It’s hard not to appreciate Writer/director Mike Flanagan’s devout commitment to the horror genre. He appears game to tackle anything, has a zillion counterintuitive concepts up his sleeve and is even known to occasionally spin semi-gold from stinky straw (looking at you OUIJA: ORGIN OF EVIL). He’s wowed me on many occasions but he also has a tendency to gild the lily and mangle classic tales to the point that they lose part of their identity. I wasn’t crazy about the liberties he took with the great Shirley Jackson’s THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE but I had to admit he delivered a fascinating ghost story of his own (at least until its regrettable tacked on happy ending). His attention to detail adapting Stephen King’s DOCTOR SLEEP is remarkable yet his cringy finale, which involves the Overlook hotel’s tortured spirits teaming up to exact vengeance, makes me want to throw a chair through a window (plus, what kinda nut benches the creepy bear/dog phantom?). I guess I’ll always be interested in what he’s cooking (looking forward to rolling the dice on EXORCIST: MARTYRS & would even give CARRIE season 2 a stab) but I gotta admit something about his taste and/or decision making skills historically doesn’t always click with me (and its not because I’m a traditionalist who can’t accept fresh takes, I nearly cheer with pom moms for Rob Zombie’s HALLOWEEN interpretations and I’m the lone person in North America who blesses 2011’s THE THING prequel). Also please notice I have nothing derogatory to say about MIDNIGHT MASS, that one is stellar and is kind enough not to step on any established classics toes.

The tale of Stephen King’s CARRIE has been recounted several times before (& even more if we’re counting RAGE 2 and the musical) so it makes sense that to justify a new rendition something new should be brought to the table. How about being the first to present Carrie as a book accurate unattractive annoying schlub? Nah, let’s add a secret cabal of meta-humans that infiltrate the prom in an attempt to recruit! Honestly, I wish I could say my biggest complaint in regards to Flanagan’s eight episode miniseries/possible pilot was its additions, the truth is that it’s what is left out and discarded that really stings. This Jenga tower tumbles not because of the pieces sloppily added to the top but because of the important emotional structural pieces hastily ripped out of the spine. Carrie’s all important relationship with her mother is severely muted and uncomfortably simpatico at times. At 394 minutes nary a moment is given to explore her complicated relationship with sometimes ally gym teacher Miss Desjardin (Collins per De Palma). Instead, we get framing history lesson vignettes before each episode and meandering moments with faculty members at a local watering hole.

In some ways every generation gets the “Carrie” they deserve. Theoretically, it’s absolutely understandable to update the story so that it’s relevant to modern teens in the hopes that they might relate. The problem is, the current state of our culture leaves a lot to be desired and a lot of our so-called advancements are lifeless, aesthetically bland and objectively un-cinematic. I want to watch a movie, I don’t want to be forced to routinely look at someone’s social media account, watch random texts roll by, observe a Tik Tok dance or witness characters filming influencer videos with a ring lamp; at least not when I could be watching bullies being burned alive at the prom. Flanigan's version of the fateful cathartic event that both Carrie and the viewer have richly earned lasts about five minutes and is contaminated by unintroduced characters rambling about, a possession of sorts that absolves Carrie from all blame and agency and a general rage-free emotional disassociation that flattens the entire affair. All that could be forgiven if it was recouped by Carrie’s final confrontation with her mother but that too feels limp and lacking of fervor. Maybe it’s me, I guess I just prefer my Carrie leaning more towards a demented Tennessee Williams play than an X-man comic book. Is part of getting older liking each new version of CARRIE less and less? From what I’ve seen Flanagan hit the nail on the head with the young crowd he was aiming for so maybe I’ll just keep De Palma’s work of art (complete with God teir Donoggio score) in my heart and shuffle off.

