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Joseph Perry

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Popcorn Frights Announces Fright-Filled First Wave for Its 12th Edition

Popcorn Frights is one of our fave fests here at Horror Fuel, so we are delighted to present their first wave announcement for the 2026 edition. From stone-cold classics to a treasure trove of new, cutting edge fright fare, the festival has something for genre film cinephiles of all stripes. Following is the official press announcement. This summer, it’s bigger, bloodier, and bolder than ever as the 12th Annual Popcorn Frights Film Festival returns August 6-16 for an electrifying 11-day takeover of South Florida. As the Southeast’s largest genre celebration, Popcorn Frights is unleashing its most thrilling program yet with the reveal of its highly anticipated First Wave lineup—featuring 14 film premieres and 7 special presentations + live immersive events that bring together horror royalty and live events for a cinematic experience with the volume cranked all the way up. The festival will kick off with an Opening Night Zombie-Charged Double-Bill from master filmmaker Yeon Sang-ho, who will present the

Continue reading →
Joseph Perry
Jul 9, 2026

Spoiler-Free Reviews: AnyMart and A Weapon in My Heart (Jeonju International Film Festival 2026)

AnyMart (Japan, 2026) Official Synopsis Sakai, the protagonist, works as an assistant manager at a local convenience store. Outside of work, he lives a quiet, routine life — playing online games and using dating apps — having spent most of his twenties tied to the store. The store is his entire world. And yet, beyond its doors, the world itself seems to be coming to an end. Review Shõta Sometani as Sakai, a clerk at the convenience store owned by his gruff, stick-to-corporate-rules father, gives a fine performance. His character is all but dead on the inside at work, and not much motivated socially or otherwise outside of his job, although he attempts romantic connections, awkward though they may be. Sometani nails this everyman character as writer/director Yusuke Iwasaki uses the konbini and his protagonist as a representation of the frustrations of twentysomething life in modern Japan. The kills are sudden and often shocking, the gore is impressive, and the

Continue reading →
Joseph Perry
Jul 3, 2026

Spoiler-Free Review: Oscillation (Jeonju International Film Festival 2026)

Official Synopsis In the house where a father and daughter live together, a heavy silence lingers, and an unbridgeable distance remains. The father toils at an inexplicable task, while the daughter goes through her days in a quiet routine. But soon, a strange change overtakes his body. Review Kenichi Ugana has earned the title of auteur. He has been crafting independent genre features and shorts since 2010 that range from bizarre shockers (Visitors; Extraneous Matter: Complete Edition; Love Will Tear Us Apart) to a heartwarming rom-com ode to filmmaking (I Fell In Love With A Z-Grade Director In Brooklyn), some decidedly more accessible than others. His latest film Oscillation looks at the strained relationship between a man (Haruki Itabashi) and his adult daughter (Reika Matsubara) and treads in both existential and body horror. The theme of distance and lack of connection runs throughout Oscillation. Not only do the father and daughter rarely speak, communicating through notes to each other almost

Continue reading →
Joseph Perry
Jul 3, 2026

Spoiler-Free Review: Rose of Nevada (2025)

Official synopsis Three decades ago, the Rose of Nevada vanished at sea, along with its crew. Now, it has returned. In a remote fishing village, its reappearance is embraced as an auspicious sign, with the local citizens convinced the luck of their economically devastated community may turn, if only the ship sails again. Joining the crew is Nick (George MacKay), desperate to provide for his young family, and Liam (Callum Turner), a mysterious drifter eager to escape his past. After a successful voyage, they return to harbor, only to find that nothing is as they remember it. Review Filmmaker Mark Jenkin is masterful at crafting haunting dramas with eerie genre-film elements shot and set in and around England’s coastal Cornwall area. He follows up his 2022 psychological horror Enys Men (reviewed here) with the gripping time-slip mindbender Rose of Nevada. As mentioned in the official synopsis above, the unexplained sudden reappearance of a fishing boat that was presumed lost in

Continue reading →
Joseph Perry
Jun 23, 2026

Spoiler-Free Reviews: MARGINALIA and BURNT FLOWERS (GenreBlast 2025) 

