Thriller
Travis Turner
A seemingly innocuous house party takes a grim turn in Travis Turner, the latest hangout movie from provocative writer/director Mike Klassen (9 Days with Cambria, Crackerhead).
Spiral: From the Book of Saw
The premise for Spiral (better known by its full title Spiral: From the Book of Saw) is an interesting take on the traditional spin-off, and a sigh of relief for a movie goer like myself who hasn’t kept up to speed on the Saw horror franchise.
The Retreat
Actor-turned-filmmaker Pat Mills has made some great comedies (Guidance, Don’t Talk to Irene), and he’s currently challenging himself by branching out to different genres (CBC Gem’s short-form series Queens dabbles with mystery, for instance). The Retreat is Mills’ shot at making a straightforward horror-thriller, and it doesn’t go as straightforward as his previous endeavours.
Willy’s Wonderland
Nicolas Cage’s cult appeal becomes rusty in Willy’s Wonderland, a tongue-in-cheek horror-thriller featuring the actor squaring off against animatronic creeps in an abandoned children’s play place.
Painkiller
Painkiller is more of a mouthpiece than a movie. The filmmakers are so excited by the film’s premise, that they would rather table action sequences and tense showdowns to have discussions about Big Pharma and the opioid epidemic it seems to be encouraging. I admire their enthusiasm, but this attitude has distracted them from making a good movie.
In the Earth
In the Earth is the first truly effective COVID-era horror/thriller. Mostly because it doesn’t call attention to the virus, and rather uses its inflections throughout this terrific biological (and supernatural) chiller.
Know Fear
Like many horror films, Know Fear begins with a house – a house with a dark past. Shortly after Wendy (Amy Carlson) and Donald (David Alan Basche) move into the house, Wendy begins experiencing strange sensations that overwhelm her. The family learns that Wendy has been possessed by a demon, and the only way to save her is to use a book to enact a ritual that will allow different members of the family to…
Nobody
The promotional material for Nobody features a grizzled Bob Odenkirk, a hilarious comic who has pulled off incredible range for over a decade within his tragicomedy oeuvre in the Breaking Bad universe, beating the pulp out of thugs and gunning down crooks. For viewers who have followed Odenkirk’s career from his sketch comedy days on Mr. Show to his time playing Saul Goodman on Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, this action-packed visual is cool…