Grace is a young woman who ventures back to her childhood hometown after her father has died and her brother has gone missing. And of course we quickly find out that there’s a reason she left the place, because her late father was an abusive asshole. Good riddance. Grace has been estranged from her family for a very long time, living her life and pursuing her career in a completely different place, but now she returns mainly because of her brother, who was the only person who stood up for her when they were kids.
Once arriving in her old hometown, where everything kind of has the look of decay and rot, she notices missing people posters everywhere. She finds out that one of her old teachers are driving some people up to the wilderness, and after asking around she discovers that her brother apparently went there too to get away from the city life (and their father who was then still alive). There’s supposed to be some kind of hidden commune up there somewhere, but it’s not going to be easy finding it on your own. With the help of her former teacher she ventures deep into the wilderness to find her lost brother, and lo and behold – ends up getting lost herself. Now she must struggle to stay alive, and of course there’s something dangerous and dark hidden between all that beautiful nature.
The Banished is an Australian folk-horror movie from 2024, written and directed by Joseph Sims-Dennett. And yes, it’s another trauma-fueled story which has been all the rage for the last decade or so. Rarely do we get horror movies these days where trauma isn’t a major factor in the storytelling. Here we get the trauma bits interwoven with a missing people mystery, some possible dark secrets of a secluded community, and hints of something supernatural. Mostly, though, it’s about being lost in the woods. While it comes off as a bit slow, I enjoyed the creepiness of the wilderness and the mystery behind the hidden commune and the people venturing there. There’s a constant eerie atmosphere, and the isolation feels real and claustrophobic. Nothing bad to say about the actors, either, where Meg Eloise-Clarke delivers a strong lead performance.
What I appreciated the most in this movie, though, was the actual feeling of true isolation in the wilderness, and the slight psychedelic vibe throughout a large part of it. Perhaps being less ambiguous and dropping the non-linear storytelling format would have served the narrative better, but overall I think The Banished is a pretty nice watch if you’re in for something slow and eerie with an isolated forest setting.
If you’re in for more lost-in-the-woods horror of the slower kind, maybe also give Lovely, Dark and Deep from 2023 a watch.
Writer and director: Joseph Sims-Dennett Country & year: Australia, 2024 Actors: Meg Eloise-Clarke, Gautier de Fontaine, David Beelen, Steve Brekalow, Hayley Buckley, Taylor Buoro, Leighton Cardno, David Charlie, Adrian D’Arcy IMDb:https://www.imdb.com/title/tt33050521/
―There have been films about earthquakes, airplane disasters and blazing infernos… but there has never been anything like THE DEVIL’S RAIN! … or nothing like this fluffy, silly Satanic horror movie that only could have come out from the mid ’70s. Horns up!
Just to make no mistake what subject matter we’re getting ourselves into, the film opens with tasty hell paintings by Bosch over the intro credits. We then get thrown right into, yes you guessed it, a rainstorm where Mark Preston (William Shatner) is looking for his father. After he gets home to his mother Emma and some other old guy named John, his father, Steve, suddenly shows up outside the house, looking like a melted hobo freak from Tromaville. Steve has escaped from the Satanic cult leader Jonathan Corbis to warn the Preston family about a mysterious book, which Corbis expect to be delivered to him at a place called Redstone. Steve mumbles “In nomine Satanas“ before he melts away to a small puddle in front of Mark and his wife.
We learn that the Prestons have hidden a Satanic Bible for generations, and now they order Mark to just give it to Corbis. Nah! Instead, he loads his gun and gets ready to hunt down this Corbis guy to blow his brains out, because who wouldn’t. If it was that simple. A voodoo doll is nailed to the steering wheel on his truck. Uh-oh. Mark then hears screaming from the house where he finds John hanging upside-down with a bloody face. The house has also been completely trashed, as if a tornado of poltergeists had swarmed by. Emma is gone and seems to have been kidnapped by Corbis’s cult. All this happens in just a seconds. Talk about some vulgar display of power. Eleven minutes in and the film is already all over the place. Mark finally takes the roadtrip to Redstone which looks like an abandoned old ghost town and maybe an old set for a western movie. After Mark eventually gets captured by the Satanic cult, we then switches over to Mark’s brother Tom (Tom Skerritt) and his wife Julie who’s a psychic of some sort. She can see into the past, or something like that. Tom get the news that his brother is missing and the search begins in the Mexican desert. Good luck and remember to drink a plenty of water.
According to the original poster for The Devil’s Rain, it can promise us “Absolutely the most incredible ending of any motion picture ever!” Yes, with an exclamation point. No clickbait bullshit, because hear this: the last five minutes or so has more gooey and grotesque melting body horror than The Incredible Melting Man (1977) and Body Melt (1993) combined. Not too shabby for a half-obscure ’70s low-budget horror. And look out for John Travolta’s very first screen presence, which he’s not much proud of as he only remembers it as a terrible movie. Travolta has been in way, way, waaay worse movies than this, and that’s a fact. Then we have the actual Mister Satanist himself, Anton LaVey, the founder of the Church of Satan who worked as technical advisor on the film and had a small cameo as the The High Priest. The chanting we hear from the Corbis cult are words from The Satanic Bible, yes the one and only that LaVey wrote and published in 1967. And with that being said, Ernest Borgnine, who plays the cult leader, would never be in a film that deals with devils and satanism again after the film was plagued with “eerie incidents and accidents“. That’s a shame, since he seemed to be having a ball playing the over-the-top demonic cartoonish villain with the most evil psychotic grin that only Kenneth Copeland could match. His presence in full demonic form is nothing but mesmerizing where he looks like a mix of Ron Perlman from Hellboy and the Beast from Beauty and the Beast. Delightful stuff!
