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Spoiler-Free Review: THE ONES WHO GRIEVE (Fantastic Fest 2026) 

Official synopsis from Annick Mahnert’s Fantastic Fest summary Set in the French countryside at the end of the 19th century, The Ones Who Grieve follows Jacob, a deeply religious man who works as a soul keeper. Believing he is liberating those afflicted by a mysterious illness, he imprisons them behind wooden masks after sewing their eyes and mouths shut. His daughter, Zélie, lives under his tyrannical rule and dreams of freedom. When Jacob sells her beloved horse, Thunder, her resentment reaches its breaking point, prompting her to defy him by hiding an infected soldier in the family barn.  Review Director Can Evrenol gave cinephiles perhaps the strongest candidate so far for “Feel-Bad Movie of the Year” in 2026 with his pitch-black Spanish horror comedy The Turkish Coffee Table (a reimagining of Caye Casas’s also disturbing The Coffee Table [La mesita del comedor]). But now along comes director Quarxx, who says “Hold my needles, thread, hammers, pliers, wooden masks, and guns”

Continue reading →
Joseph Perry
Sep 21, 2026

Spoiler-Free Review: Who’s Watching

Official synopsis Eccentric musician and aspiring filmmaker Caleb becomes obsessed with his new coworker, Krista, secretly documenting every aspect of her life in an effort to make her the subject of his latest film. As Caleb’s fixation intensifies, the lines between observer and participant begin to blur, pulling him deeper into a dangerous spiral of surveillance, manipulation and obsession. As the cameras keep rolling, the question becomes increasingly unsettling: who is really watching who?  Review Director Tim Kasher delivers a taut chiller with Who’s Watching. A disturbing character study of a stalker filming his target of interest transitions into jaw-dropping, unexpected territory that works satisfyingly well. Zachary Ray Sherman gives a fine, eerie performance as Caleb, a metal musician who gives off instant creep vibes that only escalate when he becomes fixated with new workplace employee Krista (Gracie Gilliam). His obsession is clear to everyone at work, and even friends of his band take notice. Krista was initially kind enough

Continue reading →
Joseph Perry
Sep 17, 2026

Practical Horror Film ‘Gator Face’ Slashes Its Way onto Digital

Gator Face, the creature feature from writer-director Padraig Reynolds (Rites of Spring, Open 24 Hours), is out now. Shot on location in the murky Florida Everglades, the film shuns modern digital shortcuts for live alligators, practical gore, and in-camera effects. A Sun-Soaked Getaway Morphs into a Sacrificial Nightmare The movie follows a group of friends heading to Florida for a getaway. But their vacation quickly collapses into an isolated struggle for survival. Trapped deep within the swamps, the group falls prey to a sinister local cult that sacrifices unsuspecting victims to an ancient alligator deity. Soon, they are forced to combat both the cult members and the lethal creature worshiped at the center of their bloody faith. A Return to Old-School Practical Filmmaking and Southern Folklore Blending slasher elements, creature horror, and Southern folklore, Reynolds and his team committed to grounding the terrifying moments in physical reality. Get this: the movie features zero CGI or AI. The movie captures the chaotic, unpredictable texture of classic 1980s monster movies. Tabitha Brownstone, who discussed the

Continue reading →
Kelli Marchman McNeely
Sep 16, 2026

Spoiler-Free Reviews: Crazy Lips and Gore from Outer Space

Crazy Lips (Japan, 2000) Official synopsis Satomi and her family are hounded by the press when her brother is accused of a vicious killing spree. Desperate to prove his innocence, Satomi goes to a psychic for help. The price the psychic asks is far more than she expected, and the answers they give her are nothing she could ever have imagined.    Review I feel that it’s important to note up front that director Hirohisa Sasaki’s Crazy Lips has no less than four rape scenes, with one involving necrophilia. And that’s not all of the depravity on display, by a longshot. If you are still reading, you may well be either desensitized or curious enough to give this film a watch. The screenplay was written by Hiroshi Takahashi, who also penned Ringu and Ringu sequels, and recently wrote and directed The House of the Serpent (2023). As great and influential as Ringu is, Crazy Lips feels like Takahashi just wanted to

