Medioh

Don Coscarelli has a way of creating heroes, building protagonists in his films, whether he writes them or not, to a point where there’s no choice but to do battle with forces of evil. Hell, he’s the guy who pit Elvis and a black-dyed JFK against an evil, Mummified spirit. John Dies at the End, Coscarelli’s latest, is based on the novel by David Wong, but the material is ripe for Coscarelli tone. [read more]

In 1996, Bernie Tiede, a funeral director in Carthage, Texas, shot and killed 81-year-old Marjorie Nugent. He confessed, and a first degree murder trial began, one many locals in Carthage believed was too harsh. You see, people liked Bernie, a pleasant man who contributed so much to that community and who would seemingly never harm a fly. They didn’t feel he was the calculating murderer the prosecution made [read more]

Classic monster stories have creatures tormenting children. Children are often the protagonist unless there’s an adult around to really take charge of a situation. Monsters haunting children is comfortable to a story. It’s easy. At least, it feels easy with Intruders, the new film from Juan Carlos Fresnadillo. But Fresnadillo, who knows intensity and haunting atmospheres, has the whole thing on auto-pi [read more]

While found footage is on the upswing and may be taking over the planet soon, anthology horror is a thing of the past. A genre that’s never really found its footing for upper level cultural dominance, anthology horror films find themselves in 2012 on DVD shelves, film festivals, and the occasional, short-lived TV series. Creepshow was 30 years ago. Thankfully, we do have those film fests that showcase qualit [read more]

What would it be like to be the last of a species in the world, especially a world that scours the planet for rarities? It would be a threatened life, always on the move, even more so a rare creature living in the wild. That’s just one of the questions raised in Daniel Nettheim’s The Hunter, a haunting yet balanced film with the vibe of The Edge and precision of The American. With a stunning performanc [read more]

Sinister had just ended. A sense of unnerving rushed over the SXSW audience, at the film’s surprise secret premiere. At first, I didn’t think I like the film I had just seen, the R-rated, haunted house horror starring Ethan Hawke and co-written by C. Robert Cargill (aka AICN’s Massawyrm). I didn’t think I liked it. In hindsight, I realize it just upset me. Sinister is the kind of horror tha [read more]

You know Channing Tatum is damn funny, right? There hasn’t been much opportunity for him to flex his comedic muscles with things like G.I. Joe and The Vow getting in the way, but all that changes in 21 Jump Street. Tatum is funny. His co-lead Jonah Hill is funny, but we knew that. In fact, listing the aspects of 21 Jump Street that will make you laugh is a fruitless act. Everything about this film is funny [read more]

Nir Paniry’s Extracted, playing at SXSW, is a classic case on how indie science fiction works. Focusing more on narrative and character than blockbuster explosions or motion captured creatures, Paniry wraps his story tightly around its central premise and leaves little fat around the meat. Extracted moves with a purpose, setting up the characters and conflict quickly so that there’s plenty of room for [read more]

Thank God for Bobcat Goldthwait. While many other directors are culling together banal statements — sometimes not even a statement — and hack representations on how they think the world should go, Goldthwait is saying something. What he says isn’t always said subtly. More often than not, it’s said in the most unflinching, some call it abrasive, ways imaginable. When Goldthwait isn’t subtle, [read more]

What can you say about a film that begins by revealing its climax, one of the most fulfilling of its kind, from scene one? Little can be said about Cabin in the Woods, especially if one is so inclined to worry about things like spoilers. You shouldn’t know much about this film. Know that five friends trek to an abandoned cabin for some rest and relaxation—I’m sure that’s all—and things don [read more]