Review: Thoroughbreds (2018)

Thoroughbreds (2018)

Rated R for disturbing behavior, bloody images, language, sexual references, and some drug content

Review: Ready or Not (2019)

Ready or Not (2019)

Rated R for violence, bloody images, language throughout, and some drug use

Popcorn Frights 2019, Day 9: Bit (2019)

Popcorn Frights ended with a bang: only one movie, but it was a good one.

Bit (2019)

Not yet rated

Popcorn Frights 2019, Day 8: In Fabric (2019) and The Gravedigger (2019)

The penultimate night of Popcorn Frights went back in time with two movies set in the past, one filled with Argento-esque retro '70s glamour and the other a micro-budget throwback to classic Universal monsters by a local theater troupe.

Up first, proof that A24 knows damn well at this point what its brand is among horror fans...

In Fabric (2019)

Rated R for strong sexual content including a scene of aberrant behavior, and some bloody images

Popcorn Frights 2019, Day 7: Paradise Hills (2019) and Knives and Skin (2019)

It was ladies' night at Popcorn Frights on their seventh day, with two films both directed by women and built heavily around their female characters. Unusually, it was also a night where neither film was what one could call a horror movie, even if both were horror-adjacent; one was a sci-fi thriller, the other a Lynchian teen drama. I'm not complaining; both were pretty damn good.

First up, it's Emma Roberts vs. Stepford...

Paradise Hills (2019)

Not yet rated

Popcorn Frights 2019, Day 6: Queen of Spades: The Looking Glass (2019) and The Sonata (2018)

The torrential downpour that greeted me at the theater for the sixth day of Popcorn Frights turned out to be a good omen for a pair of very good gothic horror movies, one of the campier teen variety and one a bit more serious.

First up, we get the return of a genre that provided some campy thrills last year: Russian teen horror.

Queen of Spades: The Looking Glass (Pikovaya dama. Zazerkalye) (2019)

Not rated

Popcorn Frights 2019, Day 5: The Girl on the Third Floor (2019) and Depraved (2019)

With the weekend behind us, Popcorn Frights has cooled down a bit; from here, there's only two movies a day. Fortunately, they still delivered quality.

First, we get a supernatural horror film with an unusual lead...

Girl on the Third Floor (2019)

Not yet rated

Popcorn Frights 2019, Day 4: The Unthinkable (2018), Artik (2019), Infection (2019), Satanic Panic (2019), Z (2019)

Popcorn Frights 2019's second weekend gauntlet was another doozy, packed with a diverse lineup of films that included a war thriller, torture porn, zombies, Satanic horror-comedy, and supernatural horror.

First up, it's Red Dawn, Swedish style.

The Unthinkable (Den blomstertid nu kommer) (2018)

Not rated

Popcorn Frights 2019, Day 3: Alive (2018), Itsy Bitsy (2019), Daniel Isn't Real (2019), Villains (2019), Porno (2019)

Buckle up. Day three of Popcorn Frights was the first of two gauntlets, and I had to scramble to and from my house between movies in order to care for the dogs while still squeezing everything in. The quality varied, but I still got two standouts.

First up, some icky medical horror.

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Alive (2018)

Not yet rated

Popcorn Frights 2019, Day 2: Bloodline (2018), The Dare (2019), and Bliss (2019)

Things really picked up on the second day of the festival. We got what will likely be one of my favorites so far, followed by what will likely be one of my least favorite, all wrapped up with an entertainingly trippy, gritty take on vampires at the end.

Bloodline (2018)

Not yet rated

Popcorn Frights 2019, Day 1: Haunt (2019)

Yep. It's that time of the year again. We're going back to Popcorn Frights for another rodeo... and going by the program, this one is a doozy.

On the first night, though, they're only showing one movie. The calm before the storm...

Haunt (2019)

Rated R for horror violence/gore, and language throughout

Review: Midsommar (2019)

Midsommar (2019)

Rated R for disturbing ritualistic violence and grisly images, strong sexual content, graphic nudity, drug use and language