But the one that didn’t smile in the slightest, was director Robert Fuest, who was on the brink of a nervous breakdown while filming somewhere in bumfuck nowhere in a dusty hellhole in Mexico with very limited resources. Rumors say that the film was financed with mafia money and several actors didn’t get paid, including Ernest Borgnine. A chaotic shitshow, in other words. After a disastrous theatrical release which garnered mostly negative reviews and earned a spot on Roger Ebert’s “Most Hated“ movies list, Fuest was reduced to spending the rest of his film career on obscure TV shows and even more obscure TV movies. It wasn’t until 1982 that he got his final theatrical release, which was the Greek soft porn Aphrodite. Showbiz…what can you say. Leaving on that note, The Devil’s Rain may sound like one of the worst movies ever made. I wouldn’t say it’s even close. It’s a flawed incoherent mess for sure, but an entertaining incoherent mess with some solid production values, vibrant look, a nice n’ eerie vibe, a cool-looking villain and, a glimpse of the origin of the iconic Michael Myer’s mask… and, of course, lots of melting satanists. The only thing missing is a nude woman ready to be sacrificed on an altar, but oh well, not everyone can be Nude for Satan, I guess.
Director: Robert Fuest Writers: Gabe Essoe, James Ashton, Gerald Hopman Country & year: Mexico/USA, 1975 Actors: Ernest Borgnine, Eddie Albert, Ida Lupino, William Shatner, Keenan Wynn, Tom Skerritt, Joan Prather, Woodrow Chambliss, John Travolta, Claudio Brook, Lisa Todd, Anton LaVey IMDb:https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0072869/
Yeah, you’ve probably already heard the flying monkeys yelling from the rooftops that this is the worst horror movie of the year because Obsession is a masterpiece. Bollox. But if that’s so, then I guess all horror movies have already sucked since 1973 after The Exorcist. Someone said it best: Not all horror movies need to be the best horror movie ever, or the scariest movie since the scariest movie. Sometimes it’s OK to just be good, or just OK to be OK, like enjoying a quick fat cheeseburger.
Passenger is basically a haunted house movie on wheels where we follow the young lovebirds Tyler and Maddie from Brooklyn as they set out for a six-week road trip across the USA in a nomad van, protected with a Saint Christopher necklace and a Bob Ross bobblehead on the dash. “No mistakes, just happy accidents“, as he famously said. We all love Bob Ross, but to be more safe than sorry, they should also add bobbleheads of Ed and Lorraine, and maybe Bob Larson, you know, just to be sure.
Their relationship gets put to the test when they hit some, well, bumps in the night, pun intended. Because there’s one golden rule for road nomads to follow: If you must drive at night, don’t ever stop, if the road is haunted/cursed. And you better know what the hobo codes mean. If the morbid curiosity wouldn’t first get the best of me, I’d also stay away from Clinton Road. A specific country road is more haunted than others, where our love couple stops by (Uh-oh) an ugly car accident (that we see in the opening) where they instantly get attached to a curse of a demonic, ghoulish old geezer known as, yes, you guessed it: The Passenger. To make it more obvious and not subtle at all, their van gets marked with three scratches. Maddie is the first one to see visions and gets her head fucked with, while her boyfriend has a hard time believing her. Pretty much the same set up like in every episode of A Haunting. But instead of being isolated in some house, they’re isolated on rural country roads where there’s hardly any street lights. And I think I would prefer a haunted house on wheels over a deep house.
And, of course, like any curse, we eventually have to pick up the pieces to solve the puzzle before losing grip on reality. To be on the safer side, they stack up the whole van of all the Saint Christopher necklaces they can buy, to hopefully “beat the devil out of it“.
Even though Passenger doesn’t reinvent the wheel, no pun intended, André Øvredal showcases that he still manages to make the woods look haunting with some creative use of lights, like he did back in the Troll Hunter days. A scene that sticks out is when a film projector gets used as a flashlight, and an eerie liminal space sequence at an empty parking lot. Moments like this, where the film gets more room to breathe and lets the atmosphere sink in while the imagination goes rampant, are the strongest part. A fun nod to The Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983) at the beginning as well. And yes, the bag of clichés is unfortunately not left home in Brooklyn, where you have some of the typical lame straight-forward jumpscares with loud boom-sound. And it has to be said that getting pulled from the ground into darkness while screaming at the camera just makes me eye-roll. The demonic entity could also have been explored more.
