Werewolf Santa had its world première on Fri 25th Aug at FrightFest, and is on UK digital from 6 November 2023 “This isn’t a comic book, it’s real,” insists Hastings Chief Constable Charlie (Mark Arnold), to which his ex-wife Carol (Emily Booth) replies, absurdly, of their actual, lived experiences this snowy Christmas Eve: “Wait, is…
Wolf Manor (aka Scream of the Wolf) first published by SciFiNow Those expecting the film that they are watching to be Dominic Brunt’s Wolf Manor (aka Scream of the Wolf) might be surprised to see a title at the beginning for Crimson Manor, directed by Derrick Francis. There is a blood moon, and lightning over…
Wolfkin (Kommunioun) had its world première at FrightFest 2022 On the grass by a river, Elaine (Louise Manteau) and Patrick (Benjamin Ramon) are making the beast with two backs, in a communion of flesh and fluids. Their passion spent, Patrick rests his head on Elaine’s naked belly, sniffs at it, and asks, “Why didn’t you…
Cursed first published by Movie Gazette, 20 April 2005 On LA’s Mulholland Drive on the night of the full moon, Ellie (Christina Ricci) and her younger brother Jimmy (Jesse Eisenberg) collide with another car when they swerve to avoid an animal. The siblings are scratched, and the other driver (Shannon Elizabeth) is torn apart, by…
Are We Monsters first published by VODzilla.co “I wonder what comes after this,” says Michael (Justin Hayward) in the opening scene of Are We Monsters, in what is clearly for him the beginning of something new as much as the end of an era. Michael and his family have for generations been hunting and killing…
The heroine of Amelia Moses’ Bloodthirsty is called Grey. It is an unusual name, evoking the shade between black and white, and so it suggests her lack of definition, capturing her status as a character in transition. After all, orphaned at an early stage, musician Grey (played by Lauren Beatty) has no idea of her…
Wildling first published by SciFiNow “Do you want to hear a story? Do you want me to tell you about the Wildling?” Fritz Böhm’s feature debut Wildling opens with a story of monsters and bestiality told by a Daddy (Brad Dourif) to a little girl (Arlo Mertz) at bedtime. Yet the place where Anna hears this…
Another WolfCop first published by SciFiNow “You’re a loser – it’s just a fact,” states ‘visionary business maverick’ Sydney Swallows (Yannick Bisson), at the beginning of Another WolfCop, looking directly into the camera as he films an ad spot to promote new product “Chicken Milk Stout”. Hawking beer to the low-rent citizens of smalltown Woodhaven, who…
The Howling first published by Little White Lies, as part 43 of my Cinema Psychotronicum column “Man is a combination of the learned and the instinctual, of the sophisticated and the primitive. We should never try to deny the beast – the animal – within us.” The speaker is Dr George Waggner (Patrick Macnee), a mild-mannered…
Ginger Snaps first published by VODzilla.co Meet the Fitzgerald sisters. 15-year-old Brigitte (Emily Perkins) and 16-year-old Ginger (Katharine Isabelle), both late developers, are the only goths in suburban Bailey Downs (“a safe and caring community”), and inseparable partners in crimes of teen rebellion. They also freely indulge in their shared morbid fantasies. When they are not…
Howl first published by TheHorrorShow “It wasn’t an animal. It was more like a man.” This line, spoken by Jenny (Ania Marson) about the creature that has just viciously bitten her, cuts to the thematic heart of this second feature (after 2012’s The Seasoning House) to be directed by British FX/makeup guru Paul Hyett. Given that…