Fantastic Fest XX Review: HIDE AND GO SHRIEK Delivers Without Reinventing The Wheel
Hide and Go Shriek will be available on Blu-ray and 4K UHD in October from Terror Vision and recently screened at the twentieth edition of Fantastic Fest.
horror
Fantastic Fest XX Review: COYOTES Has Both Bark and Bite
Coyotes enjoyed its World Premiere at the twentieth edition of Fantastic Fest. The film gets a theatrical release date (in the US) on October 3rd.
Second Sight Tells Physical Media Fans YOU’RE NEXT This August
These days, Adam Wingard may best known for giving us giant CGI apes and lizards punching each other in the face, but long before Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire hit our big screens, he was dabbling in horror. In 2014 he delivered the excellent horror-thriller, The Guest, and in 2011 he burst onto the slasher scene with the superb YOU’RE NEXT. Well now we can all sit back and enjoy You’re Next in gorgeous 4K (or standard Blu-Ray, if that’s your preference) when UK-based distributor, Second Sight Films, releases the film with all the bells and whistles on August 19th. Second Sight are at the top of the Blu-Ray game at the moment. Their releases have physical media fans drooling the moment they’re announced, and rightly so. Check our the special features on this bad boy! Special Features New 4K restoration and HDR Dolby Vision grade approved by Director Adam Wingard Dual format […]
Xavier Gens delivers the aquatic action in the first trailer for UNDER PARIS
There are two guarantees in life: one is that we’ll all one day fall off this mortal coil and the other is that we will get at least three shark movies a year. Xavier Gens (Farang, Gangs of New York) is the newest director to tackle aquatic predators and it looks like this one will please genre fans. Starring Bérénice Bejo (The Artist) and Nassim Lyes (Farang), UNDER PARIS focuses on a deadly shark swimming the rivers of Paris during the World Triathlon Championships (how convenient!). Bejo plays Sophia, a scientist, who must team up with a local activist and the Seine River Police Commander to combat the finned, French fiend. Under Paris hits Netflix on June 5th. Check out the trailer and poster below!
NIGHT CALLER Review: Make Sure You Answer This Call
If you could have any superpower what would it be? The usual answers include super strength or flight, but even more common is usually some kind of psychic or mental abilities like being able to read people’s minds (after the invention of social media, I think I’ll pass on that one) or being able to predict the future. After watching Night Caller, I think I’ll pass on that one, too. Haven’t heard of Night Caller? Here’s the official synopsis: Telephone psychic Clementine Carter is pulled into a complex web of mystery when she receives a call from a serial killer. Predicting his murders before he commits them puts her into a terrifying game of cat and mouse. Enlisting the aid of her invalid father and clairvoyant co-worker, they must use their unique abilities to stay one step ahead of a maniac whose unspeakable acts in the present are nothing compared […]
Fantasia XXVI Review: For a Dose of Thrills, Make an Appointment with DR LAMB!
Scrolling through a list of available films to review for a film festival can be overwhelming. One should not judge a book by its cover, but sometimes a reviewer has to follow their gut and request films whose posters and titles catch their attention. I can’t explain exactly what drew me to Dr. Lamb at first, but once I read the brief description saying that it was about a serial killer in Hong Kong, I knew I wanted to watch it. Dr. Lamb was written by Kam-Fai Law and directed by Billy Hin-Shing and Danny Lee. It was originally released in 1992 but has been restored and re-released. Let me tell you right now: this is not your typical serial killer movie. For one, there are some humorous parts to it even despite the gore. Dr. Lamb has a balanced ratio of giggles and gags throughout this 90 minutes film. […]
Fantasia XXVI Review: Short Films Short on Time but Not on Entertainment
One of the aspects of covering film festivals that I look forward to most is covering the short films that are shown. This year’s selection of shorts at the Fantasia International Film Festival did not disappoint. My friend and I now have new favorite directors to watch for and we have obscure lines we can quote from these shorts for a laugh. You should try to view these as well: Meat Friend Meat Friend made its Canadian premiere on July 15th. Written by Stephan Johanson and Izzy Lee (Lee also directed), this short is horror and comedy and fantasy and just a meaty good time. A young girl microwaves raw hamburger meat which causes it to become alive. It just isn’t any sentient being though, this Meat Friend has the spirit of an ex-con who loves to teach young Billie lessons he has learned from his life of crime. This […]
THE LONG WALK Review: A Ghost Story Told Through A Compelling, Emotive Sci-Fi Lens
I was recently able to view Mattie Do’s The Long Walk to review. I watched the film two days ago (had to wait several to post this review) and I still cannot stop thinking about it. The film itself has already debuted at the Venice Film Festival and the Toronto International Film Festival but recently hit our theaters here as of the 18th. If you haven’t heard of The Long Walk you can check out my trailer post or you can keep reading. The trailer makes it look much more exciting than the synopsis: An old scavenger living on the fringes of a near-future society exploits a ghostly companion’s ability to traverse time, hoping to prevent his mother’s suffering from a terminal illness. But sometimes the simplest of ideas can lead to the most thought-provoking films. I could not take my eyes away from the screen while watching this film […]