That said, Passenger is overall an enjoyable flick, with some inventive scares, grim woodsy atmosphere spiced with vibrant, stylish flair. It’s far from Øvredal’s scariest film, as he himself claims, but it’s surely a big step up after his previous one, The Last Voyage of the Demeter (2023). Now that he’s back on track again, and found his way back to the campfire, I hope for More Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark.
Director: André Øvredal Writers: Zachary Donohue, T.W. Burgess Country & year: USA, 2026 Actors: Jacob Scipio, Lou Llobell, Melissa Leo, Joseph Lopez, Miles Fowler, Alan Trong, Devielle Johnson IMDb:https://www.imdb.com/title/tt33763941/
On an isolated farm somewhere in Texas, Thomas (“Tommy“) Graham lives with his alcoholic father Josiah. Tommy is a man with intellectual disability, and his father Josiah…well, let’s just say he doesn’t seem to be the best company for Tommy. Between emptying one bottle of whisky after the other, Josiah rambles on about all kinds of things, including when he saw a leprechaun farting a rainbow of of his ass. Josiah has seen quite some things, it seems. But this story isn’t about something as jolly as rainbow-farting leprechauns, as you might’ve guessed. The Graham farm has a dark and troubled past, and we get a flashback story to how Josiah’s wife Miriam hanged herself from a tree in the garden while Tommy and his two siblings were still young. And speaking of his siblings…they’re not faring too well off either.
Tommy’s brother and sister are Eli and Mary, who are twin siblings. They have long since left the farm, and have more than enough troubles to deal with. Eli is a drug addict, gambler, and you can add sex offender to the list. Scumbag, in other words. Mary is struggling with trauma and tries to live a normal life wanting a child of her own…which is a problem since she decided to have a tubal ligation operation 20 years back. When she was young she was convinced she wouldn’t want to become a mother, but now there’s a total u-turn for that…because her apparently wrecked marriage and the feeling of emptiness inside will be totally fixed if they can just have a baby, right..? Pfft. Then, when the three siblings all receive a letter from an oil company wanting to buy the farm and the land around it for oil drilling, it sounds like an opportunity that’s very hard to say no to. Except Eli and Mary now have to return to the place…and face the horrors from their past.
What Josiah Saw is a Southern Gothic psychological horror drama film from 2021, written by Robert Alan Dilts and directed by Vincent Grashaw in his directorial debut. While this movie is mostly a psychological drama, the horror elements are more than present enough. I really liked the bleak, dark atmosphere that remained like a blanket over the entire movie, even in the segments that took quite different turns than I imagined.
Now, they say all families have their issues. And that’s no doubt true, but some have far more serious issues than others. In this twisted family drama there are past trauma and horrific acts committed, all presented in chapters where each one focuses on each of the siblings. When we start off with Tommy, there’s that oppressive and dark vibe already from the very start, sprinkled with some supernatural elements. When coming into Eli’s segment, though, there’s a very big tonal shift and we’re suddenly in a drug-drama with child-napping gypsies. Not…exactly what I expected. It all still connects and blends with the rest, and in order to fuel the story and climax it was pretty much needed to spend some time with each of the characters. They all have committed sins of the past and have had sins committed against them, and it all unravels towards the end.
There are some twists in this movie that can be figured out very early on if you pay enough attention to certain details, especially in one of the early scenes with Tommy. This didn’t ruin anything, though, as there’s more than enough mystery surrounding the three siblings and their past, and why things turned out the way it did and what Josiah actually saw. It also reminded me a little of another family farm horror movie from 2020, called The Dark and the Wicked. That one is pure supernatural horror very much throughout so they’re not all that similar in story, but it has some of that same vibe and atmosphere of an isolated and worn farmhouse and family drama coming to the surface.
What Josiah Saw is kind of a trauma film with more focus on the family drama than any supernatural stuff, and these kinds of movies are often a bit hit or miss with me. I really think the horror elements worked well here, though, bleak and gritty with a tense slow-burn and dark atmosphere. Not the kind of movie you put on when you want to have a fun popcorn type of time, but for those days when you want something a little gloomy.
Director: Vincent Grashaw Writer: Robert Alan Dilts Country & year: USA, 2021 Actors: Robert Patrick, Nick Stahl, Scott Haze, Kelli Garner, Tony Hale, Jake Weber, Ronnie Gene Blevins, Troy Powell, Louanne Stephens, Winston James Francis, Billy Blair, Anthony Gaudioso, Dana Namerode IMDb:https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3097396/
Ohm Bauman is sitting at home, sipping whiskey and writing the epilogue of his latest novel. It’s not going to end on a happy note, and we also realize that Ohm is a miserably guy (as if sitting there and sipping whiskey while writing the bleakest ending he could probably come up with wasn’t proof enough of that), but it appears he’s also haunted. Whether by actual ghosts or memories…who knows. But we see him glimpse his mother on the staircase, something that triggers him into packing his bags and going all the way to rural Ireland, to visit The Bilberry Woods Hotel. This was the place where his parents had been on their honeymoon, and he’s keeping a photo of his mother who is standing nearby a large tree, where she’s smiling from ear to ear and looks as happy as can be. Quite the contrast to her gloomy son, but there’s of course a reason for this. There always is.
