The Seeding
The Seeding may be the first great horror movie of the year and, yet, it’s a tough recommendation.
Thriller
Blood in the Snow 2023: ‘ROMI’
ROMI is the artificial intelligence system that assists a fancy-schmancy smart home in Robert Cuffley’s horror-thriller of the same name. Young hit-and-run fugitive Maddie (Alexa Barajas of TV’s Yellowjackets) has been assigned to stay at the exclusive house to maintain her cover while her politician mother runs for election without any controversies. Maddie’s getaway is also assisted by the home owner Hertig (Pavel Kriz of Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol) and programmer extraordinaire Barkley (Juan…
Dangerous Waters
Dangerous Waters may be an over-the-top thriller, but it’s also unpredictable with every twist and turn. That ought to right some of its wrongs…right?
Toronto After Dark 2023: ‘The Deep Dark’
Nobody “phones it in” for Mathieu Turi’s subterranean thriller The Deep Dark, although their efforts are for naught; simply because this movie isn’t a good fit for their work.
Fair Play
In Fair Play, Emily (Phoebe Dynevor of Netflix’s Bridgerton) and Luke (Alden Ehrenreich of Solo: A Star Wars Story and Cocaine Bear) are financial analysts who are discreetly dating but individually on the offence at the workplace. The hedge fund they work for is highly competitive, but unprofessional when dealing with internal matters. An open promotion heard through the grapevine makes everyone more sharp and vicious, but it’s Emily who is eyed for the position….
The Baker
Last week, The Retirement Plan disappointed me with its inconsistencies. What I didn’t acknowledge in my review, buried underneath the tacky filmmaking, was a tangent involving a congenial heavy-hitter played by Ron Perlman (of Guillermo del Toro’s Hellboy series). Perlman is squandered, portraying a brute named Bobo who shows compassion towards a young victim and eventually seals his fate after reuniting with Season of the Witch co-star Nicolas Cage.
TIFF 2023: ‘I Don’t Know Who You Are’
M.H. Murray’s I Don’t Know Who You Are is a well-meaning dramatic thriller that raises awareness about systemic abandonment felt by sexual abuse survivors.
It Lives Inside
Horror movies often have an allegorical thread within them and, currently, it’s hard to spot a story in one of these spooky flicks that doesn’t also double for another, deeper meaning. While the efforts are usually appreciated when filmmakers try to push themselves, sometimes their movies are simply too good at fulfilling the broader strokes. Such is the case for Bishal Dutta’s It Lives Inside.
Don’t Look Away
Moving in and out of theatres faster than a killer sloth, fun and freaky flick Don’t Look Away offers audiences an ominous and haunting villain – a motiveless, murderous mannequin.