There’s no such thing as an objective review, but I don’t know another way to differentiate my thoughts on the new Shudder exclusive The Boy Behind the Door. I can watch this film and see how well executed it is. The performances are uniformly excellent, the direction is super tight, great, crystal clear cinematography, and yeah: it is scary as HELL. Subjectively? Every minute of this movie churned in my gut, and I’ll be happy to never think of it again. There is content I never need to see, and child abduction is simply one of those things.

Reviews

Hooptober 8.0 – Mortuary (2005)

Being Film #17 for Hooptober 2021

For a director with some many bonafide horror classics under his belt, including one of the greatest horror films of all time, Tobe Hooper got a bit of a bad break. By the time the 90s arrived he was relegated to smaller and smaller films with little opportunity to stretch his weird wings. So it’s a nice surprise that Mortuary isn’t terrible at all: it’s a fun, schlocky spook-fest sprinkled with some of his signature freaky moments that the low DTV budget and pitchy performances can’t completely diminish.

ChrisOctober 6, 20214 Comments

Reviews

Hooptober 8.0 – The Wicker Man (1973)

Being Film #16 for Hooptober 2021

You’d think after so many years of being in the public consciousness as well as the insane meme-machine that is the 2006 remake with Nicolas Cage that I would know what I was in for with The Wicker Man. Ladies and gentlemen…I was not. What director Robin hardy and writer Anthony Shaffer have crafted is a bright spectacle that slowly devolves from oddity to horror. Even knowing the ending you don’t really see it coming, and I came away really understanding why the film has been held aloft as one of the finest British horror films of all time.

ChrisOctober 5, 20211 Comment

Reviews

Hooptober 8.0 – Candyman (2021)

Being Film #15 for Hooptober 2021

The new Candyman is a lot of things. Reboot, sequel…sure. But it’s also a clever, brutal investigation into the nature of narrative. So much of a story is shaped by who tells it, who owns it. Watching Nia Dacosta take the original story and twist it into not only a horrific new film but also a savage indictment of the perpetuation of violence and the way the powerful shape the story to fit their plans is a marvel. This is not the planting of a new franchise. This is a a harrowing myth come to life, rich with ideas and fertile ground to explore, if you dare say his name five times.

ChrisOctober 3, 2021October 5, 20211 Comment

Reviews

Hooptober 8.0 – House on Haunted Hill (1959)

Being Film #14 for Hooptober 2021

After a rough week I decided I needed a break for all the modern gore and guts and decided to turn to a campy favorite I hadn’t seen in a while. William Castle was maybe known more for his gimmicks to pack theaters than the quality of his films, but that doesn’t stop House on Haunted Hill from being a wicked little fun film. Featuring a wonderfully ham-fisted Vincent Price performance, the film is a lean, dirty little morality tale that works despite (or maybe because of) the strings attached to the ghouls and frights on display.

ChrisOctober 2, 2021October 3, 20211 Comment

Reviews

Hooptober 8.0 – Jakob’s Wife (2021)

Being Film #13 for Hooptober 2021

We’ve had several vampire films where the theme of empowerment was front and center, so I’m surprised it took this long to get a film that grounds that in the framework of traditional gender and marriage roles. I’m doubly surprised that Jakob’s Wife not only uses this framework well, but knocks it out of the park thanks to a powerhouse performance by Barbara Crampton as a minister’s wife who, once bitten, starts to realize how her needs and voice had been silenced in a dominating marriage.

ChrisSeptember 30, 20214 Comments

Cinema Dual (TEST SITE)

Examining a life through the media we consume. In other words, I’m reviewing all of my physical music media in alphabetical order, one day at at a time. Except when I don’t, as has been the case for the past few years. Still, we march onwards…Coffee essential, but not mandatory

Tag: US

Hooptober 8.0 – The Boy Behind the Door (2021)

Hooptober 8.0 – Mortuary (2005)

Hooptober 8.0 – The Wicker Man (1973)

Hooptober 8.0 – Candyman (2021)

Hooptober 8.0 – House on Haunted Hill (1959)

Hooptober 8.0 – Jakob’s Wife (2021)