Thriller
Cocaine Bear
By: Jeff Ching Walking into Cocaine Bear, I was expecting the movie to be the latest inductee to the “so bad, it’s good” list. Something along the lines of Snakes on a Plane or the Sharknado franchise: movies that are not good, but fun to laugh at. Cocaine Bear, however, is not “so bad, it’s good” – it’s “so good, it’s umm….…the best movie of 2023 so far”. Look, it’s only late February, and I don’t expect…
Firenado
By: Trevor Chartrand With the title alone, Firenado makes its intentions (or lack of intentions, perhaps) clear right off the bat: this is not a movie to be taken seriously. As if a film like this ever could be. This flaming twister of a motion picture is a zero-effort waste of your time – in the most entertaining ways possible.
Violent Night
By: Jolie Featherstone This is Santa like you’ve never seen him before. Tommy Wirkola’s Violent Night is a bloody action flick blended with some heart-warming Christmas cheer. But yeah, lots of blood.
Toronto After Dark 2022: ‘The Lair’
Neil Marshall (Dog Soldiers, Doomsday, Hellboy) knows how to make a horror film. The writer/director is responsible for the early 2000’s cult classic The Descent, a film that has been praised for its mature characterization of a group of women (a relatively novel concept, as far as early ’00s horror was concerned). In addition to its dramatic and psychological elements, The Descent was also freaking terrifying. Even the toughest, most hardened horror fans are quick to admit…
Halloween Ends
By: Jolie Featherstone Halloween Ends, the final instalment of the latest Halloween trilogy, reunites Laurie Strode and Michael Myers in a bloody battle that can also be interpreted as a proud celebration for scream queen Jamie Lee Curtis.
Dark Glasses
Dark Glasses is a contemporary giallo from legendary Italian filmmaker Dario Argento. Approaching this movie as someone who is unfamiliar with Argento’s work and giallos in general, I was excited and nervous about what Dark Glasses would have in store (similar to my anticipation prior to David Cronenberg’s Crimes of the Future).
Devil’s Workshop
Devil’s Workshop is, mostly, a two-hander. An unhappy actor, Clayton (Timothy Granaderos of Netflix’s 13 Reasons Why), is trying to gain insight for a role he’s aspiring for. For knowledge, he shadows experienced demonologist Eliza (Radha Mitchell of the Silent Hill film franchise) for the weekend before the pivotal callback audition. Turning the tables on Clayton to probe more about his life, Eliza is eager to perform a ritual on her guest to alleviate woes,…