Once arriving at the hotel, we do notice that Ohm is…kind of a dick. He’s dismissive and mean towards nearly everyone he meets, with perhaps the exception of the no-bullshit bartender Fiona whom he shows the photo to and asks if she knows where the tree is located. She does, of course. Once he’s there, he spreads his parents ashes, carefully placing his mother’s around the tree’s roots, while emptying the container of his father’s ashes the same way you shake the last few drops from a can of beer you’re about to discard. Sometimes a small scene like that tells you a lot more than words can do.
Close by, he meets the groundskeeper Jerry, who lives in his van and drinks milk mixed with magic mushrooms. Probably a fun guy to be around, and seemingly a very kindhearted dude. Once Ohm gets back to the hotel, he gets as shitfaced as possible at the bar, and gets in talk with Fiona again and the bellhop Alby, where they tell him about the closed off honeymoon suite that’s supposedly haunted by a witch that the hotel owner once trapped inside. To this, Ohm’s simple reply is “hokum“! He doesn’t believe a single word they say, and thinks of it all as nonsense (and yes, hokum means nonsense). Despite Ohm’s original plans for the stay at the hotel, though, he is soon to find out that there’s less “hokum“ to the story than he’d expected…
Hokum is a supernatural horror film, written and directed by Damian Mc Carthy in his third feature length film. We have already reviewed his earlier films Caveat (2020) and Oddity (2024), and ever since watching those two we have been looking forward to Mc Carthy’s next entry into the horror field. This is the first movie of his that we’ve been able to view at the theater, and it was a great experience to watch a spookfest like this at the big screen!
Just like his two previous films, it’s filled with thick atmosphere and a constant eerie vibe. While there are a few jump-scares, the movie doesn’t rely on them in the slightest. The setting, locations and scenery are all spot-on when it comes to creating such a moody, isolated and foreboding place ideal for a horror story like this. I so, so much prefer these old-fashioned spooky places over any modern-looking place. I also think Mc Carthy nails the feeling of isolation in the places he use in his films.
Adam Scott is doing a solid performance as the alcoholic, depressed and unlikable Ohm. It just goes to show that you don’t always need a charismatic and likable protagonist. He’s a jerk but we still want to root for him. And yes, of course he’s got a backpack of trauma and childhood shit to drag alongside with him, and even though this doesn’t explain or excuse his behavior in the slightest, we do at least get a bit of sympathy for him. There is also a little bitty redemption arc in store for him, and no, that still doesn’t make him a good or likable guy but we don’t always need a character to be that in order to deliver a good story. And speaking of story, this one has a lot more of it than Caveat and Oddity. While the previous ones relied a lot more on atmosphere and slow build, this one presents several mysteries between it all, adding more layers to the narrative.
It has also become apparent that Mc Carthy’s got a thing for rabbits, and in Hokum there’s a rabbit man/entity (which I first actually believed to be the witch upon seeing the trailer), having a very small yet not insignificant role. We only see this creature in a few scenes, mostly during what appears to be some kind of children’s TV show, and while the significance is never fully explained it’s not hard to get the underlying meaning of it once you learn more about Ohm’s past. Gotta give props to the design of this rabbit-man thing, it looks menacing as hell! Speaking of creepy-looking creatures, I also have to say the witch in the movie is also pure nightmare fuel. Some of the scenes involving her are terrifying, especially the early ones where we only see glimpses of her in the dark. I know for a fact that had I seen this movie in my less desensitized days, sleep would have been less comfortable for at least a few nights to come…
Hokum is a horror movie that makes us even more excited to see what Mc Carthy will brew next! According to an article at Dread Central, he’s mentioned that For my next film, I definitely want to make the ultimate haunted house movie which is a statement that I (not gonna lie) hypes me up a bit. He also stated that I really feel like if I was to make another horror film, I think I’d really nail it, although personally I think he very much “nailed it” with Hokum. Already looking so much forward to what comes next from this director.
Writer and director: Damian Mc Carthy Country & year: Ireland/United Arab Emirates, 2026 Actors: Adam Scott, Mallory Adams, David Wilmot, Michael Patric, Will O’Connell, Brendan Conroy, Peter Coonan, Florence Ordesh, Sioux Carroll IMDb:https://www.imdb.com/title/tt35672862/
We’re somewhere in Poland in 1957, where a priest enters a church with a baby that bears a unique scar. He’s not there to drop the baby off for some nuns to take care of, though, he proceeds to try killing the infant. Fortunately for the baby, the Milicja (the Polish militia) enters the place and shoots the priest dead.
Fast forward to thirty years later, we meet another priest: Father Marek. He arrives at a Polish monastery where women are brought in to undergo an exorcism. He’s vetted and checked before entering the place, but when he starts unpacking in his room we see that the suitcase he’s brought with him has a concealed compartment where he’s hidden a gun, a flashlight, and some other stuff. Seems like he’s come prepared…but for what? We’ll find out.