Maybe I’m just an old dog who can’t learn these new tricks (or Haute & Freddy songs). The truth is, Flanagan’s talent is such that even if he burns the main course, you can be sure there’s plenty of worthwhile side dishes and appetizers. Samantha Sloan is phenomenal as Margaret White. There’s a scene in which she takes the spreading of information at the high school into her own hands that is one for the ages. I would have loved for the script to allow her to go full beast mode. Summer H. Howell is perhaps too genuinely likable to pull off being a true outcast but she’s compelling just the same and subtly weird enough to ultimately convince. Where several individuals come off emotionally diluted compared to previous incarnations. Alison Thorton’s Chris Hargenson expands from being a one note bully into a more well rounded, complicated soul who is arguably experiencing an even more toxic home life than Carrie. It’s a shame more characters were not fleshed out in the same way. Josie Totah’s Tina Blake steals/saves every scene she’s in and I’m not sure how I would have gotten through the miniseries without her. Finally it’s hard for me to be too mad at a show that also operates as a spot the BATTLESTAR GALACTICA alumni game. There’s literally half a dozen actors from that much missed series popping up throughout CARRIE and I wholeheartedly got a kick out of that. So say we all.

But wait! Here comes a fresh new reason why you should probably take my opinion with a giant grain of salt! It turns out I rather enjoyed Rob Savage’s trippy and camp-tastic OTHER MOMMY, a movie reviled by critics and audiences alike! I swear I’m not trying to be contrary or special. I honestly can see why OTHER MOMMY isn’t dodging laurels due to it being a swirling structure-free avalanche of insanity but I found its surreal, go for broke, logic-be-damned fully inebriated, giddy nature refreshing. There’s zero bracing or coddling as Savage immediately throws the viewer into the coldest and deepest part of the pool and forces them to keep up with the bonkers waking nightmare that is well underway. Even the characters involved are not gifted with so much as a moment to process or rationalize events, they just gulp and accept their ridiculous new normal of perpetual unhinged day-glo lunacy. The steady anything can happen at anytime stance even brought me back to the groovy good ol’ days when watching A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET could shake your mental bearings and leave you with a tentative grasp on reality.

Little seven year old Bella (outstandingly played by Arabella Olivia Clark) has befriended a trickster entity who she calls "other mommy" that dwells in her closet and looks exactly like her workaholic mother Ursula (Jessica Chastain). Everyone needs friends but maybe not the kind that bends time at will, randomly transports you to bizarre dimensions, masquerades as those closet to you, and constantly pressures you to vacate your body so they can inhabit it in your place. Bella’s parents (including Jay Duplass as “Daddo”) naturally think Bella’s pal is imaginary until the shenanigans go way past explainable, the house nearly burns down and the specter begins appearing under cabinets with its limbs twisted up in impossible distortions. Wisely the clan fleas the property faster than the Lutzs’ skipped out of Amittyville but the wicked force isn't taking no for an answer and is constantly on their heals projecting hallucination whammies. Luckily for them Ursula’s mother knows a thing or two about the supernatural so they head to her seaside mansion and lucky for me said ghostbuster granny Ruth is played by the coolest and most beautiful lady who ever lived, Karen Allen (she of GHOST IN THE MACHINE ('93) fame, of course).

Sorta sloppy, undisciplined and downright maddeningly nonsensical OTHER MOMMY may be, but it also does an incredible job relaying the frightening feelings of childhood when it’s hard to decipher what’s real or trustworthy in the world and adults/parents can become horrifying strangers and/or threatening at the drop of a dime (An attempt is made to shove a “truth will set you free” parable in at the end but I think the stronger message involves standing your ground and simply punching fear in the face until it gets bored and splits). There’s also a lot of great ALICE IN WONDERLAND meets CORALINE vibes going about and more than a few innovate visuals and creature designs. OTHER MOTHER clearly is not going to be everyone's cup of glitter glue but the colorful creativity it expresses harkens back to the effervescent ‘80s/‘90s and that’s a treat on its own. I feel like it will gain traction and grow in appreciation in the years to come but don’t carve that in stone because I’ve been wrong before! In any case, yours truly is not going to harangue a movie that proudly bookends itself with Haircut 100’s “Favourite Shirts (Boy Meets Girl)”. That's for sure.

