Horror
Synchronic Seamlessly Turns Paramedics into Time-Traveling Horror Heroes: Beyond Fest Review
The Pitch: Paramedics Dennis (Jamie Dornan) and Steve (Anthony Mackie) work together in the same ambulance and are also longtime best friends. Running the Garden District route in New Orleans, the two run into a string of incidents linked to a new synthetic designer drug, Synchronic, which is having preternatural effects on users. When a one-two punch of personal tragedy afflicts the friends, their lives are thrown into turmoil as they become inextricably linked to the dangerous narcotic. The Best Time Travel Stories Are Not About Time Travel: Time travel in film is usually best used when it’s a plot device but not the coda of the movie. Genre vets Aaron Moorhead and Justin Benson are magicians here, using the script and pacing to nimbly carry us through a science-fiction adventure that tr...
Stephen King Is a Regular at Shirley Jackson’s Hill House
Listen via Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Play | Radio Public | Stitcher | RSS Danse Macabre is a new feature of the series that finds the Losers journeying through all the books that influenced Stephen King. The first episode dials back to 1959 for Shirley Jackson’s iconic Gothic horror novel, The Haunting of Hill House. Join Randall Colburn, Jenn Adams, McKenzie Gerber, and Mel Kassel as they discuss the themes within Jackson’s influential novel, the many, many adaptations available (including Mike Flanagan’s Netflix series), and how it connects to King’s work. Rest assured, they give it the good ol’ fashioned Losers’ Club book review. Chapters include: Intro (:35), The Stacks (5:00), The Guests and Ghosts (35:00), The Macabre (1:...
Neil Marshall’s The Reckoning Is as Bleak as the Dark Times It Depicts: Beyond Fest Review
The Pitch: It’s late 17th century England, and although the plague is no longer running as rampant as it once was, a new pandemic has taken over: witchcraft. The era of scapegoating women for anything and everything is prevalent and the main conflict in The Reckoning. Grace Haverstock’s husband has committed suicide, himself afflicted with the plague, and has left Grace and their newborn daughter to care for their small farm. When she falls behind on rent, her landlord attacks her and suggests she make payment with sexual favors. Grace spurns his advances. With his fragile male ego damaged, he accuses her of witchcraft, and Grace is put into bondage and undergoes a series of physical and psychological torture tactics in an attempt to have her admit her allegiance to the dark arts. <img ...
Supernatural’s Top 15 Episodes
Supernatural could never end. Sure, the show ceases to exist without Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki, but as long as they’re still alive and kickin’ it, the show goes on. Hell, the two stars could be 85 years old, sauntering around with nurses, and you could still find a way to make it work. That’s the power of this series, and also a testament to its seemingly infinite sandbox — the best in the business, come to think of it. None of this is hyperbole. For 15 years, the long-running CW series has run the gamut and back when it comes to world-building. We’ve seen Sam and Dean Winchester ascend to heaven, discover other worlds than these, join the Scooby gang, play themselves, attend Supernatural fan conventions, and flip through channels. At some point, the depths of hell become so common...
John Carpenter’s Halloween Is Year-Round Comfort Horror
Listen via Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Play | Stitcher | RSS “It’s Halloween; everyone’s entitled to one good scare.” T’is the season to get spooky and what better way to do it than with John Carpenter’s slasher classic, Halloween. Join Jenn, Lara, and Mike along with special guest Michael Roffman to talk about why we love returning to Haddonfield year after year and the enduring power of The Shape. Together, we share our first watching experiences, break down our favorite scenes, and compare and contrast the many sequels and adaptations. We’ll workshop ideas for our horror themed workout videos and discuss why Dr. Loomis may just be the worst psychiatrist in film history. As always, we’ll close by sharing our current grounding and s...
A24’s Saint Maud Is A Captivating Debut Full of Human and Psychological Terror: Beyond Fest Review
The Pitch: Maud (Morfydd Clark) does palliative care for a private healthcare facility and becomes the maid for Amanda (Jennifer Ehle), a former avant garde dancer and choreographer. Maud has found God following a traumatic event at work, hinted at through flashbacks and haunting visions, and has now taken a pious approach to work that borders on fanaticism. Faced with antagonism from Amanda, Maud slowly spirals more and more into religious fueled actions and experiences — talked to and touched by God — that will lead to a string of actions that have an irreversible impact and her and those around her. This Cast and Crew Are Doing the Lord’s Work: British writer and director Rose Glass boldly shows off her chops and gives viewers a lot to appreciate and more importantly a lot to look forwa...