Marek is then taken to a room where they’re performing an exorcism on a woman. All kinds of textbook-exorcism stuff go on in there, with a cross suddenly starting to burn, a shaking bed, and the usual demonic shenanigans. When Marek investigates the room later, he discovers that things are not exactly what they might seem at first glance, though. Marek’s mission at the place is, in fact, to investigate some cases of many missing local women which he believes has something to do with this place. And things are certainly happening in this dark, foreboding hellhole where everything looks rotten, and the food being served is so horribly foul and nasty that it looks even more biohazardous than the fridge contents in Resident Evil 8.
Hellhole (original title: Ostatnia wieczerza, which literally means Last Supper) is a Polish horror film from 2022, written by Mirella Zaradkiewicz and directed by Bartosz M. Kowalski. It is available on Netflix as one of the Netflix originals. It was filmed in Lubiaz, Poland.
Starting off, this movie doesn’t offer too much new to the typical demonic/possession genre, but it’s atmospheric and creepy, much aided by the setting and visuals. It’s very mystery-fueled for the most part of the film, where you follow Marek as he keeps investigating the place and finds the one ominous thing after the other. And poor Marek pretty much finds himself in Hell already, with no means of actually leaving the place and being served the worst meals possible. Yes, those nasty meals have a deeper meaning, of course.
While we follow Marek on his investigative routes (and in between him violently vomiting for obvious reasons) it all becomes a little muddled with a mix of him finding apparent hoax effects that the monks use during the “exorcisms“, to him experiencing some really weird supernatural devilry. It never manages to elevate the atmosphere and creepy settings to some real scares, though, and it’s definitely a little slow at times, but it does gradually reveal bits and pieces along the ride which is pretty much what I crave and expect from mystery-based stories: just give us a few nuggets here and there and keep us wondering for a while still. Then…we get towards the final part of the movie, and oh boy, things certainly take a different turn! In some ways, it reminded me a little of how the buildup was presented in They’re Watching, even though those movies have very little in common otherwise. I’m talking about the somewhat “generic“ start which later presents you with something totally bonkers. Hellhole is one of those movies that saves the best parts for last, and there’s even a scene where it all also turned unexpectedly comedic. This certainly wasn’t a movie I expected to get some good laughs from.
With all of the above being said, Hellhole is for the most part a creepy, mystery-based horror film. If you want something with a sinister atmosphere, with some twists and turns and a fun finale thrown into that mix, then give Hellhole a watch!
Director: Bartosz M. Kowalski Writers: Bartosz M. Kowalski, Mirella Zaradkiewicz Original title: Ostatnia wieczerza Country & year: Poland, 2022 Actors: Piotr Zurawski, Olaf Lubaszenko, Sebastian Stankiewicz, Lech Dyblik, Rafal Iwaniuk, Krzysztof Satala, Malwina Dubowska, Zbigniew Walerys, Antoni Augustyniak IMDb:https://www.imdb.com/title/tt19724142/
The movie opens with an eerie scene of a naked man drowning himself in the marsh. For what reason, and who he was, we have absolutely no idea…at least not yet. Then we head over to our protagonist, Laura. She’s a woman troubled with trauma and who is trying to handle this in the worst ways possible of course: by drugging the pain away. Yup, that’s always such a splendid solution and never make things ten times worse! While she’s overdosing in her own bathroom, something inexplicable happens causing her to survive. With most of her life having already gone to shit, including her job and what was originally a good relationship with her boss, she decides to confront her childhood demons once and for all. Laura packs up and leaves to return to her childhood home in a village where everyone seems to keep a resentment towards her for having left the place. Well, they can all go fuck themselves, who cares what they think. But Laura soon finds herself in a position where it’s not only the broken relationship with her mother that’s the only problem…and why does it look like her mother has barely aged at all since she left all those years ago?
Matriarch is a folk horror film from 2022, written and directed by Ben Steiner. It was released on Hulu and Disney+. While we’ve had more than our fair share of trauma-centered movies in the horror genre during the last two decades or so, many of them try to depict the protagonist in as much of a sympathy-inducing manner as possible. In this movie, however, our protagonist Laura comes off as such a miserable and messy character, with a demeanor that’s hard to fully sympathize with. Yes, she had a bad childhood and all kudos to her for escaping the hellhole she came from and starting a new life…but instead of at least trying to get her act together, she’s self-sabotaging in the worst ways possible, while antagonizing every kind person around her who’s actually trying to help. She’s a maladaptive mess. And then we get to meet the mother, or the matriarch if you will, and while you kind of get why Laura has become such a fuck-up to begin with they ultimately both end up being unlikable characters, despite obviously rooting for Laura in all of this as she’s the obvious victim here. But victims can sometimes be assholes too. There’s no mystery regarding the mother though, it’s apparent from the get-go that she’s an evil bitch who starts drugging her daughter already on the first night for some purpose we get to know much later in the movie.
