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.
Read MoreThe 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.
Read MoreCrystal 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.
Read MoreInfluence, Identity, and Cults: #VanLife Gets Lost on the Highway
I remember first hearing about #VanLife through a random post on Twitter. There was barely any information available, but the marketing confidently called it one of the scariest movies of the year. The images looked striking, and having recently watched the Gabby Petito documentary, I was immediately intrigued by the idea of a horror film built around the culture of vanlife influencers.
Read MoreThe Pitchfork Retreat: Horror Royalty, Anthology Chaos, and One Hell of a Payoff
There are few things more appealing to horror fans than a cast list packed with familiar faces, and The Pitchfork Retreat certainly delivers on that front. Screening at Houston Horror Film Festival 2026, the latest production from Fuzz on the Lens Productions assembles what feels like an entire convention guest roster under one roof. Nearly every scene introduces another recognizable genre veteran, from Tony Todd and Danielle Harris to Dee Wallace, Andrew Divoff, and a seemingly endless parade of horror personalities.
Read MoreUntil You’re Alone: A Love Letter to Giallo That Nearly Loses Its Edge
Seen at the Houston Horror Film Festival 2026, Until You're Alone is a film that wears its influences proudly. Writer-director Christopher Wesley Moore crafts a loving homage to Hitchcock, De Palma, and especially the Italian giallo tradition, delivering a murder mystery that is often stylish, occasionally hilarious, and consistently engaging, even when its pacing threatens to derail the experience. The film follows an architect who becomes the prime suspect in a string of brutal murders and reluctantly teams up with a free-spirited sex worker to uncover the truth before they become the next targets.
Read MoreCrack, Cash, and Chaos: Heat Score Is Pure Underground Mayhem
One of the biggest mistakes a movie like Heat Score could make would be pulling its punches. Thankfully, directors and brothers Robert and Devin Burkosky never even consider it. Part crime comedy, part exploitation throwback, and part fever dream tour through Edmonton's seedy underbelly, Heat Score feels like it landed somewhere between a Troma production and the wave of retro genre parodies that have become increasingly popular in recent years.
Read MorePure Scum Is a Relentless Descent Into Privilege, Panic, and Self-Destruction
From the moment Pure Scum begins, it wraps you in a cloud of dread. There is an immediate sense of discomfort and uncertainty hanging over every scene, as though something terrible is always waiting just around the corner. That feeling never really lets up. Instead, writer-director Gideon Aroni's debut feature keeps tightening the screws, building constant rising action that leaves you wondering not if things will get worse, but how much worse they possibly can.
Read MoreHigh Body Count, Low Ambition: The Boy from Below
Horror fans of a certain age will immediately understand what The Boy from Below is trying to do. Set largely on Halloween night in 1997, the film follows video store clerk Quinn Curtis as a masked killer begins turning slasher movies into reality. Director Tory Jones has described the project as a tribute to the video store era and the classic slashers that shaped his love of filmmaking, and that passion is evident from the opening frame.
Read MoreGhostkeeper: The Coziest Nightmare in the Canadian Rockies
There are plenty of horror films that survive on atmosphere alone, but few wear it as comfortably as Ghostkeeper. Restored in 4K and recently screened at FrightFest, Jim Makichuk's 1981 cult oddity remains a fascinating relic of Canadian horror, a film whose shortcomings somehow become part of its appeal. Set during a New Year's snowmobiling trip through the Rockies, Ghostkeeper follows three friends who become stranded in a blizzard and seek refuge in an isolated mountain lodge inhabited by a deeply unsettling older woman and her even more unsettling sons.
Read MoreI Voted: A Political Thriller That Cuts Uncomfortably Close to Home
Few films capture the simmering tension of modern America quite like I Voted. Directed by Tyler Mann and co-written by Mann and Rachel DeRouen, this politically charged thriller takes place almost entirely inside a polling location that suddenly goes into lockdown during a contentious presidential election. What begins as an uncomfortable gathering of strangers quickly evolves into a pressure cooker of competing ideologies, personal grievances, and escalating hostility that feels less like fiction and more like a plausible headline waiting to happen.
Read MoreMurder, Mystery and Lucy Lawless: My Life Is Murder Series 5
I'll watch pretty much anything Lucy Lawless appears in. From her iconic turn as Xena: Warrior Princess to scene-stealing work in Spartacus and beyond, she has always had a magnetic screen presence. Somehow, despite being on the air since 2019, My Life Is Murder slipped under my radar.
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