I’m a big fan of (nearly) all the Resident Evil video games and I probably should be ashamed about how many hours I’ve spent playing them (particularly part 4 & its remake). If you follow these pages you probably also know I think Zach Creggers’ BARBARIAN (2022) & WEAPONS (2025) are top tier when it comes to modern horror (I may have even spent most of last year obsessed with the iconic character Aunt Gladys and pretty much filled KT’s Instagram with back to back photoshopped tributes to her). All this to say I was very much looking forward to the new RESIDENT EVIL film. Cregger had kindly warned in advance that he wasn’t going to concentrate on beloved characters from the game series but would rather tell his own original survival story. Thankfully, that turned out to be a great idea because this movie delivers a purely unique vision of horror and is a contender to be my personal favorite in an unprecedented banner year for the genre (it certainly will be the film I will return to the most). This tour de force is truly something to behold; it’s sorta like DAWN OF THE DEAD meets AFTER HOURS (lead actor Austin Abrams even looks a bit like Griffin Dunne) meets THE THING (’82) & THE BLOB (’88) with a little bit of Lovecraft leaning WE LOVE KATAMARI thrown in.

Poor, put upon courier Bryan (Abrams) makes the rookie mistake of being a nice person and agrees to make one last delivery of a mysterious (and game accurate) package to a hospital in the notorious Raccoon City. He has recently heard news from his girlfriend (voiced by Cregger spouse/horror royalty Sara Paxton) that she may be pregnant so it’s likely he imagines that he’ll need some extra money in the future. Interestingly, much of the perpetual horrors he’ll soon encounter appear to be ripped directly from his psyche and grotesquely mirror his anxieties of becoming a parent, growing older, and being forced into new responsibilities. En route, a crazed woman jumps in front of his car on a dangerously snowy road and of course Bryan’s goodhearted nature is to help her. Unfortunately, as per life, his penchant for proving he’s up to the task and doing the right thing only snowball into increasingly terrifying and surreal monster strewn nightmare predicaments. As they say, no good deed goes unpunished (although usually the penalty doesn’t involve so many tentacles).

Now, when I mentioned before that I play the RESIDENT EVIL games repeatedly I sorta left out the part that my skill level is highly questionable or at least uneven. I’m not one of those sharp shooter guys that can plow through and own the game with ease. I’m more the type to freak out and get incredibly lucky once in awhile and see the closing card reading “YOU DIED” or “YOU ARE DEAD” often. Therefore, I really relate to and appreciate Cregger’s approach, he does a masterful job of putting the viewer right into the heart of the frequently exasperating events.This movie bypasses the usual heroics of previous RE adaptions (no shade to that fun series) and resembles how an ordinary person might react when faced with overwhelming situations. The result is, it’s more like actually playing a game than any other previous game based movies that I can think of; drawers are empty, weapons are scarce and the perfect shot is not guaranteed. Helping the relatability factor to the nth degree is Abram’s incredible performance as Bryan. He’s hilarious, sympathetic as hell and he’ll no doubt be remembered as one of the most lovably human characters in horror. He even has a little winter hat with sheep on it and places a seatbelt around the vulnerable parcel! Movies need more Bryans and frankly so does the world.

INSIDIOUS: OUT OF THE FURTHER. The game-changing INSIDIOUS franchise is admittedly long in the tooth but that tooth is still capable of some legitimate bite. The series delivered a perfectly suitable closure for itself with its full circle-previous entry (the Patrick Wilson helmed INSIDIOUS THE LAST DOOR) but when has that ever deterred a financially successful horror property. We get off to a rocky start with a ghostly too familiar childhood trauma backstory but you can bet your Ouija board that the chains get rattling as soon as lovable horror legend Lin Shay shows up as deceased yet ever helpful medium Elise. Most supernatural horror flicks that promise global catastrophe sadly lack the level of commitment (and budget) to fully deliver on the promise (I love you HELLRAISER III: HELL ON EARTH, but it’s true) but OUT OF THE FURTHER does a pretty decent job of illustrating the serious drop in quality of life in the event that a slew of ornery spirits took over your hood. Writer/Director David Chase (2020’s COME PLAY) does a fine job keeping viewers on their toes and offering a few unexpected twists and I personally couldn’t help but enjoy the plethora of throwbacks to the OG POLTERGEIST trilogy.