The town itself appears like the type of forgotten village where all the young people are long gone to better and more populated places, while the only remaining ones are the binge-drinking types that keeps the only local pub well alive while all the rest goes to shit. And while that comparison may not be all that far from the truth, it becomes obvious early on that it’s not just Laura’s mother who is plotting something sinister, everyone in the little town appears to be keeping some kind of dark secret. While the story here is very much a slow burner with more focus on family drama at first, there’s always an underlying tone of something brooding, some supernatural mystery that gets slowly revealed. The atmosphere is pretty decent, and helps elevate the movie.
While not great, I think that Matriarch is a pretty decent folk-horror slowburner, with some disturbing elements and an unexpected bonkers finale. If you like folk horror movies and already have a subscription to Disney+/ Hulu, I recommend giving it a watch!
Writer & Director: Ben Steiner Country & year: USA, 2022 Actors: Jemima Rooper, Kate Dickie, Sarah Paul, Simon Meacock, Nick Haverson, Andrew Akins, Mandy Aldridge, Nini Anamah, Samantha Arnold, Franc Ashman IMDb:https://www.imdb.com/title/tt17202326/
Greg, Alex and Sarah are a film crew running a popular home-improvement television series. This time they’re going to visit Becky, an American woman who has moved to a remote village in Moldova and bought a very old and rundown house with her husband, and turned the place into something out of a fairytale. As the crew meets up with their bitchy producer Kate and a cheerful Moldovian businessman named Vladimir, they first get some footage of the town. Like the disrespectful tourists they are, they even try to sneak into a funeral and film it, causing an angry crowd and a police officers that treats them a lot more mildly than they deserved.
Oh well, the show and the filming continues over the next few days, as they experience hostile locals and some really weird behavior from some of them. Vladimir, letting the crew know a little bit more about the village’s history and folklore, tells them about a plague that struck the place several generations previously, where a woman who lived in the outskirts of the town was accused for being a witch and causing said plague. She was, like so many people accused of witchcraft of course, burned alive. And the house this witch used to live in? Yeah, yeah, you already guessed it. Of course it is the same place that Becky and her husband bought and renovated into their dream home. When they visit Becky, they really see that she and her husband has turned the place into quite the cozy home indeed. The husband is away at the moment, so Becky is all alone. Well, not anymore now that the crew has arrived, of course. But things start happening. The locals act more and more weird. Animals act weird. Even Becky acts weird…
They’re Watching is a found footage horror film from 2016, written and directed by Jay Lender and Micah Wright. While many found footage movies suffers a bit from overused and generic locations (with forests being the most worn-out locations of them all), this movie did at least spice it up a bit with more interesting filming areas, as it’s filmed in Romania. Before heading over to the more generic forest/cabin-in-the-woods stuff, we get to see some villages, cobbled streets, locals, and even a restaurant scene where the actors are actually playing the instruments and the audio was recorded live. Fun!
The characters are fine enough, with most of them being a bit douchy and unlikable, with the producer Kate being so overly bitchy and mean it becomes comedic. Vladimir, the somewhat cheesy businessman, is the only character that actually comes off as likable. As far as kill counts and blood ‘n gore goes, there isn’t that much of it until much later in the movie. There is one that’s visceral enough to stand out, but other than that it’s mostly a rather slow journey that focuses more on the mystery about the place and the witch lore. There’s always a certain comedic tone underneath which helps to hold up the entertainment value, plus a few twists and turns here and there…but gosh darn, that ending! It honestly made the entire movie, turning it all into one of the most bonkers finales I’ve seen in a found footage horror movie. Maybe that wild craziness shouldn’t come as that much of a surprise considering that the director-duo previously made things like Spongebob Squarepants and Phineas and Ferb episodes…
They’re Watching is a found footage horror movie that doesn’t really stick that much out from the rest, until you get to the final part. Well worth checking out for those who like the found footage genre, with an insane climax!
Writers and directors: Jay Lender, Micah Wright Country & year: USA/Romania, 2016 Actors: Brigid Brannagh, David Alpay, Kris Lemche, Carrie Genzel, Mia Marcon, Dimitri Diatchenko, Cristian Balint, Mircea Constantinescu, Cici Caraman IMDb:https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3096858/
We are in the 18th century, somewhere in Eastern Europe. Jacques Saturnin du Antoine is a French Marquis who is wandering through the woods after having lost his horse and companions after a robbery. He tries to seek shelter at the first house he sees, but the man there advises him that he should go to the house of a man named Gorcha. When arriving there, he finds that this man has left in order to fight and exact revenge upon the Turks. His family recounts that after leaving, he made it very clear that if he does not return within six days, it would be because he’d died fighting. And if he would, indeed, return after those six days has passed, they should not under any circumstances let him in, as he would then have become a “vourdalak“. Gorcha’s son, Jegor, scoffs of such superstition and is eagerly awaiting his father’s return, making Jacques having to wait until the next day before he can get him a horse. In the meantime, Jacques very soon finds himself seduced by Gorcha’s unmarried daughter Sdenka.