Continue reading →
Joseph Perry
Sep 16, 2026

Spoiler-Free Review: Gator Face

Official synopsis Gator Face follows a group of friends whose sun-soaked Florida vacation takes a dark turn when they become prey to a sinister cult that sacrifices its victims to an alligator god. Far from the carefree escape they had planned, the friends are drawn deeper into an isolated world governed by ritual and violence, forcing them into a desperate fight to survive both the cult and the deadly creature at the center of its beliefs. Review Writer/director Padraig Reynolds’ Gator Face combines masked slasher mayhem with creature feature carnage. Fear-fare fanatics who love their horror brutal and at a relentless pace are going to have a field day, but many viewers will ultimately feel like they got kicked where it hurts most. The editing on alligator attacks is great, with live gators acting menacing and the graphic kills with practical effects blending impressively. Some of the more nerve-wracking moments of the film involve cast members actually interacting with these

Continue reading →
Joseph Perry
Sep 15, 2026

Movie Review: ‘Goody Goody’ is a Masterpiece of Supernatural Body Horror

When you thought childbirth couldn’t get any more terrifying, Shudder delivers Goody Goody. It is a deeply disturbing blend of regional folk horror, suffocating isolation, and agonizing body horror. Premiering September 18, 2026, writer-director Raymond Creamer’s nightmare is a relentless, jaw-dropping experience that will force even seasoned horror fans to watch through their fingers (I did). It is a terrifying triumph that lingers long after the credits roll, leaving you equal parts exhilarated and genuinely traumatized. Trapped in a Snowbound Birth Nightmare The film centers on an expecting couple and their midwife. They settle into a false sense of security during a prolonged, grueling home birth. But when a howling blizzard unexpectedly strikes, it seals the house off from the outside world. The cozy sanctuary becomes a claustrophobic trap. As the storm rages outside, the trio must confront escalating, otherworldly complications that hint at something far more sinister than ordinary medical distress. Masterful Craftsmanship and Unapologetic Mystery Raymond Creamer (interview) steers

Continue reading →
Kelli Marchman McNeely
Sep 14, 2026

Spoiler-Free Reviews: You Are the Film and Welcome to G-Town (Tubi FrightFest 2026)

You Are the Film (Japan, 2026) Official Tubi FrightFest Synopsis from https://frightfest.co.uk/LondoN2026/you-are-the-film.html The long-awaited directorial debut of Makoto Ueda, writer of BEYOND THE INFINITE TWO MINUTES and RIVER. THE PURPLE ROSE OF CAIRO goes wacky Sci-Fi as Shimokitazawa native playwright Madoka and Sangenjaya-based band member Kazuma separately go and see a movie at the Tollywood independent cinema. But in the film, they each see the other person on screen — Madoka is in the film Kazuma is watching, and vice versa. In this impossible multiverse, incidents occur within each other’s stories as both communicate through the screen and work hard to solve the problems that arise in each other’s narratives.  Review You Are the Film writer/director Makoto Ueda wrote the screenplays for the excellent time loop science-fiction comedies Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes and River. If you have seen either of those films, you can expect that you will be in for a humorous, touching treat of a genre feature

Continue reading →
Joseph Perry
Sep 11, 2026

Spoiler-Free Review: The Spirit Lock

Official synopsis Desperate to save their possessed son, a fractured couple turns to a cursed Pagan device—unleashing a greater evil that threatens their sanity, their marriage, and their souls.  Review Director Steven Fierberg’s The Spirit Lock (U.K., 2026) combines folk horror and possession horror with the battling of personal demons in an impressive slice of cinematic fear fare. The screenplay by Justin Stanley and Mark Jonathan Stanley is wonderfully crafted, and the cast members all check in with fine performances. Karl Mellor (Joe Anderson) is desperate enough to save his son Kit (Stefanos Paraskevopoulus) from what he fears is a demonic possession that he takes on the heavy responsibility of acquiring the titular pagan object. This being a horror film, obviously that will prove to have consequences. He tries to keep his tactics away from his wife Vanessa (Yasmin Al-Khudhairi), but naturally that can only last so long.  Karl is frustrated that professionals such as man of the cloth Father

