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Send In the Clowns - Maddwolf
Clown in a Cornfield by Hope Madden Adam Cesare’s novel Clown in a Cornfield won the Bram Stoker Award for Best Young Adult Horror Novel. So, there had to be something there, right? Eli Craig (of the utterly fantastic 2010 genre upending Tucker and Dale vs. Evil) handles directing duties. That seems like a good … Continue reading Send In the Clowns →
Tales From the Dark Side - Maddwolf
Thunderbolts* by George Wolf In the post-Avengers world, CIA Director Valentina is quick to tell America that there is no one to protect us. Well, make way for the Thunderbolts* (named for a peewee soccer team!) Valentina (Julie Louis-Dreyfus, a treasure as always) makes her declaration while testifying at her own impeachment hearing. It seems … Continue reading Tales From the Dark Side →
Unwelcome Back - Maddwolf
The Surfer by George Wolf Have you seen Wake in Fright, the 1971 Australian nightmare with Donald Pleasence? How about The Swimmer from ’68, where Burt Lancaster’s delusions of greatness are slowly punctured by the reality of his past? The Surfer will hit harder if you can appreciate how it blends the two for its … Continue reading Unwelcome Back →
Simply Resistible - Maddwolf
Another Simple Favor by George Wolf Five years ago, A Simple Favor delivered a pretty delicious slice of satire for the angsty modern woman/wife/mother. Buoyed by the chemistry of stars Anna Kendrick and Blake Lively, it mixed B-movie trappings with in-the-moment irony for a fun, twisty tale of gaslighting, betrayal, murder, and mommy vlogs. Amazon … Continue reading Simply Resistible →
Miracle Misfortune - Maddwolf
The Gullspang Miracle by Brandon Thomas For devoutly religious sisters Kari and May, miracles are as real as the air we breathe. Thirty years after the death of their older sister Lita, Kari and May believe they witness their own miracle while sitting in a real estate office in Sweden. Before them sits a woman … Continue reading Miracle Misfortune →
Not All Who Wander Are Lost - Maddwolf
A Desert by Adam Barney The desert is a scary place and for good reason – it’s easy to get lost, there are poisonous reptiles underfoot, the conditions will kill you, and you might even run into the most dangerous thing – strangers who choose to live out there. Alex (Kai Lennox, Green Room) is … Continue reading Not All Who Wander Are Lost →
The Old Familiar Sting - Maddwolf
Until Dawn by Hope Madden Watching the 2011 genre classic Cabin in the Woods when it came out, you couldn’t help but think it would make a great video game. Each new level could bring on a different one of those beasties from the elevator, and you’d have to try to survive them all to … Continue reading The Old Familiar Sting →
Ballet of Bullets - Maddwolf
Havoc by George Wolf If you’ve seen The Raid or The Raid 2, you’re plenty familiar with the Gareth Evans brand of Gun Fu. With Havoc, he brings the same breakneck blood sport to Netflix. And by the time he’s done, you’ll be amazed none of that splatter got on your sofa. Expect violence, turned … Continue reading Ballet of Bullets →
Death, Decomposition and the Maiden - Maddwolf
The Shrouds by Hope Madden Cronenberg’s gonna Cronenberg. Isn’t that why we love him? Whether it’s 1983’s Videodrome or 2022’sCrimes of the Future, Dead Ringers (1988) or A Dangerous Method (2011), 1996’s Crash, 1986’s The Fly, or his first feature, Shivers (1976), David Cronenberg is fascinated by the human body, sex, technology, and conspiracies in … Continue reading Death, Decomposition and the Maiden →
Rock in the Ruins - Maddwolf
Pink Floyd at Pompeii by Hope Madden and George Wolf The gorgeous new restoration of 1972’s Pink Floyd at Pompeii delivers a beautifully discordant glimpse of a transitional period for one of music’s most important rock bands. Gorgeously restored image and sound immerse you in Floyd’s music. Adrian Maben’s doc focuses primarily on Floyd’s 1971 trip … Continue reading Rock in the Ruins →
Please Won't You Be? - Maddwolf
Neighborhood Watch by Hope Madden Director Duncan Skiles’s latest, Neighborhood Watch, delivers a tense and unpretentious thriller about a young man debilitated by childhood trauma who witnesses a kidnapping. When the police don’t believe him, he teams up with a disgraced campus security guard to find the victim. Jack Quaid (Novocaine, Companion) is Simon, so … Continue reading Please Won’t You Be? →
Your Roots Are Showing - Maddwolf
Frewaka by Hope Madden It’s 1973. Men in black suits with wicker cages on their heads lead a goat up a path to a wedding. “Who invited them?” asks the bride. “Nobody invites them. That’s the whole point.” OK. I am in. Writer/director Aislin Clarke’s Frewaka—Irish folk horror told in the ancient tongue—grabs you early … Continue reading Your Roots Are Showing →
Fright Club: Best Canadian Horror - Maddwolf
We love Canada! As that nation’s proud neighbors to the south, we were thrilled to welcome Joey from horrorfacts.com to Fright Club to parse out the 5 best Canadian horror films. What makes it Canadian? It has to be directed by a Canadian, shot in Canada and, to the degree it’s possible to tell, set … Continue reading Fright Club: Best Canadian Horror →
