Author: Film Overload

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Curiosity Corner Reviews Top Horror

The Worst Monster of Them All – Top Ten Mortal Villains

1-  Patrick and Karin (Speak No Evil, 2022) 

A harmless weekend turns deadly when a Danish couple, Bjørn (Morten Burian) and Louise (Sidsel Siem Koch) and their daughter Agnes (Liva Forsberg) meet up with Patrick (Fedja van Huêt), Karin (Karina Smulders) and Abel (Marius Damslev), a family they met on holiday. 

Yelling at the screen and simmering in frustration are common occurrences whilst watching Speak No Evil. But it is this exact vexation that the film thrives in as we are forced to watch deliberate, misinformed choices taking place, all for the characters to fall victim to one of modern horror’s most irrefutably evil couples. Patrick and Karin maliciously play this running game of ‘coincidences’ to play off their subtle, cruel jibes, disorientating the innocent family and forcing them to fall into the true horrific pits of their sinister intentions. Patrick and Karin employ a cold callousness that teases the viewer throughout, where we find ourselves constantly second-guessing whether the pair are building up to an act of violence or whether we are just being paranoid. 

2- Henry (Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer, 1986) 

Following his release from prison, Henry (Michael Rooker) carries on his murderous antics as he goes on a wild and vicious killing spree.

The contentious reputation of Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer is an ode to the pure brutality of the titular character’s actions throughout the film. Acts of depravity from murder, torture and assault all take centre stage throughout the brutish movie; however, whilst these homages to brutalism are entirely shocking, what makes the film so powerful and significant is the nonchalant carele​ssness that Henry displays. There is no regard given to his devastations, not a thought behind his eyes whilst dicing his way through victims and most importantly, there is no stopping him whatsoever. Henry states that he just moves on from state to state, killing with no particular modus operandi, implying that his limits are unfounded and that he will never be caught. 

3- La Tenia (Irréversible, 2002)

Told in reverse order, Irréversible follows the acts of revenge two men commit after the torture and attack of the woman they love. 

It would be hard to come by a spectator who was not left feeling emotionally torn after watching Irréversible. The film has become known as one of the more severe mainstream depictions of graphic violence, with the focus of terror being the infamous ‘tunnel scene’ showcasing an abhorrent pimp known as La Tenia (Jo Prestia) pinning down and sodomising Alex (Monica Bellucci), a young woman who was innocently walking past him, minding her own business. Emotions from fury to sickness and then back to anger all flood through us as we see La Tenia spew venomous sentiments at Alex whilst she is laid cold and battered on a dirty Parisian underpass. The camera statically lingers for a dreaded nine whole minutes as La Tenia exercises sheer immorality. Many movie villains are praised and held up as deviant icons within film; however, La Tenia is far from praise, becoming one of cinema’s most abominable monsters ever. 

4- Patrick Bateman (American Psycho, 2000)

Patrick Bateman (Christian Bale) is a successful investment banker by day and a murderous psychopath by night whose grip on reality loosens as his habits become increasingly violent. 

Patrick Bateman is the personification of arrogance. He views people not as humans but as toys in a treasure chest for him to do whatever he pleases with, whether that be to ridicule their class status or to savagely murder and dismember them. Whichever method of evisceration Bateman chooses, he will do it with a unique poise that ensures he is the most powerful and controlling person in the room. It is this assuredness that makes him overwhelmingly intimidating. Remaining both calm and manic, ruthless and serene, is a quality that makes Bateman stand out amongst the rest. 

5- Troubled youth  (Eden Lake, 2008) 

Jenny (Kelly Reilly) and Steve’s (Michael Fassbender) romantic weekend away is cut short when they cross paths with an enraged group of local teens. 

Eden Lake’s state of antagonism is wrapped up with the idea of generational horror. Although the force of horror mainly comes from the terror enforced by the teenagers, the film reveals that the gang’s thirst for trauma is rooted deep within their habitat. Eden Lake concludes with Jenny seeking rescue in a seemingly warming, normal family home, however, it is revealed that the house is occupied by the relatives of the gang she barely escaped from. The manner of the more mature members of the families are worse than that of the youth, exemplifying how nurtured, damaged behaviour is a terrifying cyclic practise. 

6- Esther (Ophan, 2009)

A couple gets more than what they bargained for when they adopt Esther (Isabelle Fuhrman), a sweet ‘young’ orphan looking for a new family.  

Esther has become synonymous with contemporary horror villainy, with her flawless infiltration system being savagely creative and cruel. As it happens, Esther is not a child but a woman in her thirties with an appetite for destruction. Her caring demeanour and her tragic orphaned backstory make the people in her life fall into her trap, only to ensnare them viscerally. Esther’s story is one that is scarily plausible and unique within the genre, making for a gnarly, fearful watch. 

7- Kyung-chul (I Saw the Devil, 2010)

A cat and mouse game ensues after Soo-hyeon’s (Lee Byung-hun) wife and unborn child are found dead at the hands of serial killer, Kyung-chul (Choi Min-sik). 