FRESH Trailer Hints At Twisty Chills With Sebastian Stan Front And Center
So if you’re a fan of this website, you know I’ve been here for a few years now. Mostly I get to pick my own topics and request what I want to cover, but sometimes the editor in chief will send assignments and I don’t like to say no. So when he sent me a link to a trailer for some movie called Fresh, I had to open it and watch. Let’s watch it and react together, okay? Ten seconds in: this is obviously a first (and terrible) date and why is this loser talking about how his date should be wearing a dress when he is wearing a wrinkled shirt with a plain scarf? Dude, suit up and then tell others how to dress. Okay, let’s keep going… Twenty-five seconds in: one friend talking about the problems of dating and her friend reassuring her that she does not need […]
Final Girls Berlin 2022 Review: Short Films Not So Short on Horror and Entertainment
Before writing for Film Combat Syndicate and beginning to cover awesome fests like the Final Girl Berlin Film Fest that happened last weekend, I never watched many film shorts. But now, after watching so many as part of covering film fests, I am beginning to really enjoy the art of the short film. It is a tricky thing, to tell so much story in such a short time. As a creative writer, I could compare it to writing a short story instead of a novel or novella; you have to have all the exciting bits but condensed. It truly is a challenging and beautiful art form. For the Final Girls Berlin Film Fest, I opted to view two themed chunks of shorts: medical horror and queer horror. Neither disappointed. The medical horror short films included: Occupational Hazard (directed by Ursula Ellis), Freya (directed by Camille Hollett-French), They Called Me David […]
Final Girls Berlin 2021 Review: Frida Kempff’s KNOCKING
So, not to overshare too much, but I recently moved into an apartment and I have not lived this close to neighbors in many years. I was nervous before moving because I was worried about getting an upstairs apartment and making too much noise for my downstairs neighbors. I’ve seen Friends (so many times) and I didn’t want to be as noisy as Mr. Heckles thought Monica and Rachel were. I exercise, I love my Xbox Kinect, I have an Oculus, I love to play music and dance. All require movement. And would lead to noise. Luckily (or not), I got a downstairs apartment. And now I have to resist the urge to hit the ceiling with a broom when my upstairs neighbors are too loud. What’s the point of this? The Final Girls Berlin Film Fest was last weekend and one of the films I reviewed, Knocking, focuses on […]
THE LONG NIGHT Review
Families can be so complicated, but the complexities of the relationships and the drama make for great storylines in books and movies. In The Long Night, Grace (Scout Taylor-Compton) has never known her biological parents and is desperate for information. So desperate that we great a solid scary movie out of her family drama! Grace has been in contact with someone who lets her and her boyfriend (Nolan Gerard Funk) use his isolated home while she is searching for her family. On the way there they have the obligatory awkward and somewhat sinister interaction with a local gas attention attendant and once they arrive at the home, their host is nowhere to be found. More weird things happen so that the boyfriend wants to leave, but Grace is so adamant about finding her family and understanding her roots that she refuses. The Long Night then continues as they are tormented […]
Final Girls Berlin 2022 Review: WE’RE ALL GOING TO THE WORLD’S FAIR
I have a weird quirk that I need to share (I have several, but I’m only sharing this one): I don’t like to watch videos on social media. I am not into TikTok nor do I follow people on YouTube. If I click on an article on Facebook and a video starts playing, I immediately close it; I read quickly and would much rather read and ingest the information faster than the video is serving it. So why am I sharing this? Because we here at Film Combat Syndicate are currently covering the Final Girls Berlin Film Festival and I just watched We’re All Going to the World’s Fair and because of the above quirk, this movie was not for me. It was not a bad movie, but I was not the intended audience for this film. So what’s the movie about? I was excited to view this film because […]
TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE: Leatherface Returns to Torture Today’s Teens
I once took a road trip and drove for several hours out of my way to visit both homes that were seen in the Texas Chainsaw Massacre films. True story. My travel companion was not amused (they are not a horror fan), but I was driving so I ignored their protests. What can I do? I’m a TCM fan. But I did not realize that Netflix was making a new movie until I saw the trailer today. Here’s the link to trailer. Watch it then watch it again while reading my running commentary: We start with a car accident then a woman in the car after an accident since she looks pretty rough. Then we go out into a field and … peek-a-boo, I see you! Leatherface is baaack (yes, that was an imitation of the sing song voice). 30 seconds in: now we see a group of maybe friends […]