Excellent Day for an Exorcism - Maddwolf
Shadow of God by Hope Madden To Michael Peterson’s credit, he tried something new within the exhausted exorcism subgenre. Working from a script by Tim Cairo, Peterson’s Shadow of God wonders whether God’s will is really such a great deal for humans. Mark O’Brien (Ready or Not) is Father Mason, an exorcist forced to take … Continue reading Excellent Day for an Exorcism →
Hellhound on My Tail - Maddwolf
Sinners by Hope Madden Ryan Coogler can direct the hell out of a movie, can’t he? For Sinners, he reteams with longtime creative partner Michael B. Jordan to sing a song of a 1932 Mississippi juke joint. The Smokestack twins (Jordan) are back from Chicago, a truckload of ill-gotten liquor and a satchel full of … Continue reading Hellhound on My Tail →
Fatherhood of the Future - Maddwolf
Daddy by Rachel Willis In a sterile conference room, a man speaks to a disembodied voice coming from a speaker. The voice is trying to determine if the man is the right kind of person to go on a government retreat that will decide if he would make a suitable father. If he’s not chosen, … Continue reading Fatherhood of the Future →
Wait a Minute, Mr. Postman - Maddwolf
Dead Mail by Hope Madden Welcome to Peoria, IL sometime in the mid-1980s. A little mystery has taken hold of the post office. Letter sorters found a necklace in an envelope with the wrong address on it. It looks valuable, so that means Jasper (Tomas Boykin) will put his skills to the test to try … Continue reading Wait a Minute, Mr. Postman →
Beauty and the Beatings - Maddwolf
The Ugly Stepsister by George Wolf Are we done clutching our pearls about the recent Snow White update? They’re about to get plenty gooey. Really, writer/director Emilie Blichfeldt doesn’t care either way, she’s too busy infusing her feature debut with an impossible-to-ignore blast of sharp wit, subdued rage, and grotesque bodily horrors. Yes, The Ugly … Continue reading Beauty and the Beatings →
I Dos and Don'ts - Maddwolf
The Wedding Banquet by Hope Madden Back in 1993, Ang Lee scored his first Academy attention when The Wedding Banquet was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film. The marriage of convenience farce reimagined rom-com tropes and landed emotional hits thanks to nuanced direction and generous characterizations. A generation later, director Andrew Ahn reimagines once again. … Continue reading I Dos and Don’ts →
Fright Club: Female Rage in Horror Movies - Maddwolf
Some of the greatest films in horror do not dwell on women in terror, but women in the throes of righteous fury. Ginger Snaps, Revenge, Alucarda, Possession, Teeth, Jennifer’s Body, The Love Witch, She Will, A Wounded Fawn, Immaculate, Ms. 45, The Craft, The Angry Black Girl and Her Monster, The Substance, American Mary—it’s a … Continue reading Fright Club: Female Rage in Horror Movies →
Fact or Fiction - Maddwolf
Asog by Brandon Thomas Since its inception, filmmaking has given artists an outlet to explore and amplify identity. Whether it’s cultural, religious, or something more profound and oftentimes less investigated – like sexuality and gender – film has opened the door for people around the world to share who they are. Through a mix of … Continue reading Fact or Fiction →
Spies Like Us - Maddwolf
The Amateur by Hope Madden A lot had changed in black ops, terrorism and surveillance since 1981, when Robert Littell wrote the novel and film The Amateur. The Cold War gave way to a surveillance state where it’s even easier to believe that a guy from CIA’s encryption team could undermine their entire operation. Rami … Continue reading Spies Like Us →
I'll Make Sandwiches - Maddwolf
Relative Control by Rachel Willis Sara (Teri Polo) has her hands full. Her adult son is living on the other side of the country and is still dependent on her. Her aging parents are beginning to show signs of mental and physical decline. And she was just hired to handle the biggest case of her … Continue reading I’ll Make Sandwiches →
The Talented Monsieur Jérémie - Maddwolf
Misericordia by Matt Weiner It’s a familiar story in the sleepy French town of Saint-Martial. Traditional ways of life are being upended, like getting your fresh bread from the village baker instead of a large supermarket chain. Or spending the afternoon on the farm knocking back shots of milky pastis. Or seeking absolution from the … Continue reading The Talented Monsieur Jérémie →
Can You Hear Me Now? - Maddwolf
Drop by Hope Madden The thing about Drop, Christopher Landon’s new first date thriller, is that we’ve seen it before. Maybe not this exact scenario, but the idea. Go all the way back to 2002’s Phone Booth, when Joel Schumacher and a self-righteous sniper trapped Colin Farrell on a pay phone. Or back to 2014 … Continue reading Can You Hear Me Now? →
All Hat and No Cattle - Maddwolf
Gunslingers by Hope Madden Nic Cage makes, what, 18 movies a year? And every tenth or so is really worth watching, maybe because it’s fun, often solely because he’s a lunatic, and once in a long while you get a Pig, a Dream Scenario, a Mandy. But more often than not you get a Gunslingers. … Continue reading All Hat and No Cattle →
