Maggie shows the Austrian Oak is still putting down roots

 

As his involvement in Terminator Genisys shows, Arnold Schwarzenegger is not a man who’s afraid to return to the same watering hole.

Over the course of forty years — and almost sixty films — he’s taken on iconic villains like the Predator, the T-1000, and Charles Dance (because screw it, I liked The Last Action Hero), but has so far steered clear of the Universal lineup vis-a-vis Dracula, Mummy, and The Wolfman.…

For a film about a haunting, Poltergeist (2015) is very much a non-entity.

How do you one-up Steven Spielberg?

Rumors have circulated for years that he was the creative force behind Poltergeist, as opposed to director-for-hire Tobe Hooper; perhaps not surprising given the ‘Berg’s reputation as arguably the foremost American director of all time.…

What We Do in the Shadows is silly, macabre fun

 

For all the variations of the zombie movie out there – standard horror, Nazisploitation, the zomcom – it’s a bit of a surprise there aren’t more takes on the vampire.

Their slightly more refined brethren, for all that velvet, lace, and eyeliner, have been played surprisingly “straight”.…

It Follows is a brilliant, terrifying paean to the Carpenter tradition

 

Is there any genre that has defined a decade as much as horror defined the ‘80s – and visa versa, of course

From The Thing to Day of the Dead, they brought psychological insight to a form otherwise defined by B-movie schlock.…

The Woman In Black: Angel of Death is a ghost of its predecessor

 

Though Halloween has long since passed, it’s the perfect time of year for a ghost story. As such, we bid a welcome – if somewhat wary – return to cinema’s most recognizable poltergeist: the Woman in Black.

The Woman in Black: Angel of Death picks up much where we left off: on the train tracks, albeit huddled on the Tube at the height of the London Blitz.…

The Babadook is the best horror film you’ll see in 2014

 

In a genre that too often inclined towards schlock, it’s rare to find a horror film that truly has something to say about the human condition.

The Babadook is just such a film.

A micro-budget Australian horror, The Babadook takes place in the home of the frazzled Amelia (Essie Davis) and her seven-year-old son Samuel (Noah Wiseman), who has “behavioral problems”.…

The Guest is worth leaving home for

David Collins, Dan Stevens’ character in Adam Wingard’s new thriller, The Guest, would be about as far removed as you can image from Matthew Crawley, the agreeable young gentleman he played in Downton Abbey.

Well, apart from the issues of manners: David is faultlessly polite, overflowing with “Sirs” and “Ma’ams”, even while bringing destruction down upon the heads of the Peterson clan.…

As Above, So Below ends up smack in the middle

 

The Catacombs of Paris contain the remains of more than six million people.

Consisting of 200 miles of underground tunnel, much of it uncharted, to get lost down there, to lose your flashlight or to run out of water is to die.…

Oculus gets you right between the eyes

 

All families, no matter how idyllic, are haunted.

We are all scarred by our experiences, growing up, as adults, however superficially: what we hear – our parents arguing in their bedroom – what we or don’t see – the monster at the foot of the bed.…

The Conjuring is an entertaining scary go-round

Latest in the new genre of exorcism films (see: The Rite, The Exorcism of Emily Rose), The Conjuring is directed by Saw and Insidious creator James Wan. As you might expect, it’s “bloody… scary” (eh, eh?).

An All-American family moves into their dream home in rural Rhode Island, are immediately beset by a selection of terrifying phenomena, and forced to call in experts, the Warren’s – engaging Patrick Wilson and winsome Vera Farmiga – a pleasant couple with a locked study full of possessed toys in place of a rumpus room.