Continue reading →
Joseph Perry
Sep 10, 2026

Spoiler-Free Review: Do You Want to Play? (Tubi FrightFest 2026)

Official synopsis At a Halloween party inside a notorious murder house, fifteen-year-old Emily opens a digital spirit board and invites an ancient entity into her body. To save her, her boyfriend Tommy must join forces with Owen — the app’s creator and his former best friend — before possession becomes permanent. Review Writer/director Nick Lyon’s Do You Want to Play? Has an odd feel to it. The drama, including a love triangle between three Christian private high school students, along with many plot elements have a gateway horror flavor to them, but the carnage and gore is much stronger than I would imagine many preteen viewers might be ready for. More seasoned fright-fare viewers would find the gruesome elements more to their liking but find the other proceedings to be better suited for a juvenile audience. Still, the film offers some interesting updating of spirit board movie chills to the digital world of today’s teens. Lyons does an admirable job

Continue reading →
Joseph Perry
Sep 9, 2026

Spoiler-Free Review: Spider Island (Tubi FrightFest 2026)

Official Synopsis A bunch of young men and women just want to have some fun in the sun. What could go wrong? Review Spider Island sees the trope of unlikable influencers getting theirs move from the more often used location of a single type of bode to an entire resort island. Influencers are certainly an easy target, but that type of character is becoming low hanging fruit with each new fear flick. Here, director Christopher Smith’s horror comedy at least gives viewers a more sympathetic “creator” and adds a young woman named Clara (Rose Williams) who is not a part of that group and is concerned with ecoactivism rather than joining the hedonistic partying provided courtesy of pompous corporate resort employee David (Andy Nyman). David wants the influencers to spread the good word about the resort but poisonous arachnids won’t give up their home turf so easily. Clara’s estranged father Curtis (Tim McInnerny) was a famous stage actor who gave

Continue reading →
Joseph Perry
Sep 9, 2026

More from Reviews

Spoiler-Free Review: THE ONES WHO GRIEVE (Fantastic Fest 2026) 

Official synopsis from Annick Mahnert’s Fantastic Fest summary Set in the French countryside at the end of the 19th century, The Ones Who Grieve follows Jacob, a deeply religious man who works as a soul keeper. Believing he is liberating those afflicted by a mysterious illness, he imprisons them behind wooden masks after sewing their eyes and mouths shut. His daughter, Zélie, lives under his tyrannical rule and dreams of freedom. When Jacob sells her beloved horse, Thunder, her resentment reaches its breaking point, prompting her to defy him by hiding an infected soldier in the family barn.  Review Director Can Evrenol gave cinephiles perhaps the strongest candidate so far for “Feel-Bad Movie of the Year” in 2026 with his pitch-black Spanish horror comedy The Turkish Coffee Table (a reimagining of Caye Casas’s also disturbing The Coffee Table [La mesita del comedor]). But now along comes director Quarxx, who says “Hold my needles, thread, hammers, pliers, wooden masks, and guns”

Continue reading →
Joseph Perry
Sep 21, 2026

Spoiler-Free Review: Who’s Watching

Official synopsis Eccentric musician and aspiring filmmaker Caleb becomes obsessed with his new coworker, Krista, secretly documenting every aspect of her life in an effort to make her the subject of his latest film. As Caleb’s fixation intensifies, the lines between observer and participant begin to blur, pulling him deeper into a dangerous spiral of surveillance, manipulation and obsession. As the cameras keep rolling, the question becomes increasingly unsettling: who is really watching who?  Review Director Tim Kasher delivers a taut chiller with Who’s Watching. A disturbing character study of a stalker filming his target of interest transitions into jaw-dropping, unexpected territory that works satisfyingly well. Zachary Ray Sherman gives a fine, eerie performance as Caleb, a metal musician who gives off instant creep vibes that only escalate when he becomes fixated with new workplace employee Krista (Gracie Gilliam). His obsession is clear to everyone at work, and even friends of his band take notice. Krista was initially kind enough

