'Little Monsters' (2019) Movie Review

I love about a third of Abe Forsythe’s zombie comedy Little Monsters. The middle act, from roughly the 25-minute mark to just shy of 60, blends horror and humor, heart and gore, in a way many movies that attempt such a synthesis fail to accomplish. It’s fun and gooey and delightful. While maybe not the freshest take on the undead, the image of Lupita Nyong’o in a bright yellow dress, beheading walking corpses with a shovel is enough to fill me with glee.

'Primal' Trailer: Nicolas Cage Hunts A Jaguar And An Assassin On A Boat, Because Of Course

“Take it easy with my CAT,” screams Nicolas Cage in the way only he can. So begins the trailer for his latest random, weird-as-hell, straight-to-VOD, probably terrible opus, Primal. And though short, this tells us all we need to know: Nic Cage, on a boat, hunting both a rare jaguar and an international assassin. Because of course. But don’t take my word for it, watch for yourself after the jump.

'First Love' (2019) Movie Review

If you didn’t know you were watching a Takashi Miike movie, the severed head rolling down the street, coming to a stop, and blinking at you with an opened-mouthed silent scream less than three minutes into First Love should be a tip off. True to form, and the uber-prolific Japanese director works in maybe his truest form here, First Love is down and dirty, violent, and weird as all hell. Wouldn’t have a Takashi Miike movie any other way. But he also delivers his version of a dark, twisted, mean-spirited romantic comedy. Which means, of course, it’s the most badass rom-com you’ve ever seen.

'The Death Of Dick Long' (2019) Movie Review

I’m not going to write a full review of The Death of Dick Long. To talk too much about it is to ruin the fun. Just know it’s easily the best movie about an Alabama-based Nickelback cover band I’ve ever seen. From director Daniel Scheinert (co-director of Swiss Army Man), this startling comedy is not the movie you expect. But it’s hilarious and twisted, unexpected and shocking, and legitimately moving and introspective.

'Uncut Gems' Trailer: The Safdie Brothers, Adam Sandler, And Stress

After the manic, propulsive mayhem that is Good Time, I’m down to ride with the Safdie Brothers anytime, anywhere. And for their next act, they take Adam Sandler, he of late-era Netflix poop joke, and put him in a serious, nerve jangling crime movie. The buzz on Uncut Gems has been through the roof after a festival run, and just watching this first trailer stresses me the hell out. 

Check out the trailer and a new posters below.

'Running With The Devil' (2019) Movie Review

There’s a lot going on in Running With the Devil, but also somehow absolutely nothing at all. It jumbles together too many storylines, drug movie clichés, flat characters, and an epic cast of B-movie all stars.

'Villains' (2019) Movie Review

Mickey (Bill Skarsgård, It) and Jules (Maika Monroe, The Guest, It Follows) are a wannabe Bonnie and Clyde. Drug addled, wild, and in love, they plan to rob their way to Florida, with an overly idyllic dream of selling sea shells on the sea shore. Until they break into the wrong house. When circumstances dictate they invade the home of George (Jeffrey Donovan, Burn Notice) and Gloria (Kyra Sedgwick, The Closer), a stuffy, seemingly uptight couple, they get so much more than they bargained for and we find out who the real bad guys are. So goes Villains, the new horror-comedy from writer/directors Dan Berk and Robert Olsen (Stake Land 2). 

'In The Tall Grass' Trailer: A Stephen King Field Is A Very Scary Field

And the Stephen King cinematic renaissance continues. In our new quest to adapt every last iota of the horror master’s work, here comes In the Tall Grass, based on a novella by King and his son, Joe Hill, who is a badass horror writer in his own right. Written and directed by Vincenzo Natali (Splice), Netflix dropped the first trailer. True to form, it’s creepy and strange and everything is not as it initially appears. Check it out below. 

'Haunt' (2019) Movie Review

Haunt, the new movie written and directed by A Quiet Place writers Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, delivers precisely what the concept promises. For better or worse, your mileage may vary, some people may like it, and all that claptrap.

'Monos' (2019) Movie Review

This is an updated version of an earlier review.

High atop a remote mountain, a cadre of eight teenagers with names like Rambo, Smurf, Boom Boom, and Swede, armed with automatic weapons, guard a prisoner and keep watch over a milk cow. A faction of a mysterious group known only as The Organization, this adolescent guerilla squad, left to their own devices, breaks down as loyalties shift and allegiances falter, and their crumbling structure and sanity build towards violence.

