Much like its Roman namesake, the month of January has two faces when it comes to the world of cinema, whilst the conversations are all abuzz with awards shows and accolades the actual theatrical releases tend to be a little lacklustre, especially in horror, but Master of the genre James Wan is here to break…
Tag: Horror
The Menu (2022) Film Review
Despite being what one might consider a ‘fussy eater’, I do like food and I’ve watched enough episodes of cooking programmes such as Masterchef and Great British Menu to have at least a basic understanding of, and appreciation for, fine dining. So, when I first saw the teaser trailer for screenwriter’s Will Tracy’s The Menu,…
Scream (2022) Film Review
Twenty-five years ago Wes Craven’s Scream breathed new life into a flagging genre spawning three sequels and the hilarious parody series Scary Movie. For many, this franchise sparked a love of horror but for eight-year old me it gave me a suitably terrifying boogeyman and something of a love-hate relationship with the slasher genre as…
Last Night In Soho (2021) Film Review
Coming from my neck of the woods, Edgar Wright is the epitome of country boy making it good in the big city, garnering himself quite a following with cult comedy classic like Spaced and Shaun of the Dead alongside dramatic and cinematic masterpieces (yes, I stand by the word) such as Baby Driver. For his…
Midsommar (2019) Film Review
Considering Ari Aster’s feature length debut, Hereditary, won the not-so-coveted top spot on my worst films of 2018 list, I can’t say I was particularly enthusiastic heading into his Scandinavian follow up, Midsommar, especially considering the reviews were as similarly divided this time around. Not one to judge a book by its cover, or a…
Retro Review: The Birds (1963)
It seems as though Halloween brings out my retro side, considering most of my ‘Retro Reviews‘ so far have been classic horrors or thrillers and my latest first time viewing continues that tradition, as I take another dip into the film catalogue of the great Alfred Hitchcock with his 1963 offering, The Birds. Director: Alfred…
Spiral: From The Book Of Saw (2021) Film Review
It’s good to be back! On the 17th May, UK cinemas reopened their doors in the country’s next big step towards normality and after fourteen long months Mark and I finally settled in our seats to watch something on the big screen. In a rather dramatic change of pace from our last outing which was…
Ma (2019) Film Review
In the need of a new life and a fresh start, Erica and her sixteen year old daughter, Maggie, move from San Diego back to Erica’s home town in rural Mississippi. Maggie quickly makes friends with her fellow classmates Haley, Darrell, Chaz and Andy and they invite her to join them on a night out…
Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark (2019) Film Review
2019 feels like it was decades ago, but I do remember that Mark and I were quite keen to watch Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark when it was released but, for one reason or another, we never got round to it but when it got randomly pulled out of our lucky dip box…
Doctor Sleep (2019) Film Review
Almost 40 years after Stanley Kubrick’s horror The Shining thrilled fans and pissed off Stephen King, Mike Flanagan, of The Haunting of Hill House fame, took on the challenge of bringing us its sequel Doctor Sleep, adapted from King’s 2013 novel of the same name. Now I know I was a little late to the…
Escape Room (2019) Film Review
As someone who loves a good puzzle, and who has completed an escape room or two, I have to admit that the idea of turning the concept into a saw-inspired horror flick is something that really appealed to me, so when Adam Robitel’s Escape Room came out of our lucky dip box, I’ll admit, I…
Retro Review: Halloween (1978)
Now correct me if I’m wrong but for me there is one particular genre that just really doesn’t age very well and that is horror. Maybe it’s because we become desensitised over time, maybe it’s because good horrors are often parodied, or maybe its because special effects evolve to such a point that to revisit…
Series Review: The Haunting of Bly Manor (2020)
In this crazy year that has both dragged and flown by, there has been very little that I have been looking forward to entertainment wise but one exception to that is the release of the next instalment of Netflix’ horror anthology series – The Haunting of Bly Manor. As a group of guests gather the…
A Quiet Place (2018) Film Review
When I was still toying with the idea of writing a blog, A Quiet Place was one of the first films I attempted to write a review on, however considering my blog didn’t go live for another 8 months you can probably imagine that my first draft didn’t go very well! Having recently rewatched the…
Film Review: The Invisible Man (2020)
Going into this film I thought it was a reimagining of the 2000 film, Hollow Man starring Kevin Bacon and Elisabeth Shue, and whilst I was not completely wrong, I later found out that both are actually completely different adaptations of the 1897 novel by H. G. Wells. Having loved Hollow Man and being rather…
Retro Review: An American Werewolf in London (1981)
It feels like an age since my last Retro Review, what with the weird time vortex that surrounds Christmas and New Year, but it has only been a month. Given the fact that I was rather disappointed with the last couple of retro reviews, I was a little apprehensive going into this one, but it…
Film Review: Eli (2019)
Although my cinema slump is still in full flow, Netflix continues to provide enough original content to completely justify a cosy night in on the sofa, snuggled under a blanket with a bag of popcorn in our laps. Our latest watch was the horror Eli, starring Charlie Shotwell (All the Money in the World –…
Retro Review: The Shining (1980)
Considering the recent release of Doctor Sleep, the sequel to the 1980 film The Shining, I figured this was as good as time as any to cross this classic horror off of my list. First off, a quick reminder of my self -imposed rules… Should be a first time viewing. More than 5 years since…
Retro Review: Return of the Living Dead (1985)
This month I am treating you lovely lot to a double ‘Retro Review‘ feature as we quickly followed up our first-time watch of the 1968 film Night of the Living Dead with the 1985 film, Return of the Living Dead. Director: Dan O’Bannon Starring: Thom Mathews, Beverly Randolph, Don Calfa, James Karen, Clu Gulager Awards:…
Retro Review: Night of the Living Dead (1968)
It’s time for another ‘Retro Review’ and this month’s film, chosen by Mark, was George A. Romero’s 1968 classic – Night of the Living Dead. If you are new to my ‘Retro Review‘ series, here’s a little reminder of my self-imposed rules. Must be a first time viewing Must be more than 5 years since…
Film Review: Ready Or Not (2019)
I first watched this film back in early September at an advanced screening but my blogging slump meant that it’s been sitting, half-written, in my drafts for a month! So better late than never, here is my thoughts on the comedy-horror, Ready Or Not. The film sees young bride, Grace, (Samara Weaving) about to marry…
Retro Review: Psycho (1960)
Hello All, welcome to the second film in my ‘Retro Review‘ series. Just to familiarise yourself with the rules I have set myself: Must be a first time viewing More than 5 years since original release Must watch in full Some of you may be shocked and surprised to find out that this was not…
Brightburn (2019) Film Review
As some of you may know by now, horror is not my genre of choice but one sure-fire way to pique my interest is to add a superhero element. If you throw James Gunn into the mix then I am sold. As a result, I was quietly excited about Brightburn, which despite being directed by…
Film Review: Pet Sematary (2019)
If you’ve read some of my other stuff, you may already know that horror is one of my least favourite film genres. Whilst I do enjoy a good psychological thriller, more often than not horror films have no plot and an abundance of unnecessary jump-scares. Thankfully, the ‘King of Horror’ , Stephen King seems to…
Film Review: Us (2019)
Whilst I love a good psychological thriller, I am not a fan of stereotypical jump-scare films that have little-to-no plot. This means that the horror genre is a little bit of minefield for me, and one that will usually get pushed to the side in favour of a less hide-under-my-coat film. That being said, Jordan…