I figure it’d be worthwhile to go after something else that tickles my fancy for the completely insane. And this film already wins points with one of the most ludicrously awesome titles I’ve ever seen, and with an opening narration that references the creator of Dungeons & Dragons within its first sentence, I quickly knew I’d be in for a good time. I also had a feeling that, by some crazy miracle, I was in for something that would make Titane look normal by comparison.

Blood Quantum (2020) - Movie Review

The zombie apocalypse sub-genre may be one of my personal favourites, but I’d be lying if I said that’s because of its originality. It’s a pretty reliable source of gorehound material, and there’s definitely something about the recurring scenario that speaks to my socially-isolated ways (and that’s before the pandemic made that way of life mandatory), but it’s quite a task to truly think outside the box with the stumbling or running dead these days. Some attempts like Warm Bodies just feel like bad experiments, and arguably the most creative zombie movie in recent years, Zombieland, is largely the result of poking at how overused its own tropes are. So for something to come out that really pushes the boat out is cause for celebration, far as I’m concerned, and this Shudder exclusive is one such effort.

The Beach House (2020) - Movie Review

Y’know, after bringing up niche examples of abstract psycho-horror in my last review, I find myself wanting to dip into the real thing. So let’s dive once again into the freshly-opened catalogue of Shudder and take a look at this little number: A horror flick about a couple who go to the titular beach house and weird shit starts happening.

Host (2020) - Movie Review

At last, after many months of jealously hearing from friends about how cool Shudder is, it has finally made it to Australian screens. That means all manner of exclusive content on the service is now open for reviews, so I might get around to reviewing Kuso or One Cut Of The Dead at some point. But for now, though, we’ve got something very special to look at. A film that I believe will go down as the film of 2020, both because of how much of a snapshot it is of this point in history, and because it’s just that fucking brilliant as a film all on its own.