'Freaks' (2018) Movie Review

With the glut of big-budget superhero blockbusters, there’s been a bit of a reactionary trend, a wave of smaller “superhero, but…” movies. Most recently think Brightburn, with its “Superman, but evil” concept. We can throw Glass, Fast Color, and more into this category of films that take common superhero tropes and tics, look at them from a different perspective, and filter them through an indie lens, usually grounding them in more reality-based circumstances. 

Pre-Order 'Hitchhiking Through Fire' By Brent McKnight Now

UPDATED: I’d say I like to keep personal news out of these posts for the most part. But if you’ve read anything I’ve ever written on here, you know that’s a crock and know more about my life than I should probably reveal to strangers on the internet. Whatever. I do, however, have some personal/professional news that’s both exciting and, I hope, relevant to your interests. 

'Riot Girls' (2019) Movie Review

An alternate 1995 where a mysterious disease kills off all the adults and warring gangs of kids—the poor kids from the East Side of Potter’s Bluff and the preppy jocks from the West Side—battle for turf and survival. With that logline, it’s no wonder Jovanka Vuckovic’s Riot Girls made my top 50 most-anticipated movies of 2019 list. 

'Desolation Center' (2019) Movie Review

This is an updated version of an earlier review.

If you’ve ever wondered what it would be like to go on a punk rock field trip, like pile into school buses with a bunch of like-minded outsiders who are into the same kind of music as you, Stuart Swezey’s new documentary, Desolation Center, has you covered. 

'Depraved' (2019) Movie Review

This is an updated version of an earlier review.

The Frankenstein story has been adapted, tweaked, and tinkered with countless times across every medium. With Depraved legendary filmmaker Larry Fessenden gives the tale a lo-fi indie horror spin, though it’s more concerned with Brooklyn hipsters dealing with trauma than typical genre trappings.

'The Lighthouse' Trailer: It's Robert Pattinson Vs. Willem Dafoe

Over the weekend, The Lighthouse, the latest from The Witch director Robert Eggers, played at the Toronto International Film Festival. I try to avoid early reactions for movies I’m excited about, like this one, and I don’t put much stock in the reactions I do see come out of film festivals. But this one appears to have broken some brains, and I count that as a win. To mark the occasion, A24 released a new trailer, and I’m still not sure what we’re about to witness.

'Tigers Are Not Afraid' (2017) Movie Review

Though I usually wind up liking but not loving his movies as much as many other people, Guillermo del Toro has an infectious love and enthusiasm for film. Especially horror. In 2018, the same year he won a Best Picture Oscar for The Shape of Water, he declared Issa Lopez’ Tigers are Not Afraid one of his favorite films of the year. And it’s easy to see why he approves, as it bears a heavy influence of films like Pan’s Labyrinth and The Devil’s Backbone, while maintaining its own identity. Though it’s taken its sweet time, Tigers has finally hit theaters and is one of the best films, in any genre, you’re likely to find.

'Satanic Panic' (2019) Movie Review

“Death to the weak, wealth to the strong.” Poverty is cyclical, a vicious circle from which it’s almost impossible to escape. The rich exploit the poor to stay rich and accumulate more, feeding on the lower class, using them as tools to amass more and more. This feeding usually happens in a metaphorical sense. In Chelsea Stardust’s Satanic Panic, we’re talking literal class warfare and consumption, graphic horror style.

'Bad Boys For Life' Trailer: Will Smith And Martin Lawrence Ride Again

If you’re familiar with this website, you know I’m of the mind that Michael Bay’s Bad Boys II is the most quintessentially American movie ever made. The scene where Will Smith and Martin Lawrence drive a bright yellow Hummer through a Cuban slum—as in, through buildings—with zero regard for human life, after invading a sovereign foreign nation of their own accord, distills it all in such pure fashion. But anyway, I digress. Bad Boys For Life, the third chapter in the saga, picks up the duo 16 years later and, at least from this first trailer, they appear to be up to their old tricks again.

'Girl With No Mouth' Trailer: Can Evrenol Returns With A Post-Apocalyptic Fable

With the likes of Baskin and Housewife on his CV, Turkish director Can Evrenol has proven more than adept at crafting straight up nightmare fuel in the form of horror movies. While his latest, Girl With No Mouth, looks dark and strange, it appears to fall more into the fairy tale or fable category than whatever the hell family his other films belong to. Check out a new trailer below.