DOLLY (2025) Back in college, I’ll never forget reading the pulpy paperback BIG GURL by Thom Metzger and I’ve have had an impossible time trying to track it down again. All’s good though cuz Rod Blackhurst’s equally insane nosedive into absurdist grind house horror DOLLY does a fine job scratching the same colossal psycho-lady itch. The aesthetic of this backyard human barbecue is pure gritty, grimy blanched-out Tobe Hooper territory (there’s even a sign pointing toward the HOOPER mines) and God bless whoever on the production team provided my Achilles heal, a busload of creepy vintage dolls. This violent, teeth clenching, wrong turn, backwoods horror show has a few familiar ‘90s faces (Seann William Scott, Ethan Suplee and sports a menacing performance by wrestler Max The Impaler (not familiar with her work but good on her). Any movie that can rekindle memories of the first time I saw the ever twisted TOURIST TRAP (’79) gets a severed thumbs up from me.

BIG BABY Rob Zombie’s bro Spider One delivers on an unsettling atmosphere and an objectively alarming masked killer but its meta art vs actuality dilemma has been done better before (see I, MADMAN ('89) or WES CRAVEN’S NEW NIGHTMARE ('94)). Brandon Scott plays Adam Lewis, a once successful screenwriter dealing with writer’s block and maybe not the world’s most supportive girlfriend Kate (Krsy Fox). His creative problems appear temporarily solved thanks to inspiring nightmares but soon reality gets fuzzy and he’s not sure if the horrors he witnesses are in his mind or actually happening. The actors do a fine enough job but there’s only so much you can do with characters who are if not unlikable, are at least annoying (Lewis takes himself way too seriously while his gal is frequently clowning). The good news is that there are cameos by David Thornton Green (Art the clown) and Chaz Bono (who I remember being very jealous of as a child due to all the fawning attention Chaz got on the SONNY & CHER SHOW. My parents wouldn’t even buy me Legos (too messy), much less show me off on television). Ultimately, I gotta throw this BIG BABY out with the bathwater but at least the next time a certain acquaintance accuses me of “liking everything” when it comes to horror, I have ample evidence to the contrary.

THE END OF OAK STREET is a mostly fun, mostly family-friendly (not sure about that Dino sex scene) suburban ‘80s adventure that gives reverse LAND OF THE LOST meets JUMANJI in a funky, Dantesque (as in Joe. not Inferno) AMBLIN sandbox. It’s funny at times, exciting at times and confusing at times but has two game leads in Anne Hathaway & Ewen Mcgregor as parents in over their heads (really, I’ve never seen a poorer job on screen of folks attempting to board up their windows) when their neighborhood is inexplicably invaded by a multitude of prehistoric beasts. Director David Robert Mitchel (IT FOLLOWS) keeps a great pace and knows how to set up a thrilling set piece but the films juggling of alternate timelines (especially during the climax) can feel like a bit of a cowardly cheat. This address is unquestionably worth a visit but I’m sorta over dinosaurs at this point and kinda wish they got a little more creative and showed us some beasties we’ve never seen before.

PINOCCHIO UNSTRUNG. I’ve resisted all the recent public domain POOH-verse re-imaginings of favorite childhood tales and characters (probably cuz Winnie The Pooh was my favorite book as a child and I feel protective of his reputation). A deadly psycho PINOCCHIO is impossible for me to resist though, on account of that seal was broken long ago with my personal favorite 1996 direct to video Chucky come lately known as PINOCCHIO’S REVENGE directed by the great Kevin S’ Tenney (WITCHBOARD, NIGHT OF THE DEMONS Et al.). Anyway, I’m really shocked to tell you that UNSTRUNG found a fan in me. I absolutely loved all the beautiful practical effects and puppetry and although it’s laugh out loud hilarious at times there’s also a very convincing layer of potent creepiness. What’s particularly amusing is that this deadly doll is actually a real sweetheart who doesn’t know right from wrong and he sort of comes off as a Casper-like character who might just unwittingly decapitate you at a moments notice. Making my robust approval even less questionable is the involvement of King Robert England who loans his voice talent to the character of Cricket. Please note that my nose doesn’t grow as I vow to watch it again.

DEATHSTALKER (2025). How did I not know that someone made a reboot/reimagining of my favorite ‘80s horror adjacent sword and sorcery series DEATHSTALKER? What great news! Finer still is the fact that it is crafted by Steven Kostanski, he who gifted the world with PSYCHO GORMAN (2020), THE VOID (2016) and the criminally underrated LEPRECHAUN RETURNS(2018)! If you like action, humor, gore and crazy monsters then congratulations, you just won the lottery. Strangely adorable, batshit crazy and just plain fun, this newfangled DEATHSTALKER is a pure, much appreciated meteor of joy.