Boys to Men - Maddwolf
Sacramento by George Wolf “You would bail. I see it all over your face.” First their first meeting on opposite sides of a serene California lake, Tallie (Maya Erskine) sizes up Rickey (Michael Anganaro) pretty well. Anganaro’s instincts are just as sharp in Sacramento, only his second feature as writer/director after decades of acting gigs. … Continue reading Boys to Men →
Audacity to Burn - Maddwolf
Thank You Very Much by George Wolf Watching Thank You Very Much, you can’t help but wonder how this might land for someone who didn’t live through the Andy Kaufman phenomenon. He was such a pop culture anomaly that even the best explanation wouldn’t completely clue in the uninitiated. That’s a compliment to Kaufman’s fearless … Continue reading Audacity to Burn →
A Mother's Burden - Maddwolf
Eric LaRue by Hope Madden The film Eric LaRue pairs two of modern cinema’s most talented and least appreciated actors: Judy Greer and Michael Shannon. Intriguingly, Shannon doesn’t appear onscreen. Instead, he makes his feature directorial debut with this emotionally raw drama about a mother’s spiral after her son murders three of his classmates. As … Continue reading A Mother’s Burden →
Boys of Summer - Maddwolf
Hell of a Summer by Hope Madden Finn Wolfhard and Billy Bryk are not the first to send up the summer camp slasher. They may not even be the first this year. But that fact doesn’t make Hell of a Summer any less delightful. The co-directors and co-writers are also co-stars, playing two best friends … Continue reading Boys of Summer →
Neighborhood Watch - Maddwolf
825 Forest Road by Hope Madden I wonder whether Ashland Falls is a far drive from Abaddon, New York. Looks like a pretty area. Hell House LLC writer/director Stephen Cognetti launched a fun and mainly impressive horror franchise from the dusty soil of the mythical Abaddon, New York, reinvigorating the found footage genre and reminding … Continue reading Neighborhood Watch →
Freaks Off the Leash - Maddwolf
Freaky Tales by George Wolf Look, I’m not saying I didn’t expect someone to make a Sleepy-Floyd-as-a-ninja-assassin horror comedy. I am saying I didn’t expect it to be Boden and Fleck. Eric “Sleepy” Floyd played thirteen years in the NBA, making the All Star team in 1987 as a member of the Golden State Warriors. … Continue reading Freaks Off the Leash →
MOM 9000 - Maddwolf
Renner by Daniel Baldwin Artificial Intelligence has been a staple of science fiction cinema for decades. Particularly when it comes to depicting fear of A.I. gone rogue. From 2001: A Space Odyssey and The Terminator to The Matrix and Her, filmmakers have deeply explored numerous ways that A.I. can decide to make our lives miserable once it decides to have a life … Continue reading MOM 9000 →
Shadow Dancing - Maddwolf
The Woman in the Yard by Hope Madden Exciting news! There’s a new scary movie starring Danielle Deadwyler—you know, who should have been Oscar nominated in 2024 for The Piano Lesson and in 2022 for Till? Well, the Academy may not appreciate her talent, but horror does. Deadwyler leads director Jaume Collet-Serra’s new Blumhouse PG-13 … Continue reading Shadow Dancing →
Fish On - Maddwolf
Tarpon by George Wolf So this documentary is about fishing? And writing? It’s set in 1970s Key West? And features original music by a pre-superstardom Jimmy Buffett? Holy schnikes, Tarpon, where have you been hiding all my life? It’s been out there like the titular trophy fish, never officially released but gaining a cult following … Continue reading Fish On →
Me So Horny - Maddwolf
Death of a Unicorn by George Wolf Man, what’s with all these “eat the rich” movies lately? Cough, cough..it’s a mystery. But Death of a Unicorn treats the idea more literally than most. And though it ultimately pulls up too safely, the film does have some fun unleashing mythical mayhem and the bloodiest of comeuppances. … Continue reading Me So Horny →
Diamond Life - Maddwolf
Eephus by George Wolf Any serious baseball fan knows what comes with that first chill of the fall. If you’re lucky, your favorite team may be playing for a few more weeks. But even so, it won’t be long before – as former MLB commissioner Bart Giamatti so eloquently put it – “the days are … Continue reading Diamond Life →
Dream Scenario - Maddwolf
Shudderbugs by Rachel Willis The ability to dream of things that happened or will happen is part of the family mythology that permeates writer/director (and star), Johanna Putnam’s film, Shudderbugs. As we learn from Sam (Putnam), shudderbugs was what her mother, Eliza, called the eerie premonitions and feelings that allowed her to know when something … Continue reading Dream Scenario →
Thirsty Americans, Crooked Cops & Politicians - Maddwolf
The Alto Knights by Hope Madden What Barry Levinson, working from a script by Goodfellas and Casino writer Nicholas Pileggi, has done is made a historical recap of a true American gangster tale enlivened by the gimmick of two De Niros. Because, obviously, one sure way to draw attention to your gangster picture is to … Continue reading Thirsty Americans, Crooked Cops & Politicians →