Then, later that evening, six days have now passed since Gorcha left. And that’s when he is suddenly spotted lying like a mummified corpse at the edge of the forest. For all means and purposes, he literally looks like the dead husk of a man…but then he starts speaking after being placed at the dinner table. He throws the severed head of the Turks’ leader on the table, telling everyone that he finally murdered him and was able to fulfill his quest. Alright, all’s good and well then, right? Let’s enjoy some food and celebrate! Except…Jacques, of course, sits by the table in both shock and horror. This thing that is Gorcha, head of this family, looks like a living corpse, and Jegor seems to be the only one who can’t see how messed up it all is. Even the dog can’t stop barking (ensuing the poor doggie’s fate, of course). As if the appearance of Gorcha wasn’t terrifying enough, the incidents of the night and following day makes it evident that they should have heeded Gorcha’s warnings before he left.
The Vourdalak (original title: Le Vourdalak) is a French drama-horror film from 2023, shot on Super 16mm, directed by Adrien Beau in his feature film debut. It was co-written with Hadrien Bouvier, and based on an 1830 novella called The Family of the Vourdalak by Aleksey Konstantinovich Tolstoy. The movie explores some less traditional vampire lore, specifically that of the creatures called “Vourdalaks“, which are very alike vampires in many ways but differs in how it chooses its victims. While the traditional vampires would target anyone they could get their fangs on, the Vourdalak only preyed upon the people it once loved and cared for. It that sense, I think it makes the Vourdalak even more terrifying than the regular vampire…
Now, let’s talk a little about the actual Vourdalak in this movie…and I seriously was not prepared for this, but it’s actually a life-sized puppet. Yes, a puppet…not an actor in make-up or CGI, but a good old-fashioned puppet. It was so incredibly odd and fascinating to watch, so clearly not alive yet so incredibly animated and lively, being almost mockingly jolly despite its gaunt hideousness. And I totally loved it! There’s such a creepy-cute ghoulishness to it, and of course no ghoul at heart can resist such a thing. We both laughed at and admired its quirkiness!
There is a certain fantasy-nightmare-vibe throughout the movie, where our noble Frenchman wanders around a misty and gloomy forest and an even more gloomy and dark house. His character is a bit of an oddball too, reminding me a little bit of Ichabod Crane. He’s really not in his right element here, where the family of Gorcha are all hard-working peasants toiling away all day, whereas he is all dolled up and looks like he’s not good for much else than powdering his face and doing a dance. Oh, and just like in any of those “people are killed left and right and the heroine is being chased by a monster, but her makeup always stays flawless“ kind of movies, Jacques is certainly fitting well into this trope! His makeup stays fine all the time like he’s got the best setting spray ever. Now, if that sounds wonderful to you, just keep in mind that the cosmetics the French aristocracy used in the 17th and 18th century in order to achieve the pale complexion was one of the most historically dangerous, where common toxic ingredients included mercury and lead…makes your skin itch just thinking about it. Poor Jacques was not only in danger from a vampiric creature, but also from his powder box.
The movie does have a lot of atmosphere, and never ceases to have some kind of beauty hidden within each frame of dark melancholy. The 16mm also helps on giving the film the slightly grainy, gauzy look, perfectly enhancing the mood. Overall, The Vourdalak is a vampire folk horror movie with a different set of fangs, but no less of a bite. The puppetry and practical effects gives the movie an odd and old-fashioned flair which suits the tone so well.
The Vourdalak is available on several streaming sites, and on Blu-Ray and DVD from Oscilloscope Laboratories.
Director: Adrien Beau Writers: Adrien Beau, Hadrien Bouvier Original title: Le Vourdalak Country & year: France, 2023 Actors: Kacey Mottet Klein, Ariane Labed, Grégoire Colin, Vassili Schneider, Claire Duburcq, Gabriel Pavie, Erwan Ribard, Adrien Beau IMDb:www.imdb.com/title/tt28313478/
Bill is a family man who is about to fulfill the dream of his life: moving back to his ancestral family farm in Gudbrandsdalen in Norway. The problem is: he’s pretty much the only one who is very, very excited about this. The teenage daughter Nora feels like her life has fallen apart when being dragged from sunny California and over to cold desolated Norway. Carol, the stepmother, tries to keep an optimistic tone with her life coach visions, but it becomes apparent that she really struggles with keeping the smiles up for Bill’s sake. Lucas, the youngest son, tries to be more enthusiastic though. When exploring their new home and the surrounding area, he discovers something fantastic: there’s something in the barn! It’s a good ol’ classic “fjøsnisse“ as we call them here in Norway, or what a local man tells Lucas is a “barn elf“. These humanoid creatures comes with a set of rules: they hate modern changes, loud noises, and bright lights (feeding them after midnight is okay though, they aren’t gremlins). If you ignore those rules, there will be some horrible consequences, because you really, really do not want to make the barn elf angry!
There’s Something in the Barn is a Norwegian comedy horror film from 2023, directed by Magnus Martens and written by Aleksander Kirkwood Brown.
