A review of the new horror film, at the Chattanooga Film Festival now — New Argentinian horror movie PussyCake opens with a prologue of sorts, introducing us to a teenage boy hard at work in a bedroom that’s been fashioned into a makeshift lab. Newspaper articles tacked to his wall describe a missing scientist; we realize this boy is recreating his father’s research in…

A review of the new documentary, at the Chattanooga Film Festival now — What a day to watch this film. I want to be up front that this is less a review and more a document of my own experience watching the movie, which I guess in some ways is as honest as I can be. I’m someone who very easily empathizes with…

A review of the new horror film, on VOD now — “Do they remember how they got here?” asks Margot (Luisa Taraz) towards the beginning of Dawn Breaks Behind the Eyes, a new German horror film that played at the Chattanooga Film Festival and is newly on VOD. “Do they communicate with each other? Are they trapped or free? …

A review of the instant-classic slasher, at the Chattanooga Film Festival now — You know you’re in for a good time when a horror movie opens with Tony Todd playing the piano dramatically before turning directly to the camera and purring, “Good evening.” Bitch Ass, director Bill Posley’s new slasher, does just that. It’s part of a frame story for the film that…

A review of the new horror/comedy, at the Chattanooga Film Festival Now — Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: a priest, a homeless man, and his pregnant girlfriend walk into a house… Actually, I’ll stop you there: you definitely haven’t heard this one before. Writer/director Eric Pennycoff’s new horror/comedy The Leech may feel familiar at first, beginning as an odd-couple comedy…

A review of the new experimental documentary, at the Chattanooga Film Festival Now — Joële Walinga’s new documentary Self-Portrait opens with a title card reading, “This film is made of real moments captured globally through unlocked surveillance cameras.” …

A review of the horror film, on Shudder now — I’m reeling from Phil Tippett’s Mad God, a dialogue-free stop-motion nightmare that apparently took the animator thirty years to finish. I decided to dive right in and write this as a way to process my thoughts in real time, so you’ll have to excuse me if this doesn’t read like…

A review of the new film, on Netflix now — Netflix quietly released what should have been a major film this weekend. Spiderhead is directed by Joseph Kosinski, who was at the helm of the biggest blockbuster of the year, Top Gun: Maverick. It stars one of that film’s breakouts, Miles Teller, and also features Chris Hemsworth, whose Thor: Love…

A review of the historical comedy, in select theaters 5/27 — Writer/director/Slamdance co-founder Dan Mirvish has assembled an exceptional cast for his new indie 18½, a movie that’s difficult to categorize. It’s part comedic farce, part paranoid conspiracy thriller, part what-if historical drama; it all adds up to a pleasant-enough little romp through a pivotal point in American history, when trust…