Late Night With The Devil (2024)

A live TV talk show from the 1970s takes an unexpected turn when the supernaturally inclined guests turn out to be more genuine than expected.

'Late Night With The Devil' is a more unusual horror film, with a fresh and original take and feel. It doesn't work perfectly as a whole, but some of its parts are excellently rendered.

Director:  Cameron Cairnes, Colin Cairnes   

With: David Dastmalchian, Laura Gordon, Ian Bliss

Rating: 7/10

The Deliverance (2024)

A mother risks losing her children due to the effects of a supernatural influence in the house they live in.

'The Deliverance' is a satisfying but also frustrating horror film at the same time. The supernatural part is done quite well and Glenn Close is phenomenal as the dysfunctional grandmother, but the intention to inspire pity or outrage at the treatment of the mother is confusing at best, since said mother does treat her children quite often inexplicably.

Director:  Lee Daniels   

With: Andra Day, Glenn Close, Anthony B. Jenkins, Mo'Nique, Omar Epps

Rating: 7/10

Abigail (2024)

A group of criminals who do not know each other are hired to kidnap the daughter of a tycoon without knowing important sinister secrets.

"Abigail" is a heist, action and horror movie. Its twist has already been revealed from the trailer or other media sources, but the film manages to still be satisfying and well made, with a good measure of action combined with cheap but effective plot points, resulting in a film that maintains one's attention and satisfies the need for good entertainment.

Director:  Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillett   

With: Melissa Barrera, Dan Stevens, Alisha Weir, Kathryn Newton, Angus Cloud, Giancarlo Esposito, Kevin Durand, Matthew Goode

Rating: 8/10

House of Spoils (2024)

A talented chef tries to create her own name in a new, isolated location, which seems full of elements that sabotage her efforts.

'House of Spoils' is a melange film, interesting and surprising in its choices, disguised as a horror film, but it is actually about doubt versus sekf confidence, returning to nature and one's roots and freedom of mind. Simple and effective, it maintains the atmosphere through originality.

Director:  Bridget Savage Cole, Danielle Krudy    

With: Ariana DeBose, Barbie Ferreira, Arian Moayed

Rating: 7.5/10

Oddity (2024)

A specialist in supernatural antiquities visits the house where her sister was murdered to uncover the hidden details.

'Oddity' is a predominantly horror film that borrows elements off of the police investigation genre. Beautifully constructed, with an atmosphere well maintained by a rich mix of efficacious sounds and well done subtle visual effects.

Director:  Damian Mc Carthy     

With: Carolyn Bracken, Johnny French, Steve Wall, Gwilym Lee, Tadhg Murphy

Rating: 9/10

Reeker (2005)

A group of young people try to understand the incidents and morbid visions they experience during a roadtrip break at an apparently abandoned motel.

'Reeker' is a horror film dressed in slasher clothes. It is full of originality in terms of all the incidents and the clarification at the end does not have a damaging effect despite the quasi-predictability. It would have benefited from a modern cinematic treatment, favor given to similar titles only in the last decade, due to the growing appreciation of the genre thanks to what we call "elevated horror".

Director:  Dave Payne   

With: Derek Richardson, Michael Ironside, Arielle Kebbel, Eric Mabius, Devon Gummersall

Rating: 8/10

Desaparecer por completo / Disappear Completely (2022)

A photographer inherits a curse involving the loss of all 5 senses at a crime scene.

'Disappear Completely' is a horror with an interesting idea. The action takes place slowly, implacably and the ending does not surprise much.

Director:  Luis Javier Henaine  

With: Harold Torres, Tete Espinoza, Fermín Martínez

Rating: 7/10

Lore (2017-2018)

Each episode of Lore analyzes the real origins of some traditional stories or urban myths.

'Lore' is an interesting anthology series, which chooses a different folklore story or urban myth for each episode and punctuates through dramatization real historical facts that were the basis of the origin of that story (for example the wolf in Little Red Riding Hood is only a man who hides sinister habits and tastes). Well made, well documented, and it's interesting how it attracted quite famous names to bring history back to life.

  

Production:  Amazon   

Creator:  Aaron Mahnke

Duration: 2 seasons of 6 episodes (40 minutes each)   

With: Emmett J Scanlan, Jürgen Prochnow, Paula Malcomson, Robert Patrick, Campbell Scott, Colme Feore, Alicia Witt, Kristin Bauer

Rating: 8/10

The Unholy (2021)

A deaf young woman receives visits from Saint Mary, but the experiences begin to show more sinister causes.

'The Unholy' is a horror film with religious foundations. It's not the most original story, and it's predictable, but if nothing else, it can fill a Tuesday night.

Director:  Evan Spiliotopoulos     

With: Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Cricket Brown, William Sadler, Katie Aselton

Rating: 6/10

The Skeptic (2009)

A skeptic who does not believe in the supernatural inherits a haunted house.

'The Skeptic' is a light horror film with classic ideas. It has an interesting cast, a central story that has traction, but does not rise much above a mediocre level.

Director:  Tennyson Bardwell  

With: Tim Daly, Tom Arnold, Zoe Saldana, Edward Herrmann

Rating: 7/10

Saw X (2023)

John Kramer is deceived by a group that promises him a miraculous cure and decides to punish them.

