The Mexican legend is given a raucous adaptation w/ decently inventive set-ups & fine central character choice but harsh pitches, poor acting, cheap jump scares, & cartoonish CGI – betraying The Conjuring series’ signature realism-facade. 3.2/10.
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Category: Horror
Crawl (2019)
A claustrophobic scarefest that gives Gators their Jaws moment w. many parallels, mega-impressive storm-of-the-century CGI, breakneck natural horror scenes, & exigent backbone of sports characterization – but lazily-scripted dialogue. 7.6/10.
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Swamp Thing (2019)
A dark, operatic horror series set in the Louisiana swamps, DC’s delightfully-macabre weirdfest steeped in biological terror is – despite an early problematic Alex Holland – one of the most one-of-a-kind offerings in comic book TV. 8.7/10.
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AHS: Roanoke
A sublime colonial hauntable premise & backwoods NC location setting turn up the macabric atmosphere after the problematic Hotel; with dark tone, unique narrative structure, simplicity in old-world scares, & – of course – paradox of Pigman. 8.1/10.
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Child’s Play (2019)
Like a broken toy returned to its creator, 2019’s Child’s Play takes the imbecilic hocum-premise of its franchise’s goofy originals & gives it a 21st-century upgrade. Briskly-paced, 10x-scarier, feasible, & even: sociologically-contemplative. 7.5/10.
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We Have Always Lived In The Castle
Despite a star-riddled cast of Taissa Farmiga, Sebastian Stan, & Alexandra Daddario amongst a characteristically-grand estate setting, Passon’s too-prim-and-proper snoozefest lacks literally – everything – that made Hill-House so appealing. 2.4/10.
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Brightburn (2019)
A visionary horror-take on Superman, James Gunn spins an avant-garde subversion of the lore with a child-bullying/outcast narrative, stylistic flair in (*brutal*) slasher heavy sequences, small-town Kansas feel, & twisted coming-of-age origins. 7.6/10.
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Us (2019)
A masterpiece of identity horror & dark reflection on America’s past with chilly atmospherics, originality in concept, psychological torment + twists, old-world suspense-building, and one of the best scores in modern horror history. 8.8/10.
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Velvet Buzzsaw (2019)
A precocious art-horror premise with a few decent chills & nimble critique of the sold-out pomp and circumstance of the modern art scene that devolves into a snail-slow, contrived, stunningly unfocused mess of narrative splatters. 3.2/10.
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Suspiria (2018)
Intricate in wildly sharp-cutting camerawork, paranoia-atmospheric, and with phenomenally chilly turns led by Dakota Johnson and Swinton, Guadagnino’s Suspiria remake is a slow-simmering, hypnotic descent into madness. 9/10.
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