Growing up is difficult for most. Learning who you are, what influences you, and nurture versus nature all factor in developing as a human being. When family secrets and dysfunction come into play, the “coming of age” process becomes much more complicated. Julia Ducournau’s film Raw takes these factors with a female perspective, creating a... Continue Reading →
Shudder Exclusive: Sweet, Sweet Lonely Girl
Shudder consistently offers new and exciting films that surpass all the generic horrors out there. This time, they’ve brought us director and writer A.D. Calvo who takes us back in time to combine a lonely teenage girl, unrequited love, creepy gothic horror, and a retro vibe for his latest film Sweet, Sweet Lonely Girl. Adele... Continue Reading →
Fantasia Film Festival 2020: Lucky
A woman’s fight to gain independence is a constant one. In Natasha Kermani’s Lucky, we see a motivational writer struggle to take her own advice within an endless loop fighting an unknown assailant. May (Brea Grant) is a successful self-help author, but her latest book isn’t doing so well. She’s also trying to reconnect with... Continue Reading →
In Plain Sight: She Never Died
As a programmer for The Blood in the Snow Film Festival, I have the privilege of seeing some fantastic films created here in Canada, and I feel even luckier when we acquire them. One such film, She Never Died, screened in 2019 to great acclaim. Directed by Audrey Cummings, it’s not exactly a sequel to... Continue Reading →
Atlantics and the Beauty of Lost Love
Mati Diop’s Atlantics (Atlantique) is a tale of loss, eternal love and a vibrant vision of modern African storytelling very much needed to expose filmgoers to new representations of genre film. In the city of Dakar, Ada (Mame Bineta Sane) is betrothed to the rich and worldly Omar (Babacar Sylla) and she’s not happy. She... Continue Reading →
The Perfection: Dedication and Depravity Scores a 10
If you’re thirsting for an Asian horror-inspired, stylized roller coaster ride with buckets of tension, look no further than Richard Shepard’s The Perfection. Charlotte (Allison Williams, Girls, Get Out) is a musical prodigy. Enrolled in the elite Bachoff Academy where students are hand-picked for their talent, she is destined to become a legendary cellist. Family... Continue Reading →
Book Review: The 1990’s Teen Horror Cycle: Final Girls and a New Hollywood Formula
The 90s were a big shiny blur for me. I was a coltish 21 in 1991 and then suddenly I was 30, missing out on being a teen during that decade, but still young enough to consume the teen entertainment up for grabs. During that big shiny blur was a new kind of horror, one... Continue Reading →
Horror Noire: History Lesson, Validation and Hope for Black Horror
I am beside myself with relief, joy and optimism because my life as a black woman horror fan has been validated. When I watched horror films as a young person, I cringed when a black character appeared, certain they were going to be ridiculed, portrayed as a caricature, or something bad was going to happen... Continue Reading →