Stephen King’s “It” has a long history. From the original novel to the 90s mini-series, an audio book and now two motion pictures, the battle between Pennywise the Dancing Clown and the Losers Club has frightened and fascinated generations of readers, listeners and viewers. Andy Muschietti’s big screen release of “It” in 2017 was a…
The third entry in the “Annabelle” series, a part of the extended “Conjuring” Universe, is Gary Dauberman’s directorial debut, Annabelle Comes Home. The scribe is close to the source, though, as he was responsible for scripts on 2014’s “Annabelle” and 2017’s “Annabelle: Creation,” as well as 2018’s “The Nun.” Luckily, Dauberman’s transition behind the camera…
The Nun, the fifth film in “The Conjuring” Universe, is a hugely flawed and underwhelming horror film that’s both plodding and formulaic. While the film, Corin Hardy’s sophomore directorial effort following 2015’s “The Hallow,” boasts convincing performances from scream queen Taissa Farmiga (“The Final Girls”) and Demián Bichir (“Alien: Covenant”), it fails to leverage its…
It can be a tricky thing to review horror films. The red-headed stepchild of the movie business, horror is an incredibly subjective genre for fans. Despite repeatedly being let down by film after film, we return to the theater with each new offering, hoping for a gem — a new classic. Remakes are especially daunting…
Annabelle: Creation begins sometime in the mid-twentieth century where, isolated in a beautiful old farmhouse, dollmaker Samuel Mullins (Anthony LaPaglia, “A Good Marriage”) lives with his wife, Esther (Miranda Otto, “The Homesman”), and his happy, fun-loving daughter Bee (Samara Lee, “Concussion”). As he puts the final touches on a familiar limited edition doll, a folded…
Everyone loves a clown. Or do they? The residents of Derry, Maine most certainly don’t (or at least they shouldn’t). At the hands of a clown known as Pennywise, adults there go missing 6-times more than the national average and children disappear at an even higher rate. It’s this evil entity, and the seven kids…
Last summer, director James Wan gave us a terrifying dramatization of a true haunting in Burrillville, Rhode Island in “The Conjuring” and scared the pants off summer moviegoers. Yet again, his quality horror moviemaking transformed into huge box office payouts and introduced the world at-large to paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren. Renowned in the…