MARGINALIA (U.S., 2025) Official synopsis: Summoned to Karnstein Abbey to serve as a mourner at the funeral of their recently deceased abbess, Sister Trista discovers a dark secret involving demons, witchcraft and killer rabbits. But Sister Trista has a secret of her own. Nunsploitation, a Hammer Films’ horror vibe, and the retro charm and surreal qualities of filmmaker Guy Maddin’s work: Writer/director/editor/cinematographer Mark Beal’s beautifully bizarre Marginalia has all this and more. This black-and-white supernatural feature will win cinephiles over with its atmosphere to spare, which includes impressive practical effects work, cool stop-motion creatures, and wonderful medieval set design, costumes, and illustrations. Composer Alexander Hellonious’s evocative score fits the proceedings perfectly. Beal kicks things off right away with one of the most imaginative demises you’re likely to see this year. The cast members do a fine job with their committed performances, led by Jessica Bell as Sister Trista. Beal does assured work at the helm, and as he did with

Continue reading →
Joseph Perry
Jun 18, 2026

Four Book Recommendations for Fright-Filled Father’s Day Gift Ideas

Father’s Day 2026 is mere days away — Sunday, June 21, if you haven’t yet marked it on your calendar — and Quirk Books has a quartet of creepiness for fear-fare loving dads. Following is the official press information for these terror-ific tomes. Wake Up and Open Your Eyes By Clay McLeod Chapman From master of horror Clay McLeod Chapman, a relentless social horror novel about a family on the run from a demonic possession epidemic that spreads through media. Noah has been losing his polite Southern parents to far-right cable news for years, so when his mother leaves him a voicemail warning him that the “Great Reawakening” is here, he assumes it’s related to one of her many conspiracy theories. But when his phone calls go unanswered, Noah makes the drive from Brooklyn to Richmond, Virginia. There, he discovers his childhood home in shambles and his parents locked in a terrifying trancelike state in front of the TV. Panicked,

Continue reading →
Joseph Perry
Jun 11, 2026

Spoiler-Free Review: Recluse (Tribeca Festival 2026)

Official Synopsis After being summoned back to her childhood home to care for her bedridden father, Joan must confront the unearthed demons of her family’s past and contend with the home’s dark, malevolent energy that is both unseen and, much to her horror, seen. Review Horror films involving protagonists working closely with sound are practically becoming a subgenre in the fright-fare field recently — Rabbit Trap and Undertone, for example. The latest entry is writer/director/composer Henry Chaisson’s Recluse, a gothic chiller drenched in dread. When will horror film protagonists learn not to return to their childhood homes when estranged parents suffer health issues or die? Hopefully never, if the resulting tales are as intriguing as Recluse. Joan (Sasha Frolova), a sound recordist in the film industry does just that when her father, acclaimed but highly troubled painter Lawrence (Xander Berkeley) —who evidently was no stranger to the dark arts — is badly burned in a fire. Housekeeper to the expansive

Continue reading →
Joseph Perry
Jun 8, 2026

Spoiler-Free Reviews: Grind and Friday the 69th (Portland Horror Film Festival)

Grind Official synopsis This horror anthology tackles the modern work landscape through four timely perspectives – a woman caught in a pyramid scheme, a delivery driver, a content moderator and a crew trying to unionize at a very familiar coffee shop. Review Brea Grant, Ed Dougherty, and Chelsea Stardust team up to codirect the workplace horror comedy anthology Grind (U.S., 2026). A mysterious packing warehouse, an online sales plan for leggings that comes with deadly consequences for not meeting sales quotas, a time loop that finds a food delivery gig worker in a huge mess, a content moderation job that features twisted images, and a corporate plot to overthrow unionizing baristas all feature in this scathing satire on the modern American economy and its effects on lower-level employees. Genre-film legend Barbara Crampton and comic actor Rob Huebel provide quality veteran performances as the head honchos behind evil empire DRGN. Many people will find the work situations uncomfortably highly relatable and