'Saw X' is the latest addition to the long-running franchise. A probably exciting event for the fans, but unfortunately the screenwriters decided to make quick money and ignore the need for consistency and credibility of the character.

Director:  Kevin Greutert   

With: Tobin Bell, Shawnee Smith, Synnøve Macody Lund, Steven Brand

Rating: 6/10

The Nun II (2023)

The nun Irene is sent to investigate a series of religious crimes that seem to be committed by the previously defeated demon.

'The Nun II' is the continuation of the story of the ghost nun from the films from The Conjuring franchise. It keeps the original distribution (with small changes) and somehow manages to obtain a more consistent and whole result, with as many horror-type actions as it can fit and many layers that manage to keep attention away from any possible flaws. Not flawless but attention grabing with what the audience likes.

Director:  Michael Chaves   

With: Taissa Farmiga, Jonas Bloquet, Storm Reid, Anna Popplewell

Rating: 7.5/10

Primeval (2007)

A news team wants to create sensation with the story of the capture of a famous crocodile, but the local war-ish conflict puts new obstacles in their way.

"Primeval" is a horror thriller about the danger of monsters that do really exist: crocodiles, military dictators. The story is predictable, the characters' traits are just cloned from many other familiar similar subjects with very few exceptions, and the action is easy to anticipate at every step. It's all a little too derivative.

Director:  Michael Katleman    

With: Dominic Purcell, Orlando Jones, Brooke Langton, Jürgen Prochnow

Rating: 6/10

The Other Side of the Door (2016)

A mother risks a dangerous ritual to see her lost son again.

'The Other Side of the Door' is a horror film built around the drama of losing a child, which seems to be a subgenre all of its own. The actions of the mother are easy to understand up to a certain point, but the originality of the ritual and the interesting setting are not enough to raise the level of the result. Interesting for a run of the mill horror.

Director:  Johannes Roberts   

With: Sarah Wayne Callies, Jeremy Sisto, Sofia Rosinsky, Logan Creran

Rating: 6/10

Baghead (2023)

A young woman inherits her estranged father's pub, in which is imprisoned a being that can bring back the deceased temporarily.

"Baghead" is a horror film that uses the traditional elements of the genre (nightmarish screams, sudden noises, etc.) but brings to life a popular idea ("the wronged witch") with an original reimagining. It has enough flaws (dubious choices of the main character, the unfounded and superficially treated vilification of the extra male character), but it deserves attention for its breath of fresh air and the clever ending.

Director: Alberto Corredor    

With:  Freya Allan, Jeremy Irvine, Ruby Barker, Peter Mullan

Rating: 7.6-ish/10

Men (2022)

Harper rents a house in the country side to recover from the trauma of her ex-husband's death.

'Men' is at a first glance a dramatic story, full of trauma and painful memories and monotonous walks on forest paths and fields. Until it turns into something else, a kind of horror (which was expected) mixed in with morbid poetic analysis of the harmful effect of toxic male personalities. Although it is an often heard lesson, the film remains interesting and hypnotic through its quota of creepiness and its originality in execution.

Director:  Alex Garland     

With: Jessie Buckley, Rory Kinnear, Paapa Essiedu, Gayle Rankin

Rating: 9/10

The Blackening (2022)

A group of 7 friends organizes a reunion weekend with a few surprises.

'The Blackening' is a horror comedy. The horror-slasher element is not very intense, but just enough to serve as a catalyst for intelligent and funny exchanges.

Director:  Tim Story   

With: Grace Byers, Jermaine Fowler, Melvin Gregg, X Mayo

Rating: 8/10

Bones And All (2022)

A young woman suffering from a violent genetic trait begins a journey of discovery through America.

'Bones And All' is a horror drama about self-knowledge and acceptance of the whole. Well acted, with some quite intense scenes, and a believable love story, elements that, viewed in isolation, seem rather important, and yet the film fails to convey convincingly the message that any of its characters has something that compensates for their inner monster.

Director:  Luca Guadagnino     

With: Timothée Chalamet, Taylor Russell, Mark Rylance, Kendle Coffey, Michael Stuhlbarg, Chloë Sevigny, Sean Bridgers

Rating: 7/10

Anna and the Apocalypse (2017)

A group of teenagers try to survive during a zombie apocalypse.

'Anna and the Apocalypse' is a horror musical. Full of music that's so typical of the genre, which just springs up at any moment, the film is faithful to its horror roots, both in terms of the quantity of gore and the weak amount of a Hollywood ending. Interesting and original.

Director:  John McPhail 

With: Ella Hunt, Malcolm Cumming, Sarah Swire, Christopher Leveaux

Rating: 7.4/10

Books of Blood (2020)

Three seemingly unrelated stories: a young woman running away from her own conscience, a mother who wants to communicate with her dead son and some criminals on the hunt for a legendary book.

'Books of Blood' is a horror anthology film based on the books of the same name by Clive Barker. A giant of the genre, his horror style is easily felt in this adaptation. The three stories are well put together, their surprising connections revealed skillfully and without pomp, and the teams of actors are well chosen.

Director: Brannon Braga 

With: Britt Robertson, Freda Foh Shen, Nicholas Campbell, Anna Friel

Rating: 8.3/10