The antagonism exercised by the character Kyung-chul is utterly barbaric and reprehensible. Nothing, no one and no act is off limits for this despicable man. The film depicts each killing with such ferocity that it is nearly impossible not to feel some form of hatred for his character. Accompanying Kyung-chul’s beastliness is the film’s melancholy tones, a quintessential facet of South Korea’s fantastic filmmaking style, with each scene juxtaposing Kyung-chul’s inhuman actions with the audience’s evidential empathy towards his victims. 

8- The Poughkeepsie killer (The Poughkeepsie Tapes, 2007)

A serial killer’s life’s work is unleashed as New York detectives find thousands of home videos depicting countless acts of murder, dismemberment and torture. 

Although relatively infamous amongst many found footage fans, The Poughkeepsie Tape’s central antagonist (whose identity is never revealed) is rarely discussed regarding their atrocity. The film discloses that their victim count reaches far into the hundreds. Each tape screened revels in the killer’s gratuitous displays of punishment and abuse, with the perpetrator additionally employing disturbing fetishism throughout his inflictions of pain. 

9- Mum and Dad (Mum & Dad, 2008) 

Lone airport worker Lena (Olga Fedori) is held hostage by a sick and twisted family. 

Head of the sadistic family are Mum (Dido Miles) and Dad (Perry Benson), who encompass the epitome of all things grotesque and macabre. Their incestuous attitudes and gleeful will to traumatise leave for an incredibly uncomfortable watch as we see the pair exude delight whilst tormenting the innocent. Adding to the pair’s awfully horrid actions is the film’s bleak and dreary flair that embodies a sense of misanthropic unease, forcing the viewer to wallow away within all of its overarching angst. 

10- Chris Cleek (The Woman, 2011) 

Whilst out hunting, Chris Cleek (Sean Bridgers) captures an uncivilised woman and brings her to his family home, keeping her tied up in an old out-shack for him to keep as a trophy, doing what he pleases. 

Immediately there is a strong sense of banality seeping through Chris’s motives and actions, but what is the real nail in the coffin is how his actions are mimicked by those around him. He nurtures his teenage son to also treat the woman as an object for his desire, with the father son duo feeding from each other’s willingness to harm. Master manipulation and evil toxicity truly is the bread and butter of supposed ‘family-man’ Chris Cleek’s persona.

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Curiosity Corner Reviews Top Horror

Madame Frankenstein – Exploring Monstrosity in Female Frankenstein Films

In Frankenstein or, The Modern Prometheus (1818), author Mary Shelley once wrote, “There is something at work in my soul, which I do not understand”. It is an undeniably beautiful quote reminiscent of the delicate nature of the soul that speaks to the fragileness within humanity; it paints pictures of pale pinks and cotton with its sweetness. However, just as nature pins the human form as sensitive and innocent, there is equally a brutality, a malevolence that seeps through the soft belly and permeates the soul with an air of monstrousness that is impossible to precisely identify – it is, as Shelley details, something which we do not understand. 

This odd polarity has often been used in horror to analyse the female. She is mellow yet ferocious, harmless yet venomous. This dissection of the monstrous speaks to countless films from Carrie (1976) to Raw (2016), where the likes of female witches, vampires, aliens, possessed creatures and werewolves are ignited on their path of abjection. However, one entity has somewhat escaped the line of fire – the feminine mediation of Frankenstein. 

Monsters represent what we can fantastically be and are most certainly not, almost akin to the folkloric nature of haunting mythology surrounding culturally specific warnings like the La Llorona tale originating from Latin America. It is the knowing that otherness is a potent potential that we simultaneously want to hide from whilst devouring its unique alienness. Regarding feminising Frankenstein, the focal topic is the female body and its all-controlling, all-consuming traits and how it affects otherness and others.

Tyler MacIntyre’s Patchwork (2015) follows three women, Jennifer (Tory Stopler), Ellie (Tracey Fairaway) and Madeleine (Maria Blasucci), who, after spending the night partying, find themselves butchered and reattached together. Similarly, Frank Henenlotter’s Frankenhooker (1990) sees widowed scientist Jeffrey (James Lorinz) bring his wife back to life by attaching the few remnants left of her corpse with random body parts from prostitutes that he murdered. Within both of these films, the unwillingly and unknowingly spliced and diced female corpse represents the act of objection, particularly concerning the womanly form being a commodity for desire. 

Whilst Jeffrey’s motives seem slightly touching at first, the film makes a point of showing his self-fulfilling prophecies; for example, during one of his grief-ridden rambles where he has the lightbulb moment of Frankenstein-ing his wife Elizabeth (Patty Mullen), he comments that he will give her the best figure possible. Adding to this is his nonchalant attitude to the several sex workers he kills to compose the new body, as well as his frustration over Elizabeth seeking agency over her new form (which she never even asked for). Jeffrey is frustrated over his lack of control, with this anger slipping into pure vexation when the film ends with Elizabeth performing the same body reassembly on Jeffrey. 

Here, Elizabeth is a vessel in which to be fascinated and fearful. There is no conforming to the norm. The ‘new’ Elizabeth was biologically constructed to be an object of desire for Jeffrey, something to stare at and admire. But, she becomes a source of fear and allure when she begins to reject and sway from her presumed destined stature. Within this corruption, a tie is formed between the spectacle and the feminised monster. We internalise the knowledge of Elizabeth being undead, a reanimated dead, rotting corpse and internalise this grotesqueness along with her refusal to comply and see her as the epitome of the monstrous feminine. 