This is a movie that’s mixed with Norwegian folklore, combined with some comedic elements regarding some of our cultural oddities. And with a good dose of that bad English, of course. That cheesy, broken sing-song English that is the common Norwegian accent! (God, whenever I travel abroad I hate hearing my own voice when I speak English). And most of the Norwegian characters in this movie plays this up a bit, especially Henriette Steenstrup who plays the sheriff, and Calle Hellevang Larsen who plays the local barn-elf expert. And speaking of these so-called “barn elves“: this creature stems from very old Norwegian folklore predating the Christian times. Most of the original lore regarding these creatures have been included in the movie, like how they will become quite mischievous if you do not treat them well, however it was originally mostly enough to give them a big bowl of porridge and they’d be satisfied. They were never known for becoming dangerous, though. If dissatisfied with you, they were believed to do things like making noises to bother you, or let the animals in the barn out during the night. Otherwise, they were generally goodhearted and watched over the farm animals, and were especially friendly with the barn cat which most farmers would have to keep away rodents. However, since the filmmakers were making a gremlins-like horror movie, they did of course have to make the barn elves quite mean, with the exception of the “main“ elf which I guess is like the Gizmo of the movie. And yes, there’s no doubt that there’s a lot of inspiration from, and a homage to, the classic 1984 movie Gremlins which is also a holidays-themed movie.
Much of the humour is aimed at the total cultural differences between Norwegians and Americans, where especially the family father is trying his best to adapt. Both “sides“ are purposefully caricatured, and while I’m certain that there are a lot of the Norwegian references that won’t be properly understood when viewed by those abroad, the humour is still straightforward enough even for those who doesn’t know the slightest about Norway or Norwegian culture. The movie explains some of the things gradually through the eyes of the Americans who just moved there, so we see everything through their experience, and often through the experiences of the boy Lucas who first sees the barn elf. Despite Lucas trying to warn his family (no one believes him, of course) they piss the creature off by breaking the rules one by one. What a shocker. First of all, it’s the “bright lights“ rule when they put up all their Christmas holiday decorations, full-on American style (which means a lot of decorations). Then, in order to get to know their Norwegian neighbours better, they also decide to redecorate the barn and throw a party in there, because who knew: they only way to get a Norwegian out of their cold, hard shell is to get them shitfaced on alcohol! And yes, that’s a little bit too true, and as someone who doesn’t drink alcohol I’ve been frowned upon more than once for this choice, it’s like committing a total blasphemy around here. Well, anyway. All rules have been broken, and the barn elf is now majorly pissed off! There’s only one way to appease him…bringing him a big bowl of porridge. So Lucas, as the goodhearted boy he is, makes some and puts it in the fridge to serve the angry nissemann later…only to discover it has gotten eaten by his father. The only thing Lucas can give the barn elf now are the leftovers from a botched “Norwegian dinner“ attempt from earlier that day: the dish Lutefisk. Which, of course, breaks the final straw for the poor little barn elf and makes all hell break loose. Believe me, you’d be pissed too.
From here on, the movie takes a turn from a rather cozy one to bringing in the horror elements, where we get some kill counts and a bunch of violent and mean barn elves running around and wreaking havoc. It’s still too charming and fun to be scary in any kind of way with the goofy antics of the creatures, including them getting drunk after smashing the living room and having the family trapped in the upstairs bedroom. In between, we do get a little bit of forced family drama just to pack it in with some kind of “rediscovering togetherness during the holidays“ message, but it’s also slightly mocking this cliché a bit. While it’s a little sugar-coatey at times with the family dynamics, it kinda works in a premise like this. Never hated any of the characters, although I did root for the barn elves of course.
Visually, the cinematography offers up the beauty of a snowy winterlandscape, and it is jam-packed with Christmas vibes! Despite being a movie that’s featuring some very typical Norwegian scenery, it’s informed in the film’s trivia that half of it was shot on stages in Lithuania. There was also a limited snowfall during the shooting (so there goes that illusion of how Norway is always fully packed with snow) so they had to bring in snow by truckloads in order to accomplish the vision they needed.
Overall, There’s Something in the Barn is a fun gateway horror movie with a good amount of holiday charm. And as can be expected from such a goofy, lighthearted horror movie, it all ends on a good note despite all the mayhem. And it becomes good to be a nissemann, after all.
Happy Holidays and God Jul! Now remember to put out that bowl of porridge (julegrøt) for the nisse with a good portion of butter in the middle and some cinnamon spread atop! Just don’t serve him any Lutefisk…or you know what will happen.
Director: Magnus Martens Writers: Aleksander Kirkwood Brown, Josh Epstein, Kyle Rideout Country & year: Norway, 2023 Actors: Martin Starr, Amrita Acharia, Kiran Shah, Townes Bunner, Zoe Winther-Hansen, Calle Hellevang Larsen, Henriette Steenstrup, Jeppe Beck Laursen, Eldar Vågan and a horde of angry barn elfs IMDb:https://www.imdb.com/title/tt23060796/
Grace is a young woman who ventures back to her childhood hometown after her father has died and her brother has gone missing. And of course we quickly find out that there’s a reason she left the place, because her late father was an abusive asshole. Good riddance. Grace has been estranged from her family for a very long time, living her life and pursuing her career in a completely different place, but now she returns mainly because of her brother, who was the only person who stood up for her when they were kids.
