The Monsters of MSPIFF

The 42nd Minneapolis-St. Paul International Film Festival (MSPIFF) wrapped up on Thursday, April 27. Offering two weeks of local and international fare, encompassing fiction, documentary, animation, and practically every conceivable genre, it's an almost overwhelming smorgasbord for cinephiles in Minnesota. Initially, my plan was to see more than 40 movies throughout the festival, but I … Continue reading The Monsters of MSPIFF

Cold Skin: A Lovecraft Movie Deeper Than Most | Review

A story about much more than having sex with fish people. That aspect occupies a sliver of the runtime, is shot with care, and provides intriguing layers to the themes of hate and isolation. While the film may be inspired by Lovecraftian Deep Ones, Cold Skin is foremost a drama; elements of horror are secondary … Continue reading Cold Skin: A Lovecraft Movie Deeper Than Most | Review

Groovy Stake is in the Heart: “Dracula A.D. 1972” | Review

Hammer Films tried to court the swinging London demographic with this campy outing in which Count Dracula (Christopher Lee), after being killed by Van Helsing (Peter Cushing) in a prologue set in 1872, is rebirthed a century later by one of his acolytes (whose highly suspicious name is Johnny Alucard, played with zealous abandon by … Continue reading Groovy Stake is in the Heart: “Dracula A.D. 1972” | Review

Grizzly: An Ursa Major of a Movie | Review

Leading the bandwagon behind Steven Spielberg's Jaws, is the "Jaws with Claws" known as Grizzly. Directed by grindhouse auteur William Girdler, the movie about a killer grizzly bear was the highest-grossing independent movie in 1976. Its legacy, however, is far richer than any box office prestige. This is the film that kicked the cage open … Continue reading Grizzly: An Ursa Major of a Movie | Review

The Hot-Button Horror of Barbarian | Review

Horror has always been a genre ripe for social allegory: from The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari to Night of the Living Dead to Get Out, filmmakers have smuggled potentially explosive commentary into mainstream entertainment through the guise of spectacular genre fiction. The gambit makes sense: audiences can more easily stomach a critique of their own … Continue reading The Hot-Button Horror of Barbarian | Review