The physical threat of decay paired with the fragility of female morals is additionally explored in Patchwork. The triptych-like Frankenstein creature goes on a path of vengeance within the narrative. When looking at the prospect of monstrosity and revenge, an immediate connection is made, exhibiting a cathartic purge of vehemence and revolt. Like Elizabeth, the characters experience a bodily rebirth regarding their new forced physical form and spirituality. They reluctantly take on their flesh with a sense of fury, shedding their skin and disengaging from the agency of their mutilator. With this, they create a new identity. 

Further elaborating this facet of new autonomy is the secondary strain of the female Frankenstein – the ‘actual’ Frankenstein. Of course, when the term ‘Frankenstein’ is correctly used, it refers to the creator of the monster (known as Dr. Victor Frankenstein in the book and original media), with his creation being deemed as ‘Frankenstein’s monster’. Nevertheless, it is precisely this idea of Frankenstein’s creator that we are going to explore next. 

Womanly, mad scientists taking discarded corpses and creating their own twisted, semi-living sapient beings has been a significant area that the horror and thriller world has traversed. Films such as Lady Frankenstein (Mel Welles, 1971), Birth/Rebirth (Laura Moss, 2023), The Angry Black Girl and Her Monster (Bomani Story, 2023) and the upcoming Lisa Frankenstein (Zelda Williams, 2024) all employ the use of a female scientist. Although under different strains, these creators of monsters all act as makers of individuals, albeit not necessarily ‘traditional’ cognisant beings. They are motherly architects of horror. 

In horror, the maternal figure is continuously seen as monstrous because of her perceived transgressions that defy social normalities, with the focus being on all of the bodily changes experienced during pregnancy, childbirth and the aftermath of rearing the child. As seen in The Brood (David Cronenberg, 1979) and the more contemporary film Titane (Julia Ducournau, 2021), horror cinema utilises these themes of the motherly body, castration anxiety and the threat of maternal domination to create apprehension and dread. The female Dr. Frankenstein spends their blood, sweat and tears creating, nurturing, and training their creations before unleashing them. These creatures are motherly-esque creations made in a symbolic womb (improvised labs). Herein lies the possibility that the femme creator of the beast is the catalyst for all things monstrous. 

In essence, the trajectory of femininity within the concept of the female Frankenstein reveals a nuanced portrait of monstrosity that has the ability to be explored in an extremely wide capacity. Going back to the beginning, Shelley’s timeless quote, “There is something at work in my soul, which I do not understand”, condenses the intricate web of the female experience, oscillating between fragility and fury, purity and wickedness. Through the likes of Frankenhooker and Patchwork, the female form is moulded to form a site of manipulation perpetuated by their cruel creators, with the films showing their journey to take back the power over their bodies. The barbaric transformations the women go through speak to the rejection of their prescribed roles, ultimately leading to an uproar. 

On the other hand, we have the portrayal of the mother monster that blurs the complicated line between motherhood and monstrosity. Despite their nurturing intentions, these figures challenge and invoke fear through insubordination towards their traditional role. The female Frankenstein underscores the duality of beauty and brutality. It serves as a stringent cue of the complex and innate struggle to gain autonomy and agency in a world that seeks to confine. 

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Reviews Top Horror

Top ten formidable extraterrestrial creatures

1- Thing – The Thing (John Carpenter, 1982) 

‘Thing’: the detailed, unearthly, alien-like conundrum of a creature is not simply one of the horror genre’s most iconic beings, but one of cinema’s itself. Instantly recognisable and synonymous with John Carpenter’s grandiose auteurism is this hybrid, shapeshifting brute whose physical capacities include mutating into an array of phobia-inducing monsters including mutated huskies and gargantuan arachnids with talking heads (props to the Kafkaesque composition). The Thing’s stellar reputation is largely owed to special effects artist Rob Bottin who primarily conjured the horrid creatures throughout the entire film. It can confidently be stated that Bottin’s originality and sheer ingenuity have created the ultimate blueprint for movie monsters.

2- The Monsters – Feast (John Gulager, 2005) 

Whilst the Feast trilogy establishes that these apex predators are indeed deadly carnivores with an appetite for pure destruction to accompany their fleshy cravings, what is left undecided is their exact alien-like origin. However, forgoing whether they are innate earthly dwellers or not, what is noteworthy is how savage, beastly and ultimately gnarly these cosmic creatures truly are. Feast’s resident critters are responsible for some extremely gruesome antics such as eye gouging, head smashing, throat slashing and plenty of glimpses of archetypal sci-fi green goo and generous close-up shots of an array of slimy fluids. Further tearing into the response system of the viewer is the creature’s cruel, grotesquely evil actions that include assaulting their female victims in the most violent of manners. Feast certainly dares to shock the audience in every way possible.