Continue reading →
Joseph Perry
Jun 8, 2026

Spoiler-Free Review: Turn It Up! (Tribeca Festival 2026)

Official Synopsis An indie rock band struggling to make its mark finds a possible meal ticket in an infectious new guitar riff. Unfortunately, it’s also a cursed melody that just so happens to open a portal to another, much scarier dimension. Review Writer/director Sam Scott mashes up horror elements, weird science, and razor-sharp comedy in the Canadian feature Turn It Up!. The result is a fun, frenetic film that boasts some cool rock numbers to accompany its frenzied goings-on. Alternative rock group members AC (Justine Nelson), Berg (Jonathan Craig), Court (Gwenlyn Cumyn), and Russ (Xavier Lopez) are doing the unsigned band grind when a song that may or may not be called “The Odyssey” — depending on which member you talk to — catches the attention of famous manager Miss Vee (Liv Collins). She promises them their way to a big break, but this being a genre film, naturally she has ulterior motives. Scott delivers a nice twist on the

Continue reading →
Joseph Perry
Jun 8, 2026

Author J.W. Ocker’s New Book “Don’t Go There” Might Make you Change Your Travel Plans

Horror Fuel readers fascinated with weird places and strange sites will want to get their hands on a copy of author J.W. Ocker’s upcoming terror-ific travel tome Don’t Go There. Some readers may want to book passage to some of the writer’s odd and unusual destinations, while others will want to get no closer than the comfort of their favorite reading chair. Following is the official press announcement. In Don’t Go There (Quirk Books; On sale: July 14, 2026; $19.99; Hardcover), award-winning travel writer and dark history expert J.W. Ocker journeys into some of the world’s most infamous and unsettling locations, uncovering the legends, disasters, and strange histories that make them impossible to resist. Embark on a guided tour of 30 of the most dangerous and mysterious locations that we simply cannot stay away from. Have you ever visited a forest or an abandoned building and gotten a bad vibe? There are places that are rife with rumors of hauntings,

Continue reading →
Joseph Perry
Jun 7, 2026

More from Joseph Perry

Popcorn Frights Announces Fright-Filled First Wave for Its 12th Edition

Popcorn Frights is one of our fave fests here at Horror Fuel, so we are delighted to present their first wave announcement for the 2026 edition. From stone-cold classics to a treasure trove of new, cutting edge fright fare, the festival has something for genre film cinephiles of all stripes. Following is the official press announcement. This summer, it’s bigger, bloodier, and bolder than ever as the 12th Annual Popcorn Frights Film Festival returns August 6-16 for an electrifying 11-day takeover of South Florida. As the Southeast’s largest genre celebration, Popcorn Frights is unleashing its most thrilling program yet with the reveal of its highly anticipated First Wave lineup—featuring 14 film premieres and 7 special presentations + live immersive events that bring together horror royalty and live events for a cinematic experience with the volume cranked all the way up. The festival will kick off with an Opening Night Zombie-Charged Double-Bill from master filmmaker Yeon Sang-ho, who will present the

Continue reading →
Joseph Perry
Jul 9, 2026

Spoiler-Free Reviews: AnyMart and A Weapon in My Heart (Jeonju International Film Festival 2026)

AnyMart (Japan, 2026) Official Synopsis Sakai, the protagonist, works as an assistant manager at a local convenience store. Outside of work, he lives a quiet, routine life — playing online games and using dating apps — having spent most of his twenties tied to the store. The store is his entire world. And yet, beyond its doors, the world itself seems to be coming to an end. Review Shõta Sometani as Sakai, a clerk at the convenience store owned by his gruff, stick-to-corporate-rules father, gives a fine performance. His character is all but dead on the inside at work, and not much motivated socially or otherwise outside of his job, although he attempts romantic connections, awkward though they may be. Sometani nails this everyman character as writer/director Yusuke Iwasaki uses the konbini and his protagonist as a representation of the frustrations of twentysomething life in modern Japan. The kills are sudden and often shocking, the gore is impressive, and the