Continue reading →
Joseph Perry
Sep 17, 2026

Practical Horror Film ‘Gator Face’ Slashes Its Way onto Digital

Gator Face, the creature feature from writer-director Padraig Reynolds (Rites of Spring, Open 24 Hours), is out now. Shot on location in the murky Florida Everglades, the film shuns modern digital shortcuts for live alligators, practical gore, and in-camera effects. A Sun-Soaked Getaway Morphs into a Sacrificial Nightmare The movie follows a group of friends heading to Florida for a getaway. But their vacation quickly collapses into an isolated struggle for survival. Trapped deep within the swamps, the group falls prey to a sinister local cult that sacrifices unsuspecting victims to an ancient alligator deity. Soon, they are forced to combat both the cult members and the lethal creature worshiped at the center of their bloody faith. A Return to Old-School Practical Filmmaking and Southern Folklore Blending slasher elements, creature horror, and Southern folklore, Reynolds and his team committed to grounding the terrifying moments in physical reality. Get this: the movie features zero CGI or AI. The movie captures the chaotic, unpredictable texture of classic 1980s monster movies. Tabitha Brownstone, who discussed the

Continue reading →
Kelli Marchman McNeely
Sep 16, 2026

Spoiler-Free Reviews: Crazy Lips and Gore from Outer Space

Crazy Lips (Japan, 2000) Official synopsis Satomi and her family are hounded by the press when her brother is accused of a vicious killing spree. Desperate to prove his innocence, Satomi goes to a psychic for help. The price the psychic asks is far more than she expected, and the answers they give her are nothing she could ever have imagined.    Review I feel that it’s important to note up front that director Hirohisa Sasaki’s Crazy Lips has no less than four rape scenes, with one involving necrophilia. And that’s not all of the depravity on display, by a longshot. If you are still reading, you may well be either desensitized or curious enough to give this film a watch. The screenplay was written by Hiroshi Takahashi, who also penned Ringu and Ringu sequels, and recently wrote and directed The House of the Serpent (2023). As great and influential as Ringu is, Crazy Lips feels like Takahashi just wanted to

Continue reading →
Joseph Perry
Sep 16, 2026

Spoiler-Free Review: Gator Face

Official synopsis Gator Face follows a group of friends whose sun-soaked Florida vacation takes a dark turn when they become prey to a sinister cult that sacrifices its victims to an alligator god. Far from the carefree escape they had planned, the friends are drawn deeper into an isolated world governed by ritual and violence, forcing them into a desperate fight to survive both the cult and the deadly creature at the center of its beliefs. Review Writer/director Padraig Reynolds’ Gator Face combines masked slasher mayhem with creature feature carnage. Fear-fare fanatics who love their horror brutal and at a relentless pace are going to have a field day, but many viewers will ultimately feel like they got kicked where it hurts most. The editing on alligator attacks is great, with live gators acting menacing and the graphic kills with practical effects blending impressively. Some of the more nerve-wracking moments of the film involve cast members actually interacting with these

Continue reading →
Joseph Perry
Sep 15, 2026

Movie Review: ‘Goody Goody’ is a Masterpiece of Supernatural Body Horror

When you thought childbirth couldn’t get any more terrifying, Shudder delivers Goody Goody. It is a deeply disturbing blend of regional folk horror, suffocating isolation, and agonizing body horror. Premiering September 18, 2026, writer-director Raymond Creamer’s nightmare is a relentless, jaw-dropping experience that will force even seasoned horror fans to watch through their fingers (I did). It is a terrifying triumph that lingers long after the credits roll, leaving you equal parts exhilarated and genuinely traumatized. Trapped in a Snowbound Birth Nightmare The film centers on an expecting couple and their midwife. They settle into a false sense of security during a prolonged, grueling home birth. But when a howling blizzard unexpectedly strikes, it seals the house off from the outside world. The cozy sanctuary becomes a claustrophobic trap. As the storm rages outside, the trio must confront escalating, otherworldly complications that hint at something far more sinister than ordinary medical distress. Masterful Craftsmanship and Unapologetic Mystery Raymond Creamer (interview) steers