3- The classic green Martian – Signs (M. Night Shyamalan, 2002)

One particular scene in M. Night Shyamalan’s Signs has garnered quite a reputation over the years, and for a very good reason as this single moment manages to conjure such a  spine-tingling, nail-biting, pure burst of alarming fright. Of course, the scene in question is the ‘birthday party scene’. Supporting lead, Merrill (Joaquin Phoenix) is shown watching the news, trying to seek out the strange alien happenings going on in the world. However, during the broadcast, a clip is aired of a birthday party that is suddenly interrupted by a gangly green alien striding across the screen. It’s a moment of such simplicity and plainness that somehow manages to reach out from the fictional world of Signs and physically affect the viewer. The graininess of the shot paired with the sudden startle aids in the ‘realness’ of that moment, giving a raw, realist agency to the scene that is usually difficult to achieve amongst all the fantasticality displayed within the sci-fi genre.

4- Jean Jacket – Nope (Jordan Peele, 2022) 

Briefly steering away from the visceral excess of horror beasts is a slightly more subtle take on extraterrestrial life that still manages to dedicate its screentime to amplifying the fear factor. Nope’s antagonist is known as ‘Jean Jacket’, a colossal UFO that takes on the shape of a biblically accurate angel with its expanding, curtained edges that flutter during its consumption and round off afterwards revealing a design that can only be described as a smoothed cowboy hat… Specific descriptions aside, what allows Jean Jacket a spot on this list is its omnipotent vibe that exemplifies mystery to harbour intense fears of the unknown and the uncanny. However, amidst all of Jean Jacket’s subtle ways, what would be a dishonour to not give credit is that scene involving Jean practically inhaling a sea of people, inducing intense feelings of brutal claustrophobia that is sure to stay with the viewer for long after watching.

5- The Long One – Slither (James Gunn, 2006) 

Known as The Long One is Slither’s force of destruction. The Long One’s parasitic origins are responsible for its multitude of transfigurations across the film. Director James Gunn inventively displays these evolutions in the most absurd yet gorily creative ways possible. For instance, one of the more memorable parasitic forms exhibited in the film is when the leech-like creatures inhabit the body of Brenda (Brenda James), making her body expand into a mammoth fleshy sphere complete with protruding veins and puddled in a pit of merlot-tinted rot that emphasises the abnormally stretched beyond belief skin.

6- Xenomorph – Alien (Ridley Scott, 1979) 

No extraterrestrial list would be complete without the undeniably infamous Alien. Ridley Scott’s 1979 tale on the powerful forces that exceed Earth is responsible for the one and only Xenomorph, an endoparasitoid species complete with a spiny tale, tubular skull and a hive mentality that makes for optimum domination over its prey. What makes the Xenomorph incredibly celebrated in the genre is its utter ruthlessness and its invasive potential. In the presence of Xenomorphs, no one is safe. 

7- Shapeshifting parasites – The Faculty (Robert Rodriguez, 1998) 

This late 1990s teen scream takes inspiration from the horror classic Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956 [and its 1978 remake]) by placing the terror of the alien creature in its ability to shapeshift into a human, disguising and conniving before unleashing hell in its true form. Whilst The Faculty does an excellent job in the effects department when showing the creature in its full innate form, what remains the most foreboding aspect of the film is how these beasts transform into everyday people. It’s the fear of evil hiding where you’d least expect it, waiting and lurking in the shadows. 

8- Death Angels – A Quiet Place (John Krasinski, 2018) 

Hyper-evolved beings that possess the power of super hearing to the point that a loud breath is perceived as a scream is an utterly terrifying premise. These creatures, officially known in their world as ‘Death Angels’ are horror reincarnated, prepared to rip you into a million tiny pieces within seconds – as wickedly revealed during the film’s bitterly harsh opening sequence. These immense monsters are entirely blind, solely relying on their hearing to catch prey. And as discovered in the film’s sequel (A Quiet Place Part II [2020]), the Death Angels managed to achieve world domination – apocalypse style – within hours. 

9- The ‘gorilla-wolf’ aliens – Attack the Block (Joe Cornish, 2011) 

Described in the film as “big alien gorilla wolf motherf*****” are Attack the Block’s resident predators. This laugh-out-loud horror comedy may be equipped with a joke-a-minute coat, but underneath the humour are some pretty gruesome beasts that have the capability to instil enormous heaps of fright as the fuzzy, glowing creatures rapidly swarm down dark halls in their furry squads. 

10-  ‘PG’: Psycho Goreman – Psycho Goreman (Steven Kostanski, 2020) 

Psycho Goreman, also known as ‘PG’, is a self-proclaimed deadly, ferocious warrior who becomes trapped on planet Earth. PG’s death-lord ways see him destroy nearly everything in his path from murdering civilians to wrecking whole towns. However, PG does have an off-kilter charm that infuses the narrative and his persona with a warmth that can only be explained if one has seen the brilliantly wild and weird film itself. Throughout PG’s various rampages, his character becomes so emboldened with personality that it can be easy to overlook his barbarity. But one aspect that is impossible to escape is how exhaustively detailed the alien design is throughout the film. PG’s mottled skin with its constant crimson glow, coupled with a mountainous structure is a visual behemoth that both commands attention and adds to the horrifically majestical overarching tone of the entire film.

