Hereditary (2018)

June 11, 2018

I first began my ignominious career at CineDump by bemoaning the fact that I would never experience something as powerful, soul-shattering, or upsetting as the first run of Friedkin’s The Exorcist. I’ve never been one to be seduced by too-easy tales of the good ol’ days long gone, but sitting pinned into some tacky orange 1970’s seating while the people around me screamed, vomited, and ran for cover---oh, my dear, this is why sick people get into horror movies in the first place: the experience. We could watch cartel videos if we wanted gore or tune in to the news if we wanted tragedy, but that’s not what we want.

Maturing Youth (2018)

April 17, 2018

While Maturing Youth isn't something I'd typically watch, I'm glad I did. The story hit pretty close to home. I'm a thirty-something, and I have a pretty special kid in my life.

Thoroughbreds (2017)

April 3, 2018

Big houses. Big personalities. Big ambitions.

Chevalier (2015)

February 21, 2018

While sailing a luxury yacht in the Aegean Sea, six men, associated with each other by work or family, decide to play a game of who is “the best in general.” The group’s composed of seemingly disparate yet wholly indistinguishable men - the only qualities identifying them are their jobs and strange array of quirks. However, they’re wholly equipped to judge each other from everything to their choice of sleeping trunks to their silver-shining techniques.

Berberian Sound Studio (2012)

July 27, 2017

Earlier this week, I went on a Toby Jones inspired flight of frenzy, leaving me hungry for all things Toby. Instead of a selfishly long post about the many ways I adore Toby Jones, I thought I would perform a service to the indie horror community and parlay my passion into a review for an underseen, incredibly eerie film that also happens to star my lil' sweetheart, 2012’s Berberian Sound Studio. The plot of this film is as deceptively simple as a Kafka story.

A Ghost Story (2017)

July 12, 2017

I watched A Ghost Story in the filled-to-the-gills Texas Theatre at the Oak Cliff Film Festival. As I hunched in the dark, nearly seated on top of the sweetest group of English teachers I’ve ever met, I was a little stunned at the size of the crowd. Even Jodorowsky’s newest film didn’t draw a crowd like this.

Endless Poetry (2016)

July 12, 2017

There are two types of people in this world: artists and the people who are obliged to put up with them. You may be an artist. Someone you love may be an artist.

Camera Obscura (2017)

May 23, 2017

According to the official synopsis, the film is about a veteran war photographer with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder who sees imminent deaths in his developed photos, questioning his already fragile sanity and putting the lives of those he loves in danger. Jack is a war photographer with his own dark burden and which he is also trying to deal with his Psychiatrist. His fiancee Claire buys an antique camera in an auction and gifts him as an anniversary gift.

Delusion (2016)

May 17, 2017

The official synopsis of Delusion is what something can be easily related to David Fincher's Gone Girl. Frank Parrillo received a letter from his wife who died three years ago. With help from his nephew, Frank decides he’s ready to start over.

Besetment (2017)

May 17, 2017

Here arrives another movie from distributors Uncork'd Entertainment who just gave us American Exorcism a couple of weeks back. Besetment is a horror/thriller written and directed by Brad Douglas as his debut feature. The film's official synopsis speaks of a story about Amanda Millard, desperate for a job, takes a maid position at the Oregon Hotel in the creepy, backcountry town of Mitchell, Oregon.

Demon (2015)

May 16, 2017

Peter receives a piece of land as a gift for his upcoming wedding. While preparing the property to build a home for his new family, he finds human remains on the ground. He decides to keep the discovery to himself so that all of the wedding arrangements can go on as planned.

The Narrow Caves (2017)

May 16, 2017

All that was old is new again. That’s perhaps the greatest innocuous lesson that the modern age has taught us. For all the advancements we’ve made in iPads, iPhones, u-verses and whatever other piece of technology you can stick a vowel in front of, pop culture is currently in the throes of a retro-binge that has more people scrambling for a piece of 8-bit technology than the latest whatever-terabyte console Sony and Microsoft are churning out this week.

