Published inEverything’s Interesting·Apr 28Member-only[Salem Horror Festival] ‘Follow Her’ Review — A wickedly fun social media thrillerA review of the new horror movie, at the Salem Horror Festival now and on VOD in June — Horror, as a genre, is well-positioned to respond to changing social conditions. In horror we see our worst fears reflected back to us, often seeming to confirm that we live in a world without a moral compass. This has always been the case. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari is in…Horror5 min readHorror5 min read
Published inEverything’s Interesting·Apr 26Member-only[Salem Horror Festival] ‘Brightwood’ Review — Time-loop horror wears its subtext on its sleeveA review of the new horror film, at the Salem Horror Festival now — About halfway through Brightwood, when I felt like I had a pretty good grasp on what was happening, I wondered whether the movie was based on a short. Sure enough, writer/director Dane Elcar expanded his 2018 film Pond into Brightwood, this time focusing the twisted time-loopy action on a married…Horror4 min readHorror4 min read
Published inEverything’s Interesting·Apr 22Member-only[Salem Horror Festival] ‘Wolves’ Review — A decent movie with one exceptional sequenceA review of the new film, at the Salem Horror Festival this month — Nestled away in Wolves — a decent thriller overall — is one truly exceptional sequence around which the entire film pivots. The unnamed main character (Mark Nocent) has become fixated on a series of ritualistic killings of local animals, fascinated by the idea that the killer is someone like him…Horror4 min readHorror4 min read
Published inEverything’s Interesting·Apr 22Member-only‘How to Blow Up a Pipeline’ Review — An urgent, provocative, radical thrillerA review of the new film, in theaters now — A couple of years ago, on a drive north of Los Angeles, I stopped at the Vista Del Lago Visitors Center on the edge of Pyramid Lake. The place was deserted, but as I wandered through the exhibits about water conservation, they ground to life. A disembodied voice came over…Film6 min readFilm6 min read
Published inEverything’s Interesting·Mar 31Member-only‘Spinning Gold’ Review — Music biopic is an unmitigated disasterA review of the new film, in theaters now — Neil Bogart was the head of Casablanca Records in the 70s, the label behind KISS, Donna Summer, The Isley Brothers, Bill Withers, sometimes Gladys Knight, and more. New biopic Spinning Gold is written and directed by his son. …Music6 min readMusic6 min read
Published inEverything’s Interesting·Mar 27Member-only[Make Believe Seattle] ‘Mister Organ’ Review — David Farrier’s latest doc is chilling and thought-provokingA review of the new documentary, at Make Believe Seattle — In 2016, Kiwi journalist and documentarian David Farrier released Tickled. The film was about a strange man named David Damato, a man who Farrier discovered was at the center of a ring of abusive production companies making videos of buff young men being tickled. Damato insisted it wasn’t fetish content…Documentary5 min readDocumentary5 min read
Published inEverything’s Interesting·Mar 26Member-only[Make Believe Seattle] ‘Pursued’ Review — Angus Macfadyen elevates tepid horror scriptA review of the new horror movie, world-premiering at Make Believe Seattle — Pursued, a new horror movie from director Jeffrey Obrow (The Dorm That Dripped Blood), has a few things going for it. Sadly, the plot is not one of them. It’s about a high school girl named Lark (Madison Lawlor) who has a lot going on in her life as she…Horror4 min readHorror4 min read
Published inEverything’s Interesting·Mar 19Member-only‘The Price We Pay’ Review — Crime thriller meets grisly torture pornA review of the new horror film, on demand now — At first, The Price We Pay seems like a crime thriller. In the movie’s first act, Cody (Stephen Dorff) robs a pawn shop with the help of two brothers. Alex (Emile Hirsch) seems like a man with a screw loose; he’s obsessed with games of chance and carries a pair…Horror4 min readHorror4 min read
Published inEverything’s Interesting·Mar 17Member-only‘Who Killed Robert Wone?’ Review — Sordid doc is part of a long history of true crime about gay menA review of the new docuseries, streaming on Peacock now — Peacock’s new true-crime series Who Killed Robert Wone? attempts to piece together the facts surrounding the baffling 2006 murder of a Washington, DC lawyer. “I’ve always likened this murder to a jigsaw puzzle,” a blogger says in the opening seconds of the series, “but you don’t know how many pieces…True Crime7 min readTrue Crime7 min read
Published inEverything’s Interesting·Feb 23Member-only“It’s an erotic film; I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that.” — ‘Lonesome’ director Craig Boreham on sex scenes, pandemic productions, and the enduring allure of the cowboyAustralian drama ‘Lonesome’ is in select US theaters now — Director Craig Boreham’s sophomore feature Lonesome is a movie about sex. The film centers around Casey (Josh Lavery), a cowboy who emerges out of the vastness of Australia’s countryside to seek refuge amidst the city lights of Sydney. “Didn’t take long for you to get your Big Smoke slut on,”…Queer7 min readQueer7 min read
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