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News Reviews Top Horror

2024 horror film releases

1- MaXXXine (Directed by T.I. West)

Completing T.I. West’s zealous ‘X’ trilogy is MaXXXine, a cinematic epilogue following massacre survivor Maxine’s (Mia Goth) journey to stardom in the early 1980s. With West’s signature homage to gritty nostalgia-driven thematics and Goth’s ability to immersive herself into her characters with visceral ease, MaXXXine will certainly be an unmissable slasher. 


2- Shelby Oaks (Directed by Chris Stuckmann)

Youtuber Chris Stuckmann’s directorial debut has already made waves across the independent film industry, with its Kickstarter campaign breaking records as the upcoming found footage inspired horror crossed the $1 million point early last year. Shelby Oaks tackles the story of a missing paranormal investigative team and the pandora’s box of hell that their disappearance unleashes.

3- Late Night with the Devil (Directed by Cameron and Colin Cairnes)

This highly anticipated Australian horror burst onto the scene with nothing but rave reviews after its premiere at the South by Southwest Film Festival. Taking centre stage is David Dastmalchian as Jack Delroy, a smooth-talking late-night talk show host whose show quickly goes south one fateful night after he interviews a survivor of a satanic mass suicide. 

4- Lisa Frankenstein (Directed by Zelda Williams)

One of horror’s favourite writers, Diablo Cody (creator of Jennifer’s Body [2009]), is back with the 1980s set Lisa Frankenstein, a morbid, fresh and ghastly take on the classic Frankenstein monster’s tale. Kathryn Newton plays the role of enigmatic teenager Lisa Swallows, who falls head over heels with a living corpse (Cole Sprouse). Dressed with bubblegum pink aesthetics and a ghoulish love story, Lisa Frankenstin makes for a perfect spooky Valentine’s watch as it hits screens on the 9th of February. 

5- Saw XI (Director TBC) 

A new entry into the neverending, blood-filled, gore-ridden Saw franchise is heading to theatres in late September. However, this is all that is known about the latest cog in Jigsaw’s grand plan so far. Despite its acclaim, writers of the warmly received Saw X (2023), Peter Goldfinger and Josh Stolberg, will not be returning to carry on the Saw legacy. Although the mystery is strong surrounding this upcoming release, one thing is for certain: Jigsaw’s game is far from over!

6- Longlegs (Directed by Oz Perkins)

The chilling teaser trailer for Oz Perkins ‘Longlegs’ has been haunting the internet since the new year, with small snippets of malevolent stills and unnerving clips of tense, unfamiliar symbols appearing all over social media. This sure-to-be hit follows FBI agent Lee Harker (Maika Monroe) as she is assigned to an unsolved case of a serial killer linked to the occult. 

7- Hell of a Summer (Directed by Finn Wolfhard and Billy Bryk)

Hell of a Summer follows the structure of a classic (and unbeatable) summer camp slasher, complete with a mysterious masked killer who lurks the grounds looking for prey. Whilst a strong sense of familiarity rings true, what Hell of a Summer does promise is an extremely gory, wild and savage take on a genre favourite. 

8- Terrifier 3 (Directed by Damien Leone) 

Horror’s residential terrifying clown – ‘Art’ (David Howard Thornton) has been scaring the wits out of people since his first appearance in Damien Leone’s short film The 9th Circle (2008), and now he’s back yet again for the highly anticipated Terrifier 3. With its first look trailer already rapidly making the rounds, this upcoming Christmas-based slasher will certainly be making some noise when it gets released come 25th October. 

9- The Toxic Avenger (Directed by Macon Blair) 

It takes a bold crew to tackle Troma Entertainment’s bold cult classic, The Toxic Avenger (1984). However, from the looks of the fiery trailer and the talented cast including none other than Peter Dinklage and Elijah Wood, the fifth entry into the ‘Toxie’ franchise is set to be an offbeat, untamed, maverick-like beast of a film. Catch the latest Lloyd Kaufman and Michael Herz produced flick later this year. 

10- Baghead (Directed by Alberto Corredor) 

Hitting theatres on the 26th of January is Baghead, a paranormal horror following Iris Lark (Freya Allan), who inherits a broken-down pub she soon discovers a sinister presence lurking underneath the premises. Baghead’s corpus of dread surrounds the rhetoric of loss, decay and the dwellings of mortality.

11- Abigail (Directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett) 

From the creators of Ready or Not (2019), Scream V (2022) and Scream VI (2023) is the upcoming creature feature Abigail. Based on Dracula’s Daughter (1936), Abigail takes on vampirism with a vicious twist as the enthralling plot follows a group of kidnappers who abduct the daughter of an influential figure for ransom, only to discover their victim’s bloody appetite…

12- The Strangers: Chapter 1 (Directed by Renny Harlin) 

Despite the rumours, The Strangers: Chapter 1 is not a sequel nor a remake of the 2008 contemporary classic, The Strangers (Bryan Bertino). Alternatively, this Renny Harlin feature is the first of a standalone trilogy that occurs simultaneously with the original ‘08 timeline. With this being said, in Chapter 1 expect plenty of home invasion thrills, intense frights and most notably, some of the scariest masks horror has to offer. 