Continue reading →
Joseph Perry
Jul 3, 2026

Spoiler-Free Review: Oscillation (Jeonju International Film Festival 2026)

Official Synopsis In the house where a father and daughter live together, a heavy silence lingers, and an unbridgeable distance remains. The father toils at an inexplicable task, while the daughter goes through her days in a quiet routine. But soon, a strange change overtakes his body. Review Kenichi Ugana has earned the title of auteur. He has been crafting independent genre features and shorts since 2010 that range from bizarre shockers (Visitors; Extraneous Matter: Complete Edition; Love Will Tear Us Apart) to a heartwarming rom-com ode to filmmaking (I Fell In Love With A Z-Grade Director In Brooklyn), some decidedly more accessible than others. His latest film Oscillation looks at the strained relationship between a man (Haruki Itabashi) and his adult daughter (Reika Matsubara) and treads in both existential and body horror. The theme of distance and lack of connection runs throughout Oscillation. Not only do the father and daughter rarely speak, communicating through notes to each other almost

Continue reading →
Joseph Perry
Jul 3, 2026

Spoiler-Free Review: Rose of Nevada (2025)

Official synopsis Three decades ago, the Rose of Nevada vanished at sea, along with its crew. Now, it has returned. In a remote fishing village, its reappearance is embraced as an auspicious sign, with the local citizens convinced the luck of their economically devastated community may turn, if only the ship sails again. Joining the crew is Nick (George MacKay), desperate to provide for his young family, and Liam (Callum Turner), a mysterious drifter eager to escape his past. After a successful voyage, they return to harbor, only to find that nothing is as they remember it. Review Filmmaker Mark Jenkin is masterful at crafting haunting dramas with eerie genre-film elements shot and set in and around England’s coastal Cornwall area. He follows up his 2022 psychological horror Enys Men (reviewed here) with the gripping time-slip mindbender Rose of Nevada. As mentioned in the official synopsis above, the unexplained sudden reappearance of a fishing boat that was presumed lost in

Continue reading →
Joseph Perry
Jun 23, 2026

Spoiler-Free Reviews: MARGINALIA and BURNT FLOWERS (GenreBlast 2025) 

MARGINALIA (U.S., 2025) Official synopsis: Summoned to Karnstein Abbey to serve as a mourner at the funeral of their recently deceased abbess, Sister Trista discovers a dark secret involving demons, witchcraft and killer rabbits. But Sister Trista has a secret of her own. Nunsploitation, a Hammer Films’ horror vibe, and the retro charm and surreal qualities of filmmaker Guy Maddin’s work: Writer/director/editor/cinematographer Mark Beal’s beautifully bizarre Marginalia has all this and more. This black-and-white supernatural feature will win cinephiles over with its atmosphere to spare, which includes impressive practical effects work, cool stop-motion creatures, and wonderful medieval set design, costumes, and illustrations. Composer Alexander Hellonious’s evocative score fits the proceedings perfectly. Beal kicks things off right away with one of the most imaginative demises you’re likely to see this year. The cast members do a fine job with their committed performances, led by Jessica Bell as Sister Trista. Beal does assured work at the helm, and as he did with

Continue reading →
Joseph Perry
Jun 18, 2026

Four Book Recommendations for Fright-Filled Father’s Day Gift Ideas

Father’s Day 2026 is mere days away — Sunday, June 21, if you haven’t yet marked it on your calendar — and Quirk Books has a quartet of creepiness for fear-fare loving dads. Following is the official press information for these terror-ific tomes. Wake Up and Open Your Eyes By Clay McLeod Chapman From master of horror Clay McLeod Chapman, a relentless social horror novel about a family on the run from a demonic possession epidemic that spreads through media. Noah has been losing his polite Southern parents to far-right cable news for years, so when his mother leaves him a voicemail warning him that the “Great Reawakening” is here, he assumes it’s related to one of her many conspiracy theories. But when his phone calls go unanswered, Noah makes the drive from Brooklyn to Richmond, Virginia. There, he discovers his childhood home in shambles and his parents locked in a terrifying trancelike state in front of the TV. Panicked,