Netflix’s The Haunting of Bly Manor Is a Breathtaking, Ghostly Love Story: Review
The Pitch: It’s hard to imagine bigger shoes to fill for Mike Flanagan’s The Haunting of Bly Manor. 2018’s The Haunting of Hill House set a high bar with its deft mixture of emotion and terror. When it was announced that he would be adapting Henry James’s The Turn of the Screw in a similar style, the inevitable question became, “Could he recapture the same magic?” He does, mostly. Bly Manor is a moving examination of relationships that explores the ways humans hurt and heal each other, told from the perspective of ghosts and those they leave behind. In other words, with Bly Manor, Flanagan has created a breathtaking haunted love story. The Great Good Place: James’ Victorian novel tells the story of an unnamed Governess who accepts a position minding young Miles and Flora. Flanagan ta...
Supernatural’s 15 Greatest Needle Drops
Like the Winchesters, rock ‘n’ roll never dies on Supernatural. The titans of ’70s FM radio are the fuel — or grace, if we’re staying on brand — of the long-running CW series. Kansas, Skynyrd, Seger, and countless classic rock superstars have all scored Sam and Dean’s adventures for 15 seasons. Hell, their songs are often even the names of the episodes. No, classic rock is a part of the show’s DNA, and that DNA largely belongs to series creator Eric Kripke. As he explained way, way back in 2007, “All of my friends call me ‘Old Man Kripke’ because I don’t listen to a band past 1980. That’s why Dean’s music always wins out because I hate so much modern music that I can’t bear to listen to it in the editing room.” In other words, driver picks the music, shotgun shuts his cakehole, right? That...
The Witches Heading to HBO Max Before Halloween
Robert Zemeckis’ re-imagining of Roald Dahl’s The Witches is heading to HBO Max. The potential Warner Bros. blockbuster was originally slated for theatrical release on October 9th, but will now bow on the streaming service on October 22nd. “The Witches is a wonderful reimagining of Roald Dahl’s timeless tale that combines world-class filmmaking with fantastic performances. It’s fun for the whole family and ideal for this time of year,” said Toby Emmerich, Chairman, Warner Bros. Pictures Group. “This film, with its stellar cast, is outstanding,” said Casey Bloys, Chief Content Officer for HBO and HBO Max. “We are thrilled to be able to use our platform to deliver timely, relevant and engaging new content during this time when the theatrical experience is not available to everyone.” The...
Creep Director Patrick Brice Records Full Commentary Track for David Lynch’s Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me
David Lynch is not an easy nut to crack. The auteur has long preferred to keep things close to the chest, leaving fans and followers to fend for themselves in his proverbial forests. The latest soul to venture out of Lynch’s Red Room is filmmaker Patrick Brice, who has recorded a full-length commentary track on Lynch’s Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me. Brice is no stranger to creating strange and wonderful worlds. As the writer and filmmaker behind both Creep and The Overnight, he knows a thing or two about getting under people’s skin. So, hearing him dissect Lynch’s labyrinthine feature is nothing short of a delight. He also gets truly personal as he weighs in on how the film changed his career. It’s all part of Paul Davidson’s new podcast series The Side Track, which offers commentary track...
Blumhouse’s ‘The Craft’ remake heading straight to VOD on Amazon
School may be out for a theatrical release of Blumhouse’s remake of The Craft. The teen horror fantasy remake written, directed, and produced by Zoe Lister Jonesis headed straight to video-on-demand on Amazon this October, according to a new press release of incoming Prime Video titles. Just in time for Halloween. The Craft remake release has been set for Amazon Prime Video on October 27, 2020, four days before Halloween. An Amazon Prime Video press release reveals that The Craft will make its VOD premiere on the platform for rental or purchase. Here is the description of The Craft‘s Amazon premiere date: The Craft (2020), a remake of the 1996 film of the same name, follows a group of high school students that form a coven of witches. Available to buy or rent October 27. We haven’t heard m...
The Criterion Channel Has the Best Halloween 2020 Lineup
If you couldn’t tell, Halloween is a big deal when it comes to streaming. Netflix, Hulu, Shudder, and AMC are all offering countless tricks and treats for the month of October. Joining them is The Criterion Channel, and they may be a cut above the rest. As Bloody Disgusting reports, the prestigious channel is dialing things back to the ’70s for October 2020, dropping 29 vintage titles that prove horror looked better in bell bottoms and sequins. It’s a pristine lineup that would impress the likes of Joe Bob Briggs. “In the 1970s, everything was wilder, weirder, and more far-out—and horror movies were no exception,” Criterion announced in a statement. “This tour through the 1970s nightmare realm is a veritable blood feast of perverse pleasures from a time when gore, grime, and sleaze found a...