13- Nosferatu (Directed by Robert Eggars) 

Robert Eggars may just be the perfect choice to bring the infamous Count Orlok back to life, with his ability to convey macabre yet beautiful narratives, alongside his brilliant stylistic techniques that consistently utilise the likes of dramatic chiaroscuro lighting. Joining Eggars in bringing Nosferatu to old and new audiences to the screen are performers Bill Skarsgård, Nicholas Hoult, Lily-Rose Depp, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Emma Corrin and Willem Dafoe. 


14- Your Monster (Directed by Caroline Lindy) 

Based on Caroline Lindy’s 2019 short film of the same name is Your Monster, a horror comedy with a heartwarming dash of morbid romance. The film follows Laura Franco (Melissa Barrera), a young woman simultaneously dealing with a breakup and a cancer diagnosis. However, her world is about to get increasingly stranger as she uncovers a petrifying but oddly endearing monster (Tommy Dewey) residing in her closet. 

15- The First Omen (Directed by Arkasha Stevenson) 

The Omen (1976) still lives on 48 years later as Arkasha Stevenson introduces The First Omen, a prequel to the original Richard Donner directed tale of horror’s deadliest child. The film chronicles Margaret (Nell Tiger Free), a young American nun sent to a church in Rome. However, she soon discovers a conspiracy within the Lord’s house as they attempt to bring about the birth of an evil incarnate. The 6th entry into the all-mighty franchise is set to be theatrically released on April 5th. 

16- In a Violent Nature (Directed by Chris Nash) 

This indie horror follows a masked silent man as he makes his way through a secluded forest (and a sea of bodies). In a Violent Nature proves that slashers are alive and well, with this slick yet dauntingly raw and seriously creative horror forgoing cliches and putting an original twist on the beloved subgenre with the film following the perspective of the antagonist. 

15- Dust Bunny (Directed by Bryan Fuller) 

Mads Mikkelsen and Sigourney Weaver star in Bryan Fuller’s (Hannibal [2013-15] developer) feature debut film about an eight-year-old girl who pleads with her neighbour to kill the monster hiding under her bed who massacred her family. The seemingly outlandish but entertaining concept of Dust Bunny is said to be rife with a throwback vibe, reminiscent of dark yet oddly comedic and heartwarming horrors from the 1980s such as The Lost Boys (1987).

16- The Watchers (Directed by Ishana Night Shyamalan) 

M. Night Shyamalan’s daughter Ishana makes her directorial debut with The Watchers, an eerie creature feature that amalgamates with a secluded forest horror setting as we follow young artist Mina (Dakota Fanning) who finds herself trapped alongside three strangers in an isolated forest in Ireland surrounded by sinister beasts. 

17- Handling the Dead (Directed by Thea Hvistendahl)

Adapted from the 2005 John Ajvide Lindqvist (Let the Right One In [2004]) novel of the same name is Handling the Dead, a Norweigan zombie film that tells the tale of three families whose lives are plunged into madness when their deceased loved ones are reanimated. The film strips back the hecticness of the archetypal zombie territory and opts for a muted, haunting atmosphere where the emotional anti becomes the driving force. 

18- The Home (Directed by James DeMonaco) 

After troubled retirement home worker Max (Pete Davidson), discovers that his patients are harbouring a menacing secret, he begins to reveal connections between his upbringing in a foster care setting and the ominous happenings at the ill-omened home. The Home sees James DeMonaco back with another horror following on from his work with The Purge franchise.

19- Imaginary (Directed by Jeff Wadlow) 

Joining the likes of the Chucky TV series (2021-), Megan (2023) and Five Nights at Freddy’s (2023) is Jeff Wadlow’s ‘Imaginary‘ which is set to hit theatres on March 8th. Imaginary’s ‘evil toy comes to life’ is a stuffed bear named Chauncey who was the beloved childhood companion of Jessica (DeWanda Wise). However, when Jessica’s stepdaughter Alice (Pyper Braun) gets hold of Chauncey and her once innocent behaviour turns vicious, Jessica realises that Chauncey holds a wicked secret.

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Dead Northern 2023 Review – It Be an Evil Moon

In a bid to develop a new hair growth formula, scientist Freddy Campbell (Ian Ray-White) develops a secret serum using pickled wolfsbane. However, the strange concoction transforms Freddy from a meek man into a monstrous werewolf hungry for flesh. 

It Be an Evil Moon comes from the mind of Ben Etchells, who in his directorial debut creates a gnarly indie horror steeped in furry madness and bloodthirsty delight, showcasing the true mania of werewolf movies. The film balances its eccentricity thanks to the equal measures of off-kiltered humour that continuously tethers itself to dark comedy, and due to its rather impressive practical effects, particularly concerning the epic lycanthrophic metamorphosis of Freddy. 

Shadowing the cracking exposition of a scientist-turned-werewolf is the film’s unmissable appeasement to classic British wolfman horrors. The Curse of the Werewolf (1961), American Werewolf in London (1981), Dog Soldiers (2002) and Howl (2015) all ooze that quintessential British feel of traditional monotony to terror, with a dose macabre comedy and folkloric undertones. Whilst It Be an Evil Moon in no way mimics the conventionalities of these films, what Etchells does do is extract that same magnetism to conjure a narrative heaped with rural, gothic, sinister connotations. 