SCARED SHITLESS. Is anyone up for a 2024 horror comedy concerning a young germaphobe who teams up with his plumber father to face his fears and ends up battling a TREMORS-light worm monster that travels by toilet? I know it sounds juvenile, but Vivieno Caldinelli’s throwback budget creature feature has slick visuals, explosive gore, great music, a heart of gold and a cast with spot-on comic timing. If you dig SHIVERS ('75), THE DEADLY SPAWN (’83), THE KINDRED (87), SLITHER (2006) or anything by Frank (BRAIN DAMAGE, BASKETCASE) Henenlotter this is a must-see swift and slimy knee slapper.

BUDDY. Back in the mid nineties yours truly wrote a screenplay about an Barney-esque program and its costumed anthropomorphic killer. It even had legit producers and a experienced director attached (meaning they’d made a movie before which will remain nameless). Of course, after about a year of me fantasizing about my future success everything fell through and I was thrown back to the gutter (retail job) nursing my wounds. I only tell you this to explain that it took a little bit of effort for me to watch BUDDY objectively and not through the lens of a bitter curmudgeon with escalating mental issues. What helped was finding out BUDDY was directed by the same guy (Casper Kelly) who delivered the hilarious mind-bending trip-o-thon TOO MANY COOKS which I worship as the finest of art. I can’t think of a better fit. BUDDY is not quite the potential masterpiece that I had fully formed in my head (what could be) but it’s wonderfully surreal and silly and delivers on the gore and twisted humor. It’s not like anything you’ve ever seen before and strikingly familiar at the same time. Poor me, I’m incapable of hating on a film that features Clint Howard AND a talking mailbox (sadly, his jaw is removed midway and he’s rendered mute which made me anxiously await his repair which never happened). It probably would have fared better with a slightly shorter runtime (there is some notable wheel spinning for a spell) but it’s destined for legendary group viewings and devout cult status anyway. Just think about the potential merchandising! I know I have (sob).

THE ICE CREAM MAN. I never bought into the Eli Roth hype but I thoroughly (and I guess solely) enjoyed his last movie THANKSGIVING. I suppose that holiday slasher was merely a foolproof fluke like I secretly suspected. I didn’t image this killer kid flick was going to be as outstanding as 2014’s COOTIES but I’m a little shocked to see it so viciously mogged by the likes of 1980’s THE CHILDREN and 1989’s BAWARE! CHILDREN AT PLAY. I suggest you watch 1989’s serviceable and unrelated (and Clint Howard starring) THE ICE CREAM MAN instead; your eyeballs will thank you.

TEENAGE SEX AND DEATH AT CAMP MIASMA. God bless writer/director Jane Schoenbrun (I SAW THE TV GLOW). Who else would or could deliver a cinematic exploration of sexual identity and gender dysphoria that also serves as a heartfelt love letter to the slasher genre and cinema in general? Seems like an odd concoction 'till you’re reminded of PSYCHO, SLEEPAWAY CAMP and THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS (allow me to throw in PIN (’88) and FEAR NO EVIL (’81) as well ). They even assembled the dream cast of Gillian Anderson (THE X-FILES) and HACKS’ Hannah Einbinder (in a smaller role, we even get SNL’S Sarah Sherman who I was lucky enough to see perform live recently and who is an unabashed horror and gore fan. Her stage show makes PEE WEE”S PLAYHOUSE look like ROMPER ROOM). Einbinder portrays a queer director named Kris who is taxed with rebooting the long running slasher series “Camp Miasma” (the phony DVD props all mirror FRIDAY THE 13th discs and they are really awesome if you are as nerdy as myself). Research and brainstorming lead her to track down the first film’s lead Billy Presley (Anderson) who just happens to be shacked up in the abandoned lakeside camp where the first flick was shot. Wouldn’t you know it, just as creator and muse begin to tentatively canoodle, the franchise’s disgruntled, maybe not so fictional signature killer “Little Death” (who wears an air vent box on his head) shows up with his weapon of choice, a spear. Although much more accessible than Shoenbrun’s previous works, MIASMA is equally poetic, artful and fascinating. There’s plenty of s’mores at this camp to engage any horror fan but slasher aficionados will leave especially well fed.