“Whalefall” is a Stunning Fable About Emotional Survival
Sometimes a book reaches into your heart and fills a hole you didn’t know was there. That was my experience with Whalefall, Daniel Kraus’ award-winning 2023 novel. I was initially drawn to an unbelievable story of survival horror but wound up finding comfort in a surprisingly cathartic tale of...
“You Can See Everything” Dares Us to Question the Very Nature of Truth
What is the purpose of comedy? What is the purpose of documentary film? And I guess while we’re going down this philosophical road, what is the purpose of human existence and is objective reality actually real? Nathan Fielder has built a career on answering these nebulous questions. Or perhaps...
“Diabolic” Flips the Standard Possession Formula On its Head
We’ve all seen our fair share of possession movies. Most reach for the perfection of William Friedkin’s 1973 masterpiece The Exorcist and center a helpless girl whose body becomes host to a demonic entity. Family members desperately convince skeptical priests to combat the demon leading to a dangerous ritual...
Luc Besson’s “Dracula” Is a Weird Remix of an Age-Old Story
The 1992 masterpiece Bram Stoker’s Dracula is not only a gorgeous and haunting love story, it contains one of the most romantic lines in the history of horror. After locating his reincarnated bride, Count Dracula (Gary Oldman) confesses, “I have crossed oceans of time to find you.” Luc Besson’s...
“Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die” Battles a Sinister AI
Anyone in their right mind is at least a little bit nervous about Artificial Intelligence. What seemed like a distant threat with the 1991 premiere of Terminator 2:Judgment Day suddenly feels frighteningly real with the introduction of Chat GPT and increasing use of self-driving cars. Rather than solve complex...
“Wicked: For Good” is a Fitting Close to a Powerful Journey of Feminist Empowerment
Was there ever a possibility that I would not enjoy Wicked: For Good? Probably not. I’ve been obsessed with the musical soundtrack since its release in the aughts and finally got a chance to see the stage production a few years after that. Elphaba Throp entered my life at...
“Him” is a Brutal Evisceration of Gridiron Gods and Monsters
Football is inherently horrific. This collision sport involves two teams of heavily padded men who try to move an oblong ball 100 yards by any means necessary. Just seconds after the snap of each play, enormous players smash into one another, intent on forcing their way down the field....
“The Long Walk” Adds Hope to Richard Bachman’s Nihilistic Tale
Richard Bachman is known to be a bit of a nihilist. The pseudonym of Stephen King, Bachman’s novels are typically devoid of supernatural elements and the bittersweet redemption often found in stories from the Master of Horror. Usually set in a bleak reality where men are pitted against one...
“Traumatika” is a Messy, Yet Bone-Chilling Exploration of Emotional Pain
Over the years, horror fans have seen their fair share of trauma metaphors. From its earliest days, the genre has existed as a way to confront our darkest fears, but Jennifer Kent’s 2014 film The Babadook arguably kicked off a modern phase of stories exploring the darkness of the...
“M3GAN 2.0” Is a Bombastic Feminist Fantasy
In the three years since M3GAN premiered, AI seems to have exploded. No longer a novelty or household DJ, we’re now using ChatGPT to run every conceivable aspect of our lives. From help composing difficult emails or inspiration for creative work to therapy, friendship, and romance, we’ve increasingly begun...