Like the more prominent “It: Chapter Two,” Spiral opens with a homophobic attack, one that is shown in all its distressing viciousness. From there, events spiral (sorry) into an eerie, menacing folk horror of cult, prejudice and scapegoating, in a manner that combines the best elements of “Get Out” and “Hereditary.” The film exposes prejudice…
Rob Grant’s Harpoon is another entry in the perennial argumentative-people-stranded-on-a-boat sub-genre, and it’s a cut above the average. It is, however, a stranger to subtlety, and juvenile at times, but it’s never boring and consistently bold in its narrative choices. Take the opening scene for example. Richard (Christopher Gray, “The Mist” TV series) storms over…
You know it’s a gripping film when the credits land and you look at your notepad and it’s blank. I found myself transfixed by writer-director Michael Peterson’s work here. Not because there’s anything dazzlingly original or groundbreaking about Knuckleball (except the title, which uniquely sucks), but because of the ease with which Peterson seems to…
