For the most part, writer/director Camille Griffin’s feature debut, Silent Night, plays like many comedies set around holiday gatherings. It features typical awkwardness that comes from a large makeshift family coming together during one of the most stressful times of the year, attempting to cast aside grudges, secrets, or bad manners for the sake of […]
TIFF 2021
[TIFF Review] ‘Titane’ Goes Full Throttle on Transgressive Body Horror and Dark Humor
Filmmaker Julia Ducournau broke out with a provocative debut feature that blended horror, comedy, and tenderness in a coming-of-age cannibal tale. It set the bar high for her anticipated sophomore effort, which Cannes reactions only bolstered. The reality is that Ducournau’s follow-up, Titane, continues what she started with Raw. Sexual and gender identity gets explored through provocative body […]
[TIFF Review] ‘Saloum’ Blends Crime Thriller with Supernatural Mysticism in Unpredictable Genre-Bender
Underseen on Netflix is the Senegalese series Sakho & Mangane, a stylish crime procedural with a supernatural twist. Its creator, Jean Luc Herbulot, again displays a talent for effortlessly shifting through genres with Saloum, a contemporary genre-bender infused with ancestral folklore. The setting and its history add to Herbulot’s stylish story, which helps when the dense and sometimes […]
[TIFF Review] In ‘Zalava’, a Demonic Possession Leads to Mass Hysteria and Paranoia
Superstition and paranoia abound in Iranian writer-director Arsalan Amiri’s film, Zalava. Set in the titular village in the northwestern mountains of Iran in 1978, the film chronicles one long day and night as the village descends into panic, fear and mass hysteria that a demon is attacking their home. What’s fascinating about the film, which […]
Clip from TIFF’s Supernatural Thriller ‘Saloum’ Navigates the Streets of Bissau [Video]
Coming to the Toronto International Film Festival and Fantastic Fest, the Senegalese supernatural thriller Saloum was written and directed by Jean Luc Herbulot (Dealer), and Bloody Disgusting’s review will be published later this week. In the meantime, we’ve got the first clip for you today. The film is being described as a “cool and kinetic […]
[TIFF Review] Irish Folklore Film ‘You Are Not My Mother’ Finds The Horror At Home
The term folk horror inspires certain kinds of imagery: pastoral fields, shrouded woods, period pieces, and witchcraft. In North American horror, legends tend to take the form of tall tales (Urban Legend, Candyman, I Know What You Did Last Summer) or whispered myths (Wendigos, Indigenous burial grounds, etc). In Irish writer/director’s Kate Dolan’s directorial feature […]
[TIFF Review] Netflix’s Single-Location Thriller ‘The Guilty’ is a Showcase for Jake Gyllenhaal
The Guilty originated as a critically acclaimed, intense Danish thriller that marked the feature debut by Gustav Möller. A seemingly simple premise set entirely within a single-location frayed nerves thanks to a confluence of impeccable ingredients. So, it’s not surprising that remake rights were snatched up almost immediately. The result is a Jake Gyllenhaal vehicle directed by Antoine Fuqua, […]
[TIFF Review] Netflix’s Korean Drama Series ‘Hellbound’ Has a Great Premise, But Struggles With Its Execution
As far as TV properties go, Hellbound has a pretty awesome hook. The gist of the six-episode live-action Netflix series is as follows: What would happen if angels began appearing, informing individuals that they would die for their sins in a few days, and when the time arrived, those people were beaten to death by […]
[TIFF Review] ‘Encounter’ Surprises With Genre-Bending Alien Invasion Paranoid Thriller
Director Michael Pearce demonstrated a keen ability to play in multiple genre sandboxes simultaneously with his feature debut, Beast, which kept audiences guessing right up until its conclusion. His awaited follow-up, Encounter, continues his streak for wildly imaginative and engaging character-driven work through a genre-bending filter. Only this time, it’s run through the setup of a paranoid alien invasion-style […]
[Review] Edgar Wright’s ‘Last Night in Soho’ Is a Stylish, But Repetitive Thriller
There’s an infectious energy in the early parts of Edgar Wright’s new film, Last Night in Soho. The film opens with a dance number as aspiring fashion designer Eloise (Thomasin McKenzie) lip-synchs to one of her many records in her grandmother’s (Rita Tushingham) country house and this effusive excitement permeates the screen. Eloise is an […]
[TIFF Review] Screenlife Horror ‘DASHCAM’ Aims for Manic Splatstick Chaos
Director Rob Savage captured that trapped feeling of lockdown with last summer’s buzziest horror movie, Host, a Zoom séance gone wrong. It established Savage as a filmmaker who wears his horror influences on his sleeves. His latest, filmed during the second lockdown, demonstrates that once again. Savage’s follow-up feature, DASHCAM, aims to achieve Sam Raimi levels of splatstick […]
[TIFF Review] Erotic Thriller ‘Inexorable’ Is Stuck at Half-Mast
Inexorable. Adj: meaning impossible to stop or prevent. That’s not quite an accurate depiction of what occurs in Fabrice Du Welz’s latest film. Sure, once events are put into motion, they’re difficult to stop, but the Belgian filmmaker, known for his share of provocative films, is treading lightly with Inexorable, an erotic thriller that’s sadly […]
[TIFF Review] Vampire Drama ‘Kicking Blood’ Heavier on Style Than Bite
Save for sunlight or perhaps a stake to the heart, vampires live forever. Instead of just one lifetime, they can experience many. That means that a regular staple in vampire fiction depicts the erosion of time, where pleasure and discovery eventually wane and boredom sets in. Kicking Blood adds to the existential conversation, featuring a world-wearied bloodsucker […]
[TIFF Review] ‘A Banquet’ Tests Maternal Bonds and Patience in Simmering Psychological Horror
Existing somewhere at the crossroads of Jack Ketchum’s “The Box” and Rose Glass’s Saint Maud lies A Banquet. A strange affliction wreaks havoc on the lives of a family still on the mend from tragedy. Ruth Paxton’s feature debut favors a slow simmering atmosphere in a psychodrama that sees a family in psychological deterioration. One that can test the […]
[TIFF Review] ‘Mlungu Wam (Good Madam)’ Haunts With Murky, Eerie Reflection of the Past
South African psychological horror Mlungu Wam (Good Madam) uses an intimate character study nestled in a possibly haunted house as an allegory. It wields one stubborn and unreliable narrator as an entry point into a cultural examination and a haunted legacy. Yet, largely thanks to its obscure ambiguity and intimate storytelling, it never feels heavy-handed […]