Victor Frankenstein movie review: monster mush
A riff on the Hollywood conventions of a story we know very well already, with little new to say. James McAvoy’s mad scientist is fun to watch, though.
horror
High-Rise movie review: afterscape in the sky (LFF 2015)
Ben Wheatley takes on J.G. Ballard, and it’s a frustrating experience: visually striking but far too literal while aiming for the allegorical.
The Hallow movie review: misses the forest for the trees
Nothing but atmosphere, albeit atmosphere that is more effective and elegant than the typical horror flick. But there’s almost no actual story here.
Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse movie review: be prepared… to throw it in the campfire
One of the most sexist movies I’ve ever seen. Male juvenile fantasy at its most tired, its most obvious, its most banal, and its most infuriating.
Tales of Halloween movie review: buckets of blood, and lots of laughs
The best of the bunch in this anthology of vaguely interconnected shorts are the outrageous and uproarious genre pastiches “Friday the 31st” and “Bad Seed.”
The Vatican Tapes movie review: to the devil with it
The demonic-possession subgenre isn’t exactly one crammed with quality cinematic experiences, but it hits a dull, unscary new low with this inept flick.
The Keeping Room movie review: a place that women know
Call this a revisionist feminist postapocalyptic historical western home-invasion horror drama. But even that doesn’t quite do it justice.
Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension movie review: beyond the pale
Cheap, lazy, and limited by its slavish adherence to the found-footage trope. Bonus: features the most cynical use ever of 3D to boost cinema ticket prices.
The Last Witch Hunter movie review: burn it at the stake
If this were Law & Order: Black Magic, which it almost seems like it wants to be, it’d be a helluva lot more interesting than it is.
Goosebumps movie review: stick with the books (LFF 2015)
More theme-park attraction than movie, and paradoxically distastefully self-congratulatory about the Goosebumps phenomenon and insulting toward its author.