Continue reading →
Kelli Marchman McNeely
Sep 14, 2026

Spoiler-Free Reviews: You Are the Film and Welcome to G-Town (Tubi FrightFest 2026)

You Are the Film (Japan, 2026) Official Tubi FrightFest Synopsis from https://frightfest.co.uk/LondoN2026/you-are-the-film.html The long-awaited directorial debut of Makoto Ueda, writer of BEYOND THE INFINITE TWO MINUTES and RIVER. THE PURPLE ROSE OF CAIRO goes wacky Sci-Fi as Shimokitazawa native playwright Madoka and Sangenjaya-based band member Kazuma separately go and see a movie at the Tollywood independent cinema. But in the film, they each see the other person on screen — Madoka is in the film Kazuma is watching, and vice versa. In this impossible multiverse, incidents occur within each other’s stories as both communicate through the screen and work hard to solve the problems that arise in each other’s narratives.  Review You Are the Film writer/director Makoto Ueda wrote the screenplays for the excellent time loop science-fiction comedies Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes and River. If you have seen either of those films, you can expect that you will be in for a humorous, touching treat of a genre feature

Continue reading →
Joseph Perry
Sep 11, 2026

Spoiler-Free Review: The Spirit Lock

Official synopsis Desperate to save their possessed son, a fractured couple turns to a cursed Pagan device—unleashing a greater evil that threatens their sanity, their marriage, and their souls.  Review Director Steven Fierberg’s The Spirit Lock (U.K., 2026) combines folk horror and possession horror with the battling of personal demons in an impressive slice of cinematic fear fare. The screenplay by Justin Stanley and Mark Jonathan Stanley is wonderfully crafted, and the cast members all check in with fine performances. Karl Mellor (Joe Anderson) is desperate enough to save his son Kit (Stefanos Paraskevopoulus) from what he fears is a demonic possession that he takes on the heavy responsibility of acquiring the titular pagan object. This being a horror film, obviously that will prove to have consequences. He tries to keep his tactics away from his wife Vanessa (Yasmin Al-Khudhairi), but naturally that can only last so long.  Karl is frustrated that professionals such as man of the cloth Father

Continue reading →
Joseph Perry
Sep 10, 2026

Spoiler-Free Review: Do You Want to Play? (Tubi FrightFest 2026)

Official synopsis At a Halloween party inside a notorious murder house, fifteen-year-old Emily opens a digital spirit board and invites an ancient entity into her body. To save her, her boyfriend Tommy must join forces with Owen — the app’s creator and his former best friend — before possession becomes permanent. Review Writer/director Nick Lyon’s Do You Want to Play? Has an odd feel to it. The drama, including a love triangle between three Christian private high school students, along with many plot elements have a gateway horror flavor to them, but the carnage and gore is much stronger than I would imagine many preteen viewers might be ready for. More seasoned fright-fare viewers would find the gruesome elements more to their liking but find the other proceedings to be better suited for a juvenile audience. Still, the film offers some interesting updating of spirit board movie chills to the digital world of today’s teens. Lyons does an admirable job

Continue reading →
Joseph Perry
Sep 9, 2026

Spoiler-Free Review: Spider Island (Tubi FrightFest 2026)

Official Synopsis A bunch of young men and women just want to have some fun in the sun. What could go wrong? Review Spider Island sees the trope of unlikable influencers getting theirs move from the more often used location of a single type of bode to an entire resort island. Influencers are certainly an easy target, but that type of character is becoming low hanging fruit with each new fear flick. Here, director Christopher Smith’s horror comedy at least gives viewers a more sympathetic “creator” and adds a young woman named Clara (Rose Williams) who is not a part of that group and is concerned with ecoactivism rather than joining the hedonistic partying provided courtesy of pompous corporate resort employee David (Andy Nyman). David wants the influencers to spread the good word about the resort but poisonous arachnids won’t give up their home turf so easily. Clara’s estranged father Curtis (Tim McInnerny) was a famous stage actor who gave

Continue reading →
Joseph Perry
Sep 9, 2026
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