Explore the Lore
Velvet Buzzsaw Director: Dan Gilroy Cast: Jake Gyllenhaal, Rene Russo, Zawe Ashton and John Malkovich Studio: Netflix 3.5/5 There is a painting called “The Anguished Man” that allegedly has the blood of its artist used within its own acrylics. Of course, it could be that it’s part of a creepypasta that is continuously drumming up more believers affixed to the […]
Great Canadian Ghost Stories by Barbara Smith Touchwood Editions, Canada, 2018 4/5 Each page turn of Barbara Smith’s Great Canadian Ghost Stories was a finger pull on a View-Master’s lever. Rife with viewports into Canada’s supernatural tales, Smith refrains from her traditional provincial campfire tales and cups her hand over her eyes to view for miles nationwide. […]
Smallfoot Director: Karey Kirkpatrick, Jason Reisig Cast: Channing Tatum, James Corden, Zendaya Studio: Warner Brothers 3.5/5 As warm and fuzzy as the Yeti is in Smallfoot appear, there is a very sobering message about organized belief systems and human nature snuggled into the narrative. The Yeti, a.k.a. Abominable Snowman, a.k.a. […]
“The Haunting of Hill House” Creator: Mike Flanagan Cast: Carla Gugino, Michiel Huisman, Timothy Hutton and Elizabeth Reaser Network: Netflix 4.5/5 If there’s a lesson to be learned from the recent interpretation of Shirley Jackson’s highly influential novel, The Haunting of Hill House, it’s don’t have more than two kids. […]
The most wonderful time of the year is upon us and it doesn’t involve Andy Williams singing. That abomination of corporate-buy ethos begins even before Halloween’s corpse is placed six-feet-under. And that should never be. Let those who don’t celebrate dressing a pine tree in drag, enjoy their own holiday: […]
Ghost Hunter by Hans Holzer Tarcher Supernatural Series New York, 1963 2.5/5 To most paranormal aficionados, the name Hans Holzer conjures up the image of a German émigré who worked alongside the most receptive of clairvoyants to communicate with the other side. He first compiled his investigations with psychic Ethel […]
The Meg Director: Jon Turtletaub Cast: Jason Statham, Bingbing Li, Rainn Wilson, Ruby Rose Studio: Gravity Pictures 2.5/5 We are fascinated with animals that can put us right back in our place on the food chain. But that brief moment of humility is typically bypassed when virility comes into […]
Slender Man Director: Sylvain White Cast: Joey King, Julia Goldani Telles, Jaz Sinclair Studio: Mythology Entertainment 2.5/5 The digital pastiche that spawned Slender Man on the forums of Something Awful has led to ubiquity. Slender Man is a blend of Freddy Krueger, Pennywise and a Lovecraftian abomination, with its tendrils […]
Hereditary Director: Ari Aster Cast: Toni Collette, Gabriel Byrne, Milly Shapiro, Alex Wolff and Ann Dowd Studio: Elevation Pictures 3/5 It seems as though Hollywood is sweet on witches these days. And I do mean Hansel and Gretel sweet as two youngsters are lured into the world of spiritualism unwittingly, […]