Melina Matsoukas, known mostly for her work on music videos and television, breaks out as a powerful new director with her feature film debut, Queen & Slim. This romance turned road-tripping crime drama has been described as "the black Bonnie and Clyde", but these complex characters were a lot closer to Thelma and Louise. While on a disappointing first date, Slim and Queen are driving home when an encounter with an aggressive police officer during a routine traffic stop turns tragic.
Read MoreImmortal (2019)
What would you do if you were able to almost instantly heal from any wound, up to and including death? An existential dark fantasy anthology with an excellent cast of seasoned performers, Immortal takes a fantastical conceit and explores it from different perspectives. Each segment is helmed by a different director, but the tone remains consistent thanks to being the work of a single scripter and DP.
Read MoreThe Good Things Devils Do (2020)
Low budget chills reside uncomfortably with pronounced silliness in Jess Norvisgaard’s directorial debut, The Good Things Devils Do. The fledgling filmmaker has mostly worked in the camera department up to this point, but in addition to directing, he’s credited as executive producer and the sole screenwriter here. He lined up some horror fan favorites to headline, so I was excited to check it out.
Read MoreAn American Werewolf in London (1981) #RetroReview
John Landis’ An American Werewolf in London from 1981 has to be in the conversation for greatest werewolf movie of all time. I’d also say it’s one of the best horror films of the ‘80s, a decade that’s absolutely saturated with genre classics. Notably, the massively impressive practical effects are so good that they won the first-ever Oscar for Best Makeup.
Read MoreThe Monster Squad (1987) #RetroReview
Fred Dekker’s The Monster Squad was released on this day in 1987. Considering it’s basically The Goonies meets the Universal Monsters, I instantly became a fan. If you’ve never seen it before, it has a handful of aspects that may shock modern viewers, but these aspects are what place the movie firmly in cult film territory as opposed to the children’s classic milieu.
Read MoreHomewrecker (2019)
It isn't often when two female leads get to collaborate with their director to write their own film. Alex Essoe and Precious Chong co-wrote the script for Homewrecker with director Zach Gayne, but unfortunately, this deranged comedy-thriller falls short of becoming the horror satire it wanted to be. Interior designer Michelle meets cute with Linda at their shared fitness classes and coffee shops.
Read MoreRun Run It's Him (2014) #DVD
While I never assumed I had an addiction to porn, after watching Run Run It’s Him, I now know that I’m in need of some serious self-reflection. The film is hard to describe honestly, but I’ll do my best.
Read MoreVolition (2019)
There’s a lot to like about Tony Dean Smith’s Volition, which had a festival run last year and is now available on major digital platforms. That being said, if you’re a veteran genre film fan, you might be able to predict where his script, co-written with brother Ryan, is heading. Considering the premise and the tight plotting, that didn’t make it a deal-breaker for me, though.
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