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 MoreInside the Madhouse (1887): When AI Filmmaking Meets Nellie Bly's Fearless True Story
There are stories from history so astonishing that they barely need embellishment. Nellie Bly's 1887 undercover investigation of New York's Women's Lunatic Asylum is one of them. At just 23 years old, Bly deliberately convinced authorities she was insane, allowing herself to be committed so she could expose the abuse, neglect, and inhumane conditions hidden behind the institution's locked doors.
Read MoreBig Baby: Spider One's Meta-Slasher Has More on Its Mind Than Bloodshed
Spider One's Big Baby is the kind of indie horror oddity that feels assembled from a lifetime of genre obsessions and late-night creative anxieties. Part slasher, part dark comedy, and part meditation on the frustrations of the artistic process, it lands somewhere between Stranger Than Fiction, Ruby Sparks, The Dark Half, and Secret Window, while still managing to carve out its own identity through a distinctly punk rock sensibility. The story follows successful horror screenwriter Adam Lewis, whose recurring nightmares about a maniac in a baby mask become the inspiration for a new screenplay.
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 MoreOops... I Bought It Again: MGA's Britney Spears Miniverse Is Peak Millennial Nostalgia
I can remember the first time I ever saw Britney Spears. Like, literally remember it. I was hanging out at a friend's house late one night when a music video came on featuring a schoolgirl tapping her pencil against a desk while a classroom clock counted down the seconds.
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.
Read MoreRoad to Everywhere Is a Heartfelt Reminder of Human Connection
There is something refreshingly sincere about Road to Everywhere. In an era where so many films seem designed to overwhelm audiences with noise and spectacle, writer-director Michael Shoob's latest takes a quieter approach. It's patient, reflective, and deeply invested in its characters. The result is a heartfelt indie drama with an old-school soul and plenty on its mind.
Read MoreAlley Cats: Ricky Gervais Turns a Pack of Strays Into an Existential Sitcom
Ricky Gervais has spent decades building comedy out of uncomfortable truths, awkward conversations, and characters who say exactly the wrong thing at exactly the right time. Alley Cats takes that formula and filters it through a gang of feral cats roaming the streets, resulting in a strange, frequently hilarious adult animated sitcom that feels like stand-up comedy disguised as a cartoon. At first glance, the premise almost seems too gimmicky.
Read MoreTerrifier Junior: Eli Roth’s Ice Cream Man Is a Sugar-Fueled Bloodbath
For over twenty years, Eli Roth has apparently been trying to get Ice Cream Man made. After watching it, that's easy to believe. This is the kind of movie that sounds too insane for a studio to greenlight: an idyllic small town, a mysterious ice cream vendor, and an army of children driven into a homicidal frenzy after enjoying a frozen treat.
Read MoreCookie Queens Finds the Humanity Behind America’s Most Famous Cookie Sale
Cookie Queens opens with "Cookie Road" by The Julie Ruin blasting over the introduction, immediately establishing the film's playful punk-rock energy. From there, director Alysa Nahmias takes audiences behind one of America's most beloved traditions: Girl Scout Cookie season. What begins as a charming look at four ambitious young girls competing to become top sellers gradually reveals itself as something more thoughtful, a coming-of-age documentary about ambition, family expectations, and the complicated realities of growing up.
Read MoreLate Fame: Kent Jones Finds Beauty in New York's Lost Dreamers
What begins as something resembling Dead Poets Society quickly reveals itself to be something altogether more contemporary: a sharply observed examination of rich kid faux intellectualism, artistic posturing, and the people who confuse proximity to art with the act of creating it. Kent Jones' Late Fame is sweet, smart, funny, and occasionally scathing. Adapted by Samy Burch from Arthur Schnitzler's novella, the film follows Ed Saxberger, a forgotten New York poet whose long-neglected work is suddenly rediscovered by a collective of young creatives calling themselves The Enthusiasm Society.
Read MoreThe Last Picture Shows Captures the Beauty and Fragility of the American Cinema
For some people, going to the movies is entertainment. For others, it is something closer to a ritual. No matter what is playing, stepping into a theater offers a temporary escape from the chaos of everyday life.
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