Horror Reviews

The hype for this show is real, and you need to watch it. I love small-town horror — hell, most of my books revolve around it. So when a show or movie has a great cast of characters who get thrown into a shitstorm with each other while the rest of us get to watch it all unfold, I'm more than likely going to love it.

But what Widow's Bay does that you don't see much in these types of stories is mix in the humor that absolutely hits every single time, and then somehow bring us right back to the horror like it never happened.

I saw a review online that said it was Salem's Lot meets Parks and Recreation, and I couldn't make a better comp myself. If you know what Stephen King's Salem's Lot does to a small town — that slow creeping dread seeping into every corner of a community — and you mix that with the ensemble absurdity and heart of Parks and Rec, you start to get close to what this show pulls off.

This show has scares. It has laughs. It has emotion. It has the lore that can keep this show going well beyond the first season. I could go on and on about why you need to see this show on Apple TV+, but I don't want to spoil anything about the plot.

Go in blind and binge the shit out of this. You can thank me later.

Everyone knows the story behind this movie by now. It was made for less than a million dollars and went on to make over 370 million at the global box office. It was so successful that the scheduled streaming release got pushed back another three weeks just so it could continue to thrive on the big screen.

I'll be honest, I always allow the hype machine to get me excited in these situations. The last time I was so excited to see a movie was Sinners, which was worth the hype and then some. I'm here to tell you that Obsession was also worth the hype.

I'm so excited to see what Curry Barker can do with future films and a larger budget, because the fact that he pulled this off with less than a million dollars? That's just mind blowing to think about. It was shot and acted so well. The soundtrack and sound added even more layers to the amazing performances of Inde Navarrette and Michael Johnston. The surround cast was great too, but the batshit chemistry of these two made this film go from a great indie horror film to a powerhouse classic.

I wish that I hadn't been spoiled with a few of the big scenes going in because they would have hit even harder, but that's what I get for waiting so long to see it. And no, that wish does not come courtesy of a One Wish Willow.

Barker talked about wanting her character to seem off enough so that you wonder how much of Nikki is still inside, and they pulled it off in such a shocking way that I can't wait to watch the movie again.

We still have half a year left, but it's safe to say this movie will land easily in my top 2-3 films of the year. Go see this now.

When I first saw the trailer to this movie way back when, I thought it looked great. Then, once the movie released, the reviews from critics were mostly positive, yet the audience scores were brutal. Some of my close horror-loving friends hated this movie.

So when I went into it, my expectations had lowered significantly. And maybe that's why I actually enjoyed this movie quite a bit. Will it go on an annual rewatch list? No. But there were many creepy scenes, and the way the movie was shot just added to the overall dread that the amazing audio brought.

Without giving too much about the plot away, this story follows a podcaster who is caring for her terminally ill mother. Almost every scene takes place in the same house — or really the same room for that matter. Evy is our protagonist, and her podcast co-host Justin spends the entire movie off camera as just a voice we hear on the other side of her headphones as they discuss some true crime and horrific events while listening to audio clips of their case.

I think a big reason this movie worked well for me compared to some of the other reviews leaning the other way — I watched it in the dark with my Beats headphones over my ears, which added even more to the creepy audio. That's the move. Treat it like the experience it was designed to be.

This movie is very much a slow burn, but with the way it was shot, the uneasiness is there constantly. The camera lingers on empty frames just a beat too long, always hinting that something out of focus might move in the background.

I give this movie a 7 out of 10, and recommend at least giving it a shot if you dig slow burn horror, true crime podcasts, or horror that leans on atmosphere to scare you more than jump scares or gore.

I first read John Lynch with his debut, The Warrior Retreat. I went into that book blind, only knowing the general concept. I came away very impressed and couldn't wait to see his future works.

Fast forward a number of years, and Lynch has just penned his longest story yet — a story that's part slasher, part grief horror, and a damn good time. He pitched the book as Pet Sematary meets Hatchet meets Kitchen Nightmares. That's the perfect comparison, and the way it all meshes together works perfectly.

We get an inciting incident early on that makes us feel for the characters — both protagonists and antagonists — and then we spend a good chunk of the novel building up to the horrors of the final act through great character work and decisions that some characters will live (or die) regretting. Let's face it — they mostly die. Teddy isn't one to give many second chances after all.

There are some brutal deaths mixed in with the great storytelling, and I think this is a slasher that will do quite well heading into spooky season. The book releases September 22nd, just in time for Halloween. Go preorder it now.

Dark. Gory. Funny. This one definitely leans into the darkness, but it still has the Evil Dead recipe that will keep me coming back every time. Souheila Yacoub absolutely kills it in the lead role — one of my favorites in the entire series.

The film follows a family dealing with grief at the grandparents' old home. Let's just say they don't come to the home alone. The practical gore looked awesome throughout — my only gripe was the CGI in the final showdown. And don't leave before the two end credit scenes.