Our Horror critic goes over some of the best that Fantasia had to offer this year, with some picks you’ll want to keep an eye out for. Fantasia International Film Festival is always a highlight of the summer for the horror side of JoBlo. We’re always treated to films that absolutely blow us away. The … Read more
There’s a lot to like in “Dark Match,” at least conceptually: Issa makes for a capable, fun lead, and the supporting performances from Ogg and Michael Eklund (as the team’s weaselly promoter) carry a lot of the film’s scrappy energy. The matches themselves are bloody fun, living somewhere between “GLOW” and “Saw” as the ring gets modified with … Read more
The lead performances are superlative, though: Rueda makes for a suitably pouty parental figure, eyes boring holes in everyone she meets through a face half-scarred by burns. But Zaitegi is a revelation, a beautifully cherubic figure who carries the pathos of her impending loss with unenviable pain. There’s a desperation to her behavior surrounding a … Read more
Despite being Chuck Russell’s return to the genre, Witchboard is a generic, CGI-laden film that feels like a shallow copy of better films. PLOT: Emily and her friends find a Witchboard in the woods. Using it results in deadly consequences. They have to stop it before it’s too late. REVIEW: Few films in the horror … Read more
The two-hander is an elegant structure for a lower-budget effort: Just plop two characters together, often in a single location, and let the actors’ performances and the innate tension of the scenario play itself out. It’s a very genre-flexible conceit, malleable enough to fit everything from murderous chamber piece to yakuza thriller to pitch-black tragicomedies starring … Read more
The fest, which opened on July 18th this year and runs through August 4th, is a treasure trove of the year’s most out-of-the-way genre works. Japanese and Korean thrillers aplenty, French and Canadian (and French-Canadian) indies runneth over, and you’ll see more future Shudder Originals than you can shake a Psycho Goreman at. But the primary … Read more
In Our Blood (dir. Pedro Kos) “She’s not a bad person. She just made a lot of bad choices. And hurt a lot of people.” Filmmaker Emily Wyland (Brittany O’Grady, THE WHITE LOTUS, STAR) is making a documentary about reconnecting with her estranged mother, Sam (Alanna Ubach, EUPHORIA) after a long decade of distance. A distance that … Read more
The Fantasia Film Festival is right around the corner, and here are five of the big premieres we can’t wait to see! Film festivals provide the opportunity to experience a wealth of incredible films that few people have heard of yet. With trailers often spoiling way too much in an effort to sell the film … Read more
While recently in Chicago to present “I Saw the TV Glow” at a sold-out screening for the Chicago Critics Film Festival, Schoenbrun spoke with RogerEbert.com about nocturnal energy, recurring dreams, and what lies within and beyond the world of the screen. This interview has been edited and condensed. I wanted to start out by asking … Read more
We list our favorite films from the 2023 edition of the Fantasia Film Festival, a showcase for cool genre films from around the world. The 2023 edition of Fantasia has come to an end and let me tell you: this year was a good one. From personal looks at the dark web to Indian demons, … Read more