Continue reading →
Joseph Perry
Jun 11, 2026

Spoiler-Free Review: Recluse (Tribeca Festival 2026)

Official Synopsis After being summoned back to her childhood home to care for her bedridden father, Joan must confront the unearthed demons of her family’s past and contend with the home’s dark, malevolent energy that is both unseen and, much to her horror, seen. Review Horror films involving protagonists working closely with sound are practically becoming a subgenre in the fright-fare field recently — Rabbit Trap and Undertone, for example. The latest entry is writer/director/composer Henry Chaisson’s Recluse, a gothic chiller drenched in dread. When will horror film protagonists learn not to return to their childhood homes when estranged parents suffer health issues or die? Hopefully never, if the resulting tales are as intriguing as Recluse. Joan (Sasha Frolova), a sound recordist in the film industry does just that when her father, acclaimed but highly troubled painter Lawrence (Xander Berkeley) —who evidently was no stranger to the dark arts — is badly burned in a fire. Housekeeper to the expansive

Continue reading →
Joseph Perry
Jun 8, 2026

Spoiler-Free Reviews: Grind and Friday the 69th (Portland Horror Film Festival)

Grind Official synopsis This horror anthology tackles the modern work landscape through four timely perspectives – a woman caught in a pyramid scheme, a delivery driver, a content moderator and a crew trying to unionize at a very familiar coffee shop. Review Brea Grant, Ed Dougherty, and Chelsea Stardust team up to codirect the workplace horror comedy anthology Grind (U.S., 2026). A mysterious packing warehouse, an online sales plan for leggings that comes with deadly consequences for not meeting sales quotas, a time loop that finds a food delivery gig worker in a huge mess, a content moderation job that features twisted images, and a corporate plot to overthrow unionizing baristas all feature in this scathing satire on the modern American economy and its effects on lower-level employees. Genre-film legend Barbara Crampton and comic actor Rob Huebel provide quality veteran performances as the head honchos behind evil empire DRGN. Many people will find the work situations uncomfortably highly relatable and

Continue reading →
Joseph Perry
Jun 8, 2026

Spoiler-Free Review: Turn It Up! (Tribeca Festival 2026)

Official Synopsis An indie rock band struggling to make its mark finds a possible meal ticket in an infectious new guitar riff. Unfortunately, it’s also a cursed melody that just so happens to open a portal to another, much scarier dimension. Review Writer/director Sam Scott mashes up horror elements, weird science, and razor-sharp comedy in the Canadian feature Turn It Up!. The result is a fun, frenetic film that boasts some cool rock numbers to accompany its frenzied goings-on. Alternative rock group members AC (Justine Nelson), Berg (Jonathan Craig), Court (Gwenlyn Cumyn), and Russ (Xavier Lopez) are doing the unsigned band grind when a song that may or may not be called “The Odyssey” — depending on which member you talk to — catches the attention of famous manager Miss Vee (Liv Collins). She promises them their way to a big break, but this being a genre film, naturally she has ulterior motives. Scott delivers a nice twist on the

Continue reading →
Joseph Perry
Jun 8, 2026

Author J.W. Ocker’s New Book “Don’t Go There” Might Make you Change Your Travel Plans

Horror Fuel readers fascinated with weird places and strange sites will want to get their hands on a copy of author J.W. Ocker’s upcoming terror-ific travel tome Don’t Go There. Some readers may want to book passage to some of the writer’s odd and unusual destinations, while others will want to get no closer than the comfort of their favorite reading chair. Following is the official press announcement. In Don’t Go There (Quirk Books; On sale: July 14, 2026; $19.99; Hardcover), award-winning travel writer and dark history expert J.W. Ocker journeys into some of the world’s most infamous and unsettling locations, uncovering the legends, disasters, and strange histories that make them impossible to resist. Embark on a guided tour of 30 of the most dangerous and mysterious locations that we simply cannot stay away from. Have you ever visited a forest or an abandoned building and gotten a bad vibe? There are places that are rife with rumors of hauntings,

Continue reading →
Joseph Perry
Jun 7, 2026
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