Whilst credence is deservedly owed to Etchells for his witty take on werewolf mayhem, it would be beastly to forgo a mention to the vibrant performances throughout. The maniacal and certainly ‘eccentric’ character of Freddy is played by Ian Ray-White, who executes the grisly persona with a savagery that makes for a lasting viewing experience. Seconding the spirited performances is the film’s way with tonality, both visually and narratively.  It Be an Evil Moon exudes a bleak richness that makes the thrills thrive against the mundanity of Freddy’s initial settings and situation – think Sightseers (2012) or Prevenge (2016). 

It Be an Evil Moon takes heed of the classic werewolf tragedy and inspiration from the gloomy yet brilliant portrayals seen within British horror and creates a tale saturated with horror excellence. 

Check out the full festival programme and get your tickets here!!

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Dead Northern 2023 Review – Dead on the Vine

From the director of the award-winning ‘Guardians’ (2017) is Mark A. C. Brown’s latest horror film, Dead on the Vine, an intricately woven story that follows two suspicious men who come across a vineyard just in time for a crucial wine tasting evening. 

Dead on the Vine’s closed and extremely intense setting may seem uncomfortably familiar to viewers, which is all thanks to Brown taking heed of the Covid pandemic and creating an isolating, boundary-testing thriller that weaponises the horror of humanity under pressure. Shadowing the brute force of duress is the film’s superb dissection of the psyche, forming a fierce insight into the leaps and bounds we are willing to take to tackle our demons. 

The confrontational spectacle of a cat-and-mouse-like mind game brings to mind films such as Funny Games (1997), where the daunting nature of terrorisation within the home thrives. However, the turbulent twists and turns (which are best left to self-discover) stray from any form of replication or conventionality as you genuinely are left in the dark about what is happening next. The strain of attention-commanding cinema additionally continues in the aesthetics of the film. Not only is the general production value fantastic, with every frame exhibiting absorbingly great camera quality, but the cinematography itself is also beyond admirable, with the visuals taking advantage of the stunning vineyard setting. 


Dead on the Vine is a tense, ticking time bomb that is both a tight-knit character study and an unnerving tale that keeps spiralling right up until the very shocking and heartfelt ending.

Check out the full festival programme and get your tickets here!!

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Dead Northern 2023 Review – Perfectly Good Moment

Devotion, intensity, desire, all the small details that make a relationship burst with passion also have the potential to turn poisonous, embedding romance with toxicity. Victim to this cruel spate of love is Ruby (Amanda Jane Stern), who has been with her on-and-off partner David (Stephen Carlilse) for eight years. After a six-month break, Ruby returns to David, hoping for another chance of reconciliation. However, this time round the pair might not make it for another reunion.

Perfectly Good Moment captures the cinematic brilliance of tense, psychosexual thrillers, as director Lauren Greenhall weaponises the small cast to create an intimate and uncomfortably close environment where the deep seeded  trauma of the narrative thrives; particularly at the hands of Ruby. David’s bond with Ruby is rife with manipulation: demanding her on what to do, how to act, how to live. Yet, rather than Greenhall, simply ‘showing’ the pattern of abuse in the archetypal way, she develops Ruby’s character with a spark of agency. Whilst the gritty details are best left to the viewer’s surprise, what can be noted is that Perfectly Good Moment bites back, unveiling ‘hidden’ abuse and showing that Ruby (representing all women) are not weak, feeble beings willing to put up with the David’s of the world. 

The film’s captivating intrigue does not stop at the proverbial narrative buck as Perfectly Good Moment is secondarily adorned with hauntingly raw camerawork that both captivates and intensifies the emotional richness of the story. Greenhall, along with cinematographer Matt Braunsdorf exercise the hazy, deadly romance essence with each frame basking in a dream-like aura that takes advantage of the film’s warm, almost autumnal lighting to create a landscape visually quaint with harmony; which stunningly and strikingly juxtaposes against the film’s brutal, harsh, and sinister undertones.

As if the atmosphere and hazed tonal qualities were not enough, the film further aggravates the impassioned emotionality of it all through the intricate and touching performances from leads, Stern and Carlilse. Together the duo enact a candid relationship, where the vigour of the striking story thrives, propelling Perfectly Good Moment to be a work that truly stands out. 

Check out the full festival programme and get your tickets her

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Dead Northern 2023 Review – Puzzle Box

Not afraid to plunge right into the deep end of found footage with all of its night vision, shaky cam, and frightful all-of-a-sudden scares is Jack Dignan’s ‘Puzzle Box’, a tale that takes its title literally, with a plethora of enigmas, twists and turns.

Proceeding on from Dignan’s well received 2022 feature ‘After She Died’ is this harrowing horror that follows substance abuser Kait (Kaitlyn Boyé) who is joined by her sister Olivia (Laneikka Denne) as they travel to a secluded house for kait to self-rehabilitate. However, the house’s design begins to shapeshift, becoming an inconceivable labyrinth of a puzzle box…

Taking heed of found footage’s intensive firsthand gaze that deeply immerses the viewer into all of the gritty action is Dignan’s vigorous approach to the unmediated, direct gaze of point of view horror. Whilst carefully teetering around the spoilerific details, during the peak of the action, the camera (yielded by Kait) tours through the house, frantically working around corners and daunting hallways as the building becomes a metamorphic puzzle box. Whilst the context of a tangled house is chilling enough on its own, what deserves a credible mention is how these sequences are seeping with startling images, well-timed jumpscares, and an uncanny creature-like, bloodied woman who stares and screams right down the camera at us. 