THE LONG NIGHT: A Treacherous Trek Through Darkness Within In The Official Trailer
The Long Night, directed by Rich Ragsdale, is an upcoming cult horror thriller by Well Go USA. The trailer starts simply enough with two characters making what looks like a wellness check on someone who … is not there! Cue dramatic music. So, any normal person may be asking, why don’t they just leave before anything spooky can happen? The boyfriend asks Grace to leave, but she says that she cannot leave and even admits to not understanding why. But it wouldn’t be much of a story if they did leave, would it? So they stay and some intense possibly supernatural definitely cult spook things start to go down. Oh, and apparently there is some kind of prophecy involved, too. Here is the trailer so you can see for yourself: I put this one on my to-watch list. I like the idea of watching people in a seemingly isolated place […]
THE LONG WALK: Creepy Kids, Ghosts, and Time Travel in the Official Trailer
Now, you know me and you know I love my scary movies and I know I say I’m excited to see a lot of films, but this is so true for The Long Walk, which is Lao-based director Mattie Do’s third feature film. Why? Let’s watch the trailer together and I’ll break it down for you: Okay, so right off the bat I know this film has a chance of actually scaring me (have I mentioned I’ve only ever been scared of like two films?). Horror films do not normally scare me, but this one opens with a kid and if you’re a fan of the genre you know that kids in horror films are creepy and are about to bring about some messed up things. So, when the kid says at ten seconds in that he is going to take me to see something I’m thinking I need to […]
Your Next Viewing: SCREAM Requel, A Satisfying Blend of Nostalgia and Fresh Kills
I told a friend on Saturday that I was excited to be going to the theaters to see Scream and his response was that Hollywood has run out of good ideas. While normally I would agree because by now you all know how I feel about reboots and remakes, in this case I did not feel like it was a fair judgment. This latest Scream film is not a reboot nor a direct sequel, but something called a “requel,” which is explained very well in the movie. I went into the theater with an open mind and no expectations. While I was hoping to be thrilled, I was mostly just happy to be eating movie theater popcorn. I was also eager to see Sidney Prescott, Gale Weathers, and Dewey Riley again. I left the theater with a smile on my face and was happy that I had decided to give […]
Your Next Viewing: THE LEGEND OF LA LLORONA, A Childhood Nightmare Comes To The Big Screen
How did your parents get you to behave when you were younger? Besides the usual threats of a hit, a dirty look in public, or that surprisingly painful tiny pinch on your arm delivered so stealthily that no one noticed? Some of my friends were threatened with the boogeyman, a creature that would come if they did not behave. And most everyone is threatened with no presents from Santa closer to Christmastime, right? One threat I heard often from my mom, her sisters (mis tías) and mi abuela (grandmother) was that La Llorona (the weeping woman) was going to get me if I did not behave and if I were to wander outside away from home, she could easily snatch me up and take me away. They told me that she would lurk around looking for children to take. If I were bad, sometimes I would hear distant crying…though maybe […]
Alexander Nevsky Ventures Into Horror With NIGHT OF THE CAREGIVER
I don’t know about you, but I have some experience with caregiving. It can be exhausting and draining though rewarding and meaningful. But I never stopped to think that being a caregiver could also be scary, at least not in the horror movie sense. Actor, filmmaker and producer Alexander Nevsky had other ideas, though. Nevsky will be producing his very first horror film called Night of the Caregiver. According to the press release, the film is written by Craig Hamann and is about: Hospice nurse Juliet is hired to be caregiver for Lillian, who lives in an isolated house in a remote area. Although she’s terminally ill, the elderly Lillian seems to be a cordial and sweet lady. However, as the night goes on, Juliet suspects someone else is also dwelling in the house causing she and Lillian to be in grave danger… There are several names attached to the […]
GREAT WHITE: Don’t Miss The Official Trailer For Shudder’s Latest High Seas Shark Thriller
I love monster movies and one of my favorite sub-categories of monster movies is shark movies. From the campy Sharknado films to the more recent ___, it is a tradition that my stepdad and I have to include shark movies in our viewing nights. And come November, thanks to Shudder, we will have a new one to watch. Great White, a Shudder exclusive, follows a group of tourists whose seaplane goes down. Miles from shore, they have to fight to survive when they realize that they are not alone in the water. Have you seen the trailer? A vacation in paradise interrupted by a freak accident, miles and miles of infested waters between them and safety, and so many shark teeth! So much yes. Written by Michael Boughen, Great White is the directorial debut of Martin Wilson. If the film is as good as the trailer looks, I am going […]
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