Surreal indie chiller “HOUSE OF SCREAMING GLASS” gets a release date; see the trailer and poster By MICHAEL GINGOLD Get ready for some schoolhouse shock later this month. DeskPop Entertainment has announced a May 21 VOD and DVD release date for HOUSE OF SCREAMING GLASS, from director David Williams. Scripted by Williams, Costanza Bongiorni and Tom Jolliffe, it stars Lani Call. “The synopsis: Elizabeth Cadosia [Call] has lived a life of isolation under the shadow of her mentally fractured mother. On the day her mother dies, Elizabeth receives an unexpected inheritance: a timeworn schoolhouse ..read more

Movie Review: “TAROT” isn’t playing with a full deck By MICHAEL GINGOLD Starring Harriet Slater, Adain Bradley and Avantika Written and directed by Spenser Cohen and Anna Halberg Screen Gems/Sony “The Death card can mean the end of something, or the start of something new. But in this case, it just means death.” That line, twice spoken in TAROT, sums up the movie in a nutshell: A subject that could be adapted in all kinds of intriguing ways is reduced to a hopelessly formulaic youth-in-peril flick. The conceit of young people messing with occult forces they shouldn’t got a real kick in the ..read more

CUFF ’24 REVIEW: VAMPIRIC FANTASY “THE VOURDALAK” IS WORTH LETTING IN ​By Michelle Martin Starring Kacey Mottet Klein, Ariane Labed and Grégoire Colin Written by Adrien Beau and Hadrien Bouvier Directed by Adrien Beau WTFilms In a time where new ideas seem few and far between in the world of movie monsters, it is thrilling to discover something like Adrien Beau’s THE VOURDALAK, a folkloric French fantasy set in the quiet countryside, where strict rules must be adhered to – lest grave consequences are incurred.  The film opens with a knock on a door at night. Only the shadow of the per ..read more

ARROW Brings “PANDEMONIUM” to their May 2024 Streaming Lineup Arrow Video is excited to announce the May 2024 lineup of their subscription-based ARROW platform, available to subscribers in the US, Canada, the UK and Ireland. Enjoy a selection of new titles, from carefully cultivated curations, shorts by new talent, and deep dives into the tastes of filmmakers whose talents have delighted audiences and shaped genre filmmaking. The May 2024 lineup leads with the exclusive ARROW release of Quarxx’s French macabre horror PANDEMONIUM, available May 27 in the US, Canada ..read more

Movie Review: ANTHOLOGY HORROR FILM “BEWARE THE BOOGEYMAN” IS CONSISTENTLY CHEAP By JOEL HARLEY Starring Tim Coyle, Elissa Dowling, Khail Duggan Written and Directed by Calvin Morie McCarthy, Tim Coyle, Josh Dietrich, Kai Pacifico Eng, Chynna Rae Shurts Breaking Glass Pictures Wearing the influence of the 1972 portmanteau horror film Asylum on its sleeve (along with the Boogeyman-starring Stephen King book one character flips through, mid-scene) this lunatic asylum-set scare ‘em up tells the stories of five criminally insane individuals, each tormented by a terrifying figure lurking in thei ..read more

CUFF ’24 REVIEW: GENRE-BLENDING “OMEN” CONJURES A MAGICAL REALITY By Michelle Martin Starring Marc Zinga, Yves-Marina Gnahoua and Marcel Otete Kabeya Written by Baloji and Thomas van Zuylen Directed by Baloji Utopia  The opening moments of OMEN by Baloji set a perfect tone for what’s to come: A woman on horseback wanders through dozens of straw men (eliciting something akin to Jodorowsky) to then arrive at a body of water. She squeezes her breastmilk into it, and slowly, giant clouds form to change the water’s color. A heightened feeling of something mystical being at play permeates th ..read more

Exclusive clip: Rural terror is discovered in “NEW LIFE” By MICHAEL GINGOLD Get a taste of the fear in the terrifically tense movie opening this week. NEW LIFE, written and directed by John Rosman, arrives in theaters and on VOD this Friday, May 3 from Brainstorm Media, and will be available in the UK on digital download starting June 3 courtesy of Vertigo Releasing. Sonya Walger, Hayley Erin, Tony Amendola, Nick George and Ayanna Berkshire star; the synopsis: “A mysterious woman on the run, and the resourceful fixer assigned to bring her in. Their two unique stories inextricably link, as t ..read more

NEWS: CFF ’24 Celebrates the Life and Work of Jeff Burr By KEVIN HOOVER Director JEFF BURR‘s death in late 2023 left an immeasurable void in horror cinema. Working with genre icons Vincent Price, Clu Gulager and Susan Tyrrell in 1987’s From a Whisper to a Scream entrusted Burr to studio heads – tumultuous relationships at times, but fruitful, nonetheless. Not one to shy away from the stigma associated with filming sequels to beloved franchises, the director’s entries into the Pumpkinhead, Puppet Master and Stepfather franchises achieved cult status with fans, but it’s his work on Leath ..read more

MOVIE REVIEW: “THE SKINWALKERS: AMERICAN WEREWOLVES 2” is Too Much Fur, Not Enough Fang By KEVIN HOOVER Directed by Seth Breedlove Small Town Monsters When it comes to cryptids, folks fall into three categories. There’s the “Of course they’re real!” bunch, armed with enough proof to bolster such claims and willing to die on the hill of Mothman and his ilk. Then, there’s the “Not a chance” collective; They don’t believe in what they can’t see, so you best bugger off with all that Bigfoot nonsense. Finally, the “Maybe” crowd is noncommittal to both yay and nay. This sort, while never having s ..read more

Overlook ’24 Movie Review: You Won’t Want to Escape “THINGS WILL BE DIFFERENT” By DEIRDRE CRIMMINS Starring Adam David Thompson and Riley Dandy Written and directed by Michael Felker XYZ Films While many horror films have their feet firmly on the ground, the ones that tip into the realm of speculative fiction ask bigger questions, like “What if?” What if reality broke? What if time stopped? What if a bunch of strangers are stuck in a giant cube where the laws of physics have no power? THINGS WILL BE DIFFERENT is a horrifying speculative fiction film that asks, “What if?” and answers that qu ..read more