The unremitting sweep of emotions felt during Puzzle Box is further fleshed out by the film’s rather robust sense of introspection that forces one to confront their own ensnared position. As Puzzle Box unravels and the dynamic between the almost malleable house and the horrors of addiction come to light, Dignan meticulously crafts a psychical representation of what it means to be trapped, figuratively putting onto screen how easy it is to fall into the tangled maze of our own minds. 

Puzzle Box is a horror film that makes you gasp, shriek, recoil in suspense, and quite powerfully makes us confront our own worst fears about being entombed in our worst nightmare. 

Check out the full festival programme and get your tickets here!!

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Dead Northern 2023 – Video Shop Tales of Terror

Botched body modifications, mysterious vampires, deadly honeytraps and a rib-tickling reincarnation of Mary Whitehouse all emerge from this not to be missed, wickedly twisted, anthology feature. 

Bounding these terrifying tales is the overarching premise of an evil video shop housing the VHS-esque short stories, with the crypt keeper of the store (Martin Payne) and his menacing layer providing the perfect backdrop for the unhinged, riotous and absurdly gruesome shorts to come to life. Video Shop Tales of Terror houses some truly exemplary exmaples of indie filmmaking, rife with gnarly effects that will satisfy hardcore gore hounds and more than enough side-splitting laughs. 

One aspect that immediately sparks interest is how individualistic the films are. Not at one moment do you know what is going to happen next, as we are taken from a tale showcasing a gothic victorian story of a troubled asllyum patient to the audacious ‘Chode the Toad’  featuring none other than Laurence R. Harvey (The Human Centipede 2) . 

Bestowing the motley crew of themes is the extensive list of talented filmmakers who all embolden the throwback aesthetics of Video Shop Tales of Terror. Creators, Alexander Churchyard, Michael Fausti, Tom Lee Rutter, Sam Mason Bell, MJ Dixon, Andrew Elias, Geoff Harmer, Tony Mardon all embody that quintessential video-nasty ‘feel’ of the film, epitomising the grungy, exploitative, macabre aesthetics of 1970s/1980s horror.


The segments and fake trailers have a ubiquitous air of originality that further clarifies every filmmaker’s dedication to the genre; essentially, the film is a clear love letter to horror madness. It is an anthology feature that is made by horror fans for horror fans. And no matter what segment you land upon, the enthusiasm for the weird and wonderful dark world of terror and trepidation is always made abundantly clear. 

Check out the full festival programme and get your tickets here!!

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Dead Northern 2023 Review- Haunted Ulster Live

From the director of the award-winning short Belfast 1912 is Dominic O’Neill’s blast to the past Haunted Ulster Live, an epically spooky venture into a television broadcast gone wrong. 

On the night of All Hallows Eve 1998, seasoned TV personality Gerry Burns (Mark Claney) joins forces with children’s presenter Michelle Kelly (Aimee Richardson) to solve the ghostly occurences in a Belfast family home. After the live seance goes array, the set is turned into pure mayhem, resulting in an abduction that leaves Gerry and Michelle to face with their worst nightmares. 

Anyone and everyone will remember that shocking night on the 31st of October 1992, when we saw the likes of Michael Parkinson, Sarah Greene, Craig Charles, and Mike Smith succumb to the most horrific paranormal activities. Or at least that’s what we were made to believe. Ghostwatch’s iconic nationwide prank of a faux on-air seance has gone down in history as one of the most beloved hoaxes that fooled and startled an entire nation. However, now 31 years later, Ghostwatch finally meets its match with Haunted Ulster. 

This mockumentary broadcast is the epitome of a riveting experience from start to finish, guiding us by the hand as O’Neill takes us on a cinematic ghost ride brimming with chilling exploits and a barrel of laughs to match. Every scene is met with a perfectly paced step further into the exciting happenings, with Gerry and Michelle being thrown through the rings as they delve deeper into the strange mysteries, leading to quite the finale that takes us through the realm of senses, leaving us anxious to the core.

 The bursting suspense is attributable to the diegetic lens in the form of a miraged mockumentary-televised special that meets found footage feature, with O’Neill weaponising the inherently eerie nature of the firsthand camera to create a riptide of believability that truly mimics our sense of reality in the most sinister of manners. The self-reflexivity does not stop there, as the film is flush with a corpus of socially aware themes. Haunted Ulster’s Northern Irish setting, particularly with its 1998 timeframe, was rife with the fallbacks and tragedies from The Troubles, leaving the landscape haunted by socio-cultural ghosts. Whilst the film chills with its paranormal backdrop, there is a commendable undercurrent of politically conscious events that panic us on a whole other level. 

Haunted Ulster’s expressive descent into harrowing antics makes for an uncanny experience rampant with plenty of Halloween-themed zest that creates the perfect spooky-season must watch!

Check out the full festival programme and get your tickets here!!

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