SXSW 2024 Short: LULLABY – forgettable and a little sleepy

Director Chi THAI MIDNIGHT SHORT COMPETITION 2023 – Run Time 14 minutes Horror, Drama Language: Vietnamese UNITED KINGDOM This short offers a glimpse into the life of a female refugee stuck in her unlivable servitude as a seamstress, where she is haunted menacingly by visions of her deceased child who drowned.  The film lacks that… Continue reading SXSW 2024 Short: LULLABY – forgettable and a little sleepy

SXSW: SISSY

I am not a huge fan of horror films. Some bore me and others just gross me out, but occasionally, I stumble across one that excites me. During the SXSW Film Festival this year, ‘Sissy’ a film directed and co-written by Kane Senes and Hannah Barlow engaged and surprised me. Clever writing and even more… Continue reading SXSW: SISSY

Review: THE MORTAL INSTRUMENTS: CITY OF BONES

By Mark Saldana  Rating: 1.5 (Out of 4 Stars) As I sat in this screening, I had to contain my laughter and exasperations at the ridiculousness and the shameless lack of originality that this film has in its 130 minute runtime. My guest to the screening defended the integrity of the books on which this… Continue reading Review: THE MORTAL INSTRUMENTS: CITY OF BONES

Review: THE CONJURING

By Mark Saldana  Rating: 3 (Out of 4 Stars) If the names Ed and Lorraine Warren do not sound familiar, then perhaps one of their most famous cases will ring a bell. The Warrens are famous paranormal investigators best known for studying the events surrounding the Amityville haunting which thusly inspired the Amityville Horror book… Continue reading Review: THE CONJURING

Review: EVIL DEAD

By Mark Saldana  Rating: 3.5 (Out of 4 Stars) Fede Alvarez’s remake/re-imagining/sequel to Sam Raimi’s cult classic horror film The Evil Dead delivers thrills, chills, cringe-worthy gore galore, and just a little humor, making this an exciting and sensory overload of a horror film experience. Horror fans and fans of the original Evil Dead movies will… Continue reading Review: EVIL DEAD

Review: BEAUTIFUL CREATURES

By Mark Saldana  Rating: 3 (Out of 4 Stars) Horror-lite for teens seems to dominate at the box office now.  Following the success of the Twilight saga, the imitators have arrived trying to cash on this genre as well.  Two weeks ago, the zom-rom-com, Warm Bodies, opened and this week (February 14), the wiccan version… Continue reading Review: BEAUTIFUL CREATURES