Review

Human: A Wild Ride Into Digital-Age Madness

There is something inherently voyeuristic about Human. Before a single supernatural element enters the picture, before the blood starts flowing and before reality completely unravels, Matt Stuertz's latest horror film invites viewers into the private digital life of its protagonist.

Crawlers: Eight Legs, One Note

There is something undeniably primal about spider horror. It does not matter how many creature features have come before it; seeing a spider lurking just outside a character's line of sight is often enough to make an audience squirm. Crawlers, directed by Ángel Gómez Hernández, understands that instinctive fear and milks it for several effective sequences.

Growing Older, Not Necessarily Happier: Not Dead Yet Finds Humor in Life's Second Act

Premiering at the Hamptons International Film Festival, Not Dead Yet arrives with its heart firmly in the right place. Directed by Eric Weber and Nick Weber, the film follows Elliot Kelman, a veteran advertising executive who finds himself pushed aside by a culture increasingly obsessed with youth. After being ousted from the industry that once defined him, Elliot joins forces with a group of fellow seniors in the Hamptons to launch a new venture and prove that life doesn't stop once you reach a certain age.

Beautiful Decay: Heat of Madness Struggles Beneath Its Striking Imagery

Seen at the Sitges International Film Festival, Karim Ouelhaj's Heat of Madness arrives carrying considerable expectations. The filmmaker's previous feature, Megalomaniac, earned significant acclaim on the festival circuit, and this latest effort once again plunges viewers into a bleak, morally decayed world where reality and hallucination bleed together. The film follows Scola, a small-time criminal desperate to secure one last score before becoming a father.

#VYMARA: When Influencer Horror Forgets to Influence

For a film built around internet culture, #VYMARA spends a surprising amount of time reminding audiences that trends change fast, but horror clichés stick around forever. Written and directed by Paul Bukoskey, the influencer-driven horror-comedy drops a group of washed-up content creators into the woods on a quest to uncover the truth behind a missing YouTuber and an online conspiracy. It is a premise that feels tailor-made for the modern era, combining livestream culture, social media obsession, and found footage horror into a package designed for an audience raised on YouTube rabbit holes and TikTok doomscrolling.

Finding Jason: How Zachary Branch Brought a Horror Icon to Life in Crystal Lake

Few characters in horror history carry the weight of Jason Voorhees. Long before audiences ever see him on screen, they already know him. They know the mask, the legend, the body count, and the cultural footprint that has followed the character for more than four decades.

Rhonda Shear Brings the Party Back: Inside the Launch of The Up All Night Network

There are certain television personalities who become inseparable from a specific era, and for many genre fans, Rhonda Shear is one of them. Long before streaming services and endless content libraries, she welcomed viewers into the delightfully unpredictable world of USA Up All Night, introducing cult films, horror favorites, comedies, and late-night oddities with an energy that felt like spending a weekend with your funniest friend. Decades later, she's once again inviting audiences into that world through the launch of The Up All Night Network, a Roku channel designed to celebrate cult entertainment while introducing a new generation of viewers to the experience that made her a late-night icon.

It’s Not Over: Eric Weber and Paul Raci on Finding Purpose in Not Dead Yet

When I sat down with Eric Weber and Paul Raci to discuss Not Dead Yet, I expected a conversation about filmmaking, performances, and the themes that define the film. What I didn't expect was for the discussion to deepen my appreciation of a movie that had already challenged me on a personal level. Having seen the film at the Hamptons International Film Festival, I found myself wrestling with many of the same emotions that the story explores: nostalgia, uncertainty, frustration, optimism, and the realization that none of us are getting any younger.

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.

Fans Climb the Valley Once Again: New Soulbound TikTok Preview Builds Excitement for the Series' Next Era

As Soulbound continues building momentum toward its next season, another intriguing preview has emerged, this time in the form of a TikTok video that is generating discussion among fans despite offering very little explanation. The video, uploaded just three days ago, carries no formal title. Instead, it is identified only by the hashtags #climbthevalley and #indieanimation, a fitting choice for a series centered on souls struggling to grow, heal, and uncover the truths hidden within Astral Valley.