Though it enjoys a positive reputation as such, The Descent can only be called a monster movie with a major caveat. Like The Blair Witch before it, it wrings at least half – if not more – of its horror from its ominous setting. In this case, it’s the labyrinthine caves of North Carolina, an alien, impossibly dark environment that’s one of the movie’s most indelible characters. Continue reading
One of Netflix’s latest film releases, Spanish sci-fi/horror movie The Platform is enjoying a minor splash on the streaming giant, which is the most one can hope for in the reign of Tiger King. Though never stated outright, the movie is presumably set in the future, where the shadowy “Administration” runs a sadistic institution that’s half prison, half social experiment. Continue reading
I will admit to taking some petty pleasure in being able to say that I knew about Oscar sensation Bong Joon-Ho all the way back in 2007, when I went to go see The Host at the age of 15. Though not an obscure indie by any means – its budget was over ten million dollars, and it broke South Korean box office records – it received a limited release here in the states, and certainly wasn’t a household name among foreign movies of the time. With Parasite getting unprecedented media attention, I thought I’d look back at Bong’s unconventional monster movie. Continue reading
Of all the cinematic trash I have a soft spot for, few genres are closer to my heart than the save-the-world disaster movie. Give me your Armageddons, your Day After Tomorrows, your Cores; I cherish them all. I suspect that’s because the genre is one that so readily lends itself to corniness; how can one be expected to tackle a premise as melodramatic as saving the world without, well, melodrama? Continue reading
Subgenre: Ghost / Foreign
Summary: Sent home to live with their father and stepmother, two sisters begin to experience supernatural phenomena. Continue reading
Join me and my co-host Vil as we discuss the 1971 Japanese monster movie Godzilla vs. Hedorah. We’ll discuss the movie’s powerful jam sessions, the hallucinatory fish head sequence, and more. Spoilers ahead!
Subgenre: Possession / Foreign
Summary: The arrival of a mysterious foreigner in a South Korean village coincides with a series of gruesome murders. Continue reading
