The Funeral Home, “La Funeraria” in its native tongue, is a gloomy and moody Argentinian haunted house tale. Written and directed by Mauro Iván Ojeda, the film pervades both its atmosphere and characters with gloom and moodiness. The titular domicile is the home and business of undertaker Bernardo (Luis Machín, “The Moneychanger”), a man crushed…
Sperm swimming toward an egg and the sounds of satanic incantations. From the opening shot, Gonzalo Calzada’s film, Luciferina, is unambiguously concerned with demonic possession and motherhood. That it sticks to its themes must be applauded — but in the actual experience of watching the movie there is less to applaud. Natalia’s (Sofía Del Tuffo,…
There are many levels to Erik Kristopher Myers’ deeply satisfying horror film Butterfly Kisses, which is more an exploration of authorship and authenticity than it is a straightforward found footage flick. To be honest, the horror element is probably its weakest — bluntly effective jump scares are all we get. But then, visceral thrills are…
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…
Ah, the simple joys of the family vacation. The great outdoors. The open road. The company of loved ones. The mobile home haunted by the superpowered spirit of a homicidal madman. Charles (Greg Violand, “Carol”) is the owner of the “Toybox” — a ramshackle RV — and he’s joined by his son Steve (Jeff Denton,…
I know how it looks. Ari Aster’s “Hereditary” is just becoming this year’s classy horror breakout hit, and here’s a lousy, straight-to-VOD knock-off with a conspicuously similar title, right? Well, there are no coincidences in marketing, but it turns out that Inheritance is actually a decent psychological thriller: Atmospheric, well-played and well-made, and dead serious….
From Andrew Wiest, director of the Christian fable “The Adventures of Chris Fable” (no, really), a bargain bin supermarket exclusive from 2010, comes The Forlorned, an inept, micro-budget horror movie. It aims low and delivers; and although it fundamentally fails as a horror movie — or indeed any kind of a movie seeking to tell…
