Drew Spence's City of Snakes Pushes AI Fantasy Into New Territory

September 28, 2026

There is a tendency to approach AI-generated filmmaking with a certain level of skepticism. Too often the results feel like disconnected visual experiments rather than genuine storytelling. That is what makes Drew Spence's Age of Forgotten Heroes: City of Snakes such an interesting surprise. While the film never completely escapes the limitations of the technology behind it, it represents one of the most substantial leaps forward in AI-assisted narrative filmmaking that I've encountered. The result is an ambitious fantasy adventure that is equal parts fascinating, uneven, and undeniably imaginative.

Home, Memory, and Machine-Made Myth: Odyssey: Returning Home

July 30, 2026

At just nine minutes long, Odyssey: Returning Home falls well outside the type of project we would normally cover at CineDump. It's a fully AI-generated short, and that fact brings all the usual caveats with it. Still, its brief runtime makes for an easy commitment, and credit where it's due: presented in 4K, it often looks about as good as AI-generated filmmaking currently can.

Vikings: Valhalla: The Complete First Season (2024) #BluRay

September 10, 2024

Vikings: Valhalla: The Complete First Season on Blu-ray offers a thrilling return to the Viking world, packed with intense drama, battle scenes, and rich historical intrigue. Set a hundred years after the events of the original Vikings series, Valhalla follows a new generation of heroes, including the famed explorer Leif Eriksson, his fiery sister Freydis Eriksdotter, and the ambitious prince Harald Sigurdsson. This fresh chapter brings a new layer of conflict, as tensions between Vikings and English royals escalate, while old Viking faiths clash with new Christian ideologies.

Review

Crystal Lake Review (Spoilers): The Friday the 13th Prequel That Changes Everything

There was probably no television series I was more excited for than Crystal Lake. After seventeen years without a new film, false starts, lawsuits, canceled projects, and endless speculation, Friday the 13th was finally back. More importantly, it wasn't returning with another masked slasher sequel. Creator Brad Caleb Kane chose a far riskier path by building an entire series around Pamela Voorhees and asking viewers to care about the woman behind one of horror's most infamous legends.

DVD Review

The Dark Side of Chelsea Shines Again in The Chelsea Detective Series 4

Few detective shows have become as reliable as The Chelsea Detective. Four seasons in, the series knows exactly what it wants to be and, more importantly, what its audience wants from it. Set against the picturesque streets and affluent façades of one of London's most exclusive neighborhoods, the show continues to prove that behind every immaculate townhouse door lies the potential for deception, greed, and murder.

Crystal Lake Review: A Bold Reinvention of Horror's Most Tragic Family

After nearly two decades away from screens, Friday the 13th finally returns with Crystal Lake, Peacock's ambitious prequel series from Brad Caleb Kane. Rather than rushing audiences toward familiar slasher territory, the show takes an unexpected route by placing Pamela Voorhees at the center of the story and exploring the tragedy, grief, and paranoia that helped shape one of horror's most iconic families. It is a bold creative choice that immediately separates Crystal Lake from the films, and whether that works for viewers will largely depend on how willing they are to embrace something very different from what they traditionally expect from the franchise.

A Special Day: The Most Disturbing Home Movie You'll See This Year

Found footage horror works best when it feels authentic, and Dennis Cahlo's A Special Day immediately understands that assignment. Screening at Unnamed Footage's 24HR26 At Home Festival, the short presents itself as recovered VHS footage connected to a police investigation, drawing viewers into its world from the opening moments. The format is familiar, but Cahlo uses that familiarity to his advantage, creating an experience that feels unnervingly real rather than simply nostalgic.

Something Ugly Is Over There Turns Santa Muerte Fear Into Found Footage Dread

Found footage horror succeeds when it can convince viewers that what they're seeing might actually be real. For much of its runtime, Something Ugly Is Over There, the debut film from writer-director Noe Perez, accomplishes exactly that. Screened as part of the Unnamed Footage 24HR26 at Home Festival, the short delivers an unsettling blend of religious horror, Mexican folklore, and analog paranoia that lingers long after the static clears.

Finding the Magic in the Canyon: Hana Mae Lee and Hal Satin on Magick Mtn.

Some interviews are over before you know it. Others feel like they've only just started when the clock runs out. My conversation with Hana Mae Lee and Hal Satin fell squarely into the latter category.

The Heart Beneath the Horror: Ben Sottak and Milly Shapiro on Hallowarrior

There are plenty of horror films set during Halloween, but very few truly capture the feeling of the season. Ben Sottak's feature directorial debut, Hallowarrior, manages to do exactly that. Blending post-apocalyptic survival, home invasion thrills, coming-of-age drama, and plenty of Halloween atmosphere, the film feels like a love letter to the holiday while still delivering genuine emotion and crowd-pleasing horror.

Renny Harlin Brings Heart to the Driver's Seat in The Beast

There are few filmmakers as synonymous with action cinema as Renny Harlin. Across a career that has included films like Die Hard 2, Cliffhanger, and The Long Kiss Goodnight, Harlin has built a reputation for delivering large-scale spectacle without losing sight of the people at the center of the chaos. Speaking with him about The Beast, that commitment to character quickly emerged as the driving force behind his latest film.

Michael McDonald Finds the Funny in Hell with Portal to Hell

For many viewers, Michael McDonald will always be associated with comedy. Whether it was his unforgettable work on MADtv, scene-stealing television appearances, or countless comedic performances over the years, he's spent decades making audiences laugh. That's what makes his appearance as David Pepperdine in Portal to Hell such an interesting turn.

Inside Sick: Agata Trzebuchowska's Unsettling Coming-of-Age Nightmare

Few films at this year's festival circuit have left audiences as shaken, confused, fascinated, and engaged as Agata Trzebuchowska's debut feature, Sick. Equal parts body horror, coming-of-age story, and family drama, the film dives headfirst into uncomfortable territory, challenging viewers while encouraging them to sit with feelings they might otherwise avoid. After watching Sick, I had the opportunity to speak with Trzebuchowska about the ideas behind the film, and it quickly became one of the most enjoyable conversations I've had all festival season.

All Over Again Is Quietly Becoming a Festival Circuit Success Story

Independent productions often dream of finding their audience. For Joseph McGovern's All Over Again, that dream is steadily becoming reality. Since its January 2026 release, the narrative music video has earned growing recognition on the festival circuit while generating enthusiastic reactions from audiences and critics alike.